Vanilla Berry Frozen Yogurt Pops

Summertime. Otherwise known on our back deck as popsicle season. Icy treats go fast around here - like multiple times a day fast. I can't really blame the little blue-tongued bandits. Popsicles are awesome. They're nice to look at, fun to eat, sweet, cold, refreshing, satisfying, and thirst-quenching all in one cute little party of a package. The red, white, and blue ones scream 4th of July.

Of course the astronomical sugar content and food dyes in most grocery store brands leave something to be desired, but who needs them anyway? Assuming you have a freezer in the vicinity, homemade popsicles are just about the easiest thing in the world to make with kids. 

Fruit juices and purees, frozen bananas, lemonade, coconut milk and yogurt, preferably chunked up with plenty of fresh fruit, all make for amazing popsicles with less than half the parental guilt (as evidenced by my own personal and totally unscientific study) of grocery store brands. So go ahead. Embrace the stick this summer. Bonus points if you serve these red, white, and bluish frozen yogurt pops for the 4th of July.

We opted to use Stoneyfield Organic Greek Fat Free Yogurt but low fat or full fat plain Greek yogurt would work well too.

Despite what my little ham of a son would lead you to believe, Stoneyfield did not sponsor this post. I paid for my own yogurt fair and square, though I do admit to using a coupon to cover part of the cost of the Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Blue Agave we're going to talk about in a minute.

I like to use agave here rather than honey because of its thinner, runnier consistency. The agave swirls into the yogurt effortlessly for uniform sweetness throughout the pops. We used Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Blue Agave and pure vanilla extract since that's what I had on hand. If you are so inclined you could save yourself a step, skip the vanilla and use Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Vanilla Blue Agave Syrup instead of plain.

Vanilla Berry Frozen Yogurt Pops

16 ounces plain Greek yogurt
4-6 tbsp Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Blue Agave
2 tsp real vanilla extract
1&1/2 cups raspberries and/or blackberries, fresh or frozen

In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt and 2-3 tbsp of the agave, depending on how sweet you like your pops. At this point the yogurt should taste slightly sweeter than you want it. The flavor will mellow once it's frozen. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mash the berries with a fork. Stop when you still have some chunks of whole berry and plenty of bright, colorful juice. Stir in the remaining 2-3 tbsp agave.

In popsicle molds (or paper cups if you don't have popsicle molds) layer the yogurt and berry mixtures, starting and ending with yogurt. Use a chopstick or anything with a slim, long handle to gently swirl the yogurt and berries together in the mold. Insert the sticks and freeze for at least 4 hours and up to several days.

To release the pops from the mold, run them under cool to lukewarm water for about 30 seconds and gently wiggle out of the mold.

Makes 5 large pops.

Happy 4th!

Beet Hummus

They're baaaaaaack.

Beets. Pretty little suckers, I'll give you that. But it's their deep dirt earthy flavor I'm still struggling with. Still that doesn't keep them out of our CSA box every week.

Last summer we made them into beet chips with a side of curried yogurt dip and they were good. Really, addictively, shockingly good and I have to admit, I kind of loved them. So maybe, perhaps I don't hate beets as much as I think I do. In an effort to push my own culinary boundaries as much as I push the KC kids' and in penance for the cruel avocado trick I played on Looly last week: Beet hummus.

At least it's purple. That's something. Now, the original recipe did not call for garbanzo beans but I felt I had to include them both to warrant the "hummus" title as well as to convince myself that there was plenty of stuff in there that I like. I know. I can be very grown-up sometimes.

Once the beets are cooked, this hummus comes together so fast. I literally threw it together in the 5 minutes it took the kiddos to rescue their bikes and sidewalk chalk from the backyard before a thunderstorm was scheduled to roll through. By the first rumble, we were crunching naan chips with this lovely bowl of vibrant purple dip.

And guess what? It was good. Seriously good. The beets add a faint sweetness to the garlicky, lemony, creamy hummus with absolutely no dirt flavor to speak of. The cumin and tahini give the whole medley a satisfying warm nuttiness making it the perfect compliment for crisp mild vegetables or salty chips. And the color, well, you cannot beat that color. So, beets, perhaps there's something between us after all.

Beet Hummus
adapted from Simply Recipes

1/2 pound beets
1 cup canned garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp tahini
zest and juice of 2 lemons
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Cut the greens off the beets and reserve them for another recipe or discard. Scrub the beets in cold water. Place them in a medium pot with and inch or two of water. Bring the pot to a boil then reduce heat and simmer until the beets are tender when pierced with a fork (about 30 minutes). Remove the beets from the cooking liquid and let cool slightly. Once their cool enough to handle, it should be fairly easy to pinch the skins off with your fingers. If you don't want purple hands, where gloves. Discard the skins.

Place the cooked, peeled beets in a food processor. Add the remaining ingredients and puree until smooth, thick and creamy. Serve with toasted pita bread, sliced vegetables, or naan crisps.

Fruit Salad with Vanilla-Lime Dressing

School's out, summer is in full swing and the KC kitchen staff is more eager than ever to get to work.

I, on the other hand, am readjusting to the amped up summer house volume and the sheer exhaustion of fielding ceaseless requests to paint, set up the sprinkler, help practice piano, go to the park, walk to the library, recall the Spanish word for prairie (pradera, by the way), host a spelling bee, make popsicles, make worksheets, make popcorn, make playdough, put on a puppet show, demonstrate a proper cartwheel, and the dreaded...can we plug in the glue gun?

With the day spiraling into hot glue territory, it's time to act. Fast. So what's quick, simple, can be made from stuff you already have sitting on your kitchen counter and irresistibly enticing to a swarm of sunscreen-slathered, half-dressed ragamuffins armed with a glue gun?

Fruit freaking salad, baby.

Fruit Salad with Vanilla-Lime Dressing
inspired by The Pioneer Woman

For the dressing

1 cup granulated sugar
2 limes, zest and juice
1 cup water
1 & 1/2 tsp good vanilla extract (or the caviar of one fresh vanilla bean)

For the salad

1/2 medium peeled, pineapple, cored and chopped into chunks
1/2 small cantaloupe, rind removed, seeded and chopped into chunks
1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced
2 cups grapes, halved
1/2 pint blueberries
1/2 pint raspberries
1 handful fresh mint leaves

To make the dressing, combine the sugar, lime zest, juice, water and vanilla in a small saucepan. Bring it to a boil, stirring until all of the sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes until it starts to thicken. Remove from heat and let cool.

You'll be relieved to know that preparing a fruit salad requires no advanced training. Wash, peel, core, and slice fruit as necessary and put it all in a bowl. Use whatever fruit you have. Enlist your glue gun-wielding kitchen staff and go to it.

Pour the cooled dressing over the top of the fruit and toss everything together gently. Or if your staff has a case of the pickies, leave the dressing on the side and use it as a dip instead. Garnish the whole beautiful mess with mint leaves.

Don't forget to destroy the glue gun while their slurping the last of the juice from their bowls.

Green Pea Pasta with Feta

Last spring I introduced the KC kids to the idea of green pasta with Nut-Free Kale Pesto. Here's another healthy, veggie-packed green pasta sauce that comes together quickly for an easy week night supper. This time we're pairing fresh sweet peas, dill, and briny feta because, well, feta with spring vegetables is freaking delicious, that's why. 

Green Pea Pasta with Feta
adapted from Fine Cooking

1 pound green peas (fresh or frozen)
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup sugar snap peas, trimmed, strings removed, and sliced on the diagonal
12 ounces short pasta, any shape
4-6 ounces feta cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the green peas and cook 2-4 minutes until crisp tender. Use a slotted spoon to remove the peas from the water and set aside.

Return the pot to a boil and cook pasta according to package instructions. Reserve the cooking water.

Meanwhile, transfer all but 1 cup of the green peas to a blender. Add the olive oil, almost all of the dill (reserve a little for garnish), salt, pepper, and lemon juice and puree until smooth, adding the reserved cooking water from the pasta until you reach your desired consistency.

Drain the pasta and toss with the green pea sauce. Add the remaining whole green peas, sliced snap peas and feta, toss again. Garnish with lemon wedges and remaining dill. Dinner is served!

St. Patrick's Day Green Smoothie

Just in time for Saint Patrick's Day, here's one of my favorite green smoothies that even Looly will drink. Just don't expect her to say she likes it.

Spinach, ginger, coconut water...I know what you're thinking because I thought exactly the same thing. There's no way my kids are going to drink this without money changing hands. But don't let the abundance of healthy stuff dissuade you. There's pineapple too - lots of sweet, tropical pineapple and don't forget the green factor, especially with St. Paddy's Day just around the bend. Never miss an opportunity.

It's so fast and so easy, you've really nothing to lose even if they turn up their noses at first, which is precisely what Looly did. So I pulled out the big guns - fancy straws. Gets them every time.

Bean was sold at first sip. Roo, as usual, said he loved it, drank an ounce and was full for hours. Looly, on the other hand, claimed it to be the most excruciating beverage experience of her life, then proceeded to drink her entire glass. And mine. This morning she asked when we could make green smoothies again. She is a 6 and a half. 13 is looking dicey from here.

St. Patrick's Day Green Smoothies
serves 2 (or 1 adult and 3 kiddos)

8 ounces coconut water (sub regular H2O if you don't have coconut water)
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup frozen pineapple chunks
2 big handfuls of baby spinach (about 2 cups)
1 tbsp honey (optional)

Pour the coconut water into a blender. Add the ginger and blend until frothy. Add everything else - pineapple, spinach, and a touch of honey if you like, and blend again until smooth. Serve in tall glasses, garnish with lemon wedges and the fanciest straws you can find.

Bottoms up.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Chickpea Salad (Balilah)

I have a problem.

Despite the hundreds of post-it-notes peaking out from recipes waiting to be made in the scores of cookbooks I already own, I can't stop myself from bringing home just one more. Ever. But it could be worse - orphans, kittens, Maseratis.

I read cookbooks cover to cover. Based on the number of flagrant typos I come across, it seems not many other people do that. Shelf space is long gone so my most recent acquisitions reside in the middle of the kitchen island as a centerpiece of sorts. Mufasa's been kind enough not to mention it.

My current obsession is Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. The photos are reason enough to buy the book but the message of hope, tolerance, and community is why you need to own it now. And the recipes!

Despite all the food challenges I run up against on a daily basis (textural sensitivity, nut allergy, egg allergy, eosinophilic esophagitis, diabetes, 4-year-olds...) it's awesome that Roo and Bean both love beans. Looly is another story but she's easily satiated with other forms of protein as long as they're accompanied by lemon wedges. Lemon steak? Don't knock it til you've tried it.

Beans, though. Beans are such perfect 4-year-old sustenance. Protein, fiber, folate, and no knife skills required. Garbanzos are Bean's absolute favorite and thanks to this fresh, lemony recipe courtesy of Jerusalem, they were in her lunchbox all last week.

Keep in mind that when using dried beans they're going to need to soak overnight. Try not to used canned beans here if you can help it. It's worth the wait.

Chickpea Salad (Balilah)
adapted slightly from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi

1 cup dried chickpeas (AKA garbanzo beans)
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
3 green onions,thinly sliced
1 large lemon
3 tbsp olive oil
2 & 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 clove garlic, minced or microplaned to a pulp
salt and pepper

1. Put the beans in a large bowl and cover them with plenty of cold water. Add the baking soda and let them sit out to soak overnight or at least 8 hours. They will have nearly doubled in volume by morning.
2. Drain the chickpeas and put them in a large pot covered once again with lots of cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Skim the foamy goop off the top of the water, turn down the heat and simmer for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. The beans will cook faster or slower depending on how fresh they are. Check them often after the first hour of cooking. They should yield when pinched between your fingers but fight the urge to cook them until they are mushy.
3. Meanwhile, put the parsley in a large bowl. Use a lemon zester or Microplane grater to zest the lemon (about 1 tbsp zest) into the parsley. Cut both ends off the lemon and using a sharp knife, remove the skin, the bitter white pith, and any seeds and discard. Chop the lemon flesh and add it to the bowl with the zest and parsley.
4. When the beans are soft (but not mushy!), drain them and add them while they're hot to the bowl with the parsley mixture. Add the olive oil, cumin, and garlic. Toss gently to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Don't be stingy with the pepper. Serve at room temperature or in a lunchbox.

Baked Parmesan Green Bean Fries

We've turned our beets, kale, apples, and Brussels sprouts into chips, so why not green bean fries?

The real trick with these bad boys is getting them to crisp up, since crunchy fries are clearly superior to squishy ones. It's a delicate balance between mush, crisp and burnt and quite honestly, it's hard to get every last fry perfectly crisp, but here's what I've learned in my trials.

1. Use the thinnest green beans you can find. Haricots verts are ideal. 
2. Make sure your beans are completely dry. If you rinse them, get every last drop of water off them before you add oil or cooking spray.
3. Do use oil or cooking spray. You need something to help the cheese adhere to the beans. Otherwise, you end up with roasted green beans with a side of crispy Parmesan, which while not an awful situation to find yourself in, is not the point of this exercise.
4. Convection bake if you can. If you don't have a convection oven, it's no big deal but if you do, use it.
5. Don't open the oven door once you turn off the heat. No peeking!

OK. Now you're ready to begin.

Parmesan Green Bean Fries

1 pound hericots verts or thin green beans
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
2 ounces Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp canola oil or cooking spray

1. Preheat a convection oven to 375 degrees (or 400 degrees for a regular oven). Combine the Panko, cheese, salt, and garlic powder in a small bowl and toss with your hands to combine.

2. Place the dry green beans on a sheet pan in a single layer. Toss the beans with 1 tablespoon of oil OR give them a good douse of cooking spray. Sprinkle the cheese mixture on top, gently turning and pressing the topping onto the beans. Some will fall off. Don't sweat it.

3. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the oven off but leave the beans where they are. Do not open the door - not even for a sec to check on them. Let the beans cool in the oven for at least an hour or longer if you want to max out your crispiness.

4. Serve with a dip of your choice...garlic aoli, vinaigrette, or a simple side of marinara, which makes for a flavor combo that's slightly reminiscent of mozzarella sticks. Just sayin.

Frozen Yogurt Drops

You need to make these. Seriously, make them right now. I'm betting you already have everything you need in the fridge. If you take 5 minutes now, they'll be ready by the time your kids get home from school, and you, my friend, will be sitting pretty on that pedestal reserved for Superstar Parent of the Week. You can thank me later.

On that day you're feeling guilty because you don't have time for paper mache butterfly crafts and building marble runs, you will make these. When you can't steal 15 minutes to read the next installment of the Boxcar Children to your twins because they don't want their sister to read it out loud to them they want you to read it out loud, you will make these. When the kids are asking, what are we going to do today while you need an oil change, have 15 emails to answer, grocery shopping to do, a school fundraising meeting, and a workout to fit in? That's the day you're going to make these. And everyone's going to wind up happy.

Here's the drill:

Pull some yogurt out of the fridge. See, I told you you already have everything you need! Any flavored yogurt will do, full fat, no fat, some fat, Greek, vanilla, strawberry, pineapple, goji berry papaya coconut swirl, pretty much anything but plain.

Now, and this part is purely optional, stir a drop of food coloring into the yogurt. I used orange for mango, yellow for pineapple, purple for blueberry, you get the idea. It's totally unnecessary but if you want to jazz things up and have some food coloring on hand, I say go for it. Who can't use a little extra color in mid-January?

Scoop each flavor of yogurt into a plastic baggie. Snip a corner off each bag with scissors and pipe bite size rounds onto a sheet pan.

Don't like using plastic bags? Fear not. Just use a teaspoon and drop dollops onto a tray like you would cookie dough instead.

Now put them in the freezer for a couple of hours. When they're frozen solid, pop them off the pan with a spatula (if like me, you require said pan for dinner) and toss them into a clean plastic freezer bag or other container and keep them frozen until you're ready to serve. That's it!

Super cute, healthful, crazy delicious to snack on while blogging doing homework and preposterously easy!

Kids seem to like them.

But make some extra for the grown ups!

Asiago Thyme Popcorn

It was 70 degrees here the week. December 3rd. Chicago. 70 degrees.

We could not let a day like that pass us by so after school the kids and I spent the final hours of daylight doing gymnastics, swinging from monkey bars, and playing "triathlon" which, as far as I can tell, entails jumping off a moving bike and running as fast as you can for about 30 yards wearing a helmet. Good times. But all that outdoor activity also means we needed a quick and easy, tasty snack.

Asiago Thyme Popcorn

6 cups popped popcorn (give or take)
4 ounces Asiago cheese*, finely grated (about 3/4 cup grated)
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped
Cooking spray or 1 tbsp melted butter

While the popcorn is still hot, spray lightly with a little cooking spray or drizzle with melted butter and toss to coat. Throw the cheese, salt, and thyme over the top of the popcorn and toss again. Distribute in individual snack bags and hand out to hungry kids. Don't forget a bag for yourself!

*Parmesan would work nicely too. We just happened to have a hunk of Asiago hanging around looking for a home.

It doesn't get much easier. Cheese-loving Looly dubbed this "the best popcorn ever" and claimed the leftovers for her snack at school today. Not a bad review for 10 minutes of my time.

Easy Baked Cinnamon Apple Chips

My chip fixation continues.

I know what a process it can be to make exciting, tasty, remotely nutritious party food for one kid with food allergies, but with an entire classroom of allergies to contend with, it can be next to impossible. Just try to come up with a safe, healthful "treat" that a bunch of 6-year-olds with candy and costumes on the brain will actually want to eat. I don't want to pull a muscle patting myself on the back but I contend these baked apple chips do the trick.

I made these for Looly's first grade class Halloween party a couple of weeks ago. The kids took them down and came back for more, which considering we were less than 3 hours away from official trick-or-treating time, was freaking amazing.

Better yet these are so easy to make they're really more of a non-recipe. In fact, it didn't even occur to me to post them here until a few adults at Looly's party were stunned that I had made them, automatically assuming that I must have used a food dehydrator or some other obscure gadget. No, friends. Assuming you have an apple, a mandoline, and an oven at your disposal, the process is embarrassingly simple. 

Baked Cinnamon Apple Chips

4 apples, sliced thin on a mandoline, or if your knife skills are that good, have at it that way.*
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the apple slices in a single layer on the parchment-lined baking sheets. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon and sugar.
2. Bake for about 2 hours, turning apples over after the first hour. After 2 hours, turn the oven off but leave the apples to continue to crisp up until the oven is cool.

*Leave the skin and core intact. It's just prettier that way. Choose any apple variety you like just keep in mind that the juicier the apple the longer it will take to dry out. For reference, I used Granny Smiths and Honey Crisps.

There you have it - allergy-friendly, kid-approved, healthful, seasonally appropriate baked cinnamon apple chips. They'll keep for several days in an airtight container, but my advice is make them on the day of your shindig. Your house will smell amazing and everyone will assume you're a domestic goddess. Save your leftovers for lunchboxes!