Summer Experiments

I've been inspired to try different foods that have popped up in my summer reading book "Summer of the Gypsy Moths" by Sara Pennypacker.  Food is important to the main characters, Stella and Angel (both age 12) as they take care of themselves with no adults around one summer.  Chili, capers, shrimp salad, fried clams, limeade, and pad thai are just a few of the leftovers Stella and Angel find that are calling out from the book saying "Try me! Try me!".  I think I will.

I will also be cooking authentic Greek, Brazilian and Indian recipes with my friends and their parents this summer.  We'll be making baklava (Greek), Rice and Beans with Pork (Brazilian) and Curry (Indian) and I can't wait to share the photos and  recipes with you.

http://www.sarapennypacker.com/

Beat the Heat

It's a scorcher today.  Who wants to cook dinner?  Not us!  On a hot day we usually eat a late dinner once it's cooled down and the breeze comes up the cove.  We like to have cold roasted chicken, green salad and an iced tea out on the back porch.  My mom will get a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and we'll do an easy salad with tomatoes and cucumbers.  What do you eat on a hot summer night?

What's up Doc?

Carrot Wheel of Color

Carrots!  

They come in all shapes, sizes and colors.  Did you know carrots can be purple, orange, yellow, and white.  You can eat them raw, grated, shaved, boiled, roasted and mashed.  They can come with long, green tops or small and baby sized.  Carrots also help your eye sight!  Look for fun colored carrots at your grocery store and try to eat as many different colors of the rainbow every day.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day Daddy!  We're grilling steaks for dinner and making rice pilaf and green beans -  all your favorites.  I hope you have a great day - Love Julia :)

It's a fruit?!

Kids usually get an apple, banana or orange slices in their lunch.  But have you ever tried one of these in your lunch box?

Grilled Chicken with Cucumber, Tomato and Feta Salad in Warm Pita

1 lb. chicken tenders
1 package pita bread
1 english cucumber
2 plum tomatoes
1/4 c sour cream or plain yogurt
1/4 c feta cheese
fresh dill

Sprinkle the chicken with a little salt and pepper on both sides
Place on grill and cook until nice and brown.
Make sure it's white on the inside - chicken needs to be cooked all the way through.

Chop up some fresh dill and mix with the sour cream or yogurt
(Use as much or as little dill as you like - I don't like too much)

Slice the cucumber in half (go the long way so you have two long halves)
Dice into medium size cubes

Slice open the tomatoes and remove the seeds
Dice into medium size cubes (same size as cucumber cubes)

Warm the pitas up on the grill (but not too much - you don't want it crunchy)

Spread some of the dill mixture over the pita bread.
Add a grilled chicken tender
Sprinkle with diced tomato, diced cucumber and feta (as much as you like)
You can stuff the pocket or just put the ingredients in the middle and wrap it up around the veggies/chicken - that's how I like it.

Serves 4 -6

Sneaky Zucchini

A cool way to sneak in a vegetable is by making zucchini bread. It's my nana's recipe and I made it for the first time last week. I wasn't sure how it was going to come out but it was so good I immediately wanted a second piece. I like it plain, but you might like it with butter or cream cheese.

Check out the Recipe section for the list of ingredients, procedure and baking tips. I used a cheese grater to grate the zucchini. I put it into a plastic bag overnight and then had everything ready when I made the bread after school. It came out great and my Dad even put a slice of the bread in my lunchbox for snack the next day.

Give the recipe a try - you may be surprised how much you like zucchini!