Tribeca Yummy Mummy

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All recipes can be shared with Yummies but are tasty enough for a big person too. See a full list of ingredients, or browse through the recipes below:

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Edible Flower Simple Syrup and Cupcakes

12 July 2010 Filed In: berry, Birthday, cupcakes, Desserts, Soy-free, strawberry, Vegetarian

One of our youngest (participating) mini-chefs, F, recently had her 2nd birthday, and we wanted to celebrate her in style. Because Miss F deserves something super fancy pants for her big day, my morning class put together some cupcakes, frosted the palest pink and topped with edible flowers.

If you stroll out to your greenmarket or out to your back yard for those of you lucky enough to have a flower garden, you can pick all sorts of flowers-roses, violets, squash blossoms, lavender, and more- to top your summer treats. We also love making simple syrups with these blossoms, as we did to use in the our frosting recipe below. The syrup will have the flavor of the flowers you use and take on a hint of their color, too.

It seems as though Miss F approved of our technique. Happy Birthday to our Little Flower!

A note before beginning: Please take time to discuss the word “edible” with your mini-chef. Because you definitely don’t want him or her going out and chowing down on just any flower they see, you should tell your mini-chef that certain flowers are edible, eat-able, and that some flowers are poisonous, and that should always ask you whether the flower is edible before popping it in their mouths. No poisoned Yummies please!

Fresh Strawberry Frosting with Edible Flower Simple Syrup

For the Simple Syrup:

*1 c. sugar

*1 cup water

*1 c. violets or roses (organic only)

Together: Wash the your flowers with your mini-chef. Drain the water off and pat dry. Combine equal parts sugar and water in a heavy-bottomed pot.

Big Person: Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stir in whatever flowers you have on hand, keep stirring for another few seconds (you can count to 30 with your mini-chef), and remove it from the heat. Let the mixture cool to room temperature. Pour the syrup through a fine mesh sieve to strain out the bits of flower. (These sugary flower leftovers are delicious in iced tea or lemonade, FYI.)

For the frosting:

*1/4 c. fresh strawberries, pureed

*2 T. edible flower simple syrup

*1/4 t. vanilla

*1 c. unsalted butter, cold

*mini-chef pinch of salt

*3-4 c. confectioner’s sugar

*1/4 t. vanilla

*more edible flowers to top your cake or cupcake

With your Yummy, stir together the strawberries, pinch of salt, vanilla and simple syrup in a small bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter till fluffy, about 5 minutes. On medium speed, add the strawberry mixture and beat another 15 seconds or until just combined. The frosting should be a very pale uniform color but still light and fluffy.

Frost your cake or cupcakes. Top with more edible flowers.

Saturday

07 July 2010 Filed In: corner view

A couple of Saturdays ago, we had a special visit from my parents and my surrogate aunt, Linda Kammer. Linda is a painter who travels all over doing amazing watercolors where ever she lands.

In this case, Linda took us girls on a little field trip to look at one of my neighborhood’s most beautiful features, the covered bridge. She wanted to paint, and Mira wanted to paint, and so we had a beautiful morning sitting out, talking about the things girls talk about when they are together.

We call Linda, or “LaLa” as Mira calls her, Mira’s fairy godmother. She keeps a door open to the magical world for my daughter, and they have a very deep connection.

My mom, Charlotte or Nonna, depending on who you talking to, regaled us with stories about my Gran and let me snap a rare picture of her. She is very shy to the camera, and I felt very glad to see her this relaxed while we were hanging in the alley.

It must have been something about that bridge. It is one of my most magical spots, a bridge to all sorts of fairy tale worlds, but New York style, amidst the graffiti, the scorching heat and unsavory smells that the City offers in the Summer.

Do you have a sort of magical space in your corner? A place you go to get inspired? A Saturday sort of place?

Other Saturdays for your fancy:

jane, ladybug-zen, ian, bonnie, esti, sophie, cele,

caitlin, joyce, ani, kim, natsumi, epe, kaylovesvintage, trinsch, c.t., jeannette, outi, ritva, francesca, state of bliss, jennifer, denise, cabrizette, bohemia girl, isabelle, amber, a girl in the yellow shoes, janis, kari, jgy, skymring, elizabeth, allison, lise, cate, otli, ida, lisa, dorte, kimmie, nicola, vanessa, britta, april, b , kyndale, samantha, kristina, goldensunfamily, sophie, mcgillicutty, aimee, sunnymama, britta, juanita, inna, daan, myrtille , cris, ibb , jodi , gillian, travelingmama

athena, pienduzz, kelleyn, demara, mus, ninja, guusje, di, sammi, theresa, cherry b, victoria, lisa, liza, juliette, mulot, lucy, leonor, elizabeth, helene, shokoofeh, cole, jenna, podane, grey-lemon, line, nihal, inner toddler, puna, lucylaine, adrienne, lynn, skywriting, eliane, the wanderer´s daughter, carole, anna, dorit, kenza, sherry, conny, susan, l´atelier, elis, kamana, anne, rosamaría, marinik, elisabelle, victoria, malo, the yellow door paperie, tikjewit, juniper, ocean girl, emily, marcie, annabel, andrea, valerie, karin, michelle, merel, pia, soisses, angie, adèle, latisha, mlle paradis, 24 ruel, cacahuete, wander chow, debra, linnea and emily, barbara, emily, maryline, tally, therese, nadine, matilda, don, cheryl, flowtops

Meatless Monday: Zucchini, Summer Squash, and String Bean Saute

05 July 2010 Filed In: beans, Dairy-free, Gluten-free, green beans, Meatless Monday, Side Dish, Soy-free, squash, Summer, Vegan, Vegetarian, zucchini

Happy 4th of July, Yummies! Can you believe all the amazing fruits and veggies that have been showing up in our stores and markets lately?

You should try making a weekly outing to your local farmer’s market just to get inspired. Cooking food that is in season is the easiest thing ever… you would have to work really hard to mess it up. Walk slowly through the greenmarket just to take in its sights and smells. Ask your mini-chef to notice what is bountiful right now, what can he just not keep his eyes off of. What does she think smells fresh and good that she sees the farmers selling?

With the Tribeca Greenmarket and our CSA going strong here, our family turns to the simplest preparations to fuel our summer meals. This recipe, which highlights some of the sweetest and tastiest flavors of the season, is not one of those revolutionary recipes but is a standard during the months when squash and zucchini, in particular, are bountiful and inexpensive. My friend reminded me a couple weeks ago of the one major thing that I have taught her about cooking: cook with the best ingredients you can lay your hands on, and your food will be delicious.

Over the week, I will be sharing a few further developments using this recipe as a jumping off point. By all means, double or triple this recipe but do make sure that you have a very large pan or two pans going at once so that the vegetables are in one layer on the bottom of the pan. You want all that sweetness to emerge in the vegetables.

Last night, as we served this up over our standard pasta and tomato sauce, my daughter eyed the vegetables suspiciously.

“Do I like this?”

“Oh, yes, you love it. Isn’t the squash beautiful? And, it tastes so sweet. Mmmmm!” I went into my usual dramatics. Vegetable agent. That’s me.

She tried a bite so small, a fairy could have taken it. She looked at the squash again as if stumped and then started jumping around in her seat.

“I do, Mama! I like squash I like squash I like squash!!!!!

Mini-vegetable-agent in training.

Try taking a look at the Meatless Monday and the Kids Cook Monday sites for further seasonal inspiration. TYM’s Lemony Potatoes with Fresh Herbs are featured on the Kids Cook Monday site, and we couldn’t be prouder!

Summer Saute with Zucchini, Summer Squash, and String Beans

*1 medium zucchini

*2 medium summer squash

*3 c. (5-6 Big Person handfuls) string beans

*2 T. olive oil and/or butter

*3 green onions, white and light green parts only, chopped

*2 cloves garlic, minced

*a splash of red wine vinegar (about 2 teaspoons)

*sprinkling of fresh herbs to garnish, optional

With your mini-chef, scrub the zucchini and the summer squash with a vegetable brush, dry them with a kitchen towel, and set them aside. Wash the string beans in a colander.

Working together, snap off the stem end of the string beans, and place the string beans in a medium bowl.

Big Person: Chop the zucchini and summer squash into pieces the size of a large french fry and add them to the string bean bowl.

Heat the oil and/or butter in a wide shallow pan over medium-low heat. Add the green onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes, till the onions begin to turn golden. Add the garlic, and cook another minute, stirring the entire time. Add the bowl full of vegetables, and stir well to coat the string beans and squashes with the rest of the ingredients. Turn the heat up to medium and cook, stirring every once in a while. After a couple of minutes, add a pinch of salt and a splash of the red wine vinegar.

When the squashes are soft and beginning to caramelize, take the pan off of the heat and remove every thing to a big bowl. Top with chopped herbs. (Mint, basil, and thyme work particularly well with these summer veggies.) Serve hot, warm, or cold, as you fancy.

Guest Blogger: Mama Abigail makes Peanut Butter and Jelly Bread Pudding

02 July 2010 Filed In: bread, Desserts, guest blogger, jam, peanut butter, Soy-free, Vegetarian

The last time Abigail a.k.a. Mamatouille (and her oldest mini-chef son Matthew) blogged for us, they were living in Japan. Over the past year, they have come to America, with a small stint in the midwest with the in-laws to get their thoughts together and then with a more permanent move to Seattle.

Judging by the recipe that Abigail sent over, I am guessing that American life is treating them well.

Abigail sums her recipe up in this way: “You start out with a summer picnic with friends and four kids who are too excited to eat all of their PBJ sandwiches… and end up with a brain-waved bread pudding that no one can resist!”

PBJ bread pudding? Mmmm. The only problem? We are such PBJ fiends over here that we hardly have any leftovers. Guess we are going to have to double our peanut butter sandwich making efforts this weekend so that we can take this special dessert on our July 4th picnic. Be sure and check out this sour cherry jam recipe and this gooseberry jam recipe for homemade versions of the J for this recipe. ‘Tis the season after all. Happy 4th, Yummies, and welcome officially to America, Munday family!

I imagine most of you can pretty easily find all these simple staple ingredients–we lived in Japan for eight years and had access to all this. We’re now hanging out in Seattle full time and the weather here has been in flux and is just now getting warmer, so we ate this warm (or rather, our kiddiewinks inhaled it), but go ahead and fridge it if you like. I think most kids would happily gorge on this no matter the temperature outside or in the pudding pan.

While in Japan I made up a cranberry-lemon bread pudding recipe with a homemade-plum-wine sauce, so I just used that same basic bready pudding idea for this PBJ version.

This makes a modest amount but it goes a long way–I used a 5.5 inch x 6.5 inch (14 cm x 17 cm), 40-oz. (about 1 kg) glass baking dish.

You’ll need:

2 leftover PBJ sandwiches (made on 15-grain organic bread with organic creamy PB and fruit-juice-sweetened blackberry jam)

butter for greasing the pan

2 eggs

1 cup milk

big handful of raisins

cinnamon (this is not an exact science)

about 1/4 cup brown sugar

splash of vanilla

Mini-chef: Grease the pan with the butter (I always use a paper towel, but whatever your Big Person recommends).

Big person: Chop the PBJ sammies into bite-sized pieces and toss into the pan.

Mini-chef: Scatter some raisins over the bread in the pan. Crack the two eggs into a separate bowl, being careful (with your Big Person) to remove any bits of shell, and then whisk the eggs, adding in the cup of milk, some sprinkles of cinnamon, brown sugar, and a splish-splash of vanilla.

Together: Pour the liquid mixture over the bread pieces and with a spoon, push down any recalcitrant bread cubes rearing their cute little heads above the milky pool.

Bake in a preheated 325F/165C oven for about 30 minutes or so, until the eggs are set and it’s all a bit suntanned.

You could really use whatever bread, PBJ, and dried fruit (instead of raisins) you have on hand. And of course you could make a non-alcoholic sauce for the top if you wish. Brainstorm with your little yummy-beans and see what they come up with!

Summer (Begins)

30 June 2010 Filed In: corner view

We kicked off a steamy summer last week with plenty of park time and a quote on dinner co-ops, or food swaps as they are known around here, in the New York Times Dining Section. Check it out here.