Posts Tagged ‘eggs’

Greens Galore

Saturday, March 3rd, 2012

Why do kids (supposedly) dislike green foods so much? Is it their way of rebelling against something that’s “good for you”? Is it a taste or a texture thing? Or is it just something they’ve been culturally programmed to dislike, even before they’ve had a chance to try it?

Many kids are raised to eat greens from the beginning; but at about the 2-year-old mark, when kids start to be more picky about the foods they eat, even some of the most open-minded kids start to rebel – and usually the rebellion is over healthy foods. Sure, some kids continue to be omnivores even through this picky stage. (We’re lucky to have one in our family. Even if he doesn’t like a food, he’ll cheerfully announce, “I don’t like this,” and go ahead and eat it.) But other kids struggle with tastes that are too strong, textures that are unfamiliar, and colors that are anything other than bland.

We recently had a chance to sample a variety of great-tasting greens from Cut N Clean Greens, and it got us thinking: Why don’t more kids eat greens readily? Personally, we think they’re delicious, but what it would take to make a reluctant child think so too?

The first product we tried was the IRONman greens salad kit (spinach and beet greens), which comes complete with a small packet of bacon dressing. Bacon? Ding, ding, ding!!!! If there’s anything that can get kids excited about eating salad, it’s bacon. So we cooked up some bacon and crumbled it into the salad.

Then our four-year-old (the omnivore) looked over at the big basket of fresh strawberries we’d just bought from the farmers’ market and said, “Why don’t we put some strawberries in the salad?” Bingo! The IRONman bacon/strawberry salad was born. And yes, the whole family ate it all in one sitting. The bacon dressing was perfect because it was very light and just slightly sweet, so our kids who usually don’t like dressing on the salad enjoyed it as a welcome change.

Next we thought about the fact that some of the more “bitter” greens (putting that in quotes because they don’t taste bitter to many adults, but some kids find the flavor too strong) could benefit from pairing with something bland. Since it was Dr. Seuss’ birthday weekend, we decided on a kid-friendly Greens, Eggs, and Ham Frittata.

For this recipe, we used the Euro Greens (Swiss chard, mustard greens, turnip greens, and kale) mix from Cut N Clean Greens, but you can use any greens you have on hand. To prepare the greens, we chop them down and saute them briefly in olive oil until they are wilted.

Greens, Eggs, and Ham Frittata

1 tablespoon olive oil

6 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1 tablespoon nonfat Greek yogurt

1 cup greens, chopped and cooked

1/2 cup cooked ham, cut into cubes

1 russet potato, cooked, peeled, and chopped in cubes

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a heavy cast-iron skillet with the oil (including up the sides), and heat the skillet over medium heat. Meanwhile, whisk or blend the eggs, milk, and yogurt together in a large bowl. (Best if you can use a hand-cranked mixer; even better if you can use a small person as your assistant.)

Add the greens, ham, and potato and stir until just combined. Pour the mixture into the skillet. Cook over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, or until the sides start to become firm. Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the egg mixture has set. Cut into wedges and serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.

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You think that’s all we’ve got up our sleeve? Think again. Stay tuned for more kid-friendly greens recipes coming up this week. Hint: St. Patrick’s Day is coming!

Posted Under: Nutrition, Parenting | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
This post was written by jollytomato on March 3rd, 2012

Viennese Torte

Sunday, November 13th, 2011

Did you ever have one of those old-style recipes that you just don’t feel right about making anymore? In my case it was my mom’s seven-layer Viennese torte, which features a delicious chocolate buttercream that calls for raw eggs. Unfortunately, the fear of salmonella has scared me away from serving this special dessert for fear of kids or guests getting sick.

But happily, there’s now a way to get around the problem: Safest Choice eggs, which are pasteurized so you can eat them raw without fear of salmonella. The eggs are treated in a special warm-water bath that eliminates bacteria but keeps the eggs raw so use can use them in your favorite recipes that call for uncooked or semi-cooked eggs. I learned about Safest Choice eggs while at Camp Blogaway, and I’ve been excited about making Viennese torte again ever since then.

This recipe is one of many, many versions of a classic Viennese torte known as the Dobos torte, which was first created by a Hungarian chef in the late 19th century. The unifying theme among all variations on the Dobos torte is layers…lots and lots of layers. We always call this the Seven-Layer Torte but usually I make it with just six. Regardless, it’s always been a crowd (and kid) favorite in our family. The best part is that it looks like it takes a lot of work, but if you’re short on time, there’s a super-easy shortcut that will still give you one heckuva great cake without having to bake the sponge cake from scratch.

Seven-Layer Viennese Torte

For the frosting:

6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

½ cup boiling water

4 Safest Choice egg yolks

1 T cognac or brandy (optional)

1 stick butter at room temperature

Put the chocolate chips and the boiling water in a blender; blend until smooth. Add egg yolks, cognac (you can skip this if you are making cake for kids), and butter and continue blending until smooth. The frosting will be creamy but may appear a little runny. Pour it into a bowl and cover it loosely; refrigerate for 2 hours until it is thick and creamy.

For the cake (the “easy” way):

1 large poundcake, frozen

Carefully slice the poundcake into seven horizontal layers (or six, if that’s all you can get out of it). Spread frosting carefully over the first layer, top with the second layer of cake, frost again, and repeat until the layers are neatly stacked and frosted. Spread remaining frosting on the top and outside of the loaf.

Chill until ready to serve, for at least an hour. Slice in rectangular pieces about 1/2 inch thick. Serves 12.

For the cake (the ”authentic” way – adapted from The Daring Kitchen):

6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature

1 and 1/3 cups powdered sugar, divided

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sifted cake flour (or substitute 1 cup white flour plus 2 T. cornstarch)

Pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare two large flat jelly roll pans (cookie pans with a 1-inch lip) by cutting a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of each.

Place the egg yolks together in a medium bowl. Add 2/3 cup of the powdered sugar and the vanilla to the egg yolks, and then blend with a hand mixer until the mixture is thick and pale yellow, about 3 minutes. In a separate bowl, with clean beaters, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 2/3 cup powdered sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Using a soft rubber spatula, gradually and gently fold the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture (some white streaks should remain). Sift together the flour, cornstarch, and salt and fold it in to the egg mixture slowly and carefully.

Divide the mixture in half and spread each half thinly on top of the parchment paper on the jelly roll/cookie sheet. Bake in the top rack of the oven for five minutes, or until just barely golden brown around the edges. Invert the cakes on a cutting board and peel the paper off the back.

Cut each sheet into three equal rectangles. Set the first rectangle on a platter and cover it with a layer of frosting. Place a second layer on top of the first, frost, and then repeat for the remaining layers. Use the remaining frosting to cover the sides and top. Chill until ready to serve, for at least an hour. Slice in 1/2-inch thick rectangles. Serves 12.

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Postscript: Is it delicious? Well, you’ll have to ask these two rascally raccoons. I spent about an hour taking pictures of the cake in the backyard, and then I suddenly remembered I had to pick something up at the school, so I dashed out…and when I returned these mischievous varmints were sitting out on the table enjoying a fancy dessert, complete with red rose. They gave it two paws up, and I think you will too.

Posted Under: Just For Fun | Tags: , , , , ,
This post was written by jollytomato on November 13th, 2011

Kitchen Sink Foods

Thursday, May 26th, 2011

Heading out on a long vacation? Moving? Or is it just time to clean out the refrigerator?  No matter what the reason, there are days when you need to use up the food in the fridge, and re-heating those leftovers just doesn’t sound appealing.  Can food be made just as appetizing – or even more so – the second time around? (This has been a big question on our minds because we’re moving over the weekend and we’re trying to empty out the refrigerator as much as possible before the big day.) The answer is “yes” if you know how to make ”kitchen sink” foods – i.e. creative ways to use up just about everything in the kitchen sink.

Here are some of our tried-and-true strategies:

Pasta: Pasta is a great food companion. By that we mean it’s happy to be paired with just about anything. Do you have too much spinach in your fridge? Saute it in some olive oil and toss it with pasta. Leftover rotisserie chicken? Tear it into pieces and toss it with pasta. Extra chili? Serve it over a bed of…you get the idea. We made this pasta dish by sauteeing onions, fresh spinach, chopped sundried tomatoes, garbanzo beans, and leftover crumbled cooked bacon. We stirred in some cooked ditalini pasta, put in a splash of white wine, simmered it for a few minutes, and voila! Instant confetti pasta – and it helped us empty out at least three different containers in the fridge.

Fried rice: We love making fried rice to use up leftover rice – and to use up those eggs. Heat a little butter or oil in a large pan, add chopped veggies to cook, then add the rice and mush it around so it de-clumps. Once the rice is warmed through, add one or two scrambled eggs, and cook, stirring frequently, until the egg is solid.

Quesadillas: The great thing about quesadillas is that you can hide just about anything inside. All you need are the basic staples of tortillas and cheese. We made these “broccodillas” with a mixture of leftover mozzarella, cheddar, and Monterey Jack cheeses, plus some steamed broccoli.

Salsas: This is another super-sneaky way to use up fruits and vegetables. It helps if you have some fresh onions or spicy peppers, but there’s pretty much no limit on what you can combine. We’ve had watermelon-cucumber salsa, mango-bell pepper salsa, tomato-orange salsa…the list goes on. Plus it’s a good way to use up those half-eaten bags of chips.

Smoothies: Ahhh, the good old smoothie. Of course we make smoothies to use up milk, yogurt, bananas, and strawberries. But we’ve also been known to toss in tofu, peanut butter, hard-boiled eggs, or just about anything that will blend up smoothly and neutrally. Bonus tip: If you have just a small amount of jam left in a jar, add that to the smoothie to give it a little more color and sweetness.

Frittatas: Have a lot of eggs? Make a frittata. It’s basically the same idea as an omelet (lots of goodies in an egg) but with a frittata, the goodies are mixed in along with the egg mixture (rather than folded in) and the frittata bakes in the oven after being partially cooked on the stove. Start by sauteeing or reheating whatever ingredients you want to use in an ovenproof skillet (onions, potatoes, bacon, ham, carrots, celery, peppers, etc.); pour in a few well-scrambled eggs; cook in the pan until the bottom of the egg mixture is set; then finish by baking it in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the center is firm.

Goofy Stuff: Sometimes you just don’t have a clear picture of what you want to make, but you know you have some food you need to use up. Who says you need to follow the rules? We took the Idaho Potato Commission’s Hasselback potato recipe and tossed in a few slices of pepperoni for the last ten minutes of baking. Sure, it’s a little odd, but everyone loved these “pep-otatoes.”

Is your refrigerator empty yet? We’ve got more boxes to pack, but we look forward to hearing what everyone else cooked this weekend. Happy cleaning, and happy weekend to all!

Posted Under: Just For Fun | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
This post was written by jollytomato on May 26th, 2011
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