>
Send a nuuude
message to someone you love. Check the gallery for
inspiration.
>
Do you write like a man or a woman? You'd better double-check.
>
Tell me. Who in your family gets
one of these for Christmas?
>
Or how about a vintage Talking
Ken doll? I can think of a million things he can
say in addition to "Let's go to the big game tonight."
Too many jokes can be made here. I will refrain.
>
Parents will truly understand the beauty that is Parenting
Bingo.
Today
I am trying to remember all the things I recently forgot.
Two days ago I forgot my wallet en route to lunch with
a friend. I wouldn't have known if I hadn't stopped
at a bank machine for extra cash.
Yesterday
I forgot Emma's knapsack (containing her snack). I was
pulling her on the sled when I realized the error. Had
to turn back home and retrieve it.
After
repeating "I will not forget the sled" about
50 times, after I dropped Emma off I forgot the sled
at her school, leaning up against the exterior of the
building. I didn't remember I had forgotten until I
(a) walked to the local coffee shop and had a coffee
(b) gone to the post office (c) walked all the way home.
Last
week I forgot my keys and locked myself out of the house.
I
constantly forget what day it is.
Where
has my brain been lately? Good question. I will let
you know when/if I find it again.
-
Last
night we had a healthy dinner of citrus-marinated fillet
of salmon. Girls had pizza. We all had green salad,
but Mark had croutons and Italian dressing, girls had
French, I had caramelized peppers and red onion with
goat cheese. Pretty healthy dinner right?
As
I cleared the dishes I remembered that I had some whipping
cream in the fridge. A light came on (in my head, not
the fridge). My plan: to recreate the childhood dessert
I always wanted and never had.
Tonight
was the night I would fill a gap in my life!
I
distinctly remember the commercial. Bill Cosby, adopted
father of the western world, telling us children in
television land all about this amazing creation. It
used ingredients found in many households at the time
and was made entirely out of sugar and hydrogenated
things referred to in the food industry as Edible Oil
Products. This was a landmark dessert that seemed basic,
yet represented a radical mixture of dark brown and
white that sent a message promoting harmonious interracial
relationships. You guessed it: Pudding in a Cloud.
As
the daughter of Eastern European immigrants this "American"
food didn't make it to our dinner table. It wouldn't
have made sense anyway. You can't eat pudding after
a plate full of cabbage, roasted pork and dumplings
all drenched in drippings. Dessert had to be equally
heavy, like a spongecake weighed down with rum, cheese
and apples or something.
As
a kid I longed for Bill Cosby's concoction, but never
got it. It was about time I did.
I
wonder what the French thought about Bill's dessert.
I'm sure they found the mere thought of it revolting.
And you know what? Today I'd take a French pastry over
Pudding in a Cloud any day.
Ingredient
from the year 2004 include soy-based chocolate pudding,
pure whipping cream, with a teaspoon of sugar and a
splash of vanilla extract.
A
few dollops of whipped cream were added to small glass
bowls. I made an indent with the back of the spoon creating
the "cloud" and poured in some of the pudding,
and topped it with a few slices of ripe banana. Hey,
there has to be at least some nutritional value in there.
The
dessert was enjoyed by everyone, including me, but to
tell you the truth it didn't have the same caché.
The
other dessert I had never even seen until I was 19 or
so was Ambrosia. I remember the shock and horror when
I first encountered this mash. Imagine eating pineapple,
coconut and MARSHMALLOWS. That was just plain obscene.
Otherwise
I have been spending much time eating in various restaurants,
in fact, I will be eating out somewhere every day from
now until the end of the month in an attempt to finish
what I started for Cheapeats Ottawa... a guide
to good, inexpensive (hence the title) restaurants in
the area.
For
more information about this great little
publication, check out their
website. If you're from the Ottawa-area you may
have some information you want to contribute.
publication, check out 
