Tag: strawberry

I would love to tell you all what I ate at Kobe, but I really have no idea. Now you may be thinking of course you have no idea it has been almost a month since you ate there. Well, that really has nothing to do with it. I didn't remember what I ate when I left there either.

Here is the problem. Once the fish is cut and put on to a piece of rolled up rice, it all looks the same to me; except for Tai which looks extremely different from the tuna.

So all I know is that I ate a lot of raw fish. Included in that line up was at least 4 pieces of Tai (Red Snapper), some Toro (Fatty Tuna), probably some Maguro (Tuna) and Albacore (White Fish), and one order of Hotategai (Scallops wrapped in Nori). I also had some Philadelphia and Cucumber Rolls and an order of Tomago (Egg Nigiri).

As you can see I ate a lot. I could have sat there longer and eaten more, but that would get mighty expensive.

After we left Kobe we went to the Orange Pearl Yogurt Store where I got a Strawberry Mango Smoothie. That helped to finish filling me up.

I have to say that Kobe is where I first fell in love with Tai. I had liked sushi before the Tai, but I did not yet have a love for it. Then I decided to order Tai. It came out looking different from the other fish. It is white with a slight red color to one side of it. And a slice of lemon tops it. Tai has a sweetness to it that is remarkable. If you aren't sure about sushi or have not yet fallen in love with it I must suggest trying Tai. It may convert you for life (I'm talking to you too Mrs. Savory!).

Kobe I love you and your Tai! I'll be back soon.

Due to Tele falling ill this week, I was in charge of the Thanksgiving meal. I had no choice but to step up and accomplish the task. So, I did. I made the whole meal.

I forgot to take pre-eating pictures of the Thanksgiving table, but I did get you the after pics.

The left side of the table in clockwise order: mashed potatoes, Praline Yams, Whole Cranberry Sauce, Cranberry Relish, StoveTop Cornbread Stuffing, and HoneyBaked Ham.

The right side of the table starting from the back of the table and moving forward: Dutch Apple Pie with Never-Fail Pie Crust, Sweet Corn Muffins, Cranberry Salad, CornBread, Honey Maid Cinnamon Sticks and Bees for the fluff, Fluff with fresh strawberries, PineCone Spread with Original Triscuits.

Not pictured but included in the food lineup of the evening: Corn on the cob roasted under the broiler and Chatham Village Cranberry Herb Stuffing.

The only thing I didn't get to make was my grandma's Pumpkin Cookies. But the apple pie was so yummy it was okay that the cookies were missing.

One evening at 10pm I decided that I just had to make the Pop-Tarts I had seen good 'ol AB make on Good Eats. This is a super easy recipe and comes out tasting great.

To see the recipe in its original form please refer to The Food Network.

Here is how I work the recipe:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt

Add the flour, baking powder and salt to a medium bowl. Stir with a fork (or if you would like you may sift them together).

Next add in 6 tablespoons shortening and combine until crumbly (as shown in photo). Now stir in 3/4 cup milk.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until elastic.

Note: I find that this dough works best when it has just left the sticky stage. So, you may need to add in an extra 1/4 - 1/2 cup flour during the kneading process.

Divide the dough into two equal halves.

Roll each half into a 12 inch by 12 inch square. Cut each square into 12 rectangles measuring 3 inches by 4 inches.

Bottoms: Place about 1 tablespoon of your favorite jam, jelly, or preserves into the center of half of the rectangles.

Tops: With a fork dock the other half of the rectangles.

Dip your finger or pastry brush in water and run it around the edge of the bottom. Now add the top gently pushing out any air from the center. Use a fork to gently seal all the way around the edge.

Place the tarts on a baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. These tarts do not brown on the top.

Eat them hot from the oven or allow to cool and place into an airtight container. If you want a hot one just pop it in the toaster!

The kids and I have been talking about different flavors. All the early batches were strawberry, but today we used a greek jam that was sour cherry. I would like to try putting a bit of cream cheese inside with the jelly.

I did try out a frosting recipe, but the thought of Pop-Tart Blow-Torches has scared me away from pre-frosting the tarts. I would like to come up with a sweetened cream cheese frosting that I can keep in the freezer and then just squeeze on to the tarts after they have been toasted. Something like what Pillsbury does with their Toaster Strudels.

This recipe really is super simple and the kids all love them. I love them because they taste way better then a box of Pop-Tarts and they have none of the additives. The most unhealthy part would be the shortening, but Crisco just made that trans-fat free. If that is still a concern though you could try substituting Smart Balance Shortening. If you do try that let me know how it works out. I haven't bought a can yet, but it has been tempting especially with how often I have been making these tarts.

One final note. If you looked at the original recipe you may have noted that AB uses an egg wash around the edges of the tarts to seal them. After making the recipe several times and having to discard the remaining egg wash I decided that I wanted to find an alternative. I have found that simply using water is enough of sealant. No more wasted eggs!

I was at a baby shower yesterday and they had this great pink dip to go along with some fresh fruit (strawberries, raspberries, etc) and I had to know what it was. The answer I got was "It's Fluff!". Well okay, "But, what is Fluff?" Are you ready for this? It is 2 ingredients combined together...a jar of marshmallow cream and a small tub of strawberry cream cheese. And it is excellent.

Fluff

1 7oz jar Marshmallow Cream
1 8oz Strawberry Cream Cheese Spread

Combine the ingredients and serve with fresh fruit or graham cracker sticks.

While verifying the sizes of containers for you I found this site with an entire list of different ways to make a "cream cheese fruit dip". Here are two of them that I will have to try. They sound so good! (Note: The recipes below did not originally have names, these are just the names I have assigned them. Thanks.)

Coconut Fluff
8 oz. cream cheese
1 sm. jar marshmallow cream
1/2 can cream of coconut

Blend cream cheese until fluffy; add cream of coconut (be sure and stir the can up well before using). Beat in marshmallow cream.

Pineapple Fluff 1 8oz pkg cream cheese
1 small can crushed pineapple w/juice
1 small jar marshmallow fluff

Mix all and chill.