Cooking Lessons

As you probably know by now, I do a lot of cooking with my girls.  And yet I find I have so much still to learn.  That's the thing about this parenting gig.  As soon as I think I have (part of) it figured out, they grow up a little bit more and learn to read enough to work the forbidden TV at a friend's house.  Why is it always my kid who does these things?

But back to the cooking.  Right.

What I learned from cooking with my sixteen-month-old this morning.

Hummus

Bowl by me, the best piece from that pottery class I took right after grad school.

There are some foods that are so quick and easy to make, I wonder why I bought them ready-made for so long. Hummus is one of those foods. It literally takes seconds; just throw a few ingredients in the blender. We make it all the time now. Including for snack on this rainy morning.

Hummus

1 can chick peas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1 clove garlic, grated. Or two, if you're feeling really zesty.

Put all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. I usually have to stop the blender a few times and scrape it with a spatula to make sure all the chick peas are pureed.

Serve with pita bread or veggie sticks. Or if you're Abigail, just eat it with a spoon.

Rainy Week, Day 2

In which it was too wet to even walk out to the car to go to the library.

We made gingerbread cookies. Who says they're just for Christmas? Or that the frosting must stay on the cookies?

Hot Enough?

The current outdoor air temperature is 105, with a heat index of 116. "This would be an excellent educational opportunity," I thought, "to see if it is hot enough to cook an egg in the car, and to talk about science experiments." Here is Betsy's account of our attempt.

"We tried to cook a egg in the car but it just didn't work. Our theory was that it would cook. We put it in a pan and we put it in the car, and then after that, we checked on it but it wasn't ready. We left it for hours and hours and hours*. And then it was ready.** We took it out of the car and then we ate it.***"

*Actually 20 minutes.
**The white solidified in a few small places, but the egg didn't cook.
***No we didn't.

Now she's coming up with other things to try to cook in the car. Uh-oh.

Bargain Tomatoes

This morning I went to the farmers' market in search of small cucumbers to pickle, and found this instead:

My much-beloved bargain tomatoes. $15 for a 25 lb box of "seconds", although some of them are actually perfect. Last summer we bought several such boxes, to freeze and make into sauce. It's a great deal, as long as I can process them quickly. Wait a few days, and most of the box will be rotten. Not that I've procrastinated and had that happen before. Ahem.

I had stopped at the market on the way to a playdate, but turned the car around and dashed home to get the tomatoes inside. With a heat index of 100 today, these quickly would have become mush in the car.

While the baby was sleeping, I washed and chopped tomatoes and Betsy filled the jars. My big girl can be such a good helper these days. We got 20 cups of tomatoes packed and into the freezer this afternoon!

This wasn't even half the box, so I have a little more work to do after the kids go to bed. I don't mind, because I know how good those tomatoes will taste this winter.

P.S. The National Center for Home Food Preservation website is my go-to resource for how to process and store all kinds of summer goodness.

Ten Loves (#3: The Farmers' Market)

For the last ten days until graduation, ten things for which I am super thankful.

#1: Family

#2: Doodling

#3: The Farmers' Market

Oh how I love the seasonal farmers' markets.

We actually have a year-round one on Saturdays, too. But there's something that feels so luxurious about being able to wander amongst such fresh produce four days a week if I wish. To run into friends, to talk to farmer who picked the strawberries this morning, and to enjoy selecting healthy, delicious food for my family in this relatively cool, still part of the day. It is truly a feast for all the senses.

I have memories of going to this particular market last August, when I was so pregnant with Abigail and it was so hot, to buy boxes and boxes of tomatoes to freeze. And returning in September with my two girls, one so tiny and asleep in a carrier. And now she's happily bouncing around, trying to swipe produce. The time has just flown.

I realize that not everyone can afford to shop at farmers' markets, which is why we also support the Volunteer Farm, which provides fresh produce to 2 food banks and more than 800 food pantries in Virginia. We'll have more on that later, but for now I encourage you to check out the link, and check out your own farmers' market if you are able.

Smudge

Also known as fudge. But Betsy calls it smudge, which is really a more fitting name, isn't it? Quick, simple, and oh-so-sweet. The recipe can easily be adapted to a dairy-free version; just choose shortening and soy milk from the alternatives listed below.


Pepper Family Smudge

6 Tbsp shortening, butter, or margarine
3 1/4 cups confectioner's 10x powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup soy milk or cow's milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt

Grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan (I use canola oil spray).

Place medium sized saucepan over medium-low heat. Add shortening (or butter or margarine) and allow to soften and partially melt. Add all other ingredients, stirring constantly until smooth. It will look clumpy and messy and on the verge of failure, and then it will quickly congeal into a smooth glossy mass. Remove from heat and immediately spread mixure in prepared loaf pan.

Cool and cut into squares.

Crunchy Granola

Easy and tasty. My only regret is that we didn't double the recipe. Oh well, now we have an excuse to make more.

Black Bean Soup

I came up with this the other night, when I wanted lean protein and lots of veggies for dinner. I also wanted to take advantage of a stretch of mid-afternoon quiet time to do the food prep, so I could focus more on the kids during the pre-dinner grouching hour. It's wheat-free, dairy-free, and soy-free.

Black Bean Soup

8 Servings

2 T olive oil

1 large onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, diced

3 cans black beans (approx. 15.5 oz ea), drained and rinsed

2 c corn kernels

2 carrots, sliced into circles

2 stalks celery, diced

3 c chicken stock

¼ c lemon juice

½ white wine (I used Dr. Beckermann Auslese Rheinhessen)

1 t dried cilantro

salt & pepper to taste

tortilla chips for garnish

Over low heat, saute onion in olive oil until translucent. Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes.

Add beans, corn, chicken stock, carrots, celery, lemon juice, wine, and cilantro. Cover and increase heat to medium until soup simmers. Decrease heat to low and simmer 2 hours. Taste and add salt and pepper, if desired.

Ladle into serving bowls and top with a scant handful of crushed tortilla chips.

Flummery!

Today I decided to make something warm and filled with blueberries. A special mid-week treat for my husband to say, "Thanks for working 6 days a week and only sleeping 4 hours a night or something crazy like that."

At lunch, Elizabeth and I perused cookbooks. Should we make a pie? A slump? A flummery!

We made the blueberry flummery in Keep Cooking the Maine Way by Marjorie Standish. It was delicious and I'd make it again, but the best part was that we had an excuse to say flummery as much as possible this afternoon.

One can substitute the word flummery in all songs containing the word "Figaro," by the way.