recipe {baby nuggets}

beatrice loves feeding herself.  she never really took to purees, even early on.  so i started out with baby led weaning...giving her chunks of food that she can handle and letting her eat it with her hands.  that said, she didn't really "get into solids" until about 10 months or so...and it wasn't really until her first birthday that the solid food eating really took off...

so most food i feed her is finger food, or something that she can pick up.  lots of pasta, steamed veggies, etc.  however, her favorite food is what we call "baby nuggets."  basically, i find any good veggie patty recipe and instead of making patties, i roll into small little balls that are perfect for her small grip...she LOVES them.  {mamas and papas love them too, so it's a nice food for everyone on the go!}

this is her favorite recipe, by far, adapted from my favorite non-dairy, calcium rich collection of recipes called calci-yum!

{sweet potato mini nuggets}

preheat oven to 350 degrees

makes about 50 nuggets

cookie sheet, lightly oiled

{i bake half the dough and freeze the other half for later}

1/2 cup cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained

4 medium sweet potatoes

1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cups finely chopped chinese lettuce {i use bok choy, spinach or kale as a substitute if i can't find chinese lettuce}

1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced {optional, depending on baby's tolerance, but bea loves it}

2 tsp salt

1/4 dried oregano

2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/3 cup whole wheat flour {i also use oat flour instead sometimes}

3/4 cup bread crumbs {sometimes i mix in flax or dehydrated kale too}

1.  in a bowl using potato masher or food processor, mash chickpeas to a rough paste.  set aside.

2.  pierce sweet potatoes with a fork; wrap in foil and bake in preheated oven for 1-1/2 hours or until soft.  remove skin and mash together with cooked chickpeas.

3.  in a non-stick skillet with lid, heat oil over medium.  add onion and chinese lettuce {or kale or spinach, whatever you have on hand!}; saute for 3 minutes.  add pepper, garlic, salt and oregano.  cover and cook until vegetables are soft, about 3 minutes.  transfer to sweet potato/chickpea mixture, along with rolled oats, wheat germ and flour.  mix until well combined.  let cool.

4.  with slightly wet hands, roll into 1 inch balls, roll in breadcrumb mixture and place on oiled cookie sheet.

5.  bake for about 15-20 minutes.

{photo by patty}

recipe {milk enhancing granola bars}

oats...they are great for milk production, at least in my case.  i eat oatmeal every morning and i make these a lot.  i got this recipe from a twitter friend...the original recipe is here and i took my friend's amendments and added/changed a few other things...i swear every time i make and eat these, my milk production goes through the roof...i usually don't leak, but when i eat these, i leak all over the place...so much milk! plus they are *delicious*!  patty always tries to eat them and i tell  her "you're taking milk right out of the baby's mouth when you eat one!"...

whenever i have a friend with a new baby, i make her a batch of these...they are really great to have on hand especially during those first few weeks when mama can barely get up to make herself food!  

i've used dried cherries, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, shredded coconut and dates as my "flavoring" for the bars, you can use any combo really, but i usually skip the dates... i think this combo works really well and is really good for you too! {this was the combo my friend leonora suggested to me & i think it's the best!}

molasses has iron, which is important and the coconut oil is *key*...a nursing mama should always have coconut oil on hand...i eat some everyday to help with milk production, i usually just spread it on toast for a snack...it is great for boosting your immunity to stay healthy!  i also use it to massage on my hands when my eczema flares up.

ok...so i don't have a photo of the "finished product" as when i made these, they were pretty crumbly and not so pretty...but so, so good!

mix dry ingredients in one bowl:

1-2/3 cups oats

1/3 cup oat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 cups dried cherries, chopped walnuts, shredded coconut & pumpkin seeds mixture 

{any combo works, but i usually do 1 cup dried cherries, 1 cup chopped walnuts, 1/2 cup coconut, 1/2 pumpkin seeds, but if you have more or less it doesn't really matter, i usually just use up what i have in the pantry...and i love dates, so sometimes i throw those in too!}

mix wet ingredients in a separate bowl:

1/3 cup almond butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 tablespoons melted coconut oil

1/4 cup molasses

2 tablespoons honey {or maple syrup if vegan}

1 tablespoon water

1/3-2/3 cup agave {i use less as i don't like them as sweet}

preheat oven to 325.  line an 8x8x2 pan in one direction with parchment paper, allowing it to go up the opposing sides.  lightly grease the parchment paper and pan.

toss the wet ingredients in with the dry until the mixture is evenly crumbly.  spread in the prepared pan, pressing firmly to ensure they are molded to the corners of the pan.  i use another piece of parchment paper to lay on top so i can press down on top of it.

bake the bars for 30-40 minutes, until they are brown around the edges.  cool the bars completely in their pan on a cooling rack.  

once cool, use a serrated knife to cut into squares...i usually am not fussy about this...they can get pretty crumbly especially if you cut them before completely cool.

i store in a glass container in the refrigerator and just graze on them all week!

enjoy!

happy friday! {canyon cupcakes}

happy friday!

well, my pledge on monday to blog more has fallen flat...but this week i: took a sewing class and made a pillow; went on lots of hikes; worked out; did yoga; experimented with agave and baking; and played with a two year old. not much time for sitting in front of the computer.

my friends moved here from new york this week and they {and their two year old} are staying with us until their moving truck arrives. we're joking that now that they left brooklyn and moved to los angeles, they are canyon people. so...i made some really hippie cupcakes and called them "canyon cupcakes." i'm trying to go off sugar and i'm allergic to dairy & eggs, so that means a lot of vegan cooking. this week, i experimented with replacing sugar with agave in cupcakes and the results were pretty tasty. although, as you can see from the photo, they are not the prettiest cupcakes...but heck, they're canyon cupcakes! they look like the brown hills of the canyon...

so, they are named canyon cupcakes in honor of my recent new yorker transplant friends. i amended the recipe from my favorite cookbook ever Calci-Yum! by david & rachelle bronfman. hope you enjoy! {sorry, esb, not gluten-free! i know you're disappointed given how much you *love* cupcakes! i'll experiment with that next time.}

{canyon cupcakes}

preheat oven to 375 degrees

makes about 20 cupcakes

nonstick muffin tin, lightly oiled

for cupcakes:

3 cups finely chopped beat greens

1- 1/4 cups soy milk

2 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup almond meal

1/2 cup soy flour

1 cup agave

1 tbsp cinnamon

1-1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2-3 tbsp ground flax seed

1 cup chocolate chips {optional, i used fruit-sweetened & dairy-free from nature store}

for frosting:

4 oz firm tofu

1/3 cup agave

1/4 cup almond butter

1/2 tbsp peanut butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

1. steam beat greens & allow to cool and chop. {i used the food processor to finely chop.} transfer to large bowl along with soy milk, agave syrup and vanilla; mix together.

2. in a separate bowl, sift together flours, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt and flax seed. add in the chocolate chips, if using. gradually stir dry ingredients into beet-green mixture; mix well.

3. spoon mixture into cups of prepared muffin tin. bake 20 minutes, checking for doneness with a toothpick.

4. make frosting: in a food processor or blender, combine all the ingredients; blend until creamy {you may want to add more almond or peanut butter if needed to thicken}. transfer to small bowl and refrigerate from 1 hour. when frosting has become firm, it's ready to spread.

{photo by me}

forget cupcakes...forget donuts...

...forget even cool ice cream sandwich trucks. milkshakes. brilliant. you can color coordinate, customize {vegan, anyone?}, and how perfect for a summer outdoor or picnic wedding.

a new trend, perhaps? {esb?}

{photo credit: chow.com via earth friendly weddings}

she takes the {cup}cake

this is especially for esb, but i had to share with everyone...we got to meet clare crespo this past week. she is the cupcake maven. not only has she written books about cupcakes {hey there cupcake!} but she is a food fun wizard! she has a cooking show for kids called yummy fun...it's martha meets pee wee herman! most of her cupcake designs are geared towards kids or the whimsical...but i totally fell for her fun and fancy way with food...{patty says i'm stalking her...but i'm stalking her for her cupcakes!}...yeah, it's an obsession.

check out how to make hostess cake sushi here.

make panda cubcakes here.

{photo credit: photo 1; photo 2; photo 3.}

tamra davis cooking show

i met tamra davis many years ago when i was involved with the silver lake film festival.  she spoke on a panel about women filmmakers i curated.  

she has a sweet cooking show that i've been obsessed with lately.  patty and i are trying to cook more at home, and neither of us are very experienced cooks!  tamra's simple, straightforward style is perfect for us.  she's a mom, so her recipes are not only directed to towards her kids, but involve them most of the time.  i love this recipe for vegan red velvet cupcakes.  i think i'm going to make these for the everyone at the hospital who has been taking care of oona.

video and recipe here.