Root Vegetable Muffins

This past year we started a new, year-round CSA. The winter share was mostly stored vegetables which meant A LOT of roots and cabbage. In an effort to use up the roots and make kid-friendly snacks, I baked several varieties of root vegetable muffins. (Sorry, no pictures yet)

Beet Carrot Muffins were first. These were good enough that the kids at school ate them all up at the Valentine's Day party.

250 g whole wheat pastry flour (2 cups)
50 g flaxseed meal (1/2 cup) or whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup oil
100 g brown sugar (1/2 cup)
1 large egg
2 cups pureed beets
2 cups shredded carrots
1/2 cup raisins, cranberries, chocolate chips, or nuts

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 12 standard or 36 mini muffin cups.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, flaxseed meal, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, ginger and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, sugar, egg, and beets. Add beet mixture to flour mixture and stir just until combined. Stir in carrots and raisins. Spoon into prepared muffin cups.

Bake until a tester comes out clean, 20-22 minutes for standard muffins, 10-12 minutes for mini muffins. Remove to a rack to cool completely.

Carrot Apple Muffins are pretty basic.

250 g whole wheat pastry flour (2 cups)
50 g flaxseed meal (1/2 cup) or whole wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup oil

100 g brown sugar (1/2 cup)

1 large egg

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup plain yogurt or unsweetened applesauce

2 cups shredded carrots

1/2 cup raisins, cranberries, chocolate chips, or nuts

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 12 standard or 36 mini muffin cups.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, flaxseed meal, cinnamon, baking soda, ginger and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, sugar, egg, applesauce and yogurt. Add applesauce mixture to flour mixture and stir just until combined. Stir in carrots and raisins. Spoon into prepared muffin cups.

Bake until a tester comes out clean, 20-22 minutes for standard muffins, 10-12 minutes for mini muffins. Remove to a rack to cool completely.

Carrot Parsnip Muffins were my first attempt at using a puree of those vegetables instead of shredding them into the muffins. I found quite a few recipes for carrot or parsnip muffins using shredded vegetable but I wanted to replace all the applesauce in the Carrot Apple Muffins with vegetable. Plus it uses up more vegetables when they are pureed! If you haven't tried parsnips, you should. They have are sweeter than carrots and have a mild flavor that pairs well with spices.

250 g whole wheat pastry flour (2 cups)
50 g flaxseed meal (1/2 cup) or whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup oil

100 g brown sugar (1/2 cup)

1 large egg

2 cups pureed carrots and parsnips (cook then puree, add water if needed, from 50:50 to all parsnip)

1/2 cup raisins, cranberries, chocolate chips, or nuts

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 12 standard or 36 mini muffin cups.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, flaxseed meal, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, sugar, egg, carrots and parsnips. Add parsnip mixture to flour mixture and stir just until combined. Stir in raisins. Spoon into prepared muffin cups.

Bake until a tester comes out clean, 20-22 minutes for standard muffins, 10-12 minutes for mini muffins. Remove to a rack to cool completely.

Date Balls

Sometimes a bar is just too much snack for a 3 year old. Enter the date ball. A limited ingredient, smaller version of the date bar, these are closer to Larabars but I think they have more texture and less fruit.

Like the date bars, this recipe has some flexibility. The flax meal could become nut meal. The coconut could become dried fruit. Unlike the date bars, the dates are the only "sticky" ingredient and I'm not sure other fruits can replace them here.

The mixture will appear too dry when you mix it. While you should add a little warm water if it just won't hold together, make sure to try pressing it into balls first. It won't roll into a ball like dough, it needs to be pressed and shaped with your fingers. Because these are dried than the date bars, I store them at room temperature.

Date Balls

1/2 cup pitted dates (soaked in hot water for 10 minutes if they seem dry and drained)
1/4 cup rolled oats
2 Tablespoons flaxseed meal or nut meal
2-1/2 Tablespoons chia seeds soaked in 5 Tablespoons water for at least 1 hour
1/4 cup flaked coconut or dried fruit

Process the dates in a food processor or blender until finely chopped. Add remaining ingredients and pulse until combined. Press into balls approximately 1-inch in diameter.

Date Bars

Have you ever noticed what is in most granola bars? And what is not in them? Not really the best choice for healthy eating. On top of that, G has had some digestive problems and we have been going through a lot of diet experiments to help her. Commercial granola bars, her favorite post-swim, post-ballet snack don't really help. So I set out to make a bar that includes the best things for her tummy, at least the best things we have found to date.

Christie helps with the experiment

What did I want to get in there? Chia and flax seeds, specifically, for fiber, water retention, fats, and protein. Also, fruits that help move things along the digestive system, like dates, prunes or figs. Coconut has some helpful fats and could go in a bar, but avocado is probably asking too much!

Looking around, I found some potential recipes and started playing around with ingredients and techniques. This is what I settled on but the recipe is really flexible. Don't want nuts? Use alternative butters and sunflower seeds or coconut in place of almond. Vegan? Use maple syrup instead of honey. Prefer fruit to chocolate? Use dried cherries instead of chocolate chips. I haven't tried them with figs or prunes in place of dates but if you soak them in hot water, they will probably work.

Pressed into pan by hand, waiting for final "smoosh"

 The key to a bar that holds together well enough to eat it without making a giant mess is the pressing. Once everything is in the pan, it needs to be pressed in by hand then well smooshed down by a second pan on top of the mixture. Since the base of my loaf pans are slightly narrower than the top, I find another loaf pan is perfect for the smoosh. Plastic wrap or parchment just helps keep things neat and easy to turn out of the pan for chilling.

The slab after pressing and chilling

 Chilling the slab makes it easier to cut. You don't have to store the bars chilled but I find they get a little too soft above 75 F or so, at least too soft for a preschooler to eat neatly.

Cut and wrapped

Date Bars

1/2 cup pitted dates (soak in hot water for 10 minutes then drain if they seem dry)
2 Tablespoons chocolate chips
3 Tablespoons nut or seed butter
2 Tablespoons honey, maple syrup or agave
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup almond meal, chopped nuts, shredded coconut or sunflower seeds
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
2-1/2 Tablespoons chia seeds soaked for at least 1 hour in 5 Tablespoons water
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Process dates in a food processor or blender until finely chopped. Add chocolate chips and pulse to chop chocolate a bit smaller (or use mini chips).

Combine nut butter and honey in a small bowl and heat just until easy to pour.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and stir well to combine. If you find it is too hard to stir by hand, you could throw everything in the food processor and give it a few pulses instead.

Line 4x8-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap or parchment paper, leaving sufficient overhand to wrap over top of bars. Lining is optional, but I find it makes things easier to press and move. Press down with your fingers to pack into the base of the pan. Fold plastic or parchment over top of slab and, using another loaf pan, press down hard until the slab is very compacted. Chill slab in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Unwrap slab and cut into 8 bars. Store in the refrigerator or at room temperature depending on your climate and texture preference.

Christmas Cookies 2013

This year Christmas cookies were mostly in ball form. Simple, easy, quick but look nice. Perfect for our first year really needing to have a full birthday party along with the holidays. Three is definitely the age when they understand birthday party and have expectations. This was also the first year G insisted on helping in the kitchen and these are easy enough for an almost 3 year old to make, with a little help, of course.

The non-ball cookie: Almond Coconut Chip

I like to store the ball cookies in the refrigerator for a few days before eating. The flavor definitely improves with time. These were packed in pretty tissue in boxes and clear containers but did I remember to take any pictures? No. Sorry, maybe next year!

Brownie Balls, flavored with either rum or coffee, depending on the recipients, were the simplest. There's not much of a recipe. Bake a 9x13-inch pan of chewy or fudgy brownies from a mix or scratch. Cake brownies do not work so well. When cool, crumble up in a bowl and stir in 6 Tablespoons of coffee or spiced rum. Roll into 1-inch diameter balls. To make fancy, roll in sprinkles or shredded coconut.

Lime Coconut Balls came next, some in a Margarita version.

113 g melted butter (4 oz, 1 stick, 1/2 cup)
400 g brown sugar (2 cups)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
250 g flour (2 cups)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
zest of 3 limes
3 Tablespoons lime juice
3 Tablespoons tequila or lime juice
1/4 cup flaked sweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease a 9x13-inch pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Spread in prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes until tester comes out mostly clean. Let cool.

Crumble into a bowl and stir in lime zest, lime juice, tequila, and coconut. Roll into 1-inch diameter balls. Makes approximately 30.

And, finally, Almond Coconut Chip Cookies. These were supposed to be balls but spread too much in the oven.

1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (60 g)
1/2 cup almond meal
1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
4 oz melted butter (1 stick, 113 g, 1/2 cup)
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

In a large bowl, stir all ingredients together to combine. Scoop 1 Tablespoon balls onto prepared baking sheet. Bake until light golden on bottom, 9-10 minutes. Makes approximately 60 cookies.

Hello Kitty Cupcakes

G turned 3 in December, right after Christmas. This was the first year that she was really aware of birthday parties and had definite opinions on what she wanted. This was also the first year that we had to combine all the chaos of Christmas with making her birthday something separate and special.

For her party, she wanted Hello Kitty cupcakes. I was not going to spend the money on custom order, special design cupcakes for a 3 year old birthday party but she was insistent. Hello Kitty ON the cupcakes. Not the wrapper. Not the table. Not the walls. Not a balloon. Not even a cake. Cupcakes.

Now, I could have printed little cupcake toppers on cardstock and stuck them in with a toothpick or bought strange, hard sugar things stuck to cardboard that look vaguely like a white cat with a bow. But no. Somehow crazy-mom took over and she was going to have real, decorated cupcakes. Because I always had cakes with real icing decoration in whatever theme I wanted, my daughter would too. Never mind that we no longer have the family bakery to this. Never mind I won't spend more than a dollar on a cupcake for 3 year olds. It. Will. Happen.

And they kind of look like Hello Kitty. I was terrified she would end up with cupcake wrecks.

Pumpkin Mochi

G started preschool last September. This opened up a whole new world of food. Not only do I feed my own child, but now I make snacks and treats for school events. What will the kids eat? Can I keep the sugar and refined/processed items to a minimum and have them eat it? Oh, and no nuts or anything processed in a facility with nuts.

For the holiday celebration, I went back to my roots. Something so simple and popular it has to be a hit. Mochi! Sure, it's got sugar and extremely refined white rice flour, but at least nothing has seen a nut and, bonus, naturally gluten and dairy free! Plus, G can help make it.

Then J pointed out that kids around here have probably never seen mochi. At least not the kind without ice cream inside. Hm. Do I want to be the mom who sends the weird food? If they try it, they should like it. Maybe if I cut it into fun shapes. And it does jiggle, kind of like jello. Is that good or bad? Well, I'm too busy with holiday and birthday baking to come up with anything else at the last minute, so weird food it is.

I went with pumpkin so it was seasonal and had a familiar pie taste, limiting the weird factor to texture, not taste. G helped mix and cut out the shapes. There is a bit less sugar than most mochi recipes but it is still quite sweet. I am not sure if canned pumpkin puree will work the same or if it will need extra liquid. Note that this make A LOT of mochi.

Pumpkin Mochi

450 g mochiko (1 pound box)
200 g sugar (1 cup)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/2 Tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
112 g melted butter (4 oz, 1 stick, 1/2 cup)
400 g fresh pumpkin puree (14 oz)
2 cups coconut milk
4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9x13-inch and 8x8-inch pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together mochiko, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, whisk together butter, pumpkin, coconut milk, and eggs. Add pumpkin mixture to dry mixture and whisk to combine. Pour into prepared pans. Bake for 1 hour. Cool completely before cutting.

Frosted Chocolate Beet Birthday Cake

Three words send fear into the heart of many a parent. Toddler Birthday Party.

Okay. Really, it's not that bad, but when you've been going to them almost every week for a couple months, sometimes twice in one day, your kid starts to ask questions. Is it my birthday? Is it your birthday? The cat's birthday? Is there cake? Can we get cake? Make cake? Juice box, please?

Last Saturday we had one birthday party in the afternoon and another birthday at our house in the evening. Do I want to put a two year old to bed after they eat treats all afternoon and evening? Do I want to tell the two year old there's no cake at a birthday party? Do I want to put candles in a loaf of bread? No. No. Yes, but the five year old might notice there's something wrong with his birthday "cake".

How about frosted chocolate birthday cake with less sugar and some nutrition thrown in? Yes. And it even uses up the beets! Kids and adults loved it. I didn't get a chance to take a picture before it was demolished.

The frosting tastes more like peanut butter than chocolate and is better if you let it sit overnight. For a dairy-free option, make sure to use dairy-free chocolate chips.

Chocolate Beet Cake
200 grams all-purpose flour (about 1-1/2 cups)
150 grams brown sugar (about 3/4 cup)
50 grams unsweetened cocoa powder (about 1/2 cup)
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 Tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1-3/4 cups pureed cooked beets
1 very ripe banana, pureed
2 Tablespoons vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9-inch square cake pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, baking soda and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, combine beets, banana, vinegar and oil. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir well to combine. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread in prepared pan. Bake until a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting
1-3/4 cups pumpkin puree (if homemade, drain overnight in a coffee filter to thicken)
1 cup chocolate chips, melted
1/4 cup peanut butter

Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Makes enough to frost a single layer cake and pipe decoration.

Gnocchi with Beans and Tomatoes

It's CSA season again. With a box of veggies to use up and a randomly picky toddler (it's Tuesday, nothing orange for me!) to feed, that means some creative cooking needs to happen. Sometimes creative equals disaster, or at least toddler feeding fail, and sometimes it makes everyone happy.

This is what happens when you have beautiful CSA tomatoes, no defrosted meat in the house, and a toddler asking for everything in the fresh pasta case at the store.

Gnocchi with Beans and Tomatoes
1 pound sweet potato gnocchi
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 large garlic cloves, sliced thin
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
14 ounces cooked white beans (no salt added)
grated parmesan (optional)

Cook gnocchi in a large pot of boiling water until they float.

While gnocchi cook, heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add garlic, tomatoes, and salt. Simmer until softened. Add beans and heat through. Drain gnocchi and combine with tomato sauce. Serve with grated parmesan, if desired.

Summer Squash & Corn Casserole

I mentioned earlier that J. surprised me by saying he's never liked squash. This casserole is something I tried to make the squash seem less, well, squash-y. It must have worked because he liked it. It's also toddler approved.

The squash, potatoes and corn are all from our CSA box. The goat cheese is from a local farm. I used a knife (newly sharpened by J.) to slice the squash and potatoes as thin as I could, around 1/8-inch. A mandoline would probably be easier and faster but I don't have one. Bacon might be good in this, but it might be over-kill.

Summer Squash and Corn Casserole
2 medium yellow squash, sliced very thin
2 smallish waxy potatoes, sliced very thin
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 ears corn, kernels sliced off
3 ounces goat cheese

Preheat the oven to 400F. Grease a 2 quart casserole dish.
Combine the squash, potatoes, oil, salt and pepper.
In the casserole dish, layer a third of the squash mixture, followed by half of the corn and cheese. Repeat layers and finish with the remaining squash mixture. Bake, covered, for 45 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Feline CRF

For years our cat has had minor kidney problems caused by high blood pressure. Medication controlled her blood pressure so her kidneys worked fine. Recently, she truly went into chronic renal failure (CRF). We give her subcutaneous fluids once a day to support her kidneys, medicine to control her blood pressure, phosphorus levels, and stomach acid, and feed her using a syringe. It's a lot of work but it keeps her pretty comfortable and stable. She still lets G. pet her and even played with G. and a pink cellophane hula skirt yesterday.

Pickles

Our CSA comes with an incredible quantity of cucumbers and besides eating them in salads, there is really only one thing we enjoy about cucumbers. Pickles. Each year I try to make enough to last through the winter.

There is also a lot of summer squash in the share. And each year I make a variety of dishes with them that I thought tasted good. Well, this year J. tells me he doesn't like summer squash unless it's in the form of bread or cake. He's been eating it all this time because he it is there and has to be eaten. Why he only comes up with these sorts of revelations after years of being served the same thing, I have no idea. He did the same thing about couscous, winter squash, and basic salads. Still, I take it as a challenge.

So I made squash pickles. He loves them.

This first batch was just a simple refrigerator pickle using the same recipe as the cucumbers. Next time I may can them and add a little more crushed red pepper. Made like this, there's really no heat at all. I frequently add onions to the cucumber pickles.

Pickles
5 pints sliced vegetables (cucumbers or squash sliced approximately 1/4" thick)
1-1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1-1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
10 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
4 cups white vinegar
1 to 2 cups sugar (I find the 2 cups a bit sweet but others really like them)
2 Tablespoons kosher salt

Divide the vegetables, mustard seed, peppers, and garlic among pickling containers. If canning, use very clean or sterilized glass canning jars.

Bring the vinegar, sugar and salt to a boil. Cook 1 minute. Pour over vegetable mixture.

For refrigerator pickles, let cool, then cover and chill for at least 4 days.

For canning, use a chopstick and poke about gently to release air bubbles in the liquid. Put lids and rings on jars, not too tightly. Place in a pot of simmering water, making sure the water is at least 2 inches up the sides of the jars. Bring water to a boil and boil for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Remove from pot and place on a towel to cool for 12 hours. Check seal before storing.

Toddler Food - Beet & Bean Cakes

I forgot to write this recipe down as I made it so this is my best guess as to what I did. They're a little dry but she likes them slightly warm. The beets make them a bit sweet.

You could use any type of beets or beans here. I prefer to use yellow beets because we cloth diaper and don't want stains.

Beet & Bean Cakes
4 small yellow beets, steamed, peeled, and chopped
1/2 cup cooked pinto beans
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1/4 cup frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
1 large egg, lightly beaten
pinch nutmeg

Pulse the beets, beans, rice & spinach in a food processor or blender until they are finely chopped and combined. Stir in the egg & nutmeg. Shape into 2 tablespoon patties. Place on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 400°F for 15 minutes.

Toddler Food - Tuna Pea and Pumpkin Kale Croquettes

G. hates peas.

She used to eat peas every day like they were candy. Best thing ever. Peas were better than cereal in a circular shape.

G. turned one. Hates peas.

In true toddler fashion, make them look a little different, they are yummy. The ones on the left are the Tuna Pea Croquettes. The ones on the right are Pumpkin Kale.

Tuna Pea Croquettes
1 cup mashed potatoes with butter & soy milk (no salt)
1/2 cup frozen peas, defrosted and pulsed in a food processor or blender
5 ounces canned skipjack tuna (no added salt), drained
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Mix everything together. Shape into 2 tablespoon patties. Place on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes.

Pumpkin Kale Croquettes
15 ounces pumpkin puree
12 ounces tofu, pulsed in a food processor or blender to get small chunks
4 cups kale, cooked & chopped fine
1/4 cup flour
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Mix everything together. Shape into 2 tablespoon patties. Place on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes.

Toddler Food - Salmon, Sweet Potato Croquettes

Based on her sushi consumption, G. really likes fish. Cereal, raisins, they won't cut it. When's he getting back with more sushi?

She also loved the fish breakfast at Jack's in Aina Haina, the butterfish at Mr. Ojisan in Kapahulu, and the mahi from Fresh Catch in Kaimuki. We eat a lot of fish when we're in Hawaii but I'm picky and don't like a lot of the fish around here. Canned fish is a known quantity, though, and works great in croquettes. Add some sweet potato and they are a toddler favorite in this house.

Salmon Sweet Potato Croquettes
7.5 ounces canned red wild salmon, drained
8 ounces mashed sweet potato
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon minced green onion
pinch black pepper

Flake salmon carefully into small bits, being sure to crush up all the bones. Remove any bones you can't crush. Mix in remaining ingredients. Chill until cold, approximately 30 minutes. Drop in 1-1/2 tablespoon scoops onto a greased or parchment lined baking sheet. Flatten slightly. Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes.

Toddler Food - Turkey Spinach Meatballs

I'd like to note that all of these little food bites taste really quite good to adults, too. The only thing I'd change is to add a little bit of salt.

These meatballs are sort of a success. She likes them slightly warmed, broken into smaller pieces, and only from Mommy. I think part of the problem is she ran into a tough bit of cartilage early on and decided they are kind of suspect. Still, given she doesn't really like the texture of meat in general, these work well.

Turkey Spinach Meatballs
4 ounces ground dark meat turkey
1-1/2 tablespoons applesauce
1/4 cup frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and drained
1/2 tablespoon minced shallot

Using hands, combine all ingredient thoroughly. Shape into 1 to 2 tablepoon size balls. Place on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes.

Toddler Food - Pumpkin Tofu Bites

So we are past the baby food. But in typical toddler fashion we have food issues.

Number 1: She is awfully picky about biting into things and textures. I'll admit, I'm just as likely to tear off pieces of bread-type things rather than take bites, but she just hates to take a bite out of anything! Even teething biscuits aren't worthy of biting.

Number 2: Sometimes she just won't eat something she used to love. For weeks. Peas were a daily favorite for months. Now, if she sees a pea, it's all over. It reminds me of feeding my grandmother with dementia.

Fortunately, she seems to eat anything I make into nugget/croquette form. This has been a theme for the last month and I figure it's best to document all these recipes in case I want to make them again.

Pumpkin and tofu were always favorite foods so I started with that. She really seems to like these and they freeze very well.

Pumpkin Tofu Bites with Broccoli

10 ounces firm tofu, drained and minced

8 ounces pumpkin puree (about 3/4 cup)

5 ounces cooked brown rice (about 3/4 cup)

1/4 cup flour

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 ounce frozen broccoli, defrosted and minced (about 1/2 cup)

1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

Combine the tofu and pumpkin, mash slightly. 

Stir in remaining ingredients. Drop in 1 Tablespoon balls on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 400° F for 20 minutes.

1st Birthday Party Planning - first steps

It's amazing how quickly these things arrive. We're already planning her first birthday party. These are a really big deal in Hawaii with many parents throwing a party that's bigger than their wedding. We're not going that route, but it's still important to me for the party to be well planned, fun, and cute. It's also important to us that we start the tradition of a non-Christmas theme so her birthday stays separate and special.

Really, we're throwing 2 parties. The first in Hawaii for family & friends there, and another, later, at home. I found some really nice printable themed party supplies from Paper and Cake. They supply you with pdfs of various things like invitations, cupcake wrappers, signs, and decorations. You can customize, print, cut, and assemble them as you need. I'm transforming the Under the Sea Baby Shower package into a First Birthday for Hawaii, admittedly only possible on the invitations since I have more advanced design software than most people.

This is the test of the favor box with Halloween candy for scale. It's perfect since her favorite toy is this stuffed octopus she drags around by the tentacles. I'm going to add her name and birthday to personalize it. The invitations and envelopes are done and mostly sent. We're still deciding the menu and children's favors. And almost everything still needs printing, cutting, scoring, folding, and gluing. Oh my.

15th Century English/French Style Matched Scrolls

I finally made my first foray back into scribal things since G. was born.

Our good friends on Maui received their SCA peerages on the same day recently. Given the logistics of flying with a 10 month old baby, the cost of airline tickets, and our plans to be in Honolulu in December, we decided only J. would go.

Maui is part of the Kingdom of Caid, which does not give out original award scrolls to people without a name and arms registered with the SCA College of Heralds. Unfortunately, neither of our friends fell into this category. So I decided to create small, quick, "promissory" scrolls for them to receive on the day of the award with a more typical peerage scroll to be made once they get things registered.

The very loose inspiration was Newberry MS 166, a genealogy of the kings of England and France from 1465. Basically, I took the style of calligraphy and the bar with devices down the center from it. I added the symbol of the order to the bottom of each, a pelican for the Pelican and a white belt for the Chivalry.

For K's scroll, the central bar is in her color of purple with the symbols of her service awards, alternating with more symbols of the order, placed on top. For E's scroll, the central bar is red, the color of his squire's belt, with the arms of the knights in his SCA lineage leading down to the white belt.

Each scroll is done on 5" x 7" pergamenata paper. These were some of the quickest scrolls I have ever done, about 3 hours each, not including research and thought. Given the limited time I have right now with the Baby-Who-Will-Not-Nap, it was something of a miracle they were finished at all!

CSA Week 7 - Ratatouille

No lettuce this week! That almost never happens.

arugula - salad
tomatoes - salad and sandwiches
potatoes - cellar
cucumbers - salad
corn - grilled
yellow squash - Ratatouille
zucchini - Ratatouille
eggplant - Ratatouille
chard - sauteed with garlic
blueberries - on yogurt & cereal

Ratatouille

Another group over for dinner this week so, again, I made a veggie side by tossing a bunch of things we got into a pot. There was only one tomato left so I used sauce instead.

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons minced garlic
1 medium onion, chopped
3 medium eggplant, chopped
2 medium zucchini, chopped
2 medium yellow squash, chopped
1/2 cup chopped roasted red and yellow bell peppers
1 cup garlic and herb pasta sauce
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a large pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onion. Cook until onion starts to soften. Add eggplant and squash, cook until they just begin to soften. Stir in remaining ingredients. Simmer until vegetables are soft and the dish has the consistency you like.

CSA Week 6 - Calabacitas & Baby Food

Peppers have started. I tend to choose hot peppers over green bell peppers.

lettuce - salad
tomatoes - salad
cucumbers - salad
potatoes - Grilled Salt & Vinegar Potatoes (101cookbooks.com)
corn - grilled and Calabacitas
yellow squash - Calabacitas
zucchini - Calabacitas and baby food
hot peppers (poblano and yellow) - Calabacitas
chard - sauteed with garlic
blueberries - on yogurt & cereal

For the baby food, I cubed and microwaved the zucchini. Half was pureed alone and half was pureed with microwaved frozen peas. I also made some baby rice which was a bit of an oops. I grabbed the brown sweet rice by mistake and didn't notice until it was pulverized and cooking on the stove. As the texture started to turn into mochi I started to worry. Fortunately, without pounding it is just sticky, not totally adhered together. Some good mashing/stirring with fork into the zucchini-pea mixture and it was only a bit like weird mochi. She liked it, though. She also like beets and pear with the rice. Shouldn't be a surprise my daughter likes mochi any way she can get it!

I modified the Grilled Salt & Vinegar Potatoes by using half white vinegar and half water to simmer the potatoes. These potatoes took much longer to cook than the recipe suggests, more like 15 minutes than 5. Turned out great.

Calabacitas

We had a good sized group of people over for dinner this week. For a veggie side, I tossed all the summer squash, corn, and peppers we had left into one dish.

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons garlic
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium yellow squash, chopped
2 medium zucchini, chopped
2 medium Poblano peppers, roasted and chopped
1 small hot yellow pepper, minced
kernels from 3 ears corn
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a large pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onion. Cook until onion starts to soften. Add remaining ingredients. Cook until everything is softened to taste.