Love to hear this!
Like I’ve said, we have so many tomatoes right now. I still haven’t had a moment to can any but I did have a few minutes to create a yummy salsa. It’s really just a couple of minutes. My brother was there and he thought it was amazing to watch how easy it is.
As far as my kids go: my eldest will eat salsa, but my other two won’t. At least not yet.
Quick Tomato Salsa
Throw them all in a food processor and pulse several times, stirring to make sure it’s evenly chopped. You can adjust the time you’d like to chop it based on your preference of texture. If you want a really chunky one, it’s probably best done by hand, but then you extend the time by hand chopping everything individually.
This is so easy and quick. But I still didn’t get any laundry put away.
Thank you!
I am not trying to sound preachy and I hope I don’t! I never want to come off that way… so people, tell me if I do! I get carried away in my passion at times and get a little intense. It can be a real turn off for people and I have to keep myself in check.
Thank you!
I got into an almost heated debate with another mom about school lunches. My good friend told me to get off my soapbox. It’s hard. I am very passionate about good, healthy food. I believe it is so possible to provide healthful lunches that kids will eat. Even if it means feeding 500 plus kids. Restaurants do it all the time; hotels too. We didn’t even have some of this junk masquerading as food half a century ago, and they managed to serve kids food— that they’d eat. I brought up an analogy that I’ve been using lately, that parents (or adults in general) wouldn’t consider giving their kid a cigarette, but they’d allow them to eat food-stuff that is just as poisonous. That’s what got the other mom incensed. I’m not saying that they’re bad parents, I’m saying the food companies that put the sh*t in the foods are the bad guys. People don’t believe that there are additives in some foods that are just as toxic as cigarettes and get angry at me when I try to compare them. On the whole people just not been educated about it — because these “food” companies are marketing their foods as healthy. And just like the cigarette companies did years ago, they hide or change the research to suit their ends.
They also take healthful foods and turn them into junk. I remember the fruit rollups we used to get in the deli as a kid. Big sheets of apricot, grape or cherry rolled up that were sticky and fairly difficult to unravel or take off the cellophane. Now we have too many different “fruit” snacks and roll-ups that are in all kinds of shapes and colors with cartoon characters touting the goodness of the garbage inside the box. Yogurt now comes in neon colors with cookie toppings. Oils are chemically changed to last forever so the foods they’re in stay “fresh” on the shelves longer. Other countries have banned certain colors, more have warning labels on foods, and many consumer groups have recommended banning the use here— or at least warning labels.
Look at my post about homemade chicken nuggets. I inspired a friend with two extremely picky eaters to make them. Her kids love them now. And when I say picky, I mean really, really picky. It is possible. But it isn’t always easy and we need the parents on board.
But I guess I’m just some unrealistic idealist who thinks kids’ futures— physical and mental health and overall wellbeing, depend upon getting fed healthy foods. Actually I’m here to help— whether it’s to educate, inspire or just give some pretty good recipes. Not judge. And hey, since I was going out, my kids had pizza tonight. I’m not perfect, I may not have the most practical view but I do care. I want my kids, and yours, to grow up healthy and remain that way.
I’ll step off the soapbox now and head to bed.
I have way too many tomatoes right now so I keep using them in recipes. One confession to make: sometimes I end up throwing them into the compost. It’s not my preferred method of using them, but I just have too many for me to get to. So, today after putting in some time at the farm where we get our CSA I learnt that you can freeze tomatoes to use in sauce (ok, I just have never done it, nor thought that it would be that great) but I decided to go the other route— canning. I have bought some mason jars and other supplies. I remember making jam as a kid and preserving it, so if I could do it then, I’ll try it now.
In the meantime (I just bought the stuff today, give me a day or two), I made some salsa on one day and pizza with the tomatoes as base another. I also used some cherry tomatoes in a killer I-have-no-idea-what-I’m-making-for-dinner-now-because-I spent-too-much-time-chatting-on-the-playground-oh-yea-I-can-make-THIS-pasta. (I was going to make chicken gumbo, but that keeps getting pushed back due to time). I used to throw together these great chicken and pasta dishes that are like my version of stir-fry…whatever vegetables I have in stock that actually go together will go into the dish with chicken, garlic, basil and tomatoes. I try to make it with mushrooms, because they’re perfect here, but I had none.
I used a bit of kale, corn, broccoli, onions, zucchini, orange bell pepper, and carrots. Fussili pasta is perfect, but ziti or farfale will go nicely too. It takes 10 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook (using chicken breast)— if you don’t have to interrupt for looking over kids’ homework or refereeing a squabble.
Chicken and Vegetable Pasta with Garlic and Tomatoes
Put pasta on to cook according to instructions. While that’s cooking: sauté onions then garlic in pan. Add chicken and lightly brown on all sides, careful not to burn garlic. Add wine and stock. Cook for few minutes and add vegetables that take longest first (kale, carrots, peppers) then others (mushrooms, zucchini, broccoli, corn). 
While stirring, cook another couple of minutes then add herbs and tomatoes, salt and pepper. Mix gently and cook for 2 minutes until tomatoes are warm but not disintegrated. Toss pasta so well coated with sauce and veggies. Serve.
This is always a winner with my kids. Not everyone will like every vegetable each time, but it hardly ever elicits a protest because there’s pasta. It’s great to get rid of left over vegetables and perfect for lunch the following day. And, it uses up some of those tomatoes.
The tomatoes give it a fresh sweetness that goes so nicely with garlic, basil and pasta. You can also substitute shrimp for the chicken. 
Splenda and Eggbeaters… try the real thing instead
I am a all for eating real foods, not their altered substitutes. I have been researching why you should not give your kids these and the wonderful people at Chemical Free Skinny has done much of the background work for me. Artificial colors are my especially on my radar. And look at all the foods with Yellow 5 or Tartrazine in them, they’re everywhere. Think of the cumulative effect it has upon small bodies.
Actually those along with aspartame (NutraSweet) and sucralose (Splenda). Don’t eat the substitutes if you want fewer calories, just eat less of the real deal.
I was so happy last night when I served the kids dinner and there were no complaints or whines. Actually there were exclamations of delight from my youngest son, “Snow peas!” and “Mushrooms!” — music to my ears. They all dug into their bowls of stir-fried vegetables with rice noodles with true pleasure and bit of hunger. “No snacks, it’s nearly dinner time.” really worked. Maybe the late afternoon hike helped.
The glee that my three year old exhibited reminded me of how I got my eldest son to try mushrooms when he first refused. He was in preschool and loved Power Rangers; even though he’d never seen an episode of the TV show, he knew how they moved, their names, etc. It’s almost like osmosis how they learn about superheroes before they’re old enough to see them in action. Anyway, I just told my son that mushrooms were Power Rangers’ favorite food. Wide-eyed with joy and holding in his fork the food that his heroes liked, the previously distrusted fungus, he eagerly tried it. And he liked it. I know mushrooms can be tough for adults let alone kids, especially those who grow up with canned ones on pizzas, the texture can be a turnoff. And, yes I lied to get him to try it. But to me it was worth it. There were no pleadings of “Just try it, I really think you’ll like it.” or “Please? Just one tiny bite.” He just thought if it’s the Power Rangers favorite food it must be good. I mean, Popeye the Sailor loves spinach, so why not Power Rangers liking mushrooms? Funny, I don’t want to hide the vegetables so the kids don’t learn to like them for their own flavors, textures and colors, but I have no qualms about spinning a yarn to get them to eat them.
Our dinner last night had some frozen vegetables and a side from Trader Joe’s. I was down to just a couple of skinny pieces of kale, very little beet greens, a pepper, carrots and lots of tomatoes (which I was kind of sick of) from our CSA bin. We did also have leeks, but I am saving those to make scalloped potatoes with leeks and shiitake mushrooms tonight. So I pulled out a Trader Joe’s stir-fry package— mushrooms, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, water chestnuts, carrots and soy beans. 
I steamed the beet greens I’d stripped off the stems and cut across a few times, then repeated with the kale. I didn’t want any bitterness from them to change the flavor of the stir-fry, that’s why I did them separately. I then put the rice noodles in to cook while I chopped half an onion, 2 garlic cloves, fresh ginger, a greenish-reddish bell pepper and a couple of carrots. So in my pan I heated the sunflower oil, sautéed the onions, then garlic, carrots and peppers. 
Added the ginger, stir-fry package, kale and beet greens. To this I combined with 2 Tbsp tamari soy sauce, 1 tsp fish sauce and 2 tsp sesame oil. I cooked stirring the whole time for a few minutes while the frozen vegetables softened and heated. At this point I added the cooked and drained noodles and stirred it all up until it was well mixed. It was ready to serve. I’ve served similar dishes lately, but each one is a bit different, depending what we have in stock. The vital part was that it was healthful and delicious. 
While I was cooking this I had steamed in the microwave some Trader Joe’s frozen Gyoza dumplings. I served them as an appetizer and alongside the stir-fry with a side of tamari and sesame oil (6 parts soy, 1 part sesame oil). Easy and quick, plus they all ate it eagerly. No tales necessary.
I guess I’ve been on a curry sort of kick. I love curries. In my early twenties I worked for a few months in an Indian restaurant in Wellington, NZ. Every Friday night, a night off, my friend and I would go out to dinner. I always wanted to eat curries. I guess it was being around them the rest of the week, smelling them, seeing them but often not tasting them that intensified my desire. Living in Wellington, the capital of NZ, allowed me to try curries from all over, not just India. I’d have Thai, Cambodian, Japanese, Malaysian, Vietnamese curries. Growing up on the East Coast of the US I didn’t even know there were other curries besides Indian or Thai until I lived in Wellington. I love the spices that are in Asian curries and thanks to the Silk Road also in many North African and Middle Eastern dishes.
I am passing on this love of curries to my kids. They might not be eating Vindaloo yet, but if I keep the heat down, they really like it.
I didn’t use a recipe for this lamb curry I made the other night, I figured out the ratios since I’d been using so many similar spices in other dishes. My mother came over for dinner and she also loves curries and lamb (she’s a Kiwi by birth), so it was a win-win all round!
Lamb and Chickpea Curry
Sauté onions then garlic in olive oil over med-high heat. Add spices and stir for a couple of minutes. Make a well in middle and add lamb. (I also threw in the bones that I couldn’t get all the meat off, as it eventually fell off in cooking.) Turn so all sides are browned and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and stock, stir couple of times, cover cook for 20 minutes. 
Add potatoes, chickpeas, salt and pepper. Cover and cook for 20-25 minutes until potatoes are soft. 
Serve over basmati or jasmine rice. You could put lentils instead of chickpeas and add a green veggie— spinach would be nice.
We all loved it. Even my middle son. And believe it or not, he didn’t even complain when I put it on the table! My youngest wanted more meat, so I kept giving him some of mine.
It’s a great dish for ease of clean up since there’s only one pan and maybe another for rice.
