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!
