School has been out for a month now and many parents rejoice in not having to make a lunch for the kids to take to school.  Sometimes the lunch bags come home barely touched, other times a last minute rush means parents are left clueless as to what to make for the day (or they have no money for the lunch program!).

Now that it’s summer, does the lunch stress change? Or does it just shift? It still means meal planning.  If you are out at the park, play dates, on vacation at the cottage or sending your kids to camp – lunch preparation may take on a whole new level of panic.

To help with your meal planning this week, we’ll be posting recipes on Facebook and Twitter from our Lunchtime Solutions chef Tracey Black that she has previously shared with us. They are easy, delicious and family friendly.

We’d love to hear from you too! What are your favourite summer lunches?  Do you find the lunch rush easier in the summer or is it the same?  Have a recipe that other parents may find useful? Please share in the comments below.

Posted by Rebecca, Community Engagement Manager for Best Tools for Schools

Early spring and summer finds me practically giddy with the excitement of farmers markets, gardening and el fresco dining.  After a long winter of braising, root vegetables and far too much clothing, it feels great to visually feast on green landscapes and anticipate asparagus, fiddleheads, baby beets and strawberries. 

For the next 4-5 months there are a multitude of opportunities for families to experience food close up.  Today’s blog is a list of some of my favourite food outings and activities to do with kids.  If you are not in the Ottawa area, just search the categories in your area and I am sure you will find similar opportunities in your community.

A wonderful weekly outing for any family is a trip to your local farmers market.  In Ottawa, we are fortunate to have many markets throughout the city.  Whether you are just making a quick stop at your favourite stand or spending a little more time taking in entertainment, crafts and a quick bite to eat, I find bustling markets capture children’s attention and are a great opportunity to teach them more about where their food comes from.

Visit the City of Ottawa site for a full listing of markets plus information on many other Local Food Programs being run in the city.  Be sure to check out the Buy Ottawa Local Food Guide too.

 We are fortunate in this city to have some wonderful businesses that are committed to local food and entertaining families.  Saunders Farm and Proulx Berry Farm offer seasonal family fun and delicious local treats.  This year Saunders Farm is continuing with its Farm Shop but is also adding a Bakery and Farmer’s table.  They have an amazing network of local farmers that will be supplying the farm.  No need to worry about searching for healthy food choices on this family outing.  Saunders is also hosting two foodie events this summer.  One is July 11^th and the other date in August is to be announced.  I will be joining owner Angela in the Saunders kitchen and cooking up a storm of local foods to be paired with wines from Savvy Company. 

The Proulx Berry Farm hosts its Strawberry Festival next weekend on June 19th and 20^th.  Kids can learn how to make strawberry Jam and sample pies, honey and maple syrup.  There are also mazes, play structures, wagon rides and a petting zoo to keep the kids entertained.  The farm also offers U-pick strawberries as well as a market stand with berries, rhubarb and vegetables. 

A favourite of many families in Ottawa is the Canada Argicultural Museum.  The June Calendar is full of a series of quick and interesting demonstrations about ice cream making, honey bees, rabbit care and of course cow milking.  No matter what time of day you go there is some good food and farming education to keep the kids engaged.

If you are a foodie and your children are open minded about food you will not want to miss Mariposa Farms Sunday lunch and Cestbon Cooking Food Tours.  For the past 10 years I have been making the trek with my family east to Plantangenet to Mariposa Farms.  Each Sunday they offer a three course luncheon in a rustic farmhouse setting.  Mariposa supplies many of Ottawa’s best restaurants with duck, foie gras, artisan cheeses and game meats and have been one of my suppliers for the past 12 years.  They have their own gardens and resident chef who creates an inspired menu each week. Be sure to bring along your bottle of wine to accompany your meal as the dining room is BYOB.  After lunch, you will want to stroll the property to see the ponds, garden, pigs and of course the ducks. 

C’est Bon Cooking is a new company in Ottawa offering food tours in various neighborhoods throughout the city.  The tour includes local history and an inside look at the many wonderful food establishments in our city.  The tour includes restaurants, shops and markets in neighborhoods such as Byward Market, Beechwood and Westboro.

Each year I look forward to our local agricultural fair in Navan.   Besides the cotton candy and carnival rides there is a multitude of agricultural activities to share with our kids.  Many of the fairs accept entries from kids for baking, preserves, gardening, crafts and even photography.  Each year my boys and I enter our baking in the hopes of winning ribbons and $5 in prize money.  The Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies has a full listing of fairs in Ontario.  You often need to be a member to make entries into the fair so be sure to check in advance.

If you know of any other kid friendly food experiences in Ottawa or the surrounding area please be sure to add them in the comment section.

BBQ season and casual dining is upon us which means the end of school lunches is just around the corner!  As the count down for summer break starts, BBQ season is the perfect opportunity for easy and tasty school lunches.  Al fresco dining is always inspiring and there are countless school lunch ideas to be created from grilling your favourite proteins and vegetables.

My family’s new favourite BBQ marinade right now is adapted from the recipe for Roast Chicken with Achiote and Lime from Corinna Mozo, from chef and owner of Delux restaurant in Toronto.  I discovered this recipe and new ingredient “Achiote” in an article by Claire Tansey in the May 2010 issue of House and Home.

 Naan Wraps with Achiote Lime Grilled Chicken

 Marinade

 1.5 TB achiote paste **

Juice of 2 limes

¼ cup olive oil

2 TB ground cumin

4 cloves garlic

1 green onion or 1/3 bunch of chives

4 cloves garlic

Combine ingredients in food processor or blender and pulse until combined.  Marinate whole or cut up chicken in a Ziploc bag for minimum 2 hours.  The original recipe recommends marinating for 6 -14 hours.

Roast chicken whole in the oven or BBQ.  If grilling, be mindful that this marinade is more susceptible to burning and sticking so remove excess marinade before cooking.  Baste with butter or cooking juices frequently. Using lower indirect heat on the BBQ will be best.  Cook chicken until an internal temperature of 165F.

 ** Achiote paste is available at Chilly Chilis  http://www.chillychiles.com/.  Achiote is derived from a small shrub from South America.

Enjoy the chicken for dinner and reserve some for wraps the following day.  Assemble wraps with soft naan bread, mayonnaise, and sliced peppers and/or cucumbers.  For grown up tastes add mesclun, fresh cilantro, raita or even chimichurri.

Other BBQ Quick Fire Solutions for school lunches:

 Grilled Beef

• Slice thinly for sandwiches or wraps
• Sliced with asian noodle salad
• Cold in a pasta salad with parmesan dressing
• Hot with rice, broccoli and your favourite stir fry sauce

 Grilled Chicken

• Adding a little mayonnaise to your marinated and BBQ’d chicken makes for great sandwich filling
• Add celery, peppers, herbs and your favourite dressing to make a chicken salad to eat on its own or put in a wrap
• Chicken Caesar salad
• Add to hot pasta with Alfredo sauce or olive oil
• Add to butter chicken sauce and serve with rice

 Grilled Shrimp

• Serve on their own will sliced veggies, pita and dip
• Add to cold pasta with tomatoes and feta
• Serve cold with a thai style rice or noodle salad

Summertime salads are super for school lunches too.  During your prep keep some aside and pack directly into school lunch containers to save a time. Prep time is a good opportunity to adapt dishes to kids’ tastes.  Think about putting aside items for two days worth of lunches to make a smooth transition into the start of the week.  If evenings are busy with activities, these menu ideas work well for quick tasty dinners on the go.

Tracey is owner of Epicuria and mother of two young boys.  Watch for her lunchtime solutions here at Best Tools for Schools. Follow her on Twitter @epicuriadotca

This blog post was inspired by an event we catered for Pulse Canada a few weeks ago.  The entire menu, which was being presented to our countries decision makers, was completely comprised of lentils, beans peas and chickpeas.  It may have been a tough sell to get politicians to attend a cocktail party with a menu of beans but I can tell you, they were happy they did.  Our hors d’oeuvre menu was so well received that we have been asked to supply the recipes for an international pulse conference to be held in Brisbane next month.  Here is a list of the hors d’oeuvres we served.

Chickpea Phyllo Triangle with Ferme Floraple Feta and Sundried Tomatoes

Three Bean Mini Burger with Guacamole and Roasted Red Garlic Aioli

Tasting Spoon with Sweet Potato and Red Lentil Curry with Spicy Shrimp and Minty Raita

Croustade with Rosemary White Bean Puree, Grilled Artichoke and Roasted Tomatoes

Pea Flour Tempura Chicken Popsicle with Teriyaki Glaze

Black Bean Quesadilla with Chipotle Cream Cheese and Cilantro Cream

Lentil Cake with Le Coprin Mushrooms, Chevre and Caramelized Onion Confit

Decadent Bean Flour Brownie Bites

Mini Bean Flour Carrot Cupcakes with Lemon Cream cheese Icing

Anyone who wants to learn more about these wonderful foodstuffs should visit the website of http://www.pulsecanada.com . The website has a collection of recipes, cooking tips and nutritional information to help get you started working with these undervalued ingredients.  Not only do Canadian farmer’s product about 35% of the global supply of pulses, their crops require less renewable energy sources to bring them to market and are a great alternative source of protein, helping to contribute to a more sustainable way of feeding the earth’s population.

The Recipe:

We adapted the Epicuria brownie recipe and simply did a strait substitution of black bean flour for wheat flour.  I have also tested the recipe with chickpea and quinoa flour.  Chickpea flour is readily available at Bulk Barn and has a slightly different taste but my kids did not notice.  The Quinoa flour is from Bob’s Red Mill and I liked the nutty flavour of the quinoa but I will warn you that it cost $12 for 600g.    Whether you need a gluten free brownie recipe or want to add some protein to this popular treat, using these flours is a tasty and simple solution.  This brownie recipe is heavy on saturated fat but incredible decadent, super fast to make and easily goes from freezer to lunch bag.

Brownies

1 cup butter

1.25 cup sugar

1.25 cups chocolate chips

1 cup cocoa powder

4 eggs

1.5 cups bean flour, chickpea flour or quinoa flour

Melt butter on stove with sugar, chocolate chips and cocoa powder.  Cool.  Beat in eggs.  Mix with flour and spoon into greased 8 x 8 brownie pan or muffin tins.  Bake 20 minutes.

Note:  Baking is a simple and cost effective way to incorporate organic or sustainable ingredients into your diet.  I used free-run eggs, and fair-trade cocoa powder in my test.  Organic butter, sugar, and flour are readily available in most grocery stores.

Tracey is owner of Epicuria and mother of two young boys.  Watch for her lunchtime solutions here at Best Tools for Schools. Follow her on Twitter @brownbagmom

Let’s be clear. It’s not easy trying to feed your kids when you are a mom armed with culinary credentials. In fact, I may argue that it is a huge disadvantage when it comes to the day in and day out task of feeding the under 10 set. I know what you are thinking, she can whip up a number of delicious meals, her kids eats like kings and no other mom can touch her lunch box creations. In fact, no other area in my life causes me the kind of stress, worry and frustration that feeding my children does.

I have the skills, the fabulous kitchen, the best pots and pans and access to top quality ingredients. So why am I whining and why does feeding my children reduce me to steely glares of frustration? Let’s face it; kids can be irrational, unpredictable and ungrateful dinner guests. This does not sit well with a chef. When I was pregnant with my first child, the only thing I wished for besides good health was good eaters. I knew then, that if I had picky eaters I was finished. I dreamt that my kids were going to eat the healthiest food and most eclectic diet. By the time they were toddlers, they had all but shattered that dream. People think I can work miracles with food, sometimes the only miracle in our house is the tiniest nibble on a piece of broccoli or a split second mouth contact with a new food.

I ask myself, is it just me being an exacting picky chef or do most moms feel like this? How do you go from a work environment where clients praise your food daily to the chaos of a kitchen run by the taste buds of a 5 and 7 year old? Why is pasta Bolognese a good meal one day and completely unacceptable the next week. How can I have one child that refuses to eat breakfast and dinner at home but is a model child when it comes to eating his school lunch and snacks? The other eats breakfast and dinner but returns home daily with almost everything I sent him to school with. One son absolutely refuses to eat fruit and will turn down chocolate cake if it has even come into contact with a strawberry. The youngest will lie, thieve and subject me to whining torture to get his sugar fix. The latter is just a small example of the complex food dictatorship that I have to navigate on a daily basis. Thank goodness I am fortunate not to have to worry about dietary intolerances and allergies.

My kids really do send me to the edge and it would be so much easier for them and me to feed them the suspect non-food they crave. They did not choose the most patient mother but they did choose one that thankfully has the stamina to keep trying to get her way. I may not win the short term battle and may rely on an eye roll and a glass of wine to get me through some meals but I hope to win long game. So far I have been able to convince them that Macdonald’s is junk food and for emergencies only and that super heroes on food boxes do not make food healthy. They know we don’t eat sugary cereals, pop, packaged convenience foods and that grocery shopping with mom does not yield treats only unsolicited rants about rows and rows of crap in boxes. They tell me I think and tweet about food too much but bless their little hearts, they have thankfully returned the gift of their corn dog and Twinkie deprived life with a love of sushi, dim sum, seafood, game meats, and cooking. If I can teach then a fraction of what my parents taught me about growing, foraging, processing and cooking your own food I will be happy.

As a chef, my expectations around my children’s eating may be a little exaggerated and I should perhaps shush my inner food snob, but I think teaching our kids about food is a valuable skill that unfortunately, can be easily missed on our day to day parenting checklist. There is an explosion of interest and information available reacquainting us with where our food is from, how to simply prepare it and the health benefits it has over processes foods. Start by taking your kids to a market or just simply explaining to them why their favourite treat may or may not be healthy. Explain to them what happens to their bodies if they eat food with too much sugar, fat and salt. We have an opportunity with every meal to educate and make a difference. Most importantly, repeat, repeat and repeat the lesson, have a glass of wine if you have to, and hopefully one day you will over hear your kids say in public “ Macdonald’s is junk food and that crap is not healthy for you”.

Tracey is owner of Epicuria and mother of two young boys.  Watch for her lunchtime solutions here at Best Tools for Schools. Follow her on Twitter @brownbagmom

I have eaten a few too many granola bars this week. I have tested and tasted half a dozen granola bar recipes in the search for a tasty and nutritionally balanced bar. One that has a pleasing texture, is not too sweet and is packed with deliciously nutritious ingredients. I am not sure I have found my perfect granola bar but I have created two recipes I will certainly make again. When I recover from my fibre, dried fruit and corn syrup hangover, there will definitely be a follow up blog on this topic.

The two recipes for this post have essentially the same ingredients but vary in texture and sweetness. Whether you or your children like your granola bars crunchy or chewy, sweet or more savoury, either of these recipes should please. And remember, you can always change up the ingredients.

Chewy Nut Free Granola Bar

This recipe was headed in one direction but some late night math miscalculations sent it in another and luckily with a pretty delicious outcome. This recipe is the chewiest and by far the sweetest of the two recipes.

1 cup oats (large flake or quick cooking)

1 cup cheerios

¾ cup sunflower seeds (I used salted)

½ cup coconut

½ cup chocolate chips

1.5 cups dried fruit (raisins, cranberry, blueberry etc)

2/3 cups brown sugar

¼ cup butter (melted)

½ cup corn syrup

Combine butter, sugar and corn syrup in sauce pan and heat until sugar is dissolved. Cool and add to remaining ingredients. Place in an 8 x8 greased cake pan. Press down ingredients and cook in a 325F oven for 30 minutes. Allow the bars to cool for 15 minutes and then cut. Cool completely prior to lifting out of pan. Cut into 8 or 16. These bars are quite sweet so a smaller serving would be appropriate for a child.

Sweet Salty Crispy Nut Free Granola Bar

This recipe is certainly not as sweet and the texture is more crumbly and crunchy. I like the balance of sweet and salty in this recipe. The addition of cheerios lightens the texture of the oats.

1 cup oats

1 cup cheerios

½ cup dried fruit

½ cup sunflower seeds (roasted and salted)

2 TB flax meal

¼ cup chocolate chips

4 TB butter (melted)

3 TB corn syrup

3 TB maple syrup

¼ tsp salt

Combine butter, maple syrup and corn syrup. Add to remaining ingredients and place in an 8 x8 greased cake pan. Press down ingredients and cook in a 325F oven for 30 minutes. Allow the bars to cool for 15 minutes and then cut. Cool completely prior to lifting out of pan.

Tracey is owner of Epicuria and mother of two young boys.  Watch for her lunchtime solutions here at Best Tools for Schools. Follow her on Twitter @brownbagmom

Versatile Asian Noodles

Next to pizza, Asian food is an absolute slam dunk with my boys. Dim Sum was their first restaurant experience and a no-brainer for me because the food comes fast; they love it and their louder than “inside” voices are barely noticed in the large chatter filled dining room. In the past year they have become such fans of sushi, my restaurant budget is groaning and I have to eat my maki quickly before they devour it.

I like to work an advantage, especially with my kids so it just made sense to include Asian flavours in their school lunches. As fussy as kids can be, they get umami. If soy and Hoisen can get their little taste receptors firing and their mouths chewing without my pleading voice, I am all for that. Asian flavours are also a favourite of mine and make for fast and tasty weekday food.

There are a multitude of recipes for Asian noodles with countless dressing recipes and a multitude of noodles to use. I like the following recipe because it incorporates the salty and sweet flavours kids love so much. The Hoisen in the recipe thickens the dressing nicely and adds a touch of sweetness that brings together the other ingredients. Another healthy advantage is the smaller quantity of soy sauce compared to other recipes I have encountered. You can make this dressing well in advance, in batches and use it in both hot and cold preparations. You can use your favourite noodles plus add any vegetable or protein garnishes you like.

Asian Noodle Dressing

(makes 2/3 cup. Dresses ½ lb dry noodles)

1 tsp sesame oil

2 TB seasoned rice vinegar (salt and sugar already added)

3 TB soy sauce or tamari

5 TB oil (olive oil, canola etc)

1 TB Hoisen sauce

1 tsp chili garlic sauce (don’t worry – its not spicy)

1 tsp freshly grated ginger

Simply stir the ingredients and add to cold (rinsed and drained) pasta. You can also use this dressing as a marinade for chicken, fish, beef or tofu. Serve plain or add garnishes your children like. Serve cold or incorporate into a stir fry. If using in a stir fry you can reduce or omit the vinegar and canola oil.

Prep Strategy

-Make dressing in advance in batches stored in the fridge or make dressing while you are waiting for pasta water to boil

-quickly julienne vegetable garnish while the pasta cooks

-immediately drain and rinse pasta with cold water once it is cooked

-If making a day ahead, keep garnish separate or place on top of noodles so they stay crunchy

Suggested noodles:

Whole wheat spaghettini, soba, udon, egg noodles, somen, rice vermicelli, chow mein

Garnishes

Celery, peppers, green onions, cabbage, carrots

Sesame seeds, peanuts, cashews

Mint, cilantro, basil and parsley

Orange, lemon or lime juice

Shrimp, chicken, grilled flank steak, BBQ pork or duck, tofu or omelet

Tracey is owner of Epicuria and mother of two young boys.  Watch for her lunchtime solutions here at Best Tools for Schools.

Mini Pizza Rolls – Let time do the work

Hands down pizza is the favourite school lunch of my two boys and it is mine as well, for the very reason that I know I will not have to clean up uneaten food from their lunchboxes at the end of the day. This school lunch recipe was inspired by a couple of batches of sticky buns I made last week and a conversation I had about pizza dough with a mom at a recent food blogger event. Mmmm, why not combine the two for a delicious and school lunch friendly result?

In addition to sharing fun recipe, I wanted to continue where I left off in my last blog regarding the idea of having a base recipe you can then turn into countless recipes. My team at Epicuria and anyone who knows me personally knows that I am obsessed with efficiency and love the straightforward solution to any task or problem. Learn the basics of bread dough and the delicious possibilities are endless. Forget that it is difficult or takes a lot of time, it doesn’t. Like you, I don’t have time for lengthy difficult preparations at home and don’t want to waste my time making food my kids won’t eat. Bread is a winner. Who doesn’t love fresh bread, pizza, sweet rolls and focaccia? Better yet, who doesn’t love the person that makes fresh bread, pizza, sweet rolls and focaccia?

Let time do the work. Making bread really is simple, fast and easy to do. Flour, water, salt and yeast. Mix them, knead them, rise and bake. Add eggs and sugar to make it sweet, olive oil to make it pizza or flax, seeds, and whole wheat to make a healthy loaf. It takes 10 minutes to put together and the bread dough pretty much does the rest of the work while it rises so you move on to something else.

Pizza Rolls

Dough

(Recipe adapted from Marcella Hazan – More Classic Italian Cooking)

1 cup lukewarm water (not too hot or it will kill the yeast)

2 teaspoons traditional or active yeast

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

Mix water and yeast together. Let stand 5 minutes until yeast blooms.

Add olive oil and yeast mixture to the mixer

Add half of the flour and salt – mix using the paddle attachment

Slowly incorporate the remaining flour until fully mixed. You may need more or less flour. If dough is quite sticky add additional flour. Be careful not to add to much flour that the dough gets stiff.

Switch to the dough hook and knead for 8-10 minutes until dough is elastic.

Place in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until twice the size. This may take 2-3 hours or can be done overnight in the refrigerator.

Note: The flecks you see in this dough are flax meal I added.

Pre-heat oven to 375F

Once the dough has risen, knead it on a floured surface to expel excess gas. Let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes to make it easier to roll. Roll out the dough into a rectangular shape approximately 18 inches by 9 inches. Place a thin layer of tomato sauce on the dough just as you would for pizza. Top with cheese or your favourite toppings and then roll the dough into a log. Slice pieces about two inches thick and place into a round baking pan. Fill the outer edges first with the final pieces going into the centre of the pan.

Top the rolls with some additional cheese and place into a 375F oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Bake to a golden brown colour and until a knife or skewer can be inserted in the center and comes out clean

Note: This dough can also be mixed together by hand or in the food processor. Add wet ingredients to dry when using these methods. Knead by hand for 8-10 minutes. For anyone who has not made bread before, I would encourage them to knead by hand just to feel the transformation of the dough into a smooth elastic ball.

Much as been written about bread making and I could easily add several pages explaining the food science behind it but I encourage you to try it, do a little research if you get a chance and just enjoy the process each time you make it.

Variations:

You can really change up the flavour profile on this recipe to suit the tastes of your family. Here are just a few ideas:

-Spinach and feta

-basil pesto and mozzarella

-sundried tomato and olive

-proscuitto and parmesan

-grilled vegetables and Asiago cheese

Planning and Prep:

Pizza dough can be made in advance and kept in the freezer. You can freeze it before or after the rise. If you allow the dough to rise first, you can simply take it out of the freezer and allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight. Remove from fridge and allow it to come to room temperature before shaping and baking. You can also keep pizza dough in the fridge up to 36 hours. You can also prep the rolls in advance and hold them in the fridge or freezer until you need them.

Tracey is owner of Epicuria and mother of two young boys.  Watch for her lunchtime solutions here at Best Tools for Schools.

How would you feel if I told you, you could whip up a nutritious and tasty snack for school and have it in the oven in 10 minutes?  Isn’t that the same amount of time it takes to check your e-mail and make a quick response?  The same amount of time to break-up a squabble between siblings?  Ten minutes and you have 12 portions, or if you can invest a few more minutes, 24-36 snacks ready for the freezer.  Imagine the mommy feel good factor in having ultra nutritious snacks on hand that you only need to prepare every couple of weeks.  Oh yes, I forgot.  Your kids will like them!!

My current go to recipe for morning school snack is a banana bread recipe that I have adapted from the Fanny Farmer Cookbook.  What I love about this recipe is that it uses ripe bananas as a substitute for the oil or butter of a standard quick bread recipe. It is also a recipe you can add any number of flavour accents to and only takes 10 minutes to assemble.

Depending on my week, I either make this recipe on a Sunday afternoon in batches or on the fly between homework and bedtime on a weekday.  I always make it in muffin tins and freeze what I won’t use the next day. I know this recipe so well that I can effortlessly throw it together amidst any familial chaos and I can sneak all sorts of healthy ingredients into it.  I have one son that refuses to eat fruit so these muffins are a godsend to me.

My five year old son almost always helps me with this recipe which means there is often heavy negotiating for the extra additions to the batter.  A few chocolate chips are a given in our recipe and for me, it is a small price to pay for the other quality ingredients.  In this weeks batch we added dried blueberries and flax meal.  I also substituted Cocoa Camino organic cane sugar for your standard white variety.

Makes 12 standard muffins

3 ripe bananas

2 eggs

2 cups of flour

¾ cup sugar

1 tsp salt (I use fine sea salt)

1 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease muffin tin.  Mash bananas until they are smooth or semi smooth. Add eggs and beat together.  Combine flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and stir into batter until just mixed.  If the batter is too stiff, simply add a small amount of water to thin.

Spoon into muffin tins and bake for 15-20 minutes.  Bake to a golden brown colour and until a knife or skewer can be inserted in the center and comes out clean.  Really, that’s it.

Additions: This is where you get to creative or just cater to the whims of your children.  The only thing to keep in mind is that you do not want to add too much.  I add a small handful of chocolate chips or dried fruit.  You can add a couple of tablespoons of flax meal or wheat germ.  Or substitute some of the flour for whole wheat flour. The beauty of having a go to recipe is that you get faster each time you make it and you also get to know the batter so intimately you can change things up and not think twice about it.  If you want to make several different kinds, double or triple the recipe and then split it up into separate bowls. Add flavour accents to each bowl so you can offer a different muffin everyday.

Prep hints: Store all of your baking ingredients in one area of your kitchen so you can quickly assemble your mise en place.  I always like to get my ingredients and equipment out in advance before starting a recipe.  Have you ingredients on one side of you and your equipment on the other.  It should only take moments to quickly measure your ingredients, place then in a bowl and stir.

You may find cooking takes a lot of time but in most cases it only requires a little more organization and hands that move twice as fast as they are used to.  If your movements are 50% faster or cover a shorter distance you cut your prep time in half.  Before you know it, you will have the ability to cook 3-4 recipes all at once.  If you were making cookies at the same time, I would make the batter while the butter and sugar were creaming in the mixer for the cookies.  Once the muffins are in the oven, you finish the cookie dough, portion and get it in the fridge to set-up while the oven is still in use.  Once the muffins are out, in go the cookies.

If you have confidence in the kitchen and like the idea of having a base recipe to tailor to your family’s tastes, I would highly recommend Michael Rhulman’s book Ratio.  In the book he gives the basic ratios of doughs, batters and quick breads and other preparations.  Not only do you learn why a specific ratio of ingredients works, and what the difference between a muffin, a pancake and a crepe is etc., you learn that you have the ability to change things up as you please within the framework of the base recipe.  http://blog.ruhlman.com/my-books

Tracey is owner of Epicuria and mother of two young boys.  Watch for her lunchtime solutions here at Best Tools for Schools.

There are those days or even weeks when school lunches pose such a logistical nightmare that flying to the moon would be easier to accomplish.  There are any numbers of factors that make this 5 minute task feel like the most difficult in the day.  Whether you have a fussy eater, crazy work obligations, missing food containers, busy evenings and very early mornings, or as in my life recently, a renovation (and no kitchen for 7 weeks),  we still need to get the food in the lunch bag and on time.

How do I deal?   In preparation for my renovation, which unfortunately coincided with a time of year that has me working 6 days a week, I filled my freezer with baked goods that I could quickly pop into my two son’s lunches.  It is not hard to see the appeal of grabbing packaged snack and drink items out of the pantry for quick assembly of school lunches, but it is possible to have the same convenience with healthier options. This is easy to do with home-made muffins, loaves, granola bars, cookies, whole fruits and re-fillable drink containers.  Not having to think in the morning about what to put in a lunch bag while reminding your children 20 times to eat their breakfast, get dressed and stop fighting will assist somewhat in keeping the tone and volume of your voice reasonable.  If I can get through this part of the day, the rest is a cake walk.

I had snacks covered until they ran out but what about a main lunch item with no means to cook?  My kids are not big fans of sandwiches unless they contain deli meats, which I try to restrict to once a week.  If your life is a little hectic, often take-out dinner is your lifeline and it conveniently doubles up as a lunch item.  Just be mindful of the sodium and fat content in choices like pizza and Chinese food.  Some grocery stores and independent fine food stores or personal chef services offer healthier pre-pared foods such as pastas, salads, soups and main courses.  These options are now more readily available and not much more expensive than cooking when you factor in time and waste.  Check to see that items are made in-house and not shipped from large manufacturers in buckets with a shelf life of 30 days.  Avoid frozen entrees, canned soups and pastas and anything with ingredients you cannot pronounce.  Having a few of these healthy pre-pared life savers to help you out will make all the difference to your day.

Another option and one that is growing in popularity is community cooking.  My neighbor was also starting a kitchen renovation just as mine was finishing, so we made a point of helping each other out with home cooked food by sharing extra baking and meals.  This strategy is easily transferred over to any meal and could easily be a fun evening with food conscious mom’s and a couple of bottles of zinfandel.

As a chef, I would have to say that advance organization, or mise en place, as we call it in the food business, is probably our best strategy for keeping things sane in the kitchen.  A pre-set grocery list, a repertoire of menu items and recipes, resources for extra help, and a couple of hours put aside for prep, will keep your family catering company from heading into the weeds.  I am looking forward to sharing some trade secrets and helping you keep it same in my upcoming posts.

Tracey is owner of Epicuria and mother of two young boys.  Watch for her lunchtime solutions here at Best Tools for Schools.