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Oh Baby! with Asian Pear Puree

Friday, February 12th, 2010

Don't call it baby food

I don’t like the words “baby food”.  It automatically conjures up bland, boring, stinky jarred food.  While commercial baby food has come a long way – there’s still great strides to be made.  I prefer to make food for people and babies just happen to be people who need a smoother creamier texture to begin their eating experience.  Thus purees.

Not having babies of my own, I don’t make purees as often as I used to.  I still do demonstrations for new parents, but lately with being focused on school aged snacks and lunches for my kids, I  forget how much purees come in handy.  Take for instance soup.  All great vegetable soups start with a homemade vegetable purees.  And fruit purees make wonderful butters on toast, and topping over ice cream and swirled into plain yogurt.

A friend of mine had her third child and he’s almost ready for solids.  This of course is exciting for me to hear.  So when we came to their house for the older siblings to play with my kids, my daughter (her taste testing the puree in photo above) and I made and brought a puree for the baby.  He may not be ready to eat this for a few weeks, so I froze the puree into cubes and popped them in a freezer safe container, so mom is ready when the time is right.  I chose asian pear because of a few things:

1. it’s in season

2. it’s mild and sweet

3. you can’t find it in a jar

4. it’s Chinese New Year

Here’s the recipe and steps of photos.

Asian Pear Puree (from The Petit Appetit Cookbook)

Asian pears look more like an apple than a pear.  They are round and yellow with a brown speckled skin.  Inside they are sweet and juicy and very refreshing.

Makes 16 – 18, one ounce baby servings.

 3 Asian pears, washed, quartered and cored just before cooking

 Steamer Method:

Place prepared pears in steamer basket set in a pot filled with a small amount (about 1 – 2 inches, but not to touch fruit) of lightly boiling water.  Cover tightly for best nutrient retention and steam for 10 – 12 minutes or until pears are tender.  Pears should pierce easily with a toothpick.  Set pears and cooking liquid aside to cool.  Scrape pears for skin and puree in a food processor with a steel blade.  Add tablespoons of reserved cooking liquid to puree to make smoother and adjust consistency.

Freeze puree in ice cuber tray or individual molds.  Pop out cubes and store in freezer safe container for up to 3 months.

Cut asian pears, ready for steaming

Steamed and peeled pears ready for pureeing

Pureed asian pears

Ready for freezing

Posted in Baby Food, Holidays, Lisa Barnes Blog, Uncategorized, organic | 1 Comment »

Thanksgiving Lessons…

Sunday, November 29th, 2009

So I survived Thanksgiving.  But I must say it was more stressful than I would’ve liked.  First, I kind of burned myself out with all the school actvities (see “feast” post) and recipe testing the week prior.  Yes, I loved seeing the school kids eat my little sandwiches,  muffins, etc., but sometimes I wish I was the parent who doesn’t cook and can just bring something premade (gasp!).  No, of course I would never.  However I notice the parents who pick up something lovely at a bakery or restaurant often look much more rested and happy at some of these functions than I do after baking until midnight.

I was a bit worried about my sister’s new diet too (see post about ”A Vegan”) .  I’m not the person that could serve someone a plate of crudite veggies and call it Thanksgiving dinner.  So I welcomed the challenge and did lots of recipe testing (and pie eating) prior.  Thankfully the dishes turned out pretty well and everyone (especially my sister) was very appreciative.  I adapted the dressing and sweet potatoes to vegan by using the vegan sticks instead of butter.  (Thankfully wine and brown sugar come in handy).  My sister made a really good butternut squash rissotto (see recipe here on care2.com) and last minute (I ran out of time) a saute of brussels sprouts in thyme and white wine.   The apple cranberry pie recipe came from the cookbook I gave my sister.  It was tart but tasty.  Although it didn’t totally set up like other apple pies I’ve made in the past.  I question the use of tapioca over flour for the apple filling.  Flour isn’t an animal product. 

Greens with Persimmon and Pecans

Greens with Persimmon and Pecans

Butternut Risotto

Butternut Risotto

Walnut, Crestnut, Sausage, Sage Stuffing

Walnut, Crestnut, Sausage, Sage Stuffing

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Orange and Ginger

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Orange and Ginger

Apple Cranberry Pie

Apple Cranberry Pie

 Of course we roasted chestnuts and peeled them.  This started as a tradition at my house growing up.  My mom would roast chestnuts to make her mother’s stuffing on Thanksgiving morning.  Then my mom, sister and I would peel them.  Of course it’s easiest to do when they’re hot, so we’d be peeling and scalding our fingers, and complaining.  But somehow that became the tradition.  Later when I was an adult hosting Thanksgiving I bought preroasted chestnuts for chestnut soup.  The soup was great, but it seemed a little sacreligious not to peel them ourselves.  So this year my kids wanted to peel too.  My mom was proud to have “three generations peeling together”.  My recipe adds water to the chestnuts in the oven which steams them and makes them easier to open.  But some of them are still tough to do – especially if cooled.

Merry Thanksmas 2009 029

Very A-peeling

Very A-peeling

So you may be wondering about the turkey.  We almost didn’t have one and went completely vegan.  Not because I didn’t order (2 weeks prior) or pick one up (fighting the crowds at Whole Foods at 8 a.m. on Wednesday morning), but because it wasn’t thawed to cook.  I ordered a “fresh” Diestel organic turkey, so I was surprised when I picked up my bird and it seemed hard and frozen.  I was assured that it was just “flash” frozen and simply has a thin crust of ice so that it could be transported and would be ready for cooking or brining in the morning.  Huh?  I took it home and  put it in the fridge.  Thanksgiving morning I made my brine (this was a first for me) and then unwrapped the turkey and it was still rock hard.  Yikes!  I was mad.  What now?  This seemed a big set-back to me.  (What are we going to eat with the two kinds of cranberry sauce/relish with?)

Luckily my mom and sister were calm and said to take it back to Whole Foods.  I figured they’d say too bad or run water on it for the next 4 hours.  I was wrong.  Going to the store on Thanksgiving at 8 a.m. is much more civilized than going the day before.  The people at the store couldn’t have been nicer.  The customer service was worried and perplexed at first, and called the butcher.   The butcher came out with 3 thawed turkeys (cancelled orders) which I could choose from.  Hooray!   So the bird was brined and quite moist and flavorful.

Merry Thanksmas 2009 046

 All and all, the meal and visit with my family was a success.   Whew!  

You can cook all day, and days before, but it all really comes down to the last half hour.  This is the time when everyone is busy, helping and more than ready to eat.  It was pretty fun.   My mom and kids were decorating the table (we had been using it for board and dice games much of the day) with final touches such as fancy folded napkins and handmade placecards.  My sister and brother-in-law were stirring risotto.  I was carving the turkey and heating gravy.  My husband was using a new video camera to capture it all and interview all the guests/family.

Aside from the visiting and food, another highlight of the day was leaving the kitchen and everyone taking a walk on Richardson Bay.  The weather was sunny and brisk and I especially needed some fresh air.  I waivered about going, as the turkey would go in late, but I gave myself a reprive from getting the dinner out on time (we had established 4 p.m.).  Dinner at 5:30 was just fine.

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Homemade Pumpkin Puree Recipe

Monday, November 16th, 2009

While our carved Halloween pumpkins are gone, we were delivered a beautiful 3 lb sugar pie pumpkin in our veggie box.  My son said “let’s make pie!”  He doesn’t really get that the pumpkin is just one ingredient in a pumpkin pie.  I said we’d bake the pumpkin but not today.  Well it was a whole week until “not today”, became “I better cook this thing”.  It is really easy to cook and make fresh puree, however to be honest 95% of the time, I buy canned organic pumpkin.  (Nutritionsist say the vitamins and nutrients are the same for canned pumpkin vs fresh and that’s why I don’t bother.)  But it is fun.  Plus now with the thought of BPA lining in canned goods, I thought the health scales are tipping to homemade.

 

From my 3 lb pumpkin, I now have 3 cups of lovely puree.  (This would be a perfect puree for baby).  I’m having a hard time deciding how to use the puree - pumpkin bread, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bars and on and on.  I’m sure I’ll decide soon and be baking more sugar pies in the next few weeks, stay tuned…

 Here’s what I did…

golden baked pumpkin

golden baked pumpkin

 

surprised how easy to peel

surprised how easy to peel

ready for seed removal

ready for seed removal

success - pumpkin puree

success - pumpkin puree

 

Pumpkin Puree

You can cook the pumpkin whole if a small pumpkin (3 – 4 lbs).  If using a larger one, cut in half or quarters and place cut down on oiled baking sheet.

Makes about 3 cups

3 – 4 lb. sugar pie pumpkin

Set oven to 350F.  Line a jelly roll pan with aluminum foil and lightly oil.

Pierce whole pumpkin with a sharp knife.

Bake pumkpin in oven 1 – 1 1/2 hours or until knife pierced through to seeds easily.

When cool enough to handle, peel away the skin using your fingers or a paring knife.  Cut pumpkin in half and scoop out seeds and fibers.

Place pieces of pumpkin flesh in a food processor fitted with a metal blade and porcess until smooth.  It make take a few minutes of processing and then stopping to scrape sides for all to become blended and smooth.

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Posted in Holidays, organic | 1 Comment »

Happy Halloween

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

cleaning pumpkins

Boo!  O.K. I must confess that I love Halloween.  I’ve always enjoyed this time of year, when the air is crisp and the leaves turn colors (at least a few in California) and there are pumpkins and pomegrantes to be found.  I’m one of those people that always dressed up.  As a kid my mom made fabulous costumes for my whole family – a can of pepsi (with a hat of balloons), Peter Pan (with a shadow), Sigmond the Sea Monster, a tomato (organic I hope) and many others.   My mom’s costumes set the bar high.  Now it isn’t as much fun with all the store bought creations.  Although I’m to blame too, as I never learned to sew.

Before my husband and I had kids we dressed up and went to costume parties.  I even went to work in my 20’s  as Frankenstein with complete face make-up and took the Muni to downtown San Francisco.  Did I mention I worked a stuffy insurance brokerage job?  Oh well, some laughed. 

My kids certainly love Halloween too.  In the past we kind of pushed a theme for costumes – monsters last year, insects the year prior, etc.  However 3 and 6 year old have their own ideas – an astronaut and Dan the Bakugan character (it’s a show and toy).  I borrowed a wonderful knight costume my son got from a theme birthday party and my husband worked all day on a cool pirate (complete with dreads and fake beard).

However the major event of the season is carving the pumpkin.  First there’s the experience of choosing the pumpkins – we like to go to a pumpkin farm/patch, rather than the stand on the side of the road with the jumpy.  This year both kids chose very large pumpkins.  My husband had his work cut out for him.  But he certainly rose to the occassion.  My daughter wanted “a face with 5 teeth”.  My son was intriqued by my husband’s idea (well he saw it on a home show) about an upchucking pumpkin.  He sounded gross, but I must say it was fun and unique.

My job of course is to roast the seeds.  The kids always say they’re going to get the goop from the pumpkins – why they’re shirtless.  However they start to get sticky and say it’s too yucky, so it’s mom’s turn.   Here’s what I do.  Everyone seems to like the salty and savory better than the sweet – although I make both.  There’s still a few pumpkins in stores waiting to be purchased – so we’ll continue to carve, cook and celebrate. 

carved pumpkins

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

 

seeds

the gook before you cook


(rom Petit Appetit: Eat, Drink and Be Merry page 203)


Each person has his own technique and recipe for toasting the pumpkin seeds. For a fun tasting party at school have each family bring in their own for children to sample and vote for their favorites. Incorporate extra seeds into trail mixes for a seasonal surprise.
Makes 5 servings per 1 cup seeds

1 whole pumpkin

For 1 cup pumpkin seeds
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon curry powder, or ½ teaspoon sugar and ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.

 

Cut off top of pumpkin and scoop out insides. Separate out as much of the pumpkin strings and flesh from the seeds as possible. Some of the slime and strings you can’t remove will provide a crisp coating on the seeds.

In a small bowl, combine seeds, oil, and seasonings. Stir until coated. Spread out seeds in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Roast for about 40 minutes, until golden brown and dry, stirring with a spatula every 10 minutes during cooking.

Let cool on paper towels and store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
 

 

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The Dirty Price for Organic Produce

Sunday, October 18th, 2009
Refrigerator Veggie Drawer

Refrigerator Veggie Drawer

So this is not a statement about politics…it simply is about dirt.  When you buy your produce at the grocery store, especially if it is grown conventionally it’s clean looking and sprarkling and even shiny (waxes, washes…).  However when you buy from a farmer’s market or get a produce box delivered from a CSA, it’s dirty.  Of course there’s nothing wrong with that.  It just takes some extra effort. 

Sometimes parents in my classes ask if it is necessary to wash organic produce.  The answer is YES.  Even if it doesn’t look dirty, the produce may have bugs (bug feces), dirt, bacteria etc.  And just because you’re not going to eat the peel, such as a carrot.  You still need to wash the outside.  Everything from the outside of that carrot is getting pushed right inside when you use the peeler or knife.

 My family gets it’s dirtiest produce from our own yard and CSA box.  When we pick a radish or something else from the ground, it’s clear it needs washing.  And CSA’s don’t have time (or resources) to wash your produce.   I didn’t realize how messy produce could be until I looked into my new refrigerator and saw the dirt. (see above).  Oh my!  My kids and I love to come home to see the box of produce on the front porch on delivery day.  It’s the element of surprise and a bit like opening a present on Christmas morning.  “I wonder what’s inside”, my daughter will say. 

We three gather around the “low table” and everyone looks in and starts taking out and identifying “Carrots, grapes, peppers, potatoes… Is this kale or chard?”  Before I saw the dirt in the refrigerator, we were simply transferring the items from the box to the produce bags to the refrigerator.  Well now we we have a new system…

1. Unpack and identify

2. Give items that need washing right away (not greens or berries) to mom at the sink

3. Mom washes, scrubs and dries

4. Kids count items and put in reusable produce bags.  (These bags are great.  They look like mesh and the produce can breathe.  However unlike plastic or bio bags, the dirt escapes)

5. Put appropriate bags in refrigerator or bowl(s) on counter. 

Of course there’s some upfront time (but we make the chore fun), and now I can keep my refrigerator clean (and save time when prepping to cook).

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Got Food? The Hunger Challenge

Monday, September 21st, 2009

From Lisa Barnes

I participated in last year’s Hunger Challenge led by the San Francisco Food Bank.  I didn’t realize how many were effected overall and especially in San Francisco.  We know what an expensive place this is to live, but there is the assumption that those living here are doing well.  Not so, as 1 in 4 San Francisco children lack regular access to food they need to learn, grow, & have a healthy start in life and  60% of the clients served by The San Francisco Food Bank are working families.  This year when asked to participate I’ve learned the numbers of those served is even higher and over 34 million people in the U.S. received food stamps in April 2009, up about 20% over April 2008.

While the numbers have increased, thankfully so has the amount given to food stamp recipients.  Last year the average family living on food stamps has just $1 per person to spend on each meal (example my family of four would have $4 total per meal).  So the challenge was to try spending just $3 per day on food (per person in your household).  This year the amount has been increased to $4 per day, or about $1.33 per meal.  Thus $4 x 7 = $28 per person for the week.  Thus a family of four would get $4 x 28 = $112.  This increase is good for my own family’s challenge since my family’s appetite and food bills have increased as my children get older (now ages 3 and 6).  There’s no factor for age.  I can imagine this is quite a bit harder for a family with a few teenagers.  Unfortunately the increase is due to a stimulus bill that is only temporary (through December 2010).

Keep reading at Lisa’s new blog→
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The Sigg Fib

Sunday, September 13th, 2009

From Lisa Barnes

As consumers we’re constantly bombarded with information about what to buy. As moms we have to filter and research that information to make the healthiest and safest choices for our kids and families.

When I heard about the latest recall (voluntary) from a company I thought was eco friendly and trustworthy, I had to spread the word. Sigg has announced that the liners in their aluminum bottles manufactured before August 2008 contained BPA (Bisphenol A). Apparently those made after that date have a new BPA free liner. However you need to look at the color of the liner (see photo) to determine if you have the new or old liner, as some bottles, though purchased recently may have been backstocked at the retailer. You may send your old bottles back to Sigg and they will send you a coupon code to order new bottles. I also know of some local retailers such as Whole Foods, REI and hardware stores who may switch them out for you (or even give store credit), depending on stock and policy.

This really saddens and angers me, as not only have I advocated for the use of such on-the-go bottles in my classes and book, but also use them for my family. Whether you believe their reports that the BPA does not leak and is safe or not – consumers should have all the knowledge to choose. If you are looking for other BPA free drinking bottle options, here are some to consider:  Klean Kanteen, CamelBak, Kids Konserve, EarthLust, and Eco Vessel.

I traded in a few of my Sigg’s for new ones, however I don’t feel good using them.  The company wasn’t honest and I don’t want to promote them.  Although I like their shapes, sizes and tops, we also have Klean Kanteens and Kids Konserve options for lunchboxes.  I certainly won’t buy more Siggs.  I just bought the CamelBak kids bottles for a try.  Yes, they are BPA free, plus my kids were really wanting to try out the straws.  (I did take away THEIR cups by the way).  After a recall or problem with a child’s item, it puts the parent in an tough position.  You have to teach your child about the possible harmful product (good lesson from mom), but you have to take away a favorite item (bad mom).

I can’t say what the be all end all is in reusable cups – especially as the landscape changes.  However all we can do is our best to research and try to make a healthy consumer decision for what we know at the moment.  I can’t beat myself up (and neither should you) about things I thought were safe and turn out maybe not so great.  At least we’re safely drinking (as far as we know) at home, when it’s good old fashioned glasses made of glass.
~~
Lisa Barnes is author of The Petit Appetit Cookbook: Easy, Organic Recipes to Nurture Your Baby and Toddler, Williams-Sonoma: Cooking For Baby, and Petit Appetit: Eat, Drink and Be Merry and lives in Sausalito, California.

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Growing Up Veggies, Herbs and Ice Cream

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

From Lisa Barnes

Not only did we set up a compost, but we planted some edibles. I’d been reviewing lots of great photos and ideas in Sunset Magazine and online on Kids Gardening , but because of all the animals around us (deer, foxes, raccoons, turkeys, skunks etc.) we decided to plant in containers on our front deck. I figured once we had some experience then we could see about making the investment in a true garden in the yard and building the deer fence.  While I was optimistic I was also realistic in my green thumb expectations.  I don’t do very well with plants and thus usually only have orchids or cut flowers indoors.

So my kids and I venured to the nursery with lots of questions about edibles and containers. We bought starts of tomatoes, lettuce, beans, peas, strawberries, basil and mint.  All chosen by my children.   When we got home we all got dirty and had a great time planting. Every day the kids have been eagerly taking turns to water the plants each day and look for anything “to happen”.

Well after about 3 weeks, my family actually ate a salad of greens from our efforts. Harvesting lettuce was really a proud moment for my kids and I. I’ve been writing and telling parents about getting children involved in the growing, shopping and cooking of their food. We all see how children (and adults) enjoy tasting foods at the farmer’s market and picking berries at a u-pick farm, but there really is a sense of pride when they grow and eat something they’ve nurtured. Both my daughter and son enjoyed the lettuce and kept pointing outside and reminding my husband and I “We made this lettuce, just right out there.  Now we don’t need to buy lettuce at the store”.

Because we haven’t had enough the heat, the tomatoes aren’t ripening yet. However they are growing.  Not knowing how big they’d get from our little 5 inch starters, we kept gathering sticks to make stakes and hold the plants. Finally we made a trip back to the nursery to learn about proper stakes and garden tape to make a cage. (I was asking too much of my culinary string). Also feeling bold we bought some additional pots for seeds my father had sent us. After about 2 weeks now we’re sprouting carrots, radish and cucumber too.

While we’re waiting on our veggies, I’ve found the perfect thing to make for the summer and use the garden – mint chocolate ice cream.  (This recipe from Simply Recipes has great step by step instructions and does not use peppermint extract or food colorings as so many others.)  I missed making ice cream, since I had such an old freezer (see post), so I couldn’t wait to make and share the taste of real mint ice cream (that wasn’t bright green) with my kids.  We made about 3 batches so far as we have many birthdays in our family in July.  In fact I’m going to have to buy fresh mint for our next batch, as we need to give our mint in the garden a chance to grow more.

My family has been really been enjoying time together in our mini garden (and the fruits of our labor).   With just a few simple pots, dirt, and plants I feel good about practicing more with my family of what I’ve been preaching.
~~
Lisa Barnes is author of The Petit Appetit Cookbook: Easy, Organic Recipes to Nurture Your Baby and Toddler, Williams-Sonoma: Cooking For Baby, and Petit Appetit: Eat, Drink and Be Merry and lives in Sausalito, California.

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Eat Your Flowers – With Organic Blooming Salad Recipe

Tuesday, May 26th, 2009

From Lisa Barnes

My son has always been an adventurous eater (think mussels, clams, shitake mushrooms), and luckily (in the eating arena) my daughter does everything her big brother does.  Although sometimes I worry they will eat something they shouldn’t while exploring outside, such as a poison mushroom or wild cherry that is not edible.  I’ve explained many times about eating things not purchased from a store, or farmer’s market.  However from as young as I can remember my son would eat rosemary and fennel from the neighbors’ yard or pick wild blackberries from vines on the road.

Last month the Sunset Magazine arrived with a beautiful salad on the cover.  Like most photos of foods, my son sees it and asks “can we make that?”  But then asks “are those flowers?”  I explain they are edible flowers.  This however really peaks his interest and I realize I may be in for some trouble.  I read the recipe and the article about growing edible flowers and promise to make the salad for Easter.  I thought it was perfect since it was so beautiful, plus I’d been assigned salad for my family’s gathering.

Unfortunately I had to disappoint my son (and myself).  I couldn’t find the edible flowers anywhere.  No stores in the Bay Area were able to get their supply in time for Easter.  For reasons I don’t know.  I explained to my son we would find them for another time.

We were at the farmer’s market a few weeks later and there they were – Calendulas.  My son was longingly looking at them with a “can we, can we?”  The grower said to go ahead and try it (but cautioned just to eat the petals).  My son of course liked them (his sister seemed to as well) and we were off to make the salad.

Surprisingly my daughter was more excited about actually making the salad (she loved pulling off the petals).  But I must say it was beautiful and tasty (although I credit mostly the dressing and fresh spring peas) and worth the wait.  I’m dreaming of planting them myself to be able to find them when I need them next year.  (However like the house was a fixer, so is the yard – so stay tuned)  In the meantime I’m researching and reading (especially Rosalind and Gene) and have started our gardening foray with some small lettuces, tomatoes and herbs…

Here’s a variation of Sunset’s “Blooming Salad”

Dressing:
2  ½ tbsp. organic Safflower or canola oil
½ tsp. unseasoned rice vinegar
¼ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. minced tarragon
Whisk all ingredients in a small bowl.

Salad:
Rinse and dry handfuls of mache, mesclun and chervil sprigs and out in a large glass bowl.

Add slices of Persian cucumber, sugar snap peas and radish slices

Drizzle vinaigrette over salad and toss.

Pull petals from organic edible flowers* such as calendulas, nasturtiums, bachelor’s buttons, borage and violas and sprinkle over salad.
~

See also Lisa’s two new books out now at local bookstores:

Cooking for Baby: Wholesome, Homemade, Delicious Foods for 6 to 18 Months

Eat, Drink and Be Merry: Easy, Organic Snacks, Beverages, and Party Foods For Kids of all Ages.

… and Bay Area’s New Crop of Gardeners Digging In→
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*Edible Flower Disclaimer
Lisa Barnes is author of The Petit Appetit Cookbook: Easy, Organic Recipes to Nurture Your Baby and Toddler, and lives in Sausalito, California.

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Help! I Have No Kitchen (with Organic Roll Up Recipe)

Monday, March 9th, 2009

From Lisa Barnes

The past month has been a bit kooky in the kitchen. First we were without refrigeration. An ancient sub-zero died and our landlord couldn’t figure out how to remove it  (800 pounds! up three flights in a townhouse). It was an adventure at first. Ice chests for the food and I told the kids it was like camping. But it sure got old trying to dig through all the ice to find the cream cheese (always at the bottom) to make my son’s favorite wrap for school lunch in the morning. For someone who teaches how to create convenience for family cooking by freezing quantities of purees for baby and left-overs of family meals – this was a challenge. Cooking with no leftovers seemed wasteful. Next we had a new refrigerator outside on our deck (no really – waitng for someone to solve the subzero issue). I have a huge appreciation for refrigeration. My friend Kristi joked about my going totally green and how I’m cutting back on electricity by not having a refrigerator. She even found this article in the NY Times about people giving up their refrigerator by choice. Now that’s a commitment.

In December we bought a fixer house and have been remodeling the kitchen and baths (as green as possible but we’ll have appliances).  With a move in date approaching, I’ve been so excited. A new kitchen with a  new refrigerator (not a Sub Zero) inside the actual kitchen.

However as remodels go, there’ve been glitches. We moved in this week and the kitchen wasn’t finished.  However what was working was the new refrigerator. Funny, irony. Now I’m about 6 days in without a range. No problem I thought, I’ll do more raw foods – better for us anyways right? Well it is cold and rainy outside and salads, wraps and cold foods just aren’t comforting like a nice bowl of hot soup.  We’ve been eating out more which is taking a toll (on our wallets and my sanity – taking 2 kids out to eat too often loses its luster).  I just want to cook a hot meal and make a cup of tea and eat from our dishes.

We’ve also been undoing (just temporarily) some of our green habits and eating traditions. We’ve used some plastic utensils and old birthday paper plates, I found when packing. I felt bad and bought biodegradable plates, and bowls and then unpacked the silverware (even though I can’t wash it). We also bought bottled water. I know, the guilt! I just don’t want to drink from the one working sink in the bathroom (I’m sure it’s perfectly fine). But we’re increasing our garage and recyclables without unpacking many dishes (which can’t be washed without a sink). We also ate some food in the bedrooms. This has never happened. We always sit at the dining room table or in the kitchen to eat or drink. It’s just a rule. Of course the kids think it’s pretty cool to eat a granola bar and yogurt in their room for an afternoon snack. I just keep telling myself (and the kids) it’s an adventure and once the workers are out of my kitchen we go back to the table.

So I’ve been questioning which of the three kitchen items I could do without the longest… the range, the refrigerator or the sink? Not having the range makes me more creative. Not having the refrigerator takes me to the store and farmer’s market more often, but at least I’m eating very fresh. Surprisingly I think the sink has been the hardest to go without. Not being able to wash/rinse dishes (my husband joked how about taking them outside in the rain), let alone put them somewhere is hard. Plus there’s the water to drink and cook with (again hard with the bathroom sink). And washing your hands (and little sticky faces).  Boy I realize we use the kitchen sink quite often.

I know I am going to appreciate my kitchen and fixer quite a bit (I hope soon!)

And to add to the chaos my new book Petit Appetit Eat, Drink and Be Merry was released this week.  Here’s my son’s wrap recipe from the book. Luckily there’s a never ending supply of creativity of what can be wrapped up.

Jonas’ Turkey Roll-Up
At the time of this writing my son requests this be packed for school almost every day. The best part is it is simple and can be done in only a few minutes. If my son ever gets out of a rut he’ll realize how versatile this can be too; prosciutto or roast beef slices can be substituted for the turkey. For a veggie option grate or thinly slice veggies such as zucchini, carrots, bell pepper and layer with cheese. I usually make one whole lavosh roll-up for the day, half for my son’s lunchbox and half for my daughter’s on-the-go snack.

1 roll; 2 servings

1 piece lavosh (about 13 × 9 inches)
2 ounces organic Neufchatel cheese
2 ounces thinly sliced organic cooked turkey

Spread lavosh with a layer of cheese. Layer turkey in single layer on cheese.

Starting from narrow side, roll lavosh until you reach the end. You may want to add a small spread of cream cheese to secure roll. Using a sharp knife, make a quick cut in the center of roll. Cut each half in half again. Then each quarter in half, so you have 8 pieces.

Kids Korner Need more glue! My son likes these rolled tightly and packed in his bento-style container. He likes to be sure I spread enough “glue”, a.k.a cream cheese to keep them together without unraveling.
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See also Lisa’s Getting Greener or Getting Fooled – Label Deception
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Lisa Barnes is author of The Petit Appetit Cookbook: Easy, Organic Recipes to Nurture Your Baby and Toddler, Williams-Sonoma: Cooking For Baby, Petit Appetit: Eat, Drink and Be Merry [Avail. March 2009], and lives in Sausalito, California.
OrganicToBe.org | OrganicToGo.com
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