Being one-quarter Silesian that I am, I am completely infatuated with Mohnkuchen, one of my absolute favorite desserts. Actually, anything filled with mohn, or poppyseed filling, is a must-eat-right-now for me — this includes Austrian Germknoedl, Jewish Hamentaschen, etc. It must be something in my blood…or maybe not, because I do inadvertently convert people who try it.
On my last trip to Berlin, I ate so much Mohnkuchen that if I had been tested for drugs, they would have institutionalized me on the spot. (you do know, poppy seeds are from the opium plant…) With no way to actually bring some home (you know, U.S. Customs), I decided to, at the very least, bring back a pack of Mohn-Fuelle (or poppy seed mix).
This meant, of course, that I’d have to find a decent recipe to put the poppy seed filling into. I found this and this online, which, along with this handy-dandy converter, allowed me to create the following recipe:

1 stick butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
dash vanilla
dash lemon extract
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
dash salt
3 tbs milk
poppy seed mix

For those of you lucky enough to get your hands on ready-to-bake poppy seed mix (they do sell an overly sweet version in the states in cans in the baking section), there is no need for a poppy seed mix recipe. Once I got a mohn-fuelle that needed only milk added — it was a 250g package, and I had to add 75g (or 5 tbs) milk to mix. If you want to work completely from scratch, say, from ground poppy seeds, then you will need to add some sugar and vanilla or lemon, as well as milk. One of the links above had more of that info, but in German. If you need a translation, let me know.

Beat the butter and sugar together till a bit fluffy, then add in the egg. Beat more, then splash in some vanilla and lemon extract for flavor. Pour in the flour, baking powder, and salt, and mix. It will be dry, so you will then need to add the 3 tbs of milk until the dough holds together.
Take any shape pan, medium sized (I used a 9″ diameter circle), and press half the dough down. Make sure the edges turn up a bit, to hold in the poppy seed mix. Pour in the poppy mix, then cover the top with strips of dough. Bake at 350 degrees til done.
Note:
On some ovens, the top will brown too quick while the bottom stays uncooked underneath the poppy mix. In this case, cover the top with aluminum and bake longer. Or, pre-bake the bottom layer (without poppy mix), so that it gets at least half-done beforehand. Be careful, though, because overbaking will make the cake part of the Mohnkuchen a bit dry.

Very easy to make - great as a desert or breakfast. What I do is prepare it at night after dinner - eat some hot as desert, then put in fridge overnight to have some cold in the morning with coffee…the best!

4 c milk
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c cornstarch (4 tbs)
1/4 c cornmeal
1 tsp vanilla
dash of salt
lemon rind
cinnamon

Pot on stove, pour in milk. Add in sugar, cornstarch, & cornmeal. Start mixing and don’t stop. Add in the dash of salt, a bit of vanilla, and the lemon rind. Keep mixing until the pudding starts to boil. Remove from heat, mix more, & allow to cool a bit. Pour into bowls. Sprinkle cinnamon on top.

adapted from:

Goya package majarete ingredients - uses sugar, cornstarch, & cornmeal
El Colmadito’s rice majarete recipe - a rice pudding adding coconut milk
Que Pasa’s rice majarete recipe
Pastry Sampler’s Vanilla Cornstarch Pudding
Welcome to DR’s corn pudding recipe - uses cream of corn
and other recipes actually using corn to make corn pudding

I chose to make my recipe simple, using cornmeal instead. This way I’m sure to have the ingredients on hand. Keep in mind, my majarete came out thick - once cooled, it’s almost like cake. Some people prefer it like that, others like a softer, creamier version: just reduce the amount of cornmeal, cornstarch, and maybe even sugar. The lemon rind gives off great flavor! If you don’t have lemon, you could use lime or orange rind instead.

in Totowa, NJ, that is. At 304 Union Blvd, you’ll find the local favorite pizza place, Dominick’s Pizza [(973) 942-4141]. It really is THAT good. Pure, authentic italian, and all-fresh, Dominick’s Pizza still amazes me every time I eat there. As I’m savoring each bite, I constantly mutter to myself “the best….just the best….” My favorite is their tomato garlic pie or square, which is now my personal staple. You know when you’ve tasted a particular food so good that regular versions seem like trash in comparison? After Dominick’s, it’s hard to eat ‘regular’ pizza again.

by the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene! EEKS!!
I went by there(midtown West) yesterday to pick up a couple ‘baozi’ - you know, bun-like chinese snacks - and the door was locked with the bright yellow notice posted in plain view.
It must have just happened - the workers were still standing there, but with no food in sight. It looked like they were in the process of closing shop.
But what? I was still in shock, bewildered that I had frequented a spot that was found to be completely filthy. Who knows what I was eating! Blechhh!!!
Well, their snacks were good, and at 40 cents a pop, the cheapest around. Almost as cheap as in China, and really, only Chinese people (besides me, but then again, I speak Chinese) got food there. But I never ate from their lunch buffet, and I suspect that that was likely where the hygiene problem was found. Or maybe it was the rats in the back. Who knows.
I’m still wondering, though, where does the “Mental” part of the hygiene come from?

A while back I became fascinated with ‘home remedies.’ After seeing countless expensive products, medicines, & cosmetics not work, I thought there must be better, and cheaper, ways to take care of myself.

One of my first discoveries was baking soda, an ingredient for my chocolate chip cookies, as well as a staple air-freshener for the fridge. Did you know that it also is an easy way to freshen breath? Just sprinkle the powder on your toothbrush and brush away. Baking soda doesn’t taste that great, but nothing will leave your teeth cleaner.

In my old apartment, my shower drain constantly got clogged, and I never had any commercial drain cleaning product on hand. I found a remedy online, easy as cake. Just sprinkle a bunch of baking soda in there, pour vinegar on top, and watch the fizzing reaction eat up the hair & soap clogging your drain. Then flush with hot water, and repeat if necessary. It really works, and you don’t have to make an extra trip outside and waste money on thick commercial liquid. On top of that, you can rest assured you didn’t litter your pipes with harsh chemicals.

Speaking of vinegar, some people use it in place of bleach, which is believed to be unnecessarily harsh(on the skin & inhaled) as well as toxic. Vinegar is a good cleansing agent, one that is natural, cheap, and (usually) stocked in your kitchen.

I use apple cider vinegar (okay, you may not have this on-hand…) as a natural AHA cleanser for my face. It doesn’t smell great and stings, but then I just jump in the shower and wash it off. Afterwards my skin glows for hours.

Lemon juice is another good skin cleanser, and I’ve read how some people use it daily to diminish surface wrinkles. If I remember, I try to dab it on before showering as well - the citric acid is a natural ‘chemical peel.’

Cornstarch is another interesting item, used more as a thickening agent for sauces, etc, in the kitchen. However, it is also a natural and less-harsh replacement for talc, and so can be used as a powder on sensitive skin.

A co-worker once revealed to me that she never uses deodorant. Instead, she pats on lemon juice after a shower and lets it air-dry. During the day, she may sweat, but it never smells. I tried this, but after a week or two, I admitted that it didn’t have the same affect for me. Later I found another alternative: pat on baking soda after showering. I tried this, and it works! Not only does the baking soda (in powder form) dry the area well, but my sweat is never noticeable! If any powder rubs off on my clothing (you know, how that happens), just bat it off and it’s gone, no mark whatsoever. If anything, it’s helped you clean it!

Olive oil, the only oil you really should have in your kitchen (okay, maybe one other vegetable oil for baking or gourmet oils if you’re into that), is also an excellent moisturizer. It is particularly soothing, and since it’s very thick, I only use it when I really need it, like after waxing my legs. The extra coverage it gives is perfect for needy(&/or dry) skin.

Milk & yoghurt (& buttermilk & sour cream) also have alpha-hydroxy acids to clean skin. Any of these lactic acids can be used as simple & softening face cleansers, ala Cleopatra.

An egg, beaten, tones the skin when left to dry on it, and I’ve heard of eggs making hair shiny, though I’ve never tried that one.

Do you know of any other great uses for simple, readily-available household items? Please let us know in the comments…

Useful Links: Smart Skin Care, Kristen’s Guide, Care2, Do It Yourself, Thrifty Fun, Garden & Earth, Frugal Living at About, and Skin Care Resource.

And I thought it was easier to use the pancake mix where you just add water.

Mark Bittman has a video posted right now on NY Times that shows you exactly how to make these 10 minute pancakes - and they’re so easy!

Ingredients: (they call it the rule of 1’s”)

• 1 cup flour
• 1 tbs sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 dash of salt (my personal addition)
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk

Mix (try to beat egg with milk a bit before adding to flour mixture), etc, and do as you normally do with your pancakes.

I wish I knew the recipe was this simple before!!!

Maybe you’re trying to lose weight but don’t know how. Or perhaps you are at your ideal weight and want some ideas on how to maintain your figure. This list may (or may not) help.
This is coming from somebody who has been thin (and athletic) ALL her life. Don’t get me wrong, I must have been blessed with some skinny genes - I take after my lanky father. However, I STILL believe that what & how I do & eat is key.

Instead of telling you what YOU should do, I will make a list of my own habits and explain how I think it helps. Keep in mind, most of these I do naturally (i.e. I don’t try at all, it’s just the way my body works).

1. I always eat breakfast. This stimulates metabolism for the day, it regulates your eating cycle (I do believe that breakfast, lunch, and dinner is there for a reason), etc.
2. I never starve myself. If I’m hungry, then I EAT! Your body is obviously telling you something, & we all know that the body will horde more calories from your meal the hungrier you are, so you should eat.
3. I don’t overeat. What’s the point? So I can get heartburn or gas or not be able to do anything after I leave the table? Just stop when you are full.
4. Watch your portions. (related to #3) Keep in mind portions have grown drastically over the last 20-30 years, so that a “regular”-sized meal in a restaurant is basically 3 meals in 1. Seriously. I have to share or just get an appetizer with a dessert or something. It’s ridiculous. If you are eating a whole ‘restaurant’ appetizer, entree, and dessert, you are most likely overeating by a lot. (this doesn’t apply to super-huge male athletes, though, I guess; nor does this apply to those nice expensive restaurants with mini-courses)
5. I always eat AT THE TABLE. Not standing up. Not walking. Not while riding the bus or the train. I sit down and eat, and I concentrate on my food only. Be conscious of what you put in your mouth!!!
6. I never eat before going to bed. Or lay down after eating. The best thing to do is something active for a while right after eating (which is known to decrease the number of calories absorbed by the meal). Do you know how SUMO WRESTLERS gain weight??? By eating and then sleeping, which stretches out their stomachs, so that when they wake up they’re even hungrier so they do the process all over again!!!! So try not to follow that regimen.;)
7. I never drink soda, diet or regular, and I can’t stand fake juices. If the juice is not 100% from FRUIT, why drink it? I drink water all day.
8. I only have 1 caffeine drink per day, in the MORNING, and that is ALL. What’s the use of more caffeine? One cup of coffee or tea in the morning is all you need to get on with your day.
9. I never eat fast food. Unless it’s Chinese (and something healthy from their menu…watch out!)
10. I bring my own meal to work. Not only does it save you money, but you actually know what you’re putting into your body! For example, I’ll have a simple sandwich with chips & water. And trailmix as a snack.
11. When I get hungry and need to snack, I try to eat natural (i.e. NOT processed), like trailmix, crackers with dip, fruit, yoghurt, a mini-bagel with something, etc.
12. I avoid processed foods in general, especially fakes (like corn syrup or ‘enriched’ or hydrogenated) & perservatives.
13. I only buy and cook with olive oil. It is a healthy oil that helps lower cholesterol and high blood pressure. I really never use any other oil. I know it’s more expensive, but it’s worth it, and you can use it for dressings.
14. When I shop for food, I ALWAYS check the back!!!! Please, please, please, check the ingredients before you buy. Be an educated shopper, especially when it comes to what you put IN your body!
15. If you don’t buy junk food, you can’t eat junk food. We all know that as soon as you buy it, you know it’s there, and you eat it, almost immediately, so just don’t buy it! Instead, buy chocolate chips so you can make fresh homemade chocolate chip cookies when you are really in need of some sweets, or have pure cocoa to make a hot chocolate or homemade brownies instead. If you bake instead of buy, you’ll be eating REAL food, and not a bunch of fake sugars with preservatives. And you can bake little bits at a time, for instance a couple cookies in the toaster oven (works great), or a few cupcakes instead of a whole pie or pan of brownies.
16. I eat CHOCOLATE whenever I need it. And that seems to be a lot. (I prefer the not-so-sweet, more real cocoa ones). I eat meat. I eat a lot of peanut butter. I guess my body wants the protein (but it’s also a good source of Vitamin E). I have always loved rich foods (vs. my mother who prefers salty like chips & pistachios). In any case, I believe that these rich foods HELP keep a person thin. My hypothesis is this: rich foods fill you up without taking up a lot of space in your stomach. Therefore, the next time you eat, your stomach will have shrunk, and you will not need to eat as much. I prefer rich foods that are not overly sweet like your nearest restaurant chain’s chocoloate mud pie, so please don’t go and pig out on that stuff - I’m sure that can’t do your body good.
17. I avoid greasy foods. I just don’t like it. Oil running down your chin, dripping on your fingers…what is great about that??? If you can’t take a sip of water without smearing your glass, then you know something’s wrong.
18. I try to exercise 15-30 min at least 3 times a week. (this is just UPKEEP for me, though I’d like to get back into aerobic shape again). I mix it up with Yoga (I used to do martial arts, so the stretching thing is great), dancing, targeted exercises I have learned (& some I’ve developed) along the way, and jumping rope (if I get around to it). The key is to do something YOU LIKE, and there’s billions of choices out there nowadays.
19. I take the stairs. (unless it’s more than 3-5 flights) — the idea is, just to stay ACTIVE as much as possible. Walk or bike instead of driving. Use your legs. Use your arms (carry stuff instead of pushing a cart or getting help you don’t need). And so on….
20. If I eat too much, I shit (excuse my french) it out. (okay, this is not something I choose to do, it just happens!) Besides gaining weight, this is a sure-fire way to know if you are eating too much. In any case, if you can live on 1500 calories a day and stay at 120lbs (for instance), you should NOT eat 3000 calories, EVEN IF you don’t gain weight!!!! First of all, you may think that if you eat more you should gain weight (if you are exercising the same) - but this is not always the case. Your body often levels out at some ‘ideal’ or ‘natural’ weight for you, so that all those extra calories are wasted. Not only are you wasting money on food, but you’re putting your body to extra work in trying to sort it all through your system. This is why people who live on less calories probably actually LIVE LONGER.
21. I don’t watch too much TV. I grew up with one television in the household, kept in a separate “tv room”, so I had to make a special effort to “go & watch tv”. I can’t stand to leave the tv on in the background, either. No matter what, even the commercials make you stare at it. Then you slowly become a zombie, mesmerized by a screen…it’s all BAD. Just make a date & time to watch your favorite shows, and then TURN IT OFF! I much prefer to leave the radio on all day instead. Music keeps me going…

So that’s the list for now. I may add more when I notice something else. Remember, these are basically natural to me. For you it may be different, you may have to retrain your body. After a couple weeks, though, you’ll see that your body will be telling you what it really needs…and it better not be cheeseburger + fries + soda!

It was a sunny, hot, & lazy day - a perfect day for ice cream - , so we (bf & me) headed over to the nearby Gelotti’s for their famous ice cream. As usual, I headed for the gelati section (I practically grew up on this european style of ice cream - the best!), and decided to go with a mix of bocchi (i think it was called that) and some other chocolate-y nutty blend. D-rod chose straciatelli (a sort of vanilla with chocolate chips) instead.

Armed with our summer sugar-filler-uppers, we parked (I was renting a car off and on the weekends at the time) in the park across the street, sat back, opened the doors, and savored our treats. Within minutes, however, a squirrel came ridiculously close to me, by the side of the car. Did he have rabies? Was he just so used to people that he acted more like a pet than a real wild animal? I wasn’t so sure.

Then it hit me. Squirrels love nuts, and my gelati was based on hazelnuts - their favorite, right? So I finished as much as I could (even the medium sizes there are really large), and tossed the styrofoam cup toward the squirrel. Without probing or testing first, he practically dove INTO it! He licked the insides and bit the edges of the cup off, like he hadn’t seen food in days.
Luckily, I had my little handy camera in my bag. This is how the squirrel looked:

When he calmed down a bit, I got to take better non-blurry pictures:

Unfortunately, he didn’t like the straciatelli flavor at all…