at home with ann

A few weeks ago we went into Boston for the day. After chasing little people up, down, and around the Children's Museum, watching Colin climb up three stories on a jungle gym and James' excitement at a room filled with golf balls, we went to Flour Bakery for lunch.  I had the Roasted Sweet Potato sandwich, and it was amazing. I just checked the menu , and it looks like they don't offer it right now, but lucky for you I made a salad that's just as good.  The original sandwich was roasted sweet potato, apple, walnut pesto, blue cheese and kale on wheat bread.  I took some liberties, changed up some ingredients, and made it into a salad. Roasted Sweet Potato Salad Romaine and Kale, shredded Olive oil Sweet potato rounds, roasted Apple, sliced Avocado Roasted tomatoes Goat cheese Balsamic Vinegar Drizzle kale and romaine with olive oil Sweet potatoes - coat slices or cubes with olive oil and roast at 425 degrees for 30 minutes. Tomatoes - toss with olive o...

I know, more muffins.  I should probably write a muffin only blog.  But, don't you like muffins? Our Christmas festivities are going to involve a lot of traveling and celebrations, and likely end with overtired kids, one of whom has lived on sugar and present-induced adrenaline for days.  If I feed him something remotely healthy for breakfast, I can overlook the candy cane chasers. Carrot Apple Muffins Modified from Minimalist Baker Ingredients: 1.5 flax eggs (1 1/2 tablespoons flax seed in 5 1/2 tablespoons water) 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted 1/3 cup mashed banana (one small banana) 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey 1 apple, grated 1/4 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup milk or milk alternative 1 heaping cup grated carrot 2/3 cup oats 1/2 cup almond meal 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees and prepare muffin tin. In a small bowl, co...

So, remember that time that I wrote a food blog?  About 6 months ago, it stopped being a priority. I was pregnant and in my third trimester, and the precious hours of naptime were used for napping myself.  Then, in the middle of July, our family grew by one.  Baby James has a sweet, easy going personality, an impressive capacity for handling his big brother's antics, and a giant, round head.  Our lives went from busy to chaotic, but now I feel like I have mastered the art of one handed cooking, eating, and toddler wrangling.  At least, sometimes. I've thought about how I'd like this blog to evolve with our changing lives.  I will share the food that our family enjoys these days.  Maybe the occasional menu plan for the week. This means the recipes are fast, easy, and (mostly) kid-friendly.  On that note, I'll now share a recipe that takes upwards of 3 hours to prepare, but it's all hands off. These apple chips are delicious, and make your ho...

You know how when you get so far behind on something you can't even think about it because it's just too daunting to start?  That's part of how I was feeling for the past six weeks.  I have pictures and recipes and stories to share, but I felt like I needed hours to get back on track.  Of course starting and doing anything is always the best way to get back in the swing of things, so we'll ease in nicely with one of my absolutely favorite sandwiches. I'm hoping I can keep the momentum going since Jon is busy renovating our half bath and we have finally caught up on Game of Thrones.  Wow, we are old and boring. I served this on Christmas Day, which is why you see my festive decor and bloody marys in the background.  It takes a bit of prep work, but once everything is ready to go, they are easy to assemble for a crowd. Fancy Roasted Butternut Sandwich Crusty Sourdough or French Bread 1 Butternut Squash, sliced and roasted (directions below) 1 Granny Smi...

Remember the giant bags of apples we picked last weekend?  Despite our best efforts, we still have quite a few.  They've graced our table as part of nearly every meal and snacks in between.  Some are destined to be made into applesauce, because these waffles are amazing.  And yet we still have more. Colin loved this Apple Pie Chia Jam.  I've been using it to top yogurt, and he also goes for it straight up.  It would be delicious on ice cream or oatmeal.  Just another way to eat apples at every meal. Apple Pie Chia Jam recipe from Oh She Glows 3 large apples, peeled and diced (~3 cups) 3/4 cup 100% pure apple juice 2 Tablespoons chia seeds 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract pinch of sea or kosher salt Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and stir. Bring to a low boil, reduce to low and cook, covered, for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Store in the refrigerator.

This week we made applesauce with our friends Sarah and Brycen.  Sarah generously provided the apples from her parent's trees, and Brycen and Colin helped in the way only 1 1/2 year olds can.  We used our giant applesauce stash to do some baking together and made muffins, amazing waffles, and this bread.  Sarah said things like, "all these things will freeze really well, that's why it's ok we made so much."  Meanwhile, I was thinking, I hope these last until the weekend.  Apple Oatmeal Bread modified from Stonyfield Farm 1 cup plain or vanilla yogurt 1 cup oats 1 egg 1/2 cup applesauce 1/4 cup brown sugar 2/3 cup all-purpose flour 2/3 cup whole wheat flour 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp salt 1 cup diced apples Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a loaf pan with cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine yogurt and oats. In another bowl, mix together egg, applesauce and brown sugar. In a third bowl, whisk together flours, bak...

I started writing this post right after Thanksgiving.  And now we're looking at Christmas.  The shame.  Good thing apple pie is appropriate for all holidays. I've made a lot of apple pies, but this was a bit different.   We went to Friends-giving the weekend before the holiday and regular Thanksgiving, and I brought apple pie to both.  Although pastry crust is easy to make, I didn't want to do it twice, especially since Colin thinks the food processor is an evil demon sent to our house to scare him.  I made one batch of crust and opted for a streusel topping.  It's the best of apple pie and crisp combined.  Even after enduring the torture of the food processor, poor Colin is too young for pie.  I did sneak him a little bite of ice cream, though, and he seemed to forget the offense. Streusel Topped Apple Pie 1/2 batch pate brisee (if you aren't making two pies, you can freeze the other crust) 3/4 cup light brown sugar 2 tsp lemon juic...

One Thursday a few weeks ago I went to the market, as I always do.  I carefully selected apples for the next week, inspecting each one to make sure they didn't have any bruises or weird spots.  On Monday morning when Jon was picking an apple to take with his lunch, they were all bad.  And not like, oh this has a little bruise bad, actively bad.  It was like some sort of apple gremlin came and ruined them all overnight.  I made an emergency trip to Whole Foods that day (and wandered around for an hour trying samples and getting things we don't need) to restock, and made apple bread with the reject fruit.  Apple Spice Bread adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour 1/2 cup all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon all spice 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 2 large eggs 1/4 cup canola oil 1/4 cup applesauce 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup granulated sugar 2 cups chopped apples...

This recipe could also be known as: things in my fridge that really needed to be used up.  Such things included: homemade pumpkin puree that had been in the freezer since last winter, a really sad, wrinkly apple, and a few cups of recently defrosted chicken broth.  That's one of things I love about soup, though.  You can throw anything in the pot, and if you add the right spices and cook it long enough, it's delicious.  Pumpkin Apple Curry Soup 1- 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (butternut would work here, as well) 1 apple, peeled and chopped 1/2 medium onion, chopped 1-2 stalks celery, chopped olive oil 1 Tablespoon curry 1 teaspoon cumin salt and pepper 2 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth In a saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped onion and celery and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add in apple and spices (curry, cumin, salt and pepper).  Stir and cook for one minute. Pour in pumpkin puree and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, redu...

I have no idea why I've never made baked apples before.  It's essentially apple pie filling without the hassle.  And while I love crust, when you skip the butter and flour-laden layer, you get to eat more ice cream.  You can even eat this for breakfast. One of the things I like about this recipe is that the measurements are very loose guidelines.  Pretty much just sprinkle however much you like of each ingredient over the apples and toss it all together. Baked Apples inspired by Joy the Baker 4 large or 8 small (or however many you have) apples, peeled and sliced Lemon juice (I used half a lemon) Brown sugar Cinnamon 1 Teaspoon cornstarch Pinch Allspice Pinch Nutmeg Pinch Salt 2 Tablespoons butter, cut into pieces In a baking dish, combine apples, lemon juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch, allspice and salt.  Mix well. Dot with butter. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and cover with foil. (I found my apples looked ...

I'm guessing you don't need anyone to tell you how to make a burger.  Whether you like beef, turkey, chicken, bison, tuna or veggie, I'm willing to bet you have a recipe that works for you.  I like them all.  One of the reasons I like burgers is because they are all about the toppings, and if you saw my refrigerator door, you would know that I am no stranger to condiments.  That being said, I will not bore you with directions to make burgers, only say that these are turkey burgers and I went with the oven baked cooking approach.  And half the reason I used that cooking method was because I already had the oven on to bake the sweet potatoes.  We're all about multi-tasking around these parts.  What I will share are the toppings, because they were good.  Melted cheddar cheese (on top of and under the burger), barbecue sauce , sliced apples and romaine lettuce .  My taste tester commented that they would have gone to a whole new level if we...

It's no secret I love muffins.  And that's why it should come as no surprise to you that I will be sharing two more muffin recipes this week.  My sister and friend Megan threw a baby shower for me this past weekend, and I couldn't resist making mini muffins for the event.  Plus, the leftovers made great snacks when the freak October snow storm left us without power on Sunday, thwarting my grand plans to make apple cinnamon pancakes and bacon for my guests. Whole Wheat Apple Muffins recipe from Smitten Kitchen yield: 36 mini muffins plus one mega ramekin muffin 1 cup whole wheat flour 1 cup all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 Tablespoon cinnamon 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 egg 1 cup buttermilk or yogurt (I used vanilla yogurt) 2 large apples, peeled, cored, and chopped (I used 4 small apples) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare muffin tins wit...

This is just a variation on the quinoa recipes I've shared before, but it's so good.  Plus, the addition of the roasted butternut squash is great and fall-ish.  I'll give rough estimates for the quanities of the ingredients, but really I just added until the ratios looked good.  I have a whole bunch of leftover butternut squash, which I've been eating on salads with apples all week.  Of course, you could always make the best risotto with it, too.  Fall Quinoa Olive oil 1 onion, chopped 1 garlic clove, chopped 1 cup quinoa, rinsed 2 cups vegetable broth or water 2 cups (or one can) chickpeas 2 cups roasted butternut squash 1 apple, chopped 1/2 cup dried cranberries goat cheese In a saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute onion for about 3 minutes until softened. Add garlic, cook for one minute more. Stir in quinoa, cook for one minute, stirring. Pour in broth or water, reduce to simmer and cover for 20-25 minutes, or until liquid is ab...

If you've been reading for a few months, a form of this quinoa may look familiar to you from back in February .  For that meal, we had it as a side dish, but today I changed it up a bit, and added some protein in the form of chickpeas to make it a light meal.   Apple and Cranberry Quinoa with Chickpeas adapted from Oh She Glows Ingredients: 1 cup uncooked quinoa, washed well 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 cup chopped onion 1 cup diced carrot 2 cups vegetable broth or water 1/4-1/2 tsp kosher salt, to taste 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1 1/2 cups diced Granny Smith apple, not peeled (one large apple) 1/2 cup dried cranberries black pepper, to taste Directions : Rinse your quinoa.  Don't skip this step!  For reasons I can't recall right now, it's very important. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in pan over medium heat.  Add chopped onion and carrots and sauté until the onion is translucent.  Add broth, quinoa, chickpeas, salt, pe...

I think all wonderful salads have a combination of vegetables, fruit, cheese, and a little protein.  This salad starts with a bed of greens, then topped with sliced apple, dried cranberries, crumbled goat cheese, and sliced almonds.  Dressed simply with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  Perfection. For more beautiful salad ideas, check out Salad Pride .  I bookmark a post from them at least once a week.

I normally eat dinner on my own.  My husband works crazy hours in Finance, and we have lunch together instead.  Saturday and Sunday we actually get to sit together at the table at night, but this past weekend he passed on me for some better plans.  I did come home that afternoon to see that he had washed and emptied all the dishes and scrubbed the stove top, so I think it was a fair trade.   There was just under half a small butternut squash leftover from the kale soup.  I had already peeled it last weekend, so all I had to do was slice it into bite size pieces, toss with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and pop it into a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes, flipping once. During the last five minutes of cooking, I filled a big bowl with arugula, half a chopped granny smith apple, and some crumbled goat cheese.  Topped with half the roasted squash, and some balsamic vinegar.     The next day, the remaining roasted squash went into a sandwic...