Poor A. has strep and he’s been feverish all weekend. I thought I’d bake a treat for a lazy Sunday breakfast while my three boys tried to unlock yet another character on Mario Kart. I came across a recipe on Parenting.com for Sour Cream-Chocolate Chip Muffins, which looked fast and simple. Only, it omitted the quantity of sugar in the ingredients list. I used a scant 3/4 cup of granulated sugar and otherwise followed the recipe.
G. came running into the kitchen as soon as he smelled them baking, excited to have chocolate chip cookies for breakfast! He was not even a bit disappointed when I told him they were muffins, not cookies (might as well have been dessert with these ingredients, though). We all loved them, and I was tickled by the fact that J. was able to snap off the muffin top from the “stump” — the muffins were just the right balance of substantial heft (not fluffy like a cupcake) but not too dense so that they sat heavily in your stomach. Really delicious, and a treat that made A. feel better, if only for a moment.
Greek yogurt, plopped upside down out of its container, with a tablespoon of flaxseed meal and a handful of blueberries. I threw this bowl together as I was rushing to get out of the house this morning, but was so surprised by how pretty it looked that I had to snap a picture.
Sharon gave me the idea of French toast for dinner — she made it for her family earlier this week. I followed her tip of adding a splash of vanilla extract to the eggs, milk, and sugar mixture that soaked into the whole wheat bread. The boys were predisposed to liking this meal: they adore Sharon and they knew her girls had enjoyed their French toast dinner. So if “their” Sharon had made this meal, it must be good! Plus, to G., this meal looked like Man in the Moon but without those pesky eggs in the middle of the fried bread.
Overall it was a success. G. ate two full pieces, oohing and ahhing about how delicious it was the whole time. (And he also said Sharon should make it for him again. I guess he was a little confused!) A. tried it and said he liked it, but then didn’t eat much more. However, he did try the raspberries which he really enjoyed. I told him that J. and I love raspberries, and that Daddy had eaten a whole container the night before. Shocked, he insisted that I should “buy some more and hide them!” And then he told me to write “x 100″ when I wrote “raspberries” on the shopping list I keep on my fridge.
My dad used to make these eggs for us growing up, and we called them “man in the moon.” This dish may be the most widely-nicknamed food in the universe: a quick search yields dozens of ways to call an egg cooked inside a piece of toast. Egg in a basket may be more common, but J.’s family called it “man in a boat” and our good friend swears they are “gas house eggs.” The Kitchn at Apartment Therapy also points out that these eggs have been made famous in several movies. Whatever you call them, they’re good, and I made them for dinner last night.
I keep my wheat bread frozen, and lightly butter both sides while it is still rock-hard from the freezer. Then, using a glass (a shot glass works well), cut a circle out of the center of each slice. Place the bread and cut-outs in a skillet over medium heat, and put a dab of butter in the empty circle area — once it’s melted, crack an egg on top of it. You can season the egg with salt and pepper if you want, but I don’t. Cook until the bread is lovely and toasted underneath, then flip and continue cooking on the other side. I like my eggs a little runny, but for the boys I cook them all the way through.
G. was very excited that I was making man in the moon for dinner, and requested that I make his without the egg. So, you want bread fried in butter? Sorry buddy, but the egg is part of a package deal.
The boys ate around the egg for the most part. But I was happy because A. ate all the honeydew and blueberries on his plate and then asked for more honeydew. I attribute his willingness at least in part to me calling it “sports candy,” which is what Sportacus, the super-fit main character in LazyTown, calls fruit. A. got a chuckle out of that, and it was enough to make him try it. He’s been on a bit of a fruit and vegetable strike lately (even more so than usual) so I was glad to see him enjoying something other than a carbohydrate. (more…)
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two school-aged boys and husband. Feeding my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more about me and CITK, and keep in touch:
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Cheesy Kale Crisps: We rarely eat kale now that our farm share is over, and I want to fix that. I've wanted to try using nutritional yeast, and this recipe looks like a tasty way to do it.
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two school-aged boys and husband. Feeding my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more 
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