One Hungry Mama

September 3rd, 2010

{recipe} Cannoli Ice Cream. Happy Long Weekend!

I told you I had a holiday weekend surprise up my sleeve (or, um, in my belly).

Cannoli Ice Cream.

Yes. Ice cream that tastes like Cannoli Cream.

Seriously.

And it’s easy, too. Barely any labor required for this Labor Day treat.

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September 3rd, 2010

{recipe} Back-to-School Breakfasts

Photo: Simple Bites

I know. We’re so close to a holiday weekend and here I am posting about back-to-school. But Tuesday is coming sooner than you think. (Plus, I’ve got a holiday weekend surprise coming your way soon!)

I had to share this great post with 8 back-to-school breakfast ideas and recipes from Simple Bites. The ideas are healthy, inventive and easy (with many make-ahead options). Pair it with another one of their great posts, The Best Do-Ahead Breakfast Foods, and you’ve got mornings covered, baby!

In fact, many of these recipes are also great for entertaining. What parent has time to make an entire brunch for a crowd the same morning? Many of these recipes will help make it easy to have friends over for breakfast. Because, let’s be honest, brunch dates are the new dinner dates for us tired parents!

Check it out. You might even want to spend a little weekend time making Chai-Spiced Granola or Buckwheat Pancake Mix to have ready next week!

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September 2nd, 2010

{kitchen aids} Can It! Easy Ways to Preserve Summer Tomatoes

Photo: The Bitten Word

Are tomatoes by you as gorgeous as they are in Brooklyn right now?! The selection at my local farmers market is staggering. It’s hard not to walk away with many bags full. So I don’t! And neither should you. So fill up your bags, because over at fabulous parenting blog A Child Grows in Brooklyn I’ve shared all the tips you’ll need to easily preserve perfect summer tomatoes.

Oh stop! I hear you now. You don’t have the time or skills to preserve. Not true. It’s easy! And I’m not saying that as the Hungry Mama who would happily cook all day if she could. (I know I’m in the minority on that one.) I’m saying it as a busy mom of two kids, who fits work in between naps and needs to be completely motionless by 9 pm. It’s that girl who’s promising you that preserving tomatoes is easy. So trust me and get to it!

posted in:

kitchen aids | sauce | vegetables | vegetarian

September 2nd, 2010

{kitchen aid} Back-to-School Sammys: Best Supermarket Breads

Photo: Rachel Ray Magazine

I recently came across this review of supermarket sandwich breads and had to share.

Though I tend to avoid supermarket breads—I only buy one brand of organic, sliced whole wheat from the market—this review is super useful. It’s good to know what tastes good, then you can decide if their choices meet your criteria (eg, organic, no high fructose corn syrup, etc).

Update! The link to the full reviews of each bread on the Rachel Ray Mag site seems to be broken. I’m still posting this, though, because the link above at least names their taste test winners, which is a good lead.

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September 1st, 2010

{summer fest recipe} I’m a Pepper, You’re a Pepper

Nope. This isn’t a post about Dr. Pepper. Although, despite a general distaste for soda, every once and a while I love me a big ass draft Dr. Pepper poured over lots and lots of chippped ice.

But I digress.

Today is the first day of an extended Summer Fest (that will soon turn into Fall Fest!) with a focus on peppers. Sweet. Spicy. You name it.

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August 30th, 2010

{recipe} Quickest Curried Zucchini: The Anatomy of a Scratched Together Side Dish

I’m finally back. Not back for a few days before leaving again. Like really back. Getting ready for the start of school. Organizing fall clothes for the kids. Putting the suitcases away until November. And just settling back into a schedule. Because it’s only been two days since we were lounging, off the grid, on the glorious Oregon coast.

But you know what all this means, right? The cupboard is bare.

I’ve been hanging in by running to the store for this and that which, yesterday, included some gorgeous golden zucchini. I also grabbed cilantro just because. But then I got home and wondered: zucchini and cilantro?

It’s not that it sounds horrible. Just, well, a little odd. But probably only because I’d never paired the two before. (Have you? Tell!) I stared at my near-empty fridge hoping for inspiration, which came in the form of a recent batch of Quick Pickled Golden Raisins. Now I was getting somewhere!

posted in:

10+ mos | 12+ mos | 24+ mos | 6+ mos | 8+ mos | dinner | fast & easy | finger foods | gluten free | snacks | vegetables | vegetarian

August 25th, 2010

{into the mouth of babes} Vanilla Banana Fig

It’s Wednesday but, sadly, I have no Summer Fest recipe today. I’m on vacation and, though I’ve been cooking up a storm with family—even with teenagers!—I’ve abandoned recipe notes and photos to go with the frenetic energy of group cooking. But that shouldn’t stop you from checking out this week’s picks. The focus is tomatoes, so I have no doubt it’ll be worth your time.

In the meantime, I wanted to share my Hungry Mediterranean Baby’s new favorite fruit: FIGS! It must run through his Greek genes since Papou (aka Grandpa) is a serious fig fan, too.

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August 24th, 2010

{recipe} Grilled Tuna & Cubanelle Peppers with Olive & Caper Vinaigrette

I’m not big into bell peppers. And though I like spicy peppers—like jalapenos, poblanos and chipotles—I think of them as ingredients that enhance a larger whole. I rarely get excited about them being a main attraction. But there is one kind of pepper about which I feel differently. Cubanelle peppers. I LOVE these things and am always thrilled when I discover them at the farmer’s market.

Cubanelles have a sweet, mild flavor and thin flesh that feels just right compared to bulky bell peppers. They are fantastic pickled, sauteed (I like frying them with butter and shallots and layering them on top of crusty bread smeared with fresh ricotta cheese) or grilled, like in this recipe.

posted in:

10+ mos | 12+ mos | 24+ mos | 6+ mos | 8+ mos | dinner | fast & easy | finger foods | gluten free | main entree | seafood | vegetables

August 20th, 2010

{cravings, parenting} Back-to-School Lunch Product Guide

Land of Nod LunchBot

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OOPS! Sorry for the technical difficulties that published this post–incomplete!—the other day and, again, earlier today. Think of it as a sneak preview! And, take another look now that it’s complete… even though I’m still having some problems with the photos. Can’t win them all!
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Did I complain about an overload of back-to-school info? And did that give you the impression that I would keep my big mouth from joining the already cacophonous chorus of bloggers, publications and marketers giving you back-to-school suggestions?

Yes and yes? Hmm….

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August 18th, 2010

{summer fest recipe} Perfected Peach Cobbler

I know what you’re thinking. Peach cobbler doesn’t need to be perfected. Oh, but, friends, the headline isn’t just to catch your eye. I really did perfect it, hard as that might be to believe.

Most cobblers pair sweetened fruit with the simplest biscuit topping. While that’s great, I’ve always found it to be slightly off balance. Bites with too much topping are over savory, while the fruit, already naturally sweet, is too sugared. But that’s what cobbler is, the way it’s supposed to be. Right?

Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate a traditional cobbler. But I finally had the confidence to put my instincts to the test. I was ready to find out if I could make one that remained true to the essence of cobbler (and not feel like peach cake, for example), while balancing the flavors so that every mouthful is as perfect as the one before it. I was ready to see if I could perfect peach cobbler.

And I did.