itty bitty fish

Many thanks to my friend [and neighbor], David, who provided me with this recipe and brought over fresh mint from his garden so I could make it! It is delightfully refreshing, and so simple. Also, you can get everything you need at your local farmer’s market. The ingredients are watermelon, feta cheese and fresh [chopped] mint.

After cutting the watermelon into small squares, I tossed it with the mint leaves. When serving, I tossed in the feta. Onefish decided he liked his without the feta, but thought mint with his melon was magnificent.

I’ve been in love with this itty bit of silicone since I first saw it at A.C. Moore a couple months ago. So, I jumped at the chance to make their Halloween treats for onefish’s preschool class so a) I had an excuse to buy it and b) so I could make delicious, cute treats for onefish and his class. I used an orange cake mix [if you have a good "from scratch" recipe you want to share, please do] and turned the little guys over right out of the oven so their wee faces [on the bottom of the muffins] didn’t get smooshed.

After they were completely cool, I covered their tops with vanilla icing so the kids could decorate them with sprinkles. They turned out delicious, and [I was told] they were a hit with the kids. Now I have to figure out what I’m going to do for their snacks week after next…

Not the b00bies. The bakeware. I love it. Silicone cups are wonderful for separating foods and flavors in bento boxes, but you can also use them to serve snacks [to the bitty ones or as mixed nut cups]. My favorite use for them, however, is actually, well… baking.

You cook at a lower temperature and for less time; saving energy and patience. And, you can bake healthy muffins in appealing wrapping. But the best part is that wrapping is recyclable! What’s not to love?

Things I have learned while attempting to make my first angel food cake:

* Do not lick the beaters. Raw egg whites are not so yummy. Even with lots of sugar in the mix.
* Do not cook the cake the suggested 37 – 47 minutes. Mine burned [slightly] at 25 minutes.
* Even [slightly] burned angel food cake tastes… off.
* Turn it upside down on a bottle immediately or your cake will fall.
* Wine bottles are too big for the standard angel food cake pan.
* Even if you ignore all of the above, your husband will [probably] still eat the entire cake.

I will be attempting Operation Angel Food: Part II later today.

As this was my week to do snacks for onefish’s preschool class, I decided to make my [itty bitty kitty] honey waffles. I also made some banana flowers. You know, just in case someone didn’t want waffles.

What I didn’t plan on was how long it would take me to make an entire class-worth of [itty bitty kitty] waffles. Prepping and mixing [which I did the night before] only took about 15 min, but the actual cooking of the waffles was about an hour in the morning. It takes 4+ minutes to cook each batch of 4 [itty bitty kitty] waffles, and then about a couple minutes to take them out and refill. And, I made over 30 waffles each day. Both days, the plate came back like this:

The first day the plate came back completely empty, I was worried I hadn’t made enough waffles for the kids, but the teachers exchanged a slightly impish, knowing glance and admitted they had finished what was left over. I also overheard some of the kids talking their parents about the waffles. So, yeah… totally worth the effort.

I made some fun french toast this morning using my two-hearts sandwich cutter. I had to shred them into smaller bits for twofish, but the lack of crust made it much easier for her to chew them. These made perfect hand-sized snacks for onefish later in the day. [Side note: handle the bread gently as it tears easily without the crusts once it's been soaked in the egg mixture.]

~ 6 large eggs
~ 3/4 cup whole milk
~ 3 tablespoons sugar
~ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
~ 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
~ dash of salt
~ About 12 hearts [six slices] of Trader Joe’s Texas Toast [but any bread will do]
~ Canola Harvest butter [I get those massive tubs - LOVE the stuff!] for the frying pan/griddle
~ Powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar to top [optional]

I cooked these just a touch over medium heat so they didn’t get burned. The bitty fish loved these with cinnamon sugar on top [shocker, huh?], and bluefish liked his with maple syrup. I really need to get some different shapes of crust cutters, as they leave very little waste. And, if you make a little bit more egg mix, you can soak the crusts and cook them up, as well.

There are so many combinations you can make with these cutters. I have both “A” and “B” cutters so I can do big and little shapes of each (pictured below). The big cutters work on bananas like a charm – you hardly lose any banana in the shaping. I use Trader Joe’s dried fruit bars for the center flower (small flower cutter) and their honey roasted peanuts (half of one) for the very center. It’s like a peanut butter and banana and jelly sandwich! Without the bread, of course. If you (or your bitty one) is allergic to peanuts, you can use a candy button (or just about anything) for the center piece.

Leggo that Eggo and throw out your box mix. Below is a recipe for healthy waffles that your kids will gobble up. These are so good you don’t even need syrup on them.

[itty bitty] healthy honey waffles
* 1 cup white bread flour
* 1 cup whole wheat flour
* 1/4 cup multi-grain oats (regular oatmeal is fine, too)
* 1/4 cup flax seed meal
* 4 teaspoons baking powder
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 large eggs (beaten)
* 1 and 3/4 cups milk
* 1/4 cup applesauce
* 1/4 cup canola (or canola blend) oil
* 2 tablespoons honey (omit if you’re feeding to babies under one year)
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs then add the rest of the wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until smooth, but don’t over mix. Coat preheated waffle maker with non-stick buttery spray and cook according to manufacturers instructions (though, I noticed that these waffles took about 30 seconds to a minute longer to cook than standard recipe waffles).

You can [of course] make big waffles with this recipe, as well.

Hello Kitty turns 35 this year! How do I know this? Well, both of us were born in 1974. Earlier this year, I bought a couple Hello Kitty shaped ice packs for the bitty fishes’ bumps and bruises. We call them boo-boo kitties. So, now onefish thinks Hello Kitty is actually called boo-boo Kitty. And, he loves boo-boo kitty. I’ve seen the hello kitty vegetable cutters and egg shapers (both are on my I Would Like list), but they are expensive for what they are… and I was really hoping for something that would make sweet treats for the kids for bento box desserts or anytime treats. I saw the Hello Kitty waffle maker on Amazon, but it was out of stock. After some searching, I found out that it has been discontinued. There are a couple being sold on Ebay for $60, but they still had some in-stock at toysRus.com (<- I was hoping to link you to the item, but they are now sold out) for $25. I snatched one up, and I'm so glad I did.

Last night we made chocolate chip Kitty, Cathy & Tippy waffles. They were so cute (as you can see) and delicious! And, Cathy and Tippy are the perfect side for toddler hands, while Kitty is the perfect size for slightly larger hands. Like mine.