Inspiration for using a new spice

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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.  

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Classroom rules– tasting new foods.

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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.

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About the cupcakes & cake…

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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.

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Fried Rice– perfect for using up leftovers

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One wonderful way to use up leftovers is to make a stir-fry.  And a fabulously delicious and nutritious stir-fry is fried rice (home made anyway).  We used up scrambled egg from breakfast;  rice, a bit of vegetables and a few scraps of pork from dinner.  This is adaptable depending on what you have left over or in the fridge.  Ours was colorful with plenty of yummy vegetables and delicious flavors from the ginger, soy, sesame and garlic.  It is also quick to cook— it’s just chopping that takes any time. 

It’s best to use cold rice for this, so if you need you can always cook the rice then chill it before adding it to wok (or in my case, my Dutch oven).

Fried Rice

2-3 cups jasmine or basmati rice, cooked and chilled

pork, chicken, shrimp or tofu (I used about 6-8 oz pork)

2 eggs scrambled, chilled

handfuls of chopped vegetables:

    broccoli, asparagus, peppers, mushrooms, carrots, cabbage

½ cup peas (defrost if frozen)

½ cup edamame (defrost if frozen)

½ med onion, diced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1½ inch piece ginger, grated

1½ Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp sesame oil

2½ Tbsp canola, sunflower or grapeseed oil

1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

sea salt (if needed) & ground pepper

handful of cilantro, chopped

Blanch for a couple of minutes any vegetables that need longer cooking time like broccoli, carrots and peppers. Set aside and chill.  Add the canola oil to a wok, sauté pan or other appropriate pan, and once hot add the onion cooking for few minutes.   Add the garlic and meat until almost cooked through.  Add remaining ingredients except rice and cilantro.  Let vegetables soak up flavors then add rice (breaking apart and lumpy bits). Stir often and adjust seasoning (soy, sesame and pepper) to taste.  Cook on medium-high heat for about 3- 5 minutes.  You’ll want to make sure you don’t overcook the vegetables so they lose color or nutrients.  Stir in cilantro.  Serve immediately and enjoy!

 

My kids loved this.  The colors are vibrant, the taste is yummy and there’s a few of their favorite vegetables and a couple of not-such favorites they might actually eat since it’s all blended together.

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Spoiled by a real chef

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My husband, the chef, was home from work for 4 days in a row, a much deserved and overdue break.  During that time he spoiled us with wonderful meals that I’m not as likely to make— only in that they include the wonderful sauces derived from his demiglace.  Demiglace that he makes from scratch (roasted veal bones & roasted veggies made into stock with aromatic herbs) that I don’t have the time or impetus to make myself.

One night for dinner he made a veal saltimboca. (I never buy veal, although we may be getting some this year with our “meat share” of our CSA.) Veal medalions pan seared then topped with sliced prosciutto & sage sauce. 

The kids loved it although my youngest didn’t like the look of the veal at first and it took a bit of coaxing to convince him to just try one little bite.  I don’t push them to finish something they don’t like but I do usually try to get them to at least taste something new.  If it gets too difficult, then I will drop it.  I don’t want to force them and know that they’ll be more willing to try if they see us all enjoying it instead of fighting it off.  And at least he loved his vegetables: broccoli, swiss chard, and peas.

The other wonderful meal that my husband made was a roast leg of lamb. Now, I can make a great lamb roast but my chef showed me a new way of doing it that resulted in a wonderfully tender and evenly roasted meat.  The lamb was a boneless leg from New Zealand that I purchased at Trader Joe’s (it’s not lamb season in NZ now) and I know NZ lamb is grass-fed and have such a great delicate flavor.

He put the seasoned (salt and pepper) leg into the oven at 200ºF oven for an hour then raised the temperature to 225°F for another 2½-3 hours until the internal temperature of the lamb was 140ºF.  And then let it sit for another 30 minutes outside the oven. It was very tender by roasting it at a lower temp for a longer time. It retained the moisture and reduced shrinking (a similar method he uses to make a prime rib roast).  To the pan he then added juices shallots, garlic, rosemary, demiglace and red wine then brought it to a boil and scraped any bits off the bottom.  Then he transferred the sauce to a sauté pan and reduced it until it was much more concentrated. 

Both the lamb and the sauce were delicious!  The boys loved it all.  The eldest two had extra sauce on their mashed potatoes once they tried it on the lamb.   We had zucchini and spinach to round it off.

So glad to have had such high caliber dinners this week.  I love that my kids are mostly open to eating all types of foods too.  I think by putting the food in front of them and giving them the opportunity to actually try it— they do.  Especially if you eat with them.

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