Hobee's Coffee Cake

For those of you in the SF Bay Area (and I know you are out there - I look at my stats - so leave a comment people!), here's a recipe for Hobee's Coffee Cake. Hobee's is a Bay Area institution - one of those 'we serve breakfast all day' kinds of places. So Yummy! This recipe is not from their site, but is great! Now that I have it, I don't think my waistline will recover.

And of course, I don't add nuts to mine :)

Warning: This stuff is addicting! Try a slice with a warm pat of butter on top. Yum!

HOBEE'S COFFEE CAKE
Serving Size  : 4
Difficulty:  easy.
Time:  10-15 minutes preparation, 20-30 minutes baking.

-----CAKE INGREDIENTS-----
1 1/2 c Flour (unbleached) -sifted
1 c Sugar, granulated
2 t Baking powder
1/2 t Baking soda
1/4 t Salt
2 Eggs
1 c  Sour cream
1/2 t Vanilla
1/4 c Blueberries, fresh, optional (or other fruit, or nuts such as walnuts)
Vegetable oil (for coating pan)

-----TOPPING-----
5 T Sugar,  granulated
2 T Butter
1/2 t Cinnamon, ground

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a large mixing bowl, resift sift flour
with baking power, baking soda, salt and about 1 cup of sugar.

In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, sour cream and vanilla.
Add egg mixture to flour mixture and beat until smooth.

Oil a 9-inch square baking pan (you can also use an 8 inch square pan,
or anything of similar surface area, if you increase the baking time by
about 5 minutes).

Spread the batter in the pan.  If you are using fruit or nuts, scatter
them over the batter and stir a little bit so that they stay in the top layer.

In a small bowl, mix about 5 T sugar with the butter and cinnamon
with a sturdy fork, until they are blended and resemble cornmeal
(i.e., you should have a mixture of fine crumbs, not a smooth mixture).
Sprinkle topping over batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a clean
toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out dry.

Cool slightly; serve warm or at room temperature.

NOTES:  All ingredients and bowls should be a room temperature
before you start; this is particularly true for the butter.

Meal Planning

I'm always looking for new ideas for meal planning - gotta keep my tiny child interested in eating so she gains weight (boy I wish I had that problem). Here are a few of my recent ' new finds' (that aren't new at all - just to me) :

• Williams-Sonoma Quick Family Meals,which also includes a great section to help get your kids interested in cooking (found via apartmenttherapy.com)
  
• A nice collection of printable forms for meal/menu planning
• Everyday Meal Planning at RealSimple.com
• I'm not a huge fan of 30MM, but Rachael Ray's site has tons of quick recipes (and a great kids section).
  

Oh, and one last thing: Meal Prep Kitchens
I'm still contemplating going to one of those meal prep places (our local ones are called Sous Kitchen and Deeelish!). Have you ever tried one these places? I emailed Sous Kitchen about 6 months ago and they offered (very nicely I thought!) to let me come in early to prep my food before everyone else to minimize cross contamination. I've even noticed that their meals lately haven't really contained peanuts or nuts. Maybe they are changing their menus a bit to attract those families with nut allergies?

Something to consider or to avoid? What would you do?

Nutnutrition.com

This page made me feel oddly happy and sick at the same time.

epipen carriers - sassy options out there?

i must admit, i really need to be more diligent about how i carry around our epipens. i am usually really good about taking her messenger bag into the house each day after our forays out and about. but there have been times where i've forgotten it in the car. upon realization of this lame-brained-ness, i smack myself (think "i shoulda had a v8") and frantically look at the epi pens to make sure they haven't been compromised by the heat or the cold. and yes, because of my stupidity, I've replaced a few!

well, since it's 2008, i'm making a post new year's resolution to find a better way to keep these puppies safe and sound for bella.

so after searching, googling, and surfing the peanutallergy.com site, this is what I came up with (along with my notes, albeit brief, on each one). Some are plain carriers, some are insulated, and some are geared towards packs to keep at school or daycare:

• http://www.medicareplus.co.uk/acatalog/Anaphalaxis.html?gclid=CL6a_-KOi5ECFQU6awodM1RfGw - good variety, has packs for folks that need to carry and epi-pen and inhaler!
• http://www.bluebearaware.com/EpiPen_Twinject_Pouches_s/58.htm - not into the 'princess' one, but that race car one looks cute for boys!
• http://www.omaxcare.com/ - cool looking carriers for active people - check out the leg buddy!
• EpiAccess http://www.epiaccess.ca/en/single.htm- bright blue!
• EpiSafe http://www.medi-episafe.com/index.asp - simple holder - insulated
• AllergyKids http://www.allergykids.com/product.php?proid=11&sub_catid=- bright green!
• Ana-Tote http://www.allstarsales.ca/index.html?lang=en-us&target=d17.html - simple carrier - love the carabiner clip
  
• E-belt http://www.ebelt.ca/products.asp - waist and belt loop holders - good for boys
• Epinephrine mate https://www.foodallergy.org/shoppingcart/CGI-BIN/msascartlist.dll/ProductI nfo?productcd=EPIMATEWAIST - waist pack for two pens - not sure if it's insulated?
• https://www.foodallergy.org/shoppingcart/cgi-bin/msascartlist.dll/ProductInfo?productcd=EPIMATEBK - plastic holder for one pen - not sure if it's insulated?
• Medipouch http://www.medipouch.com/ - simple waistband style holder
• Allergypack http://www.allergypack.com/ - very rugged looking, good assortment of styles
• Safetysack http://www.safetysack.com/ - doesn't look like it's insulated, but looks good for school/daycare/caregivers to have
• Epipuppy http://www.epipuppy.com/ - a little too cutesie for me, but if your child loves dogs...
• @RiskRescue http://www.atriskrescue.com/kit.html - these look more suited to the school environment
• https://www.foodallergy.org/shoppingcart/cgi-bin/msascartlist.dll/ProductInfo?productcd=EPENPAL2 - a little more utilitarian, but good for a guy to carry

These are the ones I like the best:
http://www.kozyepi.com/epipen/plain/index.htm - super cute, especially the mocha one (check it out at left).

http://allergyhaven.com/ - love the fabrics (check out the photo below), and best of all it looks like they are offering a 15% discount right now. Score!

since i'm the one carrying it (oh and mark too I guess), I want something cute (of course) that I can find easily in my purse or the messenger bag. keep in mind that even though these are my preferred carriers - it's just a personal preference, not a judgment of the others. these all look like they fit a need out there!

i'd love to hear from you all - have you used any of these? do you have a favorite? any other choices I didn't stumble across? spill, people!

Tim's Potato Chips

Ok, so I've got good news and bad news.

The BAD news is that Tim's Potato Chips (oh how I love you Wasabi flavor) are fried in peanut oil.

What type of oil do you use?
We start with the all natural goodness of premium quality peanut oil the add corn and sunflower oil for that perfect golden brown chip with real potato taste in every delicious bite.

I discovered this fact over the weekend while shoveling a few (hundred) chips into my mouth and casually reading the label. Luckily Bella didn't eat any since they were Wasabi, but after reading the label (amd confirming things on their website) I felt like I needed a Silkwood shower or something.

The good news is that since I wont be eating these chips, I may get to keep my girlish figure.

I'm Sorry (so sorry)....

I've noticed a rude habit I've acquired since I became a PA mom.

I read labels.

Well, that's not really my rude habit. It's the way I do it. I fear that I am coming across as a real pain in the you-know-what when I go to other people's homes. If I see something (anything) that could possibly be served to Bella, I practically lunge forward and pick it up, scanning the labels for 'may contain' and 'processed in a facility' warnings. My maternal instinct takes over I guess.

Am I discreet?

Um.

NO.

And I do this at my parent's home, my sister-in-laws for Pete's sake. People whom I REALLY trust. Heck, I even do it when I'm at work eating something myself. With Bella over 10 MILES AWAY!

I actually looked at the label on a salad bag last night. I think I need an intervention.

Tell me, will I ever stop doing this? Please tell me you do the same thing...

Article of Interest

A tad dated, but the information is interesting and includes footnotes to support the facts.

The Nuts and Bolts of Peanut Allergy
The principles for successful management of peanut allergy include patient education, treatment of the acute reaction, and appropriate follow-up care.

Alex T. Vu, MD; Minh-Tri Duong, PharmD

Parenting Magazine: Spotting and Treating Food Allergies

The latest Parenting Magazine has a new article: Spotting and Treating Food Allergies. Read it online here.

Is it me, or are food allergies finally getting some much needed coverage (even the latest Harper's I suppose)? It seems like food allergy articles are popping up all over the place.

I, for one, am glad to see articles like these.

Everyone's Gone Nuts - A Rebuttal

Allergic Girl responds to the Harper's Article with an interview with a pediatric allergist (who also happens to have an allergic child).

Take a look.

Random Factoid

Of the 35,000 (give or take) recipes on Epicurious.com, only 474 contain the word peanut.

Those are pretty good odds, no?

This Month's Harper's Article?

Update: I've read the article (thanks to all of you who emailed it to me directly!). I just shook my head as I read this. IMHO, she's really in no position to make these remarks and I'm not sure what exactly she was trying to accomplish with her piece? Should us moms just chill out and not pay any attention if our kids pick up a PB&J at a birthday party? Uh, sorry but that will never happen. And as someone who works in scientific publishing (with one of the highest impact factors in all of STM publishing actually), I find her comments and insinuations on the bias of scientific publications laughable. As Bugs Bunny would say, "what a maroon".

Has anyone read the article in this month's Harper's?

Everyone's gone nuts:

The exaggerated threat of food allergies

by Meredith Broussard

I'm going to try to pick up a copy today, but if it's lame and I shouldn't waste my time let me know. I'm afraid it's just an opinion piece saying how all moms of PA kids are overreacting...

Jeffrey's Hamburgers - Menlo Park, CA

Mark and I had a 'date afternoon' last week and decided to try a new hamburger place near us in Menlo Park, CA. It's called Jeffrey's Hamburgers - a diner kind of place with burgers, shakes, fries, etc.

It was delicious. Tasty burgers. Good fries. Good onion rings. Great shakes. Clean and friendly. And not too spendy.

The best part? We can take Bella there. There are no peanut products AT ALL on the menu (and the staff confirmed that there are no 'hidden' peanut products in the food), just pecans on a salad they have there. At this point it's highly unlikely she'll be ordering a salad as an entree being 3 and all :).

Are they the best burgers in the universe? No, but they are good. But I can let my little girl have a shake there and not worry that she'll have a reaction. I can also let her order anything off the menu and not worry (I hate being the downer that tells her what she can and can't have when we go out).

Peanut and Tree Nut Survey

Just came across this on the PeanutAllergy.com site and wanted to highlight it here:

Peanut and Tree Nut Allergy Surveys

FAAN and researchers from the University of Michigan Food Allergy Center are conducting three surveys regarding allergic reactions to peanut and/or tree nuts.

We are seeking individuals with allergies to peanuts and/or tree nuts, or parents or guardians of children who are allergic to peanuts and/or tree nuts, to provide information about past reactions. Of primary interest are reactions that have occurred on commercial aircraft, in a school or childcare facility, or as a result of food provided by a restaurant or other food establishment. Those individuals who have had reactions occurring in more than one of these settings are eligible to participate in as many of the surveys as are applicable.

Luckily, we haven't had a reaction in any of these situations (actually at all) since Bella's diagnosis, so I don't have anything to add to the surveys. But if you or your child have, take a minute and help these researchers out.

Every little bit of data helps!