Today, Michelle Stern of What’s Cooking shares a how-to on using fresh pumpkin to make your own pumpkin puree, a fabulous recipe for chocolate chunk pumpkin bread, and tips for engaging your kids to help out in the kitchen.
From Michelle:

With all of the talk about eating local these days, I thought some of you might be curious about how to turn your locally grown pumpkins into something edible. It's a snap, especially if you have already hacked one open to roast the seeds anyway. For optimal flavor, use sugar pie pumpkins (they are round and small); alternatively, you could use a regular pumpkin and add brown sugar to taste.

How To Make Your Own Pumpkin Puree

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut out the top of your pumpkin and clean out all seeds and strings from inside. Reserve seeds.

2. Slice pumpkin vertically into 3 inch wide strips. Place strips onto a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for about 1 hour, until pumpkin is soft.

3. Once done, scrape the pumpkin from the skins, then beat with a mixer or puree in a food processor until smooth.

Save The Seeds

The seeds can be used either to plant pumpkins next year, or roasted to eat this year! Place them in a bowl of water and rub them between your hands to remove orange bits. Pick out the orange pieces that are floating, and discard them. Drain the water and spread the seeds on a dish towel or paper towel to dry…and voila! They are ready for next year’s planting or to roast.

Chocolate Chunk Pumpkin Bread

Once you have your puree made, try this amazing recipe. It’s scary how fast it will disappear! Also, you can make muffins out of the batter if you want them to cook faster or if you like smaller portions. Just adjust the baking time accordingly (start checking around 15 minutes).

Ingredients

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

2 eggs

1 cup mashed cooked fresh pumpkin

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup oil

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg until well blended. Set aside.

2. Beat eggs, pumpkin, sugars, milk, and oil in large bowl with wire whisk until well blended. Add dry ingredients; stir just until moistened. Stir in chopped chocolate.

3. Pour mixture into a greased 9×5 inch loaf pan. Bake 55 minutes to 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

4. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack. Cut into slices to serve.

CALL THE KIDS:

Measure cinnamon and nutmeg.

Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.

Crack eggs (in a separate bowl, so it is easier to fish out stray egg shells).

Measure sugar, brown sugar, milk, and oil.

With adult supervision, use a hand mixer to blend eggs, pumpkin, sugars, milk, and oil.

Fold wet and dry ingredients together until combined.

Nutrition: Yield: 15 servings. Per serving: 253.6 calories; 28% calories from fat; 8.6g total fat; 35.5mg cholesterol; 239.9mg sodium; 141.7mg potassium; 41.8g carbohydrates; 0.8g fiber; 20.8g sugar; 41.0g net carbs; 4.4g protein.

Image credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Today, Sara Cabot of Little Lettice provides zucchini inspired recipes for the whole family:

Everywhere you look at the farmer’s markets in July you see different forms of zucchini squash in different shapes and sizes. While zucchini squash is extremely palatable for babies, older kids can find it a bit boring. I am convinced that one of the reasons kids don’t like green veggies is that they are bored of the way they are cooked or presented. With a bit of variation, these sweet and tender greens can be delicious to young children.

Here are a couple of ways we cook zucchini at home to make it a bit more interesting. Don’t worry about peeling the zucchini; the skin is soft and yummy and provides most of the interest anyway.

FOR BABIES

You can give zucchini to babies at an early age (around 7 months) because it is such a palatable veggie.

My First Zucchini

1 medium zucchini

1 medium potato

Breast milk or formula

1. Prep a saucepan of water with a steamer placed on top.

2. Wash, trim, and chop zucchini into 1” cubes. Wash, peel, and chop potato into 1” cubes.

3. Place potato in water in the saucepan and zucchini in the steamer on the top. Cover with lid and bring water to a boil.

4. Remove zucchini if it cooks before the potato is soft (don’t let zucchini overcook – it should still retain its bright green color, not olive green). Once vegetables are done, drain.

5. Puree veggies in a blender or food processor, adding milk if it gets too thick. Serve warm.

Freeze leftovers in ice cube trays for later use, or store in the fridge for 24 hours.

+ + + + +

My Second Zucchini

Zucchini is a great mixer veggie with leafy greens like broccoli, spinach, and kale, which can be introduced around 8 months (depending on how quickly your baby is developing), because it acts as a sweetener. I always add potato to thicken and make a more satisfying mix.

Spinach/Broccoli/Kale, Zucchini & Potato

For babies 8 months and up.

½ onion

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 large zucchini

1 small potato

8 oz leafy greens (e.g., spinach, broccoli, or kale)

1 cup vegetable stock

1. Prep vegetables. Chop onion. Wash and cut zucchini into ¼” slices. Wash, peel, and cut potato into 1” cubes. Wash leafy green and chop roughly.

2. Heat oil in a saucepan and fry onion gently until soft. Add potato and zucchini and stir. Add vegetable stock, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add chopped leafy green and stir. Simmer until veggies are soft but still bright green (don’t over cook to olive green color).

3. Puree veggie mix in a blender or food processor and serve. Freeze leftovers in ice cube trays or small containers.

To add variety, mix in grated cheese for added flavor, or mix with small pieces of pasta for a more substantial meal. When baby is 1 year old, serve with white fish and grated cheese for a delicious fish Florentine.

+ + + + +

FOR TODDLERS & THE WHOLE FAMILY

Sautéed Zucchini

Wash and thinly slice 3-4 medium zucchini.

In a frying pan heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add a peeled, chopped clove of garlic.

Add the zucchini slices and cook on high heat, turning over to avoid sticking.

Saute for about 5 minutes.

Serve as a side to meat. Or mix into spaghetti for a healthy veggie pasta.

+ + + + +

Braised Grated Zucchini

Grate 3-4 medium zucchini.

In a frying pan heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add a peeled, chopped clove of garlic.

Add the grated zucchini and braise on medium heat for 3-4 minutes until just tender.

Serve as a side to meat or fish, or mix into spaghetti.

*Grated zucchini is also wonderful served raw in a salad. Its taste and texture are easy on the young palate.

+ + + + +

Cold Zucchini-Basil Soup

If your kids like soup, then tickle their tastebuds with this chilled summer soup. This recipe uses basil, which also is easy to find at the summer farmer’s markets. Thank you to Anne Bunn for sending in this recipe, which she found in Gourmet Magazine.

2 lbs zucchini

¾ cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves

¼ olive oil

3 cups water

1/3 cup basil leaves

1. Cook onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes in the olive oil in heavy saucepan.

2. Add chopped zucchini and a pinch of salt.

3. Cook for 5 minutes.

4. Add 3 cups of the water and simmer, partially covered, until tender (about 15 mins).

5. Puree soup in a blender with the basil.

Image credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I’m not sure whether it’s coincidence or consequence that June-born Jon loves cherries, but every year he’d rather have cherry pie than cake. The year Laurel was born, in my sleep deprived, frantically trying-to-bake-while-on-a-conference-call state, I dropped my fully assembled pie as I tried to put it in the oven. I thus was too traumatized last year to try again, but when Bon Appétit’s June 2008 issue featured this Classic Sour Cherry Pie With Lattice Crust recipe, I knew it was time to give cherry pie another go. Plus, Laurel was sure to keep reminding me to use both hands when putting the pie in the oven.

The recipe is by dessert maven Lori Longbotham, whose Luscious Lemon Desserts and Luscious Chocolate Desserts cookbooks we also own. A cherry pitter makes quick work of fresh cherries (or go ahead and use the pitted, jarred Morello cherries from Trader Joe’s – drain them and use the higher lemon juice content suggested for sweet cherries), and while people often are intimidated by homemade crust, with a Cuisinart, it takes about one minute to knock together pie crust dough and another few minutes to roll it out once chilled. I didn’t have a fluted pastry wheel to cut the lattice crust but it still looked fantastic with a straight knife cut. Not that any of us were even paying attention to the aesthetics after taking a bite of the divine crust and filling.

Image credit: James Wojcik, from Bon Appétit feature

Today, Sara Cabot of Little Lettice offers a primer on “that nitrate thing” - the issue of when it's safe to present vegetables such as spinach and carrots to babies. Sara also includes a spinach, zucchini, and potato recipe for babies and toddlers.

“Carrots, beets, and spinach are some of the first veggies to be in season on our Massachusetts farms. When cooked lightly or steamed, these veggies can be very palatable and delicious for our young children. They’re full of great vitamins as well!

However, moms with young babies just starting out on baby food ask me all the time about “that nitrate thing” with these vegetables. What these moms mean is something called blue baby syndrome, which can be caused by nitrates being turned into nitrites in the baby’s stomach. I never knew about this when my kids were babies, and so it never stopped me from giving them carrots at 6-7 months and broccoli and spinach around 8 months. But we are so unsure of our food systems nowadays – spinach scares, tomato scares – that we consumers have to find out the facts for ourselves. This is what I found out:

1. The AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) states, “Because the intake of naturally occurring nitrates from foods such as green beans, carrots, squash, spinach, and beets can be as high as or higher than that from well water, these foods should be avoided before 3 months of age."

At around the age of 3 months your baby starts to produce more hydrochloric acid in the stomach, which fights the bacteria that turns nitrates into the potentially damaging nitrites. In the US, we don’t even start to give our babies solids until 4-6 months so we should be OK. However, because nitrate levels specifically in spinach can increase depending on storage, the AAP recommends 8 months as the age to give children spinach. For best results, cook spinach right away or freeze.

2. Nitrates occur naturally in the soil. But nitrates also occur in artificial fertilizers that are used (unregulated) to promote plant growth. Nitrates are also present in our drinking water.

3. This problem with nitrates in vegetables such as spinach and carrots is not an issue with organic food that does not use the nitrate-dense, artificial fertilizers that farmers add to their crops. Don’t forget, these ‘conventional’ farmers are not regulated in terms of how much and how often they can fertilize. So if in doubt, buy organic. Even better, buy organic and local.

4. Nitrate poisoning is very rare; when it does occur it is usually traced back to ground water contamination.

5. Commercial baby food companies may “screen” for nitrates, but they don’t have to and they don’t remove them.

My advice to moms is this: Please don’t let all this concern stop you from giving these important leafy green and vitamin A rich veggies to your kids. You can feel secure giving your babies these veggies organically. Just follow the correct stages: i.e., carrots around 7 months, broccoli and spinach around 8 months.

For more information about when to give what, see my previous post on First Foods For Baby.

+ + + + +

SPINACH, ZUCCHINI, & POTATO RECIPE
Suitable for babies 8 months and up

Ingredients

2 tablespoons of olive oil

½ onion, chopped

1 large zucchini, washed and cut into ¼ inch slices

1 small potato, washed, peeled, and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 8-oz bunch spinach, washed and roughly chopped

1 cup vegetable stock

1. Heat oil and fry onion gently until softened; add potato and zucchini and stir. Add vegetable stock. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

2. Add chopped spinach and stir. Simmer until veggies are soft but still bright green (don’t over cook to olive green color).

3. Puree in a food processor and serve. Freeze leftovers in covered ice cube trays or 4 oz. containers.

Variations

Mix in some grated cheese for added flavor.

Mix with small pieces of pasta for more substantial meal.

When baby is 1 year, serve with white fish and grated cheese for a delicious fish Florentine.”

+ + + + +

Image credit: FreeFoto.com

Ready, set, grill! Today, Michelle Stern of What’s Cooking offers a yummy recipe for BBQ Chicken BLT’s - perfectly suited for these sweltering days that make it challenging to cook indoors. And be sure to get your kids involved, with Michelle's "Call the Kids" tips at the end of the recipe.
BBQ Chicken BLT's
Serves 4

Mmm...BLT's in the summer, when the tomatoes are at their best! The barbeque adds great flavor to the chicken and the bread, but beware: your neighbors might come over to see what you are making for dinner! Make extra chicken to add to a salad or for lunch the next day. Serve with baked chips and pickles.

You will need:

8 slices of soft country bread

8 slices of bacon or turkey bacon

2 tomatoes, sliced

1 avocado, peeled and sliced

1 small bunch of Arugula or lettuce

1/4 cup olive oil

8 Tbs light mayonnaise

2 tsp black pepper, crushed

salt and pepper

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced through the center, making four thin breast pieces.

1. Using a brush, coat each slice of bread with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, turn the slices over, and repeat on the other side. Next, coat both pieces of chicken with the oil and then season, remembering to coat both sides.

2. Place both pieces of chicken on the barbecue and grill for 2-4 minutes. Also add the bacon, which needs less time. If the flames rise, splash over a small handful of water and move the bacon to the side to stop the meat from burning.

3. After 2 minutes, turn the bacon and the chicken. Remove bacon when brown and crisp.

4. Remove the chicken when golden. Place the bread on the grill to the side of the fire and Turn the bread after a minute, removing when just golden.

5. Mix the mayonnaise and crushed pepper.

6. Assemble sandwiches and enjoy!

Call the Kids:

Set up a tray to go to the bbq, including foil, an extra plate, tongs.

Wash tomato

Brush bread with olive oil and season

Season chicken (wash hands after)

Wash lettuce

Help assemble sandwiches

Nutrition (per serving): 669.7 calories; 49% calories from fat; 37.4g total fat; 103.4mg cholesterol; 1016.6mg sodium; 764.6mg potassium; 44.4g carbohydrates; 5.8g fiber; 1.2g sugar; 38.6g net carbs; 39.1g protein.

Image credit: FreeFoto.com

Today, Jules offes a recipe to try over the weekend:

"With the arrival of spring and summer, I can’t get enough seafood. A light seafood entrée is the perfect dinner for me, and this recipe is a lovely, easy diversion from the typical banal salmon dish. The subtle fennel flavors come in the form of a light crunch similar to celery, and contrast surprisingly well with the brininess of the olives and sweetness of the oranges. Enjoy!
 

Serves about 4

1 large or 2 small bulbs fresh fennel

1 cup black cured olives

4-5 Clementine oranges

1 bunch fresh parsley (or cilantro)*

¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (keep separated) good quality extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup orange juice

Salt and pepper

About 2 pounds fresh salmon filet

Pinch red pepper flakes

Make the salad. Trim stalks and frawns from the fennel bulbs. Slice the bulb into long, thin slices. Pit and chop olives. Peel oranges and slice each segment in half. Rinse and chop parsley. Combine all ingredients in large bowl. Mix in ¼ cup olive oil and orange juice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Allow to sit for at least 15 minutes.

Prepare the fish. While the salad is marinating, prepare the fish. Preheat oven to 350º. In large cast iron skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season skin side of fish with salt and a pinch of red pepper flakes. When oil is hot and begins to shimmer, place filets in skillet, skin side down. Allow to sear for at least one minute, or until skin becomes crispy. Once skin is crispy, place entire skillet in oven and bake until just cooked through (this depends on the thickness of your filets, but for a filet about 1” thick, this will be about 7 minutes).

Presentation. Plate salad on large plate and top with fish.

*I recommend parsley for this recipe only because it is more universally liked. In my house we prefer cilantro, so I use that. Each herb results in a very different flavor or the final recipe, so use whichever you prefer, or use both!"

CLICK HERE for a printable PDF of this recipe.

From day one, Laurel has been utterly (sometimes maddeningly) discriminating when it comes to the origin of her nutrients. She waged a fierce battle over taking breastmilk from a bottle (guess who ultimately lost that one…), and flat out refused to eat jarred baby food after months of exposure to homemade food. Once she hit toddlerhood, I repeatedly tried to entice her with store bought chicken nuggets (or other easy freezer items) to no avail.

One day we had little else other than chicken breast, eggs, and breadcrumbs in the fridge so I decided to make chicken tenders for the grownups. I didn't expect Laurel to respond favorably since she had shown little interest in meat, but she went crazy over them, particularly served with San-J Sweet & Tangy sauce (shown; click thumbnail to enlarge). These tenders now are a weekly staple, served with rice and vegetables.
To prepare the tenders, slice chicken breast (one whole breast – about 1 pound – is enough for 2 adults and 1 toddler, plus some leftovers) into pieces about ¼ inch thick and place in a bowl. Crack an egg over the chicken and mix to coat. Pour some breadcrumbs (we use Ian’s Italian Panko Breadcrumbs, shown) in a separate bowl and mix with a little salt. Heat a skillet at medium heat and thinly coat with olive oil (we have a terrific double burner griddle that allows us to do the entire batch at once). Coat chicken pieces in breadcrumbs and fry until golden and cooked through, about a minute or so on each side.

I can hardly blame Laurel for wanting homemade. These tenders are fabulous, and the leftovers do well either cut up in little chunks for her school lunch, or in pressed panini sandwiches layered with avocado, tomato, and cheese.

Jon and I currently are on a mission to develop a weekly dinner plan that: a) is simple and tasty for adults and kids; b) takes the ambiguity out of who’s doing what (we recently discovered I was assuming full responsibility for – and withholding bitterness over – meal prep on top of work and juggling Laurel at the end of the day); and c) gets more vegetables into us. If we get a good plan sorted out, we’ll be sure to share it; meanwhile, we have discovered how effective an excellent, simple vinaigrette is to inspiring salad consumption.

One batch of Martha’s Favorite Vinaigrette and many salads later, we're still in awe of this beautiful and easy steak Cobb salad (click thumbnail to enlarge image), in which we tossed chopped iceberg lettuce with vinaigrette, then layered cherry tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, seared steak strips, cashews, bleu cheese, and avocado over the top (dried cranberries also would make for a nice color and flavor contrast). The steak – and a side dish of pomme frites – warmed up the salad for winter (chicken or marinated tofu also would sub in well), and the presentation projected a culinary mindfulness that largely has been dormant since we embarked on the parenting journey.

Just because you’re pregnant or nursing doesn’t mean you have to forego drinks with cute little umbrellas in them. Check out Epicurious’ mama-friendly feature on liquorless libations. Epicurious offers several recipes under each of the following categories: lemon- & limeades, iced teas, tropical coolers, sparkling sips, and summer shakes.

So kick up those swollen dogs, and have your partner get on the blender.