Posts Tagged ‘potatoes’

The Eating of the Green

Thursday, March 8th, 2012

Whenever I hear that song, “When Irish Eyes are Smiling” I think of my beloved Irish grandmother, whose eyes always had such a mischievous sparkle even when she had a stern look on her face. Sigh…But I digress.

St. Patrick’s Day is drawing near, and the food in our house is getting greener and greener. I am so happy that Cut N Clean Greens sent us a big box o’ greens to work with. I’ve been cooking green things all week long, with no sign of stopping.

First up on the list is this Green Cake (click for recipe), made green not by artificial food coloring, but by…rainbow chard. Very appropriate, right? Rainbow chard is perfect for this cake because it’s so mild – plus, once you cook the greens down and blend them, the colors all combine to make a vibrant green. While the cake is a little heavier than a “regular” cake, you really don’t taste the greens.

Steamed and pureed rainbow chard

The recipe is adapted from a spinach cake made by Mom! What’s for Dinner?, but it uses rainbow chard instead of the spinach, and the greens are cooked first. Also I swapped vegetable oil for the olive oil to give it a more neutral flavor. Then I topped it with cream cheese frosting because, well, who doesn’t love cream cheese frosting?

Note: I’m not pretending this dessert is a substitute for salad, and I’m not suggesting it as a way to hide vegetables from your kids. (Our kids knew that the cake had greens in it, but they were perfectly willing to eat it as long as it had frosting on top.) The main thing I’m trying to do is encourage the use of natural foods and food colors instead of food dyes – and in this case, the bright green hues of the rainbow chard certainly did the trick.

Next I made this pretty Green Colcannon – an Irish dish traditionally made by mashing potatoes with kale or cabbage. For this colcannon I used Cut N Clean’s Euro Greens, a mix of Swiss chard, mustard greens, turnip greens, and kale. For your kid helpers, the fun really is in mashing it all together. Many people use this as a side dish for corned beef, but it’s pretty hearty on its own, especially if you are eating meat-free.

Last but not least I did our own version of a shamrock shake by making this Shamrock Smoothie. It gets its green from steamed rainbow chard, but its true flavor is sweet, thanks to pineapple, banana, and honey. I love how light and fluffy this one blends up – and for that reason it’s best to serve it right away. Better to drink it up than to have a mischievous leprechaun steal it, right?

Posted Under: Just For Fun, Nutrition | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
This post was written by jollytomato on March 8th, 2012

Feast of the Seven Fishes

Saturday, December 3rd, 2011

A school of fish cookies waiting to be decorated

Have you ever participated in the Feast of the Seven Fishes? This Southern Italian feast featuring at least seven different seafood dishes is traditionally celebrated on Christmas Eve. Some of the most frequently served items include dried salt cod, eel, and sardines or anchovies. But like all American versions of ethnic traditions, it has frequently been adapted to reflect local flavors and family preferences.

At the Jolly Tomato household, we decided to host a Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner, but we wanted to make it kid-friendly too. (Let’s face it, even though we have some pretty open-minded seafood eaters, we were not expecting much luck with the salt cod.) So we put together a menu that was not too intimidating for our kid guests – and that the the adults could enjoy as well.

The menu, as presented by our 7-year-old

Feast of the Seven Fishes Menu:

Goldfish crackers

Shrimp cocktail

Mini crab cakes

Grilled salmon with lemon and rosemary

Greek-style cod

Crispy minced fish sticks

Fish cookies

All excited for goldfish crackers

Yes, I know you’re saying, “Goldfish crackers?!? Really?” But this was a quick leave-out appetizer that kept the kids entertained. We had two little guests who weren’t quite sure how they felt about fish, so this was an easy way to get them into the spirit right away.

Don't like shrimp? Fine - there's more for the rest of us!

Traditionally the Feast of the Seven Fishes includes quite a bit of shellfish, so shrimp seemed like the easiest way to incorporate that. It’s funny with kids and shrimp – they either tend to love it or hate it. We had a few shrimp-lovers in the crowd, along with a few shrimp-avoiders, so those of us who enjoy shrimp were happy to say – “More for us!” Note: The cocktail sauce is a simple mix of 1/2 cup ketchup and 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish.

Who wants some crabcakes?

Our third appetizer was mini crabcakes, which represent another easy way to get non-seafood-eating kids involved. In little cake form, they’re not quite so scary-looking as a whole crab; and the breading and seasonings make them a little more neutral-tasting for even the most picky palates. We had a small plate sitting on our appetizer table, and we noticed more than a few small hands reaching out for them; in fact, we even had one non-crab-loving adult try one.

Greek-style cod

On to the main meal: Our next fish was a Greek-style cod. This is a simple recipe that you can make with just about any sturdy whitefish: In a large pan, heat together over medium heat 1 tablespoon of butter, 1 tablespoon of grated lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons olive oil. When the butter is melted, saute thin slices of 1/2 red bell pepper, 1/2 yellow bell pepper, and 1/2 onion. When the vegetables are tender and translucent, add 1/2 cup sliced kalamata olives and stir for one additional minute. Next, carefully place four four-ounce steaks of cod (or other sturdy white fish) over the vegetables. Cover the pan and let simmer over low heat for five minutes, or until fish is fully steamed through and flaky.

Salmon cooks in 10 easy minutes on the grill

Next we served a grilled salmon, which is just about the easiest and tastiest main-course fish meal you can make. We took a large (1 1/2-pound) salmon fillet, laid it out on a large piece of foil, drizzled it with fresh lemon juice and garnished with fresh rosemary, and then grilled it (open-face, on the foil) over medium heat for about 10 minutes until it was tender and flaky.

Fish sticks and potato-crusted "fishies"

The next fish course was the subject of some debate. Should we stick to “real” fish to make it more authentic? Or should we dumb it down for the kids? The latter argument won out, as we decided to offer some fish sticks for the kids with the least adventurous palates. We offered some crispy fish sticks made with cod, and then some of Dr. Praeger’s Potato Crusted Fishies, which also happen to be gluten free. These little fish creatures are pretty yummy, but the overwhelming taste is of potatoes. So if you have a very reluctant fish eater like we had, these might be a good “starter” fish.

Fish cookies

Last but not least, we finished up with some fish cookies. We just used a simple butter cookie recipe and had the kids decorate to their heart’s content. We tried to keep the artificial colors to a minimum with plain white frosting and with just a few sprinkles. (Also scattered on the plate are some Swedish fish).

Sushi souvenirOh, and there was one more fish “course,” if you want to call it that. Our present to our young attendees was this little sushi Christmas ornament. So every time they look at the Christmas tree, they’ll remember the night we ate fish…after fish…after fish.

Posted Under: Just For Fun | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
This post was written by jollytomato on December 3rd, 2011

Kids at Work

Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011

Stressed out about cooking a Thanksgiving dinner? If your kids aren’t helping you out, it’s time to put them to work. Even the littlest ones can get into the act. Here’s a sample kids’ to-do list:

Set the table: You may not want to trust your kids with Great-Grandma’s china or crystal, but they can certainly set out silverware and napkins. Are they still looking for something to do? Have them design place cards.

Scrub-a-dub-dub: Even your littlest ones can be in charge of washing fruits and vegetables. And how much fun is scrubbing a potato? They won’t want to stop until every speck of dirt is gone.

Chop away: You may not necessarily think to assign your kids the task of chopping things, but you’d be surprised what they can do if you give them a kid-friendly knife and a lesson in safe chopping skills. Our kids’ chop-list includes bread that needs to be cubed for stuffing, apples to be cut into slices for pie (after Mom cores and peels them), cranberries to be chopped for relish, and cooked sweet potatoes to be sliced for a casserole.

Mash, mash baby: What kid would turn down an opportunity to take a potato masher and go to town on demolishing a big bowl of potatoes? Just give the potatoes a few minutes to cool after you boil them.

Grind and blend: If there’s anything on your menu that needs to be ground or blended, give your kid the task. Cranberry relish recipe? Put your kid in charge of pressing the buttons on the food processor. Need ground nuts for your stuffing or pies? Your kid can do the honors with a small nut grinder. Pressing cranberries for sauce? Try one of our family’s standbys, the kid-proof and irresistible Foley food mill.

Rock and roll: Making your own pie crust? Give a kid a rolling pin and put him on rolling duty. And if you’re concerned about pie dough perfection, let your kid roll out the pie dough scraps and cut them with cookie cutters to make leaf decorations for the top of the pie.

Chef’s Choice: Is your kid old enough to read and follow a recipe? Put him in charge of one simple dish, from start to finish. This could mean anything from a fruit-and-veggie appetizer plate, to an easy biscuit recipe, to a sophisticated sweet potato casserole. You’ll find some fun recipe ideas at Parenting, Disney Family Fun, and Nick Jr.

And last – are the kids running around like crazy after dinner? Put them on dishwashing duty.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Posted Under: Just For Fun, Parenting | Tags: , , ,
This post was written by jollytomato on November 22nd, 2011
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