They don’t call it a "Slow Cooker" for nothin’

Food lovers be warned...Rushing + Food = Dry-Bad-Food.

Two rushed foods that ended up lifeless:
Banana Cakes
Rump Roast

Mistake #1-I had the oven turned up too high when making Banana Cakes (recipe can be found at http://www.simplyfoodonline.com/breakfastbrunch.htm ). The banana cakes should be baked at 375 degrees. I baked them at 450 degrees. I noticed my mistake when I smelled the parchment paper. At 450 degrees the parchment paper starts to burn a bit. Then when I opened the oven I noticed that the banana cakes puffed up more than usual and were very brown on the top. At first I thought, “Wow, this might be an improvement!” That was, until I tried them. WOW, were they dry! We ate them, but my kids, who usually eat about four cakes a piece, only ate about one cake a piece.

Mistake #2-Rump Roast-I decided to cook a very lean rump roast. I wanted to slow cook it, but by the time I brought the crock pot up and prepared everything, I only had about 4.5-5 hours. I cooked it on high for 4 hours. This was a bad, bad move. I used a tomato based sauce and Italian seasonings because I was planning to use the sauce with pasta as a side. It was dry. This meat was very lean and should have been cooked for a slow, slow 10-12 hours.

LESSON: Do not try to speed up the cooking and preparing of your foods. Each time I have tried this (because I am a very impatient person) it ends up bad. Slow down, take your time and your food will be wonderful.

They don’t call it a Slow Cooker for Nothin’
Peace.
Allison

More than a rash. Food Allergies in kids

I recently spoke to a friend of mine living overseas whose daughter is allergic to peanuts. She had a pretty violent allergic reaction to a pasta sauce that contained a small amount of cashews. It was very scary for my friend. As a mother, she is extremely diligent in looking at labels to make sure that her daughter isn't eating anything that can cause a reaction. Imagine how hard it is to do this in a foreign country where you don't speak the native language.

This got me thinking about this allergy epidemic with kids. What is going on?

I am 34 years old and I can't remember any friends who had food allergies when I was younger. There may have been one, but I can't remember having "peanut free" rooms. We all ate peanut butter and jelly without fear, our mouths all covered in the sticky combination.

I found this recipe, changed it a little to my liking and I am posting it here. It is a recipe that is peanut free and egg free. I am doing it for my friend so she has a few other dishes to add to her repertoire.

Working in the health food industry, I meet a lot of folks with food allergies and I can say that there are alternatives out there, but it isn't easy. So, if you know someone with a food allergy and they are coming over your house for dinner, go out of your way to prepare a dish for them, they will really appreciate it.

A good product line to check out: Cherrybrook Kitchen. They have great egg free, peanut free, dairy free mixes for desserts. www.cherrybrookkitchen.com











Holiday Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 T. water
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. lemon extract
1 1/4 cups rice flour
1 tsp. cornstarch
confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease cookie sheets. Set aside. In large bowl, beat butter with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Add sugar; beat well. Stir in water and vanilla and lemon extracts. Add flour and cornstarch. Mix well. Roll into small balls and drop onto cookie sheets. Bake 6 to 7 minutes (cookies will not brown). Transfer to wire racks to cool. Top with confectioners sugar.

Bunny Love is True Love!

Good Morning!

And speaking of morning let me tell you about a cereal that my kids love (as well as my husband). It is called Bunny Love. It is by Annie’s Homegrown. It is somewhat in the same world as the “O” cereals as it is a good cereal to eat dry as a snack for little toddler fingers, but it is much, much tastier.








It comes in three varieties; Bunny Love, Honey Bunnies and Cinna Bunnies, however, the Bunny Love has the least amount of sugar at only two grams! The ingredients are incredibly clean and the cereal itself is very cute with “x” and “o” shapes as well as the Annie’s bunny mascot. At two grams of sugar, it has only one more gram that Cheerios and tastes much better, plus, the ingredients are fantastic with 75% organic grains. Goto www.annies.com for more details on their prodcuts.

Love’n Goodness Mix

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. In a small bowl, mix together melted butter and honey
3. In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients
4. Pour butter/honey mixture into large bowl
5. Mix ingredients together (use hands)
6. Pour onto cookie sheet
7. Toast in over for 10 minutes
8. Remove and let cool
9. Enjoy

Ingredients:
2 cups Bunny Love Cereal
1 cup organic Raisins
½ cup raw almonds
2 tablespoons melted organic butter
2 tablespoons raw organic honey

Peace. Love. Food.

Welcome to Simply Food Online!

Welcome to the new Simply Food Online Blog. Hi, I'm Allison from Simply Food Online. I have been developing a little website over the past few months to share with family and friends. I am also hoping to make some new friends along the way. This is very exciting to me and I hope that I can provide some fun and useful information to those who stumble upon the blog and the website. I plan to update daily and give useful information and recipes when I can.

Please let me know what you think by emailing me at allikoe@yahoo.com

If you would like to join my site, please go to http://www.simplyfoodonline.com/

Peace. Love. Food.

Happy New Year

Check out the updated recipes on www.simplyfoodonline.com. I have included a link to a great article that I read on Yahoo this morning…Very simple ideas to keep you healthy and fit for the New Year.
http://health.yahoo.com/experts/drmao/8305/new-years-weight-loss-6-tips/

Speaking of New Years and food…What traditions do you have for the New Year?

I was thinking about the tradition that my parents had for making Bouillabaisse (Bouillabaisse is a traditional Provencal fish stew originating from the port city of Marseille. Bouillabaisse is usually a fish stock containing different kinds of cooked fish and shellfish. These are complemented with a variety of herbs and spices such as garlic, orange peel, basil, bay leaf, fennel and saffron) on New Years Eve. It was a great meal and a taste that I associated with that night for years. My father still makes the soup, although sometimes it is eaten on New Years Day instead of New Years Eve. I can still remember the little vial of saffron that he used to make the Bouillabaisse. Yum.

This year, I want to start my own New Years Eve tradition with my family. Although my kids are small, I want to do something special. My thoughts kept drifting back to seafood. My son Max (3.5 years) has been asking us if we could make sushi. My husband and I love sushi and Max and Ben (1.5 years) have eaten it on a few occasions at a restaurant. What fun it would be to make sushi at home with the kids on New Years Eve! This could be OUR tradition. It makes me smile to think that years later my kids may think back to New Years Eve and remember our traditions. In addition, I am thinking that we may light a bonfire in the backyard, make s’mores and light sparklers to ring in the New Year.

Check out this website for info on how to make sushi at home http://www.sushilinks.com/recipes.html


I would love to hear some of your New Years Eve traditions! Submit your traditions here http://www.simplyfoodonline.com/submitarecipe.htm and I will post them on the site.


Have a Happy New Year