Hide the cheese

Chloe's Cinnamon Apples

We've had a few bad apple years here. Not that the apples have been bad, but it has been hard for all of us to enjoy them. Loose teeth, missing teeth, and braces all have inhibited  that glorious seasonal tradition of biting into a crisp apple.

I began slicing the apples for the children's snacks, but they didn't have the same appeal for lunch. The kids pack their lunches in the evening and by the next day at lunch, the apples are brown with that just-over-the-edge-of-ripeness smell.

When I was packing a snack for a hike recently, I wanted to bring along some apples but faced the same problem. I thought of tossing the apple slices with a bit of lemon juice, but knew Chloe would object if they were too tart. My compromise was to add a sprinkle of brown sugar and a sprinkle of cinnamon for good measure.




The result tasted like apple pie filling before being cooked, and it was a big hit.

Chloe has been the biggest fan and has gotten very good at making them herself. She slices them right into a storage container, adds the lemon jiuce, sugar, and cinnamon, puts on the top and gives the whole thing a shake. Presto! They're done and she pops them in the fridge to be enjoyed over the next couple of days.





Now the only bad apples in our house are of the human variety.

2009: Butter Crackers
2010: Crêpes
2011: Clementine Sorbet
2012: Lemon Cake Squared (Have the leftovers from Olivia's birthday party in the fridge!)

Chloe's Cinnamon Apples

Serves 4 for lunch or snack
15 minutes preparation time

2 whole apples, washed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons brown sugar
sprinkle of cinnamon

Slice the apples into quarters and remove the cores. Slice each quarter into 2 or 3 more pieces. If making these for later, put the slices in a storage container, add the lemon, sugar, and cinnamon, and put the top on. Shake gently until the apples are uniformly coated.

Alternatively, slice the apples into a bowl, and the remaining ingredients, and stir with a wooden spoon until the apples are completely coated with the cinnamon sugar.

The apples will keep for a couple of days in the refrigerator.

Print Recipe

Coco-Choco Pudding


The forces have been conspiring to get me to make pudding. First, Food 52 featured pudding in their recipe contest last week. I wanted to make an improved version of the Jell-O pistachio pudding that I loved as a child, but I didn't get around to testing it in time to submit it.

Then, on Friday, Olivia had some surgery on her mouth. Watching her have the surgery and recover from it has been like hearing nails on a chalkboard. It makes me cringe. Granted, she will be okay, but it is no fun to see her suffering. The recovery has been rockier than we thought it would be. She is still quite sore and eating is painful. 

As a  parent, it is heart wrenching to stand on the sidelines and watch her suffer. I want to reach in and take away her pain, or waive a wand to make it better. Maybe these times are necessary to teach both parent and child that children can handle adversity on their own. Maybe, but I don't like it.

 
 
So what is a mama to do? Cook, of course. To make eating easier on her, we have come up with a variety of soft foods, including, banana milkshakes, fruit shakes, rice and mild curry, mashed potatoes, garlicky butternut squash, and soft pasta (well past my standard for al dente).

And of course there has been pudding.

I gave the pistachio pudding a try, but I used arrowroot -- and too much of it -- and I ended up wtih a gloppy mess. Yuck. I'll give it another try, but in the meantime, I switched to chocolate because that is what Olivia was craving. I used coconut milk to give that standard chocolate pudding a tropical flair. That and Smitten Kitchen's pina colada cake got me thinking about adding an umbrella.

 
Most importantly, the texture was just what the patient ordered. Cold, creamy, and smooth. A treat to soothe that unhappy mouth.

 
Second Helping: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Thirds?: Vanilla Bean Pudding

Coco-Choco Pudding

Serves 6
15 minutes preparation and cooking time, plus time for chilling

1 15-ounce can coconut milk
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

In a small saucepan, heat the milks over medium heat just until they reach a simmer. Add the vanilla and mix it in. Remove the pot from the heat.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Sift in the cocoa powder, and whisk it again to combine. Slowly add the cornstarch mixture to the milk, whisking constantly.

Return the pot to the stove, and bring it to a simmer over medium heat. Whisk constantly until the pudding thickens, 3 to 5 minutes. Strain the pudding into a heat proof bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, pushing the plastic wrap down onto the surface of the pudding. Refrigerate until the pudding sets, about an hour in the freezer or 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Print Recipe

Grilled Eggplant Baba Ganoush

Eggplants get a mixed reception around here. They come in such beautiful colors and shapes that my children like to pick them out at the market. Instead of choosing the most perfect unblemished eggplants, though, the kids were drawn to the funniest ones.

 

The hooked nose inspired an entire puppet play.

When it comes to tasting them, however, the kiddies are a bit more timid. I don't remember much about my eating habits as a child, but I do remember one night of eggplant. My mother had toiled in the kitchen for hours to make an eggplant dish, trying no doubt to make something that she and my father would enjoy and maybe even something that would expand her children's horizons a bit. I can't remember the reaction of my siblings, but I know that when I tried it, I hated it. And of course I shared my opinion with my mother. I still remember how disappointed she was. It breaks my heart, that memory.

It gives me a bit of insight, though, into what my children must feel when I debut a new recipe. All in all, they are good sports, but I think eggplant it a tough sell. We did have fairly good results with our Smoky Eggplant Lasagne, but eggplant goes over best when they don't know what they're eating.

Grilling the eggplants until they have a nice char and srcaping out the innards.

Because baba ganoush looks like hummus, they were not as suspicious. Served with something from the bread family -- crackers or pita chips -- all three of them ate it. I think we'll put it in the lunch rotation. But first, I have to whip up a batch for my mother.

Second Helping: Victory Bread Pudding

Eggplant love.

Grilled Eggplant Baba Ganoush

Makes about 1 1/2 cups
10 minutes preparation time
approximately 25 minutes grilling time

1 large globe eggplant or 3 medium Japanese eggplants (about 1 1/2 cups of flesh)
2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
3 tablespoons tahini
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons olive oil

Poke the eggplant a few times with a fork. Grill it over medium-high heat until it is evenly charred and begins to deflate. The cook time will vary depending on the size of the eggplant(s).

Remove the eggplant from the heat and set it aside until it is cool enough to handle. Scoop the flesh out of the skin and put it in the bowl of a food processor. If you like the smokiness of the charred flavor, add a bit of the skin, too. (I recommend adding a bit at a time, tasting, and adding more if you like, to make sure that you don't overdo it). The skin will make the color darker.

Add the remaining ingredients and purée in a food processor until smooth. Taste and add more salt, olive oil, or lemon juice to suit your taste.

Jobs for children: Selecting eggplants at the market is a great job for the little ones, of course. Children of all ages can also wash the eggplant, poke it with a fork, and scoop out the flesh once the eggplant has cooled. Additional tasks include squeezing lemons, smashing and peeling garlic, measuring ingredients, and running the food processor.

Print Recipe

Grilled Sweet Pepper and Feta Hummus

A couple of weekends ago, Gabe and I were doing a little home improvement project. Those of you who know us know how unusual this is. Neither of us spends the weekends roaming around the house with a toolbelt looking for something to fix. Pause. Giggle. Sorry, I was just picturing myself in a tool belt.

Throw a wooden spoon, rubber spatula, and a whisk in those pockets, though, and we might have something.

I do aspire to be more handy, but my brain just doesn't seem to take to those fix it projects. I am missing the intuition -- or maybe it's just brainpower -- that it takes to figure them out. And Gabe is only slightly better. Instead of two left feet, we both have two left thumbs. That's four left thumbs in all.

We are more home enjoyment people than home improvement people.

I hope you will understand, then, when I tell you that Gabe and I were giving our full attention to hanging some art that we had bought years ago and finally decided to hang properly. The children were left to their own devices. Chloe drifted over to the art table to draw. Oscar parked himself on the couch to watch his dad and me struggle through this project. And, after reading for a while, Olivia went to the kitchen.
Whirled red peppers, with their skins.
I had told Olivia that I thought we should use the grilled peppers that were sitting in the refrigerator to make a hummus. Now that the children have been back in school for a month, the rotation of lunch food is wearing a bit thin. The children love their sandwiches and quesadillas, but variety is the spice of life, right? Whoever coined that expression must not have cooked for children. 

Sometimes to get them to try something new I just deviate one step from something that I know they like. Because all three of our children love Basil Hummus, I thought another flavor might win them over. With grilled peppers and hummus in the refrigerator, a Saturday lunch seemed like the perfect time to try a new lunch box idea. So while Gabe and I were muddling through our project in the other room, Olivia began making the hummus.

After the storm.
She seeded the peppers and removed the stems, but left the skins on and chopped them up in the food processor before I knew what had happened. Normally I would peel the peppers first, but by the time I made it into the kitchen, it was too late for that. The resulting hummus was delicious, though. Because the skin was still on, more of the smokiness of the grill flavor came through.

I was a bit afraid that Oscar wouldn't like it because he isn't always a fan of hummus, so I just put a dollop on his plate and didn't say a word. A few minutes later, I sneaked a peek and it was gone, eaten by the pickiest of the hummus eaters. He didn't like it nearly as much as he enjoyed watching his parents work, though. After observing us miss-measure, drill a whole in the wrong place, make a trip to the hardware store (two if you count coming home to get the wallet), and finally get the darn thing in place, he announced, "This was way more entertaining than I thought it would be. Even one curse word." Very restrained of us, I thought.

Somebody's got to do the taste test.

Second Helping: Edamame Rice Balls

Grilled Sweet Pepper and Feta Hummus

3 medium sweet peppers
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
approximately 1/4 cup feta
2 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
4 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
smoked paprika or pimenton (optional)

Grill the peppers, turning them frequently until they are black and blistered on the outside. Set them aside to cool. When they are cool enough to handle, remove the stems and seeds, but not the skins.

Whirl the peppers in a food processor with the remaining ingredients except the paprika. Taste. Adjust seasonings if you like. Serve in a bowl with a bit of olive oil drizzled on top and a sprinkle of smoked paprika.

Jobs for children: Children of almost any age can pull the tops off the cooled peppers and take out the seeds inside. Other easy tasks include squeezing the lemon and measuring all of the ingredients. The more mechanically inclined can open the can of chick peas and run the food processor.

Print Recipe

Pea Shoot, Feta, and Olive Sandwich

In addition to this blogging thing, I have a day job. I'll be hanging on to it for some time because this blog isn't exactly paying the bills. Scratching that creative itch, definitely. But bringing home the bacon? Um, no.

The day job has many benefits, but one of the best is its flexibility. My schedule allows me to work at home a couple of days a week. It's an excellent perk for a working mother, especially because my office is an hour away from home. I love this arrangement, but it also has a down side.

As I'm sure many work-at-home parents can tell you, it can be a bit, well, lonely. When the kids were little, I could still hear the occasional giggle or footsteps from my basement office. But now that they're in school all day every day, it's just me and my Buddy. Thank goodness for my shaggy friend, who gives me an excuse to chatter without feeling like I've completely lost my mind.

Usually on these days at home, my lunch is a fairly dull affair. I somehow have inherited my grandmother's Depression-era mentality and I cannot bring myself to waste food. So I feel compelled to eat that half-eaten sandwich that Chloe didn't eat in her lunch. I've been tempted to keep sending it back in her lunch box day after day in the hopes that one day she will eat it, but at this point, it's more important to me that she eat something for lunch to avoid her having a complete melt down by the end of the school day. I eat it for lunch. Maybe I doctor it up a bit or reheat leftovers from the previous night's dinner. Not very exciting.

The other day, though, I just needed something to get me through the afternoon, and those random bits in the fridge were not going to do it. So I got a (new!) loaf of bread out of the freezer, thawed and toasted it, and added lots of my favorite toppings. The result was this sandwich and it was delicious. The saltiness of the olives and feta played well off the greens, and the onion added a bit of crunch. The tomatoes were a nice, sweet note, but the sandwich would have been just as good without them.

When I had lunch that day, I sat down with a napkin on my lap and a dog at my feet and ate the whole sandwich. I didn't get up even once to get someone something for someone and I didn't field a single complaint about the meal on the table. Quite a treat.

Okay, it didn't quite make up for the absence of those little feet, but it was a very good start.

Second Helping: Wacky Sandwiches (make sure to check out the comments for more sandwich ideas)

Pea Shoot, Feta, and Olive Sandwich

1 slice of baguette about 4 inches long, sliced lengthwise (or 2 thick slices of another crusty bread)
olive oil for drizzling
1 generous handful pea shoots or spinach
6-ish cherry tomatoes, halved
6-ish kalamata olives, halved
1 teaspoon chopped red onion
a tablespoon or two of feta, crumbled

Toast the bread. Drizzle it with olive oil. Load the greens on top of one slice of bread. Add the remaining ingredients and top with the other slice of bread. Get a fork out of the drawer to clean up anything that falls out of the sandwich.

Sit down, turn on the radio, pull out a good book, or just sit in silence. Enjoy.

Print Recipe

Edamame Rice Balls

 
Sometimes a recipe comes together on the first try, and sometimes it seems that it never will.  This recipe fell into the latter category.  I had been wanting to come up with a simpler variation of sushi to put in my children's lunch boxes.  I wanted something less time-consuming than rolling sushi and easier to eat than salad, something they could just pop into their mouths.  I decided to try to make sushi rice balls.  I added edamame because the children love them and they have a lot of protein.

I first tried brown sushi rice for a bit more substance, but it didn't stick together very well.  Then I tried tossing the rice with rice vinegar, sugar, salt, and ginger, but I had the same problem.  The balls wouldn't keep their shape.  The good thing about my failed experiments was that they easily became a delicious rice salad. 

 
As I experimented, I had the children try each variation to make sure they liked them.  Unfortunately, it got to the point that instead of the little treat that I had hoped the children would look forward to seeing in their lunch boxes, the mere mention of rice balls sent two out of three of them screaming in the other direction.

Finally, I decided that simple was better.  White sushi rice had the best consistency, and the end result had a clean, pure flavor with just rice, salt, edamame, and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.  I served them with tamari sauce on the side, because our children love their dips.  They were a hit, at least with Olivia and my nephew, Sean, who were still willing to try them.  And the adults liked them too, especially with a bit of wasabi mixed into that tamari. 

While I was experimenting and waiting for my children to recover from the experience, the New York Times ran this article about mothers who prepare elaborate bento boxes for their children. They are adorable, and almost made me scrap this post because I was feeling entirely inadequate.  Not only are these women coming up with fabulously delicious treats for their children,  they are also taking them to the height of cuteness.  I mean, really, it never even occurred to me to make a bunny out of my rice balls.  I was just happy to be making something different and delicious for their lunches. 

But then I thought (hoped?) that there may be other slackers out there like me who just want a fun, easy lunch for their kids, even if it does not meet the highest artistic standards.  And I encourage those of you with more talent and patience to decorate your rice balls and let me know what you create. 

Over here, I think I'll cut up a few sheets of nori and let the kids experiment themselves.  Maybe that will get Chloe and Oscar interested in trying them again.

Edamame Rice Balls

I made the balls with edamame to add a bit of protein, but avocado and/or cucumber would also be tasty additions.

15 minutes preparation time
20 minutes cooking time

2 cups short grain sushi rice
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon toasted black or white sesame seeds
3/4 cups shelled frozen edamame, diced cucumber, and/or diced avocado
tamari or soy sauce, for serving (optional)
wasabi, for serving (optional)

Put the rice in a pot with 3 1/2 cups of water.  Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat, and simmer until the rice is tender, approximately 20 minutes.  Remove the pan from the heat and empty the rice into a large bowl to cool.

If you are using edamame, while the rice cooked, measure them into a bowl and cover them with boiling water.  Let them sit until they are soft, approximately 15 minutes.  This makes the beans al dente.  If you would like them softer, repeat this process.  Drain the edamame and stir them into the rice.

Wet your hands so that the rice will not stick to them.  Roll the rice mixture between your hands into approximately golf ball sized balls.  Sprinkle them with sesame seeds.  Serve with soy sauce and a bit of wasabi, if you like.

Print Recipe

Bean Quesadillas with Avocado Salsa

Some weeks we are very organized about the children's lunches, shopping especially for them on the weekend.  And some weekends are chaotic and we don't get our planning done.  Quesadillas are one of those lunches that we usually can pull together with what we have on hand.  We almost always have a few tortillas in the refrigerator or freezer and a can of refried beans in the cupboard.  With those and a bit of child-friendly cheese such as cheddar, we can put together quesadillas for lunch in a few minutes.

Although we often send quesadillas just as they are or with a bit of prepared salsa, the other morning I had a bit of extra time and an abundance of fresh tomatoes, so I made a quick tomato and avocado salsa.  The salsa added a bit of freshness to their lunch boxes, and with a piece of fruit and a bottle of water, the lunches were on their way. 

You could also use this recipe to make a quick meal, or hold the quesadillas and double or triple the salsa recipe to serve with chips at a party.

Bean Quesadillas with Avocado Salsa

Serves 3 children
15 minutes preparation time
4-6 minutes cooking time

3 large flour tortillas
6 tablespoons shredded cheddar, or other mild cheese
1/2 can vegetarian refried pinto or black beans
1/2 avocado, diced
1 medium tomato, diced
1 tablespoon chopped white onion
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
pinch or two of salt
1 teaspoon chopped cilantro (optional)

Lay the tortillas flat and spread approximately 2 tablespoons of beans on half of each.  Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese over each half, too, and fold the tortilla in half.  Heat a large frying pan or griddle over medium-high heat. Cook the folded quesadillas until they are lightly browned and the cheese has melted, approximately 2 or 3 minutes on each side.  Set them aside.  When they have cooled to room temperature, cut each quesadilla into 3 or 4 wedges.

To make the salsa, toss the diced tomato, onion, and avocado in a bowl with the lime juice, salt, and cilantro, if you are using it.  Taste and adjust the seasoning, lime juice, or cilantro to suit your taste.

Assemble the quesadilla wedges and salsa in separate containers, and pop them into the lunch boxes.

Print Recipe

Wacky Sandwiches: Don't Knock Them 'Till You've Tried Them

Now that the children have headed back to school, we'll all be making more sandwiches.  We try to venture away from the daily sandwich, sometimes sending some basil hummous or edamame dip with fresh veggies or pita.  I have a couple of other easy lunch recipes in the works, and you may get a few other ideas if you click on the "lunch box" tab on the left.  But right now I have sandwiches on the brain. 

Many of our favorites are mundane, such as cheese with mustard or mayo, peanut butter and jelly, or cream cheese and jelly.  And then there are others that we love, but don't often send in for lunches because we worry that they will get the bread soggy, like vegetarian BLTs, cream cheese and tomato, or egg salad. 

A couple of our favorite sandwiches are downright strange, and I thought, I can't write about them, they're too weird.  But now I'm thinking that if I tell you about them, maybe you'll share your favorite sandwiches too, and we will all get some new ideas for the upcoming school year.  So here goes.

Oscar's favorite is cheese--usually cheddar, although another mild cheese like Gouda will do--and jelly.  He suggested it one day and I was reluctant to make it because I thought it would be another one of those things that my kids begged for, only to leave on the plate.  But he loved it and has been eating it regularly for a couple of years now.  Chloe will occasionally eat cheese and jelly, too, but the rest of us are not fans.

One of my all-time favorite sandwiches is peanut butter, cucumber, and mayonnaise.  I know it sounds bizarre, but it is delicious.  Although peanut butter often has tons of added sugar, peanuts aren't really sweet.  Pairing peanut butter with mayo and something crunchy (lettuce will also do in a pinch) is fabulous.  And with their high water content, the cucumbers help cut the stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth quality of peanut butter.  My mother loved this combination and once I got up the courage to try it, I was hooked.  Olivia is the only other one I've managed to win over in this house, although the others haven't been willing to try.

Another favorite of mine that is perhaps not so wacky is cream cheese and olive.  The mildness of the cream cheese with the tanginess of the olive are a great combination.  The only other olive eaters in this house are Olivia and Chloe, and I haven't tried this on them in a while.  I think it's time to give it another go.

What sandwiches are popular in your house? 

Edamame Dip

Our children love edamame.  My theory is that any food that they can eat with their fingers is immediately enticing.  And not only do we eat edamame with our hands, we also separate them from the pods, which requires squirting the peas into our mouths and heaping up the empty pods.  Lots of fun.  We often have them as a side dish, boiled in their shells and tossed with coarse sea salt.

Lentil and Feta Salad

Sometimes a combination of simple tastes adds up to more than you would expect.  This salad is one of those dishes.  It has very few ingredients, but somehow the flavors work extremely well together.  The chewy earthiness of the lentils makes a delicious background for the salty feta, and the Italian parsley adds a touch of brightness.  Because there are so few ingredients, it is key to use the highest quality ingredients you can find.  It is best with the small, black French lentils, a French feta if you can find it, and very fresh parsley.

This salad transports well and is delicious at room temperature.  It is perfect for a pot luck or dinner by the pool.  It would also make an excellent addition to any Fourth of July picnic.

I got the idea for this salad from the Bread Line, a restaurant in downtown D.C. that was right around the corner from my old office.  They have fantastic sandwiches and baked goods, but it is this lentil salad that brought me back day after day.  They serve it over a bed of undressed greens with a crusty roll, and that is still my favorite way to eat it.  One day I asked one of the guys who was scooping the salad what was in it, and he leaned over and whispered, "the secret is the cider vinegar in the dressing."  He may be right because this version comes very close to the original. 

Although I am determined not to become a short order cook at home and steadfastly refuse to make each child their own dish, it is very easy to leave the feta out of this salad for Chloe.  She loves the lentils, but not if she can detect a speck of feta among them.  Olivia, on the other hand, loves the feta, as do Gabe and I.  Oscar used to be firmly in Chloe's camp, but the last couple of times we made the salad, he enjoyed the feta version.  Who knows, maybe one day Chloe will come around, too, and we'll all share the same bowl.

Feta and Lentil Salad 

If you would like to prepare this salad in advance, cook the lentils ahead and toss them with the dressing.  They will keep well for several days in the refrigerator.  Just before you are ready to serve the salad, chop the parsley and add it with the feta.

Serves 4 to 6
25 minutes preparation time, plus 30 or so minutes cooling time

2 cups small French lentils
2 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, divided
1/2 shallot, minced (about 3 tablespoons)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup (or more) fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/2 pound feta
salad greens for serving (optional)

In a medium saucepan, generously cover the lentils with water.  Bring them to a boil, add about a teaspoon of the salt, and let them simmer until they are tender to the bite but still hold their shape, 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the dressing.  Whisk together the shallots, remaining salt, pepper, and cider vinegar.  Whisking continuously, slowly add the olive oil.  Adding the oil slowly will ensure that it emulsifies, that is, fully integrates into the vinegar.

When the lentils are cooked, drain the water and pour the lentils into a large bowl.  Immediately add the dressing (you may not need all of it), and stir.  Put the lentils aside to cool for at least half an hour.  If you are making the lentils ahead, cover them at this point and store them in the refrigerator for up to a few days.  When the lentils are cool, crumble the feta into the salad, leaving it in fairly large chunks.  Add the parsely and mix.  Serve over salad greens, if you like.

Print Recipe

Radish Tartines

This time of year, radishes are abundant at the farmer's market.  Some have a kick to them, and some are mild, like my favorites, the white-tipped French breakfast radishes.  We eat them in salads of course, but one of our favorite ways to eat them lately is on a tartine.  Tartine is just a French name for an open-faced sandwich, usually spread with butter and topped with something else. Tartine sounds so much more elegant and appetizing than "open-faced sandwich," doesn't it?  Especially when feeding children, marketing is key, so we're sticking with the tartine tag.

We returned back from our Memorial Day weekend away to a bare refrigerator and the week was rolling before we had time to catch our breaths or shop.  I love the challenge of those weeks, trying to make meals out of whatever is left in the cupboard and the refrigerator.  Fortunately, we had a baguette in the freezer, President butter in the refrigerator, and a few of those fabulous radishes in the vegetable bin.  So these became the sandwich -- oops, I mean tartine -- of the week.

Because there are so few ingredients and the flavors are simple, it is very important to use the best quality ingredients that you can find:  fresh, crunchy radishes, preferably from a local farmer; a good quality butter such as Presidente or Plugra; a crusty baguette; and coarse sea salt.  And don't be timid with the butter.  I'm not sure whether you are familiar with Sally Fallon, who has written books advocating the value of traditional fats, among other things.  I don't agree with everything she espouses -- she lost me with the copious amounts of organ meats -- but I love what she said about butter.  She suggests spreading it thick enough so that you leave teeth marks when you bite into it.  This is the perfect recipe to test her theory. 

I thought the additional sea salt sprinkled on top enhanced the flavor, but it was too strong for Chloe, so you may want to omit that for your children, or let them add a small bit on their own.

Olivia was kind enough to write up the recipe for me, so here, in her words (and original spelling), is our recipe for radish tartines. 

Radish Tartines

For 1 serving

What you'll need:  salted butter, radish slices, bread and course sea salt.

What to do:  butter the bread with the salted butter.  Place the radish slices on the buttered bread.  Sprinkle the course sea salt on top.  Eat!

Print Recipe

Minted Bulgur with Tomato and Roasted Chick Peas

I have been wanting to include more grains in our meals so when I heard a discussion about bulgur on NPR's Splendid Table, I was intrigued.  Janet Fletcher, who writes for the San Francisco Chronicle, traveled to Turkey and delved into the history of bulgur.  Her article, Ancient Grain for Modern Times, is full of interesting facts (the average person in Turkey eats a half pound of bulgur each week!) and includes several recipes. 

I found her technique for cooking bulgur particularly interesting.  Normally, I would just add hot water, stir, and let it sit.  But she toasts the bulgur first, adds the hot water, then covers it with a pot lid wrapped in a towel.  The towel absorbs the steam so that the bulgur does not come out gummy.  I tried this approach and liked the results.

Bulgur is, of course, best known as the base of tabouli, a salad made with parsley, tomato and cucumber, but I wanted to try something a bit different.  This combination of cumin, tomato, and mint is refreshing.  When roasted, the chick peas develop a toothy texture.  Their skins become crisp, and the insides develop a chewiness that I really like.  Roasted this way, they are even good on their own as a snack.

If you want to prepare the dish in advance, make the bulgur and the chick peas and store them separately.  Since the tomato would lose its flavor in the refrigerator and the mint bruises, chop and mix them in just before serving.  If you skip roasting the chick peas, you can chop the tomato and mint while the bulgur soaks and have dinner ready in minutes.

This dish can be served either hot, cold, or at room temperature.  I made it for a Memorial Day picnic, and it was very popular at the buffet table.  It will definitely be a regular poolside meal for us this summer.

Oscar in particular has been loving his bulgur.  When we had it for dinner the other night he said, "Mommy, do you know how much bulgur I'm going to make when I grow up?  I'm going to quintuple the recipe!"  And then he polished off four bowls of it.

Minted Bulgur with Tomatoes and Roasted Chick Peas

Serves 6
45 minutes preparation and cooking time, plus cooling time if desired

2 15-counce cans chick peas, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cumin, divided
salt to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus a splash for the chick peas
2 cups bulgur
1 cup coarsley chopped mint
4 tomatoes, chopped

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  In a casserole dish,  toss the chick peas with 1 teaspoon of cumin, a few shakes of salt, and a splash of olive oil.  Bake the chick peas for 40 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are crisp on the outside, but still tender on the inside. 

Heat 2 cups of water in a kettle or saucepan.  In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and add the tablespoon of cumin. Stir for a few seconds until the cumin is fragrant.  Add the bulgur and a teaspoon or so of salt, and stir it for a few seconds until it is uniformly coated with the cumin and olive oil.  Remove the pan from the heat, add the hot water, stir, and cover with a pot lid wrapped in a kitchen towel.  After 10 minutes, remove the lid, fluff the bulgur with a fork, and set it aside.

Meanwhile, chop the tomato and mint.  Just before you are ready to serve, mix the tomato and mint with the bulgur.  Mix in about half of the chick peas and sprinkle the rest over the top.

Print Recipe

Basil Hummus

When it comes to hummus, we are a house divided.  Olivia and Chloe are fans, and Chloe in particular is loving her hummus lately.  Oscar has just decided that he doesn't like it.  We have tried many varieties of hummus to try to win Oscar over-- lemon, garlic, roasted red pepper, chipotle.  The only one that he liked was a basil hummus, but, of course, Chloe didn't like it at all.

Chloe's favorite lately is a brand from our local co-op that is teriffic, so that is what we have been buying (I can't remember the brand name, but the next time I'm there, I'll check and update this post).  It is a simple, smooth, creamy hummus with the flavors in balance and no one flavor that dominates.  But, of course, in my continuing quest to show the children how easy it is to cook our own food -- and how it usually tastes better if it is home made -- I wanted to show Chloe how to make hummus.   So I set out to make a basic hummus that would appeal to her. 

Of course it didn't work out that way.  I first made a very straightforward hummus using just chick peas, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, and salt.  I liked it much better than I thought I would, given how few ingredients it had, and it seemed a lot like the store-made version.  Or so I thought.  Chloe tried it and wrinkled her nose.  And so it went.  I kept tweaking it, but she just didn't like it. 

Finally I decided to abandon all hope of making a version she would like.  We had a pot of basil on the window sill, so I tore off some leaves, tossed them into the food processor with some garlic and more lemon.  I thought that maybe I could get Oscar to eat it.  Chloe watched with interest, and said she wanted to taste it.  I decided not to remind her that she hadn't liked the basil hummus the last time she had it.  So she tasted it and . . . "Now it's getting good, Mommy!"  A few more tweaks to get the measurements right, and we were all happy. 

This hummus is smooth, creamy, with a hint of nuttiness from the tahini, tang from the lemon and garlic, and sweetness from the basil.  Oscar has had it in his lunch a few times and even he likes it.  He told me today, "I don't really like hummus, except the one with the little green bits."  And I think Olivia has happily taken it for lunch three days this week.

I tried not to make any of the flavors too overpowering so that it would be kid-friendly, but you may want to add more lemon, garlic, or basil depending on your family's preferences.  The hummus is great on a sandwich, but my children love anything they can dip, so we usually serve it with wedges of pita, crackers, or veggies.

Basil Hummus

Makes 2 cups
15 minutes preparation time

2 15-ounce cans chick peas, drained and rinsed
3 tablespoons tahini
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
a few pinches of salt
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup basil
approximately 1/2 cup warm water

Put all the ingredients except the basil and water in a food processor and blend.  Add the basil and blend for a few seconds.  With the top on and the food processor running, slowly add the water.  Stop a few times to scrape down the sides and check the consistency.  You may need slightly more or less water to get a creamy consistency.  If you prefer, chill before serving.

Print Recipe

Egg Salad with Tarragon and Shallots

Now that Easter has passed and our eggs have been decorated, hidden, and found, we have a refrigerator full of eggs.  Fortunately, we all like egg salad.  We found a delicious recipe in the Gourmet Cookbook a few years ago that uses tarragon and shallots, and the combination is wonderful.  We have adapted the recipe to suit ourselves, and it is now one of our regular weeknight meals.  The hint of tarragon adds an unusal freshness and the shallots add a subtle onion flavor and texture without being overpowering.  Although fresh tarragon is best, when it is not available at the store (like today), dried tarragon still works well.  Because we often have it for dinner, this recipe makes enough to serve all five of us for dinner, with a bit left over for lunch. 

The egg salad is very quick to prepare.  If you have hard boiled eggs in the refrigerator, it will only take 10 or so minutes.  Even if you have to cook the eggs, you can chop the shallots and tarragon while they cook, and you will have a delicious, filling meal in no time.

The children were a great help in preparing the dish.  They love to use the egg slicer, and Olivia was a good peeler.  We served the egg salad with thick slices of lightly toasted crusty bread and some wonderful microgreens from Chesapeake Greenhouse's stand at the Takoma Park farmer's market.  These tiny greens are a mix of lettuces, harvested when they are small and tender.  The mix includes arugula and red leaf lettuce and it added a great flavor and crunch to the creamy egg salad.

Today I planned to use up all of those Easter eggs, but the children wanted us to hide them for one last egg hunt.  Luckily, I had an extra dozen.  I think we'll be eating a lot of egg salad.

Egg Salad with Tarragon and Shallots
Adapted from the Gourmet Cookbook

Serves 6
10 minutes preparation time
20 minutes cooking time

1 dozen eggs
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon dried, or more to taste
3 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
1/3 cup mayonnaise
3 teaspoons white wine or champagne vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Bread for serving
Microgreens or other garnish for serving

If you need to cook the eggs, place them in a suacepan and cover generously with water.  Bring the water to a boil, and let it boil for 1 minute.  Turn off the heat and let the eggs sit for 15 minutes.  Drain the water and run cold water over the eggs for a few minutes until they cool.

Peel the eggs and dice them into small pieces.  Add the remaining ingredients, taste to see if you need more seasoning or tarragon, and serve.  Enjoy!

Print Recipe

Mom's Cheese Spread

As long as I can remember, my mom has made a delicious cheese spread.  It is a richly flavored, creamy spread for bread or crackers. I have never been able to distinguish the individual flavors of the cheeses, but they work together to make a delightful taste of their own. She usually makes it around Christmas, and we all sit around and eat way too much of it. I always plead for a bit to take home with me and since my mother is very generous, I always go home with a jar of it.

Getting the recipe has been more of a challenge. For years my mother told me that it’s just a bit of this and that and that she doesn’t really have a recipe. Fair enough. But I really wanted to learn how to make it myself so that I could whip it up to serve to guests, use for sandwiches. . . or just hoard for myself.

Well, I finally pinned her down. I don’t know if the children were preoccupied and we were able to have an uninterrupted conversation, or I just was more intent on getting the full story, but I finally got enough information out of her to figure out how to make it. Sort of. It is an infinitely adaptable recipe. You can adjust it to use your favorite cheeses or leftover cheese bits. This version is made with a decent dose of blue cheese so it has a decidedly tangy kick to it. But it is smooth, flavorful, and highly addictive. And conveniently, it is very easy to make.

It can be used as an appetizer, snack, or as a sandwich spread.  The children loved it, although if I were making it specifically for a group of children, I would use less blue cheese.

Mom’s Cheese Spread

Makes 2-3 cups
15 minutes preparation time

approximately ½ pound extra sharp cheddar
8 ounces cream cheese
¼ pound Maytag blue cheese
4 tablespoons butter, softened
½ teaspoon garlic salt
approximately ½ cup hot water

Grate the cheddar in a food processor. Remove the cheese and the grating blade and put in the general use chopping blade. Add back the cheddar and all the remaining ingredients, except the water, and blend. With the food processor running, slowly pour in the hot water. Stop occasionally and check the texture. Ideally, all the cheeses will blend, but the spread will retain a bit of texture. You may need a bit more or less than the ½ cup of water.

When blended, scrape the mixture into a storage container and chill until you are ready to serve it. It will last a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.

Print Recipe