Today I am thrilled to be working with FAGE Total Greek yogurt. I have been a longtime fan of the authentic tangy Greek yogurt and I consider it a staple ingredient for many of my favorite recipes. Not only does it impart a delicious tang into anything I am making, it also adds a lot a protein while being low in calories and fat. I swear that using it to bind chicken salad is the only way to go. My husband swears it is best when served with granola and honey first thing in the morning. During my first pregnancy I ate tons of it which perhaps explains why my daughter is obsessed with it too!
I am thrilled that today my friend Phoebe of Feed Me Phoebe has come to share her recipe for homemade granola bars. These beauties are PERFECT for lunchboxes, snacks, and even pick-me-ups for Moms. (Confession: I keep granola bars in my purse. Do you?) Next month you’ll hear a little more about Phoebe when she hits the airwaves in the first season of Chef Race: U.S. vs U.K. on BBC America. You all had better set your recorders because this show is NOT to be missed! In the mean time, here is Phoebe’s delicious snack solution for kids and adults alike!
Last weekend I celebrated my birthday. As most of you know, I am not one to shy away from birthdays. For most of my life I spent nearly the entire year longing for my birthday to come around. As the youngest person of my peer group in school/college/life I was always excited to get a little older, to attain the age and status of those around me. These days I don’t really care so much about getting old, I just view my birthday as a chance to spend a fun night out with my husband and take advantage of the excuse to make myself an awesome homemade cake.
I am so excited to share the second installment of my Thailand Travel Series. As you may recall, I traveled to Thailand last February on behalf of Sea Cuisine and had a blast exploring the seafood offerings of this fantastic country with my friend Nicole. This week Sea Cuisine posted my articles about our second day in Bangkok and the AMAZING food we had at some out of the way restaurants after a cruise down the Chao Phraya. Come to the Seafood Spot to Read More! ….
What’s Going on Today: Morning spent indoors waiting for heat to break! Trip to nearby aquarium for fun.
Tonight’s Menu: Roast Chicken with Paprika and Shallots, Crispy Rosemary Potatoes, Marinated Green Beans.
Last weekend a huge front of thunderstorms rolled through and took away the god-awful tropical rain forest-like weather and replaced it with normal crisp, cool fall breezes. To mark this long-awaited turn of weather events I celebrated by making our first roast chicken of the season. For us roast chicken is the king of cold-weather cooking comfort food. I’d take it over mac and cheese any day, especially when paired with some crispy rosemary potatoes and marinated green beans.
Last week a brand new copy of my friend Catherine’s beautiful new cookbook, Weelicious: 140 Fast, Fresh, and Easy Recipes landed in my mailbox. I was thrilled. Having been a longtime fan of Catherine’s blog, Weelicious, it was awesome to finally have so many of her great ideas in book form. This time next year I’ll be back in the baby puree stage and she has a whole chapter on feeding baby that has already given me tons of new ideas. I have a feeling those pages will be well worn by next fall!
One of the challenges of the school year is packing healthy, fun snacks for kids. I don’t want my daughter to turn into a serial snacker, of course, I never want snacks to replace her actual meal. But she has to take snack to school every day and really needs a mid-afternoon munchie to hold her over until dinner. Since I do my best to make all of her food from scratch I often make an easy kid-friendly snack bread on Sunday to last the week. Zucchini Applesauce Bread or Rhubarb Orange Snack Bread are two favorites and a slice of either makes a satisfying, healthy snacks for her preschool palate.
This soup is a long-standing favorite of ours. This week it is part of our 5 Affordable Weeknight Dinners from Whole Foods Market. For this project I am sharing how I make five delicious, easy dinners for my family using one bag of Whole Foods Market groceries. I love shopping there because of their extra fresh ingredients and high commitment to quality.
When it comes to purchasing produce in the winter, or anytime during the year, I head to Whole Foods Market first. They always have a terrific variety of produce that is responsibly grown and fits their very high standards. I know Whole Foods Market is dedicated to supporting farm workers and families. They actively encourage farmers to practice environmentally sound farming methods, which produce high quality, healthy vegetables. It is so easy shopping for produce at Whole Foods Market when I know they’ve already vetted the highest quality produce for me!
I purchase the gnocchi in this recipe from the prepared pasta case. They also have a large variety super fresh pastas that are easy for me to cook in just a few minutes. I also always check my Whole Foods Market app and sales flyer for coupons. They are so easy to use and offer terrific discounts for so many of my favorite every day staples, and the specialty items I love to try. Once my easy one-stop shopping is complete I head home to make dinner!
We always seem to celebrate a new school year with eggplant. With the season in full swing I’ve been cooking up some of our favorites lately and dreaming of new eggplant recipes in my sleep. (Next on the list is Phoebe’s Grilled Eggplant Baba Ganoush– holy yum!) For a great fall meal I decide to riff on a favoritebaked eggplant and gnocchi recipe that is in my book,and is entirely make-ahead, and pair our favoritegnocchi with a simple eggplant pan sauce.
School is officially in session and stress season in the kitchen. One of the hottest cooking topics amongst my group of friends is quick, easy recipes for school nights. Of course, I am a huge advocate for a little advance prep the morning or afternoon before meal time if possible. If not, I focus on powernap-style recipes that are quick and easy and somewhat experimental. Above all, I really try and remind people that, no matter what, cooking should be fun. While whipping something up against the homework clock is not always a snap, it is possible. Give yourself a break in the kitchen and remember that food is love, serve up it with a smile and enjoy. To help you along with your quest I’ve compiled a round-up of some great recipes for school nights for your consideration. As always, let me know if there are more recipes you are interested in that you don’t see here!
When I was in Cooperstown earlier this month my mother whipped up this delicious watermelon salad for a potluck. Sadly, I wasn’t invited to the potluck, but I did get a chance to take a photo of it and sneak a quick taste before she whisked it away. While I haven’t replicated the entire thing in my kitchen yet I have made a small, individual version. It is so easy! The whole premise is blending yellow and red watermelon (or just red if you can’t find yellow), sprinkling in some fresh goat cheese and torn basil, drizzling it with balsamic reduction and voila, summer salad! I highly recommend this easy portable dish for your weekend Labor Day potluck. We have one tomorrow on the beach and this is exactly what I’ll be taking to serve the crowd.
(Note: Now that I am finally prepared (I think) for back to school I’ll be back next week with our regularly scheduled programming. Have a great weekend!)
Recipe
Watermelon Goat Cheese Salad
Ingredients
1
small red watermelon (about 4 cups) cut into chunks
1
small yellow watermelon (or about 4 cups) cut into chunks
1
small log plain goat cheese, crumbled
6 or 7
large basil leaves, shredded
2 to 3
tablespoons balsamic syrup (instructions below)
Instructions
1. To make the syrup combine ½ cup of balsamic vinegar with ¼ cup sugar in a small saucepan. Simmer until the sugar is dissolved and mixture reduces by half. Remove from heat and cool. Can be made ahead.
2. Combine the watermelons in a wide, shallow dish. Sprinkle the goat cheese on top, followed by the basil, then drizzle with the balsamic syrup. Serve!
Naptime Notes
Naptime Recipe Serving ideas
Since watermelon can get soggy try not to assemble this salad until just before you are ready to serve it or take it in the car to the party. Be sure to include a wide, shallow spoon for guests to serve it with. If you won’t have goat cheese crumbled feta would taste wonderful too.
Naptime Stopwatch
10 minutes prep time
Naptime Reviews
My mother has made this twice for potlucks and now people are beginning to request it. At home I just crumble some goat cheese and fresh basil into my regular bowl of watermelon and top with a few drops of balsamic – yum!
Naptime Goals: Make Whole Wheat Dark Chocolate Chip cookie dough and prepare Eggplant Parmesan.
It’s hard to believe it is back-to-school time again – but it is! I know a lot of people get stressed out thinking of back to school food ideas but I actually find it kind of fun. It gives me a reason to break out old favorites, bake a few loaves of zucchini applesauce bread, and get ready for cold-weather cooking. This year I’ve also been inspired to give my sweets a healthier twist. Part of this is due to me keeping the baby weight gain in check, but part of it is because I’ve come to really love the earthy sweetness of whole wheat flour.
While we were in Cooperstown my Dad and I did a LOT of canning. It was so nice to have the time together in the kitchen, one of our favorite places, to catch up on life and exchange canning tips. After our canning marathon last year he sent me my first ever Ball Canning Set which I used all fall. This year he had me geeking out over my grandmother’s vintage Wear-Ever 17-quart aluminum cooking pot. When I finally located one on eBay he taught me how to actually use eBay (what can I say, I’ve never used it!) and he won it for me. Yay! Here is a summary of what we made this and the canning projects I have planned for fall! (Note: I’ll be taking the rest of the week off to concentrate on back to school insanity preparations, but will be back next Tuesday!)
1) Bread & Butter Pickles: We put up several quarts of these delicious pickles. It was a great batch this year!
2) Eternal Summer Apricot Jam: I made over a dozen half-pints of this delicious jam. I plan to use it for some gifties this fall…and eat the rest!
