My favorite little girl birthday party involved a layer cake that we got to decorate ourselves with different candies and toppings. You could use a pink frosting and then let the girls to to town. Of course, this may be "too much" for a tea party of sorts, but it is a lot of fun.

Toft's Ice Cream!

Dietsch's in Findlay, anyone?

I love Kashi Good Friends...this cinnaraisin crunch kind. I also enjoy Cinnamon Post Shredded Wheat. I guess I just like cinnamon a lot.

how would i eat it?

one bite at a time :D

That's my top three, too! Tyler's cookbook has soooo many good things in it.

I got interested with meatloaf and oven fried chicken. I didn't like anything that involved lots of mincing and chopping and whatnot. I found it to be too frustrating.

Dinner is my favorite meal. I like it because I've always equated it to family time. I like making dinner with my family and deciding on the menu and eating together and not being rushed. Don't get me wrong, though, I love love love breakfast foods. I just love them more when I have them for dinner.

I really don't think you need to create a separate "12 year old friendly" menu. Even if she's never had certain foods, I don't think she'll freak out and not eat or be unhappy. Just don't make a big deal about what you're eating. If you show too much concern about her not liking it, then she'll assume that she won't like it. That being said, just have easy to prepare back up plans. If she tries something and decides that it's too adventurous for her, or if you notice that she hasn't eaten much of it, have pasta or soup or grilled cheese on hand. If all else fails, stock up on ice cream.

But really, 12 year olds should not have "kids table" mentalities.

I happen to like the shortbread cookies especially in making crusts. Thin Mints are good for dunking in warm beverages. The Lemon Sandwich cookies that aren't around here anymore were my favorites. And I'll eat just about any other kind, but maybe that's because I was a Girl Scout for many a year and it makes me feel like I'm still involved. If you don't like them, don't buy them. But, it's always nice to support the Girl Scouts anyway and leave a donation.

I'll ship some out to you if you send me some delicious chow :D haha oh, if only it was that easy

No, but just to update...I didn't get to go to any of the places I wanted. The boyfriend didn't want to drive to Toledo and so I compromised and we ended up at Bistro Wasabi, which is an Asian Fusion place in Perrysburg. Although I've read several reviews saying how great it is, I felt that it was trying too hard to be edgy and over the top. To me, they over sauced and seasoned and mashed potatoed the food...but then again I got the Ahi Tuna and not the sushi. Maybe the sushit is better. I'll try it again...but hopefully not soon.

And I'm still bitter that I didn't get to try anything fun in Toledo.

jfood - I love how you write. AND I agree with you 110%.

I've never been to Cohen & Cooke but I'm trying to go some place outside of town...just for a change of scenery. But thanks!

Thanks for the recs! I think Chez Francois will have to be saved for a later date and a different companion due to my boyfriend's lack of enthusiasm about driving more than 20 miles for food (I'm taking the baby steps approach to curing him of this disorder). I'm hesistant about Mancy's because I'm not much of a steakhouse girl, but I keep hearing how great it is. I've been wondering about Diamond River and I'm glad you gave it your blessing. I've been curious about Diva and Rose and Thistle, as well. If we end up at either, I'll expand on the experience. Thanks for helping me narrow down my search!

Maybe Ikea has some recipes or info. Philadelphia is also home to the American Swedish Historical Museum http://www.americanswedish.org/. I'm Swedish and have Swedish relatives so I know about the joys of pickled herring and whatnot but I am probably not the most informative source.

Well I'm a little hesitant to ask, but can anyone suggest someplace "special" but not too pricey in the Findlay/Toledo area? I'm a college student at BG and I pretty much know the basics of the restaurants in town. The BF is taking me out to dinner on Saturday and I want to go someplace nice and unique and classy. I know there are other boards about restaurants in the area, but I didn't know if anyone had found anything new. Much thanks!

Well I hope you feel better soon!! Glad you enjoyed it! I'll have to experiment with other berries. And hey, no oink-ing. At least you got a serving or two of fruit.

I made my boyfriend homemade frozen dinners because he's a 21 year old who can't cook. this way he can take a break from ramen and taco bell for a while.

Although not right in Reading, Cab Frye's in Palm is nice http://www.cabfryes.com/ and so is the Oley Valley Inn http://www.oleyvalleyinn.com/ and if you haven't visited the reading cvb website yet, here it is http://www.readingberkspa.com/home.asp

Hi sorry, I had class all day. I didn't actually find a guide for the area. I'm a tourism major so I used my research skills to find some tourism sites like visitpa.com and looked at the categories "philadelphia and it's countryside" and "dutch country roads" or something like that and just searched for things that they might like along the way. I picked things in the Reading area and around Adamstown as well as a local park full of trails to walk off the Sonic calories. Then I printed out directions and descriptions. I don't know if that's any help to you, but I'm sure you'll be able to plan something if you'd like!

That's the one!

My family lives outside of Philly and we see and salivate at the commercials all the time. For a Christmas present, I got my brother and his fiance a gift card to Sonic along with a travel guide of places to stop and things to do on the way to the nearest Sonic (about 1 hour away). That way, it's more of a day trip than just going to eat and driving back.

Yummmm. I make mine a little differently, adapted from the Goschenhoppen Historians:
Noodles:
1 egg
1/2 of an eggshell of water
1/2 tsp salt
approx. 2 cups flour
Beat egg, add water and salt. Gradually add enough flour to make dough rollable. Roll dough as thin as possible. Cut into two inch squares.

The Chicken Part:
1 "stewing" chicken
4-5 potatoes
2 tbsp. minced parsley
salt
Cut the chicken into serving pieces. Cook in salt water. When chicken is cooked, add chopped parsley and potatoes. Drop pot pie squares one by one into the boiling broth (to avoid sticking of the noodles). Stir with a spoon to mix thoroughly. Cover and boil slowly for twenty minutes.

I've made this at the Goschenhoppen Folk Festival for about 4 years and sometimes the chicken is substituted for sausage or ham. I loveees it.

If that worked, I would be its most faithful participant!

Here are the particulars:
1 package raspberry jello
1 cup boiling water
1 cup applesauce (no cinnamon)
1 bag frozen raspberries

Make it just as you would regular jell-o! Easy as pie.

Jello salad consisting of jell-o mix, hot water, applesauce, and frozen raspberries. The applesauce gives it a delicious texture and is a substitute for some of the water usually used in the recipe. I don't remember the exact measurements but I could easily find it if you would like.

I'm more in the Collegeville area, however, I have a few suggestions:
Schwenksville:
Ortino's or Moccia's Train Stop are both good.
Mr. Lee's - supposed to be decent Chinese food, however I haven't been there yet.

Collegeville:
Tortuga's - Their California and Santa Fe burritos are delicious and come with a big bag of tortilla chips and very fresh salsa.
Marzella's Pizza - Very good hoagies and cheesesteaks...as well as strombolis but they don't come in personal sizes.
Rocco's Pizza - Excellent pizza
Great Wall - My favorite Chinese take out in town

Trappe:
Horn and Hardart - Good standard sandwiches and homestyle sides
Lou's Too - Mmmm zeps

Rte 29 in between Collegeville and Schwenksville:
Bethie's - Good greasy food
Gravel Pike Inn - Again, good greasy food.

Gourmet Mag had a recent recipe for "moo shu in moments" in one of their ten-minute main categories. It's wrapped up in a tortilla and quite delicious.

Pennsylvania Dutch chicken pot pie. It's like chicken noodle soup that knows somebody. And while we're on the theme...wet bottom shoo fly pie.