Pasta Bowls & Healthy Foods Make Easy Entertaining

With fall comes cooler temperatures and a desire to prepare our nest for the cold winter months.  We have a natural tendency to want to stay inside more as the days get shorter. Being inside doesn't mean we need to feel isolated or away from the world.  In fact, now is the perfect time to have friends and family over for an informal gathering.

Rosanna Canvas Totes

As the summer growing season comes to an end, we must take advantage of our last opportunities to find local fresh fruits and vegetables.   Fall is a great time to head to the farmers market.  Recently I made a trip to my local farmers' market and filled my Rosanna Canvas Tote with delicious fresh tomatoes.  I like to prepare fresh tomato sauce for my pasta when local tomatoes are at their peak, then freeze it in individual containers for use during the winter months.  It makes a quick go-to meal for my family, and gives me the assurance that it is healthy too.

To read the rest of this entry, and view my tomato sauce recipe, please visit the new home of Rosanna's Table Talk at http://rosannastable.blogspot.com.

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Teaching Children Healthy Habits

Photos courtesy of

John Granen Photography

Can you hear it? The wind of change is rustling the branches of the apple trees and garlic shoots in backyards across America. Our county is thinking seriously about the connection between living well and eating well. If you aren’t convinced that this phenomenon is indeed a national one, look no further than the White House. At the helm of the movement is Michelle Obama who is educating the nation about childhood obesity with her Let’s Move! Campaign and getting her hands dirty the White House garden. The New York Times is running articles about the Permaculture movement, organizations like Family Eats and Oldways are going full steam ahead, and Edible Schoolyards are popping up in elementary schools across the nation.

New ideas are fluttering and buzzing through America’s cultural consciousness like so many brightly colored butterflies and busy bumblebees. As promising as all of this is, how do we net these ideas and transform them into action in our daily lives? It’s not hard at all. There are any number of (figurative) seeds you can plant to help this movement grow, many of which can involve your children.  

Bring Your Kids to the Farmer's Market

Teach your children that produce doesn’t grow in the supermarket. To really drive that point home, have your children talk to the farmers. These individuals are not only food cultivators; they can also function as teacher for city kids whose experience with gardens may be limited to the 2^nd grade field trip to a farm or the county fair.

Take a Field Trip to a “Pick Your Own Berries” Farm

Small farming communities exist an hour or so away from many large urban centers. Make a day trip to one of these regions and spend an afternoon harvesting blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries with your children. Go home and bake a pie, or cook up a batch of preserves. Outings like these help our children develop a more meaningful connection to the food they eat.

Plant a Garden

It’s not too late! If you don’t have a yard with space to garden, consider container gardening on a terrace or a windowsill. Buy semi-mature vegetable plants and herbs at your local nursery, or even at the drugstore. Now is the perfect time to start planning your fall/winter garden. Look up which crops grow well in your area and are good to plant for the fall and winter. Gardening with children and watching plants grow together can be a great delight and invaluable bonding activity.

Have Healthy Snacks On Hand

During the summer months when school’s out, stock your fridge and pantry with healthy snacks for hungry kids. Kids especially love crunchy foods—carrots, celery, apples, cucumbers, and snap peas can be big hits—especially when paired with hummus or a creamy yogurt dip. Salted nuts and seeds are great for satisfying a salt craving. Take advantage of the summer bounty and introduce your children to nature’s candy—peaches, berries, plums, apricots, and all the delicious hybrids under the sun. You can even puree these with yogurt and a little honey and turn them into ice pops for hot days. 

Teach Kids to Cook

Introduce a few healthy recipes featuring fresh produce as a fun summer activity. Hummus is an easy, quick recipe, as are smoothies. Involving your kids in cooking is another great bonding activity. I remember “cooking” with my mother when I was a very little girl, and how the thrill of being fed little nibbles of raw vegetables with a grind of sea salt even made raw cauliflower seem like a Big Treat.

Incorporate Veggies into Tasteful Meals

Trick little ones into eating their vegetables! Well-seasoned veggie stir-frys, summer pastas with sautéed vegetables, and fruit salads are wonderful ways to introduce fruits and vegetables to picky eaters.

Fruit is in the trees, vegetables are on the vine, and change is in the air. Summer is here. The time is ripe for you and your children to reap the benefits.

Here are a few recipes to help get you started.

Yogurt Dip

3 cups whole-milk yogurt

1 cup packed fresh mint leaves

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon honey

Drain yogurt in a paper-towel-lined sieve set over a bowl, chilled, 3 hours.

Pulse all ingredients in a blender until mint is finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl and chill, covered, at least 3 hours.

Hummus

Makes about 1 cup of hummus

1 cup canned chickpeas

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)

1 small garlic clove

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Cucumber, sliced

Cherry tomatoes, quartered 

Carrot sticks

Process the garlic in the food processor until it's minced. Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor and pulse until the hummus is coarsely pureed. Taste, for seasoning, and serve chilled or at room temperature with cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and carrots for dipping.

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Living In The Seasons--Spring

For centuries people lived in the seasons.  Their diets were determined by their geographic location, the temperature, weather, and the food they had access to.  Nowadays we are able to shop in grocery stores where most fresh fruits and vegetables are available year-round.  However, as we learn to eat fruits and veggies in their seasons, the tastes are so much more vivid, alive, and delicious.  Every spring I look forward to the fresh crop of artichokes that hits the local farmers markets.  The artichoke is an unusual vegetable, and some may find its spiny appearance intimidating, but it's so easy to prepare and so rewarding--especially when you get to the toothsome, flavorful heart--that it will likely become a regular feature of your spring menus as well.  A special bonus that the artichoke offers is healthfulness:  One large artichoke has only 25 calories, no fat, and 170 milligrams of potassiums, and is an excellent source of vitamin C.  Artichokes also contain folate, magnesium, and lots of dietary fiber.  Try this delicious and healthy recipe from my book, Coming Home: A Seasonal Guide to Creating Family Traditions.

Spring Artichokes With Lemon Butter (serves 4)

4 large California globe artichokes

Juice of 2 lemons

1 clove garlic, smashed, plus 2 cloves minced

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) good quality-salted butter

ARTICHOKES

Wash the artichokes under cold water.
Cut off the stems at the base and remove any small leaves.
Fill a large pot with 2 to 3 inches of water.
Add half of the lemon juice and the 1 smashed garlic clove.
Bring to a boil.
Place the artichokes upright in the pot.
Cover and cook at a low boil for 35 to 45 minutes, until the artichoke's base can be pierced with a fork or you can easily pull off a leaf.
Drain the artichokes upside down.

LEMON BUTTER DIPPING SAUCE

In a small saucepan, heat the butter, minced garlic, and the remaining lemon juice.
When the butter is melted, pour it into individual ramekins.
Serve the artichokes with the lemon butter as a dipping sauce.

Tell your guests to pull one leaf at a time from the artichoke and dip it in the sauce, then scrape the leaf with their teeth to pull off the tender inner flesh of the artichoke.  After the large outer leaves are all eaten, paper-thin leaves remain.  These can be pulled out in sections and eaten, but the best part of an artichoke is the heart.  After you've eaten all of the leaves, remove the hairy choke with a tablespoon until you reach the heart.  Dip the heart in the butter sauce, and enjoy!

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