‘Joy the Baker’ Articles at Sweetnicks

Recipe: Peach Tomato and Mozzarella Crostini

July 24, 2012 · Narrative

So here’s the thing.

I’m really not a fan of peaches.

Every year, a town not too far from us has a big peach festival.

For that, I’ll make an exception.

Because I don’t know what it is about their peaches, but they’re seriously amazing.

Or in blogger speak > ah-may-zing.

They slice them and put them on top of vanilla bean ice cream.

And serve warm peach pie.

And it is, truly, the best way to spend a summer’s day.

But outside of that event? I just don’t care for them.

I think it’s mostly a texture thing. And it’s certainly a “me” thing.

Fo’sure.

But for whatever reason, I spied a recipe for Peach Tomato and Mozzarella Crostini on Joy the Baker’s web site, and I was hooked.

Like enough that when planning tonight’s dinner, I bought the ingredients I’d need to make it.

I already had homegrown basil and tomatoes fresh from the local farmer’s market, so with half the ingredients on hand, it seemed rather kismet, no?

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Recipe: Smashed Chickpea & Avocado Salad Sandwich {A Week of Vegetarian Lunches}

June 4, 2012 · Narrative

When I came home last Sunday with our monster-sized haul of fruits and vegetables, I thought it would be fun to do a week’s worth of vegetarian lunches. I started the week off with this favorite tried-and-true recipe for Warm Butternut Squash and Chickpea Salad, and a few roasted vegetable sandwiches, and when I saw this recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod recently on Pinterest, the Smashed Chickpea and Avocado Salad Sandwich, it was the perfect finish.

Truth be told, avocado and I are closerthanthis. On any given day, we have several on our kitchen counter, in smattering degrees of ripeness. My 9-year-old son, Nick, and I will have one or two with dinner, or I’ll have one in various sandwich incarnations. He likes an avocado drizzled with a little bit of olive oil, hot sauce, and kosher salt. I do too. It’s an awesome way to bring out the full, buttery, creamy rich flavor of the avocado.

This Smashed Chickpea and Avocado Salad Sandwich became my lunch on Thursday. I almost skipped the “shell the chickpea” step. I mean, really, I can honestly say I have never thought of shelling chickpeas when I’ve used them before, but to try the dish in its original form the first time, I shelled.all.the.chickpeas. Each and every one. Man, super tedious work. A task I should have put one of my little helpers to, but luckily for them, they were outside enjoying a few moments of (rare) sunshine.

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Recipe: Orange Coconut Cobbler Muffins {and Teacher Appreciation Week}

May 7, 2012 · Narrative

This past Saturday, Madeline stood in front of the counter at our favorite bagel shop and announced that she wanted muffins.

While staring at their very-large-look-better-than-they-taste muffin selection in the glass case.

“How about we make some muffins this weekend instead?”

Luckily she was quickly appeased.

I ended up waiting until today to make them, since the kids were with their Dad for the rest of this past weekend, and my littlest sous chef couldn’t have been happier.

She mixed. And stirred. And crumbled. And patted.

I was only arm candy, there just to provide measurement assistance and reaching things in high places.

All these years, who knew you were supposed to pat the crumbs down? Good thing she’s there to lead the way.

She could barely wait for them to come out of the oven.

And then to cool off.

And before even tasting them, has already ear-marked which one she wants for breakfast.

Luckily for her, they’re pretty darn tasty. The muffins are moist, without being overly sweet. In fact, most of the sweetness comes from the crumb topping, so be sure not to skip that step.

They were crazy simple to make. I’m not fibbing when I say Madeline took charge of most of the recipe. She was so proud of her efforts that she very carefully wrapped one of the muffins up tonight and sent it home with The Ex after Nick’s soccer try-outs (travel team).

This week is Teachers’ Appreciation Week, so three of the muffins are going to be packaged up and sent in for the kids’ teachers. This morning, I sent the kids in with these jars below.

Super simple to make, of course. I bought the jars from Wal-Mart, and filled them with Swedish fish. Tied with scrap ribbon I had on hand, and then made a quick label on the computer, using an image I found online and secured with a little bit of washi tape.

I heard they were a hit, so my work here is done. Well, for today, anyway.

Until tomorrow…

Source info:

*That cute stoneware plate that the muffin is on? It’s a series of appetizer plates from none other than Diane Keaton. They came out last year. She designed them for Bed, Bath, and Beyond and it took me forever to track them down. I have every one but the “yum.” If you can’t find them at your local BB&B, they can order them and have them shipped directly to your house, which is what I did. They’ll still take the 20% off coupon, so that ended up covering the shipping cost. And if you’re interested in hearing more about her inspiration and foray into the design world, you’ll like this article from the New York Times (I love that square plate pictured in the article, but haven’t found it anywhere).

* Madeline’s dress is from the folks at Pink Chicken (specifically this one). They sent it over to give us a chance to check it out. It’s super soft, ultra comfy, and really nice and roomy. She loves the little pink chicken that is embroidered on the front of it, and as long as I don’t call it a dress, she’ll wear it any day of the week. (She wears it with leggings)

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Recipe: Buttered Crouton Salad with Avocado and Smoked Salmon {Joy the Baker}

April 30, 2012 · Narrative

Mystic and I were talking about weeknight meal planning last night. One of his kids is on two different baseballs teams, which means a lot of weeknight practices and games.

And late nights.

Which really gets in the way of family dinners. Let alone healthy ones.

Last week, it was nearly 10 pm when they got home after a game that ran late.

Which is crazy for middle schoolers on a school night.

Let alone for Mystic who leaves at 6 am to start his day.

The motivation to go through a drive-thru and get take-out on those kind of nights is strong.

With Nick and Madeline both in soccer, and both having weeknight practices, it’s tough.

Usually on those nights I plan for leftovers.

Or breakfast for dinner.

Concentrating on something I can get on the table within 30 minutes of walking through the door.

And not feeling guilty about it.

Some days are better than others. For sure.

Last Thursday night was Nick’s soccer practice.

It was cold.

And wet.

Drizzling.

Right up until five minutes before we left, I was checking the web site.

Hoping to see the “fields are closed” designation.

Hoping.

No such luck.

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