finished object, a rainy day, and muffins

First off, the finished object - Habitat by Jared Flood. I wore it today to the beach hoping that the rain would block it to my head all by itself. It may need some actual blocking some day, but for now it'll work!

It was a rainy summer day, warm and very wet, and we joined Outdoor Preschool at Outer Point for three hours of fun in the woods and on the beach. Here's Sophie with a limpet she found, right before she tried to stick it to her nose :)...

And then we came home and made muffins! My kind of rainy day. I used the recipe from the bag of Bob's Red Mill Oat Bran, and instead of whole wheat pastry flour I substituted 1/3 quinoa flour, 1/3 wheat germ, and 1/3 Bob's gluten free all-purpose flour, plus a handful of whole flax seeds. For the wet ingredients, I put a banana, three carrots, a handful of raisins, and a couple handfuls of walnuts together in the food processor and then mixed them in. I also halved the amount of sugar.

They turned out good, very tasty. The only thing is that every time I've tried to use the gluten free all-purpose flour, things turn out slightly burnt on the outside before they're done on the inside. Is there a trick to getting gluten-free things to turn out right? I'm not even doing all gluten-free, just trying to incorporate more alternative grains (other than wheat) into my baking.

oatmeal raisin cookies plus protein

I bought this stuff at the store the other day and have been wanting to experiment with adding it to baked goods. Being the lazy vegetarian I am and Sophie being the picky eater she is, neither of us tend to get enough protein on a regular basis. I know that Sophie's mood and self-regulation fares much better when she's eating enough protein (and I'm sure it's true for me as well) - so in the spirit of Deceptively Delicious I thought I would try some sneaky protein additions.

Today I went with cookies. I started with the Oatmeal Raisin Cookies recipe from Deceptively Delicious and went from there....

The original recipe calls for zucchini puree and banana puree. I didn't have either but I did have a zucchini in the fridge and an over-ripe banana on the counter! I put the zucchini in the food processor and called it good (I didn't cook it first, not even a little), then mashed the banana in with everything else.

I wanted to make the cookies vegan (just for fun really) so I substituted ground flax seed with water for the egg white called for. This is really easier than you think - just whisk the flax in with water, microwave, whisk, and microwave again until you get something that looks like this:

Ok, I know it's hard to see in that picture, but basically you want it to gel up enough that it hangs off the whisk for a second before dropping - kind of like an egg white - which is, after all, what we're going for here.

I added six tablespoons of the protein powder along with the dry ingredients, which according to my (very rough) calculations only added a measly 2g of protein to each finished cookie. Humph. At least the oat flour has a good bit of protein in it too. I think this addition made the cookies a little dry, so next time I'll probably add something else with the wet ingredients to balance it. Maybe applesauce. Or not, who knows.

The finished dough looked like this:

And the finished cookies, well, they look a little weird. They didn't flatten in the oven, so I squished them down with a spatula half way through. I think this is the too-dry issue caused by the added protein powder. But they taste good, and Sophie keeps asking for more - success!

Alright, here's what I did:

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies - adapted from Deceptively Delicious

6 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 zucchini, ground in food processor

1 banana, mashed

1 tablespoon ground flax seed

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup whole oat flour

1 cup rolled oats

6 tablespoons soy protein powder (optional)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup golden raisins

Preheat oven to 350F. Beat the margarine and sugar in a large bowl. Add zucchini and banana; mix (and mash at the same time if you're lazy like me). In a small bowl, whisk together the flax and water. Microwave for 30 seconds at a time, whisking in between, until the mixture gels. Add to ingredients in large bowl and mix well.

In another bowl, mix together flours, protein powder, oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add to wet ingredients and mix gently. Add raisins.

Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto a baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 12-15 min.

Enjoy!

pumpkin muffins

I messed with one of my favorite recipes and came up with these:

I think they're pretty good, they passed a double kid taste test, and they're super healthy. And I even remembered to write down what I did! Here it is:

Pumpkin Muffins

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup pure olive oil

1/2 cup applesauce

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

2T ground flaxseed

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup whole oat flour

1/4 cup quinoa flour

1/4 cup wheat germ

4 heaping tablespoons powdered soy milk

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon nutmeg

Vanilla soy milk (about 1/2 cup)

Preheat oven to 350F. In a big bowl mix the sugar, oil, applesauce, and pumpkin. In a small bowl, whisk the flaxseed with 1/2 cup water. Microwave for 30-second increments, whisking in between, until the mixture gels up. Add to the big bowl and mix. In a medium bowl mix the dry ingredients together, then add to the wet ingredients and mix gently. Add soy milk at this point until the matter reaches the right consistency for muffins. Bake in greased muffin tin for about 20 minutes, until the tops spring back when lightly pressed.

You could use different oil and experiment with different flours, and don't worry if you don't have powdered soy milk. (I finally found it hidden on a bottom shelf in our health food store). Also, I used a ton of spices - if you (or your kids) don't like super strong spice flavor, use less - a lot less - maybe half of what I put.

Enjoy!

version 2.0

Of Pumpkin Pie Muffins - recipe adapted from 'Deceptively Delicious' -

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup molasses

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup almond milk (or soy milk) with a splash of apple cider vinegar

1 egg

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup quinoa flour (or whole oat flour)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Sophie loves these! Next time I will add some oat bran and wheat germ as well. These are moist, light, and airy - kind of cupcake-like, actually. Bake at 350 for about 14 minutes.

And Tiger's Candy -

This time I rolled them in shredded coconut, and they are immensely better. Sophie is gobbling them up. Success!!

tiger's candy

My mom used to make these things called Tiger's Candy when I was little. I remember them being amazingly delicious, and even better because I was allowed to have them almost anytime I wanted one.

I'm mentally getting ready for camping season (one more month maybe??), and I have begun experimenting with different ways to get more protein into Sophie without a fight. Protein = energy = kids who will hike without fussing (as much). This is my theory anyway. So I found the recipe for Tiger's Candy online and made a test batch while Sophie was at preschool today.

I rolled them in cocoa powder since Sophie loves chocolate, but next time I will try rolling them in shredded coconut.

In my opinion, these aren't as amazingly delicious as I remember, but then again everything's better as a child. I'll have to ask my mom what substitutions she used.

Here's the recipe - adapted from Diet for a Small Planet:

Tiger's Candy

1/4 cup peanut butter

2/3 cup ground sunflower seeds

1 tablespoon wheat germ

1 tablespoon ground flax seed

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 cup finely chopped raisins

cocoa powder

Blend peanut butter and ground sunflower seeds together, then add wheat germ, flax seed, honey, and raisins. Blend well. Form into balls and roll in cocoa powder.

The original recipe calls for powdered milk, but I looked all over the grocery store and couldn't find powdered soy milk to substitute, so I just threw in some wheat germ and flax for fun instead. I'll have to look at the health food store, because that seems like a good way to add protein to just about anything.

a little decadence

I wish I could say that I made these brownies to celebrate the end of the semester, but the truth is that I made them last weekend and haven't gotten around to posting about them yet. I do think they deserve a post, though.

Instead of baking I've been outside soaking up the sun, and knitting. Life is good.

But back to the brownies.



Sophie and I couldn't resist trying one before I remembered to take a picture. These may just be the best brownies I've ever made. I wanted something extra special, and chocolatey, and easy, and fast; here it is:

Fudge Brownies with Walnuts and Dried Cherries
from Hershey's Chocolate Treasury and How To Be A Domestic Goddess

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup unsifted all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup chopped dried cherries

Blend oil, sugar, and vanilla in large mixing bowl. Add eggs; using a spoon, beat well. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually blend into egg mixture. Stir in nuts and cherries.

Spread in a greased 9-inch square pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes or until brownie begins to pull away from edges of pan. Cool; frost with Creamy Brownie Frosting. Cut into squares.

Creamy Brownie Frosting:

3 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 tablespoon light corn syrup or honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Cream butter or margarine, cocoa, corn syrup or honey, and vanilla in small mixing bowl. Add confectioner's sugar and milk; beat to spreading consistency.


Enjoy!

pink pancakes

Check out the color of this pancake batter:



What's the secret? Pureed beets. The recipe is from Deceptively Delicious, and I'm very happy to report that Sophie loved them (me? love the color, hate the taste). Maybe she won't be as picky as her Mama is if I get her started eating beets now.... :)

I love this cookbook (thanks Keegan!)... every recipe I've tried turns out well and is sufficiently stealthy. I added cauliflower puree to the tuna salad I made earlier this week, and even my dad who swears up and down that cauliflower tastes like old socks didn't notice a thing. I don't like cauliflower either, but if I can manage to get the nutrition without the taste I'm all for it!

the best thing since sliced bread

I love baking bread. This recipe is from the Fiddlehead cookbook, the herb bread, which might be the only bread recipe in that cookbook I hadn't tried yet.

I've made lots of bread. Lots. But this bread...



This might be the best bread I've ever baked. It tastes good, but what's really, really different about this bread -



- is how it sliced.

I think I'm in love.

raised by wolves

Sophie really likes spaghetti.

Since she won't really eat anything other than pasta, I've been trying to squeeze lots of veggies into the sauce. For this spaghetti sauce, I sauteed an onion and three cloves of garlic, added tomato sauce (canned, so not so great), some TVP, a shredded zucchini, a chopped tomato, 1/2 cup of carrot puree, and lots of basil and oregano.

And she liked it!

deceptively delicious: pancakes with sweet potato and diced apple

Thank you Keegan for getting me this cookbook!

I had pureed a bunch of different veggies to have on hand in the freezer, but hadn't actually tried any of the recipes out until yesterday morning. Sophie's friend Bailey comes over on Fridays so I thought I would make them something "special" for breakfast...

Pancakes:



With 1/2 cup of my sweet potato puree (as called for in the recipe) plus a diced Granny Smith apple. The batter is pastel orange, but once they're cooked they look pretty much like regular pancakes:



With some of my mom's homemade "pancake stuff" on top (it's really just jam that didn't set up), they look AND taste delicious.



And they passed the double-toddler approval!

The pancake recipe in Deceptively Delicious just calls for 1 cup of pancake mix, which makes them super easy to prepare with store-bought mix, but with an extra 15 minutes you can put together your own, healthier, pancake mix.

Basic Multi-Grain Pancake Mix:

2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup unbleached white flour
1/4 cup whole grain oat flour
2 tablespoons wheat germ
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Just dump all ingredients into a container, enough times to fill the container. Mix. Put in pantry.

Then just scoop it out by the cup to use in the sweet potato recipe (or any other recipe).

starting out the new year with happy feet

Happy New Year!




I knitted the last bit of my second sock while I counted down till midnight last night. I finished with about 15 minutes to spare!



I've been wearing them all day today and my feet are very happy!

The pattern is Hellen's Favorite Socks from Fiber Trends, and the yarn is Austermann Step. I have quite a bit left over, I might have to make Sophie a pair!

the perfect lunch

There's just nothing better than homemade pel meni. Mine are potato, not meat, with some onion and garlic thrown in for good measure as well.

Eaten smothered in Sriracha hot sauce, rice vinegar, sprinkled with curry powder, fresh cilantro if you like, and sour cream on the side.

Food of the gods.

eat your vegetables

Sophie doesn't listen to me when I tell her this, so I've been experimenting with different ways to cook and serve vegetables.

Like these:


Spinach Nuggets (from the wholesome toddler food website)

16 oz. frozen chopped spinach, cooked and drained
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs (or healthier alternatives)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
3 eggs

Combine all ingredients plus any seasonings you want to add, shape into nuggets and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, turn, and bake another 5-10 minutes.


Honestly, I can't say these were a huge hit (yet!), but my dad ate some and said they were good. Sometimes it just takes a few tries, ya know?

yummy pumpkin bread

I made this pumpkin bread the other day and took a plate of it to our toddler group at the birth center... the littles ones loved it!

It's from Jane Brody's Good Food Book (here it is on Amazon):

Pumpkin Bread

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt, if desired
1/4 cup dark raisins
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

I added about 1/2 teaspoon each of cloves, nutmeg, and allspice; omitted the nuts; and added 1/4 cup dried currants. I made a double recipe and baked it in a tube pan, also. This recipe also makes good muffins, and cake (if you increase the sugar).

1. In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, oil, pumpkin, and eggs.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Fold this into the pumpkin mixture, stirring the two mixtures just to moisten the dry ingredients. Stir in the dark raisins, golden raisins, and nuts. Pour the batter into a greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pan (or two miniloaf pans).

3. Bake the bread in a preheated 350F oven for about 1 hour or until a pick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean (check after 50 minutes if using miniloaf pans). Set the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then turn out the loaf to cool completely.

Enjoy!

how we do lunch

Or rather, how Sophie does lunch.

Like this:



Brown rice, black beans, curry powder, and melted Monterrey Jack cheese.

Hey, whatever she'll eat!



And boy did she eat it. Success!

Now if only she'd learn some table manners:



On second thought.... I'll pick my battles!

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Happy PFD day!

breakfast of champions

Mmmm....



Nothing like a steaming hot plate of leftover lasagna first thing in the morning.

what's for lunch?

breakfast - easy (especially since we got a blender today!) - sophie has a banana, yogurt, and cereal every morning with no complaints (almost).

dinner, not so bad, usually by dinnertime we've given in and turned on the a/c, and with saving dinner it's already planned out.

but lunch??

i have no idea! lately it's almost like i'm dreading lunchtime to come around.... because i have absolutely no clue what to make.

our fridge and pantry are stocked with all the basics but i can't seem to pull it together. the reason - it is hot, hot, hot out! it's been around 95 everyday and i can't for the life of me think of anything good, that sophie will like, that doesn't need to be heated up.

because turning on the stove/oven/microwave is just out of the question right now.

help!
what do you make for lunch when it's hot out?

so helpful

i want...

PEL'MENI!!
so bad. so so bad.

although, of course, i like mine WAY spicier than the one in this picture. as in, completely covered with sriracha. thor (god of pel'meni) once told me that mine were the spiciest he's ever seen, and that was after he worked there for an entire summer. mac (another god of pel'meni but it doesn't sound as cool) once challenged me to actually consume all the hotsauce i put in my pels. i won.

i also want a blackened halibut ceaser from the hanger... tempura halibut & curly fries from the twisted fish... strawberry belgian from the southeast waffle co.... chocolate/peanut butter milkshake from the broiler... oh and of course broccoli chicken from seong's.

sigh.

fire

i just lost my whole post. grr. anyways.
there were fires at fort carson yesterday, there's a report on it here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080416/ap_on_re_us/wildfires
pretty crazy, i didn't know all that was going on. there was definitely a lot of smoke in the air over carson last night though.

sophie was being a fussy cry baby yesterday... so i made cry babies.

no you can't have the recipe, they're a secret, i even searched online and there aren't any recipes. there are some recipes that CLAIM to be cry babies, but they are not the real thing. some of them have coffee in them, gross.