Fred Flintstone at 5

Posted on December 20, 2011 by admin

We recently got our lamb and beef “shares” from our CSA/Shared Harvest. The other day I mentioned the lamb burger my middle son initially whined about. Today we had shoulder lamb chops. My husband had made a marinade last night for them— olive oil, rosemary (from a friend’s garden), garlic, salt and pepper. Simple, but oh such a wonderful combination of flavors that complement the lamb so well. He grilled them over whole wood charcoal and served them with couscous and haricot verte (thin green beans).

My middle son had said earlier that evening, after asking what was for dinner, that he didn’t like lamb because it was chewy, but I reminded him of the burgers and he instead helped my husband grill the meat and was very keen to try it. My eldest also helped in the preparation of the dinner, plus he’s usually very good with most foods. But the most surprising thing around dinner tonight was my youngest. Not only was he wanting the lamb, he wanted my lamb.

If you notice the kids usually have colored plates (blue, green) and adults have white, but tonight my son wanted the bigger piece of lamb. (Last night it was the plate with the largest portion of green beans.)One that hadn’t yet been cut. So, I took what was meant to be his plate. He was just so eager to eat the grilled chop that he didn’t want an already cut-up piece, he wanted the Fred Flinstone portion. Which also meant he had more couscous, which my eldest kept trying to steal.

It was so funny and also so nice that they all loved everything on their plates with no whining in earshot!

This isn’t a hamburger!

Posted on December 14, 2011 by admin

Well, it happened again… my middle son ended up in tears when he found out was for dinner. After we’d spent most of the late afternoon scouting out the best tree from the tree farm and cutting it down, we were just up for a quick meal. We were having a hodgepodge of some leftovers—ratatouille and beef bourguignon that a caterer had made for a party I’d organized the night before. My husband also made lamb burgers from the lamb delivery we’d recently gotten from the farm at which I “belong” to the CSA program. The lamb (and also beef) came frozen and it was wrapped in old fashioned butcher’s paper in different cuts— ground, chops, leg etc. I’d defrosted the ground lamb originally to make meatballs, but didn’t get around to it.

So we knew my son wasn’t going to want to eat the ratatouille even though it’s full of vegetables he likes, but because they’re all mixed together. He was told he didn’t have to have any, but that wasn’t the only thing he was whining about— but the burgers. My kids love lamb (and I know plenty of people who don’t like it) and I was rather surprised at his reaction. He said it was because he “only likes hamburgers and cheeseburgers not lamb burgers!” Ah. Well, my husband, who’d cooked them, easily coaxed him into trying just a taste. From there it was hard to get him to stop!

He not only liked it, he was eating it so quickly— it was still so hot he could barely eat it, but that didn’t put him off from blowing on it and getting it into his mouth pronto! We served broccoli as our green vegetable (knew there wouldn’t be any complaints about that) and I hadn’t pushed the ratatouille. I figure getting him to eat one thing he thinks he wouldn’t like is enough for one meal. The other boys both loved the beef stew and my youngest son convinced my eldest to give him his lamb burger (they were mini burgers) because he too loved it. Next time I’m going to spice it up a bit by sautéing some onions and cumin and adding it to the meat. Love lamb and cumin together.

I guess like many of my past posts I’m trying to share the same message. You may be surprised that your child will actually eat something especially after they may have had a meltdown over it. It’s often my middle son who complains the most about any food (that’s mostly his personality) but he’s also a great eater who actually has a varied diet. If it’s not just offered but actually given they often come around.

Same chicken, 2 nights 2 ways

Posted on December 7, 2011 by admin

One dish I absolutely love that my mother-in-law makes is her chicken stew. She makes it full of large pieces of chicken, potatoes, carrots and celery. And she makes dumplings too. I decided the other day I’d make a chicken stew but wasn’t in the mood to make the dumplings so I opted for egg noodles instead. I didn’t have my MIL’s recipe but she’d explained it a few years back so I thought I could manage it. I had boneless chicken breasts and thighs which I poached in the liquid. It’s a perfect dish to make in the slow cooker and great to eat on a cold night. The boys all ate it with gusto, although my middle son says he only likes raw carrots and wasn’t going to eat it until he noticed I gave him a bowl with no carrots in it.

There was quite a bit left over. Since I was doing a lot for a charity event that we were expecting around 500 people to attend, I was thinking something easy. So, I took the leftovers and cut everything into bite-sized pieces, thickened the liquid with corn starch, added peas and put it into a puff pastry crust. Voila! Chicken pot pie! I had it in the oven cooking when I left with my mother babysitting. When I returned I was told the boys liked it— except my middle son complained about the carrots!

Chicken Stew

½ small onion, diced

2-4 pounds chicken pieces

1 leek, well rinsed and cut into pieces

2 celery stalks, chopped

4 carrots

5-7 small potatoes

3-4 parsnips

1 Tbsp fresh chopped thyme

2-3 cups chicken stock

Salt (go lightly on salt at first) and pepper to taste

I sautéed the onion in olive oil then added the chicken and leeks with stock. Add carrots, potatoes and parsnips which are cut into 1-2 inch pieces along with rest of ingredients. Bring to boil then lower to simmer for 45 minutes. Adjust seasoning.

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken stew leftovers

2 puff pastry sheets

½ cup frozen peas

Roll out sheet of puff pastry on well-floured surface. Line pie plate with pastry, add smaller chopped pieces of stew reserving liquid. Mix well 2 tsp corn starch with 4 tsp water. Put reserved liquid in sauce pan, bring to boil, add cornstarch mixture and stir well. Lower to simmer for a few minutes to thicken. Add thickened sauce to pie. Add frozen peas. Moisten edges of pastry and top with other rolled puff pastry sheet. Press edges together and trim excess. Bake for 30-40 minutes in preheated 400°F oven.

Photos taken with iphone. My Canon EOS 20D has not been working lately.

If you have time, this is a great Thanksgiving dessert

Posted on November 24, 2011 by admin

I made this last week for our cooking club.

I remembered after making it why I don’t make it every year for Thanksgiving. It is amazing and quite impressive, but it takes time and quite a bit of work. If you have time, it’s worth it! Last year I made it because I wasn’t hosting Thanksgiving dinner so there wasn’t as much to do.

I’m hosting this year’s Thanksgiving, so I am just making a simple pumpkin pie… and a turkey with stuffing, potatoes, sweet potatoes, roasted butternut squash puree, roasted parsnips, green beans, cranberry sauce, and probably Brussels sprouts. So far I’ve made the croutons for the stuffing, cranberry sauce, roasted butternut squash and tonight’s dinner of pork fried rice.

I’m also hoping my sourdough starter worked and can bake some sourdough bread. My husband is bringing home gravy with him from work— luckily he is just going in for a couple of hours in the morning.

Just in case you missed it— the recipe for the Triple Layer Pumpkin Pie is here. Oh yes, and this year I made the crust of graham crackers and ginger snaps.

Happy Thanksgiving. Hope you spend it with loved ones!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting

Posted on November 17, 2011 by admin

This time of year pumpkins and winter squash are in season and there are so many wonderful ways to use them. I made a few great dishes lately: butternut squash soups, ravioli, triple layer pumpkin pie, roasted squash.

One quick treat I make is pumpkin muffins with the Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Bread mix. They’re quick and easy to make and all the kids love them. I had an event to go to so I got an idea to jazz them up a bit by making a frosting and turning them into cupcakes. I adapted a recipe I found for cream cheese frosting.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting

1 brick cream cheese (cold)

1 stick unsalted butter (room temp)

¾ cup confectioners’ sugar

2 Tbsp pumpkin

1 tsp vanilla

¼ tsp cinnamon

⅛ tsp ground ginger

In food processor blend the cream cheese and butter. Add the confectioners’ sugar and blend until smooth. Add rest ingredients until well mixed. Frost cupcakes/muffins when well cooled.

They were delicious! Great easy treat and most kids liked them.

Trick or Treating a week late–slow cooker meal time!

Posted on November 10, 2011 by admin

The past couple of weeks have been so crazy with the freak snowstorm that knocked out power to 100% of our town, kids home from school for a week, Halloween postponed twice in town (yes, they actually postponed town wide Trick or Treating first to the Saturday following then Monday, a week after the actual holiday), school celebrations postponed several times then canceled, and now just trying to get back into a routine after it all. I have been unsuccessful in getting most of my work done. One reason is because I couldn’t get online for a week. But I’m back and must get it done!!

On the day we went to the week-delayed Trick or Treat Street at our elementary school I had made a Moroccan Chicken with Prunes in the slow cooker. It was the first time I’d used the recipe and will definitely make it again. I was curious to see how the boys would react to it, but they’ve all had prunes/dried plums before and actually used to eat them because I called them “plum fruit snacks”. The two youngest weren’t interested in eating the fruit in the dish but amazingly didn’t complain about any of it. So happy to give them something different that doesn’t have whines accompanying it. AND my eldest actually loved it so much he raided his brothers’ dishes when they’d had enough. He sought out prunes and all.

Moroccan Chicken with Prunes adapted from recipe by Lora Brody
1 ½ pounds chicken pieces (I used breasts but next time think I’ll just use thighs)
2 tsp olive oil
½ cup prunes
1 large onion diced
1 tsp cumin seed
¾ cup chicken broth
2 cloves garlic — minced
2 inch piece of fresh ginger — peeled & grated
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp cinnamon
salt & pepper to taste

I sautéed the onion and then garlic until they were done (not browned). Added the ginger and cumin seeds for a minute then other spices, for another minute, stirring often. I then added the chicken broth and brought it to a quick boil then tossed it all into the crock pot. I added the chicken breasts and prunes. Set it for 4 ½ hours on low. I checked seasoning before serving over brown rice. Original recipe calls for couscous but we’d had so much pasta surrounding that meal that I went with the rice. Adding cilantro or mint would definitely add a great dimension to the meal. Next time I may also add chickpeas and a vegetable.

Two days after that was the official Trick or Treating and I made lasagna for that! Once they were done we went out to gather all the candy and junk associated with Halloween. It was fun and I’m glad they actually got to do it. I remember it being my favorite holiday when I was little.

Now back to reality and November. Halloween will be finally over after today (10 days later) and the zombie holiday (it would not die) can make way for my favorite holiday as an adult: Thanksgiving!

Ahhh… power! I mean lights, heat, water & finally internet!

Posted on November 4, 2011 by admin

I did something stupid on Saturday— went out to the store with my youngest son when it started snowing because we were low on many food items and I didn’t want to get caught in without them. Unfortunately I had heard that the freak snowstorm wasn’t meant to hit us until that night, but hadn’t checked for a weather update myself before venturing out. Then I let my son get his own mini shopping cart and take too long going round the store. When we got to the car there must have been over 2 inches (~5 cms) of snow on it on top of the first couple of inches, and it was much colder (10 degrees colder). Well, getting home was tricky. Actually it was treacherous and I couldn’t complete the journey. I’d passed several cars that had gotten stuck but I believed I could keep going, until I couldn’t… except sideways. So after being stuck myself and having some nice couple help me get on the road going the right way again, a tree fell down 50 feet in front of my car. I grew up driving in snow; this was unlike anything I’d experienced.

After a truck pulled the tree so people could drive on one lane around it, I realized I was not going to make it home. There were too many twists, turns and hills without a snow plow in sight. So I pulled into my closest friends’ driveway to wait it out. I thought I was going home later that day (it was early afternoon) but it just got worse out there. Trees were crashing everywhere. My other two boys were miles away over another friends’ house and my husband was at work (30 minutes drive on a good day). I thought I was just waiting out the worst and waiting for the plows but I was stuck for the day… and night. It was such an awful experience being separated from my sons. I knew they were in good hands, but the power went out and trees were coming down everywhere. My 9 year old and 7 year old ended up at my neighbor across the street from us. They also took in our puppy. It took my husband 3 1/2 hours to get home. He ended up abandoning his car just a couple of miles from home and walked for over 30 minutes with the sound of trees cracking and crashing.

I waited out the storm by making myself busy. We had power until 8 pm so I made my friends some butternut squash soup which was so delicious! She’d roasted cut up squash with brown sugar (not much) and I pureed it with chicken stock, cumin, cinnamon, paprika then heated it up until it came to a boil. Added milk (no cream there) and adjusted seasoning (salt and pepper). It was so good! My youngest wouldn’t eat it nor would hers but her eldest son loved it.

I also ended up making my whole chicken that I’d intended to use for chicken stew with dumplings into a roast chicken with root vegetables. Thyme, olive oil, salt and pepper all over chicken in a roasting pan with sliced onions. Filled the cavity with carrots and onion. Cut up carrots, parsnips and potatoes and added to pan after 40 minutes. Unfortunately minutes into adding vegetables the power went out (one week on it is still off!!!) so we finished it in her grill. I didn’t manage to cook the veggies properly as the grill was only direct heat and they burnt, but it was still delicious and a nice way to get me to forget my predicament.

In the morning my friend’s husband drove me and my 4 year old home among downed trees, power lines and over 15 inches of snow! I was reunited with my husband and then my other two boys. Even though we had no electricity, running water or heat, it was so good to be home!

We went to my friend’s house in another town for 3 days while we waited for the power to come back on. Halloween was actually postponed a week! But we managed to have a little celebration anyway— we all dressed up and manned a door (front, back, side & garage) and kids went round the house several times trick or treating while we handed out the candies.

We are lucky— there are a majority in town still without power 7 days on. One person had a chimney fire, another friend’s basement keeps flooding, plus it could always be worse. Last night internet, cable and phone were finally restored. So nice to be able to get back to 21st century living. School will hopefully resume next week (yes a whole week off now and their first week delayed because of Hurricane Irene). For now, my home is open to friends and I’ll be cooking! AND Next time, snow will keep me home with my boys; no venturing out until I know roads are safe.

Homework blues. Salmon Cakes.

Posted on October 27, 2011 by admin

The past few weeks have been so busy that I’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed. Most of it is my own damn fault for saying yes too often. But one area that’s stressing me out is the homework my 9 year old is expected to complete each night. The first few weeks of school not much was given but lately it’s like a plague, especially the writing. Writing: something I love to do but my son hates. He has so much going on in his head it’s hard for him to organize his thoughts and translate them to the page. I have to sit with him and try to pull ideas out of his head or brainstorm with him then get him to agree on which idea to put on paper. Now if my son were the type to just sit down and complete his work independently it wouldn’t be as stressful, but he’s not. If I leave the room, he gets distracted and will most likely do something else. Because he has Aspergers my son has an aide to help keep him on track at school but at home it’s usually just me with my other sons and now a chew-happy puppy.

Obviously my blogging has suffered for lack of time (or poor time management). I have been able to cook the boys good food, but writing about it— no time.

One meal that I cooked up quickly when I had limited time between one son’s tennis and a town-wide gathering campfire sing-along was with salmon cakes. They reminded me of when I hitch-hiked down the West Coast of Australia, years ago. One kind lady put me up for the night when I couldn’t get a ride out of town and she made me salmon cakes for dinner. I didn’t have her recipe but just winged it.

Salmon Cakes

1 can Alaska Salmon (fresh salmon is preferable, but I used what I had.)

3 pieces bread

1 egg

⅓-½ red bell pepper, chopped

1 scallion, sliced

¼ tsp celery salt

½ tsp dried dill

salt and pepper to taste

Grind the bread in food processor until it is crumbed. Mix all ingredients in a bowl and then form cakes. Heat neutral oil (grapeseed, sunflower) in fry pan. Add salmon cakes (don’t crowd) and cook several minutes each side until cooked through.

I thought they were good, my youngest two were not impressed because I put red bell pepper in them. I also served mine with a Sriracha mayonnaise. I will make these again but without the pepper for the boys.

Hopefully we’ll get the homework issues sorted out and I will miraculously get better at managing my time.

At a loss for inspiration… then it hit me!

Posted on October 13, 2011 by admin

Last night I walked into the kitchen and stared at the chicken breasts I’d taken out of the fridge. I knew I was making chicken for dinner, but I hadn’t planned in what way/which recipe and now I found myself at a loss of what to do with them. I just stared at them. Hmm. What to do with them? I’d made curry the night before. I’ve done Moroccan, Asian, Italian and Barbecue within the past week. Just couldn’t think of something I’d like to make (quickly since we’d had tennis lessons, homework and other stuff) that the kids would eat. I was trying to avoid any major meltdowns with food choices. I looked in the pantry but nothing jumped out at me, but when I opened the fridge for the umpteenth time I had several lemons staring at me.

Of course! It made me remember how much my sons liked the Chicken Française I’ve made. But no way was I interested in starting that process at 6pm. I should have had dinner finished by now. So instead I made a sort of Chicken Piccata. My eldest two love capers so I knew it was going to be a mostly whine-free dinner and since I’d just poured myself a glass of white wine I knew I had plenty for the chicken.

I cut up butternut squash into thin slices and started roasting them (really thin so it wouldn’t take long). I then cut up some broccoli and cauliflower added to pan of water to steam. I threw the 3 minute frozen organic brown rice into the microwave. And then started cutting the breast meat into 2 inch pieces. I didn’t use flour, just lightly browned the chicken, removed from heat and added white wine, lemon juice, chicken stock, capers, salt and pepper. I reduced the liquid until it was thicker, added the chicken back to it and soon was ready to serve. It took less than 20 minutes (yes, even with the butternut squash).

Not only was it delicious it was stress-free and whine-free (well, I did have to serve it sans capers to my youngest). Sometimes it just takes one thing to give you the inspiration you need to create a healthful, quick and yummy meal that all the kids will like. They didn’t eat all their butternut squash, but I finished it off for them.

Have you found yourself at a loss at what to make?

Ugghh… it’s not always easy- even in my house.

Posted on October 9, 2011 by admin

So, many people think that my kids always eat well— without a fuss. But you know if you read my blog that that is not always the case. A few nights this week have been especially difficult with my middle son. Each time I put dinner on the table he whined and cried that he didn’t want to eat what we’ve made. And when I say he whines and cries… he whines and whines and whines then cries. It’s not always easy to ignore (especially when I’m PMSing) but I don’t give in and eventually he comes around.

Except several nights ago I did let him eat something besides the dinner I made. It was a delicious chicken fried rice— brown rice, chicken, kale, beet greens, Chinese cabbage, red cabbage, mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, egg, red bell pepper, garlic, ginger, leeks, soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, ground pepper. He cried and cried. He said he liked many of the ingredients, just not all together. I compromised once he was calm and could talk rationally. I said if he ate another 20 forkfulls (basically more than half) then he could get something else. I wanted to make sure he ate the most nutritionally important food before the yogurt and pasta. By compromising I’ve potentially set myself up for more whining in our future.

The next night my husband made bucatini spaghetti with a delicious sausage tomato sauce and a salad. We both couldn’t believe he whined about that one! He wanted the pasta plain with butter and no salad. But we remained firm. He ate it. All of it. Even his salad.

Plus it was fun to eat!

I feel that I chose my battles again. I know my middle son doesn’t really like those one dish meals where everything is combined. I felt the compromise wasn’t really giving in (fooling myself?) because he still ate the majority of the meal. It is so much easier to always give them what they want. Unfortunately, easy isn’t always best for them. But it does get easier. He will keep trying new things and getting a taste for them and I will figure ways to satisfy us both.

My Kids Really Eat This

getting kids to eat well in the real world

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