TERRIFIC TOY DAY

Well an EARLY morning HI THERE to all my friends out there in blogspot land! How are you doing today? I’m good really. I got up early to get a drink and now I can’t get back to sleep so I decided to come and write to all of you! So what do you have planned for today?



We ended up going to the 10am showing of the new movie Toy Story and let me admit, it wasn’t all bad. Here is Alex outside the theater in front of the poster. If not for the glare on the glass, I would say that it looked like the toys were right behind him LOL!



After the movie, which was surprisingly quiet BTW, he wanted a “Bullseye” toy. See he has all the Toy Story characters at home with the exception of like 2 or 3 and then the new ones from the movie today. So we searched high and low, left and right… gave up and went to Toys R Us where he had part of a gift card left and luckily found the ONLY flippin bullseye in the whole county it had to be! But he’s happy and it was HIS day… LOL!



After the movie and toy shopping, my little Toy Story junkie got a case of the munchies. So we took our coupons and headed to Jack-in-the-Box and he and DD had some lunch. You gotta love BOGO coupons LOL…



When we got home finally, I gave him the Toy Story bag I had made him and filled with Toy Story goodies. He opened it up and looked at all the stuff and then gave me a big hug and said “I love you mom” and put it back in the bag and said “It’s lovely” LOL! I’ve never heard him say that before so we were laughing quite loudly LOL!



Oh, a little off the beaten path, but I have to show you what I found in the garden this morning as a big surprise waiting for me... not a bug... not a bee... but this pretty pumpkin blossom! Could it be that we are going to get a pumpkin out of this plant yet? My giant pumpkin plant is not doing as well, sadly. But maybe for DD's sake, this one will fruit!

We found a little hole in the wall resale shop on the way home and we stopped. I found an old monopoly game for 50 cents so I got that and some zippers for a nickel a piece, so I picked up a few of those. I got big plans for the monopoly stuff, but I can’t tell ya yet! Maybe I will get to it today LOL!

OK so while I was at JIB with the kids and using the ketchup packets, it got me to thinking about a comment we got awhile back about expiring condiments. Then I was thinking about pantry items, etc. and THEIR expiry dates… and then what do I find on yahoo? Yep perfect timing with an article about things in your cupboard and spring cleaning your pantry. SO I wanted to bring these tips and articles to you today!

When do things in the Cupboard go bad?
By Real Simple Magazine

Surprising expiration dates for 3 baking staples. You make your famously flaky piecrust only once a year, so you want to be sure the ingredients are at their peak. But when it comes to evaluating the freshness of flour and other dry baking ingredients, the proverbial sniff test doesn't cut it. Here's when to refresh your baking staples.

By Stacey Colino

Flour
To prevent pests, replace white flour once a year if it has been stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Whole-wheat and other whole-grain flours should be replaced every six months because they contain oils that can turn, says Mary Ellen Camire, a professor of food science and human nutrition at the University of Maine, in Orono. Whole-grain flour can become bitter after a few weeks. To prevent this, place it in the freezer in an airtight container immediately after bringing it home from the store, says P.J. Hamel, a test-kitchen baker for King Arthur Flour, in Norwich, Vermont, and replace it after
six months.

Sugar
You won't need to replace sugar for two years or longer, because "it's fairly indestructible," Camire says. Brown sugar, which can be softened by microwaving it for 15 seconds, is more perishable- replace it within a year. Keep both in airtight, moisture-proof containers.

Leaveners
Replace baking powder by the use-by date printed on the can. Baking soda should be replaced within a year if it's opened, two if unopened. Both react with moisture and become less stable over time, so store them in a cool, dry place- not the refrigerator. If you use these ingredients when they're old, your cookies won't rise properly or have the right texture, says Hamel. And don't use the box of baking soda that has been in the refrigerator absorbing odors; it can affect the taste of the foods you bake.

Spring clean your pantry: Toss this, keep that
By Sarah McColl

If the pantry shelves are home to a half-eaten bag of Halloween candy and spice jars that smells like dust, it's time for a little pantry spring cleaning. Even if you keep a well-edited kitchen, it's good to survey what's lurking on those shelves. Here's a guide to what needs to find a new home in the trash can and what can stay.

Toss It: Trans Fats
Sometimes you want to geek out and know the exact reason why something is bad for you, so here's the deal with trans fats: they are made in an industrial process by adding hydrogen to vegetable oils in order to extend the shelf life of processed foods you might have in your pantry. Companies love them because they're cheap and easy. You don't need them, though, because they raise your "bad" (LDL) cholesterol and lower your "good" (HDL) cholesterol, increasing your risk of developing heart disease. And did you know that's the number one killer of American women? Go ahead and toss anything in your pantry that lists partially hydrogenated oils in the ingredients and be mindful of it on ingredients lists on future grocery runs.

Keep It: Grains
If you've stored your all-purpose flour in an air-tight container in a cool, dry place, definitely hang on to it. Barley, bulgur, couscous, cornmeal, quinoa, pasta, and rice are all keepers, too. In fact, they are indispensable weapons in the battle to get dinner on the table fast. One exception to this rule is whole wheat flour. It has natural oils that make it spoil faster, so if you haven't been storing it in the refrigerator and it's more than several months old, best to start from fresh with a new bag.

Toss It: Expired Baking Staples
That box of baking soda in the fridge? It has an expiration date on it, after which the active properties that make baked goods rise and clean your counters naturally are less effective. Same with baking powder. If they've expired, spring for new baking soda and powder so you don't have any disappointing baking disasters. Nuts will also go rancid kept in the pantry, so toss those, buy what you need fresh, and keep them in the freezer to extend their life.

Keep It: Canned Goods
Those nights when you're even more time-pressed than usual, a couple cans of beans and tomatoes combined with a whole grain can make a healthy meal on the fly. Hang on to canned fish like salmon, sardines, anchovies, and flaked light tuna packed in water for a quick sandwich or fish cakes. Canned beans like chickpeas, black beans, and kidney beans should stay, as well as tomatoes in many of their canned forms: paste, diced, stewed, and sauce. Other canned vegetables aren't quite as ideal, as their texture can leave something to be desired and their nutritional content wanes over time. Better to stock fruits and veggies in the freezer that were picked and frozen at their peak.

Toss It: High Fructose Corn Syrup
High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a shelf-stable sweetener found in many of our pantry staples including soft drinks, juices, and processed foods. Some claim HCFS is partly responsible for the obesity epidemic, noting that it may promote weight gain by behaving in the body more like fat than glucose (the blood sugar in other sweet foods). Some evidence also suggests that fructose may disturb liver function, and unlike glucose, doesn't appear to trigger the switch that tells us we're full -- meaning we can eat a lot of HFCS in everything from salad dressings, bread, and ketchup without even knowing it. And we haven't even addressed the environmental effects of growing vast crops of corn that deplete the soil and require pesticides and fertilizer. Whether you buy that it's "all-natural" or not, a lot of evidence seems to point to tossing this out of your pantry.

Keep It: Healthy Oils
Because you probably cook with it every night, chances are your cooking oils are fresh enough to keep. Stored in a cool, dark place, olive oil will last several months. Light and heat are what will make this go rancid, so tuck it away in the pantry rather than leaving it in a clear bottle next to the stove.Neutral cooking oils like canola and vegetable oil have an even longer shelf life (but you should toss them if they're more than a year old). Move toasted sesame oil for Asian cooking into the fridge to keep it from going bad.

Alrighty, now I can say I have the craft bug today, but what I can’t say is what I plan to make… partly cause I don’t have a clue LOL! BUT I do know that Father’s Day is coming up this weekend and you might need a great idea for a gift, so that’s what I am offering you today! There are lots of great things you could do for Dad… a grilling/bbq gift basket, a survival kit, fishing stuff, hunting, or whatever Dad may be into. He may like cookie bouquets, or he may like Kindle or other electronic gadgets. Only YOU know your dad, so put a little effort into him and make his day.



Craft Idea of the Day: Father's Day Beer Mug

Supplies:

1 glass beer mug
1 large bag of butterscotch candies
10 large marshmallows
cellophane and ribbon

Instructions:

Take glass beer mug (I bought one at Walmart for $2.87) fill 2/3 of the way up with the butterscotch candies ($1.00 at Walmart). Fill remaining area in mug and a little higher with marshmallows.

Wrap in cellophane and wrap with ribbon. I left unwrapped so you could see detail.

By Carol from Massachusetts

Ok now it’s that time again… some more Luau favorites! I know not everyone is a fish lover, so today I am bringing you some fish and some chicken that will hopefully have you hula-ing all the way to food heaven! Try them on for size… Eat & Enjoy!



Lomi Lomi Salmon

Lomi means massage in Hawaiian and you'll see how that name applies to this recipe.

Ingredients:

8 oz. salted salmon filet
fresh tomatoes, peeled and diced
1 medium Maui onion or any mild onion (substitute 3-4 thinly sliced green onions)

Preparation:

This is the most basic recipe for Lomi Lomi Salmon. Additional ingredients can be added based on personal taste.

Wash hands thoroughly. Shred the salmon into small pieces with your hands. Add onions and tomotoes.

Massage this mixture with your hands until all ingredients are broken up and thoroughly mixed. Chill. (You can actually add 6-8 ice cubes and chill.)

If you can only find unsalted salmon, rub the salmon with rock or kosher salt and let stand overnight. Rinse thorougly and soak in cold water for at least one hour, changing the water several times. Also, lox can be substituted for fresh salmon if you cannot locate a salted salmon filet or do not wish to salt your own.



Huli-Huli Chicken

Hawaii's own version of barbecued chicken is cooked with Huli-Huli Sauce (made with pure Hawaiian brown sugar cane along with soy sauce, fresh ginger and more).

Variation 1

Ingredients:

4-5 lbs chicken pieces
1/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons sherry
1 piece ginger root, crushed
1 clove garlic, crushed

Preparation:

Combine ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar, sherry, ginger root, and garlic. Stir well.

Place chicken, skin side up, on the rack of broiler pan about 6 inches from the heat or preferably on an outdoor grill.

Baste the chicken frequently and continue broiling or grilling for about 10 minutes on each side or until chicken appears done.

Variation 2

Courtesy of Local Kine Recipes. University of Hawaii.

INGREDIENTS:

3 broken fryers, split or quartered
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup shoyu (Japanese soy sauce)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup white wine
1/4 cup frozen pineapple juice concentrate.
pinch of fresh or dried ginger.
drop or two of Worcestershire sauce.

PREPARATION:

Mix ingredients in bowl, brush over chicken pieces. Grill over barbecue, turning and basting with sauce until it is done (about 40 minutes).

Note: Huli-Huli sauce can also be purchased pre-made in bottled form and many supermarkets.

Notice how these foods repeat the names just like yesterday? Mahi Mahi, Lomi Lomi, and Huli Huli? What’s up with that? LOL! It’s Funny Funny LMAO! Anyway, I am gonna get off here and go find some trouble to get into LOL! Maybe some sewing, maybe some… oh IDK… just SOMETHING LOL! I’ll see you tomorrow ok? HUGS!