the times, they are changing {cranberry ricotta muffins}

This sumer was a doozy of high temperatures and little rain. It was only a few weeks ago that we could barely take the heat.

This was a summer for popsicles.

And then, in a matter of days, it cooled enough for the first fire of the season (the only fire until we can scrounge up some more firewood). And just like that, the summer was replaced with welcome warmth, tea, and coziness. This is my favorite season. I'd like it to go on for months and months. In fact, I'd skip winter entirely and just have an extended fall. Since that's not likely to happen, I am soaking it up while I can.

After our months of popsicles, I'd like to declare this the autumn of muffins. Specifically, these ones:

Cranberry Ricotta Muffins

I used some homemade ricotta cheese that was taking up space in the refrigerator, some frozen cranberries, and a good portion of whole wheat flour. They are light and moist with the ricotta, grainy and hearty with the whole grain, and the tartness of the cranberries is sweetened with the sprinkling of demarara cane sugar on top. They are good.

They would be fabulous with some chopped pecans added in, but then I'd be the only one in my family who would eat them. I don't need a dozen muffins to myself, so nut-free it is for us. But maybe you'd like them that way?

Cranberry Ricotta Muffins

3/4 cup ricotta, preferably at room temperature

2 large eggs, preferably at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

6 tablespoons oil

2/3 cup sugar (I used sucanat)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup cranberries (I used frozen, each berry sliced in half, but dried cranberries would work too)

2-4 tablespoons demarara cane sugar, or other sprinkling-sugar (regular granulated white sugar or turbinado are good choices)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a 12-muffin tin with liners or oil with non-stick spray of choice.
2. Whisk the ricotta, eggs, vanilla, and oil together in a medium-size bowl (one of my favorite uses for the 4-cup pyrex measuring cup).
3. In a large bowl, stir together flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and and salt. Add cranberries, stirring to incorporate.
4. Add ricotta mixture to dry ingredients. Fold to combine, being careful not to overwork the dough. It should be a fairly thick batter, but not so thick that you can barely stir. I added several tablspoons of milk to make my batter the right consistency. It probably had more to do with my homemade ricotta being extra thick.
5. Divide the batter evenly in the muffin tin, sprinkle tops with sugar, and bake for 20-25 minutes.

These were scrumptious warm, but they still disappeared quickly once they had cooled to room temperature.

peanut butter granola

I have been finished with the 3 day fruit cleanse since Thursday, and, let me tell you, real food has never tasted so good.

This was my first experience with any kind of a dietary cleanse, and I was miserable the entire time. I don't think it helped that I was also dealing with caffeine withdrawal (even though I allowed myself small amounts of green tea). But now I am reaping the benenfits: one cup of caffeinated tea in the morning is all I need to keep me going. And I can finally eat a piece of fuit again without feeling like I am going to gag.

Every meal since then has seemed like a celebration. An ode to good food.

And it doesn't get much better than homemade granola. Wait, make that peanut butter granola. I ate it with a bowl of plain yogurt, a drizzle of maple syrup, and a handful of sliced bananas.Yum!

 I found the recipe on The Kitchn, added a little more oats, used maple syrup instead of honey, sliced almonds instead of peanuts, sesame seeds instead of pumpkin seeds, and doubled the amount of ground cinnamon. It's delicious: just enough peanut butter flavor to make it a treat, but not so much that it masks all of the other ingredients.

And it's Liam-approved (and that's saying a lot with this selective eater...).

River likes it too. And with the yogurt, it was great practice with a spoon.

Peanut Butter Granola

Inspired by this one on The Kitchn. See above for substitutions. I use the unsalted creamy peanut butter in the bulk section at Ozark Natural Foods, but the granola seemed like it could use a bit more salt. Next time I make this, I'll increase the salt to 2 teaspoons.

• 5 1/2 cups oats
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 1 cup wheat germ
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2/3 cup olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

2. Stir together all of the dry ingredients (oats through ginger). I did this in my KitchenAid. In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, stir together the remaiing ingredients (maple syrup through olive oil). Add the liquids to the oat mixture and stir to combine.

3. Spread in a 9x13 baking pan and bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.

This would be good with some raisins or dried cranberries tossed in, or even some mini chocolate chips. But it's very tasty without the add-ins, too.

I just finished a small cup of it with some milk. Tasty snack, indeed. 

3 day fruit cleanse {raw zucchini and tomato pasta}

I am on week 4 of Laurie's 40 Days through Lent, which is supposed to mean that I have been working in daily yoga practices and meditation, but, sadly, I've found it harder to fit in than I had hoped. Silly me. I have managed to go to Monday night yoga for the last month, and I have been getting a lot out of the group's weekly meetings where we have been focusing on shifting perspective. I need more of that. Part of this week's challenge is a 3 day fruit fast, with the intention of cleansing and restoring the body. I am on day 2, and it has not been as wonderful as a bowl full of cherries. Even though I have been eating enough fruit to keep hunger at bay, I never really feel satisfied, and all I can think about is a latte and almond croissant. Have I mentioned that I decided to eat only raw fruit for the cleanse? If I am going to go for it, I want to get the most out of all of the apples, oranges, strawberries, grapes, avocados, cucumber, papaya, mango, tomato, zucchini, bell pepper, and cantaloupe that I can. Gabriel's participating, too, so at least I am not the only one eating a plateful of raw fruit for dinner. But this plateful really wasn't that bad. It would have been better on a warmer day, somewhere around August, but it hit the spot last night. Raw Zucchini Pasta with Tomato and Pepper Marinara Sauce It was really simple to throw together: 1. Shred 2 zucchini and set aside. 2. Seed, stem, and chop 1 red bell pepper and 1/2 yellow bell pepper. Chop 1 tomato. Set aside a handful of the peppers and tomato. 3. Put the rest of the peppers and tomato into the blender along with 1 cup of tomato sauce, the juice of 1 lemon, 1/2 of a jalapeno (seeded and chopped), 1 tsp dried oregano, and a small handful of fresh parsley. Puree. 4. Serve the shredded zucchini with the sauce and a spoonful of the reserved tomatoes and peppers. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Serve with a smile. It's good for you.

chicken with creamy marsala sauce

Last night I made chicken with creamy marsala sauce for the first time. It was surprisingly easy, amazingly good, and most definitely Gabriel-approved.

I searched through various marsala chicken recipes online, but none of them seemed to be just what I was going for, so I improvised my own recipe based on what seemed to be the closest match, found on Greedy Gourmet.

Chicken with Creamy Marsala Sauce

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup plain flour
• salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3/4 cup Marsala
• juice from one lemon
• 3/4 cup whole milk plain yogurt
• chopped parsley for garnish

1. Slice chicken into 3/4 inch strips. Toss in a bowl along with flour and generous amount of salt and pepper. Stir to coat.
2. Heat the oil and butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add chicken, stirring occasionally until chicken is cooked through and nicely browned and crispy (about 8-10 minutes).
3. Transfer to a serving dish and keep warm. I put mine in the toaster oven on the lowest "warm" setting.
4. Add the Marsala and lemon juice to the pan along with all of the juices and any browned bits clinging to the pan. Stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Stir in the yogurt.
5. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is reduced, thickened, and glossy.
6. Spoon the sauce over the chicken, sprinkle with parsley, and serve.

I served this dish along with polenta and pan-seared asparagus drizzled with lemon and garlic. Gabriel has always turned up his nose at polenta, but this time he was miffed that I didn't make enough of it for a hearty second serving.

Of course, like all incredibly good meals, we gobbled this one up before I thought to take any pictures. You'll have to use your imagination, or even better, try the recipe yourself.

A little stress with my Stress-Free Whole Grain Pancake Mix

These past few weeks have seemed particularly rough for me. Between Mr Cranky Pants (who should now also be known as Clean-House-Destroyer), Gabriel being gone every other work week on business trips, and the ongoing upheaval in my family, I feel like I'm in constant crisis mode. The littlest things send me over the top, like stepping on a star-shaped toy at 4am when a certain someone is awake and crying. At 4 am. Aargh.

I know I have LOTS of things to be thankful for and overwhelmingly happy over, and I am, but sometimes I forget to find joy in even the smallest of things. Like my favorite pancake mix recipe. Gabriel won't eat it (it's too grainy for his tastes, which run along the lines of all-white pancakes doused in hfcs "maple" syrup), but Liam eats them gladly.

Even when he wakes up grouchy, Liam will perk up for pancakes. And with this mix ready in the fridge, pancakes are on the table in less than 10 minutes...and the fussing turns into mmm...

Whole Grain Flaxseed Pancake Mix

I stumbled upon this recipe on the Whole Foods website a few years ag and have been making it ever since. I usually double it.

• 1/2 cup flaxseeds, ground
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 1/2 cups cornmeal
• 1/2 up rolled oats
• 1/2 cup dry milk powder (I often use soy beverage mix)
• 2 TBSP sugar (I use sucanat)
• 5 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt

Dump all ingredients into an airtight-lidded container. Shake to combine. Store in the refrigerator

When you're ready for pancakes,

Add to 1 cup of mix:

• 1 egg
• 1 tsp oil
• 1/2 cup of water

I usually let the mix stand for a minute or two (it'll thicken dramatically), then I cook them up like any other pancake recipe. This makes 4 good-sized pancakes.

Liam and I like our pancakes with unsweetened applesauce liberally scooped on top.

rhubarb

The first time I visited the farm in Iowa, Janelle served a rhubarb pie. Apparently, it was one of Gabriel's favorite desserts. Like a true Southern California girl, I had never even heard of it.

My first response: What is it?
My second response: mmm...

And so began my love affair with rhubarb.

It is generally regarded as an old-fashioned plant, probably because once a crown is planted, it grows for generations. In the spring in Iowa, it seems to sprout up everywhere. The plant itself is as much at home in an ornamental garden as the traditional vegetable plot. Celery-like stalks of reds and greens shoot up into broad leaves, reminiscent of elephant ears. Because it needs a winter's freeze to grow, it is unheard of in California. But Arkansas freezes.
When we first bought our house, I purchased several bare roots from Atwoods, the local farm store. That first spring, they popped up, but then a hot summer's drought finished them off. Last spring, we brought home a portion of an old root crown from the farm and planted it in a full-sun location. That is how it grows in Iowa. This spring it seemed to lagging, and then I overheard a vendor at the Fayetteville Farmer's market explaining how to grow rhubarb in Arkansas. Apparently, for our Southern climate, it needs to go into the shadiest part of the garden. So, my rhubarb is now settled in behind the bench-log in the pond garden. It seems happy there.

We brought home several pounds of rhubarb from the farm last week. Of course, it is already gone. Here is what I made with it:

Rhubarb Crumb Bars from the May 2009 issue of Everyday Food. Except, I made them in a spring form pan for coffee cake instead. Yummy.

The obligatory rhubarb pie. My favorite recipe comes from Baking Illustrated, which calls for 1/2 strawberries, 1/2 rhubarb. This time I substituted all rhubarb, but didn't increase the amount of sugar. It was a bit too tart. But I kind of like it that way. My favorite pie crust recipe is Martha Stewart's pate brisee. It's amazingly flaky. But how could you go wrong with 2 sticks of butter...?

Rhubarb muffins. These turned out delicious.
here is how I made them

Sometimes Vegan Rhubarb Muffins

• 1/4 cup butter (I've also used vegetable shortening when they need to be dairy-free)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar (I use sucanat)
• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (Of course, these could also be made with all-purpose flour, or a combination of the two)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk (or soymilk)
• 2 cups sliced rhubarb

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare muffin cups as desired. No matter how well I grease a bare muffin tin, my muffins stick, so I usually use unbleached baking cups, but in a pinch I sometimes use squares of parchment paper.
2. Cream together butter, applesauce, and sugar. I use my KitchenAid, but these could definitely be made in a bowl with a wooden spoon.
3. Stir in remaining ingredients, just until combined. Don't overstir or they won't rise well.
4. Spoon into muffin cups, filling 3/4 full.
5. Bake 35 minutes, or until tops are firm. I know, that seems like a long time for muffins, but they turn out great this way. Cool slightly before serving.

another cold snap and maple walnut biscotti

Saturday was the perfect return to normalcy:

• A breakfast of pastries and coffee at the Little Bread Company with Crystal, Micah, and Simone


• The first Fayetteville Farmer's Market of the season, where I purchased some early onions and a fig tree


• Some browsing in Terra Tots


• Shopping at Ozark Natural Foods, where we were filmed in the bulk section for an ONF commercial :-)


• All in 70 degrees weather!

Sunday was a big step back into winter. Grey skies. Freezing temperatures. And it's supposed to freeze again tonight.

Once again, our peach and plum trees are covered in fruit, all of which is likely to shrivel and die. This is the 3rd year in a row that this has happened. At least I haven't planted any tender vegetables yet.

As a move of desperation, Gabriel and I mummy-wrapped the plum tree and select branches of the much larger peach tree. It looks comical and a bit frightening, but if it saves any of the fruit it will be worth it.

So now we wait inside our heated house, hoping and praying for our fruit trees.

I console myself with a cup of coffee and some freshly-made biscotti. The recipe is from the Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites.

Maple Walnut Biscotti

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchent paper or lightly grease with baking spray
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Lightly beat the eggs and add them to the flour mixture. Stir in the maple syrup, vanilla, and walnuts, mixing just until smooth.
4. Using a rubber spatula and well-floured hands, scoop half of the dough out of the bowl and onto one side of the baking sheet. Shape the dough into a 15-inch log (about 3/4 inch thick). Repeat with the other half of the dough, spacing them about 6 inches apart.
5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top of each biscotti log is firm. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes. Cut each log on a severe diagonal into about fifteen 1/2-inch thick slices and place them cut side down on the baking sheet.
6. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Hot from the oven, the biscotti may still be soft in the center, but they will harden as they cool. Allow to cool completely. Stored in a tightly closed container they will keep for several weeks.

The Heart-Healthiest Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm always looking for healthier cookie recipes, since I make some every week for Gabriel to take in his lunches. These definitely fit the bill. As an added bonus, they're vegan.

This scrumptious recipe is from The Vegetarian Times February 2009 issue.

2 cups walnuts

3 Tbsp canola oil

1 cup brown sugar (I use sucanat)

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups oat flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

2 cups rolled oats

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I use Sunspire vegan choc. chips)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or coat with cooking spray.

2. Blend walnuts in food processor 30 seconds, or until ground into a fine meal. Add canola oil, and blend 2 to 3 minutes more or until mixture has the consistency of natural peanut butter, scraping down the sides of food processor occasionally. Transfer to bowl.

3. Whisk together brown sugar and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and bring mixture to a boil. Pour brown sugar mixture over ground walnut butter, add vanilla extract, and stir until no lumps remain.

4. Whisk together oat flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in separate bowl. Stir oat flour mixture into walnut mixture. Cool 10 minutes. Fold in oats, then chocolate chips.

5. Shape cookies into 2-inch balls, and place 2-inches apart on prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly with the palm of your hand. Bake 8-10 minutes or until cookies begin to brown and tops look dry. Cool 3 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Makes approximately 30 cookies.

Better than delivery. Better than Digiorno.

Friday is pizza night at our house, and nothing is better than homemade - although I must confess that we ate a number of Digiorno and Freschetta pizzas while I was pregnant...

But the kind we make now is way better. The secret: 5 minute artisan bread dough.

Here is how I make it:

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees with a pizza stone on the middle shelf. I know that's really hot, but the pizzas turn out so much better crisp and caramelized but still light and fluffy, and they take only 10 minutes to bake!

2. Prepare your toppings:

some of our favorites

the classic

pizza sauce, mozzarella, sliced olives, and choppped onion

make it Greek

pizza sauce, mozzarella, feta cheese, chopped red onion, sliced olives, and sliced pepperoncinis

pesto perfected

prepared pesto, goat cheese sliced thinly, a sprinkle of olive oil, garlic, and roasted red bell peppers

3. Scoop out about 1 pound (about the size of a grapefruit) of the 5 minute artisan bread dough from the container. For a smaller pizza, scoop less. For a bigger pizza, scoop more.

4. On a piece of parchment paper, roll out the dough. Brush all over with olive oil and sprinkle crust with garlic salt, italian seasoning, or kosher salt. Or just leave it plain. Scatter on the toppings.

5. Transfer pizza (still on the parchment) to the hot stone. I use a large cutting board to get it from the counter and then a quick slide into the oven.

6. Bake for 8 -10 minutes, or until crust is golden, cheese is bubbly and lightly browned, and toppings are beginning to caramelize.

7. Wait a few minutes before slicing, if you can.

That's it! Start to finish, it only takes 25 minutes. Now, that's fast food.

Gabriel and Liam can hardly wait to dig in.

5-minute artisan bread

I know that making homemade bread intimidates a lot of people: all of the kneading, various rising times, etc... It all gets a little overwhelming. The looming fear is that after investing all that time, the loaf just might not turn out.

This bread recipe is for you.

I found this recipe in a recent issue of Mother Earth News, which they reprinted from a book by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois called Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking (Thomas Dunn Books, 2007).

The whole concept is to produce an artisan-style loaf of bread with a minimal amount of effort - only 5 minutes of hands-on time.

There is no kneading required. It only needs to rise 40 minutes before baking, and the recipe makes enough for 4 loaves, and the dough keeps for 2 weeks in the fridge!

It seems like a miracle.

So, here is what you need:

A large glass container to keep the dough in

3 cups lukewarm water

1 1/2 tablespoons yeast

1 tablespoon salt

6 1/2 cups flour

(the recipe calls for all-purpose, but I succesfully use whole wheat instead, or you could use a combo of the two...whatever your preference)

That's it!

Here's what to do with it:

1. Combine all ingredients in the container, just until combined. I use a rubber spatula. The dough is really thick, but it only needs to be stirred until combined - around 30 seconds.

2. Cover loosely (I use a plastic tupperware lid), and allow it to sit at room temperature for 2-3 hours, or until the dough rises and then sags at the top.

3. Put it in the refrigerator, still loosely covered. Technically, you could bake a loaf now, but it is a lot better if you wait until the next day.

4. Scoop out a 1 pound size portion (1/4 of the dough). Shape it into a round ball and place it on a piece of parchment paper (or a baking sheet). Allow it to rise at room temperature for 40 minutes (no need to cover the loaf).

While it is rising, preheat the oven to 450 degrees with a baking stone on the middle rack (if you don't have a baking stone, it is okay to cook the bread without one.) Place a cast iron pan on the floor of the oven (or a metal baking sheet/pan).

5. Cut 3 slash marks in the top of the dough, about 1/2 inch deep. Dust the surface with flour.

6. Transfer the loaf (still on the parchment paper) to the hot baking stone. Put a 1/2 cup of ice cubes into the cast iron pan (to create steam, which helps keep the crust soft while the loaf expands). Bake for 30 minutes.

7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Resist the urge to cut into the hot bread if you can. It continues to bake as it cools.

8. Keep the remaining dough in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

And that's all there is to it!

Of course, it still can't compare with the bread that does require more time and effort, but it is still better than anything you could get at the grocery store.

I always have a container of it in my fridge for those lazy days when we're needing more bread, and because it makes the BEST pizza dough ever.

Check back tomorrow for that recipe...

Yeasted Carrot Sandwich Bread

Molly asked me to send her some bread recipes for her to try out with her shiny red Kitchen Aid mixer. I decided to go ahead and post them here in case anyone else is interested.

This recipe is from my ancient copy of Jane Brody's Good Food Book. (Obviously, it is older than the carbs-are-bad-craze.) I have found a number of fantastic recipes in it, including her Orange-Carrot Bread (p.571)

Orange-Carrot Bread

I prefer to leave out the orange-flavored ingredients, choosing instead for the subtle carrot flavor stand alone.

2 cups orange juice or warm water (105-115 degrees)

2 tsp sugar

1 package yeast (1 scant tbsp)

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup oil

2 tsp grated orange rind (omit)

2 tsp salt

4 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 cups finely grated carrots (4 medium-large)

2 eggs

3 cups whole-wheat flour

1. In a small bowl, stir together orange juice/water, yeast, and sugar. Set aside while mixing the next ingredients.

2. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the honey, oil, orange rind (if desired), salt, and 1 cup of the white flour. Add the yeast mixture, carrots, and eggs, and mix the ingredients thoroughly.

3. Switch to the dough hook and mix in the whole-wheat flour and 3 cups of the white flour. Knead on medium speed (# 4 on a Kitchen Aid - watch carefully to be sure it doesn't walk off the counter top) for 6 minutes.

4. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning the dough to coat all sides. Cover with plastic wrap, and set the dough in a warm place until it has doubled in bulk (1 to 1 1/2 hours).

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the middle position. If you have a pizza stone, place it on the rack.

6. Gently punch down the dough and divide it in half. Form each half into a loaf, and place the loaves in prepared loaf pans (either greased-well or lined with a parchment paper sling, my preference). Cover the pans loosely with plastic wrap, and place them in a warm place for another 30 -40 minutes, or until the dough reaches the top of the pans.

7. Put the loaf pans directly on the pizza stone or rack and bake for 45 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the middle reads 190 degrees.

Resist the urge to cut into it until it has completely cooled. The bread continues to cook when you pull it out of the oven, and cutting into it prematurely affects the texture.

But, the recipe does make 2 loaves if you just can't wait :-)

Homemade Hot Cocoa

When I decided to no longer buy anything that contains high fructose corn syrup [HFCS], I knew it was an easy decision. Compelling evidence points to HFCS as a major contributor to our nation's sugar addiction and subsequent weight problems, not to mention the corporate tie-ins concerning our dependence on corn for basically everything (for more on that, read Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma). It's amazing where I have found HFCS lurking in the ingredient list: everything from hot dog buns to canned kidney beans.

Shopping at Ozark Natural Foods takes care of this detective work: they don't stock anything containing HFCS, or artificial coloring or preservatives for that matter. However, that ease of mind and shopping comes with a hefty price tag on certain items, especially hot chocolate mix. Making my own hot cocoa mix significantly cuts down on the cocoa bill, especially during these cold months.

Hot Cocoa Mix

I make this with either Organic Valley's nonfat dry milk powder or the soy beverage mix powder I can get in the bulk section, Equal Exchange's fair trade cocoa powder, and sucanat sugar (dehydrated cane juice).

1 cup dry milk or soy beverage mix

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup sugar

To use, just add 3-4 tablespoons per mug of hot water. Stir well and savor.

Here's another green tip: wash and reuse your mug throughout the day. It's such an obvious thing, but if I'm honest I'll admit that there have been days I've gone through 3 or 4 by evening.

Here's my favorite mug. Somehow every drink tastes better in it - I've already begun to try and mentally prepare myself for the day Liam breaks it. It will happen. I just know it.

For more Thrifty Green Thursday tips, visit the Green Baby Guide here.

Sloppy Lentils

Last night I made sloppy lentils on homemade hamburger buns for dinner, along with a side of oven-baked sweet potato fries.

Lately, Liam has been particular about his foods. Not that he is picky about what he does and doesn't like to eat. He likes just about everything. No, the problem is that he has a particular food in mind, and when I give him something different he gets angry. Often, this turns into a guessing game of which food my 9-month old is thinking of at the moment. I know, I know, I shouldn't give into his demands. He should eat what's served. Right? Well, at the same time I want him to learn that food is good, and I don't want to turn him off to trying new things by forcing him when he is unwilling.

So, enter the lentils and sweet potato fries. He has had the fries before. The last time, he threw them on the floor and handed my second try to Dahlia, who knows where to patiently wait beside his high chair. This time, however, he gladly snatched the fry from my hand and shoved it into his mouth. I could hardly keep them coming fast enough.

Then it was time to try the lentils. I scooped some onto his little bamboo spoon (I thought about letting him try a bite of the sandwich, like Mama and Daddy, but then opted for the less messy option...). When I moved it toward his mouth, he began waving his arms excitedly and his mouth popped open. I gave him the lentils. He tested them in his mouth for a few seconds, and then chomped ferociously, demanding more, and then more and more again. He ate a good serving of it.

Apparently, Liam loves sloppy lentils. Maybe you will, too.

The original recipe is from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker, but I often make it on the stove top when I forget to get it going in the morning...
I actually prefer the red lentils for this recipe, but you could also use the small French puy lentils or make it with the brown as the recipe directs.

Sloppy Lentils
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium-sized yellow (or red) onion, chopped
1 small red or green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced (my addition)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 cups dried brown lentils, picked over and rinsed
One 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes (I use Muir Glen's Fire Roasted, mmm...)
3 cups water
2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1 tbsp prepared mustard
1 tbsp sweetener (honey, brown sugar, sucanat, agave... your choice)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1.Heat the oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper; cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and chili powder, stirring to coat. Cook 1 minute longer.

2.Transfer the onion mixture to a 3.5 - 4 quart slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Stove top variation:
1. Follow step one as above, but do so in a large saucepan, or, better yet, in a dutch oven.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes, or until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally.

Serve on hamburger buns for a yummy and messy meal, which we often eat with a fork in hand. Serve with sweet potato oven fries.