FOOD

I am sorry it has taken me so long to post this! I made these muffins for Meera’s birthday party (there was a photo of them in this post – click). Several people have requested the recipe, I had promised I’d post it, and I’m finally getting to it. These muffins are the most delicious, moist berry muffins I’ve ever made. For the past couple of years I’ve been searching for a good strawberry muffin recipe to make around Meera’s birthday, and have tried several recipes for strawberry muffins… finally I found a real keeper! Try these and you’ll see what I mean!

STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM MINI MUFFINS

(a Nigella Lawson Recipe) 

Makes 24 muffins

1 cup strawberries, slightly under-ripe, diced into quarter-inch pieces
1 squeeze of lemon juice
1 cup flour
½ cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 tsp. powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400. Line a 24-cup mini-muffin tin with paper baking cups.
2. Put diced strawberries into a bowl, spritz lemon juice on them and stir gently to combine.
3. In a medium-size bowl, stir together flour, sugar and baking powder.
4. In a small bowl, beat together oil, sour cream, vanilla and egg. Pour mixture over dry ingredients, stirring to combine with a wooden spoon. Fold in strawberries.
5. Divide batter evenly among the paper cups in the mini-muffin tin. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
6. Place tin on a wire rack and leave for 5 minutes. Take out the muffins and continue cooling them in the paper cups on the wire rack. When muffins are completely cool, place the powdered sugar in a small sieve. Shake sieve lightly to dust the muffins with sugar. Serve.

by Guest Blogger MORMOR!

MorMor’s Swedish Butterhorns

It wouldn’t be Christmas without Swedish Butterhorns on Christmas morning. Because they love them so much I am always tempted to make them especially for Kyle, Owen and Braydon the minute they arrive for the holiday but I make everyone wait until Christmas morning and boy are they worth the wait! Like Heather said the kids stop opening presents when I announce they are out of the oven!!

I got this recipe from a Swedish friend’s mom Ellen Benson who lived in Manchester, CT in the early 80’s.

Part 1

1 ¼ cup hot milk

1 ½ cups butter

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon salt

2 eggs (well beaten)

2 yeast cakes

5 cups sifted flour

10-12 cardamom seeds (crushed fine)

Melt butter in hot milk. Add sugar. When almost cool add beaten eggs. Mix flour and cardamom, salt and yeast and add. (I mix yeast in a small amount of warm milk and add to the rest of the milk – dry or regular yeast may be used).

Beat this mixture WELL – hand will get tired! (I use an electric mixer with the bread hook.) Now cover in large greased bowl (enough for rising of dough).

Put foil over and refrigerate overnight.

Part 2

In the morning remove dough from bowl and put on floured board. Do not knead. Roll into a round ball. Now divide ball into 4 parts. Roll out each part into a 9-inch circle (I use a rolling pin). Now cut circle in half – cut in quarters and cut 3-4 wedges in each quarter – as you would cut a pie. Now roll dough – fat end first and top will have a small peak. Brush with beaten egg and place on a buttered cookie sheet. Cover dough and rise 1 hour.

Bake 15-20 minutes in 350 oven. Remove Butterhorns to wire racks and spread on the topping.

Topping:

Confectioners sugar

Dash of salt

Vanilla

Water

I don’t measure topping – just get it to a spreading consistency – not very thick.

YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Shalinee and I are not posting for The Swap this week; the week was just too overwhelming — we were both sick, K & O started their first week of their new school, we’re at the end of the semester at Lehigh [a crazy time of year for professors], there were minor crises of all varieties happening in our lives, etc. — we just never got it together to do Swap. So…instead I’m posting this!)

Spinach Salad with Warm Squash, Goat Cheese, and Glazed Pecans

This is our Current Favorite Salad for Fall/Winter! Seriously, it is so good! Braydon even says that it is the best salad he’s ever had in his entire life. No kidding! And I make a lot of fancy salads… so that is really saying a lot! A couple of years ago I was out to lunch at a pretty nice restaurant for a work meeting one day. I ordered a salad off the menu that was described as “Warm Spinach Salad with Winter Squash.” It turned out to be an absolutely fabulous salad. I can remember thinking, “Wow! This is probably one of the best salads I’ve ever had, and it would be even better with goat cheese!” I’ve remembered that salad ever since. Recently I was back at that restaurant for another lunch meeting. I had been so excited to order that salad again, but it turned out they had taken it off the menu. I became determined to re-create the salad at home, but with some of my own twists to make it substantial enough as a stand-alone dinner salad. For K, O, and M – at least at this point – a salad, no matter how substantial, is really not enough for dinner. So, for them I’ll make some sort of simple pasta to serve with this salad. But for Braydon and I, this salad can 100% hold its own as a salad worthy of dinner. With a glass of wine and a crusty baguette… seriously… it is so good! Try it!

First, flash-roast some butternut squash. You can buy a squash and dice it up… or, to make things super simple (like I do!), you can buy a container of pre-skinned, pre-diced fresh butternut squash in the produce section. I dump that container out onto a foil-lined baking sheet, drizzle with just a tiny bit of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast for about 10 minutes (or until soft and caramelizing) at 450.

While the squash is cooking, whip up some balsamic vinaigrette. Wisk 1/3 portion balsamic vinegar with 2/3 portion olive oil (i.e., if you’re going to make about a cup of dressing, use 1/3 cups of vinegar and 2/3 cup oil — more or less depending on how much dressing you want to have). Add salt and pepper to taste.

The only other things you need are: red onion (thinly sliced), goat cheese (crumbled), and some glazed pecans. You can make your own glazed pecans really easily by placing pecans, sugar, and cinnamon in a dry pan and cooking on the stove over med-high heat. I have done this many, many times. Stored in an air-tight container they will keep for a long time. However, you can also buy glazed pecans (of all sorts of varieties) in the grocery store. Recently we tried “Pecan Pie” flavored, and they were awesome (and went incredibly well in this salad)!

When the squash is cooked, place it immediately on a bed of fresh spinach. It will start to wilt some of the spinach, which is a good thing! Add the other ingredients, toss with the vinaigrette, and dig in. You’ll think you’ve gone to Fall-Winter-Salad-Heaven. DE-LISH!

This post has been a long time coming. Over the past few years of blogging I’ve had lots and lots of people ask me, “How on earth do you get your kids to eat all those fruits and vegetables?” I hate the thought of sounding like a preachy-know-it-all-Mommy-Blogger, so I’ve put off posting my answer to that. But, at the risk of sounding like a preachy-know-it-all-Mommy-Blogger, here goes—My attempt at a Top 10 List of Our Secrets for Getting Young Kids to Eat Lots of Fruits and Veggies.

1. Start them young. We were letting all three of our kids gnaw on fresh fruit and veggies at very young ages. People worry about choking hazards, and rightfully so, but –whenever safely humanly possible— we have tried to let our bambinos eat the real deal as early as it can possibly be introduced. We are big believers in the baby fruit net (here is the one we always used, but there are tons on the market), and we used it early and often for all sorts of fruits and vegetables.
2. Raw & fresh. We have always conscientiously worked hard to provide fruits and veggies raw and fresh. That means a lot of time spent cutting and chopping (major hassle), and it also means very high weekly grocery bills (seriously painful!), but it is worth it if it is at all possible (so sadly, and unfortunately, definitely not possible for many families to shell out the required cash; we are grateful that we can prioritize healthy food in this way).
3. Eat fruits & veggies in their presence. Young kids mimic us, so we need to model for them. Braydon and I are big on fresh, raw fruits and veggies ourselves, and our kids see us eating it. This is hugely important because they want to do what we’re doing and eat what we’re eating. Fruits and veggies need to be a family affair!
4. Make it finger-food/bite-sized. Chop it and slice it and dice it to make it easy to pop in the mouth. This is key as key can be. It is amazing how quickly platters of fruit and veggies will disappear around here if it is “cut” instead of “big” (as K, O, and M call it).
5. Make it look good. If we handed them a pear, a banana, and a bunch of blueberries, it just wouldn’t be the same as presenting them with a platter that looks like the picture above (top of post). Braydon and I try to have some fun with this when we can make the time to do it (the photo is a platter that Braydon created one day). I think kids know when we’ve put some heart and soul into things. They appreciate it at some level. And they like it. We’ve been doing beautiful fruit and veggie platters for our kids since they were tiny toddlers. They love it. And don’t we (as adults) too? If it is pretty and colorful it seems a lot more appealing than it otherwise might be.
6. Dips. We are big into dips, especially for veggies. And by “dips” around here, we’re generally referring to store-bought salad dressings. Ranch and Thousand Island are favorites for our three. Vinaigrettes too. They also love yogurt for dipping with fruit. And then, of course there is…
7. Hummus. And other extras. Such as cheese, crackers, chips & salsa, nuts, etc. to go with a nice spread of fruits and veggies. These things mix it up, make fruits and veggies more fun, and add some breadth and depth and texture… and some good old fashioned protein. A bunch of baby carrots is one thing. A bunch of baby carrots with a nice little bowl of hummus to dip them in is another.
8. Fruits & Veggies as “Appetizers.” We are big on the fruit and/or veggie platter as an “hors d’oeuvres.” While I’m making dinner we’ll often put a platter on the counter and the bambinos will go to town! They are hungry, they’re waiting for supper, and before you know it, the fruits and veggies are devoured. This does a couple of things: for one, it gets them to eat fruits and veggies right up front, and it also means that I don’t need to worry as much about serving a salad or vegetable with the meal.
9. Buy it in bulk. I know this might sound crazy, but I’ve found that the best produce is at our bulk-club-store (you know… BJ’s, Costco, Sam’s, etc.). Seriously, believe it or not, that’s where I consistently find the best-quality, freshest, best-priced fruits and veggies. And when you’re eating as much of it as we are, buying it in bulk is a great way to go.
10. Be as calm, cool, and collected about it as possible. I don’t think I’ve ever put fruits and veggies in front of my kids and said, “EAT IT!” I just act very laid-back about it from beginning to end. I put it out, without saying much about it, and then when it disappears I don’t say much about it either. There’s no big fanfare when they eat it, or when they don’t. I swear, this –playing it cool— is the most important trick in the book. Our approach has been sort of the polar opposite of the “sneak it in”-“hide-it-in-something-they’ll-eat” approach; rather than sneak fruits and veggies in to other things, we’ve been right up front about it from the start. We don’t make a big thing over how “healthy” or “good” fruits and veggies are; rather, we simply give it to them, without batting an eye, as if it were perfectly normal for a 2-year-old to eat raw broccoli and celery sticks. They don’t know otherwise… so they don’t know that, for example, kids are “supposed” to hate peas. And by the time they realize that… it is too late (because they already like peas).

What are your tips and tricks?

This was our dessert for our Back To School Dinner 2010. Seriously, if anyone you love likes cheesecake at all, you must make this for them ASAP. It is, truly, the world’s best cheesecake.

Braydon loves cheesecake and often requests it for his birthday “cake.” But we didn’t fully realize how much K & O love cheesecake until our recent trip to Atlanta. Our first day there, we stepped into a little cafe to get a snack (the boys need a “snack” at least every two hours that they are awake — no kidding). Braydon and I were surprised when, amongst many, many, possible items they both chose a slice of plain cheesecake. We were then shocked at the speed with which they devoured it. That set them on an Atlanta cheesecake kick. We soon realized that we could get amazing cheesecake via take-out or room-service from the Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse that was located in the lobby of our hotel. Have you ever tried the cheesecake from Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse? We never had before our Atlanta trip, but let me tell you, it is incredible. Hands down, it is the best cheesecake I’ve ever had— with one exception: Mrs. Peterson’s Cheesecake.

I had a pretty unique childhood, growing up at a camp that my parents ran. As a result, throughout my childhood I came into contact with many fabulous people. Mrs. Peterson is one of the most fabulous of the fabulous. I have incredible memories of her… like how she’d bring my sister and I big bags full of penny candy every time she’d show up in New Hampshire after her long drive up from Connecticut… or like how she’d welcome us into her home, as if we were family, to make korv before Christmas… or — and this is perhaps my most vivid memory of her — how, as a kid, I’d always know that Mrs. Peterson had come to camp when I’d open the refrigerator in our cottage kitchen to find two gorgeous, thick cheesecakes, wrapped tightly in saran wrap, just sitting there for our family. I’d know better than to cut into them, but I’d carefully peel up a tiny part of the saran wrap in order to try to dab a finger in and take a little taste. Even a tiny morsel was like eating pure melt-in-your-mouth heaven. Mrs. Peterson knew that my dad loved cheesecake, and she’d make him two of them at least once a summer. She’d make them in Connecticut and then transport them all the way to our cottage kitchen. I can remember, very well, how that loving and thoughtful gesture made me feel: really good. I loved that she did it for my dad — and I loved that she did it for my family — and I loved that she made not just one, but two (!) of these cheesecakes — and I loved those summer nights when we’d get to steal a moment together hidden away in the back of the cottage eating that special, special cheesecake. I have lots of other memories of Mrs. Peterson too. And to this day she’s like a grandmother to me (and like a great-grandmother to my bambinos). There are just some people in this world who are really, really special.

After I graduated from college and was living on my own, I found the recipe for Mrs. Peterson’s Cheesecake in a little box of recipes given to me by my mom. It was years before I became unintimidated enough in the kitchen to try it. The first time I got the guts up to make it was for one of Braydon’s birthdays (can’t remember which one). It was a labor of love (at the time this recipe seemed really complicated; now it seems really easy — funny how that is!). But I did it. I think I wanted to make him cheesecake from scratch for two reasons: 1) I knew how much he loved cheesecake and knew this one was the best cheesecake on the planet, and — more importantly — 2) Braydon was the love of my life and I wanted him to feel really good.

Here’s the recipe– make is soon for someone you love!

* * *

Mrs. Peterson’s Cheesecake

Mix crumbs, melted butter, and nuts. Reserve about 2 Tbs of the mixture and set aside until later. Press the rest evenly over bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie plate to form a crust. Bake at 375 for 5 minutes. Remove. Beat eggs ’till thick and lemon colored. Set aside. Without washing beater, beat cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Add eggs and beat until blended. Pour into crust and return to oven at 325 for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Stir together the sour cream, 1/2 tsp vanilla, and 5 Tb sugar. Spread over the slightly cooled pie. Return to oven at 325 for 10 minutes. Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture on the top. This cheesecake is best when left overnight in the refrigerator. Serves at least 8 (it is very rich!).

P.S. Mrs. Peterson has long been one of our most loyal blog readers. So, I’m sure she’ll be surprised when she finds this post on her computer screen! If you try this cheesecake and love it, then you can give all your thanks to her– here in the comments to this post!

Menu

Fancy Macaroni & Cheese

Make-Your-Own Salad, Favorite French Dressing

Papi’s From-Scratch-Sourdough Bread

and for dessert~~

Mrs. Peterson’s Cheesecake* & Fresh Strawberries

— — —

Tomorrow is the first day back for Kyle and Owen. They could not possibly be more excited than they are to get back to school. We’ve been trying to prepare Meera for what lies ahead… she is going to terribly miss her brothers being home. In what seemed to be an act of revolt and rebellion against the inevitable (K & O getting on that bus tomorrow morning and leaving her all to her lonesome), she insisted on finger-painting with her cheesecake this evening. To appease her, I promised her more crafts while her brothers are at school in the coming months.

And so… another school year is upon us. Back to the grind of getting up early, catching the bus on time, making lunches, etc., etc., etc. Summer is no longer. Fall is officially here. And so we go, jumping headfirst into a new school year. Anxiously anticipating all that is to come, but loaded with great memories of the lazy, hazy days of summer. So long summer! See you next year!

Hello Fall!

For our last year’s Back To School Dinner post: click here

*recipe for the best cheesecake ever (and believe me, you want to make this) coming Friday!

Owen, Meera, and I just made this 4th of July Trifle this morning in preparation for our Holiday Weekend Kick-Off Feast tonight! So easy and so fun and sooooo scrumptious!

In a clear bowl, layer the following, repeatedly, in order:

• pound cake, diced into bite-sized pieces (we bought good quality store-bought pound cake; Owen had a ton of fun cutting it up!)
• vanilla pudding (we made a big package of Jello Instant Pudding! O and M’s favorite part was sampling that!)
• whipped cream (we made homemade: heavy cream whipped up with a bit of vanilla and sugar; next favorite part was sampling that!)
• fresh sliced strawberries and whole blueberries

Top with fruit in flag design. Can store in fridge for several days.

Happy 4th of July!!!

Strawberries Dipped In Sour Cream & Brown Sugar~~

Artichokes~~

Mojitos~~

(we’ve been on a mission to perfect our recipe, but have not reached success! hints and tips very much welcomed!)