Expanding a toddler's vegetable repertoire...

As my son approaches the two-year mark, I only now understand why parents are constantly trying to find ways to *sneak* vegetables into kids meals.  In fact, didn't Seinfeld's wife write an entire book on how to be a veggie sneak??  I digress.  Now, to be completely honest, my toddler is not an overly fussy guy.  He's pretty good about eating his veggies at supper (lunch is another story...) but somehow I feel like I'm in this never-ending rotation of peas, carrots and potatoes.  Boooring!

It's summer time and we are fortunate to have a wide variety of local veggies available to us, the majority of which are not peas, carrots, or potatoes.  So on the weekend I bought a number of zucchini at my local farmer's market and as our camping weekend approached, I realized I had yet to use them!  A quick search on tastespotting for "zucchini" brought up a number of zucchini fritter/pancake recipes.  Worth a shot, I thought.  So, I pulled out my handy-dandy food processor and grater attachment and went to work.  What resulted were these totally awesome fritters that much to my surprise and pleasure, my toddler couldn't get enough of (ketchup added, of course...)!  The recipe below was my own version of what I found.

Zucchini fritters

4 c grated zucchini (I used the grater on my food processor)
1.5c bread crumbs
3 Tbsp whole wheat flour
2 eggs
chopped parsley, salt & pepper, to taste
coconut oil, for frying *

* If you don't have cocont oil, I'm sure you could substitute canola.

Place zucchini in a colander or sieve and use your hands to wring out as much moisture as possible.  Leave for 5-10 minutes over a bowl and squeeze again.  Add in remaining ingredients and stir to combine well.  Add extra flour if too moist.

Heat coconut oil in a big frying pan.  Once hot, take 1-2Tbsp of zucchini mixture and shape into small pancakes.  Drop into hot oil and fry a couple of minutes until nice and brown on each side  (I used a cast iron pan).  Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel.  Serve warm.

Cookies for a weekend camping adventure

These cookies break all my *rules* in healthy eating: they are chock full of sugar, flour, and all around yumminess!  However, these cookies are for a special occasion - this weekend John and I have decided it would be fun to take our toddler camping in Lake Placid.  Now, in our pre-child (or DINK) days, Lake Placid was a regular destination of ours, both in winter and in summer.  Since the birth of Monkey, as he is affectionately, but oh-so-appropriately nicknamed, we have yet to venture the 3.5 hour trip to that area.  So, perhaps it is our longing for the relaxed, rugged days of before, more so than our good sense (camping with a toddler??) that is motivating this trip, but whatever it is, the campsite is booked and now, the cookies are made, so nothing will can hold us back. 

It is somewhat of a tradition, er, habit of mine to always bake cookies for camping trips and not just any cookies, but usually something extra special to, you know, counter all those calories we burn hiking the adirondacks, swimming in Mirror Lake, mountain biking or cycling through the rolling hills, etc.  This trip is no exception.  Mind you, most of the calories we burn will likely be chasing Monkey around a campsite, away from campfires, and maybe if we're lucky, up the mountain in his backpack while he sleeps (did I mention this insanely busy Monkey also likes to sleep, thank goodness...).  So, maybe we don't need the calories like we once did, but I'm not one to mess with tradition, or at least not one that tastes so good!

So, here is my most recent camping cookies invention.  Give them a try. I bet they'll taste just as good in the comforts of your own home without the annoying blackflies, drunk obnoxious campers, or a toddler who refuses to sleep in a portacrib (oh no, did I just jinx myself?!)

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup whole grain flour (e.g. whole wheat, spelt, barley, rye)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup large flake rolled oats
3/4 cup peanut butter chips
1 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup chopped peanuts

1. In a standing mixer, beat butter.  Add sugars and salt and beat until well combined.  Add eggs and peanut butter.  Beat mixture until everything is well incorporated and then add vanilla. 
2. Sprinkle flours, baking soda, and baking powder over butter mixture, and then either stir in using the "stir" option on your machine, or else use a wooden spoon.  
3. Once the flours are well incorporated, add your remaining ingredients and stir in with a wooden spoon.
4. Form into 1-11/2 inch balls spaced 1-2 inches apart on your baking sheets (I needed two baking sheets).
5. Bake for 12 minutes at 350o.
6. Let cool for a minute ot two on the sheets and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Sourdough - a labour of love

Yum, sourdough.  It has such a unique flavour and is best eaten with nothing more than a nice slather of butter.  Now, with all the gluten free baking I've been doing over the past couple of months I've really been craving some "real bread".  But of course, I still don't want to end up eating a whole loaf myself.  So, I did some research and found what I believe to be a perfect compromise - sourdough.  Did you know that sourdough has numerous health benefits to which all other breads cannot hold a candle?  Just google sourdough benefits and you'll find tons of information.  But the short version is that beneficial bacteria are created during the fermentation process that are not unlike the good bacteria you would find in yogurt or sauerkraut.  Yay!

So, once I knew that sourdough was what I wanted to bake, I quickly found out that it wasn't as easy as throwing some yeast, water, flour and fat together and letting it rise.  No, sourdough requires days upon days of feeding and watching.  It's actually very little work--just don't start it expecting to have a loaf tomorrow.

Now, I am not going to post a recipe here.  Rather, I am going to point you to the website I used for my starter and bread.  It is a very comprehensive, day-by-day chronology of how to build your sourdough starter and ultimately, make your bread.  http://cookistry.blogspot.com/2011/04/building-sourdough-starter.html.  The only place where I found I didn't match her instructions was in the time it took to get an active started.  She said 8-10 days and mine took 15.  I tried after 11 and the bread failed miserably.  Hence, my message to you is, be patient.  Only use your starter once you see it bubbling up in the jar after your daily feed.  If it doesn't rise, it's not ready, no matter how many bubbles you have!

Give it a try and let me know how you make out.  Here's what my first (successful) loaf looked like - and yes, I baked it on a pizza stone(!):

Date-sweetened oatmeal raisin cookies

I know, two sugar-free cookie posts in a row...  But once again, I had something in mind and I didn't want to stop until I perfected it.  Now, the banana cookies are awesome, but you don't always want banana in your cookies, right?  So I tweaked some recipes I had -- some with sugar, and some without -- and came up with these truly awesome no sugar, no grain flour cookies.  These cookies are only sweetened with dates so are very much guilt-free and especially kid friendly--cookies for breakfast anyone??  I think my toddler liked these ones best too!
Now, if you are more of an oatmeal choc chip cookies fan, feel free to substitute mini choc chips for the raisins or currents.  They would just no longer be "sugar-free" (but still way healthier than standard oatmeal choc chip cookies!) ** Update: I made these cookies with mini chocolate chips and they might even be better than the raisin ones...

SUGAR FREE OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES

1 cup almond flour

¼ cup coconut flour

¾ cup rolled oats
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt

¾ cup dates, boiled, drained and stirred to make a paste
¼ cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

½ tsp coconut extract
raisins or chocolate chips

¼ cup shredded unsweetened coconut (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, combine butter, eggs, dates, vanilla and coconut extract.  Pour dry mixture into wet and stir until blended. Stir in chocolate chips and coconut.
3. Taking 1 Tbsp of batter at a time, form into small disks, approx 1-1.5cm thick. (NOTE: These cookies do not spread out like regular cookies so the shape you make them before going in the oven is the shape they will stay).  Place onto baking sheet and bake until starting to brown around the edges, approx. 12 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

Banana cookies (psst! they are sugar-free)

Ingredients / Directions:

2 c rolled oats
2 Tbsp whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c coconut
3 over-ripe bananas
1/4 c coconut oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp coconut extract
1 c dates
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Cover dates with water in a pot and bring to a boil.  Turn off heat and let sit for a few minutes until dates are soft.  Stir dates with a wooden spoon to make a paste.
3.Mash bananas in a large bowl. Add to dates along with oil, egg, and extracts.
4. Combine oats, flour, coconut, and cinnamon in a bowl.  Stir into banana mixture.
5. Allow batter to sit for 15 minutes or parchment-lined cookie sheet. (You can flatten them if you like.)
5. Bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Gluten-free + bread = better than you think!

No, we are not Celiacs, nor do we have any wheat allergies.  My husband just likes to try to keep his gluten consumption to a minimum.  He feels better, he says.  Me, well, meh!  I am indifferent, but am wise enough to know that if I make regular bread, I'll have to eat it all by myself.  So gluten-free bread it is--something I can make and I won't be forced to eat the whole loaf just so it doesn't go to waste...you know?

Finding a gluten-free bread recipe wasn't the hard part; rather, finding one that didn't contain all kinds of weird ingredients or an ingredient list a mile long was the problem. Xanthan gum?  Sorghum flour?  What the..?  That's when I stumbled across Elana's Pantry.  Her approach to gluten-free baking is out of necessity (she is Celiac) so this gal has done her baking research, and successfully, I might add.  Her focus is on baking with almond flour, known to most of us as ground almonds. Now, I know what you're thinking, bread with almond flour?  Wouldn't it be heavy and well, nutty?  And I'd say, it's certainly heavier and nuttier than Wonder Bread, but I wasn't looking to replace good ol' bread, because the truth of the matter is that I can go and buy a loaf and eat it without issue, if I so crave it.  I was just looking for something to fill the void left from my forced decision to not make my homemade multi-grain bread weekly anymore. 

So, I picked up some almond flour (holy expensive Batman!) and already had some arrowroot flour on hand from making my son's animal cookies and gave her recipe a go.  It was good--John claimed it was better than real bread, but I'd say that was a bit of a stretch! To be honest, I felt it was lacking something, so I decided to reassess the recipe and see how I could make it better.  I looked around at some other bread recipes and figured out what I thought was missing (key ingredient - butter!, plus a few other small tweaks).  I was very happy with the results.  It really is a yummy bread--more like a quick bread or loaf--but more importantly, it truly fills my bread void :)

Here is my modified version, adapted from Elana's Gluten-Free Bread 2.0:

Almond Arrowroot Bread (aka Gluten-Free Bread)

2 cups almond flour
1 cup arrowroot flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 eggs
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 Tbsp honey

Preheat oven to 350o.  In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients.  In a larger bowl, beat eggs for 3 minutes or until nice and frothy.  Beat in honey.  Very slowly beat in the butter.  Stir in dry ingredients and pour into a small greased loaf pan.  (NOTE: I used a pastry brush to grease my pan using the melted butter from my recipe.)  Bake for 30 minutes or until the top of the bread is nice and golden.  Let cool in the pan before removing and slicing into the bread.  I keep mine in the fridge after a day or so, as per Elana's instructions, but I don't enjoy it cold. Luckily it toasts beautifully!  Yum. 

Sunday Spring Brunch!

Spring has finally arrived here in Ottawa.  It's been a long time coming.  Usually by the first of April we've seen a few nice days here and there, but this year that hasn't been the case.  So, this weekend when we finally reached double digit weather, I naturally felt the need to celebrate with spring-like food.  A friend of ours, who also happens to be our accountant, was coming over on Sunday to bring our tax returns and help John out with his business accounting, so I thought this to be the perfect time for a spring meal.  Our friend is someone who appreciates good food too, so I knew my efforts would be appreciated.

Once the time was agreed upon--late morning--I knew immediately what brunch meal I wanted to prepare as it had to be not too fussy and easy to make ahead of time, so that I could get to the gym Sunday morning before brunch, of course :)  For my main dish I opted to make a smoked salmon frittata with dill and green onions from One Perfect Bite.  I had made this dish before, only having doubled the recipe the first time and used hot smoked salmon instead of the called-for more standard cold-smoked stuff.  This time I did not alter the recipe at all and it turned out beautifully.  My only comment is that I needed to cook it for a few minutes longer, plus a quick broil, compared with what the recipe calls for. 

Now, what to serve with the frittata didn't come to me as easily.  I just knew it had to be equally as "Spring-y".  Then I remembered a couple of blackberry scone recipes in a foodie magazine, Where Women Cook, that I had received at Christmas.  At the time, I wondered why on earth the editors opted to include TWO blackberry scone recipes in their magazine.  Having looked closely at both, I now now that they are quite different recipes, but still think it a bit redundant--I mean, couldn't one have at least been blueberry, or peach, or...? Anyway, it is what it is and thanks to this redundancy, I was able to come up with the perfect accompaniment for my frittata by combing the best aspects of the two recipes.  The result was a delicious scone with an undeniably spring-like appeal, thanks to the berries and naturally pink-coloured glaze!

Blackberry scones (adapted from Where Women Cook Dec/Jan/Feb 2011)

Scones:
2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, cut into 1cm cubes
1 egg
1/3 cup whole milk
1 cup blackberries, any big ones cut in half

Glaze:
1 Tbsp butter
2 blackberries
1/2 Tbsp whole milk
icing sugar (approx 3/4 cup)
1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large bowl.   Using your fingers, rub butter into flour mixture until a nice crumbly texture.  Beat egg with milk and stir into dough.  If your dough is too dry, add more milk.  Scrape dough out onto a floured surface and knead a few times until dough comes together nicely.  Divide into two equal size pieces and shape into two disks, each approximately 1.5 cm thick.  Spread blackberries in the centre of one of the disks, leaving a 2cm border around the edges.  Place remaining disk on top and pinch the edges closed.  Flatten the whole disk gently with your hands.  Transfer to a baking sheet and cut into 8 wedges.  Do not separate the wedges--leave them together so it looks like a pie.  Bake for approximately 18 minutes, or until tops are lightly golden and bottom is evenly browned.  Remove from oven and while cooling, prepare glaze.

Glaze: Heat blackberries and butter in microwave until butter is melted, approximately 10-15 seconds.  Mash berries with a fork.  Stir in milk and vanilla and gradually stir in icing sugar by the heaping spoonful until desired consistency is reached.  Drizzle over scones.  Pull apart the wedges to serve.