My cooking lesson at Gymboree

Why do the displays at Gymboree always look so ridiculously good? They make me want to buy everything in the store to recreate those looks for my kids. This week, I popped in to return something and found myself gazing longingly at yet another adorable ready made outfit hanging on the wall…and then it hit me!

The reason the Gymboree displays always look SO AMAZING is that they always add that one more element to the outfit that completes it! The extra button-down over the t-shirt and under the sweater. The scarf tied adorably around the sweater and under the corduroy blazer. The visible chunky belt over the long sweater over the patterned leggings.

It’s not complicated, really…but it takes a little extra effort to pull it off in your child’s everyday wardrobe.

Cooking is like that. Taking a moment to taste the dish you’re making and to add one more layer of flavor can elevate it from everyday to amazing. A sprinkle of fresh herbs. A swirl of butter into the sauce just before serving. A splash of vinegar. Minced shallots. A flurry of parmesan. These layers of flavor are what great cooks instinctively understand instinctively. Food prepared by a great cook has depth, and while you might not be able to name the extra ingredient, you will notice it because it’s what makes the dish feel finished.

Give it a whirl. Taste your dinner tonight before you serve it – ignore the fact that the recipe says you’re finished – and see if you can discern what extra element would make it amazing. You may surprise yourself and discover you’re already a great cook! You just needed the license to strut your stuff.

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Lemony Kale Salad with Parmesan

Stop wrinkling your nose every time you hear the word “kale!” It’s not nearly as scary and unapproachable as you think. C’mon, bring some home, chop it up, make this salad, and join the converted!

I got this particular recipe from a friend of a friend of a friend (no joke!). She said it was the highlight of a meal she had at another friend’s house. She brought home leftovers and ate it for days – kale gets better and better as it stands because it doesn’t get soggy like many other leafy greens would do once dressed.

This salad actually reminds me of one I had this summer at True Food Kitchen, Dr. Andrew Weil’s restaurant concept. The restaurant was incredible – one of those places I WISH we had here in the Midwest. But if you want a taste of the kind of food they serve, Dr. Weil has a new cookbook out this week, called True Food – Seasonable, Sustainable, Simple, Pure. It looks amazing. And I’m betting there’s a kale salad or two in there as well.

 

Lemony Kale Salad with Parmesan

 

serves 4-6

 

Ingredients:

1 large bunch of curly kale, washed and dried

1/2 cup currants, raisins, chopped dates, or other dried fruit

1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

salt and pepper

 

Directions:

1. Remove the stem from each kale leaf by folding it in half and running your knife along the stem edge. Finely chop kale.

2. In a small bowl whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, Parmesan, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste.

3. Combine kale, currants, and pine nuts in a large bowl. Drizzle the dressing on a little at a time and toss well. Add enough dressing to coat well, but not to be swimming in the dressing.

4. Allow salad to sit for 5-10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan if desired. Salad will stay fresh for several days in the refrigerator.

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Are You Stuck in the Girl Box?

Do you remember what it was like to be in 4th grade? Most of us have extremely clear memories about something that shifted for us at that point. I can remember being deemed “invisible” by a group of cool girls I thought were my friends. When I spoke, they would literally say to one another, “Did you hear something? I didn’t hear anything.” Some of you may recall being left out of a clique, or being teased about your lunch, or your clothes, or your hair, or your weight, or worse. Many of us started to close up and live differently as a result of these experiences. We retreated into the Girl Box and played it safe, living smaller than we could have for years…or forever.

Enter Girls on the Run.

GOTR closeupThis dynamic organization is about SHATTERING the Girl Box and encouraging girls to dream and live as big as they can! And they do all of this while preparing the girls to complete a 5K at the end of a 12-week season.

Girls on the Run inspires girls to be joyful, healthy and confident by using a fun, experience-based curriculum that creatively integrates running. The girls meet twice per week with encouraging volunteer coaches who teach the girls important skills like healthy eating, standing up for oneself, being positive, and managing stress – all while training for the Girls on the Run 5k at the end of the season. In addition to physical activity, the girls learn to believe in themselves in an encouraging team atmosphere. Girls on the Run provides girls with tools, confidence and positive peer support group so that they can thrive in middle school and high school.

How ’bout that? Seriously, don’t you wish you’d had Girls on the Run? I first learned about the organization when I was living in Atlanta, and then I served as a founding Board Member for the Greater Cincinnati chapter back in 2005. My dear friend Erin Hamilton left her thriving corporate career to serve as the Executive Director and personally coached a small team of 12 girls in Loveland that year.

This year, GOTR of Greater Cincinnati will serve nearly 2,000 girls. It gives me goosebumps. Many of those girls are on scholarships, so fundraising is key to GOTR’s viability. I’m making it super-easy for you to support this amazing organization because if you subscribe to Nourish Menu Plans by November 17th I will donate 10% of your subscription to GOTR. Get all the details here!

GOTR Race Start

November 17th is the GOTR Fall 5K in Cincinnati

You can also donate directly to GOTR of Greater Cincinnati via their website. If you want to find your local chapter or donate to GOTR International instead, go here.

If you can’t donate money, will you consider donating your time? They need race volunteers, coaches, and administrative helpers. Or run or walk the 5K. It’s an experience you will NEVER forget as you cross the finish line with throngs of extremely excited 8-13 year old girls with painted faces and rainbow colored running gear and foam crowns and sometimes even tutus. Wanna see? Really, check out those pictures and tell me you’re not moved. Go be moved.

Get involved – give your time or make a donation – and when you do, the Girl Box will feel like a distant memory… left in the dust… right where it belongs.

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