I did mention we like celebrations, right? Well we are super happy about Thanksgiving being around the corner, followed by Christmas and all that entails. Wohoo! We will be celebrating until 2011 comes around. My favorite part of celebrating is the joy and the getting together. My second favorite part is the food. It's not even so much about the food (I lie.) It's about preparing the food. I love planning the menus, trying new recipes, tweaking the old ones and sometimes by pure accident, creating new ones. (I'll have to share the Moroccan Chicken story and recipe with you soon.) One thing I discovered this year is that I make pretty good pies. I like pies, but I had never ventured into actually making a pie because frankly it intimidated me. Then too, there are my kids. Whenever I venture into the kitchen, they follow to see what I'm up to and frankly, trying to make a pie with their help seemed daunting. We can do bread and cupcakes and cakes just fine, but pie! That just didn't seem like a one bowl kind of thing. The whole process seemed so much worse in my mind than it really ended up being. Last week, I ventured forth into this untamed horizon and made not one, mind you, but two (that's right) two pies! I found that they were easy and delicious, even with the kids helping me. I still want to try to change the apple pie recipe a bit before I post it. Luke and Isabela had the brilliant idea to do a gingersnap crust and I'll let you know how that worked out next month. In honor of Thanksgiving, I give you my ultra simple pumpkin pie recipe. Enjoy!
1 16 oz can of pumpkin (or of course you can use fresh, but that's not so simple.)
1 12 oz can of condensed milk
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon of ginger
1/4 0r 1/8 teaspoon of ground cloves (this depends on your taste. My husband likes cloves.)
3 eggs
Mix all the ingredients and pour them into the pie crust (of course your crust will be in a pie plate.) Bake at 350 for 40 minutes to an hour. (depending on your oven.) Viola! I loved this recipe because it's not too sweet. Notice I didn't add any extra sugar, only what's already in the condensed milk.
I made my own crust too, but I'm looking for a new recipe. The one I made was as follows:
1 cup of butter (be still my heart.) diced into small pieces
2 cups of flour (sifted)
1/2 cup of cold water
1 teaspoon of salt
Cream the butter with your finger into the flour and slowly add water until it's firm enough to roll into a ball. With the rolling pin spread it out until it cover the bottom of your pie plate. I found this crust to be a bit too buttery for my taste, but I can't say it tasted bad.
For Thanksgiving the kids and I will be serving up pies in little individual servings. I'm buying those little Keebler pie crusts. Let me know how yours turns out.
Enjoy,
Alida
Showing posts with label menu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label menu. Show all posts
Friday, November 19, 2010
Friday, November 5, 2010
USDA
I don't participate in the USDA program. One reason is that there is an awful lot of paperwork involved. The way the program works is the USDA or some other government entity (I'm not really clear on that point) pays me about .45 cents per lunch served and about .20 cents per snack. Something like that. There are two tiers and I don't qualify for tier one because of my location, so I qualify for tier two which pays less. Anyway, in order to get this whopping .65 cents per day, I have to fill out of ton of paperwork. The truth is that I rather write in this blog or upload a video or have my teeth cleaned than fill out government forms. Secondly I've looked through the menu of items that I'm "allowed" to serve and frankly I was not the least bit impressed. Although I've had many assurances from the broker who handles the program that I am not obligated to serve hot dogs, it seemed to me that hot dogs were actually mentioned quite a bit during our conversation.
I understand the food pyramid, but I see no value in serving bread with macaroni and cheese. It just doesn't go together, but if I was part of the program, guess what? Yes, I would have to serve bread because there has to be two servings, blah, blah, blah. I serve plenty of bread. In fact on a weekly basis we make some sort of bread. It's either banana bread, pumpkin bread or a crusty french loaf. I never serve them with macaroni and cheese.
I also choose not to participate as a matter of principle. I find it interesting that the USDA is responsible for serving kids lunch at school. I find it interesting that state and federal governments cut funding on physical education classes or cut them in favor of adding more core classes and then parents are blamed for the rise in childhood obesity!
I've added a menu link to the blog. The food is not extraordinary, it's just wholesome stuff kids like. When I can I buy organic. I always buy the best I can afford. The USDA can keep it's .65 cents and maybe spend on improving public school lunches, but somehow I doubt it. I seriously doubt it.
I understand the food pyramid, but I see no value in serving bread with macaroni and cheese. It just doesn't go together, but if I was part of the program, guess what? Yes, I would have to serve bread because there has to be two servings, blah, blah, blah. I serve plenty of bread. In fact on a weekly basis we make some sort of bread. It's either banana bread, pumpkin bread or a crusty french loaf. I never serve them with macaroni and cheese.
I also choose not to participate as a matter of principle. I find it interesting that the USDA is responsible for serving kids lunch at school. I find it interesting that state and federal governments cut funding on physical education classes or cut them in favor of adding more core classes and then parents are blamed for the rise in childhood obesity!
I've added a menu link to the blog. The food is not extraordinary, it's just wholesome stuff kids like. When I can I buy organic. I always buy the best I can afford. The USDA can keep it's .65 cents and maybe spend on improving public school lunches, but somehow I doubt it. I seriously doubt it.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Baking Up More Than Treats
This week we baked whole wheat bread and delicious banana nut muffins. Not just any banana nut muffins, these had chocolate chips and ginger in them. They were so good. Baking with children can seem a bit overwhelming at first. I remember the first time I baked with my little ones, it was a disaster of pretty epic proportions. Imagine flour on the counters and floor, sticky egg whites not only on the counters and floor but also in the kids hair. We baked and then they had a long bath. I think we had whatever we baked for dinner that evening because I was exhausted!
I decided to try again and slowly I developed a simple plan. The key to baking or cooking with children is to be prepared. I don't mean to have everything measured out ala Martha Stewart. What I mean is to have all the supplies on hand. Flour, eggs, vanilla, sugar and whatever other ingredient you need on the counter. Have more than one of the following (two or even three is good):
Now that everything is set out and ready, have the children wash up and don on their aprons. Make sure long sleeves are rolled up and hair is pulled back. Oh yes, and lastly rid yourself of any expectation that your kitchen is going to be clean during or after this project. It is not. I repeat it is not.
So why bother? I can bake up muffins in a flash and maintain the kitchen relatively clean and they'll be just as delicious. Why include the kids?
Cooking and baking is a process that teaches kids so many things. Even I was surprised recently when I asked Luke to measure out a teaspoon of vanilla and he promptly commented, "A teaspoon or 5 ml, it's the same thing." Indeed it is. This isn't something I pointed out, our measuring spoons don't have ml markings on them. I imagine, at some point in our cooking adventures he saw a chart or read something to indicate that 1 teaspoon and 5 ml are the same thing. Viola! Learning happens. Exactly what do children learn by helping in the kitchen?
This week while making the muffins, we smelled and tasted most of the ingredients before using them in the recipe. The kids decided that the ginger had a pretty strong taste, so we decided to use less than the recipe called for. By allowing the children to make decisions we give them ownership of the results, we allow them to think ahead to the end result.
If you've never had your kids in the kitchen, I'd suggest you start out slowly. Designate one day a month. Pick and plan a recipe together. Let go of your clean kitchen expectations and really have some fun. As your kids grow older they will be familiar with the kitchen and maybe, sooner than you think, you'll be treated to breakfast in bed. (You will however need to clean up the kitchen)
I decided to try again and slowly I developed a simple plan. The key to baking or cooking with children is to be prepared. I don't mean to have everything measured out ala Martha Stewart. What I mean is to have all the supplies on hand. Flour, eggs, vanilla, sugar and whatever other ingredient you need on the counter. Have more than one of the following (two or even three is good):
- measuring cup
- measuring spoons
- bowls
- sift
- whisk
- stirring spoon
- kitchen towel
Now that everything is set out and ready, have the children wash up and don on their aprons. Make sure long sleeves are rolled up and hair is pulled back. Oh yes, and lastly rid yourself of any expectation that your kitchen is going to be clean during or after this project. It is not. I repeat it is not.
So why bother? I can bake up muffins in a flash and maintain the kitchen relatively clean and they'll be just as delicious. Why include the kids?
Cooking and baking is a process that teaches kids so many things. Even I was surprised recently when I asked Luke to measure out a teaspoon of vanilla and he promptly commented, "A teaspoon or 5 ml, it's the same thing." Indeed it is. This isn't something I pointed out, our measuring spoons don't have ml markings on them. I imagine, at some point in our cooking adventures he saw a chart or read something to indicate that 1 teaspoon and 5 ml are the same thing. Viola! Learning happens. Exactly what do children learn by helping in the kitchen?
- Weights and measurements
- Fractions (1/2 cup, 1/8 tsp)
- Hand/eye coordination (cracking an egg, stirring, filling a teaspoon, chopping veggies)
- Reading (even the youngest of children can recognize 3/4 or 1/2 and find it on the measuring cup)
- Chemistry (heat changes forms from liquids to solids etc)
- History (from recipes handed down through generations, culture specific recipes such as the Pan de Muertos we bake for Halloween or Day of the Dead)
- Decision making
- Follow directions
- Follow Intuition
This week while making the muffins, we smelled and tasted most of the ingredients before using them in the recipe. The kids decided that the ginger had a pretty strong taste, so we decided to use less than the recipe called for. By allowing the children to make decisions we give them ownership of the results, we allow them to think ahead to the end result.
If you've never had your kids in the kitchen, I'd suggest you start out slowly. Designate one day a month. Pick and plan a recipe together. Let go of your clean kitchen expectations and really have some fun. As your kids grow older they will be familiar with the kitchen and maybe, sooner than you think, you'll be treated to breakfast in bed. (You will however need to clean up the kitchen)
Banana Nut Muffins with Chocolate Chips and Ginger
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup of butter
3/4 cups of sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 medium bananas ~ mashed
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup of milk
chopped crystallized ginger to taste
as many chocolate chips as you can handle
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup of butter
3/4 cups of sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 medium bananas ~ mashed
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup of milk
chopped crystallized ginger to taste
as many chocolate chips as you can handle
- Preheat oven to 350* Grease a 6 jumbo muffin pan.
- Sift flour and baking powder in small bowl. Set aside.
- Cream together the butter and sugar. (you can use an electric mixer or melt the butter a bit and let the kids do it with a whisk) Add egg and vanilla. Beat until fluffy. Mix in bananas.
- Add walnuts, ginger and chocolate chips. With mixer on low speed or while children whisk, flour mixture alternating with milk. Spoon mixture into muffin pans.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until skewer or knife inserted in the center of a muffin come out clean.
- Allow to cool 10 minutes. Unmold onto wire rack and cool at least another 10 minutes before serving.
Don't forget to have the kids help with the clean up too.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Monday, August 9, 2010
Ivy League...YUM!
I enjoy a good burger and fries on occasion but I don't indulge often because when I do, it's usually because I'm crunched for time and then I'm not having a "good" burger and fries, I'm actually having a greasy burger with salt laden fries and spend the rest of the day regretting it. Maybe it's because I'm getting older, but my body doesn't seem to do well unless it's well nourished. I get sluggish and lethargic and feel gross all over.
We've been pretty busy around here. If you keep up with us on Facebook, you know that we've been working early mornings until way past sundown, day after day for weeks now. My typical mode of operation is to work continuously while I order pizza or chomp down on a burger or spend the day staving off hunger by filling up on chips. Not this time. I just can't risk slowing down or getting sick. This time I planned and planning has made all the difference. I stocked up on berries, yogurt, lean turkey, cheese, hummus, avocados and tortillas. I make it a point to stop, make lunch and dinner and then sit down and eat it. Turns out that taking a break to prepare and savor my food goes a long way into re-energizing me. I can work later, for longer periods of time and I'm losing weight.
There has been such a push for healthy school lunches stemming from the rise in childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes. What I wonder is how we ever got so far away from providing healthy lunches for children. We don't worry about those things at Ivy League-West. Here we will be providing two healthy snacks and a wholesome, healthy lunch everyday. Our menu will consists of at least two vegetarian lunches a week. The other three days lunches will always include vegetables and/or fruit. Snacks will always include fresh, raw vegetables or fruit. The fruit will always be fresh with the exception of canned pineapple in natural juice or frozen fruit.
Milk will be available at lunch and natural juice at morning snack. Water will be provided throughout the day and for afternoon snack. The following is a sample menu. Our menus will change monthly as well as seasonally. You can expect warm, rich soups and stews in autumn and winter and cool, refreshing sandwiches and salads in summer. Our quarterly newletters will have some of the recipes used in our menu.
Autumn/Winter Lunch Menu
Beef Stew over rice (it's thick and hearty with lots of veggies)
Pureed White Bean Soup (my mom's favorite when I was a child. She could hide all those yummy veggies I refused to eat)
Stir Fry Noodles with veggies (do you see a pattern emerging?)
Black Bean Soup with plantains
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Roasted Bell Pepper and Tomato Soup.
Chili con carne and corn bread
Chicken Quesadillas
3 Cheese Quesadillas
Annie's Organic Macaroni and Cheese
Tuna Melts
Pumpkin Soup (actually pumpkin everything during the fall)
Carrot-Ginger and Cashew Soup
Steak Tacos
Snack list
Raw Veggies with dip
Apples with peanut butter
Trail Mix (with just a few dark chocolate chips)
Yogurt with Pineapple and Granola
Hard-Boiled eggs (maybe even deviled with yogurt if we are feeling fancy)
Crostini's with Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella
Bagels and cream cheese
Pears slices with crackers
Hummus on tortillas
Avocado slices
Obviously these are just a sample of what the children as well as the teachers will be eating. Listing all these yummy foods has made me hungry. I'm off to make dinner.
Enjoy your evening,
Alida
We've been pretty busy around here. If you keep up with us on Facebook, you know that we've been working early mornings until way past sundown, day after day for weeks now. My typical mode of operation is to work continuously while I order pizza or chomp down on a burger or spend the day staving off hunger by filling up on chips. Not this time. I just can't risk slowing down or getting sick. This time I planned and planning has made all the difference. I stocked up on berries, yogurt, lean turkey, cheese, hummus, avocados and tortillas. I make it a point to stop, make lunch and dinner and then sit down and eat it. Turns out that taking a break to prepare and savor my food goes a long way into re-energizing me. I can work later, for longer periods of time and I'm losing weight.
There has been such a push for healthy school lunches stemming from the rise in childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes. What I wonder is how we ever got so far away from providing healthy lunches for children. We don't worry about those things at Ivy League-West. Here we will be providing two healthy snacks and a wholesome, healthy lunch everyday. Our menu will consists of at least two vegetarian lunches a week. The other three days lunches will always include vegetables and/or fruit. Snacks will always include fresh, raw vegetables or fruit. The fruit will always be fresh with the exception of canned pineapple in natural juice or frozen fruit.
Milk will be available at lunch and natural juice at morning snack. Water will be provided throughout the day and for afternoon snack. The following is a sample menu. Our menus will change monthly as well as seasonally. You can expect warm, rich soups and stews in autumn and winter and cool, refreshing sandwiches and salads in summer. Our quarterly newletters will have some of the recipes used in our menu.
Autumn/Winter Lunch Menu
Beef Stew over rice (it's thick and hearty with lots of veggies)
Pureed White Bean Soup (my mom's favorite when I was a child. She could hide all those yummy veggies I refused to eat)
Stir Fry Noodles with veggies (do you see a pattern emerging?)
Black Bean Soup with plantains
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Roasted Bell Pepper and Tomato Soup.
Chili con carne and corn bread
Chicken Quesadillas
3 Cheese Quesadillas
Annie's Organic Macaroni and Cheese
Tuna Melts
Pumpkin Soup (actually pumpkin everything during the fall)
Carrot-Ginger and Cashew Soup
Steak Tacos
Snack list
Raw Veggies with dip
Apples with peanut butter
Trail Mix (with just a few dark chocolate chips)
Yogurt with Pineapple and Granola
Hard-Boiled eggs (maybe even deviled with yogurt if we are feeling fancy)
Crostini's with Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella
Bagels and cream cheese
Pears slices with crackers
Hummus on tortillas
Avocado slices
Obviously these are just a sample of what the children as well as the teachers will be eating. Listing all these yummy foods has made me hungry. I'm off to make dinner.
Enjoy your evening,
Alida
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