Peanut Blossom

A tip for cookbook lovers on iPad/eReaders

I obsessively love cookbooks. I love to sit next to a tall stack of heavy hardcovered beauties and flip through the gorgeous photo-laden pages. When I'm planning a party or a special meal, that is how I get my inspiration for the menu. I swore up and down I would never ever convert to reading cookbooks on an eReader.

Never say never.

When I wanted to start focusing on homemade soups this winter, I found a fantastic book of soup recipes on Amazon. The only drawback? It was only available as a Kindle edition. The print version is too old and was a rare find starting at $100+. No thank you. So against my better judgement, I downloaded the ebook to the Kindle app on my iPad.

I was desperately disappointed that there were no photos for the recipes (so I quickly decided to start taking my own) but was thrilled with the recipe content itself. Normally, I'd flag the pages of recipes I want to try but other than scroll back to the table of contents, I didn't know how to index the things I wanted to keep. Particularly because the bookmark function stores it by location and the first words on the page, which didn't always reference the recipe I wanted.

That's when I decided to use the Notes feature:

Under, "My Notes and Marks", I highlighted the recipe title, added a note, and then typed the title into the notes section. Now when I press that little bookmark button up pops my own index of just the recipes I want tagged by location along with the title. I LOVE this! It is so much easier to quickly scan the titles of just the things I found appealing.

Have you tried a cookbook on your eReader? It's too soon to tell whether I could be a potential convert, but that photo is just a smidgen of my stash! It might be a space-saving effort alone!

*Thanks to Florabella for the adorable Valentine template! I used them last year for a Valentine with my girls and they print beautifully. Get your own set here!

Hidden veggie tomato sauce

My roasted tomato sauce has been one of my favorite freezer staples ever since I discovered it. In the last 2 years I think I have purchased "maybe" 3 jars total of spaghetti sauce. I much prefer to make my own with big batches of tomatoes from Costco and whatever combination of onions and peppers maybe be laying around in my fridge. 

After two years of making this sauce, you'd think it would have occurred to me earlier what a great opportunity it would be to hide a few more veggies in while I did the roasting. I can be pretty slow sometimes. I happened to have an abundance of zucchini and carrots from my recent soup making ventures and decided to toss a few in at the last minute before roasting. 

I added 4 chopped carrots and a single thickly sliced zucchini to the mix. I didn't want the zucchini to turn the sauce too green so I left it at that. My favorite part of the roasted tomato sauce is how sweet everything tastes from the high heat of the oven. I love roasted carrots and just felt they'd be right at home in there. 

I'm thrilled with how this combination turned out. The resulting sauce is very thick, sweet, and flavorful. My girls (and Handyman Tim himeslf) will absolutely never guess the extra veggies I've hidden inside. Since Little Pea has turned into quite the picky eater, I'm grateful for a recipe like this to sneak a little extra nutrition into her! 

Tuscan Chicken Soup

During a recent trip to visit family in the Twin Cities area, we stopped in at a cafe called D'Amico & Sons for a quick lunch. Too much heavy food and greasy fast food on our trip had left me with an upset stomach so all I wanted was a light and veggie-laden soup. When the server brought my bowl, I immediately knew I had picked a winner.

This soup is a tomato-based broth with just a hint of creaminess without being a full-fledged cream soup. It is thick with veggies and teeny tiny pasta but still brothy enough to be a soup and not a stew. It might possibly be the most perfect vegetable soup I have ever had. The little bits of chicken give it that nice savory taste but it is truly the carrots and zucchini that are the heroes of this dish. 

I could NOT stop thinking about this soup for days. I'm not exactly a soup fantatic but it hit the spot and kept me wanting more even after I returned home. In total desperation, I hunted the internet for a similar recipe. I found nothing that came close until I finally decided to just search for the restaurant's name and the name of the soup. Sure enough, an employee who's grandmother's recipe is used for the basis of the soup posted it on their blog last year! Score! I literally yelped with excitement.

My version of the soup was not a dead-on match but it is my own fault. Next time I'll take the time to dice my veggies smaller. I may consider adding more tomato and more broth (or less pasta). I added too much pasta in my original attempt and it soaked up too much of the broth. (The recipe below is adjusted with that in mind, no worries!)

Serve this with some fresh warm bread and butter and it is total cold winter day heaven. Even the Peanut gave it two thumbs up. She practically licked her bowl clean and I couldn't feel better about the ingredients in it. 

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Tuscan Chicken Soup

adapted from "Grandma Mary's Soup" a.k.a. the Tuscan Chicken Soup from D'Amico & Sons

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
1 medium yellow onion (medium dice)
4  carrots (peeled, washed, and medium dice)
4 stalks celery (washed and medium diced)
2 zucchini (washed and medium diced)
3 cloves fresh garlic (chopped finely)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil 
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
28 0z can crushed tomatoes 
6 cups chicken stock
Kosher salt-to taste
Fresh ground black pepper -to taste
1/2 cup Acini de pepe pasta 

Method:

In a large pot add 2 tbsp olive oil and saute onions, celery, and carrots over medium high heat for 8-10 minutes.  Add zucchini and garlic.  Saute until tender about 4-6 minutes.

Add chicken stock, tomatoes, basil, oregano, chicken. Simmer soup for 20 minutes, vegetables should be tender. Add the pasta and cook right in the soup for another 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.  Add heavy cream if using and allow to simmer for 6-8 minutes.

Top with grated parmiggiano reggiano or pecorino romano cheese and serve!

NOTE: I let my soup set in the fridge overnight and the pasta absorbed far too much of the liquid. I just added a few more cups of chicken stock when I reheated it to make it more brothy and soup-like.

So you got an iPad for Christmas, Now What?!

  

Let's get one thing very straight: You are never too old for toys.

When my mom and dad would confer over what to get my sister and I every year for Christmas, my dad would always stop to ask, "But what toy will we be giving them?" That question is posed each and every year and has instilled my love of all manner of gadgets and techno gizmos. I still love to find clothing, perfume, kitchen items under our Christmas tree, but Handyman Tim knows the fastest way to my  heart is to give me a toy.

It was with great glee that I accepted an iPad a few weeks ago. Tim had been the owner of it for over a year but just didn't enjoy using it. Often it sat quietly in his hotel room untouched. He finally decided to put it in more eager hands. While I stared in disbelief as he passed it over, he said, "I thought it would be a great replacement for my laptop and I just haven't enjoyed using it like I thought I would." 

And then the angels wept.

I hope Handyman Tim never reads this post. He may regret handing me this awesome toy. But for your sake, I knew I had to share this. Did you get an iPad for Christmas? It seems most ladies in my Facebook feed seem to have unwrapped one of their very own in the last few weeks. Some were greeted with glee like me, but I did see a few, "What do I do with this thing now?!" exclamations. 

I'll be sharing different iPad tips over the coming weeks but today I wanted to start you off with the number one thing you absolutely need to put on your iPad right this very second:

Stop what you're doing and download Flipboard to your iPad right now. They have a version for iPhone too but the display size of the iPad is what makes this truly magnificent.

If you're an avid blog reader like I am, you're probably used to the list-style display of most feed readers. Hook up your Google Reader account to Flipboard and it turns your blog reader into a print-style magazine:

You can display your blogs by folder, by feed, or all of them mixed together:

My blog feed is extremely photo based. I buy my cookbooks based on the photography included, I make my decisions on what to cook based on the photo. Why wouldn't I want to see my blog feeds by photo?! I LOVE this easily scannable format. You swipe the screen and it turns like pages of a magazine. 

No internet browser works this way. This kind of interaction with your blog feed can only  happen in a unique app such as Flipboard. Why would you want to go to the Safari browser window to read via a traditional web site when you can have them fed to you in this gorgeous display?? 

And Flipboard doesn't just hook up with Google Reader. I set my account to grab my Facebook, Twitter feed, LinkedIn account, Instagram feed and Flickr photostream. Instead of seeing all the text based links and hashtag mess of a normal Twitter feed, look at how it pulls the images right out of the links themselves:

When I discovered how much more fun it was to read my social media outlets via Flipboard, I sat quietly squealing in our living room. Handyman Tim noticed and just shook his head and groaned. 

Stay tuned for more iPad tips and suggestions in the weeks to come. For now, Flipboard should keep you plenty busy. But are you interested in having that super cute Valentine's wallpaper for your very own iPad or iPhone? Check out Zina's post over at Let's Lasso the Moon and download yours there!

Stock your pantry: Gnocchi soup with lemon and dill

Our kitchen is running on fumes today. I am due a very large and very extensive trip to the grocery store but I am still in the middle of making the list. Lunchtime waits for no one and I had to come up with something out of what felt like nothing. How I love my pantry stash! Out of a few random ingredients, I was able to make homemade soup and fresh bread from the oven for a quick and relatively healthy (albeit starchy) lunch for the girls and myself.

Want to know the best part? All the ingredients came from Costco! You could honestly stock up on all these ingredients in bulk and have a great little emergency meal on hand at all times. I've had this trio of gnocchi from Costco sitting in my cupboard for months but haven't been sure what to do with them. They made an amazing soup filler: light, fluffy, and very satisfying in place of noodles or rice.

And a side note, if you haven't already tried the french bread loaves from the freezer section at Costco, I HIGHLY recommend them. $10 for 10 loaves. They are flash frozen in France and shipped here. You just thaw for 10 minutes on the counter and bake them for 10 minutes in your oven. I am a total bread snob and they have my absolute seal of approval.

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Gnocchi soup with lemon and dill
recipe adapted from Enlightened Soups by Camilla Saulsbury

Ingredients:

8 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I had to use the organic chicken stock I had on hand despite the higher sodium)
1 16 oz package of dried gnocchi
5 carrots, peeled and diced
Garlic: use one whole clove or just a very few pieces of Penzey's freeze dried minced garlic
1/2 lemon juiced
1/2 tsp dried dill
salt and pepper to taste

Frozen french bread loaves

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the chicken broth (or stock), diced carrots, and the garlic in a large saucepot and bring to a boil. Gently simmer for 10-15 min until the carrots are tender. Remove the garlic clove if you used a whole one.

By now the oven should be preheated. Put the french bread into the oven and set the timer for 10 min. Add the potato gnocchi to the saucepot and simmer while the bread bakes. With 2 minutes left on the timer, squeeze half a lemon into the pot, add the dill, salt, and pepper, and stir.

When the bread comes out, the soup is done.

H * E * L * P!

It sure has been quiet around here lately, hasn't it? I'm so sorry, I promise it has been very unintentional. Handyman Tim is knee deep in an awful project that is keeping him away from home for 4 months. He left at the beginning of December and other than a short break at Christmas, he's been busy working 12 hour shifts, 7 days a week out of town with no end in sight until sometime in March at the earliest.

I'm no stranger to being home alone with the kids but this is something completely different than even I am used to. The girls and I have buckled down into hardcore survival mode which basically means: No fancy meals or baking, very few crafting opportunities, and an all around lack of things to write about like I normally share here! Not to mention how crazy things got over on Develop with the start of our 2012 photography projects.

I'm happy to let you know though, I have a series of posts I'm busy trying to pull together for you. I was finally inspired over the weekend. I want to get things rolling more predictably around here. Thank you for being patient with me as I sort out life in general.

That being said, I am definitely looking for some guest writers who would like to contribute some tried and true recipes. I will make and photograph your dish, you simply need to share a short intro and the recipe. Bloggers and non-bloggers are welcome! If you were in my shoes and feeding two small children, what would be on your menu? I'd love to share your ideas!

If you're interested, just send me a message at: peanutblossomcreations (AT) gmail (DOT) com and we'll chat! 

Growing Veggie Lovers

Today my good friend Zina from Let's Lasso the Moon joins us for a few tips for getting your little ones to eat veggies. It's been a busy week at the house and over at Develop. I look forward to checking in with you again soon.

Have a wonderful weekend,
Tiffany

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Want to grow veggie lovers? Last month Tiffany and I were chatting on the phone when I heard her Peanut scoff at the idea of eating carrots. I mentioned, “Tell her Santa’s reindeer love carrots; that they are one of their dietary staples.” We continued on with our conversation and I hadn’t thought much of the comment until today when Tiffany said her lady is obsessed with carrots now. Ah, it is all about parental marketing!

Today I am going to share five basic (sometimes overlooked) tips for getting your kids to, not just eat veggies, but actually like them.

1. Let them play—I walked away for a moment, when I returned to chop up my stalk of broccoli I found this. {smiles} Of course, I made a big deal out of it, laughed and yelled, “Hey, who’s eating my broccoli tree?” Generally we insist on good manners at dinner, except when it comes to veggies. We let the girls eat green beans with their hands if they wish. If they are putting vegetables in their mouth, I let it go. *Check out the “play” scenario showcased in the video below!
   
   
2. Buy it fresh—I have purchase about a million & one bags of mini, pre-cut, pre-washed carrots in my life. Last year I noticed regular sized organic carrots were only 98 cents; they were sitting next to my $3 bag of minis. The first time I bought whole carrots, peeled, and then cut them I was so enchanted by the fresh smell that I posted on Facebook. I asked, “What have I been missing all these years?”
   
   Let’s Lasso the Moon Tip: Cut your carrot into very small, thin sticks. We usually cut the carrot down to about 2 inches long by ¼ inch thick.
   
   
3. Never utter these infamous words, “You may have dessert after you eat your vegetables.” It is the equivalent of telling your child veggies are yucky & something they inherently should not enjoy. When’s the last time you said, “You’re welcome to play outside after you finished your sucker?” Take away that ‘you have to eat them or else’ stigma. At our house we actually serve dessert with dinner (mind you, a small portion). You’d be surprised how much this has simplified our lives.
   
   
4. Participate—Gandhi once said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” I follow in his footsteps by telling you, be the change you want to see in your family. If you want your kids to like eating veggies grab a carrot once and a while. Make vegetable recipes you enjoy.  Stumped? Check out the Peanut Blossom Bring Back the Family Meal board on Pinterest for ideas.
   
   
5. And my favorite, sure fire approach for getting kids to eat veggies? Pop on over to my kitchen table over at Let’s Lasso the Moon & I’ll whisper the secret in your ear.

I’d love to hear any additional suggestions you have… let’s chat in the comments below.