fawn&forest

Project Sugar Cookies. All kids love making sugar cookies. Cookie cutters, rolling out dough... squirting frosting.. sprinkles.Eating...

My 2 boys had a great time making the first batch of sugar cookies of the season recently.  Even 18 month old Owen totally got into cookie cutter. Your family is likely to have the sugar cookie recipe you turn to, my favorite is Nigella Lawson's.

It's always fun to add to the cookie cutter collection,  this year I am really loving this Northwoods set. And this year forget all about messy icing! These squeeze bottle are absolutely amazing and a lot easier for little hands to use.

Today's pick fits right in. Tea Towels by Tikoli. For Mom, because it's always nice to have towels that are lovely.

Nothing quite like making a mess in the kitchen with your little ones as you bake cookies together. Children are excellent cookie makers (and eaters!).... which makes for an excellent weekend project. 

Recipes? I'm a big fan of Heidi Swanson's cookie recipes, view here. We always seem to make a big batch of Grammy's Chocolate cookies and be sure to take a look at Smitten Kitchen's collection of cookie recipes.  Yum!

The boys & I made the chocolate cookies (pictured above) from the book Babycakes -- wheat & gluten free (if you're interested.) They were amaaaaaaazing.

Today's pick will help keep the little bakers clean, a Dwellstudio coated apron which is available in a variety of different patterns.

Have a wonderfully cozy weekend!

Fresh for spring, a simple recipe to make with the kids from Jennifer Carden (author of The Toddler Cafe). Thanks Jen!

Have a leftover can of pumpkin lurking in your pantry from Thanksgiving?? "What do I do with it you ask?" Get the kids and make Pumpkin Pockets! 

The sun is getting warmer and the days are getting longer and that means the kids will be playing outside more. They will want to play until the mosquitoes are buzzing and the sun is going down. I say keep them in as long as you can, cooking at your side, not because I don't like playing outside but because cooking with them is so fun! I love having my daughter in the kitchen, sometimes it can slow me down but mostly it is wonderful. Here is a very easy recipe, if they like ravioli they will love making these. Make sure to let them fill and seal the pasta, they will be more likely to eat it in the end.

 

Pumpkin Pockets

Here is a very easy way to make homemade ravioli. Gyoza wrappers can be baked, fried, or boiled like pasta. In this case the wrappers cook up just like pasta, with a creamy inside. Serve with browned cinnamon butter, or just plain as a great finger food. Freeze extra Pockets for those nights when the kids are hungry and you’re too tired to cook. Just boil, drain, and serve.

Makes 60 ravioli

8 ounces cream cheese
One 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon kosher salt plus 1 tablespoon for pasta water
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 package (60) round gyoza wrappers (see Note)
2 tablespoons butter, for garnish
Grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish

Place the cream cheese in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat on high for 30 seconds to soften. Add the pumpkin and stir to combine. Add 1 teaspoon of the salt, the nutmeg, and cinnamon, and mix with a stick blender or by hand until the filling is smooth.

Place a 1/2 teaspoon-sized ball of filling in the center of each wrapper. Wet the edges with water and fold the ravioli over to form half moons. Pinch to close, pressing down lightly around the mounds of filling to prevent air bubbles.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil add 1 tablespoon of the salt. Gently add the ravioli, and cook for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they float. (Depending on the size of the pot, you may have to cook them in batches.) Drain the pasta and toss them with butter and Parmesan.

Recipe Notes:
- If you are cooking frozen Pumpkin Pockets, extend the cooking time to 6 minutes.
- If you have whole nutmeg, use your micro grater or box grater to grate it into the filling.
- Wonton wrappers are square and gyoza are round and slightly thicker, but they are essentially made of the same ingredients. You can use either for this recipe; the flavor and cooking time will be longer for gyoza.

 

You can also view the recipe on Jen's blog, The Toddler Cafe. 

You can only make + eat so much banana bread with all those over-ripe bananas sitting on the counter. When I found this recipe on 101cookbooks.com (called Nikki's Healthy Cookies) i was thrilled. Finally another use for all those bananas.  Eliot + I made them, which was fun and they're quite tasty.....and healthy. Bonus!

Here's the recipe:

3 large, ripe bananas, well mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut oil, barely warm - so it isn't solid (or alternately, olive oil)
2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup almond meal
1/3 cup coconut, finely shredded & unsweetened
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 - 7 ounces chocolate chips or dark chocolate bar chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, racks in the top third.

In a large bowl combine the bananas, vanilla extract, and coconut oil. Set aside. In another bowl whisk together the oats, almond meal, shredded coconut, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks/chips.The dough is a bit looser than a standard cookie dough, don't worry about it. Drop dollops of the dough, each about 2 teaspoons in size, an inch apart, onto a parchment (or Silpat) lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes. I baked these as long as possible without burning the bottoms and they were perfect - just shy of 15 minutes seems to be about right in my oven.

Makes about 3 dozen bite-sized cookies.

Recipe from: 101cookbooks.com
Images are mine. 

Valentines Day + chocolate = chocolate cookies.. a fun project to do with the kids! These  Milk Chocolate Cookies are from the February '09 issue of Food&Wine (and it's also on their website). While the recipe is for frosting filled cookies, we skipped frosting because they are so amazing on their own. Besides being chocolate-y, these cookies are also crispy and a bit carmel-ish. We have made them 3 times in the past week or so!

Another freaky recipe makeover idea by Jennifer Carden (author of The Toddler Cafe): 

Welcome to Freaky Friday. I happen to be the lucky owner of a set of recipe cards from 1973, a lot of recipe cards, and most of them are a bit freaky! I thought I'd share some of my thoughts and possible ways to update these recipes. Some cards are just too far gone and can't be fixed but hopefully, at least I can get you laughing. Now don't be afraid because some of these recipe cards have a good foundation for creative recipe ideas. We have come a long way baby...

You can't really go wrong with a cupcake but these seem to have gone really wrong. It is not Halloween yet but these sure are spooky! Maybe it is the dried leaves the are sitting in or the creepy faces, or the dangerous fire sticks positioned to burn off all your arm hair as you grab for one. These are perfect for your next front yard séance, don't forget the fire extinguisher.

1973: Old School Cupcakes
unsweetened chocolate
flour
baking powder
salt
margarine
sugar
eggs
milk
vanilla
walnuts
1 pkg fluffy white frosting mix
licorice laces, candy corn, lifesavers, chocolate chips + chocolate sprinkles

 

2008: Updated Cupcakes

Cupcakes
1 package organic cupcake mix, chocolate
assorted candies and some free time

Homemade Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
4 ounces cream cheese
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon orange peel (optional)

Combine cream cheese and butter; beat until smooth. Gradually beat in sugar and grated orange peel.

Thanks Jen! 

Nikki McClure has a new journal out called 'Things to Make and Do', a follow up to her beautiful baby journal 'The First 1,000 Days', and it is amazing + inspiring. It reminded me of my friend, Psalms. So I gave her a copy recently, curious to see what she would come up with. I received this email from her Saturday morning:

summer...
i made these cottage cheese pancakes for breakfast this morning. So tasty! Super super good for you! Super protein packed! Thought you might enjoy making them for Els some morning. i used Nancy's low-fat organic cottage cheese + Bob's Red Mill oatmeal with flax seed. i didn't use the honey or the banana, but Shem thought they could have used it... so maybe throw one of those in.

What got me thinking about them is that book you gave me... 'things to make and do' ... i decided to use it as a journal of things i want to make sure i remember to do and make for my kids. My mom used to make cottage cheese pancakes and i had forgotten about them.

So there you go.

i love you!
psalms 

 

Cottage Cheese Pancake recipe:
2-3 beaten eggs
1 cup cottage cheese
Honey or a couple of teaspoons of sugar, to taste (a banana will make it naturally sweeter)
1 cup uncooked oatmeal

Optional, highly recommended ingredients:
banana
a sprinkle of cinnamon
a splash of vanilla

Grab your handy blender and dump the ingredients in, in the order they appear (otherwise the mixture will get all chunky). So, eggs in first, then start the blender. As it's blending, pour in the cottage cheese, then the banana if you're using it, then whatever sweeteners and spices you like, then the oatmeal. Once this is nicely blended, cook as you would pancakes, in a nonstick pan over medium-low heat. I love these plain or with fruit, but you can put syrup on them too, just like regular pancakes. Via here.

Cottage cheese is on my grocery list this week for sure! Yum!
Thank you Psalms. And thanks for the image too....! 

Another freaky recipe makeover idea by Jennifer Carden (author of The Toddler Cafe):

Welcome to Freaky Friday. I happen to be the lucky owner of a set of recipe cards from 1973, a lot of recipe cards, and most of them are a bit freaky! I thought I'd share some of my thoughts and possible ways to update these recipes. Some cards are just too far gone and can't be fixed but hopefully, at least I can get you laughing. Now don't be afraid because some of these recipe cards have a good foundation for creative recipe ideas. We have come a long way baby.......I wouldn't want to eat one of those pool balls thinking it was a cherry tomato!!

1973: Old School: Hot Tuna and Egg Buns.
Tuna
stuffed green olives
cheddar cheese cubes
hard cooked eggs, (the overcooked kind with the green ring)
mayonnaise or cooked salad dressing
sweet pickle relish
chopped onion
salt
frankfurter rolls

2008: Update Suggestions: Easy Tuna Melt.
Tuna
olive oil or mayonnaise (just a bit)
good quality cheese, Swiss or Provolone
grated Parmesan on top
leftover hot dog or hamburger bun
Black olives on the side

Broil cheeses over tuna serve.

Remember buy dolphin safe tuna and don't eat it too often.
More on safe fish to eat go here too.

Thanks Jen!

Another great recipe idea by Jennifer Carden (author of The Toddler Cafe). 

Welcome to Freaky Friday! I am the lucky owner of a set of recipe cards from 1973, a lot of recipe cards, and most of them are a bit freaky!  I thought I'd share some of my thoughts and possible ways to update these recipes. Some cards  are just too far gone and can't be fixed but hopefully, at least I can get you laughing.  Now don't be afraid because some of these recipe cards have a good foundation for creative recipe ideas.  We have come a long way baby...

As you can see this card is marked as "children's favorites," hmmm maybe not. It may have been a good snack after recorder practice in 1972 but let's talk about how we can make it better.


1973 version:

Dressing: heavy cream, mayonnaise, honey.
Ingredients: banana, apple, walnuts, canned pineapple, lettuce cups and buttered toast.

2008 Update suggestions:

Dressing: Honey, plain yogurt, lemon juice.
Ingredients: banana, apple, grapes and wheat germ or flax for sprinkling.
Serve in silicone cupcake cups or foil cupcake papers.

 

Be sure to visit Jen's blog and check out her book! Thanks Jen! 

Eliot and I made pita bread yesterday. Not so sure it was the brightest idea to use the oven on a 100 degree day? It was great fun to get sticky in bread dough and work on our counting skills (3 cups of flour, 8 balls of dough...) despite the heat. Eliot was crazy thrilled to man the Kitchen Aid as it kneeded the dough for 10 minutes. Ten of the most exciting minutes. 

We followed the pita bread recipe from The Fresh Loaf. Simple recipe. The best part? The recipe actaully worked. The Pitas puffed up "just like pillows!! wow!" in the oven and tasted yums as well. The only part of the recipe I changed was that I used white whole wheat flour instead of the regular stuff. 

3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 Tablespoon sugar or honey
1 packet yeast (or, if from bulk, 2 teaspoons yeast)
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups water, roughly at room temperature
2 tablespoons olive oil, vegetable oil, butter, or shortening

If you are using active dry yeast, follow the instructions on the packet to active it (see the note on yeast above). Otherwise, mix the yeast in with the flour, salt, and sugar. Add the olive oil and 1 1/4 cup water and stir together with a wooden spoon. All of the ingredients should form a ball. If some of the flour will not stick to the ball, add more water (I had to add an extra 1/4 cup).

Once all of the ingredients form a ball, place the ball on a work surface, such as a cutting board, and knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes (or until your hands get tired). If you are using an electric mixer, mix it at low speed for 10 minutes.

When you are done kneading the dough, place it in a bowl that has been lightly coated with oil. I use canola spray oil, but you can also just pour a teaspoon of oil into the bowl and rub it around with your fingers. Form a ball out of the dough and place it into the bowl, rolling the ball of dough around in the bowl so that it has a light coat of oil on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and set aside to rise until it has doubled in size, approximately 90 minutes.

When it has doubled in size, punch the dough down to release some of the trapped gases and divide it into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, cover the balls with a damp kitchen towel, and let them rest for 20 minutes. This step allows the dough to relax so that it'll be easier to shape.

While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. If you have a baking stone, put it in the oven to preheat as well. If you do not have a baking stone, turn a cookie sheet upside down and place it on the middle rack of the oven while you are preheating the oven. This will be the surface on which you bake your pitas.

After the dough has relaxed for 20 minutes, spread a light coating of flour on a work surface and place one of the balls of dough there. Sprinkle a little bit of flour on top of the dough and use a rolling pin or your hands to stretch and flatten the dough. You should be able to roll it out to between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. If the dough does not stretch sufficiently you can cover it with the damp towel and let it rest 5 to 10 minutes before trying again.

Open the oven and place as many pitas as you can fit on the hot baking surface. They should be baked through and puffy after 3 minutes. If you want your pitas to be crispy and brown you can bake them for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, but it isn't necessary (in the batch pictured here I removed them at 3 minutes).

 

Simple recipe from the Fresh Loaf. Very kid friendly. Long instructions. However, go to the Fresh Loaf for play by play photos. 

Watermelon Granita: another amazing recipe from Jennifer Carden (author of The Toddler Cafe). The perfect Friday night treat! Thanks Jen!

You were in the store and the watermelon looked tasty and it was on sale. You wrestled it in to the car taking care not to let it roll around the trunk. You cut it into triangles and the juice ran down the kids faces, it was delicious but now you have half an aging melon taking up most of your refrigerator.

What to do now? I know tossing it seems like a waste so why don't you make it into a sweet, refreshing snow coneish dessert. You don't need a fancy ice cream maker, just a fork and container and a bit of time.

Make this to taste, depending on the sweetness of your watermelon, it does not have to be overly sweet, really it should just taste like fresh fruit.

I really like to use simple syrup, sugar and water melted together but you can make this with regular sugar, substitute in 1/2 cup granulated for the simple sugar. If you have an oversized fork, use it to rake the mixture. But don't leave the fork in the freezer and then lick it when it is frozen, my mistake...ouch.

Watermelon Granita
4 cups seedless watermelon chunks
1 C. simple syrup (recipe below)
Juice of 1 lemon

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Puree until smooth. Pour into a 9 x 13 inch plastic or glass container and freeze for 1 hour. Rake mixture with fork and freeze for another hour. Check it a few times to make sure it is not turning in to a solid block. Rake and freeze for one more hour. Rake and serve in cups. It should stay granular indefinitely.

 

Simple Syrup
1 C. sugar
1 C. water

Bring the water to a boil.
Dissolve the sugar into the boiling water.
Once the sugar is dissolved completely, remove the pan from the heat.
Allow to cool completely.
 

Recipe, text + images from Jennifer Carden. Be sure to check out Jen's book + blog!  

I am thrilled to announce the very talented Jennifer Carden (author of The Toddler Cafe) will be contributing recipes to the Notes! Excitement! Her first contribution brings us a recipe for Homemade Corn Tortillas. Enjoy + thanks Jen!

I know you are thinking,  homemade tortillas for breakfast why bother? Well my job is to get kids interested in food and this is faster and more fun than you may think! Make the tortillas, fry some eggs add cheese and black beans and you have a meal.

You do need a tortilla press but, a few sheets of parchment and a rolling pin or two baking dishes will double as a press just fine. If you have a Mexican market near you you will likely find an inexpensive press there. You can pick up a bag of Maseca too. You can find this in the ethnic isle of your grocery store too. I use Maseca, code name, masa harina..... just add water, it is that easy.  Now get the kids working it is just like playdough.
 

Follow the recipe on the bag, I add a bit of salt and a squeeze of lime juice :

Combine masa harina with water.

Mix with hands until dough is moist but holds its shape. Add more water if needed.

Let dough rest for 15 minutes. Divide dough into 12 balls. Dampen your hands slightly with water.

Using a tortilla press or two flat baking dishes, press dough between two pieces of waxed paper to a 6 inch round. Carefully peel off the top sheet of paper.

Place tortilla, paper side up, on a hot ungreased griddle or skillet. Gently peel off remaining paper.

Cook for 30 seconds or until edges begin to dry. Turn and cook until surface appears puffy. Repeat with remaining dough balls.

Keep warm in tin foil in a low oven.

 

We were blessed with a 'dinner train' after the birth of Owen. 8 spectacular dinners in total. If you know someone who just had a baby, skip the flowers and take them dinner (and dessert). Now that the dinner train is over, I am left with a pile of casserole dishes + otherwise. I have this idea of giving the dishes back to their rightful recipients with a thank you note and homemade cookies. We'll see how ambitious I get, but doesn't that sound nice?

So when cruising around the food blogs last night, I found these peanut butter cookies at my favorite food blog, 101cookbooks.com. They are a twist on a classic peanut butter cookie with only 7 ingredients. And they look delicious!

And perhaps it's old news, but TasteSpotting is an excellent spot for find new food blogs.  Have you been?
Images above from 101cookbooks.com. 

I am a major Jennifer Carden fan (author of The Toddler Cafe, Chronical Books 2008). In addition to reading her blog, I also have been enjoying reading her blog posts on the Chronicle Books blog as well.

She posted (on both Chronicle and her own blog) about making sushi with her daughter, at her daughters request + with her kid-fun help. 

"After a short and very fun rice-covered experience (don’t forget to dip your fingers in water before working with the rice or you’ll start to look like a Yeti) our dinner was ready. It took about 35 minutes and the sushi was beautiful. We all chowed down and Claire really liked the veggies with her rice. I have never seen her eat with so much excitement. She forgot to be worried about the purple cabbage because she was so proud of what she had created with her own hands. I was proud of her. "

I have never made sushi, but Jen's post + beautiful pictures (above left + right) make me want to dive right in. It seems like the ultimate kid-friendly (and healthy!) food.....the perfect size, great color combinations and a lot of fun to make. To read more of Jennifer's blog post, click here or here.  For some kid-friendly sushi inspiration + recipes, click here or here.  

I have been wanting to do this for awhile: homemade graham crackers. Havn't gotten around to it, but this little girl and her Mom did from Five Green Acres blog. Looks like they had a lot of fun + the recipe looks delicious!  I have included the recipe below, but be sure to check out Five Green Acres... a blog about city mice who move to the country!

Graham Crackers

1 c. sifted flour - graham or whole wheat
1 c. white flour (whole wheat pastry flour worked well for me)
1t. baking powder
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. milk + a little more to get the right consistency

 
Mix dry ingredients, work in butter with a pastry blender. Stir in honey and milk, then knead to form firm balls. Add a little bit of milk as necessary to get this consistency. Roll out to about 1/4″ thick. Cut into squares or use cookie cutters.

Bake at 400° for 15 minutes, or until brown.

I think it might be best to store these in a loosely-fitted container to maintain the crispiness of crackers. We didn’t, and our crackers were more like less-sweet cut-out cookies than crackers, so we’ll try that next time. Also, not having milk, we found that using half and half, which we did have on hand, worked well when diluted a bit. Not that I’d recommend the substitution unless you’re in a real pinch…

If you also have ABC cookie cutters, you’re in luck. The B and the X are especially delicious with this recipe.

 

Get your kids in the kitchen + make some homemade Graham Crackers! Images via Five Green Acres.

I can ruin 2 recipes in a flash: chocolate chip cookies and biscuits. Not quite sure what I do wrong? That aside, the classic "Toll House" chocolate chip cookie recipes treats me well most of the time. I want to be more sophisticated than that, but I guess it wasn't meant to be. Eliot and I made some "chocolate chippers" this week. They've already been eaten (and it's only Wednesday?!). Here is the recipe:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks, 1/2 pound) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated [white] sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large mixer bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE in preheated 375-degree [Fahrenheit] oven for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely...

.....or....eat them all up real quick and don't burn your tongue.

I did it. I made the Minty Pea Pops from Jennifer Carden's The Toddler Cafe (Chronicle Books 2008) and they are litterally flying out of the freezer.  Eliot is  a minty pea pop maniac!  He has eaten so many peas he can now literally open the freezer door all by himself. Impressive.

The recipe is so simple + one of those foundational recipes that is totally adaptable to what you have on hand. Corn? Pineapple? Kiwi? With a bit of tweaking you could get your kids to eat their veggies + fruit, even on a dreadful food strike. Food strike aside, what kid doesn't love a popsicle?

With the kind permission of Jennifer Carden, here is her recipe for the Minty Pea Pops:

ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup frozen petite green peas
scant 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/8 to a 1/4 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips
popsicle sticks

directions:
Place the cream cheese, peas and sugar in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 20-second intervals until the cheese is softened to room temperature.

Using a stick or standing blender, puree the ingredients into a smooth paste. Add the extract and mix again, scraping the bowl frequently. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand.

Place the mixture in a large zip-top bag and cut about 1/2 inch off of the bottom corner. Squeeze into a clean ice cube tray or mini-muffin tin, place 1 popsicle stick in each and freeze until solid, about 1 hour. Depending on your freezer, you may have to let them freeze for up to 4 hours. For best results, make and freeze overnight.

Once the pops are frozen, remove them from the molds by twisting just like ice cubes and seal in an airtight container for up to 1 month.  Makes 6 cube-shaped pops.

It's that simple! I used a mini food processor with great results, although be sure to mix in the chocolate chips by hand and not with the blender as they'll disappear in the chop. Though this recipe says it will make 6 popsicles, I got about 14 popsicles out of the batch using a Fresh Baby food tray.

One of the best aspects of this recipe? Peas in a popsicle. The green color is real and not some weird chemical color experiment. Brilliant!

For the scoop on Jennifer Carden, be sure to check out her blog and the spotlight on her at 101 Cookbooks! 

So Eliot and I did end up making an extra chocolatety gooey cakey bit. I am still on the hunt for the perfect chocolate cake recipe, though. No complaints, we never seem to have any problem polishing off chocolate cake!

But then I saw these Lime Tart Cupcakes on the CupcakeBlog, which made me go into chocolate cake remorse! Ugh, the indecision! I'll have to make the cupcakes over the weekend. The Chockylit CupcakeBlog is one of my favorite food blogs, total bummer to hear she is splitting the scene for a bit of a hiatus.   

The recipe is a bit involved, always fun to do a load of dishes after making a batch of cupcakes! But why not? Lime Tart goodness in cupcake form. Yeah. Images above via CupcakeBlog.

Unless you have one of those toddlers that is a human trash compacter, it is quite true that these pint-size critters are rather randomly selective in the food department. I don't have a eat-everything toddler + have even found myself saying "popcorn for lunch? sure!" as at least it's something.

So enough with being uninspired + having my child eat random bits (popcorn) for substance (lunch). Granted, not everyday is wacky, but if there is one thing I've learned about being a mom: a plan + preparation = success. 

Another thing I've picked up on? Tasty flavors. The kid likes spice + flavor + complexity. And food has to be fun + with variety. 

That's where the majority of "toddler food" recipes + ideas fall short (oh dear, not another ants-on-a-log!) as they are dumbed down + oddly renamed versions of "adult food". So I was blessed to recently pick up the Toddler Cafe by Jennifer Carden and was so impressed by her fun ideas for feeding toddlers. Fresh, inventive and healthy recipes that look astonishingly fun to eat. I have yet to try any recipes (still in preparation mode) but the first one that I will try? Minty Pea Pops, a recipe that involves cream cheese, petite peas, mint + mini chocolate chips. Frozen + on a stick. I'll keep you posted. 

I was also inspired by the toddler/preschool "bento boxes" from Wendolonia blog (who provided the pictures above, left + right). Simple + look quite lunchy! Presentation is often the key, or perhaps it just makes us feel better about neurotically cutting cheese into mini-men? Not quite sure, but surely more adventurous for the kids to eat. 

And while I would not normally think to link to this store, the Kids section is actually quite fun + Gastrokid approved, so what the heck.  While I am at it, these watermelon icepops are looking delicious as well as this fresh fruit kiddie cocktail.

Fresh fruit galettes are right up my alley. No fuss. Free form. Dessert. And the kids can help and it'll still look tasty.

I first found this super simple apple galette recipe on this convenient recipe cheat sheet. You could really adapt this recipe to accommodate any fruit, but using apples is a simple start. My apples in the end could have used a little more love (or perhaps could of used a different sort of apple?) though the galette was scarfed in a quick minute. Read more on apple varieties, compliments of our local market. And I would argue organic is best.

You can read how to green-up your life or take an eco-anxiety quiz. But on most days, in addition to not using a million plastic bags or just letting the hose run, I'd rather spend quality time with my son in the kitchen, the old fashion way. Baking + making a mess. Perhaps not certified greenness, but seems more conscience than spacing out in front of the tv or accumulating endless amounts of brain numbing toys. Perhaps. 

I am 7 months pregnant + strangely could eat breakfast at anytime of the day. I recently + randomly checked out Bill Granger's bills open kitchen and could not resist making these buckwheat blueberry pancakes (shown above)..... for dinner, of course. With eggs and sloppy homemade blueberry syrup goodness. Oh ya.

Making dinner for your family makes for a happy + healthy bunch, but is also quite green. Feeding your family fresh, local + organic foods is not only reasonable but keeps all the partially hydrogenated oils and high-fructose corn syrupy-whats out of their veins. Food preservatives + chemically altered foods are just wrong, right?

So here's the blueberry buckwheat recipe, adapted from Bill's recipe. They were delicious + I will have no problem polishing off the leftovers for breakfast.....

Mix together in one bowl:
1 1/4 cup organic buckwheat flour
1/2 cup organic unbleached flour
1 tps. baking powder
2 tps. organic sugar

Mix together in another bowl:
2 cups organic buttermilk
4 organic egg yolks 

Then mix the wet + dry ingredients together well, some lumps are ok.
Then beat those 4 egg whites until they're fluffy and no longer slimy. Gently fold 1/2 the beaten egg whites into the batter, then the other half. Proceed as you would make any pancakes. This recipe made about 12 moderately sized pancakes and don't forget to toss on those blueberries before you give the pancakes a good flip. You'll need about a heaping cup of blueberries for this. I used the tastiest frozen organic blueberries as it's not yet blueberry season. 

For the Blueberry syrupy goodness I threw a heaping cup of blueberry in a skillet with a bit of water + 3 slugs of agave. Simmer it down until it looks how you want it to. Juicy, but slightly thick. 

And for even more healthy "breakfast" goodness, do yourself a favor + visit 101cookbooks.com.

After my son plowed through a whole box of Fig + Raspberry Bars in 1 day (okay, I did eat a few myself....) I thought, Yes, I could make these! When time is busy it makes my day to make a mess in the kitchen with Eliot.  Give the kid a bit of flour, a few measuring spoons + a stack of cupcake liners and he is content for hours. Below is my own sloppy (but tasty) take on this recipe from Martha. This recipe does not make a cakey cookie, but rather more flaky + crisp-ish.

For the filling I did not use figs but rather cleaned out my pantry of severely dried up raisins + the last bit of raspberry jam, for good measure. Though you could really use any combo of dried fruit etc.  I also decided to half the recipe, making adjustments to the recipe accordingly and used white whole wheat flour.

The fun thing about making your own baby food is you can make dozens of fun (and funky) combinations. It can be made just for that meal or be frozen for later use. Once you get the hang of it, recipes offer general guidelines as the possibilites are endless. The following is a simple combination recipe, most suitable for babies who have already had single foods + are ready for texture.

Banana + Pear + Oats:

1 c. cooked organic oatmeal
1 ripe organic banana
1/4 cup pureed organic pear. 

Place oatmeal, banana and pear purée in the work bowl of a food processor. Process mixture for 30 seconds, scrape bowl and process until desired consistency is reached. Breast milk, formula or water can be added for an even smoother texture. Makes about 12 1-ounce servings. Recipe adapted from Cuisinart.

Generally all baby food recipes freeze well. I'd skip the breastmilk or formula as those have the chance of getting a little funky pre-mixed with the food. Best to leave a bit thick + thin it out according to your baby + with each serving. While they freeze ok, mushy bananas also tend to discolor a bit. Adding a fresh banana to a thawed oat+pear cube would also work.

Frozen Organic Baby food is becoming increasingly popular + is available at the grocery store. While convenient + fun, it can be a bit on the pricey side, especially if you have one of those picky-spit it out or refuse it all sorts of babies. I am however, inspired by the food combinations + ideas. HappyBaby and Plum Organics are 2 of my favorites. I am also intrigued by Pomme Bebe.  

For general guidelines on what to feed baby + when, click here.  For general information on baby food preperation (like how to make pureed pears) visit this site.

Hot Chocolate + Strawberry Cupcakes has Valentine's Day written all over it. Eliot + I made these Strawberry Cupcakes yesterday (and have already plowed through half of them!)... a Sprinkles recipe! And will be making the following hot chocolate recipe today, it's super. 

Hot Chocolate : 1/4 cup unsweetened organic cocoa powder, 1 quart organic milk, 1 cup organic semisweet chocolate chips, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract + a pinch of salt. | Put cocoa powder in saucepan. Stir in milk a bit at a time until cocoa liquefies; add remainder. Add chocolate chips; melt over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and pinch of salt. Ladle into mugs; top with whipped cream or frothy milk . Serves 4. Based on a recipe from Martha . Hot chocolate image complimentary of this flickr gal.