Best baba ganoush recipe in the world? Agreed!

We have found ourselves with an abundance of eggplant this year. We have left it on the sidewalk in baskets with "free and organic" marked on them for passerbys, we have delivered them door-to-door, we have given them away in bag-fulls to people who swear they eat eggplant all the time. We have more growing, but this weekend, we finally picked a big bunch (two huge bowls) and make baba ganoush in bulk. The recipe below claims online to be the "best in the world" and I must say, we think this might be true. Remember all of the measurements are somewhat relative because eggplant come in all shapes and sizes, so mix it up as directed and then tweak as necessary. Happy Monday! xo

1 large eggplant
1/4 cup tahini, plus more as needed
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, plus more as needed
1 pinch ground cumin
salt, to taste
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup brine-cured black olives, such as kalamata


Directions:

Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill.

Preheat an oven to 375°F.

Prick the eggplant with a fork in several places and place on the grill rack 4 to 5 inches from the fire.

Grill, turning frequently, until the skin blackens and blisters and the flesh just begins to feel soft, 10 to 15 minutes.

Transfer the eggplant to a baking sheet and bake until very soft, 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven, let cool slightly, and peel off and discard the skin.

Place the eggplant flesh in a bowl.

Using a fork, mash the eggplant to a paste.

Add the 1/4 cup tahini, the garlic, the 1/4 cup lemon juice and the cumin and mix well.

Season with salt, then taste and add more tahini and/or lemon juice, if needed. Serve topped with extra olive oil if desired and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Peach Salsa...yum

 We cut into our first mealy peaches of the season this week which means it is peach salsa time! I have had this recipe for years and make some rendition of it every summer. If you don't have an ingredient, either leave it out, or substitute freely with what you have. My kids love this recipe, although Faith said she wants me to sub out orange juice for the pineapple juice next time. Easy peasy.

Peach Salsa
from America's Test Kitchen, late 1990s

2 ripe but firm peaches
1 small red bell pepper
1 small red onion
1/4 cup parsley
1 medium clove garlic
1/4 cup pineapple juice
6 tablespoons fresh lime juice (3 limes)
1 medium jalapeno chili
salt and pepper

Cut/chop/mince each ingredient to a size you like for salsa and mix together. Salt and pepper to taste. cover and refrigerate to blend flavors - at least one hour or up to four days.

See the heart in the parsley up there? Wishing you a wonderful day. xo

A delicious nut-free snack - Pepitas!

David is the cook in our family. Seriously. The guy is talented. I am the utilitarian, the-kids-can't-go-to-bed-unless-they've-eaten cook and while I can follow a recipe, I have very little intuition in the kitchen (unfortunately). So if you are a cook like David, you may not actually even consider this a recipe. But if you are a cook like me...well, here you go!

Here is one of our family's favorite snacks. Easy and delish:

Roasted Pepitas
Pepitas are also called Mexican pumpkin seeds and they can be found in most bulk food sections in grocery stores. They are inexpensive - even when organic. And if your kids love salty, but you have to stay away from tree-nuts at school, this is a great snack. (And yes, you can buy them already roasted, but they do not compare in taste...not even close.)

You will need raw pepitas, some salt that you like and Pam Cooking spray or something like it.

Dump a bunch of pepitas in a pan and turn your burner to a medium setting - you do not want to cook the pepitas too quickly. Spray the seeds one time with Pam and sprinkle on a small pinch of salt.

Shake the pepitas to get the bottom ones to the top, spray lightly one more time and sprinkle with salt. Stir or shake frequently to keep the pepitas moving while they roast.

It will take less than 5 minutes to roast a big batch. Pepitas actually pop like popcorn, so you'll know you're on the right track when you hear them popping. Finally, when about half of them are browned, I spray one more time lightly and add one more small pinch of salt.  

They are delicious warm or at room temperature. They'll keep for quite a while in a sealed container although they never last here long enough for me to know exactly how long you can store them. Here is a photo to show you how the color will change raw to roasted.

David built us these beautiful shelves for our nuts and grains because our old house has no storage. We copied them pretty much exactly from Heather. I kind of want to be Heather.

Anyways, she's introducing a new class today, so check it out if you're interested in infusing more whole food goodness into your days.

Do you have mixed feelings about cooking spray? Maybe reading this will help. And here is more than you need to know about the nutritional benefits of pepitas. xo!

Early Summer Salsa

I am not a natural cook in any way. I have to follow a recipe to the word, and if I'm out of something, I have little to no instinct for substitutions. Salsa, however, I can just make (and so can you). Aside from making it too salty, you just can't mess it up. And it is so delish! I've put more exact measurements in parentheses, but this really is a garden recipe where you just use what you have!

Early Summer Salsa

tomatoes, chopped (8 large)

onions, to taste, finely chopped (2)

cilantro, huge handful, finely chopped
garlic, chopped (3 cloves)

jalapeno, finely chopped (1)

splash of red wine vinegar

juice of 1 lemon

cumin (1T)

red pepper flakes, a couple shakes

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, stirring with each addition. Chop ingredients to the size you like - my kids will eat this as long as the flavorful elements are chopped small. Remember, salsa will be more tangy/salty/spicy on day two. Serve with chips and enjoy! xo

Best Banana Bread Recipe Ever. Ever!

My art room overhaul is progressing, but I just can't show you any more photos of the ceiling in here. The electricity is done for now and the painter will come tomorrow. Then there will be improvements to show. In the meantime, I'm trolling craigslist and enjoying this final week of school and all its festivities.

Thought I'd post a favorite recipe - banana bread seems perfect since we're in the season of fruit ripening much too quickly. Joey's friend submitted this - his grandmother's recipe - for our school's fundraising cookbook a few years ago and it never disappoints. "Where is the cinnamon...and the nuts?" you may ask. I know! But trust me. It's so moist, so delicious...I'm not a natural cook and this is a sure thing every single time. Hope you enjoy it! xo

Grammy Sue's Banana Bread

1 stick butter, softened

1 cup sugar (I use raw sugar)

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour (I use 1 cup white flour, 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour)

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

3 ripe bananas, mashed

chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together until smooth. Bake in a greased loaf pan for one hour. 

Valentine Recipe - Steamed Vanilla

Vanilla syrup is such a fun gift for kids of all ages (to give and recieve) and it's sooooooo easy to make.

Vanilla Syrup

3 cups sugar

3 cups water

3 Tbsp. vanilla

Bring sugar and water to a boil, simmer lightly for three minutes.
Stir in the vanilla and let cool to room temperature.
Pour into jars and refrigerate.

The recipe we include with it is for Steamed Vanilla. Again, so easy, and such a crowd pleaser. If your kids can't tolerate chocolate caffeine (cocoa) in the evenings, this is a great alternative (note that it still has plenty of spaz-inducing-for-some sugar).

Steamed Vanilla

Gently warm one cup of milk. 

Add 1 Tbsp. of vanilla syrup (or to taste). 

Pour into your favorite mug or cup.
If desired, sprinkle with cinnamon.

This gift can be given simply in glass jars. You could pair it with a whisk to fancy it up a bit. And it would be delicious accompanied with these cookies.

Please note that yes, I know I'm not a professional photographer or a food stylist. The syrup looks like dirty water and the drink looks like dirty milk...but trust me, it is delicious! xo

The Gorgeous Cookies

When we had our first friend over after our move to Connecticut, she entered my little house and upon being offered these cookies said, "Oh, they're gorgeous!" Hm? She spoke just like Martha Stewart (if that helps you imagine this) and I was completely intrigued...I didn't realize all my neighbors would speak just like Martha.

Well, all Connecticut-ians don't speak like Martha. As a matter of fact, only this one friend does as far as I can tell. But she called my cookies "gorgeous" and still (it's been 6+ years) everytime I make them, I think of her.

My "secrets" are raw sugar, white whole wheat flour, and waiting. I put the dough in the frig for at least a night before baking it up and I don't know what happens scientifically, but yum.mee. If you're trying to incorporate more whole grains into your life, I highly recommend this white whole wheat flour. I used to add 1/4 cup (maybe 1/3 cup) of traditional whole wheat flour into my batter and my kids would notice and complain. The white whole wheat still alters the dough's texture a bit, but not to deter the under-12 palate. Try it and see! I also love this vanilla.

Gorgeous Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 sticks butter, softened overnight

3/4 cup raw sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs, at room temperature

2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup white whole-wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 bag Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips

1/2 bag Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix butter, sugars and vanilla together until well blended. Mix a bit longer than you think you should. Add the eggs and beat one at a time. Add the flour, sprinkle baking soda on top of flour and blend it in with a fork. Now mix everything either on low or by hand. Add chips and stir in by hand.

Spread dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, wrap completely and then wrap again in foil. Put in refrigerator overnight or for up to three days.

Take dough out of frig and either slice it and put it on your cookie sheet, or give it 3o minutes or so to soften. Then put dollops of dough on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 12 minutes, depending on your oven and your personal preferences. My daughter takes them out of the oven a wee-bit undercooked, let's them continue cooking on the tray as they cool and calls them perfect! xo

Note: Dough can be frozen too - if I'm making batches to freeze, I double wrap the dough in plastic wrap and then single wrap it in foil.

Kid-pleasing candies! (or, if it looks like a plant...)

Today I'm sharing one of our favorite, "sure thing" recipes. Candies made from the above: square pretzels, Hershey's kisses and M&Ms.

First, spread the pretzels in a single layer on a cookie sheet with sides (to keep them in - this is a kid-friendly recipe). Unwrap the Kisses and put one on top of each pretzel - kids love doing this. The fact that all three of my kids have their hands in this photo, so they all three could be included was not planned or staged at all....no, no, not at all.

Next, put the cookie sheet in a preheated 225 degree oven for three minutes. (Once you make this once, you'll know exactly how long it takes...sometimes it's 2-and-a-half minutes, sometimes it's 3-and-a-quarter minutes.) You want the Kiss to melt just enough so that you can press the M&M easily into the Kiss, but not so melted that the chocolate leaks through to the bottom of the pretzel. Like I said, once you're doing it, this will make sense.

Take the tray out of the oven and push an M&M into each piece. The tray is not too hot, but it's hot enough that you should warn the children making these with you. Then make trays and trays more, and let sit (loosely covered) overnight. We of course were too disorganized the next morning to take pictures of the partaking...but know that one bag of each of the ingredients makes PLENTY for two classroom parties (or many teachers' gifts).

Next year at this time I WILL have an art project that includes re-purposing all that silver from the Kisses.

The "if it looks like a plant" title is because my dear friend Karen left me my one and only comment in my blog (love you Karen) and she wrote it as if she had just stumbled upon goodnessrecycled and was completely delighted! But in truth, her comment was planted here. And today feels like the perfect time to "fess up" because this recipe is hers, and I learned to make this after sitting in her kitchen for a decadent afternoon while she made it with her three kids.

One week until Christmas. I myself need to walk-the-walk here, but may we all stay balanced, grounded, and thankful. Life is indeed such a sweet sweet gift! xo