Like I Need An Excuse For A Cupcake

I just HAD to make some carrot cake cupcakes today...one of AJ's friends has a birthday in his class tomorrow and is bringing carrot cupcakes. Bummer! I guess we'll all just suffer through the batch! LOL.
Starting backwards with food
today...dinner was baguette
slices with scallion spinach
hummus (My Hummus recipe
+ 2 extra scallions and about
2 cups raw spinach), along with
whole wheat pasta & tempeh
balls with a vodka sauce (which
I forgot to take a pic of, so that'll
have to wait until another time!).
Ryan's lunch: pink rice heart; purple grapes; steamed broccoli; cherry raisins; snap pea crisps; a strawberry; cashews. I added a few heart-shaped saltine crackers on top of the snap pea crisps before packing this up, but after taking photos.

AJ's snack: purple
grapes; pink rice
heart; steamed broccoli.

Winter Soups, Part 2

Enjoy these delicious
soups with your family.
Spring will be here soon!

Mushroom Barley

1 onion, diced
1 T. olive oil
1 tsp. walnut oil (optional)
4 chopped sage leaves (or
1 tsp. dried crushed leaves)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 large carrots, diced
6-8 white button mushrooms, halved & sliced
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1/3 cup barley
2 cups vegetable stock
2 cups water

Combine first 5 ingredients over med-low heat, cooking until onions are soft, about 10 minutes.
Add next 3 ingredients (garlic powder, carrots & mushrooms) and cook another 5-10 minutes until mushrooms darken.
Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for about 45 minutes.

Split Pea Soup

1 onion, chopped
2 leeks, washed and chopped
1 T. olive oil
1 T. margarine
1 tsp. liquid smoke
1 tsp. salt
1 carrot, chopped
2/3 cup dried split peas
1 medium potato, chopped
2 cups vegetable stock
3 cups water
1 cup frozen peas
pepper to taste

Combine first 7 ingredients over medium-low heat, cooking until onions & leeks are soft.
Add split peas, potato, vegetable stock and 2 cups of the water. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 1.5-2 hours, until split peas are softened.
Add frozen peas, remaining 1 cup water, and fresh black pepper to taste. Cook 10 more minutes.
Turn off heat. Blend until creamy but lumpy using an immersion blender or food processor.

Pasta & Bean Soup

1/2 medium onion, diced
1-2 stalks celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, diced
1 T. olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. liquid smoke
2 cups tomatoes, diced,
chopped or crushed
2 cups vegetable stock
1 can chick peas, drained & rinsed
1 can cannellini beans, drained & rinsed
1 cup small pasta (I used mini farfalle)
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram

Combine first 6 ingredients over medium-low heat, cooking until onions are soft.
Add tomatoes & vegetable stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium. Cook 10-15 minutes.
Add chick peas. Cook 10 more minutes.
Add remaining ingredients. Cook 15 minutes.

Carrot Ginger Soup

1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp. fresh ginger (or 2 tsp.
chopped jarred ginger)
1 T. olive oil
1 stalk celery, chopped
5-6 large carrots, chopped
1 large potato chopped
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. dried dill
2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup water

Combine first 5 ingredients over medium-low heat, cooking until onions are soft.
Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium & cook about 40 minutes.
Turn off heat. Puree until smooth in a food processor or with an immersion blender.

If you prefer a milder soup, reduce ginger by half and cayenne pepper to just a sprinkle.

24 Carrot Meals

Last week's meals left
a lot to be desired
nutritionally speaking,
so despite three domestic
disasters (my husband
losing his highest paying
job, a minor car accident,
and the pipe from the water
main breaking and flooding
our entire basement) I was determined to feed everyone well regardless.

Carrots are in season. I received plenty in our farm shares over the past few week, and the supermarket had 5lb. bags of organic carrots on sale cheap, so I stocked up.

First I made a delicious tempeh stew loaded with carrots and other fresh farm veggies, served over rice.

Since the autumn weather
cooling off, I was craving
soup. I reinvented a vegan
version of chik'n & stars soup.
Everyone loved it, and it
used a couple more carrots.




The next day an asian-
style carrot & bok choy
dish was delicious over
some fried rice using
the previous day's rice
from the rice cooker.



Fried rice is a great way
to use up leftover veggies,
fresh, cooked, or frozen.
And of course carrots were
included.




Monday:

I was craving more
soup, so I made some
fabulous carrot-ginger
soup, creamy & smooth,
slightly spicy. It not only
used a hefty amount of
carrots, but some celery
greens as well.

Ryan's lunch: carrot potato crisps; a steamed hollowed carrot cup filled with Tofutti cream cheese & chive dip; baby carrots in blankets; nori cat rice ball; bean salad.
AJ's snack: veggie potato crisps; nori cat rice ball; grapes; carrots in blankets.

Tuesday:
Ryan's lunch: carrot-olive hummus (my hummus recipe, minus the olive oil, plus 12 lightly steamed baby carrots & 9 small green stuffed olives); cucumber slices; baby carrots; a tomato; oyster crackers; red bell pepper strips; celery sticks; smoked Tofurky & soy cheese roll-ups on flax wheat lavash bread.

AJ's snack: carrot-olive
hummus; oyster crackers;
cucumber slices; a baby
carrot; sandwich roll-ups.




Nate's
lunch
(a bit
bigger
than
usual,
he's
going
through
a growth
spurt &
eating a
lot at
the
moment):

oyster
crackers;
veggie
potato crisps; bean salad; grapes; sandwich roll-ups; baby carrots; carrot-olive hummus; tomatoes.

Our last weekly farm share of the season!!: huge cabbage leaves; green bell peppers; spinach; baby tat soi; white potatoes; huge squash; small acorn squash; rainbow swiss chard; pea tendrils; salad turnips; 2 small heads lettuce; a rutabaga; fingerling sweet potatoes; beets; carrots; raspberries; broccoli; scallions; a gift bag of popping corn & baby red & purple potatoes. Not shown: PYO tomatillos; herbs; flowers.

Wednesday:
Ryan's lunch: spinach & tat soi; raspberries; pea tendril; oatmeal-carrot cookies; grapes; sesame tofu on carrot skewers!
AJ's lunch for
grandma's house
after preschool:
spinach & tat soi;
sesame tofu; carrot
sticks; grapes; oatmeal-
carrot cookies.



One Bowl Oatmeal Carrot Cookies

4 T. (1/4 cup) Earth Balance Buttery Stick margarine, softened
3 T. canola oil (or other oil)
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated raw sugar
1 cup grated carrot
3 T. soy or almond milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups quick oats

Mix first 4 ingredients. Add next 3 ingredients and mix again. Add the next 5 (dry) ingredients and mix. Add oats and mix again.
Shape 1-2 T. blobs roughly into cookie shape and place on a greased baking sheet (I used spray olive oil).
Bake 20 minutes.

Ryan said I "failed the Iron Chef challenge" because he "couldn't even taste the secret ingredient" of carrots in these cookies. Oh well! I could. And all the kids demolished them.

Thursday:

Nate's lunch: edamame; sesame carrot inari; grapes; raspberries; cucumber & pickled daikon maki sushi.

AJ's snack: oatmeal-carrot
cookie; edamame; grapes;
kappa maki; sesame carrot
inari. (AJ let me know
after school that inari is
not supposed to have shredded
carrot in it and he didn't like
it...too bad, the other boys
loved it.)

Ryan's lunch: edamame; pineapple tidbits; soy sauce; 4 kinds of sushi using carrots 4 different ways!

The cabbage leaves
from the farm were
begging to be used
as plates or platters
of some sort, before
being turned into a
sesame cabbage &
carrot dish.

Candied Carrot Coins
accompanied dinner:
carrots, Earth Balance
margarine, brown sugar,
agave nectar, & ginger.
Maple syrup also works
well if you have no agave.


Friday:

Carrot pancakes for
breakfast. Another
big hit with the boys!
Top with maple syrup
of course.




Ryan's lunch: grapes; steamed hollowed carrot cup with Tofutti sour cream & Simply Organic French Onion Dip mix; spaghetti; peanuts; veggie crackers; carrot "chips"; candied carrot coins.

Lunch at home: curried
carrot salad with pineapple
& mango.
Leftovers go great with
tempeh for a heartier meal,
or with tempeh & rice in
a wrap sandwich.



Carrot smoothie: carrot
juice, pineapple juice, a
banana, frozen strawberries,
vanilla hemp milk.

There are so many things to
do with carrots. Just because
a kid doesn't like them one
doesn't mean you should give
up! Keep trying a variety of
approaches with all vegetables.
Besides what I prepared this
week, carrots can be used many more kid-friendly ways: shredded in lasagna, baked in muffins/bread/cake/granola bars, in pot pies, roasted with potatoes or other root vegetables, baked in foil packets, in pasta primavera or macaroni salad...the possibilities are endless.

Pancakes, Picnics & Pasta Salad

Monday:

Ryan & AJ: dinosaur grilled chreeze sandwiches; steamed broccoli; grapes.

When I'm pregnant I treat myself to all sorts of goodies...like this amazing slice of carrot cake from Cafe Indigo in Concord, NH. Soooooo good. Our local Whole Foods sells it now and my husband raves about it.

Tuesday:
Ryan: marinated mushroom; Sunshine Burger on a whole wheat english muffin; strawberries.

I couldn't resist...So Delicious Neopolitan ice cream with Soyatoo whipped creme & Enjoy Life semi-sweet mini chocolate chips.

Wednesday:
Ryan's preschool class had a pajama breakfast on wednesday, so I packed him his own pancakes with maple syrup and a bagel with Tofutti cream cheese. He also ate bananas, strawberries & juice, but of course skipped the scrambled eggs & cereal with milk. I use the simple Basic Pancakes recipe from The High Road to Health; they always turn out perfectly.
AJ: pancakes with maple syrup; raisins.

Both boys were too full to eat lunch after all the pancakes. So mid-afternoon I made a "picnic" plate and they demolished it. Anytime I make a shared platter of food and serve it on the playroom floor over a towel, or outside on the picnic table, they call it a picnic.
Today's picnic: Veggie Booty; almonds; dill pickle pieces; cucumber slices; baby carrots; apple slices with peanut butter for dipping; crunchy peas.

Meanwhile, I whipped up a grilled chreeze & tomato sandwich on 12-grain bread with the leftover chreeze sauce from earlier in the week. I usually use the Melty Nutritional Yeast Cheese recipe from The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook with a little added cornstarch.

Friday:
AJ & Ryan: melon (& strawberries for Ryan); pasta salad.
I figured out why AJ didn't eat his honeydew melon the other day, something he normally loves; apparently "the giraffe was sad"...I explained that if he held the giraffe fork upside-down it would look like a smile, and that made him happy, but I decided not to chance it and I put in a regular fork today instead.

Italian Pasta Salad
1 box pasta (I often mix half a box of whole grain flax rotini with half box tri-color rotini)
1 head broccoli, chopped & steamed (or 1/2 bag frozen broccoli florets)
1 large tomato, diced
1 can chick peas, drained & rinsed
1/2 can sliced black olives
1/4 cup onion (I often leave the raw onion out of the boys' portions)
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1/8 cup olive oil (or a mix of olive & walnut oil is delicious too)
1 T. dried oregano
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

Cook pasta. (Add broccoli during last 3 minutes of cooking if using frozen variety. Rinse under cold water and drain. Place in large bowl.
Add vegetables & chick peas.
In a measuring cup, mix last 6 ingredients for the dressing. Pour over pasta salad and mix.

Makes great leftovers to eat over the next day or so.