III's gray matter...

I know they look...gray, but they were the best blueberry pancakes ever! Jonathan made these on Saturday morning (after washing the dishes before I even woke up!) using a treasured box of muffin mix from the US. They were amazing. You'll have to ask him for the "recipe." I just wanted to share the pictures.

Caesar's best salad

I'm not a die-hard Caesar lover, but this recipe was awesome. I highly recommend it for your next salad experience. My modifications to the original recipe are in italics.

1 cup mayonnaise - 1/4 cup mayo, 1/2 cup plain yogurt, 1/4 cup milk
2 T lemon juice
4 cloves garlic, crushed - 6 for us...we're past the dating stage!
2 t Worchestershire sauce
2 t Dijon mustard
2 T parmesan
8 anchovy filets, chopped - I left these out per Jonathan's requests
1 coddled egg

Shake until well mixed. Refridgerate until needed. Pour over romaine lettuce and toss. Top with Parmesan, homemade croutons, and sliced red peppers. And blackened chicken if you want. Oh yum.

Fruit dip

We are so excited that strawberries are in season in Lyon! So just in case we needed help gorging on them, this dip does the trick. Just mix and dunk.

1/2 cup plain yogurt or fromage frais (French blended cottage cheese)
1-2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp articicial sweetener (optional)

School snack granola

This is a fun, healthy snack recipe that you can play with - the best kind!

2 cups oatmeal
1 cup all-purpose or wheat flour
1/3 cup packed sugar
3/4 cup raisins or chopped fruit (I did apples)
1/2 cup wheat germ (I substituted cornmeal, but any grain will work)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with aluminum foil and grease well. In a large bowl, stir together oats, flour, sugar, raisins/fruit, wheat germ, salt, cinnamon, and walnuts. In a smaller bowl, thoroughly blend oil, honey, egg, and vanilla; pour into the flour mixture, and mix by hand until the liquid is evenly distributed. Press evenly into the prepared baking pan.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are golden. Cool completely in pan before turning out onto a cutting board and cutting into bars.