Kale-White Bean Stew {aka: 4-hour-workman-window-and-I-haven't-gone-to-the-market-but-need-to-make-dinner-during-those-4-hours-with-what-I-have-on-hand-oh-and-can-you-also-make-it-vegetarian-please soup}

It's a well-known fact that I am not in my school groove yet. If I see you around town, or on the sidelines {of three sports x two kids}, and you ask, "how's your year going so far?", I may very well look at you like a deer in the headlights. 

We have turned a corner. Apparently gone are the days when my kids tumbled off the schoolbus, played in the yard til dinner, and we all sat down together at a reasonable time. Now, they arrive home minutes before my chauffeuring begins. Afternoon and evening activities overlap. Homework has become more plentiful. And there's still only one of me. 

Oh, and, I am not willing to forego healthy meals, or family dinners. 

Wednesdays are unique in that my children only have half-days of school. It's funny because I remember when they started preschool I used to think that 4 hours off was an amazingly long time. Now, with four other normal length school days/week, I sort of treat Wednesday as a wash.

However, today found me halfway though a {truth be told: disorganized} week of meals, marooned at home during a 4-hour workman window {the same 4 hours the kids are in school}, needing dinner prepared before 12:30. And I hadn't done much grocery marketing. Did I throw up my hands in despair and say we'll just go to Station Eats in between tennis lessons, a baseball game, and the first big middle school project that involves poster board? No. Because mama is trying to get back to svelte… my older child came home from camp a vegetarian…. and if you make me sit around the house for four hours waiting for you, you better believe I'm going to put that time to good use by cooking something. The result of rifling through the pantry and freezer or ingredients?

Kale-White Bean Stew 

{aka: 4-hour-workman-window-and-I-haven't-gone-to-the-market-but-need-to-make-dinner-during-those-4-hours-with-what-I-have-on-hand-oh-and-can-you-also-make-it-vegetarian-please Soup}

olive oil

frozen pearl onions {or a chopped onion}

canned white beans {drained and rinsed}

kale {chopped, fresh or frozen}

a jar of TJ's bruschetta {or a can of diced tomatoes and some garlic}

veggie broth

orzo {or couscous, quinoa, farro, wild rice, brown rice}

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot, over medium heat. Saute the onions until golden, and then add the rest of the ingredients. Stir. Lower heat to a simmer and cook until the grain you added is cooked. 

Reheats beautifully {if you need to dine in shifts}. Freezes perfectly {if you want to make a big batch and freeze some for a busy night ahead}.

I know some of you like me to be more precise with my measurements… Here is what I added today, which made 8 servings {4 for tonight; 4 to freeze}:

two 32 oz cartons veggie broth
one 12 oz jar TJ's bruschetta
two 15 oz cans white beans
16 oz frozen pearl onions
16 oz frozen kale
1 Cup TJ's Harvest Grains blend

Then, while one child was creating a math presentation and the other was systematically destroying the kitchen that had just been cleaned-- I mean, sewing a Medieval costume out of felt-- I slathered some good butter on French bread and wrapped it in foil ready to go into the oven for a few minutes, in anticipation of a quick family dinner in between practices tonight.

the rumors are true

The rumors are true... I have my pinky toe back in the blog.

I'm still not sure if I am jumping back into blogging with both feet, but enough people have asked me to share how I am juggling healthy mealtimes {with crazy chauffeuring} this Fall / losing the summer bloat / staying sane parenting a middle schooler / dealing with one child who is vegetarian etc. that I decided I'd dip a pinky toe back in. Best place to catch me, for the time being, re: recipe ideas, food crushes, and general rants and raves about motherhood is over on my Facebook page. See you over there, and maybe back here soon. We'll see...

Cooking Light's Dinnertime Survival Guide review + giveaway!

One of my all-time favorite food bloggers {and mom extraordinaire}, Sally, just released her "Cooking Light's Dinnertime Survival Guide"… and it's fabulous! 

Oh, and in case you were wondering if Sally is as cute, peppy and knowledgeable in person as she is in the pages of this cookbook? She is. But, of course, I had to try several of the recipes to make sure they were as awesome as the ones on her blog, Real Mom Nutrition. As you may recall, we have a bit of a mutual love-fest going on. She loves my make-ahead meals, and I love her RD expertise, coupled with her real life, simple solutions to getting dinner on the table, since she's a super busy mom like all of us. 

Deciding which recipe to try first was the hardest part. 

I ran a few by my kids, and we gave the "Black Bean Soup" {page 235} a whirl first. After all, it was Cinco de Mayo….

Gotta love those recipes that take mere minutes to make...

dump this in, dump that in… give it a stir...

add some veggie broth… pop the lid on….

and voila! Or, "ole!" might be more apropos in this case.

Yum. So easy, and everyone loved it. 

Next up? A few friends were raving about the "Peanut Butter-Coconut Chicken Fingers" {page 122). I like recipes that only have a few ingredients, and this one fit the bill. The outer coating is a mixture of panko breadcrumbs, unsweetened coconut and ginger.

And before you roll it in that crispy coating, you simply dip the chicken tenders into a blend of coconut milk, eggs, and in my case, almond butter.

I doubled the batch, knowing this was a meal that would reheat well. Oh, and I also baked them instead of sautéing or pan-frying them. To go this route, simply spray your rimmed baking sheet with your choice of cooking oil and bake them at 425 until cooked through, about 10 minutes, flipping them halfway.

Another winner!

Then tonight, I had a request, by my one child who is currently {and maybe forever} vegetarian, for a hearty meatless meal. It was a drizzly and gray spring day here in CT, so a perfect night to give the comforting "Curried Carrots and Lentils" {page 75} a test drive.

I usually have carrots in the fridge and lentils in the pantry, making this one of those great "what can I make for dinner with what I have on hand" recipes. I made a few modifications: three cloves of garlic {instead of one}, no ground red pepper {trying to keep it tame}, and smoked paprika instead of sweet paprika {which I highly recommend-- it gave the dish even more depth}.

Oh, and I used veggie broth instead of water, added a whole quart instead of 3 1/2 cups of water…and I added everything to the pot instead of taking things out and adding them back in {because I believe in shortcuts… and because I'm not very good at following directions on recipes}.

This is another one of those "bonus hour" dinners, where it's got to do its' thing for about a 1/2 hour…

and if I didn't have 1st grade reading homework to oversee, I might have used that cooking time to kick back and read a magazine. But it was nice to be able to offer my undivided attention tonight.

The verdict? My vegetarian-leaning son said it was "delicious!", my self-proclaimed "meatatarian" son said, "yum, it tastes like it has sausage in it" {thank you smoked paprika}, and my husband kept making cracks about us now having "Meatless Thursdays" but you'll note that all the bowls were basically licked clean... 

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that yours truly has a mention in the cookbook too! Check out page 37 for one of my freezer tricks. 

And {drum roll}, as a thank you for being a part of her cookbook, Sally has given me a copy to share with one of my readers. To be entered to win, please leave a comment below letting me know why you need this book! For a second chance to win, "like" Real Mom Nutrition on Facebook, and leave me a comment letting me know you've done so! A lucky winner will be chosen on Monday, May 12, 2014 at 8am Eastern Time by random.org. May the most desperate mom win! {Just kidding.}

Please note: I was sent a complimentary copy of the book to review, but all opinions are my own. I wouldn't tell you it's great if I didn't really think so! 

make-ahead breakfast idea: gluten-free blueberry-almond baked french toast casserole in honor of celiac awareness month

In honor of Celiac Awareness Month, I recently adapted one of our family's favorite make-ahead brunch recipes to make it gluten-free.

Made with just a few ingredients: a loaf of gluten-free bread, 2-3 cups of blueberries, a cup of nuts {optional}, some citrus zest {optional, but adds nice flavor}, 8 eggs, 1 1/2 cups of your choice of milk {dairy, soy, coconut, almond}, cinnamon and vanilla, I love this recipe because it can be assembled before you have guests over… or baked and then tucked in the fridge for a delicious breakfast you can reheat on busy weekdays. Click here to grab the recipe for Gluten-Free Blueberry-Almond Baked French Toast Casserole that I recently shared with our local market.

When gluten is not an issue, I like making it with LaBrea's Pecan-Raisin bread, so Udi's Guten-Free Cinnamon Raisin bread was a great substitution, but it is equally good with Udi's Gluten-Free Whole Grain loaf as well.

Yes, he wanted to help...

You'll know it's cooked through when a butter knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Serve with a drizzle of good maple syrup. Mmm. Perfection.

Hope your family likes this recipe as much as mine does! Click here for the recipe if you'd like to pin or bookmark it.

Community Plates: fighting hunger… right here in Fairfield County, CT

Like many of you, I am fortunate that I can run into our local supermarkets and load my car up with nourishing food so I can feed my family well, even on the busiest of days. And, while I have mastered the art of "re purposing leftovers" to cut down on our personal food waste, I never really thought about what happens to all of the unsaleable {e.g.: past due date}-- but still fresh and usable-- foods leftover in our local markets and restaurants. What you see above is one day's worth of unsaleable food, graciously donated by Trader Joe's Darien, CT store… which I was driving down the road and dropping at Person-to-Person's food bank.  And below, another day, another car load going between Trader Joe's Darien and New Covenant House in Stamford, CT.

How did I come to fill my SUV to the gills with all of that amazing food? Simple: Community Plates matches volunteer "food runners" {like me; like you--hint! hint!} with generous food donors {local supermarkets/restaurants} and very, very appreciative recipients of this food {shelters/soup kitchens/food banks}. It is so easy to volunteer. Simply sign up to be a food runner and you'll get access to an online schedule that shows all of the open "food runs" in your area. Show up ready to hoist a few crates or bags into your car, drive a few miles down the road to unload them-- and voila. You have made a difference. A huge one. You can do as many or as few runs as you'd like. Whatever fits your schedule.

In addition to current Fairfield County, CT food runs in Norwalk, Rowayton, Stamford, Darien, Westport, Fairfield, Danbury, and Greenwich, rumor has it that a few new daily runs might be popping up in New Canaan between both Walter Stewart's Market and Mrs. Green's Market, in addition to the weekly donations that come from Elm, so even more food runners will be needed! Please consider being a food runner. It's so easy.

Plus, just think about how much time all of us moms already spend driving to and from these towns on our normal errand circuit… add in a single food run every week or two-- or even just every once in a while-- and just think about the difference you could make in a family's mealtimes.  Need more convincing? Before we did our first run, I watched this video with my son. This was where we were going to be delivering that car load of crates above. Powerful, hmm?

And you're probably wondering what was in all of those crates too… I mean, is it really worth the time to be a food runner?

Look at all of this amazing food that would have gone to waste...

Instead, it was donated-- and because of volunteer "food runners"-- a family who might be going through a tough time had access to the same nourishing foods I take for granted.

 So, please, join me as a food runner. Click here to sign up or learn more.

Let's fill our trunks, and help fill the bellies and hearts of the food insecure right here in our community.

To see if Community Plates is organizing food runs in your area, click here.

simple spring asparagus with olive oil fried eggs

Spring is finally here in the Northeast, and organic asparagus is popping up in the produce section. 

Pair that with me wrapping up Mark Hyman MD's 10-Day-Detox, making a real effort to eat super healthfully and fill my plate with nourishing whole foods, and you've got my recent favorite: olive oil fried eggs over broiled asparagus. 

The recipe is quick and easy… but not one my children have warmed up to yet. So, on nights when I want this for dinner, I pull one of my homemade freezer meals out for them, like baked taquitos, chili, or power green pesto.

When my husband first saw me making this he announced that "there's no way I am eating all of that asparagus" and "is that all we are having?".

Note that he later proclaimed the meal, "really good" and "more filling than I thought it would be". 

The trick is to get really good eggs. If you have chickens or a farm near you, lucky you. I don't, but I did find Happy Eggs at our local market… and they happened to have a deal where you got 1/2 dozen eggs if you bought some amount of groceries, making dinner almost free! {Except for the exorbitant bag of speciality foods I purchased in order to get the free eggs… this is the sort of logic that drives my husband nuts.}

Anyway, back to our simple springtime recipe. You can absolutely roast/broil the asparagus ahead of time. I did this earlier in the afternoon when I was waiting on the school bus, then I just left it out on the counter {at room temp} so it was good to go when I came home from baseball, tennis and tae kwon do chauffeuring. 

When we got home, I warmed about 1 1/2 - 2 Tablespoons olive oil over medium heat and fried the eggs until the whites were fully set, and the yolks would still be runny. {You can fry your eggs longer if you don't like the yolks runny. Of course, be mindful if salmonella is of concern to you.}

I served our eggs and asparagus with a side of the pickled red onion that I had leftover from Day 1's dinner from the 10 Day Detox (which was Roasted Salmon with the Onion Relish; that's my amazon affiliate link). If you're not doing the detox and/or don't have any of the relish leftover, you could also serve it with some jarred artichoke tapenade, a sprinkling of shredded Parmesan, some lemon zest, or crumbled cooked bacon. Or you could just serve them as is. If you leave your yolks a little runny they become a decadent sauce over the asparagus. 

Olive Oil Fried Eggs over Asparagus
(serves 2 as an entree)

• 1 1/2 lbs asparagus (usually 1 large bunch)
• olive oil
• 4 eggs
• sea salt and pepper, to taste
• optional accompaniment(s): pickled onions, artichoke tapenade, lemon zest, Parmesan, bacon

Snap the tough bottom end of asparagus spears. Line them up, single layer, on a lightly oiled rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle asparagus with sea salt and pepper. Broil until asparagus is tender and lightly charred, about 6-8 minutes, shaking tray and/or flipping asparagus at halfway point. Asparagus can be made ahead, and served room temp, or chilled. Divide asparagus between two plates.

In a fry pan, warm olive oil over medium heat. Crack eggs into pan, sprinkle with sea salt and pepper, and cover for about 2 minutes. Remove lid, and continue to cook eggs until whites are completely set and yolk is set to desired firmness. (For runny yolks, this will be another 2-3 minutes… longer if you want your yolks set too.) Transfer two eggs per plate, placed on top of your asparagus. Drizzle with cooking oil, if you'd like. Serve with pickled onions, or any other choice of accompaniment for extra flavor, or simply enjoy as is.  Enjoy for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner.