The Day I Set a World's Record

When I was a little girl, the teacher would say "Find a book to read for the next 20 minutes" and, if I was quick enough, I'd snatch the Guinness Book of World Records off the library shelf before anyone else could.

I would drift away from my adolescent angst for awhile staring at the world's fattest twins riding their matching motorcycles. (Nowadays you can see that anywhere.) Or be grossed out by that creepy man with the world's longest fingernails. I'd try to imagine how he could eat or even go to the bathroom. I assumed he must have had servants to do everything for him so he could just sit around and watch TV. He was sort of a hero to me.

This weekend, I was invited by Brad and Sally Lowder of Sonoma County to attend a Hoedown, but not just any Hoedown, we'd be trying for the World's Largest Virginia Reel for the Guinness Book of World Records!

I wanted to cover the event for Fetch The Cookie and had envisioned my terrifically unique and bold interview that I'd have with the Guinness Judge. Probably the best of his career. His name would have been Archibold or something cool like that. He would have worn a dark suit with long shiny European shoes. He'd be wearing an ascot and sporting his legendary bad teeth. Disappointment set hard on me when I found out Guinness would not be there. You see, if you want to have an official judge set foot on your event, it costs thousands of dollars. Instead, Brad followed the rules, filled out the applications, took pictures and videos, and had an official witness. Being a bonafide real estate agent, that's just another day at work for him.

Our Official Witness was BRENT FARRIS of KZST. Everyone knows that radio jocks are about as official as you can get. I'm pretty sure they had him fingerprinted and x-rayed. The IRS probably did a background check . We searched his car for unethical contraband. He was clean. So far.

After we signed in at the official table, on the official paper, we found an official place to stand on the grass until we could rope some strangers into dancing with us. I brought six "tween" girls who giggled and snickered like crazy when the group of Japanese exchange students joined us wearing straw hats, bandannas, and cowboy boots. I would love to read their Facebook pages to their families back home after attending their first Hoedown. They probably think we do this all the time.

The "caller" talked us through a couple of practice runs and then they announced we'd be doing it for an official NINE MINUTES. From the first clap of my hands to the last stomp of my foot, I smiled and laughed with my new dance partner, Kathy. We bowed, doe-see-doed, swung around, and skipped. The little girls' straw hats blew off in the wind as they were spun around by their partners. There was cheering and clapping and laughing everywhere. Just like all fun and wonderful things it went by too fast, leaving us all with a gallant feeling of achievement mixed with a sad feeling of completion.

If you'd be interesting in making or breaking a World Record, here's how. So get your family together and see what you can dream up. What are your skills? How about the world's largest lemonade stand? How about the most blog comments in the world (hint, hint). Currently, our family is setting the record for the world's largest pile of laundry.

Fresh Strawberry Crepe (3.5 Points!)

I love fruit stands and I'd like to stop at each and every dirty little shack along the long stretch o' highway. But fruit stands work like husband repellent. I guess it's the combination of girly "gathering" plus interfering with the perfection of driving from Point A to Point B with no bathroom, eating, or stretching breaks.

Too bad, because fruit stands will always be the best place to find your strawberries. I don't waste my time eating the tart ones because they make me feel sad that I was tricked into buying substandard produce, after I had my hopes up and everything.

Strawberries are best when picked ripe from the vine. They should be little and dark red. Forget about those giant ones you get at the grocery store with a little bit of greenishness near the top. You're lying to yourself if you believe "it will get ripe at home" because it never really sweetens up, it just gets softer ... like me, for instance.

Yesterday I brought home two baskets of fresh strawberries from the Central Valley here in California. I'm hoping to gorge my way through these before they start wearing little green fuzzy sweaters and become inedible. It's so sad to see those sweet little strawberries go to waste like a prom dress that never got worn. So this morning, I set out to use at least half of a basket. I made real crepes and they were fabulous and easy. Really very easy and only 3.5 points on Weight Watchers!

Ingredients
1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp sea salt

1 cup sliced strawberries

Whipcream (I use Lucerne Low Fat. Only 1 point for 2 TBS)

Instructions

Beat first five ingredients until smooth. Let sit for 15 minutes before cooking in nonstick pan with nonstick spray. Pour 1/3 batter in hot pan and swirl to make a circle. Cook for about two minutes. Flip and cook an additional one minute. Don't get all sissy about flipping the crepe. It is not as hard as you're making it out to be. If you make a hole in it, just hide it under whip cream and strawberries.

Serves 3 fabulous people

Pancake Cookies for Breakfast

We love quinoa! We've been using it for years and now, it seems, it has gained quite a bit of popularity. This sneaky little grain is packed with protein and fiber. It's also gluten-free and tastes delicious. There are tons of things you make make with it, both sweet and savory. I'll get you more information on that soon.

This post I want to share my all-time favorite recipe for pancakes. I originally found a recipe on a box of quinoa flour from Ancient Harvest, but I altered it to fit my daughter's allergies and then altered it again to decrease the fat and make it more tasty.

What we're left with is this golden pancake with a slightly nutty/crunchy charm. My daughter puts Earth Balance Buttery Spread and syrup on hers. But I'll eat mine straight from the griddle. They are THAT good. When she has her little friends over, they'll all be eaten up as soon as I can lay them down.

Ingredients

1/3 Cup Quinoa Flour

1/3 cup uncooked yellow cornmeal

1/3 cup rolled oats

1 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp canola oil

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 Milk (Rice, oat, almond, cow, soy milk)

1 Egg Replacer to equal one egg - or just a plain ol' egg

Mix together dry ingredients. Add milk, egg, and oil. Pour onto a prepared griddle and turn when the bubbles spread across the pancake and the bottom is golden.

This makes enough for 2-3 people. If I eat half the batch, I count it as 7 points (Weight Watchers).

I like to make little pancakes for the kids and call them "pancake cookies" so that I don't have to cut up their food. For various reasons, you cannot trust children with a bottle of syrup, so I found it best to pour a serving into a little medicine cup. Then they can dunk their "pancake cookies" for a sticky little swim. Yum!