Lunch Time!!

A good friend recently asked a group of her mom friends for lunch ideas for kids. I'm always looking for new ways to introduce new foods and flavors to the kids, so here are some things that work well for our lunch bunch.

Short cuts
When I'm pressed for time, the grocery deli and sushi bar are great. The kids love:

• Cous cous salad (with dried fruit, etc.)
• Pesto pasta salad with peas (I also make this quickly by using either pesto in a jar, or a Knorr pesto sauce packet.)
• California, Shrimp, Avocado, Cucumber or Veggie rolls
• Sliced salami, ham, turkey, havarti, etc.
• Rotisserie chicken

And, the sneakiest way ever to fit in more servings of veggies...

• Kagome, RW Knudsen, Bolthouse, V8 Fusion, or Vruit brands of juice — primarily vegetable juices, sweetened up with blends of fruit juice. 100% juice, no added anything. One 8 oz. glass of most is 1 full adult serving of veggies AND fruit for the day. And, if you start giving it to your kids early... they think that's what juice tastes like (real juice, not corn syrup).
  

Favorites
New and old faves:

• Cocktail bread (especially rye) spread with Philadelphia Smoked Salmon cream cheese (new fave - Gavino, Solomon, and Madeline loved this. E like the bread plain.)
• PB&J or almond butter & jelly, or lunch meat and cheese rolled up in flour tortillas and sliced like pinwheels.
  
• Any sandwich made on King's Hawaiian rolls (soft and sweet, and they do have Whole Wheat now too) — Light tuna with dill mixed in is one occasional fave.
  
• Sliced fruit and yogurt "dip"
• Baby carrots, snap peas or broccoli with salad dressing dip
• Breakfast for lunch — mini pancakes or waffle pieces with syrup to dip in, or sprinkled with pwdr sugar. Scrambled eggs (they even eat them cold — I keep leftovers in the fridge), and Morningstar veggie patty "sausage".
• "Psgetti" or any sort of Asian noodle dish
• Soup in a cup, especially creamy tomato with crackers and cheese
• English muffin mini pizzas (even M, who does not like pizza, likes these)
• Stouffers (or homemade) spinach souffle
• Leftovers of dinner food (lasagna, etc.)
• Laughing Cow cheese wedges, or Baby Bell minis
  
• "Pickies" small pieces of whatever we have on hand — cut up meat, cheese, veggies, fruit, etc. that they can eat with their fingers (like a Bento lunch)
  

Sides
Things they love with their lunch, or for snacks

• Any sort of cut up fresh fruit (especially cool things like Star Fruit) or dried fruit
• Berries (in a category of their own)
• Canned Mandarin Oranges
• Cherry tomatoes or halved mini plum tomatoes
  
• Organic raisins (also known as "gummies" in our house Bwahahahaha!)
• Sesame sticks
• Pretzel crackers
• Pirates Booty or Veggie Booty
• Pickles
• Olives
• Frozen yogurt in "tubes" — Stonyfield Farm brand
• Cheese slices (Tillamook Medium Cheddar) or cheese sticks
• Whole cooked pinto or black beans
• Banana bread
• Fruit smoothies
• Leaves with dip (Lettuce or fresh spinach)
• Applesauce
• Rice crackers

One Powerful Meatloaf

This recipe is Joel's mom's, and it lured me away from my freshman-year foray into vegetarianism. It's quite good, and Joel makes it now. He does a couple things a little differently, like (when we find it) using a mixture of ground beef, veal and pork instead of just beef, and he definitely uses more Worcestershire sauce, but essentially, it's the same excellent recipe.

Joel's Meatloaf

2 lbs. ground meat (preferably beef, pork and veal)
2 eggs
About 1/2 c. finely chopped red onion (I add pressed garlic too, because it's better that way)
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. pepper
(I also add a teaspoon of smoked paprika) 
Several long glugs of Worcestershire sauce
1/2-1 c. breadcrumbs (or as much as it takes to make it feel "right" - I use Panko)

Mix by hand in a large bowl, shape into a loaf, and place in an electric skillet. "Frost" the top with ketchup. Slice baby red potatoes in half and cover the rest of the skillet bottom with potatoes. Put the lid on, set the temp to 275-degrees F, and cook for 40 min. to 1 hour.

Updated (10 years after the original post) for cooking in the glorious Instant Pot: 

Prep the meatloaf, and form it into a flat, round disk shape that will fit into a steamer basket. You can do a ring-type loaf if you do a 3-lb. recipe. Put 1 cup of hot water in the bottom of the IP pot, then put the steamer basket into the IP pot. Add the meatloaf (either skewering it right through the center with the post in the middle of the steamer, or centering up the meat loaf ring in the basket, if you've gone with that shape). "Frost" the top of the meatloaf with as much ketchup as you like, without getting it down the sides of the loaf. Pop the lid on, lock it in (in the sealing position), and push the "Manual" button. Set the time for 9 minutes, and walk away. When the cook time is up , use the natural pressure release method (about 15 minutes), then release the pressure valve. If you do a 3-lb. loaf/ring, cook for 10 mins. on manual with the same natural release at the end. This should give you a 160-165 degree F temp for the loaf that leaves it tender and moist, but fully cooked. 

You can put potatoes (halved, lengthwise) under the steamer basket, if you want, and cook everything at once, but I do mashed potatoes in the IP separately, in large batches, since our potato-loving girl will eat them just about any time. 

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

We got some amazing organic strawberries recently, and then rhubarb from the Farmer's Market, so I hunted down a crisp recipe. It's adapted from a recipe off Allrecipes, but I cut the sugar and the butter, and next time I'll make it in an 9x9-inch pan instead of a 9x13. It's a keeper, and easy!

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

Fruit filling
3/4 c sugar (or 1 c, depending on sweetness of berries)
3 Tbs flour
6 c. (total) sliced fresh strawberries and diced rhubarb

Topping
1 c. flour
3/4 c. (not packed) brown sugar
1 cube unsalted butter
3/4 c. rolled oats

Mix filling in large bowl, then pour into 9x13 baking pan. Use a pastry blender to cut butter into sugar, oats and flour for topping, and sprinkle over fruit layer. Bake at 375 for about 35 to 40 minutes or until golden on top. Enjoy!

Truly Perfect Pie

We picked up some gorgeous rhubarb at the Farmer's Market this afternoon, intending to make Jerrie's rhubarb custard pie. First time I've ever made a fruit and custard pie, and in spite of the fact that I should've given it about three more minutes to bake, it was absurdly excellent.

Creamy, vanilla custard, topped with tart delicious rhubarb — a sprinkling of cinnamon nutmeg sugar on top and a flaky crust to boot. Perfect. Truly. Good thing I bought way too much rhubarb. Darn. I'll have to make more pie now. Might be a good time to invite yourself over for a visit too...

Rhubarb Custard Pie recipe (via Jerrie's fabulous mother-in-law Lee!)

3/4 cup of sugar
3 tablespoons flour (slightly rounded)
1/4 cup butter (melted - like liquid, not just soft)
2 eggs (beaten)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk
pinch of salt
unbaked bottom pie shell
Rhubarb (about 2 cups... or more) 
*cinnamon/nutmeg/raw sugar to sprinkle on top (optional - we put on the last 25 minutes of baking or so)

Stir flour into sugar
moisten with milk (a tablespoon or so)
add butter, eggs, vanilla, salt & remainder of milk
*stir until thick and custard-y...

Pour mixture into unbaked pie shell. Add rhubarb on top. (The recipe calls for 1 cup, but we tend to add MORE - 2 cups or so or until the filling is up to the bottom lip of the crust).

Bake 20 minutes at 375.
Bake 25 minutes at 300. It is finished when knife is pulled out clean and it should jiggle a little. You may need to bake it for a few more (up to 15) minutes if the custard is too far from set - you be the judge!).

EAT. Eat warm. Eat cold. Eat with ice cream. It is delicious!

Hey Cupcake!

There's just something great about cupcakes. They're fun, they're delicious and they seem so decadent — maybe because you're eating a whole little cake all by yourself!

I did super quick, fun cupcakes tonight and used my new large Wilton coupler and open star tip to get the easiest, fastest frosting job ever. Love it! Will be using this a lot.

No recipe here. Dark chocolate cake mix, chocolate and vanilla extracts, Care Bear cupcake liners (picked out by M for Uncle Nick's birthday), whipped cream "frosting" (add a little dry gelatin, some vanilla and powdered sugar to heavy whipping cream), and topped off with fresh, organic strawberries. Use the magical Wilton tip to frost, and voilà! I frosted them right at the table (outside — it was gorgeous today) and the kids loved it.

Aunt Lora's Biscotti

E had great fun helping me make biscotti (or "Iz-Got-Tee" as he says) this afternoon. At the time, M was mesmerized by the symphony DVD that Grammy bought for them at the symphony last Saturday. E loves the DVD too, but for him nothing can compete with something going on in the kitchen. He loves using the mortar and pestle, and watching things mix in the Kitchenaid very much. Well, and eating. Hahahaha! And helping too —"Eh-ik hep Mama. Tir (stir) Mama, hep'in!" He was also laughing and saying, "Bah!" because I said it a few times when I went to turn the mixer on and it was unplugged. I always unplug it right after mixing when the kids are up working with me, just in case they try to turn it on, but I often forget to plug it back in before flicking the speed lever back on again.

As usual, I tweaked the recipe a bit since I didn't have rum or brandy extract. I used 1 Tbs. vanilla, 2 tsp. anise, 1 tsp. lemon extract and 1 tsp. almond, plus the zest of one lemon and about 2/3 c toasted sliced almonds. I think I'll have to do a citrus-only, a chocolate and dried cherry, and probably a chai spice version of this recipe too...

Aunt Lora's Biscotti

3 c. flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

1 and 1/2 sticks of soft (unsalted) butter (or omit salt if you use regular butter)
1 c. sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. anise
1 tsp. brandy
1 tsp. rum

Sift dry together, blend wet ingredients in Kitchenaid, then add dry. Divide dough into thirds and use a floured pillow case or a pastry cloth to roll each 1/3 into a long rectangular "roll". Bake on cookie sheet for 30 mins. at 350-degrees F. Cool slightly before slicing. If you want crunchy biscotti for dunking, bake the sliced biscotti an additional 7 mins. per side then cool on a wire rack.

Beautiful Cake

We went out for sushi for Vesa's birthday, and ended the meal with a Finnish fruit and cream cake that I made this afternoon. Since the kids were napping when I made it, and I'd promised M she could help, I took some photos to show her that I had put in the strawberries, blueberries, and mangoes that I'd promised. Luckily, she woke up right when I was finishing up the final touches — "Wow, Mama, that cake is looking so beautiful!"

The sponge cake is the best recipe I've used, from the Finnish Cookbook by Beatrice Ojakangas:

Cake Layers for Finnish Birthday (or other Celebration) Cake

4 eggs
1 c. sugar
1 c. flour, sifted with
2 Tbs. cornstarch
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 375-degrees F. Butter and flour two 8-inch cake pans. Beat eggs until light and fluffy, add sugar gradually while beating until thick and creamy. Sift flour into bowl with other dry ingredients and fold carefully until incorporated. Pour batter into prepped pans and bake for about 30 mins. Cool on rack, then cut each layer in half. "Moisten" layers with juice from macerated, sliced fruit (like strawberries) or vanilla custard (Bird's works great), and layer with fruit, 1 pint whipped organic cream (stiff, add 2 Tbs. pwd. sugar per cup of cream, 1 tsp. vanilla per cup and 1 tsp. cream of tartar. And, to "set up" cream well you can add 1/4 tsp. unflavored gelatin to cream too).

April Showers...

The weather today (and the fact that I had leftover grilled potatoes and grilled onions) begged for meatballs. Plus, Mom & Vesa just replenished our lingonberry stock from IKEA. So, here's Lora's fabulous recipe:

Swedish Meat Balls

1 lb. hamburger
1 beaten egg
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
pinch nutmeg

1 3/4 c. beef stock

Combine all ingredients, roll into balls, let stand for 5 mins. Brown in skillet, then simmer in 1 3/4 c. beef stock for 30 mins. Remove meatballs and add 2 T. flour and 2-4 T. minced onion to stock to make gravy.

Mmm... Rum Cupcakes!

My friend Amanda made these "rum cakes" for a work Christmas party years ago, but she cut a whole angel food cake into small cubes, frosted five sides and rolled them in chopped walnuts. Tasty, but really messy (to make and eat). I made them that way once, then converted over to the excellent form of the cupcakes. I split the frosting now to make 1/2 the batch without rum, but the sprinkles needed to be added. I mean, who doesn't love sprinkles?

So, in honor of Amanda, here's the recipe:

Midgett Rum Cakes

1 box angel food cake mix
3 cubes butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar (or more - taste and feel the buttercream)
3-5 Tbs. rum (or 2 Tbs. milk and some almond extract)
sprinkles

Mix up a boxed angel food cake, and bake in 24 cupcake liners instead of tube pan. Let cool.

Beat the butter and sugar on high in Kitchenaid mixer, then add rum (or other liquid) to taste. Adjust frosting with added sugar or liquid, then pipe or spread onto cupcakes, add sprinkles, and enjoy!!

Goin' Bananas

My mom's banana bread recipe is excellent. My earliest memory of these is eating them warm from the oven, slathered in butter, when I was three years old. Just smelling them baking is reassuring and feels like home.

I couldn't find my white recipe binder tonight (shocking because it's huge...), but Mom & Vesa were over (helping with dinner, and playing and cleaning) and Mom of course knew the recipe by heart so scribbled it down on my fridge notepad. Erik, the little monkey, couldn't resist scrambling up to investigate as soon as I moved these from oven to cooling rack. I warned him they were hot — he knows that word well now, but touched one anyway. Sure enough. "Hot Mom-mee!" and here he is signing Hot to me too.

Monkey Muffins (aka Grammy's Banana Bread)

1 stick softened butter
1 -1/2 c. sugar
5 T. sour milk (4 T. milk + 1 T. citrus juice)
2 eggs
3 mashed (very ripe) bananas
1 t. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
(1/2 c. chopped nuts, optional)

Bake in muffin tins for about 17 mins. Makes about 22 muffins.

A Little Something Sweet

Now that our scanner is working again, I can get more old pics saved. Here's a photo of my Lil' Grammy from 1940, to go with a cookie recipe from her collection. I love how her recipes are concise and presume you know what you're doing in the kitchen.

Brown Sugar Cookies

1 cup shortening
2 cups brown sugar (light brown is best)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp soda
1 tsp b. powder
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup walnuts (optional)

Mix. Make into rolls. Chill in fridge. Slice & bake 350 about 10 mins (split baking time between lower and upper racks.)

Bunny Bread

Bunny-shaped Pulla (an Easter-time tradition for us) with orange zest, cinnamon and cardamom added to the dough, and we added a vanilla glaze to the bunnies this year too... it's actually a recipe for Finnish Nisu bread, which is basically the same thing as Pulla, Nisu is just an older word for it (and this recipe ices the sweet bread too).

Madeline is loving playing with dough, and she did agree that it tastes better baked.

Easter Candy

Dark chocolate-dipped Strawberry Marshmallows... Mmm...

Anniversario Felice A Noi!

Happy Anniversary to us (in Italian)! Northern Italian cuisine at its best — Café Juanita dinner… always wonderful, and a great way to celebrate turning 13! Plus we found a new favorite red wine. So very smooth and delicious – now to find a source for said wine…

On the menu tonight:

Aperitivi: Hendriks Gin and Q Tonic with Rising C Citrus and Fried Rabbit Livers
Clear Creek Pear Brandy Cocktail with Prosciutto Wrapped Grissini

Starters: Papparadelle pasta with Goose Sugo (sauce)
Zuppa della Sera - Parmigiano Brodo with Wagyu New York Beef and Nettles (delicious soup, like the Pho of Italy, but in a small bowl)

Fish & Game: Saddle of Oregon Lamb with Anchoiade Gratin, Warm Olive Vinaigrette and Toasted Rosemary
Seared Sushi-grade Jack Yellowtail with creamed Parmigiano Fingerling potatoes, Spring greens and Meyer lemon

Dessert: Pear Rhubarb crisp and Dark Chocolate heaven (truffle-like creamy dessert with vanilla sauce) 2/3 of the choc thing came home because it was SO rich and Grammy and the kids had it. Grammy savored – the kids inhaled it like ravenous hungry wolves and licked up every last bit… I swear they were growling while eating it.

One of our fave salads from Café Juanita is one the we have the recipe for, but Joel’s made so often, and so well, that neither of us could see ordering it there…

Pear Salad
(Chef Holly Smith)

2 large pears
1/3-1/2 c toasted pine nuts
1–2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
Parmigiano Reggiano, peeled with vegetable peeler into thin strips
2 oz. white truffle oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Sea salt, to taste

Slice pears 1/8-inch thick and place in mixing bowl with pine nuts, thyme and cheese. Dress with truffle oil, lemon juice and salt. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary with salt or lemon. Place on four chilled plates, garnish with fresh curls of cheese and drizzle with truffle oil.

A Taste of Ireland

Happy St. Patrick's Day!! We love Ireland. Love it. And, now we could technically fly there at a moments notice with the kids (only took 11 days for them to be official). Crazy thought, right? Is it crazy? Can we take the kids in the pub there? Oh, no. I have the travel bug again. I suppose it has been almost five years...

Anyway, instead of making green stuff today, I whipped up a real taste of Ireland — brown bread. We ate this everywhere there... in seaside pottery cafes near Dingle, in all the B&B's we enjoyed "full Irish Breakfast" at, at the Guinness Brewery... you get the picture. Make this (you get four wee loaves), drink some Guinness (it makes you strong and smart), and enjoy your bread with your stout and some corned beef and cabbage (roasted in more stout) today. Mmm... Happy Day O'Green!!!

Irish Brown Bread

4 c whole wheat flour
1 c bread flour
1/3 c rolled oats
2 heaping tsp wheat germ (this makes it taste like the real stuff!)
1 heaping tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
2 1/2 c buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment. In a large bowl, stir together flours, wheat germ, oats, baking soda and salt. Gently stir in the buttermilk until a soft dough forms. Knead lightly. Divide dough into four and form into round, flat loaves. Cut an 'X' in the top of each loaf and bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.