White Bean Soup with Rosemary and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

I know, I know. You're not supposed to eat soup in the springtime. Especially in Charleston, where it has already hit the upper 80s. But this is a really lovely soup with layers of flavor. It meets so many of my criteria: it's easy to prepare (10 minutes of prep and 25 minutes to cook), it's healthy, my children will eat it, and it makes enough to serve two nights in our house. Yes. Soup is most appreciated when its cold outside, but the flavor of this soup is light enough to serve year-round. I just make a simple salad to go with it. I found this recipe in Gena Knox's "Gourmet Made Simple" which is a very pretty little cookbook written by an Athens, Georgia girl.

Rosemary White Bean Soup

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

4 cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1  sprig fresh rosemary or 1 Tablespoon dried

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (not packed in oil - I used the kind in a pouch)

Fresh Parmesan cheese, finely grated (optional if you avoid dairy)

First: Heat oil in a stockpot over medium heat. Add onion; saute for 3 minutes or until softened. Stir in garlic and continue cooking for an additional minute. Add beans, stock, rosemary and tomatoes. Season with salt and simmer for 20 minutes. 

Last: Discard rosemary stem; season with salt and pepper to taste. Top each bowl of soup with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Visualize Whirled Peas

Our baby girl has just started eating real food. It's a slow process as she tries each new food. Can you imagine how strange the sensation of waking up your taste buds for the first time feels? No wonder she makes such faces. I read in this book that one of the reasons babies put so many things in their mouths is to desensitize them. They are preparing their mouths for food.

There are so many reasons to make your own baby food. It's wholesome, natural, and not filled with preservatives or sugars. Jarred food gets heated to super-high temperatures, which kills some of the nutritional value. Making your own food is less expensive than buying baby food. I think one of the most important reasons to make baby food is that you can control the consistency so your baby gets used to having differing textures. Of course it does take a little extra time to make your own food, but I've found that it really doesn't take any special equipment. All I use are a steamer basket, food processor, and ice cube trays for freezing portions for later.

And when we are traveling and I don't feel like having the extra burden of making baby food, I buy Sprout baby food pouches to take on the road. I've been lucky to have two good eaters who are willing to try new foods. I hope they will stay that way.

Better Banana Bread

A friend of mine just expressed her frustration that ice-cream and Honey Buns are on the menu everyday at her kindergartner's school. Yuck. What five-year-old is going to choose vegetables when he has the option of filling up on ice-cream? Because it can be hard to help our children make healthy food choices outside the home, it's important to provide them with healthy options at home. I like this banana bread recipe because it's lower in sugar than most. It also replaces some of the fat with yogurt. I make it even healthier by substituting whole-wheat flour for one fourth of the white flour. The best part is it still tastes delicious.

This recipe is straight from my America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook which I can't say enough good things about. These people are total food nerds. This is a crowd who will dork out on making forty-seven batches of banana bread just to test out whether changing the nutmeg/cinnamon ratio by 1/4 teaspoon makes any difference in taste. They spend all their time in the kitchen so that we don't have to, and I appreciate them for it. I also have their Healthy Family Cookbook, which is sort of my go-to cookbook. Their recipes never let me down.

Banana Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour (or 1-1/2 cups + 1/2 cup whole wheat flour)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 very ripe bananas, mashed well (they must be very ripe or your bread will be gummy)
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/4 cup walnuts, toasted

1. Preheat oven to 350 and generously coat a 9 x 5 pan with vegetable oil spray.
2. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Whisk the bananas, melted butter, eggs, yogurt, and vanilla together in a separate bowl. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry with a rubber spatula until just combined. Fold in the nuts. Do not overmix; the batter will look thick and chunky.
3. Scrape the batter into the pan an smooth the top. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached, about 55 minutes.
4. Cool in the pan 10 minutes and then move to a wire rack for 1 hour.