Treat Night Returns

Many of you know my fear of Sunday Treat Night (no offense M!) My kids just seem to gorge on anything they can stuff into their cute little faces and they LOVE it. Some of you may be snickering right now thinking that I'm warping my kids by trying to withhold the finer pleasures in life (Oreos, Cheetos, Doritos, Jello, okay, you get it, the "O" family from the nutritional chart.) And I'm not naive, I know some of you think that they will someday turn on me and spend all of their lunch money on purely processed fat, carbs, and sugar! I will try to control them for just a little longer. My point is, that I am the neighborhood rebel, and I am trying to revolutionize treat night one carrot stick at a time! Last week I took a delicious, savory hummus. This week I took granola. Thanks for the recipe K. We love it. D eats it on his yogurt every morning. I had a colorful hummus photo, but I can't find it. Sorry. But, if you want some new images, visit me here. And, enjoy the recipe.

Red Pepper Hummus

• 1 red bell pepper (or roasted red pepper in a jar. Much quicker!)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 14-oz cans chick peas
• 1 tablespoon garlic
• 2 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste)
• 1 fresh lemon, juiced
• ½ tablespoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon-1 tablespoon red pepper sauce, to taste (optional)

Place olive oil on red pepper and roast in hot oven or broiler until skin separates and/or begins to blacken. Remove seeds and stem and place in food processor or blender with all other ingredients. Blend until smooth.

Serve with pita, Ak-Mak crackers, cracker bread, or crudités. You can find Ak-Maks at most grocery stores.

Bok Choy

In my neighborhood, I’ve sort of earned a reputation. That is, the food nazi! My husband tells me that it’s nothing to be proud of; I, of course, disagree. I got a few calls today from neighbors with questions about unfamiliar produce. Today loads and loads of baby Bok Choy came in my Bountiful Basket. And, to be honest, I had no idea what it was when I saw it. So, a friend planted an idea for using Bok Choy and voila! Asian Cabbage Salad. It’s really a combo of recipes. And, the baby Bok Choy is so tender that you can eat it raw. The dressing is from a good friend in Michigan. So try it, try it; You’ll agree. You will like Bok Choy; You will see.

Asian Cabbage Salad
Lots and lots of shredded baby Bok Choy
Carrots, matchstick
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1 can of mandarin oranges, rinsed
Lots of grilled Chicken, chopped, sliced, or diced
1 cup orzo pasta, dried
3-4 green onions (greens only), sliced
Lots of crisp wontons
Toasted Almonds

Dressing
½ EVOO
¼ cup Apple Cider Vinegar
¼ cup Rice Wine Vinegar
½ cup Sugar

1. Cook orzo and rinse with cool water when finished. Toss with a little EVOO to keep it from sticking together.
2. Crisp Wontons by spraying with olive oil, bake at 400 for 7-10 minutes
3. Season and grill chicken, then chop or slice.

4. Chop, slice, and dice veggies.

5. Toast almonds

Toss all ingredients. (If you don’t think you will eat all of it at once, serve wontons and almonds as a garnish.

Confessions and/or advice:

• My kids were ultra dramatic about the whole Bok Choy thing. I should’ve told them it was lettuce (that’s advice.)
• I burnt the first batch of won tons.
• I severely overcooked the second batch of won tons (this is very obvious in the photo.)
• I burnt the almonds in the toaster oven.
• I was so busy burning things inside that I forgot about the chicken. The chicken was a close third in the area of burning.
• Be careful when you are cooking things (more advice!)
• We don’t usually eat our meals on fancy red plates. That was for a photo op only ;)
• Half of my Bok Choy still remains. Any ideas?

M.I.A.

I've been busy over here, helping to plan a great event and learning web design!