Happy Valentine’s Day, Yummies!

14 February 2009 Filed In: all the rest, chocolate, cooking class, decorating, pretzels





Happy Valentine’s Day, Yummies!  If you’re still in the mood for a quick afternoon Valentine craft, check out the pictures from my class yesterday.  

We dipped heart-shaped pretzels in white chocolate that we’d melted slowly in the double boiler and sprinkled them with chopped up dried cherries and-what else?-sparkly pink sprinkles.  This was by far the simplest thing I’ve ever made in a cooking class before, but it seemed to please the lovely ladies involved.  You could do this project with even the littlest Yummy.  Two year olds would rock it, no problem.  Just make sure that you cool the chocolate slightly before dipping your pretzels and transfer it into a nice, cool bowl so that mini-chef fingers are safe.
I hope that you’re all snuggling with your Yummies and the people you love today (please note Mir and Liev demo’ing above).  

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Cooking Class: Mon Cheri Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

13 February 2009 Filed In: cherry, chocolate, Christmas, cookies, cooking class, Desserts, Fall, Soy-free, Spring, Summer, Vegetarian, Winter





Our Yummy Mummy Wednesday class has officially become crazy.  Lots of the tiny Yummies have come of age and are right in there with their older siblings, rolling up their little sleeves, stirring, tasting batter, and holding their own.  The older kids have been wilder lately (urban can fever?), and we may very well have to incorporate a good calisthenics session into the class before we sit down to cook.  

Crazy as it is, it is also TONS of fun.  And, this week, when I told the kids that they would be making a Valentine treat, there were smiles all around.  
Me: What holiday is coming up this week, kids?
Kids: Valen-TIMES!!!
The treat we made for these Valen Times?  Cookies based on a new family favorite, the Chocolate-Oatmeal-Walnut Cookies from San Francisco’s divine Tartine Bakery.  We supplemented the cookies with flaxseed meal (you’d never know if, well, you didn’t know), some whole wheat flour, a jot more molasses, and added bright red dried bing cherries with white chocolate to take them to the next level.
Who needs an electric mixer when there are energetic Yummies all around?  We mixed these up by hand like it weren’t no thang.
Mon Cheri Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

*1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
*1  1/4 c. all purpose flour
*2 T. flaxseed meal
*1 t. baking soda
*1 t. baking powder
*1 t. salt
*2 c. old fashioned rolled oats
*1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
*1/4 c. blackstrap molasses
*2 eggs, room temperature
*1 T. vanilla 
*1 c. dried cherries, chopped if you like
*6 oz. bittersweet chocolate chips
*6 oz. white chocolate, cut into chunks
Together: In a large bowl, measure out the flours, the flaxseed meal, the baking powder and soda, salt, and oats with your Yummy.  Whisk these together.

In another large bowl, help your mini-chef beat the butter very well till it is light yellow and fluffy.  Add the sugar and the molasses and beat some more, and scrape down the sides of the bowl.  This is a fun skill to teach your Yummy.  Have them scrape down the different colors on the side of the bowl so that everything makes one color in the bottom of the bowl.  Then, add the eggs, one at a time, beating the mixture after each one.  Stir in the fragrant vanilla.

Using a cup measure, add the flour mixture gently in, cupful by cupful.  Now the best part: Show your mini-chef how to fold the chocolate and the cherries into the dough.  

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or overnight.

When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  

We always use the tiny ice cream scoops, but you could just as easily use a spoon or your hands to scoop up small bits of the dough.  have your mini-chef shape this into a ball and then smash that ball flat so that it becomes a pancake.  Put each pancake onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet.  

Big Person: Slide the baking sheets into the oven and bake 10-15 minutes.  Cool, and share them with all the sweethearts in your life.  (We prefer these cookies a little on the crispy side, but you could also undercook them, let them cool for several more minutes on the sheet, and they’d be delicious in a different way.)

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Guest Bloggers Abigail and Matthew make Oyako Donburi

12 February 2009 Filed In: chicken, Dairy-free, Fall, Gluten-free, guest blogger, Main Dish, rice, Spring, Summer, Winter


My little brother, who is 6 feet 8 inches tall in his sock feet, lived in Tokyo for several years and has given me a door into a world that I might have known nothing about.  He lived in a teensy tiny apartment and described his daily life and the richness, if not in space, in the food, the children, the sights, and the language around him.

Imagine my delight when I stumbled upon Abigail and her delightful blog Mamatouille.  She’s an American living and cooking in Japan with her husband and her two Yummies, Matthew and Joel.  She graciously agreed to make a Japanese dish for us with Matthew, who is nearly 3 years old and who looks to be super-duper good spinach washer and mini-chef.  (And, domo arigato, Matthew and Abigail!):

“Oyako” in Japanese means “parent-child”, which is completely appropriate for this traditional Japanese home-cooked dish with chicken and eggs.  (Which came first?)  “Donburi” just means bowl and is used for any hot meal that’s served over rice in a bowl.  This recipe came to me on a convoluted route: I got the More With Less cookbook for my American wedding (we had one in the US and one in the UK for all of our peeps to be able to join in), the recipe in the American cookbook is from Obihiro, Japan (a city on Hokkaido-the big island north of the main island), and I brought my precious cookbook with me when we moved here to Japan in 2001.  I have served this dish to my former Japanese sensei (and one of my of my adopted Japanese mothers), and she said it was “perfect”.  My little yummy bean, Matthew [pictured above helping Mama wash some dirt off either himself or the spinach], thinks so, too, and this is the only way I can get him to consume spinach (and it’s not even hidden).


And if you think my Japanese kitchen is small, you ain’t seen nuthin’!  This is gihugic compared to some of my friends’ kitchens here, and at least mine has a door and isn’t in the living room (seriously).

OK, everybody wash hands and let’s get down to this cookin’ business.

You’ll need:
*1/2 lb raw chicken, skinless and cut into bite sized pieces
*5  eggs (yes, really)
*enough flour for dusting the chicken
*1 c. water
*3 dried mushrooms, diced finely
*1/4 c. sugar
*1/3 c. soy sauce (dark)
*2 scallions, cut diagonally, or 1 sliced onion
*2 c. chopped fresh spinach
*chopped parsley for garnishing
*cooked rice for 4 people (recipe here)

Together/Oyako: Measure the ingredients and have them sitting and ready.  Wash the chopped spinach and have that draining in a colander.

Big Person/Oya: Combine the mushrooms and water in a saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes, then leave to sit in the water for a few minutes while you get on with the rest of the steps.

Mini-chef/Ko: Ask your mama or daddy to help you beat the 5 eggs in a bowl.  Matthew’s darn good at that-he gets a lot of practice round here.

Together/Oyako: Dust the chicken with flour and dip in the beaten egg (reserving the extra eggs).

Big Person/Oya: Fry the chicken in a big skillet in oil till brown.  Add the mushrooms with liquid, sugar, and soy sauce to the chicken in the pan and simmer for 15 minutes.  Then add the chopped onion or scallions and simmer 10 more minutes.  Add the spinach and while it’s still bright green, add those reserved beaten eggs to the skillet and cover it.  Cook only until it’s set (nobody’s worried about salmonella over here, and raw eggs are consumed at a high rate-if you’re stateside and concerned about that, cook it until you feel it’s ready), add some rice to the individual bowls, and ladle some oyako donburi into each bowl.

Mini-Chef/Ko: Scatter some chopped parsley over each serving to garnish.  Then enjoy with your Oya and don’t forget to mention how “nummy” it is!  Or if you want to sound Japanese, say “OISHII!”

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Steel Cut Oatmeal with Maple-Glazed Bacon

11 February 2009 Filed In: bacon, breakfast, Dairy-free, Fall, Main Dish, oatmeal, Soy-free, Spring, Summer, Winter


It was one of those weeks last week: left my camera in the back of a cab just before cooking class, my Grandma Cora (the last of my grandparents) passed away, and of course my week was filled to the brim with activities that couldn’t easily be canceled or rescheduled.

So, as I so often do when I’m feeling a bit down in the dumps, I set to the kitchen to cook one of my family’s all time favorite simple foods, oatmeal.  If you think that you or your children do not like oatmeal, then let me ask you whether you’ve had real, steel cut oats made by hand?  The kind that aren’t slimy but almost taste like a good risotto might, with just enough bite?
Here, in the middle of February, in the middle of a time when a lot of us feel that Spring might never come, it’s nice to have a healthful comfort food.  In our family, we call this “goat-meal”, and we make a large pot so that everyone can add to it as they see fit.  Savory.  Sweet.  Stewed fruits.  Brown Sugar.  Grated Parmesan.   With any of these, though, a little slice of crumbled maple-glazed bacon now and then is just naughty enough to make it taste extra nice.

Steel Cut Oatmeal with Maple-Glazed Bacon

For the oatmeal:
*1 1/2 c. steel-cut oats
*12 c. water
*apples, pears, or anything in season (up to 4 medium) cut to a fine dice
*a pinch of salt

Together:  Measure out the oats.  Set aside.  Put the water and the pinch of salt into a large, heavy-bottomed pot.  

Big Person: Bring the water and the pinch of salt to a boil over high heat.  Stir in the oats, and keep stirring for about 5 minutes.  Then throw in your apples and pears and stir another 10 minutes.  You can step away from the pot for a moment or two, but never leave it more than a minute at a time.  When the oatmeal is smooth, turn the heat down and let it simmer for another 15-20 minutes.  

For the bacon:

*4 pieces of uncured bacon
*2 T. real maple syrup

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.

Together:  Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment.  Have your mini-chef place the bacon on the baking sheet.    

Big Person: Put the bacon into the oven for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes, take the bacon out and remove it to a plate.  Very carefully, pour off the excess grease from the baking sheet into a bowl to cool.  

Together: With a basting brush, let your Yummy paint the bacon with the maple syrup on one side.  Big Person, flip each slice over with some tongs, and let your Yummy paint the other side as well.   

Big Person: Put the bacon back on your parchment lined baking sheet.  Slide the pan back into the oven and roast for 5-10 more minutes, or until the bacon is nice and crisp.

To assemble: Stir in brown sugar, milk, more maple syrup, agave, cheese, nuts or nut butters, dried or fresh fruits, or whatever you fancy into your serving of oatmeal.  Crumble the bacon over the top and serve immediately.

***You can double the oatmeal part of this recipe, cool whatever oatmeal you do not eat, and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.

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Beet Salad with Yogurt Panna Cotta

04 February 2009 Filed In: beet, Christmas, Fall, Gluten-free, panna cotta, Salad, salads, Side Dish, Soy-free, Spring, Summer, Vegetarian, Winter, yogurt


Some old friends, mamas themselves now, were discussing the Sneaky Chef and the Deceptive Chef– 
or whatever Mrs. Seinfeld calls herself-on Facebook. They were 
wondering which foods were the best, whether to disguise things at all, etc.  
Somehow, Tribeca Yummy Mummy was very kindly mentioned.  
Without evoking too much hoopla over food philosophy, my response 
has always been 
to add good things, both blatantly and sneakily to your family’s 
food.
When we cook together, my daughter is almost always ready to help me make things, even if she 
doesn’t immediately love the flavors involved. She knows exactly what we put into the recipes 
because she’s right there making them with me. We have always talked about the fact 
that you may 
not like something separately, but you might like it IN something.  
Witness the many permutations of veggie and fruit muffins that 
Mira would normally give the stink-eye but instead 
begs for.
Roasted beets are sweet, delicious, and look magical on the plate with 
their crazy-bold colors.  Putting them on the plate alongside creamy 
yogurt panna cotta makes them a treat.
Beet Salad with Yogurt Panna Cotta

For the Panna Cotta:
*2 T. water
*1 1/2 t. gelatin
*2 c. heavy cream
*1 3/4 c. yogurt, whole milk preferably
*1 t. salt
*1 t. white pepper, freshly ground (optional)
*1 t. orange flower water (optional)

Measure the water out into a small liquid measuring cup with your mini-chef. Let 
your mini-chef sprinkle the gelatin over the water and set it 
aside. Be sure and discuss how liquidy-watery the water is 
before adding the gelatin so that it’s a fun surprise to see 
the change when it is suddenly so much more solid.

While the water is gelling, have your mini-chef pour the 
yogurt, salt and white pepper into a large bowl, 
preferably a large measuring cup or a bowl with a 
pouring lip, and give it a stir. Then, have them pour the 
cream into a medium saucepan.

Big Person: Place the cream over medium heat on your 
stovetop. Stirring the whole time, bring the cream to a 
simmer, and take it off of the heat.

Together: Take a look at the water/gelatin mixture now and 
poke it with your finger. Doesn’t it feel different?  
Ok, you can add that to the cream, and whisk, 
being extremely careful since the saucepan is still hot (This 
would be a step you would skip and do yourself if you have 
a younger or, ahem, more rambunctious Yummy).  
Whisk it for a good minute so that you fully integrate 
the gelatin into the cream.

Pour the cream mixture into the yogurt mixture and stir some more till those 
two things are completely combined. Stir in the orange flower water.

Pour the mixture into small ramekins, sake cups, or really 
anything small bowl, cup, etc. Place all of your cups and 
whatnot onto a tray or pan with a lip and keep them 
uncovered till they come to room temperature. Once 
they’ve cooled, cover them with plastic wrap and put 
them in the fridge for at least 5 hours or, better yet, 
overnight.

For the Beet Salad:
*one bunch of regular (red) beets, about a pound
*one bunch of golden beets, about a pound
*one sweet apple, such as Gala or Macoun
*1 t. fresh lemon juice
*one large orange or two small oranges, juiced
*1/4 c. mild olive oil
*1 t. apple cider vinegar
*2 T. honey
*salt and black pepper, to taste

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.  

Wash your beets with a vegetable brush. Place your red beets onto one 
sheet with the apple, and place the golden beets onto another baking 
sheet.  Roast everything for about 40 minutes, or until the 
beets feel slightly soft to the touch. Let them cool 
completely.

Big Person: Cut off the skins of the red beets and the apple.  
Core the apple.  
Puree the red beets and the apple together.  
Pour the puree into a small bowl.  

Wash your cutting board, and cut the skins off of the golden 
beets.  Slice them as thinly as humanly possible with a knife 
or, if you have one, a mandoline.  

Together: Toss the golden beets with the teaspoon of lemon
juice, some salt and pepper, and a wee bit of the honey.

To the beet-apple puree, add the rest of the ingredients and 
stir.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  
Adjust the sweetness to taste as well, 
adding more honey if you need it. Chill it or keep it at room 
temperature, as you like.

To Assemble Everything:
Spoon the beet puree onto a plate and stack the golden beets 
on top. Drizzle the yogurt panna cotta with just a touch more 
of the honey. Serve them side by side.

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