Riot and Frolic

I'm going to try posting this by email in an attempt to check off another item on one of my to-do lists. Thanks, Typepad, for adding to the long list of activities I try to postpone. (But really, thanks, your set-up is great.)

AND to follow through on my promise from yesterday, I'm going to share with you all of my amazing, quick, and amount-non-specific recipes. Yeah, there's only three, so don't get too excited.

Remember the caramel rolls? Mmmm, caramel rolls. My folks have made these bad boys for as long as I can remember every Christmas and Easter morning. I always thought they were labor-intensive. My ma and pa would stay up late the eve of whatever holiday, whipping up the caramel (Ma) and cutting up the dough (Pa). And we only got them twice a year, so they must be difficult and therefore quite a treat.

Turns out that they are rather foolproof and very easy. Hmph. Parents. Always tricking you.

Caramel Rolls

– 2 loaves of Rhodes sweet dough bread, thawed (It's in the freezer section. There's 3 loaves in a package, so I always buy two bags, then I can make 3 batches of treats. No, not all at one time! …  Well, sometimes.)

– one box of cook 'n' serve (NOT INSTANT!) butterscotch or vanilla pudding (I always use butterscotch, but to each his own. "Don't use instant pudding. And don't forget to put sunscreen on your ears and the top of your feet." – Ma)

– 1/2 cup of butter (That's one stick, people.)

– 3/4 c. brown sugar

Cut one loaf of bread into bite-sized pieces while you melt the goodness of the last three ingredients together in a pan. Put your little bread pieces in a greased 13"x9" pan. Pour 1/2 of the melted ingredients over that first cut-up loaf. Repeat with the second loaf and remaining goodness. Put it in the oven at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Generally, I make these for occasions to keep the tradition of assumed difficulty alive. But last week, I made them during the week. G helped. He really thought there was some trick that only I could do to make them turn out correctly. I was a little sad to let him in on the secret. Even if your caramel sauce looks weird, or your bite-sized pieces are almost the size of your head, or you let the bread rise too much, or you don't cook the rolls long enough, everyone will still eat them and think they are wonderful.

Remember the eggplant? Maybe you didn't know it was an eggplant, but let me tell you about eggplant: they are delicious.

About a year ago, I was being all healthy and trying to consume different and nutritious foods. This is a feat for me, because I
A) do not like vegetables.
B) do not like trying new things.

I'm one of those people who goes to a restaurant and orders the same thing every time- St. Clair Broiler= tuna melt, Manning's Cafe= patty melt, any Thai place= red curry, any Indian place= chicken mahkani, etc.

Anyhow, I heard eggplant is good for you and had always liked the sound of eggplant parmesan. That's not what I made, but I'd still like to try it. After reading some scary description of how to prepare an eggplant (ex.- it tends to be bitter, so soak it in salt water for an hour and then pat it dry), I cubed it, put some salt on it, and threw it on the grill. It was good. So good, that I bought another eggplant.

G had the brilliant idea of throwing it in a pan with some olive oil, salt and pepper, and frying it. Wow. I'm pretty sure that's why I married him.

Fried eggplant is now my delicious, semi-nutritious, go-to meal. Check it out:

Fried Eggplant

– an eggplant

– olive oil

– salt and pepper

Heat up a pan with a good amount of olive oil in it (let's say 2 T or so). Throw your slices of eggplant in the pan and cook them, turning them over a couple times. I like mine pretty brown, almost burnt, but I hear they're good just heated through, also.

I like to have some marinara handy to dip them in, but they are rockin' plain. V thinks they are awesome, so I must earn points for that.

Okay, last but not least, the greatest salad of all time. I eat this for breakfast a lot.

Rainbow Salad

– spinach

– strawberries

– blueberries

– mandarin oranges

– poppyseed dressing

Combine all the ingredients to the proportions of your liking. It is a very aesthetically pleasing plate, so it's great for serving at parties if you're looking for a healthy fruit/salad option. I've never known anyone not to like it.

I hope this whole email post doohickey works. The pictures might be ginormous. There's no links. But there is this: