My Mom took me over the Atlantic when I was a wee little one for a family adventure.  My 6 year old eyes explored Europe and my tongue was tickled with new flavors and foods.  I tried many things for the first time during that trip, but one of the foods that planted it’s memory deep within the walls of my cerebrum was the scone.

My first trip back to Great Britain  as an adult took a very different stance on eating and exploring.  I was there with the intention of picking up any and all tips on things I loved and how to re-create them back home.  The scone was my first attempt of bringing the United Kingdom tips I had learned to life.  I made them for the women in my family, they LOVED them with such insane enthusiasm, I started to experiment with the basic scone recipe and finally tried this Cranberry Corn version on my clan.  In short, this is the recipe they request over and over.  I only bring it out during the holidays as a little gift.  I make a big batch Christmas Eve to make sure I have something to leave out for Ol’ Saint Nick.  Pair it with a glass of cold or warm milk and fall in love.  This is the ultimate Santa treat and if you have any left over, enjoy them Christmas morning with a tall swig of milk while you open your gifts!

Since I’m on the topic of happiness and gift giving…. I would like to thank the MASTER OF THE GLASS HALF FULL for giving me one of the best gifts ever…. The words of positivity.  I’m going to jump over to his Facebook page and tell him how much I’ve appreciated all his optimistic expression.  Then I’m going to tweet him with mucho #postivismo and let him know I will carry positivity in my smile for the rest of my life and promise to always drink milk!

Ingredients for cranberry corn scones:

1 – cup flour

3/4 – cup medium grind yellow cornmeal

1/2 – tablespoon baking powder

1/4 – teaspoon baking soda

1/4 – teaspoon kosher salt

1/3 – cup sugar

1 – stick butter (cold, cut into 1 inch pieces)

1/2 – cup dried sweet cranberries

1/2 – cup buttermilk

Topping:

1/4 – cup sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit.

Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and set to the side.

In a food processor combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.  Pulse till all dry ingredients are mixed well.

Then add in butter and give a few good pulses till butter looks like small peas.

Then transfer butter flour mixture into a large mixing bowl.  With a wooden spoon mix in cranberries.  Make a well in the center of mixture and pour in buttermilk.  Mix to combine.  There will be a little flour at the bottom of the bowl, the rest of the dough will be a little sticky.  Not to worry.  Let dough sit for 10 minutes.

Gently form dough into 2 inches in thickness balls by rolling in hand.  On wax paper lined cookie sheet drop dough balls two inches apart.   Then sprinkle each ball with 1 teaspoon of sugar.  Place in the oven and immediately lower temperature to 375.  Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden.  Let cool and enjoy!

*Disclosure: This is part of a sponsored campaign with the California Milk Processor’s Board and Latina Mom Bloggers. Story and opinions are my own.

All photos taken by: Nicole Presley

I get it now…..  I know why my family took every approach to getting me to eat better when I was a young kid.  I was such a picky eater in those early years.  Anything that was offered was typically met with “I don’t like that” or my favorite “yuck.”  I lived with a house full of adults, I was an only child with a circus of elders trying to please my every food whim.  It came as no surprise when the doctor said I was lacking protein and potassium.  Dr. KnowItAll also mentioned the best remedy for this was milk* and maybe a banana for some extra potassium.  My Mom came home and told my Grandfather, my Uncle Luke (my Mom’s twin), and Uncle Robert what was now the focus of my diet.  Their wheels started turning…. How in the world were they going to get me (the picky eater) to drink more milk or eat a banana?  My Uncle Luke  who use to take me to my ballet lessons on the back of his Harley Davidson represented fun and adventure in my life at that time.  He had wild long hair and a pretty tough looking exterior but treated me with kid gloves and was the most gentle giant I had ever met.  He came up with a fun drink called “Banana Wacky.”  I walked into the kitchen and there he was putting all the ingredients in the blender… I asked what he was making, when he told me the name, I was intrigued.  It worked, and from that point on I opened up my mouth more often to foods I use to think were yucky.

All photos taken by: Mando Lopez

Please let the Master of the Glass Half Full know about my Uncle Luke’s Banana Wacky on his FaceBook page by clicking here. Or Tweet him on Twitter by clicking here! I heart the Master of The Glass Half Full…. He’s as dreamy as a glass of Banana Wacky! 🙂

Ingredients for banana wacky:

1 – banana

1 – tablespoon sliced almonds

2 – tablespoons Ovaltine

1 – cup whole milk

1 – cup ice cubes

a small pinch of cinnamon

Add all ingredients to a blender and power it up on high. Blend till all ingredients combine.  Pour into a tall glass and have a WACKY time!

*Disclosure: This is part of a sponsored campaign with the California Milk Processor’s Board and Latina Mom Bloggers. Recipe, story, and opinions are my own!

It shatters my heart when my little boy puts my hand on the door knob to signal that he wants to head outside on a wet day.  I’m stumped because there is only so long that T.V. and toys will keep him occupied inside before he longs for the fresh air on his face and a few laps around the front yard.  I say “Sorry sweetie, you can’t go outside today, it’s raining and it’s super cold out.”

Now mind you, he’s only two years old, and doesn’t see my reasoning clearly.  I think to myself  “I’ll whip up a nice batch of hot chocolate for us to enjoy while we play with another puzzle or read a book, just like my Mom use to do with me.”  Not only will it make up for the fact that he can’t have his day in the sun, but it’s a positive experience for me and my boy.  Rain gifts us another opportunity to bond on many levels.  Milk makes our delicious hot chocolate the best thing to drink on a cold day.  For these two things…..  I am a thankful Momma.

The Master Of The Glass Half Full will surely love this rainy day custom I have passed down to my son.  I think I’ll share it with him over on his facebook page or tweet him a message so he could know all the wonderful memories milk is bringing me and my family.

All photos taken by: Nicole Presley and Mando Lopez

Ingredients for Mexican hot chocolate:

3 – cups water

1 – stick of cinnamon

2 – disks of mexican chocolate ( I use Ibarra)

2 – cups milk

1/4 – cup mini marshmallows (optional)

In a sauce pan add water and cinnamon over a medium flame.

Bring to a boil. Then add chocolate disks and allow to melt in water.

Stir to assure all chocolate dissolves.  This will take a few minutes. Once chocolate is completely dissolved, remove cinnamon stick from water chocolate mixture.

Lastly add in  milk and give a good stir.

Serve hot in a cup and top with marshmallows. Enjoy the cold day with your delicious hot chocolate!

Disclosure: This is part of a sponsored campaign with the California Milk Processor’s Board and Latina Mom Bloggers.

Do you remember all the great commercials on TV when we were kids?  Okay, maybe I’m dating myself by admitting this but every commercial had a catchy tune to it in the 80’s. “I don’t want to grow up, I’m a Toys R Us kid” or for you local Angelinos “Go see Cal, go see Cal, go see Cal.”  Then there was, “I’m a pepper, he’s a pepper, she’s a pepper, we’re a pepper, wouldn’t you like to be a pepper too?” Ahhh memories…..

The one song that has taken up residence in my mind lately is that old ditty for milk….. “Milk it does, Milk it does the body, Milk it does the body GOOD, pass it on….What you say?  Pick you up anytime of the day.”  These are words I lived by growing up and I want to make sure my 2 year old son does too.  Milk is already a sure fire hit with him, he drinks 3 to 4 servings of milk daily in his sippy cup.  At a certain point I have to draw the line and incorporate milk in some other form.  What does a mom do?  Make Arroz con leche of course (Mexican rice pudding).   I certainly ate my share as a young girl and still do. Today I introduced arroz con leche for the first time to my boy and the results were better than great.

All photos taken by: Nicole Presley and Mando Lopez

Ingredients for arroz con leche:

4 – cups water

2 – cinnamon sticks

1 – tablespoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 – long grain rice

1 1/2 – cups whole milk

1/2 – cup raisins

1 – 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 – teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a medium sauce pan (with a lid) over a medium high flame add water, cinnamon sticks and vanilla.  Bring to a boil. Then add rice and mix well, bring water to a boil again.

   Once boiling lower flame to low/simmer and cover pan with lid.  Cook for 20 minutes. Remove from flame.

In a separate sauce pan heat milk and raisins over a low flame for 8 minutes.

Once rice is fully cooked add warm milk/raisins and mix well.

Last add the sweetened condensed milk and ground cinnamon. Mix well.

Serve warm or place in the refrigerator over night and enjoy cold. Either way works.

I’m so thrilled by my arroz con leche. The fact that my son is loving it leads me to share this news with the Master of the Glass Half Full, Simon Felix.  Lets find him on facebook here.  Or get really wild and tweet him on twitter here.  He brings great positivity into my life day after day, I think he’ll be pleased to hear this milk report.  Who knows? Maybe he’ll let other friends know about this arroz con leche recipe… A mom can only hope.

Disclosure: This is part of a sponsored campaign with the California Milk Processor’s Board and Latina Mom Bloggers. The recipe and opinions are my own. 

What an exciting time!  The “Master of the Glass Half Full” (pictured above dressed in white) has befriended me and I am thrilled  to help him circulate his message as a “positivity ambassador.”  The Master of the Glass Half Full is a positivity guru on a mission to spread the philosophy of positivity across California.  I don’t know how he found me.  I think  a friend of a friend told him all about me and how much I love drinking milk.  He mentioned a gal told him how I was a firm believer in drinking  a warm glass of milk before I go to bed every night for a sound sleeping experience.  I guess she knew I need my 8 hours of sleep  in order to keep up with my emphatic  joie de vivre.  He then told me to start drinking 3 glasses a day, it makes for a pretty smile. All that calcium builds strong teeth and prevents cavities.  Now I could continue smiling all day long… a form of positivity.

Do you know the story of the Master of the Glass Half Full?  Let me give it to you in a nutshell.  Basically this guy, his real name is Simon Felix, was madly in love and the relationship went south.  His poor heart was shattered into smithereens.  Needless to say he had a hard time seeing life through rose colored lenses after that.  Best said he was now a pessimist.  One day he set out to leave his home town of San Mateo, California in search of self discovery.  During these travels he met an old wise sage.  The sage noticed his negative outlook on life, and decided he needed an uplifting change. The wise sage gave Simon Felix an old box, when he looked inside there was a crystal glass and a note that read “fill this glass with milk.” He followed the instructions and no matter how much milk he poured the glass never filled to the top, and once he started drinking out of the glass it never emptied pass the half way mark. It was permanently half full. The message became clear he would never see the world as half empty again because his glass was always Half Full!  The rest is history in the making. Simon Felix became the MASTER OF THE GLASS HALF-FULL, and is here in California to sprinkle his positivity all over the land.  Follow him on twitter here. Like him on Facebook here.

Let me show you my new friend.

Disclosure: This is part of a sponsored campaign with the California Milk Processor’s Board and Latina Mom Bloggers.