best-ever banana bread

Since we've been sent into house arrest we seem to end each week or two with over-ripe bananas. And since I have adapted a recipe online to be healthier, which I swear my children don't know I do, I figured I should document how I make this (if only for myself) so as not to forget our version of the best banana bread ever.

Everyone online is proffering up their version of the best banana bread. Especially now that everyone in quarantine is into making banana bread. Perhaps it's because we're all home to see the bananas turn to that perfect leopard-like state. The uneaten stragglers in the bunch aren't turning black and fruit fly-infested and headed for the bin. Or maybe baking in general is just on the rise as we sit at home and stare at the oven wondering what to make next.

In any case, after months of making banana bread (yes, way before we all became bread bakers), I can officially say that this is our best-ever banana bread—healthier, moister, more flexible and more banana-ier than the competition.

Best-ever banana bread
with thanks to Sally's Baking Addiction for the base recipe

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir together in a large bowl:
2 cups flour (I use 1 cup unbleached all-purpose, 1/2 cup whole wheat and 1/2 cup almond meal. Totally flexible here - sub gluten-free flours, more whole wheat, whatever)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cinnamon (could also introduce some other spices here like ginger, nutmeg, cardamon - I would just go for a 1/4 teaspoon extra so you don't overpower the banana)

Warm on the stove in saucepan until melted:
1/2 cup coconut oil (can also use butter or other light tasting oil, which wouldn't need to be melted of course)

Whisk into the oil (off the heat):
3/4 cup maple syrup (I like Grade B for baking, which has a darker, richer flavor - or you can use coconut sugar, honey or, if you must, brown sugar)
2 eggs
1/3 cup plain yogurt, sour cream or buttermilk (I use whole milk plain yogurt - I do not recommend anything non-fat here)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just mixed. Then stir in:
3 mashed over-ripe bananas
handful of chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
handful of chocolate chips or pieces (optional) (I really like Hu gems for this - they are quite bittersweet and have no refined sugars)
tablespoon of rum (I have not done this, but I have no doubt that it would be an outstanding addition)

Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for 60-65 minutes until a skewer poked in the center comes out clean or it just looks done. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then pop onto a rack. I advise you to let the loaf cool 1-2 hours before attempting to slice, but I never adhere to this advice. An hour is a long time to smell this deliciousness wafting through the house and not do something about it immediately. The loaf won't stick together for that first slice, but it still tastes great.

15-minute dinner

A single, 20-something co-worker told me today she couldn't fathom making dinner every night. Even a couple nights a week sounded completely overwhelming. I didn't tell her that next to putting my kids to bed, cooking dinner, even at 8 p.m., is my favorite part of the day.

Although it's nice to have a plan (aka recipe), mostly I just like to make something up. When I don't want to be in the kitchen long (like when Olympic skating airs), I sauté a few ingredients and call it a night. This dinner is always delicious and I can make it in 15-minutes flat.

Sausage Pasta Toss

couple handfuls of pasta (broken spaghetti, penne or bowtie)
olive oil
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1/2 to 1 cup chicken or veggie broth
4 pre-cooked chicken sausages, sliced
can of beans (white kidney, chickpea or pinto), drained and rinced
couple handfuls of greens (spinach, swiss chard or kale)
salt and pepper
parmesan cheese

Cook pasta al dente and drain with beans. Heat oil and sauté garlic for a minute or two, add sausage and 1/2 cup broth. Bring to boil and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add greens, pasta and beans and more broth if needed. Season with salt and pepper and cook down for a couple minutes. Serve topped with parmesan.

cookies revive the blog

Over the last eight weeks I have started and left unfinished three different blog posts. With the job, freelance work, family, school craziness, taxes, early risers (need I say more), my head is just not in the game. I think I have something to say but as I start writing, I can't get my thoughts together. Thankfully, inspiration has not disappeared completely. I still remember how to bake.

Tonight I had a hankering for peanut butter cookies. I never make peanut butter cookies. I don't even know how the butter and peanut butter ended up on the counter. And then the egg and the milk. The flour. I had the ingredients. Mostly.

We don't stock much in the sugar department anymore. In fact, some (particularly an 8 year old I know) think I am getting a little crazy about cutting out sugar. Andrew still uses sugar in his coffee, because he likes to poison himself like that. But tonight I thank him. I pillaged what I could from his stash and then got the strange idea to substitute a banana for the rest. A banana's sweet and goes nicely with peanut butter. Could be insanely brilliant. Could be weird but edible. Could totally flop.

The verdict? Well, I am writing this post. The first in nearly two months. You do the math. Then do the recipe. You can thank me later.

Peanut Butter Banana Cookies

1/2 cup butter
1 cup creamy peanut butter (no sugar, of course)
3/4 cup sugar
1 medium ripe banana
1 egg
1 T milk
1 t. vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
3/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt

Cream butter, peanut butter and sugar. Mix in banana until totally blended. Mix in egg, milk and vanilla until creamy and smooth. Stir together dry ingredients in separate bowl and stir into peanut butter mixture. Drop by tablespoons onto lined cookie sheets and bake at 350 degrees for 10-11 minutes.

what you have for breakfast?

This weekend Elliott made it his mission to find out what every soul within earshot ate that morning. Friends, family, librarians, cashiers, random grocery shoppers we passed in the aisles. His approach was so bold and so perfectly innocent, I swelled with a mixture of pride, awkwardness and heartbreak each time he asked his well-rehearsed question.

"What you have for breakfast?"

Most of the people he bravely accosted had to get him to repeat the question. Probably a combination of the consonants missing at the ends of words and the fact that a five year old had never thought to ask this of them before. But everyone gave him an answer.

"Ooooh," he'd always respond. As if it were the first time he had been told toast or oatmeal.

Although I recognize this line of questioning as Elliott's way of making a connection with everyone who crosses his path, I also think he got a lot of pleasure out of answering the question the few times it was tossed back to him. He'd proudly say he ate a cookie. I would step in to explain. It's not really a cookie. It's a healthy cookie. More like a muffin. A healthy muffin.

But it really doesn't matter. My son is going straight for a meaningful exchange. None of that small talk. No simple hellos. What were you doing this morning before you put your face on for the rest of the world? You know, in your pajamas, your real self? How well did you fuel yourself for the day? Me? I ate a cookie. Oh, and here's my irresponsible mother. The parent who gave me a cookie for breakfast. Bye.

"So, what did you have for breakfast?" the checkout lady at the grocery store, our last public encounter, asked this afternoon after Elliott had brazenly drilled her on her own morning routine.

"A cookie!" Elliott practically shouted.

"Wow," said the cashier, glancing at me. "Aren't you lucky!"

I resisted the urge to explain and simply smiled and handed her my money.

Every day this kid teaches me something beautiful. Today I learned that connection matters far more than appearance. And that cookies make a very happy breakfast.

Elliott's (Healthy) Breakfast Cookies

2/3 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
1 T orange zest
1/3 cup raisins, dried cranberries or chopped dried figs
1/3 cup chopped nuts
3/4  all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup oat bran
1/4 cup almond meal
1/2 cup shredded coconut (we use unsweetened)
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t cinnamon
1/8 t ginger
1/8 t nutmeg

Blend honey through nuts. Stir together dry ingredients and incorporate into wet ingredients. Drop large spoonfuls onto lined cookie sheets. Bake 12 minutes at 350. Makes about a dozen large cookies.

how about them apples?

(Before I begin, I would like to say a word to Instagram. Instagram, your new business model stinks. I took a slew of beautiful pictures of pumpkins and apples and my children over the weekend and you have made it impossible for me to save, print or even post those photos on my blog. I love how you make me look so much better than I am, but I am leaving you. All you care about is Facebook. I am so disappointed in you. Okay, now that I've explained why there are no fabulous photos shared here, on with the post.)

I’ve never been a fan of the shorter days or the colder mornings. Give me a bright and sunny 6 a.m. that’s fast-approaching a balmy 80 degrees any day of the year. Still, I’m a sucker for the changing seasons. The sudden transformation from green and brown to orange and yellow never fails to awe me. And the orchards overrun with pumpkins and peck after peck of apples inspires me every year.

The last two weekends we’ve visited two different orchards. For you local folks, Honey Hill Orchard in Waterman, IL, is worth the drive if you’re looking for the world’s best homemade apple cider donut, a pick-your-own pumpkin patch and some family-friendly activities like a hay-bale maze, petting zoo and tractor pull that are (unbelievably) free. If you’re looking for a very expensive three-ring circus that includes a giant plethora of country kitsch for purchase, a cop directing traffic in the middle of nowhere and a “fun” area you can hardly get out of without spending a week’s budget, check out Kuipers Family Farm in Maple Park, IL. (I should, however, note that my kids were crazy about the washing stations at Kuipers. We brought home some spanking-clean pumpkins.)

At both orchards I picked up a peck of Cortlands. Hands down (in my opinion), they make the best applesauce. Using my grandma’s recipe (which is nothing but the whole, peel-on, seeds-in apple), I immediately processed the first peck last weekend. The gallon of sauce lasted a week. I also made this delicious and very flexible breakfast apple crumble. I say breakfast because it’s low on sugar and it has oatmeal in it and it makes me feel better about eating dessert when the sun is rising. And my kids think I rock when we eat apple crumble for breakfast. (I used honey in it and exchanged almond meal for half the whole wheat flour. Hence the flexible part.)

I also tried something new with apples last week. And I am happy to say—especially to you people who are demanding new recipes (you know who you are)—it turned out pretty excellent. I will make it again, which is my criteria for putting the recipe into a post, as this blog has now become my recipe book and lately my reminder that I actually used to cook and bake stuff. Now it is proof that when apples are in season, I still do.

A pizza recipe with apples may seem odd, but the best recipes often are. This one’s no exception. (By the way, I know this recipe would benefit from photos, but thanks to Instagram, there aren't any. The final product looks like a muffin and functions like a calzone, in case that helps.)

Muffin-tin Meatball (or Meatless Ball) and Apple Pizza

1 recipe pizza dough (below) or store-bought dough (like Trader Joe’s)

6 meatballs (like frozen Turkey meatballs or vegetarian meatballs from Trader Joe’s)

1 apple, peeled and thinly sliced

6 T marinara sauce

shredded mozzarella (about 1 cup)

shredded parmesan (couple ½ cup)

egg

1 T milk

Separate dough into 6 pieces and roll out pieces individually to diameter of a large grapefruit. Set first piece in large, greased muffin tin compartment. A couple inches on all sides should hang over the edge. Fan out a layer of thinly sliced apple in the bottom and along the sides of the dough-lined tin. Put meatball, a tablespoon of marinara, a couple pinches of mozzarella and a pinch of parmesan on top of the apple. Fold over the excess dough to close the pizza pocket. Continue with the other five pizza pockets. Brush the tops of the six mini calzone-like pizzas with a mixture of egg and milk. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

For the dough:

Dissolve ½ teaspoon of yeast in ¾ cup warm water. In mixer with dough hook, stir together 2 cups all-purpose flour with ½ teaspoon salt. While mixing, pour in the yeast water. Continue mixing for several minutes. Dough should look and feel like pizza dough. Form into a ball and let sit for a few minutes before using.

preparing for the week

I think this may be the longest I've ever gone between blog posts. It has something to do with being in a perpetual state of jet lag. Without the jet. Between a very demanding project that has turned my 12-hour work/commute days into 14-15 hour work/commute days, a boy who has been waking up in the middle of the night, multiple daily lunch preparations before leaving the house at 7, 6 or even 5 a.m. and the effort needed to tend to my family and maintain some semblance of friendship with the people I love, there has been very little time to write. Or think a coherent thought, which would allow me something to write about.

A couple of weekends ago in the kitchen, I had some thoughts as I listened to a great interview with one of world's leading geophysicists and spiritual thinkers on the meaning of humanity from NPR's On Being. Maybe I'm just starved for meaningful thought, but I was so moved by what he said, I stopped the podcast a couple of times to take notes. I was going to write about this, but I'm pretty sure the notes have been swept off the counter into the garbage.

I had also considered writing about music at one point and the strange emotional power it has over me, but then I figured that may have more to do with sleep deprivation. And if there is something meaningful there to write about, I am still at a loss to find it. Nonetheless, I invite you to listen to one of the very wonderful songs that makes me cry regularly.

I have also had an idea for a post about my ridiculous obsession with my smart phone, but I'm not sure I'm ready to be that transparent. So instead, I'll stick with my favorite topic (after Liam and Elliott) and write about food.

This weekend, between working and playing, I spent time in the kitchen preparing for the week ahead. In addition to clearing piles of accumulated papers (which have grown exponentially with the start of the school year), I cut up loads of vegetables and fruits and put them in containers so they would be easy to grab from lunches and snacks. Not rocket science, but it sure feels like a great and satisfying accomplishment.

I also made a big batch of bolognese sauce that we ate over spaghetti on Saturday night and over baked potatoes tonight. (This is a favorite recipe and one of the few meat dishes I make, using all local grass-fed beef and no pork.) Then, with some of the veggie scraps, I made homemade vegetable broth so I can easily pull together a minestrone or our delicious carrot soup for dinner later in the week.

Although I felt like a truck rode over me this morning (and not for any good reason other than the aforementioned jet-less jet lag), I managed to make my children some very healthy breakfast cookies. They went kind of nuts for them. I thought they were on the dry and tasteless side. Shows how depriving kids of sugar can make them overly excited for anything that bears the name "cookie." I will spare you that recipe. The broth, however, is a worthy addition, particularly with soup season upon us. If it inspires any great soup recipes from your kitchen, please share. I need more to write about.

Simple Homemade Veggie Broth

Celery (what's left after cutting up sticks)
Carrots (1-2 washed and roughly chopped)
Onion (1 large chopped plus the skin)
Other veggies (e.g., golden beet, washed and chopped; swiss chard stalks; just nothing gas-producing like broccoli, cauliflower or cabbage)
1 t salt
1 t thyme
1 t Italian seasoning or marjoram
10 cups water

Bring to a boil and simmer on low boil 30 minutes. Cool and strain into a glass quart jar.

cake

To make the weekends a little more special, I've been trying to bake. I recently found a cake recipe that uses a 6 oz. yogurt container as the main measure, making it easy for a child to prepare the batter. So this afternoon, I enlisted Elliott's help and we whipped up the easy French yogurt cake. After a perfect dinner of BLTs (perhaps the only thing that keeps me from becoming a full vegetarian) and an after-dinner walk downtown to watch the Prairie State Cycling Series, a thrilling professional criterion right in our own backyard, we ate the Elliott-made cake with fresh peaches and créme fraiche while watching the Olympics. Pretty special, I'd say.

Yogurt Cake a Child Can Make
From Bringing Up Bébé by Pamela Druckerman

2 6 oz. containers plain whole-milk yogurt (use container to measure other ingredients)
2 eggs
1 container sugar
1 t. vanilla
Little less than 1 container coconut oil (or other oil)
4 containers flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder

Mix together ingredients. Spoon into greased and floured 9-inch round pan or cast iron skillet. Bake at 375 for 35 minutes. Batter will be very thick; cake will be very delicious.

i'm not fooling anyone

One of the best compliments I ever receive is when people tell me I remind them of my grandma Gaye. It is true that I inherited her height and her slender build, her deep love for family and her fondness for all things farm. But, perhaps, where I find her most in my life is in my cooking. Like my grandma, I am kind of a stickler about feeding my kids whole foods and seriously limiting the sugar. However, if I were really my grandma, I'd be grinding my own grain into flour and refusing to allow a stitch of sugar into my home. But let's be serious people, this is the 21st century in the suburbs.

My dad and his siblings love to joke about the cookies my grandma used to make. She would take a recipe and make it healthy, which meant replacing the white flour with whole wheat, the sugar with honey and the chocolate with raisins. Her children were not fans of her cookies. In fact, I believe they all felt a little deprived in the dessert department growing up.

But I understand my grandma. I've eaten her cookies. I didn't think they were so bad.

My son, in the short time he had with my grandma, adored the woman. He also politely ate her cookies, which is why I supposed he wouldn't mind when I finally broke down the other day and made some chocolate chip cookies with whole wheat flour and honey and packed them with zucchini.

I have to admit I didn't love these cookies at first, but I think they got better with age. Because when you don't keep a plethora of desserts in the house and rarely make sweet things, even a zucchini cookie is quite the treat.

Liam took his first bite and eyed me warily.

"Does this have honey in it?" he asked.

"Yep," I replied.

Another bite.

"Does it have zucchini in it?" he asked semi-shocked.

"Yes," I answered cautiously.

Another bite.

"Mom," he said with a surprised smile. "These are awesome!"

Not the response I was expecting. But what a coup. Even though I didn't grind the flour myself, I believe my grandma would be proud.

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from a recipe by Camille Kingsolver in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life

1 egg
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Combine egg, oil, honey, brown sugar and vanilla. Sift together dry ingredients and add to batter. Stir in zucchini and chocolate chips. Drop spoonfuls on cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Makes 3 dozen.

baking makes me happy

The second week of my new job I was given a personality profile to complete online and then met with a small group of coworkers (who had also completed the profile) to discuss the results. Before we each shared which quadrant the profile placed us in and whether we tended to be results driven or likely to back down in a disagreement, we each took turns sharing a couple of seemingly random things about ourselves. In addition to the first thing we like to do when we get to work (check e-mail) and our life's motto (All shall be well), we were asked to name two things we like to do when we have free time. I could have named 20 things, but I narrowed down the list to spending time with people I love and baking, which I see now pretty accurately depicts my "iS" personality (the happy maker).

Over the last two weekends as the high of quality time spent with the people I love quickly dissolved into the funk of anticipating another week missing my kids, being stuck inside sitting at a desk and not having a stretch of day to clean out the closets or organize the garage (not that I would, but at least knowing I could!), I found myself measuring flour into a bowl, cracking eggs and shredding zucchini. Especially when I'm down, baking makes me happy.

Mixing together the ingredients, pouring the batter into a pan or plopping spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet, setting the timer and gradually noticing the smells in the house improve makes me happy. Pulling out fresh bread from the oven makes me happy. Giving a neighbor or a struggling friend something I've baked makes me happy. But most of all, being intimately involved in the creation of something special and delicious, without a single thought that I wish I were doing something else or being somewhere else or, simply, someone else makes me happy. Baking, like reading to my kids in bed, practicing yoga, walking through the forest and writing something beautiful reinforces my motto, All shall be well. And lately I've needed a lot of reinforcement, which is why before 6 a.m. yesterday, I was baking breakfast cookies.

If you want to join me in being happy, try this zucchini bread. It's one of my favorite things to bake when I'm in a hurry to get something in the oven. I combined a couple of recipes and made it just a little healthier but still really yummy.

Zucchini Bread

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 t. salt
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1 1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice (or 1/2 t. cinnamon, 1/2 t. nutmeg, 1/4 t. clove, 1/4 t. ginger)
2 large zucchini, grated
3/4 cup sugar (or 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup agave)
4 eggs
1/2 cup oil

Stir together dry ingredients. Combine zucchini, sugar, eggs and oil. Stir dry ingredients into zucchini mixture until just combined. Transfer batter to two loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.

a charlie brownish kind of day

Homeschooling has its drawbacks. I haven't written much about it, but for multiple reasons, we took Liam out of school after Christmas break to spend the rest of the year learning at home. Liam was and has been 100 percent on board, but holidays just aren't the same. Yesterday we made some cute superhero suckers to give to a bunch of Liam's good friends and Elliott's classmates. Elliott excitedly came home with reciprocal valentines from all his friends. Liam delivered his suckers after school, but other than cards from parents and grandparents, he came up empty.

The day wasn't a total bust. We enjoyed fancy hot cocoa and waffles with strawberries and whipped cream for breakfast. We made special heart cookies and delivered them to friends and neighbors who have had a darker than usual February or who are just simply alone today. And Liam spend the late afternoon with a couple of his best buddies.

But tonight there were tears. It's tough to be left out, even when it's not at all intentional. He just wasn't part of a classroom valentine's day party this year. And it's tough to be the mom of the boy whose mailbox went empty. It just isn't always enough to have your mom tell you you're great.

Nothing breaks my heart like putting to bed a kid who's sad. Although I know there's bound to be the fair share of heartbreak in our future, I feel partly responsible for today's. Maybe I should have emailed some neighbors and told them Liam would be giving valentines to their kids, hoping they'd all set one aside for him. Or maybe we should have gotten involved in some homeschool group. (But since we've only planned this as a half-year venture, we haven't pursued new friends.)

Tonight, I came downstairs feeling sad myself. Andrew had just finished lessons, so I told him about the day and what a trooper Liam had been yet how he cried when I put him to bed. Andrew headed upstairs. After a few minutes he came into the kitchen.

"He's fine now."

"What did you say?" I asked.

Andrew smiled. "I gave him five dollars."

As much as it sucks to be sad, and sucks even more to see your kid be sad, throwing money at disappointment doesn't seem like the best solution. But apparently it works. Still, I'm looking forward to next year when we'll continue our traditions of having fancy hot cocoa for breakfast and making treats for lonely neighbors, but when we'll also have a classroom of valentines to sort through at the end of the day. Because after a year without, a boy understands what a gift a full mailbox is, Justin Bieber and Barbie cards included.

a little pumpkin

This post isn't about Elliott, although he is a little pumpkin (especially when sleeping), and I couldn't resist showing this sweet photo of him cuddled with his uncle Tim post-Thanksgiving Day dinner.

This post, however, is about the real sort of pumpkin. The sort that I love in just about every concoction except traditional pumpkin pie. Weird, I know.

Pumpkin muffins, however . . . well, let's just say I shudder to think how many I've eaten over the last five days. But when a girl is perfecting her recipe, many batches must be tried. Bellyaches aside, I am pleased to say that have landed on the moistest, tastiest and, yes, perhaps healthiest pumpkin muffin recipe ever.

If you, too, are a fan of pumpkin, I suggest you roast a pumpkin or open a can and give it a try. Or, if you are not a fan, check out these recipes for Pumpkin Caramel Gingersnap Cheesecake and Pumpkin Caramel Bars with Bacon. Warning: They are not healthy. But they may cure you of an aversion to pumpkin. I mean, really, how can you go wrong with caramel, or bacon? And since we are now looking at unhealthy pumpkin recipes, be sure not to miss one of my favorite autumn treats: Southwestern Pumpkin Soup. I made it last night, in fact. Needed some heavy cream to wash all those muffins down.

Now, onto our healthy pumpkin recipe. . .

The Best Pumpkin Muffins

Mix together:
1 cup pumpkin puree or 1/2 can pumpkin
1/3 cup melted coconut oil (if you don't have it, you can use butter)
2 eggs
3/4 honey and/or pure maple syrup

Whisk together and add to mixture above:
2 cups flour (I like the Ultragrain flour or use a mix of multipurpose and whole wheat pastry flour if you can)
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 t pumpkin pie spice (or 1/2 cinnamon, 1/4 nutmeg, 1/4 allspice, 1/4 clove, 1/4 ginger)
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt

Add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional).

Spoon into a greased muffin tin and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Makes a dozen.

friday haiku {and a recipe}

alchemy of soup
carrots, lentils, rice and broth
says all will be well

::

Lentil and Brown Rice Soup

I looked back through all my recipe posts, and I can't believe I've never shared this. When the weather turns, I make this soup. All. The. Time. Love that it uses pantry staples and inexpensive veggies and, other than a little chopping, takes almost zero effort. Plus, you can adapt it and add other root veggies you have on hand. Today I threw in some golden beets. Cheap, easy, healthy comfort food at its best.

1 cup lentils
1/2 cup brown rice
3 cups broth
4 cups water
2 t. salt
1/2 t. oregano
1/4 t. thyme
1/4 t. fresh ground pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, sliced
1 can diced or whole tomatoes
1 T. cider vinegar

Put all ingredients except tomatoes and vinegar in a pot. Heat to boiling, reduce to simmer and cover; 45 minutes. Stir in tomatoes (break up if using whole) and vinegar. Simmer another 10-15 minutes. Ladle in bowls and sprinkle with parmesan.

sensational salsa

I almost didn't post a picture of this recipe because, well, it probably doesn't look like the greatest thing you've ever eaten. You probably don't imagine you'll be dreaming about this salsa or throwing tortilla chip bags in your grocery basket on a daily basis. Prepare to be surprised.

I made this salsa for our neighborhood block party this past weekend. It honestly was gone in the first 30 minutes, and that was before anyone even started eating. And I made a double batch. And there were still lots of chips left.

People ate this salsa with a spoon. And if you were at this block party and never even saw this salsa, you can blame the first five neighbors there. They ate it all, and they didn't even feel bad about it.

Since I was sharing with my neighbors and only had a taste of the salsa - I'm nice like that - I made another batch last night for me and Andrew. Well, it was just going to be for me, but Andrew looked at me with his puppy dog eyes. So I took the bowl out of my lap and gave him some. We ate the entire batch.

The salsa is adapted from a little type-written recipe I picked up at our favorite Heritage Prairie Market. My goal was to use up odd CSA veggies that were about to rot in my fridge. Am I ever glad that I did.

Cucumber Avocado Salsa

1 medium cucumber, diced
1 avocado, ripe but firm, diced
1 banana pepper, diced
1/2 fennel bulb, diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 t honey
1/4 t kosher salt

Get a good knife and do some therapeutic chopping. Stir all the ingredients together. Find some good chips or eat with a spoon. You'll be really glad that you did.

we love the swiss for more than their chocolate

This past weekend my siblings and our families gathered at my dad and step mom's lake house for one last summer fling. Although we all arrived and left at various times and stayed different durations, all 16 of us were together for more than 24 hours of swimming, card playing, bike riding, ogling babies and eating. In order to ensure a minority did not end up with a majority of the kitchen work, we divided up meal responsibilities. Each family took a meal and, being the eager-to-please overachievers that we are, each brought their A-game.

My brother and sister-in-law and their two-month-old son Tucker claimed Saturday breakfast. Late the night before, while the rest of us were trying to pull out our A-game at the card table, Mark and Jamie were chopping and grating and dirtying every pan imaginable, prepping for breakfast. Sausage was browned. Apples were sauteed. Savory casseroles were layered into buttered dishes. And a large bowl of grayish, pink glop was stuck in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, Mark suggested we get the kids going early and ladle up some of the fruit and oat muesli (i.e., the glop in the bowl). I thought I had had muesli before and that it was dry and a lot like granola on steroids. Apparently, that is not authentic. True Muesli is more like thick, lumpy papier mache.

I wasn't sure how the muesli would go over with my kids, particularly Liam who is pretty faithful to a bowl of raisin bran. I was pretty sure they wouldn't like it, but I scooped the kids each a small bowl any way.

Liam claims that he ate seven bowls of muesli that morning. All of us were huge fans.

I found the recipe on Epicurious as soon as I got home. Amazingly I had all of the ingredients on hand so I whipped up a batch tonight. I substituted about 1/8 cup of agave syrup for the 1/4 cup of honey because I didn't have enough honey and because I'm really digging agave right now. For fruit, I tossed in apples from my neighbor's tree (after cutting out all the worms, of course), peaches, blueberries and bananas.

This breakfast includes all the essential food groups and it just sits in the fridge, ready to eat. It isn't the prettiest, but like your mother always told you, it's what's inside that counts. Plus, it couldn't be simpler to throw at your kids on a school morning and - bonus - they'll wolf it right down. Of course, that is, if you haven't eaten it all yourself.

Fruit and Oat Muesli
Adapted from Bon Appétit, January 2010

1 1/4 cups quick-cooking oats
2/3 to 3/4 cup milk (we like a little more milk in ours)
2/3 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup orange juice
1/8 cup agave syrup (or 1/4 cup honey)
1 1/2 cups grated peeled apples (from your neighbor's tree if they're handy)
3 cups chopped fresh fruit
1 cup chopped almonds and walnuts

Mix first 4 ingredients in large bowl. Let stand 5 minutes to soften oats. Whisk orange juice and agave (or honey) in medium bowl. Stir in grated apples and chopped fruit. Stir fruit mixture into oat mixture. Cover; chill overnight. Spoon into bowls. Top with chopped nuts.

the greatest granola

I once knew a woman who only ate at two restaurants and she always ordered the same thing. She never changed it up. I thought she was nuts. Unless I am absolutely crazy about a particular menu item (like the crabcake hand rolls at Wok 'n Fire or the raspberry chip ice cream at Grahams), I prefer to order something different every time.

Eating at home is a different story. On a pretty regular basis throughout the summer, we've been enjoying frittata, caprese salad, kale chips, egg salad, squash-crusted pizza and granola. These foods never bore me. Especially the granola that I now eat every. single. day.

Almost every breakfast and sometimes for an afternoon or late-night snack, I have this granola in my bowl with a couple spoonfuls of plain yogurt (the whole milk organic kind because if I'm just eating a couple spoonfuls I want it to taste really delicious - i.e., not the jello-y non-fat stuff) and either fresh berries or a compote-jam thing I make by simmering down fruit (rhubarb, peaches, berries, plums - whatever is in season) with a little agave nectar and lemon juice. The awesome part, though, is the granola. I think I have posted two granola recipes before but they are nothing compared to this one. The secret, I've decided, is the orange zest.

I think I'll probably make and eat this granola for the rest of my life. Is that incredibly boring? Probably, yes. Maybe even a little nuts. But I'm okay with that. Make it and I think you'll understand.

The Greatest Granola
adapted from Super Natural Every Day

4 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup walnut pieces
1 cup unsweetened coconut, flakes or shredded
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
Grated zest of 2 oranges*
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup maple syrup

Combine oats through zest in a large bowl. Melt butter, whisk in syrup then add to oats mixture. Stir well. Spread out on two cookie sheets. Bake at 300 degrees about 35-40 minutes, turning the granola with a spatula once or twice while baking. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

*Once I successfully used a grapefruit because I didn't have oranges and I was - gasp - out of granola. Whatever you do, don't leave out the zest.

that can't be good

Today it rained. Again. So while Elliott was napping, I scrambled to come up with something Liam could help me bake. The over-ripe bananas attracting fruit flies on the counter had to be used, so I searched through a wonderful new cookbook I found at the library and found cookies with banana as a main ingredient. My first thought was "gross." But, skimming the ingredients, I realized I had all of the essentials, even the odd ones like coconut oil and almond meal. I figured it would be an experiment and a diversion for Liam. And if we had to throw the "cookies" away, oh well.

The batter was weird and didn't taste particularly good, but Liam made it himself and was quite pleased with how it turned out. While forming blobs of seemingly over-moist batter into balls, I thought this was an epic fail. If bananas as a main ingredient wasn't enough to prove the ridiculousness of the recipe, the fact that it had no butter, no flour, no sugar and no egg should have been the dead giveaway. Not only could this not be good, this really could not be a cookie.

To my utter surprise, however, I was wrong. Completely wrong. These cookies are AWESOME. And, for those with allergies, for those who eat vegan or for those, like us, who are trying so very hard to avoid sugar, this recipe is a gift. The original calls for peanuts and popcorn (which, like the bananas, sounds so very weird and wrong). But these were the two ingredients we didn't have on hand. After some debate with Liam, I decided to replace them with toasted coconut flakes and dried cranberries. Not sure how the original fares, but our version rocks. Truly. Make these. You will not be sorry.

Totally Free Cookies (i.e., gluten free, dairy free, egg free, sugar free)
Adapted from the Carnival Cookies recipe in Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson

1 1/2 cups well-mashed bananas (3 medium)
1 t. vanilla
1/4 cup coconut oil (in a liquid or near liquid state)
1 1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup almond meal
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 cup dark chocolate pieces or chocolate chips
1 cup toasted, unsweetened, flaked coconut

Combine banana, vanilla and coconut oil. In separate bowl, stir together dry ingredients. Add dry to wet and mix until just combined. Form tablespoon-sized balls (will be sticky and moister than regular cookie dough). Bake at 350 for about 16-18 minutes. Eat them for breakfast. Give them to your kids as a snack. Splurge and eat two. Or three. You will not believe how good these are. Or how good you feel for making them.

Note about coconut oil: For most this is not a common pantry item. Over the last six months, it has become a staple in our home. Coconut oil contains good-for-you fats. But, unlike olive oil, coconut oil is solid at room temperature, so it can spread like butter. We use it on bread/toast and cook with sometimes. You can find it at any healthfood store. After some trial and error, we have found that Nutiva brand has the best taste. Not too coconutty, just really delicious.

richard simmons' chili

I haven't posted a recipe in quite a while. Mostly because I've been in a cooking rut. If it isn't a fish stick, an omelette or a pizza, my family hasn't seen it. Tonight, with no plan for dinner, I was suddenly craving chili. After a last-minute ingredient run, I whipped together this dish in 15 minutes. My mom gave me the recipe many years ago and told me she got it from the Richard Simmons show. Whether or not Richard Simmons really ate it, this chili is super fast, super yummy, super healthy and kids love it. I've made it so many times I don't need to look at a recipe anymore. That really helps when you're running into a store with no idea what to make for dinner. Or, if you're really good, you'll just keep the ingredients on hand. Now that's an idea.

Richard Simmons Chili
1 T olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 lb ground turkey
1 T chili powder
2 cans stewed tomatoes, Mexican style if you can get them
2 cans kidney beans, drained and rinced
1 cup frozen corn

Saute onion in olive oil for a few minutes. Add ground turkey and cook until no longer pink. Stir in chili powder. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Simmer 15 minutes (less if you're rushed or can't wait to eat). Top with shredded cheese. Applaud yourself for making a nice dinner and eating healthy. My, you're good.

the best vegetable soup

Wednesday and Thursday evenings are packed with activities. In the midst of shuttling here and there, I struggle to put together a decent dinner. As brave (read: crazy) souls who work for ourselves, we have been scraping bottom for the last few weeks, clinging to our last ten dollars, waiting for the windfall that is next month. As a result, other than the unexpected organic vegetable delivery that came yesterday, it's slim pickings in the food department.

While I locked myself in the bathroom yesterday afternoon to get a break, I quickly scanned through various cookbooks to see what I could make that would be quick and easy and make everyone happy. With the ingredients I had on hand, not much. An Herbed Vegetable Soup in the Big Book of Soups and Stews (that has some really outstanding recipes), inspired me to put together this soup. It was a hit! I can't wait to eat it again for lunch today.

The Best Vegetable Soup
2 T butter
1 onion, chooped
2 garlic cloves, minced
~3 cups chopped veggies (I used 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, 2 small peeled potatoes, 4 mushrooms, a handful of cauliflower florets)
3 cups vegetable broth*
1 t salt
1/2 t basil
1/4 t oregano
freshly ground pepper
a couple handfuls of whole wheat pasta**
grated parmesan

Heat butter in dutch oven and saute onions and garlic about 5 minutes. Add veggies, broth, spices and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in pasta. Cover and simmer another 10-15 minutes. Ladle into bowls and top with cheese. (This soup is more like a stew. We liked it that way. Just add more broth or water if you don't.)

*I hate how much organic broth costs and the waste of all the cartons. We steam a lot of broccoli and cauliflower and green beans around here, so I have been saving the vitamin-rich water that results after steaming. (I remember that my grandma used to cool and drink this water on the spot. Probably one of the reasons she was hardly sick a day in her lovely long life.) The steamed veggie water makes excellent FREE broth!

**The only pasta I had in the house was whole wheat spaghetti. So I grabbed a bunch of spaghetti and broke it into thirds. I think the noodles are part of what made this soup so yummy.

beyond the crudité

For the last several weeks, I've been co-leading a study at church called Just Eating? Practicing Our Faith at the Table. In one of the sessions each participant was given a slip of paper with a small amount of money written on it. Each was instructed to bring food in for the group the next week without spending more than their limit. My amount was 25 cents.

What can be bought for a quarter to feed even a bite to eight people? As I walked down the produce aisle, I had an idea. Grapefruits were 24 cents. I would peel and section it the way my grandma often did and my stepmom still always does.

If you have never peeled and sectioned a grapefruit - where you painstakingly free each section from its bitter membrane, attempting to keep the beautiful, bursting fruit intact - you are missing a rare moment of zen. Grapefruit peeling is an art form. It is meditative and rewarding, not only because the final product is so luscious and delicious but because the act itself feels holy.

I explained to the group that I chose the grapefruit because although the money I had to spend was small, each bite of the shimmering, sweet red fruit on the plate was precious. I couldn't imagine wasting a section because of the effort and care that went into preparing it. How often do we look at our meals this way?

Amazingly, all the items offered up that night, for which we had each spent $1.50 or less, were thoughtfully prepared and presented. And they were all real, whole foods. Nothing preprepared. No sugar. No junk.

One participant brought homemade carrot-apple juice. Another, a savory dish of rice and beans. Another, chopped veggies in a vinegar-oil dressing.

The thing that surprised me most was how we each took such care with our very meager budgets. We wanted to bring the best, most delicious, most wholesome food we could to share, even when we had so little to spend. Or, maybe, because we had so little to spend. The limits required creativity and care. Two aspects to eating that have been lost in our extravagant, convenience culture.

I took home one idea that night and have been making various versions of the chopped veggie salad ever since. A couple carrots, a cucumber, some cauliflower. I have always just cut them into sticks and slices and florets and dipped them in ranch. An okay way to eat raw veggies, but after a while, pretty boring. The salad, however, transforms the crudité. I eat it all day. Sometimes I add tomato or chop a red pepper. It's lovely to prepare, look at and eat. Food becomes holy. The way it should always be.


Chopped Vegetable Salad

3-4 cups of chopped, fresh veggies
4 T olive oil
2 T rice wine vinegar
1 t agave syrup or honey
salt and pepper

Chop. Observe the vivid color of the carrot. Chop. Inhale the clean, subtle fragrance of the cucumber. Chop. Marvel over the odd beauty of the cauliflower. Mix up the dressing. Enjoy knowing that none of these ingredients were created in a laboratory. Toss the vegetables and the dressing together. Add your own variations. Give thanks for the farmers who grew the vitamin-rich vegetables. Take a bite. Say thanks to the God who made them. Take another bite. Eat. Savor. Eat. Smile knowing that you just ate a whole plate of raw veggies and it wasn't boring. It was actually pretty darn good.

a different loaf

I make bread religiously at least once a week, often twice. I usually give away as much as we consume. And I always make the same Oatmeal Bread recipe.* Always. Sometimes I think about trying something new but I am afraid I will waste my bread making effort on an inferior loaf.

Sunday I was in the bread making mood but didn't have all the ingredients I needed for our regular recipe (and had no desire to go buy ingredients) so I dared to not only attempt something new, but to adapt a recipe I had never tried, since I didn't have all those ingredients either. The loaves were totally different than the Oatmeal bread but delicious nonetheless.

Three-Flour Sunflower Seed Bread

4 1/2 t. yeast (or 2 packages)
2 cups warm water
1/4 cup molasses
2 T honey or sugar
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup rye flour
2 1/2 t. salt
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 1/2 to 2 cups unbleached flour

Combine the first four ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined. Stir in the whole wheat flour, then the rye flour, salt and seeds. Gradually mix in the white flour. Let the dough rest for about 10 minutes (it will be kind of sticky), then knead for 3-5 minutes. (I choose to do this in a Kitchenaid mixer with a bread hook. I am not the romantic sort who loves to get my hands in the dough. I was born to multitask during the 3-5 minutes the Kitchenaid is kneading for me.)

Form the kneaded bread into a ball and let rise in the mixing bowl, covered with a kitchen towel, for 2-3 hours, until doubled in size. Punch dough down, form into two loaves and put in greased bread pans. Cover with towel and let rise another hour or so. Bake the loaves at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes.

This hearty bread is really good warm from the oven with soup. It also makes great toast the next day.

*Since I posted the Oatmeal Bread recipe over two years ago, I have adapted it slightly. I have upped the salt by a teaspoon and now use 1 cup whole wheat flour and 4 cups unbleached all-purpose after everything else is combined. The sunflower seed bread is really good - good enough to deserve a blog post - but the oatmeal bread is still the very best.