My Mail Order Boyfriend

I'm in love. I'm desperately in love with my new boyfriend.

I am starting to have a really hard time sleeping and/or getting comfortable in bed. Either I turn onto my back (a no-no in pregnancy) or I try to turn onto my stomach (obvious problem) so, I've found my solution. Mr. Boppy, my total body pillow. He's my new mail order boyfriend.

He is the best snuggler in bed, he holds me tight, and he doesn't let me turn in way that's dangerous during pregnancy (or uncomfortable.) He shares the blankets, doesn't snore or breathe on me, and I can throw my leg over him and he doesn't complain. His only flaw? He kind of hogs the bed.

Aaron better watch out; this guy is amazing! (Bing is a fan too!)

Menu Monday: Fritters and a Shameless plug

I know I've mentioned it here hundreds of times so, let's make it hundreds + one -- breakfast is a pretty big deal in the Molloy household. We love breakfast; it's our favorite meal of the day. Growing up, occasionally, my mother would make "fritters" (A.K.A "crepes") using a recipe passed down from her mother. My sister and I would devour them!

Aaron isn't a huge fan of fritters (unless we're in Montreal [sell out]) perhaps because it's a French thing and Molloy, as you well know (hehehe) is Irish. Anyway, every now and then, if I'm feeling up to the challenge, (breakfast is Aaron's domain) I'll beat him to the kitchen and whip together my (grand)mother's fritters.

Fritters:

• 1 1/2 C water
• 1C flour
• 3 shakes of salt
• 1 egg

Beat egg, add water, salt and beat slowly while adding flour until it's mixed and smooth (batter will be very thin). Heat oil in a frying pan and pour 1/2 C of batter into pan. Tilt pan so batter is spread evenly. Cook until edges begin to curl and fritter is golden brown. Serve with honey and powdered sugar, bananas and Nutella, jam and granulated sugar, maple syrup, maple butter (my favorite) or Montreal style like a wrap with eggs and Canadian bacon... you get the idea!

The whole family usually comes out of the woodwork for breakfast! Clearly, we don't have rules about animals during mealtime. Enjoy!

Shameless plug:

I'm a busy career girl. On top of that, I also like to have fun, keep a tidy house and spend time with friends and family-- which doesn't leave much time to cook. I wouldn't go so far as to say I love to cook, nor would I say I dislike cooking. While I do find it relaxing and fun, let's get real and face the facts: I love food but lack the hours needed to prepare intricate recipes and meals.

For Christmas my mother gave me one of the most amazing books, Peg Bracken's: The I Hate to Cook Book

Inside are recipes for every busy woman who is looking to stuff her (and her family's) pie-hole with wholesome yet easy meals. If you like the type of cookbook that you need to read with a companion dictionary so you can decipher the names of the ingredients (which can only be purchased at an out-of-the-way exotic speciality store) than this is NOT the book for you.

Peg Bracken hated to cook and compiled this hilarious book of easy recipes in 1960. I asked for this book for Christmas not only because I love to own easy cookbooks but because I like this spunky Donna Reed antithesis.

Just to give you a taste (pun intended) of her humor, below are the names of a few of the chapters:

30 Day by Day entrees (or the rock pile)
The Leftover (or every family needs a dog)
Company's Coming (or your back is to the wall)
Last Minute Suppers (or this is the story of your life)
Desserts (or people are too fat anyway)
Equivalents Et. Cetera (or dreary details that you certainly have no intention of remembering)


Peg's sense of humor weaves through each recipe and side story. Peg Bracken (1960) discusses how much she hates:

"big fat cookbooks that tell you everything about everything. For one thing they contain too many recipes. Just look at all the things you can do with a chop, and aren't about to..."

Also they're always telling you what any chucklehead would know. 'Place dough in pan to rise and cover with a  clean cloth,' What did they think you'd cover it with? This terrible explicitness also leads them to say, 'Pour mixture into 2 1/2 qt. sauce pan.' Well, when you hate to cook you've no idea what size your saucepans are except big, middle-sized, and little." (pg. 2)

I am in love with this book. Aside from my Amish Cookbooks, it's the only cookbook I've wanted to read cover to cover. I plan to try out many of the easy recipes; I'll report back!

A Shameless Plug

During our most recent trip to Tanglewood, in the Berkshires, we stopped at a home store called Pine Cone Hill in Lenox, MA. There I found the most delicious and luxurious lotion. It had a very soft smell of roses mixed with... I don't know what... but it honestly smelled like something I would eat. I lathered my hands from the "tester" tube and decided, due to the price, that I would "think about it." As Aaron, Matt, Nelson and I stopped for cocoa and pastries I pondered paying over $20 for a tube of lotion. Matt, my voice of reason, talked me out of it (Aaron has given up trying to talk me out of purchases.)

Since that fateful summer day last August I haven't stopped thinking about the lotion; how it smelled on my skin and how soft it made my hands. I thought about it so often, in fact, that I finally called store to ask the name of it. To my horror, they didn't remember nor did they carry any rose lotion. Finally, after extensive and exhaustive Google searches, ("rose lotion + silver tube", "lotion sold in Lenox", "French rose lotion from Pine Cone Hill") and a few purchases of lotion I thought was the lotion, I found it! It's mine and I don't have to think about it every day!

Next time I'm just going to buy the item instead of being so darn cheap. The amount of time I spent thinking about it, looking for it online, and purchasing imposter lotions I've learned a long and expensive lesson-- live with no retail regrets ;)

Menu Monday: Shameless Plug

I don't have a recipe to share today but I wanted to supply a shameless plug by giving a shout out to Trader Joe's.

If you haven't experienced TJ's, you really need to. The quality of their products, their fair prices, and the "neighborhood store feeling" makes us a repeat customer. I love this store and I always find something new to try; they have the ordinary and the exotic. I can't really compare their prices to a supermarket for you simply because we go there infrequently so we spend more than we would at the grocery store; we usually stock up on the things we can't get locally. If I had to guess, however, I would say some items are cheaper (organic granola) while others are more expensive (household products-- but, they are all natural and eco-friendly-- and to this ecoholic, that's important.) If you frequent farmer's markets, like Aaron and I often do, you won't find much of a difference in the pricing.

We LOVE Trader Joe's and I wish they would open a store somewhere in the vicinity of my town. Until then we will travel far and wide for the goodness available only at TJ's.

Below: Some of our favorite "buys." Yes, we brought a camera into the store with us. Yes, I know that's not normal and a bit odd, but this is my forum, don't be a hater-- I can do what I want. As I've said before, Aaron and I set a goal to get a picture at every covered bridge, lighthouse, and Trader Joe's in New England; of course we brought the camera!

*Going back to read that last sentence, Trader Joe's really doesn't fit into that historic landmark category, does it? LOL.

Honey sesame almonds, maple (to-die-for) cookies, everything crackers (amazing with a dab of cream cheese), granola for my yogurt, mini peanut butter cups and the funniest tissues ever.

A note about the tissues: The boxes of tissues sold at Trader Joe's are beyond hilarious. I can't help but buy them and they make me laugh no matter what mood I'm in.

Menu Monday- Cupid's Coconut Shrimp and a Shamless Plug

I love coconut shrimp but, strangely, I don't like cocktail shrimp. I like sweet, breaded coconut shrimp, cooked to a crisp and smothered in some type of sweet sauce. I could easily call it one of my favorite foods. As a matter of fact, Aaron and I had our own special order at our wedding.

I mentioned in an earlier post that we didn't do much for Valentine's Day this year. We just booked our trip to Alaska, which made a major dent in our play money, so we assigned Alaska as a Valentine, Easter, and Birthday gift to each other for the rest of the year. Aside from the trip, we don't really celebrate Valentines Day anyway. It's a Hallmark holiday. Aaron tells me he loves me every day.

Regardless of how over-rated Valentine's Day is, we did do a tiny bit of celebrating. ;) We woke up pretty early and snuck down to our favorite local crepe place for breakfast. I had a banana, nutella, and nut crepe, with strawberries and whipped cream. I don't even remember what Aaron had; I didn't look to see once mine arrived.

Later that day we did some chores, grocery shopping, and we browsed a junk store where I scoffed up a few books and found a little trinket that reminded me of Tanglewood. While out shopping that day, Aaron mentioned that we were going to have a "special dinner." When we pulled into a local fish market I became very excited. I love fish, seafood, and some shellfish.

"I'm going to make you coconut shrimp for Valentine's Day. Do you want to help?"

That would be Aaron trying to get into the coconut with a corkscrew. We're novices.

Aaron went online to find out how to get into the coconut; do we saw it open or do we hammer it open? The online instructional told us to "punch its eyes out." Aaron, being a completely literal person, did just that. **Tip, don't punch a coconut in the eyes. They don't flinch, but you sure do!

Finally, exhausted and defeated, we smashed it on our front stairs.

Sweet Baby Jesus, it was to die for!!!

Never in my life have I used a real coconut for anything. I had no idea the most labor intensive part of making the shrimp would be getting into the coconut. The work, however, was WELL worth it.

Cupid's Coconut Shrimp:

• 2 lb. med. shrimp, cleaned and cooked
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups grated coconut (fresh if possible) I recommend fresh; it's part of the fun!

In medium bowl, combine flour, salt and pepper. Mix in wine and add shrimp to batter. Heat a half-inch of oil in a large saucepan. Remove shrimp from batter and dredge in coconut. Fry until lightly browned. Drain on paper towels. Serve with a sweet sauce. Serves 4 as an appetizer, or a light main course.

Sweet Shameless Plug:

Last July I had a Pampered Chef themed bridal shower. I asked for everything I could possibly ever want for my kitchen. I had no idea that I would get absolutely everything on my list. Everything, everything, everything. I have amazing generous friends/family who spoiled me rotten and a Mother-in-law who bought "whatever was left on the list." It's funny how much more a person enjoys cooking when you have fun tools. I picked out things like cookbooks, utinsels, dipping sauces, pots and pans... you name it!

If you ever eat with me you'll note that I am notorious for "dipping things." If there's an oil, butter, grease or a condiment-- I'm on it. Thumbing though the Pampered Chef catalog I found what sounded to be the most amazing dipping sauce ever (or glaze, but I dip ;) Ask and you shall recieve. We dipped our coconut shrimp in this sauce and it made the meal complete.

Happy Valentine's Day to us! Enjoy

Menu Monday: Blueberry Pudding Cake

I'm one of those people who love dessert. I have a major sweet tooth and I can't help myself when it comes to dessert. My all-time-favorite dessert would have to be peanut butter and chocolate anything, but I also gravitate toward fruit desserts.

Recently, Aaron did some work for one of his coworkers. We've been trying to save extra money for Alaska so I've been hiring out my husband to do handyman labor. This particular person paid him with cash (does the IRS reading this?) but tipped him in blueberries. :)

Not to let one blueberry go wasted (and they were the sweet little Maine blueberries) I had several different uses for them, blueberry pudding cake being my favorite.

Blueberry Pudding Cake:

• 2C blueberries
• 1C flour
• 1t baking powder
• 1/4t salt
• 3T melted shortening
• 3/4C sugar
• 1/2C milk
• 1/2C sugar
• 1T cornstarch
• 1C boiling water

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Spread all the blueberries in the bottom of an 8X8 ungreased cake pan.
3. Mix flour, baking powder, salt, melted shortening, 3/4C sugar and milk together.
4. Spread mixture over berries.
5. In a small bowl, mix 1/2 C sugar and cornstarch. Sprinkle mixture over batter.
6. Pour boiling water over entire mixture.
7. Bake for 45 minutes, or until bubbly.

**Any other fruit may be substituted (peaches are yummy too.)

**Shameless plug: I am, and have always been, a bathrobe type of girl. I like to be comfortable but, even more than that, I love to be warm. I don't like lounging around the house in pajamas. Don't get me wrong, I love wearing pajamas, but I also think you need to be presentable to loved ones, especially if you're eating. Call me old fashioned, call me a prude, but I can't stand certain behavior at the breakfast table. Being clothed, in my opinion, is necessary-- and a robe will do just fine. That being said, I have successfully found the very best, softest, warmest, and cutest bathrobe, ever, and I want to share it with all you housecoat wearing readers (we're a dying breed, but I know we still exist.)

I wish I could provide a link to this robe, or even provide a better picture, but I don't often allow myself to be photographed in my pajamas (this was Christmas.) Anyway, this robe is from Victoria's Secret (I got it several months ago and it's no longer available.) But, they have some amazing robes for all you housecoat lovers out there, and they don't have to be the big heavy ones our mother wore. This one is cute, it's partially cashmere, so it's soft and the selling point for me were the pockets! So comfy!

And for the record, this is how old fashioned I am; I am also an apron wearer ;)

Menu Monday: Nicki's Taco Salad

I don't know if this happens in all families but, it certainly does in mine. Every time we have a get together, we all bring a dish (that's not the unusual part.) What's unusual is that we all bring the exact same dish every time. It's like our assigned meal. If I'm visiting my side of the family we always bring "Aaron's Ramen Noodle Salad." If I'm going to my in-laws, we always bring my special chip dip.

Now, my sister always brings "Aunt Renee's Taco Salad." If she doesn't offer to bring it, she is usually asked to. It is the best taco salad I've ever had. It was one of the things I demanded at my bridal shower (where I was spoiled rotten by everyone who attended.)

Drumroll........

Nicki's Taco Salad (By her Aunt Renee)

• 1 LB hamburg
• 3/4 bottle Taco Sauce
• 1/2 pkg. taco seasoning
• 1/2 bottle lite Italian dressing
• 1 large cucumber (cut into pieces)
• Shredded Cheese (about one bag)
• 1 Green Pepper (cut into pieces)
• Shredded lettuce (about 2 cups)
• Tomato (2 diced)
• Doritos (as much as you want :)

Directions:

Brown hamburg, drain, and season with 1/2 package of taco seasoning and let cool. In a large bowl mix hamburg with taco sauce, mix in veggies, Italian dressing and cheese. Spread in a 9X13 pan and add a good amount of crushed up Doritos just before serving. You can serve with tortilla chips, or just eat it as it is. It's delicious!

A Shameless Plug:

For anyone who likes soy milk, or would like to try soy milk. It is, in my opinion, the best brand of soy milk...ever. Some say it's an acquired taste, but I've always liked the taste of soy, especially vanilla soy. It's great in tea and coffee too (or with a few drops of Kahlua) and it's very good for you (not the Kahlua, silly... the soy!)

Menu Monday: Amish Pancakes and a Shameless Plug

I haven't worked since Thursday; I decided to take a little mini-vacation to do absolutely nothing. Let me tell you, I feel great. I'm really glad both Aaron and myself are off today as the snow is coming down and we can enjoy a gorgeous winter's day together.

I know I have spoken of my favorite cookbook several times here before but, I can't even begin tell you how amazing it is. I have yet to find a recipe I didn't love. I even bought a few of the books to give away for Christmas. So far, I know my mother loves it almost as much as I do. If you haven't checked out The Amish Cook at Home: Simple Pleasures of Food, Family and Faith, you need to! It's amazing. (As is everything Amish. I am so taken by the Amish culture. Aaron has promised to bring me to Pennsylvania this summer so I can learn more about these endearing people.) Alas, I digress.

I woke up to the most delicious smell early this morning. As I slipped out of bed and into my robe I ventured downstairs to find Aaron preparing delicious pancakes. "These are real pancakes," he said "from your Amish book." My-oh-my were they dense and delicious. I will admit, I'm more of a frenchtoast girl, but these were some of the best pancakes I've ever had.

 Here is the recipe:

• 2 C all-purpose flour
• 1T + 1/2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 + 1/3 C Milk
• 2 T vegetable oil (plus more for cooking)
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1 egg, beaten

Instructions:

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl- stir with whisk to blend. In another bowl, whisk the milk, oil, vanilla and egg together. Stir all the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined; DO NOT OVERMIX. Put in an oiled pan (we use cast-iron). Cook until golden on each side. Top with maple butter or maple syrup. Mmmmmmm.

**NOTE**

Many times I'll come across a really great product. I've decided, from time to time, I'll share something from my kitchen on Menu Monday's post. I don't necessarily promise I'll do this every week, but sometimes there are things that I just want to spread the word about and I'll call them my "shameless plugs."

Here is a shameless plug for a tea that I recently found at a whole foods store.

Check this website about the healing benefits of this amazing tea. It's known as "the elixir of life" and throughout India, Tulsi is revered as a sacred plant infused with healing powers. Tulsi is an adaptogenic herb which helps your body relieve the negative effects of stress (sign me up, LOL.) It comes in a ton of flavors, I don't find it to be too expensive, and it's caffeine-free which means it's the perfect night-time drink (think: bath + book + pajamas + tea = ahhhhhhh) I prefer the honey chamomile because of chamomile's relaxing properties and I always add a little bit of soy milk.

What I really love about this tea (aside from it being organic, its packaging made from 100% recycled material, and the tea bags made from unbleached-biodegradable material) is what Organic India supports. Read this article about the teas to find out how it supports local farming in India and how Organic India has pledged $.25 of every sale (in 2009) to help prevent over 500,000 children from going blind.

Hey, while you're visiting the site, check them out, there may be other ways you can help :)