Feed Your Kids – Page 50 – The leading authority on basketball cupcakes and Basil-Lime martinis…

Pistachio French Macaroons (Macarons)

Yum. These are definitely going to be among my favorite flavors. The pistachio extract was a bit of a pain to find and took a while to be delivered, but it’s definitely essential. I ordered two different kinds to compare and contrast. They are similar in flavor, but the one from Jacksonville Mercantile is clear … Continue reading “Pistachio French Macaroons (Macarons)”

Yum. These are definitely going to be among my favorite flavors. The pistachio extract was a bit of a pain to find and took a while to be delivered, but it’s definitely essential. I ordered two different kinds to compare and contrast. They are similar in flavor, but the one from Jacksonville Mercantile is clear and the one from Spices, Etc. is yellow-ish in color, so if you’re going to be baking something that is NOT going to end up being colored green, that might matter to you.

Sometime soon, I will type up my adapted version of this recipe, but it’s getting late tonight. I started out with the basic Martha Stewart recipe, but I used pistachios instead of almonds. Unless you’re lucky enough to find pistachio meal, you’ll need to grind the pistachios in the food processor yourself (be sure to start with UNROASTED and UNSALTED ones, and BEWARE: they’re not easy to find). Grind them with the powdered sugar, so that you don’t end up with pistachio butter. In both the meringues and the buttercream, use half vanilla extract and half pistachio extract (the pistachio extract is VERY strong, so I think it would be too much on its own, at the full recipe amount). I added a few drops (about 4?) of Leaf Green gel food coloring to both the meringues and the filling. I used Americolor brand, but any brand of gel will do. I prefer the gel because it’s very concentrated. You don’t need to use as much and it doesn’t mess with the consistency of your final product. I did find that the tops of the meringues browned a bit and it wasn’t quite as obvious, from the top, that they were supposed to be green, rather than just toasted, but they still looked green on the sides and the insides. I am going to try another batch soon, without the food coloring, because one of my guinea pig taste-testers has an allergy to the Yellow #5 dye that is an ingredient in the green dye.

These were YUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMY!

Chai French Macaroons (macarons) with Matcha Green Tea Filling

For this version, I used the original basic recipe, but bumped up the level of Chai spice to 1 tsp. and added some Matcha Green Tea (about 1/2 Tbsp.) to the meringue buttercream. The Chai flavor was EXCELLENT, but the green tea flavor really wasn’t noticeable. It gave the filling a beautiful green color, but didn’t have much of a green tea flavor. If I make these again, I will bump up the amount of tea in the filling. The Chai flavor may be too strong for this combination. The Chai meringues might be better with plain vanilla flavoring. The Matcha filling might be better with plain vanilla cookies, too. Obviously, I’m going to keep experimenting with these for while – I’m not sick of them yet! Many thanks to my friend Jennifer and her family, to my parents and to Boy’s 4th grade class for being my taste-tester guinea pigs.

Pork Medallions with Creamy Mustard Sauce

Yum. I’ve made these pork medallions before, but decided to try them with this mustard sauce, this time. Some penne with pesto and asparagus on the side. A HUGE hit with everyone. For the pork, I used half regular breadcrumbs and half panko and mixed in a bit of Baby Bam seasoning. I also salted the medallions a tiny bit before breading. For the cream sauce, I used chicken stock instead of wine and half-and-half instead of whipping cream. I also omitted the basil and dill, since we would already be having so much basil in the pesto. Dee-lish.

Chai French Macaroons (macarons) with Chocolate Ganache Filling

All in all, not a raging success, but not awful, either. I only added 3/4 tsp. of my Chai Spice Seasoning Blend and it needed MORE, plus the very strong flavor of the ganache overwhelmed the delicate spiciness of the cookies. Back to the drawing board. Something potentially very special coming tomorrow.

Spelling Bee and Super Tuesday

The regional spelling bee was tonight for Girl (next level up after winning the bee at her school). She ended up placing 3rd (out of about 35 kids from 3 counties). The competition was pretty stiff, but we are VERY proud of her performance. She was confident and composed, but the word “croustade” just got the better of her (yes, ironic, I know, given my recent fondness for French pastry – suffice to say you will not see me making any “croustades” any time soon). She can spell tchotchke and waterzooi and azimuth and witloof and cynosure and hemerocallis all day long, though. 🙂 In the final rounds, any word in the dictionary is fair game and there’s just not really any (practical) way to study for that. The young lady that ended up winning was absolutely deserving. She was obviously quite prepared.

The bee itself was very interesting: a varied selection of Americana. Pretty much any culture that you can imagine was represented, from a super-cute little boy in Chuck Taylors and a shirt with electric guitars on it to a young girl in a Muslim hijab and everything in between (Girl was in Chuck Taylors, a hoodie and a cool Threadless tee). The children were amazingly supportive of one another. There was one girl that was giving a “thumbs up” to her competitors when they got their words right and was consoling children as they were eliminated. Very inspiring. She was very sweet; I regret not finding out her name or getting her contact info. She seems like the kind of girl that would make a great friend/playmate for Girl. The fact that this event was happening on “Super Tuesday” wasn’t lost on me. I hope that this positive atmosphere of encouragement and peaceful co-existence will be something that the adults in charge of our country can also accomplish. Whatever your leanings, (Conservative or Liberal, Republican or Democrat), you’ve got to be proud of the fact that we have a man of color and a female as viable candidates…just to know that we are open-minded enough to support things that would have been impossible just a few generations ago…it gives me hope.

Homemade Granola – two yummy versions

Steff’s Homemade “Cran-crazy” Granola I came across this granola recipe on Canadian Steff’s blog. (WARNING about Steff’s blog: In addition to a few good recipes, it also has some adult themes. If you are easily offended, DO NOT poke around on the blog past the granola recipe.) Her recipe was adapted from this one on … Continue reading “Homemade Granola – two yummy versions”

Steff’s Homemade “Cran-crazy” Granola

I came across this granola recipe on Canadian Steff’s blog. (WARNING about Steff’s blog: In addition to a few good recipes, it also has some adult themes. If you are easily offended, DO NOT poke around on the blog past the granola recipe.) Her recipe was adapted from this one on allrecipes.com.

I’ve adapted the recipe a little bit, too:
I took Steff’s suggestion to up the flax seeds to 3/4 cup.
I used sliced almonds instead of chopped (I think they’re prettier).
I used pecans instead of walnuts (personal preference).
I added 2 scoops of milled flaxseed, in addition to the whole flax seeds.
I used a Cinnamon Spice Blend, instead of just plain cinnamon. The recipe can be found here.

It’s QUITE yummy. This granola can be eaten on its own as a cereal, or sprinkled over the top of other cereals (or ice cream, yogurt, etc.). I had never used safflower oil before, but I will definitely keep it on hand from now on. It’s amazingly light and I think would adapt to lots of different uses.

My friend Kathleen’s Almond-Coconut Granola
(originally from our mutual hairdresser, Monique)

Equal parts of:
Sliced almonds
Coconut “chips” (large shreds of unsweetened coconut)
Old-fashioned oats

Granola ingredients, before being coated with maple syrup and baked.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir in enough maple syrup to just BARELY moisten the ingredients. Spread into a large, flat baking pan.

Bake for about 20 minutes, watching very carefully and turning and stirring about every 5 minutes, until the granola is evenly golden-toasted.

For the batch that I made yesterday, I used 3 cups each of almonds, oats and coconut, with about 3/4 cup maple syrup, plus I added 3 Tbsp wheat germ and 3 scoops of milled flax seed.

Because this granola is pretty sweet, is a better “garnish” granola than it is a “eat a whole bowlful” granola. I like to mix it with Cheerios (2 parts Cheerios to 1 part granola).

Expecting our Texan citizenship to be revoked any moment now…

We didn’t watch the Super Bowl today. Not a second of it. We went for a bike ride 5 minutes before kick-off (the neighborhood was DEAD – no traffic at ALL – it was eerie) and then went home to watch an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise that we had on our DVR. Yes, we … Continue reading “Expecting our Texan citizenship to be revoked any moment now…”

“All Four Feet” Jack

This is a HORRIBLE photo (Hubby excitedly took it with his phone this morning), but…..it is a photo of a cat, successfully and without assistance, properly using the toilet!!! Note the correct (“All 4 feet on the seat” stance). We are now using something called “Citykitty” and it’s what turned the corner for us. I … Continue reading ““All Four Feet” Jack”

This is a HORRIBLE photo (Hubby excitedly took it with his phone this morning), but…..it is a photo of a cat, successfully and without assistance, properly using the toilet!!!
Note the correct (“All 4 feet on the seat” stance). We are now using something called “Citykitty” and it’s what turned the corner for us. I will try to take some video of him later, for anyone that is interested (I’m surprised by how many of you are, actually!)

This was, of course, immediately followed with “Good boy, Jack, good potty, good kitty” and 2 Feline Greenies treats (his favorite).

Jack is, at this point, essentially trained. Ace, his brother, is following VERY closely behind in the process. The girl (Queenie), however, is still stubborn and will complain pretty vocally about having to use this piece of unfamiliar equipment for her, um, “ablutions.” If we are not around, she will still pace around the bathroom, looking for somewhere, anywhere else to go and we have to keep reassuring her that, indeed, there IS no other acceptable option before she will actually consent to use the toilet. The “Citykitty” set-up, at the “almost at the end” stage where we are, still requires a small sprinkling of cat litter. When we open up the (gigantic, plastic, Costco-sized bucket) litter container, she always stands up on her hind legs, peeking in, thinking that she’d much rather go IN the litter bucket (she has actually done this before – now we have to put the bathroom trash can on TOP of the bucket to keep her out – brat.).

Stuffed Pasta Shells with two sauces (both vegetarian)

Boy doesn’t care for tomato sauce, so when I was making stuffed shells for dinner tonight, I thought I’d try to come up with an alternate sauce for him. Hubby, Girl and I loved the tomato sauce version and Boy really loved the Parmesan-Pesto version. The two sauces might even be really good if you … Continue reading “Stuffed Pasta Shells with two sauces (both vegetarian)”

Boy doesn’t care for tomato sauce, so when I was making stuffed shells for dinner tonight, I thought I’d try to come up with an alternate sauce for him. Hubby, Girl and I loved the tomato sauce version and Boy really loved the Parmesan-Pesto version. The two sauces might even be really good if you combined them, or baked a batch of shells that are drizzled with a little of each sauce, in the same pan.

Stuffed Pasta Shells with Two Sauces

For shells:
1 12-oz package jumbo pasta shells
1 15-oz tub ricotta cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
8 oz frozen spinach, cooked according to package directions
1/2 tsp. Baby Bam seasoning
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, divided
1 and 1/2 cups of your favorite spaghetti sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook pasta shells in salted water according to package directions. Drain and discard any broken or torn shells.

Squeeze all excess water out of the spinach and place it in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add the Baby Bam, mozzarella, eggs, ricotta and 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese. Stir until well combined. Stuff each of the shells with 2 – 3 Tbsp. of the ricotta mixture and place all of them, except 8, in a large baking dish. Place the remaining 8 shells in a smaller baking dish and set aside.

Top the large dish of shells with the pasta sauce and sprinkle with half of the remaining parmesan cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and cheese is lightly browned. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and serve.

For Pesto-Parmesan Cream sauce:
4 Tbsp. butter
4 Tbsp. flour
1 and 1/2 cup liquid, either chicken stock or milk
(or a combination of both – I used 1 cup milk and 1/2 cup chicken stock)
1/4 tsp. Baby Bam seasoning
2 to 3 Tbsp. prepared pesto sauce
5 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese, divided

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. When butter is melted, whisk in the flour until well blended. Cook, whisking continuously, for 1 to 2 minutes or until very thick. Slowly pour in 1 cup of the liquid, continuously whisking, until well combined. Turn heat down to low and whisk in Baby Bam, pesto and 4 Tbsp. of the cheese. Continue to simmer until sauce reaches the desired consistency (somewhere between yogurt and melted ice cream), adding the remaining 1/2 cup liquid, if necessary. You want the sauce to be thick, but still pourable, because it will thicken a little as it bakes. Pour about 1/3 to 1/2 of the sauce over the reserved 8 stuffed shells and sprinkle with the remaining 1 Tbsp. of cheese.

Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and cheese is lightly browned. Reserve remaining sauce for another use (pour over cooked pasta and add some grilled chicken?).

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

One of the women in my book club made these chicken lettuce wraps for our last meeting and they were absolutely scrumptious. One bite and I knew that I needed to make them for Hubby, Boy and Girl. They are a bit of a pain to make, for what they are. You need lots of serving dishes for this (even without the dumplings and eggrolls). You have to make 2 different from-scratch dressings. You need to use your blender, your grill and either the stove-top or a rice cooker. There’s a hefty amount of chopping, including ginger, which is a headache for me. They were totally yummy, though, and I would make these again.

Modifications and simplification recommendations:
I forgot to toss the cooked chicken in the additional Lime Vinaigrette (and we didn’t miss it). If you wanted to simplify the recipe, you could marinate the chicken in a bit of bottled Teriyaki sauce instead of preparing the lime vinaigrette.

I sliced the chicken, instead of shredding it. That was probably a mistake – it’s probably worth the trouble to shred (or chop) it, to make the bites of meat in the wrap smaller. I also forgot to wash the rice, but I think it’s worth the extra step to do that – my friend’s rice was much better and less “clumpy” when she made hers.

The green onion/scallions, though they are yummy, could probably be eliminated. I love cilantro, so I would NEVER omit that. The cucumber could also go, if you’re not a big fan.

The mango (I actually used 2 mangoes, instead of just 1 and we ate it ALL) is crucial – don’t omit that!

The soy-ginger dressing is very good, so I think that’s worth the trouble (bump the amount of sesame oil up to at least 1 tsp).

I cooked some dumplings and eggrolls (frozen) to go with these.

When preparing frozen dumplings, I boil them and then fry them (until they’re golden on one side) in a mixture of canola and peanut oil, with just a tiny bit of toasted sesame oil added in. For eggroll/dumpling dipping sauce, use the sweet & sour sauce that comes in the package, but also use this recipe (from Cooking Light) to make a spicy-salty sauce (we like sweet & sour on eggrolls, but the soy sauce-based sauce on the dumplings

Spicy-Sweet Dipping Sauce:
1 tsp. sriracha
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. duck sauce
1 Tbsp. minced green onion/scallion

Hubby LOVES this sauce and would probably eat a dead dog if it were doused in this sauce.

If I had thought of it, I would have made some edamame, too, but just didn’t get around to it. I couldn’t find Bibb lettuce right now, either. It really would have been better, but iceberg was OK in a pinch.

The lettuce wraps were a big hit with Hubby, Boy and Boy’s friend, A (and me, too!). Girl was away at a birthday party, but will have some of the leftovers tomorrow.