Crave Wednesday: Vanilla Rum Custard Sauce

Before Thatkid started camp for the summer, I decided to let him take a couple of days with no school, no camp.  "Camp mom" if you will.  I let him pick the activities we did on those days.  One day he wanted to spend at Legoland.  Which makes sense.  When we go as a family, he doesn't always get to do all the big rides he wants to.  Because Thatbaby doesn't want to go on the big rides.  And the lines are long.  The following week, I kept Thatbaby home from school for his yearly physical and decided that turnabout was fair play, so he got a day at Legoland all to himself also.

One of Thatbaby's favorite rides is the Jungle Safari, which always has a super long line.  But we made it our first ride, before the rest of the park opened, so it wasn't as big a deal to wait.

Meanwhile, on his day, Thatkid rode every roller coaster, speed ride, and ride that Thatbaby is too short for.

They both had a great time on the pirate ride.  Thatbaby even went on it twice.

I let each of them pick a special treat while we were there.  I guess no matter how different they are, they both have a sweet tooth for the same thing.

As for me, this is the perfect season for ice cream.  I don't like it when it's cold outside, and it has been one hot summer.  So hot in fact, that I'm already jonesing for cooler fall weather.  I'm picking out fall wardrobes, and dreaming of chili.  And once that weather hits, ice cream time is over.  Then it's time for those warm, cozy desserts.  The chunky sweater desserts.  Warm, rich sauces over bread puddings and apple pie.  Are you there with me? 

Vanilla Rum Custard Sauce  (From Cooking Light)

2 cups 2% milk

1 vanilla bean, split length wise

1/2 cup sugar

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1/8 tsp salt

2 egg yolks, lightly beaten

2 Tbsp dark rum

1 tsp butter

1. Place milk and vanilla bean in a large heavy saucepan.  Heat to 180, or until tiny bubbles form around the edge of the pan, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat.  Let stand 30 minutes.
2. Remove vanilla bean from pan.  
3. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into milk mixture.  
4. Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt, stirring with a whisk. 
5. Add to milk mixture, stirring with a whisk.
6. Add egg yolks to milk mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk.  Bring to a boil and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute or until slightly thick.  Remove from heat.
7. Stir in rum and butter, until butter melts.  

Crave Wednesday: Malted Chocolate-Peanut Butter Sauce

It's time for our annual girls' weekend trip!  But this year it was a little different. 

I'll back up.

In March, Horsewhisperer let us all know she was going to be in town for a wedding at the end of June.  The wedding was on a Saturday, so she was going to come in early and wanted to know if we were free the Friday before.  Of course, we all jumped at the chance to spend time with her.  We love her!  We miss her!

We also knew it probably wouldn't be feasible for her to fly out twice in June, so instead of a full weekend, we decided to just do a girls' overnight - spend the whole day Friday with her, and then part ways on Saturday so she could go to her wedding.

We came up with a couple of plans, but ended up deciding on a resort not too far from where her wedding was.

And then life happened.  Life always happens, doesn't it?  Horsewhisperer wasn't going to be able to make it after all.  There was some discussion about changing weekends or locations, but in the end we decided to keep it just as we had planned.

On Friday we all met up at the resort.  As usual we spent a fair amount of time catching up in the hotel room before heading down to the main attraction - the pool!

Jurisslave had brought a stand-in for Horsewhisperer, not a replacement or substitute, because you just can't replace someone like that.  But the new girl was so thankful to be included that she got us all reserved lounge chairs just off the pool.  And like any good group of moms away from their families we took full advantage of just being able to sit.

We also took full advantage of the hot tub, complete with waterfall.

We tried out the "Lazy River" but with water fountains shooting at you, rapids, a waterfall, and a ton of children there wasn't much lazy about it.  So we found our way back to the adults only pool.  Know why it's adults only?  See that palapa? 

Swim up bar!  And we also took advantage of that.

We spent the entire day in the water or beside the water, sipping fruity frozen drinks out of our brand new souvenir tumblers.

Eventually we realized it was getting late, and we were getting hungry, so back up to the room to change.  We headed to dinner and sat around talking more.  It's funny how when you're with some people you never run out of things to talk about - and that's how it always is with us.  After dinner we bid adieu to Jurisslave and her friend and headed back up to the room where we talked some more until we all fell asleep - probably early than we do back home.  Because we're old ladies.

The next morning we parted ways.  I always feel so recharged after our time together, and it is never ever long enough.  I love catching up with some of my closest friends and getting away from the thing that brought us all together originally. 

But this trip was extra not long enough, not enough time, not enough talk, not enough indulgent behavior.  We're all older and less crazy than we were - and none of us were especially crazy to begin with.  I mean, our idea of adventure is a swim up bar! 

Sometimes it doesn't take much to indulge though.  Just a little twist on the ordinary - a day at a nearby resort, or adding peanut butter to chocolate sauce.  Both seems so simple, so obvious, but they're things we just never think to do.  So be like us.  Take the simple and obvious and just go for it.

Malted Chocolate Peanut Butter Sauce (From Cooking Light)

1/4 cup chocolate malted milk powder

1 can fat-free sweetened condensed milk

1 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

2 Tbsp peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Place malted milk powder, condensed milk, and chocolate in a medium saucepan.  Cook, stirring constantly over medium-low heat 6 minutes or until smooth. Remove from heat.
2. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla.  Serve warm.

Crave Wednesday: Brandied Cherry Sauce

On Mother's Day we were very much doing things that I enjoy doing, what with going to see camels and all.  Typically on Father's Day we go to the waterpark, but that's not exactly what Thatboy wants to do.  It just became convenient when Thatbaby was a week old and I couldn't see us spending a whole day at the beach with a newborn.  And a tradition was born.

But this year, he said he wanted to do something "nature-y" "like a hike or something."  So, in the midst of figuring out what I wanted to do for our birthdays, and planning a birthday party, I also started doing some research on local trails.  We've done quite a few which Thatboy has not been impressed with.  And some of the ones I thought he would like would NOT be enjoyable with our children.

But then I came across some reviews for the Santa Margarita River Trail, which stated that it was a nice easy trail, with scenic views as you walked along a river.  It sounded great, and so I forwarded it to Thatboy and asked what he thought.  He gave it a thumbs up.

Father's Day started with our usual trip to the Original Pancake House for breakfast, which is Thatboy's favorite breakfast locale.  And then we picked up some sandwiches and headed off to the trail.

True to the description, it was a lovely trail, under the canopy of trees, which is rare here in San Diego.  Most trails offer little to no shade, but this was shady and cool.  The river provided some nice background noise and some pretty views.

The trail was fairly easy, with only a couple of places where we had to weave through some rock scrambles.    The biggest hazard on the trail was the poison oak which was everywhere.  I had to remind the kids a number of times to stay in the middle of the trail.

The entire trail is about 2.5 miles long.  So we had to take a couple of sitting breaks on the way out, and the way back.

At a certain point, we reached an outcropping of rocks, and the river.  There was no way I was going to try to cross or ford the river to get to the other side, we decided to call this the end of the trail and sit and eat lunch.

Thatboy and Thatkid spent some time playing on the rocks, while I sat with the more cautious and less coordinated Thatbaby eating blueberries.

Heading back wasn't as successful as heading out.  There were some more breaks, and begging of Thatboy to drag them home. 

Thatbaby promptly fell asleep on the car ride home, and I gallantly sat in the car with him while Thatboy and Thatkid went into the house.  Around 4:15, Thatboy came out and asked if we could head to dinner, which woke up Thatbaby.  But then we head to dinner.   We tried a new place not too far from us, and it was fantastic.  We ate and drank, and had far too many desserts. Of course, I forgot to take any pictures.  But I'm sure we'll be back.

But since we're in dessert mode...we've been doing ice cream a lot lately.  I shouldn't say "we" since I'm not a huge ice cream person, but the boys have.  Thatboy has requested having it in the house, and so it's there.  I have been having fun playing with toppings.  We've got leftover chocolate and caramel sauce from Thatbaby's birthday party.  And a bag of cherries in the freezer were just begging to be put on top.  Boiled down with sugar and cherry liquor and it adds a very elegant topping to what could be a rather commonplace dessert.

Brandied Cherry Sauce (From Cooking Light)

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp cornstarch

1/3 cup unsweetened grape juice

3 Tbsp kirsch

2 1/2 cup frozen dark sweet cherries, thawed

1/2 cup dried tart cherries

1. Combine sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan, stirring with a whisk.
2. Add juice and brandy, stirring with a whisk until blended.  
3. Stir in cherries. Bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly.  Cool to room temperature.  

Crave Wednesday: Peanut Butter Toffee Chunk Cookies

It's fair time again!  It comes around every June and while it's not quite the same with kids as it was when it was just Thatboy and I, it's still an event we wouldn't miss. 

This year's theme is "How Sweet It Is."  It was a candy colored wonderland!

They advertised a "chocolate river" which was really a brown carpet, but it's hard to be disappointed when there's a giant candy mountain.

A couple of weeks ago, one of Thatkid's classmates brought in the Jelly Belly Beanboozled game.  He's been all about it ever since.  So he was super de dooper excited to see a giant version of the game.  Spin the wheel, get a mystery bean that could be a delicious flavor, or could be something disgusting.

Thatbaby wasn't going to pass up an opportunity for candy either.  Even if it was stinky sock flavor.  (For the record, he claims he got a yummy flavor, but it's hard to tell with 2 year olds.)

There were art installations made entirely of jelly beans.

And of course, a giant candy store.

I'm not sure why there was a Zoltar machine, but the boys got a kick out of it.  And managed to stay in their kid bodies.

Thatkid's one request was to watch the pig races, which we had never seen.

Thatbaby even got picked to be the cheerleader for our section (our pig lost).

We stopped to look and pet the animals.  Thatkid took a quick detour to do a little shopping game...

While Thatbaby tried out some of the heavy machinery.

Then it was time for rides.

We played some games, went and looked at the rocks and minerals, and then grabbed some dinner.  I've always been intrigued by the Australian battered potatoes, so I gave them a try.  They were fine, but way too heavy and greasy for me.  So much so that I had to forgo my typical funnel cake.

Thatboy and Thatkid split the fair's most talked about item - a cotton candy ice cream sandwich.  Thatboy, who makes it a point to try the latest and weirdest fair food thought it was the best fair dessert he'd ever had.

I'm a little bummed about missing out on my funnel cake, but I just can't eat like a kid anymore.  Less oil, less fried.  More...cookies.

Baked goods seem to be a much easier way for me to get that sweet fix.  Not as "fun" as fair desserts, but easier on the stomach.  And these cookies feature one of my favorite childhood treats - chocolate covered toffee.  I used to love Daim chocolate bars. I don't even know if you can get them any more, but chocolate covered toffee isn't that hard to find.  Chopped and put in a cookie, it's like a chocolate chop cookie, but so much better!  A little bit of a weird twist - not quite as weird as ice cream sandwiched between two pieces of cotton candy.

Peanut Butter Toffee Chunk Cookies (From Cooking Light)

1/2 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

 4 chocolate covered toffee candy bar

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, creamy peanut butter, vanilla, and eggs in a large bowl.  Beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth.
2. Stir in candy.  Shape dough into 54 balls.  Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared pans, flattening slightly with fingers.  Bake for 12 minutes.  Cool cookies on pan for 2 minutes and transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Crave Wednesday: Peanut Butter and Dark Chocolate Fudge

Who wants to take a ride in the Way Back Machine? 

Growing up, we had gardens for days.  A flower garden in the side yard, vegetable garden in the back yard, fruit trees (and strawberries) in the front yard.  Every year my brother and I got to help pick out what we wanted to plant (I always picked watermelon, pumpkins, and lilies).  And in the summer, before dinner, my mom would send me out to harvest fresh salad ingredients. 

I have fond memories of our garden, and looked forward to one day having one with my kids.  Apartment life was not conducive to gardens.  Even the herbs I tried to grow just didn't thrive.  Of course, it didn't help I stripped them bare pretty quickly.  (I use lots of herbs when cooking).

When we moved to our current house, I really wanted a garden, but there's a reason we nicknamed our home "the Gopher House."   It just didn't seem in the cards.

But then L&O planted a raised bed garden in her backyard a couple years ago.  And it's been VERY successful.  And I've been VERY jealous.  I want her green thumb so badly!  We were chatting last week and I told this to her and she gave me a couple ideas.  Including the fact that her neighbor has a garden in a galvanized steel water trough in his front yard.  Then she sent me pictures. 

I took them to Thatboy and he....immediately shot it down.  No room, where would we put it, not on his precious grass.   I showed him the area I had planned out for it - not on his precious grass - and he still wasn't convinced.  But a trip to the local feed store and he started seeing my vision. 

We also had been talking about a getting a lemon tree for years and years now - since the apartment time.  So as long as we were picking up gardening equipment, a lemon tree made its way into our car too.  Yippee!!!!  The boys helped us transplant it into a pot - so it can come with us wherever we end up.

Then we got to work on the real garden.  It was a multi-day project.  Perfect for the long weekend.  Thatboy drilled holes in the bottom of the trough one day, and the next we filled it!  I gridded it out during naptime, and after the boys came out and each got to take a square.  Thatbaby's pick was carrots, so he got two little squares for those.  He also got to plant our mint (Thatboy's pick - so we could have mojitos this summer).  Thatkid picked "pickles" and tomatoes - both cherry and heirloom.  So he got 3 squares.  Thatboy also picked tomatoes, so we're going to be very tomato heavy if all works out.  The final square went to my pick - lemon cucumbers.  I don't even know what they'll be like, but it sounds interesting!

I'll keep you updated on our little garden's progress.  If all goes well I might be able to convince Thatboy into expanding next year!

The other creation from the holiday weekend is the easiest fudge you will ever make.  If you microwave something, does it even count as cooking?  Microwave chocolate, microwave peanut butter, and let the fridge do the rest of the work.  Gives you more time for outside pursuits!

Peanut Butter and Dark Chocolate Fudge (From Cooking Light)

1 can fat free sweetened condensed milk

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

2 Tbsp unsweetened dark cocoa

1/4 tsp instant coffee

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup peanut butter chips

1 Tbsp peanut butter

1/4 cup salted, dry-roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

1. Line an 8 inch square glass or ceramic baking dish with wax paper.  Place 9 Tbsp milk in a microwaveable bowl.
2. Add chocolate chips, cocoa, and coffee granules.  Microwave 1 minute or until melted.
3. Stir in 1/2 tsp vanilla.  Spread into prepared pan.
4. Combine remaining milk, peanut butter chips, and peanut butter in a microwaveable bowl.  Microwave for 1 minute or until melted.
5. Stir in 1/2 tsp vanilla.  
6. Spread evenly over chocolate layer.
7. Sprinkle with peanuts.  Cover and chill 2 hours.  Cut into 25 squares.