My Inner Martha (sort of)

I have always enjoyed baking.  I have always enjoyed crafts.  That being said, I am mildly obsessed with Martha Stewart.  I know she is hit or miss with some people, but something about her stuck with me.  Before I was married with children, I used to believe I could have a lifestyle like that.  Orderly, tasty, full of things I made with my own hands.  Now I know better. 

My house has an order to it that I understand, but baffles others (including my husband.)  I haven't done anything crafty for myself in ages (we do a lot of finger painting here.)  I haven't given up on tasty.  I still aspire to make the kind of food I enjoy eating, not just something to shove in my face.  Most times I am successful, for mine and my husband's palate.  I'm not saying I put out a spread like Martha on my table every night, but I try new recipes or ideas often.  I have been missing out on the baking part. 

During the summer, my kitchen is too hot.  We do not have air conditioning, so I try not to turn the oven on and add to the discomfort.  I did a bit of baking last fall, but my daughter was still little and a bit fussy when left to her own devices.  This year I hope to do more since I have two helpers.  I am hoping that this gets my son interested in more foods, too.  That being said, he enjoyed eating this one.  A lot.  I had to throw it together during his nap, but this is one he could definitely handle.  It is a measure and dump recipe.  Seriously.  Takes about 10 minutes and most of that time is mashing bananas.  I've been toying with this recipe for a while and finally have it where I want it.  It is moist and sweet, without being cloying.  If you are like me (constantly throwing bananas in the freezer before they turn only to have a banana avalanche), you can make this with stuff you already have on hand!  And it is vegan if you get the dairy-free chocolate chips!

Enough of my strange ramblings.  Here is the cake!  I hope you enjoy it as much as my family and tasters have!

Cinnamon Chocolate Banana Cake

Cake:
3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 Tbsps flax seed meal soaked in 6 Tbsps warm water for at least 10 minutes (or 2 eggs)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsps cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract

Topping:
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375.  Grease an 8 X 8 inch glass dish.

Dump all cake ingredients in a bowl and stir until combined.  Pour batter into prepared baking dish.

Combine the 1 tsp sugar and 1/4 tsp cinnamon.  Sprinkle over top of cake.  Sprinkle chocolate chips on top of that.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool for at least 15 minutes.  (You don't want to get burned by a flaming hot chocolate chip.  Trust me.)  Serve right from dish.

It's All in the Name

It was a day of misses, including dinner prep.  I forgot to take my tilapia out of the freezer until I went to make it.  Oops.  Plus I was getting a late start.  And I didn't want to get take out.  So I looked around and found cans of tuna.

Big deal.  People have it all the time.  I don't make tuna salad often because my husband frequently eats it for lunch and I haven't been able to have mayonnaise because my still-nursing daughter is still getting over an egg sensitivity. 

Time is running out, so I go for it.  I plan on marketing it as tuna dip.  My son enjoys brown dip (hummus) and a mild guacamole, so i figured I would offer this in the same manner with carrots and tortilla chips.  But what to do about the mayo?  And make it more dippy?  My food processor!!!  It worked!  He ate his serving and accompaniments.  My daughter enjoyed her dip also, but she eats just about anything.  My husband didn't realise I left out the mayonnaise so it must have been creamy enough on his sandwich.

I feel silly writing about this, but it was a victory.  I can add something new to the lunch rotation.  Not too often, the mercury scares me.  So here is my recipe that's not really a recipe.

Tuna Dip

2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1/2 dill pickle, roughly chopped
2 cans chunk light tuna in water, drained
1/8 tsp each garlic powder, onion powder, and dried dill

Pulse celery in the food processor until small.  Add the pickles, pulse until chopped.  Add the tuna and seasonings and pulse until smooth.

Broccoli Bust

High on my meatloaf success, I attempted something new.  I have been trying to get my son to at least try one bite of broccoli.  He has eaten it in baby food, but green food seems to bother him.  I know that is common in many kids, but I worry that he is not getting enough variety.  To date, I have mainly offered it straight up: steamed, roasted, or sautéed.  Won't even bring it to his mouth and on one occasion it was thrown on the floor.

I decided to hide it.  He will eat a few bites of burger, so I decided to stash it there.  I figured I could make a meaty faux burger with TVP.   It was pretty easy since I already had cooked rice from some take out and frozen broccoli.  I cooked it on my griddle pan and it looked deceptively meaty.  I dolloped some ketchup on his bun and offered him a "super yummy hamburger."

Failure.  With a big, fat, capital F.  I felt bad that I served it to him.  Don't get me wrong, it was pretty tasty.  My husband and I enjoyed them as did our daughter.  My son wouldn't put it to his lips.  I took it off the bun and offered a bite on a fork.  He started to cry.  This is not a typical reaction, so I backed off for a while.  I tried again to more tears.  My husband tried.  Hysterics.  We gave up and let him eat carrots, yogurt, and crackers.  Part of me feels guilty that we didn't make a stand, but he rarely gets like that.

All that aside, the rest of us liked it, so here's the recipe.

Broccoli and Rice Veggie Burger
( made 7 patties)

2 Tbsps flax seed meal hydrated for a bit in 6 Tbsps warm water (or 2 eggs)
1 cup TVP hydrated in 7/8 cups boiling water
1 cup broccoli, chopped very fine
1 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3 Tbsps soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Throw everything in a large food processor and grind almost to a paste.  I left some chunks for texture.  Chill for at least 30 minutes. 

Preheat a griddle pan or large frying pan over medium high heat.

I used a 1/4 cup measure and scooped out mixture and formed thin patties.  I dropped it on the hot pan and cooked about 7 minutes per side.  I flipped when it was brown and crisp on one side.

We ate ours on burger buns with the standard burger fixings (and I put soy cheese on mine as you can see), but my leftovers were equally tasty without the bun slathered with hot sauce.

As a side note, I realised this was also a gluten free recipe if you use the right soy sauce.

A Successful Meatloaf

For those of you with extremely picky eaters, having them try a new food is difficult.  We are always positive about the food we are presenting.  I also try to compare it to something my son has eaten in the past and liked (or just not hated.)  I try presenting new things in fun ways whether the food itself or on special plates.  Unfortunately, I have also resorted to bribery (most of the time I can successfully bribe him if I let him drink from a bottle of water rather than a cup, but I have been known to throw down an occasional bunny graham if desperate.)  We also enforce that if he at least tries two whole pieces and still doesn't like it, he does not have to eat it.  I have had few successes.

On Saturday, I made a meatloaf.  Meatloaf is still somewhat new to me because I didn't enjoy it growing up and the first five years of my marriage were meat-free.  I just kinda threw some stuff together with my ground turkey and hoped for the best.  It came out of the oven an hour later and smelled good although it fell apart a bit (I can't use eggs too often because my daughter is sensitive to them.)

We sat down to eat.  My daughter will eat anything put in front of her and she devoured the pieces I gave her right away and went on to her peas and carrots.  My son said no.  He ate some of the peas and carrots and then decided he would not eat those either.  He ate some of his roll and decided he would not eat that either.  We told him how good the meatloaf was (not to toot my own horn, but it really was.)  Nothing.  We told him it was just like a hamburger.  Nope.  I broke out the bottled water.  Nada.  We reminded him that he only had to try it and if he really didn't like it I would get him something else.  Mouth clamped shut.  I busted out the bunny grahams.  Got his attention.  I picked up a piece on his fork and explained that if he ate that bite, he could have the cookie.  Surprisingly, his mouth accepted the food.  And he didn't spit it out.  He chewed it and swallowed it.  HE ASKED FOR MORE!!!!!!!!  He didn't even eat the cookie!  After he ate the serving I had put on his plate, HE ATE MORE!!!!  Sorry for all the capitals, but those that know what I am going through know this is huge!  A victory like this makes me want to go out and buy a lottery ticket!

So here is my recipe.  I am not a food professional so quantities may be off because I wasn't measuring everything. And I am obviously not a photographer or food stylist!

Successful Turkey Meatloaf

1 1/3 lbs ground turkey
1/2 cup bread crumbs (I make my own because of my daughters milk/ egg problem)
1/2 cup soy cheese (I used Cheddar flavor)
3 Tbsps Barbeque sauce
1 Tbsp Ketchup
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 tsps Ranch Seasoning (I make my own, see above)

Preheat oven to 350.

Throw all the ingredients together and mix until combined.  Shape into a loaf and place in a glass baking dish.  I spread a small amount of ketchup on the top, mainly so that I could point out that there was ketchup on it, but that isn't necessary.

Bake for about an hour until your meat reaches the proper internal temperature.  Let the loaf rest for about 10 minutes before cutting.

Successful Turkey Meatloaf - Not the prettiest picture, but it is meatloaf.