Dirt dessert



Today may be one of those days when the kids are home all day. It doesn’t always have to be difficult to find a fun project that your kids will love to do. Today they can do a fun project and eat it too. Dirt dessert is a very fun tasty treat that your kids will be sure to enjoy. All you need for this fun project and delicious treat is:

·        cold milk

·        Instant chocolate pudding

·        Crushed Oreos

·        gummy worms

·        Cool Whip

This is a very quick project and should only take about 15 minutes. Children can be very involved in making this snack. The instructions are very easy to follow, just:

1.      Fill up about 1/3 of a cup with pudding

2.      Add a small amount of crushed Oreos

3.      Add a little Cool Whip to the mix

4.      Add some crushed Oreos for another layer

5.      Top with gummy worms.

You treat is done in an instant. This project is more likely good for children three and up, gummy worms are hard for babies and young toddlers to chew and digest.  Children usually love this because they get to use their imagination and pretend like their eating dirt and worms, of course! I made this recipe with my nephew and he loved it.

"This was fun, and I got to spend a lot of time with my Tee Tee so I am very happy,” Ja‘Von, 7, said.

As far as the clean up part was very easy as well although I would highly recommend this project is done, and eaten in the kitchen. Just use a wet warm towel for easy cleaning. My mother did this project when she was a preschool teacher. Although I have told you the recipe there is no right way to make dirt dessert. Just make sure you and your youngster have fun doing this project together.

By: ShaMeeka Parrish



Pumpkin Penne - A How To

Ingredients 

Salt 

1 pound whole-wheat penne 

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 

3 shallots (or onions), finely chopped 

3 to 4 cloves garlic, grated 

2 cups chicken stock 

1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree 

1/2 cup cream 

1 teaspoon hot sauce, to taste 

Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste 

2 pinches ground cinnamon 

Salt and black pepper 

7 to 8 leaves fresh sage, thinly sliced plus more, for garnish 

Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano 

Directions 

Heat water for pasta, salt it and cook penne to al dente. 

Heat the oil, 2 turns of the pan, over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic to the pan, saute 3 minutes. Stir in chicken stock and 

combine with pumpkin, stir in cream then season sauce with hot sauce, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium 

low and simmer 5 to 6 minutes more to thicken. Stir in sage, toss with pasta with grated cheese, to taste.

Chillin' at the Chill Spot

Just when you thought 'cool' was cool...

The Chill Spot can be located on 330 Franklin Road in Brentwood, TN. I'm also positive that it might have another location in a place called Heaven. From the moment I stepped into this vibrant place, the atmosphere immediately had an essence of "chill" (no pun intended). The owners in the back immediately stood out to me on account of a rather familiar olive tint to their skin. As an olive man myself, coming straight out of the Arabian Desert, I knew that I was already going to love this place.

Atmosphere

It isn't long after stepping into this place that I find hospitality to be the key component in giving the place its fantastic feel, as well as the smell of fresh baked pastries and Persian food. The smell of delicious things is always a "hoorah!" moment for me. The colors of the walls are extremely POP-y and vibrant, and they're also scattered with local artwork. I found it to be extremely chill. (Ok, I'm gonna stop with that word. Maybe. Probably not.)

So I meet the staff and I find that they are all made up of a family by the name of the Berwary's, and they all keep things fresh and lively. Then again, how can you not look at these two (see picture below) and not want to just hug the chill out of them? (No but really. I asked for hugs. I'm awkward like that.)

So, down to business, I give the atmosphere an A-Plus. The colors, the smell, and the sense of hospitality are all beautiful.

Food

So the way I work, I like to travel in packs. So I had 2 of my closest friends each take this journey with me in order to spread the wealth around. We each decided we would take on all the corners of the menu and mix and match our food when it all came. 

I'm a spicy man myself, and so I decide I'll go for the Spicy Chicken Wrap. It's served with a traditional Arabian salad (thinly chopped lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, parsley, and oil and vinegar dressing). I dub the salad “soooo good”. The wrap comes out, and I can already tell that the piping hot and steamy fold of tin foil is going to unveil something that a Roman God would find suitable. This was not far from the truth.

The chicken was super thick and super succulent. Everything about the sandwich just screamed "fresh". The lettuce, tomatoes, and grilled onions all seemed to have just been harvested behind the building. It was all majestic. If the sandwich isn’t spicy enough, it's also served with a side of spicy ranch dip to really give it that "boom shak-a-lacka!". That is a true story.

So as the plan went, I was supposed to take a few bites and pass the wrap along to my friends. Unfortunately, I inhaled the entire thing and left no crumbs behind, so I wasn't allowed to try any of theirs. Fortunately, I have great friends with horrible eyesight and/or attention spans, so I was able to sneak a couple bites off of their meals. The following are my finds --

My Finds:

- Spicy Chicken Wrap: Super hot and super filling. Recommended.

- Eggplant Wrap: Extremely cheesy, and the perfect way to make something intended to be healthy extremely unhealthy. And delicious. And extremely recommended.

- Persian Chicken Plate: Chicken seasoned with traditional Arab spices (salt, pepper, cumin, a yellow curry rub) and cooked in a skillet in olive oil, a side of yellow rice and a cucumber yogurt dip. This is what I grew up on! Recommended.

Now, that isn't even the extent of covering all the corners of the menu. The Chill Spot has seafood plates, vegetarian plates, and other kinds of chicken concoctions. They even had something called "The Elvis" which combines peanut butter and bacon. If that isn't enough of a reason to visit this establishment, I don't know what is.

But we were getting full and decided to hit up the bubble tea that this place is most known for. For those who don't know what bubble tea is, check out this architecturally drawn diagram of what bubble tea is all about --

To put it in layman's terms, it is essentially a drink with either a milk or green tea base, and at the bottom of the cup there are these tiny tapioca balls that you suck up through a fat straw. As gross as that might sound, it's actually extremely delicious. They have the texture of tiny gummy bears. I mean, what's not to om nom nom about that?

I opt for a blueberry and mango smoothie bubble tea, which is essentially a smoothie with tapioca balls at the bottom. Let me just put it this way: when humpty dumpty fell off his wall, and was unable to be put back together again, I'm pretty that this was his final wish before he went into the Guinness book of world records for largest omelet of all time. This drink alone could have been the meaning of life, and I would have believed it. RECOMMENDED.

The Final Verdict:

Do you love food? Mark this place on your list of places to take a date, a family member, or just to chill. Seriously. Who wouldn't want to go to a place run by THIS guy --

The Chill Spot: RECOMMENDED

Grocery Shopping For Less

When you are on a tight budget, there is always a need for some structure. Fortunately grocery shopping is one thing I can give you tips on. Grocery shopping on a budget is not hard if you follow these four simple tips I learned from my mother.

·        Have an idea of the things you need

·        Look for coupons that come in the mail

·        Listen for sells on T.V and or radio

·        Make a list and stick to it

If you don’t have an idea of what you need you will most certainly over spend. Coupon are always a way to get a small discount. It may seem like you are doing a lot of work for so little off, while clipping coupons, but when you combine several coupons it makes a big difference. Stores always advertise sells so make sure you chose the store that has the best deals and everything you need.

As far as making the list, think about the things that are important to buy. You want to shop for cheap but you also want to make sure you are eating healthy. Think about the six basic food groups and go from there. You will need these things, or a substitute for them.

·        Bread

·        Eggs

·        Some type of meat

·        Canned or frozen vegetables

·        Canned fruits

You need to buy canned vegetables and fruits instead of the fresh items because they go bad fast. You can save a lot of money by not having to throw out food so fast. Things like fruit cups, frozen peas, and canned peaches are some options of things you may want to look for.

My final tip for you today is to save your receipt. Once you see how much you saved you will want to make sure you follow the same pattern. You may even get to skip a couple of my steps next time. If all else fails, do like I did, call your mother.

By: ShaMeeka Parrish

Weird Food Wednesday

Bizarre delicacy foods from around the world

Delicacy is the state of being luxurious and something pleasing to eat. For most Americans, we think of Filet Mignon, lobster, crab, etc. For other countries, their dishes bring new meaning to delicacy.

• In China, their dish is the bird’s nest soup. The soup is predominately made up of saliva the bird makes that has a gelatinous, rubbery texture. It is one of the most expensive animal products consumed by humans. The birds produce the salvia to build nests; breeding season is a period of 35 days and the nests can only be harvested three times a year. Also, the nests are located in coastal a cave, which makes it much more complicated to obtain. A bowl of soup can cost around $30 to $100 per bowl. Advantages of the bird’s nest soup: believed to be nutritious in proteins and minerals and have aphrodisiac qualities. 

• What else that is nice to have is a nice glass of wine with dinner. How about snake wine from Vietnam? Snake wine is a bottle of rice wine with a venomous snake inside. The process takes many months. The snake steeps the rice wine to let the poison dissolve into the wine. The venom is not dangerous because the ethanol. The wine is a slight pink color, which is from the snake’s blood. Advantages of the snake wine: supposedly many health benefits.

• In the Philippines, Balut is compared to as American’s hotdog.  Balut is a fertilized egg that is boiled before it is due to hatch. It is cooked when the fetus is anywhere from 17 to 21 days. The unhatched duck or chicken has already developed feathers, a beak, bones, and claws and is eaten, as well as the juice inside. The way to eat Balut is to simply crack the egg, sip the broth, and eat the yoke and fetus. Commonly seasoned with salt, black pepper, and vinegar. Advantages of the Balut: boost libido and full of protein.

-Claire Gerdau

Secret Weapons in Asparagus

Greetings and Salutations, foodies and the like,

            I would like to bring to the attention of all my readers the value of asparagus. In my life, this has been the one vegetable that has claimed both the most hated and most loved title in my life (of course at different times.)

            Fact number 1 about this particular superfood, which by the way currently holds the most-loved title in my life as far as vegetables are concerned, is that it distinctly affects the smell of urine in all who consume it. Some say it smells like eggs, some say fish oil. Personally, I think it smells like rotting cabbage, but the point I am trying to make is that it is a strong smell. Why, may you ask, does such a tasty vegetable carry with it such an “aftertaste” in the hours after you eat it?

            Prepare for your daily science lesson, pupils. In the next couple hundred words, I will make my best attempt at conveying the particulars of the biological chemical reaction that occurs in the human body during the digestion of asparagus so that all you citizens of cyberland will have something to chew on while eating your next asparagus-containing meal.

            Basically, This pungent result all boils down to genetics. Specifically, two separate and unrelated genes- one that causes the odor and one that senses it.

            A study conducted by St. Mary’s Hospital Medical school in London and the University of Birmingham in Birmingham, England, in 1987 concluded that the odor is produced by the compound methanethiol, which contains sulfur. Whether or not the urine will contain this compound depends on the presence of a dominant gene in your body that will break down the asparagus in a certain way, creating this compound.

            If you do not smell the rotting cabbage odor after asparagus, you may still be producing methanethiol, but you may lack the gene to sense it.

            The study showed 43 percent of subjects producing and sensing methanethiol, with almost half being male and half being female.

            The chance of being both a producer and a detector is 50%.

            So there it is, excuse me for my potty subject matter, but the first time I smelled this, it literally scared the piss out of me (excuse the lame joke).

            There you go, thanks for reading, and have a good week!

-Cameron

A Brownie to Die For.

...and then come back as a zombie for.

Ingredients

Yields 20 brownies

3 eggs

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup milk chocolate chips

Peanut Butter Filling:

2 packages (8oz each) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

2 tbsp 2% milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 13in x 9in baking pan with cooking spray; set aside. 

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat eggs, butter and vanilla until smooth. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to egg mixture, mixing just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Reserve 1 cup of batter for topping. Spread remaining batter into prepared pan.

In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, peanut butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and milk on low speed just until combined. Carefully spread over batter. Drop reserved batter by tablespoonfuls over filling. Cut through batter with a knife to swirl.

Bake 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (do not overbake). Cool on a wire rack. Chill until serving.

The Verdict: I'm not gonna lie. I'm a brownie connoisseur. I've had brownies from both end of the spectrum, "gross/nasty" to "heaven on earth". Brownies with gummy worms to brownies with straight up cocaine (metaphorically speaking).

Texture: Cakey and chewy. Just the way I like it.

Flavor: The balance of peanut butter to chocolate is like the balance of Yin to Yang. Om nom nom perfectooo!

Ease: These brownies aren't too difficult to make. Just make sure when you don't over stir the ingredients together in order to keep them light and fluffy and less brick-like.

I give these a 4 out of 5. RECOMMENDED if you're a peanut butter lover.