Sunny Day Salad

Spring has been teasing us in the Chicago land area lately. The birds are chirping, the tulips are awakening from their winter slumber and the sun is shining. Sometimes the sun even shines enough to counter balance the frigid outdoor air.

The warmish days of spring bring to mind fresh greens. We patiently watch the little spinach and mesclun seeds I sowed in our cold frame a few weeks ago. I just bought some arugula seeds and I think I'll sprinkle a row or two with hopes they'll take off just as we've polished off the spinach.

Every girls loves a crisp peppery arugula salad, particularly when paired with a bit of sweet fruit.


Especially perfect on a sunny spring day.

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.

Pantry Basics

I want you to know how important it is to have a well stocked pantry. If your pantry is well stocked you can usually always throw something together for dinner. The key is keeping the right stuff on hand.

I have limited storage for shelf stable items but I find I don't need a ton of stuff. Let's start with the basic basics. Canned tomatoes, canned beans, olive oil, vinegars and basic condiments like ketchup, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Canned tomatoes, often a better choice in the off season, make a simple sauce for pasta, pizza or chicken. Hard to believe but ketchup is the start of a simple meal like a bean pot or sloppy joes.

A can of black beans are a nice addition to grilled nachos and hummus is a snap with a can of chickpeas on hand.


All meals, especially the simple ones require layers of flavor. Stock is a staple and the purchased is a must-have in the pantry. I'm ready for a pan sauce and can throw together a quick soup with leftover chicken and rice when I have a nice supply in the cabinet. I also try to keep some William-Sonoma demi glace paste around. It makes a stellar stock and dresses up purchased or homemade stock beautifully.


So, with a nice grocery list, a solidly stocked cabinet full of basics and a bit of practice, dinner is a snap.

I just wanted you to know.

xoxo,
Mommy

Sloppy Joes! Sloppy, Sloppy Joes!

I have a secret. I love sloppy joes. When I was pregnant with Jake we ate them - a lot. Doug got a bit sick of them. I don't buy Manwich anymore. Now I make them homemade.


There is really nothing to making them and to say homemade seem a bit grandiose. Simple things, ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, a bit of Worcestershire sauce, all basic pantry items, can make for an great sandwich.


Ground beef browned with chopped onion.


Add the sauce, stir and let them simmer. They're even better if you make them the day before so the flavors can meld overnight.


They are a great, fast meal and perfect when the family is going opposite directions. The best thing about making these myself is I know what's in them. I know the ketchup adds a bit of corn syrup (as does the Worcestershire!) but I do know for sure there is no xanthan gum in them. They are also without guar gum, tomato fiber (?) and carob bean gum.

We don't even miss it them!


Sloppy Joes

2# ground round beef
3 onions, chopped
1) 14oz. bottle of kechup
3 T. brown sugar
dash of salt
1 t. freshly ground black pepper
3 T. worcestershire sauce
6 T. cider vinegar

Brown ground round with onions and drain fat from the pan.

Mix all other ingredients together and stir well.

Pour sauce over meat and onion mixture.

Simmer at least 30-40 minutes.

Whooopie!!

It's Friday!


Ella loves Whoopie Pies and wanted to take them as treats to her classmates. There are 30 kids in the class. Yes, that's 60+ cakes.

I found this book at the library - of course. I think we may have to buy it since it's so much fun. I had a huge mental block about making sooo many pies, but it was really easy. I was proud to have gotten them all done and had extras for the family. Bonus~ALL of the fifth graders LOVED them. (truly amazing)

And I love Ella.

I would have made a million of them.

Miscellany and Martha

Usually with a fair amount of regularity I purge the house of unwanted miscellany. Clutter makes me crazy, probably unnaturally so. I spend a lot of time at the Goodwill drive thru and make regular trips to my local clothes closet to donate to those in need. More often than not the back of my truck is filled with stuff to take other places - donations to the library, clothes to take the kids' resale shop, etc. Unfortunately often times my truck is full when I need it and groceries go on the seats or I have to unload only to reload later. I digress...

About a week ago, I was going through things to recycle - catalogs, school mail and an Everyday Food from March of this year, that didn't have much of interest to me. I took one last run through before pitching it and I am so glad I did. Four words:

Pineapple-Ginger Infused Rum. That Martha.


I had a pineapple I bought the day before - one of those cheater ones that's nicely cored from the grocery store. It was on sale. I stuffed it into a jar.


In goes the dark rum and about 1" of peeled fresh ginger cut into slices and the whole thing gets put in the fridge.


And now we wait for 2 weeks but I think infused alcohol only gets better with time. The recipe suggested using the pineapple as a drink garnish. I am thinking pineapple upside down cake.

I know some day soon, it'll be a lovely, warm spring day and to pay homage to the summer to come Doug and I will enjoy a really wonderful pina colada.

Try this yourself. The waiting is the hardest part.

Who Knew?

So where have I been?

The many healthy, whole food, smart living magazines I've bought, subscribe to or read in line at the grocery store have taught me many things about food. Apparently though, I skipped over, or disregarded, all of the information about the mushrooms. I hated them as a child. White buttom mushrooms still gross me out. I later learned to love portabellos and now I truly appreciate them all. I still won't eat them raw though.

Though I hate to use the expression super food - this is what these little fungi are. They are low in carbs and calories, high in protein and fiber. There is more potassium in one medium portabello than in a banana. Perhaps they should be added to the post run buffet at finish lines? Could they really stop my migraines?


I came home from my last trip to the Green City Market with, among (many) other things, a pound of assorted locally grown mushrooms. Portabellos, oyster and shiitake. They were for Doug since he really loves mushrooms.


I sliced them and sauteed them with olive oil, a bunch of garlic, salt and pepper. They were flavorful and meaty and delicious.

While thus far this super food hasn't enabled me run faster or jumper higher, I think I'll stick with them.

They were really, really good.