Strawberry and cherry granola bars
Say hello to the Frankenbar: Part granola bar, part oatmeal cookie, and part Rice Krispie treat.
These beauties are free of gluten, nuts, and can be dairy-free if you swap out the chocolate-covered sunflower seeds with a vegan chocolate. The brown rice syrup takes a little getting used to—for me, it has a slightly funky flavor on its own. But the syrup is far stickier than honey or maple syrup, so it's a better binder, and you don't taste it in final product.
These bars are also completely adaptable based on preferences and allergy concerns. Can't find dried strawberries or cherries? Use other dried fruits. Don't have any nut allergies? Use almonds or peanuts and their respective nut butters instead of the sunflower seeds and seed butter. Can't find chocolate covered sunflower seeds? Swap in the aforementioned vegan chocolate to make the bars dairy-free or use chocolate chunks or M&Ms.
This recipe is also a great way to use up sunflower seed butter if you have some left over. Again, one of those ingredients that can taste kind of funky on its own (unless you make this homemade version which is GREAT), but adds a nice nuttyness when combined with all of the other ingredients.
Strawberry and cherry granola bars
Time: 45 minutes, mostly active
Yield: about 18 large bars
1 1/2 cup quick rolled oats
1 1/2 cup puffed rice cereal (brown or white is fine)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup chocolate covered sunflower seeds
2/3 cup dried cherries, roughly chopped
2/3 cup dried strawberries, roughly chopped
1/3 cup freeze-dried cherries
1/3 cup freeze-dried strawberries
6 Tbsp melted coconut oil
1/3 cup + 2 Tbsp sunflower seed butter (1/3 cup works, but the bars are slightly crumbly)
1/3 cup + 2 Tbsp brown rice syrup
Preheat the oven to 350. Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment and lightly grease. Set aside.
Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
In a smaller bowl, melt the coconut oil. Whisk in the sunflower seed butter and the brown rice syrup. If not coming together, microwave the wet ingredients for 10 seconds at a time and try whisking as the ingredients warm.
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ones. Using a spatula or your hands (I always use my hands), stir well to combine.
Dump the mixture into the parchment-lined baking pan and pack down.
Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or just until the edges begin to brown.
Let cool completely before serving. The bars stay crunchy for one week in a sealed bag at room temperature, but go ahead and freeze some or all if you won't eat within a week.
Broccoli and cheddar corn bread
This corn bread uses corn meal, corn flour, and whole corn kernels for an extra corny flavor.
When we were but wee lads and lasses, M's dad took me to a fancy pants restaurant called Dovetail on the UWS in Manhattan. Despite its pedigree, the restaurant served this perfectly salty and sweet corn bread instead of the traditional sourdough or focaccia. It definitely had whole corn kernels--either fresh or roasted, I'm not sure-- and probably more salt than is healthy. I don't even remember the rest of the meal, but that corn bread haunts my dreams 10 years later.
This also feels like a good game day food and is perfect with a bowl of chili. (My favorite chili recipes here and here.)
M refuses fresh corn kernels, but make no mistake, we'll be trying again come corn season 2017. To get that extra corn-y flavor of the bread from Dovetail, I subbed corn flour for the AP flour that most recipes call for, which has the added bonus of turning this bread gluten-free. The flour isn't a perfect swap for fresh or roasted corn, but it gets the flavor closer while still being something M will eat.
Cheese makes everything better and broccoli makes me feel like a good mother, so I've thrown some of that in too.
Broccoli and cheddar corn bread
Adapted from Martha Stewart
Time: About 30-35 minutes
Yield: 10-12 servings
1 cup corn flour
1 cup corn meal
2 Tbsp sugar (white or brown is fine)
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1.5 cups buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly whisked
1.5 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 cups frozen broccoli, chopped
3/4 cup frozen corn (if you can find fire roasted, all the better)
6 large scallions, chopped
2 tbsp butter
Flaky salt, such as Maldon, for the top
Preheat oven to 425.
In a large bowl, combine the corn flour, corn meal, sugar, baking soda, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and lightly whisk. Add the buttermilk, eggs, cheese, broccoli, corn, and scallions, and stir to combine.
Place the butter in the cast iron or oven-proof skillet and put the skillet into the hot oven just until the butter melts. Take it out and carefully swirl to coat the bottom and sides.
Pour the mixture into the hot skillet (be careful!) and bake until golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Let the corn bread cool before cutting.
Green curry fish stew
Soup and stew are famously my favorite things. Well, this one is a Thai-inspired curry soup/stew that is both rich and light, familiar and new.
For me, one of the things I like about having a child is that his needs are so immediate that caring for him forces me to be in the moment much more than I ever was pre-parenthood. That required compartmentalizing has gotten me through the past few days. I feel this way about cooking too. It's an activity that forces me to pay attention and helps me to block out the worry that can sometimes drag me into its vortex.
So, Green Curry Fish Stew! It's a very delicious vehicle for vegetables and while not technically "hiding" them, the vegetables become part of a whole and don't taste like themselves necessarily. When M was a baby, one of his favorite purees from Baby Foode was chicken, carrots, mango, and Thai red curry paste, so he's always liked these flavors.
My version of a Thai-inspired curry is not at all traditional and is also technically more of a soup than a stew because there's a lot of sauce. But to me, that's the best part, so I'm not complaining.
And don't be scared of kohlrabi. If you can't find it, cabbage or broccoli stalks are the closest substitutes and also the closest in taste. You can eat kohlrabi raw, sauteed, boiled, or roasted and it's available in most grocery stores and farmer's markets. Here is a great description of what kohlrabi is and some suggestions about what to do with it.
Green curry fish stew
½ large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cup fish stock (or chicken/vegetable stock)
1 can full-fat coconut milk
5-7 Tbsp Thai green curry paste (or just go ahead and use the entire little bottle)
1 pint mushrooms, chopped
1 bunch baby broccoli (if using regular broccoli, use 6 oz or about 2 cups)
1 medium kohlrabi bulb, chopped (or just use the broccoli stalks if you can’t find kohlrabi)
2 cups raw baby spinach (1 cup frozen)
1 lb white fish (thawed or frozen)
2 Tbsp fish sauce
Cilantro for garnish
Heat oil over a medium flame and add onion and garlic, cooking until the onions are opaque, about 3 minutes.
Add the chopped mushrooms and cook until they start to wilt a bit, about 5 more minutes.
Add the baby broccoli and cook for one minute.
Add the coconut milk and the fish stock and bring to a boil.
Add the spinach, kohlrabi, and fish and bring back to a boil (this only takes a minute). Push the fish down to make sure it's covered by the cooking liquid.
When the pot is back to a boil, reduce heat all the way to low, cover, and let simmer until the fish is flaky, about 8-10 minutes depending on the thickness of your fish and if you start with frozen or thawed filets.
Once the fish is cooked, stir in the fish sauce and sprinkle with cilantro.
Makes 7-8 cups, which was about 4 adult servings and 2 toddler servings
