Village Baking Co. – now open everyday

Pastries everyday of the week from Village Baking Co

Looks like the secret’s out about our favorite boulangerie. Village Baking Co is now open for business daily from 7am-3pm. No need to wait for the later part of the week to get your baguette and breads or indulge in a buttery kovign-amman (also available in chocolate too), pain au chocolat or laminated brioche. The bakery is so busy especially in the mornings that the only wait is actually in the line to get your hands on their artisanal baked goodies!

Click here for Village Baking Co.

Till our next Happy Meal!

Cheryl Collett is a mom on a mission to expand her kids’ palates and IttyBittyFoodies chronicles their yummy adventures. For recipes and other crafty fun ideas, look under HomeMade or check out the best kid friendly places under Restaurant Reviews where the food is delicious for both parents and children. Get the latest updates if you Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @ittybittyfoodie

 

You are more beautiful than you think – yes… really

Motherhood has aged me. I look at the crow’s feet that were never there before, dark circles under the eyes from the lack of sleep, and stray white hairs that I’ve pulled out more often than I care to remember. I’ve swapped my heels for Birkenstocks, thanks to those lovely bunions and walk around with my brain permanently stored in a jar somewhere. I look at my old photos where I was a pretty, young thing and stare at the mirror where not much is perky anymore. Earlier this week, Dove released  their Real Beauty Sketches and it was so poignant and moving, I had to stop myself and watch it again.

A Scrambled Egg Kit for an Easter basket idea + recipe

Easter Basket idea – Fresh eggs & kid sized Joie cooking utensils

Easter Bunny put on her thinking cap to come up with a healthy Easter gift and put together this beautiful scrambled egg kit. It is simply an assortment of blue hued eggs freshly laid by backyard chickens and the cutest kid-sized cooking utensils from Joie.

White Chocolate Mousse with Dark Chocolate Ganache

If you’re staying at home for Valentine’s Day but want to end the meal with a restaurant quality dessert, this White Chocolate Mousse with Dark Chocolate Ganache recipe will give you the best of both worlds. It looks fancy but the recipe is so easy the kids can help make it. I use Ghirardelli Chocolate Baking Bars as they melt nicely but feel free to improvise. The recipe makes 8 glasses so spread the love around and invite friends over.

The best gift I received was this carton of eggs

Forest Gump once said “Life was like a box of chocolates”. I see life more like a carton of eggs. We walk about protected only by delicate shell and a false sense of security. We push limits thinking we’re indestructible but one wrong move and we’re falling off the kitchen table and heading for Splatsville.  And as I reflect upon 2012 and my entire life for that matter, I realize the best gift I have ever received is my carton of eggs. Most of us, seldom wake up thinking how glorious it is to be alive. Perhaps if more of us did, it will change our perspectives and challenge how we live. So for 2013, I’d like to cherish my carton of eggs more, whether it’s sunny side up one day or scrambled the next.

Happy New Year! Till our next Happy Meal!

Thanks for listening to my Motherhood Musings

Cheryl Collett is a mom on a mission to expand her kids’ palates and IttyBittyFoodies chronicles their yummy adventures. For recipes and other crafty fun ideas, look under HomeMade or check out the best kid friendly places under Restaurant Reviews where the food is delicious for both parents and children. Get the latest updates if you Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @ittybittyfoodie

 

An Eggcellent Kids Party Craft Idea

For months now, Pikelet & Lollo have been anticipating the birth of their baby brother, Googie. They first saw Googie at our 12 week scan where the sonographer mentioned that the baby was attached to an egg sac and one of them added, “like a googie (ie runny) egg” and the nickname Googie was born. Then four year old, Lollo thought it’d be cool to crush egg shells and make a craft for Googie when he arrives. That was around August.

Googie Wonderland!

You may have noticed I haven’t blogged for a while and wondered where I’ve gone. The family has been in “Googie Wonderland” this past month. We’ve been cooking a special original recipe and after 9 months of waiting, our little Googie was born. Pikelet & Lollo welcomed their new baby brother in November and they are in love with him. “Googie”, as in a ‘googie egg’ was a nickname they gave him while he was still ‘cooking inside Mama’s tummy’ but now that he’s out, the name has stuck. So in honor of our sweet miracle baby, we’ve decided to add a new baby to toddler category.

Will you join us in Googie Wonderland!

Till our next Happy Meal, enjoy these cute baby feet!

Start Restaurant – a drive thru serving real food

The mommy set are abuzzed with the opening of Start Restaurant. They serve real food and there’s a drive thru? Yes, it’s all true. The new fast slow food restaurant next door to Rusty Taco’s and a few doors from Central Market (Lovers location) had been jammed with mommy vehicles packed with hungry tikes making the drive through not so fast in the first few weeks.

It’s apple season – make a crisp or a pie!

We always think of September as apple season! Lollo’s school likes to start off  parent night with a serving of applesauce made by all the kids. This month we’ve been branching out from our usual suspects and discovering some of the New Zealand apples like the sweet and crisp, Envy apples. I also tried my hand at ‘baking’ an apple crisp … sort of.

Mom Made Foods

School is back in full swing and so are play dates, soccer runs and music lessons. We’re recently discovered Mom Made Foods and tested the USDA organic children’s meals out on a play date.  Created by Virginia mom, Heather Stouffer (no relation to Stouffer’s frozen food), Mom Made Foods is a quick-prepare frozen food line of snacks and meals to sustain little tummies in between their busy schedules.

Taco Ocho in Richardson

Order and pick up at the counter

The IttyBittyFoodies have discovered the joy of tortas, the Latin American version of the baguette that is so popular on the streets of Mexico City. We recently lunched at the Latin-inspired Taco Ocho in Richardson where the menu features eight tacos, eight tostadas and eight tortas.

Honeycomb Ice Cream with Chocolate Mint

Ol’ fashioned honeycomb ice cream

There’s nothing like homemade ice cream and this Honeycomb Ice Cream with Chocolate Mint does not require any special equipment – aside from a hand mixer. The recipe uses old fashion ingredients – eggs, cream, some honey to provide natural sweetness and chocolate mint to add a refreshing touch. Chocolate mint is sometimes hard to come by so feel free to substitute with regular mint or spearmint. I’ve found chocolate mint plants at nurseries such as Calloways or Redentas but I’ve not seen it at a grocery store.

IttyBittyFoodies made it – Circle of Moms Top 25 Foodie Moms 2012

You may recall last month there was fierce competition among 270 food blogs vying for the honor of being one of the Top 25 Foodie Moms 2012 by Circle of Moms. We’re pleased to announce that IttyBittyFoodies made it – right at No 24.  Huge thanks to loyal readers, family and friends who read and support our itty bitty blog. Circle of Moms just released interviews with the Top 25 Foodie Moms and you can read the exclusive IttyBittyFoodies interview HERE!

Last but not least, please take a moment to check out Erin Blinn’s portfolio. She has been taking photos of our IttyBittyFoodies for years now. Not only does she take beautiful photos, she’s very fast and captures them well.

Thanks for listening to my Motherhood Musings

Cheryl Collett is a mom on a mission to expand her kids’ palates and IttyBittyFoodies chronicles their yummy adventures. For recipes and other crafty fun ideas, look under HomeMade or check out the best kid friendly places under Restaurant Reviews where the food is delicious for both parents and children. Get the latest updates if you Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @ittybittyfoodie

Hattie’s Restaurant – Bishop Arts District in Oak Cliff

We’ll never forget the first time we went to Hattie’s Restaurant in 2004 and our delight as we walked in to this Southern mainstay of Bishop Arts District. For this reason, whenever we have visitors, Hattie’s Restaurant tops our list. We enjoy watching their eyes light up in surprise as they step into the sunbathed and airy dining room, a contrast to it’s jet black exterior. Of course, the delectable Southern comfort cuisine remains as consistent as ever.

Hypnotic Donuts

Dallas has fallen under the spell of Hypnotic Donuts in Casa Linda. At 9.45am on a Saturday morning, our line was busting out the door as they tortured us with the beckoning aromas of donuts mixed with fried chicken. The cult following started in 2010 when Hypnotic Donuts shared a space with The Pizza Guy on weekends. This year, the Hypnotic hyppies finally found a home just down the street from the Dallas Arboretum on Garland Road.

Sushi Sake in Richardson

Having eaten sushi since he was 18 months old, my 6 year old, Pikelet has become quite the connoisseur of raw fish. He especially loves octopus and clams and he knows just where to get some of the best in Dallas. His favorite is Sushi Sake.

If you don’t happen to live in Richardson or Plano, heading up to the no-reservations Sushi Sake takes a little planning especially on weekends. Try on a Friday night a little after 6.30pm and the waits for a table are grueling. But one look at the Japanese sushi chefs behind the sushi bar and one instinctively expects mastery.

SodaStream soda maker

IttyBittyFoodies have donned our superhero thinking caps to find ways to reduce our carbon footprint in the kitchen and we’re doing it with a SodaStream soda maker. We never drink soda at home but we do consume about 10 litres of sparkling water a month. Last week, Beefcake had a lightbulb moment and said “Why don’t we buy one of those machines that carbonate water?” Ding!

Carbone’s Fine Food and Wine at The Shops of Highland Park

Julian Barsotti’s new Italian-American eatery, Carbone’s is as hot as the meatballs he serves right now. Carbone’s joins the popular dining row at The Shops of Highland Park  next to La Duni Latin Kitchen & Baking Studio, Nosh and Asian Mint on Oaklawn. We’re fans of Barsotti’s first venture, Nonna and when we heard, he was opening a casual over-the-counter Italian cafe, Ittybittyfoodies visited in the first week (twice).

Texas Worm Ranch – more about Vermicomposting

“I have worms!” Lollo proclaimed loudly to his teacher who looked at me quizzically. He means we own worms. We’re proud owners of a spanking new working worm bin from Texas Worm Ranch.

Finally after an unsuccessful bout of vermicomposting last year, I decided to take a class from Heather Rinaldi, head worm rancher of Texas Worm Ranch and one of the founders of Dallas Eco-Op. Boy, did I learn a lot from the two hour workshop.

DaLat – Vietnamese Comfort Food late at night

Before we had kids, Beefcake and I would think nothing of eating at all hours of the night. A souvlaki perhaps after a night of clubbing or a midnight bowl of pho. But after the kids were born, we had midnight feeds of another kind which makes DaLat attractive if you’re still breastfeeding an infant. DaLat, the new Vietnamese joint on Fitzhugh is in it’s soft opening stages and opened nightly from 10pm to 2am.