Friday recipes; or Fricipes

Technically, I'm not including a recipe. But this is definitely food related.

The New York Times just wrote a really interesting article about the mistakes parents make when feeding the kids. I was a little shocked that "Letting your child live exclusively on Fruit Loops" didn't make the list, but hey, I guess that's sort of implied.

I have to say, I'm only guilty of one to two of the six sins. The article suggests you shouldn't force kids to take at least one bite of everything. I'm definitely in that camp. My argument is, I'll give you an alternative if you don't like what I made, but you've got to at least try it.

Anyhow, I thought it was a great list unlike any I'd seen before. Most say things like, don't let kids fill up on carbs. Well, duh. But this actually offered some useful advice.

1. Don't send kids out of the kitchen. Let them hang around for preparations. BTW, I'm super good at this one.
2. Pressuring them to take a bite. I think I've mentioned, not so much.
3. Keeping good food out of reach. "Good food" was a misnomer. It actually means stuff kids think is good, like candy. The argument is, don't have it in the house if you don't want your kids to have it. I hope wine doesn't apply.
4. Dieting in front of your kids.
5. Serving boring veggies. For Pete's sake, but some butter on those green beans.
6. Giving up too soon. It can take kids up to 15 tries before they accept they like something.

Friday recipes; or Fricipes

For my birthday, my aunt gave me this great cookbook all about cooking with the seasons. Since she's also quite the gardener, I also came home from a recent visit with a paper bag full of tomatoes.

"Simply In Season," commissioned by Mennonites, has fantastic recipes for all kinds of veggies. From springtime asparagus to winter squash, almost anything growing in your garden is covered. Since I was the lucky recipient of all these tomatoes, and because I don't can, I made a simple tomato sauce, which I froze. The following recipe is pretty much straight from the book, with a few of my own tweaks.

1 chopped onion sautéed in 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium head until soft.
2 garlic cloves, minced. Cook for about 30 seconds.

Add two shredded carrots, 1 chopped green (or red) pepper, 2 bay leaves, 1/4 cup fresh parsley, 2 Tbsp fresh basil, 1 Tbsp fresh oregano and/or 1 Tbsp fresh thyme.

Stir well

6 cups peeled and chopped tomatoes. Puree about half in food processor or blender.
6 ounces tomato paste
Salt and pepper to taste.

Sauté about 15 minutes. Have a lovely bowl of pasta and freeze the rest in plastic bags.

Flaw week; continued

Doritos!

I have many excuses for not listing all my green flaws in a timely fashion as I had promised. For instance, I have a non-stop barrage of family in town. Also, who really wants to list their flaws in an organized, thoughtful manner? And last night, I bought Lucky Charms, juice boxes and paper plates in an effort to make my eco-fied house somehow more kid friendly to my husband's kin.

This truly is a downward spiral. To make up for my uncharacteristic impulse buys (my husband demanded to know what I had done with his wife), I made some very tasty, adult-friendly, homemade mac-and-cheese my kids literally ate up.

So here's my eco-flaw of the day: I cave to peer pressure and Doritos. It's really unfair that guest kids are eating Doritos on the couch while my kids are banned to the kitchen table during snacks of crackers and milk. I understand this.

But there's lot of reasons to eat non-processed foods. They taste better. They're better for you. They're better for the environment. Trust me... I love Doritos. But sometimes you just have to say no for the greater good, meaning both the planet and my waistline.

So maybe the kids should be able to watch Saving Nemo while eating some stove-cooked popcorn (that's why God invented Friday Movie Night) and some homemade peanut butter cookies. It just takes a tiny bit of effort to feel a little better about "kid food" that doesn't have a bunch of mystery ingredients or excessive packaging.

But maybe I should consider that nobody is perfect, and while I might have bought one package of paper plates too many, I'll do better next time.

Dorito photo by giest on Flickr

Friday recipes; or Fricipes

So you had a big party last night and that big bowl of tortilla chips is stale. Or, more likely in my case, you fell asleep with an open bag while you were watching "We Are the 80s" on VH1 for the 15th time.

Whatever. There's an awesome remedy for those inedible corn chips — chilaquiles.

Chilaquiles is a traditional Mexican dish using leftover corn tortillas. The tortillas are fried, layered with leftover sauce and cheese, and baked into a casserole. There are a ton of varieties to this great dish, and here's a link to get you started, but my personal favorite is the tomatillo variety. It's tangy and wonderful.

2 lbs. tomatillos, quartered. They look like husked green tomatoes and sold near the avocados.
1 medium onion, diced.
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped.
Juice from one lime.
1/2 tsp salt.
1 jalapeño or serrano pepper, for the brave. (otherwise, optional).
2 cup chicken broth.
1/2 bag corn chips. If you don't have this, fry up about 12 corn tortillas cut in eighths.
16 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded.

1. Combine the tomatillos, onion, cilantro, lime, pepper and salt in blender until smooth. Bring mixture to boil on stove.

2. Add chicken broth. Bring to boil. Turn to low and simmer 10 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 350.

4. Put about 1 cup sauce on bottom of casserole dish. Layer with tortilla chips.

5. Add another cup of sauce, half the cheese and another layer of chips. Top with sauce and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is bubbly.

6. Serve with sour cream. If it's a spicy dish, it works really well with a fried egg.

The Whole Foods story

Whole Foods, the fancy-schmancy grocery store known for selling quality organic food, is having a bit of a problem. Seems people aren't willing to spend half their paychecks on good eats when times are tough.

So the chain is trying to shake its image. But one thing it can't do at this point is appeal to the huge part of the population it's ignored for so long. There are 16 stores in my state of Illinois and every one of them is in Chicago or the Windy City suburbs. Big cities. Hip neighborhoods. That's where Whole Foods built its base.

Don't get me wrong. I love Whole Foods. Yum. But it looks like I'll have to stick mostly to my local grocery (the St. Louis-based Schnuck's that built a store a mile from my house off a bike trail) local farmers (it is the Midwest, after all) and local specialty stores.

Good luck with that image problem of yours Whole Foods. You're going to need it.

Photo by beardenb on Flickr

Friday recipes; or Fricipes

The tomatoes are here! The tomatoes are here!

Every year when we get those first few tomatoes, we always analyze the best way to eat them. A fresh mozzarella/tomato salad with olive oil and great bread? A fantastic BLT?

How about some fresh salsa? Oh how I love the conundrum of summer food.

Here's my recipe for the perfect summer salsa. Next week, check back to find out how to deliciously use stale corn chips.

This is a single tomato recipe. Just double, triple or multiple by 100 for your needs. Also, don't be afraid to experiment. A seeded cucumber or diced carrot can make a nice addition, especially if you're making a clean-out-the-fridge variety.

One good sized tomato
Tsp salt
One small onion
One jalapeno or Serrano pepper (use half a green pepper if you don't like the heat)
One small ear of corn, boiled five minutes and cut off cob
Juice from half a lime
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1. Dice tomatoes. Put in colander in sink and sprinkle with salt (this will rid the tomatoes of their excess juice)
2. Layer diced onion, diced pepper and corn on top of tomatoes. Do not stir.
3. Squeeze lime juice over vegetables
4. Wait about 15-20 minutes.
5. Stir the mixture into a medium bowl. Stir in cilantro and season with salt and pepper.

Eat with corn chips, tacos or over scrambled eggs.

Friday recipes; or Fricipes

I've got nothing against the traditional grilled cheese sandwich. Who doesn't love butter, bread and cheese slices, maybe some ham if you're feeling fancy?

But I definitely prefer a more grown-up variety, especially in the summer. And both my kids, even my picky eater, love it.

Today is one of my favorites. I got some good Ciabatta bread from the bakery. I could have made my own rustic version if I had the time and inclination, neither of which panned out.

Then I layer fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil and some shredded mozzarella. I brush both sides with olive oil and cook over medium heat on the stove top until both sides are golden brown, about four minutes each.

Add and subtract veggies and cheese to find your favorite combo. I'm also partial to sautéed spinach with goat cheese.

Summer favorites

Someone recently asked me about the cost of a CSA v what I'd spend at the grocery store.

We pay about $14 a week, which is slightly more per week than we paid last year, but our farmer this year grows more "backyard garden" kind of stuff, which is a bigger hit with the fam. This cost obviously differs among farmers, regions, items grown and how organic the farmer is.

One green pepper; two onions; two tomatoes (yeah! tomatoes); three cucumbers; three pickling cucumbers; four banana peppers; one eggplant; three Japanese eggplants; up to four zucchini (I only took two because, frankly, I don't want any more zucchini); one head of leaf lettuce; one bunch of basil; one bunch of carrots; one head of garlic.

And music please.

A dozen ears of corn!!!
After several months of the constant mantra "I don't like it" from my super-picky 2-year-old, this was indeed a welcome addition to the dinner table.

(note* I checked at Meijer yesterday and calculated $14 without counting the zucchini, garlic or tomatoes. I definitely feel like I got a deal.)

Like peas and carrots

I just returned from a second, less eco-friendly, vacation to Minnesota. I realize driving 45 minutes to get to the Mall of America is probably a true tree-hugger's worst nightmare, but seriously... how could you go to Minneapolis and not go there?

When we returned home to a pretty tidy house and an empty refrigerator, I felt pretty good about myself for scrounging up a decent stir-fry meal using some stuff from my garden. My carrots didn't seem orange enough, and peas not abundant enough, but that's why stir-fry is so awesome. Just throw in what you have and hope for the best.

And just for the record, I've never trusted baby carrots. They seem really wet and taste weird. So when we bought a bag for the car, my 2-year-old ate a bunch and later threw them up in their nearly original state, I have to think I'm right on this.

Give peas a chance

I hate peas. Yuck.

That was until last night when I picked fresh peas from my garden, barely boiled them and served with butter and salt. Delicious. I read that frozen peas, because they're flash frozen just after picking, generally taste better than grocery store "fresh." It's surprising, but apparently peas quickly (in about a day) lose their nutritional quality and flavor.

But just out of the garden? Heaven.

My only complaint, and this is a problem with everything from my garden, there just wasn't enough. I don't have adequate room to grow the number of plants needed to provide a satisfying pea side dish. Even the most prolific plant is just one plant.

It's true, I do have a decent-sized yard, but we also have two giant shade trees that keep things nice and cool around here in the dog-day summer months. They also keep the chilly wind out when things around here get more blustery.

So what's a Gardner girl to do? Well, herbs are something that grow pretty easily and don't need a ton of room. I cut what I need and it always grows back. I also have some pepper plants that aren't as square-footage hungry as say cucumbers, zucchini or melons.

Besides, I have my CSA and that provides our four-person clan with plenty of veggies to go around.

Suburban free fall

It was innocent enough, I swear.

A rainy morning and a eco-husband who says, "Where's the umbrella? I'm going to take the bus," and you've got yourself a simple temptation to take the car two blocks to your daughter's swimming practice. So that's exactly what I did.

And so what if after practice I run to the bank. And then there's the traffic jam and my stomach reminds me about lunch. What's one McDonald's drive-threw in the grand scheme of things? And Target shopping?

Wait... Regain senses. Go home and make a delicious lunch of homemade chicken nuggets from the leftover tenderloins on the cutlets. Make a salad. But what a reminder of how easy it is to slip back into easy.

Save money. Save my waistline. Save the environment.

Photo by Snappybex on Flickr

Friday recipes; or Fricipes

Who doesn't love a good smoothie? That's right. Nobody.

So I was pretty happy my husband passed along his mom's quick smoothie recipe for a refreshing after-dinner treat. You can make it with ice cream, but I find it works just as well with plain yogurt (I never buy the pre-sweetened stuff because it's chock full of high fructose corn syrup and it's just as good if you take the plain stuff add a generous helping of maple syrup and your choice of fruit).

This smoothie literally takes about three minutes and could use almost any fruit. I read another great recipe to freeze these in Popsicle containers for smoothie frozen pops. Yum...

Strawberry-banana smoothie

• I cut up one banana, a half dozen good sized strawberries and throw those in the blender. I add about a cup and a half of yogurt and two TBS of maple syrup, which I swear does not make your yogurt take like maple syrup, just yummy sweet.
• Blend.
• Add about a handful of ice cubes.
• Blend until the cubes are crushed.

Beautiful big breakfast

When you run two miles in the morning, and then bike four miles to a restaurant carting 70 pounds of kid behind you, there's absolutely no guilt as you're practically licking your plate clean of its three-egg omelet. This I know to be true.

What I do find a little guilt-probable is the food. We were looking at the table condiments and found each packed with high fructose corn syrup, which is essentially banned at our house. Sure, I understand this sweetener, which is not that much chemically different than plain table sugar but a crap-load cheaper, is used to sweeten jams and jelly.

But when honey contains sugar, high fructose corn syrup, plain old corn syrup and, oh yes, honey, in its top five ingredients, you know there's a problem. So maybe we don't use the tiny packets on our table, but what about the pancakes? What about the juice? What about the sausage?

What's in that stuff? And how many empty calories did I replace from my vigorous morning workouts?

It's not that I'm against sweet stuff. I happen to like sweet stuff very much. I'm just against mass-produced foods adding this stuff, and calories that could be contributing to our obesity epidemic (although this issue is up for debate), to items that don't need sweetening. It's not that this corn-product is worse than sugar, but it's contributing calories to almost every processed food.

Honey, for instance, doesn't need sweetening. It's sugar. Why would you sweeten sugar? That's why I find it's just easier to avoid high fructose corn syrup altogether.

Reusable awesomeness

I just want to say, those Parmesan cheese containers in the cooler section (like Kraft or off-brand cheese that's totally not the good stuff but that is much cheaper than the good stuff and you know you kind of love it) make great snack containers.

They have cool lids. A wide section for crackers. A shaker section for raisins. The lids screw on which means less spillage. They're a great size.

I haven't done this yet, but I'm thinking of letting the girls paint one. Giving them ownership of this handy-yet-disposable item might (fingers crossed) make it less likely they'll leave it behind.

Organically sealed

Do you know what I find incredibly annoying? When things labeled "organic" have a decidedly not-earth-friendly aspect.
Like this tea I picked up the other day. Just for the record, I generally don't buy organic as a matter of course. I'll pay higher prices for locally grown, preferably using organic methods, and I'll buy organic produce if it looks better, aka fresher. But corporate organic farming just doesn't ring my bell, if you know what I mean. (note * I highly recommend taking a look at that last link. It has a flow chart of which companies own which organic brands.)

I bought this tea because it was on sale. When I got home and saw each tea was individually packaged — in plastic — I groaned dramatically. Most of the high end tea I buy isn't individually packaged, and some of it doesn't even have that little string and paper. The really good stuff is loose tea, and that doesn't have any packing at all.

Friday recipes; or Fricipes

My salad days are back — literally.

This week in my CSA bounty, I received three full heads of lettuce, a bag of baby greens and a bag of spinach. That means salad.

I'm totally not complaining. I would gladly eat salad every day between now and doom's day. But of course, I need a good dressing. A first-rate dressing is important when trying (begging, pleading and threatening) to get kids to eat their green leafies as well.

Personally, I lean on the side of sour on the sour/sweet debate. Here's what I view as the perfect combination. Just blend all the ingredients, the oil in a slow, steady stream to emulsify the vinaigrette. Toss immediately with greens (and if I'm really lucky, some yummy radishes).

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar or fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt (just a pinch if you only have table salt)
6 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
a few chopped chives, optional


My CSA farmer passed along this dressing recipe recently. I haven't tried it, but I'm intrigued. I'm guessing it would be a favorite with the girls.

Combine about 1/4 cup mayonnaise (NOT Miracle Whip--it will not work!) with enough milk, thinning it, but not runny. Add about 1 tsp sugar and mix until the sugar dissolves. Add vinegar (cider vinegar works best) to taste, 1 TBSP or more.

Friday recipes; or Fricipes

I recently bid house guests a safe trip home. I made a huge pork roast with basmati rice and broccoli, but I'm pretty sure I could have opened a can of tomato soup, grated some cheese on top and called it a day — all to the same reaction of "What a wonderful dinner."

That's because I made my own bread. Homemade bread is deemed such a luxury that it matters little else what is on the table. And a tasty loaf is truly a wonderful thing. If you've ever looked at the ingredients in your typical sandwich bread, you'll likely see a bunch of mystery ingredients, including high fructose corn syrup.

I make mostly two kinds of yeast breads: American white loaf and Rustic Italian, depending on what I'm serving. Stews and American-style meals, like roasts, are better with the white bread. Everything else gets rustic. Also, the American bread recipe takes just a few hours, whereas the rustic recipe takes two days.

These recipes are pretty complex, so I won't include them here. I use Cooks Illustrated (best cookbook EVER) for both the white and the rustic. You need a subscription (which is well worth it, by the way, but they also have an unlimited search for 14 days free).

The New York Times ran this interesting recipe for no-knead bread that I've never had any luck with, but it's a great idea. I just think my oven doesn't get hot enough. And here's a nice recipe for white bread from a pretty thorough site.

So bake a loaf today, but don't expect it to be there tomorrow.

Friday recipes; or Fricipes

In case you weren’t aware, there’s this worldwide rice shortage at the moment. So, sure I’m about to pass along my favorite rice recipe because what the world needs now is more middle American rice consumers.

Anyhow, I love rice. I buy in bulk basmati rice at the local Asian grocer. Whenever I cook rice as a side dish, I always make way too much on purpose.

The purpose? Leftover fried rice. It’s so totally easy and it gets rid of all those leftover veggies about to go bad in the fridge. For whatever reason, day-old rice makes a much better fried rice than fresh rice. So just store about six extra cups in the fridge overnight (even a day or two is fine) and get ready for the best freakin’ leftovers ever.

I made this last night and even had my veggie-hating 2-year-old to devour her dinner, complete with komatsuna. That’s right, komatsuna.

Six cups fried rice
Vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/4 cup oyster sauce (also available at the Asian grocer)
2 Tbsp soy sauce
One clove of garlic
2 carrots, cut into bite size pieces
cups of frozen peas
2 scallions
* Note (the carrots, peas and scallions can be substituted with any vegetable you have ready to hit the trash. Good substitutes are mushrooms, greens, onions or broccoli)

1. Scramble the eggs. I like to use just one pan (easy cleanup) so I drop the eggs in oil over medium high and stir the crap out of them. It’s not like eating fluffy eggs for breakfast so don’t worry too much if they don’t look perfect. Set aside in a bowl.
2. Add some more oil (a tablespoon or so) and add the garlic. If you’re using onion, do that first for about two minutes. Cook garlic for about 30 seconds.
3. Add carrots and peas. Cook for about a minute.
4. Add oyster sauce, soy sauce and rice. Stir until it looks like the stuff you get from your favorite Chinese restaurant. Remove from heat and add scallions (if using) and eggs.

Turn up the heat

Every family has a dirty little secret. Even, our little eco-friendly clan.

We love to barbecue. And not just because we like to send a bunch of carbon emissions into the blue, clear sky on sustainable seafood and veggies.


Oh no... We're talking red meat.

I know. It's a horrible secret. But we're not alone. The Sierra Club tells me three out of four American households own a grill.

Nationwide, the estimated 60 million barbecues held on the Fourth of July alone consume enough energy—in the form of charcoal, lighter fluid, gas, and electricity—to power 20,000 households for a year.

Yikes. But here's a few hints to guilt-free grilling. Also, make sure you take your clean sheets off the line before your favorite family grill-master fires up the hardwood briquettes or you'll be sleeping with the aroma of your great smoky dinner.

Trust me. It's not as much fun as it sounds.

DONE: Ditch the VOC-laden lighter fluid for a chimney starter, which let's the head chef start the grill with just newspaper. It's a cost saver in the long run.

STILL WORKING: Buy locally raised meat. It typically has fewer issues with how they're raised and from long-distance shipping than those value packs of brats at your neighborhood superstore. This Times article has a good rundown of grilling a better burger. Don't forget that grilled veggies are pretty rockin'.

NOT GONNA HAPPEN: How about a solar ovens or stoves to avoid most emissions entirely. I'll go ahead and do this after my bio-plastic stock makes me a millionaire.

Friday recipes; or Fricipes

I've recently changed my diet to reflect a more Asian style of eating. I did this after seeing the Asian Diet Pyramid, a different spin on the healthy eating pyramids seen in every middle school in America, and realizing they are permitted to drink alcohol EVERY day.

Now that's a diet I can get behind.

The biggest change for me is less meat. Specifically less red meat, which I kind of love. Plus, it's not as expensive as fish or fancy veggies. Plus-plus, nothing fills you up like a good old-fashioned slab of steak.

But I'm working with it. And I recently created this fantastic pita sandwich with sautéed spinach and mushrooms, and topped with bean sprouts. But the real heart of the sandwich is the Green Goddess Dip, which is versatile, yummy and is a fun and healthy dip for kids.

2 Garlic cloves
1 cup parsley
1 cup Spinach (Green goddess dip is typically all herbs, like basil and dill, but I like spinach so there)
3/4 cup of yogurt
1 cup Ricotta cheese
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut up garlic in food processor or blender. Add parsley and spinach. Blend in the yogurt. Add lemon juice.
Scoop into bowl and vigorously stir in the ricotta. Season with salt and pepper.