I know some of you are afraid to cook fish at home.  I’m not really sure where this comes from, because aside from the fact that you need to buy it day-of cooking (in most cases), I find fish to be a quick and easy answer to the “what’s for dinner?” question.

In our house, we eat a lot of cod.  I know, I know, cod has historically been  over fished, but it’s the only fish that we all consistently agree on.  My daughter won’t eat any of the greens associated with a fish recipe, but she’ll often eat some of the cod itself, along with her ever-present noodles.

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Have you seen all those articles that say that if you get your kid(s) in the kitchen, they’ll be more invested in trying the foods they make?  That they’ll suddenly become more adventurous and maybe even like to eat <gasp!> a wide variety of foods? 

Well, in my case, it’s hogwash.  My daughter has been cooking with me since she was 2-years-old, and since then, she probably eats fewer foods.  This is a child that used to eat EVERYTHING with gusto.  Then at 2, the list of foods she’d eat got progressively smaller and smaller.  I used to scoff at picky kids and figure that it was nurture, but we are living proof that it’s not always the case.  She was, for a period, on that dreaded American “beige diet” – it’s mortifying, I know.  It’s interesting that all this time, she has clamored to be cooking with me, yet she has no interest in tasting the final product.  I keep at it though.  I’m stubborn.

But I digress. 

There are some things she loves to make and eat.  They’re all in the dessert category, surprisingly enough.  Yesterday we made a great and easy s’mores bar cookie recipe.  The Brownie troop leaders (of which I’m one – no snickering) and their kids got together to plan some meetings, and I offered to bring dessert.  What’s more Girl Scouty than s’mores?  This is a nice recipe for a 6-year-old because there are no electronics involved in the preparation, save for the oven.  It’s just a smash, stir, dump, press, spread, sprinkle operation. 

Enjoy!

Smore’s Cookie Bars

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Put several whole graham crackers (approximately 7) in a large zip-top bag and squeeze the air out.  Pulverize the crackers with a rolling pin/meat mallet until they form a fine crumb.  In a large bowl, stir together cookie mix and crumbs. Stir in melted butter until a soft, crumbly dough forms. Press into a 13×9-inch pan that’s been coated with cooking spray.

Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until set. Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over crust. Let stand 3 to 5 minutes or until chocolate begins to melt. Spread chocolate evenly over crust.

Set oven to broil. Sprinkle the marshmallows over the melted chocolate. Broil 4 to 5 inches from heat for 20 to 30 seconds or until the marshmallows are toasted. (Watch closely; marshmallows will brown quickly.) Cool 10 minutes or longer.

Serve warm or room temp, and store any remaining bars tightly covered – those marshmallows will get hard & chewy if you don’t.

From the Epicurious Blog – ways to doctor up prepared foods.  Sometimes, you gotta take shortcuts.

It’s not over ’til it’s over, right guys?  There is still more time to grill, enjoy eating alfresco and to savor some summery weather.  This menu has been top-of-mind lately because I made it for a family celebration of my daughter’s August birthday last year.  My husband, in particular, found it mind-blowing – in fact, the salad here is what turned him into a fresh fig lover.  Serve it up to people you love, and treat them to a last, fresh taste of summer.

For a main course, this Rosemary Chicken Skewers With Berry Sauce recipe from Simply Recipes is simple to prepare, but looks and tastes like it took much more effort.  The sauce is very delicious.

For starch, this Couscous Salad with Dates and Almonds, from Bon Appetit has a nice sweet/savory thing going on.   I use whole wheat couscous to amp up the nutrition and protein and I also make double the dressing – I find I need more than the amount called for in the recipe (but not the entire doubled amount) to dress the salad.

For greens, this Late Summer Salad is an adaptation of a recipe from the Fields Of Greens Cookbook by Annie Somerville.  It is a beautiful composed salad that makes a striking presentation for your guests.

Late Summer Salad 

Wash the spinach and dry it in a salad spinner.  Arrange it on a serving platter.  Make the vinaigrette. 

Cut the melon in half and scoop out the seeeds, then thinly slice and peel, following the contour of the rind.  Rinse the figs and pat dry.  Cut them into halves or quarters.

Arrange the melon and figs atop the spinach.  Drizzle the vinaigrette over the fruit and sprinkle with pine nuts.

Serves 4 – this can easily be doubled – just use a medium cantaloupe.

Orange Vinaigrette

Combine everything but the oil in a small bowl, then whisk in the oil.  Makes 1/3 cup, but again, can be easily doubled.

This recipe for tomato, white bean & bacon soup from the Simply Recipes site looks so delicious . . . and although it’s not been a good year for tomatoes, there are still a bunch at the farmers’ market every week.  Might have to try this for Friday. 

And you might know my motto:  “everything’s better with bacon!”

I don’t think this is going to get me any fan press out on the ‘net, but I have been completely digging cantaloupes this year – so much so that I have been eating about 1 entire melon per day, on average.  Cantaloupes are a nutritional powerhouse, with very few calories.  A cup of cubed fruit has more than a day’s worth of vitamin A, nearly a day’s allowance of vitamin C, 12% of your daily potassium needs, and 9% of a day’s folate.  And all this for the low-low price of 50 calories, folks!  Even bestsellers like apples, pears, and bananas have at least 100 calories.

I have been just cubing these super-sweeties up and eating them for dessert or a juicy snack, maybe combining them with some fat-free Fage, but there are some creative ideas in the latest issue of CSPI’s Nutrition Action Health Letter:

• Spritz the chunks with lemon or lime juice, and eat as-is.  Lime sounds particularly good to me.
• I never would’ve thought of this - top the ‘loupe with shaved Parmesan and drizzle it with balsamic vinegar.  That sounds really interesting – I’m going to try that one today. 
• Another one with cheese – fill half a melon with low-fat cottage cheese and a sprinkle of toasted sunflower seeds – yum! 
• Cube it and serve it over a bed of mixed greens and some goat cheese, tossed with a red wine vinaigrette.  Another fruity salad – you know I’ve been lovin’ up on those this summer.

Are you loving cantaloupe?  How are you eating it?

Cupcake boutiques continue to be the rage, and frankly, I don’t get it.  Maybe it’s because I’m cynical and not cutesy?  Maybe it’s because most of their product is terrible?

It’s easy to screw up a cupcake.  Most often, the problem is that they’re dry.  You have to be extra careful when you’re baking a little weeny cake.  There is no baked good more unappealing than a dry cupcake.   And I’ve even had cupcakes made by really terrific, accomplished bakers, that are dry dry dry.  No good.  Not worth the calories.

Then there is the cute and hip factor.  Cute and hip alone don’t get you very far in life, and not in cupcakes either.  I want substance:  a moist cake with a firm but tender crumb and good flavor in the cake.  I also want enough icing so I can get some in almost every bite, but I do not want it mounded up on top so precariously that I have to eat it off before I chomp the cake or worse, that it just falls off when I unwrap my cake.

Last, but certainly not least, there is the pricetag problem.  You can pay $3.99 for a single cupcake at some places.  $3.99!?  I find it offensive.  And this is coming from a woman whose biggest budget line-item is for food.  I am lucky enough to be able to spend good money on good food, and I will pay extra for a premium product.  But I haven’t found a premium cupcake in a boutique yet.

Lest you think I’m insane, see what ire cupcakes can inspire on boards like Chowhound.

What the heck has set me off on this rant?  The other night my husband and I broke down and tried Sweet, in Harvard Square.   We split their “organic karat” cupcake, which they bill as “Moist carrot cake with shredded organic carrots and crushed pineapple topped with classic cream cheese frosting and an edible gold leaf petal.”  I can’t remember how much we paid for this puppy, but it was in the $3 range . . . because although I brought a menu home to refresh my memory, there are no prices on the menu.  Grrrr.  Don’t even get me started on this junk.  It’s similar to when you’re at a restaurant and they describe the specials, but don’t let you in on the prices.  Makes me craaaazy.

So this cupcake was actually moist, and it certainly was cute.  But with all that carrot and pineapple, you’d have to work hard to have it be dry.  And here’s the thing, the cake was pretty much flavorless.  It was merely a vehicle for the cream cheese frosting, which was fine, but not outstanding – and it was mounded up in such a cute way that it did not pass my icing distribution requirement.  It fell off.  A total buzz-kill.

Here’s what I like about cupcakes – they’re a sweet treat in a portion-controlled package.   I’ll spend money on cupcakes from old-school venues like Lyndell’s, but better yet, I think it’s fun and relatively easy to make cupcakes.  This recipe for black-bottom cupcakes is one of the best I’ve had anywhere, frankly.  It’s moist, it’s chocolatey and flavorful and fun, and it’s cheap to boot.

The September/October issue of Clean Eating magazine is out, and there are a bunch of good recipes to try.  Are you familiar with this magazine?  With “clean eating” as a concept?  From the magazine:  “The soul of clean eating is consuming food in its most natural state, or as close to it as possible.  It is not a diet; it’s a lifestyle approach to food and its preparation, leading to an improved life – one meal at a time.”  Sage words, folks!

I like their lack of hype and their focus on good nutrition and exercise, but I gotta say, this publication is poorly edited.  I find typos in every issue, and some of the recipes aren’t quite right – for instance, the one I highlight here doesn’t tell you to put any sort of oil/cooking spray in your skillet before you try to cook your chicken breasts . . . that could lead to bad things.  So consider this a little “buyer beware” warning from your friendly neighborhood hausfrau.

Last night, I decided to satisfy my husband’s desire for “a little more meat” with a chicken dish from the issue – it was a solid recipe, despite the lack of a little grease, but you know me – I couldn’t leave it alone.  I tweaked it and this is what I came up with:

Arugula Polenta With Chicken

Sprinkle both sides of chicken breasts with salt & pepper.  Spray a large skillet with vegetable oil cooking spray, and heat over medium heat.  Add chicken and cook until no longer pink in the middle, about 6 minutes per side.  Transfer chicken to a plate, tent with foil and let rest.

Meanwhile, put broth in a medium saucepan with garlic.  Bring to a boil, then add the polenta slowly, whisking constantly to avoid lumps.  Return to a boil, and simmer over low heat, stirring constantly until polenta is tender and the consistency reaches that of loose mashed potatoes.  Remove from heat and stir in arugula and yogurt.  Cover to keep warm ’til you’re ready to plate the meal.

Cut each chicken breast on a diagonal into approximately 1/2-inch slices.  Divide the polenta among 6 shallow bowls, top with chopped tomatoes and chicken, and serve.

Serves 6.

I steamed up some green beans to serve as a side – despite the polenta, it was a quick fix – 30 minutes from counter to table!