Chocolate Oat Date Bars

J has been into eating "bars" lately, and I'm always into finding a "treat" that's still healthy!  I stumbled across the recipe for these oat-date bars on Whole Food's website.  I followed the recipe fairly closely, with a substitution of whole wheat pastry flour (my new favorite!) in the place of the white-whole wheat flour, and I added about 1/3 c of bittersweet chocolate chips.  The bars are cinnamony, sweet, chewy, and almost remind me of baked oatmeal.  They were a cinch to make, and they are a hit with everyone in the family...these will certainly be a regular around this house.

Caprese Salad

We had some friends over for an easy BBQ dinner tonight.  I threw this caprese salad together at the last minute, and thought it was pretty enough to take a picture.  Just farm share tomatoes, fresh buffalo mozzarella, basil from our garden, a drizzle of olive oil, and some fresh cracked pepper.  And yes, it tasted as good as it looked!

Shells with Chicken and Fresh Mozzarella

I've been looking for ways to combine whole wheat pasta and chicken since the kids love their whole wheat noodles.  I have been having some good luck with Martha Stewart Living lately, and thought this recipe for Shells with Grilled Chicken and Mozzarella would be a hit.  I followed the recipe, except for dredging the chicken in some beaten egg and parmesan (to form a nice crust!), and using whole wheat shells.  I have to say that D and I were both disappointed.  The sauce was fairly non-existent and the dish was rather bland.  I added some red pepper flakes to spice things up a bit, but it was still lacking.  A few bites with the mozzarella, fresh tomato, and parsley were good, so D and I agreed that a do-over with a homemade fresh tomato sauce would drastically improve this recipe.  Until that day....

Tomago

1 tbs olive oil
3 eggs
1 tbs sugar
2 tbs mirin

Heat the oil in a cast iron (or non-stick) skillet.  Meanwhile, beat the eggs, sugar and mirin.  Place egg mixture into a measuring cup.  Carefully pour a very thin layer of egg into the pan, and once the bottom is set, use a spatula to roll the egg.  Repeat with another layer of egg, rolling the first roll into the new egg layer.  Once cooked through, remove from pan and slice into strips!

D and I wanted to eat egg sandwiches for dinner the other night, but the kids haven't been too into eating eggs these days.  I thought I'd get creative, and since they love sushi so much, I ventured out on a limb and made some tomago!  (Tomago is the sweet egg that is found in Japanese restaurants and served as a sushi piece.)  I'm so happy to report that the tomago was a total hit.  J preferred his dipped in ketchup (go figure!), and little L liked hers plain.  I have to admit to feeling a bit proud of myself, and that my 3 year old son kept saying "tomago"...

Summer Vegetables with Gnocchi

1 tbs olive oil
1 c chopped zucchini
1 c chopped yellow summer squash
1 c broccoli florets, chopped
1 c broth (chicken or vegetable)
1/2 c water
8 oz gnocchi
2 c Swiss chard greens, rinsed and drained
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Place the olive oil into a large skillet and heat.  Add the zucchini and squash and saute until just beginning to brown.  Add the broccoli, followed by the broth and the water.  Once bubbling, add the gnocchi.  Cook for a minute, and add the Swiss chard and spices.  Cover and cook until the chard is just wilted.  Enjoy!

A while ago a friend emailed me a recipe using kale and butternut squash with gnocchi.  It sounded delicious, but more fall-like, so when I realized we had a back log of some farm share veggies, I thought I'd do a summer squash, broccoli, and chard gnocchi.  This meal took about 15 minutes from start to finish, and was simply delicious.  The red pepper flakes gave it just the right amount of heat, and the chard finished it off with a nice earthy flavor.  This is a keeper for a super fast, vegetarian dinner!

Portobella Black Bean Burgers

2 tbs olive oil, divided
1/2 c onion, chopped
1 c portobella mushrooms, chopped
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 c rolled oats, divided
1 egg
2 tbs fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 c pepper jack cheese, shredded
salt and pepper to taste

Place 1 tbs of olive oil in a pan and heat.  Add the onion and mushrooms and saute until soft, and the mushrooms have released their liquid.  Place in a food processor.  Add the beans, 1/2 c of oats, egg, and parsley.  Process until smooth.  Remove from food processor, and place into a large bowl.  Fold in the remaining oats, and the cheese.  Season with salt and pepper.  Chill for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat remaining oil in a clean cast iron (or non-stick pan).  Put about 1/2 c dollops of the bean mixture into the pan, pressing down to form patties.  Cook until brown on one side, flip, and repeat.

We've been enjoying making our own veggie burgers lately, and now that I've discovered chilling the mixture before cooking, I am having much greater success with their consistency.  These burgers were good, but slightly softer than some of our others, due to the mushrooms.  They definitely had a meaty, mushroomy flavor, which was delightful!  D enjoyed them, which is big for him and a veggie burger;)  I served these burgers with some lettuce, avocado, and sliced vegetables on the side.  Little L couldn't get enough of her burger, and they were a perfect consistency for a one year old.

Blueberry Pie

It isn't summer without at least one fruit pie.  I've been wanting to make a blueberry pie for quite some time now, and having friends over for dinner was the perfect excuse.  We made some coleslaw, a heirloom and feta tomato salad (with farm share tomatoes), hot dogs and veggie burgers.  The picture of the pie certainly didn't do it justice because we had obviously already cut into it, and I moved my hand while snapping the picture.  Oh well, too many hungry mouths wanted this pie to stop and try to perfect the picture:)  This was delicious, and perfect with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Yum!

Veggie Chips!

We had a bunch of fresh farm share kale in the fridge as well as a few sweet potatoes.  This whole family loves kale chips, and since the kids love sweet potato, I thought that making a bunch of different types of veggie chips would be a great snack idea.  I used a mandoline to slice the potatoes...fairly easy, and super pretty with the crinkled edges;)  I preheated the oven to 400 F, and baked these chips until they were a bit crispy (about 10 minutes for the kale and 35 for the potatoes).  Pre-baking, I dusted the sweet potatoes with some cinnamon, and did my usual olive oil and a pinch of sea salt.  Everyone agreed that these chips hit the spot!