Saturday, June 29, 2013

put down the ready-made pancake batter & nobody gets hurt


Could there be a better way to start off a weekend than making pancakes? I don't really think so, but then I again I'm the type that frowns on ready-made batter you can buy at the grocery store. My quips are that:

1) making your own is one of the least involved recipes anyway {take it from me, I'm a simple recipe kinda gal
2) I don't know what all those ingredients are on the label & after watching all these food documentaries I'm getting a little paranoid
3) you can't lick the batter out of the bowl if it comes in an aerosol can, & pancake batter ranks right on up there with cookie dough & poppy seed cake batter on favorites to dip your finger into ;)
4) it's hard to have the right chocolate chip to batter ratio when it comes straight out of a can to the griddle, & let's face it: chocolate chips are the best part of the deal

In summation: pancakes are worth the time to make by hand. Plain & simple. The go-to in my family has always been the recipe from Joy of Cooking {easily the most referenced cookbook in our clan}. So for all you who tend to grab a can of ready-made at the store, try this recipe next time you get a hankering & tell me it doesn't taste better than the mystery mix you usually buy. 


Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Yield: about sixteen 4" pancakes

Whisk together in a large bowl:
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
3 T. sugar
1 3/4 t. baking powder
1 t. salt

Combine in another bowl:
1 1/2 c. milk
3 T. butter, melted
2 eggs
{optional: 1/2 t. vanilla extract, I never use this}

Create a little crater in your dry ingredients. Mix the liquid ingredients quickly into the dry ingredients, but don't overbeat it. Lumps are expected. 

Now the best part:
Add the chocolate chips {the quantity is totally up to you}! We tend to add almost a 1/4 of a bag of Nestle Toll House semi-sweet chocolate mini chips & about 25+ Ghirardelli 60% Cacao bittersweet chocolate baking chips.

Once your griddle/pan is warm enough {leaning towards low or medium-low heat for us}, scoop the batter out using a 1/4 measuring cup, making sure to stir the mix every time you scoop to prevent the chocolate from settling to the bottom & creating less than optimal chocolate to batter ratio pancakes {the horror!}. I'm assuming you know how to cook pancakes, but just in case, the time to flip them is when the edges begin to dry out & bubbles have started to rise & break on the surface {2-3 minutes}. 


Oh and if you're one of those well-disciplined types, these pancakes freeze really well for a week or so & make for the best microwaved breakfast since chocolate chip Eggos came out in elementary school {another food I'm not sure of what it's made of, but I made it this far so I think I'm in the clear}. 

So there you have it. For most, a pretty redundant recipe, but for you slackers out there {you know who you are}, a simple way to make your Saturday mornings that much sweeter. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

alphabet gummies + strawberries: the perfect popsicle


So call me naive, but all my life I've been under the impression that popsicles were too messy, too involved, too everything to make the effort to create your own. Ha. That's just silly. But the effort to make ice cream? That's another story. But I digress...

While perusing the bulk candy aisle at Wegman's, I made a pact that by golly, I was going to make popsicles so that I could have an excuse to buy the super fun alphabet gummies! Husmate laughed at me, & this is what transpired: simplistic yumminess.

We're talking 4 ingredients, plus the gummies {if you have a sweet tooth like me}.  So the mystical number 5! That's it, & if it's summertime, there's a darn good chance that you already have the core four: strawberries, water, sugar, & a lime. Lucky for me, I picked up my popsicle molds on a whim for cheap at IKEA, but if you don't have molds, just use little paper cups.

1 cup mashed strawberries
1/2 cup water
3-4 tablespoons sugar
juice from 1/2 a lime
fun gummy bears, letters, fish, etc. {optional, but yummy}

Add the first four ingredients together, put gummies in your molds, pour the mixture over that, & freeze.

A few notes: I used 3 tablespoons, banking on the gummies adding a sweeter taste. 

Don't be brave & try mashing the strawberries in the measuring cup with spoon like I did at first. It will fail miserably & cause your counter to turn a darling shade of rosy red. Just whip out the potato masher you were gifted or bought because mashed potatoes are totally your comfort food. It's much easier. Believe me.

That amount filled six little molds for me, but it could make more or less depending on what you're using.

& voila! Easy popsicles. Perfect way to cool down during these muggy, humid summer days, & quite tasty, too, if I do say so myself.


Thursday, June 13, 2013

a week of surprises

^^ guess the frizz days of summer are here to stay, as well as wrinkled linen clothes ^^
^^ boys. it seems to be understood that they would both lean against this wall {right before the docent told them to step away from it haha} ^^ 
^^ goosebumps always when I see this wall. No, I'll never forget ^^
^^ kinda made us miss Dudy Noble even more when saw how small it was. That & the wooden benches? Thanks, but no thanks
^^ beautiful tulips from sweet friends ^^

Last week was one of those spontaneous types. Due to a change in schedule, a friend had to bump up his trip to DC to midweek, & thanks to the fighting spirit of our alma mater Monday night, our weekend plans were immediately spoken for once the Bulldogs clinched their regional win {& did I mention the rained out Nats game Thursday night & all-day air conditioner replacement Friday?}. So in the space of 24 hours our week outlook went from low-key to full of activity.

On Tuesday afternoon the Drew Napier our friend Drew rolled into town, & we spent a great night catching up while eating husmate's yummy homemade pizza & Trader Joe's cookies {I wasn't lying when I said those are all we eat now}. The next day we all took off to see the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial, whose footprint is simplistic & beautiful. One hundred and eighty-four people were killed that day at the Pentagon, & each has a bench dedicated in his memory. If they were inside the Pentagon that day, their name inscribed on the bench faces the building, & if they were onboard the plane, it faces the sky along the path that the plane was flying that day. Sometimes it's hard to imagine that a building whose very design is reinforcement & strength could be the site of something so tragic. Just another reminder that nothing in this life is ever certain.

Then we were off to the Newseum! This was after we were approached by someone on the metro who automatically assumed we were lost just because of our accents {Richard, wherever you are, thanks for looking out for others}. So for all of you who wonder if we have turned into yankees yet, no we haven't. Sigh of relief, right? Or is it just a matter of time...?

Anyways, the Newseum, a personal favorite of mine & a requirement if you're ever in DC, if you ask me. The downside: it costs money, compared to all the Smithsonians; the upside: six floors of the history of news. The highlights include the front pages of newspapers throughout history, the gallery of Pulitzer Prize photographs, & the tribute to 9/11. Of course, I'm a nerd so I suppose this was to be expected. Also, the food at the Newseum: delicious. Seriously one of the best salads I've had in awhile. Who knew that museums could serve yummy food?

After a great dinner at Founding Farmers {we had to... I mean Drew had never had it before} and a brief night's sleep on our couch, Drew was headed home. And next on the crazy train was supposed to be a Nats game for us, except it got rained out so that turned into a guiltless dinner of Papa John's pizza with our friends, Emily & Josh, who were our dates to the game ;). 

But no worries, fast forward to Saturday & we got in our needed dose of baseball at the UVA-MSU Super Regional in Charlottesville. Now I'm not going to lie, I thought that we would play hard but come up short. I know, I know... terrible fan. But hey! we pulled out a win that day {actually in many ways: MSU won the series, we dragged the devout Ole Miss fans known as Emily & Josh to watch a State game, & we grabbed Sonic on the way home} & everyone lived happily ever after. The end.

And as an epilogue, we enjoyed a lovely dinner Sunday night with our future lawyers/protectors/defenders of all things requiring legal needs, also known as the witty Forrest & lovely Julie, over {now that I think about it} homemade pizza. Call us Americans. Now I'm off to inhale any & all fruit in our refrigerator to offset the pizza thrice in one week.



P.S. Anyone else notice I used the word "thrice" twice in one week? I'm on its comeback campaign.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

virginia beach weekend

 ^^ Wouldn't it be grand if all city halls were this pretty? Meet Alexandria's City Hall, a stop we had to make before we drove south to the beach^^
^^ He beat me by one shot. ONE. Next time, husmate, next time...^^

So what does one do if they succumb to beach fever but are unaware of what Atlantic beaches are on the approved list {as one has always been accustomed to the serene Florida beaches}? Take a stab in the dark & try one, of course. How else would we ever find out the truth? 

Two weekends ago on a whim, husmate & I took a trip to Virginia Beach, VA. Not exactly what we tend to like in beaches, but it was fun nonetheless. It was an air show & concert weekend for the VA Beach Oceanfront, so there were people of all walks of life everywhere. But hey, watching a harrier hover out over the stretch of water in front of you? Pretty cool & totally worth it. 

When we weren't burning our feet crossing thrice the depth of sand that we're used to or getting slightly sunburned {because surprise! we're of the pale variety}, we were wandering the strip & boardwalk majorly people watching {note: modesty isn't a thing here, but bikini tops, unbuttoned shorts, & basketball shoes are} & watching Mississippi State's Regional baseball tournament {accompanied by late night runs to Sonic for cherry limeades, tater tots, & corn dogs}. Also, after two games of mini golf {a required beach activity in our book} in which husmate putted into the water twice, he still won both. Lame. I expect a rematch will come out in my favor {fingers crossed} & I think next on our list of beaches to try is the Outer Banks in North Carolina or perhaps a beach in Delaware. Any suggestions are welcome!

short term memory: memorial day at arlington

So it's time to catch up around here on the blog. No shame here. You may see things that we did a few weeks back but hey, it's a personal blog & personally I don't want to forget the things we did, because let's admit it: this will be the closest I ever get to scrapbooking. That's just not going to happen. So here we go people! First up: Memorial Day


^^ This picture is actually really cool. When we were strolling about we had no idea what USCT stood for, but that night when we watched a National Geographic on Arlington {nerds, I tell ya!} we learned that it stood for the United States Colored Troops who literally fought for their freedom during the Civil War ^^
^^ because cupcakes never last long in the presence of a Berry ;) ^^

We spent our first DC Memorial Day by following the masses to Arlington Cemetery, but the cliche aspect of it fell away as soon as we stepped out of the metro station portal. While trying to enter the gates, we were given a handful of red roses from a precious little boy scout & no explanation as to what to do with them {we quickly figured it out}. But can you imagine? Nearly every person who entered the gates that day was handed a few roses & seeing them trekking all over the cemetery was something almost romantic.

And by the way, walking around Arlington armed with roses to place on headstones can send some serious goosebumps down your spine & remind you of what was at stake every time one of these soldiers died. Since the Thursday prior, every headstone {& we're talking a quarter of a million by the way} had been decorated by members of the military with an American flag in a tradition known as "Flags In." But the roses? That was the cherry on top. What an incredible picture of both military & civilians honoring the fallen. 

After spending a few hours wandering around the grounds, we walked across the Memorial Bridge to have a little picnic near the Lincoln Memorial & enjoy a good dose of people watching... Which eventually lead us to a cafe near our apartment where we immersed our nerdy selves in our books for the rest of the afternoon {because Dan Brown's Inferno waits for no man}. Which now that I think back on it, can we go back to that day? Perhaps we'll make that a tradition of ours ;)