The Anti PB&J - Kids Lunch 1 (recipes included)

In our house there is a nightly question that we generally know the answer to.

Me: "What do you want for lunch tomorrow?"
The boys: "Peanut butter and jelly!"

Despite their love for the classic kid favorite, when I reach for the peanut butter jar I feel guilty for not being more clever.  Granted, we do mix it up a bit by adding fruit, veggie and dip, trail mix, etc. to their BPA free Easy Lunchbox container.  Tonight after seeing what a favorite whole foods blogger put together I got a little crazy and broke us out of the PB&J rut.  Here is tomorrows lunch that the boys are super excited for:

Patrick: grapes, sliced red pepper, a whole wheat banana
muffin (recipe below) and a hard boiled egg (recipe below).

Wyatt: Hormel Natural Choice Oven Roasted Turkey, whole
wheat banana muffin (recipe below), mandarin oranges sprinkled
 withcinnamon and sliced red peppers.

Typically I don't make two different lunches for the boys but Wyatt is not a fan of eggs or (recently) grapes.  Since I was feeling like an overachiever I didn't mind working around their favorites tonight but tomorrow may be a different story.  ;-)


Banana Muffins

• 3 bananas (ripe to overripe)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup applesauce, unsweetened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1/4 cup ground flax seed
• 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon (or less to taste)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Peel bananas and place in a large mixing bowl.  Mash the bananas with a hand held potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon.
3. Add the remaining ingredients to the mixing bowl.  Stir to combine.
4. Grease 12 muffin cups and pour the batter in evenly. 
5. Bake for 25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

• Eggs
• Large saucepan with lid
• Water to cover

1. Place cold eggs in the bottom of a large saucepan.
2. Cover eggs with water by about an inch.
3. Cook on high heat until the water comes to a boil.
4. Cover and remove from heat.
5. Set timer for 16 minutes.
6. Once timer goes off drain water (careful, it's hot!).  Add new cold water and lots of ice to cool the eggs quickly. 
7. Store either peeled or in shell in a zip top bag in the fridge.

Hopefully this will be the first of a series of Anti PB&J of lunch box posts.  Looking forward to having you along for the ride and would love to hear your comments and suggestions!  Perhaps the next post will contain these ice pop containers that I ordered today to hold frozen smoothies and yogurt pops.  YUM!

Corned Beef Dinner with Roasted Brussel Sprouts

My family loves a good corned beef dinner.  Here is my tried and true recipe served with homemade horseradish sauce, roasted Brussel sprouts and red potatoes, and mini Irish soda bread loaves.

I know many of you are gagging at the mere thought of Brussel sprouts, but roasting works miracles on these little gems.  Trust me when I tell you to give these a try.  Toss in some red potatoes for a hearty side dish to enjoy on St. Patrick's Day or any other day of the year.

Corned Beef

• One 3lb corned beef brisket (uncooked), in brine
• 4 quarts cold water
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons black peppercorns
• 4 whole allspice berries
• 4 whole cloves

1. Rinse the corned beef brisket under cold running water.  (Be sure to give the sink a good scrub after!)
2. Place the beef in a large heavy bottomed pot with lid.  Add the remaining ingredients to the pot.
3. Cover and bring the pot to a slow boil over high heat.  Reduce the heat and skim off/discard any foamy scum that rises to the surface. 
4. Simmer for 3 hours and 45 minutes. 
5. Remove the beef from the pot and allow to sit for 20 minutes to reabsorb the juices. 
6. Slice the beef against the grain and serve with horseradish sauce or mustard.

Horseradish Sauce

• 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 3 tablespoons jarred grated horseradish
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• Kosher salt and pepper to taste

1. Mix together all ingredients.
2. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

• 2lbs Brussel sprouts
• 2lbs red potatoes
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Kosher salt and pepper to taste
• Garlic powder to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Trim the stem ends off the Brussel sprouts and remove a couple of the outer leaves.  Cut the sprouts in half and place in a large mixing bowl.  Don't worry if a few more leaves fall off when you cut the sprouts in half.  They will crisp up nicely.
3. Wash and dry the red potatoes and add to the mixing bowl.
4. Drizzle the olive oil over the Brussel sprouts and potatoes.  Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste.  Toss gently to coat.
5. Spread on a large cookie sheet (or two smaller sheets) and roast until the potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes.  Shake the vegetables to mix about halfway through.

Mini Irish Soda Bread Loaves (with Cranberries)

One of my favorite St. Patrick's day recipes is hearty Irish Soda Bread.  I have great memories of helping my mother cut in the butter and watching her knead the dough. 

In my experience, the best recipe cards or clippings are the most food covered.  The recipe, clipped from a magazine 30 years ago, is darkened with age and dotted with buttery circles. 

My mother's casserole dish is taking a year in favor of a couple of muffin pans.  If you choose to bake in a 2 quart round casserole, adjust the baking time to approximately 1 hour, 20 minutes.  In either case serve the warm bread with a generous spread of butter.



Cut the butter into the
dry ingredients 

Flour and butter mixture
with cranberries

Mixed dough

Ready for the oven

Mini Irish Soda Bread Loaves (with Cranberries)

• 4 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 tablespoons butter, cold and cubed
• 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries (or currants or raisins)
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten (divided)
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  The recipe makes approximately 18 muffin sized loaves.  Butter the muffin pans and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 
3. Cut the cold butter it into the flour mixture with a pastry blender (or two knives used in a scissor fashion) until it resembles course crumbs.
4. Add the cranberries and mix gently.
5. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the beaten eggs.  Stir in buttermilk and remaining eggs into the flour mixture until just combined.  (The dough will be sticky.) 
6. With floured hands, knead about 10 strokes to mix thoroughly.  Break off large golf ball size pieces of dough and loosely shape into a ball.  Place one ball in each of the buttered muffin cups.
7. Repeat until the dough is completely divided between the cups.
8. Brush the dough with the reserved beaten egg. 
9. Bake the bread for 25 minutes until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 
10. Allow the bread to cool and store in a zip top bag or freeze for longer storage. 

St. Patrick's Day Corned Beef

One of the most profound things about eating locally is shaking the hand of the person raising your food.  At Miles Smith Farm one of those folks is Carol Soule.  She welcomed us to the farm, showed us to the cows and got hay for us to feed them.  That was when we learned just how long a cows tongue really is!  The boys were so scared of getting licked they refused to feed them! 

Miles Smith cows are pasture raised and well cared for as they enjoy the fresh air and blue skies of New Hampshire.  The care that Carol and her husband provide the cows translates into beef that I trust is safe for my family.  To find local meat in your area visit your local farmers market, health food store, www.localharvest.org or www.eatwild.com. 

Brine dry ingredients

Who needs grocery store corned beef for St. Patrick's Day when you can do it yourself?  Alton Brown's recipe indicates the brisket should brine for 10 days so I'm cheating a little with only seven to spare.  Our point cut brisket is fairly thin and will do fine with a few days less in the brine.  Because of the large size of the brisket I cut it into two pieces - each in their own ziptop bag.

I chose to omit the saltpeter that Alton's recipe includes.  Saltpeter is a nitrate that retains the meat's pink color.  I also wasn't able to find the juniper berries so those were also omitted from my version.  I did hear that Whole Foods carried them but we don't yet have a Whole Foods in NH!

In the coming days I'll post my favorite recipes for corned beef, horseradish sauce, Brussel sprouts and Irish soda bread.  Stay tuned!

Brisket in the brine

Corned Beef Brine

• 2 quarts water
• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken into a few pieces
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 12 whole juniper berries
• 8 whole cloves
• 8 whole allspice berries
• 2 bay leaves, crumbled
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 lbs of ice
• 1 3lb brisket 

1. Place the water into a large 6 to 8 quart stockpot along with salt, sugar, cinnamon stick, mustard seeds, peppercorns, cloves, allspice, juniper berries, bay leaves and ginger.
2. Cook over high heat until the salt and sugar have dissolved.
3. Remove from the heat and add the ice. Stir until the ice has melted. If necessary, place the brine into the refrigerator until it reaches a temperature of 45 degrees F.
4. Once it has cooled, place the brisket in a 2-gallon zip top bag and add the brine. Squeeze out any air and seal the bag.  Lay it flat inside a container, cover and place in the refrigerator for 10 days. Check daily to make sure the beef is completely submerged and stir the brine.
5. Serves 4-6.

Whole Food Breakfast - Meyer Lemon and Currant Scones

Regardless of how high fiber, low sugar, whole grain, and organic a cereal is, it is still a processed food.

One of my favorite ways to break out of the cereal grind is with homemade scones.  Easy to make ahead, they are grab and go, slightly sweet, and you can't beat the buttery texture of the flaky biscuit.

I made a batch of Meyer Lemon and Currant Scones today to get us started for breakfast for the week.  Considering how we have eaten them for snack this afternoon I see another batch in my future tomorrow evening!

Today's recipe came from one of my favorite whole food sites.  With only Meyer lemons on hand, I modified the original version and they came out well.  Enjoy!

Meyer Lemon and Currant Scones

• 3 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup turbinado sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks of cold butter, cubed
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 2 Myer lemons, zested and juiced
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2/3 cup currants
• Turbinado sugar for sprinkling

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl combine flour, turbinado  sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 
3. Cut in cold butter with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles very coarse cornmeal. 
4. Add the oats, zest and lemon juice and stir. 
5. Add the buttermilk and currants and stir until moistened.
6. Transfer the dough to the counter and finish mixing with your hands.  Be careful not to over mix.
7. Work the dough into a 10 inch square shape.  Using a pastry cutter or knife cut the square into 9 scones equal pieces. 
8. Transfer the scones to a parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
9. Bake for 15 minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown. 
10. Store in an air tight container once cooled.

I've got worms! Adventures in vermicomposting

Our family of four averages about two bags of trash a week.  Recycling helps, however we try to limit our purchases to things that have need or use and not just stuff.  Don't get me wrong, we have more than enough toys (for kids and grown-ups) in our house!  I would venture to guess that compared to the "typical" American family we live pretty simple lives.

Red wiggler worms

Limiting our stuff collection extends to our food.  Shopping the perimeter of the store, staying away from processed foods, and from scratch cooking limits our packaging trash.  There is, however, an opportunity to manage our scrap food waste which is where the worms come in. 

Our Made in America Christmas resulted in a shiny new Worm Bin for me!  My quest to locate red wiggler worms in N.H. in the winter ended badly.  I suspect I would have had better luck locally during the farm market season.  As luck would have it, Amazon carries everything these day including red wigglers.

My role as worm mother has not begun well.  Waiting two days to open the box, the flyer inside urges immediately adding water to the worms.  (Mistake #1)  Next, the worm bin directions stress that all of the bin set up should be done before the worms are purchased.  (Mistake #2)  Oops.  I'll do better next time and in the mean time my worms are still alive.

This morning the boys and I set up the bin with scraps from our salad last night.  Per the manufacturer directions, here are the steps we followed:

Chop up food scraps well.

Lay down dry newspaper to cover the bottom of the bin.
Prep the bedding material and spread it on top of the newspaper.

Add food to the corners of the bin and dump in the worms
into the center.

Cover with damp, shredded newspaper and then full sheets
 of wet newspaper.

Put the lid on and let 'em eat.  Add more food trays
as the worms establish themselves.

Applesauce Granola - Now with natural sweetener variation

Update: Recipe now includes sucessfully tested natural sweeterner variation. 

On occasion I have been known to go a little crazy in the quest to feed my passion.  Granola provides the perfect example.  My long time assumption has been that the more stuff in the granola the better it will taste.  Oats, nuts, seeds, ground flax, wheat germ, honey, oil - you name it and I've put it in granola.  Once baked I have always been at least mildly disappointed. 

Enter a recipe I found this weekend that goes against the grain, er... oat.  This one is simple, versatile and amazingly good.  Not to mention very low in fat and sugar. 

I rely on homemade granola as a base for granola bars.  The simpler the granola recipe the more variety of granola bar recipe.


Applesauce Granola

• 4 1/2 cups rolled oats (not quick oats)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (or substitute 3 tablespoons agave nectar + 1 teaspoon black strap molasses)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix together oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.  Set aside.
3. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine applesauce, honey and coconut oil.
4. Once warmed through mix the applesauce mixture into the oat mixture.  Stir to coat.
5. Spread the mixture into a 9x13 casserole dish or roasting pan.
6. Bake 45 to 50 minutes, stirring the mixture every 10 minutes.  The granola is done when it is golden brown.
7. Store in a sealed container for up to two weeks or freeze for longer storage.

Stay tuned for future posts on granola bars made from homemade applesauce granola!