Spinning Fruit

I'd been looking for a small salad spinner to dry a single-sized salad portion. I swear, the one I was using could dry a whole package of Costco romaine at one time.

I found the perfect spinner at Ikea for under $3. Last night I used it to dry lettuce, today, strawberries.

White Egg Thingy

My auntie uses pair of cheap wooden ohashi to remove the chalaza, the white thing that keeps the yolk in the center of the egg (it actually is not an embryo). It really works!

Mom's Baking A Pie!

I get a lot of inspiration from my mother; yesterday she baked an apple pie.

My grandmother taught her to roll out pie crust dough between two pieces of wax paper, and generously flour, to keep everything from sticking together. I would add one more step and outline the pie pan on the top sheet of wax paper, to get the basic shape.

The lattice topping didn't turn out quite the way mom wanted it to, but it was delicious all the same!

Down to the Last Drop

A few years ago, my Aunty Carole gave me a really cool spoon rest. Normally, I use it to hold a spoon above a pot on the stove, but today I'm using it to drain the last drops of oil out of a measuring cup.

Duo Pie Carrier

This year I offered to make pumpkin pies for our family gathering at my uncle's house. With delicate crusts and "wet" fillings, I was afraid that transportation might be a problem. Luckily, my husband came up with a fabulous idea for carrying both pies in a giant cake carrier (the only carrier I have). Here is the order from the bottom up:

1. carrier bottom

2. nonslip pad

3. pie

4. microwave food cover

5. nonslip pad

6. pie

7. top of carrier

It worked PERFECTLY!!!

Apple Fruit bowl

I started packing half an apple in my son's lunches; whole ones always came back home uneaten. I found that using a table spoon to scoop out the core was a lot easier, and safer, than a knife.

I added fruit and raisins to spice it up a bit.

Bread Bag

I love the idea of reusable gift bags. I made some for Christmas last year and love to see how people reuse them.

I recently baked up yummy banana bread for a friend. I made a simple bread bag using an old sheet and ribbon.

The best thing is, it's washable.

Pancakes!

My son and I love to eat pancakes. "Pancakes for dinner" is our special meal when dad works late.

I use an old coffee pot to mix all the ingredients together.

The handle and the spout make it easy to pour without getting drops all over the stove and glass makes clean up a breeze.

Maki Sushi Cupcakes

This summer, I wanted to make something special for a potluck lunch. I found a blog about making sushi cupcakes. I love how she packaged them in take out bento boxes and ohashi - awesome!

Ingredients:

Cake Mix

White Sprinkles (I couldn't find the kind in the original blog)

Swedish Fish

Oreo Cookies

Cream Cheese Frosting

I made a sheet cake and cut out small cylinders. I spread cream cheese frosting on the side of the cylinder then rolled it in crushed Oreo Cookies (to simulate nori). I spread cream cheese on the top then dipped it into a bowl of the sprinkles. I added sliced Swedish Fish for garnish and put them in a Bento Stack Box. They were a big hit.

Organic Peanut Butter

Several years ago I switched to organic peanut butter. The first couple of times I attempted to use a knife to mix it in the jar, but that made a huge mess with oil oozing over the sides.

It's simple enough...empty the jar into a large bowl and mix it with a wooden spoon. It should only take a couple of minutes until it becomes smooth and creamy. Return the peanut butter back into the jar. You can use a spatula to scrape off the sides of the bowl, but I prefer to use a piece of chocolate.