Hide the cheese

Cherry Dark Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

Do not adjust your TV set. This really is a post from Hide the Cheese.

I have been AWOL from this blog for so long that those of you that get my posts by e-mail may have wondered if there was something wrong with your feed.

As with most of you, I got caught up in that crazy end of the school year thing with concerts, awards ceremonies, and celebrations. And there was also the overlap of spring and summer sports that had us running to at least one game or practice almost every evening.

Mostly, though, all of the spare time that I used to spend writing here has been eaten up by the time I have spent trying to get our county school system to reverse its decision to change the schedule at our middle school. Although a schedule change may not seem like a big deal, that change was part of a plan that turned the school around a few years ago, and it has huge implications on students' ability to succeed, particularly students who need extra help or whose only opportunity to take a music or art elective is at school.

I have gotten a glimpse into the workings of our local system with its administrative and political pressures and it is not always pretty. Trying to effect change -- even with a large group of committed parents and community activists -- has given me some insight into what David was up against when he faced Goliath.

I can go on and on about that, but the real focus here is food. Once again, I am in search for the perfect snack. We were at a swim meet a couple of weeks ago, and the kids had veggie burgers before they swam. I watched them chow down on those burgers and thought that there was no way I would have been able to exercise after washing one of those down. 

The next week, I wanted to give them something lighter, something that would give them a bit of energy and not weigh them down. I remembered this recipe that had popped up in an e-mail from Food52. I had never made granola bars before, but this seemed like the perfect opportunity to give them a try.

I adapted the recipe to suit my audience. One child doesn't like peanut butter, one doesn't like raisins. And they all love chocolate. So I went with dried cherries and dark chocolate as the primary flavors.

The kids all tried them at last Wednesday's swim meet. Oscar was the most enthusiastic, probably because anything with chocolate will win him over. Olivia revealed that she doesn't like pumpkin seeds, but she is still eating the granola bars. Chloe announced that she doesn't like them at all, although she didn't identify any particular ingredient that was objectionable.  Regardless of the critiques, all three kids dropped times in their swim races.

I will continue to play with the flavors to see if I can win all three kids over, but for now I am loving having these little treats in the refrigerator for a quick breakfast or snack. And they will be in the swim bag again tonight.

2009: Mint Limeade
2010: Grilled Peaches with Mint Whipped Cream
2011: Sour Cherry Clafouti (make this now because sour cherry season is short!)
2012: Rose-Laced Strawberry Ice Cream

Cherry Dark Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

Adapted from Gena Hamshaw's recipe on Food52
Makes 12-15 bars
15 minutes preparation time, plus 2 hours for chilling

If you want to experiment with different flavor combinations, you might want to make a smaller batch. I recommend making half a batch and using a 8-by-8 square pan for your practice runs.

2 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup chocolate chips
2/3 cup sunflower butter
1/2 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon salt

Line a 9-by-13 pan with plastic wrap.

In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, pumpkin seeds, dried cherries, and chocolate chips.

In a large measuring cup, mix together the sunflower butter, honey, and salt. Pour the sunflower butter mixture over the oat mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until the oats are thoroughly coated.

Empty the mixture into the baking pan and flatten it out with a spatula until it is even. Cover with another layer of plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours. Just before serving, cut into individual bars. I liked cutting them into fairly small servings, 2 or 3 inches per side. Wrap individual granola bars in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator. They will keep for up to 2 weeks, if they last that long.

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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.

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Sweet Potato and Maple After School Muffins

We're all bunkered down here waiting to see what hurricane Sandy brings. Schools and offices are closed, the cupboard is stocked, and the firewood is piled high. The winds are whipping aroung outside and we're as prepared as we can be to get thorough the inevitable loss of electricity.

While the power is still on and others in the house are occupied reading and doing homework, I'm sneaking a few minutes to share this recipe with you. It's another in my effort to make healthier after-school snacks for the kids.

Because sweet potatoes are in abundance this time of year and are reputedly one of the healthiest foods available, they seemed like a logical base for a muffin. I also used oat flour for its whole grain goodness and earthiness and olive oil as a healthier alternative to butter or canola oil.

To flavor the muffins, I used my favorite complement of fall spices, those that traditionally jazz up apple or pumpkin pies. But this time, I increased the nutmeg to bring that spice, which so often takes a back seat to cinnamon, up to the forefront.

I made the first batch of muffins with only maple syrup and although the kids gave them  a thumbs up, Gabe and I both thought they needed to be a bit sweeter. Interesting that we had more of a desire for that sweetness than the kids did, isn't it?

After about a day in the storage tin, something funny started to happen to the sweet potato in the muffins. It began to oxidize and those flecks of potato turned from a beautiful autumnal orange to blue and green. I don't know how to explain the science behind that change, but it was not at all appetizing.

When I made the muffins a second time, I tossed the sweet potato with a bit of lemon juice before adding it to the batter. That has done the trick and kept the sweet potato its original color even after cooking and a week of storage. I also added brown sugar to the second batch to make them a bit sweeter. We all did a blind taste test and agreed that the sweeter version was tastier.

If you're home bound, you oven still works, and you happen to have a sweet potato lying around, here's a lovely little snack that you can enjoy and still feel virtuous.

2009: Brown Sugar Cookies
2010: Dinner in a Pumpkin
2011: Caramel Apples

Sweet Potato and Maple After School Muffins

Makes about 18 muffins
approximately 20 minutes preparation time
25 minutes baking time

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups oat flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar, plus 3 tablespoons, divided
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups grated sweet potato (approximately 1 large sweet potato)
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease two muffin trays or line them with cupcake liners.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, oat flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda.

In a large measuring cup or small bowl, pour the lemon juice over the shredded sweet potato and stir to completely coat. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, maple syrup, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add the shredded sweet potato and mix thoroughly. Add the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon just until the dry ingredients have been evenly incorporated.

Spoon into the muffin tins. Sprinkle the remaining brown sugar over the tops of the muffins.

Bake for about 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cook for a couple of minutes in the pan, then turn onto a baking rack to cool.

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Almond-Oat After School Cookies

I have a love-hate relationship with prepackaged snacks. When ever I see parents who travel with great little bags of snacks I always admire their organization. And our kids love all of those snacks, especially those one-serving protein bars. They are very convenient and were especially great for the kids to take to camp because they don't need refrigeration and are fairly healthy.

But my effort to get the kids to eat them only when on the go and not at home was a losing battle. By the end of the summer, the kids were chewing through protein bars like mice munching through Swiss cheese. And those things are pricey, which is not at all in line with our belt tightening! So basta.

Now I am trying to make something home made for the kids to have when they come home from school. My goal is to prepare something on the weekend in a large enough quantity that it will last through the week. Ideally, my criteria are:

1. Nutritious - the snacks need to stick with them for more than a few minutes and to offer some nutritional benefit. Whole grains, nuts, some protein, there has got to be something of substance.

2. Tasty - the kids have to like the snacks as much as those protein bars or they'll never eat them.

3. Reasonably portable - something that can be eaten in hand, so that it can still be a snack on the go.

I see that third one slipping away quickly. One of our regular snacks has been homemade applesauce and, since that satisfies numbers 1 and 2, I've been going with it. And, at least for now, I'm not too worried about them having some sugar and fat. All of us parents have our own ideas about what kids should and shouldn't have, but my theory is that, in moderation, treats are okay. I am fine with a cookie or two alongside a piece of fruit.

I also worry that if I make the after-school snacks too obviously healthy, the kids won't like the end result and we'll have wasted food languishing on the counter while the kids beg for more goodies from the snack aisle. Maybe I can wratchet down some of the less healthy stuff over time, but for now, I'm sticking with my mantra, "everything in moderation."

I realize that getting nutritious and tasty into the same snack might be a bit tricky. Generally, I'm not a fan of sneaking helathy foods by my kids because I'd rather that they learned that they like healthy foods. But I'm not above a few tricks.

Chloe refuses to eat anything with nuts in it. She's not allergic and she will eat them raw, but she just doesn't want them in her baked goods. Fair enough. For these cookies, I used almonds and oats, but ground them so that they would not be detectable. I also used whole wheat flour and mostly brown sugar.

The cookies are chewy and moist, and the little bits of almond and oats add something to chew on so they seem to last a bit longer. They made a great snack, along with some sliced honeycrisp apples.

And from Miss Chloe?

"Momma, these cookies are so delicious!"

Whew.

2009: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip After School Cookies
2010: Chocolate-Hazelnut Macarons
2011: Classic Apple Pie

Almond-Oat After School Cookies

I tried making these cookies with less butter to see how a lower fat version would taste. The shape and texture of the cookies was different. They were more cakey but still tasty. In the end, I decided to stick with the version with more butter because they just tasted more. . . well. . . more buttery. If you decide to go the lighter route, use 1 1/2 sticks of butter instead.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies
30 minutes preparation time, plus at least an hour for chilling the dough
1 hour baking time

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup whole almonds
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter (8 tablespoons or, for a lighter version, as little as 12 tablespoons)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 large egg

Measure the oats and almonds into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until they are chopped into tiny bits. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and pulse once or twice to combine.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan or in the microwave. Add the sugars and almond extract, and stir with a wooden spoon. Add the egg and mix again until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the dry ingredients and mix just until the dough is evenly moist.

Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour and up to several days.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Scoop out the dough with a table spoon and arrange about 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake for about 10, just until the cookies are lightly brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack.

The cookies may be stored in an airtight container for about a week.

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The Flu, Good Books, and Ginger-Baked Apples

We have been felled by the flu. I woke up Wednesday morning, went for my early morning walk, showered, and crawled back into bed. And that is where I stayed for the next three days. Olivia followed a day after me, and Chloe the day after that. Somehow the boys have stayed healthy, and as their reward they have gotten to take care of the rest of us.

I'll spare you the details of the down side; I'm sure you have had the opportunity to experience those for yourselves. Surprisingly, though, there have been some up sides. Usually I'm just sick enough to feel miserable and go to bed early, but I'm still shuffling around trying to work and get things done. Having everything grind to a halt has its benefits.

I have enjoyed my times snuggling in bed with Chloe and Olivia and, even though we haven't been healthy, we have had time to talk and giggle.

Gabe and Oscar have been very sweet, preparing and bringing us food and drink, running errands, keeping the day-to-day chores like dishes and laundry under control, and continually checking on us to see how we are doing.

There has also been a certain snow day-like quality to our sick days, too. Our activity has slowed down considerably and we aren't rushing to go anywhere or to do anything. We're staying close to home, focusing on our basic needs, very much in the present, just being, rather than doing.

Finally, I have done more reading in the last 5 days than I have done in a long time. It has been such a pleasure to get lost again and again in the pull of a good book. I'd love to tell you that it was all very highbrow, but sick bed reading should have its own section in the book store. Here's the recap:

- City of Bones by Cassandra Clare - Continuing my indulgence in teen fiction, er, I mean, my efforts to keep on top of what my 11-year old daughter is reading, this is first of the Mortal Instruments series. There were so many werewolves, fairies, vampires, etc., mixed in among the Shadowhunters that I had a bit of difficulty keeping track, but it was definitely a page turner. Maybe I'll do better when I'm reading without a fever. I'd recommend it to others who enjoyed The Hunger Games, Twilight, or Divergent.

- Two Kinsey Millhone Mysteries by Sue Grafton, "A" is for Alibi and V is for Vengeance. I have read some of the other books in this series, but not nearly all of them. It was fun to read the first and most recent books back to back, written nearly 30 years apart. There were some obvious differences (author's picture, loss of quotes in the title, increasing plot complexity) but both were thoroughly enjoyable and fast moving.

- One Year Off by David Elliot Cohen - The subtitle gives a good summary, "Leaving It All Behind for a Round-the-World Journey with Our Children." I would love to take a year off and travel around the world as a family, but the practical side of preparation and financing are a bit daunting. This book definitely has me thinking.

- The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner - Oscar has been recommending this Newberry winner to me for some time. I'm only about halfway through it, but I'm loving the tale of a smart-alec thief who is pulled out of jail by the king's men to steal a precious stone for him.

- The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick - We read this to the children when the book first came out and, with its compelling story about a boy who winds the clocks in a Paris train station and its beautiful illustrations, it ranks as one of my all-time favorites. The children didn't remember it very well, so I wanted to read it again before we see the movie (and to get a sense of whether the movie will be too sad or scary for our sensitive Chloe).

What have you been reading?

Now we are slowly crawling out from under that flu. Our only excursions over the weekend were to see productions by Lumina Studio Theater (the first Act was an adaptation of Trolius and Cressida; the second, an adaptation of Measure for Measure) and the Washington Revels (the music was from Andalusia and the production was my favorite of the shows we have seen).

And we are tentatively making our way back into the world of food again. So far, it's been mostly soups and bland fare, toast, rice, but I'm almost ready to venture beyond that a bit.

If I had an oven, I'd bake some apples as a perfect little treat, or even as an antidote to the riches of the one-two punch of Halloween and Thanksgiving. The technique for baking these apples came from Gourmet, and the result is a baked apple that is still firm and holds its shape, rather than one that melts after being cooked. There is certainly room in this world for both types, but right now I am loving this firmer, chewier texture.

The first time I made these, I used too much ginger (a tablespoon) and the flavor was too strong, especially for the kiddies. I cut the amount back, and this achieves a better balance. Together, the lemon and ginger add a punch of freshness.

They'd be the perfect to serve alongside a good book.

Second Helping: Airy Apple Cake
Thirds: Caldo Verde (Portugese Potato and Kale Soup)

Ginger-Baked Apples

These apples are a simple, delicious dessert as they are, but if you'd like to fancy them up, a dollop of creme frâiche or ice cream on top would do the trick.

Adapted from Gourmet
Serves 6
30 minutes preparation time
45 minutes cooking time

6 medium-sized medium tart apples, such as Ida Reds, Fuji, or Honeycrisp
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Peel the apples and, leaving the apple intact, remove the core with a sharp knife or apple corer. This is a bit tricky without a corer. I found it easiest to slice the core out from one end, then flip the apple over and do the other end. Any little bits of core that remain in the center can be filed away afterwards with the knife, too.

Cut the apples across (latitudinally) into 1/4-inch slices and reform them into whole apples. Brush them with lemon juice.

In a small bowl, whisk together any remaining lemon juice with the lemon zest, ginger, sugar, and vanilla. Divide the mixture evenly among the apples, pouring a bit into the cavity of each apple.

Bake for 25 minutes, removing the apples to baste them with the pan juices two or three times during the cooking process. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake, continuing to baste frequently, until the apples are tender and the sauce has thickened, about 20 minutes more.

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Tamari-Roasted Almonds

As I mentioned before, I had a burst of cooking energy before the wrecking ball left us without a kitchen. These tamari almonds were one of the things that I made to squirrel away for our time without a kitchen.

Nuts are such a healthy and tasty snack, but our kids have not been consistent fans. A handful of nuts with a piece of fruit makes a quick (and portable) snack for the kids and I'm always looking for something with a bit of protein to keep their energy levels and moods from spiking.

Lately Chloe has been willing to eat the tamari almonds from Whole Foods which is a huge step, but they're quite pricey and it seemed that it would be very easy to make them at home. Indeed they were. A toss in some tamari and a quick bake were all it took, and Chloe has been making her way through the jar.

Tamari-Roasted Almonds

5 minutes preparation time
30 minutes cooking time

3 cups whole, raw almonds
1/3 cup tamari
pinch of sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Roast the raw almonds in the oven for 10 minutes. In a mediumsized bowl, mix the tamari and sugar together. Remove the almonds from the oven and toss them with the tamari mixture.

Return the almonds to the oven and bake until they are slightly darker, about 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool completely. The nutw will keep for to a month in an airtight container.

Caramel Apples

We have spent a lot of time these last few weeks getting ready for the kitchen project. We've cleaned, packed, organized, sorted, boxed, and schlepped loads of stuff, way more than I thought could fit in that kitchen and dining room. And we tried to prepare ourselves emotionally, taking a bit of time out to reminisce and honor all of the good times that we had in those rooms.

But still I wanted us to have one last family cooking project before that kitchen went into the history books. We had been apple picking at Larriland Farms and talked about making caramel apples, so one day before the walls came tumbling down, we pushed aside the debris and dusted off a swath of counter top. We stirred and stirred and stirred and twirled and had ourselves a good old time making these delicious apples.

We thought about using the finished apples as Halloween treats for "ghosting" our neighbors, but they were so good that we ended up hoarding them for ourselves.

I will confess that there was one point when I was waiting and waiting for that caramel to get hot enough that I thought I had lost my mind. Why was it that I thought we could squeeze this in to our already extremely busy day? But once I saw how happy the kids were biting into those sweet crunchy apples, I had no regrets. I hope that we will all hold the memory of that evening together for years to come. Even if the apples are long gone.

I found a recipe for caramel apples on 101 Cookbooks that I loved for its simplicity, essentially cream and honey. The honey was excellent with the apples. I tweaked the recipe just a bit, but it would be very easy to do more to it, such as increasing the salt content in this recipe or adding a sprinkling of salt after the apples are removed from the pan and making these Salted Caramel Apples. I'm going to have to give that a try. You could also roll the cooled apples in other toppings such as chopped nuts, coconut, or chocolate chips. We loved them just as caramel apples, simple and pure.

Second Helping: Dinner in a Pumpkin (perfect for Halloween!)
Thirds: Pumpkin Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Caramel Apples

If you'd like to deviate from the classic caramel apple, after the apples have cooled in the refrigerator for a few minutes, add a sprinkling of sea salt or roll the apples in a topping such as coconut, chopped nuts, or mini chocolate chips.

Makes 8 caramel apples
15 minutes preparation time
approximately 1 hour cooking time, plus time for chilling

8 small, tart apples
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt

other equipment: 8 chopsticks or short, thick skewers

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Make room in the refrigerator for the cookie sheet and make sure that the refigerator shelf is positioned so that there is enough room above to accommodate the apples with their chopsticks/skewers. Wash the apples and place a chopstick or skewer into the stem end of each one. Line them up on the cookie sheet.

Place a small sauce pan over medium low heat and add the cream. When small bubbles appear at the edge of the pan, add the honey, vanilla and salt and stir with a wooden spoon to fully incorporate the ingredients.

Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat, keeping the mixture at a low simmer. It may take a while to get the temperature of the caramel right so that it simmers and continues to get hotter, but doesn't foam up too high. Continue to heat the caramel, stirring frequently, until it reaches 248 to 250 degrees. This will take a long time, maybe about 40 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and set it aside to cool for a few minutes. When the temperature of the caramel has cooled to 190 degrees, dip an apple. The caramel should be liquid enough that it is easy to dip the apple, but thick enough that the caramel doesn't immediately run off. If it is too thin, let it cool a bit more. If it is too thick, place the pan again over low heat and stir for a few seconds.

Carefully dip each apple into the caramel until it is almost completely submerged. Lift it out of the caramel and let it any excess caramel drip off. Turn the apple upright and hold it there for about 30 seconds to give the caramel a chance to set. Roll the apple from side to side, evening out the caramel coating and allowing it to firm up. Place the apple onto the parchment paper to cool. Repeat with the remaining apples.

If the caramel stops sticking to the apples or gets very thick, return it to the heat and just bring it to a simmer. Removethe pan from the heat and begin dipping apples again.

Put the tray of apples in the refrigerator to cool for about 15 minutes. Remove them and, if you like, press any caramel that has pooled onto the tray back onto the apples (we thought it was fine to have a bit of pooling. It leaves the apple with a nice ridge of caramel right on the top when you flip it over to eat it).

Return the apples to the refrigerator to finish cooling. When they have cooled completely, wrap them in plastic wrap or wax paper to store.

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Rhubarb-Apple Turnovers

One of the cookbooks that I have been using frequently of late is Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table. The book is full of fairly simple but delicious recipes that are perfect for either a casual dinner or a fancier dinner party. It has been an excellent source of inspiration, especially for our Sunday Suppers.

It is natural, then, that I turned to Greenspan's book to give me some ideas for rhubarb, my current obsession. I had already made a galette a few times, as well as a variation using filo dough. This weekend I also made rhubarb-thyme compote, throwing in some strawberries for good measure.

We had gotten some apples from the farmers' market along with our rhubarb and I thought the two would be delicious together. Greenspan's book has a recipe for Compote de Pommes, and in the margin, she gave instructions for turning the compote into apple turnovers. A few minor tweaks and I had a lovely variation that uses rhubarb. These sweet little turnovers are just big enough to hold in your hand, the perfect little hand pie.

The puff pastry gives the turnovers a light, crunchy texture which is a nice contrast to the sauce in the filling. Because they are made with prepared puff pastry dough, they don't take too long to put together and are perfect for a snack or a party.

As obsessions go, I'm definitely enjoying this one.

Second Helping: Rhubarb-Mint Popsicles (hmmmm, apparently, I was gorging on rhubarb last year, too)
Thirds: Candied Ginger Scones

Rhubarb-Apple Turnovers

Adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table
Makes about 18 turnovers
30 minutes preparation time, plus a couple of hours to defrost the puff pastry)
approximately 20 minutes baking time

1 14-ounce sheet puff pastry dough (I used Dufour)
3 large stalks of rhubarb, scrubbed and diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 large apples, peeled, cored, and sliced (about 5 cups)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar, plus extra to sprinkle on top
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 egg, lightly beaten

If your puff pastry comes frozen, put it in the refrigerator to defrost for a couple of hours before you need it.

Put the apples and rhubarb in a small stockpot with a splash of water to keep them from sticking. Add the sugar and stir. Put the pot over medium heat, cover it, and bring it to a simmer. Simmer until the fruit is meltingly soft, about 15 minutes. Mash the fruit slightly with a bean masher or a wooden spoon. Add the vanilla and butter, and stir. Set the mixture aside while you roll out the dough.

Lightly flour a work surface. Unfold the puff pastry dough and lay it out on the work surface. Lightly flour the top of the dough and roll it with a rolling pin until it is very thin. The thinness doesn't matter too much, but the thinner it is, the better the ratio of dough to filling will be, and the more you will be able to make.

Cut the dough into approximately 4-inch circles using the edge of a saucer or whatever other implement you have handy. (I made mine 3-inches, and I think a larger size is better because it will allow more filling per pastry).

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Scoop a tablespoon of the rhubarb-apple mixture onto one half of each circle of dough, leaving about a half inch border around the edge. Brush the border of the circle with egg and fold the dough over to make a half circle. Using the tines of a fork, press the dough onto itself to seal it.  (If you don't seal it completely, the sauce will ooze out as it cooks. This happened with lots of ours which actually is not the worst thing in the world.

Sprinkle the top of each turnover with a bit of sugar and poke a couple of holes in the top of each turnover.

Bake the turnovers until they are golden brown and the filling begins to ooze out of the steam holes, about 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies

Laced in with the sadness of the past year have been surprising moments of joy. We have gathered with others who also loved our dear ones and in those gatherings there has been much celebration, gratitude, and laughter. Misery loves company. It gives the phrase a new meaning. I have found much solace among the company of others who are also miserable. I have witnessed amazing love and tenderness, made new friends, and reconnected with others who I had not seen in far too long.

During one of these gatherings, I realized that I don't have a good peanut butter cookie recipe. Riduculous, isn't it? My life seems to unfold that way, jumping from moments of despair and contemplation to the mundane and the trivial. The profound and the prosaic. The bitter and the sweet.

Of course, I had to remedy the situation that I could remedy, the lack-of-a-good-peanut-butter-cookie-recipe situation. So here it is: the perfect chewy, crunchy, intensely peanut butter-y peanut butter cookie.

Second Helping: Chocolate Sheet Cake with Brown Butter Cream Frosting (the favorite again this year for birthday month).
Thirds: Green Eggs, No Ham (a Dr. Seuss tribute)

Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies

Adapted from Alice Medrich's Chewy, Gooey, Crispy, Crunchy Melt-in-You Mouth Cookies

Medrich's recipe says that she usually chills the dough before baking for 2 hours, but that melting the butter instead is a reasonable substitute and makes for a chewier cookie. An approach that leads to instant gratification and a chewier cookie? Sold! I also changed things up a bit, substituting some whole wheat pastry flour and adding roasted peanuts to get more crunch.

Makes 3 dozen cookies
20 minutes preparation time
about 15 minutes baking time

1 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick butter, melted
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 cup roasted, salted peanuts out of the shell

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk the flours, salt, and baking soda together in a small bowl.

In a large bowl, use a mixer to mix together the sugars and butter until thoroughly combined. Add the egg, vanilla, and peanut butter and mix again until all of the ingredients are fully incorporated. Add the flour mixture and the peanuts and mix again, this time until the ingredients are just combined.

Scoop generous tablespoonfuls of cookie dough, and form them into balls. Arrange the balls on the lined cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Flatten each ball with the tines of a fork into a cross hatch pattern.

Bake the cookies for 14 to 16 minutes until they are lightly golden brown in color. Medrich always rotates her cookie sheets from top to bottom and from front to back, which I am sure makes for perfectly-evenly cooked cookies. I forget to do that about half of the time, but the cookies are still delicious.

Cool the cookies on a baking rack. They will keep in an airtight container for 2 weeks.

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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.

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Cooking with Mother Goose: Homemade Apple Sauce

Cooking with Mother Goose: A series of occasional posts inspired by children's stories and rhymes -  just one more way for me to hook the children into the kitchen.

For Baby
You shall have an apple
You shall have a plum
You shall have a rattle
When papa comes home.

Okay, this isn't as much a recipe as a plea. And I've thrown in a technique for good measure. If you have never made your own applesauce at home, you have to try it. It tastes so much better than the commercial variety, and it is incredibly easy. There are lots of different approaches. Some people peel the apples in advance, others use a food mill at the end to separate out the peel once it is cooked.

But my method is the easiest of all. You don't even need to peel the apples. Just quarter and seed them and cook them. When they are soft but while they are still hot, run them through a food processor. That's it! The sauce will become a lovely, smooth purée. You will see a few flecks of peel, but they will be so tiny and soft that they will not impair the consistency at all. And leaving the peels on during cooking gives the applesauce a lovely color. For these pictures, I used Empire apples, grown by my uncle in upstate New York. I love the rosy tint the apple sauce gets from their skins.

And this time of year, when some of those farmers' market apples are beginning to look a bit tired, apple sauce is a delicious way to get some fruit into the diet, while still eating seasonally and locally. Our children are pretty tired of apples at this point in the year, but they still see apple sauce as a treat. So please, please, please, head to the closest farmers' market, buy yourself a bunch of apples (seconds will do if they have any) and make some applesauce. Baby -- and the rest of you -- can lap it up, even before Papa gets home.

Homemade Apple Sauce

There really are no precise proportions needed here. If I am canning the apple sauce and want to make sure they have enough acid, I usually add about a teaspoon of lemon juice per quart. More detailed instructions  for canning are here (although they do not add lemon juice). I don't add sugar because I find that the apple sauce is sweet enough as is, but a pear or two thrown into the mix is delicious.

a mix of varieties of sweet apples, washed, cut into quarters, and cored (peels still on)
1 or more cinnamon sticks

Put the apples and cinnamon stick(s) in a large heavy stock pot. Add a splash of water to keep the apples from burning before they release their own liquid. Cover the pot and bring the apples to a simmer over medium-low heat.

When they are very soft, but while they are still hot, scoop them out with a slotted spoon and run them through a food processor. It is important to do this while the apples are still very hot because it will give them a smoother consistency. Purée until smooth.

If you have apple juice left over, you can add it to the sauce for a thinner consistency, or drink it. Serve the apple sauce warm, at room temperature, or chilled. Warm apple sauce is especially tasty over vanilla ice cream or with gingersnaps.

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Molasses Cookies

Much gratitude for all of your kind words in response to my last post. There are such good reminders in those comments about how important it is to be honest with our children and about how resilient those little ones are. Thank you for that.

In appreciation, I give you one of our all-time favorite cookie recipes. I discovered this recipe when I was working on a cookbook for our preschool, Acorn Hill. It was one of the first recipes that I tested for the book, and it was a big hit at home. We have been making these cookies ever since. Many thanks to Mary Forrest for allowing me to share her recipe here.

These cookies are chewy, lightly spiced with cinnamon and cloves, and topped with a sprinkle of sugar. I hope you make them immediately and that you all love them as much as we do.

Because, when life gets us down, we need cookies.

Molasses Cookies 

The original recipe calls for chilling the dough for 2 hours before baking the cookies. This chill makes for a chewier cookie, but we have made the cookies many times when we were in too much of a hurry to wait and they are still excellent.

Makes 3 dozen cookies
30 minutes preparation time, plus time for chilling
20 to 30 minutes total baking time

1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 1/4 cups unbleached white flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
granulated sugar for dipping and sprinkling

Using a mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add the egg and molasses and mix to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the molasses mixture and blend until the ingredients are completely incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, if you have the time.

When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Pour some granulated sugar into a shallow bowl.

Roll the dough into balls the size of large walnuts. Dip the tops of the cookies in the granulated sugar and arrange them on the cookie sheets at least an inch apart. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, until they are firm. Remove them from the oven and immediately sprinkle them with more granulated sugar.

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Airy Apple Cake

Sometimes a homey, tasty cake is just what you need. In fact, cake almost always has the power to improve ones outlook on life. In any event, the only thing it can hurt is the waistline, and I'm not going to start worrying about that after all these years.

This cake offers just that type of comfort. The apples are first spooned into the baking pan and topped with a batter that covers the apples and surrounds them with light fluffy cake. The result is an airy spiced cake with a sprinkle of crunchy sweetness on the top. Dressed up on fancy plate with a scoop of ice cream it makes an excellent seasonal dessert. Wrapped in a napkin, it would make a perfect snack on the run. Some have even been known to have a slice for breakfast.

Dicing apples.
The first time I made this cake, Chloe looked at me with wonder. She had just been singing "An Apple for an Apple Cake" with the Revels. I believe the song was based on a story by Nienke Van Hichtum in which an old woman plans to make an apple cake but doesn't have any apples. She sets out to find some and shares her generosity along the way. It is a lovely story, and Chloe was delighted that I was actually making an apple cake at home. Sometimes things just work out that way. Especially when cake is involved.

Second Helping: Pear and Almond Cake

Dig in!

Airy Apple Cake

To prepare the apples:
3-4 firm apples, ideally a mix of varieties, peeled, cored, and cut into bite-sized pieces
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

To make the cake:
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, divided
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons orange zest
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 2-quart baking dish.

Pour the apples into the baking dish and mix them with the butter, sugar, and cinnamon. Set aside while you mix the cake.

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a mixer, beat the butter and 3/4 cup of the sugar until light. Add the egg, vanilla, and orange zest and mix again. Add half of the flour mixture, the milk, and then the remaining half of the flour mixture, mixing each time until just combined. Pour the batter over the apples and spread it so that it covers them evenly.

Mix the remaining sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Sprinkle it over the top.  Bake  the cake for 35-40 minutes, until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm or cooled directly from the baking dish.

Jobs for children: Children can peel the apples, zest the orange, and mix. At the end, children can also sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top. To make it come out more evenly, put the cinnamon-sugar mixture in a clean spice bottle so that not too much comes out with any one shake. Older children can also dice apples.

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Hide the Cheese Lavender-Cheddar Muffins

We had a busy, fantastic, fun weekend. Along with Halloween and visits from some of our favorite people on the planet, we had a bash for my birthday, complete with a band whose services we had bought at the Acorn Hill silent auction. It was such a treat to have the house filled with music, and even better to have that music enhanced by the sounds of conversation and laughter. A big, noisy party does me good.

Of course there was food. We made a large version of the Dinner in a Pumpkin, some frittatas, noodles, a grilled veggie platter, Grilled Eggplant Baba Ganoush, and a red pepper-feta dip. Friends and family filled in the gaps with fried plantains, spinach fritters, fresh veggies, and black bean sliders. For desserts, we made Oscar's crowd-pleasing brownies along with pecan bars and red velvet and carrot cupcakes that our super babysitter made as part of her cupcake business. I will have some of those recipes to write up for you soon.

Grating cheese and mixing the batter.
In addition to the food that we served, there were a couple of dishes I planned to make that I didn't get finished, including these savory muffins. A while back, Oscar declared, "Mom, you should make Hide the Cheese muffins!" We are fans of Alice Waters' Hide and Seek Muffins from Franny at Chez Panisse, and aparently he thought we should have our own Hide the Cheese version. The idea of a savory muffin had been rattling around in my head anyway, because I thought they would be the perfect nibble to accompany a drink. I loved the idea.

Cubing the cheese and hiding it.

I tested this recipe out a couple of weeks before the party thinking I could make them in advance and freeze them. They were a big hit around here, though, and after everyone ate their fill, there were none left to freeze. I never got around to making more for the party, so now I'll think of these as my woulda, coulda, shoulda muffins. I think they make an excellent snack and would be delicious on the Thanksgiving table or at brunch. If I get enough of these recipes together, it just may be the excuse I need to have another party.

Second Helping: Pumpkin Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Hide the Cheese Lavender-Cheddar Muffins

When I made these muffins, I did not completely submerge the cheese cubes with batter, and the result was that the cheese bubbled up and coated the top of the muffins. They were delicious that way, but when I make them again, I will try topping some of the cheese cubes with batter to see if I get a gooey, cheesy center. I'll update this post once I've given it another go.

Makes 10-12 muffins
20 minutes preparation time
20-25 minutes baking time

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried lavender
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1 1/4 cups grated cheddar
12 small cubes of cheddar (mine were about 1/2-inch cubes)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and oil a standard 12-cup muffin tin (or line it with cupcake liners)

Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and lavender together in a small bowl. Add the egg, milk and grated cheese, and mix just until all of the flour mixture has been incorporated. The batter will be stiff and quite lumpy.

Spoon the batter into the cups of a muffin tin, filling each cup about two-thirds full. Push one cube of cheese into each muffin. The batter will come up around the sides of the cheese cube but will not quite swallow it.

Bake until a toothpick comes out clean (don't put it in the center where the cheese is), about 20 to 25 minutes. The muffins are best served warm.

Jobs for children: Children can help grate cheese, measure, mix, grease or line muffin tins, and, of course, hide the cheese.

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Rhubarb-Mint Popsicles

One of the things about trying to eat seasonally is that I find myself gorging on whatever is in season because I know it won't last.  This is a good news, bad news situation.  On the bad news side, I am probably buying and eating more that I need.  This spring, I have been buying oodles of strawberries at the market with the intention of baking with them, but they disappear from the refrigerator in a couple of days.  So I haven't baked with those strawberries yet. 

 
I really don't mind, though.  The berries are sweet and delicious and I'm glad that the children appreciate that.  When the season is over, they'll have bellies full of strawberries, sticky, pink fingers, and good memories.  And we'll all be ready to move on to something else.  Blueberries, maybe?  That's the good news. 

We've been mowing through the rhubarb, too.  We have had lots of rhubarb streusel cake, and I have a stash of rhubarb-thyme compote in the refrigerator.  Our latest project, though, was popsicles.  This is a super simple project that the children helped make.  We added a bit of mint and the combination is excellent -- the tart flavor of the rhubarb works nicely with the brightness of the mint.  I didn't purée the mixture so the popsicles are loaded with chunks of fruit.

I couldn't resist helping myself to more rhubarb stalks at this week's market along with a few quarts of strawberries.  I know what I want to make with the strawberries.  But should I stick to an old favorite with the rhubarb or try something new?  What would you make?  

Happy Monday!

Second Helping:  Radish Tartines

Rhubarb-Mint Popsicles

The mint and the rhubarb in the recipe as written create a popsicle with a lot of flavor.  We liked them this way, but if you want to tone it down, add a bit more water and use less mint when you add it at the end.

Makes 5 popsicles
10 minutes preparation time
25 minutes cooking time

5 cups chopped rhubarb
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons mint, minced and divided
1 cup water

Put the rhubarb, sugar, and 1 tablespoon of mint in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer.  Simmer with the pot covered until the rhubarb is meltingly soft, about 20 minutes.  Stir in the remaining mint.

Let the mixture cool.  Pour it into popsicle molds.  If you don't have popsicle molds, you can use a standard Dixie cup.  The mixture is thick enough that it will even hold a popsicle stick.  Freeze until the popsicles are frozen solid.

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Banana Coconut Pecan Bread

We have made a lot of banana chocolate chip snack cakes (my first recipe on this blog!).  It doesn't often happen that all three children want the same food for breakfast or for a snack, but banana baked goods seem to do the trick.  I wanted to change it up a bit, though, so I have been working on this banana bread.

I know that banana bread may not be the most exciting recipe to share, but I have been tweaking this recipe for months and I am really happy with the way it has come out.  It is very banana-y and moist, and the coconut adds a bit of extra sweetness. 

Of course, not everybody in our family likes nuts, so I had to come up with a trick for making half the loaf with nuts and half without.  I left the batter without nuts then put a spatula in the middle of the pan and poured in about half of the batter.  Leave the spatula there and stir nuts into the remaining half of the batter.  Pour that into the other side of the pan and remove the spatula.  Place a nut on the top of the nut side so that you can track which side is which. 

If you happen to have access to a snaggletoothed two year old nephew with deliciously pudgy fingers and a smile that melts your heart, definitely enlist him to help.

Second Helping:  Blueberry Crumb Cake

 

Banana Coconut Pecan Bread

Makes 1 standard loaf
20 minutes preparation time
50-55 minutes baking time

approximately 2 cups mashed bananas (3-4)
6 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup coconut
1/2 cup pecans, broken a bit (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Butter and flour a standard loaf pan.

In a large bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, butter, sugars, and eggs.  In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking soda, and coconut.  Mix until just combined.  Add the nuts and mix briefly.  Pour the batter into the loaf pan. 

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean, about 50-55 minutes. Standard-sized muffins take about 25 minutes to bake.  Let the cake cool in the pan for about half an hour then flip it out onto a cooling rack to continue to cool or serve it warm.

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Roses des Sables

 
In addition to the crêpes, Ophélie taught us how to make this treat, known as Roses des Sables.  She told me that they were made with chocolate and cornflakes, and I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical at first.  But if you think of them as a chocolatey riff on rice crispy treats, they sound much better, don't they?

And they taste fantastic, with their delightful chocolatey crunch.  They are a fun treat for children to make, and could be eaten either for a snack or dessert.

 
Roses des Sables translate as Desert Roses, which are mineral deposits that form when salty bodies of water evaporate.  They're quite beautiful, and this dessert does look like them.  (Wow, I hope that I spell "dessert" and "desert" correctly throughout this post, a challenge even when I'm not writing about Desert Roses). 

Merci, Ophélie!

 

Roses des Sables

10 tablespoons butter
6 ounces dark chocolate
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
approximately 2 cups cornflakes

Clear out a space in your refrigerator that is big enough to hold a cookie sheet.  Line the cookie sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add the chocolate and heat it, stirring occasionally.  Add the sugar and mix thoroughly.  Add about half of the cornflakes and stir until the flakes are completely coated.  Continue adding the cornflakes bit by bit and stirring them until they are completely covered with chocolate.  You may not need all of the cornflakes at first. 

Scoop the mixture out of the pot in heaping tablespoonfuls and arrange them on the parchment paper.  If there is chocolate left in the bottom of the pot as you scoop them out, you may want to add more cornflakes.  Let the Roses des Sables cool in the refrigerator until they are completely firm, several hours or overnight.  They will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several days.

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

 
Do you remember that old jingle, "Sometimes you feel like a nut; sometimes you don't"?  I never understood that ad;  I always feel like a nut.  By that, I mean, of course, that I always feel like eating nuts.  If you interpreted it any other way, you wouldn't be the first. . . 

If you want a trip down memory lane, watch the ad on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_AYqZddckc.  The hair, the shorts, the low tech look are quite entertaining.

Anyway, given a choice, I will always choose the nuttier option.  Ice cream, salads, cookies, brownies, banana bread, in my view, they are all enhanced by nuts.  And I'm not too picky about the type.  They all have their place.  I have posted recipes here for almonds in cake and granola.  I have shared recipes for pecans in pie, banana chocolate chip snack cakes, even snow.  I have put pine nuts in pesto and stuffed grape leaves.  So I'm not exaggerating.  I love me some crunchy nuts.

 
Peanuts are no exception.  Peanut butter has long been a staple for me.  I know it is considered a favorite of the younger set, but its resurgence in my life coincided with parenthood.  When I was first pregnant and many foods were unappealing, I could always tolerate peanut butter.  I remember, too, in those early days after Olivia was born, when a successful day was one in which I both ate lunch and took a shower, peanut butter was there for me.  Its convenience makes it hard to beat.  Even now, one of my regular breakfasts on the go is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. 

And peanut butter cookies are among my favorites.  When I had a hankering to make some peanut butter cookies the other day, I wanted them to be extra nutty.  So I threw in a handful of peanuts.  And some chocolate chunks because chocolate is always a good thing when it comes to cookies.

These cookies still retain the chewiness of a classic peanut butter cookie, but the peanuts and chocolate add more crunchiness to each bite.  And, of course, the chocolate is addictive.  Even Gabe, who usually isn't a fan of nuts in his cookies or the chocolate-peanut butter combination loved these.

Second Helping (from the Archives):  Green Eggs, No Ham

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I used dark chocolate chunks in these cookies instead of chips because I love the way they look and taste, but chips would certainly do.

Makes about 40 cookies
15 minutes preparation time
approximately 25 minutes baking time

1 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup crunchy (of course!) peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup roasted unsalted peanuts
1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder.  In a separate large bowl, cream together the butter and peanut butter with a mixer on medium high, until they are completely incorporated.  Add the sugars and beat again.  Mix in the egg and vanilla.  Add the flour mixture and blend thoroughly.  Mix in the peanuts and chocolate chunks.

Drop the dough by generous teaspoonfuls onto the sheet.  Bake until the cookies are lightly golden, about 8 minutes.  The cookies will keep their chewiness for several days stored at room temperature in an airtight container.

Snow Scream

 
This has been such an amazing winter of snow storms in this area.  I hope you're enjoying this latest round.  I know it can be terribly inconvenient, but I have to admit that I love a good snowstorm as much as the children do.  It forces us to slow down and stay close to home.  And it's so tranquil.  (Well, except for that chainsaw that woke me up at 6 this morning to chop up a tree that had fallen across the street behind us.)  It reminds me of the first few weeks after each of the kids was born when the whole world stopped and we burrowed in. 

 
A good snow lures us all out, though.  And we inevitably bring some back with us.  I read this article on the blog food and think about eating snow, one of our children's (and now our dog's!) favorite snow activities.  As I often do, I screened out all the stuff I didn't want to know, and I started thinking about what we should top our snow screams with. 

Today, with the help of a couple of friends, we tried out a few different toppings, including chocoate sauce, cookie crumble, vanilla with milk and sugar, orange juice with sugar and milk, maple syurp with pecans, blueberries and sugar.  I thought we would taste them and come to consensus on a favorite, but, instead, everyone liked something different. 

What do you put on your snow scream?

Robin's Egg Meringues

A few weekends ago, I was engaging in my favorite Sunday afternoon activity, reading the Sunday New York Times and dozing between sections.  I treasure the afternoons when I can do that.  We have a big sectional couch in our family room that can hold all five of us at once.  And that is exactly how I like it on a Sunday afternoon.  All of us sitting or lying on the couch, reading, resting, or playing quietly. 

So there we were one Sunday afternoon when I heard Olivia gathering Oscar and Chloe in a hushed voice.  I wasn't sure what they were up to, but I knew it was something.  So I continued to read and doze.  Or maybe I should say doze and read.  When I finally pulled myself out of the couch, I followed their voices to the kitchen. 

There they all were, flouring, mixing, and generally conspiring.  I didn't care what they were making; it was great to see them collaborating.  They wanted their creation to be a secret so I went back to the couch.

It turned out that they were making meringues from Mary Poppins in the Kitchen:  A Cookery Book with a Story.  I picked the book up at a book sale in the spring when the children were going through a period of singing many of the songs from the soundtrack (especially The Perfect Nanny, I Love to Laugh, and Let's Go Fly a Kite).  Olivia tweaked the recipe here and there to make it her own, including adding blue food coloring.  When my children get together in the kitchen they often consider the color as much as the taste.

Gabe dubbed them "blumeringues," which I thought was very clever.  But the children had already come up with their own name based on the color:  robin's egg meringues.  So sweet (the meringues, too)!

Robin's Egg Meringues

Adapted from Mary Poppins in the Kitchen
15 minutes preparation time
40-45 minutes, baking time, plus an hour for cooling

3 eggs
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
food coloring (optional)

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.  Lightly butter and flour two baking sheets.

Beat the egg whites with a mixer on medium-high speed.  Add the salt and cream of tartar and mix until the mixture holds its shape.  Add the sugar and continue to beat until the mixture is shiny and quite firm.  Using a tablespoon, drop the mixture onto the baking sheets, leaving an inch or more between the meringues.

Bake in the oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until the meringues are firm to the touch.  Turn the oven off and let the meringues sit in the oven for an additional hour with the oven door open.  Serve immediately.

The meringues will keep in an airtight container for a few days.

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Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

 
I have often seen tomatillos listed as an ingredient, but only recently tried cooking with them.  For those of you in Maryland, I first bought tomatillos at the Crossroads farmers' market, which has a decidedly Latin flair.  Crossroads is now closed for the winter, but you can find tomatillos at Latin markets or I have even seen them at Whole Foods.

 
They are interesting little critters.  They have a tangy, citrusy flavor and when broiled, they develop a delicious smokiness.  Their papery skins are easy to peel and are enchanting as they come off. 

 
Underneath the skins, the tomatillos are a bit sticky.  They need to be rinsed to remove that gumminess before they are roasted.  This salsa comes together very quickly and would make a delicious topping for tacos, quesadillas, or an omelette.  We ate ours with chips, which would be a perfect after-school or game-watching snack.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

The serrano chile made this salsa too spicy for all the children except Olivia, who has a reasonable threshold for spicy food.  If you are making this to serve children, I recommend separating the ingredients in half and and adding the chile to the adult half.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups salsa
15 minutes preparation time
7 minutes cooking time

25-30 tomatillos, papery skins removed and rinsed
1 serrano chile (optional)
1 very small garlic clove minced (about 1/2 teaspoon)
2-3 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Set an oven rack on the top setting, and preheat the oven to broil.  Spread the tomatillos and chile, if you are using it, on a cookie sheet and broil them, turning them once or twice, until they are soft and partially blackened, about 7 minutes.  If you are using a chile but want the salsa a bit less spicy, let it cool and remove the seeds.  Put the tomatillos and chile in a food processor or blender.  Add the remaining ingredients and puree until smooth.  See, isn't that easy? 

Use as you would your favorite salsa.

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Brown Sugar Cookies

Olivia got into her head that she wanted to make brown sugar cookies.  Doesn't that sound delicious?  I think she got the idea from a book, Easy Desserts, that my mother gave her a few years ago.  She loves looking through it and dreaming up what she will make next.  And of course the rest of us love helping and tasting the results.

Sunday morning we had just enough time to make the dough.  Then we went out and let it sit in the refrigerator to chill.  Olivia baked the cookies with a friend after school on Monday.  An excellent playdate, if you ask me. 

 
 
The cookies are sugary and buttery, with a rich flavor from the brown sugar.  The edges are crisp and the centers chewy.  They are perfect with fruit for an afternoon snack or with ice cream for dessert. 

Brown Sugar Cookies

Adapted from Easy Desserts: Recipes Anyone Can Make

Makes about 2 dozen cookies
20 minutes preparation time, plus time for chilling
20-25 minutes baking time

2 sticks butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups unbleached white flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter until it lightens in color and then gradually add the brown sugar.  Add the egg yolk and vanilla and mix thoroughly.  Add the flour, salt, and baking soda, and mix again. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. 

When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Using a tablespoon, scoop out the dough and roll it into balls.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the cookies are golden.  Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes before removing them. 

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Great and Small: Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

 
I had planned to have a great post for you today, my version of this Washington Post recipe for dinner in a pumpkin.  I've made it before, and it was a fantastic treat for Halloween, perfect for a cold night and fun for the children.  But I never wrote my recipe down and when I tried it out this week -- just in time to post so that you would have it before Halloween -- it was, how can I say this. . .  meh.  Not terrible, but not great.  If I'm going to convince you to go to the trouble of making dinner in a pumpkin it has got to be better than that.  So maybe next year. 

This year, instead of the Great Pumpkin, you'll get small.  You see, while the pumpkin was cooking, I did a bit of an experiment on the seeds.  I love roasting them, but I want them to be cooked so that I can eat the entire seed without breaking a tooth or chewing for 15 minutes.  I have seen many different approaches to roasting them, including blanching them before roasting, dry roasting, and roasting with oil.  I tried them all. 

 
The blanching worked well if you then roasted the seeds at a low temperature for a very long time (about 2 hours at 250 degrees).  Equally good, though, was a shorter roast at high heat.  So if you make those Pumpkin Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting -- and you really should make them -- save the seeds to roast.

 
Great and small sums up the season for me, too.  This time of year, I find myself studying the soaring trees, especially when I see one with vibrantly colored leaves against that crisp autumn sky.  And at my feet are the treasures of the season, more colors and little goodies to take into my pocket.  My children have helped me see these things again.  What a gift.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

pumpkin seeds
olive oil
soy sauce

Rinse the seeds and spread them in a single layer on a cookie sheet to dry out a bit.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Toss the pumpkin seeds with a drizzle of olive oil.  The amount will vary depending on how many seeds you have, but a teaspoon or two will probably be plenty.  Roast the seeds for about 20 minutes, until they are golden brown, and you hear them begin to pop.  When they are done, toss them with a few shakes of olive oil.  They do not keep well so eat them immediately or store them in an airtight container and reheat them again before eating.

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Chunky Apple Muffins

With fall in the air, I've been excited to bake again.  Fall baking summons those warm spices, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, the perfect complements to apples and pumpkins.  And with cooler temperatures, I'm happy to turn the oven on again.  Baking warms up the house, and the smell of something delicious in the oven invites us in so that we are happy to be indoors and don't have a chance to miss the warmth and long nights of summer.

 
These muffins are hearty, with more fruit and nuts than batter.  They may be funny-looking, but each bite is a mouthful of goodness.  The recipe is inspired by Marion Cunningham's Raw Apple Muffins originally published in her Breakfast Book and reprinted in Gourmet.  Marion Cunningham is one of my culinary heros.  She thinks people should cook at home and has devoted  much of her life to getting more of us to do that.  David Lebovitz wrote this wonderful tribute to her.  If you have a minute, check it out.  It is inspiring.  

Marion Cunningham also overhauled the Fannie Farmer Cookbook, the 1983 version of which I inherited from my grandmother.  The cookbook is loaded with recipes for many basic foods, and I turn to it again and again.  My copy of the book is also filled with recipes that my grandmother wrote on cards and clipped from newspapers and magazines.  My favorite souvenir is the 1963 accounting from my grandmother's women's group, the Aloha Club, complete with menus and an expense accounting.  (Why this 1963 accounting appears in a 1983 cookbook, I cannot understand.  Did she save it for 20 years?)

 
When I made these muffins this time, I only made one version.  Sometimes I make multiple variations of a recipe to appeal to each child.  The last time I made almond granola, I ended up with three batches, one with everything, one with nuts but no raisins, and one with raisins but no nuts.  But this time, in the vain hope that the children might just eat them as they were intended, I told them that they could just pick out anything they didn't like.  The muffins smelled so good when they were baking that they were unfazed.  And the perk has been that when Chloe picks out all her walnuts, she passes them to me.  Yum.

Chunky Apple Muffins

1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 cups (4-5 medium) tart apples, skins on, cored and diced
3/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup raisins
1 cup walnut pieces

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Line two 12-cup muffin tins with baking cups or oil them.  In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.  In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, and vanilla.  Add the apples and syrup to the egg-oil mixture and mix well.  Add the flour mixture and stir until just mixed.  The batter will be very stiff.  Stir in the raisins and walnuts.

Spoon the batter into the muffin tins, filling each about 3/4 cup full.  Make sure that there is a sufficient amount of batter in each cup to hold the fruit and nuts.  Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, approximately 25 minutes.  Let the muffins cool in the muffin tins for a few minutes, and then turn them out onto a rack to cool completely.

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Oatmeal Chocolate Chip After School Cookies

 
The children have been back at school for more than a month now, and we are finally getting into a routine.  It is all a bit bewildering for me those first few weeks, trying to get back in the rhythm of the school year again.  But Chloe is now quite happily settling into kindergarten and comes home each day singing songs she has learned.  Olivia just became a patrol, and could not be more enthusiastic.  For the last couple of days, she has had Chloe and Oscar dressed, teeth brushed, and ready for breakfast more than an hour before they needed to leave for school because she wanted to get there early and begin patroling.  Oscar, too, seems to be settling comfortably into his second year.  I learned today that his butterfly was "fourth out of the first five" out of the chrysalis.  Very exciting stuff.

When they get home from school, I want them to be greeted by the feeling of home.  In the world of food, nothing does that better than milk and cookies.  The cookies should be homemade, of course, and the smell of them baking should waft through the door as they walk thorough it.  I'd be there to greet them in a frilly apron, with a set of pumps and a string of pearls, cookies and milk loaded onto a silver tray. . .  Okay, I'm getting a bit carried away, but there is something very traditional and homey in a 1950s kind of way about milk and cookies. 

Of course, cookies aren't the healthiest snack so I prefer to make them an occasional treat rather than an everyday snack.  But I also thought it would be good to develop a healthier version that would be a bit more nutritious and stick with them until dinner.  This recipe is my attempt to accomplish that. 

Oatmeal replaces some of the flour and whole wheat pastry flour, which adds a whole grain without the heaviness of regular whole wheat flour, replaces the rest.  It has less butter and sugar and fewer chocolate chips than most recipes.  I also added an extra egg to compensate for the reduction in butter on the theory that eggs are healthier because they have more protein.  The nuts are optional, but if your children eat them, load them in because they too are filled with healthy protein.

Presto chango and now that classic cookie snack is something I feel better about giving them regularly.  The cookie is soft and cakey, with a touch of chewiness from the oatmeal.  They are similar enough to a regular chocolate chip cookie that the children love them, especially dipped into a glass of cold milk. 

And after the children are in bed, the dishes are done, and the house is quiet, they make a tasty treat for the adults, too.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip After School Cookies

The dough for the cookies can be frozen.  If you're very organized, you could form it into tablespoons and freeze them on a cookie sheet.  When they harden, put them in a freezer bag to store them.  When you want to cook them, just pop them on the sheet.  They may need a couple of extra minutes to cook.  Otherwise, you can just freeze the dough in a storage container or freezer bag.  Let it thaw in the refrigerator before cooking.

1 cup oatmeal
1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 large eggs
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts or pecans (optional)

In a small bowl, whisk together the oatmeal, pastry flour, baking soda, and salt, and set aside.  Melt the butter.  Meanwhile, measure the brown and granulated sugars into a large bowl.  When the butter has melted, whisk it into the sugars.  Add the vanilla and eggs.  Stir in the flour mixture.  Add the chocolate chips and nuts, if you are using them, and mix them into the dough.

Chill the dough for at least an hour and as long as a few days.  When you are ready to bake the cookies, adjust the oven racks to the upper and lower third of the oven.  Preheat to 375 degrees.  Arrange the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet by rounded tablespoons, leaving a couple of inches between cookies.  Bake for 9 to 11 minutes until the cookies are golden brown.

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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.

Almond Granola

 

 

One of my favorite summertime treats is plain yogurt with fresh berries and granola.  I have it for breakfast sometimes, but more often for lunch.  I love the cool, tart, creaminess of the yogurt contrasted with the sweetness of the berries and the crunch of the granola.  It is fantastic with those local berries that are available in the markets now.

I used to buy granola mostly in bulk at Whole Foods or at the Silver Spring-Takoma Park Coop, and they offer a great selection of different flavors.  But once I made it myself, I was amazed by how much better it tasted.  It is very easy to put together and stays fresher longer when I make it at home.  I make this granola with a lot of almonds because, well, I like a lot of almonds.  I also use almond extract to intensify the almond flavor.  Because Chloe doesn't like almonds in her granola, I leave them whole so that they are easier for us to pick out.

I usually make my yogurt-granola concoction into a parfait because it's pretty and more appealing for me or the kids.  I have to confess that I am very fussy about how I make it.  I always put it in a glass, with the granola on the bottom, then the fruit, then the yogurt.  Depending on the size of the glass, I might make another layer, or just put a sprinkle of granola and a few berries on top.  Layered this way, the yogurt drips into the berries and pulls their juices into the granola.  This fully flavors the granola with the berry flavor but can't sit too long or the granola will lose its crunch. 

Am I completely insane to be so particular about how I prepare my yogurt?  Maybe I'm just getting set in my ways as I get older.  If that's the case, the next few decades are going to get really rough.   

Almond Granola

Makes about 6 cups
15 minutes preparation time
1 hour baking time

2/3 cup honey
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon almond extract
3 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups raw, unsalted, whole almonds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

In a small pot, mix together the honey, maple syrup, cinnamon, olive oil, salt, water and almond extract.  Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and set the mixture aside.

In a large bowl, mix the oats, almonds, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds.  Pour the honey and maple syrup mixture into the bowl and mix thoroughly so that the oats and nuts are completely coated.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Pour the granola onto the sheets and spread it out evenly into a single layer.  Bake for 45 to 50 minutes,  watching to make sure that the almonds do not get too dark.  About half way through, remove each tray and gently push the granola around the tray to break up any clumps.

Remove the granola from the oven and let it come to room temperature on the baking sheets, then add the raisins. The granola will keep for several weeks in an airtight container.

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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!

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Rhubarb-Thyme Compote

 

Rhubarb is out at the farmer's markets this time of year, and I love it.  My mother often made a rhubarb sauce to have on hand as a treat, usually with vanilla ice cream.  Today it would be given the fancier term compote, which is a thick sauce of fruit in a sugar syrup.  Compote is extremely easy to make and can be used in a number of ways.  This rhubarb and thyme compote is delicious spooned over ice cream, on toast, over pound cake, or on pancakes.  It is also delicious on its own as a snack, although you may want to double the recipe so that you will have more of it.  My favorite way to eat it these days is swirled into plain yogurt. 

 

Because rhubarb is tart, it is often paired with strawberries, which add a balancing sweetness.  It is delicious that way, but this time, I wanted to try something a bit different, so I added the thyme. Although thyme is usually served in savory dishes, it is a nice complement to tart flavors like lemon, and I thought it would go well with rhubarb too.  It adds an earthiness and depth of flavor that elevates this compote from sweet treat to a more sophisticated flavor.  The thyme flavor is subtle because I still wanted the rhubarb to be the star of the show.   

Chloe tried the compote right out of the pan and gave it a thumbs up.  Just wait until she tries it over vanilla ice cream!

Rhubarb-Thyme Compote

Makes 1 1/2 to 2 cups
15 minutes preparation time
25 minutes cooking time, plus chilling time

5 stalks rhubarb, trimmed and sliced crosswise (about 3 cups)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced

In a medium bowl, toss the rhubarb with the sugar and let it sit for about 10 minutes.  This will pull some of the liquid out of the rhubarb so you will need less water when you cook it.

In a small saucepan, mix the rhubarb with the lemon zest and thyme.  Add a few tablespoons of water to make sure that the bottom of the pot is entirely coated with water.  Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and let simmer until the rhubarb is very soft, about 20 minutes.  Check the pan every few minutes to make sure that there is enough liquid to maintain a simmer.  If needed, add more a bit more water.

When it is done, scoop it into a jar and let it cool in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.

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Vanilla Bean Pudding

There's something about pudding.  It's not fancy or elegant, but it is cold, creamy, delicious, and comforting.  It's hard to get enough.  We have been making it a lot lately.  We made the butterscotch pudding from the February issue of Gourmet magazine and the chocolate pudding from the Gourmet Cookbook.  Both were delicious, but I was in the mood for a simple, pure flavor, something with universal appeal to children and adults.  In a word, I wanted vanilla.

But not something bland or boring.  I wanted the rich taste of vanilla beans.  I had recently gone to lunch at Jaleo and had a fantastic Basque semolina cake with a vanilla cream center.  In fact, I had it twice in one week.  I went one afternoon with a friend for a relaxing, delightful lunch.  Unfortunately -- or fortunately, as it turned out -- I left my credit card behind.  Since I had to go back to pick it up anyway, I thought I may as well stop in with Chloe.  Needless to say, the experience was not as soothing as the first time around, but it did give me another crack at that cake.  I'm still a long way from figuring out how to recreate the cake, but I thought I could at least replicate the simple, rich vanilla flavor.  

This pudding is a simple cornstarch pudding that highlights the flavor of the vanilla bean.  It is not too sweet so that the vanilla bean is really the star, and the brown sugar adds richness to the flavor.  The pudding is very easy to make and absolutely delicious.  We have had both for dessert and as a snack. In our house, the children and the adults all love it.

Vanilla Bean Pudding

Serves 6
30 minutes preparation and cooking time, plus chilling time

3 cups whole milk
1 vanilla bean
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
4 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Whipped cream for serving (optional)* 

Pour the milk into a small saucepan.  Split open the vanilla bean length-wise, scrape out the seeds with a spoon and add the seeds and the pod to the saucepan.  Heat the mixture until bubbles form around the edge of the pan, turn it off, and let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, sugars, and salt.  After the milk mixture has steeped, remove the vanilla pod and whisk the sugar mixture into the saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium heat and, whisking constantly, boil gently for 3 to 4 minutes, until the mixture thickens.

Empty the pudding into a heatproof bowl.  Cover it with plastic wrap, pushing the wrap onto the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming on the surface as the pudding cools.  Refrigerate the pudding until it is set, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days. 

If you are using the whipped cream, put a dollop on top of each serving.

* I like my whipped cream to be only slightly sweetened with a hint of vanilla so that it doesn't overwhelm the dessert.  For a cup of heavy cream, I would add a teaspoon or two each of granulated sugar and vanilla.

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Butter Crackers

Everyone is getting into the act at home now.  The children have been amazingly patient as I photograph them helping in the kitchen or take pictures of their food before they eat it.  And I repeatedly hear, "maybe you should put this on the blog."  It has been fun for all of us.  So this is the first post in what I hope will be a series of recipes developed or inspired by my children's ideas:  out of the mouths of babes we often learn so much, don't we?

 Olivia generated this recipe for one of her favorite snacks, and she wants to share with you.  This is a very simple snack, but the creaminess of the butter mixed with the saltiness and crunch of the saltines make it addictive.  And even when our cupboard is bare, we usually have butter and crackers on hand for this quick treat.

In case you can't make out the instructions from the photo above, here, in her own words, is Olivia's recipe.

Butter Crackers

Delicious!
Makes so many!
Made by Olivia

What you'll need:  A knife, a pack of saltines, butter, a plate

What to do:

Microwave the butter for about 10 seconds.

Take about 10 (or more or less) crackers and put them on a plate.

Take a knife and butter the crackers. Tada!

!!!!!You can eat them now!!!!!

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.

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Rosalyn's Trinidadian Roti

 

Our children’s babysitter, Rosalyn, is a fantastic cook.  She is from Trinidad and of Indian origin so her food is Indian with a Caribbean twist.  Our children grew up eating her cooking and they especially love this flatbread, called roti, which is different from Indian roti. The dough is a blend of wheat and white flours, and a split pea mixture is added before rolling the dough into its flat shape. The result is an aromatic, flavorful flatbread.

Our children help by mixing the dough, forming the dough into balls, filling the balls with the split peas, and using the rolling pin to roll them flat. If you are working alone, you can probably start cooking as soon as you have the first couple of roti rolled out.  It seems to take me about as long to cook a roti as to roll out two of them.  If you have children helping you, it will, of course, take a bit longer. 

If you have a large griddle, I recommend that you use it rather than a skillet and cook two or more roti at a time. It will greatly reduce your cooking time.  The split pea filling can be made a day ahead and kept in the refrigerator or frozen.  If you have leftover roti, those too can be frozen for several weeks.

Roti are the traditional accompaniment to curries in Trinidad. I will soon post a recipe for a chick pea and potato curry that our children love, but you can serve these with any curry, stew, or soup with similar flavors. I generally double this recipe so that we have leftovers.  These roti make a tasty and nutritious snack buttered, or with cottage cheese.

Rosalyn’s Trinidadian Roti

The first time you make this, you will only need half of the amount of filling, so cut the ingredients in half. Stuffing the filling is an art and it takes a while to be able to fully stuff the dough. After you have made the recipe a few times, you will find that you can stuff more in, and you may want to increase the amount as listed here.

Makes 8 roti
40 minutes preparation time
30 minutes cooking time

For the filling:
1/4 pound yellow split peas
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons salt, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
2 garlic cloves, peeled

For the dough:
11/4 cups unbleached white flour
11/4 cups whole wheat flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup warm water
olive oil for brushing

Boil the split peas with the turmeric and 1 teaspoon of the salt until they soften but are still a bit crunchy to the bite, about 25 minutes. Drain them in a colander and let them cool to room temperature.

You can make the dough while the split peas are cooking or cooling. Mix the flours, baking powder, salt, oil, and warm water. The dough should come together but not be too sticky, like pizza dough. If needed, add a bit more warm water, one tablespoon at a time. When the dough has come together, cover and let rest for 10 or more minutes.

In a sauté pan, heat the cumin until it is fragrant and darkens in color, about 2 minutes. Set aside. When the split peas have cooled, grind them in a grinding mill or food processor with the garlic until they are the texture of coarse cornmeal. Mix in the cumin and remaining 1 teaspoon of salt and set aside.

Cut the dough into approximately 8 equal-sized pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. Form a bowl-shaped cavity in the dough, and fill the cavity with 3 or 4 tablespoons of the split pea mixture. It may initially seem difficult to fit that much of the mixture into the cavity, but mash it in with your thumb and continue to add more. Fold the sides of the dough and pinch it tightly to hold in the split pea mixture.

Heat a large skillet or griddle (the larger the cooking surface, the more roti you will be able to cook at once). On a lightly floured surface, roll out each ball of dough as thinly as you can.  Rosalyn makes them at least 8 inches in diameter, but I can’t always get them that big.  Don’t worry if some of the filling peeks through the dough.  It will be fine once you cook the roti. 

Lightly brush the roti with oil and sauté on each side until slightly browned, approximately 1-2 minutes per side.  Keep on a plate covered with a towel until ready to serve.

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Banana Chocolate Chip Snack Cakes

I love banana bread, but my oldest daughter Olivia doesn’t like it at all.  When we recently had a bunch of bananas that had ripened past the point of perfection -- and far past the stage of ripeness that my kids will tolerate -- I wanted to create something different.

I hesitate to call the result a muffin because, to me, that suggests a denser concoction.  We could probably debate where the line falls between muffins and cupcakes, but these lie somewhere in between.  They are healthier than cake because they have a minimal amount of sugar, some whole wheat flour, and just enough chips to add a rich flavor and entice the children.  They are lighter than muffins, though, significantly airier than banana bread, and have a subtle banana flavor.

As with banana bread, the more ripe the bananas, the more flavor they add.  We used white whole wheat flour, but you could substitute either whole wheat or white flour.  We lined the muffin tins with cupcake liners because they are more fun, and they make the tins easier to clean.  The children helped mash the bananas, break up the nuts, mix the batter, line the muffin tins, and spoon the batter into the liners.  The nuts are optional.  We spooned half the batter without nuts into the cups, and then added half the amount of nuts before spooning in the remaining batter.

The children devoured these snack cakes.  My challenge has been letting the bananas ripen long enough so that I can make them more often.

Banana Chocolate Chip Snack Cakes

Makes 1 dozen snack cakes
20 minutes preparation time
20-25 minutes baking time

1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached white flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (approximately) bananas (about 2-3), mashed
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) melted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup pecans or walnuts, broken into pieces (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a 12-muffin pan with cupcake liners.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder and salt.  In a medium bowl, stir together the mashed banana, butter, sugars, and eggs.  Add the dry mixture to the banana mixture and mix until just moist.  Add the chocolate chips and nuts if you are using them.

Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 20-25 minutes.

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