Tofu-winkies

With apologies to The Vegan Lunchbox...

I had to try the Vegan Twinkies, not because I'm particularly veggie-inclined, but rather because they sounded interesting. I love a good recipe and I could care less what the philosophy behind it is. I'm a foodie. I admit it. So I downloaded the original recipe and went on a search for the ingredients I'd never seen before. Barley Malt Powder, anyone? I never could find the barley malt powder - not even at Whole Foods Market (which really ought to be called Whole Fools Market). I bought the Twinkie Pan at Bed Bath & Beyond and then promptly forgot to make the twinkies.

Me being the girl that I am, when I finally got around to actually making the twinkies, I had to experiment with the recipe before even trying the original. What can I say, it's a failing of mine to be insatiably curious about what things would taste like if...

So I used organic whole wheat flour in place of regular flour and replaced 30% of the total amount of flour with soy flour. I wanted them to be reaaaaaaaaaaaly healthy. And since I never was able to find barley malt POWDER, I used Malted Barley syrup. I think it came out ok. Here they are in all their radiant sinsoyful goodness:

They are a nice golden brown and so tasty. The filling came out great but I didn't fill them near as much as a regular twinkie would have been. Couldn't bring myself to do it.

The verdict on taste? Five out of five mouths agree that these things rock. From 13 months to 34 years old, everyone in the house (except the cat who didn't get any) loves them. They taste like food. Not like a vapid sweet thing that has no nutritional value. My husband - The Prince Consort - thinks they taste like an Indonesian cake desert thingy. So it's all good!

Dim Sum For Dummies

I love Dim Sum. So do the kids. Another thing I love is Smuckers Uncrustables. I've had a theory rolling around in my head for a while that given the right conditions and equipment, I could reproduce a reasonable facsimile of the aforementioned Uncrustables.

Well, my theory has been proven sound. I present for your viewing pleasure:

PB&J Potstickers

These were insanely easy to make and pretty tasty to boot. How to do this at home? Read on!

Ingredients:

• Sandwich bread of your choosing. Just make sure it's SOFT.
• Creamy Peanut (or other nut) Butter.
• Spreadable Fruit (I like Cascadian Farms Strawberry)

Equipment:

• Rolling pin
• Spreader
• Dumpling Press
• Round template/biscuit/cookie cutter

How to:

Cut out round shape from slice of bread:

Roll very thin with rolling pin:

Place on dumpling press & spread 1 tsp each of PB&J in exact center of bread:

Fold over dumpling press and press down to make a seal:

End Result:

Place in zip top bag in fridge or freezer until needed.

pediped shoes

Their claim is that they are the next best thing to bare feet. And they can make that claim shamelessly! Not only are they shoes excellent in quality and workmanship, there are enough styles for the fashionista in all our little ones.

Now let me say that BP (before pediped shoes), I was anti-soft-sole shoes. Not because I didn't believe the studies about them, but because they are the fugliest things I've ever seen. And I will not apologise for feeling that way about Robeez, Jack and Lily and their ilk. They look like leather socks. And I have a thing about socks. Can't stand 'em. So when an online acquaitance turned me on to pediped™, I was hooked. My only complaint is that I did not know about them when the girls were tiny because I could have spent a mint on them as many shoes as they've had.

Lorenzo has these three pairs:

I love these shoes. I will sing their praises from the rooftops. And I will buy more. Oh yes I will. Because you can never have too many pairs of shoes.

Let me also say these shoes are incredibly durable. The leather bottoms can take a beating and still look like new. The shoes are so well constructed that you can abuse them and they will last. Lorenzo wears a 0-6 months size at 13 months old. He's been wearing the brown and black ones since he was 6 months old and they look great. The leather is buttery soft despite being thrown in the bathtub! Don't ask. Lorenzo has a habit of throwing things into the bathtub while his sisters are bathing. Gel inserts for my shoes, books, his own shoes, you name it. So even with being completely submerged in bathwater, the shoes still look and wear great.

Mini-Me

Mini-Metrosexual, that is.

I'll be honest. I LIKE the MS look. I like a guy who can comb his hair, knows how to dress to go out in public and has decent hygiene. Everyone* knows that THOSE are they guys that get all the girls. So, what's a mom to do? Groom their son from infancy to BE the guy that all the girls want. And I'm all over that like putih on nasi (aka white on rice). Now, I know it's what's on the INSIDE that really counts, but it can't hurt to have a nice exterior to go with.

Lorenzo already has the flirting part down. Twinkling eyes? Check! Lashes that go one for miles? Check! Charming smile? Check! So it's just a matter of grooming. He has some cute curl in his hair and so I'm experimenting with pin curls on the top. I'll post pictures of the result, but for now, here's the before:

As for clothing, I'm the mom who takes her 13 month old out in dress slacks, dress shoes and sweater vest to go to the cosmetics counter. See?

He wears a blazer and tie to Church. He uses as many hair care products as I do. And there's nothing wrong with that. When he's old enough for dance lessons, he'll be there, too. So don't be surprised when all the little girls in nursery school are swooning.