Inspired by Sesame Street...

We have a scratch-and-sniff book about Sesame Street characters figuring out how to eat all their favorite fruit at the same time, hence, a rainbow fruit salad! Madeline named off things we needed to pick up at the grocery on Tuesday, and then Wednesday morning, she was ready to assemble. Strawberries, peaches, bananas (although pineapple next time!), kiwi, blueberries and purple grapes! Divine... I especially love that making it was her idea/request, and that she was so very proud of her creation. She even dished up a hefty portion for me on a dinner plate, complete with a fork and a spoon. Why a spoon? "Oh, Mama, you need the spoon to get those grapes. Otherwise, they just slip away from you — they are just foolish!"

Green Stuff

This is one of E's favorite green foods, and it's delish! I served it at his birthday, and have had a lot of requests for the recipe, so here it is!

Erik's Fave Spinach Souffle
(although this recipe came from Martha's Everyday Food magazine, I've changed it enough that I consider it Erik's recipe)
Cooking spray or butter (to grease casserole) and
About 1/4 c. bread crumbs
1 Tbs. butter
3 Tbs. flour
1.5 c. milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 egg yolks
1 pkg frozen, chopped spinach (defrosted and drained - squeezed, really)
1 c. Parmesan cheese
4 egg whites
Pinch cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 400-degrees F. Melt butter in saucepan and add flour. Stir and cook about 3 minutes, then slowly add the milk, salt and pepper. Stir until smooth and add egg yolks (temper first by adding several tablespoons of hot milk mixture to the egg yolks, then add the warmed yolks to the pan). Cook about 3 more minutes, or until Bechemel (white) sauce is thickened. Remove from heat and stir in drained spinach and Parmesan. NOTE: to make this recipe more kid-friendly, I chop the chopped spinach very fine in my food processor for more incorporated "green" bits , and use the Paremesan in the green can (milder flavor), but I didn't do either of these things for Christmas dinner at my in-laws house, and it is fabulous without these steps, using fresh, grated Parmesan as well.

Whip the four egg whites with a pinch of Cream of Tartar in your Kitchenaid with whisk attachment until soft peaks form. While it's whipping, grease a 2-quart casserole and coat with bread crumbs. When whites are ready, stir 1/3 of them into the spinach mixture in the pan, then when incorporated, fold the spinach mixture into the rest of the whites.

Pour into the prepared pan, reduce the oven temp from 400 - to 350-degrees F, and pop into the oven immediately, to cook for about 30 minutes (until "set" and golden-brown on top).

Serve warm, cold or reheated! Even if this baby falls, it's still delish.

Tempura Squash Blossoms

Just Tempura batter mix from the grocery, and assorted pumpkin, zucchini and other squash blossoms from our garden. They were delicious. I didn't stuff them, just dipped and fried in some peanut and canola oil. They were surprisingly sweet and very tasty. Erik declared them "dee-li-sus!"

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

In honor of Chinese New Year, here's a quick and tasty recipe for sesame noodles, and Chicken Adobo (Filipino). The kids loved 'em!

Quick Sesame Noodles

12 oz. Chinese egg noodles
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. oil
1/4 c. rice vinegar
1/4 c. low sodium soy sauce
3 T. sesame oil
2 t. chili sauce
6 green onions, or handful of cilantro, diced
2 t. sesame seeds, toasted
lime wedges for serving


Cook noodles, about 5 mins, drain, and transfer to a serving bowl.

Over medium heat, in saucepan, cook garlic, sugar, oil, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and chili sauce. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves. Pour sauce over noodles, and toss to coat. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.

Chicken Adobo

(adapted from March 2007 Sunset Magazine Easy Chicken Adobo recipe)

1 Tbsp. canola or vegetable oil
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
5 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, place the chicken in the pan, and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Flip the chicken over and brown the other side, another 5 minutes.

Remove the browned chicken from the saute pan and place in a large bowl. Add the garlic and saute until lightly brown and fragrant, about 1 minute. Deglaze the pan with the soy and vinegar, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Return the chicken to the pan, along with any accumulated juices from the bowl, and simmer, covered for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, uncover the pan and increase the heat to medium, cooking for 15 minutes more or until sauce thickens. Drizzle chicken and rice with sauce.

Don't Just Hork It Down!

So, we watched the movie Ratatouille last week, and Madeline loved it. Despite my great aversion to rodents of most kinds, and rats in particular, I loved the movie too and was inspired to make their version of Ratatouille. Not the usual soggy-vegetable-traditional recipe, but the crisp-tender version of the movie. I happily found just what I was looking for in the way of recipes online at Smitten Kitchen. Click here for her version of Remi's famous dish. And, I'm going to try these suggestions next too!

Of course, Madeline has learned the phrase, "Don't just hork it down!" from Remy... she said it to Grammy just the other night as Grammy was eating some imaginary Spinach Soup.

Remy: I have got to teach you about food. Close your eyes.
[Emile obeys; Remy hands out piece of cheese]
Remy: Now take a bite of this...
[Emile snarfs the cheese]
Remy: No, no, no! Don't just hork it down!
Emile: Too late.

From The Heart

My most treasured recipes are both delicious and tied to wonderful memories. I love to cook excellent food, and more than that, I love to cook for the people I love. I got to do that this weekend in Jamie's glorious kitchen (convection oven, gas stovetop...ah...) — here are three of the recipes we enjoyed:

BBQ Baked Lentils
My first year at college, Jamie and I were roommates and we tried our hand at being vegetarians. Many delicious (omnivorous) years later, this recipe is still one of our favorites:

Bring to boil (in about 4 quarts water) 2 1/3 cups lentils, then add 2 tsp. salt. Simmer for 30 mins, drain, then mix into a large, covered casserole dish with the following:

15 oz. can tomato sauce
2 Tbs. minced onion
1/2 c. ketchup
1/4 c. molasses
1 Tbs. Worchestershire sauce
2 tsp. dry mustard powder
1 tsp. chili powder
1 Tbs. vinegar
2 Tbs. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. liquid smoke (optional)

Bake at 400 degrees F for 45 mins. Makes 8 generous servings.

Katrina's Crepes
This is an adapted Swedish Pancake batter recipe. Along with John's glorious biscuits and gravy, these crepes are a late breakfast favorite. This is a double batch — they freeze beautifully.

3 c. flour
2 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. vanilla paste (or extract)
6 eggs
4 c. milk
2 T melted butter

Combine the dry, mix in the wet. Cook in medium-hot skillets (sloped sided cast iron pans are great, or medium sized non-stick), and stack 'em up until all the batter is gone. Tease Joel when he asks when it'll be time to eat. Serve with bacon, some fruit and good coffee. Squeeze a lemon or lime wedge over each crepe, sprinkle with powdered sugar, then a spray of whipped cream. Roll up and enjoy!

Christmas Gingersnaps
The original recipe is either from my great grandma Sartor or her daughter Alma. As usual, I've adapted it a little. Jamie and I have made these every year on the first weekend of December for the past six years. It all started with the Sauk Mountain Invitation-only Pottery Sale and some holiday baking at our house in 2000. Things change a little each year, and now we cruise a local sale for our holiday pottery shopping, but we always make these cookies. This is also a double batch (makes about 11 dozen), because we always make a bunch to share. They freeze like a dream too.

1 1/2 c. shortening
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. molasses
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
2 c. all purpose flour
4 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. cloves
2 tsp. ginger

Bake at 350 degrees F. Cream the wet ingredients, add the dry. Scoop onto parchment-covered cookie sheets with a 1-inch scoop and bake for about 8 mins for chewy cookies - 10 mins for crispier "snaps". You can roll the balls of dough in sugar before baking, but we've found that they taste better (and are better for you) without!