Healthy Snack-Packer

Last week, we decided to take a mid-morning bike ride. I wanted to keep it simple and get out the door in under 30 minutes. Thus, I was delighted when my 6-year-old surprised us all by packing a snack while I got the bikes out and her little brothers ready (shoes, socks, has everyone gone to the bathroom?, let's get some sunscreen on those cheeks!, where are the helmets?).

She proudly presented two tidy plastic containers to me, filled with clementines and mint she pulled from the garden. Yes, mint. I paused a little, thinking, how satisfying will this be to gnaw on a pile of mint? But I didn't want to crush her enthusiasm (I was keeping this simple, right?), so we headed out the door. 

After we had pedaled for awhile (maybe a mile...), we found some swings and good spot to have our snack. To my surprise, everyone snacked on the mint. We have little bits of it out of the garden often, but never really indulged in salad-like portions before. No one commented that it was unusual. Turned out it was a perfectly refreshing thing on an extremely hot and humid day. My daughter ate the 3 clementines almost entirely by herself. The remains of our snack are what you see in the photo.

I was happy that everyone had such a healthy snack, and that my daughter came up with it. Fun to see what the kids assemble as they get a little older. Nice work, Kate!

Promising use for Flaxseed Meal

Don't these little bites look tasty?
http://smashedpeasandcarrots.blogspot.com/2011/08/no-bake-energy-bites-recipe.html

Wait. I should hesitate before sending you off to some other blog that looks tended, stylish, and like they have hired photography, but what the heck. When I showed them to my daughter, she said, "They look like oatmeal meatballs!" Fair enough. But the presence of chocolate chips will get me to try anything.

Considering that for a moment. Yes, I think that's true.

My brief search for flaxseed meal recipes landed a lot of muffins, smoothie add-ins, and brownies. Hm. Thanks, Sylvia, for sending me this recipe and therefore providing a glimmer of hope that I'll use more of this stuff before finding it rancid in my fridge a year from now.

In the meantime, if anyone needs to borrow a bit of flaxseed meal, I'm willing to share.

p.s. peanut allergies? My friend says sunbutter makes a good substitute in this recipe.

Delicious

Not edible, but sometimes a time and mood come together to make for some very tasty music. Tonight I'm enjoying a late evening snack of music from this site: http://content.thespco.org/music/

If you're in the mood, pick something from the buffet and enjoy.

Pretzels for Lent

Indeed. Pretzels done the Catholic way are the topic of this post. In great quantity, you say? No....for LENT!

My daughter brought this recipe home from her Sunday school program. They're easy and tolerant. For example, mine rose for 4 hours because I couldn't get to them, and one batch cooked nearly 2x as long as they should have because I turned off the oven but forgot to remove them. All edible still. I just recommend that you tuck the "arm-ends" under or they look a little, um, unappetizing when baked.

As my daughter summarized: They weren't the best, but they were pretty good and I liked making them.

Recipe and story, courtesy of Creative Communications for the Parish (c).

"Many years ago, an Italian monk made a simple bread to remind his brother monks that Lent was a time of prayer. He rolled bread dough in strips and shaped them in the form of arms crossed over the heart in a prayerful gesture. These little breads were called bracellae, the Latin word for "little arms." From this word came the German word bretzel, and our word pretzel."

---
1 1/2 c warm water
1 pkg active dry yeast
1/2 t sugar
1/2 t salt
4 1/2 to 5 c flour

1 beaten egg
coarse (kosher) salt

Pour water in bowl. Stir in yeast, salt and sugar to dissolve. Mix in flour and form a ball. Knead. Let rest 1 hour. Roll dough into strips about 1/2in x 6in, or to desired size. Fold into pretzel shapes and place on lightly greased cookie sheet. Brush lightly w/egg and sprinkle w/salt. Bake 425 for 15 min. Makes 2 1/2 dozen.

Sweet Lies

10:38pm
I begin assembling a recipe for no-bake bars that claim to take 20 min. You're on.

10:52pm
I've finally finished crushing Chex cereal and measuring dry ingredients. There is no way this is going to take 20 min.

11:02pm
Marshmallows and butter are melted and ready to combine with the dry ingredients. 24 minutes and counting.

11:18pm
Currants have been added, the pan prepared, and the bars have been pressed into the pan. 20 minutes. I think not. I take this as a personal affront. My time is precious. If you're telling me it takes a certain amount of time to make your recipe, then assuming I've done my prep work and have the ingredients on hand, IT BETTER NOT TAKE ANY LONGER!

Time for bed.

By the way, this is what I made: Snack Bars
This is part of the service project effort that my kids, possibly others, were to participate in. More on that later.

Service Project Snacks

I'm always interested in finding service opportunities my kids can understand and enjoy. Our church is building a Habitat for Humanity House next week, so I asked if we could help with food prep for the crew. They suggested we make snacks for the builders a couple of days--whatever we want to bring.

The project is next week, Thursday and Friday. We'll probably prepare the snacks on Wednesday, since they need to be delivered to the site Thursday and Friday by 8:30AM. The kids are interested in this topic and have asked questions like, "Why do the people need a home?" and "Who built our house?" It opens up some great conversations. They're excited and curious about the idea of making snacks for builders and I think it will help them to see the site when we deliver them.

If anyone would like to join our "team" making snacks for 15-20 builders next Wednesday, let me know! I haven't decided what to make yet, so ideas are welcome. Maybe snack mix. Maybe the kids can wash and cut grapes into quick-grab portions. Anything goes, as long as it's manageable for kids in some capacity.

Friday Night Pesto Party

I had hoped to join my husband making pesto Friday night from our huge basil harvest, but instead he delivered a dish of pesto and crackers to my upstairs micro-office, hot off the food processor. Delish. It's now Saturday noon, and I can still taste the garlic. Fortunately my only meeting today is via telephone!

Instant Fondue

Dried apricot + jar of Nutella.
Viola!