Smoothie Apologies

Ahh, I know! I've missed two scheduled posts. I haven't had a lot of time to put a few posts on queue, so when I suddenly got sick on Wednesday, the blog was down for the count too. Happily, I am feeling better, and in order to win your hearts back, I'm sharing with you my smoothie recipe. You've probably heard it before, but there's really no way you can go wrong with a smoothie.

When I make smoothies for my daughter, I usually put in a banana for sweetness. However, I have a mild allergy to bananas, so I can't do that for myself. This is why I have two go-to recipes for smoothies. I use frozen fruit for these too, because I like that you don't get all that extra water from ice in there. I prefer a full flavored smoothie myself.

I am not making the smoothies tonight. What I am doing, however, is making what we call "Smoothie Bags." Smoothie Bags are basically what the name suggests. I put the frozen fruit and apple juice that I'll be using for the smoothies in the morning, put them in a small snack bag, and put them in the freezer until we need them in the morning. Then in the morning, we pop the frozen fruit and juice out of the bag, put it in the blender, and add whatever extras - bananas, Greek yogurt, spinach (sometimes we use oats, too, if the smoothie is the only thing we'll be having for breakfast) - and proceed to make smoothies.

I know what you're thinking! Why is this lady thinking about making smoothies at midnight? Because I can, really. I also have a paper that's due tomorrow so that's the other half of the reason I am up this late doing bizarre things. I'm calling it efficiency!

So what does a Smoothie Bag look like? Well, you're in luck, because I just made some! As you can see below, it is literally just a bag of fruit and juice. There are no surprises to be found here. However, the cool thing about Smoothie Bags is that you can make a bunch in advance and then just pop them out whenever you need them. This is a partially frozen bag, and it's smaller because it's for Eek:

It is very possible that you can making Smoothie Bags in other containers - Popsicle molds, perhaps? Tupperware containers? - but I have never had good luck with getting frozen things out of either of those other containers. At least with plastic bags, if push comes to shove, I can always peel the bag off the frozen bits. There is nothing worse that going into something with good smoothie intentions only to be foiled because you can't get the frozen contents out of the plastic mold. Or does that sort of thing only happen to me?

What's For Lunch? - Flatbread Chips and a "Stir Fry"

Hello! It's Tuesday, so that means a new What's For Lunch? post! I just finished making this cumin flat bread chips recipe. I've had some flat bread tucked away after the fillings were used up and I've been looking for a recipe to use them for, and this was the perfect one. I think next time I'll try to use plain flat bread - the kind I had was Italian-flavored, I think? - but overall they've turned out very well! If you have an oven that runs hotter like mine does, I would suggest baking the first batch for twelve minutes and the second batch for ten. I baked my first batch for the full fifteen and they turned out a little browner than I would have liked. Also, be liberal with your spices!

Lunch today is really just going to be a creative endeavor, because once again I find myself in need of going to the grocery. I'm calling it a stir fry, but I have no idea if that's technically correct. Here's the plan: I've got some brown rice that I've tucked away, and I'm going to cook about a cup or cup and a half of that. Since it takes about forty-five minutes, I'm going to go ahead and start that. Closer to time, though, I'm also going to steam some broccoli (see a reoccurring theme here?). Then, in a pan, I'm going to saute some garlic with a bit of soy sauce and spinach. Add the rice, add the veggies, season appropriately and - voilà!

Of course, now that I'm actually looking at how much rice a cup and a half makes, I think I overdid it a bit. Whoops! I probably only used about three-fourths of a cup. I also put a bay leaf in the rice when I was making it, because I'd like the leftovers to have a bit of flavor later. Just make sure you don't add more than one leaf if you make it like I do, because it will have a strong flavor.

Brown Rice  
1 and 1/2 cups of brown rice
2 and 1/2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 bay leaf

Combine in pot, bring to a heavy boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and let cook for 45 minutes or until all liquid is adsorbed.

 If we'd had chicken broth, I think I might have replaced the water with that.

For the "stir fry," I steamed about a third of a cup of broccoli (all we had left). Then, in a saute pan, I put four cloves of garlic and a small pat of butter. I added the broccoli and cooked it for a bit - just enough for all the flavors to mingle. Then I added three-fourths of a cup of brown rice and a couple splashes of soy sauce - enough to satisfy your palate. After I mixed everything well, I formed an even layer in the pan and let the bottom get crispy.

I know, I know, it doesn't look so appetizing in this photo. But trust me, I don't eat anything that isn't good, and this is:

And there you have it! That's what's for lunch!

What's for Lunch? - Broccoli Pancakes

I don't remember how I came across the idea of broccoli pancakes, but I have an idea it was on the Internet. The only days I really have to worry about what to give Eek for lunch are Tuesdays and Thursdays and it's always such a struggle to find healthy and delicious options. I think every parent knows the struggle that comes with trying to get their toddlers to eat vegetables, but I've pretty much lucked out with Eek. There is very little she won't eat, but plain broccoli is one of those foods.

I've hidden broccoli under cheese, slipped it into sauces, covered it with pasta - you name it, I've done it. We buy a lot of frozen vegetables because they're cheap (about a buck per bag, sometimes less) and keep our freezer stocked with them so I always have the option of having veggies to go along with her lunch.

Today is one of those days where we don't have a lot of food in the house, but we do have broccoli. I googled a recipe for broccoli pancakes and just took stock of what ingredients I have in the house and which ones I don't. I have broccoli (frozen, but I can make it work). I have onion, already chopped. I even have - surprisingly - chili paste. There are a few sundries I don't have, but I am nearly one hundred-percent sure that I can cobble together a passable recipe. Here goes nothing!

I steamed the broccoli according to package directions - 3 cups of broccoli, 1/2 cup of water, a bit of salt to taste for eight minutes.We already have chopped onion, so that cuts out another step. I also plan on adding a few other vegetables that we have on hand.

Though the recipe doesn't call for it, I'm going to saute my other vegetables. We only have red onion, so I'm hoping this will level out the flavor of the onion a bit. In a pan, I put a pat of butter and the sliced garlic, a rest of the mushrooms we have, 1/4 cup of chopped red onions, and two handfuls of spinach. I let everything wilt together a bit and when it looks ready, I put the entire mixture into the blender. I also add to the blender - and you may choose not to, it's a personal preference - a small bunch of alfalfa sprouts. I have a bunch on hand and am looking for ways to use them up. Pulse that mixture a bit and then add your broccoli in small batches.

I didn't quite puree my veggies, but I'm sure it would be fine to leave the mixture a bit roughly chopped. Transfer entire mixture into a large bowl and add vegetable oil, flour, dried dill, and salt. Stir well. Add an egg and milk and mix well.

My batter is a bit wet - I'm going to test a tablespoon in the pan and if it's too wet, add a bit of flour. It also looks a bit like guacamole!

Butter a large pan and drop tablespoons of batter onto medium hot pan. Cook for one minute on each side and then transfer to a plate. It should make about 20 pancakes, but I made about 24.

These are delicious - they've got a very earthy flavor that I love and an almost creamy texture punctuated with small bites of broccoli and mushroom. I will definitely be making these again!

Broccoli Pancakes

3 cups of fresh or frozen broccoli
1/4 cup of chopped onion
1 tsp red pepper chili paste
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
2/3 cup of flour
1/8 tsp dried dill
a pinch of salt
a pinch of pepper
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
paprika