My kids are begging for these and I honestly cannot taste the spinach at all. I blend the spinach and water together really well first, before adding the other ingredients. Also, with berry smoothies, kids' diapers can get a little messy, but this one without berries does not seem to have the same affect.
This smoothie tastes a lot like an orange julius or an orange dream machine smoothie from jamba juice, but it is bright green. Mmmm. It's a little sugary I guess, but it has a lot of spinach. In the words of Mary Poppins, "A little bit of sugar helps the medicine go down...."
Ingredients:
Spinach (2 cups packed...more or less, depending on how much your babies will tolerate)
Water (1 cup)
Orange juice concentrate (1/3 cup) (pineapple tastes good too)
Vanilla almond milk (2 cups)
Frozen mango (2 heaping cups)
Bananas (fresh or frozen 2)
Enjoy!
Love,
Kate
Showing posts with label Recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recipes. Show all posts
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
Sneaking vegetables in kids foods: Banana muffins with yellow squash
I enjoy modifying recipes to make them more healthy and try to hide vegetables in all types of places. Coconut oil is a great substitute for butter. Along with a green mango smoothie (recipe coming soon), these muffins make a nice summer breakfast. You can try this recipe or just add squash to your favorite banana muffin recipe :) If you are nervous about your kids liking them, feel free to start out with one yellow squash, and see how that goes. Let me know what you think :)
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
6 bananas, mashed
2 medium sized yellow squash, finely shredded
1 and 1/4 cup honey (you may use sugar if you prefer)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup coconut oil (you may use melted butter if you prefer)
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375. Lightly grease two muffin pans.
2) In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl beat together bananas, honey, coconut oil, and egg. Fold in the shredded squash. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Sall poon batter into prepared muffin cups.
*optional (not healthy, but delicious) step: in a small bowl mix together 2/3 cup brown sugar, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, and 4 TBSP flour. Cut in 2 TBSP butter until mixture resembles course cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.
3) Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Makes about 24 muffins.
Enjoy!
Love,
Kate
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
6 bananas, mashed
2 medium sized yellow squash, finely shredded
1 and 1/4 cup honey (you may use sugar if you prefer)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup coconut oil (you may use melted butter if you prefer)
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375. Lightly grease two muffin pans.
2) In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl beat together bananas, honey, coconut oil, and egg. Fold in the shredded squash. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Sall poon batter into prepared muffin cups.
*optional (not healthy, but delicious) step: in a small bowl mix together 2/3 cup brown sugar, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, and 4 TBSP flour. Cut in 2 TBSP butter until mixture resembles course cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.
3) Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Makes about 24 muffins.
Enjoy!
Love,
Kate
Monday, August 2, 2010
Kate's raw "cookies" (making Lara bars at home)
Our mini food processor has been getting a workout lately. We have been enjoying these "cookies" and I have been having fun trying lots of different fruit and nut combinations. I food process the nuts first, so that the cookies won't have large chunks of nuts and then add the dried fruit and chop until the fruit and nuts are mixed well. Form into bars or roll into balls (perfect for kids). The "dough" is a bit sticky at first, but after 20 minutes in the refrigerator, these healthy treats are ready to enjoy.
3/4 cup raw nuts (almonds or walnuts work great)
3/4 cup pitted prunes
3/4 cup golden raisins
a dash of cinnamon
makes 12-16 cookies.
Feel free to play around with the recipe too. Really, i think any combination of dried fruits and nuts works well. Prunes are a great addition, because they hold everything together nicely. Dried tart cherries are my favorite addition. Also, a handful of dark chocolate chips is a yummy addition. And for a great source of zinc, try grinding up 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds in a coffee grinder and adding those too.
Let me know what you think :)
Love,
Kate
Friday, July 9, 2010
Grilled cheese sandwiches with tomatoes and green chiles
Ingredients:
Slices of buttered, whole grain bread
Cheddar cheese
Thinly sliced tomatoes (from garden or farmers market if possible)
1 can of green chilies ( i buy them chopped)
We fell in love with this combination of ingredients after sharing the Santa Fe grilled cheese sandwich at a local place called Queenie's. Zach has been coming home from his hospice visits with wonderful gifts of homegrown tomatoes and we are putting them to good use. We fell in love with green chiles during our 3 and a half year stay in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when we were there completing our nursing degrees. In New Mexico, they use green chiles on nearly everything. They are fabulous in breakfast burritos. Mmmm.
Zach is always requesting more spicy foods, but it is hard with kids, but this is great, because I can load our sandwiches with green chiles and just use tomatoes and cheese for the boys. This is a nutritious and tasty vegetarian meal that I hope your whole family will love. It is certainly substantial enough for a summer supper or weekend lunch. Enjoy!
Love,
Kate
Slices of buttered, whole grain bread
Cheddar cheese
Thinly sliced tomatoes (from garden or farmers market if possible)
1 can of green chilies ( i buy them chopped)
We fell in love with this combination of ingredients after sharing the Santa Fe grilled cheese sandwich at a local place called Queenie's. Zach has been coming home from his hospice visits with wonderful gifts of homegrown tomatoes and we are putting them to good use. We fell in love with green chiles during our 3 and a half year stay in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when we were there completing our nursing degrees. In New Mexico, they use green chiles on nearly everything. They are fabulous in breakfast burritos. Mmmm.
Zach is always requesting more spicy foods, but it is hard with kids, but this is great, because I can load our sandwiches with green chiles and just use tomatoes and cheese for the boys. This is a nutritious and tasty vegetarian meal that I hope your whole family will love. It is certainly substantial enough for a summer supper or weekend lunch. Enjoy!
Love,
Kate
Monday, May 24, 2010
Chocolate chip cookies with garbanzo beans
I don't know if your kids will fall for these treats or not, but we made them tonight and we sure like them. Levi said they were "perfect." :) Truth be told, there were a couple of chunks of walnuts left on his plate. If I want want my kids to eat nuts (and I do) I just blend them up into powder in my mini-chopper. I have so gotten my money out of that thing. It's a Cuisinart and I purchased it several years ago at Costco for $25. This recipe was inspired by Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious. She writes:
These cookies are so easy and fast to make , but watch out for flying chick peas! If using a standard mixer, partially cover the bowl with a dish towel to keep the chick peas from flying out. (Of course my kids think this is hysterical when this happens.)
I just wanted to warn those of you who have been blessed with standing mixers :)
Prep time 20 minutes
Total 31-33 minutes
Makes 2 dozen cookies
Ingredients
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup trans-fat-free soft tup margarine spread (like earth balance or smart balance or butter, if you want)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 (15 ounce can chick peas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 to 1 cup of raisins (or dried tart cherries)
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
2 cups all-purpose flour (if you want to substitute whole wheat, i would recommend whole wheat pastry flour.)
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1) Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease cookie sheets.
2) In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the sugar and margarine with a wooden spoon or on medium until smooth. Beat in the egg whites and vanilla, then the chick peas, chocolate chips, raisins, and walnuts. Add the dry mixture (flour, oats, baking soda, and salt) and mix by hand on on low speed until a thick dough forms.
3) Drop the dough by the tablespoonful onto the baking sheet, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Press gently with a fork to flatten. Bake until the cookies are golden brown and just set, 11-13 minutes; do not overbake. Transfer to a rack to cool.
4) Store in an airtight container for up to three days (or freeze for later.)
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Apple Zucchini Muffins
Here is a recipe I use often. I like to double it and put a few in the freezer for later. They never last long.
1 and 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1/2 cup oat bran (I blend up oats for this)
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup plain yogurt (you can use milk or sour cream as a substitute)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup grated zucchini (i use a whole medium-sized zucchini)
1 cup chopped apples (i leave the skins on)
Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly oil the muffin tin. Place a paper in each cup.
In a bowl, sift together the flour, oat bran, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to mix evenly.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until pale yellow. Add the yogurt, brown sugar, and the vanilla and beat until thoroughly mixed, Fold in the apples and zucchini. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just blended.
Spoon about 1/3 cup of batter into each muffin cup. Bake for 15 minutes, rotate muffin tin, and continue baking for another 10-15 minutes. Enjoy!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
"Let Food Be Thy Medicine." -Hippocrates
People seem to think that our family has a pretty healthy diet. If that means that we absolutely do not go to McDonalds, they are right. If that means we do not have a HUGE tub of sour cream in our fridge, they are wrong :)
We haven't always been the healthiest of eaters. Like most things that last, it has been (and continues to be) a gradual process; we are becoming more aware and more disciplined and creative with each passing year. Friends keep asking me to post recipes on my blog, so I will continue to do that. It is fun to get new ideas from other families. I am so guilty of thinking things are so hard and impossible and time-consuming (like making tortillas) and then finding out after years of avoiding that "thing" that it really is super easy.
One thing we do, that may be a little different is giving our boys the same food that we are eating, from about the time they are 7-8 months old. Like today, we made taco salad, and instead of giving Max a jar of carrots, or just the cheese and avocado, we take everything that we are eating and blend it up in our mini food processor for him to eat. Maybe we've just gotten lucky with kids that will generally eat anything, and occasionally Levi will tell me, "I don't like that!"...but I think that they have been trained to accept a variety of tastes and textures. For instance, if I am making a somewhat spicy Indian curry, I will blend up the rice and curry and stir it into some whole milk yogurt. Here's a snack tip too. Sometimes we give them the typical cheerios or goldfish, but do you know what is way better? They love snacking on garbanzo beans! I make them from dry beans (from the bulk section at Whole Foods) and put just a tiny bit of salt in the water and that is a great, nutritious (and inexpensive) snack that wastes essentially nothing...no big boxes to throw away or recycle.
Back to taco salads. We eat them a lot. They are just so easy to throw together, especially since we eat vegetarian ones. I think choosing not to buy much meat helps leave room in our budget for buying more organics. I definitely can't afford to buy everything at Whole Foods, but there are a few things that I always buy organic. Like apples, lettuces, parsley, cilantro, potatoes, etc. Things that are not as important to get organically grown (from a nutritional standpoint) are: Bananas, avocados, broccoli, and onions. We often do not buy organic tomatoes, but at Sam's there are ones that are certified pesticide-free. That works for me. I, personally feel so much better when I eat well. Not to mention, my kids are in their formative years, and I really don't want them taking in a lot of chemicals, pesticides, or preservatives.
And a note about Sam's...I broke up with that Walmart big box place several months ago, but we recently got back together. Walmart and Sam's are absolutely terrible in so many ways. They have essentially put out all of the mom-and-pop owned grocery stores, hardware stores, and countless other types of stores and small businesses across the nation. They exploit so many people and nations in order for us to get our cheap things. I hate them for that. I believe that I do vote with my dollar, and I really try to support local businesses as often as I can. I don't buy a lot at Sam's and I rarely go to Walmart (except to develop pictures or pick up Zach's insulin,) but I did the math and figured that I would save about $100 per year on mixed greens alone if I got back together with Sam's. We go through about a container a week, and they are 3.99 at Sam's and 5.99 at Reasors and Whole Foods. So now, when I walk into Sam's, I know that I can only buy 5 or 6 things, and they all have to be ridiculously healthy. Otherwise, it is no longer saving me money or making my life better. I will buy a pack of 5 avocados, mixed greens, a huge bag of fresh broccoli, a 2lb block of Tillamook cheese, and a big bag of almonds or walnuts, or something like that.
I also wanted to share that fish oil is a potent anti-depressant and mood stabilizer. It works for me anyway. I take a couple of teaspoons a day (at separate times) mixed with apple juice. If I stay on my fish oil, I don't need to take any anti-depressants at all. I wish I would have known about fish oil supplementation when I was 20 :) Oh well.
Here are some pics from today's taco salads:
Oh yeah, and in the one with Levi's funny face, he is not crying. He is having so much fun, he can hardly contain himself. In the one with Max's hand at his mouth, he is signing "eat." What a love. Hope you've enjoyed this post. I'd love to hear if you liked any of the ideas and would like to hear if you have any similar ideas for me. Thank you for reading!
We haven't always been the healthiest of eaters. Like most things that last, it has been (and continues to be) a gradual process; we are becoming more aware and more disciplined and creative with each passing year. Friends keep asking me to post recipes on my blog, so I will continue to do that. It is fun to get new ideas from other families. I am so guilty of thinking things are so hard and impossible and time-consuming (like making tortillas) and then finding out after years of avoiding that "thing" that it really is super easy.
One thing we do, that may be a little different is giving our boys the same food that we are eating, from about the time they are 7-8 months old. Like today, we made taco salad, and instead of giving Max a jar of carrots, or just the cheese and avocado, we take everything that we are eating and blend it up in our mini food processor for him to eat. Maybe we've just gotten lucky with kids that will generally eat anything, and occasionally Levi will tell me, "I don't like that!"...but I think that they have been trained to accept a variety of tastes and textures. For instance, if I am making a somewhat spicy Indian curry, I will blend up the rice and curry and stir it into some whole milk yogurt. Here's a snack tip too. Sometimes we give them the typical cheerios or goldfish, but do you know what is way better? They love snacking on garbanzo beans! I make them from dry beans (from the bulk section at Whole Foods) and put just a tiny bit of salt in the water and that is a great, nutritious (and inexpensive) snack that wastes essentially nothing...no big boxes to throw away or recycle.
Back to taco salads. We eat them a lot. They are just so easy to throw together, especially since we eat vegetarian ones. I think choosing not to buy much meat helps leave room in our budget for buying more organics. I definitely can't afford to buy everything at Whole Foods, but there are a few things that I always buy organic. Like apples, lettuces, parsley, cilantro, potatoes, etc. Things that are not as important to get organically grown (from a nutritional standpoint) are: Bananas, avocados, broccoli, and onions. We often do not buy organic tomatoes, but at Sam's there are ones that are certified pesticide-free. That works for me. I, personally feel so much better when I eat well. Not to mention, my kids are in their formative years, and I really don't want them taking in a lot of chemicals, pesticides, or preservatives.
And a note about Sam's...I broke up with that Walmart big box place several months ago, but we recently got back together. Walmart and Sam's are absolutely terrible in so many ways. They have essentially put out all of the mom-and-pop owned grocery stores, hardware stores, and countless other types of stores and small businesses across the nation. They exploit so many people and nations in order for us to get our cheap things. I hate them for that. I believe that I do vote with my dollar, and I really try to support local businesses as often as I can. I don't buy a lot at Sam's and I rarely go to Walmart (except to develop pictures or pick up Zach's insulin,) but I did the math and figured that I would save about $100 per year on mixed greens alone if I got back together with Sam's. We go through about a container a week, and they are 3.99 at Sam's and 5.99 at Reasors and Whole Foods. So now, when I walk into Sam's, I know that I can only buy 5 or 6 things, and they all have to be ridiculously healthy. Otherwise, it is no longer saving me money or making my life better. I will buy a pack of 5 avocados, mixed greens, a huge bag of fresh broccoli, a 2lb block of Tillamook cheese, and a big bag of almonds or walnuts, or something like that.
I also wanted to share that fish oil is a potent anti-depressant and mood stabilizer. It works for me anyway. I take a couple of teaspoons a day (at separate times) mixed with apple juice. If I stay on my fish oil, I don't need to take any anti-depressants at all. I wish I would have known about fish oil supplementation when I was 20 :) Oh well.
Here are some pics from today's taco salads:
Oh yeah, and in the one with Levi's funny face, he is not crying. He is having so much fun, he can hardly contain himself. In the one with Max's hand at his mouth, he is signing "eat." What a love. Hope you've enjoyed this post. I'd love to hear if you liked any of the ideas and would like to hear if you have any similar ideas for me. Thank you for reading!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
A Simple Valentine's Day
So, a couple of people have recently asked me if I am doing anything for my kids for Valentine's day, and I guess I was just planning on being a total Valentine's Day slacker :) I hadn't given it a thought, really. We aren't girls (except for me and the hens) and we don't eat candy at our house, so what does the holiday really mean for us, anyway?
A lot more than you might think, actually. Like 10 years ago, Zach and I met on Valentine's Day. Who does that? I had never even had a boyfriend on Valentine's Day, so that was kind-of cool. And after 7 years of being together, our first child ended up with a due date of November 10. You do the math...TMI, I know, I know...But, anyway, if the day should mean anything to any family, it should be ours, right?
So, we need to celebrate. Now, what should we do? Well, we're somewhere between medical school and getting back into the workforce at the moment, so we need to be frugal (yes, it is an ugly word!) My first thought, however, was to log on to Amazon and shop for some little Plan City vehicles (which are about $7-$12 each.) I quickly logged off and thought, "not right now." So, I started to think about other ideas that would cost little to nothing. Heart-shaped pancakes are a given. We'll use our recipe that is kind-of naughty (and way yummy!) and full of dairy (and protein.) It came from my friend, Kelly (who happens to be my Valentine this year, since both of our husbands are in Haiti.)
Here's the recipe:
1 cup cottage cheese
4 eggs
1/2 cup flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour, but regular flour is fine)
6 TBSP melted butter
Instructions:
Whip or blend the cottage cheese until smooth. Stir in the eggs and melted butter, then add the flour.
Cook pancakes until golden, then flip and cook for an additional minute. Do not overcook, These pancakes are moist and should spring back to the touch.
And for the topping:
Small bag of frozen raspberries
1/2 cup of agave nectar or maple syrup
heat on stove top until warm. Enjoy!
So, back to our Valentine's creativity....Tonight my kids and I were over at my parents' house watching Hollywood week on American Idol and I noticed how much fun the boys were having, playing with the vintage collection of fisher price little people my mom has at her house. (You know, the ones that don't have arms or legs and that were later modified so that they wouldn't be choking hazards...) I asked if I could wrap a couple of them up for Valentine's, noting that we would be (more than) happy to bring them back as soon as the kids start losing interest. She was delighted with the idea and even hooked me up with cute little Valentine's gift bags. So, there you go.
People sometimes ask how I became somewhat passionate about simple living (and i say somewhat, because I am somewhat passionate about shopping at Target as well)...and it was the combination of several things: living with and becoming close with our simple guru friends Chris and Kaye, living near Boulder, being motivated to live on one income, reading Shane Claiborne's The Irresistible Revolution, and viewing this clever little video called "The story of stuff" with Annie Leonard. I am sure that there were about a hundred other contributing factors, but those are the ones that popped into my head. Additionally, I had this realization when Levi was born that I could not stand the idea of any of our kids' toys or clothing being made by children. Here is a link to the Story of Stuff. It's really cool, so if you haven't seen it already, please check it out.
http://www.storyofstuff.com/
A lot more than you might think, actually. Like 10 years ago, Zach and I met on Valentine's Day. Who does that? I had never even had a boyfriend on Valentine's Day, so that was kind-of cool. And after 7 years of being together, our first child ended up with a due date of November 10. You do the math...TMI, I know, I know...But, anyway, if the day should mean anything to any family, it should be ours, right?
So, we need to celebrate. Now, what should we do? Well, we're somewhere between medical school and getting back into the workforce at the moment, so we need to be frugal (yes, it is an ugly word!) My first thought, however, was to log on to Amazon and shop for some little Plan City vehicles (which are about $7-$12 each.) I quickly logged off and thought, "not right now." So, I started to think about other ideas that would cost little to nothing. Heart-shaped pancakes are a given. We'll use our recipe that is kind-of naughty (and way yummy!) and full of dairy (and protein.) It came from my friend, Kelly (who happens to be my Valentine this year, since both of our husbands are in Haiti.)
Here's the recipe:
1 cup cottage cheese
4 eggs
1/2 cup flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour, but regular flour is fine)
6 TBSP melted butter
Instructions:
Whip or blend the cottage cheese until smooth. Stir in the eggs and melted butter, then add the flour.
Cook pancakes until golden, then flip and cook for an additional minute. Do not overcook, These pancakes are moist and should spring back to the touch.
And for the topping:
Small bag of frozen raspberries
1/2 cup of agave nectar or maple syrup
heat on stove top until warm. Enjoy!
So, back to our Valentine's creativity....Tonight my kids and I were over at my parents' house watching Hollywood week on American Idol and I noticed how much fun the boys were having, playing with the vintage collection of fisher price little people my mom has at her house. (You know, the ones that don't have arms or legs and that were later modified so that they wouldn't be choking hazards...) I asked if I could wrap a couple of them up for Valentine's, noting that we would be (more than) happy to bring them back as soon as the kids start losing interest. She was delighted with the idea and even hooked me up with cute little Valentine's gift bags. So, there you go.
People sometimes ask how I became somewhat passionate about simple living (and i say somewhat, because I am somewhat passionate about shopping at Target as well)...and it was the combination of several things: living with and becoming close with our simple guru friends Chris and Kaye, living near Boulder, being motivated to live on one income, reading Shane Claiborne's The Irresistible Revolution, and viewing this clever little video called "The story of stuff" with Annie Leonard. I am sure that there were about a hundred other contributing factors, but those are the ones that popped into my head. Additionally, I had this realization when Levi was born that I could not stand the idea of any of our kids' toys or clothing being made by children. Here is a link to the Story of Stuff. It's really cool, so if you haven't seen it already, please check it out.
http://www.storyofstuff.com/
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Works for me Wednesday- smoothie time!
Here's a recipe that is popular at our house:
2 and 1/2 cups milk (cow's milk, soy milk, almond milk or rice milk is fine)
1/4 cup almonds
2 bananas (frozen or fresh)
2 TBSP peanut butter
1 cup of fresh spinach or mixed greens
Honey or agave nectar to taste
Blend well and serve. Levi and Max drink it through straw sippy cups. What a great way to get the whole family to "eat" raw almonds and spinach. We love it :)
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Works for me Wednesdays
I just wanted to share a little something we do, for any of you that have too many 5pm frantically searching through the cupboard moments. As my friend Jill once said in a facebook post, "It's 5pm and the vultures are circling."
I've always wanted to be a "laundry on Monday," "ironing on Tuesday," "floors on Wednesday" type of girl, but truth be told I don't iron except for weddings and job interviews and I don't always make my bed. Okay, I rarely make my bed. There.
But, I have found a meal rhythm that seems to work pretty well for our family. Just enough structure, but not too much. I schedule 3 meals each week, one Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. It's pretty inexpensive and it's super easy. This is what makes it sustainable for our family.
On Mondays, we do breakfast for dinner. For us, this often means waffles. Here is the recipe I follow:
In one bowl:
1 and 3/4 C. whole wheat pastry flour (you can use regular whole wheat, it's just not quite and light and fluffy that way.)
1 TBSP Baking powder
1 tsp salt
In another bowl
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil (sometimes I use 1/3)
1 and 3/4 cup of milk
Mix the wet and dry ingredients together.
Then I stir in:
1 cup of chopped walnuts
1/2-1 cup of frozen blueberries
and maybe some ground flax.
Voila...beautiful, tasty, and nutritious waffles. We top them with agave nectar or honey.
Now for Wednesday. We still have "world Wednesdays" and we eat a very simple meal and make a special point to pray for those without food and shelter. Lately, we've been learning about and praying specifically for the people of Haiti. Here is the meal that we usually prepare. It is from Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone. I knew nothing about cooking before I graduated from college. And in 2005, I studied this book like a textbook, and always give Deborah Madison credit for "teaching me how to cook." My friend Josephine has been asking for this recipe for a few weeks now, so Josephine, here it is.
Deborah Madision writes, "As plain as this sounds, mujadarrah is absolutely one of the best dishes there is. A Jordanian cook I know serves her version accompanied by a chopped vegetable salad that sparkles with parsley and lemon. Although you can cook the onions in a scant amount of oil, it's the oil that makes this otherwise humble dish so very good."
Lentils and Rice with Fried Onions (Mujaddarah)
6 Tablespoons of olive oil
1 very large onion
1 and 1/4 cups green or brown lentils, sorted and rinsed.
Salt and freshly milled pepper
3/4 cup white or brown long-grain rice
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until it's a rich, dark brown, about 12 minutes. Meanwhile, put the lentils in a saucepan with 1 quart water and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Add the rice, plenty of pepper, and, if needed, additional water to cover. Cover and cook over low heat until rice is done, about 15 minutes. Stir in half the onions, then cover and let stand off the heat for 5 minutes. Spoon the lentil-rice mixture on to plates or a platter and cover with the remaining onions.
Fish on Fridays. I'm not Catholic, but I've always been drawn to meaningful tradtions, and even more so after reading Lauren Winner's "Mudhouse Sabbath." (Thank you Halen for the recommendation.) It is about a smart and sassy used-to-be-Jewish girl, who falls in love with Jesus, and how she implements certain meaningful Jewish traditions into her Christian faith. When you finish the book, you feel like you've gained a new friend. I am pretty convinced that she and I would get along well...and be great scrabble partners.
So, back to fish on Fridays... my friend Sarah served this one evening a couple of months ago, and Zach and I savored every bite. It's our splurge meal. We usually choose to buy fresh wild-caught salmon from Whole Foods, but frozen works alright too. It's funny that Catholics use fish on Fridays to abstain or fast from "meat." On the contrary, Friday is sometimes the only day of the week that we have meat.
Here is the recipe for the "Alaskan Salmon Bake."
Ingredients:
* 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
* 3 tablespoons butter, melted
* 5 teaspoons honey
* 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
* 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
* 3 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
* 6 (4 ounce) fillets salmon
* salt and pepper to taste
* 6 lemon wedges
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). In a small bowl, mix together the mustard, butter, and honey. In another bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, pecans, and parsley.
2. Season each salmon fillet with salt and pepper. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush with mustard-honey mixture. Cover the top of each fillet with bread crumb mixture.
3. Bake for 10 minutes per inch of thickness, measured at thickest part, or until salmon just flakes when tested with a fork. Serve garnished with lemon wedges.
Pretty easy, pretty healthy and very delicious. I love to share the things in life that work for me, and I would love to learn things that work for you too.
I've always wanted to be a "laundry on Monday," "ironing on Tuesday," "floors on Wednesday" type of girl, but truth be told I don't iron except for weddings and job interviews and I don't always make my bed. Okay, I rarely make my bed. There.
But, I have found a meal rhythm that seems to work pretty well for our family. Just enough structure, but not too much. I schedule 3 meals each week, one Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. It's pretty inexpensive and it's super easy. This is what makes it sustainable for our family.
On Mondays, we do breakfast for dinner. For us, this often means waffles. Here is the recipe I follow:
In one bowl:
1 and 3/4 C. whole wheat pastry flour (you can use regular whole wheat, it's just not quite and light and fluffy that way.)
1 TBSP Baking powder
1 tsp salt
In another bowl
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil (sometimes I use 1/3)
1 and 3/4 cup of milk
Mix the wet and dry ingredients together.
Then I stir in:
1 cup of chopped walnuts
1/2-1 cup of frozen blueberries
and maybe some ground flax.
Voila...beautiful, tasty, and nutritious waffles. We top them with agave nectar or honey.
Now for Wednesday. We still have "world Wednesdays" and we eat a very simple meal and make a special point to pray for those without food and shelter. Lately, we've been learning about and praying specifically for the people of Haiti. Here is the meal that we usually prepare. It is from Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone. I knew nothing about cooking before I graduated from college. And in 2005, I studied this book like a textbook, and always give Deborah Madison credit for "teaching me how to cook." My friend Josephine has been asking for this recipe for a few weeks now, so Josephine, here it is.
Deborah Madision writes, "As plain as this sounds, mujadarrah is absolutely one of the best dishes there is. A Jordanian cook I know serves her version accompanied by a chopped vegetable salad that sparkles with parsley and lemon. Although you can cook the onions in a scant amount of oil, it's the oil that makes this otherwise humble dish so very good."
Lentils and Rice with Fried Onions (Mujaddarah)
6 Tablespoons of olive oil
1 very large onion
1 and 1/4 cups green or brown lentils, sorted and rinsed.
Salt and freshly milled pepper
3/4 cup white or brown long-grain rice
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until it's a rich, dark brown, about 12 minutes. Meanwhile, put the lentils in a saucepan with 1 quart water and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Add the rice, plenty of pepper, and, if needed, additional water to cover. Cover and cook over low heat until rice is done, about 15 minutes. Stir in half the onions, then cover and let stand off the heat for 5 minutes. Spoon the lentil-rice mixture on to plates or a platter and cover with the remaining onions.
Fish on Fridays. I'm not Catholic, but I've always been drawn to meaningful tradtions, and even more so after reading Lauren Winner's "Mudhouse Sabbath." (Thank you Halen for the recommendation.) It is about a smart and sassy used-to-be-Jewish girl, who falls in love with Jesus, and how she implements certain meaningful Jewish traditions into her Christian faith. When you finish the book, you feel like you've gained a new friend. I am pretty convinced that she and I would get along well...and be great scrabble partners.
So, back to fish on Fridays... my friend Sarah served this one evening a couple of months ago, and Zach and I savored every bite. It's our splurge meal. We usually choose to buy fresh wild-caught salmon from Whole Foods, but frozen works alright too. It's funny that Catholics use fish on Fridays to abstain or fast from "meat." On the contrary, Friday is sometimes the only day of the week that we have meat.
Here is the recipe for the "Alaskan Salmon Bake."
Ingredients:
* 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
* 3 tablespoons butter, melted
* 5 teaspoons honey
* 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
* 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
* 3 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
* 6 (4 ounce) fillets salmon
* salt and pepper to taste
* 6 lemon wedges
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). In a small bowl, mix together the mustard, butter, and honey. In another bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, pecans, and parsley.
2. Season each salmon fillet with salt and pepper. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush with mustard-honey mixture. Cover the top of each fillet with bread crumb mixture.
3. Bake for 10 minutes per inch of thickness, measured at thickest part, or until salmon just flakes when tested with a fork. Serve garnished with lemon wedges.
Pretty easy, pretty healthy and very delicious. I love to share the things in life that work for me, and I would love to learn things that work for you too.
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