Tribeca Yummy Mummy

When the mamas and the mini-chefs walked into our apartment this week, everyone looked a little exhausted.  There was a cannon of coughs and sneezes and even yawns.  It is the time of year when we get a little run down from too much partying, too many obligations (even when they are fun obligations), and the beginning of being forced inside to play because of inclement weather.

Good thing we were making such a comforting dish!  This traditional (American-?) Italian dish, baked pasta shells filled with a ricotta cheese mixture and covered in tomato sauce, got knocked up a level by not only using our recipe for Winter Vegetable Tomato Sauce, which packed with lots of vegetables, but also adding some chopped spinach and chickpeas.  We filled the shells with a plain ricotta and parmesan cheese mixture, but you could absolutely add more spinach (or any finely chopped green) into the recipe for the cheese mixture below to make it even more nutritious.  Sometimes I hold back just a tiny bit for class so that I don’t push my luck with so many visible vegetables that the children will not try it at all.

But, try it they did, and they didn’t seem to really notice that it was loaded up with vegetables galore.

For class, we filled condiment bottles with the ricotta cheese mixture so that the little kids could easily fill their shells, and it is really, really fun to use these bottles whenever possible.  We highly recommend it.  If, however, you do not have one of those bottles, the more traditional spoon will work just fine.  This dish could easily be a family affair, but really, too, it is an easy dish.  Our family’s strategy is to cook up a double recipe of the tomato sauce, use some of it for the recipe below and use the rest of it over white beans, penne, eggs, or sauteed greens during the week.  Yum.

If you are vegan or allergic to dairy and would like to try this dish, substitute 3 cups of pureed canellini beans, a tablespoon of olive oil, and 1/2 c. of chopped spinach for the ricotta mixture and just leave the mozzarella off the top.  Everything else can be made in the exact same way as described in the recipe below.

Baked Pasta Shells in a Spinach and Chickpea Tomato Sauce

For the Sauce:

• 3-4 c. Winter Vegetable Tomato Sauce
• 2 c. spinach, chopped
• 1 1/2-2 c. cooked chickpeas (15 oz. can is fine)

1. Stir the chickpeas and the spinach into the sauce just before you bring the sauce down to a simmer.

For the Filling:

• 2 1/2 c. ricotta cheese, room temperature
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 c. parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2 t. salt
• black pepper, to taste

1. With your mini-chef, measure everything into large bowl, starting with the eggs so that you can take out any shells that fall into the bowl.
2. Whisk to combine completely.

To Assemble the Dish:

• 1 box of large shells, cooked according to the directions on the package
• 1 c. fresh mozzarella cheese
• 1-2 T. dried basil (to taste)
• 3-4 c. Spinach and Chickpea Tomato Sauce from above
• ricotta cheese mixture from above

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Ladle 1 1/2 of the spinach and chickpea and spinach tomato sauce into the bottom of a 9×13-inch pan, using the back of the ladle to spread it out all over the bottom of the pan.
3. Using a heaping tablespoon of the ricotta cheese mixture for each shell, fill the shells one by one and line them up in the pan.
4. Cover with the rest of the tomato sauce.
5. Sprinkle on the dried basil and the mozzarella cheese over the top.
6. Big Person: bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until the mozzarella just starts to turn golden.

Last night, as we finished our last TYM class of the semester, my daughter rehearsed for her first performance ever.  My husband accompanied Mira for her chorus’s sound check and rehearsal in the downtown park.

As soon as I could leave things to my assistant, my son and I rushed into a taxi.  We headed down Broadway to see our girl perform Christmas carols and Chanukah songs in the rain.

Liev and I heard them before we saw them, and then we saw Mira and her friends’ red tinsel headbands bouncing bright flashes of light off the sidewalk.  There she was, that small person who had awakened that very morning looking worried and talking about the butterflies in her tummy.

For a whole song, she was completely unaware of our presence.  When she finally saw that we were there, her whole body changed.  She visibly relaxed, and a huge smile opened on her little face.  Her singing took on more joy.  Her whole family was there together.  She made it through her first performance.

The big tree was lit, looking even more beautiful in the shimmery sprinkling rain.  Our holiday season is officially here.  How did you/will you kick it off?

The World takes on the Rain:

One of the many, many things that I am thankful for this year?  The joy and warmth of having little helpers has surpassed the need for perfection.

Happy Thanksgiving, Yummies!

A day and a dollar short Corner View, but better late than never!  For a different perspective, take a tour around the world of these blogs:

jane – ian – bonnie – joyce – kim – kay –trinsch – ritva – francesca– state of bliss – cabrizette – isabelle – janis –kari – jgy – lise – cate – otli – dorte – b –sophie – mcgillicutty – sunnymama –daan – ibb – pienduzz – kelleyn – ninja– sammi – theresa – cherry b – juliette –shokoofeh – cole – grey lemon –lucylaine – lynn – skywriting – anna –dorit – conny – l´atelier – kamana –anne marie– rosamaría – victoria –tikjewit – juniper – annabel – andrea–valerie – merel – soisses – mlle paradis– cacahuete – wander chow – barbara –emily – tally – nadine – matilda – don –flowtops – susanna – tania – dana –ingrid – tzivia – mezza – lollipop – mari

When Mira and the original kids in my cooking class were three, I wanted to create a special recipe for them to make at Thanksgiving time that they could make and love year after year.  After experimenting with different options, a special recipe for sweet potato casserole with coconut milk, beautiful caramelized pecans, and the kid favorite-mini-marshmallows made all of the cuts.  We made it in class, and both the kids and the parents raved.

The next year, when Fall Feasting time rolled around, requests were made to make the Sweet Potato Casserole with Caramelized Pecans and Crunchy Marshmallows again.  We started the tradition of making it every year in class, and it is the only recipe that we repeat at all.  Over the past three years, I have changed  some little things.  As a happy accident, we left out the extra melted butter from the original recipe, and nobody missed it at all.  In fact, we liked it better.  The updated recipe is below, with its tweaks and extra crunch.

I have made our casserole with both Mira and Liev’s various school groups- from two-year-olds to kindergardeners.  Most of them were completely delighted by it.  My mom even requested that I make it for our Christmas Eve dinner last year!

Growing up in Georgia, our family had very few official traditions.  At Thanksgiving, we would all get together, and we would eat the usual suspects-stuffing and turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, pies and whipped cream.  Only one dish was made every year, to my knowledge, and it is a wonderfully bizarre dish called “Seven-Up Salad”.  It seems to be something that my mom has made since the 1960’s and involves gelatin, pecans, pineapple, maraschino cherries, and, yes, Seven-Up.  It stood, wobbling ever so slightly, on our Thanksgiving table year after year.  We all loved the strangeness of it, this relic pressed into the mold with the star on top.

In my own home, I have never made Seven-Up salad though I do love to remember it each Thanksgiving and do miss it’s unique flavor and amazing sea green color studded with the fruits and nuts.  Around here, we have made the sweet potato casserole the traditional dish and a pomegranate and orange salad, too.  The rest of the dishes, we experiment with until we might, one day, find the ultimate, the favorite.

Each year, too, the children are included in making both the Sweet Potato Casserole and another dish of their choosing so that they have memories of sitting with me and learning the recipes by heart.  Will any of these recipes become heirlooms?  I dearly hope so.  But, mostly, I hope that I pass on my love for the act of making the food itself, for infusing what we eat with care.  Sprinkling in the love.

Can you let your mini-chef into your kitchen today and tomorrow to help out with one special dish?  To roll out the pie crust or throw the turkey brining ingredients into the big bag?  That, my friends, is something both you and your children will be thankful for, even if it takes longer or creates a bit more of a mess.  Slow down, have fun, and enjoy being together.  The kitchen is a warm place.

Here are our favorite recipes that might just make your Thanksgiving list year after year:

List of Fall Favorites

• The Original Sweet Potato Casserole with Caramelized Pecans and Crunchy Marshmallows
• Acorn Squash Filled with Pomegranate Rice Pilaf
• Sweet and Savory Ricotta Bruschette
• Green Beans in a Luscious Warm Rosemary Vinaigrette
• Light and Fluffy Eggless Cornbread
• Carrot-Apple-Ginger Spread
• White Bean and Lebanese Cous Cous Stuffed Squash
• Purple People Eater Mashed Potatoes (I can envision turkeys made out of the same ingredients!)
• Easy No-Bake Thanksgiving Appetizer: Dates Stuffed with Parmesan and Asiago Cheese
• Green Salad with Pears, Fennel, and Pear Vinaigrette
• Fall/Winter Vegetable Tagine with Cous Cous
• Pear-Pomegranate Lassis
• Fall Lasagnas
• Horton’s Corn Risotto with Sage
• Israeli Cous Cous with a Warm Cumin Vinaigrette
• Black Bean and Sweet Potato Hummus Faces
• Pumpkin Sandwich Cookies with Cream Cheese Filling
• Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Sweet Potato Casserole 2010

• 4 large sweet potatoes, skins still on but washed
• 1/2 c. coconut milk
• heaping t. cinnamon
• 1/3 c. freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/4 c. (unpacked) brown sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• small pinch of salt
• 1 T. butter for greasing the pan
• 2 c. mini marshmallows
• optional: 12 amaretti  cookies
• caramelized pecans (from original recipe)

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Have your mini-chef poke holes with a fork in several places all over the sweet potatoes.  Wrap them in parchment paper first and then in aluminum foil, sealing them completely so that no steam escapes.
3. Bake the sweet potatoes for at least an hour and up to an hour and twenty minutes, till completely soft all the way through.
4. Turn the temperature of your oven down to 350 degrees F.
5. Open up the foil and parchment, being careful since they will be steamy.  Cut the potatoes in half to let some of the steam release.  When they are cooled slightly, peel away the sweet potato skins.  Discard (or eat!) the skins.
6. In an upright mixer, place all the sweet potatoes and turn the mixer on at medium speed for about 3 minutes, so that the potatoes lose any sort of stringy texture.
7. Add the orange juice, coconut milk, brown sugar, small pinch of salt, and the eggs, mixing well and turning the mixer off to scrape down after the addition of each ingredient.
8. Place the amaretti cookies in a large sealable plastic bag.  Using a rolling pin, have your mini-chef either roll over the cookies or pound on them to crush them into crumbs.  Leave some crumbs larger than others to create a crunchier texture.
9. Grease an 9×11-inch pan with the soft butter, painting all around the bottom and sides.
10. Pour the sweet potato mixture into the pan and smooth the surface with the back of a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.
11. Top with the amaretti crumbs first and then the mini-marshmallows.
12. Big Person: Bake the casserole for about 25 minutes, till the mini-marshmallows brown on top.  Press the caramelized pecans onto the top.
13. Cool for a few minutes before serving.  Enjoy!

Joining in with Mama Amanda Soule, a.k.a. Soule Mama and her weekly picture show. In her words:

“This Moment.  A Friday ritual.  A single photo- no words-capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember. “

Happy Weekend to You!  American Yummies, are you doing any planning for your big meal next week?  Take a peek here over the weekend for some Thanksgiving meal tips and delicious, simple ideas for things you and your mini-chefs can make together!