Best-Ever Popcorn

Remember those 1970s air poppers? You (your parents) plugged them in, filled them with kernels, and watched the cumulus cloud of fresh popcorn roil up inside. After all the kernels had tumbled into the bowl, you added real butter and salt, then devoured them by the handful. Not to sound all sentimental, but popcorn never really got better than that. Actually, it got quite a bit worse, with the arrival of the artificial butter flavorings and refined (scary, orange!) oils in microwaveable bags.

But popcorn the old way is still so good, and good for us! It's whole grain and high in fiber, and here's my favorite perk: researchers have recently measured high levels of polyphenols in the hulls, which may help prevent cancer. Yup, popcorn just won the awesomest snack award.

I absolutely love treating my kiddo to fun, delicious foods. I've never met a parent who doesn't. Popcorn is just one bit of proof that we can be conscientious while indulging our kids. Here's how to make the best popcorn for your favorite people on earth (Note: Since popcorn is considered a choking hazard, use care if you decide to serve it to toddlers):

1.) Buy organic kernels. Enjoy a pesticide-free snack. (It's worth mentioning that even conventionally grown popcorn is non-GMO, unlike most other kinds of corn.)

2.) Pop multicolored kernels. As a rule of thumb, foods that come in vibrant colors contain higher concentrations of antioxidants and polyphenols than do their paler counterparts. Naturally blue and red popcorn kernels look white when they pop and taste the same as regular popcorn, but they likely carry an extra nutritional punch.

3.) Air-pop your popcorn. You can do this in the microwave! Pour a half cup of kernels into a microwave-safe bowl, drape a slightly damp paper towel over the top, and microwave for 2-4 minutes. You can also still buy air poppers at Target or Amazon.

4.) Drizzle popcorn with real butter or cold-pressed oil. We love extra virgin olive oil and a tablespoon of nutritional yeast. Darwin says, "put some nooch in there!" Virgin coconut oil and curry powder taste great, too.

Here's my plug for nutritional yeast: don't make the mistake I made by writing off this flaky, mustard-colored yeast as weird hippie food. Or, just give up and accept that you're a weird hippie, so you can eat nutritional yeast. It is SO good on popcorn: crunchy and "cheesy". We use a tablespoon or two of yeast per 1/3 cup of kernels, added after popping.

OK, you're set! Now all you need is a movie. What are your favorite popcorn toppings?

Simple Plates #15

clementine pieces, baked mini salmon burgers, avocado, fresh steamed sweet potato

broccoli with coconut butter, fresh carrots, whole wheat, fruit-sweetened banana-nut muffin

cream cheese and tomato sandwich on sprouted grain toast, garlicky greens, clementine pieces

garlicky rappini, real food macaroni and cheese with carrots, pear slices

It's so easy to throw a chopped carrot into the pot with boiling pasta! Also, Darwin eats rappini now.

steamed carrots, baked mini salmon burgers

steamed broccoli with butter, banana-berry steel-cut oats

spring vegetable stew with fennel, asparagus, peas, carrots, tomatoes, and shallots

This was a delicious, beautiful stew we enjoyed with friends. The recipe comes from my favorite cookbook, Jack Bishop's Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook.

egg scramble with spinach, tomato, and grated parmesan

steamed carrots with parsley, apple slices, peanut butter/raisin sandwich on sprouted grain toast

I packed this meal in the Eco Lunchbox to bring along on a play date.

real food macaroni and cheese, pear chunk, steamed spinach with coconut oil

mango and clementine pieces, broiled asparagus, sweet potato and black bean chili

I love this simple chili recipe from Eating Well, that a friend shared with me. I used dried beans cooked a day ahead in the pressure cooker, in place of canned beans.

Baked Mini Salmon Burgers

These cute, handheld burgers won our hearts last night. They're classy. they're tasty. They're fun. They're made from whole foods. And they take ten minutes of hands-on time to make. Yes, please.

We love serving wild-caught fish, whose omega-3s are so important for growing brains. BPA-free pouches of wild-caught pink salmon are tasty, affordable, low-mercury, and easy to find at regular supermarkets.

Stick these burgers inside a tiny bun and call them sliders, if you like. Scale up the recipe to serve bigger broods.

Baked Mini Salmon Burgers
30 Minutes -- Makes 6 mini burgers

5 oz pouch of wild-caught salmon, thoroughly drained
2 Tbls. whole grain breadcrumbs (I used Ezekial breadcrumbs from the freezer)
1 egg
2 Tbls. minced onion
2 Tbls. minced celery
1 Tbls. minced fresh parsley
2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp. dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400.

Mix all ingredients by hand in a large mixing bowl.

Apply six evenly spaced drizzle-drops of olive oil onto a baking sheet.

Form salmon mixture into patties with your hands, placing each patty on top of a drop of olive oil.

Bake for ten minutes or until bottoms are golden brown. Flip, and bake ten minutes more.

Plate and enjoy immediately.

Simple Plates #14

apple slices, creamy carrot soup, whole rye cracker with natural peanut butter, garlicky curly kale

sweet potato chunk, green grapes, clementine pieces, chickpea curry

This quick chickpea curry comes from Madhu Gadia's cookbook, Indian Vegan Kitchen.

roasted vegetable quinoa, garlicky curly kale, fresh pineapple, roasted chicken

avocado, chickpea curry

These little shovel-shaped measuring spoons were a present from Grandma Horsley from a few years ago. Darwin loves them, so on this day I let him "shovel" in his snack.

fresh mango, cinnamon/raisin/cream cheese sandwich on Ezekial toast, spinach with coconut oil

fresh pineapple, baked sweet potato fries, roasted chicken, roasted vegetable quinoa

herbed omelet, garlicky Tuscan kale, chocolate coconut "truffle egg"

Lately, when I ask Darwin what he wants in his eggs, he says "herbs." For some reason, this cracks me up. Sometimes he says, "want herbs in baby's eggy."

He got a hold of a raw broccoli stalk and "fed" it to his stuffed bunny... and then himself.

fresh steamed carrots, Italian lentils, fresh pineapple, avocado

Italian lentils with avocado

fresh mango; egg scramble with tomato, feta, and spinach; buttered Ezekial toast

clementine pieces, easy dal with chickpeas, baked sweet potato fries, mayo-free coleslaw with cherries and herbs

dried cherries; egg scramble with scallions, spinach, tomato, and feta; avocado

Chicken Broth Under Pressure

You can't smell this picture, which is very sad. I know it's sad because I made this luscious broth while deeply affected by what I call "the cartridge of snot" (I know, I know, food blog) and I had to rely on Darwin's daddy to tell me how amazing it smelled. Thankfully, I could still pick up the flavor: rich, silky, elemental.

With a pinch of sea salt and a hit of minced parsley, this homemade bone broth is ready to sip.

Darwin loves it, gently warmed, and asks for it: "want-a drink-a broth." I feel good about serving him this mineral-rich, traditional food, which has a different nutrient-profile from meat itself.

You can, of course, make this broth just as well the old-fashioned way, by simmering it slowly for about 24 hours. We have cats who roam on the stovetop in the middle of the night(!?), so that's not an option for us. Even if your cats are better-behaved than ours, however, you should still consider these compelling reasons for making broth under pressure. Enjoy!

Pressure Cooker Chicken Broth
1 hour
 
chicken bones or carcass*
1 carrot, halved
handful celery tops and leaves
1/2 or whole onion, cut into large chunks
1 tsp. cider vinegar (to maximize leaching of minerals into the broth)

Dump all ingredients in pressure cooker.

Add water just enough to cover the bones.

Bring the cooker to high pressure over high heat, then reduce heat to low, until the cooker is barely hissing.

Set a timer for 1 hour, or 90 minutes if you like. Turn down the heat if at any time the steam becomes forceful. (Lower heat = steadier high pressure.)

Remove cooker from heat when the time is up, and allow to depressurize naturally. Strain solids through a wire-mesh strainer, then sip or chill until ready to use.

*Any number of bones will work. Even if you have only a few thigh bones, it's worth making a batch of broth.

mmm, broth

Easter Treats

I like buying things second-hand. I like the treasure-hunt thrill of it, and I like rescuing objects that other people have stopped caring about. I like treading quietly on the earth's resources, and removing myself from the consumer fray. (I'm about as interested in cheap, junky objects as I am in cheap, junky food. I do, however, sometimes indulge in junky objects if they come from thrift stores. See "Zoobles".)

Darwin's Easter baskets (OK, the two I've made so far) are entirely second-hand, save the food. I'd guess I spent about three dollars on all the "stuff" in this year's haul--the basket, filler, eggs, and toys--and about eight dollars on the food. Hi, priorities.

Here's what kiddo got this year: a stuffed bunny, a toddler "brain quest" deck, organic olives, a Thunderbird bar (nuts, fruits, and vegetables), a clementine, a little wooden maraca, a bunny sticker (thank you, Grandma Heath), dried cherries, and two "Zoobles".

I googled to find out what these funny plastic things are called. Darwin fell in love with them right away, with their odd little eyeballs that open and close. "Awake, asleep, awake, asleep," he says.

Easter wouldn't be complete without a little chocolate. We had these truffle eggs, which I wrote about on Kid Can Eat!'s facebook page.

chocolate coconut truffle eggs

Darwin followed a long trail of clues to get to his basket. The first thing in it to captivate him?

"Orange! A little orange!"

Happy (belated) Easter and Happy (very much on time) Spring to you and yours. What did you put in your kids' baskets this year?

Simple Plates #13, New Eco Lunchbox

broiled carrots and asparagus, real food mac and cheese

We are happy to have some spring vegetables, lately.

spinach and cheese skillet-quiche, baked sweet potato, rye cracker with butter

frozen peas, Swiss cheese slices

whole wheat mini kale and swiss melts, apple slices

whole wheat pasta with simple peanut sauce and celery, fresh carrots, kiwi

At it's simplest, Asian-style peanut sauce can be a dollop of peanut butter stirred with a splash of soy sauce. Add grated garlic, ginger, a splash of rice vinegar and some sesame oil for a more complex flavor.

stir-fried zucchini, mango chunk, herbed omelet, sweet potato

raisins, whole wheat mini spinach and feta melts, carrot sticks

one of Darwin's birthday presents

Hmmm, how does this thing work?

chickpea chicken salad, pear slices

turkey-veggie meatballs, grapes, curried chickpeas, garlicky curly kale

apple slices, cinnamon/raisin/cream cheese sandwich on Ezekial toast, baked sweet potato

Darwin said (somewhat haltingly, thinking hard for the right words), "I love this cream cheese sandwich!"

turkey-veggie meatballs with marinara sauce, clementine pieces, strawberry, broiled asparagus