A Lunch Box Tip

In the last 10 years I've packed a lot of lunches. A LOT of lunches. I take it a bit seriously and always try to keep them interesting. They must include the basic food groups. They can't include anything orange (the it-o family-Fritos, Doritos) or soda but there can always be a sweet (but not of the fruit snack variety).

When the kids reach middle school, they take over the making of their lunches and they must follow the lunch box rules. I still cut-up veggies, bake cookies and make egg salad and the like but they have to assemble and pack. It's an easy step toward greater responsibility needed in middle school. I think it reinforces learning to feed oneself, too. Also, I am sooooo tired of packing lunches.

Occasionally, if I was feeling especially proud of the stock in the lunch kitchen I'd stick a post-it (or  recycled envelope) on the inside of the "lunch cabinet". Not being a morning person, Ella was always appreciative since it takes a lot of thought out of lunch packing.

I made the dry erase frame (from Make and Takes via Pinterest) to hang on my fridge as a menu board/grocery list and I love it. One day I thought "why not hang one inside the lunch cabinet?" Duh.

3-M velcro tabs affix it to the door. A dry erase maker hung from cook's twine might be handy to prevent its disappearance.

 Ella loves it.

And I love that because it's one more lunch I don't have to pack.

Jimmy Would Love This

I am a sucker for any book on preserving any-thing. Thanks to Amazon's ability for anayltics, I never miss the release of a new one.


Though released last year, one full of particularly wonderful ideas is Put 'Em Up by Sherri Brooks Vinton. Most preserving books are include all seasons of produce but in this one I find more year-round recipe which really appeal to me. Recipes using fennel and mushrooms. Lots of ideas for citrus.

A stroke of brilliance is a suggestion for using dried limes to flavor soups and stews.

Okay, I'll be honest. It spoke to me because I always seem to be in the process of dry limes - though I never intend to.

A revelation for chicken tortilla soup. Def.

Limes not "wasting away in Margaritaville".

Now it's nobody's fault.

Mondays & Rainy Days Past

The following is a blog I wrote last August and then didn't post. I think I decided the picture wasn't good enough. I've since decided I love this memory too much to care about how the photo looks.

~~~

Rainy days don't typically get me down and Mondays are just a new start. The Carpenter's singing the song however leaves me ready to leap.

Yesterday was a rainy day. The rain clouds slowly crept from the west as Max and I finished some errands. The thunder started and accompanied us to Trader Joe's. We made it home only slightly wet and shortly thereafter, it began to pour.

Jake, a perpetual four-year-old, excitedly prattled on about playing in the rain. Henry was the only one up for it. I grabbed the camera.

They followed each other up the sidewalk and around and around the driveway. With bare, white feet contrasting with summer brown legs, they shuffled through the biggest of puddles. It was fun to watch.

Playing in the summer rain is a fond memory of childhood for me. Cool respite from the summer heat. The solitude of feeling like the only one in the world.


I wish now I could remember why I didn't join them. Next time I'll be cool and feeling like the only one in the world, except for Jake and Henry.

On a Creative Roll

In all, 17 people got their gift on in the yellow house for the annual kitchen gifts class last month. Since the second class was rather large, I modified my typical format and set up stations, tastings, examples and mini demonstrations.

One of the best parts of kitchen gifts is the creative wrapping process. I do my best to buy only brown paper and doll it up. A blank canvas to be made hip, sparkly,  rustic or traditional. To that end, I also try to corner the market with every possible cool bit to make conservatively wrapped gifts especially fun. When possible, I like everything to be reusable.

The problem in these classes has historically been how to display the goods without looking like JoAnne and Michael barfed on the table. The answer? Brown paper.

Isn't she clever?

A cohesive display and much inspiration.

Disclaimer:

This post was written well before Christmas and abandon as many of my forthcoming posts were.

I must apologize for unearthing Christmas. It's past, it's done, it's packed away. But since I didn't get this posted in a timely fashion and really wanted to share this idea, here it is. To save myself, I wondered about other applications of this little display and come up with some others....

Gather your goodies and host a winter craft party. Use it to show step-by-step directions for the scout meeting or birthday party craft. Roll out a brown paper table runner at your Superbowl party. Draw out your plays, root for your team, label the snacks, never hear "what is this?" every again.

That alone, is worth it.

A Boo Blog

In need of a last minute Halloween treat to keep little hands busy this weekend? Henry's scout group recently came over for a meeting and spooky fun. In need of easy crafts and projects, I was inspired by an overwhelming collection of white chocolate. A quick trip to Michael's for sucker sticks and I was ready for 7 little boys to wreak havoc.

Melt the white chocolate in the microwave with a one tablespoon of vegetable oil per 12 ounces of chocolate. The oil allows for smoother melting and give the finished project softer bite.

A blob of white chocolate was placed on each boys sheet of parchment paper and they set about creating their ghost with the back of a small spoon. Of course, an off-set spatula makes this a bit easier but everyone has lots of spoons, right?

Once the shape is just right, a stick is spun in the chocolate to affix it and a nice, big brother goes back and adds a bit more to glue it in place.

Two chocolate chip eyes (or several) and a (or many) red hots for gaping mouth (or more eyes) and it's very spooky. Allow it to cool at room temperature or to speed the process, put it in the fridge or freezer.

BOO! It's a chocolate ghost sucker!

Have a happy and safe Halloween with your little goblins.

Brilliant Vintage Save by Jono

My brilliant brother had the foresight to save the two unbroken glass shades of his 3-bulb vintage lamp. I like to think the reason he brought them to me was because he knew I could find a way to brilliantly re-purpose them.

Though sometimes I can all but taste the potential in a found item, it doesn't reveal itself immediately. Happily, this was not the case.

Flanked on a flea market find bench ( remember Anna?) they are fabulous candle shades. Next to my Grandma's Maytag turned beverage cooler and between the garbage picked lawn chairs, they are perfect. I know, I too, am brilliant. They throw beautiful light because of their wonky shape, provide safety outdoors on a breezy night and have integrated chimneys.

Did I mention they were free?

Thank you little brother for thinking of me.

 Love,
Your Favorite Big Sister

Hip Girl in the Yellow House!

It seems I have been away from my blog for quite a long time. We've been busy in the yellow house getting ready for school, spending every possible moment with friends, settling into the coolness of high school and swimming at the quarry. For my part, I've been unloading and re-loading the dish washer, picking the family room pillows up off the floor and returning the favorite green throw to it's rightful place. *Sigh*

I always say my favorite day of the year is the last day of school. The nice weather, lack of schedule, relaxing on the porch instead of running and schlepping and checking homework. That said, every year I anticipate the first day of school. The weather is getting cooler, I crave a schedule and start to think about nesting and cuddling up indoors when the leaves begin to fall.

Imagine how excited I was to hear the hippest girl in homemaking is coming to the yellow house just in time for what I consider the peak of homemaking season. Kate Payne, the clever girl behind, The Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking: Decorating, Dining and the Gratifying Pleasure of Self-Sufficiency: on a Budget is going to share a DIY kitchen project and sign her beautiful book at a house party.

It's so wonderful to see homemaking become something cool. Canning, sewing, gardening, sustainability and crafting.

If you haven't yet, get this book. It's full of wonderfully simple things that will warm the cockles of your heart - and those of the ones you love.

The Basil Chronicles - Part 3 - Infused Sea Salt

And the basil continues to grow...

A couple years ago I made an Rosemary-Orange Salt as part of a kitchen gifts class. It was a highlight and loved by all. It seemed like a natural direction to go in with the basil.

Start with a chiffonade of basil. What's that you may ask? Simply roll the stacked leaves tightly - like a teeny, tiny jelly roll made of basil.

Run your well-honed knife through and you have chiffonade of basil. Fancy.

For infused salts like this I prefer(red) to use the lovely coarse sea salt from Trader Joe's. Alas, they no longer carry it. I hate it when that happens but I am happy I have this one jar left. You can substitute any nice coarse sea salt for the one shown.

Chop the basil further with your knife perpendicular to your initial cuts and let it sit for about 30 minutes. While you wait - zest a lemon or two.

Toss everything into a food processor, blender or mini prep. I like to use the attachment for my immersion blender. It's the prefect size and easy to clean. Give it a few pulses...

...and you have Basil-Lemon Infused Sea Salt.  I chose to keep this one very simply flavored, for tomatoes or fish. Of course you can add anything you like in any quantity you prefer. Peppercorn? Seeds or cumin or fennel? A touch of freshly grated ginger? Basil of different flavors and colors, oregan, dill, sage. Need I go on?

Now is the time to grind up a bunch in all the flavors of the garden. I think a trio of 1/2 pint jars would make a thoughtful gift from your garden. Take a peak at this post for a bit of packaging inspiration from a real dork....I mean, pro.


The hardest part of this project will be giving them away.

Tarragon Pesto for Fish sans Whining

Last week at the market I picked up the most beautiful bunch of tarragon. More of a bouquet than a bunch, it was in a jar on the dining table until I decided I should actually do something culinary with it.

I decided on Tarragon Pesto. The thought of adding it to my eggs or roasting chicken or topping grilled fish is delicious. To have this fresh ingredient at my finger tips for a future fast meal is comforting.

Leaves of tarragon.

Leaves of spinach.

Cloves of Garlic. Smashed.

Pesto recipes usually call for some sort of nut - pine nuts, pistachios, walnuts or even almonds. I used walnuts.

 

And then olive oil. Since I may end up freezing this, I chose not add the cheese quite yet.

For all intents and purposes - Taaa-Daa - it's pesto!

Pesto is a great way to put off what you can't cook today and can be made out of virtually any herb. I like to put it into 1/4 cup Ball jars and freeze it. For now this jar is living in the fridge but soon, but I hope soon it will grace some grilled fish.

All but one of the children will be out of town so the whining over fish should be minimal. Bonus

Tarragon Pesto

1/4 cup packed fresh tarragon leaves
1/2 cup packed fresh parsley leaves
1 1/4 cup packed fresh spinach leaves
2 T. walnuts
2 large cloves garlic, smashed
3 T. olive oil
2 T. Parmesan cheese

In the bowl of a food processor or blender, place the tarragon, parsley, spinach, nuts and garlic. Pulse until finely minced. Add the oil and cheese, and blend again until smooth.

Store in a container with a tightly fitting lid.

This may be frozen for future use. Defrost before using.

Makes about 3/4 cup

And The Moral Of The Story Is...

For those of you who are not aware, I am a big fan of seasonal food. Growing up, my mother always cooked seasonally - before it was a "thing". We never had peaches in January - because they weren't in season. When I began working in catering sales the menus I wrote were always seasonal. It never occurred to me to serve asparagus in October.

That said, honestly there are times when you think you'll perish if you can't have what your brain craves and your heart desires. Or perhaps it's an impulse buy as it was the day I saw green tomatoes at Meijer. Desire got the best of me and I brought them home. (I know) Mom used to make fried green tomatoes and as is often the way with mom-specialties, mine never taste the same. Regardless, I still try to make mine taste like hers and dip them in a  50/50 combo of flour and cornmeal along with salt and pepper. I didn't have any coarse cornmeal, which is preferable for this, so I had to use a fine grind.

Then I fry them in a fair amount of oil. I used canola. Those below were flipped to early and I am sure were flipped again. To be really tasty they need to be really golden brown. Mom would never have made such a rookie mistake.

Working with what I had, I decided to make a basil mayonnaise. The basil is overcoming the garden and after using a lot of it, I will still need to make a huge batch of pesto at least twice before the end of the season. Lucky me!

I finely hand chopped the basil, then stirred it into a good quality mayonnaise or, even better, homemade.

I fried up some thick cut apple wood smoked bacon, cut some fresh arugula from the garden and made Green Tomato BLT's on a whole grain sandwich bread. Delicious, right?

Well....the flavors were wonderful together but the tomatoes didn't have that tangy "green" flavor that makes me love them. There's a surprise. I absolutely look forward to making this wonderful sandwich again but I'll wait for green tomatoes from my own garden still warm from the sun.

And the moral of the story? Do as I say, not as I do. Don't buy stuff when it's really not in season. Make this sandwich but wait until you can get your hands on "real" green tomatoes.

Tin Cans Reinvented

We love to entertain and we hadn't done it up in a while so in homage to fathers everywhere, we boiled lobsters. I took the opportunity to set a big communal table in the yard and loaded my Grandmother's vintage Maytag with icy drinks. It also gave me the time to do a bit of crafting.

After poking through the garage one day, I came across a bag of tin cans, previously destined to become a robot. I love the looks of tin cans and their uses are endless long after the soup is gone. Since paper napkins always blow away when dining outdoors I decided to turn these long forgotten cans into utensil and napkin holders.

I chose large baked bean and tomato cans for this project.

I used 12" square scrapbook paper from the craft store, measured the can and then cut strips to fit.

When covering larger cans, the 12" paper comes up a bit short so I just patch in a piece. When using a heavier weight paper pull out the glue gun and for lighter weight paper you can manage with rubber cement.

To give then a nautical look, I used a length of laundry line and glued a loosely knotted piece around the middle.

I think they are really cute and  the possibilities are endless.

Happy Entertaining!

Easy Does It

Continuing with the rhubarb theme, I made a Jamie Oliver recipe last week with the end of the rhubarb from Green City.


I am a big fan of Jamie Oliver and his food. It's simple, it's easy and it's about eating well and enjoying life.


I cut the recipe in half and made 3 large servings knowing that the non-rhubarb-crazy set wouldn't really care. The fruit was lovely and rosy. Very tart. Very, very, tart.


Once sprinkled with an easy oat topping scented with ginger it was lovely draped with the Bird's Custard I tried for the first time.

Because it was so very simple, it's just a crisp (though J.O. calls it a crumble which sounds cool-er), I almost didn't share it. Then I reconsidered because it doesn't have to be fancy or include specialty ingredients we search high and low to find. I had everything in the pantry and it was a lovely way to finish a simple meal.

Who was it that said, "it's all about eating well and enjoying life"?

Genius.

Food Snob Seeks Banana Bread

I am not fond of the term foodie. I abhor the thought that local or organic food is elitist. I have four kids and there is nothing elitist about my budget or my grocery list. I recently had a minor (really minor) revelation about the most basic of homemade foods. Banana bread. (I told you it was minor) I've never posted a banana bread recipe and quite honestly have avoided it for blog purposes. Making banana bread for anything "special" is so prosaic. Prosaic is even too fancy a word for banana bread. So really, I am a food snob, aren't I?

But, doesn't everyone have memories of mom's banana bread? Who hasn't made a loaf to save sad fruit from dying a slow death by blackening? Made a loaf as a thoughtful gift for a neighbor? Is it not the "go-to" baked good for moms across America?

In truth, I have made hundreds of loaves of banana bread. I would critique most as just okay but nonetheless, I'd willingly try any recipe. A one shot deal and then off to the next in search of the banana bread to end all banana breads.


It's all about the recipe and finding a good one can be tough. The only one I've truly ever been attached to is my mom's. The only problem with that is I (shamefully?) admit that banana bread isn't worth 2 sticks of butter. Canola oil, let's talk. But butter? I recently discovered the recipe I now turn to when inexpensive breakfast/snack food needs call. Do I have to say it? Williams-Sonoma. Lord you'd think I was a paid spokes person.


Worth trying? Certainly. Worth typing out for this post? No way. You'll find it here.

Sorry, old judgments die hard.

PB Pancakes

Peanut butter and jelly. What's better than the two?


Peanut butter pancakes with grape jelly. Duh!

Last night we planned breakfast for dinner and we invited peanut butter's friends, bananas, maple syrup, honey and bacon. Yum!


I love peanut butter and peanut butter pancakes are the best. I used to make them a lot when the kids were young. The recipe was lost long ago so I went in search of another recipe and found it at Crepes of Wrath. My hit or miss luck with pancakes has been well documented but I am working through it. I am getting better. These, I must say, were perfect!


The peanut butter is melted which really helps to incorporate it into the dry ingredients.


Eggs and your basic dry ingredients.


It already smells pea-nutty.


Key to well cooked pancakes? Griddle hot but not too hot and wait for the bubbles.


Gorgeous. Topped with any of endless possibilities. It doesn't get any better.

Perfect for kids.

And their mother.

After School Treats

Remember when you were a kid and you'd walk in the door after school and find your absolute favorite thing sitting on the kitchen table? An especially nice ending to what may have been a trying day. What was your favorite? Chocolate chip cookies? Banana Snackin' Cake? My favorite was graham cracker cookies. Okay, and also pudding. And Banana Snackin' Cake, too. (does anyone remember those but me?)

What is a graham cracker cookie? Quite simply frosting sandwiched between two graham crackers. At our house it was usually chocolate or lemon. After making many, many cupcakes for school functions and birthday parties, I ended up with extra vanilla frosting. What to do with a bit of frosting - ah ha! Graham cracker cookies.


They take all of about 5 minutes to make and are better after they've sat for a bit since they get a bit soft.

And by the way, don't bother to make them with homemade frosting.

They just wouldn't be the same.

Respect Thy Food

Last week I finally broke down and bought a pair of poultry shears. It's something I've threatened to do for quite awhile but never seemed to commit. Poultry shears allow you to buy a less processed whole chicken and perhaps, if saving on the whole bird, enabling you to buy a organic or local bird. Finding ways to use a whole bird, beyond a roast chicken, I often encourage my class participants to do. A chicken has lots of good parts besides the monstrous breasts, which quite frankly are a bit frightening. Frightening quickly becomes horrifying if you look into it any further.

These shears have allowed me more control over our food and greater respect for the animal - all of its parts.

That's the way it should be.

Cherry-Almond Breakfast Bake

When I used to visit my Grandma she always made real oatmeal, just for me. Not the instant or quick cook but "real" oatmeal. When she was a kid, oatmeal was a required breakfast dish. Later in life, she made the same face she made when she talked about drinking milk. Milk tasted like cows according to Grandma.

Anyway, oatmeal was always accompanied by cream and brown sugar. Most likely buttered toast and bacon, too. Oatmeal is the simplest of foods but one we seldom made at home. (mom made Cream of Wheat.) Irregularity makes simple things super special.

I love oatmeal but sometimes I forget how much I love it. Sometimes I plan to make it in the morning and sleep too long or am too dazed to even attempt a simple task. Other times I don't think of how much I'd like a bowl until 2 in the afternoon. It seems weird to make oatmeal at 2 in the afternoon.

I came across a recipe in a magazine last fall that allows you to make a yummy "bake" enjoy it immediate and the leftovers can be reheated for mornings to come. Perfect, eh? It takes the pressure off of cooking before coffee.


Very promising. Nuts, wheat germ, dried fruit, cinnamon. Maybe some flax seed? Stir it all together with some low fat milk and put it in a pretty baking dish. Ooooooo, low fat.

Bake until bubbly...

Okay, if you pour super decadent organic, cream line half and half over the top maybe it's no longer low fat....

Now you can have oatmeal every morning while the coffee brews. You can even eat it at 2 in the afternoon.

Dried Fruit and Nut Breakfast Bake
modified from Kiwi August/September 2010
*fruit and nut quanities are suggestions only

2 cups old fashioned oats
1/4 cup wheat germ
4 cups 1% milk
1 cup raw almonds/walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 cup dried cherries, chrerries or other dried fruit
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. almond or vanilla extract (depending upon your fruit + nut choices)
1 t. salt

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.

In large bowl, combine the oats, wheat germ, milk, nuts, dried fruit, maple syrup, cinnamon, extract, and salt.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake for 45 minutes. Serve with additional milk and maple syrup Oatmeal will last (at least) three days in the fridge.

Microwave individual servings for 1-2 minutes to re-heat.