For the Love of Tahini

I recently rekindled my love of tahini paste. Made from ground sesame seeds, tahini is rich in complex B vitamins, minerals (particularly, calcium and magnesium), essential fatty acids, and even packs some protein. Yes, it is high in fat, but the good kind! And it's fat content satisfies the "creaminess" craving that I frequently look to dairy for.

Use this tahini dressing on salads, in wraps or as a sandwich spread. And when I say salads, I don't just mean the standard tossed variety. Try it on a grain-based salad or even on sautéed (and cooled) greens topped with toasted sesame seeds for a spin on Gomae.

You can also add a DIY twist for kids and have them build their own salad kabobs with tahini dressing for dipping. Because everything is more fun if you put it on a stick! Make the "building blocks" as colorful as possible, with romaine lettuce or spinach, cherry tomatoes, carrots and yellow bell peppers.

Tahini Dressing

Ingredients
1/2 cup tahini paste
Juice from 2 lemons (1/4 cup)
1/4 cup water
2 T olive oil
2 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Whisk until ingredients are well combined and dressing is smooth. Season to taste with additional salt if needed. Can be made ahead and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to one week. Enjoy!

Makes about 1 cup

What kids can do (with appropriate tools and adult supervision)
*Mince garlic (wavy choppers and similar tools make mincing easier for kids without risking fingertips)
*Juice lemons
*Measure out ingredients
*Whisk dressing
*Taste for seasoning

Breakfast Tacos - For Dinner!

My 13-year old son, Jake, said something very poignant to me the other day: "I think it's great that no matter what, we always manage to sit down at a table and eat dinner together." Eating as a family has always been important to me, and it was so nice to hear that it means something to my teenage son too. We've heard about the countless benefits of sharing meal times together, including modeling good eating habits for kids, teaching manners and conversation etiquette, and just generally affording the time to talk and share the day's adventures. But from a practical standpoint, it can be challenging to get a home-cooked meal on the table every night.

One of my favorite approaches to the quick and easy weeknight meal is breakfast for dinner. My kids see it as a treat, since it's kinda breaking the rules. This Breakfast Taco recipe has become a favorite. The DIY aspect is fun, means less work for you, and is great for picky eater households. Aleks (my 10-year old recovering picky eater) will frequently eat a corn tortilla, scrambled eggs, avocado and onion - but all separately.

Whether you already eat together as a family or are looking to do so more often, I hope this recipe finds its way into your repertoire. And remember that you don't have to cook every night to enjoy family meals. Great bonding can happen over leftovers, frozen pizza and take-out too!

Breakfast Tacos
Ingredients
8 corn tortillas
4 eggs
1/4 cup milk (or unsweetened milk alternative, like plain rice milk)
1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt
Nonstick spray or butter for greasing pan

Topping Options
Cubed avocado
Finely chopped red onion or sliced scallions
Black beans (drained and rinsed if canned)
Shredded cheese (such as mild cheddar or monterey jack)
Salsa

Directions
Heat a medium pan over high heat. Cook each tortilla for about 15-20 seconds per side in pan. Pile them up on a plate and cover with foil to keep them warm. This will help keep them from cracking.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and 1/4 tsp salt until well combined. Grease a medium pan by spraying with nonstick spray or rubbing a little butter on the bottom and sides. (Use the same pan you used to heat tortillas to cut down on dishes.) Heat pan over medium heat. Add egg mixture and cook without stirring until edges begin to firm up, about 1-2 minutes. Use a heat-resistant spatula to gently stir eggs, scraping the bottom of the pan to keep them from sticking. Continue to cook, gently stirring every 30 seconds or so, until eggs are just firm. Season to taste with additional salt, if needed. Transfer to bowl.

Set out tortillas, scrambled eggs and other toppings. Have everyone assemble their own tacos with the toppings of their choice. Enjoy!

Makes 4 servings

What kids can do (with appropriate tools and adult supervision)
*Crack eggs
*Measure milk and salt
*Whisk egg mixture
*Peel and chop avocado (a butter knife will do the trick, but you will want to cut it into wedges first)
*Finely chop red onion or "slice" scallions greens with scissors (a wavy chopper works great with onions if you start with sliced onion)
*Grate cheese

Easy Being Green Dip

I'm a big fan of dark leafy greens. I know it's not just me and Popeye, but these veggies are kinda notorious for being difficult to get down the hatch of picky eaters. This dip, which I think is best described as a cross between Spinach Artichoke Dip and French Onion Dip, is capable of converting even the biggest skeptics (whether of the grown-up or pint-sized variety!). And unlike those dips, it uses greek-style yogurt instead of relying on the traditional mayonnaise or sour cream. Greek-style yogurt is creamier than regular plain yogurt and has twice the protein! In the video below, you'll see we use kale as the green, but you can use swiss chard or even spinach.

This recipe came out of an event we did with Stonyfield a couple of summers back. They hosted a big area at Taste of Lincoln in Chicago and asked me/Kids' Table to conduct cooking demos featuring their Oikos Greek yogurt. Stonyfield wanted an original recipe that pushed beyond the conventional yogurt uses in parfaits and smoothies. We went through quite a few rounds of tasting to get the flavor balance just right. And it was worth it! Over the past year a half, we've made this in Kids' Table classes, with school groups ranging in age from 4 to 17, and in adult cooking demonstrations - always with rave reviews. Let us know how it goes over with your crowd!

Happy cooking,

Elena

P.S. This is our first cooking demo video. If you like it, let us know and hopefully we can do more! Many thanks to Dave Burk of Hedrich Blessing Photographers and Irv & Shelly's Fresh Picks for making this one possible.

Easy Being Green Dip

Ingredients

2 T olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch swiss chard or kale (or a combination of both), tough stems discarded and leaves chopped or torn into small pieces
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup Greek-style yogurt
2 oz parmesan or pecorino romano, finely grated
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Few pinches ground black pepper 

Directions
Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat and sauté onion and garlic until softening, about 5 minutes. Add onion, garlic and greens, along with a few pinches of salt, to the pan and saute until greens are tender, about 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a medium bowl, combine cheese, yogurt and cooled greens mixture and stir well. Stir in lemon juice and remaining salt. Season to taste with ground black pepper. Enjoy with pita chips or carrot sticks!

Makes about 2 cups

What Kids Can Do (with appropriate tools & adult supervision)
*Wash greens and remove tough stems
*Tear leaves into small pieces
*Chop onions & mince garlic (it's best to cut the onion into 1/2 inch rainbow slices first; wavy choppers or similar cutters are safer ways to get younger kids involved in this step)
*Measure out salt, pepper and yogurt
*Grate cheese (carefully watching those little fingers!)
*Juice lemon
*Stir and taste

Sweet Potato Smoked Gouda Mac n' Cheese

Mac n' cheese is at the top of my comfort foods list. But let's face it, it's generally not the healthiest dinner choice. In this version, we use whole wheat pasta to up the nutritional value.  Sweet potatoes add more dietary fiber as well as a bunch of other vitamins and minerals (vitamins A, C and B-6, and potassium, to name a few). This super veggie has been said to be the healthiest one out there!

The smokiness of the gouda balances the sweet potatoes nicely and makes you wonder whether there's some bacon lurking around somewhere. And the whole wheat breadcrumb sage topping? Well, it's on top - and over the top.

I made this dish for my kids and a few of my girlfriends last month. After two helpings each, we still had quite a bit left. My fridge was packed, so I sent my friends home with aluminum foil swans full of Sweet Potato Smoked Gouda Mac n' Cheese. Over the next few days I got "yum" texts from them (and even one of their husbands). In the interest of full disclosure, my younger son (who has something against combined foods) at best smelled it and ate his whole wheat pasta plain with a drizzle of olive oil. He's a work-in-progress. But then again, aren't we all in one way or another?

Photo by Daniel Stranahan

Sweet Potato Smoked Gouda Mac n' Cheese

Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3-4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 - 3/4 tsp salt, divided
1 lb whole wheat pasta (fusilli, elbow or small shell)
6 T unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 T all purpose flour
6 cups milk (I use 2%)
14 oz smoked gouda, grated
1 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
3 T finely chopped fresh sage

Directions
Preheat the oven to 450º. Put sweet potato cubes in a 9x12" baking dish. Toss with 1-2 tablespoons olive to coat. Sprinkle with a heaping 1/4 tsp of salt. Roast for 15 minutes, until lightly browned and tender. Set sweet potatoes aside, reduce oven temperature to 400º, and grease same baking dish to get it ready for the mac n' cheese.

Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente (done, but still with a little bite to it). Drain and set aside.

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute, until fragrant. Whisk in flour to make a roux. Slowly pour in milk, whisking constantly. Bring mixture to a boil over medium high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered until slightly thickened, about 12-15 minutes. Whisk in grated gouda and 1/4 tsp salt. Remove pot from heat and season to taste with additional salt, if necessary. Add cooked pasta and sweet potatoes to sauce and toss well to combine. At this point it may look a little on the saucy side, but you'll need that to keep it from drying out in the oven. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish.

To make topping, combine breadcrumbs, grated parmesan and chopped sage in a medium bowl and stir well. Stir in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Once absorbed, toss mixture with your fingers to distribute oil and form crumbles. Sprinkle topping over pasta. (At this point, you can cover and refrigerate to bake later.)

Bake at 400º until sauce is bubbly and topping is nicely browned, about 10 minutes if you're baking it right away, or 30 minutes if you're baking it from the fridge. If the topping starts browning too quickly, cover with aluminum foil, then uncover again for the last few minutes of baking. Let cool for 5-10 minutes. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Makes 8-10 servings

Photo by Daniel Stranahan

What kids can do (with appropriate tools and adult supervision)
*Chop sweet potatoes (make sure to halve them lengthwise or cut them into 1/2 inch slices to provide a flat cutting surface; wavy choppers work great and are safer for younger kids)
*Grate cheeses
*Taste sauce for seasoning
*Measure ingredients for topping and stir
*Sprinkle topping over pasta mixture

Pumpkin Brownies

Pumpkins are not just for carving.  Okay, maybe the big ones are.  But those cute little pie pumpkins are so fun to cook with - making soups, stews, ravioli, quick breads, and....brownies!

These chocolate-y wonders are packed with pumpkin goodness (there's more pumpkin in them than any other ingredient), whole grain, egg-free and dairy-free (if you use dairy-free chocolate chips). And they're scrumptious!

Putting pureed pumpkin in the brownies is not about "hiding the veggies."  I don't advocate using vegetable purees in desserts as a way to get kids their 5 servings a day.  But since we all like a treat every once in a while, why not make it a healthier one?  In addition to adding vitamins, the pumpkin adds sweetness and moisture to the mixture, requiring less sugar and virtually no added fat.

To make the puree, halve the pumpkin lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and pulp. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil and place pumpkin halves cut side down. Roast in a 350º oven until you can easily pierce them with a fork, about 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of the pumpkin. Once cool enough to handle, scoop out flesh and puree, thinning with enough water to get an applesauce-like consistency. Feel free to substitute butternut, acorn or other winter squash for the pumpkin.

And don't throw out those seeds! All winter squash seeds make a delicious (and very nutritious) snack. Separate seeds from pulp, toss them in enough olive oil to lightly coat and season to taste with salt. Spread them on a baking sheet in a single layer. Roast at 350º until nicely browned, about 7-8 minutes.

Photo by Daniel Stranahan

Pumpkin Brownies

Ingredients
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
Few pinches salt
1 cup pureed pumpkin (thinned with water, if necessary, to get an applesauce consistency)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips*

*Go for vegan ones if you want dairy-free brownies. We get ours at Whole Foods. Avoid carob chips for this recipe. They just don't have the same flavor or meltability.

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350º. Grease an 8x8 inch baking dish.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt and whisk well. Add pureed pumpkin and vanilla. Stir with a wooden spoon until combined. The mixture will seem dry, but just keep stirring and it will come together as a spoonable (not pourable) batter. Fold in chocolate chips.

Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish, using a spatula to spread it out evenly and into the corners. Bake until set, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Makes 16 brownies

What kids can do (with appropriate tools and adult supervision)

*Scoop seeds and pulp out of raw pumpkin

*Scoop flesh out of pumpkin skins once roasted (and cooled)

*Measure out ingredients (making sure to level dry ingredients)

*Whisk and stir

*Spread batter evenly into pan

Veggie Chili

Photo by Daniel Stranahan

Nothing says fall like chili – and you’ll be hard pressed to find a chili that says it better than this one. With red kidney and black beans, sweet potatoes, and corn, it’s a protein and vitamin rich one-pot meal. We made this for dinner a few weeks ago, inspired by stories of the chili competition that my son, Jake, had just participated in on his 7th grade class canoe trip. Corn played a prominent role in his team’s submission, which took a very respectable second place. At our Sunday dinner, the chili got rave reviews from all adults and three of the four kids. The one dissenting vote was from my younger son, Aleks. But since no more than a molecule of it passed his lips, I’m not sure that his vote counts. (As a recovering picky eater, he still shies away from “combined foods.”) He did ask to taste the raw green pepper as I was cutting it up and liked it. I’ll call that a victory!

To see the recipe, check out our guest post on Psychobaby's Blog - and be sure to check out the cool, crazy kids'  stuff offered by this Chicago-based store. Enjoy!

Rainbow Rice & Bean Salad

Fall is here, school has begun, and for many of us, that means packing lunches. Even if you don't pack lunches, you'll still love to have this recipe in your back pocket for weekends or those soccer practice/piano lesson evenings when you're eating on the go and wishing you could clone yourself, or at least hire a driver.

I made the first version of this recipe quite a few years back as a salsa, without the brown rice, olive oil or cumin.  My older son, Jake (now just shy of 13), loved it so much that we named it "Jake's Famous Dip." We routinely enjoyed it as a snack with tortilla chips or a topping for breakfast tacos. We started using it at Kids' Table, changing the name to a more descriptive "Rainbow Salsa."

Looking to turn the dish into a complete protein, I added brown rice, and upped the dressing ingredients a bit to compensate. This is now Jake's number one lunch pick, and frankly, one of mine as well.  If you can hit the farmers market for the corn, pepper, onion and even dried beans, all the better. Enjoy!

Photo by Daniel Stranahan

Rainbow Rice & Bean Salad

Ingredients
1 large corn cob (or 1 cup frozen corn, thawed)
1 1/2 cups cooked* (and cooled) brown rice
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans or 1 14.5 oz can, drained and rinsed**
1 large red bell pepper, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
1 large avocado, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
Juice from 1 large lime
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt

*Cook rice in water according to package directions, omitting any salt.
**Soak about 3/4 cup dried beans overnight, then drain and rinse. Simmer beans for 45 minutes, or until tender. I just started using dried beans, and only do so about 20% of the time. Baby steps...

Directions
Bring a pot of water to boil. Break corn cob in half. Cook corn in boiling water for 3 minutes. Remove from pot to cool. Once cool enough to handle, cut kernels off cob.

In a large bowl, combine corn, brown rice, beans, red pepper, avocado and onion. Toss gently to combine.

In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice, olive oil, cumin and salt. Pour dressing over salad, tossing gently to coat. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper if needed. Enjoy!

Makes 6 servings

What kids can do (with appropriate tools and adult supervision)
*Husk corn
*Drain and rinse beans (beware of sharp edges on the can)
*Chop veggies (wavy choppers are our favorite tool; you may want to cut the veggies into 1/4 inch slices and then let kids cube them)
*Juice lime
*Measure out dressing ingredients and whisk
*Stir salad