Fondue Parties For Tweens Teens And Adult Parties Are Back

To Make Chocolate Fondue for your next party all you need is a Fondue Pot found at any local kitchen store, fun foods for dipping and some great Friends!

Ingredients:

• 16 ounces of good chocolate chopped
• 8 ounces of heavy cream
• pinch of salt
• fun food for dipping: (pound cake, pineapple, strawberries, Oreo cookies, bananas)

Chop with a serrated knife the chocolate, here we used white Ghirardelli my fave!

Take a small sauce pan and add two inches of water. Turn stove to med heat. Place a glass bowl on top to use as a double boiler.

Add the chocolate, cream and salt. Stir until chocolate is melted and smooth.

Pour into Fondue Pot and light tea light.

Using the Fondue forks or skewers dip cookies, cake and fruit into the chocolate!

This is great for any party Adult or Kids (with supervision).

HINT: Make sure to stir the chocolate every so often to prevent burning, add more cream if chocolate gets too thick!

Have fun ;)

Tweens and Teens Self Esteem?

Watching the multiple morning shows this morning one jumped out with a guest author of "Operation Beautiful".

The author stated that young girls actually start dieting at age (8) eight. Bulimia, anorexia and many other eating disorders are effecting children at younger and younger ages in today's world.

I have noticed that my "Tween" has become concerned about what she eats. She has even stated at one point that she is a vegetarian! My remark: "where did you get that from?" I corrected her right away and told her I am not going to make separate dinners because at the age of eight you have decided that you are a vegetarian.

We then had the conversation that she is beautiful, there is nothing wrong with the way she looks what so ever. Oh, and the fact that if she is a vegetarian she cannot eat all the wonderful fun things for dessert or some of her favorite foods. She frowned and started to think about it.

We eat very healthy and get lots of exercise. The kids swim on the swim team year round, ride bikes, play golf, tennis and play outside. The fridge in our home is mostly organic or as close to the farm as we can get. I have even planted a huge herb garden that actually started out as a small one but the herbs have even taken over the yard! Hubby has an issue with mowing the grass around it.

So back to my Tween. She does read labels, which is a good thing I think. She is learning what is good for you and what is not. And, that it is okay to eat certain things in moderation. Yes, she eats full fat ranch dressing on her salad.... but a very small amount. She is eating a salad loaded with tons of her favorite veggie toppings. Sometimes she doesn't even use dressing.

I will be reading up on this growing issue and will be posting more information to help bring awareness to you Mother's out there going through the Tween and Teen years!

Happy Parenting!

Baked Cheese Fries Quick Snack For Hungry Kids Or Football Parties

Here is a easy after school snack or for anytime to feed those hungry kids! Click the link to Karen B's Cooking Made Easy below for recipe:

Baked Cheese Fries Quick Snack For Hungry Kids Or Football Parties

Cute Halloween Sugar Cookies

My neighbor Afaf left my family a very nice surprise yesterday, these adorable homemade Halloween sugar cookies.

Afaf and her Mother bake cookies all the time, I don't mean just some but from the looks of her posts they make tray fulls and they are always very adorable!

Here we have little white ghosts, orange pumpkins and the oh so scary black cat with little green whiskers. These just make you want to run out and get the supplies to start baking ;)

Thank you Afaf!

Happy Fall ;)

Karen B's Cooking Made Easy Blog

Check out our Sister Blog:

Karen B's Cooking Made Easy!

A great Blog about Cooking with easy recipes! Karen B's offers recipes, tips, products, wine reviews and other information to help enhance every one's culinary experience!

Check it out today ;)

Lunch at Martha's

Working up an appetite we stopped at Martha's Cafe in Sutton's Bay for lunch.

Martha's has a wonderful menu everything from breakfast to dinner European style. Eggs several ways with quirky names like "The Rooster", soups, sandwiches, salad's and more.

I had the Turkey Reuben Panini, my Mother In Law had a wonderful Tarragon Chicken Salad over mixed baby greens with a fresh baked scone like roll. She ordered the 1/2 size which my guess is from it's size that the full order would easily feed two people. My Son had a cup of the Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup and my Husband had the Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella Panini. Everything is made fresh daily. We were all very pleased and satisfied with our meal.

They have a wonderful little wine bar and cocktails for cocktail hour.

You know the place is good when the smell is wonderful when you walk in the door :)

Happy Summer!

Nutrition: The Diet We All Need For Great Skin

Your skin needs more than just sunscreen and moisturizer to stay healthy.  You need a diet rich in foods that have these wrinkle fighting nutrients that helps your hair and nails also!

Go to this link at Karen B's Cooking Made Easy! to get the complete diet: Karen B's Cooking Made Easy!

Print it off and keep as a handy reference.

Happy Spring!

How To Grow A Garden In The City

Living in the city now after living in the country has it's challenges.  A garden for instance.  Vegetables planted in pots spiked with bamboo for the plants to grow upward instead of out and keeping the "city" varmints away!  Yes, rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks are the worst.  There is no Alvin here!

This year I am on a mission.  So we dug up the yard on the side of the house that no one ever sees or has any use for.  With a quick trip to Home Depot for some in expensive border (.99 cents per foot) tapped it in with a hammer and walla, we have a mini garden.

After turning the dirt several times and when the weather warmed up enough to be able to plant our seedlings that were starting to take over our living room we are finally ready.

This is what we will have:

• Heirloom Tomatoes
• Beefsteak Tomatoes
• Plum Tomatoes
• Basil
• Chives
• Oregano
• Dill
• Thyme
• Yellow Squash
• Green Squash
• Cucumbers

The chives are a no brain-er, they keep coming back in the terracotta pot year after year.  This year I planted them in the ground earlier this spring.

The tomatoes and squash will have to be trellised so we used  bamboo and twine to help the plants grow upward to keep them out of the yard.

The Chipmunks are our main problem.  They eat the tomatoes green or red.  Last year the little guy cleaned my cherry tomatoes right off the vine before they turned red!  So spotting him in the yard running into his little hole by the garage steps I quickly sprinkled the hole and surrounding are with red pepper flakes to keep him at bay.  He can go build a underground maze in someone else's back yard!

We can't wait until we can pick some fresh veggies and herbs to toss in our salads this year!  I will keep you posted.

Happy Spring!

How To Speak Fluent Sushi

Have you been to a Sushi restaurant, looked at the menu and became overwhelmed?  Do you need to see the pictures of everything your order so you know what you are going to be brave enough to eat for dinner?   Do you need to drink multiple cups of Sake to prepare yourself for what you just ordered?  If so you are so not alone.

Sushi all the rage is attracting newcomers on a daily basis.  I tell my friends "you acquire a taste for it and then you crave it!"  Like a fine wine, you try it all and decide what works for you, not what someone thinks you will like.   No two taste buds are alike now are they?

Here is some help I found while reading the paper a while ago, I saved the article and think it would be helpful to share with you beginning sushi lovers.

Speak Sushi Fluently:

Sushi: Sweetened, pickled rice and anything made with it

Shari: Sushi rice, also called sushi meshi

Sashimi: Raw fish fillets without rice

Makizushi (or maki): Sushi rolled in seaweed

Nigiri: Fish, shellfish or fish eggs (called roe) over rice balls

Nori: Thin sheets of dried seaweed

Gari: Pickled ginger

Wasabi: Hot, green Japanese horseradish (not related to American horseradish)

Miso: Soybean paste

Edamame: Green Soybeans

Suimono: Clear broth

Sunomono: Seaweed and cucumber salad

Dalkon: White radish

Ocha: Green Tea

Hashi: Chopsticks

Shoyu: Japanese soy sauce

Chirasi: Sushi rice in a bowl topped with other ingredients

Sake: Salmon (spelled the same way as the alcoholic beverage)

Ebi: Shrimp

Toro: Fatty tuna belly

Maguro: Tuna

Unagi: Freshwater eel

Ikura: Salmon roe

Tobiko: Flying fish roe

Tako: Cooked octopus

Tamago: Omelet

I hope this helps you the next time you wander out the your local Sushi bar!  If have any additional info to share please feel free to leave it in my comments :)

Happy Spring!

Jif Peanut Butter vs Kroger Natural Peanut Butter

Have you ever read the ingredients on the back of the peanut butter jar? Whether it be Jif, Peter Pan or store brand you will be shocked if you haven't!

Sitting down one day taking a break and having a cup of green tea I started to channel surf. Happened across Oprah. The good Dr. Oz was on. He was discussing the topic of weight loss and what foods to eat and what to avoid.

Someone had said that she heard that a spoonful of peanut butter was good for you and wanted to know if it was true. Dr. Oz said "it is" if you eat the right one..... and then I sat up.

My kids eat peanut butter and jelly ALL the time! My Husband eats it on toast in the morning, he heard it was good for you.

Most peanut butters have Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils in them. Dr. Oz explained it like this:

"You know that can of Crisco that your Mother had sitting on the shelve that seemed to be there for ever? That is Hydrogenated Oil, it has a shelve life of a really really long time." It isn't natural so your body does not know what to do with it. Not to mention how incredibly bad it is for you!

Would you eat Crisco by the spoonful? Well if you eat some peanut butters by the spoonful you have! Shocked yet?

I think my Mother still has that can of Crisco on the shelf because she never throws anything away, and my guess is that it was in this years Christmas cookies. Ugggg!

Here we go, here are the ingredients from two jars of peanut butter:

Jif Creamy Peanut Butter

• Roasted Peanuts
• Sugar
• Molasses
• Fully Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils (Rapeseed (?) and Soybean
• Mono- and Diglycerides
• Salt

Kroger Brand Natural Creamy Peanut Butter

• Roasted Peanuts
• Salt

My Family now eats Natural peanut butter! We have since the show. Yes, you have to stir it and keep it in the fridge. It does sometimes cost more but, you use less! You will be amazed on how quick you can convert over.

I used to glob on the peanut butter, I think that is standard practice in sandwich making. If I put that much of the Natural peanut butter on, you wouldn't be able to open your mouth. The natural has only peanuts and salt, it has a much stronger pnut taste so you will definitely use less, save money and get healthier all at the same time. See isn't it "easy"!

I did have to learn to use less on the kids sandwich and they love it! Funny that spoonful I used to eat when I was finished making lunches has turned into just the tip of the butter knife :)

The recommendation for cooking...... if you have used it please leave us comments. I have not been brave enough to put it in my chocolate chip peanut butter cookies yet! But I intend to the next time I bake. I will also let you know!

Have a great day!

Tween Favorite Breakfast Treat!

Chloe' my Tweens favorite breakfast treat is our homemade cinnamon toast. Click here for recipe:

Karen B's Cooking Made Easy! http://karenbcookingmadeeasy.blogspot.com

Look under the tab Breakfast/Brunch.

Happy Spring!