Gluten Free Zenzai

One of my favorite comfort foods from childhood turns out to be gluten free.
It is called zenzai and depending on the region of Japan is served in different ways.
The sweet treat is traditionally served cold in the summer and hot in the winter. It is often served during the New Year.

Zenzai is basically a bean and rice soup. In Okinawa, the term "zenzai" commonly refers to this bean soup served over shaved ice with "mochi" I like shiruko, a type of zenzai, when the soup base is prepared to a medium thickness - not too thick and not too watery. There are recipes on the web for zenzai & shiruko, but I prefer to start my "soup" using a prepared red bean paste. My favorite brand is Shirakiku which makes the red bean paste with no artificial colorings or preservatives. For me, a bowl of steaming zenzai with mochi is heaven.

I am always amazed how different cultures use similar ingredients and come up with completely distinct tastes and flavors. It is delicious, but couldn't be more dissimilar to savory Mexican inspired beans and rice.

Grateful for my daughter

My 13 year old daughter, Tootsie, made my day today. Did she know that unloading and loading the dishwasher without being asked would be the act of service that would help me make it through this day? Probably not. But I told her.

For One More Day - Dollar Tree bargain

I was surprised to find Mitch Albom's 2006 book, "For One More Day", on the shelf at Dollar Tree. Mitch Albom is the author of "Tuesday's with Morrie" and "The Five People You Meet in Heaven". A few chapters into the book, so far so good. Here is a quote: "When death takes your mother, it steals that word forever." That really resonated for me.

Hot Glue your Gingerbread House

We buy Gingerbread house kits on sale after Christmas & save them for the next year. In my opinion, a year later, they are not a tasty treat. However, these kits make it possible for someone like me to have a lot of fun with my 5 kids. Even with the kit, the frosting "mortar" was always the challenge. So a few years ago, I decided to try a glue gun. Voila! With a hot glue gun, we've made some great gingerbread homes! It has even become a tradition for my husband to use Pez candies to make a brick chimney! We'll use Dots candy for very colorful roof shingles. Of course, we pipe the frosting on "for show", but it is really the hot glue that holds it all together!

Some of our favorite Christmas movies

One of our holiday traditions is watching Christmas themed movies.

Here is my list of our family's must-see Christmas movies:

It's A Wonderful Life
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (cartoon)
Polar Express
Elf
The Little Drummer Boy
Santa Claus is Coming to Town
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
Frosty, the Snowman
A Christmas Story

What are yours?

$10 Movie Cash Offer - MaMa Rosa's Pizza

A four pack of MaMa Rosa's pizza minis is on sale at Stater Brothers for $2.99.

To get $10 in Movie Cash, send in the UPC & original cash register receipt(s) with your name and address printed on a 3 x 5 card to the following address:

MaMa Rosa's Movie Redemption
1910 Fair Road, Sidney OH 45365

Requests must be postmarked by 12/31/11. Allow 6 to 8 weeks for delivery of a Movie Cash certificate valid through 4/30/12.

If you're going to buy the pizza anyway, might as well get $10 bucks in Movie Cash!

Link to official offer.

Some of our Christmas "deals"

Thanks to my best friend's thoughtful text message today, with my CVS card, I purchased 5 Zhu-Zhu pets at $1.00 each. That was $8.88 savings for each toy!

Stater Brothers is selling 5 count "Holly Rings" for .99 cents. Nice stocking stuffers.

At CVS, I stacked a 30% off non-sale/promotional coupon, $5 off a $14.99 "As Seen on TV" coupon, plus $10 in Extracare bucks (ECB) and walked out the door spending $8.83 for a Draculaura doll and an "As Seen on TV" Pet Rider. Saved $22.50.

If you have a Valu-Plus store near you, I purchased the greatest 12 in. x 12 in. melamine 4 compartment "dip tray" that I'm using for gifting Christmas treats during caroling tonight. They were only 50 cents each - skipped the dollar store today!

Caught "Bean" Good Jar

This is a great motivation for the kids in our family to work together for a common goal.  It also helps Mom to practice giving genuine, positive feedback.  For each, pleasing behavior, the child is complimented.  For instance, I might say, "Thank you Princess for getting to the table quickly.  Why don't you put a bean in the jar."  or "Thank you Captain for working through that challenging math word problem. I think you deserve 2 beans for that effort!" Sometimes, they will say to me, "Mom, you've been really patient.  We think you should get a bean too."  When the bean jar is filled, we get to do something fun together. 

Clint Perry - Cool Carols with Clint

Our family went to the library for "Cool Carols with Clint".  We showed up a little late, but the show was fantastic.  Clint was a high energy performer and involved the audience with costumes and interaction.  There was movement and music.  It was fun.  Our kids especially liked his song "Sandy the Beach Dude" which was sung to the tune of Frosty the Snowman. It was a perfect song for a Southern California Christmas.

Here is a link.

Redbox Promo

Starting 12/13 – Text for 12 Days of Deals & Prizes 
Text FUN to 727272 each day and you'll receive that day's discount on a rental between 25¢ and $1.
I received a Redbox code today that expires on 12/24 for 50¢ off my rental.  

Grinch Salad - gluten and peanut free

I called Kraft Foods today to ask about their allergen warning process.  I was told that Kraft clearly identifies the most common allergens on their packaging.  Regarding gluten, any ingredient derived from a grain source (wheat, rye, oats, barley, triticale, spelt, kamut, mir, and farina) or manufactured in a facility with grain sources is listed on the package.  Therefore, my box of pistachio instant pudding, marshmallows, and Cool Whip would be considered gluten free. 

So, my 11 year old, Sugar Plum, will be bringing "Grinch Salad" to our Girl Scout Troop's Christmas party. 
 
Recipe - this is a slight variation from the Watergate Salad recipe on the JELL-O box.
1 20 oz. can of crushed pineapple, undrained
1 8 oz. container of Kraft Cool Whip Original Whipped Topping, thawed
2 cups  miniature marshmallows
1 3.4 oz. box of JELL-O pistachio instant pudding & pie filling
Add green food coloring as needed for a "grinchy" color - not always necessary.
First combine the undrained crushed pineapple with the pistachio pudding in order to incorporate the pudding more easily.  Combine the remaining ingredients and refrigerate for at least one hour.
This can be made a day ahead.