Elizabeth, Scott and Scotty Wilder

Bunker Burgers

In the last 48 hours, we went out for 4 meals -- the highlight being the Bunker Burgers at the Presidio Social Club. But those bunker burgers make me feel as if I will explode. Here's a photo of a woman at the next table eating one.

Phones

My Aunt Te-Te must know how much our family loves the phone. She sent the photo below to us today:

ON ANOTHER NOTE:
We made waffles using a mix from a very bright blue package today. After eating 4 of them, I can honestly say Wilder's Waffles still rule!

Lessons Learned: Composting 201

As you know, we are now composting in our house. Today I reached for the composting bag and it had two big holes in it. Initially, I thought some sort of animal had crawled into the closet, where we keep the composting bag, and nibbled away at the biodegragable bag. At the Wilder home, we use BioBags, which are made from corn and other renewable resources. Well, it looks like I need to take out the compostable garbage more -- because the bag had begun to biodegrade. So while I was relieved to learn that there were no animals in our house, I was surprised that our bio bag started to biodegrade (I love that word) in less than two weeks.

Celebrate ....

In honor of my starting my Spanish class tonight, my wife (mi esposa) made a great Mexican dinner -- with home made nachos, guacamole, and delicious meat tacos. My spanish teacher is Mexican!

Soy americano
Vivo en la calle Washington
Estudio español para tenir una familia qui habla espanol todos los dias .... siempre!

Riquísmo!

I ate well tonight!! (3 helpings)

In honor of the Belgians (who may not win many very medals), Mrs. Wilder prepared a beef stew called Carbonades à la Flamandes

Since the recipe calls for two bottles of beer, ce soir, je titube d'ivress

Early start to launching Le Grand Vilder Cooking School

There's lots of excitement about 'Le Grand Chef Vilder Cooking School.

Here are some of the recipes fans have submitted already -- for me to try out later this month

1. Submitted from Puerto Rico:
Spinach bread!

• 1 package frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed to make sure it´s dry
• 4 eggs
• 11/2 cups vegetable oil
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups self-rising flour(I use Presto)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Use Cuisinart, start with spinach, then all the other ingredients till well mixed (3-4 minutes)
• Pour into greased pan(whatever you prefer or have) and add a handful of craisins and walnuts, mixing well.
• Bake for @1 hour or until test knife comes out clean.
• I use the basic recipe, substituting spinach with either: 3 cups grated carrots, 3 ripe bananas, 1 small can pumpkin

2. Submitted a friend who took a page from Cooking.com recipe playbook:

CHICKEN QUESADILLAS

12 ounces cooked chicken breast halves 2/3 cup shredded monterey jack cheese 1/4 cup finely chopped green onion 8 (8") flour tortillas 1 cup salsa 1 cup sour cream Combine chicken and salsa in bowl. Divide chicken mixture, cheese and green onions evenly among 4 tortillas. Cover with remaining tortillas. Heat one tortilla stack in large skillet over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Turn tortilla over and repeat for another 2-3 minutes or until cheese is melted. Repeat with remaining tortilla stacks. Serve with sour cream.

3. Submitted from San Francisco:

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 ¼ sticks (10 TBs) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 ¼ tsp. baking powder
• 5 Tbs. (Tablespoons) sugar
• ¾ cup fresh blueberries, plus more for garnish
• confectioner’s sugar for dusting
• Maple syrup for serving

 This recipe can be halved very easily.

 Remember -- Preheat waffle maker on medium high heat.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, then the milk, butter and sour cream. Over a sheet of waxed paper (or another bowl), sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and sugar. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and whisk until smooth. Stir in the ¾ cup blueberries.

Pour about 1/3 cup of the batter into each well of the waffle maker and close the lid. Cook until golden brown and crisp. Garnish the waffles with blueberries, dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve hot with maple syrup.