Trader Joe’s Gingerbread

Ginger is one of my favorite flavors.

One day, while walking through Trader Joe’s, they had samples of this gingerbread.  It can be made in a loaf pan (as I made it), in a cake pan or you can make cookies from it.

Trader Joe’s Gingerbread Cake & Baking Mix

I like it because it doesn’t have very many ingredients to add to it, i.e. 1 egg, 1/3 cup vegetable oil and 3/4 cup water.  Besides it being tasty, it is easy to make.

Trader Joe’s Gingerbread Cake & Baking Mix

The mix is light brown and is not lumpy.  

Trader Joe’s Gingerbread Cake & Baking Mix

Once all of the ingredients are blended together, the batter is smooth and looks a chocolatey dark brown.  You can really smell the ginger!

Trader Joe’s Gingerbread Cake & Baking Mix

I poured my batter (mix) in a loaf (bread) pan as I didn’t have a cake pan.  The recipe calls for an 8x8x2 pan but you can use a loaf (bread) pan also.  If you decide to use a loaf (bread) pan, it will take longer to bake as the mix will be denser so after the initial 30 minutes, make sure you keep your eye on the bread.  A toothpick or knife inserted in the middle of the mix should come out clean when you test it.

Trader Joe’s Gingerbread Cake & Baking Mix

The final product looks and tastes good.  

Although I prefer to make my food from scratch, occasionally I like to make something that’s quick and tasty to supplement another meal.  This one fits perfectly with a good soup or eaten by itself.
Enjoy!

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Creamy Potato Soup

This creamy potato soup is really good.

I originally started with a recipe from Betty Crocker but after reading the reviews on that recipe that said it was bland, I decided to use the basic ingredients and enhance it  on my own.  The original recipe also called for a blender which I didn’t have so I used a potato masher instead.
Partial ingredients for creamy potato soup

I doubled the ingredients because I knew we would probably have more than one bowlful.

10 medium red potatoes, rinsed, peeled and cut up in small chunks
2 medium celery stalks, chopped
1 chopped carrot
1 cup of half and half (the original recipe called for milk)
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
3 green onions, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
-Put potatoes, celery and carrot in a large pot with water to just cover them.
-Boil for about 25 minutes until all is tender.
-Without throwing the water away, take a cup and remove about half of the ingredients from the pot and place them in a bowl so that you can mash them up.
Mash away.
Place the ingredients back in the pot with the other ingredients that you left there.
Add the half and half, salt, pepper and mustard along with the green onions.
Stir all.  
Creamy potato soup – use larger chunks of potato, to your taste
Creamy potato soup
Heat everything through for at least a half hour so that all the flavors are blended.

I like the flavor of mustard and 2 teaspoons was not overpowering for me.  If you prefer to leave the mustard out, you can add a different flavor that you like.  Some people add garlic, cilantro, parsley, thyme — the choice is yours to please your palate.

This goes great with gingerbread.

Enjoy!

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Minnesota Weather

It’s -14 degrees here in Woodbury, Minnesota.

New Minnesotans, such as myself, were reminded that it only takes 10 minutes to get hypothermia in this weather.  It’s enough to make one stay inside.  Yet even inside, my bones feel chilled.  I can’t seem to get warm this morning even with a long sleeve thermal shirt and a sweater.

Touching the cold computer makes me colder.

We expect a high of 6 degrees today.

Time to make some soup.

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Coleslaw

I have never been a fan of coleslaw made by Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) or store bought that sometimes is too dry.

So, I decided to try a recipe by Betty Crocker.  I have to admit, this is supposed to be a “light” recipe but I forgot to buy the “light” ingredients.
The ingredients are as follows:
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon celery seed (I used celery salt)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 medium head cabbage (shredded or chopped)
1 small carrot (about 1/2 cup)
1 small onion (about 1/4 cup)
Mix all ingredients except for the cabbage, carrot and onion.

Add remaining ingredients and toss until it’s well coated then refrigerate for approximately 1 hour.

(Note:  If you use the onion in this recipe, I’d use a sweet onion or less onion — otherwise it has too strong of an onion taste.)Enjoy!

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Minnesota Weather

We’re supposed to wake up to -11 degrees tomorrow morning with a possible windchill of -20 to -30 degrees.

A wee bit cold.  It’s kind’ve funny how the body adjusts to the weather.  I walk outside and it’s 7 degrees, sunny and it feels good.  Of course, I don’t stay out for hours at a time, or even very many minutes.  (laughs)

I do wonder if my frozen face (the only thing not covered when I go outside) will have permanent wrinkles or if they will slowly fade away once spring arrives.  I can only hope for the fading.

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Yogurt

For many years, I have looked for a good yogurt.

Yogurt has “friendly” bacteria that is good for digestion.  I have not found very friendly yogurt though.  I have found yogurt that is sour, liquidy or too sweet (even with the fresh berries inside).
One yogurt called Activia actually made me sick.  I received a coupon in the mail and decided (at the time)  since it was a new product, I would try it.  
I ate the whole container and then became sick.  It felt like I had the flu.  After a couple hours, the feeling passed but I never forgot the experience.  I threw out the other 2 containers.
Imagine my surprise then to find a yogurt called Stonyfield here in Woodbury.  I can eat this every day.  
The texture is smooth, almost like pudding, and it is neither too sweet nor too sour.  And they also have my favorite flavor — mango.
Stonyfield Yogurt

In addition to yogurt having friendly bacteria, most have potassium, magnesium, B-12 and calcium.

Finally — a yogurt I can appreciate.

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Minnesota Weather

Minnesota weather is really rather interesting.

Before moving here, I was told that Minnesota has a “dry” cold.  Not sure what that meant exactly.

Now I do.  It is very dry.  Scratch, scratch, scratch.  I feel itchy all over sometimes.  It’s important to stay hydrated and using a good lotion is also important.

We use CeraVe — also recommended by Dr. Oz for dry skin.

CeraVe

Another interesting tidbit — chapstick is sold in 3’s instead of the usual 1 like what I’m used to seeing in Seattle.  I’m sure you can find a single one but every time I’ve looked, they have sold them in a pack of 3.

ChapStick

My asthma has not kicked in yet either.  Good news as I thought for sure I’d be spending a lot of time in the emergency room.  My breath has only been “taken away” once since I’ve been here and I haven’t had to use an inhaler to stop its continuance.  I simply put a warm glove over my mouth until I arrived at a warm place.

I just need to stay out of the cold north winds and then I’m fine.

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The Past

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”  George Santayana, from The Life of Reason, Vol 1, 1905

Reading the words above make me realize how “not in the past” I am living.  Even though it is good to remember our past, we need to make sure not to repeat the wrong decisions we made.  We all have growth as we get older.

And older I am.  I still have spontaneous moments when I want to dance in the rain, scream at the top of my lungs and roll down a hill (hopefully missing any dog poop on the way down).  laughs


“They” say, and I’m not sure who they are, that people get stuck at a certain age.  It matters not how many years old they are.  What matters is what age their brain gets stuck at.

I’m still stuck somewhere in my 20’s.  Maturity at age 25.  Seems like an oxymoron.  Not too many people are mature at that age.  They are still searching for themselves (as are some people at 50).

Yet, the body knows it’s not 25 and so there are limits to what one can do in spite of what one may want to do.  Still, being older and having a youthful mind is not so bad.

 

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Paninos Restaurant in North Oaks, Mn

Paninos is an Italian restaurant located in North Oaks, Minnesota at the Village Center.

Paninos Restaurant in North Oaks, Minnesota

We stumbled upon this restaurant after looking at houses late in the evening.

The restaurant was well lit and we were greeted well when we entered.  It has tables and booths and a relaxed atmosphere.  Murals are on the walls throughout the establishment.

Mural on wall of Paninos Restaurant in North Oaks, Mn

Mural on wall of Paninos Restaurant in North Oaks, Mn

The garlic bread did not really taste like garlic although the presentation was good.

Garlic Bread at Paninos Restaurant 

We had an appetizer for one of our entrees called the Cracker Pizza.  The crust was thin as expected.  Just the right amount of cheese and ground beef.  The crust was a little soft since we expected a crunchier crust due to the name “cracker” pizza.

Cracker Pizza at Paninos Restaurant

The second entree was the cavatappi bolognese.  It was okay.  We probably could have made this better at home.

Cavatappi Bolognese
Overall, it was a good dining experience.
Paninos is located at 857 Village Center Dr in North Oaks, Minnesota.

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