Passed Out After Passover

Sorry I've been absent from the blogosphere.

 Between a baby shower I hosted the other day and the laborious cooking for Passover, I am pretty much passed out right now.  I think I may be getting too old for this kind of intensity, especially given my crappy kitchen.  With no counter space, I might add.

Maybe my new blog should be about how to cook in a cramped kitchen. With no counter space (yeah, I'm repeating myself).  I'm just sayin'..... (listen up, Henry).  

Despite that, I have lots to post about and lots of recipes to share with you.  Things like Pimiento Cheese and Deviled Eggs with Capers.  Reverse Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Oh, and Cheese Straws!  I made all of these for that baby shower, but I just don't have the energy to post it right now.  Bear with me, okay?

I am not going to give you any Passover recipes.  Been there, done that last year, and I don't want to go there again.  Next year in NYC where I can order out!

http://nevertrustaskinnycook1.blogspot.com/2010/03/passover-hell.html

For now I will just leave you with a "recipe" (if you can call it that) for a lovely beverage concoction I served the other day at that baby shower.  It lends itself to both children and adults and it works well for a party because it's remarkably versatile.  Just don't give the vodka version to the kids.

STRAWBERRY LEMONADE

2 pints fresh strawberries, hulled
1 cup water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 6-oz. cans frozen lemonade, thawed
Chilled sparkling water, Prosecco or vodka

In a blender or food processor, combine strawberries, water and sugar until blended and smooth.  Remove to a pitcher and add lemonade.  Stir well to blend.

This is the base.  I served it in pitchers, alongside opened bottles of chilled sparkling water and Prosecco, next to a bucket filled with crushed ice.  Instruct your guests to fill a glass halfway with crushed ice and sparkling water, Prosecco or vodka, then top off with a very generous helping of the strawberry lemonade.  

 

Now really, how could anyone NOT like this????

OT Tip - What is OT? Series on Hippotherapy + Giveaway

It is time for part two of my What is OT? blog series! Today we are going to take a look at an area of OT that many of you may not have heard of.

PhotoCredit: health.uml.edu 

Hippotherapy; no it's not therapy with hippos, haha. According to the American Hippotherapy Association, Hippotherapy promotes the use of horses as a treatment strategy for physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy practitioners for people living with disabilities. Hippotherapy has been shown to improve the following:

• Muscle Tone
• Balance
• Posture
• Coordination 
• Motor Development 
• Emotional well-being 

Some areas that Occupational Therapists work on using horses are fine motor control, sensory integration, feeding skills, attention skills, and functional daily living skills. The reason horses are a great intervention strategy is because their gate provides sensory input through movement in a rhythmic pattern which is very similar to a person's gate pattern in the pelvis while walking.

So what types of population of people do we see receiving and benefitting from hippotherapy?

• Autism Spectrum Disorders
• Cerebral Palsy 
• Developmental Delay 
• Genetic Syndromes
• Learning Disabilities 
• Sensory Integration Disorders 
• Speech Language Disorders
• Traumatic Brain Injuries 

Is therapeutic riding the same as Hippotherapy? NO! Therapeutic riding is simply an umbrella term for any type of equine activities that a person with disabilities participates in. When a licensed therapist using equine assistance as a therapy strategy, it is then considered hippotherapy. Hippotherapy does require a special education and you must be a licensed therapist, either Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist, and Speech Therapist.

If you think your child would benefit from Hippotherapy, visit the American Hippotherapy Association to find a practicing therapist near you!

Now it's time for the giveaway this week! I am really excited about this week's giveaway! For those of you who have heard of Handwriting Without Tears, you will love this giveaway too. I recently took the preschool training for Handwriting Without Tears for work and I really like their program. It is a great way to developmentally teach handwriting to your preschooler and kindergardener. And don't forget, you can use Handwriting Without Tears all the way up to 5th grade! 

One lucky winner will be getting one of their Roll-a-Dough Letters set. 

The Roll-a-Dough Letter set is a great way to teach your child proper letter formation while using a great sensory strategy, other than writing. You can also use shaving cream, rice, beans and other sensory mediums to learn their capital letters. I use this with my kids at work and they love it! Be sure to check out their free activity idea pdf form here.

Here is how to enter:

Main Entry

• Leave a comment stating why you would love to win this giveaway! Please include a valid e-mail address in this post. All main entry posts must include these two things! 

Extra Entries

• Follow Golden Reflections through Google Friend Connect. If you already do, just leave a comment that you already follow. (1 comment, 1 entry) 
• Subscribe to Golden Reflections through e-mail, on the right side of the site. You must validate your e-mail subscription to count. (2 comments, 2 entries) 
• Vote for Golden Reflections on Picket Fence Blogs. (1 comment, 1 entry) 
• Follow Golden Reflections on twitter. (1 comment, 1 entry) 
• Tweet about this giveaway (1 comment, 1 entry)
• Handwriting Without Tears #Giveaway @goldenreflect going on now! Ends 4/26 at 11:59pm. http://bit.ly/gKqw9H

Giveaway ends Tuesday, April 26 at 11:59pm. A winner will be chosen via random.org. Winner's entry will be validated before a winner is announced. If the winner does not have a valid entry, a new winner will be chosen by random.org. I did not receive any monitory compensation for this giveaway. Handwriting Without Tears has not sponsored this giveaway in any form. 

Good luck!

Foil Packets, Improved

Growing up, I was a Brownie, Girl Guide and Pathfinder which meant a lot of camping and more importantly, campfire food. There were s'mores, hotdogs and even cupcakes baked in an oven made with bricks and foil. And many foil packets. Now these always seemed like a fun and convenient meal but almost never turned out well. Most of the time the packets broke in the coals, or the veggies were raw by the time the meat was cooked. And even in a rare perfectly-cooked packet, they just didn't have a whole lot of flavour. I hope the Girl Guides have moved on to better meals by now!

Anyway, foil packets may not have worked out well at a campsite, but they're an easy and delicious way to cook some fish in the oven. I added some tomato sauce here and served over some fresh pasta from the market (YUM) but you don't need to...just cook with the veggies. You can use whatever vegetables you want but make sure they either cook quickly or have been pre-cooked to ensure they will cook through while in the oven.


Fish in Foil Packets

2 white fish filets or one large piece of fish (which is what I usually do)
1 handful of fresh spinach leaves
1/2 zucchini, sliced
1/2 lemon, cut into 2 wedges
olive oil
salt and pepper

Sauce
1 can San Marzano tomatoes
1 small onion, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp red pepper flakes

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees or 204 degrees Celsius

1. Make the sauce: cook diced onions over medium heat in the olive oil until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for one more minute. Add tomatoes, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer over low heat while you prepare the foil packets. Don't worry so much about the tomatoes completely breaking down it will be a bit easier if they still have some shape later.

2. Lay out one or two sheets of aluminum foil depending on how many fillets you're using. Make sure they're large enough to wrap the fish with some extra room. Place fish on the foil and top with spinach and zucchini, and any other veggies you are using.

3. Carefully spoon tomato sauce over the fish. I added mostly tomato chunks to the packet and reserved the rest to add later.

4. Season well with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil.

5. Fold up the short edge of the foil first and then roll up the long edge to create a sealed packet. Bake on a cookie sheet for about 20 minutes or until the fish is opaque. Serve over pasta or rice with the remaining tomato sauce, as needed.

Perkedel Kentang

Teman lauk yang cocok untuk soto, rawon atau makanan berkuah lainnya, supaya tidak hancur perhatikan tipsnya yaa....



PERKEDEL KENTANG

Bahan :

* 0,5 kg kentang tes, kupas, belah 4
* 1 butir telur ayam, kocok lepas, sisihkan
* Minyak goreng secukupnya

Bumbu :

* 5 butir bawang merah, iris halus
* 3 siung bawang putih
* 1/4 sdt lada halus
* 1/4 sdt pala bubuk
* 2 batang daun bawang, iris halus
* Garam secukupnya
* kaldu bubuk secukupnya

Cara memasak :

* Goreng kentang hingga kekuningan, haluskan selagi panas, sisihkan
* Goreng setengah matang bawang putih dan bawang merah lalu haluskan besama garam, merica dan pala bubuk .
* Campur kentang yang sdh dihaluskan dengan bumbu bawang merah jadi satu, aduk hingga tercampur rata
* Tambahkan daun bawang dan bumbu penyedap, aduk lagi hingga benar2 tercampur rata
* Bentuklah bulat-bulat pipih, celupka ke dalam kocokan telur dan goreng sampai agak kecoklatan angkat dan siap untuk dihidangkan.

Tips dari NCC :

Kunci bikin perkedel agar kesat tapi tetep lembut dan gak gampang basi: usahakan kandungan airnya seminimal mungkin. Ini tips perkedel warisan nenek yang sering dibungkus kalo di rumah ada acara :D …

* Pilih kentang tes yang tua. Selain pulen dan gurih juga lebih kesat.
* Goreng kentang, jangan dikukus, untuk meminimalkan kandungan air sekaligus memberikan rasa lebih gurih.
* Begitu ditiriskan langsung haluskan panas2 agar uap airnya segera kluar tidak terperangkap dalam kentang.
* Kentang yang udah dihaluskan dihamparkan pada nampan, jangan ditaruh dalam bentuk gundukan. Tujuannya lagi2 biar penguapannya maksimal.
* Bawang merah dan bawang putih (iris kasar) paling enak kalo ditumis sampe setengah matang, hasilnya perkedel akan lebih sedap dan juga lebih wangi gak brasa kentang. Tumisan bawang dihaluskan bareng mrica dan pala, garam & gula. Aku paling suka pake pala yang banyak. Wangi & sedep! Kalo suka juga bisa ditambah sledri iris halus.
* Adonan gak perlu dikasi telur lagih. Telurnya dipake untuk coating ajah.
* Coating yang cantik: pake putih telur campur kanji (kanjinya larutin dulu pake air dikit) dan garam trus dikocok lepas. Hasilnya coating lebih kokoh dan gak gampang gosong sekaligus minyak gak cepet item serta gak akan berbuih seperti kalo pake telur antero.
* Kalo mo pake daging, paling bagus daging rebus empuk, panas2 ditumbuk sampe lumat. Aduk daging dengan bumbu halus lebih dulu sebelum diaduk dengan kentang. Daging rebus bikin tekstur perkedel jadi halus gak bergerindil kasar kayak kalo pake daging cincang.

Sleep With Dogs

... and you not only wake up with fleas, you also wake up with:

1. the neighborhood dogs when they bark,
2. the coyotes when they yip or howl,
3. family members when they come home late,
4. all manner of doggy dreams that cause the dogs to fidget and wiggle,
5. licking spasms that cause them to need to reconnect with you by licking your face at 2AM,
6. cars driving by,
7. neighbors walking in or out of their houses at night and
8. alarming events that only occur in the imaginations of your dogs.

Last night we woke up four times. That's about average.

If they weren't so cute, you'd kill them.