The second annual “Cockamamie Idea to Cook and Take Pictures of Over 20 Recipes in a Week” festivities are underway.
There’s a lot of cooking.
A lot of eating.
A lot of falling asleep at the wheel driving home from the craft store for poster board at 9 p.m.
Dude, I’m tired.
Take what I do in a day and multiply that by three (recipes) and then multiply that by seven (days) and that equals me.
Exactly.
But I am so glad we are doing this. It was really important for me to have Ashley and her amazing photos once again be a part of our book. So I gave a lot of thought to which recipes I wanted to set aside for her to shoot.
And then it hit me.
While the next helping of Peas is made up of around 80 totally new recipes, there are also a handful of favorites, your favorites, that are making the pages. And though there is going to be new content regarding these recipes, including how to use them to make totally new meals, I also wanted the recipes to look different than when you first saw them on this site.
Enter Ashley .
And now, enter you!
Since you all have seen these recipes and many of you have tried them, I’d love to be able to include a quote for each of the recipes from a reader with their thoughts and/or their family’s or friends’ reaction to the recipe.
Are you game?
Today we have:
(and the new Pesto Mmmm Sauce. Seriously, you guys—mmmm.)
and
Yeah, we’re eating good tonight.
So what do you say? Will you be a part of this crazy week, and our next book, and tell me what you thought of these recipes? (And several more as the week continues?)
If so, leave me a comment regarding any of the above recipes that you may have tried.
Meanwhile, I’ve got to rest up for the next round. I’m going to go take a nap.
Facedown in Mmmm Sauce.
I am the worst offender at helicopter parenting. Always have been, always will be.
But when we went on our “adults only” vacation last week, I knew I had to let it go if I was going to have a good time. Yes, the girls might not eat, sleep or wear their hair like they do when they are at home, but they would survive. And they probably needed a break from me as much as I did from them. Still, the less I knew the better. I simply would carry on in blissful ignorance.
Until the girls spilled the beans. Or the heaping bowl of sugary, chocolatey corn balls, as the case may be.
The first morning back, I cheerfully asked the girls what they wanted for breakfast.
Gigi sat straight up in her chair, composing herself as if she had something very important to say and looked straight ahead out the breakfast nook window so as not to make eye contact with me.
“I’m cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!” she said, with absolutely no inflection in her voice, knowing full well that she’d get a reaction out of me.
“What did you say? Where did you hear that? Do you even know what Cocoa Puffs are?” I was baffled.
Lulu couldn’t contain herself. “We had Cocoa Puffs at Mimi and Poppy’s when you were in Hawaii! We had them every single morning. I’M CUCKOO FOR COCOA PUFFS!,’” she shouted with far less restraint than her sister.
Gigi defended her choice,”They were made with whole grain!” Clever marketing, General Mills.
“That’s nice,” I said, “How about some oatmeal?”
Blissful ignorance.
I thought that was that. Until Lulu decided to write a story.
The Three Little Puppies
Once upon a time, there was a puppy.
The puppy was cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!
There was a storm raining Cocoa Puffs!
The puppy ran around the yard in circles!
The End.
Perhaps the puppy was running around in circles because of the almost 20 grams of sugar in a cup of cereal! Not that I looked it up.
Blissful ignorance.
I thought that closed the Cocoa Puffs chapter until yesterday when we went to the store. I just so happened to be on the cereal aisle when a very kind young woman named Carrie came up and introduced herself. She graciously explained that her husband is an acquaintance of ours and they both enjoy the blog, our recipes and overall approach to healthy eating. And then it happened.
“Cocoa Puffs! Cocoa Puffs! Cocoa Puffs!”
I tried to get back to our conversation, but Lulu just got louder.
“I WANT COCOA PUFFS! I’M CUCKOO FOR COCOA PUFFS!”
I felt myself turn red, quickly said goodbye, took Lulu by the hand and we casually made our way out of the cereal aisle, explaining, “That’s a Mimi thing, not a Mommy thing.”
And then added loudly, so my new friend could overhear, “But they are made with whole grain.”
