Coast 2 Coast Mom

The Coast-to-Coast Adventures of Flat Harrison - Got Milk?

If you've been following our coast to coast roadtrip the last couple of weeks, then you know we picked up an additional passenger on our way home from BlogHer '11 in San Diego. A life-sized celebrity cut-out of Harrison Ford from the Got Milk campaign, we dubbed him "Flat Harrison," (#flatharrison) and drove him back to New York City in the Ford Flex for my friend SelfishMom. We had a blast with an extra guest along for the return trip!

The top three questions we were asked along the way:

3. WHY do you have a Harrison Ford cut-out?

2. What is your friend going to do with him once you get him to NYC?

1. May I get a photo with him?? (Seriously - at least one person now has a pic with Flat Harrison as her new Facebook profile photo!)

Here's a montage of #FlatHarrison's travels as we made our way from the west coast to the east coast. . .

Foods of NY Walking Tour of Greenwich Village

While attending the "Working Moms Night Out" at the Residence Inn by Marriott last week, we were treated to a delightful Foods of NY walking tour through Greenwich Village. Our guide, Sephra, was thoughtful and funny, going into shops ahead of us to put in special requests. She established our expectations and rapport right off the bat with a silly napkin grader for each stop and her sense of humor and attention to details along the way ensured that all of us had a terrific time. 

While the tour stops for each neighborhood may vary each time, we started our tour off at Joe's Pizza on Carmine. Here's some of the photo highlights from the walking tour:

 
Where we had a slice of pizza...

 

50% off Headchefs Cooking Tools for Kids Deal on Gaggle of Chicks

Today's Gaggle of Chicks deal for 50% off Headchefs cooking tools for kids is a great opportunity to pick up a birthday gift for a child or tween (or even me!). Headchefs kitchen utensils are made of silicone, dishwasher safe, and just too cute to pass up.

 

For $15 on Gaggle of Chicks, you can get $30 worth of the kid-friendly cooking supplies to make cooking and baking together fun. You can even purchase more than one deal to use toward one of the higher-priced sets.

I'm privy to the child's bowl with suction feet, and like most of their products, is recommended for kids age 3+.

The deal goes live today at 12:30 p.m. ET on www.gaggleofchicks.com

 

Support World Fair Trade Day at Breakfast May 14th

This weekend brings a unique opportunity to educate the world class citizens of your home. Fair Trade USA has designated May 14th their annual "Wake up the World" to World Fair Trade Day and invites everyone to support the world's farmers and farm workers by consciously incorporating Fair Trade Certified products into breakfast for a day. It's easier than you think.

Brew yourself a cup of Fair Trade Certified Starbucks coffee. Have a Fair Trade Certified Dole banana. Make these chai spice pancakes or these orange chocolate chip muffins. Make your own Fair Trade brunch.

You likely have one of the 9,500 products in your home that have passed the 200-point certification and are just not be aware of it. As a daily tea drinker, it warmed my heart that so many of the teas in my cabinet are on the Fair Trade Certified tea list: Republic of Tea, Art of Tea, Bigelow, Honest Tea, ErendipiTea, Stash, and Tea Forte for instance. Bananas and pineapple from Dole Food Company are Fair Trade Certified, as well as bananas from Sam's Club. Trader Joe's organic raw honey is certified, and you'd be surprised how many companies have made the decision to use Fair Trade Certified cocoa in their products. . .

 . . . Ben & Jerry's anyone? (Or am I the only one who's had ice cream for breakfast? On occasion. It's not like I'm eating a big bowl of Cluster Fluff every morning. . . although that would be a fun way to celebrate and have a fair trade discussion with your kids tomorrow. . .:-D) But seriously, next year I just may subject myself to a Fair Trade Certified chocolate tasting to share with everyone. The things I do for my friends ;-)

So it may not be morning where you are, but consider this your Fair Trade wake up call! Check your counters and cupboards to find something to help consciously celebrate World Fair Trade Day in your household on Saturday, May 14th.

Highlights from Getting Gorgeous with Degree in NYC

Earlier this spring I had the opportunity to attend a fabulous Getting Gorgeous with Degree event hosted by blogging friends Vera of Lady and the Blog and Audrey of MomGenerations. Not only was it fun to catch up with so many of my NYC tri-state blogging friends, but it was a great opportunity to learn more about many of the fashion, health and beauty sponsors for the event. I would have snapped more photos if I hadn't been chatting so much!! I definitely won't think twice if I get another opp to attend a Getting Gorgeous event :-D

 

 

Here's a few of the Getting Gorgeous with Degree highlights for me:

Sweet Tweet Lunchbox Treats at Taste Buds in NYC

We recently attended a fun family cooking class at Taste Buds in NYC, featuring Sweet Tweets note cards with candy, thanks to Bazooka Candy Brands. We had a great time chatting with some other NYC area bloggers as the kids followed the cooking instructors in creating a healthy and fun lunch, showcasing the Sweet Tweet notes. Of course, the Kiddo needed no invitation to try out the little love notes, as he had written and drawn a dozen notes for himself and us before the class even began!

The concept of the Sweet Tweets notes is simple: just like many parents write notes to include in their kids' lunch, this gives you a cute notecard and sweet treat in one. It's a thoughtful way to let someone smile and know you're thinking of them. I'm looking forward to including one in the kiddo's lunch when he returns to school from spring break.

Springtime Easter Cupcakes, Cookies and Treats to Bake

The Kiddo kicks off his spring break today with a half-day of school. I think I'll be more excited about his break in the coming years once he attends public school and his time off will align better with the local camps and activities offered. Unfortunately for us this year, the area NYC/NJ schools are all out this week for spring break and all of the camps and kiddie workshops are taking place now, leaving us to fend for ourselves next week while the Kiddo's off. So I've been saving crafts, recipes and places to visit for us to do next week when we have nothing scheduled. Unfortunately, that leaves us half of today and tomorrow to find something to do . . .so I've been rounding up some Easter cupcakes, cookies and treats for us to bake up!

Here's a few of the adorable springtime Easter treats we're eyeing to try:

1. Martha Stewart's Baby Bluebird Cupcakes
2. Making Memories' Easter Egg Hunt Cookies - the Kiddo would LOVE these, if only we can find the mini eggs in stores still. Reminds me of the peanut butter cup cookies we make this way!
3. Prudent Baby's No Bake Easter Nests - we went out and bought chow mein noodles just so we could make these!
4. The Farm Girl's Bunny Tail Rolls - these look cute for any springtime Sunday dinner.
5. Diddles & Dumpling's Peanut Butter Easter Eggs
6. Martha Stewart's Spring Chick Cupcakes - I've had this recipe in my cute kiddie desserts binder for ages, but haven't yet tried making them.
7. Disney's Family Fun Magazine's Easter Chick Cupcake - we've made these before, I think while we were living in Chicago, but i bet it was so long ago that the Kiddo doesn't even remember.
8. Martha Stewart's Lion and Lamb Cupcakes - we've made these before too!
9. The Party Animal Blog's Easter Animal Cupcakes - including these for inspiration and how-to instructions
10. The Diary of a Nouveau Soccer Mom's Easter Chickie Cupcakes - if all else fails, I know we have Chick Peeps in the house.

Let me know if you have any favorite springtime or Easter cookies, treats or cupcakes that you like to make with your kids, and we just may try 'em!

Nutella Hazelnut Spread: A Party on Your Tongue

This past weekend, we cooked up some tasty treats for a Nutella-themed party. Yes, we dedicated an entire party to the deliciousness of Nutella hazelnut spread to showcase some easy ways to incorporate it into some of our everyday recipes. Having heard of Nutella for years, but never actually purchasing it, I can honestly tell you we're now hooked. HOOKED. Even the Kiddo - the one reason I never picked it up before was because I assumed the Kiddo's pickiness would take over and he wouldn't like it. I was wrong. Oh so wrong. He's devouring it and asking for Nutella on EVERYTHING now. If you've had Nutella before, can you really blame him?

From the second you unscrew the cap and rip off the protective seal, you're greeted by the rush of what I can only assume some versions of heaven may smell like: a box of chocolates. A really good high-end box of chocolates. . . or a chocolate bar dotted with almonds. I actually carried the jar around the house with me just taking in the scent and thinking just how much my dad would like this. If ever there was a liquid hazelnut truffle, this would be the closest thing. Mmm.

 

We served fruit, yogurt, mini quiches, baby potato pancakes, whole wheat toast with Nutella spread, Nutella and Greek yogurt parfaits using my homemade granola, Nutella mousse and Nutella frosted banana bars. I wanted to share some of the concoctions we created. They seemed to get rave reviews, but I suggest that you try them for yourself and be the judge:

1. Nutella Yogurt Parfait with Homemade Granola
For the parfaits, we layered plain Greek yogurt on the bottom, a layer of homemade granola next, a melted layer of Nutella spread, rasberries and blueberries, another layer of yogurt, topped of with a sprinkle of granola. I like Greek yogurt best when mixed with honey, so we served it with honey to be drizzled (or soaked) on top.

 

 

2. Nutella Mousse

I used this Nutella Mousse recipe  from The Wicked Noodle that has to be one of the easiest things in the world to make. There's only two ingredients, and it's very light.

 

 

 

Scraping the Nutella mousse bowl clean...

 

3. Banana Bars with Nutella Frosting

I use this recipe  from Allrecipes.com for my banana bars. Love, love, love them. They're a nice alternative to banana bread or banana muffins when you have some ripening bananas laying around.

 

 

We can find Nutella at all of the grocery stores near us, and the suggested retail price is $3.49 for a 13 oz jar, although it's on sale at Fairway and Stop 'n Shop right now for $2.99. (Yes, we stocked up.)

A special thank-you to MomSelect for giving me the opportunity to finally try Nutella and sending me supplies to host an event showcasing Nutella-themed recipes. I have no vested interest in either companies.

Oh yeah, and all photos were taken by me, using my Nikon D3000 camera. It was fun pretending I was a food blogger ;-)

Nutella Frosting Recipe

While experimenting with Nutella for the party, I decided to swap out the cream cheese frosting that I normally put atop my banana bars for Nutella frosting. It just sounded super yummy to me. And it was.

Here's the recipe I used to give the banana bar frosting some Nutella flair:

 

Nutella Frosting

1 stick (8 tbls) of butter or margarine

1 cup of Nutella hazelnut spread

2 cups (give or take) confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)

3 tbls milk

1. Beat butter and Nutella together.
2. Alternately add confectioners sugar and milk until it reaches your desired consistency.

  
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Homemade Granola Recipe

I've made my own granola for years now, and the recipe I use is an amalgamation of different granola recipes I've come across to create the perfect version for us. I had it scrawled on a post-it at some point, and now it's typed, printed and semi-permanently ensconced in a protective sheath inside my breakfast recipe binder. 

I make it every month or two. We use it on yogurt, ice cream, or to eat by the handful mixed with some chocolate chips. When I gifted this recipe and a jar of my homemade granola to my extended family a couple of years ago, I learned that my uncle put it over apple slices with some peanut butter. I remembered this while I was making plans for our Nutella hazelnut spread party, and decided to add some Nutella to my granola to serve over apple slices, and even added it to the layered Greek yogurt parfaits I was serving.

Here's the recipe I use:

 

Homemade Honey Nut Granola

4 cups rolled or old-fashioned oats

1 ½ cups sliced almonds

1 ½ cups chopped pecans

1/3 cup peanut or canola oil

½ cup honey                                                                       

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix together oats, almonds and pecans. In a small bowl, stir together oil, honey, vanilla and cinnamon until well mixed. Add honey mixture to oat mixture.
3. Spread on 2 ungreased baking sheets. Bake in oven for 10 minutes; remove from oven and stir. Return to oven and continue baking about 10 more minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from oven and let cool completely before serving or storing in an airtight container.