Batidos--a Great Way to Get Your Fruit

     Back in the mid-eighties, long before I'd ever heard of a smoothie, I was introduced to a drink in Ecuador called a batido.  
     Batido, in Spanish, simply means "beaten"--in the sense of beaten in a blender.  Since Ecuador is the banana capital of the world, the people there usually use bananas for this drink.  Just take ripe bananas, drop them into a blender, add milk (I use skim) and a hint of vanilla), and voilà...you have a batido.  And what could be more healthy?  It tastes like a banana shake without the fat or added sugar.  And kids love them.
     Most Latin American countries have their versions of the batido.   In Guatemala they call them licuados (literally, "liquefied"), and they make them with every kind of fruit imaginable, including strawberries, mangoes, cantaloupe, and watermelon.  Yes, watermelon!  (Don't knock it until you've tried it.)  In Guatemala, licuados are made with either water or milk, but I like to make them with milk because the kids get their dairy and their fruit at the same time.
     Colombians also make fruit drinks in blenders.  I had one with blackberries in Cartagena's Plaza San Diego one night, which was called, quite appropriately, mora con leche (blackberries with milk).  It was divine, although I'm sure the colonial architecture and the 70-degree sea breeze contributed to my enjoyment.
     While smoothies often include a lot of sugar, batidos rely on the fruit's natural sugar for sweetness (although you may need to add a little sugar if you're using berries).  But batidos are also healthier than straight fruit juice, because you use the whole fruit--including the fiber.  
     So blend away, knowing that your kids are getting calcium, fiber, and a host of anti-oxidants in every batido they drink.  

Ripe bananas and mangoes are just two fruits that make great batidos.
© Gira | Stock Free Images

Authentic Italian Pizza...with Kids

     Since the kids have been eating both lunch and dinner at home now for the past two months, you may be running out of menu ideas.
     Although I'm sure you've had pizza dozens of times this summer, it's something that kids (and most adults) never seem to tire of--especially if it's homemade and authentic.
     Here's a recipe that comes pretty close to the genuine Italian article.  It's based on cookbook author Peter Reinhart's recipes in the February 2012 issue of Better Homes and Gardens, but I've simplified the process to make it more dad- and kid-friendly.  (You die-hard pizza makers will want to check out Reinhart's pizza blog, Pizza Quest.)
     The following recipe not only tastes great, but the dough is fairly easy to work with, so you can turn dinner into a family activity by letting each child make his or her own custom pizzas.  I like to keep the pizzas small--they cook faster that way and they're easier to get on and off the pizza stone.
     Speaking of pizza stones, you'll need one for this recipe if you want the best results, but you can also use a heavy cookie sheet turned upside down.  (If you decide to use a cookie sheet, be sure to spray it with nonstick cooking oil before putting the pizzas on it.)
     Remember, T = tablespoon, t = teaspoon, and c = cup.

Real Italian Pizza


For the dough:

5 c all-purpose flour
1 T sugar
1 1/2 t salt
1 t fast-rising yeast
2 T olive oil
1 3/4 c water
nonstick cooking spray

Place pizza stone (or upside-down cookie sheet) on a rack set set one-third of the way up from the bottom of the oven.  Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

Combine all ingredients except cooking spray, and stir with wooden spoon until well mixed.

Dip your hands in flour, and then begin kneading the dough.  (That means playing with it--punching it down, forming it back into a ball, punching it down again.)  It's easiest to do this on a wooden or plastic cutting board lightly dusted with flour.

Knead dough for three or four minutes, until it is no longer sticky.  To accomplish this, you may need to add some flour, one teaspoon at a time.

Once the dough is elastic, and no longer sticks to your hands, form it into a ball and place it in a mixing bowl coated with cooking spray.  Place the bowl in the microwave oven.   (Don't turn it on--the microwave is just a safe place for the dough to hang out and rise a little while you get the sauce and toppings ready.)


For the sauce:

1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 t vinegar
1 t Italian seasoning
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1/4 c water

Put all ingredients (except salt and water) into a bowl and whisk together.  Add salt to taste.  Gradually add water--one teaspoon at a time--if sauce is too thick.  (You want it fairly thick, but not pasty.)

To assemble pizzas:

Divide dough into pieces about the size of super balls (or large gum balls) and give one to each child.  Have them flatten the dough balls with their palms, and then use their fingers to carefully stretch the dough into something resembling a circle 5-6 inches across.  (You may have to help the little ones do this.)  The dough should be very thin, since it will puff up in the oven.   The pizzas won't be perfectly round, but that's how Italian pizzas are.

Once the dough circles are ready, place them, one at a time, on a small cutting board dusted with cornmeal.  (The cornmeal will keep the dough from sticking to the board, so you can slide the pizza off the board and onto the pizza stone.)   Once the dough is on the cornmeal-covered board, DO NOT PRESS DOWN ON IT or it will stick, and you won't be able to slide it onto the pizza stone.

Allow each child to spread his or her own pizza with sauce, and then add grated mozzarella cheese and any other toppings they desire.  (For a classic Pizza Margherita, simply top dough with sauce, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and basil leaves brushed with olive oil.  My son, Andy, loves this.)

Once toppings are in place, carefully--and I do mean carefully--slide the pizza off the cutting board and onto the preheated pizza stone using a spatula.  You'll probably have a few mishaps the first few times you do this (upside down pizza, anyone?), but you'll get the hang of it.

Repeat topping procedure with additional pizzas and place them, one by one, on the pizza stone.  (You should be able to fit about six of these mini-pizzas on the stone.)

Once the first batch of pizzas are safely in the oven, take a spray bottle filled with water--set to mist setting--and spray it into the oven a couple of times.  (I'm not sure why this works, but it makes for more authentic crusts.)
 
The pizzas will cook quickly, so watch them carefully--five minutes is usually all it takes.  As soon as the cheese on the first pizza is bubbly and slightly brown, remove it with the spatula and place it on a cooling rack.  Remove the other pizzas, in turn, as they are ready.

You should have enough dough for 12-15 mini pizzas.

Buon appetito!

Authentic Italian pizza--at home!

© Cekur | Stock Free Images 

   

Cleaning the Fridge

     Cleaning the fridge is usually not a pleasant task--ugly sights, disgusting smells, and new forms of life evolving in last month's zucchini casserole.
     But it doesn't have to be this way.  With a little organization and a little time devoted to fridge management each day, your refrigerator will practically clean itself.
     Here are a few tips:

1.  Don't save everything.  I know it's painful to throw leftovers away--we all wish there was a way to get our excess food to the hungry people of this world--but saving that half-cup of carrot soup, which you know you will eventually throw away, isn't going to help anyone.
     Unless you're absolutely sure you're going to use an item later, throw it away now, rather than taking the time to put it in a plastic container that will have to be washed when you do dispose of the item.  And don't even think about saving that half-can of evaporated milk.  Get rid of it now!

Stop saving everything!

2.  Bag it.  If you do decide to save an item, put it in a Ziploc-style bag.  That way, if you end up using it, you simply throw the plastic bag away, and if you end up tossing it in the garbage, you also throw the plastic bag away.  It's easier than washing a plastic container.  Use this method for liquids, too--soups and sauces store perfectly well in plastic bags.

Use plastic bags--rather than containers--to store leftovers.

3.  Freeze it.  If you decide to save an item, but you don't plan to use it within the next three or four days, freeze it.  That way it will still be good by the time you actually do use it.

Freeze items you don't plan to use within the next few days.

4.  Mark it.  Keep a marker handy and put the date and contents of everything you save on the container or plastic bag.  You don't need fancy stickers for this--just write the information on masking tape and stick it to the item.  (Some brands of plastic bags have a labeling area included.)  Marking items makes it easy to know--at a later date--which ones are still good, and which ones need to be thrown out.   Be especially sure to date lunch meat--it's often hard to guess whether or not it's still fresh.

4.  Go on "Fridge Patrol" each morning.   Take five minutes after breakfast to take inventory of what's in your refrigerator.  Are those avocados ready for guacamole?  Are they so ripe you should make it today?  What about that cottage cheese?  Is it close to its expiration date?  Would that leftover pizza work for today's lunch?  If you do this, you will not only avoid wasting food, but you'll get some good menu ideas, as well.

Take inventory of the contents of your fridge every morning.

5.  Have a leftover shelf.  Clear an area of your fridge and use it exclusively for leftovers and odds and ends (small amounts of tomato sauce, bits of cheese, etc.) that need to be used fairly soon.  That way, you won't end up finding the candied yams from last Thanksgiving stuck behind the bottle of grapefruit juice that no one ever drinks.

6.  Mark old produce for cooking use only.  If you have a bag of baby carrots that are too limp to eat raw, put them in a plastic bag marked "for soup" and put it on the leftover shelf.  For fruit that's past it's prime, stick it in a baggie and mark it "for smoothies" or "for baking."  That way, these items won't be taking up precious space in your produce drawer, and you'll know you need to use them within the next few days.

7.  Make omelettes.  Omelettes are a great way to use up bits and pieces of old produce and other items you have in the fridge.  Mushrooms on their last leg?  Throw them in the frying pan.  Tomatoes too soft to eat raw?  Mix them into the omelette.  Most vegetables work well in omelettes, including broccoli, asparagus, peppers, and zucchini.  You can also throw in olives or cheese that you're about to throw away.

Omelettes are a tasty way to use leftover vegetables, cheese, and olives.

How to Talk to Kids, Part I

     Parents are flooded with advice.  Neighbors are full of it, bookstores are loaded with it, TV shows and Internet sites are teeming with it.  But is any of it any good?

     I thought not, until the therapist who was attempting to treat my four-year-old’s tantrums recommended How to Talk so Kids Will Listen & Listen so Kids Will Talk (Quill, 1982), by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish (fabermazlish.com).

     Unlike many so-called “parenting experts,” who have never had children themselves, the authors of this book developed their theories as they were raising their children.  They’ve even and gone back and revised the book as times—and their ideas—have changed.

     While I don’t agree with everything in the book, I found a few “nuggets” that I think are especially worthwhile.  These are a few things the authors suggest:

1.        Children need to have their feelings accepted and respected.   When children talk, listen quietly and attentively rather than immediately launching into censure or advice.  Acknowledge kids’ feelings with words like “Oh,” “mmmm…,” or “I see.”  Then give the feelings a name:  “That sounds frustrating!”  Finally, give the child his or her wishes in fantasy.  “I wish I could make the banana ripe for you right now!”

Turning green bananas yellow:  give kids their wishes in fantasy.

2.        Use alternatives to punishment.   Punishment doesn’t work—use the following instead:  express strong disapproval of an action; state your expectations; show the child how to make amends; or allow the child to experience the consequences of misbehavior.

     For instance, if Johnny breaks Mrs. Smith’s window with a baseball, your first impulse might be to ground him for a month.  But what does making him stay home for a month have to do with the broken window?  Instead, you can remind Johnny that you have told him umpteen times NOT to play baseball in the front yard, and that breaking windows is unacceptable.
     You can also tell Johnny that from now on, you expect him to play baseball either in the back yard or in the park.  Finally, you can encourage Johnny to apologize to Mrs. Smith, and tell him the price of the window repair will come out of his allowance for as many months as that may take.

     Better than grounding?  I think so, and Johnny will probably think so, too.

Broken windows:  rather than punish, teach kids to deal with the consequences.

3.  Allow children to help solve problems.  When a child’s behavior is causing a problem, ask the child how he/she feels about the problem, and explain how you feel about it.  Next, brainstorm together to find a mutually agreeable solution.  Write down all ideas—however crazy—without evaluating them.  Finally, decide together which proposal to adopt. 

Solve problems together by making lists of proposals.

     Now, this last item strikes me as a good idea, but I’m going to have to put it in practice a few times before I become a believer.  I’m not sure my kids will take the procedure seriously enough to offer any valid solutions—but I could be wrong.  I hope so.

     I’ll have more ideas from the book in my next blog entry.

Clutter Control

     One of the biggest chores a stay-at-home dad faces is picking up clutter.  Shoes, backpacks, books, brushes, crayons, coats, jackets, toys—it seems like a never-ending battle to try to find a place for everything and to keep everything in its place.

     Here are a few things I’ve learned on the topic of clutter control:

1.      Pick up clutter daily.  That way it won’t get so bad that you give up on it.  I like to do my clutter control in the mornings so the house is orderly for the rest of the day.  I guess I could do it at night before I go to bed, but I’m usually so tired at that point that mornings are a better option for me.

Clutter:  if your house looks this this, you've waited too long.

2.      Use a clutter basket.  I used to put clutter away as I picked it up, but this meant dozens of trips across the house to the same places.  I’d pick up Andy’s shoes, for instance, take them to his room, then find a baseball bat two minutes later and have to trek back to his room.  Now I carry around a laundry basket and pick up all the clutter before I start to put it away.

The amazing clutter basket.

3.      Take clean-up breaks.  If you have young children, who like to play with lots of different toys at once, take a break every hour or so and have them help you tidy things up.  If they’ve tired of the Lincoln Logs, put them away.  If the Play-Doh is starting to get hard, but it back in the plastic containers.  I’ve found that kids actually enjoy doing this.  Once the toy room or family room is tidied up, they have a “clean slate” to mess up again.  And you don’t end up having to put away every toy they own when play time is over.

Clean-up breaks take you from this...

...to this.

4.      Organize kids’ rooms so they know where things go.  Kids can get overwhelmed with clutter the same way dads do.  And if they don’t know where to put things, it doesn’t do much good to tell them to pick things up. 

          A couple of weeks ago, I asked Andy to clean up and organize his closet.  To my surprise, he actually got excited about the challenge and dug right in.  He ended up throwing away a ton of things he no longer wanted, which left more space for everything else, and when he was finished, the closet looked like a well organized display at a department store:  baseball hats stacked neatly, all the clothes on hangers, toys carefully lined up on shelves. 

          Now that there’s a place for everything, it’s easy for him (and me—okay, it’s usually me, but he really was responsible for the closet organization) to put things in their place.

The Latest Nutrition Guidelines:MyPlate

       If you went to elementary school in the 70s, like I did, you learned there were four food groups:  dairy, meat, fruits and vegetables (lumped together), and grains.  In fourth grade, I remember having to write down everything I ate for a week, and reporting it, each day, aloud, in class.  The exercise was supposed to teach us to eat foods from each of the four groups at every meal, and it worked:  still, today, when planning meals, I think about the four food groups.

     Well, nutrition guidance, you’ve come a long way, baby.  The four food groups have been out for decades, replaced by food pyramids, which have now been replaced by a system called MyPlate (choosemyplate.gov).

Make your plate look like MyPlate.

     The system was designed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (the same folks who brought us the food pyramid), and while the concept is simple, the application is a bit more tricky.  You’ll want to visit the Web site, but these are the main points:

1. Instead of thinking in terms of food groups or a food pyramid, picture a plate.   For each meal, one-half of this plate should be covered in fruits and vegetables, one-fourth should be covered in whole grains, and the final fourth should be covered in foods rich in protein.  A small circle at the top of the plate (think of a glass) represents dairy, which should also be present at each meal. 






Fruits and vegetables:  each plays a role in good nutrition.



2. All fruits and vegetables are not created equal.  While half what you eat at each meal should be fruits and vegetables, you can’t eat half a plate of watermelon for every meal, day after day, and expect to be healthy.  You need variety. 

          MyPlate divides vegetables into five groups:  dark green ( such as broccoli, romaine, spinach); starchy (includes potatoes, corn, and, surprisingly, green peas); red/orange (think carrots, pumpkin, squash, sweet potatoes, red peppers, tomatoes); beans/peas (all types of beans and peas except green peas); and others (asparagus, avocados, zucchini, onions, beets, cauliflower, mushrooms, green peppers).  

          MyPlate does not divide fruits into groups, but it does recommend a variety of fruits in order to get the right amounts of necessary nutrients.

Each member of the family needs different amounts of essential nutrients.

3. All bodies do not need the same amounts of the same foods.  On the MyPlate Web site, you’ll find the amounts that each person in your family should be eating from each of the five groups (vegetables, fruits, grains, protein, and dairy) each day.  You will also find the proper amount that each person should be eating from each vegetable subgroup each week.





A proper diet can prevent cancer, high blood pressure, and other diseases.



4. Proper eating will promote health and ward off disease.   According to the Web site, eating according to MyPlate standards will help you avoid cancer, kidney stones, bone loss, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, constipation, diverticulosis (infection caused from food trapped in the intestinal lining), heart attack, stroke, obesity, and Type II diabetes.  

     After I finished reading these guidelines, I couldn’t help but realize they almost exactly described the diet of my Grandmother Williams, who lived to be one hundred and four (she passed away a year ago). 

     At Grandma’s Thanksgiving dinners, we would sometimes chuckle at the variety of vegetables on the table:   string beans, corn, yams, potatoes, carrot sticks, celery sticks, beets, peas.  There would also usually be what she called “mustard pickles,” which were pieces of cauliflower, carrots, green peppers, and onions marinated in a mustard vinaigrette.  Our plates were at least half-full of vegetables at these events, if not three-fourths full. 

     And the vegetable array was not just for Thanksgiving:  it was also included at other formal meals, like Christmas, Easter, and Mother’s Day.  Even when Grandma dined alone (or with just one or two of us), there were always vegetables.  In the summer there were sliced tomatoes, cucumbers in vinegar, new potatoes, corn on the cob—all from her garden.  In the winter, she would used canned and frozen vegetables. 

     Grandma also followed the other guidelines from MyPlate (before they existed):  lots of fruit, much of which she bottled from her own trees; a moderate amount of meat; a lot of dairy products; and a lot of whole grains (oatmeal, whole wheat), although she wasn’t so fanatic that she’d never touch white bread.  Grandma was moderate in everything.

     Now, she did eat a lot of chocolate—and she used quite a bit of cream in her pies and other desserts (MyPlate wouldn’t exactly sanction these activities)—but when you’re out mowing your lawn at age 90, you can have some cream and chocolate.

     Grandma was quite healthy up until she died, at home, in her own bed.  She did have arthritis and macular degeneration, which left her nearly blind for the last decade of her life (sadly, she didn’t catch this soon enough, or it probably could have been cured—get those yearly eye exams!), but she had no heart problems, no cholesterol issues, no diabetes, no cancer.  She never had weight issues in her life—she was always slender, in-shape, and active.

     Thanks, Grandma, for your great example.  I hope I live to be a hundred and four.

Grilled Vegetables

My last cooking post was on men who make bread, which needed some explaining.  But today’s topic—grilling—needs no prefatory remarks.  Everyone knows dudes grill.  That’s just what we do.

But do real men grill vegetables?  Yes, they do.  It’s just as macho to grill a mushroom as it is a burger, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Here’s an easy summer recipe that works well for an outdoor lunch or supper.  Serve the vegetables with a rustic loaf of bread, two or three cheeses, and individual raspberry tarts.  The veggies are so good, you and your kids won’t even realize it’s a meatless meal. 

Where's the beef?  No one will care.

Grilled Vegetables

vegetables (you decide the quantity your family will eat):

asparagus spears

green peppers

red peppers

zucchini

Portobello mushrooms

vinaigrette (this recipe serves 6—adjust according to family size):

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

½ cup fresh lemon juice (that means you must squeeze a lemon or two—don’t buy the bottled stuff)

½  cup balsamic vinegar (raspberry works well)

sea salt

1 teaspoon Mediterranean seasoning blend

1 teaspoon season salt

Wash asparagus spears and bend bottoms of stalks until they snap (discard the lower pieces).

Rinse peppers, zucchini and mushrooms and cut into long, thin slices.

Combine vinegar, lemon juice, Mediterranean seasoning and season salt in medium bowl.  Whisk in olive oil.  Taste.  Adjust seasoning.

Place vegetables in vinaigrette and allow to marinate at least two hours.

Heat grill to medium high.

Place vegetables on grill.  Turn after one minute.  Remove after one more minute.  Place in large serving dish and cover with remaining marinade.  Sprinkle with sea salt. 

Enjoy!

Serve grilled vegetables with rustic bread, cheeses, and individual raspberry tarts.