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Kid Snacks: Pears and Soft Cheese

Kid’s snacks these days are kind of sad. All manner of little puffed or gummy fruit things, sealed up in a plastic pouch – they seem harmless, but if you look closely at the ingredients, there are a lot of mystery items in there.

While I think all of us should be avoiding lengthy and unpronounceable ingredients, I’m more sensitive when it comes to my young son. He’s so small, and he’s putting much of his caloric intake towards Herculean feats – like growing his brain, or cracking the bowl of my salad spinner.

While some days we take the easy way out and eat plain Cheerios or string cheese for a snack, other days I try to keep things more interesting and diverse. From time to time I’ll try to feature these afternoon snack delights (that is, if I can get a photo before his sticky fingers nab the goods.)

I have worked hard to introduce my son to a wide variety of foods and tastes, and I’m sure I have a bit of luck that he’s inherited my adventuresome palate. He will taste anything; from a raw onion on my cutting board, to a dried up cattail stem out by the pond. While this does cause a few issues from time to time (especially when we are not in the kitchen), I’m proud and amazed at his willingness to try and enjoy new things. If your kids are older and choosier, just keep trying. Let them see you enjoying new things, and don’t quit after a single rebuff. Make it fun and low-pressure, and eventually they may surprise you.

A really long intro to a really, really simple snack! A sliced ripe pear, accompanied with a sweetened soft cheese for dipping. I was lucky enough to have some delightful Honey Lavender ‘Driftless’ fresh sheep’s milk cheese from Hidden Springs Creamery. If you are not as lucky as I am, you could use ricotta with a bit of honey mixed in.

Enjoy! It powered us through another hour of afternoon gardening.

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Posted 22 March 2010 | kid snacks   kid stuff   snacks   vegetarian | Comments (4) Tagged: , , ,

Peanut Butter Popcorn

I have another 6-8 weeks until my due date, and then my excuse for being gigantic and eating like a college football player fly out the window (oh, if only it were that easy.)

I hope to make the most of these last weeks by squeezing in a few indulgent treats. I adore caramel popcorn, and will feature a few of my favorite recipes in the future. But last week I came across another popcorn treat from The Kitchn, via Food Blogga. Peanut butter popcorn! I loved the idea for several reasons: 1) It is slightly less toothachingly sweet than traditional caramel popcorn, 2) it uses honey instead of corn syrup, and 3) it’s not baked, so its soft and more candy-like.

It’s a snap to make (believe me, I wish it were harder so I wouldn’t be tempted to make it regularly), and is a great treat for kids. Just make sure you pick out all of the unpopped kernels prior to mixing it, so no one loses a tooth!

Peanut Butter Popcorn (from The Kitchn)

1/4 cup unpopped popcorn, yielding about 8-10 cups popped popcorn
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
sea salt

1) Pop your popcorn by whatever means necessary. I have a whirly pop, but you could pop it in a skillet if you know how, or use a natural flavor microwave popcorn. Sort to remove all unpopped kernels.

2) Heat the honey and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, and simmer for a few minutes.

3) Remove from heat, stir in peanut butter and vanilla until very smooth.

4) Pour over popcorn, and stir until well-coated. Sprinkle with salt.

Variation: if you like nuts, a cup or two of your favorite could be mixed in with the peanut butter coating.

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Posted 20 March 2010 | dessert   kid stuff   vegetarian | Comments (2) Tagged: , , ,

Easy ‘Spanish’ Rice

I’m sure this exact dish is probably not consumed anywhere in Spain – at least I haven’t seen it featured on Spain-On the Road Again with Gwyneth, Mark, Mario, and Claudia. But it is flavorful, fast, good for you, and cheap.

Beans and rice are a popular staple around the world, a primary reason being that when eaten together, they provide a complete protein. We typically eat this as our main course, sometimes with a quesadilla on the side.

Easy Spanish Rice

some olive oil
1 chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
salt to taste
as much cumin as you care for
a couple dashes oregano
a pinch of cayenne pepper, if you want to heat it up
2 cups cooked brown rice (cook in broth for extra flavor)
2 cups beans of your choice (either canned – drained and rinsed, or dried – soaked and cooked.)
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes and green chili, with juice
1 cup broth
1 diced red or yellow pepper
chopped cilantro
queso fresco

1) Cook rice and prepare your beans.

2) Saute onion in olive oil until soft, add garlic, salt, cumin, oregano, and cayenne pepper. Saute a few more minutes.

3) Add rice, beans, tomatoes and chilies, and broth. Bring to a boil, and simmer for about 15 minutes to reduce the liquid and intensify the flavor.

4) Remove from heat, add diced red pepper. I like to add it at the end for the sweet crunch. If  you prefer it soft, add it in the beginning with the onions.

5) Garnish with chopped cilantro and queso fresco. If you don’t have these on hand, it’s still good without.

Quesadilla tip: I used to just prepare my quesadillas in a dry skillet. Toss in the tortilla, top with cheese and whatnot, add the second tortilla and flip when crispy and starting to get brown spots. But then I watched a life-changing episode of America’s Test Kitchen (I love that show.) Their quesadilla tip was to lightly brush the to-be-cooked side of the tortilla with oil, and sprinkle with a bit of coarse salt. It’s delicious, despite being ever so slightly more difficult and less healthy.

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Posted 17 March 2010 | grains   simple dinners   vegetarian | Comments (2) Tagged: ,

Another Green Smoothie

I’ve had a few requests for more recipes for green smoothies. As I mentioned  in a previous post, smoothies are very forgiving, and typically if you throw in tasty things, your results will be fantastic. But I realized the addition of salad fixins’ can be intimidating, so if I make something that seems especially delicious, I will try to record my ingredients (approximately.)

Here is a yummy purple ‘green’ smoothie to start your day right:

Purple Green Smoothie

generous handful of spinach
2 T ground flax seeds
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup frozen pineapple
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 T honey
1 cup water
apple juice to cover solids in blender

Whir ingredients in blender until very smooth, serve to yourself and your loved ones. And if you’re in the Madison, WI area, Snug Haven Farm provides spinach year round, and its delicious.

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Posted 14 March 2010 | beverage   breakfast   vegetarian | Comments Off on Another Green Smoothie Tagged: , ,

Root Beer Float Cookies

Root beer floats are such a nostalgic dessert – you can’t help but feel young when spooning vanilla ice cream and icy cold root beer from a tall glass. And they must be made properly: you put the ice cream in first, then pour the root beer, and then let it sit for a few minutes until the ice cream develops a lovely root beer ‘crust’.

Trying to capture this essence in a cookie was challenging, because I’ve never found a root beer extract that I enjoy. Most taste like melted down root beer barrel candies, and I do not care for root beer barrel candies.

That said, the nature of root beer is difficult to describe, and each soda recipe is unique. Notes of vanilla, honey, sassafras, and wintergreen can play a role, but more often the appeal is a mystery. Use your favorite for this recipe.

I have several gourmet root beers that I enjoy (Thomas Kemper, Sprecher’s, and the Great Dane’s – a local brewery), so I decided to revert one of my favorites back to syrup-form in order to create my own extract. I chose Sprecher’s, and boiled it down by about 3/4. It didn’t become very thick, but it did have a syrupy quality. And I should tell you, the aroma was heavenly. If I didn’t believe in aromatherapy before making this cookie, I do now. I was in a spectacular mood all day.

Enjoy with a drizzle of icing (recipe below), or even better, sandwich two cookies around some vanilla ice cream, wrap and freeze for an incredible ice cream sandwich.

Root Beer Float Cookies

12 T unsalted butter
16 oz root beer
1 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
13 oz all purpose flour (just short of 3 cups)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder

1) In a saucepan, pour in 16 oz of your favorite root beer. (I used Sprecher’s). Bring to a boil on medium-high, and reduce to about 1/2 cup. This can take 15-20 minutes.

2) Melt 10 T butter in medium saucepan – cook 3-5 minutes on medium until golden brown. Keep swirling so it doesn’t burn. Remove from heat, stir in additional 2 T butter.

3) Stir in brown sugar, salt, and  4 T of your root beer concentrate. Let cool, then beat in 2 eggs.

4) In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and baking powder.

5) Add sugar mixture to flour mixture, and mix until just combined.

6) The dough should be soft, but not runny (if it is, add a bit more flour). Chill for at least 30 minutes.

7) When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll dough into balls (the size of smallish golfballs), and place on sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cookies are much better under than over-baked.

Root Beer Icing

1 cup sifted powdered sugar
3 T root beer concentrate (if you don’t have enough, splash in a little unconcentrated root beer)

Beat until smooth, apply to cookie

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Posted 11 March 2010 | baked goods   comfort food   cookies   kid stuff   vegetarian | Comments (5) Tagged: , ,