My local supermarket has started to sell
Nabisco's chocolate ice cream cones. I wonder if they are made of the same ingredients that the Oreo cookie is. Mmmm I bet rocky road ice cream and cookies and cream would go really well with it.

For the last few weeks I noticed something I had never seen or heard of before in the freezer section of my local supermarket. Scrapple. It looked interesting so I brought some.

I should have done some research before purchasing it because I was not impressed. But I'd like to try different foods at least once, more if I really like them. Scrapple doesn't fall in the more than once category for me.

Scrapple as the name suggest is scraps of meat, particularly pork that a butcher mixes with flour and corn meal and sells it. It was a popular way not to be wasteful with one's food. I guess if I was hungry and that was the one of the few "food" items available I would eat it too.

I found it a bit too grainy and it fell apart when I cooked it. Niel said it best though "what do you expect when it has the word crap in it?" LOL.

And speaking of pork did you guys hear about this story?

Hope everyone had a lovely holiday weekend. Ours was nice and relaxing. I had some extra time in addition to the three day weekend and although we planned in a little away time those plans were changed for some more important things. So we made do with other activities. Of course we also cleaned, did laundry and ran errands. I think three day weekends are perfect. One day for cleaning and errands, one day for relaxing and one day for something fun. We caught up with DVR'd shows, watched a bunch of movies(Because I said so:awful, Who Killed The Electric Car:Saddening, and Cheaper By The Dozen 2: Cute. Niel and I also relaxed at the park and watched a children's birthday party. It looked like they took their ideas from the film Cheaper By The Dozen. Niel had the great idea to purchase some low lawn chairs to sit on. Luckily he found them at Cosco. The last place on our list. Niel got to hang out with Kelvin (who was up visiting), a couple of times. We visited family. Niel helped my dad get the internet up. Thanks again sweets. We also went to Old Bethpage Village. It is 150 acres of land in Long Island dedicated to preserving old homes and shops in Long Island from the 1600's to the 1800's. As we walked through the building to pay for our tickets we didn't really know what to expect. There were some displays set up there. But once we got past the ramp outside there was this open field and up ahead was the town. I felt like we were transported back in time. The employees were dressed in traditional costume and told the story of each house or shop. They waved to us as they drove in old fashioned cars and horses. Some of them mini. They also had a farm with the cutest pigs. I named the mother Imelda Porkos. Yes cheesy I know. But things like that make me laugh. They were shearing some sheep and one of the lambs was crying because it was his mom who was being sheered instead of hanging out with him. He was probably hungry. We walked around a bit and it was so hot. So we went into the tavern where they served ginger ale(LOL) and birch beer. The field is used for baseball games which we are going to go back and watch sometime. It was a neat experience.

Remember June 12 is the deadline to email me your recipes for Weekend Cook Book Challenge. Cornmeal is the main ingredient. Thanks.

Country Fair

Author Unknown



Let's all go to the country fair,
there's blossoms and ribbons and hope in the air.
The harvest's in, the endless bin,
and Grandpa can bring the old mare.


For not long ago to another sound,
men of great virtue stood their ground,
their world spinning round and round.


And lest we forget their treasured souls,
'midst blossoms and ribbons and stones in a row,
'round the merry-go-round we go.


Our time is sweet in a Country fair.

Jess tagged me to make a list of some of my favorite restaurants. If you’d like to play along either leave a comment with your answers or with a link to your blog.

1)Add a direct link to your post below the name of the person who tagged you. Include the city/state and country you’re in.

Nicole (Sydney, Australia)
velverse (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
LB (San Giovanni in Marignano, Italy)
Selba (Jakarta, Indonesia)
Olivia (London, England)
ML (Utah, USA)
Lotus (Toronto, Canada)
tanabata (Saitama, Japan)
Andi (Dallas [ish], Texas, United States)
Lulu (Chicago, Illinois, United States)
Chris (Boyne City, Michigan, United States)
AB (Cave Creek, Arizona, United States)
Johnny Yen (Chicago, Illinois, USA)
Bubs (Mt Prospect, Illinois, USA)
jintrinsique (Manitowoc, Wisconsin, USA)
Ace (Hillsborough, New Jersey, USA)
Jesser (Denver, CO, USA)
Foodiechickie(Queens, NY)

2)Wakamatsu(Maspeth, NY) The only and luckily best Japanese restaurant in the neighborhood. The food is very tasty and pretty affordable. Our favorites are shared Sushi and Sahimi platter, gyoza, shumai and sweet potato tempura rolls.

888-Kitchen(Maspeth, NY) There a variety of Chinese restaurants in our neighborhood and 888-Kitchen is the best. And even though it isn’t authentic Chinese food like you can find in China town. The food tastes as it's made with care. Our favorites are the beef and broccoli, spare ribs, crab Rangoon, dumplings and fried wantons. Before 888-Kitchen both of our parents neighborhoods also had good Chinese restaurants.

Joe’s(Maspeth, NY) The best plain and pepperoni pizza in the neighborhood. The sauce is very flavorful and the pie is crispy.

Gran Bohio Con Clase(Ridgewood, NY) See we do get out of the neighborhood to try other restaurants. And Gran Bohio Con Clase have the best Hispanic cuisine. We used to go to Paradiso but ever since the opening of Gran Bohio Con Clase we have been enjoying their food more. Their roast pork, red beans and rice, and mofongo(my personal favorite).

Dani’s(Kew Gardens, NY) This is an actual sit down Italian restaurant. Not just a pizzeria. Although they do offer counter and take out service if you do want pizza. But in the back is the restaurant. They have the best steamed mussels in tomato sauce.

More reviews at my Yelp site. Thanks to Dave for telling me about it.

Niel recently discovered one of my favorite brands of fruit rolls is sold at the fruit stand at the corner of our block. They don't have the flavors I like(grape and apricot) but I was happy to see they still sold Joray. The brand is readily available in my parents neighborhood where I first tried them of course. So whenever we go do our fruit and veg shopping there(cheaper and better quality) I purchase some.

One of my favorite dips is Ajica. In the Balkans it is known is Ajvar. It is made with red peppers, eggplant, garlic and spices. Ajica comes in various levels of spicy. From mild to extra hot. My mother used to make it from scratch. But now we can find it in the Russian stores in her neighborhood as well as the Polish stores in my neighborhood. The texture may be smooth but the flavor is very intense. I like to spread it on bread and have it as an open face sandwhich. I usually keep some in stock in my fridge year round.

McDonald's is now promoting Shrek the Third with green straws, instead of their normal white ones. When I opened the straw for a second I just thought they ordered the incorrect color. Then I saw that McDonald's was also selling Shrek family dolls and Niel noticed they offer a green milkshake with chocolate in it as well. Plus they are selling little glasses with what else Shrek and the rest of the characters. Remember those little glasses? Haven't seen them in a while. McDonald's is really going all out with publicity for the movie.

Uch the weekends are passing by too quickly with the warmer weather. But at least the weather is enjoyable. Niel went golfing with Squilky this weekend. I'm glad they still know one another and get to hang out even with all the life changes. It's nice when people keep in touch. They had a good time and Niel got home on Sunday, a little earlier than originally planned. I hate that their weekend was cut short. But Niel and I had to take care of some errands together Sunday morning, we then relaxed the rest of the day by napping and watching some stuff we taped and had ordered on Netflix. Such as Pan's Labyrinth. It was very good, but not for children.

After work on Friday I ran some errands then went over to my parents to help my dad with his new laptop. That was futile but still got to spend time with my dad. Came home and did a little bit of housework. Saturday ran more errands in the morning, arrived back home in time to miss the rain. I watched a bit of stuff I had taped on the DVR as well as Music and Lyrics. I really like Hugh Grant. I find him charming. And it's just not his accent. He's funny. So I didn't mind Drew Barrymore too much. The movie was cute but the climatic scene wasn't so climatic. The arguing between the two of them wasn't very well written.

I can't believe the Ugly Betty season finale. It seemed so un Ugly Betty. Too many things going on. I didn't think every member of the cast needed to have their own cliff hanger. Aren't their ratings doing well? Don't the producers think people will tune in because they genuinely like the show? Is it just me who thinks Betty and Daniel will end up together? I also enjoyed the season finale of The Office very much. So very happy!

There are all these movies being released that look pretty neat but I probably won't see them all if any in the theater. I don't like the experience of going to the movies much anymore:Blades of Glory, Flushed Away, Marie Antoinette, Look Who's Getting Married, Stranger Than Fiction, Knocked Up, The Ex, High School Musical II(yay for it being on cable), Because I Said So, Shrek The Third, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Ocean's Thirteen, Fantastic Four and the Silver Surfer, Evan Almighty, Ratatouille, Transformers, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and The Simpsons Movie.

Did you also know it doesn't really matter how thin a person is because they can still have fat that is not visible on the outside?

Remember June 12 is the deadline to email me your recipes for Weekend Cook Book Challenge. Cornmeal is the main ingredient. Thanks.

I was in need of something that would hold my coupons. Something small enough to fit in my purse when I went grocery shopping. I had been looking for about a month before I found a useful as well cute one at Kmart. The company that makes them is Better Office. It folds over and has a bow to keep the coupons from falling out. I also like the variety of colors it came in. I chose a brown and moss color scheme. Though the site doesn't show the prettier ones I saw at the store.

I've been wanting to make freezer jam for a while now. Actually jam in general. But until I become brave enough to can I have freezer jam. I was just waiting to find pectin and some Ball's freezer plastic containers.

Well I finally found and made some this weekend. I just followed the instructions on the packet. I used strawberries. Freezer jam is very fresh tasting. Not really jammy but still good. Of course I gave some to our mom's.

Our local Baskin Robins offers two sundaes for the price of one on Tuesday evenings. I took advantge of this last night to drown out my sorrows with some pistacho ice cream as we watched the last episode of the Gilmore Girls. Sniff.

One of the Mother's Day presents to our mom's was home made. I made eye covers, so the sun doesn't bother them in the morning when they wake up. I found a pattern online and used a cafe fabric I thought was cute.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. Saturday we went to a Mets game. We had nice seats and it was good weather. They ended up losing but it was still fun. We had sat in a rowdy section and that made things interesting. Then like a dummy I deleted our pictures from the game. We have a lot of pictures from previous games, but I still felt bad for Niel. He said now it just gives us another reason to go to another game. Sunday took the mom's out to lunch at the same Cuban restaurant we went to last month. They make the best Mojitos. Niel and I then came home and watched Casino Royal. It was action packed as expected but not much of a story line. I also made a pineapple upside down cake. Tasty,

For some reason even though I have an oven now I have been cooking a lot of dishes on the stove top.

I had heard that Battlestar Galactica might only have one more season, but the executive producer says that is not true. I hope there will be more than one season. I really got into it. Sad to say George Lopez and Studio 60 are cancelled.

Don't forget June 11 is the deadline to email me with your recipes/post for Weekend Cookbook Challenge. Cornmeal is the main ingredient. Looking forward to seeing the recipes.

Speaking of food as usual here are some recipes I thought sounded good.


cake photo by Niel

A very Happy Mother's Day to family and friends who have and who are waiting for their children to come home!


MySpace Comments at GlitterBell.com

Sara from I Like To Cook has agreed to let me host Weekend Cook Book Challenge in June. I've participated in some other of the other WCBC's and thought it would be fun to host one. The main ingredient is cornmeal. If you are interested please send me an email with the recipe and that you have posted it on your blog. The deadline is June 11. I'm excited. For some inspiration here is a link to a previous cornmeal post as well as another link for recipes. Hope you will have as much fun with this as I am!




Photo from: http://www.williamsfamilyfarm.com

Marjane Satrapi's first children's book Monsters Are Afraid of The Moon has just been published in the US. It is about a little girl who is afraid of the dark so she takes matters into her own hands. A funny and clever book from a funny and clever author and illustrator.

Around Earth Day People magazine had an article about the Sharp family in California. They are a Green family. They are doing a large part to give back to the earth. The Sharps make their own compost from scraps from the dinner table for their garden(fruits and veggies), they don't use paper towels, grow plants which are drought tolerant and native to their area, cutting their lawn with a ergonomically designed hand mower, they make their own fuel and use solar panels. Though I'm not sure most people would do exactly as the Sharps have. I can say they are inspirational. Every little bit does helps such as shutting off lights in rooms you are not in, recycling, unplugging appliances or gadgets you don't use, using fluorescent light bulbs, use front load dryers, energy saving appliances and so on. We all can do our part.

Did you guys know that you can now find Martha Stewart Crafts at Michaels? Two creative giants now together! I'm pretty excited. Some of my favorites are the take away boxes and the ribbon holder.

Wasn't the weather this weekend lovely? Hope it was for you as well. Sunny but not overly warm.

Saturday morning I used Ina Garten's pancake/waffle mix to make some waffles. They came out well. Niel taped Strangers With Candy on cable, so we watched that. I'm a fan of Amy Sedaris and Stephen Colbert, but the movie could have been better.

Mid afternoon I went to a bridal shower, for a wedding we're attending in July and Niel is a part of. Everything was done well. Designed in the bride's colors of purple and green. The food was delicious. There was two different kinds of quiche, salmon and cream cheese on mini bagels, assortment of cheeses, pigs in a blanket, mini crab purses, a variety of soda and teas, finger sandwiches, coconut shrimp, bbq chicken, breaded chicken, potato salad, cookies, petite fours, and biscotti. Pretty much all of my favorites. I wish I ate more of it. LOL. The bride to be received some thoughtful and funny gifts. The favor was cute too. Little green teacups with purple tealight candles. Niel spent his afternoon going to the golf range and to Home Depot to pick up some new ceiling tiles. We have a drop ceiling in the living and bedrooms. He did a good job replacing them. Niel also showed me some cool comic books he purchased, since it was National Comic Book Day. Most were Battlestar Galactica. Heh heh.

Sunday we went to a local park where there was a Cinco De May festival. It was so crowded! The lines for food and stuff were so long. But it was such a gorgeous day, we expected it. Niel and I ate empanadas. The dough was nice, but the filling could have been tastier. We have tried better. Luckily it cost only $2 total. We also got some errands done and cleaning throughout the weekend.

On my lunch hour sometime during the work week I found some cute inexpensive tops for work & dressy occasions to wear during the warmer months. I'm unlucky with finding tops very easily so I was happy with my purchases. Plus the sleeves are puffed. Like Anne of Green Gables I love puffed sleeves.

Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader is getting all new children. Darn, no more Kyle.

The weather has been improving everyday, so on our less busy days my coworkers and I have lunch in the park together or just out to lunch instead of at our desks. It's been fun.

Thursdays night's episode of The Office had me laughing the entire way through. Normally it makes me smile or has me aching for Jam, but this time I couldn't stop laughing.

Niel purchased for me Tori Amos's latest album, American Girl Posse. I really like Big Wheel. Thanks again honey.

I noticed that the current JC Penny's commercial for Mothers Day is playing a cover of Yaz's Only You. The original is better.

I'm sure a lot of you have heard by now, but Gilmore Girls is not coming back. Next Tuesday is the last episode. I feel like so much is unresolved. I am going to miss that little town.

Happy Cinco De Mayo and National Comic Book Day!!

I came across a link for a recipe for Ziploc Omlet. What pray tell you ask is Ziploc Omelet? Well its an omelet cooked in a plastic bag. Boiled actually. It wasn't plasticy tasting, but it did take longer to cook. It was less greasy however I had to be careful the plastic didn't overlap on the edge of the pot and melt. It was fun to try but it was definitely a one time thing. You know cause of the whole cooking in a thin plastic bag is probably not good for a person on a regular basis.

I don’t know what it is about bacon, but I LOVE IT. Bacon is partly the reason why I couldn’t completely go vegetarian. You can eat bacon crunchy or a bit soft. Alone, with breakfast, in a sandwich, hugging a roast or a loaf of some sort. Bacon just rules. Ok except maybe maple flavored. But I even tolerated that with some pancakes. To me bacon should be salty. Besides American bacon, I have been lucky enough to find Canadian and Irish bacons as well. And now I can add rind on bacon to that list. Rind on is bacon with the skin still attached and takes longer to cook because it is so thick. I think rind on bacon works better as flavoring in a stew or sauce rather than a breakfast meat.

I finally tried Ina Garten's pancake/waffle mix that I got from Stephanie in April. Oh my goodness the pancakes were so delicious. They were so light and flavorful. Like eating cake. Flat tasty cakes. And the maple flavored bacon (which thank goodness we are threw with) tasted pretty good with the pancakes. Thanks again Steph!

As I've mentioned before I live in a partially Irish neighborhood. Most of my neighbors are first generation Irish. And to accommodate them, local supermarkets sell British and Irish products. I have mostly found a variety of meat products, but the other day I found Crumpets. I've heard a lot about the pancake like flat cake eaten at breakfast usually in the UK, but never had the opportunity to try it, till now. They look like an English muffin, but without the thick bottom or bready taste to it. Crumpets are sweet and soft all over. The only similarity is it also has bubbles on top. They are delicious with a pat of butter.