Geeky Cooking - Potato Crocchette

This is one of my all time favorite comfort foods - Potato crocchette or "Crocchette di Patate" in Italian. I was skeptical towards the idea of serving them to my kids because they are so picky, especially when it come to trying new foods! In the end explaining to them that it was "fried mashed potatoes" convinced them enough to try them and guess what? They liked them!

Potato Crocchette

What you need (makes about 7 large crocchette):

- Parmigiano reggiano, at least 1/2 a cup (the more, the tastier my mother always says!)
- 2 large potatoes
- 2 large eggs
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- 1 cup plain bread crumbs
- 3/4 cups Olive Oil

What to do:

Boil potatoes whole, with skin on, till tender.

 Let cool. Peel off the skin, cut and mash the potatoes with potato masher into a bowl.

 Then add the salt, pepper, parmigiano, and one egg.

Mix the ingredients until well combined.

Mash

In two separate plates pour the bread crumbs in one, and the remaining egg in the other (beaten).

Grab a half hand-full of the mash, press into desired shape and roll it in the beaten egg first, then in the bread crumbs. Repeat with the remaining mash.

Heat a frying pan with the oil on medium/medium high heat. Fry the crocchette on both sides till golden brown, put them on two sheets of paper towels to absorb some of the oil and add salt to taste immediately after removing from oil. Serve and enjoy!

P.S: Geeky tip: You may add some mozzarella cheese and ham/cooked bacon bits in the center of the crocchette to add flavor and nutritional value....

Based on: http://ricette.giallozafferano.it/Crocchette-di-patate-con-cuore-filante-di-mozzarella-e-prosciutto.html

Geeky Reorganization!

Today it is the last day I will have the two mini-geeks home with me all day. That's right, on Monday they will start a new school year. It will be different this year though because they will be going to a new school. They are excited but at the same time a little overwhelmed. You have to know that my two mini-creatures do not usually do that well with change so this will be a big challenge but it may also help them learn how to be more flexible. On the positive side it is considered one of the best schools in our city (one of the reasons why we moved). To make it a little less "scary" for the kids I will also be applying to volunteer at their new school, they will see me often and this should help, at first at least.

As if this were not enough, on Monday I will be starting my last college semester too, meaning that I will have to start applying to University and getting organized for my next step towards the "career" world.

To add to all of this I have decided to take on a new fitness journey as well. I will start kickboxing this month to get me somewhat ready for my black belt testing which should take place, as you know, about a year from now. The kickboxing should help with the endurance, weight loss and lean muscle I will need to perfect my techniques.

(Keep in mind that we have no family or nannies etc. to help us out through all of this!)

So these next few months will be pretty intense, considering Eddie (our oldest) will have to take on HIS black belt testing in October, if everything goes as planned. Planning - this is the key and what I will be relying on this coming year, more than any other.

My plan will start by writing weekly and daily to-do lists. By writing EVERY appointment, commitment, meeting or test on our white-board kitchen calendar.

Also FINALLY keeping in mind the "having a place for everything, everything in it's place" technique my father has always tried to pass on to me and my brother (with little successes till now). It's amazing what you will resort to when desperate to get results!

So to get off on the right foot - supplies have been bought, new backpacks ready and, a positive attitude..... check! Check! Check! Now let the fun begin. Bring it on!

P.S: Will keep you posted on the results.

Geeky "7 Habits of Happy Kids"

Two friends of ours, a couple with four kids, suggested that we get this book to read with our children. It is "The 7 Habits of Happy Kids" by Sean Covey.

I have to say I am always a little skeptical about "self-help" sort of books but this book seemed very promising. So we went ahead and bought a copy and started reading it with the kids. It is a book for children but also parents that guides us through certain situations that inevitably arise in everyday life. It teaches kids how to handle the situation by presenting it through the lives of certain animal characters.

For example one "Healthy Habit" teaches that you should always do what you have to do first, then what you want to do. The character in this case is "Pokey Porcupine". He ends up failing his Friday spelling test because he gets distracted doing other things with his friends all week long, forgetting to study for his test.

What I find very useful about this book is that at the end of each tale there are questions for the children to answer concerning the story as well as giving practical ideas to children on how to apply these principles daily. For example, at the end of Pokey's story, it suggests that the child could try to do his/her chore before mom or dad asks him/her.

The mini-geeks love it because it gives the opportunity for conversation and we can all say what we think about the story and what we can learn from it. What amazed me is that it actually worked! The day after we read the "Put First Things First" story, the children remembered to do the dishes WITHOUT me asking! Hurray!

Geeky Legos

In the last three weeks the hyperactive mini-daleks and I have been almost totally confined to our house. Anyone with children (especially very active ones) knows how hard it is for both them and the parent to have to stay in the house all day, let alone three weeks!

 It all started with our six-year-old catching strep throat. Of course it is very contagious so as soon as he got better, I caught it. Now this was just the beginning. A fever started showing up in our oldest son too so I presumed he had caught it as well. Little did I know, after taking him to the doctor's office and a series of chest x-rays the result was pneumonia! :-o Mom's stress and anxiety aside, this caused us to spend another ten days at home (he is fine now, thank God).

Well I am so grateful for the Lego company! They came out with these "Lego creators".

Lego Creator (Motorcycles)

Basically, with pieces from the same box of Legos, kids can make three different models.

Model 1

My youngest son loves these and spent most of the day building, breaking and rebuilding these models without getting too bored (three times the fun and the time it kept him occupied!) They are also pretty cheap (about $15/$20) considering the hours of peace it gave mom too in these last few weeks of illnesses.

Model 2

There are many different types of "Lego Creators". We like the motorcycles, airplanes, cars and helicopters but there are also dinosaurs and buildings. A great, fun, pretty cheap idea to cheer up children who for one reason or the other have to stay inside.

Thanks!

P.S: I thought they were pretty fun too. :D Shhhh...

Lego Creator link: http://creator.lego.com/en-us/Default.aspx

Geeky Spiderman Boy (a Gift)

This week we had two birthdays and today it is my youngest son's 6th birthday. So to you my boy, I dedicate today's post.

 I would have never believed anyone if they would have told me six years ago how much my life would have changed after introducing you, our second living creature to this world, our most precious gift together with your brother. Your dad and I thought that after the challenges we faced with your big brother, that you would have been a piece of cake to handle, we had this. Wrong! Your big personality slowly started showing up too and took us all by surprise, in every sense of the word. In kindergarten your teachers already  "Don't know what to do with you anymore", but hey, your brother needed the challenge after all!:-)

You know how to make us all smile, every day. Some days are more challenging than others, but your dad and I are also learning, understanding that we were chosen to be your parents for a reason. Your potentials are incredible. I see them in you each and every day. That will power that drives us crazy today is what will make you someone that will change the world tomorrow.

You are as sweet as you are hardheaded and your cuddles are priceless. Your heart is big and your intelligence spectacular; I still remember when you were about the age of two and I got lost and from your toddler, turquoise car seat you pointed your tiny finger and said "Mom that way! Then there." and you were right! Just like that.

You always know what you want and no one can convince you otherwise. I love that you ask to wear your Spider-man suit even if we are no where near Halloween and people look at you "strange" or kids make fun of you. You just pretend to fire a spiderweb at them and carry right on playing....

So I am more than honored to be your mother and will accept these challenges with (tired) joyfulness and hope for you in the future.

As requested by Sir Ethan, mom made:

Ethan's Spiderman Cake

Happy Birthday!

Geeky Cooking - Tardis Cake

Sunday was my husband's 32nd birthday and being that we are all big fans of Doctor Who, the kids and I decided to make a Tardis birthday cake! It actually did not come out too bad for it being our first attempt.

Tardis Cake

This is what we did:

For the cake we simply used this store bought 4th of July cake mix (on super-sale) with bits of colored red, white and blue sprinkles inside. Simply follow the directions on the box.

Cake Mix

Let it cool!

For the frosting, once the cake cooled, we used this simple recipe:

What you need:

• 1 cup butter (no substitutes), softened
• 8 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk

What to do:

In a mixing bowl, cream butter. Beat in sugar and vanilla. Add milk until frosting reaches desired consistency. 

Link: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/buttercream-frosting/

cream butter

desired consistency

 

For the design:

What you need:

• blue food coloring
• red food coloring
• yellow food coloring
• black "Wilton's" Sparkle Gel Tube
• piping bag

What to do:

Divide the frosting in half and put in two bowls. Take two tablespoons out of one of the bowls (it does not matter which) and put it in a third bowl.  Mix in blue food coloring in one of the bowls until desired color is obtained. In the other, mix in the red and yellow food coloring but do not combine the colors completely. Use the blue frosting and make the Tardis shape.

Shape it

Next use the white frosting and make two squares for the windows, and a smaller one for the top of the Tardis. Use the black gel tube to make the black contours.

With the colored frosting make the "Universe" by spreading it sparingly around the Tardis. Use a piping bag to decorate the rest as you wish!

Use your imagination!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!

Geeky Martial Arts

So yesterday I had my belt testing for Cho Dan Bo pretest #1. This means that (provided I pass) I am one year away from testing for my black belt! One of the things we are tested on are the Tang Soo Do "Ten Articles of Faith". Here they are:

1-Be loyal to your country
2-Be obedient to your parents
3-Be loving between husband and wife
4-Be cooperative between brothers
5-Be faithful between friends
6-Be respectful to your elders
7-Be faithful between teacher and student
8-Know the difference between good and evil
9-Never retreat in battle
10-Always finish what you start

I love these. One of them though particularly stands out to me, number ten. "Always finish what you start". Probably I take it so much to heart because I am one of those people who struggles to finish or follow through on things in general; projects, lifestyle changes, journals, jobs....you name it. Not that I am not dedicated or lack motivation, on the contrary! Somewhere along the way though a voice in head tells me I am not worth it. I ask myself "What do you think you are doing?Do you really think you will manage to do this? Come on!".

Eventually, earning my black belt (which is actually midnight blue to symbolize that even at that level you keep learning) will mean a lot to me because I will have proven to myself that I have the ability to actually finish something. Although in reality it will be the start of a new journey. I will not quit. For my children. For myself.
 

Belts I earned so far

Our Master and Kyo Sa Nim always tell us it is not about the belt, the belt only helps to keep the pants from falling, and that anyone can buy it for ten dollars. To me it is about not giving up. It is about following through on something and hoping that this will shut that voice in my head once and for all. What a wonderful lesson I am teaching my two mini-geeks too!

So to you "voice", I dedicate this clip :

Geeky Cooking - Ravioli

We recently bought this ravioli stamp and today I decided to actually use it to make some delicious homemade ravioli! Now with my awesome pasta-maker machine (my mom bought me) it was so much fun and they came out YUMMYYY. Our youngest is having trouble eating lately and he is pretty skinny to begin with, so I try to cook nutritious and caloric meals. Well these ravioli are perfect! We are talking ground pork, beef, and turkey filling with parmigiano cheese, eggs and milk soaked bread. The fresh pasta is amazing too! The kids loved it! Not too diet friendly though ladies ;)

For the Fresh pasta you will need:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 

(you may need to add water or flour to get the right consistency)

What to do:

On a clean surface make a well with the flour. In a measuring cup mix the eggs, water and oil and salt. Pour the wet mixture slowly into the flour and mix with your hands until all of the wet is incorporated. Form the dough into a disk and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator for 1 hour to rest.

well

wet mixture

pour in well

dough

For the meat and cheese filling you may use your favorite meatloaf recipe or for mine you will need:

• 1/4 pound ground turkey
• 1/4 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• 1 slice bread
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• salt
• pepper
• oregano
  

What to do:

Combine all the ingredients in one big bowl. Mix with your hands until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined but do not squeeze the meat.

For the ravioli:

What to do:



Using the fresh pasta recipe, roll out your dough either by hand or by machine.
After you have rolled the pasta out into sheets, cut the sheet into an even amount of squares (we used our ravioli stamp!). Using a teaspoon fill the center of half with the filling. Brush around the filling with egg wash and place the remaining squares on top. Press down around the seal to push out any air bubbles.
In half a gallon of rapidly boiling salted water add the ravioli in batches of about ten at a time.
They are delicious with browned butter and freshly grated parmigiano.

roll w/pasta-maker!

ravioli stamp!

add meat

cover

boil

browned butter

Enjoy!!!!:-)

Geeky Summer Organization

So it's summer and I am more tired than I was a few months ago when the college semester had not ended yet! Having two hyperactive mini-geeks around all day does not help ;-/ In addition, no family around to help out makes it even harder. Thus, I have decided to get organized (actually I really have no choice) since the two mini-Chtulhus go crazy if there should be one second of tranquility in the house!

So basically I have divided the week days as follows:

-Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays we go to the gym, the kids have fun at the "kids place" (mom gets two hours to herself..YAY!) then off to the gym pool. Followed by lunch, house chores, some journal writing, reading (you never know, they might become the next Stephen King ;-)) and TV/Video games time (equals relax for mom). If there is bad weather we will make some geeky cooking creations. Then dad comes home and we go run some errands or go to the library and get some books.

kids' journals

Our ten year old loves these series!

Our five year old loves these!

-Tuesdays and Wednesdays are my cleaning days so I take the kids to their martial arts dojan for two consecutive classes while I get something done in the messy home that by this point resembles mostly a war zone! The afternoon is pretty much the same as the other days.

One thing is for sure: we are always looking for geeky activities to do at a low cost. For example we are planning on a trip to the science museum soon :-) Will keep you posted!

http://www.allroads.com/images/FortWorthMuseumofScienceandHistory.jpg

Geeky Cooking - Vanilla Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting!

So Italy got through to the semifinals in the European UEFA Soccer Championship and to celebrate we decided to make “Vanilla Cupcakes with Nutella frosting”. For who is not aware, Nutella is a creamy, delicious chocolate-hazelnut spread very commonly used and loved in Italy. It is heaven in a jar and is delicious on/in almost everything....kind of like bacon! ;-D

Vanilla Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting

I combined my favorite vanilla cupcake recipe with a Nutella frosting recipe I found and I thought I would share. The kids had a blast!

Vanilla Cupcakes

What you will need:
(makes 12)

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk

What to do:

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
In another bowl, beat butter with a mixer on high until fluffy.  Gradually beat in sugar.  Reduce speed to medium, beat in eggs one at a time, then add the egg yolk and vanilla.  Reduce speed to low and alternate beating in flour mixture and milk until blended.
Fill muffin tins with paper liners.  Spoon batter into tins, about 3/4 full each.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake 20 minutes until cupcakes tops are lightly golden.  Cool 15 minutes in the tins on a wire rack. 


Link:
http://thecupcakerecipes.com/?p=288


Nutella Frosting:

What you will need:

• 1/2 cup Unsalted butter (softened)
• 1 cup Nutella
• 1 and 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
• small splash Milk ((only as needed))

What to do:

Use a mixer to beat the butter and Nutella on high until evenly combined. Add the powdered sugar a quarter cup at a time, beating between each addition until all of the powdered sugar is added. Beat on high until frosting is smooth. (Add a splash of milk if needed to get the frosting to an easy spreading consistency.) When the cupcakes are cool, liberally spread icing over the top of the cupcakes.


Link:
http://www.inquiringchef.com/2012/05/31/sour-cream-fudge-cupcakes-with-nutella-frosting/


Geeky tip: You may add crunchy small pieces of bacon on the very top ;)