S'mores

We've been working through our summer bucket list, roadtripping, picnicking and going to the pool multiple times a week. But we hadn't yet made s'mores. So I took advantage of the hot coals left over from the Rachael Ray magazine beef-lemon-tomato kabobs (which I highly recommend, especially if Josh grills them).

Nom nom nom.

Strawberries and stuff

Josh and the kids picked strawberries Friday morning and I've been doing by best to put all 7 lbs to good use before they get overripe. So today I made a batch of bran-strawberry mini muffins, 3 jars of strawberry freezer jam (I followed the recipe on the pectin box), strawberry shortcake and strawberry sorbet. And I still have a lot of strawberries to go through. I'm thinking there might be smoothies for breakfast tomorrow.

And the strawberry recipe bonanza wasn't the only way I was productive today. I hired a babysitter to occupy the kids for a couple of hours this afternoon while Josh and I decluttered and organized the crawl space. It was a good day to be an Oak Park Freecycler.

Speaking of which, I just finished reading Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things and I'm now convinced the Freecycle list is probably dangerously tempting to hoarders. As addictive to them, perhaps, as it is to those of us who love to purge.

Recipe week: My semi-famous salad dressing

As I child, I was blissfully unaware of bottled salad dressings. My mom always made her own and I loved it so much I'd beg for the dregs from the daily salad bowl so I could drink it straight up. Although I love salt & vinegar potato chips, I think my tastes are a bit more refined now and I'm happy to report I no longer drink vinaigrette.

This oil and vinegar combination--which I've gotten more compliments on than a lifetime of cute shoes--still bears some resemblance to Mom's, but it's been informed by Martha Stewart and Mark Bittman as well. Grab yourself an old jam or mustard jar (we save them and store everything from salad dressing to nuts, candy and dried fruit in them) and come play.

Peel 1 or 2 garlic cloves, slice them in half lengthwise, and place them in your jar. Then fill it 1/4 full with extra virgin olive oil. Add a nearly equal quantity of corn or canola oil until your jar is 1/2 full. Pour in unfiltered apple cider vinegar until your jar is about 2/3 to 3/4 full. There should be approximately 2 times as much oil as there is vinegar. If you like a touch of sweetness or want to lower the fat content of your dressing, now is the time to splash in a tablespoon or two of apple cider or juice. Add 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, a few shakes each of salt, freshly ground black pepper, dried oregano and celery seed. Put the top on and shake vigorously until the all ingredients are combined.

We pour this salad dressing over salads, which usually contain some combination of dark leafy greens; carrots; tomatoes (in season); pear, apple, grape or strawberry slices; sunflower seeds or pistachios; and crumbled feta or blue cheese.

Earlier in Recipe Week

Homemade Mac & Cheese

Healthy, Yummy Pancakes

M&M Brownies

Recipe Week: Homemade Mac & Cheese

I only get to visit my sister about once a year, but every time I've ever visited her, she's asked me to make macaroni & cheese. This is also the comfort food I make and deliver to new moms. And last night I brought half of it to a "Super Bowl" party (we didn't actually watch the game) and put the other half in my chest freezer for enjoyment later this month. I've made my mac and cheese so many times I can't remember the last time I consulted a cook book. That said, I'm sure this recipe owes something to the Joy of Cooking.

Ingredients

1 lb elbow noodles or pasta shells

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp all purpose flour

1 tsp each mustard powder, paprika

2 cups milk

Up to 4 tbsp cream cheese (optional, but worth it)

1 lb sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

optional: fresh bread crumbs, seasoned salt and garlic powder

Fill a large pot with salted water and bring to a boil. When the water is at a rolling boil, add the pasta and cook until barely al dente. Meanwhile, melt the butter over medium-high heat until foamy. Whisk in the flour and cook for a minute or two. Add spices and whisk in the milk. Cook, whisking frequently until the milk mixture thickens (this can take a while). Once it's thickened, turn off the flame and stir in the cream cheese, if using, and all but 1/3 cup of the shredded cheddar cheese. Stir until melted. Drain the cooked pasta and combine with the cheese sauce. Pour into a greased 9X12 inch pan or two smaller casserole dishes. Top with shredded cheese and breadcrumbs, seasoned salt and garlic powder, if desired. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Earlier in Recipe Week

Healthy, Yummy Pancakes

M&M Brownies

Chocolate, chocolate and M&M brownies

Together with friends, we spent the morning at the Morton Arboretum, which was luring folks to its snowy, cold gardens with something truly sweet: chocolate. After exploring the Candy Walk, a real-life Candy Land game in the Children's Garden, we headed indoors to the Chocolate Expo inside the Visitor Center. Every table was offering free samples, and I sampled them all--pretzels dipped in melted chocolate, full-sized artesianal chocolates, chocolate and Swiss cheese paninis, chocolate balsamic vinegar and chocolate lava cakes. We even purchased a genuine Belgian waffle and a box of ugly truffles.

After sampling so many delicious chocolates, it was probably wrong of me to have an M&M brownie when I got home. To make amends, I'll share my recipe with you. It is my go-to from scratch recipe as it can be made with ingredients I always have on hand. It's adapted from the Hershey's Cocoa Powder Brownies, and a wee bit naughty as you know Hershey's would never advocate enhancing their recipe with a Mars product! Speaking of Mars, some of the tastiest samples were from Dove Chocolate Discoveries, a home shopping party outfit. Although I've attended a few, I've always shied away from hosting anything that smacks of Tupperware, but I have to admit in this case I'm tempted.

M&M Brownies

Ingredients

1 stick butter, melted

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup M&Ms

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8 inch square pan with foil and grease the foil. With a wooden spoon, combine the butter, sugar and vanilla. Stir in the eggs. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients, ending with the salt. Add the dry mixture to the butter and egg mixture and stir well. Add the M&Ms and stir once more. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-28 minutes. Cool before pulling out the foil-bottomed brownies and cut into small squares.

Previously on Recipe Week: Healthy, Yummy Pancakes

Recipe Week: Healthy, yummy pancakes

It's been quite a while since I've posted any recipes, so I'm going to make this recipe week. I'll post some of my favorite, go-to recipes for all to enjoy. First up, I've finally perfected our weekend pancake recipe (originally based on the Joy of Cooking's Basic Pancakes), increasing its wholesomeness without detracting from its deliciousness.

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

3 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp ground flaxseed

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups 1% or 2% milk

3 tbsp canola oil

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

Up to 3/4 cup frozen organic wild blueberries

Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Then whisk together the milk, oil, eggs and vanilla in a smaller bowl. Dump the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk to combine. Preheat your pan or griddle, having sprayed it first with a Pam-like spray. Add the blueberries right before you ladle out your pancakes. I usually make a few smaller, blueberry-free pancakes for the girls and then add blueberries and make big, frying pan-sized griddle cakes for the grown-ups. This batter is on the thin side, so they cook fairly quickly over medium to medium-high heat and you won't have to worry about raw middles. As you cook, transfer done pancakes to a plate in a warm oven. Serve with real maple syrup.

Tee-hee...mama's got treats in store

Tomorrow is Z's birthday, so tonight I wrapped and hid presents around the house and wrote clues for her to follow. I also made Smitten Kitchen's Brown Butter Crispy Treats. Because I love Rice Crispy Treats, brown butter and salt.

Wow, what a weekend!

Just today, I hit Fox Park with the kiddos, met Vanessa and her son for coffee and beignets, watched the River Forest Memorial Day parade, took Z to a playdate (where I scored some hand-me-downs for A) and had Jodi and Peter and their 4 month old daughter over for a visit.

The parade, my favorite, was a hit with all of the families we met there. We sat, as usual, at Ashland and Iowa, near the home of the guy who offers all the kids free rides on his model train. A practiced a lot of new words and phrases, including "flag," "another fire truck," "more people," "choo-choo train," and "candy." I liked the marching bands and old-school planes flying over in formation. The highlight for Z? "The princesses." Really, how can three not-that-pretty beauty queens perched on the back of a convertible beat out gymnast kids doing handsprings, flag team girls and the entire staff of Brown Cow Ice Cream Parlor? They didn't even throw tootsie rolls!

Here's Z riding the train with Vanessa's kids. A was too scared to ride the train, but her daughter--only 2 weeks older--jumped right in.

Sunday night we had a cookout with two sets of neighbors and their relatives. Nine kids and 10 adults put away a ton of grilled burgers, chicken breasts, brats and hot dogs. And we finished with this strawberry-rhubarb crumble from Smitten Kitchen.

It was so good we made it again today.

Lots more photos are up on my flickr page.

Passover granola? Yes!

I asked my tweeps for non-seder Passover recipes, and Twitter delivered. Here's Marilyn's Pesach Granola, modified to suit my tastes. It's almost as good as my regular granola!

5 cups matzah farfel

3/4 cup slivered almonds

1/4 cup walnut pieces
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/3 cup canola oil

1/3 cup honey

2 tbs. water

1-2 tbs brown sugar (or to taste)

1 cup golden raisins

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 300.

Put farfel, nuts, coconut and cinnamon into a large bowl and stir. Blend together the oil, honey and water and pour over the mixture. Stir well, coating the mixture. Sprinkle with sugar.

Spread granola in prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 min or until it seems dry. Remove from oven and break it up to loosen it. When cool, add raisins. Store in plastic bag or container.

Makes about 8 cups.

My very own granola recipe

After 6+ batches, I've got this granola-making venture down to a science. Obviously I don't have enough bags to give to everyone, so please accept this awesome recipe as my holiday gift to you. By the way, I would totally include this in my TasteBook, which I hope to win from the Rookie Moms' Tastebook giveaway.

Ingredients
1/3 cup honey*
1/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup water
4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup wheat germ (optional)
1/2 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup golden raisins

Directions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Wisk together first three ingredients in a small bowl. Combine oats, almonds and coconut in a large bowl and toss with the liquid until evenly moistened. Spread mixture on a rimmed cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 45 minute, stirring once or twice to evenly brown. Remove from oven and stir in the cherries and raisins. Cool completely on the cookie sheet before storing in airtight container or bags.

* When I was low on honey, I substituted brown sugar and used a bit more water--worked just fine.

A new way to fish

We eat a lot of salmon, but Josh and I were getting tired of the same old sauteed salmon and couscous that'd we'd been eating--oh, at least twice a month for the past 6 months. So I volunteered to cook Saturday night and made this Real Simple recipe for Roast Salmon and Vegetables with Barbecue Sauce that I had ripped out of the magazine over a year ago. It was the first time I'd ever cooked fennel and even though I used less salmon than called for, the results were outstanding.

I brought a pile of magazines home (I can get free unclaimed subscriptions from the agency mail room) and flagged a bunch of yummy-looking recipes. At the very least we should be able to get out of the same-old, same-old rut and perhaps we'll find a few more keepers for my go-to binder of favorites.

Thanksgiving with friends

This year marks the fourth year we've refused to travel on Thanksgiving but it's the first time since my senior year of college that we haven't celebrated with any of our parents. Instead, four families from our playgroup gathered at my friend Gloria's house for a fabulous turkey dinner. Eight adults, eight kids under four and absolutely no stress!

Here's what we ate (my contributions are in italics and I've included links where available)...

Smoked Gouda and Guinness cheddar cheese, crackers and grapes
Pumpkin cheese ball
18 lb Roasted Brined Turkey with Reisling Gravy
Mixed greens, pear and cranberry salad
Sweet potato casserole with pecans
Cranberry-apricot sauce
Jellied cranberry sauce
Rice-sausage stuffing
Fruited bread stuffing
Carrot souffle
Butternut squash souffle
Honey whole wheat rolls
Red and white wines
Pumpkin pie
Pumpkin cream-cheese praline pie
Pear and dried cherry pie
Fresh whipped cream
Coffee

Eight adults and eight children aged three and under, one 18 pound bird (brined and roasted to Martha Stewart's specifications by Eric), countless side dishes, three

Baking with and for toddlers

Z and I have made mini muffins together nearly every weekend for quite some time. It's a great project to do with a 2-year-old since there are lots of opportunities for her to "help" and the results come quickly (and deliciously). By making mini muffins instead of the standard size, we not only cut down on the baking time, we end up with a perfectly sized snack for small hands and tiny appetites.

Typically, we make blueberry, banana or bran-apricot muffins (made with Fiber One), but I was in the mood for something a little different this morning. So I decided to make apple muffins and improvised this recipe around the Basic Muffins recipe in How To Cook Everything, which has recently joined the Joy of Cooking and America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook as a go-to reference in our kitchen.

Marketing Mommy's Apple Mini Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch cake spice (optional)
3 tbsp canola oil
1 egg
1 1/4 cup lowfat plain yogurt
2 small apples, peeled and chopped


Mix together the dry ingredients in one bowl. Beat together the egg, milk and oil in another bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and fold to combine. Fold in chopped apples. If the batter is too thick, add a splash of milk. Spoon batter into mini muffin pan and bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes. Standard muffins will take 20-25 minutes.

Homemade marshmallows

Yeah, it sounds crazy. And it is a bit of a sticky mess, but I was so inspired by this posting on Slashfood that I whipped up a batch of homemade marshmallows, which I'm sharing with friends.

And yes, they are that good.