Pursuant to yesterday's yummy food post, I wanted to share two tasty spinach-happy dishes my co-host Heather brought to our friend Nicola's baby shower. Not only were these dishes fantastically yummy (seriously, the guests could not stop raving), but given that my roughage consumption tends to plummet with the cold weather (and close of CSA season), I love how excited these dishes got me about eating leafy greens. Enjoy!
Heather's Spinach Salad

Salad:

About 8 oz baby spinach leaves

1 cup pecan halves or pieces

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 cup crumbled gorgonzola or other blue cheese

Dressing:

3 tablespoons regular olive oil

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper

Mix salad contents in a serving bowl. Place dressing ingredients in a jar or lidded bowl and shake vigorously to mix. Drizzle dressing over salad just before serving.

Spinach Pasta Salad
(Heather said she found this recipe on Recipes.com)

Ingredients

1 (12 ounce) package farfalle pasta

10 ounces baby spinach, rinsed and torn into bite-size piece

2 ounces crumbled feta cheese with basil and tomato

1 red onion, chopped

1 (15 ounce) can black olives, drained and chopped

1 cup Italian-style salad dressing

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 lemon, juiced

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until al dente, rinse under cold water and drain.

2. In a large bowl, combine the pasta, spinach, feta cheese, red onion, and olives.

3. Whisk together the salad dressing, garlic, lemon juice, garlic salt, and pepper. Pour over salad and toss. Refrigerate for 2 hours and serve chilled.

Image credits: Christine Koh

This past weekend I co-hosted a secondhand baby shower for my friend Nicola (when I offered to host a shower, Nicola asked me to repeat the eco-theme) along with my two friends Heather and Heather. Both Heathers brought awesome dishes that I wanted to share (the guests could not stop raving about the food!). I'll share one recipe below and two (related) others in a separate post. I ate many servings of these dishes and wasn't shy about asking if I could hang onto some leftovers. Enjoy!
 

Santa Rosa Valley Salad
(Serves 6; Heather doubled the recipe for the shower)

SALAD:

1 box Near East Original long grain and wild rice mix, cooked as directed

Juice of one lemon

3 half chicken breasts (cooked and diced)

4 green onions (chopped)

1 red bell pepper (diced)

3 oz. peapods (ends removed and then halved)

2 medium avocados, diced

1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

DRESSING:

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1. Combine dressing ingredients in blender. Put in lidded container and refrigerate. (May be made a day in advance.)

2. Mix all salad ingredients (except avocados and pecans). Combine with salad dressing and refrigerate 2-4 hours. Before serving, add avocados and pecans.

Editor's Note: Heather got this recipe from her mother-in-law. I did a quick Google search and saw that there are similar recipes of the same title submitted by users to other food sites. If you happen to know of the original source feel free to share and I will happily credit here!

Image credit: Christine Koh

Sometimes kids come up with the most brilliant ideas. I wanted to make pumpkin bread the other week (our oven finally got fixed so I've been on a bit of a baking bender) and Laurel suggested that we make a cream cheese frosting and call it cake. Brilliant. I doubled/adjusted slightly this pumpkin bread recipe from Michelle and added frosting (via a recipe in Baking Illustrated (really, anyone who likes to bake ought to own this tome). It was a huge hit. Here's the how-to:
Pumpkin Cake
(Michelle's recipe doubled, with some adjustments, as annotated below)

Ingredients

4 cups flour

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

4 eggs

1 can pumpkin (Original recipe calls for more pumpkin than one can once doubled, but I didn't want to use partial cans. If you want more pumpkin measure out 2 cups.)

2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 cup milk

1/2 cup oil

OPTIONAL: The original pumpkin bread recipe calls for chocolate chips; we omitted given that we were adding cream cheese frosting, but if you want to up the sweet factor, mix in 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 ounces cream cheese

5 tablespoons butter, softened

1 tablespoon sour cream (or, um, instead add an extra tablespoon of cream cheese or butter)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1¼ cup (5 ounces) confectioner's sugar

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, white and brown sugars, milk, and oil in large bowl with wire whisk until well blended. Add dry ingredients; stir just until moistened (do not overmix or batter will toughen). If using, stir in chocolate chips.

3. Pour mixture into a greased 9×13 inch cake pan. Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove pan from oven and place on wire rack.

4. While cake is baking, make frosting by mixing above ingredients together until smooth. If you flip your cake out of the pan this recipe yields enough for a thin layer of frosting on the top and four sides. However, Laurel wanted to practice piping (plus I wanted to leave the cake in the pan so it was easier to store in the fridge) -- using a piping tip, the recipe was a bit short in covering the entire top of the cake. This was fine for us, but if you'd like generous frosting coverage, double the recipe.

Enjoy!

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Image credit: Leslie Graff; a cropped portion of the artwork below. Isn't Leslie's work delicious? I met Leslie for the first time at Pivot and fell. in. love. She's an incredibly talented artist and all around cool person. You can purchase her work as greeting cards, prints, or big awesome paintings.

In my ongoing quest to find protein-rich vegetarian meals for kids, I picked up a package of Harmony Valley vegetarian hamburger mix at Whole Foods and knocked together a batch of vegetarian chili yesterday for a gathering with friends. Though I've always found the make-vegetarian-food-look-like-meat thing a little odd, now I get it. Especially when you need help transitioning someone from non-vegetarian to vegetarian eating. This chili was a huge hit -- Laurel loved it and the grown up guests were clamoring too. Here's the how-to:
Ingredients:

1 package Harmony Valley vegetarian hamburger mix

Olive oil

1 small onion, diced

1 large can (28 ounce) diced tomato

1 can black beans

1 can pinto beans

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 small zucchini, cubed pieces

2 ears of corn, steamed and kernels shaved off

Shredded cheese + tortilla chips (optional)

1. Prepare Harmony Valley mix per instructions (so easy...just add water and let stand for 15 minutes). In a large pot, heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Add onion and stir for a few minutes. Add the prepared Harmony Valley mix and stir, breaking up chunks.

2. To keep the mix from sticking, add canned tomatoes, black beans, and pinto beans -- including the liquid from the beans. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, and salt. (After all the ingredients are added, taste and adjust. I went mild on the spices because Laurel doesn't like things too spicy.)

3. Toss in the bell pepper, zucchini, and corn. Obviously, you can sub in whatever veggies you want but this collection made for a nice color contrast. Stir until ingredients are blended and veggies are heated through. Then turn off the heat to avoid overcooking the veggies (I like veggies to still have crunch to them). Serve chili with shredded cheese and tortilla chips if you like.

And that's it! Super easy, loaded with protein and fiber, and kids will enjoy too. Yay!

Image credit: Harmony Valley. They have lots of recipes if you need inspiration, but basically, use the vegetarian hamburger mix as you would ground meat. I will definitely be using this again for vegetarian tacos and lasagna.

Today, Sarah shares a soup recipe to satisfy the whole family:

The eternal struggle to find a meal for dinner is one of the banes of the mom’s existence. For millennia, we’ve been combining this and substituting that to discover the holy grail of a single dish that will fill hungry bellies, fuel growing bodies, tempt picky taste buds, and soothe savage budgets, all while being prepared with a minimum of fuss, prep, and time. Oh, yeah, and the same goes for tomorrow. And the day after that.
Recently, however, I think I may have nailed it. I’ve made this recipe before, but it went so smoothly from fridge to chopping block to pot to table to tummies I was positively a-tingle.

You can substitute the veggies that your kids will eat, or veggie broth and firm tofu if you’re not carnivores, or whole wheat soba or spaghetti for the won-tons, but this has been a hit with my whole family (including my ravenous husband) every time for about a year now. And four servings plus at least three of leftovers cost $12 or so. It’s a must-share recipe.

With apologies to those of authentic Asian descent, I present:

Chinese Chicken-Vegetable Soup
Serves 4 plus leftovers
~25 minutes prep and cooking time

2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

1 medium white or yellow onion, diced

½ red bell pepper, diced fine (optional)

2 boxes chicken stock (32 oz. each)

2 cloves garlic, whole, peeled

1 2” chunk ginger root

¼ c low-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice-wine vinegar

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil (or to taste)

2 boneless chicken breasts, in 1” cubes (or one package firm tofu, drained and cubed)

1 large or about 12 baby carrots, sliced

2 cups white button or other mushrooms, sliced

2 scallions, sliced on the bias

3 heads baby bok choy, chopped or 2 cups broccoli florets (frozen is fine)

1 bag Trader Joe’s chicken cilantro mini won-tons (or ½ lb whole wheat spaghetti, broken in half and cooked according to package directions…this also could serve as a way to use up pasta leftovers)

1. Heat oil in a 6-8 quart stock pot. Add onion (and red pepper, if using) over medium heat 3-5 minutes or until translucent and tender. Add chicken stock, garlic cloves, ginger root, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and sesame oil, and simmer 5 minutes. Add diced chicken breast and simmer LOW about 3-5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. (If substituting tofu, add at the end.)

Add carrots, mushrooms, scallions, and bok choy or broccoli and simmer 3 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add won-tons (or pre-cooked spaghetti noodles) and simmer 1-2 minutes. Add salt to taste. Pick out the ginger and the garlic. Serve in large bowls with spoons and chopsticks – my kids love the practice, and it helps them eat more slowly.

Tons of veggies, great flavor, fun to eat, easy on the wallet… this will definitely be appearing once a week at my house! Enjoy!

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Image credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

There was a lot of holiday cookie talk on Twitter yesterday, which reminded me that I wanted to share a fantastic recipe for gingerbread people (we're equal opportunity bakers around here). Derived from my trustworthy Baking Illustrated, what I love about these cookies is that they aren’t rock hard crunchy -- testing your dental strength and spraying crumbs all over your shirt with each bite. These cookies are a touch crispy around the edges but chewy throughout, and the sweetness level (not overly sweet) is just right. Laurel and I made these cookies for a holiday party last weekend and people went crazy over them.
I used the cookie recipe from Baking Illustrated, and in the absence of an accompanying icing recipe (odd!), dug up an icing recipe in Nick Malgieri’s How to Bake (I’ll also need to test Nick’s gingerbread cookies some time). I was a little weirded out by the idea of using raw egg white in the icing but apparently that’s how it’s done. The icing hardened up beautifully, just like bakery cookies.

Laurel had a grand time decorating the cookies; I simply cut the corner off a plastic bag and filled it with frosting. She has a remarkably steady hand and decorated the entire batch herself.

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Thick and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies*

*I'm listing the title as it appears in the book so it's easy to find if you purchase Baking Illustrated, but I modified the process and directions from the original since I wanted thinner cookies (the original recipe calls for rolling out dough to ¼” and no additional flour is used in rolling out).

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

12 tablespoons (1 ½ stick) unsalted butter, softened but still cool, cut into 12 pieces

3/4 cup molasses

2 tablespoons milk

1. Process dry ingredients (flour through salt) in a food processor until combined, about 10 seconds. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture and process until mixture is sandy and resembles fine meal, about 15 seconds. With machine running, gradually add molasses and milk; process until dough is evenly moistened and forms a soft mass, about 10 seconds. (You can also follow this process with a hand mixer.)

2. Divide dough into four pieces. If dough feels sticky, sprinkle with flour until it firms up a bit (and isn’t spiky sticky). Then roll out dough between two sheets of parchment until about 1/8” thick. Leave dough between parchment layers and place in freezer until firm (about 10 minutes). You can also make the dough the day before and refrigerate sheets overnight. Note: this refrigeration/freezing process is important! The dough will cut and release easier from the cookie cutters when very firm.

3. Adjust oven racks to upper and lower positions and heat to 350 degrees. Spray baking sheets with nonstick spray, or use a Silpat mat (I adore these mats; they make cookie edges come out perfect every time). Remove one dough sheet and peel off top parchment sheet and gently lay back in place. Flip over and peel off other sheet. Cut gingerbread shapes (we used 3 inch cookie cutters). Transfer shapes to sheet, spacing about ¾ inch apart. Collect scraps and roll out between parchment and freeze as above. Repeat process until all dough is used up.

4. Bake cookies until set in the center and dough barely retains an imprint when touched very gently with a fingertip, about 8 minutes. Do not overbake. Cool cookies on sheets 2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack. Allow to cool completely.

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Decorating Icing

Malgieri's recipe calls for 1 pound confectioners’ sugar, 3 large egg whites, 1 drop of lemon juice or vinegar (and food coloring if you wish). Simply mix together until smooth. I cut the recipe in half and it was plenty. If you’re just doing simple line and dot decorations (i.e., not covering the whole cookie) as Laurel did, you could go with 1/3 of the recipe so you only need to crack one egg. That is what I will do next time.

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My little worker bee...

I first connected with Michelle Stern of What's Cooking two years ago, when she approached me about contributing to Boston Mamas. Though Michelle is based on the West Coast, I adore her hands on approach to cooking with kids and we walk the same green path; the geographical disparity quickly became an afterthought. It was such a pleasure to finally meet Michelle this summer, when we happened to film our segments for The Juice back to back. Just as lovely in person as she is over e-mail, though Michelle is a regular contributor to this site, given that she is one of my favorite eco-foodies, I wanted to feature her in my Simplifying the Holidays guest blog series. Today, Michelle shares a few simple yet meaningful ideas for mindful holidays gifts.

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From Michelle:

It’s nearly impossible to avoid the madness that is the holiday season. Billboards, transit advertising, mailers, and festive to-go cups are all telling us that we need to spend, spend, spend during the holidays. I love a thoughtful gift as much as the next person. And my children are already about to burst with enthusiasm for Chanu-mas (Chanukkah + Christmas). But I can’t help but think that we need to try to carve out another message. How about a few alternatives to traditional store-bought gifts this year? Each of these ideas brings the season of giving to a new level – they help the planet, teach kindness, and help those who may need a little lift, all while spending quality time with your kids.

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Cook from the Heart:

Everyone associates the holiday season with tasty goodness. For some of us that means chocolate, for others it means hot cocoa with little marshmallows or perhaps a jar of homemade seasonal chutney. Excellent gifts can be made, not just purchased. How about making some fabulous gifts from the kitchen this year? Ask your kids what floats their boat. Leaf through the pages of your favorite cookbook together, go on a grocery shopping adventure, and then blast some holiday tunes as you all cook for your loved ones. It’s a win-win situation – you get to play with your kids and make your gifts at the same time! (Plus, you will probably save some money, too…but nobody needs to know!)

My daughter and I made these BBQ spice rubs (pictured above) for holiday gifts. Pick up the spices, small glass jars, ribbon, hang tags, and a spoon if you want to fancy it up. The mixture is simple (I offer ratios since amount will depend on your number of jars):

1 part each: onion powder and cumin

1.5 parts each: brown sugar, paprika, and chili powder

0.5 parts each: coriander and garlic salt

[Also, for more food inspired gifts, check out these ideas for cookie and soup gifts jars.]

Go Green:

I wonder if Mother Earth minds that she doesn’t get any gifts for the holidays. How about we all make a pact to keep her in mind when we do our shopping this year? Here are a few ideas: cool reusable containers for kids’ lunches, nifty reusable produce bags, or a subscription to your local CSA (for yummy produce that comes from your neck of the woods instead of around the world).

Share:

People are often more sentimental during the holidays than during the rest of the year. It’s a good time to double your favorite soup recipe and drop some off at your local women’s shelter. Or you could help an entire community become sustainable by making a donation to Heifer International for a living gift in honor of your grandparents.

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Michelle Stern owns What's Cooking, a certified green company that offers cooking classes for children in the San Francisco Bay Area. When she isn't in the kitchen, she's the head chauffeur for her two children, dog walker to her two mutts, and chicken feeder for her backyard flock. You can follow Michelle on Twitter at @whatscooking.

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Image credit: Michelle Stern

Last week I attended a media event hosted by Stop & Shop and similar to last year, where I came away with lovely ideas for easy and green holiday décor, I left with some good ideas related to holiday gifting and decor. Specifically, I was reminded of the beauty and ease of prettily packaged food gifts and was introduced to a couple of floral tricks that no doubt will come in handy when I host Thanksgiving later this month.
Food Gifts:

Given my minimalist mantra, I refuse to give random stuff during the holidays; instead opting for the usable and edible, such as lovely handmade soaps, yummy food, etc. In the past I have made layered cookie and muffin mixes in glass jars with ribbon and paper labels, and Stop & Shop reminded me of this idea (with a chocolate chip cookie jar recipe) and also planted the seed to take the idea to a savory level (with a country soup jar recipe). I didn’t assemble a soup jar, but I did assemble and take home a cookie jar (which, by the way, is blissfully easy even if you don’t consider yourself crafty) and Laurel and I ended up using it this week in the midst of a bad mojo emergency. Though I love baking from scratch with Laurel (she adores all of the steps of measuring and adding ingredients), I must say that given our moods, it was pretty excellent to have a fast project with quick rewards. Simply dump the dry ingredients in a bowl, add a few wet ingredients, and bake; the end result is delicious.

Floral Tricks:

Regretfully, I didn’t manage to snap pictures of the flower arrangement I created, but I came away with two terrific takeaway tips that will make a basic arrangement (mine was of mums, gerbers, and alstromeria) look super special. First, add an unusual adornment, such as a few stems of wheat or cattail (procure from floral department or craft store). Second, add fresh cranberries to the water for an awesome visual and to keep the stems in place while you arrange the flowers. Even my mom complimented my arrangement (and she's actually taken flower arranging courses).

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On a total aside, this event took place at Upstairs on the Square, where a truly spectacular caramel apple bread pudding with cinnamon ice cream dessert was served. If anyone has the capability to procure this recipe – or one like it – for me, I will forever be indebted to you.

In a comment response to my Halloween candy alternatives post, Tracy made the excellent suggestion of creating a pre-Halloween feast, given that there’s time since Halloween falls on a Saturday, and also to fill bellies so there's less room to gorge on candy. Tracy’s Halloween “gross-out menu” includes beet risotto (aka “Blood and Guts”), which another commenter requested. The beet risotto recipe follows below:

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From Tracy:

This method can be adapted to make any type of risotto you feel like having. I like to make it using whatever is on hand (roasted peppers, asparagus and peas, cooked chicken, etc.). This is also a great recipe to add puree (e.g., butternut squash or pumpkin) to. Here are some basic tips, followed by my beet risotto recipe:

Risotto is made from a short grain rice, which is what allows it to absorb so much liquid. Long grain rice won’t work. Look for Arborio or sometimes Carnaroli.

You will need a flavor base. Traditionally this is olive oil + onions, shallots, and/or garlic.

You will need a flavorful liquid, such as stock or broth. You will need about 5-6 cups liquid for every 2 cups rice (this will serve 6 people moderate sized main dishes). Most recipes will call for a cup or so of wine to cook with as part of the liquid content. If you don’t have wine on hand, or prefer not to use it, sub the same amount of stock instead.

Some people are intimidated by making risotto because of the instructions to stand at the stove and stir constantly. However, I have found you don’t really need to do that. Stay close and stir often, but constant stirring isn’t necessary.

You will know the risotto is ready by doing what my kids call a “line test.” Draw a line with your spoon (it helps to have a flat headed wooden spoon for this) across the bottom of the pot. If you can still see the pot when you finish drawing the line, it’s ready for more stock. If the rice and liquid rush back in before you make your line, then give it another minute or so and try again. Keep adding liquid until the rice is cooked al dente. When you take a taste the rice should be just slightly chewy and should look a little soupy or creamy.

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Beet Risotto
Modified from Trish Magwood’s recipe on foodtv.ca

3 medium beets

3 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock

1 Tbsp olive oil

3 Tbsp butter

1 small white onion, minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups Italian short grain rice (Arborio)

1 1/2 cups white wine (sub with stock if you prefer)

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/4 c. of parmesan cheese, plus extra for garnish (optional)

1. Wash and peel beets. Place beets in a medium saucepan, add 3 cups stock + 3 cups water. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 40-45 minutes or until fork-tender. Remove the beets and allow to cool (place in freezer to speed up cooling time if you need to), reserving the stock that the beets were cooking in. Grate beets and set aside.

2. In a wide saucepan over medium heat, add olive oil and butter. Add onion and sauté for about 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and continue to sauté for another minute.

3. Add rice to saucepan and stir to coat. Add wine and bring to a boil, cooking for 2 minutes.

4. Add the stock that the beets were cooking in, one ladle at a time. Before adding the next ladle of stock, allow rice to absorb all liquid in the pan. After the first 3 ladles, add the grated beets. Continue adding stock one ladle at a time and cook for about 18-20 minutes or until cooked to desired doneness. Season to taste with salt and pepper and add cheese if you’re using it (we don’t, due to my son’s allergies). Grate cheese over top for garnish.

Image credit: Clipart Graphics