food glorious food | The Angel Forever

Category Archives food glorious food

Transporting Never Land Pirates Cupcakes

Posted on May 20, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Making cupcakes is easy to do and I adore decorating them. My problem over the years has always been in doing all of the preparations at home and then transporting the finished cupcakes in one piece to the destination of choice. In the past, I would I often bake the cupcakes at home and then take them to finish off the frosting and such in the location they were going to be displayed in.

This all ended last year when I finally took the advice of a friend and bought a cupcake courier that would transport 36 fully decorated sweet treats on the go. The first time I used it was to transport my son’s Kermit the Frog cupcakes to his family birthday party at the lake.

JSL’s birthday was last week and he wanted me to make pirate cupcakes to bring to his kindergarten classmates. We picked out some Jake and the Never Land Pirate rings to put on top for each of the kids. To make sure I had enough for all of the children, teachers, and other staff members that we may see, 36 would need to make the trek to school. I made the cupcakes the day before and allowed them to cool. I stored them right in the cupcake courier and moved the trays around as I was ready to decorate each dozen. It made for an easy system where I could pipe frosting, add sprinkles, and place a Jake and the Never Land Pirates ring on top.

A short time later, I was able to grab the entire container and place them into the car. I made it to school with minimal cupcake damage (some frosting that was piped slid off a few). The best part was seeing JSL’s face and watching him gobble up the treat with his friends.

I now know that the courier purchase last year was one of the best investments ever. I do not have to worry about making cupcakes and taking them places. I can bake, make them, and go.

Categories:
baking birthday food glorious food

Views of Passover Preparations

Posted on March 26, 2013 10:38 am by TheAngelForever

Getting ready for Passover can be a whirlwind. TechyDad is really in charge of most of it, since he is the stickler for the kosher for Passover rules. This year, we were having a Seder at our house the first night, also my parent’s 40th Anniversary. We seemed ahead of schedule on a lot and the pressure was off.

After all of the cleaning was done and the charoset was made and chilling, we started to peel hardboiled eggs and get vegetables ready for the Quinoa Pilaf.

Then, we got a little silly while putting the brisket into the oven. I think the fact that we are usually 95% vegetarian at home may have had something to do with this.

Once everything was in the oven and almost prepared, it was time to set the Seder table. We went with simple, easy, and not too fancy.

To all those celebrating with their families Chag Pesach Sameach.

It's Me

Categories:
family food glorious food holidays

Varieties of Passover Charoset

Posted on March 11, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

During a recent Hebrew School session, the kindergarten kiddo and I had the opportunity to participate in some Passover workshops. One of the sessions was about Charoset recipes from around the world. During the time, we would make out own matzoh within 18 minutes and then make and taste three different types of Charoset.

I wish I had more photos to share, but most of the time my hands were in the matzoh dough or helping JSL mix the different Charoset ingredients together. If you are not familiar with traditional Passover foods, Charoset is a paste made from fruits, grape juice or wine, and spices. They remind us of the mortar that the Israelites used to make bricks while they were slaves in Egypt.

Growing up the Charoset that I was used to included apples, walnuts, wine, honey, sugar, and cinnamon. I adored this and would often ask for extra because it was so delicious. During Hebrew School, the recipes were nut-free to comply with a nut-free program. This was good for me since I am allergic to walnuts now.

After our matzoh was in the oven, it was time to mix together all of our Charoset. First we made the Sephardic one that is from Turkey. It had raisins, orange, apples, dates, and grape juice. The next one was a traditional Ashkenazi Charoset from Eastern Europe. This had red apples, grape juice, honey, raisins, and cinnamon. The last one that we had time for was a Mexican Charoset recipe. This had pear, apples, bananas, dates, cinnamon, and grape juice.

Since it was late, we packed everything up to share with NHL and TechyDad later on. We had a taste testing party and to my surprise everyone loved the Mexican Charoset. Even my picky eater who helped to make it asked for more. NHL, TechyDad and I also liked the citrus kick with the Sephardic Charoset. The most traditional one was just that, something we were used to from all of our Seders.

Do you have a special Charoset recipe that you make for your family? I would love to know and if you are interested in any of the recipes that we made, just let me know.

It's Me

Categories:
food glorious food holidays

Disney Letter “I”

Posted on February 27, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Thinking about Disney in terms of the alphabet is always fun. Of course, it is even more interesting when you think a little outside of the box. With Disney Letter “I” there is Iago and even Isabella from Phineas and Ferb, but what other items would I discover when heading back to Walt Disney World via our photo memories? Please join me on a whirl wind tour from our December adventure.

Be sure to stop by Focused on the Magic by clicking on the button above to join in the Disney magic this week.

Categories:
Disney food glorious food travel vacation

For the Love of Veggie Burgers

Posted on February 22, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Although I am not a vegetarian, we practically are at home. Thanks to the cost of kosher meat, we typically eat vegetarian foods in our house and only occasionally toss in some ground turkey or boneless chicken breasts. We often eat meat alternatives, tofu, Morning Star Farms products, and fish.

As a BzzAgent, I was asked to participate their Morning Star Farms Campaign that was focused on Changing up Burgers for the better in the new year. I jumped at the opportunity since our freezer is often filled with many of their products. Not only are they healthier for us, they are great to make in a pinch when we are on the go.

Over the weekend, TechyDad noticed a new variety of Morning Star veggie burgers. He had noticed Mediterranean Chickpea and honestly did not need to ask me. It was a given that I would want to try them based on the name. Just check out the product description:

A totally refreshing veggie burger, made with chickpeas, spinach, Roma tomatoes, and traditional Greek herbs and spices.

Although we were given a coupon for a free package of Morning Star Farms burgers, I forgot it at home (ooops). So we bought a package of the Mediterranean Chickpea burgers and some other meatless products for the week.

The other night, we needed a quick dinner and I suggested trying the new veggie burgers. I mentioned it on Facebook and people were intrigued with the package photo. They asked if it was like a falafel. I said I was not sure and would get back to them. Once I took a bite, I knew I had to take a photo and share. Check it out:

Why yes, those are whole chickpeas within the veggie burger. We had some pitas in the house and served them inside them. I can honestly say it reminded me of a falafel pita, but not fried and greasy. It was crisp (baked in the oven) and delicious. The texture was perfect and spices were perfect. The only item I missed – a sauce. The next time we tried it we used a Greek yogurt sauce to add a little something else that really hit the spot.

So my question to you this week:

Do you like veggie burgers? I would love to know how you would create the perfect veggie burger to make for a lunch or special dinner.

Disclosure: As part of the BzzAgent campaign, I was sent a coupon to try a package of Morning Star Farms veggie burgers. I was not required to write a blog post, I simply wanted to share since we are big fans of these products. No compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

___________________________________________________________________________

Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this Friday fun.