Ginger joy

Just a smoothie I made up that I thought I'd share. You can add your own amounts of each ingredient according to your preference:

frozen blueberries
1 lime
ginger root (I peel the root and chop it into little pieces - it's strong, but gives the smoothie a refreshing kick)
milk (soy is extra delicious)

Enjoy after a sweaty run or a refreshing swim or a long day at work or with kids or in the morning to wake you up or when you're sick (aka: it's pretty much awesome any time!)

School Lunch

I make three school lunches a day, and sometimes find myself wondering how I can incorporate a little variety and keep the kids full at a long day of school. I give all my kids a snack, too.  I am trying to avoid high fructose corn syrup and incorporate mostly whole foods . . .

Here are some of my ideas.  What are your thoughts?  Any additions?  Thanks!

Sandwiches:

PBJ
Roley poly sandwiches (tortilla with pbj rolled up -- my kids love this)
Lunch meat
Egg salad (can do in pita)
Tuna Fish (can do in pita)
Bagel with cream cheese
Nutella
Hummus (my kids haven't warmed up to this one yet)

Veggies:

Carrot sticks
Celery with pb and raisons
Snap sugar peas
cherry tomatoes
peppers (my kids don't like this, though)

Fruit:
apples
oranges
whole strawberries

grapes
raisons
dried fruit or banana chips
dates
applesauce or fruit cups (check for corn syrup b/c most have it)


Other:
yogurt (the only kind for big kids I can find without corn syrup are greek yogurts and Activa)
cheese sticks

Snacks:
Saltines / graham crackers
dried fruit
raisins
fruit leather (Costco has the best prices)
pretzels
almonds or nuts
dates

One to Watch: Sarah's Key

 

warning: This is not light fare. It is a Holocaust story, but not in the way you might expect.  Very gripping and very sad.  (And, Kevin actually stayed awake for this one.)

Green Chile Cornbread

I made Catherine's Roasted Red Pepper soup the other day -- delicious!  It was the essence of a summer day.

To go with the soup, I tried a new cornbread recipe.  It was the moistest cornbread I have ever tasted!  It went really well with the soup.  I incorporated two of the reader comments in making the cornbread by cooking it in a 16" cast iron skillet (preheated) and adding half a bunch of green onions.  I also used diced roasted green chiles because I didn't have any roasted whole chilis and it tasted fine!  Overall, this is a great summer twist on classic cornbread:

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/green_chile_cornbread/

Sorry -- I don't have a picture, but the link does =)

Cucumber Lime Mint Agua Fresca

So I have to admit I've been a little hesitant to post because, let's be honest, y'all cook and I am not an experienced cook. But seeing as of late the parents are out of town and I am left to feed myself (what?), I have been cooking up a storm! It helps, also, that I have probably 83 cucumbers to do something with. :) I found this drink on punchfork.com, one of my new favorite cooking websites. This website is cool because you can put in any ingredient, and it connects you with hundreds of recipes from a bunch of the popular cooking websites. I love it.


I like the unique taste of this drink, and it really does cool you off on a hot summer day (today it's 103 in NC! yikes.)

Cucumber Lime Mint Agua Fresca

Ingredients:

1 lb of cucumbers (about 2 good sized cucumbers), ends trimmed, but peel still on, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup lime juice from fresh limes (from about 1 pound of limes, or 5 to 10 limes, depending on how juicy they are)

1 1/4 cup packed (spearmint) mint leaves (about a large handful), woody stems removed

1/2 cup sugar (I would put a little less in if you don't like super sweet).

Approximately 1 1/4 cup of water

How to:

Put ingredients in blender, add enough water to fill 3/4 of blender. Hold the lid on the blender and purée until smooth. Place a fine mesh sieve over a bowl and pour the purée through it, pressing against the sieve with a rubber spatula or the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid out as possible.

Fill a large pitcher halfway with ice cubes. Add the juice. Serve with sprigs of mint and slices of lime.

Oatmeal Cake

Cake

1 c oats
2 c water
3/4 c butter
3/4 c sugar
1 1/4 c brown sugar
3 eggs
1/2 t vanilla
2 c flour
1 1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt

Preheat oven to 350 F and grease bottom of cake pan (9 by 13).  Bring 2 cups water to a boil, add oats, and set aside (do not cover or drain any water.)  Cream butter and sugars together.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Add oats (and water.)  Blend in dry ingredients.  Bake anywhere from 30 to 50 minutes until center is done. 

Icing

1/2 c butter
1/2 c brown sugar
3 T canned milk
1/2 c chopped walnut (opt)
3/4 c coconut (opt)

Boil all together.  Pour over cake then broil until icing is bubbly and begins to darken (don't leave it alone - it can burn easily.)

I LOVE this cake.  Just had it for my birthday and couldn't get enough.

Roasted Brussels Sprout salad

Roasted Brussels Sprout salad:

cut brussel sprouts in half or quarters.

toss in a bowl with olive oil, salt, pepper and a little vinegar

dump onto a cookie sheet and put in the oven at 400

Meanwhile put this in a bowl:

lettuce (I used the pre-washed spring mix)

purple onion thinly sliced

blue cheese 

prunes/dried plums cut in 4ths

avacado

Dressing: 

mustard (Dijon or regular)

honey

rice vinegar (or a white vinegar)

oil

salt & pepper

Toss the roasted sprouts on and mix it all together. It is delish. I fried an egg and threw it on top for protein. This isn't really a kid-friendly dinner (obviously).