Tag Archives: Almonds

Baked Apple & Almond Oatmeal

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Hello 2013!

This is my first post for 2013, and to start the year off I thought I would share our mornings with you. They are very simple, easy going and luckily not usually rushed.  Mornings I will miss and dream of when I start working days again, which right now has no set date yet.  It never occurred to me we had a morning ritual until I came across a post on apartment therapy that got me thinking about it. I realized I was taking for granted this nice, comforting and enjoyable time of the day when we know automatically what happens next.

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A typical morning for us starts around 6:30am.  Somedays 6am (or earlier), which thankfully means play time with dad.  Some days 7am, but not usually later.  First stop is getting Calla changed and freshened up.  Then she’ll help me feed Cliff and let him out.  We’ll start coffee and in my somewhat sleepy state, stare at the fridge for breakfast ideas.  Continue reading →

A Kale & Sweet Potato Salad

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It’s a typical Saturday night in our house.  After I destroyed the kitchen making yet a very simple Quiche, I left it to eat and play with Calla.  Then continued to watch her pull every toy, book and stuffed animal out into the living room and then moved back into the kitchen the create another mess of the floor.  We had some bedtime snacks then got Calla ready for bed. The house is now quiet with a sleeping dog, sleeping baby and even a sleeping husband, and still a mess surrounds me.

Yesterday I found a pretty great article on How to Stay Organized in the Kitchen while baking and Cooking, which I vowed I would follow. Very easy tasks that would make a world of different at the end of the night, however, I seemed to have forgotten to put them into play tonight… oops.

With the goal being how long I can forget about my kitchen, living room, laundry and mess of a house.  I’ve decide to take a little internet break and turned to Pinterest (It’s just a small obsession).  The problem is there’s so many great things to look at and check out I feel I might miss something if I don’t check it at least once a day.  After that I managed to send some photos to my mom, look up ideas for Mason Jars, watch a couple Jenna Marbles videos (have you seen any, they are pretty funny), drool over all the beautiful items on Anthropologie, kitchen wear being my cup of tea, go back to Pinterest, then finally decide to write this little blog post.  Have I mentioned I’m great at Procrastinating?  You may have picked up on that.

Do you think maybe if I wait long enough, or think about it hard enough it will learn to self-clean?  My oven knows how, maybe it can teach the whole kitchen??

Or, maybe not.

Alright, the salad.  This is a pretty great salad.  So great I had it for lunch, dinner, then removed a few ingredients, threw an egg on top and had it for breakfast the next day.  To eat Kale, I feel like you really have to know what to do with it. That being said I think it’s all in how you prepare it.  First, cut the tough large ribs out, even slice it into smaller pieces so it’s more manageable.  Season it with lemon juice, olive oil, some spices and some salt and pepper and that’s a good start.  Otherwise, despite the fact that it’s so good for you, it will still taste bitter, chewy and unenjoyable to eat. So far I’ve tried Kale chips, in this burger, in this soup, in smoothies and I think the next might just be a ceaser salad, in lieu of Romaine.  Could be a winner.  Hmmm… I wonder how that self-cleaning kitchen is doing…

Alright, to the kitchen…

Kale & Sweet Potato Salad
1 Cup cubed Sweet Potato (or more if you like)
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
1 Bunch Kale, ribs removed and finely sliced (about 2 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup raw almonds, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1 tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice

Heat oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Toss the sweet potato in olive oil, just enough to coat.  Season with Salt and Pepper.  Spread onto prepared baking sheet and place in heated oven.  Roast until tender and caramelized, about 40 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes or so. Toast almonds in the same oven for about 10 minutes, tossing once or twice. Remove from oven and let cool.

In a large mixing bowl, toss together the kale, almonds, parmesan cheese and sweet potato.  Add lemon juice and olive oil.  Mix together then taste for seasoning. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, if needed.  Serve with lemon wedge and extra parmesan cheese.

If there’s any salad leftover, remove almonds and bake an egg on top (recipe below).

Kale, Sweet Potato & Eggs
1 – 2 Eggs
Kale and Sweet Potato salad (recipe above), minus the almonds.
1 tbsp Olive Oil

Heat olive oil in a medium size skillet over medium heat.  Add about 1-2 cups of salad to pan and allow to cook a few minutes until Kale starts to soften.

Bring salad together and crack 1-2 eggs over top.  Reduce heat to low, cover and let cook 5-7 minutes.  Or until eggs are cooked, but still soft on the inside.  Allow to cook longer if you like harder eggs.

Remove from heat, transfer to plate and enjoy with multigrain toast.

(The Initial Salad adapted from Food 52)

A Cherry Crumble with Rhubarb

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Summertime is long gone.  The days of warm sunny weather, no jackets, toques or wishing I had a car starter.  Even the days of Calla staying still long enough for me to go a little camera happy and snack a couple (or 50) photos of her playing with food.  In particular cherries were a delight, it’s a wonder how I forgot about these photos.

Totally fascinated with the stem and intrigued by the taste, she’d always get covered in red cherry juice.  She loves them even more as a little snack frozen. One of the best fruits to eat, cherries are high in antioxidants, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, Vitamin A, C, K and folate.

Super easy to carry around for a snack, but be sure to brings wipes or napkins since they can make a bit of a mess.  They’re also great mixed with oatmeal, yogurt, or mixed in with a fruit salad. No teeth yet?, just steam them for a few minutes them blend together with some water, milk, and mix with banana, couscous or chicken.

As your little one gets bigger though and their teeth come in, they acquire new tastes and you get to bridge the gap between purees to small bites to bigger bites. Try this recipe out on your little one. If you’re not interested in the tartness of the rhubarb you can add more cherries or opt for strawberries instead. I love to add a few extras so the flax meal, hemp hearts and almonds give it a little extra nutritional boost.  Serve as a breakfast with plain yogurt, a snack or a tasty treat with a little vanilla ice cream.

Cherry Crumble with Rhubarb
(adapted from Two Peas and their pod)

3 cups cherries, pitted
2 cups rhubarb, chopped
1 tbsp corn starch
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
2 tbsp whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp flax meal
1/2 cup slivered almonds
2 tbsp hemp hearts
1/2 cup quinoa flakes

Preheat oven to 375. Grease an 8×8 inch baking dish with butter and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine cherries, rhubarb and corn starch. Stir until well coated and set aside.
In a seperate bowl, combine rolled oats, quinoa flakes, flax meal, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Stir well. Mix butter into oat mixture, rubbing together with your fingers, until crumbly.  Mix in half the almonds and hemp hearts and stir. Drizzle with honey and stir.
Pour cherry mixture into baking dish, cover with oat mixture. Then sprinkle remaining almonds and hemp hearts on top. Bake 30-35 minutes or until fruit is soft and crisp is bubbly. Serve warm with greek yogurt or vanilla ice cream.