COFFEE CAKE

Coffee cakes are such a nice simple thing to bake and bring to morning meetings, as a hostess gift, etc. Though I have been accused of brown-nosing with my baking, I love the feeling of making people happy with fresh, homemade coffee cake (or muffins or cookies).

Like most simple baked goods, the ingredients are all things that you probably have around. Besides the typical baking staples, (good quality) cocoa powder, buttermilk, lemons and sour cream or plain yogurt are great to have to use in all kinds of things and keep well. My children are convinced that buttermilk that is a little past its "use by" date actually makes better pancakes.

Two very yummy coffee cake recipes follow.

LAST MINUTE CHRISTMAS BASKET

I think my Christmas baskets were pretty successful this year - so if you're still looking for a hostess gift, neighbor gift or work gift - I got ya covered. There are many sources of good value baskets and other containers like Cost Plus and Ross (mine were low buckets that I found in the $ section at the front of Target, but bowls or actual baskets would also work- or recycle a basket that someone just gave to you!). In an effort to be green, I bought festive - but not specifically Christmasey so they'd be more useful - kitchen towels at Cost Plus and used them to line the basket. Found fun holiday muffin cups at Cost Plus as well. Then I made four different kinds of muffins, piled them in the baskets, added a holiday gift tag and was ready for delivery. After a few trial runs (with disaster Oatmeal Raisin muffins and so so Gingerbread muffins) I ended up making CHOCOLATE MUFFINS, SWEET POTATO & PECAN MUFFINS, APPLE PECAN COFFEE CAKE MUFFINS (note that the latter 2 require softening butter ahead of time!) and, I confess I made Trader Joe's Cranberry bread mix into muffins. Added the zest of one orange to spice it up, divided among about 16 muffin cups and cooked for about 16 minutes. As a timing note, I cooked the sweet potatoes and made the CHOCOLATE MUFFINS the night before, cooled them completely, then put in tupperware. Then I got up, started with the TJ's mix to get things going in the oven, then made the other two muffin batches. One batch of each of these rounded out three baskets nicely. Happy Holidays!

PUMPKIN: IT'S NOT JUST FOR BREAKFAST ANYMORE

Audrey has had more vegetables in the last week than ever before. Of course it has been served in the form of PUMPKIN PIE and PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP TEA BREAD eaten at breakfast, lunch and dinner - but I am desperate and she knows it. She did tell me I had to put these recipes in my blog, so here I am. Just don't tell me that pumpkin is actually a fruit!

RMRF AUGUST 2010: THINGS TO DO WITH ZUCCHINI AND OTHER RECIPES FOR SUMMER

I was so set to write this great post on cooking with "weeds": the high in omega-3's purslane and zucchini, which grows so prolifically most treat it like a weedy vegetable. But I just did not like that purslane. BUT, I did love this recipe with a different sort of slant using two vegetables which are ubiquitous in summer: GREEN BEANS AND VEGETABLES WITH SAUCE VERTE. Also a tasty SUMMER MINESTRONE and a RUSTIC PLUM TART so easy that kids can make it. With a bit of poking and prodding from parents. Obviously, Audrey ate none of these things and Morgan picked the zucchini out of the soup, but hey, you can't win 'em all.

RMRF #41 LASAGNE

Everyone has a lasagna recipe that they like, and I actually have a couple of them. But when your husband is a really good cook, and of Italian heritage to boot, it can be intimidating to cook such dishes. I made this lasagna a while ago – divided it into two smaller dishes and gave one away to a friend who’d just had a baby. Thank goodness I made notes and stuck it away, because I didn’t have time to write it up, but it was really good and I wanted to make it again. I hate lasagna that has thick, watery noodles or clumps of egg-ey ricotta. I like vegetables, but not too much. If you make this with good sausage (TJ’s sweet Italian or Romano are both good) and good cheese and homemade sauce, this is a rich but not over-stuffing lasagne. We made our own pasta this time and it was out of this world. Naturally, Audrey would not even touch it. But I look forward to having it for lunch all week!

RMRF#40: IT’S BEEN AWHILE

So long, in fact, that it took me many tries to login to Blogger! But I have been cooking, and Family Cooking Academy (FCA) has convened for its Winter meal. With the life and work commitments, I’ve just had a hard time getting fingerpads to keyboard to get those recipes out there. (I just had to hold up the keyboard to my husband to ask “What’s this called?” so you can guess how deep-buried is my brain.)

But some recipes I really have to share. We have been having so much fun with our new toy, the pasta machine (more on that in a post of its own perhaps, as it really is for the committed, or to be committed cook) but I have to admit that the tortellini we painstakingly made, by hand, at our Winter Family FCA was pretty BORING. However, the ARUGULA SALAD WITH ORANGES AND CARAMELIZED FENNEL that we made was just incredible. OH, I am sighing just thinking of those flavor combos now. And not terribly complicated to make. (Equally incredible was the dessert, but I didn’t actually make most of it, so that recipe will be coming anon as well.)

Then, continuing on the citrus theme, as that is what happens in California these days, I have been making lots of citrus tea breads. This LEMON BREAD is my favorite so far.

And to use a bit more lemon, but a bit more healthfully, try BROCCOLINI WITH CRISPY LEMON CRUMBS.

Finally, greens are what are growing in the home garden, and mushrooms are just so comforting right now. So leafing through one of those intimidating Italian cookbooks that James keeps, I found, and futzed with, this recipe for SPINACH MUSHROOM PIE. Morgan found it “absolutely delicious”. Audrey at the crust, stole Morgan’s crust, then fixed herself a bowl of yogurt.

REAL MOMS REAL FOOD #39 – FAMILY COOKING ACADEMY FALL MENU

Saturday was our third convening of FCA -- as our kids like to call it – and definitely the most successful. This morning I asked my kids if they thought so, and why.

Morgan: “Because everybody helped cook?”

Audrey: “Because nobody complained about the food?”

Me: “Well, yes, it was nice that no one complained, but I was thinking, yes, that it was so fun that everybody was helping cook almost the whole time. Also, I just thought the food was really good. What was your favorite?”

Both: “The Pie!”

Me: “The pumpkin pie was really good.”

Morgan: “I meant the Sweet Potato tart.”

Audrey: “I meant the pumpkin pie. But I really liked the pork, too.”

It was such a great “harvest menu” as my friend and FCA collaborator Annie called it. (I call it the sage and lemon and separated eggs in everything meal.) We decided to take our inspiration from the Farmer’s Market as usual, but I had found a recipe in “Simply Organic” for PANCETTA AND LEEK-STUFFED PORK CHOPS. Annie hadn’t been able to find a local purveyor of free-range pork, so we decided that we would try this recipe, but make only 4 chops for 8 people – and talk to our families about the concept of meat taking a supporting rather than starring role in a meal. This being better for our bodies as well as the earth. Then, we stumbled upon Candy the butcher at the Friday morning Venice Farmer’s Market. He described how his pork comes from pigs who live in the mountains outside of Sacramento, foraging untouched by humans (until their demise). We decided to keep the pork as one of the “sides” but were very excited to try it.

Here’s our menu (in alphabetical order except for the dessert so as to give all equal billing):
BITTER GREENS SALAD WITH MINT & POMEGRANATE SEEDS
CHARD BUNDLES WITH LEMON RICE & SAGE BUTTER
GREEN BEANS WITH DILL BUTTER
PANCETTA AND LEEK-STUFFED PORK CHOPS
SWEET POTATO, RED ONION & FONTINA TART
PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE PIE WITH CORNMEAL CRUST

I would recommend any of these recipes for upcoming Holiday meals. Most of them do require a bit of work so extra hands and extra time help, but all sooooo scrumptious and worth the effort. We spent 5 ½ hours cooking, talking and eating and it was such a relaxing and fun day. The kids came and went, but they spent such a lot of time at their cooking tasks, even the little ones. James was on Chops, Jeb on Chard bundles, Annie on Tart and Beans, I rode herd over salad, the overall time frame and kept the utensils coming and going (Morgan & I had to make the pumpkin pie in the morning as it needed 4 hours to chill). We’d only have earned the meal more had we grown all the food ourselves!

REAL MOMS REAL FOOD #38 – AUTUMN MEANS BEANS AND BACON

And of course Halloween candy. My girls spent all morning sorting theirs. First by type, then by color. Sigh. We are trying a new strategy this year. Eat what you want for a week, then it goes away. I don’t know if James and I will last. But I have been worrying about Audrey, her will, and her eating – she simply did not eat dinner twice in one week because there was nothing she wanted. And she is allowed to have yogurt or something she can fix if she just tastes what’s been served. But she’s been eating candy all day.

Anorexic or diabetic?

Meanwhile, the (at least in the evening) cooler weather has made me crave hearty soups, which for me must include bacon I guess, cuz I’ve got two very different soups but they both feature beans and bacon: BLACK BEAN SOUP WITH BACON and CORN, TOMATO & LIMA BEAN STEW. I think Audrey ate the bacon out of one of these and rejected the other.

Even though it is fall, we still have some warm weather, so our farmer’s markets have a few summer vegetables still features, thus GREEN BEANS AND POTATOES WITH PESTO. And as Trader Joe’s had gorgeous basil plants for $2.99, and I hadn’t really put any by for the winter, I tried out formula for GREENER PESTO. I did try out a new fall vegetable, in CELERIAC AND POTATO PUREE.

And finally, some dessert. Which Audrey loved. My friend Cisca gave us pears and apples from her mom’s neighbor’s orchard so I made a RUSTIC PEAR AND APPLE TART. And I accidentally bought a whole bunch of oats, so I made PECAN OATMEAL COOKIES. I have a sweet tooth, too.

p.s. Well, Audrey does like to prove me wrong. Tonight for dinner, we had baked sweet potatoes, BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH BACON, GRILLED ASPARAGUS, and a lovely organic grilled chicken. Morgan would only eat the sprouts and sweet potatoes, and Audrey, despite the bacon and the sweetness - would only eat the chicken and her asparagus, plus Morgan's and half of mine. There is a message here, but I'm not yet sure what it is.

RMRF 37: IT RAINED, ITS FALL, WE LIVE IN A REAL NEIGHBORHOOD!

Tonight, I was so glad that my pasta smelled weird (does dried pasta go bad?) and I had to start over cooking it again – because that way Morgan got to go out and play kickball in our neighbors’ front yard before dinner, and I got to go out to the front porch 20 minutes later, cup my hands, call “Morgan, dinner!” and watch her sprint across the street. Its almost like we live in a real neighborhood. That, and rain all day yesterday, is what makes life in LA bearable, almost like we’re living in the idyllic small town land of Beverly Clearly that Stockard Channing brings to life so beautifully on my stereo every day as Audrey listens to their books obsessively (check out the Ramona audiobooks –they’re great).

Meanwhile, Gourmet magazine has expired, but I can’t really complain cuz I’ve contributed to its demise by using its website Epicurious far more than the magazine for my recipe research. But more importantly, my friend Lauren has a bunch of pumpkins in her garden, and there’s apparently a dearth of canned pumpkin due to low pumpkin harvests last year, so we’ve all got motivation to eschew the canned stuff, pick up those cute little 6 “ pumpkins from our gardens, farmers’ markets or local TJ’s and make that PUMPKIN PUREE ourselves. Then put it in PUMPKIN PIE or PUMPKIN NUT MUFFINS. Audrey loves em both.

Not so much did Audrey love the BROCCOLI FETA HERB BULGHUR SALAD, nor the PASTA WITH SAUSAGE AND KALE – which Morgan ate in 4 minutes flat so she could go out and play more kickball. But they were very nice, very easy, very autumnal weeknight meals that I will enjoy having for lunch the rest of the week! Finally I am including my recipe for CORN MUFFINS – SWEET. They were good as a side for the Bulghur salad (OK –that is what Audrey ate) but I love em with breakfast, too.

RMRF#36: SUMMER IS REALLY OVER BUT WE CAN STILL FIND SOME ZUCCHINI, TOMATOES AND CORN

And I have been completely consumed by work, PTA, school. I have been cooking, but not as much experimenting. I do have a few good recipes to share for those last summer veggies and berries. And a success to share regarding Audrey the “Air Plant” (stolen from my friend Jay, very apt, I thought).

For James’ birthday, we shared a meal with friends – he grilled (Happy Birthday to him) some fantastic thick pork chops covered in his secret rub recipe, he made JAMES’ GRILLED GAZPACHO and I made a ZUCCHINI, CORN AND CHILE side (the kids ate corn on the cob, not this) and a simple but very yummy salad of arugula, toasted almonds and CILANTRO-LIME DRESSING. Our friends brought the yummy birthday cake. I know, a lot of cooking for James on his birthday, but that’s how he likes it.

And Audrey has been reading PRETEND SOUP (one of Molly Katzen's cookbooks for kids) and decided she really wanted to make HIDE AND SEEK MUFFINS, which she did on a Sunday morning. She was so proud and we all loved them. Yes, the berries are rolled in sugar, but for her, a step in a useful direction.

Finally, we had fun making PESTO CALZONES one night – I see what we’ve got for fillings, use the PESTO that’s always in the freezer, make the dough at lunchtime, sauté the fillings as needed and assemble – a pretty quick weeknight meal. FRESH TOMATO, SAUSAGE AND BASIL PASTA was another simple meal in the same vein that Morgan and I loved.

RMRF#35: TOMATOES ARE STILL IN SEASON (BUT WE’VE KILLED OURS FOR THE MOST PART)

I may have mentioned that I actually am a plant killer. I buy them, I plant them, I eat some parts of them, they die. I know this is part of the life cycle, but mine die before they are supposed to. James is a good gardener, having been inculcated early on (in a healthy way, not a scary way) by his grandparents who had a big chunk of land in upstate NY. But even he has had a hard time with the transition from East Coast gardening to West Coast gardening. The main thing is water – what is enough? In any case, we’ve harvested a decent number of our TOMATO MANIA heirlooms, but most of the plants have withered at this point. But those professional farmers still have big piles of them, and they are inspiring. So I talked James into making his GRILLED GAZPACHO, which is a bit of work, but really worth it, and I tried out HEIRLOOM TOMATO SALAD WITH CHEESE-NUT TOASTS which was downright sinful, and yet, not.

Our annual Block Party was last weekend, where James always shows off his (meat) smoking skills, and this year he pulled off (pun intended) a pork shoulder perfectly – 14 hours of slow BBQing. I made CAROLINA COLESLAW to go with it (on the bun, with the pulled pork, is the NC way to eat it). I tried a new brownie recipe, BOUDIN BAKERY BROWNIES, which effectively placated the visiting firemen after some people pelted them with water balloons.

Finally, we must include one of Morgan’s specialties GREEN EGGS, which she has got down pat. I’m not a huge fan of savory things in the morning, but these are a good alternative to regular old scrambled eggs, and a good use of basil – whether your PESTO is fresh or frozen.

Notice I have not mentioned Audrey in this episode. Hmmm.

RMRF #34 AUDREY AND I, DÉTENTE?

So, at dinner tonight, I had promised meatballs, but the ground beef from my favorite farmer had not fully defrosted, so I resorted to my old favorite SIMPLE VEG & GOAT CHEESE PASTA (but subbing feta for the goat cheese – it was good!). Of course, Audrey did not like it, but, cross my heart, this is what she said after she tasted it, WITH NO PRODDING: “I tried it, but it’s not my favorite. Can I have something else?” This, to us, is huge progress.

Back up a couple weeks, where I’m in despair because I fear nurture failure and I just don’t like my child at the moment – and my good friend Annie happens to call. She offers some wise (what she called tough love) advice: I need to stop trying to please Audrey, set some simple ground rules, stick by ‘em, and give her positive attention elsewhere. Her table rules, which I’ve tried to institute when I remember go something like this: We are grateful for the healthy and delicious food we’re able to buy and grow, We are thankful for the preparation of this food, and Children can choose how much they eat of this food, but not what they eat. Her caveat is that she tries to have a meal planning meeting every couple weeks. Mine are: if you try something and you really don’t like anything being served, you can fix yourself something else that is healthful (like a yogurt) AND you don’t get seconds until you eat all the firsts.

We’d been through taking a break from sweets – which I think may have caused some serious withdrawal for her, unfortunately intersecting with my hormonal peaks on one very bad day – and the combo of these two changes has (perhaps?) wrought some change in Miss Audrey. We shall see. I am still practicing giving her positive attention in other areas and avoiding attachment around her eating (she is growing and she seems healthy and this can’t possibly go on forever).

Meanwhile, I apologize for my blog absence last week – work and PTA prep are kicking my butt, plus computer difficulties – for, as hip young Cody at the Apple Genius Bar explains, our MAC G4 is “vintage”. Would he dare call ME “vintage”? Would I be insulted? I’m still simmering on that one.

RMRF #33 MORE TO DO WITH TOMATOES AND ZUCCHINI, AND, AUDREY’S ON A SUGAR CLEAN-OUT

I admit right now to being a bit of a hypocrite, but something another mom said really struck me about how having her child take responsibility for eating well just wasn’t working out. So, Audrey and I talked about it a few times -- then I just made the executive decision that she needed a break from sugar. I said it would start as a week with no sugary treats (she could still have fruit and fruit smoothies, etc.), and we’ve talked now about how it won’t end until she starts taking care of her body better. This could be all wrong and I could just be setting up a battle of wills (or rather, a NEW battle of wills) but I have to say, I loved hearing her say, “No, thank you,” when she was offered candy the other night. I don’t think I’ve ever heard that from her, even when she didn’t LIKE the candy. I’m a hypocrite because I still made -- and ate -- brownies this week, but, hey, I can eat just one or two. At a time.

Meanwhile, I am again showing my cooking limitations with the recipes – I admit that I am just not drawn to eastern flavors. My taste runs squarely in the Mediterranean and Southern comfort food camps. But the summer produce and the heat seem to work so well with the herbs and light cheeses and olive oils and vinegars of Mediterranean cooking. And ya gotta do something with all the tomatoes and zucchini and basil out there in your garden (or your neighbor’s if you’re lucky). There’s a big long list of recipes a 'comin. Hopefully one or two will seduce you. And even though Audrey really only ate the pasta, she ate least got the taste of the FRESH TOMATO SAUCE that went along with it. Some day she won’t spit out the basil, I know it.

While I am waiting for that momentous moment, I will do my best to not “make a big deal out of the refusals and don’t take them personally” as FEEDING YOUR CHILD FOR LIFELONG HEALTH recommends. I will try to do my best. I will.

RMRF #32 ITS SUMMER AND TOO HOT TO COOK AND MY KID IS A SUGAR FIEND

I really have nothing more to say. I tried to cook inside one night, sweating over homemade mac & cheese (which was terrible AND heated up the kitchen) as well as a disaster of a dish with my new favorite Pink-Eye Peas. Those I did resurrect in a burrito tonight, though I think the mac & cheese is going in the trash, not to be revisited until winter.

Summer is traditionally (and now fashionably) a time of canning all these beautiful summer fruits and tomatoes. But I just can’t face all that steam. I do recommend two good ways of saving summer: get a basil plant and when it gets full, clip it back and make lots of PESTO with the leaves. Use some and freeze the rest so you can have “green pasta” in the winter. Then, if you like green beans, grow 'em, or by 'em cheap now. Blanch them and store them in freezer bags til later. Very easy, and green beans are so much better fresh and small.

Meanwhile, try some more of these summery Mediterranean-ey salads and bake some cookies if you can stand it.

I’m not even getting into the sugar fiend business, but I did threaten Audrey with imminent daily insulin shots if she didn’t slow down. And yes, I know, this seems to conflict with the cookie baking.

RMRF 31: What does “Eating Healthy” mean?

The LA Times has had some provoking articles in the Food Section lately – for me, hitting both ends of a spectrum. Last week, I was actually kind of disgusted by the glowing article on Lisa Lillien and her Hungry Girl blog and empire. There was a small paragraph that acknowledged,“Critics say that her recipes may be low-cal, but that doesn’t mean they are healthful” – Hungry Girl’s answer was that “her critics are missing the point. She says Hungry Girl subscribers are well-versed about nutrition -- they don't need to be lectured. Instead, they're looking for low-calorie ways to scratch a snack itch without blowing their diets.”

What it means to eat “healthy” (or “healthfully” or “healthily”?) seems to be so confusing for Americans. Russ Parson’s re-addresses the Organic Food debate in this week’s LA Times (he apparently addressed it previously on July 1st when I was in NC: “Organic label doesn’t guarantee quality or taste”) with “Organic debate goes on, naturally”.

In both of Parson’s articles he makes good points about the complexities of farming and sustainability as well as taste and quality, but what all three of these articles don’t mention is a basic thing that most kids (and probably adults) today don’t know: what “food” is. The overwhelming majority of items called for in recipes and food-like substances reviewed on Hungry Girl are NOT food. And I would argue that there are a lot of items you can buy at Whole Foods carrying an Organic label that aren’t food either. Sadly, as a nation, we aren’t teaching our kids these basic facts, even when we say, “you can only eat things that are organic.” I just don’t think that Organic soy protein nuggets are actually food.

Finally, there’s a more inspiring article this week, “A New Crop of School Gardens” discussing parents and chefs and even LAUSD school personnel who ARE starting up new programs teaching kids about how to grow and cook real food, despite the massive cuts that CA schools are experiencing. As a parent at Saturn Elementary says, “These are skills that kids used to learn at home. Today, that's not a reality.”

But we can’t let ourselves off that hook. We can teach our kids to grow food and cook food, rather than to heat up a premade batch of something in a microwave. One plant, one recipe at a time.

OK, I’ll stop lecturing. (You can link to the articles below and to the left and argue amongst yourselves!) Here are some recipes for the week – who knows if they are “healthful”, but they’re made of food! Seems like a good start…

REAL MOMS REAL FOOD #30

Though I will admit that I made pancakes and smoothies for dinner with the girls tonight (Audrey made most of the smoothie and Morgan most of the pancakes) cause my sinuses are still in pain after three days and I just couldn’t think of anything else that sounded good, EARLIER in the week I was a bit more creative. Those PANCAKES were pretty darn good, though, and for those of you still using a mix, please try these. So easy and adaptable and no scary add-ins that you can’t spell – and I 9 year old can make them! But pre-sinus pain, I was Mediterranean-inspired by the heat and what’s gorgeous at the market and in the garden: cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, summer squash of many shapes and colors, bell peppers. I went searching for ratatouille recipes, which you can make seemingly any and all kinds of ways. I have sautéed in the past, but having my husband grill everything seemed like a good idea and I was a lot less sweaty for this meal GRILLED RATATOUILLE WITH CHICKEN. And the heat has had me thinking Greek as well, so hunted down a recipe for TSATZIKI as well as FALAFEL. These three meals made for a lot of great mix ‘n match leftovers! I won’t try to claim that Audrey tried everything, but Morgan did and loved it all. Except for the eggplant, which James didn’t go for either.

RMRF 29 : EATING WELL ON VACATION

My apologies for not continuing the blog over our vacation – I actually did post one new blog, but forgot my email list, so most of you probably missed it. Check out that June 26 post though, as it includes a great, well, BERRY GOOD PIE recipe.

We usually manage to eat well on our vacations, as it is important to most of us. I was thinking about it, and I think one thing that makes the food so good is that we’re eating locally. We get the local produce and the local fish (or goat as the case may be) and for the most part just grill everything and have it with a green salad. Highlights (besides the goat)
included Hogfish and Sheepshead fish. The Hogfish came from a great seafood market on Oak Island in NC called Haag & Sons – recommended by the owner when we asked. It can’t be caught on a line,; the owner has a friend who spearfishes for fun and then sells the fish to pay his expenses. It is an amazingly flavorful fish and James grilled it to perfection. Then, James, our kids, their cousins and my sister-in-law Emia went fishing on a charter one day and caught a boat load of Sheepshead fish. We had to look them up on the internet as we’d never heard of Sheepshead. They are an oily fish, like Spanish Mackerel, so they are only good very fresh. We had them within hours (after the kids watched Captain Jeff gut them, and they examined the stomach contents – whole barnacles!). My mom rolled the smaller ones in egg and cornmeal and pan fried them and James grilled the fillets. The texture was almost like lobster and the taste was so rich.

James also made his famous BRUSCHETTA twice that week and I made GREEN BEANS FROM THE BRITTANY COAST as a side one night. We ended up with about a bushel of NC peaches which we ate all week – I bought one bag from the Chapel Hill Farmer’s market, James bought a bag when his carload stopped for NC BBQ and saw a farmstand and my mom bought another bag when she saw a farmer selling them on the side of the road. They were recently picked and not quite ripe, so we stored them on the counter in brown paper bags and they ripened all week long. We ate them for breakfast, lunch and dessert.

Emia has a habit of setting out vegetables for her kids to eat when they are playing before dinner – sliced carrots, cucumber, bell peppers and cherry tomatoes – whatever is on hand. The kids are usually hungry at 5 p.m. and all four cousins gobbled up everything we gave them. This does not transfer to life at home for my kids for some reason, but we will try again this year.

We were renting a house at the beach, and we knew it was reasonably well-stocked with pots and pans and things, so we brought with us basic baking stuff: baking soda, baking powder, flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, cumin and Old Bay seasoning (a southern combo of a bunch of spicy things). This way, we were able to make biscuits, CORNBREAD (two recipes below, SWEET and NOT SWEET, just like Southern iced tea), pancakes and cobbler without using mixes. I’ll include more STUFF FROM SCRATCH in future recipes. Although using baking mixes may seem easier, they are often full of hydrogenated oils, preservatives and other nasty things that you don’t need. If you keep basic baking stuff around and get used to a few basic recipes, you can stop spending money and let go of a few more processed foods by cooking your sweet breads, pancakes, waffles, cakes and cookies from scratch. And kids love to help with this stuff.

We didn’t cook absolutely every night and the kids had their share of chicken nuggets and French fries over the course of 3 weeks. BUT, we also had so many shared meals (cooking and eating) where just about everybody tried new things. (I’m sure Audrey must have, just can’t remember what it was at the moment). These meals are always a fond part of my memory of our family vacations.

I'm on vacation, but...

Hey, check out the link on the left: Farmer's Market Contest. Local Harvest sponsored contest to vote for your favorite Farmer's Market!

I'm on vacation and forgot to bring my list of emails, so I won't be posting much new til mid-July. I did make a fabulous-if-I-do-say-so-myself BERRY GOOD PIE for Father's Day, so I am posting that recipe below, with an alternative pie crust recipe, too. And we had GOAT chops for the first time last night, from the Carrboro Farmer's market. I was out with the kids while James grilled them, I'll write more if he remembers what he did, but they were great. Like a mild lamb. Good and good for you!

Finally, after my food fiasco with Audrey last week, I do have to report that during a sleepover dinner, James and I (invisible because we ate at the counter while the girls and friends ate at the table) overheard my girls chiding a friend for not tasting the Spinach Souffle. "It takes 15 tries, you know, for your taste buds to get used to it" they chimed. James looked at me and said, "You're proud of yourself, aren't you" and I said, "I'm proud of THEM, my little proselytizers!"

RMRF 27: CONFESSION TIME

So, I try to follow the advice of my wise friend Peggy, who told me when my girls were small, “don’t fight with your kids over clothes, or food”. The latter has always been tougher for me. I have actually enjoyed my daughters’ bizarre outfit creations as they’ve morphed over the years, from the everything-matches-because-its-flowery look to the soccer shirt over jeans look. I actually had the proud epiphany last week that this blog has actually helped me with letting go of trying to control what my kids eat. Realizing that I’ve always been a bit obsessive (compulsive?) about food: in my late teens and twenties, it was about dieting and being a vegetarian – not always the best combo if you like cheese a lot. Then when my kids were born, I transferred my compulsion over to them, making sure that they were eating well – my older daughter’s five year dairy intolerance really fed into that. Then, with this blog, I was bragging to my therapist that I’d found a healthier focus for my obsession. I just like to think about food, and this way, my thinking is more about the planet and sharing with other people than controlling my kids’ every meal.

HA HA HA laughed the gods. Last weekend, we had one of those days with two big group activities: a girl scout gathering and a piano recital. I knew that there would be treats at both (and I brought the lemon bars and granola bars). I knew that my girls had to dress up for the recital. But somehow I lost all perspective and got into a major battle with my youngest over treats (“NO, YOU CANNOT HAVE ONE OF THOSE NEON BLUE CUPCAKES – THEY ARE FULL OF CHEMICALS AND YOU’LL HAVE PLENTY OF TREATS LATER!!!) and my oldest over dress (YOU HAVE TO WEAR A DRESS! THAT WHITE TEE SHIRT AND BLACK SKIRT IS NOT DRESSY ENOUGH!). And these battles were extensive, going on and on. I just could not let go. But, at some point, I did. And I do think its best to let go of these battles. Sometimes, its hard. Especially when faced with neon blue cupcakes.

Soooo, lots of recipes this week, ‘cuz I’ll be traveling for the next 3 weeks and the blog delivery might be spotty. I’ll do my best to post recipes from NC and VA – but I can’t promise as regular a schedule. Can’t wait to hit that Carrboro Farmer’s Market, though, and get some blueberries and peaches from NC. And when we get back, I feel confident we’ll be in tomato season, my favorite of the year!

RMRF 26: COOKING WITH FRIENDS

One of my fondest memories from grad school is cooking a big spaghetti dinner (and eating it of course with lots of red wine) with my new classmates. So, at our (almost) yearly mini-reunion, I invited the group over to cook together. The guests arrived in the afternoon, I confessed that my only plan included the basil which was about to bolt in our garden, and that I was hoping that we could shop and cook together. We quickly decided on a simple pesto pasta with grilled vegetables and sausages, salad with oranges and walnuts and a peach berry pie. Then we set out to Whole Foods to buy our supplies, came back and divvied up the responsibilities (men: light fire and cook meat, women: bake and cook veggies!) and then started drinking and cooking and eating. It was soooo relaxing and fun and full of laughs and, I hope, more shared memories.

I’m not even including those recipes. The BASIL PESTO I posted a few weeks ago, and the veggies (squash, asparagus, radicchio) were just tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper and grilled in a basket. The salad was arugula, roughly de-pithed and chopped oranges, toasted walnuts and a simple vinaigrette. And the pie was all Cath – she was baking away while I was making the pesto (and drinking wine) so I missed that.

But my parents are also here, so we cooked a bit this weekend. The peaches are to die for so I had to make PEACH BERRY COBBLER. My mom can’t eat garlic but I have tons of herbs so I made a side dish of MIXED HERB PESTO WITH ROASTED VEGETABLES (AND MAYBE PASTA) to go with James’s lovely smoked chicken. And I made a weeknight meal of SPRING VEGETABLE PASTA WITH BACON (even the bacon did not tempt Audrey, alas) and finally, finally, made HOMEMADE GRANOLA BARS I was satisfied with. So, have at it and cook with some friends!