Category Archives: Featured on Home Page

Yogurt Berry Ice Pops

My kids are obsessed with their Zoku popsicle maker. The allure of nearly instant popsicles is like a siren song emanating from our freezer. We are making popsicles ALL-THE-TIME. When we’re talking about 2 oz. of frozen 100% juice and the added bonus of cooking-as-entertainment, I’ll admit that it’s hard (and silly) for me to say no.

But I’m dying for variety. So I found this recipe and thought I’d give it a whirl. It’s a little more effort than just pouring juice into the mold, but totally worth it for an occasional upgrade! And in case you’re wondering, you don’t have to have a Zoku – these work in old school popsicle molds, too! You’re welcome.

 

Yogurt Berry Ice Pops

serves 8

 

Ingredients:

1 lemon

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups plain unsweetened Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons honey

2 cups fresh blackberries (or another berry of your choice)

 

Directions:

1. Rinse, then peel the lemon. (Save the lemon for a different use – we just need the peel.) Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan and stir till it comes to a boil and the sugar dissolves. Add the lemon peel, lower the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Cool to room temperature, strain through a fine-mesh sieve, and refrigerate till chilled. (You can do this the night before you want to make them to avoid the chorus of “Is it ready yeeeeeeeet?”)

2. Add the yogurt and honey to the chilled syrup and stir until  combined.

3. Cut blackberries in half and set aside.

4. If using an instant pop maker like a Zoku, gently stir the berries into the  yogurt and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.

5. If using conventional molds, put a bit of the yogurt mixture into each of the molds, to a height of about 3/4 inch. Freeze until the mixture begins to set. Add blackberries and remaining yogurt mixture. Snap on the lid and freeze until solid, 3 to 4 hours.

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Be a beginner

Being a beginner is humbling. It’s uncomfortable. Awkward. Humiliating even. Especially when my beginner-ness is being flaunted in public. I avoid it like the plague. Always have.

Listen, there are plenty of things I’m not good at, but they are generally things I can just avoid. For example, I’m not good at drawing, singing, or hair braiding. I’m terrible at volleyball, softball, basketball (okay, let’s just say anything that ends with the word “ball”). I cannot find my way out of my neighborhood without a GPS and I absolutely cannot work the remote controls in our house. You get the idea.

I’m much more comfortable being capable. I like to do the things I’m good at. Don’t we all?

Sometimes though, my incompetence tiptoes up behind me and taps me on the shoulder. Like today. This morning, I took a yoga class in which I was by far the least capable person in the room. And it was torture.

My body fought with itself as I struggled to balance, or to find a pose at all, much less the strength to hold it. The fighting wasn’t helping. And yes, I know. You’re not supposed to fight with or judge yourself in yoga – it’s supposed to be “your practice”. Well, my self was not having it today. My weakness was showing with every vinyasa and I was not happy about it.

And then as I fell out of crow pose for about the 10th time in a row, the first flash of insight came.

crow pose

I’m not actually supposed to be good at this. I’m a beginner. Sigh.

I don’t want to be a beginner. I want the Disney FASTPASS to competence…to excellence even. I want to be able to move like my teacher today who basically floats through the air. It’s breathtaking. I want that.

Being competent is easy. There’s no need for vulnerability, or practice, or effort. You just sail along – easy, breezy, beautiful.

But as I was standing there yearning for competence, I had my second flash of insight.

I thought about my kids climbing a rock wall on vacation last week. My 8-year-old was determined to reach the top, ambitiously beginning her ascent, reveling in her early steps, tearfully frustrated when she was thwarted by a slippery rock, panicked as she descended against her will, tangled up in the conflict between her desire and her skill.

In contrast, my 3-year-old was unabashedly gleeful. She was enthralled with the harness, delighted by the view, posing for pictures, joyful each time her hand or foot reached a rock. When she lost her footing and descended,  she cheerfully began to climb again to see if she could get higher the next time.

(My 5-year-old fell somewhere in between, more ambitious than my youngest, less frustrated than my oldest.)

Little children get it. They have to. They’re beginners at everything. They are learning to walk, to talk, to write, to spell, to add, to read, to reason. They are learning to button buttons and zip zippers, to find matching outfits and to keep rooms clean. They are learning to ride bikes and to climb trees and to turn cartwheels. Beginners. All the time. Every time they master one thing we introduce them to another hurdle. And they willingly accept these challenges because they know something we’ve forgotten.

Rock wall brooke

Being a beginner is humbling. It’s uncomfortable. Awkward.

But it’s also exhilarating. It’s valiant. It’s even fun.

Every fragile success is a cause for celebration…and there are many of them, stacked on top of one another like successful steps up a rock wall. Being a beginner makes us feel alive.

I kept holding the image of my children on that rock wall as I moved through the poses, sometimes succeeding and sometimes not, but with an updated view of practice as play. That simple shift transformed my experience. I needed to remember what I’d forgotten.

Whether it’s a yoga class or a 5K, a guitar lesson or an art class, will you let yourself be a beginner again? Be valiant. Be brave. Trade in your comfort for exhilaration. Let yourself play.

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Summer Squash and Ricotta Galette

True confession. I usually do not whip out a galette for a weekday dinner. Promise. But this week, the mood struck, and I had fresh zucchini from my generous neighbor (she of Swiss Chard fame if you follow us on Facebook), and I just had to do it.

A galette, for the uninitiated, is basically a freestyle pie. In other words, yes it’s SUPPOSED to look like that! You roll out the crust, layer on the toppings sort of like pizza, and then fold the edge of the crust over a bit, leaving the middle exposed. Don’t you love how it looks all rustic and farmstand gorgeous?? This is “Tuesday gourmet” at its best.

The crust for this galette is made with olive oil instead of butter, and using a good (aka monounsaturated) fat boosts the health quotient enough for me to serve pie for dinner.

I paired this with a big salad of fresh lettuce, garden tomatoes, and a simple vinaigrette. Per-fect.

 

Summer Squash and Ricotta Galette

adapted from Cooking Light

serves 6


Ingredients

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (I did not use whole wheat – might try that next time)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/4 cup water
1 medium zucchini, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 large yellow squash, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2 ounces grated fresh Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon water
1 large egg white
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

Directions

1. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder in a food processor; pulse 2 times to combine. Combine 1/3 cup oil and 1/4 cup water in a small bowl. With processor on, slowly add oil mixture through food chute; process until dough is crumbly. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead 1 minute; add additional flour, if necessary, to prevent dough from sticking. Gently press dough into a 5-inch disk; wrap in plastic wrap, and chill at least 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 400°.

3. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon oil, zucchini, squash, and garlic in a large bowl. Combine ricotta and next 6 ingredients (through egg) in a medium bowl, stirring to combine.

4. Unwrap dough, and roll into a 14-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Place dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread ricotta mixture over dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Arrange zucchini and squash slices alternately, slightly overlapping, in a circular pattern over ricotta mixture. Sprinkle zucchini and squash with kosher salt. Fold edges of dough toward center, pressing gently to seal (dough will only partially cover squash). In a small bowl, whisk together 1 teaspoon water and egg white. Brush dough edges with egg white mixture. Bake at 400° for 40 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes; sprinkle with basil. Cool an additional 15 minutes. Cut into 6 wedges.

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