Rebecca

An Ode to Silk

May 3, 2013 by Rebecca 3 Comments

Would you like to know a random fact about me? I have spent most of my life trying to avoid drinking milk. I cook and bake with it. I love yogurt and ice cream and cheese, but a glass of milk has always made me feel oogy. When I was little, my mom would hire a babysitter from time to time. I always cringed when the only one she could get was the little old Italian grandmother from town not because she was mean -she was quite kind, in fact- but because she was unbendable, unbreakable and unbowable in her conviction that every single child needed a very large tumbler of milk before bed. My selfless, sweetheart of a little sister, Jessamine, would sit right next to me and take a giant chug from my glass every time Mrs. Paolino looked away so I wouldn’t have to drink the milk. God love ‘er, Jessie’s always been so good to me.

As an adult, I wanted to like milk because it was so good for you. Over the course of five pregnancies (I’ve spent 3.75 years of my life pregnant, all in all) I tried to cultivate at least a tolerance for drinking milk but just couldn’t do it. “Sip, blech, sip, blech, never mind.” That was the process.

Then came Silk Soymilk. I love it. I can drink it… As in a glass of it. I pour it over my baked oatmeal, into my chai, on breakfast cereal. An interesting thing I discovered with the Silk Soymilk is that what I thought was a dislike for breakfast cereal was actually just the fact that I wasn’t hot on the milk.

It has turned things upside down for me. In fact, I was so inspired by the Silk Soymilk that I decided to try to work on other weaknesses in my life.

Writing has been my forte since childhood (much like my supposed dislike of milk) but I always wanted to be great at drawing. In honour of the change in attitude Silk gave me, I thought I should revisit my attempts at drawing. I decided to tackle the brave new world of digital art figuring that if my fifteen year old could do it, so could I! Are you ready? Here is my homage to Silk Soymilk.

No really. Are you ready? ‘Cause it’s coming at you.

Ta da!

Okay, the truth is I should probably stick with writing… Let’s go with a Silk-en (ahem) haiku instead, shall we?

Ignore my cup, sis.

It is filled with Silk Soymilk.

I’ll drink happily.

Are there any other non-milk drinkers (or former non-milk drinkers)? Have you given Silk Soymilk a go?

This post is brought to you by Silk but all opinions and terrible drawings are my own. Take the Tastemaker Challenge on facebook.com/silkUS.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

King Arthur Flour Blog & Bake

May 2, 2013 by Rebecca 15 Comments

Last week I had an opportunity that made me squeal with delight; I was invited to attend the Blog & Bake™ conference at King Arthur Flour’s Baking Education Center. I want to give many thanks to Allison Furbish and the entire crew at King Arthur Flour for bringing me there and giving me three days of pure baking heaven.

Be forewarned. I’m about to geek out on you in a very big fan-girl way.

You are probably aware by this point of how very much I love to bake, right? Baking has been my art-form, my release, my comfort since I can recall being allowed to do it as a child. If I am happy, love you, worried on your behalf, excited, nervous, sad, confused, or ecstatic, or angry Imma gonna bake for you.

…Clearly, I’ve had the opportunity over the years to do much of this, what with life being life, and I’ve tried quite a few different flours. When I started studiously pursuing baking greatness years ago, though, I made the conscious decision to use only King Arthur Flour. Why? Well, I’ll explain that in tomorrow’s post. For now, I just want to talk to you about why I was so excited to receive the invitation to attend the third annual King Arthur Flour Blog & Bake™ event.

For years upon years, I’ve received The Baker’s Catalogue: their award winning recipe and merchandise publication. I absorb each and every one of them that I receive both for the tested and fabulous recipes included as well as the ‘window shopping’ fun. My stepmom faithfully subscribed to ‘The Baking Sheet’**; their bi-monthly baking newsletter. Many of our family’s favourite ‘special-occasion’ recipes came from one of those two sources. I knew from reading both of those that King Arthur Flour also offered classes at their Baking Education Center for everyone from kids to master level bakers

**Now available comprehensively in digital form. In other words, every single recipe EVER published in The Baking Sheet since it began in 1990 (over 3500 recipes) is there at your fingertips for just $21.95 per year. Best yet, you can still get the print copy shipped to you to hold in your hands $5 more annually for both!

I had, since learning of the classes, earnestly wanted to take a class there. I wanted to benefit from their unparalleled baking expertise and have the chance to watch masters of their craft show me how it was done. Is it any wonder I jumped at the invitation?

Blog & Bake™ was a three-day opportunity to learn some of King Arthur Flour’s most versatile recipes from their baking educators, meet the employee owners who make the company so special, and network with some wonderfully talented bloggers.

Hogwash Farm and Killdeer Farm, Norwich, Vermont:

They treated us to a tour of two local farms that were instrumental in the local farm-to-table movement: Hogwash Farm and Killdeer Farm, both of which are tied for Best Farm Name EVER.

Behold! Baby Bacon:

…And not so baby bacon enjoying day old baguettes from King Arthur Flour’s Bakery.

Jacob’s sheep at Hogwash Farm. Did you know these guys can grow SEVEN horns a piece?

I was moments away from face planting into these baby lettuces. That’s how I garden you see. If it weren’t for the utter lack of balsamic vinegar on the premises…

Jake Guest, owner of Killdeer Farms, really got me into the idea of using insects to control other insects in the garden. They’re like insect ninjas there.

Cabot Cheese:

Their partners at Cabot Cheese sent a Farmer Spokesperson to explain their company’s commitment to sustainable agriculture. These Cabot farmers are a passionate group!

A Cheddar Master and Cheese Grader to show how they evaluated their renowned Cheddar cheeses and treat us to a Cheddar tasting,

and their Chef to cook us a fabulous meal.

It didn’t hurt that they brought a friend from Harpoon Brewery with some very tasty brews for us.

Simon Pearce Restaurant and Glass Shop:

They treated us to a fabulous demo by Chef Jarod Rockwell and a dinner at Simon Pearce Restaurant where Chef Rockwell serves as General Manager/Chef.

Chef Jarod showing us the meal. He could be forgiven for looking a little nervous. We were, after all, standing by with hungry expressions and forks.

Can you blame us?

We were also given the chance to watch Simon Pearce’s mind-bendingly skilled and focused glass-blowers creating their signature wine glasses and Christmas trees.

The King Arthur Flour Baking Education Center:

The highlights of the trip were, of course, the tour of King Arthur Flour’s facilities and the group baking classes. Chef Susan Reid and her team baked roughly a billion muffins to give us a real clear view of how King Arthur Flours perform against each other AND against competitor’s flours. Chef Instructors Amber Eisler, Jessica Meyers, Robyn Sargent, and Susan Miller walked us through making perfect pizza dough (and wood-fired, brick-oven pizza. WHAT A DREAM!), the basics of bread baking, creating the ultimate pie crust, fashioning a quick and tasty blitz puff pastry. I’m going to be sharing those recipes in the future, but for now, here’s a peek into what we did…

Take a minute to check out my fellow King Arthur Flour Blog & Bake™ participants:

Audra from The Baker Chick, Brandy from Nutmeg Nanny, Carole from Heirloom Meals, David from Spiced, Erika from In Erika’s Kitchen, Eva from Adventures in Cooking, Jen from Tiny Urban Kitchen, Jennifer from Bake or Break, Kate from Food Babbles, Katie from Healthy Seasonal Recipes, Marnely from Cooking with Books, and Tara, Food & Entertaining Director at Ladies’ Home Journal

Does this make you want to bake some bread?

I don’t blame you. I came away from the trip so enthused about baking that in the next week, I baked ten loaves of bread and made pizza for my family. I’m already trying to plan a trip to the Baker’s Education Center to take a class with my sisters and brothers.

Tomorrow, I’m going to share a recipe that was inspired by the time spent at King Arthur Flour: Roasted Garlic Rusted Sourdough Boule. Yeah. It is every bit as good as it sounds. Do come back. Great bread is meant to be shared!

Rebecca

Disclosure: King Arthur Flour provided lodging, cooking classes and meals to me free of charge. I provided my own transportation to and from the event and all opinions are most assuredly my own.

Filed Under: Product Reviews, Rebecca

A Harry & David Mother’s Day Giveaway {Giveaway Closed}

April 30, 2013 by Rebecca 173 Comments

Harry & David sent me a Mother’s Day Tower of Treats Gift Deluxe (ARV $59) to review and has offered to give an identical gift tower to one lucky Foodie with Family reader in celebration of Mother’s Day. I do so love Harry & David.

You know ‘Mom’ is ‘Wow’ upside down, right?

How perfect is that? Every mother is aware how very upside down and wowed you spend most of your days. We think we’ve gone down the rabbit hole with diapers and spit-up, but every single day proves that you ain’t seen nothing yet. It’s the beginning of a lifetime of your heart being a dishrag that just keeps sopping up love and being wrung out just in time to soak up more love that you didn’t see coming.

…Just in time for Mother’s Day, my good friends at Harry & David ride to the rescue once again with a perfect gift to give to a deserving mother in your life, whether it’s yours, your spouse’s, your own, or a really nice lady down the street who mothers all the lonely kids. THIS mom is telling you that a stack of pretty boxes filled with treats of all kinds and tied together with a beautiful satin ribbon is a splendiferous way to show your appreciation. Have you TRIED their Royal Riviera pears yet? Let me explain how good the pears are… Each opportunity I’ve had to review and give away one of Harry & David’s gifts, I’ve deliberately chosen one with the pears because they rock my world. There is no other pear that is so tender and juicy that it’s easiest to eat if you cut it in half and scoop the flesh with a spoon. Seriously. What mom wouldn’t love that?

It’s not just full of pears, though; look at all the goodies in there…

Most of us have more than one mama for whom to buy or make a gift. If you’re stuck for ideas, you must hop over to Harry&David and look at their selection of Mother’s Day gifts. If your mom loves gardening, cheesecake, fruit, wine, cheese, flowers, tea, candy, chocolates, cake, cookies, wreaths, and birdhouses, they have you covered and there’s still seven days to order and have your gift arrive on time!

The giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Terah, the college student! Please check your email and get back to me quickly. Your mama is going to be thrilled!

What is included in the Giveaway:

Harry & David will ship one (1) Mother’s Day Tower of Treats Gift Deluxe to one (1) Foodie with Family reader who will be chosen at random using the Pick Giveaway Winner plugin at the end of the giveaway.

How to Enter the Giveaway:

Leave a comment here on the blog telling me who you want to be on the receiving end of this package. Is it you? Is it your mom? Is it your sister/aunt/mother-in-law? Tell me why… I’m warning you, though, if you make it heart-felt, I’m probably going to cry. It’s just how I am.

Legal-ese:

One entry per email address, please. This will be strictly enforced with my patent pending Plasma Eye ™ (one of my motherhood-acquired gifts) across the board.
This giveaway is only open to residents of the continental United States. Apologies to my North, South, East and West of the border friends.
Entries will be accepted until noon EST on Friday, May 3rd, 2013. The winner will be announced here on this post at that point.

Filed Under: Giveaways!, Rebecca

Sweet and Sour Ham Ball Stir-Fry | Make Ahead Mondays

April 29, 2013 by Rebecca 5 Comments

Today’s Make Ahead Mondays recipe makes use of a recipe for Ham Balls that I shared about two and a half years ago. The recipe by itself remains one of our family’s all-time favourites. It gets a little new life breathed into it in the form of the stir-fry shared below. The ham ball recipe will hook you, but the stir fry recipe will make you love me. Best yet, with a stash of ham balls in the freezer, you’re only about fifteen minutes away from that pot full of deliciousness pictured above. Who loves you? Me! MWAH!

This is one of those meals that reinforces the value of having some meal building blocks stashed in the freezer at all times. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I can’t and/or won’t do once a month cooking. I’m far too fickle and what sounds good the day I put it in the deep freeze sounds abhorrent just days later. Aside from just plain being capricious, once a month cooking tends to rely on casseroles and I’m -while not anti-casserole- not a huge casserole lover. I sometimes think that the freezer is the most misused gadget that lives in every single home.

That meal in the picture above, though? I could eat that six ways from Sunday and that makes great use of the freezer as do many Make Ahead Mondays recipes. Ham balls are fabulous to freezer both because after eating them like a gluttonous pig for Easter Sunday dinner and a couple of days beyond, I’m anxious to stash them beyond my sight so I don’t eat myself ill. Popped into a heavy-duty resealable zipper-top bag with the air squeezed out, they take up very little freezer space and are there waiting for the inevitable day a few weeks later that I once again crave them.

Usually, that craving involves gussying them up a bit as in the case of today’s drool-worthy dish: Sweet and Sour Ham Ball Stir-Fry. I love this dish brimming with the sweet and salty ham balls, crisp-tender rainbow bell peppers and onions, tart pineapple pieces, all enrobed in an Asian-inspired sauce of chicken stock, soy sauce, Sriracha, and sesame oil. This beautiful meal is thrown together faster than it takes the pot of rice or noodles on which you’ll serve it to be done. The ham balls are already fully cooked, so they don’t need much more than a heat-through to be table ready. In order to keep from having warm ham balls with mushy stir vegetables and pineapple, we cook them separately and combine them at the end. This keeps our meat hot, sauce just-thick-enough, and vegetables crisp-tender… just the way it oughta be.

I mentioned noodles or rice just a second ago, so I want to address that for a moment. Serve it on whatever you want, obviously, but I’m partial to using rice here because it soaks up all that luscious sauce.

Friends, if you don’t already have post-Easter ham balls stashed in your freezer, I encourage you to whip up a batch toute de suite. If you make a full sized batch (or even a double batch!) you’ll have enough for a big, hearty ham ball meal AND a couple of batches of Sweet and Sour Ham Ball Stir-Fry. I call that a delicious return on your time investment!

XO,

Rebecca

Sweet and Sour Ham Ball Stir-Fry | Make Ahead Mondays

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Sweet and Sour Ham Ball Stir-Fry | Make Ahead Mondays

The whole family loves this dish brimming with the sweet and salty ham balls, crisp-tender rainbow bell peppers and onions, tart pineapple pieces, all enrobed in an Asian-inspired sauce of chicken stock, soy sauce, Sriracha, and sesame oil. This beautiful meal is thrown together faster than it takes the pot of rice or noodles on which you'll serve it to be done because it makes use of previously cooked ham balls.

Ingredients

3 medium sized bell peppers, any colours (I prefer one each of red, orange, and green.), stems and seeds removed and thinly sliced into strips
1 large yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced into strips
2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons canola, peanut, vegetable or grapeseed oil, divided
24 frozen or refrigerated ham balls along with any syrup with which they were frozen or refrigerated
1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks packed in juice (*See Notes), drained with the juice preserved
1 to 1 3/4 cups low-sodium or home canned chicken stock or broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1-3 tablespoons Sriracha hot sauce, depending on heat preference
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
hot cooked rice or noodles for serving

Instructions

Pour the pineapple juice into a 4-cup capacity liquid measuring cup. Add enough chicken stock or broth to bring the liquid level to 2 cups. Whisk the sesame oil and Sriracha into the pineapple juice/chicken stock mixture and set aside. In a separate small bowl, use a fork or whisk to create a paste from the soy sauce and cornstarch. Set this aside as well.

Add the teaspoon of canola (or other) oil to the bottom of a high-sided, large skillet or frying pan over high heat. Toss in the sliced onion and stir fry it until fragrant and beginning to take on just a tinge of colour round the edges, about 2 minutes. Add in the thinly sliced bell peppers, garlic, and salt and stir fry,still over high heat, until the pepper strips are hot all of the way through, but still very crisp.

Transfer the peppers, onions and garlic to a heat proof bowl and set aside, uncovered. This prevents the peppers from overcooking.

Return the pan to the heat and add the remaining teaspoon of oil, heat until shimmery and add the ham balls along with any syrup with which they were frozen or refrigerated. Lower the heat to medium high and stir until the syrup has boiled and reduced to a dark, very thick and sticky consistency. Add the pineapple chunks to the pan and quickly stir fry.

The pineapple should become coated in the sticky ham ball syrup. Whisk the reserved cornstarch and soy sauce paste into the pineapple juice and chicken stock mixture then pour over the ham balls and pineapple and stir.

Bring the sauce to a boil and then drop the heat to medium low and simmer until it is thick enough to leave a trail when you pull your finger through it down the back of a spoon. Return the peppers, onions and garlic to the pan, toss to distribute everything evenly and cook just until the peppers and onions are hot all the way through again.

Serve over freshly cooked hot rice or the noodles of your choice with additional soy sauce and Sriracha.

Notes

*Do not use pineapple chunks packed in syrup if you can avoid it. If that's all you have handy, drain and rinse the pineapple chunks and discard the syrup. In place of the pineapple juice you would've used, use all chicken stock or broth. It won't be quite as tart as it would've been, but it'll still be delicious.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/04/29/sweet-and-sour-ham-ball-stir-fry-make-ahead-mondays/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Main Dish, Make Ahead Mondays, Rebecca, Recipes

Spinach and Feta Grilled Turkey Burgers

April 24, 2013 by Rebecca 28 Comments

Turkey burgers usually suffer from an identity crisis. They’re shaped like a burger, they’re made from ground meat, they’re served on buns, but -good golly- they are usually shoe leather dry and sorrowfully bland. The dry bit is because we all like our stomachs where they are in the shape they’re already in and in order to keep them there, one must cook turkey to the requisite safe temperature (165°F in the thickest part, thankyouverymuch). This means it’s gonna take a while.

Because of this, turkey burgers need to have added moisture be it in the form of water, broth, egg, blahblahblah. When this happens, they’re unfortunately prone to falling apart which means that most people don’t want to bother grilling them because it’s a serious pain in the tuckus to avoid the fally apparty* nature of the juiced up ground meat.

*Don’t even give me grief for that. Can you think of a better way to describe it?

To add more body back into the burger, lots of folks add bread crumbs in as a binder which puts us back at the point we were trying to avoid: dry burgers.

HOWEVAH, there’s a solution. Not only does the solution taste great, but it also adds veggies to your burgers which ups the healthy quotient of the sandwich. Win/win, right?

How to Keep Your Turkey Burgers Moist:

Here’s how it’s done; we very gently wilt spinach in hot olive oil that is flush with roasted garlic. Are you happy yet? Roasted garlic always makes me happy! The roasted garlic is another flavour boost for the poor flavour-deficient turkey bird. Notice I said gently. You don’t want to cook the spinach down to mush… You’re going to stop at the point where the spinach has gone from a big old pile like this:

…to a little old pile like this. Please notice that the spinach isn’t mush and still has some body.

At this point, you gently load the spinach into a colander over a plate and let it drain WITHOUT squishing, squeezing or otherwise molesting the spinach. Because we’re letting the spinach take some of its naturally abundant liquid with it, the spinach stores the liquid until the meat heats up on the grill and releases it INSIDE the burger. That way we don’t have sloppy, wet, fally aparty (Yes, I said it again.), sorry turkey burgers.

Let it cool like this until it’s room temperature. Right here? I usually pop it in the refrigerator overnight in a covered container. You could carry on with the burgers immediately, but I like my spinach cold before I mix it into the burger meat. Whether you cool it or proceed toute de suite, the next step is the same: chop the spinach roughly. We’re not talking itty bitty spinach morsels here, we’re talking about just breaking it up so you can distribute it through the meat a little more evenly.

Mix the chopped spinach into the meat with the crumbled feta, some black pepper, and a bit of salt. Oh hey! That feta brings moisture and flavour to the party, too!

Divide into four or six even balls and form into burgers.

How to Keep your Turkey Burgers from Falling Apart on the Grill:

Okay, here’s one of my never-skip-steps for turkey burgers. After forming the patties, I put them on a parchment lined cookie sheet and pop them in the freezer while I’m preheating the grill. I don’t heat that grill ahead of time, because that little rest in the freezer (unlike beef, which you’d want to cook closer to room temp) helps hold them together in their initial slap onto the grill. This in turn gives the meat a chance to firm up under heat before you go messing with it and flipping it over. Don’t just take my word for it, though; give it a try.

Now I’m about to tell you something that you’d better not ignore. When you gently ease those patties onto the heated and oiled grill you want to be sure you’re putting each one exactly where you want it to stay for six minutes, because you are not even to THINK about moving those until the six minute mark. This is your truest hope of keeping the burgers intact. After six minutes, the meat will have cooked enough to hold together when you flip it. And once you flip it? DON’T TOUCH THAT GRILL for at least eight minutes (unless it’s to lower the heat because you got hungry and antsy and upped the temperature too much.) Turkey needs a little more finessing on the grill than beef, there’s no getting around it, but it tastes so good when it’s done right.

And let me tell you these smell insanely good while they’re grilling. How good do they smell?

Let’s just say my turkey burgers bring all the chickens to the yard.

XO Rebecca

Spinach and Feta Grilled Turkey Burgers

Ingredients

1 bag baby spinach (6 ounces)
4 cloves roasted garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 pound 93% lean ground turkey
4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste
4-6 hamburger buns (I like whole wheat here.)
extra olive oil for oiling the grates and brushing the buns before toasting.

Optional Garnish:

mixed greens
mayonnaise
Dijon mustard
Roasted Garlic Whipped Feta

Instructions

Pour the teaspoon of olive oil in a heavy skillet with a tight fitting lid over high heat. When it is shimmery and hot add the roasted garlic to the pan and stir for about 10 seconds or until it's fragrant. Add the spinach all at once and flip it a couple of times with tongs. Turn the heat off, add the lid and let sit for 2 minutes. Remove the lid, flip a couple more times, add the lid and leave for 1 more minute. Use the tongs to gently transfer the spinach and garlic to a colander on a plate. Let it rest until room-temperature. Either chill in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or proceed to the next step.

Roughly chop the wilted spinach and garlic so you can more easily mix it through the ground turkey. Add it to a mixing bowl with the turkey, feta, salt, and pepper. Gently but thoroughly mix everything together until all of the ingredients are evenly distributed. Form into 4 to 6 burger patties that are at least 3/4 of an inch thick. Place the formed patties onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and let it rest in the freezer while you preheat your grill.

Preheat your grill to medium-high. Soak a wadded paper towel generously with olive oil and use tongs to rub it over the clean grill grates, heavily oiling them. Ease the burger patties onto the grill and do not move them for 6 minutes, leaving the cover of the grill open. After 6 minutes, flip the burgers just once and let them continue to cook for 8-10 minutes, or until the burgers release from the grill and the interior temperature of the thickest part of the burgers reaches 165°F. Transfer the burgers to a clean plate.

Brush each of the insides of the buns with olive oil and toast them directly on the grill just until they have grill marks. Use tongs or a spatula to transfer the buns to a clean plate or baking sheet.

Serve each burger on a bun topped as desired.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/04/24/spinach-and-feta-grilled-turkey-burgers/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Chicken and other Poultry, Happy Healthy and Wise, Main Dish, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, kid friendly, party food, quick and easy, seasonal

Garlic Bagel Chips | Make Ahead Mondays

April 22, 2013 by Rebecca 12 Comments

Garlic Bagel Chips rock my Casbah. I’m pretty sure just about everyone out there has tried them at one time or another, but it should come as no surprise that the homemade variety -fresh and crisp and hot- from your own oven is THAT much better. That they’re ridiculously simple to make is icing on the cake …Or cream cheese on the bagel, if you will.

There are really only two tricks you need to keep in mind when making your own bagel chips.

Do not eat the bagels you intend to turn into chips. Don’t laugh. I really need this reminder.
Take your time slicing the bagels. Ultimately, the direction you cut the bagel doesn’t matter as much as getting the slices uniformly thin (as much as is possible) and generally the same size.

Here’s the beauty of making them yourself.

Homemade Bagel Chips are crispy without being rock hard. You can salt them as much (yes, please!) or as little as you’d like. You can completely control how much of what kind of bagel you like best; for instance, I a-d-o-r-e dark bagels. I love pumpernickel, rye, and whole wheat. If I can control myself around the fresh bagels, I like to have a higher concentration of those dark bagels for chips than any others. If I can’t (and you can tell from the picture above that I suffered a huge lapse in self-control) then I have more white bagel chips. If you have topped and/or seedy bagels, they work beautifully here. Toss any toppings that fell off of the bagels during slicing into the bowl when you add the salt and they should re-stick by virtue of the oil coating on the bagel slices.

Make more than you think you need.

Believe you me, you’re going to have a heckuva time keeping your hands off of these things when they’re warm from the oven. Be kind to yourself and make a double batch to compensate for what you’re going to inevitably consume while they’re still hot. Why do you want so many around? Here’s a list just to get you started: croutons on salads or soups, topped with a schmear of cream cheese and a little smoked salmon as an appetizer, in place of crackers with a cheese tray, or served plain or with dip as a snack. I’m sure there’s more, but isn’t that enough, really?

Garlic Bagel Chips | Make Ahead Mondays

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Garlic Bagel Chips | Make Ahead Mondays

No one in my house can keep their hands out of the jar of garlic bagel chips. These perfectly crispy, salty, garlicky bagel crisps are an addictive snack! Eat them plain, with dip or topped with a little schmear of cream cheese and a little smoked salmon for a second-to-none appetizer.

Ingredients

6 savoury bagels, any variety (I like a mixture of pumpernickel and white bagels, most often of the everything sort.)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 250°F.

Slice the bagels thinly -no thicker than 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch. How you slice them doesn't matter as much as how uniform they are. Take the time to make the slices as close to each other in size as you can. Put the bagel slices in a deep mixing bowl.

In a small liquid measuring cup, use a fork or small whisk to combine the olive oil and granulated garlic or garlic powder. Drizzle this over the bagel slices and use your hands to toss until the oil is evenly distributed. Scatter the salt over the top and toss again to evenly distribute it.

Divide the bagel slices between two pans, trying to keep them in a single layer. Bake for 45 minutes, rotating the pans ever 15 minutes, or until crisp but not hard. Remove the pans from the oven and let the chips cool completely on the pans before transferring to a jar or other container with a tight fitting lid.

These store very well at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 10 days.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/04/22/garlic-bagel-chips-make-ahead-mondays/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, kid friendly, party food, quick and easy, Snacks, Super Bowl, Vegetarian

Piña Colada Smoothies | Vegan and Dairy Free

April 17, 2013 by Rebecca 18 Comments

Piña Colada Smoothies are my new go-to smoothie. They’re kind of fabulous.

You know how I’ve told you I was a picky eater when I was a kid? I was a total texture-phobe and I was dead picky about flavour combinations. My mom now says, “Hey, we just didn’t know you were gourmet.” My mom is the Queen of the Euphemism.

I must’ve been a righteous pain in the rear to feed.

The reason I’m confessing this (again) is that pineapple and coconut were both on my no-fly list. I didn’t like pineapple because of the stringy texture. I didn’t like coconut because the sum exposure I had to coconut in Northern Michigan in the 70s and 80s was the über-sweetened stuff in the middle of Mounds candy bars or in a macaroon. Both grossed me out, so piña coladas were a serious no go.

Fast forward to now and my insatiable desire to eat both of those ingredients. (Okay, I still dislike sweetened coconut flakes, but honestly, can you blame me?) I love the fruity, tangy, acidic pineapple AND its texture. I can’t get enough coconut milk -which I’m pretty sure is an ingredient given to humanity by the grace of God-, fresh coconut or unsweetened coconut flakes.

And piña coladas? Well, until recently they were still on my no-fly list because -frankly- I don’t really like alcoholic smoothies, which is what I always viewed piña coladas as being. Pardon me while I go bang my head against the wall for a moment, would ya?

THUD THUD THUD

Howzabout just omitting the hooch, dingbat?

The result of leaving out the high octane stuff was a creamy, dreamy, coconutty, silken pineapple, thick concoction that pretty much makes my eyes roll back into my head. Let me let you in on a little something… There is ZERO added sugar and there doesn’t need to be because the frozen bananas do double duty. They thicken the mixture to milkshake consistency and they sweeten it to boot. Oh and HEY! If you happen to be vegan or cutting back on dairy OR allergic to anything dairy, this is still kosher for you (small ‘k’ kosher because I make no claim to understand kosher law!)

It’s warming up out there, friends. You need this in your lives this summer.

Double Bonus: If you have leftover smoothie (HA. Like that would happen here unless I plan for it.) you can freeze it in ice pop molds for some wicked good popsicles. You are welcome. Mwah.

Rebecca

Piña Colada Smoothies | Vegan and Dairy Free

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Piña Colada Smoothies | Vegan and Dairy Free

These super creamy, indulgent tasting, family friendly pineapple and coconut Piña Colada Smoothies will transport you to the tropics in a matter of minutes. Using only 3 easy-to-find and healthy ingredients just boosts the appeal of this naturally vegan, dairy-free treat!

If you've got a hankering to make this a true piña colada, you can stir in a shot of rum before serving.

Ingredients

1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple in juice
1 can (13.5 ounces) coconut milk
3 bananas, peeled and frozen

Optional Garnish:

A slice of pineapple
a dusting of shredded coconut

Instructions

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend on high until smooth. Divide between glasses and serve immediately!

Leftovers can be frozen in ice pop form.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/04/17/pina-colada-smoothies-vegan-and-dairy-free/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Beverages, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: Beverages, Breakfast, dessert, family-friendly, kid friendly, quick and easy, Snacks, vegan, Vegetarian

Ancient Grains Cranberry Dark Chocolate Granola| Make Ahead Mondays

April 15, 2013 by Rebecca 9 Comments

I am more than just a wee bit obsessed with granola.

I eat it on yogurt with fruit almost every day. On the days when I don’t have it on yogurt, I have it, um, on my hands. As in, I eat it by the handful. I especially adore clumpy clusters of granola. While I’ve been making my own granola for years, I recently discovered KIND Cranberry Dark Chocolate Clusters and I couldn’t get enough.

I was hooked on the super crispy, crunchy, just-sweet-enough combo that was studded with tiny little chopped dried cranberries and had little morsels of chocolate adhered to the crunchy bits. My word… who wouldn’t be, I ask you?

I’m not the only one in my family with a thaaaaang for granola, though. Every single one of my guys can plough through it at such a pace that it’s a wonder they ever get more than a few steps away from a toilet.

Oh gosh. That was probably really unappetizing of me to say that. Apologies. It’s what comes of living with six males.

The point is this… my dainty little bags of KIND clusters were disappearing at an alarming rate. I had to do something. I had to make my own.

Thankfully, granola making isn’t rocket science and today’s recipe was not only a fairly simple one to nail down the way I wanted it, but it’s a ridiculously easy recipe to repeat.

In short, you stir stuff together.

Now, there’s a little trick to getting the clumps but it’s not taxing; you firmly press the sticky wet mixture together with a stiff spatula in the form of a rectangle (“Wonder Twin powers activate! Form of… A RECTANGLE! Form of… A SPATULA!”) When you remove the granola to give it a stir, you restrain yourself and -instead- flip the mixture over with the spatula, then press it together again and bake. Then, when the baking is finished, you sprinkle with the chocolate (CHOCOLATE GRANOLA!) and press the little ruby-hued bits of dried cranberry into the whole lot and let it cool before you mess with it again. Ta da! Giant slab-o-granola just waiting to be broken into clumpy bits. What a happy, happy thing to load into jars!

This has an enthusiastic stamp of approval from every single member of my household, INCLUDING the no-fruit duo who -for whatever reason- do not seem to mind tiny minced bits of dried cranberries but would rather stage a dramatic hunger strike than eat a WHOLE dried cranberry. Whatever. If it ain’t broke…

Ancient Grains Cranberry Dark Chocolate Granola| Make Ahead Mondays

Rating: 51

Ancient Grains Cranberry Dark Chocolate Granola| Make Ahead Mondays

This isn't just any old homemade granola, this is power food! Protein packed by virtue of it's amazing medley of quinoa, millet, amaranth, and rice, this sweet, crunchy Ancient Grains Cranberry Dark Chocolate Granola takes the cake for nutrition AND taste, too. It bakes up nice and clumpy, too, making it an ideal healthy out-of-hand snack! It tastes almost exactly like KIND Cranberry Dark Chocolate Clusters.

Ingredients

8 cups whole rolled oats
1 cup puffed brown rice or white rice cereal
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (red or white)
1/2 cup uncooked millet
1/2 cup uncooked amaranth
1/4 cup untoasted white sesame seeds
1 3/4 cups brown rice syrup, honey, light agave syrup, Lyle's Golden Syrup, light corn syrup, maple syrup, molasses or a combination thereof. (*See Notes)
1/2 cup almond butter (or your preferred nut butter: peanut, sunflower, cashew, etc...)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vanilla paste or real vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries, chopped into small bits
1 1/2 cups finely chopped dark chocolate or miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line two rimmed half-sheet pans with silpats or parchment paper and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl toss together the oats, puffed rice cereal, quinoa, millet, amaranth, and sesame seeds with your hands. In a smaller mixing bowl, whisk together whichever combination of sweet syrup/honey you're using, the almond or other nut butter, the salt and the vanilla paste or extract until smooth. Pour this over the oat mixture and stir until everything is evenly coated. Divide the mixture between the two lined pans and press it into a rectangle with the back of a spoon or spatula.

Place the pans in the oven, immediately lower the temperature of the oven to 225°F, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and use a spatula to flip the mixture over in sections. It may fall apart as you do this, but do your best to flip it all over and make sure the stuff from the edges is now toward the center. Press it back together with the spatula and return to the oven for another 30 minutes. The mixture should be very sticky. To test whether it has been cooked enough, pull a pinch from the center and let it come to room temperature. If it is crispy, it has baked enough. If it is still sticky, it may require as much as another 30 minutes of baking. If you need to return it to the oven, repeat the flipping it over in sections and pressing it back together before returning the pans to bake longer.

When the granola is done toasting, remove the pans from the oven and sprinkle the chopped chocolate evenly between the two pans. Use your hands to break up the chopped cranberries and sprinkle those evenly over the two pans as well. After the cranberries are added, use the palms of your hands to press the cranberries into the mixture. Let it cool completely on the pans and then break up into a mixing bowl before storing in jars or other containers with tight fitting lids.

The granola is good for up to a month when stored at room temperature in an airtight container.

Notes

*While you can use any combination of these liquid sweeteners to make your granola, I do recommend using at least half brown rice syrup, honey, or corn syrup for their super sticky qualities. You can make up the rest with maple syrup, agave syrup or Lyle's Golden Syrup, or add up to 1/4 cup of molasses. Any more molasses tends to be a bit too bitter.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/04/15/ancient-grains-cranberry-dark-chocolate-granola-make-ahead-mondays/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com