Foodie Friday

Food is always a priority around here. I will happily surrender whatever "wiggle room" there may be in our budget for groceries - I can happily go weeks at a time without purchasing anything else. I read recently that it costs an average of $191 a week to feed a family of four real, unprocessed, whole foods. We may not spend that much each week, but when push comes to shove, I'd rather buy a few extra organic food items than a new shirt. It's just worth it to me. Here's a look at what happened in our kitchen this week, not an all-inclusive menu - just a few highlights:

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

• I already shared this recipe, but wanted to put it back out here because it is so easy and makes such a good loaf of bread. I made this for John and the girls to enjoy for tuna sandwiches the night that I taught Baby Sing and Sign this week and we've been enjoying it toasted in the mornings with a shmear of coconut oil.

Lemon Chicken and Orzo Soup - Using egg yolks in soup may seem odd - it did to me at first. But I've made this soup several times and the egg yolks give it such a great creaminess and, combined with the lemon, a wonderful flavor. I don't add any extra salt or other seasonings - just the veggies, chicken, broth, egg yolks, and lemon.

adapted from Good Life eats

• 1 large organic chicken breast
• 1/2 organic onion
• 2 organic carrots
• 1 large organic garlic clove; pressed
• 2 backyard egg yolks
• 1/2 organic lemon; juiced
• 1 32-ounce box organic, low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 C whole wheat orzo
• 2 C organic kale; chopped
• Saute the chicken breasts until cooked through; shred and set aside
• Saute the onion and carrots for 5-10 minutes in olive oil; add garlic and saute 2-3 minutes more
• In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks and lemon juice
• After veggies are softened and fragrant, pour in chicken broth; bring to a boil
• Temper egg yolks slowly with 1 C hot broth; add all back into pot
• Keep heat at or below medium - do not boil again
• Add shredded chicken and orzo; simmer until orzo is cooked
• Add kale and simmer until kale is wilted

Simple Whole Wheat Muffins
adapted from Pastry Affair

• 3 T organic, unsalted butter; melted
• 2 T organic coconut oil; melted
• 1/2 C organic coconut sugar
• 1 backyard egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 C organic whole wheat flour
• 3/4 C organic whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt (I've started using pink Himalayan salt for all my baking)
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 - 3/4 C whole milk (add milk last as the quantity depends on your flours - whole wheat varieties need more liquid)
• Bake at 350 degrees in a greased muffin tin
• I made mini-muffins and I think they baked for 10 minutes, or so (but keep an eye if you make these as I'm not positive); made 24 mini muffins

Whole Wheat Brownies
adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

• 1 stick organic, unsalted butter; melted
• 1 C organic coconut sugar
• 1 1/8 oz organic, unsweetened cocoa powder (I weighed this on our kitchen scale because I was dividing a recipe in half)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp instant espresso powder
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 large, backyard eggs
• 3/4 C organic, whole wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 C homemade toffee chips (this is the result of the over-cooked batch of Christmas caramels that we're putting to good use!)
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees
• Combine melted butter and sugar in a heat-proof bowl; place bowl over a pot of simmering water and heat until fully combined
• Remove from heat and add cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla
• Stir in eggs one at a time
• Add flour
• Mix in chocolate chips and toffee (or any other additions)
• Butter an 8x8 glass pan
• Bake for approximately 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean
• This batter was thick... but the brownies are soft and delish! As you can see, the 8x8 pan produces thick brownies - I might try the same recipe next time but a slightly larger dish with a decreased baking time, just to make some flatter treats. Not that we're complaining... these will be served up at our weekly group dinner tonight with Talenti vanilla bean gelato and Valentine's sprinkles, per the request of my lovely sous chefs. :)

Foodie Friday!

Confession: my clothes are getting tighter. A little snug here, a little more stretched there. Could it be Bubbe's Christmas caramels? Maybe... after all, we did crank out two batches this year because the first one resembled more of a brick than a square of chewy-goodness. (In our defense, it was a new candy thermometer and the second batch was beyond perfection). I suppose the clothing dilemma could also be a result of the tiny human that I'm growing - 18 weeks along and going strong! I went for a run yesterday, however while reflecting upon the 3-mile outing, I decided I could no longer say I went for a "run". It was a "jog", at best. :)

For the most part, even where holidays are concerned, I try to "health" things up a bit. Here is a non-example of that:

The girls modified Gran's sugar cookie gingerbread people by adding ears. Then they painted them green... because they are obviously Shrek and Fiona cookies (we recently saw "Shrek: The Musical" at the Lawrence theater... the girls have not yet seen the movie). Doesn't everyone celebrate the season with Shrek cookies?

Back to the "health" part... Here are a few of my latest faves. The cookies and creamer were part of my contribution to Christmas brunch; the biscuits are just darn good and easy.

Whole Wheat Gingerbread Cookies

• 3/4 C organic coconut sugar
• 1 stick organic unsalted butter
• 2 large eggs (from the lovely Lavender, right out back!)
• 1/4 C organic molasses
• 3 3/4 C organic stone ground whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Chill dough for at least an hour before rolling
• Bake on parchment paper at 350 degrees for 8 minutes

Coffee Creamer

recipe courtesy of Deliciously Organic

• 2 C organic half and half
• 1/4 C organic maple syrup
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp organic vanilla extract
• Heat half and half, maple syrup, and cinnamon over medium until steaming
• Remove from heat and add vanilla
• Strain through cheese cloth and enjoy!
• I love this in my naturally decaffeinated green tea (no caffeine for baby!)

Honey Whole Wheat Biscuits

adapted from A Bear in the Kitchen

• 2 1/4 C organic stone ground whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 5 T cold organic unsalted butter; cut into pieces
• 3/4 C organic plain yogurt kefir (could also use buttermilk)
• 1 1/2 T local honey
• Combine dry ingredients; cut in butter with pastry cutter
• Combine kefir and honey
• Add wet to dry
• Roll out dough to approx 5" x 9" rectangle; fold long sides up/down like a letter and roll again to desired thickness
• Bake on parchment paper at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes

Thank you CHERRY much!

Dear Abby and Elise,

Thank you for playing dress up today. I loved seeing you, Abby, in your jammies, apron, and knee-high black boots. I loved seeing you, Elise, in your flowing, flowered dress, hair in a bun, bonnet on as you pretended to be Marian (madam librarian). Thank you for dressing up your babies for a tea party - Abby, you are so strong to clear the entire work table off and drag it halfway from the workroom to the living room. Elise - it was a great idea to tie your baby into her hair chair. Falling out of a chair at a tea party is zero fun. Thank you both for covering every visible surface of our house with: books, CandyLand, building blocks, books, dress up clothes, doll clothes, books, pillows, paper, pens, markers, books, pretend food items (including pretend homemade apple crisp), and books. It was a great day and all of the above happened because you got to stay home and play ALL DAY LONG! 

Love,

Mom

And as long as I'm throwing the "thanks" around, let's give a shout out to Kay and Dylan for sharing their awesome cherry tree with us!

The girls helped pick these delicious tart cherries on Saturday, so naturally for breakfast Sunday morning something had to be baked! We settled on cherry scones and they were fabulous. 

Cherry Scones

adapted from For The Love of Scones

• 5 T organic unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 C local, organic tart cherries (pitted and halved)
• 1/2 C local whole milk
• 1/2 C organic sour cream
• 2 C organic whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 C organic coconut sugar
• 2 tsp aluminum free baking powder
• 1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• Combine dry ingredients
• In separate bowl, whisk sour cream and milk
• Using pastry cutter, mix cold chunks of butter into dry ingredients
• Combine wet and dry until dough forms
• See here for steps on shaping and chilling dough, as well as adding cherries
• Once scones are cut and ready for the oven, brush the tops with a bit of butter and sprinkle with coconut sugar
• Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes

Foodie Friday: Stop...It's Spinach Time!

Here are a few things that popped up in the kitchen this week:

• Honey Whole Wheat Bread
• I'm on a roll with homemade bread! This recipe is seriously simple and has produced two great loaves of bread so far. It also doesn't hurt when one of your precious children says "You're the best mommy because you make our bread.". Sigh...
• Banana Ice Cream:
• 2 organic frozen bananas
• Scoop of organic, unsweetened cocoa powder
• Scoop of organic peanut butter
• Blend all until creamy and delicious

• Quinoa Muffins (courtesy of Martha Stewart)
• 2 C organic quinoa, cooked (I rinsed 1 C of quinoa, toasted it in a dry pan, added 2 C of water, and it cooked up to about 3 cups)
• 2 C organic whole wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 C organic coconut sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 C organic raisins
• 1/4 C organic coconut oil
• 3/4 C local 2% milk
• 1 large local organic egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt; add cooked quinoa and raisins
• In separate bowl, combine melted coconut oil, milk, egg, vanilla
• Mix all together
• Bake in greased muffin tin (I greased mine with coconut oil) at 350 degrees for approximately 25 minutes

• Spinach Salad
• The recipe is not the important part here nor is the appearance of spinach in our weekly diet - the girls have been packed full of spinach since they were tiny, sometimes in soups or enchiladas... most often in smoothies... But this week the girls each ate an entire (child's size) spinach salad for lunch. And I'm so stinkin' proud! They were proud of themselves, as well - as soon as John got home that day, when he asked how their day had been, the first thing mentioned was "We ate salad for lunch!". A few weeks ago, I started thinking about how few times I've offered or required the girls to eat/taste raw, leafy greens. They consume so much of it in other forms that the act of eating a piece of lettuce just hasn't been a must. I decided it was time to change that. So, I've been eating a lot more salads. Each time I fixed one, I offered a bite - just one bite. They saw me eating salads more, which is so important. When adding spinach to smoothies, I offered a leaf - just one leaf. And we've been doing this for several weeks. The taste, the texture, the experience - just like that it became familiar. They picked out tomatoes, shredded carrots, raspberries, and blueberries to dress their salad; I whipped up a little homemade dressing. It was delicious... and so exciting! When it comes to feeding my children, my job is never done. I love the challenge; I love the reward!

Foodie Friday: Carb loading

I've spent a lot of time in the kitchen this week. Last week. Every week. :) Food is so good. Taking time out of life to think about the food we eat, to plan our meals, to add to or take away from our diet as needed or wanted - it is all so important. I learned this week about the farms at two of our local dairies - about their cows, their pastures and feed. It is information that I find interesting and valuable as I make weekly decision about whether to buy this one or that one. 

This week, as I was preparing to do my second 3-day fruit/veggie only cleanse, I became engrossed with grains. Bad timing, but there's always next week for the cleanse because homemade bread and another batch of granola rule. I'm fascinated by food philosophies (vegetarian versus paleo versus vegan versus THE WORLD!!!!) and, as with most aspects in life, there are little bits and pieces from each one that I latch onto. I love the variety it gives to our diet but also the flexibility - the possibilities are endless...

Honey Whole Wheat Bread
courtesy of Versatile Vegetarian Kitchen

• 1 1/4 C warm water
• 2 tsp active dry yeast (I used one whole individual packet)
• 2 1/2 T local honey
• 2 1/2 T olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 C organic whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 3/4 C organic whole wheat flour
• 2 1/2 T vital wheat gluten
• Combine water and yeast in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook; let sit for 5 minutes; add honey; let sit for another 5 minutes
• Add olive oil and salt
• Turn mixer on and slower add flour and vital wheat gluten
• Mix for 5-10 minutes until dough comes together (can add water one teaspoon at a time if dough seems dry)
• Let dough rise in an oiled bowl, covered, in a warm place until doubles in size (1- 1 1/2 hours). I usually turn my oven on until it warms to 100 degrees, then shut it off and let dough rise there
• Punch dough down, form loaf, and place in an oiled 9x5 bread pan; let rise, covered with oiled foil or saran wrap, until dough is just above the edge of the pan
• Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes; turn oven down to 325 degrees and bake for 15 minutes more

GREAT Granola
courtesy of 100 Days of Real Food

• 3 1/2 C organic rolled oats
• 1 C organic sliced raw almonds
• 1 C organic pecans
• 1 C organic unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1/2 C organic raw sunflower seeds
• 1/2 C organic raw pumpkin seeds
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
• 6 T unsalted organic butter
• 1/2 C local honey
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• Mix oats, nuts, seeds, coconut, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmet
• Combine butter and honey on stove until melted and combined; add salt and vanilla
• Mix wet into dry until well coated
• Spread in an even layer on parchment-lined baking sheet
• Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes
• This is seriously AWESOME granola!!!!

Bread and butter

Yesterday there was snow on the ground, we were enjoying an afternoon/evening at home, and the perfect accompaniment was most certainly fresh baked bread. We had fried egg sandwiches for dinner with bacon and spinach (on this bread). We had cinnamon/coconut sugar toast for breakfast (on this bread). We had tuna cheesy sandwiches for lunch (on this bread). And there are a few pieces that I tucked away in the freezer for later in the week. :)

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Bread
courtesy of Annie's Eats

• 1 1/4 C organic rolled oats
• 1 C boiling water
• 1/4 C room temperature water
• 2 T local honey
• 2 tsp yeast
• 1 1/2 C buttermilk (room temp)
• 1/2 C organic olive oil
• 2 1/2 C organic whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 1/2 C organic whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• Combine oats and boiling water; let sit for 10 minutes
• After oats are done soaking up the hot H2O, combine oats, room temp water, honey, yeast, buttermilk, and olive oil in bowl of stand mixer (with paddle attachment)
• Turn on low; add 2 cups of each flour; after combined, add remaining flour
• Switch to dough hook and mix on low for 10 minutes - I sprinkled a bit more flour around the sides of the bowl while it was mixing as the dough was very wet and sticky
• Transfer dough to oiled bowl; cover; let sit until doubles - approximately 1 -1 1/2 hours 
• On floured surface, flatten dough into a large rectangle; fold short sides until they meet in the middle; roll long side until a log forms; pinch seams closed and transfer to an oiled bread pan; combine 1 tsp honey and 1/2 tsp hot water to brush the top of the bread and then sprinkle with oats; let sit until dough rises above edge of pan - approximately 30-45 minutes
• Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour

Oh... and the butter? Nothing special about that - "bread and butter" just always sounds nice together! But here's a great pic for you from our Valentine's Day double-date with our sushi-eating, wine-drinking, dog-loving, party-hardying friends!

Sweet Potato, Swiss Chard, and Sorghum

A home-cooked meal, from start to finish, it such a wonderful thing. For those who enjoy these meals on a daily basis, it's easy to take them for granted. And that's part of what I love about blogging like this - after baking or cooking, I get to stop and look at what we've made, take pictures of it, and then relish in the beauty and taste. 

Last week, we had one of "those" dinners, the kind of dinner that I stopped to admire because of the health factor, the homemade factor, and the yum-o factor: Chicken, Black Bean, and Sweet Potato soup with Swiss Chard and fresh Whole Wheat Bread. Now it's time to share!

Whole Wheat Bread
adapted from Zesty Cook Easy Whole Wheat Bread

• 2 tsp local honey
• 2 2/3 C warm water
• 4 tsp active dry yeast
• 3 T organic sorghum
• 5 C organic whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 C wheat germ
• 1 T oats
• Stir honey into 2/3 C warm water
• Sprinkle yeast over mixture and let rest for 10 minutes
• Combine sorghum with 2/3 C warm water; combine with yeast mixture
• Stir into flour; add salt, wheat germ, and 1 1/3 C warm water
• This is a very sticky, gooey dough
• Pour into non-stick pan, smooth top with wet fingers or spatula, and sprinkle with oats
• Cover with towel and let sit until rises to top of pan (less than 1 hour)
• Bake at 400° for 30-40 minutes

Chicken, Black Bean, and Sweet Potato Soup

adapted from our very own Gran's recipe box

• 2 local organic chicken breasts
• 1 box organic low sodium chicken broth (with extra water, if needed)
• 2 small-medium organic sweet potatoes
• 1 small organic onion
• 1/2 organic pepper (red or green)
• 1 can green chilies (I had whole chilies and chopped them myself)
• 1 can organic black beans, rinsed
• Mild salsa
• Organic sour cream and fresh cilantro for garnish
• Saute onion, pepper in organic olive oil
• Add chicken breasts and chicken broth; simmer until chicken is done
• Remove chicken and shred or chop; return to pot
• Add diced sweet potatoes; simmer until cooked
• Add green chilies, salsa, black beans - extra salsa, salt, and pepper are good flavor boosters
• Serve with a dollop of sour cream and cilantro

Swiss Chard

• 1 big bunch organic swiss chard (ours was homegrown from Gran and Grandpa's garden!)
• Olive oil
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• Kosher salt
• Organic lemon
• Heat approx 2 T olive oil over medium
• Add red pepper flakes (more or less depending on desired spice-quotient)
• Add roughly chopped swiss chard and cover
• Cook until swiss chard is wilted and tender
• Squeeze lemon over before serving

I loved everything about this meal. I've made the soup many times and the girls eat every drop. This was my second attempt with the bread recipe - I used sorghum this time (the original recipe calls for molasses) and I increased the salt. We thought it was much tastier and, as far as a no-knead whole wheat bread goes, it's great. And the swiss chard? Loved it. Thank you for enjoying this little walk down meal-memory lane with me - I'm so thankful for this kind of dinner. 

Naan, anyone???

Tonight's dinner was good. No, it was great. It was fresh. It was healthy. It was tasty. It was colorful. In fact, I'd like to eat it again tomorrow... for lunch... and dinner. I came across this blog post, Whole Wheat Indian Naan and Tandoori Chicken Wraps, and it just jumped out at me. Now, awhile back, I took a stab at making my own whole wheat tortillas. Total fail. I was a little nervous attempting a similar task today but decided to give it a stab. And guess what? Yum, yum, yummy!

Whole Wheat Naan (similar to pita bread)

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 C warm water
• 2 T organic cane sugar
• 1/4 C organic plain yogurt
• 1 local organic egg
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 1/2 C organic whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 1/2 - 2 C organic whole wheat flour
• Combine yeast and water; let rest for 10 minutes
• Add sugar, salt, yogurt, egg; mix
• Add 2 C flour; mix
• Work in remaining flour until dough is knead-able by hands without sticking
• Knead for 5-10 minutes
• Let rest in oil-coated bowl covered with plastic wrap until doubles in side
• Once doubles, punch down and form golf-ball sized dough balls; place on greased cookie sheet; cover with plastic wrap and let rest until doubles in size
• Roll individual dough balls out on floured surface until 1/4 - 1/8 inch thickness; cook on lightly oiled pancake griddle, brush the side that is face down with a bit of melted butter; flip, cook, and enjoy!

The bread turned out great - lightly browned in spots, cooked through, and pliable enough to fold into a taco-pita shape to fill. Here are the fixins:

• Cilantro yogurt sauce from above website
• 1 C organic plain greek yogurt
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 C finely chopped fresh organic cilantro
• Salt, pepper
• Chicken
• Local, free range chicken breasts sliced thin and marinated in honey and soy sauce; cooked on stove top with marinade
• Organic local fresh spinach
• Organic avocado
• Organic cucumber
• Organic red and yellow pepper slices
• Organic red onion

Let me tell you - those two little fun-muffins ate every bit of everything listed above. And asked for more! Well, actually they like to ask very politely "Momma/Daddy, may I have somepeen else please?". Isn't the center pic just lovely? That is exactly how it tasted! After dinner was done and the little wild women crashed for the night, I finished up my daily load of laundry. Elise is into changing clothes... again... and again... and again. Here is the breakdown of my load of laundry, which consisted entirely of items from yesterday since I do a load everyday:

• 4 cloth napkins
• 2 pairs of my socks
• 1 of my shirts
• 1 pair of John's pajama pants
• 26 items of Abby and Elise's, 4 of which probably belonged to Abby. See what I'm talking about????

Muffin pizzas... MEOW!

I realized that there have been quite a few "sweet" posts lately and not nearly as many "savory" ones.  I stumbled across Everyday Food and was an instant fan from the cover headline alone: "54 delicious, fast, fresh, and easy recipes". And given the tiny size of the magazine, it is seriously ALL recipes. I am a recipe addict. I cannot stop searching for new things to cook or bake or mix or eat! On that note, if you're reading this and follow any stellar food blogs, please post their web address in the comments - share, share, share!

Okay, so the first recipe that I tried from Everyday Food was for "mini deep dish pizzas". Abby and Elise re-named this recipe "muffin pizzas", for obvious reasons. Here's all there is to it:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees
• Mix up some pizza dough (I doubled this recipe)
• Spray a regular sized muffin tin with non-stick spray 
• Stretch out little 6-inch rounds of the pizza dough
• Line each muffin-cup with dough
• 6 of the pizzas were topped with:
• Chopped tomatoes and cheese first
• Chopped green peppers and browned turkey sausage next
• Finish with another round of chopped tomatoes and shredded cheese
• The remaining 5 pizzas were topped with:
• Chopped tomatoes and shredded cheese first
• Carmelized red onions, leeks, and browned turkey sausage next
• Add a few more chopped tomatoes and shredded cheese
• Finish with a few more onions/leeks
• Bake for 10-12 minutes, until edges start to brown slightly

Pre-baking

Post-baking

The recipe in the magazine does not call for sauce, which I agreed with. I worried that putting sauce down inside the muffin cups might result in soggy dough. During dinner, John suggested sauce on the side for dipping. Yes... yes we will have sauce on the side for dipping next time. Brilliant, simply brilliant!

On a totally unrelated note... Happy Halloween!

Surely a cuter pair of kittens has NEVER existed!

For our afternoon snack, I made this apple cinnamon bread again. Today, my whole grain combination was 1 C. whole wheat flour and 1/2 C. barley flour. I also added 1 C. organic canned pumpkin. The smell of apple cinnamon pumpkin bread was a perfect pairing with the cool, fall afternoon. Mmmmm....mmmmm... meow!

Apple Cinnamon Bread

'Just made this recipe: Apple Cinnamon Bread.  I used 1 C. whole wheat flour and 1/2 C. unbleached white flour (instead of all white) and substituted apple butter for the applesauce. I made mini-loaves instead of 1 big one (and maybe baked a wee bit too long) but based on the stuffed mouths at the snack table right now, I'd give it our seal of approval! 

Team Lawrence does dinner!

There is a children's book called I Went Walking.  This afternoon, we lived our very own real life version of this book. And in the words of the girls, here is what we saw:

• "pink pig. no real. pretend."
• "black cat. no, gray. no, white cat."
• "three cats."
• "anderson, momma, baby."
• "man. fix door. tool. driver." 
• "truck. dirty. rust."

We saw a pretend pink pig.  We saw three cats; the friendliest of the bunch was white. We ran into our friend Anderson, his momma, and his baby brother. We saw a man fixing his garage door... with a tool... a screwdriver. We saw an old rusty truck.

As you can see, it's hat-making season in our house.
Lucky for me, I have hat-loving ladies.

After our long and very interesting stroll, we came home to feast upon a pot of potato soup made by our very own Chef Daddy! Soup season is upon us - if you've got a pot, some of this, some of that, a little broth... voila! Soup was the probably the number one vehicle for veggies for the girls last fall/winter. They acquired tastes for broccoli, peas, spinach, corn, cauliflower, green beans, onions, peppers... you name it, their little bodies ingested it with a soup spoon. Here's a quick run-down of ingredients:

• 
  About 8 potatoes - yukon golds, medium size
• 4 pieces of bacon
• 2 leeks of average size
• 2 celery stalks
• 2 carrots
• 1 quart chicken broth (homemade chicken stock is the ultimate)
  • + 4 or 5 additional cups of water
• 
  5 pieces of roasted garlic
• 2 Bay leaves
• Fresh oregano
• Fresh rosemary
• Salt & pepper to taste

Tools of the trade:

• Large soup pot - Le Creuset is the champion soup-maker!
• 
  Stick blender (or regular blender)

And here are some snippets of info from John's soup-savvy mind:

"Before we start, you could easily “healthy” this recipe up by simply omitting bacon and using extra-virgin olive oil instead. However, this is not the particular route I chose for this particular soup. In my humble opinion, few things go together so well in life as bac’n ‘n’ taters...

As far as soups go, it does not get much easier than potato. Plus it is healthy, inexpensive, and like most soups, gets even tastier after a day or two in the fridge."


-John "Daddy-doo" Lawrence

We love John for a lot of reasons.  But, his overall love of being in the kitchen is definitely at the top of the list! Time after time, I've said to John "Dear, do you get tired of doing dishes every night?", and his consistent response is "Not if it means that I've had a good home-cooked meal". Thanks, dear, for dirtying dishes in order to replenish us from our walk-about with this hearty soup and then doing dishes so that I can sleep peacefully knowing that the kitchen is clean. 

A slice of warm cornbread and fresh dark chocolate and cherry whole wheat cookies for dessert (recipes for both to come) perfectly accompanied our potato-bacon goodness.

Zucchini Bread (#16)

I love having friends come visit. Especially friends who you have known for quite some time, who you can talk easily with, and who brings along her daughter, a sweet, charming playmate and role model for my little ladies. Company also means an excuse to bake (as if I needed one, these days!). I've been eyeing this recipe and used it as my inspiration.

I've decided that I want to learn how to bake. Really bake, not just follow a recipe. I want to create recipes, but I'm still working on the whole "wet ingredients to dry ingredients" ratio and the "more baking soda or more baking powder" dilemma. I figure the only way to learn, is to do. So this is what I did, using Gran's zucchini bread recipe as a starting point:

• Grease and flour loaf pan; preheat oven to 325 degrees
• 2 organic eggs
• 1/4 C. oil
• 1/4 C. organic applesauce
• 1/4 C. organic cane sugar
• 2 T. local honey
• 2 T. organic agave
• 1 C. grated organic zucchini
• 1 C. organic crushed pineapple (drained)
• 1 tsp. organic vanilla
• 1 C. organic whole wheat flour
• 1/2 C. organic white flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. aluminum-free baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• Bake for approx. 45 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean

I'm happy with the result - it was quite moist and chewy at first, maybe a little too much so, but after sitting for a couple of hours and cooling completely, it firmed up a bit and was a super morning snack for us and our guests as well as the requested lunch-dessert by the girls: "Momma, more 'cchini bread, peas-uh?".

(I've also been playing with camera settings - pretty happy with the above pic!)

Brinner! (Recipe #9: French toast and Smoothies)

What do you get when you dine on breakfast for dinner? BRINNER! And brinner, a term coined by my hubby, is such a killer fall-back meal. Our house is currently under construction (new master bathroom necessary in order to prevent shower from falling into basement) while at the same time in the throes of potty training. Luckily, both battles are being won! The new shower looks great and the new tile floor is awesome - after the sink goes in and the paint goes up... voila! Bathroom beautified. And potty training - I never imagined I'd get such a rush from the girls becoming independent in the bathroom. In the words of their NICU doctor, they continue to be "rockstars". I just started my load of diapers for the night (cloth) and my two-day diaper count is a mere 6 diapers... for 2 little ones. Yes.. sweet, sweet, success.

This brings me full circle back to brinner. I have not been cooking. I've spent a lot of time in the bathroom, waiting for the delicate sound of tinkle in the toilet... I've been busy doing "dry, dry, dry

dances", celebrating the dry undies between potty breaks... and we've been on-the-go, picking out tiles and paint and snoozing at Gran and Grandpa's in order to nap without drills and saws across the hall. Tonight we feasted on French toast, chicken sausage, and smoothies. Brinner, you tasted so good!

French toast:

Bread (we used fresh Great Harvest Nine Grain)
Eggs
Milk
Vanilla
Cinnamon
Freshly grated nutmeg

Smoothie:

2 cups fresh spinach leaves

1 cup frozen blueberries

1 container plain Oikos yogurt

Handful of frozen cherries

Handful of frozen blackberries

Tablespoon, or so, honey

Orange juice (as needed to blend smoothly)