Salmon and Lentils

Beans. They're the red-headed step-child of my pantry.  I should do more with them, take them out, show them the world.  Instead, they sit there in my pantry.  I tried dressing them up, putting them in glass jars and that made them look better, but there they sit, undisturbed, like some display at a restaurant never meant to be eaten.

Beans - I promised myself -I'm going to learn how to cook with you more.

That was before we discovered lentils.

Lentils are family friendly.  No lengthy soaking, no transferring between pots of water and soaking over night.  They're the perfect gateway bean!

They require a little soaking, but 15 minutes is just the right amount of time to chop and saute some veggies (cover a cup of lentils with boiling water - I microwave it then pour the lentils)

Lentils are great with the classic italian combination of leeks (onions, if you don't have leeks), carrots and celery.  Soften them in a medium-hot saute pan with some olive oil - about 8 minutes.

Add the lentils and cover with chicken broth (about 2 cups), add a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste, 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme and some salt and pepper.  Simmer until the lentils are soft, about 25 minutes.

This is great for kids - lots of chopping, a little stirring.  We served ours with some grilled salmon,  but it's also wonderful next to chicken.  If you have some leftover rice from another meal, mix it in with any leftover lentils for an easy lunch the next day.

Lentils - next thing you know we'll be cooking with beans!

A New Favorite Cookie: Palmiers

One of my goals for this fall was to find some easy recipes for snacks and desserts so we'd have a more consistent supply of homemade lunchbox items and after-school snacks.  Of course, the challenge is finding things that aren't too time-consuming, rely primarily on ingredients we're likely to have around, and can be pulled together between dinner, homework and storytime. 

No small goal!

I came across a recipe for Palmiers in my Barefoot in Paris cookbook and realized they require three basic ingredients: puff pastry, sugar and salt.  Although I don't normally keep puff pastry in the freezer, it was an easy addition to the milk-run.

We made them after dinner and the kid-chef handled the measuring and assembly herself.  One caution - these cookies get really hot when they're cooking.  Flipping them is an adult-chef task, for sure!

The cookbook version came out very sugary and almost hard - they lost some of the flaky qualities I remember from having these as a kid.  That crumbly, airy feel of crunching through cookie and sugarwas one of the best parts of a palmier, so we'll be cutting the sugar in half on the next round.  I also found that one sheet of dough was plenty for a week's supply.

Here's our version:

1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed in the refrigerator overnight.
1/2 cup sugar mixed with a dash of salt.

Preheat oven to 450*
Spread half the sugar-salt mixture over your baking surface

Unfold the dough on the sugar, spread the remaining sugar on the dough and roll the dough out to a 1/8 inch thick sheet.
Fold the left and right edges of the dough in toward the center of the sheet, then fold the edges in again to meet in the middle.  Fold the right side over the left side so you have a log of dough.

Cut 1/3 inch slices off the folded dough and transfer to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
leave about 1 inch between cookies, since the slices will expand.  Use multiple cookie sheets if necessary.

Tip: If you don't use a lot of parchment paper, this is the time to get some!  Without it, the pans will be a mess - with it, you can flip the cookies with ease, then slide the entire sheet of paper off the baking sheet onto the cooling racks when they're done. Whatever you do, don't be tempted to use waxed paper instead of parchment - it is not the same.  Trust me on this one.

Let the cookies bake for about 6 minutes, until they're golden brown.  Flip them with a wide metal spatula and return them to the oven.  Cook them another 3 minutes.  They cook really quickly, so keep an eye on them at the very end.  You want them to be browned, but not dark. 

They will be very hot when you flip them and when you take them out - make sure the testers don't get too eager or they'll have burnt tongues.

My daughter gave these a thumbs up as her new favorite cookie.

I love that they were a snap to make, and the cleanup was next to nothing.  They'd make a great last-minute "oh dear I forgot I needed to bring something tomorrow....." dessert.

Pasta and Peas

Here's a quick and easy side dish: pasta and peas.

Cook the pasta according to the box in salted water with olive oil.  I used Orecchiette because I like the way the "little ears" scoop up some sauce and peas, but any small shape should work.

Add the frozen peas to the pasta water for the last 6-8 minutes of cooking time.  Quickly drain the peas & pasta in a colander and put them back into the saucepan - it's okay if a little cooking water clings to the pasta, that helps make the pasta sauce.  If you're not making the pesto version, save about 3/4 cup of the cooking water by scooping it out with a measuring cup before you drain it.

For the pesto version, I added about 3 TB of pesto, straight from the freezer, to the saucepan and stirred.  I didn't even have to turn the heat back on.  You can also add pesto from a jar - it's usually sold next to the pastas and sauces in small jars.  If you don't have pesto handy, add about 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and then drizzle the cooking water back in until you have a lightly coated dish.  It won't be saucy, just moist enough to be tasty.  Salt to taste.

Chicken Noodle Soup

The weather suddenly got a little cooler here, and it feels like almost-fall.  We had one of those difficult-to-schedule-dinner evenings last night.  Our family class was at 7:00 p.m., leaving a window beteween 5:30 and 6:30 to cook, digest and change for class.  Soup seemed like a good choice.  Not too heavy, and easy to make.

Roast chicken and chicken noodle soup is one of our standard two-day menus, and it worked out well this week.

We roasted the chicken on Wednesday night, when we didn't have any place to go, and all the homework, reading, chores were done by the time the chicken was done.  After I pulled the leftover meat off the bones, I tossed the bones in a pot, covered with water, and let it simmer until I went to bed.

  

On Thursday, making the soup was a snap.  Here's all the cooking it required:

Remember that little bag of frozen onions?  There they are - pre-chopped and thrown in the pot.  We peeled and chopped some carrots and celery, tossed them with some olive oil for a few minutes while water boiled for noodles.

Good kid-chef tasks:  peeling carrots, washing and chopping celery, cutting the chicken pieces up with kitchen scissors and stirring.

I added the broth and the left-over chicken, and by the time the noodles boiled, the soup was warm. 

Mix and serve.

If I'm lucky, there's a little bit left over for my lunch the next day:

Granola

I don't know about you, but I've never been able to skip breakfast.  I need that cup of coffee and something to get me through the morning.  Lately, we've been making homemade granola, trying to find one that's not too sweet, not too toasty, but just right.

There are lots of recipes for homemade granola around, ranging from simple to chocolate-coconut-fruity-explosions.  I prefer to start with a basic, not-too-sweet recipe then add some rasins, dates or nuts, depending on what the general mood and pantry contain.

That leaves room for fruit and yogurt.

Here's a basic recipe for granola.

In a bowl, mix:

2 cups old-fashioned (rolled) oats - don't use quick-cook oats

1/4 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup oat bran

1/4 cup honey (different flavored honey yields different tasting granola - clover is a good, mild choice)

3 TB canola oil

2 TB brown sugar

a splash of vanilla

a dash of cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

Line a jelly-roll pan with parchment paper

Toast at 325* for 8 minutes

Stir and add 1/4 cup sliced almonds (if using nuts)

Toast another 8 minutes, until golden brown.  If your oven runs hot, watch the granola and take it out when it looks done.  It shouldn't get dark brown.

Once the granola has cooled in the pan, put it in a container, stir in your raisins, other fruit and store, air-tight, for as long as it lasts!  (I'd guess about 7 days, but ours never made it that long!)

Filling a jelly-roll pan all the way to the edges is best.  It's okay if the pan looks overstuffed - too much exposure at the edges makes the granola brown faster, so take it out earlier if your pan isn't full.

I'm not usually a big fan of one-dish gadgets in the kitchen, but if you're going to make a lot of granola, you probably want a silicone mat for your jelly-roll pan.  We learned the hard way that scrubbing the pan is a royal pain.  Parchment paper is a big help, but lifting off a mat and funneling all the granola into a plastic tub was the easiest!

A Mystery and Resolution

The mystery: for the last couple of months I've been discovering holes in my T-shirts.  Little, teeny annoying holes right over the spot where my jeans button.  Loose T-shirts, fitted ones, new ones, old ones, inexpensive ones, ones I paid full price for - all of them!  It was driving me nuts.

I don't wear belts (usually), I don't always wear the same pair of jeans, and they were all in the same place on the shirts, so it seemed unlikely to be the washing machine, dresser, soap or some other general attack (and moths don't eat T-shirts, right?).

According to Google, the modern Sherlock's Watson,  it was most likely the edge of the kitchen counter snagging a thread or two when I leaned against the counter to do dishes or cook.  Indeed, my countertops are formica.

Solution?

The apron! 

Mac and Cheese, Please!

Sometimes, you really want Mac and Cheese, right?  This is a simple recipe, easy to make and leagues better than the stuff in a box.  Serve it with a salad and a steamed veggie side, and you've got a perfect grown-up twist on a classic comfort-food dinner.  After working hard all day Saturday, it saved our supper!

I find it easiest to make the sauce when all the ingredients are measured out before you start - perfect task for the little hands and little bowls.  One note: the sauce won't be yellow (unless you use cheddar!) and it won't have that smooth Velveeta-like-stabilizer-enhanced consistency, so don't promise a picky eater it'll be the same as the old standby! 

Homemade Mac and Cheese, Please:

Boil 1 lb elbow macaroni in salted water until it is cooked al dente.  Drain immediately.

2 cups whole milk, heated (this helps the white sauce come to a boil a little faster)
1 TB flour
3 TB butter
1/8 tsp nutmeg (fresh grated is best if you have nutmeg nuts and a small grater)
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup grated cheese (Gruyere or another "swiss" cheese works best) - set aside 1/3 for the top.

Light Bechamel Sauce:  Measure out the ingredients.  Microwave the milk.  Stir the butter and flour together in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan over low heat until it foams.  Add the milk all at once and whisk without stopping until it comes to a boil.  The sauce should not be too thick - thin it out with a little milk if necessary.  Add salt, pepper and nutmeg.  Remove the saucepan from the stove and stir in 2/3 of the grated cheese.
The sauce will have the consistency of warm potato soup or heavy cream.
In the bottom of a deep baking dish,  spread a thin layer of sauce, add all the pasta, pour the remaining sauce over the noodles and sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the dish.  Dot with a little butter (1 TB) if desired.  It will appear thin, but as the dish cooks, the sauce will thicken and be absorbed by the noodles.

Brown under a broiler or a very hot over (550 degrees) about 15 minutes.

This dish is perfect for making ahead of time and reheating just before serving.  Another option is to make double the quantity and freeze some for later.  There won't be many leftovers!