Last call! I'm going to let my kids push the button on random.org and choose a winner for these (sets of four) fun summer plates at dinnertime tonight. (These plates are perfect to remind you to put a variety of foods on your child's plate at mealtime.)
In anticipation of some possible changes to and new features on Full Plate, I’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to complete this brief, 10 question survey about Full Plate.
To thank you, at the bottom of the survey you have a chance to enter your name in a drawing for a 4-pack of these sectioned plates, perfect for summer! (The fine print: The winner will get to choose between 4 bicycle plates, 4 pinwheel plates, or 2 of each. I will choose the winner using random.org. The winning number generated will correspond with that number respondent on the questionnaire. So, it's all fair game! )
Thank you, in advance, for taking the time to share what you like about Full Plate, and what you'd like to see included in Full Plate posts going forward!
Great news for all you friends out there who have asked me for kitchen product recs. I finally culled through the dizzying array of offerings and made a "Full Plate's Picks" store on Amazon. All of the products in the online storefront are ones I have used consistently, are budget-friendly, include free "Super-Saver Shipping", and are processed through Amazon for peace of mind.
With a summer of lunch packing on the horizon, I thought Gwyneth’s latest post was worth bookmarking for some fresh ideas. None of it is rocket science, but it’s always nice to try something new when it comes to the lunch-packing routine.
Tonight I am making a baked mac & cheese, using whole wheat penne and spinach. If it’s a winner, I’ll post the recipe. In the meantime, for those who have asked for more veggie-based, family-friendly entrees these are some of my favorites for springtime:
Citrus-y Black Beans: while I usually make these beans as a side (with my decadent chicken enchiladas), they can also make a colorful veggie-based entrée. Think of it as a family taco night, minus the meat and fried taco shells. Put bowls of various toppings out for the kids (and adults) and let everyone concoct their own bowl of rice and beans (pictured above). Topping ideas: yellow rice + the citrus-y black beans + avocado chunks + organic corn + chunks of tomato + diced bell pepper + sour cream + shredded cheddar + salsa + baked tortilla chips.
Greens & Cheese Pie: I love, love, love this entrée. This just might be what I whip up for my cook day next Wednesday.
Homemade Pesto: is great in so many ways: on pasta, drizzled over grilled veggies, mixed into a quinoa salad. In addition to this nut + basil one that I like to make a big batch of and freeze, I made a nutritious and delicious Broccoli/Hazelnut Pesto last week. Stay tuned for that recipe.
The follow-up to yesterday’s post about asparagus is that one of my children has turned picky on me. He’s decided that he doesn’t like asparagus grilled. To say that we had leftover asparagus from when I threw a couple bunches on the grill would be an understatement. (You know that I like to grill or roast once, and then use the bounty throughout the days ahead…) So, I turned the grilled asparagus into individual gratins. Down the little hatch the asparagus went. This makes an upscale side…or if you recently viewed Food Inc. and are thinking whipping up more meatless meals for your family sounds like a good thing, this one is a winner when it comes to simple, seasonal vegetarian entrees.
Asparagus Gratins
(makes 8-10 individual gratins)
2 bunches of grilled asparagus
Hearty handful of fresh spinach (optional)
¼ cup of whole milk
4 eggs
¾ cup of shredded cheese (I used Gruyere, but any cheese will work)
Olive oil
Ramekins
Cuisinart
Assuming you already have grilled asparagus, cut off the asparagus tips, and reserve for later. (Otherwise, please grill your asparagus and then continue with the recipe.) Place asparagus stalks in your Cuisinart, add milk, eggs, shredded cheese and spinach (if you’re adding it) and blend until pureed.
Preheat oven to 375. Brush 8 to 10 individual ramekins with a bit of olive oil. Fill the ramekins with asparagus/egg mixture. Leave as is if your child likes their food smooth. Otherwise, it’s nice to top them with the reserved asparagus tips for some texture, and sprinkle them with a bit more shredded cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
We ate 4 the evening I made them, and then I stored the remaining ones in the fridge. They sunk down a bit, so weren’t quite as pretty, but they still tasted great reheated on days ahead.
If you have been reading the Full Plate blog for a while, you know that I enjoy making healthful foods for my family. But as a busy mom, I am also short on time. Lolling around in the kitchen, chopping things perfectly isn’t happening these days. I mean, I could do that. But given the minimal amount of "free time" I have in a day that would mean missing a yoga class, a volunteer meeting, or spending time with a friend. So, to keep things running smoothly at home, but to also make sure I get a little time to myself each day, I rely on a couple of quick and easy recipes that I can make ahead and have stored in the fridge and freezer. This way, I can whip up healthy snacks and meals for my family quickly and easily. Here’s a protein-packed spread/dip that everyone likes. It’s great as a dip served alongside chopped veggies or pita chips. And it also does double duty as a sandwich spread, packed into a whole wheat pita with some cucumber or bell pepper slices, for a nice quick lunch or snack.
I have to laugh that I am trying out baking bread. As a child, my mom baked bread. I don’t remember specifics about the bread, but I do remember jealousy at lunch time when my friends would whip out Ding Dongs and fluffer nutter sandwiches (on perfect, crust less white bread). And here I am baking bread for my children. Hmmm. But neither child is complaining. Yet.
The photo at the top of this post shows the bread the morning after, when it has risen. Hopefully the photo is clear enough that you can see it's more airy and there are tiny little bubbles dotting the top, compared to the dough I prepared the night before. So ideally, that's what you should wake up to. Then I simply tossed in 1/2 cup of pecans and 1/2 cup of dried cranberries;
and (lightly) kneaded them into the dough with my hands, until the pecans and cranberries were incorporated.
Next, I popped the dough into a lightly oiled loaf pan. You'll see that the dough didn't fill the pan, so I just centered it as best I could by shaking the pan a bit.
When I left the dough out to rise for the night, I just left it on the kitchen counter in the bowl covered with Saran wrap, as the recipe says to do. But, our home is really old, and really drafty, so the warmest place to do the second rise is in the oven. (This also guarantees that the second rising would only take an hour, since I knew the space would be warm and condusive to rising.) To do this, I turned our oven onto 200, let the heating process start, then turned the oven off after a couple of minutes. I didn't want the oven hot, just warm. Then I put the loaf into this warm oven and closed the door for the hour. As you'll see above, I also wanted the space to be slightly moist, so I covered the loaf with a damp (ran it under warm water then rung it out) kitchen towel.
And here's what the loaf looked like after rising for 1 hour in the warm oven, covered in the damp towel. Nice!
So, then it was ready to go into our second oven, which I had preheated to 350.
And here it is after baking for 45 minutes. Hollow sound when I tapped the top. Couldn't find our kitchen thermometer, so had to assume it was ready to come out. Bittman's recipe says to turn it out of the pan right away, then let it cool before slicing.
Here it is, ready to offer up as a snack on a snowy filled day!
I just put dough out up to rise. Yes, you read that right. I’ve never been a baker. Baking requires precise measurements, and usually having the right ingredients on hand…two things which often aren’t the case over here. I much prefer cooking, and relying on my sense of taste, texture as I create a dinner for my family with whatever we have in our fridge, freezer and pantry. But, there was a bread recipe in Mark Bittman’s book “Food Matters” that caught my eye. Maybe it was just the title that wooed me: Almost No-Work Whole Grain Bread. Whole Grain: super. Almost No-Work: I’ll give it a try. I first made this bread last week when I was meeting some friends for coffee. They are good friends, so I didn’t worry that I’d never made bread before. The verdict? Not only is this bread super easy, but it’s delicious. If baking bread is this easy, then I just might say I like baking too.
