Sunday Funday! Churro Recipe

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Sunday Funday! Churro Recipe

Churros are actually a Spanish dish, but you can find versions of them all across Latin America and the Caribbean. In Mexico they usually serve churros filled with dulce de leche, but I just love dipping them in chocolate.  The churro recipe that I'm sharing is from the cookbook of the Berkeley restaurant Cesar, which calls for a decent amount of grated citrus rind, giving them a bright acidic flavor. I took a few liberties with the ingredients in order to make them dairy free, subbing comparable measurements of Earth Balance for butter, and coconut milk for cream, but I'll give you the original recipe today, though I've modified the chocolate sauce to make it easier. Skip the pancakes and serve them for breakfast on Cinco de Mayo!

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Kale Chips

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Kale Chips

So that little garden we planted a couple of months ago has been fruitful. I have more lettuce than I know what to do with, the strawberries are growing like weeds, and the Dinosaur kale that I was worried we were planting too late is ready to harvest! Kale is one of those vegetables that can be a real turn-off for kids.  Kale is green and leafy, and not so sweet, but it's oh-so-good for you, with a ton of vitamin C and vitamin K, and a decent dose of calcium.  Since Jasper can't get his calcium from dairy products, I try to make sure he eats plenty of these dark green leafy vegetables. There are a few ways to make kale chips, and I've tried them all.  Here's my success recipe, which involves baking kale tossed in olive oil at a lower temperature to dehydrate it, without scorching the leaves. This makes for a nutty, crispy snack, and with a little sea salt (or truffle salt if you live in my house) the kids not only eat it, they like it! For a more grown-up version, toss with a little hot chili oil, or lemon juice before baking.

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Easy Peasy

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Easy Peasy

If you have a young child, I'm willing to bet you have a bag of peas in your freezer right now. It seems that the pea is the most well loved childhood vegetable.  Little known fact:most kids like to eat them still frozen, which is why today's recipe is in fact a cold soup. You may wonder if your kids (or you) would want to eat a cold green soup.  It's actually quite delicious.  Made with veggie stock and a little olive oil, it's not super hearty like split pea, but on a hot day it's refreshing, filling,and flavorful. Now that it's springtime, you can also make this soup using fresh peas. Simply blanch for 5 minutes, then chill in fridge for half an hour. Now onto the recipe:

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Seasons Eatings

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Seasons Eatings

I'll finish off this month of in-season recipes with a great weeknight meal, perfect for pairing with grilled shrimp or a poached egg.  Grits are stone ground corn, similar to polenta, which would also work in this recipe. The way I prepare them here, they are low in fat and vitamin rich, not what you think of when you here the word grits. I wanted to infuse the the meal with flavor so I finely chopped asparagus stems and sauteed them in a little olive oil and sea salt to combine with the water.  I slowly added white grits to the water, bringing them to a boil, then covering and reducing the heat to low, stirring consistently until absorbed.  I then added skim milk and stirred until creamy and fully cooked.  All said it took about 25 minutes. 

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Carrot Cupcakes

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Carrot Cupcakes

A few weeks ago I featured a recipe using carrots and coconut that was really pretty popular with you guys, so I thought I'd reprise the ingredients, this time in cupcake form. Naturally. 

I'm hosting a multi-kid play date today(man spring break has a whole new meaning when you get older) and I can't help but want to give my munchkin visitors a little treat. They'll be locked inside all day hiding from the rain doing a bunch of art projects, listening to bad pop music, jumping on the furniture, eating cupcakes. I'm not going to lie, that's kind of a dream day for me.  Here's the recipe. If you like the soup, you'll probably love these...

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