Berlin's Whimsy

Dinner Tricks.

 

I'll admit it, I pass off some fairly child "unfriendly" meals from time to time. I have my reasons: I like to experiment; I believe in exposing kids to lots of tastes and textures and I don't believe in the standard "child friendly" fare of high salt and high fat processed foods (though we eat them occasionally---I'm not a complete ogre, just half); I believe children who grow up with healthy food will return to their roots as adults;  and I can pass off some of my more healthy or gourmet dinners with a few tricks.

Dinner Tricks. Shhhhh, don't tell my kids but I have a few tricks when it comes to sneaking in healthy meals. I'll also add here that I don't play short-order cook at meals. We all eat the same meal together----yes, I'll pick off this or that from their plates (tomatoes for my son, red peppers for my daughter).

When putting dinner together, I look at our meal not only from a dietary standpoint but also with an eye for what I know my kids will like and eat. If they receive one dish they really like, they'll often eat the other stuff that they might not necessarily like as much. For instance, this meal in the photograph. Yes, we had tofu steaks again and they do love them but we also had a salad, which they don't always enjoy, especially when it includes arugula. I reviewed this meal and knew it needed that little something that would pass their acceptability test-----one of my stand-byes is applesauce. They love applesauce and it balances out almost the worst offender.

Back to that salad. Unfortunately, my kids don't enjoy salad much. But we have salad often, especially in the summer months. I've found one trick to make salad more palatable: homemade croutons. They are easy to make and are useful in a "whole kitchen" philosophy of using every little bit, transforming it into something else, if needed. Here's what I do:

Homemade Croutons

• half loaf of stale bread, cut into 1/2" cubes
• 1/4 C. olive oil
• seasoning blend of your choice. Ideas: 
  • This homemade garlic salt
  • finely chopped rosemary & salt
  • a blend of garlic salt, dried basil, oregano, thyme
  • salt & fresh ground pepper
  • Fresh Garlic Oil: my favorite seasoning. Coarsely chop three cloves garlic and heat in saute pan in the 1/4 C. olive oil until the garlic just begins to sizzle (do not allow it to brown). Pour the oil through a fine sieve over a bowl. Discard garlic bits but use the oil to season your croutons. You can also toss Parmesan with the croutons, too.
  • Pizza seasoning: 3 T. finely grated Parmesan, dried thyme,basil, oregano, and fennel.   
• salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, toss croutons with the oil and the seasoning of your choice. Spread out on a quarter sheet pan and sprinkle with salt. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, stirring every ten minutes or so. Let cool. For extra crispy croutons, leave them in the oven to cool with the door ajar. They become crisp upon cooling.

What are your dinner tricks?

Simple pleasures.

 

Thanks to a friend's visit, we have a new tradition at dinnertime, just the three of us. We take turns reflecting on the best and the worst parts of our day. I was pleasantly surprised when my daughter's new friend shared her family tradition with us at dinnertime because it fit so perfectly into our lives right now. It fit because we need to reflect on the good things, and discuss the bad ones, too. Vocalizing the bad parts of our days helps us put it all in perspective and to gain the feeling of togetherness.  

Today, after a long pause while trying to come up with my "worst" part of the day to share, I eventually settled on too many dishes to do----- in my life right now, it's a good day when too many dishes to clean is the worst event of my day. And my best? Oh, there were so many. Right up there on my list was running into people we know and enjoy at every single stop throughout the day.... Such a pleasurable happenstance.

Within my son's favorites of the day was this dish----which, in turn, became another of my day's favorites because it's not only very simple, cheap, fast, and healthy, but my son actually ate all of his dinner! (He's become quite picky at dinner lately)...

I don't know if this would be as popular with your family as with mine (we're huge tofu fans) but I'll share it because I was apprehensive at first, too, and it turned out to be such a hit! It seems a little silly to write it out as a "recipe" as it's more of a method. The method/idea came out of one of my favorite healthy living books, Mariel Hemingway's Healthy Living From the Inside Out. 

Choose a good quality firm tofu-----my favorite is produced by Wildwood Organics and I find it at Safeway and Whole Foods.

Tofu Steaks

• 1 pkg. Firm Tofu
• 2 T. olive oil
• 2 T. soy sauce
• 2 tsp. sesame oil
• salt to taste

Method: Slice the tofu into 1-inch thick "steaks." You can either slice the tofu long-ways or short-ways depending on the desired serving size.

Heat a wide frying pan over medium heat. (I don't use non-stick pans very often and I like the "crust" that forms on the tofu in this dish but to loosen it from the pan, you will need a metal turner---it WILL stick!).

Add the olive oil and sesame oil and heat to shimmering. Add tofu slices and sprinkle the exposed side with a little of the soy sauce. Do not crowd the slices in the pan. Saute each side for approximately five minutes, adding soy sauce to each side. When a browned crust forms, the tofu is done. That's it!! So fast and simple!

Picnics & making.

We enjoyed a little picnic last weekend. My daughter is always the impetus for a picnic----I cannot count the number of times she asked to go on one last winter when we were experiencing frigid winds and frost on each blade of grass. She settled on enjoying a picnic in the livingroom instead. 

On this outing, however, we brought along our favorite frisbees, a few sandwiches, and our craft supplies. I promised my kids I would teach them to crochet.

My daughter fell in love immediately----the single hook seemed so much more manageable for her hands than knitting needles. Before long, she had crocheted this little dish scrubbie. My son still prefers his needles to the hook and went on to make some dish scrubbie puppets and other shapes after learning to increase and decrease.

The day was wonderfully bright and sunny and I had to sit back and soak up not only the beauty all around me but the beauty before me in my kids. They're growing up so fast and it's wonderful to witness.

We didn't bring along gourmet food on this trip. We had our peanut butter and pickle sandwiches and watermelon. Unfortunately, I didn't make this pasta salad that day but it's a wonderful addition to a picnic. I also enjoy it on a bed of greens.

I hope you find the occassion for a picnic this weekend, too----to slow down a bit and soak up life.

Smoked Salmon Orzo

Ingredients:

• A little wedge of smoked salmon, flaked
• 1 C. frozen petite peas, thawed
• 1/4 C. chopped fresh dill (needs to be the fresh stuff)
• 3 scallions---the green part only, thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 1 C. mayonnaise
• 1 package Orzo pasta
• Fresh ground pepper and salt to taste

Method: Cook the Orzo in salted boiling water according to package. Drain and rinse under cold water. Add to pasta bowl. Add remaining ingredients to pasta and stir until thoroughly mixed. Check seasoning and adjust. Chill and serve cold.

After so much rain (for here), a weekend full of golden light and just warm enough temperatures soothed our ailing moods.

We walked along the river in the spring's tall green grass and glimpsed a Canadian Goose family with ten goslings peering up out of the reeds...

And our old dog even felt it necessary to take a dip in the cold snow run-off that fills the river this time of year...

And what better end to a late spring day than a dinner with coleslaw?! Well, that's true at least for me-----coleslaw is a favorite of mine. I posted this recipe last year, but I'm doing it again because I love it so much. I use the dressing (without the poppy seeds) on other summer salads, too, including a broccoli salad of fresh broccoli, shredded cheddar cheese, raisins, and crumbled bacon....

Coleslaw Dressing

• 1 T. dijon mustard
• 1 T. apple cider vinegar
• 1 T. fresh lemon juice
• 2 1/2 T. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 C. mayo
• 1/4 C. sour cream or plain yogurt
• 2 T. poppy seeds (optional)

Mix the ingredients all together with a whisk and pour over one head of shredded cabbage. Mix together completely and let sit just a bit before serving.

From "Ewww!" to "Mmmm" Giveaway

A LITTLE GIVEAWAY: The kids & I are heading to the Oregon coast for a few days of visiting with long lost friends and rubbing our toes in our familiar sand... So, I'm leaving you with this post... The giveaway details are at the end...

One of our steadfast lunchtime sandwiches is the peanut butter and pickle sandwich. I grew up eating them and have never given them a second thought. That was until my kids started bringing them to school and the other kids started exclaiming, "Ewww!"

Luckily, my kids weren't swayed. They are PB & Pickle fans. And I am, too. Usually, I make our sandwiches with dill pickles but a shopping oversight resulted in a jar of sweet pickles sitting in the cupboard for far too long. In desparation one day, I decided to use that jar. And even my "Ewww" reaction to sweet pickles turned to "Mmmm" in the sandwich with peanut butter. I still prefer dill but the sweet is a nice mix up.

Recently, our family discussed our "weird" food combinations. I remembered my Dad slathering up a peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwich while I sat looking aghast. I don't think it was the taste combo as much as the texture that repulsed me.

During our discussion, my sister-in-law told me about the peanut butter and sprout sandwich. I immediately thought "Ewww" until she pointed out the similarity to the Thai food flavor combination so I tried it and it turned to a "Mmmm" (I used mung bean sprouts, following the Pad Thai combination).

And then there is my early strawberry season recipe: balsamic vinegar reduction sauce over strawberries and ice cream. "Ewww! Vinegar?!" I initially thought. But then I tried it!

It's a great way to use the early season strawberries that lack the flavor of our local Oregon berries (yes, I'm partial). All that is required is reducing 2 Cups of balsamic vinegar (I like the Costco brand for this recipe---don't use expensive balsamic!) over a low simmer until it is thick and it coats the back of a spoon. Cool just a bit and then spoon the sauce over sliced strawberries and vanilla ice cream. "Mmmm!"

***GIVEAWAY: I want to hear about your flavor combos, recipes, or stories of food items that might seem weird to today's palate but you still enjoy... OR your family's traditional recipes that might not be 'en vogue' today (I'm thinking pickled watermelon rinds and that sort of thing). What "weird" foods do you like? And if you don't have anything of the sort to share, just post a comment and you'll be entered in the drawing... I will choose a random comment next Tuesday.

The prize? Four embroidered linen "Doily Napkins" (it's a fun little pattern of mine that I've been enjoying---pictured above) and an itty bitty cookbook (made by me) that includes a few of my favorite recipes along with related stories...

Have a great weekend!   

Mango Coffee Cake.

Coffee & Coffee Cake anyone? C'mon over!

This scrumptious recipe comes by way of one of my Mom's friends at work. After sampling a few scraps of cake that my Mom was so kind enough to share with us peasants at home (ha!), we knew we had to go to the source for the recipe.

When I asked my daughter to help me with making the cake, she asked me if it was a cake kids could eat. I wondered at her question for a bit and finally asked her why she thought this cake wasn't appropriate for kids? "It's COFFEE cake! We don't drink coffee!" Ah yes, I think I remember wondering this same thing as a child. Even as I tasted coffee cake, I wondered how the coffee flavor was somehow hidden within its sugary depths.

Well, once I explained the coffee cake terminology and added the key ingredient to this particular cake----mangoes----my daughter was sold. Mangoes are her favorite!

This cake is not for the sugar wary-----it's packed with the stuff and I think it would probably be just as yummy with less sugar but for this batch (my first) I followed the recipe as written.

Mango Coffee Cake

Makes 12-16 servings

• 2 C. all-purpose flour
• 2 C. sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/2 C. butter, cut into pieces
• 1 C. buttermilk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 C. coarsely chopped, seeded and peeled fresh mango (about 3)
• 1/3 C. sugar (for sprinkling)
• 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
• Whipped cream for serving (optional)

Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, 2 C. sugar, baking powder, soda nutmeg, and 1/4 tsp. salt. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In a small bowl, combine buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Add to flour mixture all at once and stir just until moistened. Fold in the chopped mangoes. Spread in prepared pan.

Combine the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle on top.

Bake for40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Mango pieces will sink towards the bottom of the cake). Cool a bit before serving.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Picnic Bread Recipe---Again

***I've spent the weekend nursing two very sick kids and now I'm suffering the ailment myself. There aren't any words of creativity or wisdom coming out of my mouth right now so I'm re-publishing this entry from almost a year ago. This bread makes a wonderful contribution to a picnic and perhaps you are experiencing spring weather where you are!***

Okay, for those of you who requested it, here's the picnic bread recipe. It's not only delicious warm from the oven, but also for a day or two later (always a good thing to have on hand around this house full of "I'm hungry..." requests)! I found it to be a good thing to stick in the lunch box, too.

Picnic Bread

First, you need to make the bread dough. Out of laziness and ease, I make this dough in my bread machine, but you can make it by hand or mixer, too.

Ingredients for Dough:

1 C. water

3 C. Unbleached All-Purpose flour

1 T. butter (softened)

1 T. sugar

2 tsp. instant yeast (SAF instant yeast is by far my preference for baking---though I guess if I had my rathers I'd use fresh compressed but it just doesn't keep well. If you're going to use Active-Dry yeast you'll need to up the amount to aprox. 3 tsp).

Method: Mix all ingredients together and knead for aproximately 10 to 15 minutes until you have a stretchy dough that is smooth and elastic. Make sure your dough is not too dry---you want it a bit wet! Let the dough rise in a warm place for aproximately 1 1/2 hours or until it has doubled.

Filling:

1-2 lbs Mild Italian Sausage

1 C. shredded Cheddar Cheese

1 jar diced pimento peppers, drained (or you could use roasted red peppers)

1/2 C. black olives, drained and sliced (or if you feel really daring and want a piquant flavor, add green olives stuffed with pimentos)

1 egg, lightly beaten

Make filling: In frying pan, fry sausage, breaking up the clumps, until done. Drain and cool. Mix Filling ingredients together in bowl.

To assemble the bread:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place rack in center of oven. Line a half-sheet pan.

Roll the risen dough out on floured surface to a 14 X 9-inch rectangle. Brush the surface of the dough with the egg (reserving the rest) and spread the filling evenly to within an inch of the edges. Roll the dough up from the 9-inch side, and pinch the seams well to seal. Shape the dough into an oval and place seam side down on the prepared sheet pan---brush the top of the loaf with the rest of the egg. Cover the loaf and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Before baking, brush the top of the bread with the egg wash, then slash the top of the loaf horizontally 3 times. Bake the loaf in the center of the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the bread is brown (you can check the internal temperature to see if it's aprox. 190 degrees or above). Remove the bread from the oven and cool on a rack. Let the bread cool quite a bit before serving.

Makes 16 slices.

Yumm-y Sauce Recipe

It's one of the things I'm good at: identifying and replicating flavors in foods.

My Mom invited me to lunch last week with the goal replicating a cafe's signature sauce. She wanted me to make it at home. Since the sauce is so tastey, I quickly went home and set to work. Because of the ingredients in the recipe, it has a very rich and buttery flavor without the fat of butter----what a great combo!

I whipped together a version based on taste and a bit of information from one of the waitresses at the cafe and only later did I think to 'google' the cafe's name for recipes. My estimation of ingredients came amazingly close to the recipe I found online (yes, that sound in the background is me patting myself on the back).

Here's the deal: the sauce is especially good on both green salads and the healthy layered "bowls" this franchise cafe makes. In their version, they layer a bowl as thus: a hearty layer of brown rice, a layer of beans (I used adzuki but black beans are great, too)... Around the rim of the rice bowl, place servings of these items: shredded medium-sharp cheddar cheese, sour cream (or yogurt), sliced olives, diced tomatoes, and sliced avocado (1/2 an avocado). Personally, I would also add toasted sesame seeds & sprouts to the bowl if I had them...I'd also add roasted tofu if I had that, too!

On top of it all, sprinkle over THE SAUCE...

YUMM-y Sauce

1/2 C. canola oil

1/2 C. whole almonds

1/3 C. nutritional yeast (not the kind of yeast for bread making)

1/3 C. garbonzo beans, drained (I used more like 1/2 C.)

1/4 C. cooked soybeans (not edamame and if you cannot find them, omit and either add more garbanzo beans or use equal parts silken tofu for the protein)

1/2 C. lemon juice

1/4 C. filtered water (if needed to thin the sauce)

2 garlic cloves, pressed through a garlic press

1 tsp. curry powder

1/2 tsp. fenugreek powder (sometimes this can be difficult to find. It's an essential ingredient to curry powder and Indian cuisine--you'll recognize the fragrance and flavor).

1/2 tsp. salt

How-to: In food processor or blender, pulse the nuts, beans, soybeans or tofu, and garlic together first. Add seasonings, yeast, and lemon juice. Pulse together. With the machine running, slowly add the canola oil to emulsify the sauce. If the sauce seems thick, add the water bit by bit to the consistancy you want. The sauce needs to sit for an hour or more to meld the flavors. After this period of time, check for seasoning to taste... You might need salt.

Variation: To make a "hot" version, add a couple chipotle chili peppers from a can to the sauce.

Enjoy!!

Easy Breakfast Dish---Mmmm

 

I wish I had a better name for this wonderful creation. My Mom made it for my brother and I all during our childhood and I think it might have come from my Great Aunt. As far as I'm concerned, it includes all the ingredients for a perfect breakfast dish: easy, yummy, with many variations. We always called it "that egg pancake-y thing." My daughter calls it, "That Breakfast Cake."

 

Baked Egg Pancake Dish

~1/2 C. Butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place butter in a 8"x8" (approximate) porcelain baking dish. Place the dish in the oven to melt the butter and heat the dish. Meanwhile, blend the following ingredients together in a blender on high speed for approximately 2 minutes...

~6 eggs

~1 1/2 Cups Milk

~1 1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour

~dash of salt

When the butter has melted and the dish is hot, pour the batter into the dish. Place it back in the oven and bake until the edges have lifted up and the center is cooked through, approximately 20 minutes (jiggle it---when the entire center moves as a mass and you can push on the middle and it provides a bit of resistance then it is ready).

This dish is best eaten still warm. The edge browns and lifts up and the middle is almost like a flan. Some people prefer the edge pieces, some the middle. Cut it into squares and eat with one of the following toppings:

~Sweet ideas: berries and powdered sugar; maple syrup; blueberry syrup; baked apples with sugar and cinnamon...

~Savory ideas: only salt; salsa; hot sauce or ketchup; Or even these ideas: black beans and corn topping with salsa and sour cream or go Mediterranean and warm up a tepanade and slather it on top...

The topping ideas are endless!

 

We ate ours with some huckleberries my Mom gathered in the mountains last summer. She had to fight off the bears to get them! (Well, almost)... My son preferred his with frozen strawberries that we had thawed out.

 

To make a simple berry syrup topping, mix berries with real maple syrup and heat together until just warm. Mmmmm.

Added later: Thanks everyone for sharing your own experiences with this dish! I have a few recipes for Dutch Babies but I found most of them to add sugar to the batter to sweeten them. I like that this recipe is so versatile. The original recipe was double this amount and I thought that if I were feeding a crowd for breakfast, I'd make the doubled amount in two dishes and then set up a "breakfast bar" with both savory and sweet toppings for guests to add... Stacey: I love the name Hootenannies! We might adopt that one. And hey, if you can think of any other topping ideas, please let me know! ;-)

Smell's stories.

Fragrance is important to me and apparently I'm not alone. I remember hearing somewhere, sometime, that fragrance is one of our senses most linked to memory. There is a physiological reason for this.

For me, fragrance's memory link is strong. In the spring, a whiff of opening blossoms and the earth waking up from its winter nap fills me with joy. The smell reminds me of my college days when the campus was full of flowering trees and I anxiously awaited the coming summer.

The smell of mint brings back memories of working outdoors near mint farms. Some nights, the sticky sweet smell almost brought tears to my eyes. And when I used to dread a full day of housecleaning in the bleakest months of winter on the coast, I mixed up a bucket of natural soap with a few drops of mint oil for its vibrant pick-me-up quality.

I will always associate the soothing fragrance of lavender with ironing and sewing. And my kids in the bath as their crazy energy slowly submitted to the warm water spiked with lavender.

And I even love the earthy and bitter smell of wool's lanolin (and no, that isn't a sheep----it's an alpaca). Lanolin's smell evokes memories of the most peaceful of activities: handspinning. I love the smell of the lanolin as I watch the fiber slowly twist into something useful between my fingers.

What about you? Do you have certain fragrances linked to memories?

**I received a couple requests for my recipe for the lavender linen spray I mentioned yesterday. I know there are probably better recipes out there, as this is the simplest recipe of all: Fill a spray bottle with distilled water and add a few drops of essential oil. Shake it up and let it sit. Before each use, shake it to distribute the essential oil. That's all I do!

Essential Oils can be found at:

Liberty Naturals (a great source for high quality oils at reasonable prices, as well as spray bottles & containers)...

Mountain Rose Herbs (this is a wonderful company and be sure to poke around their site for many other great natural products and ideas---they have wonderful tea)!