special class snack: make-your-own yogurt parfait bar

My little one's birthday is coming up, so he gets to bring a special snack to school to share with his classmates. His choice? A yogurt parfait bar. My husband balked, wondering "what 4 going on 5-year-old asks for a yogurt parfait for his birthday snack", but I kind of wonder if the kid is on to something?

Each child will be given a clear cup with yogurt on the bottom, then a variety of toppings to choose from. As a special treat, I am also giving the teachers whipped cream and some Stonewall Kitchen Raspberry Syrup. At home we use a variety of nuts and seeds as well, when we're making parfaits. But his class is nut-free, so we're going with:

• strawberry, banana and vanilla yogurts
• strawberries (from frozen)
• pineapple
• cantaloupe
• peaches (from frozen)
• blueberries (which I paid a small fortune for organic ones in mid-December...)
• nut-free granola (Back to Nature was one of the only brands at Whole Foods that was nut free... I believe Berkshire Grain is also nut-free, but our Whole Foods didn't carry that brand. Kevin, if you're reading this, in Berkshire Grain granola nut-free?)
• cheerios
• raisins
• cranberries (fyi: Trader Joe's organic brand is one of the only "not-produced in a plant with tree nut" varieties I can find)
• Stonewall Kitchen's Raspberry Syrup
• and whipped cream (which, no, we don't usually top it off with at home!)

homemade apple cinnamon oatmeal

If you've made homemade apple sauce, then apple-cinnamon oatmeal is a must try. Nothing like the packaged stuff. This make-ahead breakfast is the perfect start to a crisp, Fall morning.

make-ahead oatmeal + homemade applesauce

Make one big pot of oatmeal at the start of the week and store it in the fridge. This way, breakfast can be made in minutes on busy school mornings.

cider braised cabbage and apples

By now, you know my family went apple picking because there have been apples in just about everything I have made this week. Here's my latest savory apple recipe, which is similar to the Balsamic Braised Red Cabbage I told you about a while back. As with any weeknight meal I'm going to make, this side dish is so easy. Paired it with brats, chicken sausages or pork tenderloin and you have dinner made in a few minutes.

Cider-Braised Cabbage and Apples
(makes 4 side dish servings)

2 medium-size apples, cut into chunks
10 oz package of shredded cabbage (either white or red)
1 cup fresh apple cider
1/2 cup cider vinegar*
salt & pepper, to taste

In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients and bring to a simmer. Cook over medium-low heat until most of the liquid is absorbed and apples are softened (but not mushy). This side can be made ahead as it will keep in fridge for several days.

*I really like sauerkraut, so this amount of vinegar is going to give you a very zippy side dish, similar to kraut. Feel free to add less vinegar if you wish to have it less zingy.

homemade applesauce

I've made apple sauce twice this week, which is more than I think I've ever made it. In fact, this might be the first time I've ever whipped it up? Now that I see how easy it is, I might have to make it more often as a healthy snack to have on hand, or as a special addition to our breakfast oatmeal.

Homemade Applesauce
(makes about 1 quart)

8 medium-sized apples, cut into chunks, skins left on*
1 cup apple cider
sweetener (agave, turbinado, honey, maple syrup...), optional
cinnamon, optional
vanilla, optional

In a saucepan, combine apples, cider, and sweetener, spices and vanilla (if adding). Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook over medium-low heat until apples are soft. I stirred the sauce about every 10 minutes to mash the apples a bit. The longer you cook it, the softer the apples will get. When you reach the desired consistency, remove from heat and let cool. Can be frozen for up to two months.

* I am thankful that my family doesn't mind the texture of skins in our apple sauce (which we also leave quite chunky), because I don't have to peel the apples, making this a super fast snack or side. But, if you are more of an applesauce purist, then go ahead and remove the skins. You'll end up with a much smoother end product, which you can further mash til smooth with a fork, potato masher or food processor.

savory roasted apple side

After seeing his ideas in the New York Times' magazine, I couldn't wait to try Mark Bittman's ideas for savory apple sides with our bounty from apple picking this weekend. Of course, when I actually went to make the first recipe, I realized that I didn't have all of the ingredients. Still, they were delicious, and super simple.

Savory Apple Side Dish

(My Take on Mark Bittman's Moroccan Spiced Apples)

apples, cut into chunks
olive oil
garlic, minced
cumin
chili powder
cinnamon
smoked paprika

Heat oven to 425. Spread apples on a rimmed backing sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with garlic and spices. (I trust you to know how much of each spice to add, depending upon your family's tastes. Roast for 10-12 minutes, until apples are tender. (Be careful not to overcook or the apples will become mushy. Then again, if you prefer them more like a savory apple sauce, feel free to leave them in the oven for another 10 minutes, or so.)

I gave a hearty serving of these apples, along with roasted acorn squash and cider vinegar-braised onions to a friend. The combination of these flavors and textures was incredible, if I might say so myself!

homemade apple pies

With the bounty of apples from our picking adventure, we made 4 apple pies. I'd never made an apple pie before. Crisps? Plenty. But we winged it on the apple pie front and they came out fabulous. Here is our recipe:

Homemade Apple Pies
(makes four 8" pies)

store bought pie crusts (yes, you read that right)
1 dozen large apples (or more if your apples are smaller), cut into chunks
apple cider
raw honey
agave
maple syrup
cinnamon
nutmeg
allspice

This was not a perfect science, so I've listed the ingredients that went into our pies, but you should tinker with the amounts to get to a taste you like...

Preheat the oven to 425. In a large pot, combine the apples and cider. You want enough liquid so that the apples are simmering in it...but not so much that the filling will be soupy. For a dozen large apples, I eventually added about 2 cups of fresh cider. Start with 1 cup and add more as the liquid boils off. You want to start the apples and cider at a boil, then lower heat so it is at a fast simmer. Add your favorite sweetener (we added a combination of raw honey, agave and maple syrup) and a few hearty shakes of each spice, to get to the taste of your ideal apple pie filling. Stir the apples a few time, just to combine everything and make sure they are cooking evenly, during the 10-12 minutes it takes for the apples to soften some. Ideally, you'll end up with about 1/2 cup of liquid remaining in the filling.

Line pie plates with crust. Fill with warm pie filling. Top with crust (lattice or a full top crust with a small hole cut in the center to let steam escape). Bake for about 30 minutes, or until crust is golden.

(savory) apple ideas

Is there anything better than an early start to a weekend morning...big cup of coffee and something inspiring in the paper? This morning I tore out Mark Bittman's ideas for apple recipes from the New York Time's Magazine. Here is the article. (If you can't see the link for some reason simply search for "Mark Bittman Recipes: Baked, Sautéed, Fried or Roasted Apples".) I cannot wait to make either Moroccan-Spiced Roasted Apples or Brussels-Sprout-Sage Sauteed Apples. Hadn't thought of using apples in a savory way...

Back-to-School (Make-Ahead) Breakfast: Baked Oatmeal

I have to be perfectly honest: I had every intention of coming back from our trip ready to hit the ground. I thought I would have mapped out the perfect back-to-school meals, snacks and lunchbox ideas...carefully planned out how I was going to get that elusive "me" time while the kids were at school...organized all of the articles I've been tearing out and piling up all summer into a tidy binder so I could quickly and easily share new ideas with you all. And the truth is, I spent most of August just enjoying the summer with my kids. Now I'm back, but definitely not focused yet. I can't tell if my head's spinning upon re-entry or if it's just still in (blissful) vacation mode? By the end of the week, both kids will be back in school and I'll probably feel a little bit more organized. But for now, I'm just restocking the fridge/freezer after the week long Hurricane Irene power outage, and focusing on kicking off the new school year on a high note. In that spirit, I wanted to share a new make-ahead breakfast recipe with you all! We gave it a whirl yesterday and it was a hit.

Baked Oatmeal (with Bananas & Almonds)

based upon Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Every Day's Baked Oatmeal

(makes 8 servings)

butter, to grease the baking dish

2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

dash of salt

2 cups milk

1 egg

1/4 cup agave (optional)

3 Tablespoons butter, melted

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 ripe bananas, cut into 1/2" pieces

Preheat oven to 375. Butter an 8" round or square baking dish. In one bowl, combine dry ingredients: oats, almonds, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a second bowl, combine the wet ingredients: milk, egg, agave (if using), melted butter and vanilla. Place a single layer of sliced bananas in the bottom of the baking dish. (Pictured above; I used two of the bananas here and the third banana as the topping.) Cover the bananas with the oat mixture. Drizzle the milk mixture over the oats. You may want to gently tap the baking dish on your counter top, just to make sure the milk mixture moves through the oats. Arrange remaining banana on top. Bake for approximately 40 minutes, or until top is golden and the baked oatmeal has set. Let cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving.

Can be made ahead and slices may be reheated in the oven or microwave, until warmed through.

Here is the recipe in photos with a few of my additional notes:

I made this recipe with what we had on hand: bananas and slivered almonds. As such, it came out smelling and tasting like breakfast-worthy banana bread. The original recipe from Super Natural Every Day's cookbook calls for walnuts, bananas and your choice of fresh berries. If you'd like to follow the orig recipe, the steps would stay the same but your measurements would be: 2 bananas on the bottom of the pan + walnuts instead of slivered almonds in the oat mixture + 1 1/2 cups of fresh berries scattered over the top before baking, instead of that last banana. Really, you can use any type of nut you like, and any type of fruit to top it. But the way we made it was really good, so I'd probably just stick with my almond-banana version. Anyway, in the photo above, the bananas have been covered with the oat mixture, and then I am going to drizzle the milk mixture over the oats.
I did gently tap the baking dish on my counter top, just to make sure the milk mixture moved through the oats. Then I arranged slices of the third banana on top.

The baking time should be between 35-45 minutes. It took 41 minutes for the top of my dish to be golden brown and the baked oatmeal to set. It's goopey if you serve it right away. Best to let it cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving.

This is a perfect breakfast to make ahead, and simply reheat slices in the oven or microwave on a school morning. Or, if your new school year resolution is to workout before the kids get up, you could always do the quick assembly, pop it into the oven and let it bake while you workout. The amazing smell wafting from your kitchen as it bakes should get the kids out of bed in time to make the school bus.

pink punch

Last week, I made watermelon-cucumber juice, in an effort to cool us all down after camp, tennis and swimming lessons.

It was delicious, but I'll admit that the weird color (from leaving the cucumber skins on) wasn't too appealing.

My little one told me, "that if he made the juice around here, he would have made it pretty and pink, not yucky color". And so, today I laid out a variety of fruits, and let him create his own juice concoction...

His watermelon-strawberry-apple-blueberry juice was delicious. And pink. Very pink.

fruit skewers

My husband asked me what I did on Friday morning, my last big chunk of "free time" on the last day of school.

I chopped and threaded fruit onto skewers. 48 of them to be exact.

And while it took way more time than I realized it would...the excited squeals when I brought the "treat" into class made it totally worthwhile. Who knew that fruit could be so exciting to 2nd graders?

blueberry applesauce for me, blueberry applesauce for you

So, I'm not going to lie...the remaining ricotta ravioli in pesto sauce and half of the Amy's spinach & cheese pizza that was sitting on the counter when I got home from a meeting last night looked pretty darn good. And the me four days ago would have thought nothing of popping a piece-- or three-- of pizza down the hatch, and then also having dinner. And I guess that's why I am most glad that I am doing this 90-day focus on my health. It is my chance to recalibrate. But as a friend said today, "Wow! 90 days, that's a long time! Are you sure you can do that?" Today, yes. But I'll let you know if I am able to stick with it or not.

It's a challenge, particularly when you are responsible for taking care of a family. I pride myself on nourishing my husband and kids. Thankfully, the recipes so far have been the sorts of things I can also incorporate into their meals. The kids have been having a hearty cup of this all week at breakfast, alongside me, and they love it.

Blueberry Applesauce
(from Tracy Anderson's Metamorphosis Dynamic Eating Plan)

4 apples
1/2 cup blueberries
pinch of cinnamon

Core and slice the apples in half. Steam the apples, then blend them in a food processor with blueberries and cinnamon (to taste) until desired consistency.

That makes one 8 oz serving. Tracy's recipe calls for peeling the apples after you steam them, which I did not do. I like the heft the skin gives the sauce and since they were organic apples I wasn't worried about skeevy chemicals on the peels. I made a huge batch, and just processed it in batches through the Cuisinart, then stored a big bowl of it in the fridge. To give you an idea of quantities, I steamed 18 apples and added 2 cups of blueberries to my batch...plus a hearty shake (or 10) of cinnamon.

The past three mornings I have given my kids a cup of the blueberry applesauce (which you can see I still left pretty chunky) alongside either protein pancakes, oatmeal (that I also make ahead and keep in the fridge), or Trader Joe's frozen whole wheat waffles. I am able to stick to the eating plan and feel satiated, and they're getting a nice whole fruit treat instead of the regular apple slices or handful of berries with their breakfast.

Let the cooking begin!

I'm a few minutes into cooking this year's Thanksgiving feast and already I am having to improvise...I thought I would start with the cranberry sauce. That's easy to knock off the to-do list before the school bus comes rumbling up the street. My itunes workout mix is cranked up. Happy cooking music. After sneaking out for an hour and half of paddle tennis this gorgeous Fall morning, I am ready to come inside and start whipping up side dishes. No port wine on hand, so instead I've got a mixture of brandy and cointreau reducing. Kitchen smells amazing. I am operating with my friend's mantra that Thanksgiving is "really just dinner with a few extra sides". So here we go! I'm sticking to the plan I wrote about a few days back: turkey, gravy, stuffing, green beans with walnuts and frizzled onions, roasted brussel sprouts with lemon zest, maple mashed sweet potatoes, regular mashed potatoes with fresh herbs, cider-braised cabbage for something tart and this delicious cranberry sauce with cointreau and brandy instead of port this year. Let the cooking begin!

Have an abundance of blueberries? How about a crisp....

Last week, we were overrun with blueberries. The delicious result: blueberry crisp.

This was good practice for the apple crisp "factory" that is just around the corner with the start of school. Here is the basic recipe for a crisp you can whip up with any stone fruit (nectarines, peaches, plums....) or berries (blackberries, blueberries...) you may have on hand. Enjoy!

Cooking with Kids: Blueberry Muffins

Baking's not really my thing. I much prefer to improvise with a little of this and a little of that, rather than follow a recipe with the right proportions. But my younger child loves to help out in the kitchen, and at his age, baking is a better gig than hovering over a hot pot or using sharp knives together. So, this morning we whipped up some blueberry muffins, putting the bounty of berries on the counter to good use. I did the measuring, he did the dumping into the bowl, washed the blueberries, used the hand mixer with reckless abandon and wiped the counter down as I filled the muffin cups.

Blueberry Muffins
Yields 12 Muffins
(adapted from a Stonyfield advertisement, which was sort of pointless since I didn't have any yogurt on hand*...)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
between 1/2 to 2/3 cup of sugar (depending upon how sweet you want them)
1 cup of sour cream* (which was supposed to be yogurt, but I didn't have any)
2 eggs
1/4 cup butter, room temp
cinnamon
vanilla
lemon zest
1 1/2 cups of blueberries
Turbinado sugar (optional, to sprinkle on top before baking)

Preheat oven to 375 and spray muffins tins with cooking spray (which we didn't do, so ours are, um, stuck but still taste good). In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except blueberries. Using a hand mixer, blend on low speed until combined. Fold in the fresh blueberries. Spoon into twelve muffins cups. Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes (depending upon your oven, mine always takes longer) until tops are lightly browned and toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

For the first year that I can remember, someone else will be doing the cooking this Fourth of July. So, this might be as festive as my cooking gets this weekend? But for those of you looking for a festive treat idea to make (and one that is great for little helping hands to get in on the action), I'll send you back to last year's posts from the 4th here and here!

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving - Cranberry-Apricot Sauce

It’s safe to say that I have never been less prepared for an upcoming Thanksgiving meal. I’m not really sure why I am dragging my feet? I love the meal, I love that we gather as a family, and I really enjoy the cooking. But for some reason, I’m just kind of lollygagging around, running non-Thanksgiving related errands, enjoying the nice weather (and maybe secretly hoping that some amazing meal will appear on Thursday). The likelihood that the Thanksgiving fairies are making a stop here is slim to nil, so I did sit down and plan out a menu tonight. And, since I’d been tossing cranberries, sweet potatoes, itty bitty onions, these cool Parisian carrots, etc—the makings of all the traditional Thanksgiving sides—into my shopping cart the last couple trips to the market, I’m in pretty good shape.

Perhaps it’s that my parents fly in tonight, and I want to play with them tomorrow that I was inspired to make one of the two cranberry relishes after I put the kids down. It’s super easy (as in takes minutes), is made with minimal ingredients (which you probably have on hand) and can be made ahead (bonus). I hope you like it as much as we do.

Cranberry-Apricot Sauce
(The recipe below makes about 4 cups, enough to share with a neighbor. Feel free to halve it.)

1 cup of orange juice
1 cup of port wine
24 oz fresh cranberries (2 bags, as they’re usually 12 ounces)
1 cup sugar (I used Sugar in the Raw, but it’s not as sweet as regular sugar)
1 cup dried apricots, cut into slivers or ½” pieces

In a saucepan, heat the orange juice and port until boiling. Toss in the cranberries, apricots and sugar. Stir over medium-low heat for 10 minutes. You’ll see the cranberries pop, and the consistency thicken up as you’re stirring.

Let the sauce cool, and then store it in an air tight container in the fridge until Thanksgiving.

Amazing (& Easy) Almost Caramelized Banana Muffins

We just made the most amazing muffins. I had every intention of baking them from scratch, but the bananas on the counter weren’t too ripe yet, and there was a banana bread mix staring at me. Plus, I was in the mood to experiment since I’ve had these dried banana in my pantry and wasn’t quite sure what to do with them? The muffins turned out amazing. The addition of dried bananas make the muffin flavor almost caramelized, and the consistency goes from cake-y (which is also delicious) to chewy.

"Caramelized" Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 package Trader Joe’s Banana Bread Mix*
+ 2 eggs
+ 1/3 cup vegetable oil
+ ¾ cup water
½ pkg of semi-sweet chocolate chips
Trader Joe’s “Nothing But Banana, Flattened” (in dried fruit aisle)
Cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 325. Line a muffin tin with foil or paper liners (unless you’ve got those fancy reusable ones). Prepare the banana bread according to the package, and stir in half a bag of chocolate chips. (You could do walnuts or pecans instead, but you’d be much less popular with your family.) Spoon batter halfway up muffin cups. Then, using scissors, chop a layer of the dried bananas on top of the batter. Full muffin cups with remaining batter. Sprinkle tops with a hearty shake of cinnamon. Then bake for 25-45 minutes** until the muffins are a nice rich brown and toothpick inserted comes out clean.

*Trader Joe’s Banana Bread mix contains: sugar, enriched flour, banana flakes, baking powder, wheat germ, wheat bran, salt and vanilla.

** I give a range on the cooking time because though my oven says it's the right temp, according to the thermometer I put in there every once in a while, everyone's oven is different. I usually use a regular "baking" setting, versus convection...and my rickety old oven always tends to take the long end of the range.

Apple Crisp - Our Back to School Tradition

Making apple crisp for my son’s teachers on the first day of school has become a tradition in our house. We don’t have many traditions, outside of a Christmas tree, but this is one that has stuck. I grew up eating apple crisp, peach crisp, berry crisp. Whatever was in season my mom made into a delicious crisp. Making apple crisp is very easy for a young child to help with, and the recipients are tickled to get the homemade treat. Since our older child would gladly bake for his entire school if he had enough apples, we encourage him to focus in on his teachers from the previous year, and the ones he’s looking forward to having this year to keep the project special...but still within reason for mom, the sous chef.

Apple Crisp

Apples (any variety, we like to use a mix of tart, sweet, and baking)
Oats
Brown Sugar
Butter
Whole Wheat Flour
Cinnamon
Ginger (optional)
Nutmeg (optional)
Vanilla (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash and core your apples, then quarter them, leaving the skin on. Using a Cuisinart (the slicing attachment it comes with), slice the apples. This part is great for kids. Simply have them feed chunks of apple into the tube up top. Safe, loud, and they can see their progress as the bowl fills up.

Fill baking dish(es) ¾ of the way up with sliced apples, pressing down gently to make sure you’ve put enough in since they’ll cook down a bit.

I find it is easiest to make the topping in a big bowl with a hand-mixer. Combine oats, brown sugar, butter, a handful of flour and ample amounts of the dried spices and vanilla and blend on medium-low until combined and crumbly. Let your children dump in the dry spices and vanilla…just let them shake shake shake, as it’s hard to have too much cinnamon or vanilla. I am not giving you exact amounts b/c you can look to see how it’s coming together, and taste the topping and add more of one thing or another until it’s the way you like it. We do not make ours very sweet (brown sugar) but do go heavy on the spices and vanilla, so it counts as a legitimate breakfast food around here too.

When making the topping, basically you just want the consistency of the topping to be a little drier than an oatmeal cookie batter…enough butter and flour that it’s going to help bind the oats together when you bake it + enough of the brown sugar spices and vanilla to flavor and sweeten it to your liking. As readers of this blog know, I like to wing it when I am cooking, relying on my sense of taste, and texture, to end up with a delicious result. But if you are more comfortable with an exact recipe, here’s one from Food Network and one from Quaker Oats. Bake the apple crisp, uncovered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the apples pierce easily when you poke down into the center of the dish.

If giving it as a gift, let your recipient know that Apple Crisp is best served warm with a rich vanilla ice cream. You can reheat the crisp in the microwave (for ok results) or in a 350 degree oven (for much better results, as the topping will crisp up again). Should the topping start to get too dark, simply cover with a bit of foil when warming it up.