Blogs-O-Plenty

A few weeks ago, Janice spent several days in San Francisco at the annual BlogHer conference. She was one of over a thousand women bloggers who gathered to gab and learn about … well, blogging! In your wildest dreams, you wouldn't believe the number of bloggers floating around out there in cyberspace including moms who blog about their kid’s day-to-day activities, food bloggers who share their favorite baby food recipes, and women who blog about political and social issues. Here are just a few of the cool blogs Janice discovered at the conference.

www.deliciousbaby.com/
www.foodblogsearch.com/
www.kalynskitchen.com/
www.kitchengadgetgirl.com/
www.motherswithcancer.com/
www.momcentral.com/

Janice went to BlogHer with McCain Foods. They were there to share the news about their new line of healthy potato products, sold in school cafeterias nationwide. Their Sweet Potato Fries as well as their Smiles have zero grams of trans fats (that's the artery clogging kind) and meet the guidelines of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a partnership between the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation, aimed at fighting childhood obesity. Janice is a big fan of McCain's sweet potato fries since each serving provides a whopping 100% of the daily requirement for immune-boosting vitamin A. How sweet is that! Ah, if only every school in America would serve them.

What are some of your favorite blogs? Do tell!!

Tiny Treats

Janice's 16-year old daughter, Carolyn, recently spent a week at a camp in Ferry Beach, Maine. When Janice, Don and Leah went to pick her up, they all got to enjoy one of Carolyn's favorite treats from the camp store, a "Teeny Tiny" ice cream cone. Talk about a great way to exercise portion control! In an age of super-sized portions (even so-called "kiddie cones" are now gigantic) the Bissex family appreciated the bite-sized serving.

If your kids are screaming for ice cream, be sure to listen to our Cooking with the Moms podcast from August 6th. The theme is Frozen Treats, and during the show, we share three homemade popsicle recipes and a Super Sundae with Strawberries.  Try our sundae recipe and let us know what you think!

Super Sundae with Strawberries
Makes 1 Serving

One small scoop lowfat vanilla frozen yogurt or ice cream (about 1/3 cup)
Two strawberries, thinly sliced
Drizzle chocolate syrup
Drizzle caramel syrup
2 teaspoon toasted chopped walnuts or pecans
Small dollop light whipped cream

Spoon the ice cream into a bowl or parfait glass. Place the strawberries around the ice cream, drizzle with the chocolate syrup and caramel syrup, and sprinkle with the nuts. Garnish with a dollop of whipped cream.

Nutrition Information per Serving: 140 calories, 6g fat (2g saturated), 45mg sodium, 19g carbohydrate, 1g fiber, 3g protein, 35% vitamin C, 8% calcium

A Crazy, Almost-Food Adventure

On a recent family vacation to Maine, Liz’s 13-year old son Josh decided to test his fishing skills one evening with a hook, some line, and a hot dog. What he caught was this giant lobster (estimated by Josh to be about 7 pounds). Well, since Josh has a conscience (a 7-pound lobster is over 30 years old) and knows better than to eat something he doesn’t have a license to catch, he gladly tossed the giant crustacean right back where he/she came from.
From catching fish to growing and harvesting your own produce, tell us about some of your exciting food adventures this summer! As always, we love to hear from you.

Our First "Live" Podcast Guest

"Cousin Andrea," perhaps one of our biggest fans out there, was the first "live" guest on Cooking with the Moms this week (www.MealMakeoverMoms.com). Ever since our weekly radio podcast launched back in May, 12-year old Andrea (Liz's niece) has been a devoted listener. In fact, every Wednesday when we post a new show to iTunes and our website, Andrea rushes home from school (or camp), runs straight to her computer, and listens to the show.

This summer, Andrea spent two weeks at Camp Medolark (www.Medolark.com) near Camden, Maine. On her way back to Connecticut, she stopped by the Moms' "studio" and sat in on our Frozen Treats show. You'll love hearing her talk about her adventures at camp (she got to take cooking classes!) and her thoughts on our Trio of Pops.

We hope you'll listen in each week just like Andrea does! In the meantime, here's a recipe for Watermelon Pomegranate Pops to whet your appetite for our August 6th podcast

Watermelon Pomegranate Pops
Makes 4 Servings

1 1/2 cups cubed seedless watermelon
1/2 cup Pomegranate blueberry juice

Combine the watermelon and juice in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into four 3-ounce popsicle molds and freeze until firm, about 3 hours. To remove the pops from the molds, run under warm water to loosen. If you don’t have popsicle molds, divide t he liquid between four paper cups. Cover each cup with foil, insert one craft stick through the center of each foil, and freeze.

* We like Minute Made Enhanced Pomegranate Blueberry Juice

Nutrition Information per Serving: 30 calories, 0g fat (0g saturated), 0mg sodium, 9g carbohydrate, 0g fiber, 0g protein, 15% vitamin C

Join a CSA

For the past few years, Janice has been a member of the Farm Direct Coop CSA (community supported agriculture). We talked about CSAs this week on our podcast, Cooking with the Moms, and promised to provide information about joining one. But before we do that, for those of you who are not familiar with CSAs, they help to forge a relationship between consumers and local farms. When a consumer becomes a"member" or "shareholder" of a CSA, they pay an annual membership fee and in turn, receive a weekly basket of produce -- whatever happens to be in season. There are many websites out there devoted to CSAs. A good place to start is http://www.localharvest.com/. If you're a member of a CSA, tell us what you got this week and feel free to share any new or tried-and-true recipes.

Bon Appétit, Y’all

The next time you’re sitting in your doctor’s office, waiting for an appointment, don’t be surprised if you see Liz! For the past year, Liz has hosted the “Meal Makeover” TV segment for EverWell, a health and wellness video series now running in physician office waiting rooms nationwide. Last week while shooting a few of the segments in Atlanta – including our recipe for Caesar Salad with Feta and Dill which we talked about in this week’s Cooking with the Moms radio podcast -- Liz had the privilege of working with food stylist, Virginia Willis, author of Bon Appétit, Y’all: Recipes and Stories from Three Generations of Southern Cooking. Since Virginia spent the day making Liz’s food look great for the cameras, we thought we’d return the favor by sharing one of her delicious recipes with y'all.

Corn Spoon Bread
Serves 4 to 6

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan
2 cups whole milk
1 cup very fine yellow cornmeal
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
Scraped kernels from 2 ears fresh sweet corn (about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
2 large eggs, separated

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Butter an ovenproof casserole or round 2-quart soufflé mold. To prepare the batter, in a medium saucepan, combine the milk and cornmeal over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, whisking rapidly and constantly, until very, very thick, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add the corn kernels, chives, and the 2 tablespoons melted butter. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, stirring after each addition. To beat the egg whites, in a separate bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt on high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the warm cornmeal mixture. Transfer the lightened cornmeal mixture to the prepared pan; smooth the surface with a spatula. Bake until puffed and risen and the inside is firm, but moist, and the top is golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve immediately while puffed and risen.

Reprinted with permission from Bon Appétit, Y’all: Recipes and Stories from Three Generations of Southern Cooking by Virginia Willis, copyright © 2008. Published by Ten Speed Press.
Photo credit: Ellen Silverman © 2008 http://www.tenspeed.com/

Chocolate + Zucchini = Delicious

When we hear the word, zucchini, we think "healthy," and when we hear the word, chocolate, we think "decadent." Lucky for us two of our favorite ingredients form the perfect partnership in cookies, cakes, cupcakes and quick breads. And apparently we're not the only ones who appreciate the culinary combination between the two; google zucchini + chocolate and you'll get nearly half a million results! If zucchini is growing in your garden or you happen to pick it up at the market, try our kid-friendly + nutritious recipe for Zucchini Squiggle Squares.

Zucchini Squiggle Squares

Makes 18 Squares

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup ground flaxseed or wheat germ

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs, beaten

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup canola oil

1/3 cup 1% lowfat milk

1 packed cup peeled (if desired) and shredded zucchini (from a 7 to 8-ounce zucchini)

1 ripe large banana, mashed (1/2 cup)

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips (or a bit more, if you love chocolate!)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil or coat a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2. Whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour , flaxseed, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, canola oil, and milk until well blended. Stir in the zucchini and banana. Add the zucchini mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just moistened. Mix in the chocolate chips.

4. Spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan, using a rubber spatula to spread evenly. Bake about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Nutrition Information per Serving: 170 calories, 9g fat (1g saturated, 0.9g omega-3), 120mg sodium, 21g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 4g protein, 10% vitamin C

If you have a favorite zucchini + chocolate recipe you'd like to share, please post it to our blog.