Tag Archives: meals for the whole family

Family Traditions: Camping, Shooting Stars and Pancakes

Posted on August 12, 2012 | 3 comments

We just took Baby Bird camping for the first time! She did great and had fun getting dirty, playing outside and spending time with Mama and Dada. I kept thinking about camping with my parents when I was little.

Camping out east we got away from the big city light pollution and had the treat of seeing a sky full of stars and the Perseid meteor shower. My dad loved being outdoors and took my sisters and I on major backpacking trips in Yosemite. He always timed them for mid-August so we could see the shooting stars. I remember sleeping out in the open, all in a row in our sleeping bags and counting how many we could see as he pointed out constellations.

These days I am content to “car camp” instead of carrying a heavy pack up mountains at elevation. But when my dad was diagnosed with cancer and planned a victory backpack trip for when he would beat it, of course I agreed to go. We never ended up backpacking again, but I most easily connect with him outside in the beauty of nature, visiting the waterfall where we scattered his ashes or catching a shooting star.

I’m so glad we could introduce our lil’ one to the joys of living outside and being with friends. I know her grandpa would approve.

So, anyway, pancakes?

As we were preparing for this camping trip, I asked my husband what food he would like me to buy as he does most of the cooking when we camp. I was a dutiful wife with most of his list but balked at “pancake mix,” figuring I could do better. I recently made these super light and fluffy pancakes with some of the excess kefir I have been making and they were delicious. I pre-measured and packaged up the dry ingredients and added the vanilla to the kefir. Voila! Instant “instant mix.” More affordable and infinitely more tasty. I also packed some of my cajeta, a traditional Mexican syrup made from goat milk that is a cross between dulce de leche and sweetened condensed milk. (Update: the cajeta recipe is now up.) Papa Bird manned the camping griddle and they were a huge hit with our friends camping.

I have to confess that making my own pancake mix was not my original idea but something I remember my mom doing when we used to camp. I clearly remember one camping trip when I was seven or eight. Before the campground we stopped to visit friends of my parents in Big Sur. I was petite and looked younger than my age, but I thought the lady was still a little out of touch when she said, in full on baby talk, “Maybe if you are lucky your mommy will make you pancakes.” I had to set the record straight and told her as a matter of fact, “No, but I will make crepes.”

Fluffy Kefir Pancakes

Recipe from Tammy’s Recipes

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups kefir (homemade if you have it)
1/2 cup milk or buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine kefir, milk, vanilla extract, and eggs. Add to dry mixture and mix just until moistened. Pre-heat griddle or skillet over medium heat (or just below). Lightly grease griddle or skillet, and spoon batter on. When many bubbles have risen to the top of the pancake (about 3-4 minutes), flip over and continue cooking until done (about 1-2 minutes). Serve immediately, or keep pancakes warm on a plate in the oven until all have been cooked. Serve with butter, fresh fruit, or syrup.

Notes:

Baby loves the pancakes, with or without syrup, and can eat them as is. This recipe is very basic and unsweetened. While it is awesome simple, it would also be a good “base” for adding anything you like. I have added a few tablespoons of flax meal. I’d like to try adding lemon zest in next time, inspired by lemon ricotta pancakes.

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Posted in Family Adventures, Healthy Recipes, Recipes for the Whole Family

Tagged meals for the whole family

Instant Summer Dinner: Pesto Angel Hair with Tomatoes

Posted on August 9, 2012 | 4 comments

Baby Bird became hungry and cranky all of a sudden this evening so dinner needed to be made ASAP. We had a little leftover chicken, but not much else. I found some angel hair pasta in the cupboard and thought of pesto. The angel hair cooks in 2 minutes, so this dinner was actually as fast as making a microwave meal!

What goes better with tomatoes than basil? Nature must agree since they are both in season at the same time.

I put on a pot of water and went out to the yard to pick basil and I found a ripe tomato. Our basil was a little neglected, so I trimmed off the flowers.

By the time I came back in the water was boiling. Papa Bird helped cut up the tomato with his new ceramic knife. The rest just came together, perfect to have with a glass of white wine and a little of my truffled goat cheese and crackers.

Pesto Angel Hair with Tomatoes Recipe

1 package of angel hair pasta
2 handfuls of basil leaves
1/4 cup of raw pine nuts
2 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 cloves of fresh garlic
salt and pepper
1 cup of cooked chicken (optional)
1 large tomato
1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Rewarm chicken in a pan, covered, with a splash of water, if needed. In a small dry pan on medium heat carefully toast the pine nuts. Watch them carefully as they will go from raw to burnt quickly. Add the pine nuts to a blender with the basil, oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Blend, adding oil if needed. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Place the drained pasta in a bowl. Grate parmesan with a microplane over the pasta. Add the pesto and mix well. Start with a little of the pesto, taste and go from there. A little goes a long way. Toss with chicken and tomatoes and serve. Or share out of the mixing bowl. :)

Notes:

Nuts should never be toasted in oil, but in a dry pan. Walnuts are also traditional in pesto, but I prefer the taste with pine nuts. All nuts are expensive right now, but I’ve found that Trader Joe’s still has the best price for pine nuts. Oh! And protect your investment (~$8 for a 8 oz bag at Trader Joe’s and as much as $25-30/pound elsewhere) and store the nuts in the freezer. They will last you a long time.

I had two oz. of extra pesto that I put into a silicone tray meant for freezing baby food. I figure the one oz. cubes will defrost easily sometime in the future. I’ll let you know how it works!

Tips for cooking for baby:

We haven’t given her pesto yet. Baby bird at 10 months loves feeding herself thin pastas, like angel hair, or orzo. We break it up a little and put it on her tray. Tonight she had the pasta, chicken, tomatoes and avocado. Plus she stole a little goat cheese.

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Posted in Healthy Recipes, Recipes for the Whole Family, Recipes from the Garden, Urban Homesteading

Tagged easy farm to table, easy seasonal recipes, farm to table, meals for the whole family, vegetarian

Raspberry Oatmeal

Posted on August 5, 2012 | 2 comments

Lately I have been very interested in meals that Baby Bird can eat as well as us. Because, seriously, having to make separate food for her after pulling together our meal got old quickly. We are lucky that our Baby Bird likes to eat just about everything. I have also been interested in eating oatmeal since she was born, as it is a well-known galactagogue, or substance that promotes lactation, and is tastier than fenugreek.

When we first brought Baby home from the hospital, instant oatmeal was my middle of the night snack. Those first few days I was still taking ibuprofen and acetaminophen around the clock and needed something in my tummy. Waking every two hours to feed her worked up an appetite, too. Oatmeal was warm and cozy in the cold of the night and I could also take out a packet and microwave it with one hand, holding my tiny babe in the other. But in retrospect, microwaved instant oatmeal was probably not affecting my milk supply as I was hoping.

I think I was scared of oatmeal. Didn’t you have to cook steel cut oatmeal, slowly stirring, for 20 minutes? My next step was to buy some quick oats from the bulk section of the grocery store. (Bulk homemade oatmeal is a much better value than packaged instant oatmeal.) It actually was pretty easy. I just heated it to boiling with water, turned the heat down, stirred a minute and it was done. I was feeling very happy with myself. Then I learned that quick oats don’t promote lactation as much as rolled oats.

So today was my first attempt at cooking the real thing. Why was I so scared? Cooking rolled oats couldn’t be easier! And as a bonus, Baby loves it, too! I used the same technique as cooking the quick oats and was surprised that it didn’t take much longer. The texture is better too, in my mind. Today I mixed in a small handful of organic raspberries at the end. They easily broke up and added a little flavor to each bite. I didn’t sweeten it, but if your berries are tart, you could. Just avoid honey if you will be sharing with a baby under 1 year old. This recipe can easily be multiplied for more people. Papa Bird wasn’t in an oatmeal mood so Baby and I shared one serving.

She loves to eat out of my bowl, but I put baby’s oatmeal in her own small bowl so it would cool faster. I mixed in a little breastmilk to make her oatmeal creamier. She is very interested in feeding herself these days, so we did a combination of Mama feeding her oatmeal by spoon and dropping small “oatmeal cookies” on her highchair tray for her to pick up herself. I ate out of the pot. One less dish to do.

Raspberry Oatmeal Recipe

1 serving

½ c. rolled oats
1 ¼- ½ c. water
handful of raspberries

Add oats and water to a small pot on high heat. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low, stirring. Cook for a couple minutes until desired consistency. Feel free to use more or less water, depending on preference, or add sweeteners to taste. Take off heat and stir in berries, or any addition you like. Oatmeal conserves heat, so be sure to check temperature before offering to a baby!

Disclaimer: I’m sure you will use common sense in giving any new food to a babe. For reference, mine is 10 months old, has 1 and a half teeth, can gum food well, and was well used to chunky purées before I gave her oatmeal.

Links:

http://kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/supply-worries/oatmeal/

http://kellymom.com/bf/can-i-breastfeed/herbs/herbal_galactagogue/