Banana crepes

 Banana crepes banish the blues with just two ingredients…

No lie. This is the easiest pancake recipe on the planet. Make this gorgeous breakfast crepe from only two ingredients.  Forget the milk and the flour. All you need are eggs and bananas. Sprinkle some cinnamon to garnish. Then wave good-bye to Little Boy Blue.

Melting moments – A Christmas story tied up in bows

Pinecone cake – a labor of love

“I don’t care about Christmas.” Eddy kicks the kitchen stool. “It won’t be the same, without Gramma.” Eddy’s heart feels frozen—it’s been that way ever since Gramma died.

Darren sighs. “Yeah, it’s been tough, buddy.”  He kneels beside his brother so he can see right into Eddy’s eyes. “Remember Gramma’s Christmas cookies?” Darren asks. “Let’s make some Melting moments.”

Eddy thinks of Gramma’s laugh when he got flour on his nose. “OK… I guess,” he says and reaches for Gramma’s recipe box.

Mood Foods

Christmas bread smells like good times

Study Guide for Cook Up A Story

CHAPTER 6

This is the last in my series on study guides for the print version of Cook Up A Story. Chapter 6 is about how our moods affect our food choices. We’re wired that way. The part of the brain that stores memory and feelings detects smells, too.

Our last story, Melting Moments, shows how cheery memories are braided together with smells, sounds and tastes. That’s why when we’re blue, we crave foods that remind us of good times. When a small boy finds himself missing his grandmother at Christmas, he takes comfort in his family and its holiday traditions.

Green tea for two plus tea trivia galore

Green Tea makes for strong hearts.

 

Green Tea comes with benefits

Host a green tea party for two and do your hearts a favor. A beautiful smile, fresh breath and glowing skin are some other ways green tea can improve your love life.

Even better is the boost it gives your memory, as well as your metabolic rate. All that should earn you some brownie points with your heart’s desire!

Fave fotos à la 2012

A year in review, through Vinny’s favorite pictures. The pictures are a fun way to index some of  the posts you liked best. Should old acquaintance be forgot… click through and remember!

Thumbs Up! Awards and Feedback

We’re delighted to have received a number of lovely awards and comments from you over the past year. It’s encouraging to know that people are reading some of the stories we’re putting together and starting conversations with us about them. Even better,

Help, I’m Drowning in Sugar!

Sculpture by Salvador Dali, Dali Museum-Theatre, Figueres, Spain. Photo by me!

If, like me, you’ve found yourself drowning in a tsunami of baked goodies this holiday season, perhaps you’ll want to make a New Year’s resolution.

Repeat with  me: In 2013,  I promise to choose fruit instead of baked sweets for treats, snacks, and dessert.

Angels we have heard on high

Tell us to go out and buy!

So says Tom Lehrer, mathematician, teacher, lyricist, pianist, composer, singer/songwriter and all round great guy. He wasn’t much impressed with the consumerism that Christmas often embodies. His little holiday ditty from the 1960s is just as relevant today as it was when he penned it:

Christmas time is here, by golly,
Disapproval would be folly.
Deck the halls with hunks of holly,
Fill the cup and don’t say when.

This year we’re trying to fill our cups and plates, not with folly, but with great-tasting foods that feed our bodies and minds with goodness. Our host of angels are made from

You are my sunshine!

Vinny and I just got an early Christmas present. Casey of  Case of the Munchies has given us a Sunshine Award! What could be warmer at this time of year than to be recognized for working with children?

Count Down to Christmas, Sugar Free!

 

Here we are, boys and girls, December First! It’s that magical time of the year when we start celebrating all things family, beginning with that special couple 2000 years ago who  rejoiced together  in a stable over the birth of their new-born son.

One fun tradition of the season is the Advent Calendar. Kids everywhere will be

The Queen’s Beets – Let Them Eat Cake

“Woe is me!” sighs Marie.

How Queen Marie learns to dance

Marie Antoinette found herself  bored silly. She had everything she wanted. If she clapped once, her servant would come with a tray full of chocolate cake. Twice got her steaming mugs of cocoa and cream. Three times and she went mad over baskets of truffles and éclairs. But she wasn’t happy.

Bouquets!

Everyone deserves a little recognition now and then. So today, I’ll take a minute to shine a light on two wonderful bloggers.

Inspiring blogger? Who, me?

Many thanks to fsszj of Household arts and science fame for awarding me the Inspiring Blog Award.

It’s an honor to be recognized by a person like fssz.  Her blog is the epitome of the art of home management.

One Lovely Blog Award

Thanks so much to Household Science and Arts for awarding me the One Lovely Blog Award.  Especially so, as the honor comes from such a wonderful and prolific blogger herself.

Food Stories Award

Cook Up a Story (the website) has just been nominated for a Food Stories Award. Many thanks to CJ of Food Stories Blog for this honor.

Six great food blogs: Liebster shares the luvin’!

Liebster award

Sharing mostly free resources for young families, Florence is proactive and enthusiastic in imparting her local knowledge.

Last week when I opened my email I got a wonderful birthday present…  Mother on Edge  had given the Liebster award to Cook Up A Story!

Mad-Cap Irish Tea Party

Tiger and Firefox come to the party!

“It’s Saint Paddy’s day tomorrow,” says Vinny, “Let’s throw an Irish tea party! Get out your top hats and Irish bowlers, invite Tiger and Firefox,  and set the table.

“But what should we serve?” ask Will and Isla.

Quinoa Goes to a Party

Quinoa is the star of this dish, packed with the power of a whole crowd of superfoods… rock on!

We’re going to a party, and I offered to bring along something for the table. The request: a quinoa salad. “Quin-wha?” I asked.

Fry up a little love this Christmas

Love on toast!

Here’s a twist on a favorite recipe that has love written all over it… a heart-y breakfast to get the family into a peaceful mood for Christmas. It’s made with eggs, Vinny’s theme in recent posts.

Eggs often get a bad rap in the press. But they have lots going for them,

Fried eggs set the mood for a green Christmas

Murre egg? Afraid not!

How you serve up a meal is often more important than what you serve. Food that looks different from what you’d expect  can put you off. Or, it might just be fascinating!

Rumor has it that prospectors ate blue eggs during the gold rush…

Cook Up A Story (the book) is here!

A family’s guide to healthy eating. Click pic to order.

Vinny is excited about offering you a chance to read his book! Go ahead and preview a few pages on-line. Just click on the pic! Or log on to www.blurb.com/bookstore and enter “Cook Up A Story” in the search box.

The Prune Song… Tra lalalala

Sing along with Frank Crumit!

The words for the Prune Song appear in Vinny’s book Cook Up A Story, so Vinny thought you might like to hear the tune, here. Granny learned The Prune Song at camp when she was a girl. She would sing it whenever we washed a load of dishes together. I loved it (and Granny, too!).

Passover foods

What do a roasted bone, a hard-boiled egg, and some horseradish root have in common? They all find themselves on top of a biscuit called  Matzah during the Jewish Passover.

Girly breakfast

Got any more of these babies?

It’s tough being a girl. Today’s media-hyped culture is swamped with images of beauty. These portrayals often reflect malice or self-focus.

Groan!

Bottoms up!

A recipe for fun:

Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.

Make a date with cranberries and digest some good feelings

 

Dates and cranberries make a good pair. Orange horsey likes oats, too!

Dates and cranberries are best friends. These squares make a super healthy breakfast or snack choice, with fuel that lasts and nutrients that are sure to brighten your family’s mood.

Mood foods… What’s yours?

Roast turkey cheers us up for the holidays!

Which foods do you turn to when you need cheering up? Donuts, maybe? Better think again.

Foods with lots of ewww factor

Yes… but what the heck IS it?

Have you ever imagined sitting in a far-away land and tasting some really weird stuff? Celebrity Chef Anthony Bourdain does more than imagine… he’s eats whatever is put in front of his nose.