Orzo? Risotto?

Carrot Orzotto with feta and mint, and arugula salad with chicken and avocado. 

Bananas and Nuggets and Chocolate

I stumbled upon a list of "3-Ingredient Recipes" awhile ago and pinned this banana cookie recipe. It was surprisingly good, although I am certain the children would find them vile, and Joel was uninterested too. 

3-Ingredient Banana Nut Cookies

2 large, very ripe bananas

1 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup chopped pecans (the original recipe called for walnuts, but I didn't have any)

Mix, drop by rounded Tablespoons onto cookie sheet and bake at 350-degrees F for about 14 minutes. I makes exactly 12 cookies. 

These would be perfect as "breakfast" cookies. If only the kids would eat them. But, they abhor oatmeal, and Madeline doesn't like nuts anymore. Unless they are blended into the form of peanut butter. 

So, for dinner, over fries and homemade chicken nuggets.Not really a recipe, since I eyeballed a recipe on my phone, and then blatantly did my own thing. There were herbs in the crumb mix which would've make Erik fuss. And, since I've been intentionally making food that makes him practice dealing with things he doesn't like, I took in easy on him tonight. I just took chicken tenderloins from Costco, cut into bite-sized pieces, dipped in melted butter then shook them in a bag with panko crumbs seasoned with sea salt and smoked paprika. Baked at 400-degrees F for 20 minutes (I turned them after 10). They were a huge hit. Even with Madeline, who now claims to hate chicken (but will eat salad all day long). 

And, this double-chocolate banana bread from the Smitten Kitchen blog is divine. Really, really chocolaty and delicious. Decidedly more enticing to everyone else in the house than my "healthy cookies-like things" (Whatever.) 

But, really, make Deb's chocolate bread. You can't even taste the banana. 

 

Beautiful Salad

This kale salad is slightly adapted from Dr. Weil's recipe, and is amazing. I first made it last Thanksgiving, and have made it countless times since. It is similar to Caesar, but features gorgeous Lacinato Kale (or Tuscan/Italian Kale), is easy to make ahead and holds up well as a leftover salad too. I've also had numerous friends ask me why this recipe isn't on my cooking blog yet, so... Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve dinner:  Finnish ham, rye crisp with herring roe, kale salad,
purple potato with pickled herring, sourdough rye bread with Finnish cheese and Two Vines Chardonnay

Kale Salad

5-6 cups chopped kale, ribs removed (or a triple-washed package of baby kale)
Juice from 1 large lemon, or two small lemons
4-5 Tbs. olive oil (truffled olive oil from Trader Joe's is amazing in this)
4 cloves pressed, fresh, garlic
Kosher or sea salt (to taste)
lemon pepper (or Penzey's Sunny Spain) to taste
3/4 cup shaved or grated Parmesan, Asiago, or other hard, flavorful cheese
1/2 cup panko crumbs (optional)

Whisk the fresh-squeezed lemon juice, olive oil, pressed garlic and seasonings in a large salad bowl, then add all but 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese and whisk again. Let sit for at least 5 minutes, then mix in the panko crumbs (if using) just before serving, and top with remaining Parmesan. Enjoy!! 

Peloton Cupcakes

Happy Birthday to Solomon!! This birthday dinner was the perfect opportunity to try out two healthier treats, side-by-side (literally) as Solomon's bike-race cupcakes.

First were Chocolate Beet Cupcakes as the road/race track. Yes, you read that right. Beet. And, yes, I really do love Solomon, he's one of the sweetest 4-year-olds I know (see, he needs no extra sugar!) These cupcakes have no white sugar in them, and they are delicious. I didn't trust the not-very-brown, and quite pink-ish batter of the original recipe, so I added one heaping Tablespoon of Scharffenberger unsweetened cocoa in with the flour in this recipe, and they were very chocolaty and delicious. I left the maple out of the cream cheese frosting too, going with vanilla instead, and these were great. The recipe is right here on Simple Bites.
I frosted lightly with the cream cheese frosting, sprinkled with black sprinkles (leaving a white "bike lane" stripe down the side), and topped with a racer (from The Cupcake Social on Etsy). They have the best supplies, and good prices. The liners are from TCS too. Love 'em!

Anyway, the second cupcake was the Chocolate Date Cupcake, which was the shoulder or dirt in this race, they they were amazing. They have no frosting, and they don't need it. They're sweet and chocolaty enough, and topped with chocolate chips and sugar (and nuts, it you want - we didn't), which forms a fabulous, bumpy topping of their own. Yum!

I of course, did not advertise the fact that the treats were filled with veggies and such, and all the kids gobbled up their cupcakes. Even Erik. My nearly-4-year-old. Haha Erik, you ate beets tonight. I'm totally going to sneak more veggies into your cupcakes now. Works like a charm.

The best part is that Solomon loved his cake! Happy Birthday, Somblin!! We love you!
Chocolate Date Cupcakes
(adapted from Allrecipes.com)

1 1/4 c. boiling water
1 (8 ounce) package chopped dates
2 c. flour
1 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3/4 c. butter (that's 1 and 1/2 sticks)
3/4 c. sugar (or 3/4 c. raw cane sugar)
2 eggs

Topping
1 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. white sugar (or raw cane sugar)
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional - I did not use these)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Pour the boiling water over the chopped dates in a Pyrex measuring cup. Set aside. Sift together the dry ingredients.

In a stand mixer, cream together the butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the dry stuff. Add in the dates with all the soaking liquid, and stir until combined. Scoop batter into approximately 21 prepared paper-lined muffin cups.

In an another bowl, combine the chocolate chips and remaining 1/2 cup sugar (and nuts, if you wish). Sprinkle mixture over top of each cupcake and bake for 21 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Pumpkin Spice

I made my mother-in-law's pumpkin bread, in mini-muffin form, for Madeline's class last week. They were a huge hit, and her friend Sgian said, "Madeline, these are the best muffins I've ever tasted! Thank you for bringing them!" He's such a little sweetheart.

He has good taste too, because they really do make amazing Pumpkin Spice muffins — moist and flavorful, with an excellent texture. And low fat too. Plus, to me, they taste like home. I imagine that's to be expected after enjoying this recipe during the holidays over the past seventeen years.

So, pick up some pumpkin and get these in the oven!

Amazing Pumpkin Spice Muffins (or Gramma/Lora's Pumpkin Bread)
makes 32 mini muffins, plus 8 regular-sized muffins

1 and 2/3 c. flour
1 and 1/3 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbs. pumpkin pie spice

Mix the dry ingredients and then add:

1 c. pumpkin
1/3 c. oil (I used canola)
1/3 c. water
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs

Beat until combined, then bake in lined (or sprayed) muffin tins at 350-degrees F for about 17-22 minutes, depending on the size of your muffins (mini or standard). Enjoy!

Soup's On!

Is there anything better (or easier) than homemade soup? Really, chop/prep the ingredients, combine in soup pot, and simmer on the stove while you do other things. Easy! And, homemade soup tastes infinitely better than anything out of a can. Plus, there is way, way less sodium in soup you make yourself. Oh, and it happens to be a sneak-tastic way to get my veg scrutinizer to eat vegetables that he otherwise wouldn't willingly try. So, since Easter, I've made Potato Leek, Creamy Cauliflower, and today... 4B's Tomato Soup (Erik despises tomatoes).

Potato Leek is easier than pie, and my mom's fave. She actually prepped that one after Easter brunch by chopping up about six potatoes, and three large leeks (all, even the green part), tossed them in my soup kettle, and covered with water. It simmered for about an hour, then I seasoned with garlic, salt and pepper, and whirred it up in my blender in batches. Voila! Dinner full of veg that E wouldn't usually eat (well, the leeks anyway).

I did the Creamy Cauliflower in similar fashion, cleaning and separating into florets, one head of cauliflower. I tossed that into a hot soup pot with 2 Tbs. of butter and about 1/3 cup of tiny star-shaped pasta. I browned that up, then added hot water to cover and simmered until the cauli was soft. Then I tossed in a can of navy beans (with bacon) for about 10 mins of simmering, a little garlic, celery salt and pepper, and whirred batches in my blender. Erik inhaled two bowls and said, "Hmm... I guess that I do like cauliflower. I thought I didn't."

(clockwise in pic: 4B's tomato regular and creamy, E enjoying his soup, E prepping cheese sammies to go with leek onion soup, and creamy cauliflower with cheese crisps)

And, so... on to an actual recipe! The 4B's is a popular restaurant chain in Montana, where we had this fabulous soup with Jamie and John on a summer road trip, nearly six years ago. I found the recipe online, posted by a local paper in Havre, MT. I'm going to follow it pretty closely, except for the cream part. To lighten up this one, I'm going to employ my trusty blender to "cream" the soup. My second reason for the blending is to get Erik to love tomatoes (which he's already informed me that he doesn't like and won't eat). Blending those tomatoes will make the soup creamy, yummy, and chunk-free!

4B's Tomato Soup (adapted from the recipe posted here, plus, I doubled the recipe since I had enough ingredients to do so!)
2 28-oz. cans of diced tomatoes (I used organic)
18 oz. chicken broth (I used low-sodium)
4 Tbs. butter
4 Tbs. sugar
2 Tbs. chopped onion
2 pinches of baking soda

Combine ingredients in a soup pot, bring to a low boil over medium-high, and then reduce to low to simmer for one hour. Then comes the cream part...

2 c. half and half - (and being doubled, if you are following the real recipe, this should be 4 c. half and half or cream - yikes!)

Heat the half and half in the microwave until nearly boiling, then add to tomato mixture (not the other way around) before serving.

I blended about 1/2 of the tomato mixture in the blender first, than added some of it back to the pot, which made the soup creamy without all the fat of the 4 c. of half and half (I only used 2c.), then add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!! I also separated a completely creamed amount out for Erik, and left the chunkier soup for the rest of us, so E's did have more of the half and half in it as well.

The verdict... Erik LOVED the creamy version of the 4B's soup! And, I think that tossing in a handful of carrots to simmer for the hour (for sweetness) and maybe blending in white beans would lend creaminess without the fat of half and half and add protein and vitamins — I'll definitely try that next time!

Lovely, and 21-years Old!

Happy Birthday to Ro!

Rochelle's birthday being in January, and specifically right when I'm working out and lightening/healthy-ing up the diet, she got a non-fat chocolate cake for her birthday today. Now, don't go away just yet. It's good. Really. Moist and delicious, chocolate-heaven. It really doesn't taste light at all... And, while Ro is also lovely, she's got a couple years on this lovely cake recipe that I've kept for 21 years... I've saved it since I was a sophomore in high school. It's originally from SHAPE magazine, circa 1989, and it's got a nearly fat-free frosting to go with it. But, seeing as I'm far less extremist these days, I skipped that super-healthy frosting in favor of a little bit of chocolate-peppermint buttercream for the filling and sides, and a simple ganache poured over the top. Balance is a good thing. I also grated two Lindor dark chocolate truffles over the top and added some candy-cane hearts and other decor to make a flower shape. You know, because this was a birthday celebration cake!Here's the whole SHAPE-approved recipe...

Nonfat Chocolate Cake & Frosting (SHAPE magazine 1989)
1.5 c sugar
1.75 c flour
3/4 c cocoa powder
1.5 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 c nonfat milk
1/2 c applesauce
2 tsp vanilla
1 c boiling water

Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Spray and flour pan/s (really - do it, or the cake will not come out of the pan). Combine dry ingredients, then add all the wet ingredients except the boiling water. Beat on medium speed of mixer for 2 minutes, then stir in boiling water. Bake 35-40 minutes.

Nearly Fat-Free Chocolate Frosting
4 Tbs light margarine
2 Tbs plain, non-fat yogurt
1/2 c cocoa powder
2 c powdered sugar
3 Tbs non-fat milk
2 tsp vanilla

Cream margarine and yogurt, then add cocoa and sugar alternately with milk. Add vanilla, and add additional milk as needed to get the consistency that you want.

Oh, and to do the candy cane hearts... just heat the oven to 200-degrees F, arrange two mini candy canes for each heart in heart shape on parchment and bake for 8-9 minutes. Remove pan, and shape/squish connection points with chopsticks or spoons (so you don't burn fingers), then pop back in the oven for an additional 1-2 minutes. Voila! Wouldn't these be fun Christmas ornaments to hang on the tree? I just found them online last week, and luckily had an extra box of mini candy canes that fit the bill!

Sweet Sixteen??

Happy Birthday, Gramma/Mom/Lora/Freebo!! Today is Lora's birthday, and we decorated her cake this morning. As Mad was putting on the carrot nose, I asked her how old she thinks Gramma is; "Hmm... Um, like about sixteen?" she ventured.
So, Happy "Sweet Sixteen," Gramma! We did a (Cooking Light recipe) Carrot Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Cardamom Frosting (and Praline Frosting for the owl) and an owl design, since Gramma loves 'em!

Buh-NON-Uh Goodness... Mmm...

I've found the ultimate in banana nut muffins... healthy, delicious, yummy, good-for-you... really! The recipe is from O magazine this month (the only issue I ever buy of O - the summer reading special one...) anyway, there was a recipe from The Tassajara Bread Book for Spiced Banana Walnut muffins that inspired me to make my own version (even healthier). They are utterly divine!
Spiced Banana Pecan Muffins

1/2 stick softened, unsalted butter (1/4 c.)
1/2 c. dark brown sugar
1 c. (3 medium) smashed, ripe bananas
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce
zest from 1 medium orange

1 c. white whole wheat (or whole wheat pastry) flour
4 Tbs. ground flax
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cardamom (finely ground)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 c. toasted, chopped pecans

+plus, a handful more nuts to sprinkle on the tops of the muffins before baking

Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Cream butter and sugar, then mix in the rest of the "wet" ingredients.

Mix the dry stuff in a medium bowl, then gradually add it to the wet in your mixer. Scoop into 8-10 standard-sized muffin tins, lined with paper muffin cups (8 generous muffins, or 10 smaller ones).

Nutrition per muffin (8/batch): calories-200, fat-10g, protein-4g, carbs-24g, fiber-4g.

Some Like It Cold

I like cold-brewed coffee. I've been told that something like 90% of the caffeine (and all the good flavor) is retained, while only about 15% of the usual acid is present. And, fewer oils. So, it's easier on your stomach, and I think it tastes better—more like coffee smells. It strongly concentrates the coffee flavor of coffee, makes the coffee up to twice as strong, but the overall brew has far less acidity and no "burnt" taste.

It does take more time to brew without the heat, although the resulting brew lasts up to two weeks in the fridge. Mine never lasts that long.

I use my French press to make my cold brew since you steep the coffee in room-temp water and then need to strain the grounds off later:

Basically, the ratio is 4:1 water to coffee. Measure a 1/2 cup of coffee into the brewing container. Add about 2 cups of room-temperature water. Stir the mixture up. Cover the container and let it sit a minimum of 4 hours or ideally, overnight. It can sit up to about 12 hours, but less time works too—it'll just be slightly less concentrated. Strain (French press comes in handy here) and pour into a jar for storage in the fridge.

Mix your cold-brew concentrate with water or milk to taste. It makes great iced coffee, is also good nuked by the cup, and is equally good leaded or unleaded. Especially helpful if you only have one coffee drinker in your household.