Pear Brown Betty

Oh apple picking. I love you so.  

We made our annual orchard visit last weekend and despite a tiny mishap with a hungry yellow jacket (luckily, my daughter isn't allergic!) it was a fantastic day! Liberty Macs, Bosc pears, Rhode Island Greenings. Yum.  

The best part about apple picking is that it's an adventure that keeps on giving... first there's the day itself – and ours was spent with fun friends and blue skies. Then there's the baking and experimenting, with and without the kiddos. Meanwhile there's the amazing aroma that fills the house while all of this is happening. And finally, there is the overflowing basket of fruit that makes me incredibly happy. It's a win every way you look at it.  

This morning I made a classic: Brown Betty but used the Bosc pears instead of apples. This is a no-fail recipe from my mom that I loved as a child, love as an adult and am thrilled to pass on to my brood. My son didn't make a sound for minutes... until every last speck had disappeared from his plate. This can be made with apples or pears or a combination of both and it is the best air freshener that you can ask for. 

Pear Brown Betty

6 Bosc pears, peeled and cut into bite sized chunks
Juice of one lemon
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
healthy pinch of salt (a little less than 1/2 teaspoon)
4 cups of bread, cut into cubes (I used brioche)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Put the pear chunks into a bowl and squeeze the lemon juice on top. Put aside.
Preheat the oven to 375. Meanwhile melt the butter in a sauce pan. Place brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and bread into another bowl and pour butter on top. Mix until well combined. 

Place the pear chunks in a ceramic baking dish. Top with the bread mixture and bake for approximately 40 minutes. Enjoy!  

First Birthday Cupcake! (dairy free)

One year ago today!

My littlest is one year old today!  

Most parents I know experience some big emotions on a child's first birthday. I'm no different - it's all the usual stuff: the year has flown. My petite pink newborn is now a big, jolly, almost walking girl. I want photos to document everything, lest these precious moments slip out of my head in the hustle and bustle of daily life. I want the photos to capture the depth of the dimple on her right cheek and how her whole face seems to smile when she smiles. I want them to help me remember how she races after her big brother's trucks and pulls herself up to stand to discover small-ish figurines on her big sister's shelves. I want to document all of the important people in our world who have celebrated with us.

I thought I wanted photos to capture that big messy moment when a baby first tastes a cupcake. But the truth is, that was low on my list. My baby eats with gusto and as a mom of three, cleaning up goopy smears is time consuming and can get tiring.  The cupcakes I made for her birthday were dairy free and had an oatmeal crumb top, not icing. They made for an easier cleanup and tasted absolutely delicious. 

If you're looking for a great alternative to the traditional flour-sugar-butter-egg-icing cupcake to celebrate a first birthday (or any birthday, really) give these a try. They were a big hit with my now one year old and everyone who came to celebrate the big milestone with us yesterday. 

Applesauce Cupcakes with Oatmeal Crumb Top

Crumb Top
1 cup rolled oats
6 tablespoons flour
6 tablespoons brown sugar
6 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

Add the oats to flour and brown sugar in a small bowl. Mix well, making sure to get out any brown sugar clumps. Add the coconut oil and salt and make sure everything is well combined. Set aside. 

Cupcakes
1.5 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
 1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 /3 cup sugar
4 tablespoons coconut oil
1 cup of applesauce
1 cup coconut milk
2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 375. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and sugar. Add the coconut oil, applesauce and coconut milk and mix until combined. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and add to batter. Pour into cupcake pan and spoon the crumb mix on top of each cupcake. Bake for approximately 22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.  

Enjoy! 

Happy Birthday, Little Lady! 

Adding Foods to Your LaLa Lunchbox Food Library

The LaLa Lunchbox Food Library has loads of fruits, veggies, proteins and snacks already loaded from the start. That said, if your hungry little monsters have favorites that aren't on the app already or if you'd like to make other changes, we've made it really simple for you. 

Here's how: 

Press the Settings button (circled in red below) on the home screen. Click on "Add Food" to reveal the screen on the right below. Use a photo from your iPhone library or take a photo with your iPhone camera. Type in the name of the new food and select a category. That's it! 

Adding new foods is easy!  

We followed these easy steps to add the Weelicious Lunches recipes to our LaLa Lunchbox Food Library. It's a great way to keep ideas fresh and fun for your kiddos. If you have ideas for recipes or foods that you think are a MUST have for the Food Library, we'd love to hear about it! Email your thoughts to: info@lalalunchbox.com

Oatmeal-Carrot Griddle Cakes

We eat a ton of oats and oatmeal in my house (literally, my infant eats oatmeal *every* morning. I kind of wonder if she's able to differentiate between day and night solely because oatmeal comes reliably at 7:15 every morning.) Last night I made braised chicken with steel cut oats and chard from Mark Bittman's Food Matters cookbook, which I absolutely love. I've made it before but not for a while and as expected, it was gobbled up. 

Well, actually, my 3 year old requested that the "green parts get taken out." And my 7 year old hand-picked out the onions somehow. But they ate the rest with pleasure. My infant? She devoured it! Extra thumbs up for a dish that everyone eats!

While I had the book open I flipped to another one of my faves: oatmeal griddle cakes. I've been on a carrot kick lately so I made a batch of these pancakes and added shredded carrots. I made them egg free and dairy free by using soy milk instead of cow's milk and cooked them in Earth's Balance instead of butter so that my infant could taste them as well. I want my kids to know what's in their food and develop confidence around their own taste preferences, so I don't want to hide the fact that I added carrots to their morning pancakes. Frankly, while I see the merit in adding vegetables to certain recipes (like this one or this one) or other dishes where healthful ingredients might not otherwise be expected (like this one), I am never okay with not being truthful about it.  

So today when my babysitter arrived and my son happily declared that he got oatmeal carrot pancakes for breakfast today, well, I felt proud as a peacock. 

Here's the adapted recipe for Mark Bittman's Oatmeal Griddle Cakes:  

Oatmeal-Carrot Griddle Cakes

1 teaspoon flax meal
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup soy milk
1 1/4 cups cooked oatmeal (I used Bob's Red Mill rolled oats)
2 carrots, finely shredded
Earth Balance for frying

In a small bowl, mix the flax meal with water and set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, rolled oats, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. 
Gently incorporate the soy milk and cooked oatmeal into the dry mixture. 
Add the flax/water to the bowl. 
Mix in the carrot. Batter should be a bit pasty. 
Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and add Earth Balance (I used 1/2 tablespoon for each set of fist-sized pancakes)
Flip the pancakes when small holes or bubbles appear on the top (approximately 2-3 minutes per side).

** These griddle cakes are great for breakfast and can also be used as mini sandwich bread substitutes for a fun change of pace. 

Back to School!

Tomorrow is the day.  

My son's Monday breakfast plate: pancakes, blueberries and apple.

My big gal starts second grade and my son starts a new preschool. Though I've been yearning to get back into a routine and gearing up for the new school year in some ways, it's always sad to say goodbye to summer. I find it challenging to find the balance between carrying on familiar family routines while managing new kid schedules and all of the logistics and feelings that go along with them. 

yogurt oatmeal pancakes - requested for the first day of school

I've still got unanswered questions - will we make it out of the house on time? How long will the new commute to two separate schools on opposite sides of town take? Have I forgotten anything? Meanwhile, my son has made a breakfast request for yogurt oatmeal pancakes for tomorrow and today, while we've had some lovely one on one time, we're whipping up a batch together that I can cook in just minutes tomorrow morning. The great news? I can also serve these to my 11 month old. 

Here's a round up of my five favorite quick breakfasts for hectic mornings -- seriously, they all take just minutes. 

So best of luck to all of you who are busily figuring out new routines and managing an elaborate juggling act. And good luck for the upcoming school year!