Spring Carrot Cupcakes

It's not Owen's birthday, nor is it his half birthday (they both occur during school breaks) but today we took in cupcakes for Owen's "April Fool's--Not really my birthday--Day". We had a lot of discussion back and forth about what might be a good idea to take in for his special snack, and what was not.  Another idea he had that I was totally on board with was pancakes and syrup--I would totally have let him take in homemade pancakes for his birthday snack.

In the end though, he went with one of my suggestions-- carrot cake cupcakes.  It is technically for the whole class' "morning snack", so I feel good about the veggie content of these treats.  I also thought they would be fun and celebrating spring, since we really didn't need "birthday cupcakes" since it is not actually Owen's birthday. 

The cupcakes are yummy and have frosting made from real butter and cream cheese, and as I piped the little carrots on top for decoration I thought, "Yep, that is quite enough artificial food coloring for one treat."  And as was noted in the comments of my other blog, yes--this non-birthday cupcake makes me a Birthday Scrooge.

So if you are interested in being a birthday scrooge--or if you just want to enjoy a seasonal homemade treat, here is my recipe for Spring Carrot Cupcakes, adapted from Lion House Desserts:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups grated carrots
1 8oz can crushed pineapple (in juice), pressed dry in a strainer
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400*.  Prepare 12 muffin cups with grease or papers.  Combine sugar and oil in a medium mixing bowl.  Add eggs, mix well.  Add grated carrots and pineapple.  Set aside.  In a large bowl sift together flour, salt, soda, and cinnamon.  Make a well,.  Add wet mixture, and mix to combine.  Spoon into muffin cups, and bake for 20 minutes of until they test done.

When cool frost with cream cheese frosting:  1 8-oz package of cream cheese, softened; 1/4 cup butter, softened; 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar.  Cream together in a mixer bowl.  If needed add a teaspoon of hot water at a time to get to spreading consistency.  (I didn't need water--I have a hot kitchen.)

Homemade California Rolls Sushi

"Wouldn't it be fun to try and make. . ." That's how conversations in our kitchen often begin.  And most of the time it is fun to try and make whatever thing we came up with.  Though I'll admit homemade sushi was Jeremy's idea and the number of times we've had it have been solely as a product of Jeremy's home industry--I have enjoyed the result.  I used to think I wasn't a big fish fan (I've now discovered I'm simply a fish snob--I only like quality fish) but I've always liked crab.  

One of the guests invited to Wyatt's party is our friend who is allergic to dairy and eggs.  So sushi is a great thing to serve for allergic or lactose-intolerant guests (especially since the other menu items--cake and ice cream--were definitely out!).

We use Alton Brown's recipe for sushi rice.We've used it a couple of times and think it turns out well.


Sushi Rice:

* 2 cups sushi, or short grain, rice
* 2 cups water, plus extra for rinsing rice
* 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* 1 tablespoon kosher salt

Place the rice into a mixing bowl and cover with cool water. Swirl the rice in the water, pour off and repeat 2 to 3 times or until the water is clear.

Place the rice and 2 cups of water into a medium saucepan and place over high heat. Bring to a boil, uncovered. Once it begins to boil, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cover. Cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes.

Combine the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small bowl and heat in the microwave on high for 30 to 45 seconds. Transfer the rice into a large wooden or glass mixing bowl and add the vinegar mixture. Fold thoroughly to combine and coat each grain of rice with the mixture. Allow to cool to room temperature before using to make sushi or sashimi.

Yield: 4 cups

We always reference the video of Alton demonstrating the assembly of the California rolls to remember the rolling technique.  Jeremy says the trick to working with the rice is to keep your hands damp so it doesn't stick to you.  We don't have a sushi mat--we just use our Silpat and it works great.

The other ingredients are:
Nori (seaweed)
sesame seeds
immitation crab (It's actually fish not crab, but works best for these purposes.)
avocado, sliced thinly
carrots, sliced into matchsticks
cucumber, sliced into matchsticks

Spread rice thinly on the nori.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Flip over so rice is on the bottom (For a true California roll, but sometimes we don't bother to do this).lay out a thin row of vegetables and roll up.  Slice into bite-size peices with a sharp knife dipped in warm water.

Serve with pickled ginger and wasabi paste. 

Roasted Fall Vegetables --Two ways

In Radical Homemakers the author mentions an essential skill for modern homemakers as "rediscovering the taste of real food." It's an interesting notion to think about.  The prepared foods these days are full of salt sugar and artificial flavorings.  In essence we forget what real food is supposed to taste like.

I suggested a recipe to my sister the other day for roasted fall vegetables.  She told me afterwards that after a few bites she and her husband said to each other, "Meh, it's OK. . ."

But then she said as they continued eating they actually ended up thinking they liked it quite a bit more--they just needed time to get used to the flavors and have them meld in their mouths a bit more. 

We had the roasted vegetables on top of spinach with crumbled goat cheese on top.  Soo delicious--but different.  It doesn't taste like frozen lasagna.  The flavors are mellow and subtle.  You do have to get used to them, introduce yourself to real flavors that occur in nature, and get over a dependence on so much salt.

I'll admit that part of the reason I like real food is because I like the taste, and part of the reason is because I value real food and so I get a satisfaction from eating it that isn't related to taste.  It's a feeling of virtue for eating something I know is so good for me, and it's a feeling of well-being that comes because I (at least in that meal) am living life according to my ideals.

In some real food- taste trumps virtue, but in other foods I still rely heavily on the fact that I know the food is good for me to get me to muscle through the taste. 
. 

 

The next day we ate the roasted vegetables on pizza.  Our kids will eat anything when it's on pizza.  Pizza is a comfort food.  It can be a nice gateway to real foods (or it can be some of the poorest excuses for food you put in your body--but it's your choice). 

So here is Real Food Friday--it's an invitation, but it's also a challenge.  Get outside your comfort zone, make some food--real food.  It's satisfying to make and healthy to eat. 

Here is my contribution-- one last variation we didn't get to is puree-ing the vegetables with some lemon juice --and chicken stock if you like it thinner-- making it a roasted vegetable soup. 

Roasted Fall Vegetables:
1 lb butternut squash peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound red potatoes scrubbed, and quartered
2 small red onions peeled and quartered
1/2 pound carrots halved lengthwise and cut into 1 1/2 inch lengths
3 cloves garlic, smashed
1 sprig rosemary
salt and pepper
olive oil

Preheat oven to 450*  Pile vegetables on a large sheet pan.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Toss to coat.  Add garlic and rosemary to pan.  Roast until vegetables are tender and starting to brown, 40-50 minutes, tossing the vegetables halfway through.  Serve hot or at room temperature.

* * * * * * * * * *

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

My friend asked about Food Inc. the other day.

"So does it say you should be, like, vegetarian?"

I answered, "No." (Since I'm a self appointed spokesperson.) Food Inc. explores the industrialized food system in America, and if I was to name a food lifestyle it was promoting it is simply "eat real food." You can eat meat, if it comes from healthy animals eating the food that nature intended for them. I would call meat a real food, along with fruits and vegetables and flours milled from grains--that sort of thing.

I like to be able to recognize my food--what it is, and what's in it.

This last week as Jeremy and I were discussing grocery shopping, we felt like we needed some "easy food," based on Jeremy's current inability to help out around the house.There was the temptation of the idea of buying some ready-made processed foods.

Until I remembered that real food can be just as easy.

An onion in a pot with butter then flour.  A quart of stock.  Broccoli and some shredded carrots.  4oz cheddar and 1/2 cup of cream.

Hardly needs a recipe.

I love to look at my ingredients and see how simple they are and know that something truly delicious is coming.  That's why, although I believe I'm a good cook (through equal parts practice and courage), I've never felt comfortable with the label "gourmet" that some people sometimes give me.  Most of the time I love the basic simple ingredients. 

What else could I want?

Edited* More specific instruction if you want to make Cheddar broccoli soup.   Start by sauteing the onions in 2 TBS butter until soft.   Add 2 Tbls flour until the butter soaks it all up.   Then add chicken stock a little bit at a time while stirring to get all that flour and butter mixed through it.   Add the broccoli to the broth and simmer until soft.  Add the carrots toward the end of the broccoli cooking.  Then slowly add the cheese to melt it and add the cream and stir to combine.

American Bento

I haven't actually been trying that hard on Owen's lunches.  I've been letting his new cute containers do most of the work for me thus far.     That was. . . until we had the following conversation:

Me:  Owen how do you want this carrot in your lunch?  Do you want me to cut it into carrot sticks or do you want me to leave it like this-- like a big carrot rocket?

Owen:  I don't want any carrots in my lunch.

Me:  Would you like me to put some dip in for your carrot sticks?

Owen:  I would like ketchup. . .
            with french fries. . .
            and some chicken nuggets. . .

That got no reply from me other than to turn and march myself right back into the kitchen to finish making his lunch.  This is exactly why I am making his lunches at home and sending them to school.

Kindergartners want to eat fun food.  And right now he's thinking that those french fries and chicken nuggets look fun.  That is one of the whole ideas behind bento.  People, especially children, eat with their eyes first, and if the food isn't visually appealing--they won't want to eat it.

Carrot sticks, sweet red pepper squares on toothpicks, cheese leaves, and ants on a log.  He also had a half a sandwich.  (Jeremy had made him a whole sandwich, but Jonas found it and ate one half for his breakfast.)

When I finished putting together Owen's Americanized bento box I took it over and showed him.    I got the wide-eyed expression of surprise and interest I was looking for.

"This is your lunch."  I told him.  (And no, you may not have fries with that.)

I think he enjoyed his lunch.  I definitely was excited to show it to him, and he ate most of it.  Now I just have to stop by the principle's office when I drop him off today and ask for his plastic toothpicks back.

Apparently they were confiscated for being "spaceships--flying through the hair galaxy." 

("Who's hair galaxy Owen?")

Seriously, they should be paying me to send my kid to school.  You know those teachers haven't had laughs this good in a long time.

Carrots

Seriously, I struggle with side-dishes. I mean I just spent an hour on an extravagant main dish, and now you want something to go with it?! Of all the nerve!

Really, It's more of a one-track mind thing over not having time or energy. I just don't think about it until it's too late.

However when I do plan ahead I try and make sure it adds to the overall nutrition of the meal, otherwise, I might as well just save myself the time and effort. And it's only a benefit when it's simple enough I can remember and don't have to dig through recipe books.

So this recipe (I'm using that term very loosely) is for Glazed Carrots. Sometimes we eat carrots plain straight from the fridge. Sometimes we dip them in Spicy Ranch, and sometimes we eat them glazed. Really variety is important to help keep the family from dying of boredom over their vegetables.



Start with however many carrots your family will (hopefully) eat and cook them to your desired doneness using your preferred method. I put them an a small pot with enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. Bring it to a boil, then cover the pot and reduce the heat so that they half boil/half steam. Either way when they are done drain out any remaining water.

The glaze is made up of equal parts of butter and brown sugar. Here I was using about a tablespoon and a half of each. Stir that around with your carrots. The heat of the carrots and pan will most likely give all the heat needed, but if the brown sugar looks "grainy" at all turn the heat on low for a minute to get the sugar crystals all melted.

The last step is the surprising yet delicious one. Sprinkle with a bit of dill weed. It gives it a great flavor that gives this more "grown up" appeal. If your kids won't touch speckled carrots, then leave it off for them, but do give it a try-at least once.

As you see I knocked myself out this night with two vegetable side dishes. -I know!- Actually I made the peas for the baby, because he loves them, and I wasn't sure that he would eat the carrots. Ha! He loved the carrots. (Also as you see we were using paper products. Cut me some slack, I've got a lot on my plate =wink= right now.)

Pork Egg Rolls

If my husband and I had a theme in our kitchen, it would probably be something along the lines of "We could make that ourselves-right?" We figure that there really shouldn't be much that they sell at the grocery stores that we shouldn't be able to make at home in our own kitchen (and a for lot cheaper for the most part.) This doesn't mean that we never buy those items, but it is kind of fun to know that you are capable of making your own granola bars, doughnuts, and even marshmallows if the need or desire arose.

So the most recent experiment was egg rolls. For some reason the only food in the Ethnic Foods section of Kansas Grocery stores is frozen burritos. Isn't there some old adage about Neccessity breeds industry or inventiveness...help me out here. Anyhow, point is, we needed some egg rolls in our diet and so I went to a favorite recipe site and looked at a few different ones and put together this recipe. (I can have whatever I want in my egg roll dangit!) Enjoy!

Homemade Pork Egg Rolls

Ingredients:1 Pkg. 7-inch Egg Roll Wrappers (found in most produce departments)

4 cups Shredded Cabbage
2 Shredded Carrots
2 Stalks of Celery diced
½ Onion diced
½ teaspoon Ground Ginger
½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
½ lb of Ground Pork

To Make Filling:
Season the pork with the spices and some salt. Cook pork thoroughly and drain.

Sauté vegetables until mostly tender, and toss with pork.



To fill wrappers:

This is what the wrappers that they sell in my grocery store look like. You find them off on the side of the produce department by the tofu. (I can tell they are authentic based on their brand name.)

First, get a small bowl of water for wetting the edges of the wrappers. Then set up your workstation something like this:

Put a wrapper down with a corner pointing towards you.

Place ¼ C filling in the lower half.

Fold bottom corner up over filling.

Moisten the other 3 corners.



Fold the two side corners in.


Then roll tightly to secure filling inside.


Voila!



Cooking:
Pan-fry in shallow oil heated to 375* until golden brown.

Serve immediately with soy sauce or sweet & sour sauce for dipping.



You can also freeze for later use.
To reheat from frozen, preheat oven to 450 degrees, and bake for 30 minutes.

Makes 16