I notice that some time in the night I went over 3000 followers on tumblr. Thank you to each and every one of you. I hope that I can keep it interesting and helpful!
Best of luck to all!
This is my youngest son enjoying one of his favorite veggies. Though when I asked him last night what his favorite vegetable was, he said, “Salmon!”
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This is what a ten minute meal looks like. Actually it was 14 minutes from the time I opened the fridge until I opened the back door to eat outside. The second photo shows my middle son trying to use … Continue reading
You can find me there along with some really great blogs! Think this will be much better than Explore.
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Thinking of adding Quinoa to your diet but unsure how to cook it or what to serve it with… try this simple shortcut. Trader Joe’s frozen Quinoa Duo with Vegetable Melange. It’s slightly spicy (galangal and chili pepper) and very delicious. … Continue reading
My inspiration for these were from two separate occurrences. One was from my son’s 3rd grade class’s tasting day for Sweden, where I got to taste a cardamom scented bread. The bread reminded me of Challah as it was slightly sweet but also fragrant with the cardamom. I was then in an Indian grocery store picking up some ingredients and prepared chutneys when I noticed cardamom flavored cream filled cookies. I bought them and loved the taste.
The next time I made cookies I decided to try my luck with some cardamom. I made a batch of oatmeal cookies and split it in half. One half I added chocolate chips to and the other half I added chopped walnuts and cardamom. (I broke several pods apart with mortar and pestle then crushed the seeds) I also added some dried cherries to some of the cardamom/walnut half. They were all delicious.
Cardamom & Walnut Oatmeal Cookies
1 ¾ cup unsalted butter
¾ cup brown sugar
⅓ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups oatmeal
1 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
¾ tsp cinnamon
¾ tsp ground cardamom (open pods, remove husks and grind seeds)
½ cup walnuts chopped
½ cup dried cherries (optional)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix flour, oatmeal, baking soda, salt and spices and set aside. Using a hand held or standing mixer cream the butter and sugars together then add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one. Add the oat mixture. Fold in the walnuts and cherries. Using an ice cream scooper or tablespoon, drop rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheet (parchment or silicone covered) and bake 9-11 minutes. Cool on wire rack after about 1 minute out of oven. Makes 3-4 dozen depending on size.
All of it was a success to me. My kids preferred the chocolate chip version and didn’t particularly like the ones with cherries (I did) but they still liked the new flavor. They’re willing to try new flavors. Doesn’t always work, but love it when it does. And so glad I can get inspired to experiment as well.
One thing I love about my son’s 3rd grade teacher is how she has introduced the pupils in her class to many foods they normally would never try. Each month they learn about a country that the parents help select then come in and share stories, photos, music and culture. At the end of the month they have a tasting day. I volunteered to coordinate the parents to bring in a food/drink from that country. It introduced me to some new foods (Malagasy Stew) and prompted me to attempt to cook something I’d always enjoyed but never made myself (falafel).
But the best part is that each student must try a taste of everything and the teacher helps for instance, by saying while holding the pickled herring, “I don’t like fish but I too am trying it.” They go through each item (some countries have more volunteer dishes than others —for instance Italy many and Madagascar only a few) one by one and describe what they think it tastes like— strong, salty, sweet, spicy, etc. The kids love this day and I love watching some really picky eaters sometimes get surprised by liking foods they never would have touched with a ten foot pole. It is a wonderful way of introducing new foods to the children.
I try to make sure there is a savory dish, a dessert and something the country is well known for the kids to try. So I often put in a little too much time that day or night before getting prepared for it. I want the kids to really experience something that people in that country would eat. Luckily there are so many great parents of other students in the class who are willing to help and it’s never all left up to me to do.
This past month was Israel and I didn’t know where to start, whereas this month is New Zealand and I don’t know where to end! I decided that morning of the Israel tasting to make falafel— for the first time and my last minute decision didn’t pay off. (Used a recipe by Mark Bittman) The chickpeas weren’t soft enough so I used canned but they were too soft and the little patties fell apart. But the flavors were wonderful and so many of the kids liked them. I’ll work on getting the technique down (or planning better). 
For now, it’s on to New Zealand and thinking what I should make… green lipped mussels or cervena or Pavlova or lamb or… something new for the kids to try.
Thought I’d add these afterthoughts since it’s apropos to my message.
I have never been good at cake or cupcake decorating before I tried my hand at creating the Angry Birds Cupcakes. The most I’ve done is a nice sprinkle job but I really thought the kids would get a kick out of them, so I gave it a try. The first 4 took me as long as the remaining 20. But I figured out an assembly line kind of way and really cranked out the last dozen. The kids recognized them and they were a hit. They definitely weren’t perfect, but not bad for my first try.
So… if you think your kids won’t eat a new food or nervous about cooking something new, just try it. You might be pleased with the outcome.
And, most people know that I hate artificial colors. Obviously the cupcakes were not colored with natural ingredients. But I couldn’t find anything (within a day/two of the fair) in my area, so I went ahead and made them with the artificial stuff. I believe a treat now and then isn’t going to harm them too much and it was for a special event. I would have preferred natural, but made do. And the aggravation and worry of being strict isn’t always worth it. Just remember to make it a rare treat and not a daily occurrence.
Balance the good stuff to be the majority of their diet.
