So far, I’ve made cake, but I didn’t eat any. (It was after 7 p.m., and I can’t eat then.) I had to try it making it, though. Success!

The pizza sandwiches are the hands-down best. Served with a side of warm sauce, it’s pizza in five minutes! Success!

Eggs were the most fun to eat. Success! (See above.) The one food item I’ll have to tinker with is the 5-minute-a-day bread dough. It made satisfactory dipping bread for stew, but not bread that I’d want to eat on it’s own. (Too dense.) Semi-Fail

I feel so futuristic eating my food in triangle form. What’s next - a hovercraft?

For snack the other day we were given graham crackers, marshmallow creme, and chocolate chips. We could have just eaten them separately, or had crunchy bits in a s’more-type sandwich, but I chose to show the children (booming voice) The Power Of The Sun and left the chocolate on the windowsill to melt it. This lesson can also be learned by (booming voice) Leaving A Snickers In A Hot Car.

But it is yummy in my tummy.

The Orange Juice is a dollar more than at the Wal*Marts.

The whole reason for this worm pondering is that Lloyd doesn’t want me collecting scraps in a container on the counter until I get around to taking them on the long walk across the yard to the ‘compost pile‘. That’s a problem because I am NOT walking a single banana peel across the yard when it’s dark outside. There are jibblie things out there, like vampires. So, this morning I came up with a multi-tasker solution. I have a gravy separator that gets used once in a never, so now it lives in the trash can, like Oscar, and I can walk the scraps out to the pile at my leisure. In full, safe daylight.

While Lloyd was at choir today, I drove around looking for a grocery store that carries Jiffy Devil’s Food cake mix. (Every so often I have a hankering for chocolate cake, and my homemade cakes are not reliable.) Every store I’ve visited only has yellow or white, along with their cornbread & muffin mixes. I’ve searched the internet but shipping costs ($17) would be prohibitive, since I’d have to buy a whole case ($21). I went to the Russ’s Market on 27th & Washington – no dice.

On my way to the gigantic Hy-Vee I took some side streets and stumbled upon Leon’s. This place was great! I would have taken pictures inside but I felt foolish. It’s small and homey, but had lots of extravagant foodie items. A sliver of super-aged cheddar cheese was $5 / $22 a pound. Yikes! They had lots of interesting cake mixes from all kinds of specialized companies, but only white and yellow Jiffy mix. I bought a jar of raspberry preserves so I would have a souvenir. This is the real purpose of this post – so I can remember where it is. On South street, turn south on Wintrop, just west of 33rd.

Next stop – the giant Hy-Vee. Same story with the cake mix, but I did get to help a lady who bemoaned to her cell phone, “I’m at the biggest Hy-Vee in the world and I can’t find the bouquet!” Thanks to Beth’s post, I knew what that was and helped her find it.

Super Saver, nothing. Not even white and yellow cake mix.

On our way out of town, we stopped at that place on Cornhusker right before you hit Highway 34. (I forgot the name.) Score!

How sad is it that buying cake mix makes me so happy?

I love Italian dressing so much.  If they put it in a pop-top can I’d probably drink it.  I was going to eat an avocado drenched in I.D.* for dinner, but Annette called and we went out for burgers at R.O.’s.  We saw the Pester family there!  Anyway, I struggled all evening not to eat the avocado anyway, but it is 9:04 and I have caved.

In other news, I hope to get into Lincoln and get a haircut sometime soon.  Any hair suggestions would be appreciated.  (Maybe in photo form?  I’m looking for something above shoulder-length, long layers.)

(*I’m going Rachel Ray with this – like EVOO.  Think it will catch on?)

Anyway, I made that vinegar-sugar pickle stuff with this cucumber, and this time I used the jazzy little cutter that’s for crinkle fries.  It makes everything more fun to eat!  The vinegar stuff was a little off tonight, though.  I never measure for this – a splash of vinegar, a splash of water, a shake of sugar, salt & pepper.  If I cough when I eat it, it has too much vinegar (add more sugar to fix). So I’m sure you all must have a version of this favorite.  Share it so I can stop coughing.

I’ve decided to change careers. I’m done teaching – instead I want to be one of those ladies who sits around eating yogurt all day, comparing it to everything else in life. “This is better than (verb) (adjective) (noun/situation) good.” You know what I’m talking about? The two who obviously have some sort of ‘flavoring’ in that yogurt?

To have a successful audition, I’m going to need some good lines, so help me out. How good is this yogurt? Is it ‘better than skating with Tonya Harding good’? ‘Better than smelling frying bacon good’? Help! Multiple suggestions are welcome.

Anyway, I saw these at Wal-Mart and got all excited:

I could make my own little ones! Pack ‘em with Breyers and even sprinkle on some nuts if desired! But wait – just look at the insides of these:

Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! They are NOT fully lined in chocolate. Drumstick’s interior chocolate coating means there is absolutely no chance for the cone to get soggy. Grrrrr… waste of $2.07. Stupid Keebler elves.

Instead, wrap them in plastic wrap and let them sit in the freezer for a couple of days. The ice cream will firm up, the cookies will soften, and they will comfort you right before you go to bed.

Along those lines, chocolate chip cookies make a good s’more, too. (Or so I’m told. I just made them around a campfire once at the Sommerer family reunion. I don’t eat marshmallows, so I wouldn’t know.)

Today, I stopped in a regular grocery store in Lincoln and they had the same flour for half the price. *sigh*

Yep. Individual cups of marinated fish, ready to enjoy as a quick meal or snack – enjoy them alone or toss them on salads! (Thank you, www.chickenofthesea.com.) Oh, yuck. This was all Lloyd’s idea. The first one he tried was the honey barbeque one. The only three words worse than President Hilary Clinton are Honey Barbeque Salmon. He smelled it and turned visibly pale. He did actually eat the mandarin orange salmon. I pronounced my tiny bite, “Not as gross as I thought it would be.” I imagine the tuna will be better, but I’m not wild about teryaki or cajun. Hey, at least it’s not cheeseburger in a can!

Lloyd prefers to eat his cheese-covered carbohydrates by pairing it with more carbohydrates dipped in a blasphemous cream-cheese-and-salsa mixture. (Looks gross, tastes great.)

It’s here!  It’s here!  I ordered a brownie pan from Bakers Edge that makes all sides and corners!!!!  I’ve had brownie mix on standby for days, and today the pan finally arrived!!  I know this news won’t excite all you ‘gooey middles’ people, but I love the edges of brownies.   So tough and chewy…mmm….   Unfortunately I was too anxious to get this batch out of the oven, so they turned out a little softer than I would have liked.  (I wanted crunchy!)

They have other recipes, too.  Lloyd’s most excited about doing lasagna (layers stay stacked), and I’m curious to try to roast something – you put the veggies in the bottom and put the roast on the top.  Crazy!

 

By itself, jerky might not seem like an ideal way to start the day, but wash it down with a pear and you’ve got the perfect morning meal. But make sure you get the order correct. It’s jerky then pear. The other way around is too thirsty.

(*This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.) 

(I did not make that up.)

During the winter months (well, perhaps during all months) I become a hermit.  I don’t like going anywhere, I don’t like doing anything -  I like staying home and hanging out with my friends on t.v. (Ahh…the good life.) However, we were slowly consuming all the supplies at home, and needed more food.  Now, in the Hermit’s Code, it says that we have to hate grocery shopping.  (True ‘dat.) 

We usually shop at Sam’s Club every three months or so to stock up.  Yesterday I drove all the way into Lincoln to run some errands – get some pants, look at clearance coats, and buy groceries.  As I pulled up to the first store, I realized I left my wallet at home.  ARRRGGHH! Luckily Lloyd was still at school, so I asked if he could meet me to bring his ATM card. Whew.  Disaster avoided.

Things went pretty smoothly, except I was nervous paying for my pants.  What if this was some weird store that made you sign for the purchase instead of punching in the PIN number?  My hand shook, but….. Hallelujah!  “Please enter your 4-digit code.”

I confidently drove out to Sam’s, and scoped out the parking lot, choosing a stall that was close to a cart corral, since I was going to be buying a full, and I mean FULL load.  As I got out of the car, I reached for my wallet to get the Sam’s super-decoder entrance card…. “ARRRRRGGHHHHH!!!!! I DON’T HAVE MY WALLET!” I screamed to the sky, scaring the people walking to their vehicles.  I consoled myself by saying that I’d just go blow that gift card to Bed, Bath and Beyond…WHICH WAS IN MY WALLET!  I called Lloyd to cry about it.  He said, “Just go into Sam’s anyway - they can look you up.”  “Idiot.” I replied, ”I have no way of proving WHO I AM.  I’m sure this is all your fault.”  (That’s the best way to end an arguement – hands down.)

Anyway, long story short, here are the groceries I bought today.