Sssssshhhh Rosemary Bread

The yeast bubbled like champagne and the rosemary from containers on the deck are just right.  Now on to rise!

Cheese ravioli & Cherry tomatoes

When you just want a fast, tasty meal this one hits the mark.

I usually always have ready to go ravioli in the freezer or fridge purposely for those nights I don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. You can make your own and freeze them or pickup packaged from the market.

Tonight I used four cheese jumbo ravioli: Ricotta, Asiago, Parmesan and Romano we picked up from Trader Joes.

Boil the ravioli in salted water as usual.

While that is happening add about 2 Tbl. of olive oil to a large skillet.  When warm add chopped shallots until soft.

Then add a 1/2 pint of halfed cherry tomatoes and about a cup of dry white wine. Let everything simmer until the wine has reduced and the cherry tomatoes are soft. Add the strained ravioli,  salt and pepper to taste and herbs.

Top with Parmesan. Done!

Homemade granola bars

Rob and I LOVE granola bars and I wanted to make them using what I had in the pantry.

I took two recipes and combined them to make these awesome bars.

Here is what you need for the main part of the bar:

• 2 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 3/4 cups flax seed
• 1/4 cup sesame seed
• 1 cup chopped almonds or sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds.  I used sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cups shredded coconut
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup pure honey
• 4 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (or palm sugar)
• 1 cup dried fruit

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.Combine the rolled oats, flax
seeds, sesame seed, coconut and almonds. Spread them evenly on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper or silicone sheet.

Toast for about 15-30 minutes until golden. Be sure to stir occasionally so it doesn't burn.




















In a small pan warm (or melt) the coconut oil then pour into bowl with the vanilla, honey, coconut oil and brown (or palm) sugar.

In a bowl, combine sea salt, cinnamon, and dried cranberries.

When the oat mixture is finished toasting, add everything together and mix by hand.

Line a 9" x 13" baking pan with waxed paper. Spread the mixture in the baking pan and press to create a smooth surface.

Now you need to make part 2 of the bars!

You will need:

• 1 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/3 cup coconut oil 
• 2/3 cup + 2 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch of salt

Heat coconut oil in a small saucepan over low heat. Once it melts add the remaining ingredients.  Pour this over the granola.  Refrigerate for 2 hours.

When you take it out of the refrigerator it will look like this:

Now flip it over and see that all the chocolate layer is on the bottom!

 

Cut into 2 or 3 inch squares.  Wrap them individually in wax paper and store in the fridge.

They are yummy!! One bar is so filling and full of energy!

Sweet potato chips

Earlier I posted an easy way to make your own baked potato wedges for a fraction of the cost of frozen, processed fries.

Here's a simple way to make sweet potato chips for pennies.

I used 3 small sweet potatoes, peeled then sliced with a mandolin. I use the thing all the time. Makes lovely ribbon zucchini.  If you don't have one knife slices work just fine.

Toss the slices in a splash of olive oil and add a few pinches of kosher salt.

Preheat oven to 200° f.

Layer the chips in a single layer (doesn't have to be prefect).

Cook for 1.5 - 2 hours tossing every 1/2 hour.

They turned out crunchy, lightly browned, curly and yummy.

First Finger Food Ideas

We keep this list shared in Google Docs as well as printed out on the fridge.

Great starter list for first finger foods

First Finger Foods // Print List // Download List

• Whole Wheat toast with Almond Butter
• Green Beans
• Mashed cauliflower
• Sweet Potatoes, cubed and baked with butter for camalization
• Canned Peaches (organic)
• Blueberries (TJs frozen petite)
• Edamame
• Steamed carrots
• Avocado, sliced
• Peas (TJs frozen petite)
• Flat Noodles
• Seedless Grapes cut in half
• Capers
• Sweet pickles
• Black Olives
• Crumbly cheese (feta or goat)
• Yogurt drops
• Shredded cheese
• Mozzarella string cheese
• Berries
• Whoel wheat bagels
• Natural cheese bites (Swiss, Cheddar, Edam, Havarti)
• Ripe banana smashed with almond butter
• Very ripe pears
• Apricots (unsulphured)
• Cantaloupe
• Honeydew melon
• Mango
• Broccoli florrets
• Flaked or poached fish
• Soft Turkey Meatballs (cooked in soup or sauce)
• Whole wheat pasta (the more curly the better)
• Hard cooked yolk
• Whole wheat Pancakes
• Soft cooked French Toast (yolks only)
• Tofu (for smoothies too)
• Lentils (ready to go from TJs are a big hit here)
• Yogurt (he has it daily)
• Frozen vegetable mix

Easy! Butternut Squash and Apples

So simple.   Just add cut up butternut squash to a pan with butter to caramelize then add chopped apples!  I spice it up with cinnamon and nutmeg.   The house smells incredible right now.

To make this side even faster, I used frozen cut squash that thawed and sliced apples from Trader Joes.

Whole Wheat Torilla + Cheese + Tempeh

I was inspired to start making roll-ups that is a favorite of Stephanie Maples.  I used a small skillet and dropping in a tiny bit of butter, threw in the whole wheat tortilla and laid in some cheese.  Next time it will be vegan but we had some lovely Tillamook cheddar. 

I rolled up the tortilla on both ends and flipped it.  Then on the side of the pan I crumbled some plain tempeh and added cinnamon and Tamari to it.  Stirred that together for a few minutes then when the cheese was oozing out the ends of the tortilla I topped it with the tempeh.  Holy cow it was delicious and devoured.  Hence. no photo :)  Very cheesy and nutty layered flavors.  

Give it a try!

Jars a plenty

I am a jar saver.  I admit it.  They are one of those favorite things and I will recycle them if they begin to .... stack up.   I reuse them in lots of ways.

A little tip: To remove labels soak the jar in a container with a scoop of washing soda and hot water.  Fill the jar with plain water to weight it.   The label should peel off easily after an hour.

I am very lucky to have a walk-in pantry but there are lots of small items I add to King's food and the jars make it very easy to get my hands on it.  I keep these on a shelf near where I prepare food.  Here are some of those items that I recommend for using with your toddler's menu:

• Raisins
• Dried fruit (unsulphured apricots are our staple)
• Nuts (whole and ground)
• "O" cereal
• Wheat Germ
• Brewer's Yeast (aka Nutritional Yeast)
• Blackstrap Molasses
• Mini whole wheat crackers
• Kelp granules

Baby Food Purees

For Lisa.

I have been meaning to do this for awhile and when Lisa messaged about puree combos I decided to sit down tonight and transfer my notes to the blog.

Here are the stables to pureeing:


A great blender!  I have a Breville and can't say enough great things about it.  Worth every cent.


Ground ginger, Cinnamon and Nutmeg.


A nice 5-quart pot a large steamer.

I had the Baby Bullet but really used the small containers that came with it.  So shop for small containers designed especially for freezing and storing purees.  You will end up with a lot of these:



We started with rice cereal but only for a short while.  We then moved onto veggies and fruits.  Apples and pears were always in rotation.  He loved them with cinnamon.  You will figure out the amount of spice to add but start with a pinch and move up as you go along.  Spice is great to add to purees.

You will add the water from the steam pot to thin the puree in the blender.  However, never use the water from carrots due to the nitrates.

Here is my list:

Apples and Pears
Peeled, cored, chopped
Steamed and then pureed.
Cinnamon.
Note that apples take longer to steam so add the pears after the apples have been on for awhile.

Butternut SquashPeeled, chopped and steamed.
Ginger and a tiny bit of butter.

Sweet Potatoes and Apples
Peeled, chopped, steamed.
Nutmeg.

Frozen Peas
Steamed and Pureed.

Fennel and Carrots

Broccoli and Sweet Potatoes

Peach and Ginger

Sweet Potato and Apricots
Only use apricots that are unsulphured.

Yogurt with frozen blueberries with wheat germ
He still eats this every morning.

Edamame and Peas (Both from frozen)
Probably one of his all-time favorites.

Cauliflower and Apples

Mashed Bananas

Mashed Avocados

Carrots, carrots and more carrots
They are also great with sweet potatoes.

My notes aren't the best but I hope this helps.  I will add more as I remember them.

xoxo 

Links:

http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/index.htm#.UP9ghje5534
http://www.thehowtomommy.com/how-to-cook/how-to-make-baby-food-continued/