Berlin's Whimsy

The Savory Green Smoothie of choice.

 
I make savory green smoothies on a regular basis around here, especially in the winter when I'm craving fresh vegetables. I like V-8 juice and this is my healthier twist on it. I believe fresh garlic is good for you and this smoothie is a tasty way to get some fresh garlic into my diet. It adds just enough kick!

I start with a good-quality tomato juice base. My favorite is Whole Foods' 365 Organic Tomato Juice. I like its flavor the best (though it's from concentrate) and it goes on sale frequently. I've used many kinds, however, including V-8. This summer, I plan to can my own tomato juice for the sole purpose of making more of these smoothies next winter. I'll dream of my summer tomato patch while I sip this flavorful concoction.

To make one, I add a big glug of tomato juice (2 Cups?), some fresh greens (kale, spinach, lettuce leaves, or dandelion greens), a celery stalk, a clove or two of garlic, 1 T. fresh lemon juice, and 2 T. flax seeds to my blender (though I use my Vita-mix, you can use a regular blender for this one). I find that this mixture is very forgiving so you can add many vegetables, such as cucumber, cabbage, bell pepper, basil, a hot pepper(!), etc. It will change the taste a bit but it's always good! I also add water to get things moving (1 Cup?).

On cold days, I add warm water to this smoothie. A warm and savory smoothie is very soothing in that Campbell's-Tomato-Soup-on-a-cold-day sort of way--- only healthier.

 
In fact, we've even used the warm version of this smoothie as a soup! Mmmm. I think I added a bit of cheese and a sun-dried tomato to that blend. I send these in my family's lunches, as well.

:: Okay enough about food, I'll have a post soon about my quick and easy wool skirt I made myself... So warm and cozy on these cold days we're experiencing!

Transitioning into Summer.

This next week holds a lot of transitions for our family.

I'm out of school already but I start up again on the 21st. My kids only have a couple more days of school.

Most importantly, my son will be graduating from 8th grade soon and then it's time to move on to high school. Gasp. It's going to be an emotional event for me-----not only is he growing up way too fast but he'll be leaving his close friends (he will be attending a different high school in a different town). It will be a transition for us all.

When I finished my term, I also finished a large research project on The National School Lunch Program and the topic of childrens' health and nutrition. It was such a long and involved project. I learned so much. I also renewed my insistence on making my kids' lunches.

So, here is today's lunch: Homemade Cinnamon-Swirl bread with almond butter (via my trusty Vita-mix). Yogurt with Blueberries. Apple slices and carrot sticks with more almond butter to dip them in. And lastly, a carob malt ball. Yes, my kids eat carob. And chocolate!

As much as I sometimes dread carving out the time to make my kids' lunches each frantic morning, I do feel a little sad that our routines will be coming to an end soon. What to do? I keep having nightmarish visions of them whining, "I'm Boooooored" and "Can I play a video game?" two days after they get out of school. Summer camps and programs are an option but lack of funds limit those opportunities. Eating Quick Pops all day long won't suffice, either.

So, parent of 'tweens and teens out there? What do you have planned to keep your kids occupied this summer? What routines do you adopt?

Southwestern Veggie Burgers

I've been on a veggie burger kick lately. I can't get enough of them.  Sunshine Burgers are my favorite store-bought brand. I find that veggie burgers are great to have on hand in the frig or freezer for a last minute snack or to pop into my kids' lunches. They can be dressed up or down depending on what they're served with.

Today, I ate mine with homemade sour cream and salsa. They would be great with a side of corn and avocado. Or cut them into pieces and set them atop a taco salad!

This is the first of a few recipes I'll be sharing here for variations on veggie burgers. These are made from black beans and rice with some colorful veggies mixed in. Believe me, they're full of flavor! My kids love them (though my son said we should come up with a different name rather than "burger," as they don't have much in common with their namesake----different but good)!

Oh, and lastly, they're incredibly easy to make--- just throw the ingredients into a food processor and whirl away...

Southwestern Veggie Burgers

1 can Black Beans (or 1 1/2 C. cooked), rinsed

1 C. cooked brown rice, cooled

3 cloves garlic

1/2 C. sunflower seeds

2 T. pepitas

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1/4 C. fresh spinach

3 T. chopped cilantro

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. Table Mtn All-Purpose Seasoning, or chili powder

Method: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place all ingredients in food processor and pulse until the mixture becomes a chunky paste. 

Now for the messy part: Using approximately 1/4 C. of mixture, roll the paste into a ball between palms and flatten onto the baking sheet, about 1" thick. They don't spread so you can crowd them a bit.

Bake in oven for 15 minutes and carefully flip them with a thin spatula (they will try to stick a bit). Bake for 10-15 minutes more---- until they are a little firm and hold together but they are not dried out. 

Stack them between parchment papers in an air-tight container and store them in the frig or freeze them for later! To serve, warm them in the microwave or the oven.

Veggie Burgers

Baked tofu coating with Ume Plum Vinegar

Not everyone is a tofu lover. Our household doesn't have any confirmed tofu "haters" but there are times that tofu for dinner isn't met with vast amounts of enthusiasm.

I'm one of those weird people that could eat tofu plain from the package. Its subtle soy-ishness (a word, I'm sure) and texture are pleasing. But for many, tofu needs seasoning. And lots of it. You can purchase pre-seasoned and baked tofu, but it tends to be expensive. Besides, baking your own fills your house with such a sumptuous smell!

I developed a profound love for Umeboshi when I delved into Japanese cooking techniques. The delectable play between salty and sweet is so enticing! And when I found Ume Plum Vinegar! Well, dressings and marinades will never be the same around here.

That's where this all plays out-----the enticing, "stand-up-and-take-notice" flavor of Ume Vinegar with the subtle "season-me-please" tofu. Add the savory depth of toasted sesame oil and nutritional yeast, with the hearty flavor of almonds and your tofu will win over the hearts of those "it tastes like nothing" tofu haters.

The recipe ingredient list may look long but if you do much Asian cooking, you will find many of the ingredients in your pantry. 

These savory little squares would be perfect chilled from the refrigerator and tucked into a lunchbox or tossed on a salad!

 
Baked Tofu with Ume Plum Vinegar

2 pckgs. extra-firm tofu

2 T. water

1 tsp. toasted sesame oil

1 T. grated fresh ginger

1 garlic clove

2 T. nutritional yeast

2 T. almond meal (or grind your own whole almonds)

3 T. ume plum vinegar

Method: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat a sheet pan with oil. Rinse and cut the tofu into large squares. 

In a blender, food processor, or a large mortar and pestle, blend the remaining ingredients until smooth.The mixture will taste salty and intense but when spread out over the tofu it blends nicely.

In a large bowl, toss the tofu with the coating mixture. Spread the coated tofu out onto the sheet pan, allowing space between squares. Bake until the coating is dry, approximately 40 minutes, or until the coating is dry and the tofu is heated through.

We served our tofu with a stir-fry of broccoli, red pepper, and carrots, over rice. Mmmmm.

What's for Lunch?

Though I haven't mentioned it for quite some time, I'm still packing lunches every day. In fact, I pack lunches for everyone here!

Over a year later, I still adore the Laptop Lunchbox system. My kids do, too. These lunchboxes make it easy to provide variety. More lunch photos are here. Also, the new book, Vegan Lunchbox Around the World, provides many great ideas for lunches----even if you aren't a vegan, you'll find some great ideas!

I am experimenting with coming up with little healthy snacks to pop into my kid's lunches. You might enjoy this simple but surprisingly yummy apple treat.

A forewarning, they aren't the most beautiful cookie in the world but they are quite good. I made mine in a dehydrator but I think a very low oven would work just fine, too.

Following the exact method requires grinding up raw apples. I do this in my handy-dandy (and very much loved) Vita-Mix . Alternatively, I think you could cook the apples slightly and grind them up in a food processor (maybe even microwaving the apples pieces would be sufficient)... 

Simply Yummy Apple Cookies

2 apples, cored

1 C. nuts (I used walnuts)

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

pinch of mace

2 T. honey

Place all the ingredients in a blender (must be a high speed blender) or alternatively, cook the apples a little to soften them first and continue on. Grind the ingredients together until it produces a smooth paste. Spread a scant 2 T. of the mixture onto a prepared sheet and smooth the mixture into a cookie shape. Dehydrate in dehydrator or low oven for approximately 10 hours, or until the cookie holds its shape when removed from the sheet.

Makes approximately 12 small cookies.

Healthy Snacking: Fruity-Nutty Nibbles

A little sweet, a little nutty, a little exotic tasting... These easy, no-bake snacks are great for adding to lunches; or wrap one up and slip it into your child's backpack for an afternoon pick-me-up.  My kids love the taste of them and they are oh so good for you!

Fruity-Nutty Nibbles

1/2 C. Medjool dates. pitted (I find them at Trader Joes)

1/4 C. dried cranberries

2/3 C. walnuts

1/4 C. flaxseed meal (either purchase the meal, or grind whole seeds in a coffee grinder)

dash of salt

2 T. toasted sesame seeds

Method: In a food processor or high-speed blender, process the dates and the cranberries to form a paste. Remove the paste from the processor and add the remaining ingredients. Pulse until the nuts are chopped (do not form a paste). Add the nut mixture to the date mixture and mix (clean hands work best----be forewarned, it is a messy job)! When thoroughly mixed, form the mixture into 1 T. balls and dip one side in the sesame seeds. 

They can be stored at room temperature but keep best in the refrigerator.

**The dates I used were a bit on the dry and hard side, so I soaked them for a couple minutes in hot water to make them easier to blend.

The Last Day.

Has it come to an end so soon? We spent our last day of summer vacation catching frogs. Catching lots and lots of frogs, and only touching a small fraction of the thousands that reside at a lake in the mountains we call "Frog Lake." (Locals, it is not the real Frog Lake, though).

It's a summer ritual to visit this little lake and watch the water dappled with tadpoles. This visit caught them in mid-turn----many of the frogs still had tails and many of the tadpoles were lounging outside of the water. It was a bit improbable.

So thick are the frogs and toads here that one can actually hear them move in unison like a wave through the grass and the tadpoles render the shoreline an inky black.

 

It was chilly today and the frogs were clumped together into little wriggling mountains, probably for warmth.

My kids laughed and screamed and tiptoed and chased and named more frogs than I can count.

Our ride home was a little subdued and we're now spending a quiet evening tonight readying ourselves for our new routines, as school begins tomorrow. I start another new job this week and my children will have their own new responsibilities, too. It's all a bit of nail-biting nervousness. 

But this week is back-to-lunchbox week for me, too, and I will share more lunchbox ideas and musings... Get ready to pack those lunchboxes!

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!   

Bread Machine Tips---Daily Bread.

Though I was an artisan-style bread baker, I love my bread machine. I was hesitant at first to use one but I finally relented when I just didn't have the time to make our daily bread from scratch. I prefer to bake my own bread. Many of the commercially produced breads include dough conditioners and other strange ingredients to maintain their product's consistency. I like that I know what I'm putting into our bread. I feel that bread is one of those comforting gifts in life---true foodie alchemy. And when my bread machine dies, I'll probably continue on without it, but for now, I'm thankful...

Bread machines have a tendency to bake bread too fast resulting in a bread that lacks the yeasty depth of flavor that handmade ones do. They also tend to dry out readily. After experimenting with my machine based on my background in baking, I found a few tips that improve bread machine bread.

1) If you can control the timing of your bread machine's phases in some sort of custom setting, do it (this is why I love my Zojirushi). Bread increases in flavor and performance with time and if you can increase the time it ferments or rises, it will improve the flavor. Here is what I have my bread machine programmed for:  Knead for 20 minutes; First Rise is one hour and 11 minutes; Second rise is 45 minutes; Bake for one hour. I always use this custom setting. Remember, time is bread's bestfriend----time adds flavor among other good things.

2) Bread is a living thing and various conditions can change the way it acts. Things such as humidity, barometric pressure, and the flour you are using can change the way flour absorbs water changing the way the bread reacts even when you are using the same recipe repeatedly. For this reason, I check the dough in the bread machine when it is nearing the end of the kneading cycle to be sure the dough is the right consistency. You want your dough to be on the wet side---if you pinch it, you don't want the dough to cling to your fingers but you do want it a bit sticky (stick and release). Creating a dough that is too dry is a common mistake in baking bread. If the dough seems dry, add water to it by the tablespoon-full. If it is too wet, however, add a bit of flour.

Also, check to see where your dough is lying in the bread pan---you don't want it on one side or another (the Zo is really great about setting the dough up to rise in the correct position in the pan).

This is my daily bread recipe. It's based on a recipe from The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook (highly recommended---in fact, all of the cookbooks by Beth Hensperger are wonderful). This is a basic formula that I then add varying ingredients to depending on the grains I have on hand. My kids love it, too.

Crunchy Daily Bread

(Makes a 2 lb loaf)

1 1/2 C. water

1/4 C. honey

1/4 C. molasses

3 T. canola oil or butter at room temp.

3 C. bread flour

1 C. whole wheat flour

1/4 C. wheat germ

1/4 C. flax powder (we use the organic white flax powder from Costco---love it!)

2 T. vital wheat gluten

2 tsp. salt

2 1/2 tsp. SAF yeast (or 1 T. bread machine yeast)

Crunchy Add ins:

3 T. millet

3 T. sunflower seed

3 T. amaranth

Layer the ingredients into your bread machine pan according to the manufacturer's directions (my machine requires first the liquids and then the dry ingredients). Set the machine for your custom setting, or for a Basic Whole Wheat. Check in on your machine as it nears the end of its kneading cycle and add liquid or flour depending on the dough's consistency. Let the machine do its thing and remove your bread after it is finished baking. Cool just a bit and enjoy your nutritious bread!!

 

Like Christmas all over again.

When I opened up the mailbox yesterday, I found a big package of fun crammed in it. A wonderful Mom residing in Japan offered to pick up a few Bento supplies for me a while back.

I love, love, love swapping and barter so I offered to make her daughter a linen smock. I had meant to wait to share all of these wonderful goodies until her package was on its way around the globe but I just couldn't wait!

The kids used two of these little Bento boxes for their lunches today. We marveled at their smaller size than our regular Laptop Lunchboxes. It really does put our portion sizes in persective. I uploaded these photos to my Flickr photostream with notes to describe what some of the items are/do...