Maine Beans and Vegan Cornbread Muffins (with Maine Corn Meal!)

So putting an actual meal on the table is tough to manage with a busy schedule. I usually start the kids out with veggies and then throw something together quickly. Here is a healthy, "thrown together meal".
Start out with B&M Beans (made right in Portland, Maine)...my guess is the can lining is not BPA free :(, although I am uncertain. We'll get there one day, I am sure :)

vegetarian protein, yay.

You have your protein, next add your carbohydrate side. People do not still count carbs, right??

This recipe was adapted from:

http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2011/01/buttery-maple-corn-muffins-vegan-recipe.html

Vegan Corn Bread Muffins
3/4 cup plain soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, (or whole wheat graham flour)
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. corn meal, organic (mine was from my Maine farm share. Hooray for local goods!)
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce 
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup vegan butter, softened, such as Earth Balance (or regular if you are not wanting vegan)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
dash of baking soda
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast (optional, but so worth adding it!)
muffin liners or cooking spray for muffin tins

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place muffin liners or spray your muffin tins with cooking spray. 
3. Ingredients

4. In a mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients and toss well. Then add in the liquids. Fold until a nice batter forms. 
5. Pour batter about 3/4 full in each tin. 
6. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes - or until edges become browned. Cool. Serve warm for best taste results.

super buttery, moist, and mildly sweet on their own that there is no need to add any additional spread.

Dinner is served. Not extravagant, but quick, balanced, and widely accepted by the pickiest eaters.

Wednesday afternoons. We gather as a family and play Pac Man at the local hot spot.

Well sort of...
The Pac Man thing is sort of true. 
Calling it a hot spot...a half-truth.


So every Wednesday afternoon, you will find us at this location.

This is most exciting place on Earth. Comparable to Disney World. 

My kids, seemingly out of nowhere, have developed pretty bad seasonal allergies. Corbin's bout last year was so bad that it sent us to the ER because his eyes were almost swollen shut from some sort of environmental allergen. That was a rough couple of weeks. His sleep was non-existent (and mine), his breathing was labored, not good. Devyn has had her fun with allergies as well. Though not as intense as Corbin's, she has been affected for a number of years. She has always had these insane, drippy sneezes that stretch to her ankles (sorry for the visual). 

I do not have allergies, but have been told by many that it is miserable, and makes you so cranky that you might want to inflict pain on the closest person within arms reach. 

In short, the above picture is of our doctor's office. We have been doing allergy shots to sort of "challenge" their systems a little bit each week so that their bodies can sort of "block" the histamine response when it comes in contact with their specific allergen. Corbin gets injections in both arms, Devyn only one. They both have allergy shots every Wednesday afternoon, at 3:30, for oh hum, 5 YEARS! OK, it is every week for the first year or so I am told, and then it spaces out a bit. 2 weeks, then a month. Eventually. 

 Allergy shot protocol: they get the shots, then we wait 30 minutes to see if either of them has a reaction.  It doesn't sound like a long time, but I swear sometimes 30 minutes turns onto 40+ because they forget about us and think we are fixtures in the room. I do however try to be creative during our waiting time, although it can get a tad dicey... 

Post-injection we:

• play Pac-Man.(hence the opening title). They have an old school game in the office play area, which works 25% of the time. Frustrating for all.
• play Skip-Bo (this game is in my car permanently, specifically for Wednesdays)
• play air hockey (although the tables is about a 100 years old and barely works. Blowing on the puck helps, but gets me winded.)
• try to figure out any other game to play

On this particular day, I showed off the one card trick that I know. The kids think I am a superstar now with mad skills.

IF THE ABOVE THINGS FAIL, ONE or BOTH OF THE FOLLOWING THINGS MAY OCCUR:

• Corbin and Landon will stop, drop, and wrestle, which usually leads me to threaten punishments. Not sure the fascination with boys and wrestling. I am pretty sure I would die if Devyn and her BFF Maraeka ever stopped, dropped, and wrestled in the middle of the Portland Mall.
• My 3 kids will exchange verbal abuse, which again, I threaten with punishments.

For today's post: you will see their point of view from our Wednesday tradition. I included Landon, because although he does not get any shots, he still gets dragged there every week, so he is absolutely part of the Pediatric Associates experience. I asked each child to snap a picture of something and write up a caption. Landon is first.

Landon- "I take a picture of this because I like Star Wars"

Landon- "I took a picture of Corbin because I like him"

Corbin- "I like walking in the door and running over to the fish tank and looking at all the fish. I really want their fish tank. It looks like the fish tank is 50 gallons. And  I get to see it every week when I go to allergy shots."

Corbin-"I love looking inside the fish tank and looking at all the fish. There are striped ones, plain ones, dotted ones, colorful ones, and beautiful ones. They are all different shapes and sizes."

Devyn- "This is my least favorite part of allergy shots. Getting the shot. It doesn't hurt that much but I just can't stand needles period. I've gotten 14 shots in the last 14 Wednesdays after school."

Devyn- "This is my favorite part of allergy shots. Getting stickers after the shot. I love picking out my two stickers. They have different categories such as design your own police puppy, Thomas the Tank Engine, Wonder Pets, Dora the Explorer, and puppies."

End goal: free of the allergen misery as adults. See you in 2016. 

Tofu dippers

What is it with kids and chicken nuggets? I know that my kids love them. Yuck. Not sure the last time I ate a chicken nugget but my guess is that mullets were in style at the time. Hence, the picture  below.... 
In case you have been living under a rock, (or are not on Facebook) you may or may not have seen the following picture:

Chicken "paste"...all the crap that is leftover after they take the meat off the bones

Here is a short video describing the above image:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T67DvoH2H3E&feature=fvwrel


Despite that pink heap in the above picture, I am not opposed to my kids having homemade chicken nuggets with actual chicken and void of mechanically separated by products, but you will never catch me making it. :)
In short: the tofu nugget is making an appearance. Tofu is a fabulous meat alternative with lots of protein and calcium and pretty much takes on the flavor of whatever food you put it in. I tried to make something similar to this a few years back, but the recipe (or me) failed miserably.  I found this other version on a vegetarian website called:
compassion over killing www.cok.net


My kids like things that they think are junky or anything with a batter that appears to be fried. Hopefully this is a score with the crispy coating.


"Chicken" Nuggets


1- 14 ounce package of extra firm tofu
1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
salt, to taste
1/2 cup water


1) Preheat the oven to 350°F.


2) Unwrap the tofu and shake off any excess moisture. Place the tofu in a freezer bag or wrap well in plastic, then freeze the sealed tofu for at least 24 hours.

The next day, thaw the tofu by placing it—unwrapped—into a microwave-safe bowl. 

frozen tofu. scary looking, I know.

Cover the bowl and microwave on high to defrost, checking every 2 to 3 minutes to make sure the tofu doesn’t cook. Once thoroughly defrosted, gently squeeze out any excess moisture. Cut into 1-inch cubes.

3) In a shallow bowl, add the bread crumbs and spices, mixing well. 

The goods

4) In a separate bowl, pour 1/2 cup of water.

5) Dip each piece of tofu first into the water, lightly shake off any excess water, and then roll into the seasoned bread crumbs.

6) Put the breaded tofu cubes on a lightly sprayed baking pan and bake 30 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp.

Crunch

7) Serve with a dipping sauce. I used a mango Caribbean sauce.

Thought about doing straight ketchup for dipping. Boring.

The verdict

Although they do not taste like chicken nuggets (thank god), they were really good. As I mentioned, the crunch factor pretty much guarantees that they will be acceptable fare in this household. Everyone ate and dipped, especially dear Devyn who polished off the final crumbs.

Rutabaga- It's What's For Dinner...

So the question of the household at the witching hour is always "What's for dinner??????" (insert whine-y voice) Some nights I hate that question because I know that they will hate my response. Other nights, I say bring it on! Tonight it was on. Especially because I answered: Rutabaga Casserole.

8 year old boy: "What the heck is a rutabaga?" (typical turned up nose) Which I expected. New recipe+Not pizza=Dirty look from kids. 

BUT, the kids were asked forced to keep an open mind because that is one of my expectations.

The verdict? Well, I loved it and thought it was fantastic. Their little food critic reviews will follow. And yes, there is one member that said never to make it again. :)

Little background on Rutabaga: it is a root  vegetable. Sort of a hybrid of cabbage and turnip. Less calories and carbs than potatoes (for those who still count) yet still a great source of vitamin C and fiber.

This recipe is adapted from qafma.net (Queen Anne Farmers Market)

Ingredients

Cashew cream

1 1/2 cups boiling water

1 cup raw cashews

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (find this either at whole foods, health section of your grocer, or online)

Salt

Your Veggies/Spices

3-4 rutabagas (about 2 pounds), peeled and cut into about 1/4-inch-thick slices

1 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

4 teaspoons chopped fresh marjoram

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Whole Wheat breadcrumbs

1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2) Prepare the cashew cream first. In a small bowl, pour the boiling water over the

cashews and let sit for between 20-30 minutes. Stir in the nutritional yeast.
*** If you are unfamiliar with nutritional yeast, get familiar! This is a nutrient dense, flaky, cheesey-flavored staple in my household. Because I am a vegetarian, this requires an extra effort to maintain Vitamin B-12 levels  (normally found in meat and other animal based foods). Not only does nutritional yeast provide Vitamin B-12, it also has 6 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber per serving. Needless to say, the stuff gets put on everything in our house!

Puree the mixture in a blender on the highest setting for about 3 minutes...

cashew/water/nutritional yeast combo in the blender

....until the consistency is smooth and creamy. Season with salt to taste. Set aside.

finished cashew cream

3) Mix all herbs together in a small bowl.
4)Peel and slice rutabagas.

easy

5) Time to layer!

sliced rutabaga, cashew cream sauce, and herb mix

6) Cover the bottom of a mid-sized baking dish with a single layer of rutabaga slices, overlapping their edges and working in a circle. Sprinkle with herbs. Add another layer and season with herb mix. Pour in about one third of the cashew cream – enough to cover these two layers. Continue until the baking dish is full or you run out of rutabaga. Pour in the remaining cashew cream, almost to the rim of the baking dish.

5) Sprinkle with bread crumbs until covered. Drizzle with a generous dose of olive oil.

ready for baking

Place in the oven. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until rutabagas are just cooked through and bread crumbs are toasty and brown. Serve immediately. Yum.

final portion, sad to say...

Landon's review:

After bite 1:

"I like the crunchy stuff"

After bite 5:

"It's good"

Should Mama make it again or never again?

"yes"

Corbin's review:

After bite 1: 

"It's sort of good"

After bite 5:

"I do not like it"

Should Mama make it again or never again?

"I NEVER want you to make this again"

Devyn's review:

Devyn wrote her own post reviewing this recipe. See previous post :)

Kyle's review:

After bite 1:

"It's good. I like the crunchy topping."

After bite 5:

"I still like the crunchy topping."

Should Kerrie make this again or never again?

"YES!"

As I mentioned, I loved this and will for sure make it again. One family member out of five rejecting the new meal, not so bad. And no offense to my Corbin, but he has interesting taste and an unpredictable palate. On some days he will eat a can of sardines but not an apple.  hmmm....:) I have also discovered from my lovely food critics: Based on the love of the "crunchy topping", I could have saved myself a ton of time and given them each a container of bread crumbs...

But where is the fun in this??

Devyn- mom's new recipe

"Mom whats for dinner?" "Rutabaga Casserole." "What in the world is that?" You'll have to see, and you'll see a whole lot more of it if you like it." "Fine, whatever."

What do you think of it after the first bite?
Well it's OK, I don't mind it.

What do you think of it after the fifth bite?
Awesome, I love it so much! It was creamy and crunchy at the same time!

Should mom make this dish again or never again?
She should totally make it again, and I know she will because we are supposed to get more rutabagas in our farm share. Can't wait!

I love Rutabaga Casserole. I think that everyone should at least try it sometime in their life. I recommend this tasteful dish to make for parties, potlucks, and family dinners. I hope you like it as much as I do. Enjoy!

ABOUT MACE WINDU WITH CORBIN

THE HIGH JEDI COUNCIL ARE THE MOST POWERFUL JEDIS IN THE GALAXY.
THERE WEPENS ARE LIGHTSABERS.
THE STRONGEST PERSON ON THE JEDI COUNCIL IS MACE WINDU.

THE COLOR OF HIS LIGHTSABER IS PURPLE

veggies, beans, and feeling okay with mindless eating

Kids are always hungry. At least mine are. Always seems to happen when it's post-afternoon-snack-but-its too-early-for-dinnertime. I try to beat them to the punch when I can. I find that if you stick a plate of veggies in front of them, 9 times out of 10 they will eat them. Although it is "mindless" eating and that tends to be taboo these days, I am a-okay with mindless veggie consumption. This dip is one that I found from  Joy Bauer. http://www.joybauer.com/healthy-recipes/tuscan-bean-dip.aspx


My kids approved. As a matter of fact, they used spoons for final scooping. That's a good sign. 


Super simple.  With an entire can of beans for protein, this has nothing to feel bad about, other than potential garlic breath. 

Tuscan Bean Dip


Ingredients:
1 can cannellini beans (basically white kidney beans), rinse and drain the goop. yuck!
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon chopped, fresh basil OR dried basil (but reduce...fresh to dry ratio is 3:1)
1/2 teaspoon sage, fresh, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes 
ground pepper 
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

It might not be pretty, but it more than makes up for it  in flavor.

In a medium bowl, mash the beans with a hand held potato masher. Stir in the next 6 ingredients. Season to taste with the salt and pepper. Serve with cold veggies for a winning combination.