Tea Time

My husband keeps asking if I’ve come up with my resolutions yet. Nope. This year I am taking a pass on writing them down. Instead, I am trying to be more mindful, overall, not only in regards to my body but also with my mind and my—at the risk out sounding too tutti frutti--spirit. Drinking more liquids (achem, other than coffee and wine) was an easy habit to adopt. But there’s only so much water I want to drink. And so, I’ve created a sort of “penny candy shop” for myself. Each of these hermetic jars holds a variety of my favorite teas. The one on the left is full of herb teas, and the one on the right holds a reserve of green and black teas for when I need a pick me up. They’re festive on the counter, they remind me to stay hydrated, and my children have started enjoying picking out a bag for their own a cup of tea in the afternoons. It’s all so civil. Let’s see if we can keep it up!

More Rainbow Plate Ideas...

As we head into the new year, most of us have lofty goals for our own health. Many of us are trying to focus on eating healthier foods, so it’s an excellent time to model healthy eating for our children. In the Northeast, it’s a little more challenging to get great fresh fruits and veggies at this time of year, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t create some fabulous “rainbow plates” for (or with) your children.

As long as you have a nice selection of healthy foods on hand, and you have done some of the legwork in advance (ex: roasting veggies, making an egg/veggie scramble that can become the filling for a quick breakfast burrito, roasting some chicken breasts, etc.) then each of these plates should be made for your children in a matter of minutes. Totally doable, no matter how busy your days may be!

Though it annoys them to no end (because what they really want to do is just dig in and get back to playing), when I think of it, I’ve snapped a photo of some of my children’s recent meals.

Pictured above: corn (frozen, then steamed), freeze-dried strawberries, slivered almonds, dried cranberries, and part of a Trader Joe's Pesto Pasta Bowl (found in their freezer section). Here are several other “rainbow plate” ideas:

Protein Pancakes, a berry compote (made with organic frozen berries), sliced bananas and dried cranberries.

Turkey meatballs (which I make a big batch of, then keep in the freezer for busy days), cucumber slices, carrots (yes, I let them pick out the mini ones this week) and blueberries (not organic, not local...again, I pick my battles!)

Grilled cheese on whole wheat, tomato soup, apple slices, and grapes (and whole milk).

Apple slices, onion rings (my craving, not theirs that particular day), an Applegate Farms turkey hot dog, avocado chunks, bell pepper "swords" (don't ask), and a Feta-Fig Tartlet to try.

Annie's Mac & Cheese with chicken apple sausage and broccoli, grapes, bell pepper slices, and a piece of clafouti for a treat.

When I was downloading the photos above I came across a couple late summer ones I don’t think I posted…a little less relevant because of the fruits and veggies that were available then, but still good for some meal-making inspiration:

Roated zucchini, apple slices, cherry tomatoes (look at those neat colors!!), and grilled chicken with a side of homemade (though store bought would be just fine) pesto as a dip.

Watermelon, pear slices, chunks of kiwi, a whole wheat bagel with cream cheese, and steamed corn on the cob...if I remember correctly, the request was "we want a dinner we can eat with our hands!"

(Store bought) Brown Rice California Rolls, sugar snap peas, cucumber slices and low-sodium soy sauce.

Yo Kids Yogurt, an apple, Snap Pea Crisps, and 1/2 of a Trader Joe's veggie lasagna (from the freezer section).

Feeling a little less controlled by technology...

Part of my effort to get back in balance in 2010 is to spend less time online. I got ready for this goal before the holidays, when I “unfriended” all of my “friends” on Facebook. Shocking, I know. It wasn’t that I didn’t value their friendship. There were a few really witty friends whose daily posts I greatly miss. But overall, the time of each day that I gained back (and all of the social drama I can once again be blissfully ignorant about) is really, really nice. I am back to living in my own happy little bubble.

My intention was to still keep the Full Plate page active on Facebook, since I know that many like to get the blog updates that way. But, since I have spent way too much time these past couple days trying to (unsuccessfully) post to Full Plate’s Facebook page, I have decided to hop off Facebook entirely. Since I couldn’t even post to the Wall to let the FB “fans” know this, poof, it’s just gone.

So, if you have friends who were relying on Facebook to get Full Plate updates, please let them know to bookmark this site, or you can subscribe to the posts and/or comments right here on the right hand column of the blog, which should send it to the reader of your choice (Google, Yahoo, etc.). Onward!

Here's to a great year ahead!

I’ve had a great start to the New Year: our family breakfast was largely made ahead so we could just sit and enjoy (or, enjoy it as much as I could with two children who don’t like to sit through a meal). Then while the kids played, we read the paper cover to cover and I caught up on old magazines. While they napped, we worked out, and then enjoyed (very healthy) homemade vegetable soup (with a side of, achem, decadent cheese drizzled with Lulu White Truffle Honey). As a total aside, if you like honey, then you must get a jar of this stuff. My friend brought it to book club, drizzling it over La Tur cheese with a sliver of dried fig and it was utterly amazing. The earthiness of the truffle oil, combined with the rich honey. So good, that you can imagine my excitement when I remembered she’d left the jar here, after getting ready to sit down to heaping bowls of (did I mention, very healthy) veggie soup.

Anyway, my children are still asleep so I am going to go back to those magazines and the bliss of a quiet house. Postings will begin again, in earnest, as soon as I nail down the best days to write…since 2010 is going to be the year I get balanced. More on that balance idea, tips for getting back to feeling “mom-a-licious”, and lots of great recipes I develop, or come across, to come! Here’s to a great year ahead!

May All of Your Days Be Merry!

I am signing off until after Christmas (and the week between Christmas and New Years may be spotty, depending upon how much fun we’re having playing outside in the snow/sleet/rain).

I hope that you, and your families, have a wonderful holiday time together.

If any cooking quandaries arise, you might like to scroll down and see some of the recipes/ideas that are indexed on the right. And if there are particular aspects of cooking for your family that you’d like me to help you muddle through in the New Year, please leave a comment below and I’ll do my best to share ideas with you.

Looking back on 2009, and where I am falling on the “mom-a-licious” scale, there are certainly things I plan to do differently in 2010. So, I will look forward to sharing new recipes and ideas for moms trying to do it all, and do it well.

Here’s to a great year ahead!

It's nice to be recognized!

Well, now this was a fun thing to learn after my book club friends had left and I was avoiding a kitchen full of wine glasses… The Full Plate Blog has been recognized as a great source of holiday ideas. Thanks Mom2Mom!

(And in case you want to whip up a batch of these gingerbread cookies too, the recipe is right here. Oh, and yes, my 3-year-old wanted to help decorate the cookies above (for his big brother's school snack tomorrow…My book club friends were arriving within the hour. So, click here for a quick refresher on how to stay sane/keep the kitchen somewhat clean, while still letting your child go nuts with the sprinkles...)

Looking for that perfect gift?

My little one turned three today. His favorite gift? A matching set of child-size snow shovels. One for him, one to share with his brother. For those of you still trying to come up with that perfect holiday gift…this might be it!

Decorating cookies with kids (and, achem, keeping it fun but sane)

Want to include your children in cookie decorating…but having a hard time getting excited about crunching around the kitchen on spilled sugars and sprinkles afterwards? A couple of ideas:

Give each child a rimmed baking sheet as their own little work space;

Spreading frosting with a knife can be frustrating for little ones. I fill a sandwich zip-loc with frosting, and then cut a tiny bit of the corner off, making them their own “pastry bag”;

Pouring sprinkles into small ramekins lets children to grab a little pinch of decorations. Whether your child decides to dump the whole ramekin on a cookie is up to them.

Click here for my favorite gingerbread and sugar cookies, both perfect for decorating.

Test run on teacher gifts (9 Bean Soup with Sausage and Kale)

My older son’s school encourages the little ones to make (not buy) holiday gifts for their teachers. In past years, we have made tins of the most decadent candied pecans ever…delicious to eat, but laborious. (And not the kind of labor my little ones can help with since it involves stirring hot, sugary nuts over and over, every ten minutes.) So this year, I was trying to think of a gift the kids could really help make, and that wouldn’t be “screwed up” if my almost three year old wanted to get in on the action. A local friend sent me the most gorgeous photos from her child’s Montessori service day, where the children gathered to assemble bean soup mixes for families in need. The jars were pretty to look at, I know they are good to eat, and if a teacher is inundated with baked goods and hand-painted mugs at holiday time, this could be a nice alternative—particularly if we make it based upon the delicious bean soup I regularly whip up for my family when the weather gets chilly.

Lots of websites have recipe ideas for 1 quart jars. Fine if you can find 1 quart jars, which I couldn’t. Closest thing to it was a 1.6 quart jar at Container Store. Just keep in mind, that if you find yourself in the same predicament, simply adjust recipes by 1.5.

Last weekend we assembled the jars. The kids scooped away. The beans were flying, and they had a ball. It is impossible to “mess up” this recipe, as all that is required is filling the jar with some assortment of beans. We used kidney, black eyed peas, barley, split peas, lentils, small red beans, black beans, chickpeas, and pinto beans. My older son made sure to get all nine types of beans into each jar, my younger son was more willy nilly, and he was just happy when the beans went in the jar. Needless to say, I bought extra beans since I knew I'd be vacuuming up a lot of beans…

Then I sent my younger one to Starbucks with dad so I could tackle the (more precise) seasoning packets with my older son. Our seasoning packet was made with a teaspoon each (or so) of: oregano, basil, tarragon, thyme, dried onion, chili powder, coarse pepper, dried lemon peel, parsley, garlic powder, and smoked paprika….I learned afterwards that Costco carries an Organic No-Salt Added Seasoning mix, which I would probably opt for next time!

I gave a jar a test run today, as it was my cook day for our Wednesday Supper Swap, and the soup is delicious.

9 Bean Soup (with Sausage & Kale)

1.6 quarts (about 6 cups) of dried beans (any type)

Two 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes (I used ones with garlic and basil)

Two 34 ounce boxes of broth (I used organic chicken broth)

Seasonings/spices of choice (add in stages; you can always add more but not take it out!)

Optional – Sausages (I used Turkey Kielbasa)

Optional – Greens (I used a big bunch of kale)

Soak the beans overnight. The next day, drain and rinse the beans.

In a large stock pot, sauté the sausage in a bit of olive oil. (If this is strictly a bean soup, skip this step.)

Add the pre-soaked beans, enough broth so the beans are covered by about 2 inches of liquid, and 2 cans of diced tomatoes (as is, don't drain them).

Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low, letting the soup simmer for 2 ½ hours, or until beans are tender. You'll want to stir the soup every 1/2 hour or so, to prevent any beans from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

If you are adding kale (or any other leafy green) you’ll want to do so about the last 15 minutes of cooking.

This soup freezes beautifully, so go ahead and make a huge pot. It’s also a crowd pleaser after an afternoon of sledding.

Toy Ideas for Little Ones (Re-Post)

The post about gift ideas for little ones got hidden way way down, many posts ago. A couple of my friends mentioned that they were having trouble finding it, so I am re-posting the link for those of you looking for toy ideas based on ones that have been a hit around here. Enjoy! (And please do leave a comment if you've got neat ideas to share.)