the simple five: garlic roasted eggplant dip

I usually make this eggplant dip at the spur of the moment (when eggplant is on sale or when it looks so appetizing in the store), and I end up trying to recollect the recipe as I put the eggplant in my grocery cart.  Tahini is the ingredient that I forget the most often.

This recipe is a slight modification on the traditional "Baba Ghanoush", a middle eastern
dish, but I replaced tahini with general pantry staples.  Makes a great vegetarian dip for pita breads, crackers or crudites.  Perfect for healthy snacks over the March Break.

Happy March Break!

Garlic Roasted Eggplant Dip 

Makes approximately 1 ½ cups

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 eggplant, large
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tbsp. sesame seed oil
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, roasted
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
• Place eggplant on baking sheet, and make holes in the skin with a fork. 
• Take the whole garlic and wrap it in tin foil.
• Roast both the eggplant and garlic for 30 to 40 minutes, turning occasionally, or until soft. 
• Remove from oven.
• With a knife, slice the eggplant down the middle and scoop the contents in a bowl.
• Place eggplant, lemon juice, sesame oil, and garlic (amount of cloves to taste) in an electric blender, and puree. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 
• Transfer eggplant mixture to a medium size mixing bowl, and slowly mix in olive oil. Refrigerate for 3 hours before serving.

the simple five: easy guacamole

Since Super Bowl is this weekend, many people are preparing "game day" foods (staples such as nachos, chips, chilli...basically anything comforting).  While some of those foods aren't exactly the most healthy, here's an easy and delicious way to add some nutrients to your game day menu.

Enjoy!

5 Ingredient Easy Guacamole

(Makes about 3 to 4 cups)

While storing in the refrigerator, a trick to prevent the guacamole from turning brown is to place a layer of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the mixture.

Ingredients

• 5 ripe avocados
• 2 tbsp. finely chopped red onion
• 2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped.
• ½ teaspoon salt

Preparation

• Cut avocados in half, remove seed and and scoop into a bowl.
• With a fork, mash the avocado, leaving it slightly chunky in texture (if desired).
• Stir in the juice, garlic, salt and red onion.
• Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serve with tortilla chips (or as a condiment for game day foods like chilli, nachos or burgers).

out of the shell

During a town hall meeting at our kid's school the other week, a parent balked at how much "love" and attention the kids were expressing towards each other in the classroom...particularly some of the girls towards the boys, and the school should have much stricter policies that would eradicate emotional expression and focus more on academics.

I know as a parent of an expressive child who's genuinely kind to everyone, I understand the need to guide and protect our children from the backlash of showing "too much love", as it may be distracting or misinterpreted.  Although there is a fine line between innocent and inappropriate adoration, suppressing the freedom of expression, especially positive expression in our children, is NOT the answer.  It would rob our children of the innocence that childhood brings...the untainted, unbounded generosity and kindness in humanity that we now as adults fight so hard to hold on to.

If children aren't allowed to embrace and accept each other within the safe environment of the classroom, how can we expect them to learn how to embrace others outside of it?

The school had a hot dog lunch fundraiser to help one hundred families displaced after a tragic fire. That morning as I was rushing out the door to drive to school, our daughter was carefully (and slowly) preparing her glass jar (with pretty bow to boot), not counting her money, but making sure all of her recently earned allowance went into the jar, to give more than just her lunch money, to those who lost their homes.

We were late for school but this time I wasn't upset, because my kids reminded me what really mattered...not rushing to be punctual, but deliberately slowing down to ensure that glass jar made it to school in one piece.  In the car ride, I could hear my son quietly talk about the jar, and how proud he was of his little sister.  With his extra money for snacks, my son added a bit more into the jar. For a sweet moment, they both sat patiently during the ride, as if they were about to deliver something precious. Participating in charities have certainly taught them to empathize with others and they truly feel accomplished when they help those in need (as mentioned in my last post, here).

Since this is the last day of school before the summer break, the grade I give their school isn't going to be solely judged based on an academic numeric mark on my kid's final report card.  After seeing how beautifully generous my children are, accepted in a loving and caring environment amongst good, upstanding friends, I think they've learned much more valuable lessons than any grade can reflect...striving for excellence, intelligence, kindness, thoughtfulness and the confidence to come out of their shells and onto the path to becoming strong leaders.

Simple Baked Scallops

(makes 4-6 servings)

Ingredients

• 8 large scallops rinsed and patted dry on paper kitchen towels
• 1 tbsp cubed butter (approx. ¼ tsp. on top of each)
• 2 garlic cloves peeled andsliced thinly (one thin slice on top of each)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

• Preheat the oven at 400°C (392°F) 
• In a cast iron skillet, coat the bottom with the olive oil.
• Arrange scallops one layer.
• Place one pat of butter (approx. ¼ tsp) on top of each scallop.
• Slice garlic clove and place one slice on top of each scallop.
• Bake for 20 minutes (depending on the thickness of your scallops), flipping the scallops at the half-way mark ensuring each side is browned.

Serve & Enjoy!

having a ball

As we start to begin what is known to our family as "party season" with birthdays and Thanksgiving, it's a time of year where it's easy to get caught up with the preparation of guests, food, gifts...and lose sight of how special this time of year really is.

Since one child is going on a school camping trip smack dab in the middle of all these parties, it's just one more thing to pack, organize and be prepared for.  With so much going on, I was hoping I'd take a more simpler route this year and just book a pre-packaged party.  But as I begin booking venues, I realize sometimes what appears to be simple isn't really that simple after all.  One venue only accepted complicated online reservations and couldn't guarantee a party room until mere days before the event.  Another venue  couldn't guarantee there would be a place to store gifts while the children are enjoying the venue's activities (so I'd have to shuttle gifts to the car before they played!). What a circus!

Maybe I'm worried what really will be missing, is the element of the personal touch.  Because at the end of the day, I just want to create happy, memorable moments, and I hope it doesn't get lost in the busyness of logistics.

I suspect that I feel this way because I am watching my older child go off independently on a camping trip, and part of me misses that time when they were really young.  An age before they were old enough to dress themselves.  An age when they had sweet little birthdays with a few select friends and family were invited to eat cake, do a small craft or activity, and enjoy opening presents.  A time that seemed slower, where I  actually got to capture little moments.

As the kids get bigger, maybe I just need to be faster to catch up with them. With all the giggling, smiles and "It was the best trip EVER!" or "I had the loudest, most outrageously awesome birthday party ever!"...I will capture a different, more bigger moment.  When they'll still enjoying being a kid and the world seems like one big circus...and they're just having a ball.

Quick Party Cheese Ball

Ingredients

• 1 cup (8 ounces) Cream Cheese
• ¼ cups Sour Cream
• 1 cup Finely Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• ¼ cups grated Parmesan Cheese
• ¼ cups Finely Chopped shallot (or red onion)
• ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
• ¼ teaspoons Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Directions

• Place all ingredients in a large bowl. 
• Beat with a hand mixer on medium-low speed until well combined.
• Scrape the mixture onto a piece of plastic wrap. Cover with the plastic wrap and shape into a ball or log. 
• Put the cheese ball on a plate and place in the refrigerator to harden, at least 30 minutes (it's best if it is 1 hour).

Place on a serving plate. Allow to sit for approximately 15 minutes before serving.  Serve with crackers.