could/should

I woke up determined to write a blog post. I have all of these great recipes and summer lunchbox ideas swirling through my head, and a backlog of photos (that I snap before the kids dig in...totally annoying mom move). But first, while my husband was playing tennis and my kids were happily entrenched in Legos, I decided to make myself a cup of coffee and catch up on reading posts from others I admire... and lo and behold, I read this. Hmm, spot on. It's not all skinny jeans and fruit skewers over here. Trust me. Sure, some days it is, but not every day. And there's always that lingering question of what I want this blog to be...how much time should I be spending on it...could it be more...should it be less?

two easy summer apps

There is nothing worse than inviting friends over and putting out a spread of appetizers that suddenly go soggy before your eyes on a humid summer evening. Well, ok, there could be a lot worse things, but still, it's disappointing when you're the happy hostess. My winter go-to's like Trader Joe's Tempura Shrimp or phyllo shell tartlets like this or this flop in humidity. So when summer rolls around I have other go-to's which I realized yesterday I haven't shared yet. I made both of these to bring along to a little gathering last night. They are quick & easy, and everyone loved them.

Soy Chorizo in Cucumber Cups

(makes about 30 cucumber cups)

4-5 English (seedless) cucumbers

olive oil

1/2 a medium onion, finely chopped

1 pkg soy chorizo (usually found in the produce section, by other soy "meat" products)

1 brick cream cheese (regular, low-fat or fat-free, your choice)

To make the cucumber cups: peel the cucumber, if you'd like, then cut into 1" rounds. Using a melon baller, or teaspoon, scoop out the inside about 3/4 of the way down. This will make a little cup. Place on a paper towel for 1/2 hour, or so, to let some of the water from the cucumber drain. Then fill with soy chorizo mixture, or any favorite dip or spread.

To make the soy chorizo filling: in a medium pan, saute the onion and soy chorizo in a bit of olive oil until lightly browned. Add cream cheese and lower heat, stirring until cream cheese is melted. Set aside until ready to stuff cucumber cups. May be made ahead and kept in the fridge for a few days. (Extra soy chorizo mixture makes a delicious addition to omelets.)

Endive Spears Stuffed with Parmesan-Walnut Pesto

(makes about 3 dozen)

4 medium heads of endive

1 cup Parmesan

1 cup walnuts

3 lemons, zested and juiced

1/2 cup fresh parsley

2 Tablespoons mayo (optional)

To make endive spears: simply cut the base of endive and carefully remove the spears.

To make Parmesan-Walnut pesto: in a Cuisinart, pulse Parmesan, walnuts, lemon zest, lemon juice, and parsley until desired consistency. (Adding mayo will help to bind the pesto.) Extra pesto is delicious tossed with whole wheat pasta, or broiled over a crusty piece of bread.

new favorite (energy packed) breakfast

I've taken up tennis again this summer. And, this has become my go-to breakfast. Not only is it delicious, but it tides me over til lunch and gives me the energy to zip around the court (totally avoiding my to-do list while the kids are at camp). The breakfast is simple (and makes an equally fabulous lunch or hearty snack):

Alvarado St. Bakery California Protein Bread* (toasted)
+ Hummus, White Bean Dip, Edamame Hummus or (mashed) avocado (whichever I have on hand)
+ one sliced hard-boiled egg

The key is to hard-boil a bunch of eggs once/week and keep them in the fridge so this can be made in minutes.

*I find Alvarado Street bread in the freezer aisle of our local markets.

Now for those wondering, no, my kids aren't digging that breakfast. And so, I've kept a supply of Trader Joe's French Toast on hand...

or I'll give them a muffin, fruit and yogurt...

or, one of the hard-boiled eggs, some fruit and a frozen tube of yogurt if it's hot...

and they've seen their fair share of Van's waffles.

fruit skewers

My husband asked me what I did on Friday morning, my last big chunk of "free time" on the last day of school.

I chopped and threaded fruit onto skewers. 48 of them to be exact.

And while it took way more time than I realized it would...the excited squeals when I brought the "treat" into class made it totally worthwhile. Who knew that fruit could be so exciting to 2nd graders?

i'm looking for a recipe with ____ in it

Good news: the search function is back up and running! So, feel free to type in protein pancakes or quinoa...or anything from workout to basil and all relevant past posts should pop up. It took me a few days to tinker with the technology because another bout of bronchitis kept a certain small person home from school for several days, I was cooking up a storm for many appreciative folks, there were lots of last days of school celebrations and (drum roll) I went into the city for my first screen test (!!! more on that in a bit). Now I hope you find exactly what you're looking for!

P.S. For those who want more frequent posts don't forget about full plate/meals in a snap's facebook page... I know, I know, facebook can be such a time suck. But, when I haven't got the time to write/format a post here, I have been quickly zipping off recipes and ideas over there.

summer fruit buckle (cake)

I was excited the latest issue of Eating Well magazine was waiting for me so I could pour over it while waiting on the school bus. June's "Sweet Summer" feature promised recipes that would "transport me to the long, lazy summer days of my childhood". Juicy berries protruded shamlessly from flaky crusts in one photo, an inviting ladder leaned against a stone fruit tree in another. A fruit crisp in one photo reminded me of the treat my mom would make my brother and me-- not just in the summer, but throughout the year. Blueberry Cobbler...Strawberry Pandowy...Peach Ginger Crisp...Plum Betty...Apricot Grunt. What names! Wondering what I was going to make for my younger son's class snack the following day, a recipe for Cherry-Raspberry Buckle caught my eye. Running it by him, he eagerly agreed that it was the perfect snack to share with his friends. Something every classmate would like. Of course, once we were in the supermarket that evening, he couldn't decide which two fruits he wanted to make it with, so we made it with fresh apricots, raspberries, strawberries and blueberries. Here's our take on the recipe, which was a hit.

Apricot-Blueberry-Raspberry-Strawberry Buckle

from Eating Well's June 2011 issue, page 67-69

makes one 9" round dish / 8 servings

(I quadrupled this recipe, which made five 8" pie plates of cake...4 for preschool and 1 for home)

1 1/2 cups King Arthur white whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup applesauce (unsweetened)
1/2 cup light olive oil or canola oil
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups raspberries or blueberries
1 1/2 cups apricots or cherries (pitted)
Turbinado for dusting the top before baking

Preheat the oven to 350. Spray a 9" round baking dish with a bit of oil. Whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. In a larger mixing bowl, whisk milk, applesauce, oil, sugar, egg and vanilla until blended. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and fold until blended. Sprinkle with fruit and gently fold until blended. Spoon the batter into baking dish and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons, or so, of Turbinado sugar. Bake until golden brown, and a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 45-50 minutes. Let cool for a half hour before serving this moist cake.

comfort of a homemade meal

I love the comfort of a homemade meal. When I was on bed rest with my younger child, friends came out of every corner, delivering meals to nourish and sustain my family during those long months. Perhaps that is why I always jump at the chance to cook for someone who would appreciate a homemade meal. (Either that, or I need someone to save me from myself.) When making these meals, I'll often scale the recipes up, making sure I can offer a second or third meal to others who could use a night off of cooking (and extras for us so I can take the next day off of cooking too). I've noticed there's a little glitch in the search function on full plate right now, so I'm going to link each recipe here. I've categorized this post under "throw a party and get to enjoy it too" because in addition to being a perfect room temp meal to drop off to a friend, all of these dishes are simple and can be made a day ahead, making them great options if you're having friends over some warm summer night too...

Giada's Grilled Chicken with Basil Sauce
Quinoa Salad with Grilled Vegetable, Feta & Pistachios (this link also has the basil sauce)
Lentil-Cucumber-Fennel Salad
and a fruit salad (mangoes, strawberries and blueberries this time) topped with fresh mint

enjoy!

so easy...roasted shrimp & tomatoes + a new video!

Last night was a little nutty between juggling my kid's dinner + bath + homework + bedtime needs, a friend stopping by for a (much needed) glass of wine, an 8pm meeting...and getting dinner made. This is one of my go-to recipes. It's just so easy. If you don't care for shrimp you can always make it with chicken instead. That's the beauty of this recipe, it's totally adaptable depending upon what flavors you like and what you have on hand.

Originally, a local friend Katharine passed this recipe along to me during one of those email recipe swaps. (Or maybe it was Siri? I can't remember, but one of these girls deserves credit!) The ingredients sometimes differ a bit, depending upon what I have on hand. When I wrote about it the summer of 2009, I happened to have these gorgeous multi-colored heirloom cherry tomatoes on hand and bell peppers. In the video, I had fresh mint, marinated artichokes and kalamata olives that I tossed in as well. Yesterday it was simply: cherry tomatoes, a large can of diced tomatoes, lemon zest & juice, fresh parsley, garlic, a drizzle of balsamic & olive oil, and Feta. And it was delish.

a fruit or veggie on every plate

I loved going into the city for Stephanie Sacks' FOOD SOLUTIONS event this week (pictured above). It wasn't so much that there was alot of "new" information, but it was invigorating to be in a room of people who are interested in working towards more healthful family meals.


Here's one tip MaryBeth Augustine shared during the Q&A that is easy for all of us to enact:

start with fruits and vegetables...add them to every meal

We're all in different places when it comes to preparing meals for our families. For some, this tip may be second nature. For others, it may be more of an a-ha moment. Either way, the guarantee is that your child's plate will be more healthful if it's colorful...and the best way to get color on the plate is through a variety of fruits and vegetables. I shot a video this winter where I assembled some "rainbow plates" for my kids that you may find helpful as you put this tip into action.

busy, busy-- but breakfast is made!

My head was happily swirling on the train home from the city, thinking of all of these recipes & ideas I wanted to share with you. And then, blogger (which powers "full plate") was down for 24 hours...it was way too gorgeous to sit inside...and a few new mealsinasnap videos were posted to YouTube. So, I got a little sidetracked. I will share a few take-aways from the nutrition forum, but today it's more timely for me to post one of my new videos since I just so happen to be whipping up a frittata and protein pancakes right now, in anticipation of a busy weekend ahead! The frittata I am making this afternoon includes asparagus, artichokes and kale-- but as you'll see in the video, you can use just about any veggie or meat you might have on hand for this fabulous make-ahead dish.



And, as you all know, the protein pancakes are one of my go-to make-ahead breakfasts. So, it was time for me to whip up a fresh batch of those to store in the fridge too. Here's that ("oldie but goodie") video as well, for anyone who may have missed the earlier posting of it. Enjoy these simple ideas for make-ahead breakfasts. I hope you have a fabulous weekend ahead.



If you cannot see the videos above, here's the link to the frittata one, and here's the link to the protein pancake one. Enjoy!

off to the city + taco night

I cannot wait. Tomorrow I am spending the day in the city at this culinary nutrition workshop. I feel good about the way I feed my family

but there's always something to learn...a new recipe, a research blip, a cooking tip...

I look forward to hopefully sharing some new ideas from this workshop.

Oh, and if the above looks appetizing, here's the scoop on last week's taco night. The filling was: cauliflower, mushrooms and zucchini (all diced finely) and white corn sauteed in a bit of olive oil with lots and lots of fresh cilantro, hearty shakes of cumin and chili powder, some minced garlic, a teeny bit of chipotle, and some smoked paprika. Everything else should be pretty self-explanatory except the white stuff. Instead of sour cream that's leftover tzatziki from the night before. Just as good.

we have a winner (finally)

The train is totally off the tracks over here. My little one is recovering from pneumonia, and despite being home bound for the bulk of the last two weeks, I have let too many things get in the way of taking care of myself. And it shows. As I tell my friends who ask "when are you going to post again?!!", if I don't have anything nice to say then I won't say anything at all. So, it's been almost a week without posts. Balance always seems to be my elusive goal. But, to start, I am going to announce the Sara Stover book winner and wrap up this post up quickly so I can go outside with the kids and enjoy this beautiful afternoon. Then I am going to make a quick, but delicious pot of bouillabaisse and put my feet up. I hope that all of you busy moms are doing the same (the putting your feet up part, not the bouillabaisse if you didn't also make a run to the fish market this afternoon...) this start to the Mother's Day weekend. Chances are I will not set aside time to post this weekend, so I want to wish each of you a relaxing day.

And now, without further babbling, is the winner [drum roll]. According to my trusty # picker Random.org, it is #5, Sarah, who wrote "I finally have given myself permission to say 'No.' It has made me SO happy!" I'll have what Sarah is having.

Sarah, please email me at mealsinasnap {at} gmail {dot} com and let me know where I should send your book! I hope you enjoy it!!