I think this might be my most favorite ambassador smash to date! We miss you and your family dearly & I feel more connected than ever to you this holiday season (even though we are oceans apart)!
Someday, we'll ride bikes side by side and go to your market together just like we went to mine last July. I simply cannot wait to greet your dear friends and experience your part of the world. Until then, let's keep bringing life closer, one recipe at a time!
Much love and Christmas cheers! To the mullies we GO.........
"i kind of like it. i really like the sausages. now can i get 3 chocolates?"
- tommy
"i really like it, it's the best thing ever."
- abbie
= my kids reaction over the pollan family table's inspired baked ziti (how i've never made this dish before... i don't know...)
12/19/2014
let's get to it.
i have been given the pleasure to review a new cookbook:
the pollan family table
"My Grandmother Mary taught us, "Cooking is not a science, but an art, mistakes are ok, messes are fine - The pleasure is in the creating and the sharing of the result."
- Lori Pollan @PollanFamilyTable.
about two and a half years ago, i gave away/donated most of my cookbooks. i was in the early throws of our family food change and i reasoned if the cookbook didn't fit my new standards of clean food or if it wasn't gluten free, it just couldn't stay.
my perspective is evolving quite a bit. nowadays, i am drawn towards cookbooks that have something more to offer than just a required list of amazing recipes. i want a story. i want to go into an author(s) mind and go on a journey. is there a common thread to connect our kitchens and pantries? why do they love food? what made them write a cookbook? can this book help me & my family get more "cooked"?
the pollan ladies (corky, lori, dana & tracy) are the masterminds behind this new cookbook. lori, dana and tracy's brother, michael pollan, joined the family cookbook party and wrote its poignant forward.
from the get go, this book tapped into my earliest of food memories, the family tables that shaped my life. about a paragraph in, i looked up and closed two dampish eyes (i am a major weeper). first, it brought me back to sitting at my childhood family table with my mom, dad, sister and brother. our meals, our laughter, our ups and downs... growing up with mom's famous lasagna, waffles.every.weekend, steak dinners, tuna casserole (oh i need to make that again!). my dad unequivocally teaching me the art of food experimentation (close your eyes lindsey and taste this!)
secondly, it took me back to my "grandma.on.the.farm's" family table. my grandma dorothy canning everything from her huge garden; i can still taste her peaches on my tongue; her rolls were made by hand with local lard (cinnamon rolls were the very best); my favorite job was picking fresh beans from her garden for dinner (and eating them raw of course); she was the first person i had ever known to make homemade salad dressing (because my grandpa tom hated "that crap in the bottle").
thirdly, i traveled back to my aunt valerie's family table and my "grandma.on.the.lake's" family table where emil and millie inspired us to make and eat kolachki, potica, cream sausage, beet salad, cucumber salad, and crab dip with endless fruit-veggie-cracker spreads - the mullies kitchen sits in the footprint of their quaint cottage i miss almost everyday.
ooooohhhh the memories of these family tables and all who dined together with us!
this cookbook successfully wove together my past, present and future kitchens: memories of cooking and eating as a child, teenager, adult, wife and mom well into 14 years of marriage and a family food change. all of it swirling together with my current daydreams of my children (all grown up) cooking in their own kitchens and coming back home to me.
what kind of food memories will i leave in my children as my mother and grandmothers have given to me? will mac, abbie and tommy wax poetic about dishes from their childhood and request recipes to make over and over again?
so i just asked them: "what are your favorite dishes that i make?
mac: "the dish you made last night and homemade pizza"
tommy: "taco nachos with cheese"
abbie: "homemade pizza, taco nachos, ribs, the cheesy pasta we had last night and smoothies."
honest food sophistication.
gulp. i'm in the process RIGHT NOW of forging their food memories. i've made plenty of mouth watering dishes for the kids (+ plenty of thumbs down meals) but perhaps i haven't made any dishes often enough (other than pizza, tacos and nachos apparently) for my kids to be remembering them enough to request them.
this list must blossom in 2015.
what perfect timing for the pollan family table to enter into my kitchen. i clearly need some help in forging a shifley family table full of favorite meals. lori, dana and tracy all have kids, they all lead busy busy lives and these recipes work at their family tables. and that's exactly what i am looking for:
time tested
thumbs up
belly filling
simple
clean
dishes of awesomeness
to get my kids waxing poetic and coming back for more at our family table = a 2015 new year's resolution.
michael pollan explains it perfectly in his forward:
"My mother and sisters are not professional cooks, and this, oddly enough (or maybe not so oddly), probably explains why this eminently practical cookbook really works. Because most of us aren't professional cooks either. They never lose sight of the few core principles that set this cookbook apart: All the dishes can be made with ingredients available at any American supermarket; most can be put on the table in less than an hour (some in half that time); the recipes take nothing for granted and never assume lots of prior experience in the kitchen; and they all appeal equally to kids and adults."
this book is not a special diet book. anyone can cook from it no matter where one is on the food continuum. they don't overly proselytize about eating "healthy" or tell you to cut this or that out of your diet. the focus stays on cooking, sharing and togetherness around the table. they discuss the importance of using fresh, organic, local and sustainably sourced ingredients when you can & when budgets allow. if you are on a special diet or if you have an allergy, substituting for it should be a snap (many recipes are naturally gluten free!). i like to cook plant based as much as possible so i'm itching to try out the"vegetarian and meatless monday" section on my family. most importantly, their pantry item list is no fuss, simple and solid. i super love the "culinary ABC" section and "sage advice" - it is so helpful to have these vital tips & practical (best friend) explanations of cooking terms all in ONE PLACE.
the pollan family got me thinking about what kind of family table i want to create, about what really happens when we all get a chance to sit down and share a family meal. our table captures the full range of human emotions... a 5, 8, 10, 37 and 41 year old's happiness, sadness, frustration and excitement... you name it and we've been there. it's a pendulum swinging back and forth, teaching and breathing life into our hectic, hungry souls. thank you pollan family for helping me to embrace everything that happens when we sit down together.
so our pollan family table adventure begins with baked ziti.
baked ziti with bacon and sausage
inspired by the pollan family table's "golden baked ziti with bite-size turkey meatballs" pg 158
sea salt
1 pound gluten free ziti
4 strips of antibiotic free/nitrate free bacon
6 links of antibiotic free/nitrate free pork sausage
1 c of homemade tomato sauce (i had leftovers i needed to use!)
1.5-2 c grated manchego cheese
1/4 c grated parmesan cheese
preheat oven to 375 degrees. salt boiling water and add pasta. cook pasta until "al dente, about three minutes less than directions on the package. meanwhile, chop up the bacon and sausage. drain the pasta and transfer it all back into the still hot cooking pot. dump in about a cup of pasta sauce (mine was leftover, thick tomato soup) plus the meat and mix thoroughly. dump it all into a baking dish and cook uncovered for 30 minutes.
"it has some sort of cheese layer over it and the cheese layer makes me die of awesomeness because it is so good. it has bacon, i mean, who doesn't like bacon. i don't know how you did it mom, but you put all my favorite foods in one dish. i love it." - mac
a worm hole has opened to my past, present and future. i am quilting my kitchen & cooking adventures into fabric made from food and family. for good food is the one thing we can never walk away from nor stop from doing. eating and cooking well is the one thing i hope my kids will do with or without me.
it's time to eat and cook more together for good food is for-ever. thank you pollan family for inspiring me and my evolving family table.
now i need to go call my sister - cuz i have a book i really need to talk to her about...
we have some recipes to tackle together katie!!!
i'm so excited your family will be joining my family in our new sister series: to the mullies with the pollans - coming soon in 2015.
X+0=L
IT'S A FIRST MULLIES GIVEAWAY DAY!
comment below with your favorite childhood food memory (who do you remember first cooking with?) and i'll enter you into my.very.first.mullies.drawing for your very own copy of the pollan family table cookbook. on behalf of the pollan clan and myself, we can't WAIT to give it to you!
**the contest starts today and ends on 12/31/2014 so that you can join me in revolutionizing your family table in 2015**
here's mine:
my 1st "cooking" memory: in 8th grade, my mom called from work and asked me to get the blueberry muffins started. it was my first solo job. i thought to myself, "i'm making bread!" therefore, "mix by hand" = stick my fingers in the eggs, oil and powder and go to kneading town. "wait... where is my ball of dough?" i'll never forget my mom calling me to see how it went and her laughing and laughing... when i questioned why it stuck so horribly to my fingers. she explained, "mix by hand" meant mix with a spoon/whisk you silly willy.
i'm feeling lazy... must be all the food still digesting...
a have few words and lots of pics of our wonderful family thanksgiving. above is the fun flipagram and below are my favorite pics in chronological order from thanksgiving eve morning to the main event.
...tomorrow comes a very special no bake holiday cookie recipe inspired by the 52 new foods cookbook... you're gonna l.o.v.e. it:)
"the 52 new foods challenge is about more than the foods - it's about the journey the foods take you on. along the way, you will experience failure and frustrations, successes and celebrations. in the end, though, you will transform the way your family eats because of the experience you have together." - jennifer tyler lee, author of 52 new foods challenge
oh my dear jennifer...
did you write this book just for meeeeeeeeeeeeee?!
because it's exactly what i need to keep me plugging along in the mullies kitchen.
for what you have found in your kitchen is indeed what i have found in mine.
if you're new to the mullies, here's a quick poetic recap on why i became a food ambassador a little over 2 years ago:
my daughter was a new 1st grader and a year behind in school.
struggling with paying attention, socializing, following directions, reading...
intervention meetings were part of our worried life.
i decided to make a food change before the next panicky step (official ADHD diagnosis & ?!?)
getting my kids to cook with me & change picky taste buds.
the evolution of a food revolution.
thank you thank you thank you for writing this book.
i dedicate this post to you, to all of the parents out there trying to find balance with...
our kids
our schedules
our spouses
our friends
our lives
our health
"meet your family where they are, and move forward from there. everyone will start at a different place, and everyone can make lasting changes. this is your family's adventure, and like any good recipe, the secret is to make it your own." - jennifer tyler lee
this classic book takes it one week at a time, step by step to help us cook more real food and move off of the fast & plasticky (yup some foods have plastic in them!) processed food high way. holy moly could i have used this book two years ago AND it's still relevant to me today as a mom and ambassador in the trenches, working to get my kids cooking and hoping to inspire others to ride along with me!
let's tap into our inner indiana jones.
let's go after the adventure and the treasure we might not yet see in our kitchens, hearts and bellies.
so what if a snake (er... i mean... insert your picky eater here) scares you off and makes you want to jump off the train!
they do it to me all of the time.
this 52.ligit.map can help you + me stay.on.the.tracks.
each of the following recipes were cooked by yours truly and developed with gumption (except for jennifer's lovely brussel sprout chips) around a chosen few of her 26 fall & winter foods. any of her 52 new foods can be found in bold throughout this post. each of my recipes is gluten free and the produce gathered for the recipes was either from my organic garden, my local organic CSA share at midnight sun farm or the organic produce box program at all ways healthy.
here we go, here we go, here we go now!!
PUMPKIN
banana pumpkin muffins
2 smashed bananas
1 c home roasted pumpkin pulp
2 local pastured eggs (midnight sun farm egg share)
1/4 c melted coconut oil
1 c coconut palm sugar
3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 c gluten free (gf) flour
1 tsp xantham gum
2 tsp gf baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
preheat oven to 350 degrees. combine first 6 ingredients in stand mixer until fully incorporated. in a separate bowl, combine the remaining dry ingredients and slowly add to mixer. using an icecream scooper, fill up your paper cups 1/2 way and and bake for 25 minutes. place a toothpick down the center of the muffin and if the stick comes out clean, you're good! (i also gently push on the top of a few muffins to see if they spring back at me).
how to roast a pumpkin
preheat oven to 350 degrees. cut off your top. scoop out the pulp and seeds (save the seeds for jennifer's savory or spiced roasted pumpkin seed recipe!). rub extra virgin olive oil over inside of pumpkin. sprinkle with sea salt. wrap in a double layer of tin foil and bake for an hour. once cooked, slice pumpkin in half and scoop out the flesh for your recipe. jennifer's cookbook includes a different method that is just as good!
pumpkin gnocci
1/2 c home roasted pumpkin pulp
1 lb organic russet potatoes
1/4 c grated parmesan reggiano (or use cashew cheese to make it vegan)
1 pastured egg
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp sea salt
7-10 turns of freshly ground black pepper (adjust to your taste)
3-4 c gf flour
8 oz manchego cheese cut into small cubes (inspired by mambo italiano!)
christina erickson (girlfriend, mom, high school foods teacher and food ambassador) and i got our kids together for this fun dinner cooking party!
using a food processor, combine all ingredients except for the flour until smooth. transfer to a large bowl. combine with 2 cups of flour. continue mixing in more flour until dough is just thick enough to handle and shape into logs like play dough (you gotta use some gumption here!). sprinkle flour over a large cutting board or clean smooth surface. dust your hands and go to town making logs and balls. gently press a cube of cheese into the center of the ball and smoosh over with dough to form a ball. your kids will be super into this! tommy (above first picture) was not wanting to take turns with the gnocci roller and had a little cooking tantrum (is it possible to be happy about a tantrum!?) you can also use your fork to make fun lines or just make plain ol ballz!!! ...and hey, the thumbs-up come with thumbs-down... stay the course:)
tip: if you use the purple carrots in the sauce as you'll get a very purply sauce! leave them out for a more traditional tomato sauce color (thanks for the great tip food ambassador terri!)
1 lg red or yellow onion diced
2-3 orange and white rainbow carrots diced
3-4 stalks of celery stalks (you can add in the leaves too!) diced
(i add in red pepper and zucchini diced sometimes too!)
1/3 jar of oven roasted organic roma tomatoes packed in olive oil
homemade ranch dressing (beware: its highly addictive)
i eyeball everything with gumption to taste. here's my best guess and feel free to tweak it yourself.
about a cup of organic or soy free vegenaise
2 T 21 spice blend (trader joes or costco has this blend)
1/2 T each dried basil, parsely and chives
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
juice from one lemon
2-3 T plain yogurt (optional)
organic rice milk (i add this to thin it out... some like it thick, some like it runny... you pick!)
combine all ingredients and whisk until smooth. play with ingredients! i use sriracha sometimes, add ketchup, salsa or even sprinkle in old bay seasoning. the combinations are endless.
APPLES, PEARS & QUINOA
to the mullies with breakfast cookies
ambassador christina (pictured in the gnocci recipe!), gave me the outline for this recipe over a year ago and i have tweaked it into this lovely concoction!
2 c gf oats
1 c cooked quinoa (usually have leftovers from dinner!)
3/4 c almond meal/flour or gf flour
1 apple grated
1 pear grated
3-4 mashed bananas
1 tsp salt
1 T honey
1 tsp vanilla
raisins & mini dark chocolate chips
preheat oven to 350 degrees. mix all ingredients in a large bowl until well combined. line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat mats. place large spoonfuls of batter on the baking sheet and cook for 25-30 minutes or until browned.
leftover pancake n crab cakes with apples and kale
make pancakes for breakfast and reserve a cup of batter for these crab cakes!
1 c leftover gf pancake batter (52 new foods has a great whole wheat flour pancake recipe!)
8 oz wild caught lump crab
2 green onions finely chopped
1/2 chili finely minced (no seeds)
1/2 tsp sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
coconut oil
organic apples
quick jam jar dressing
juice of 1 lemon
3 T plain yogurt
3 T avocado oil
pinch of sea salt
freshly ground back pepper
a squirt of honey
combine all crab cake ingredients in a bowl. over medium heat, melt coconut oil and coat pan. place two spoonfuls of crab cake into a patty shape and cook approx 3-4 min on each side until cooked through with a nice brown crust. serve over a bed of curly kale tossed with dressing and top it all off with a ton of freshly chopped organic apples.
GARLIC
chimichurri
this recipe was inspired from a wonderful trip with friends to the dominican republic last year. i recently brought this to a friends house and we piled it on top of gorgeously grilled new york strip steak. hummina hummina.
1 small onion
5-6 radishes
2-3 green onions
1/2 c sliced raw almonds
3 cloves garlic
1 jalepeno finely minced
1 bunch garden cilantro
1 bunch garden parsley
1 bunch garden oregano
1/3 c extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c red wine vinegar
2 T freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 tsp sea salt
place all ingredients into a food processor and whiz.
chimichurri goes with everything as far as i'm concerned. meat, fish, pasta, toast, soup... it's balls out.
jennifer, not only did the kids love to help me with this, but it totally beats the hellerrrrs out of kale chips (and we all like kale chips!)
brussel sprouts
1-2 tsp melted coconut oil
pink sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
(i love em with a little tequila lime seasoning on them too!)
peel em, toss em with oil and sprinkle with s&p. i baked these for only 15 min at 350 degrees and took them out because they were done! finger lickin good.
a cacao and avocado smoothie/fudgsicle
my kids like this so much that i make a batch at least 2x's a week! mac can make it on his own now, which is really cool.
2 frozen or fresh bananas
5 pitten medjool dates
2-3 T hemp seed
3-4 T raw cacao powder
1 avocado (flesh only)
1 scoop unflavored vegan plant protein powder (optional)
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 T almond butter
2 c chopped ice (not necessary if you are making fudgsicles)
3 c almond milk
place all ingredients into a high powered blender (i have a vitamix) and whiz. add more almond milk if needed to thin. if the kids don't finish the smoothie, i put it in the fridge and it's a perfect after school snack! to make fudgsicles that bring us back to childhood, simply pour them into a pop mold and freeze. briefly run the plastic under hot water and get those suckers out!
turn up the music
get your apron on
invite a little chaos in the kitchen (my sanity comes and goes)
get chopping with those kiddos, family and friends
make & eat your own rainbow with 52 new REAL foods
play + cook + eat = a healthier & happier you + me!
