Cereal Energy Shake

       
Yes, after all these years writing about attempts to raise brave, adventurous and healthy kids I have a confession: My 7-year-old is currently and frequently too busy to eat. I had to call an emergency plan to make sure he's getting enough fuel for his daily jumping and running.

I am sure his calorie expenditure is high: When not sitting in the classroom, the boy is, most of the time, in action, and seems to have endless energy. What I am also sure of is that some days he is extremely distracted, not interested in food of any color or shape, and his lunchbox comes home still full of food from the school.
       
For those days, when he is not in the mood to eat his whole bowl of cereal, drink his milk, eat the recommended fruit portion for his age, and "no way Mom" he's not going to eat almonds,  I just use my new Waring blender and pack as much nutrition in a cup as I can.

After testing some ready-made shakes to help with kids who don't want to eat, I made our own. It's not gourmet, and far from trendy, but it works. It seems like after drinking the cereal drink in the morning, his day goes smoother, and he's less cranky and has more appetite. Cheers!

Cereal  Energy Shake

I am still testing other mixes that may include almond butter or peanut butter.

7 ounces cold coconut milk (from cartons, or soy, or regular milk)
1/2 frozen banana
1/2 cup fortified oat-based cereal (or any cereal in your cabinet)
2 tablespoons slivered almonds
2 tsp cocoa (optional )
Pinch of cinnamon (optional)

Mix all ingredients in a blender on high speed until smooth and mixed well,  and serve immediately in an attractive tall cup. 

Homegrown garlic

It’s almost time to plant garlic! Even if you aren’t much of a gardener — even if you don’t have a garden — you should stick some garlic cloves in dirt. It takes almost no effort and the potential rewards are gratifying.

To me, it’s a meditative pleasure to begin so many meals with aromatic garlic grown just steps away from my kitchen. Even if dinner is just spaghetti tossed with garlic and olive oil, that homegrown garlic makes it mine.

Growing garlic is simple and satisfying for kids too: Those bulbs under the ground are a promise of spring’s bounty.

Tuck some cloves into the ground this fall and by next summer you'll be cooking with your own freshly harvested garlic. Enjoy the spring garlic and scapes, but be sure to leave plenty to harvest later so you can enjoy them well into winter.

Like most things, there's an easy way and a hard way. The easiest way: Separate some nice, big cloves from an ordinary garlic bulb from your market. Poke them an inch or two into the ground, pointy end up, and keep them 4 to 6 inches apart. Cover with some mulch, such as fall leaves, and ignore until spring.

That’s pretty much what I do, though I do order bulbs so I can be sure exactly what I’m planting. It's good to know whether you’re planting hardneck or softneck garlic. Hardneck garlic is generally better for colder climates and provides the added bonus of garlic scapes in spring. Softneck garlic typically lasts longer in storage and can be woven into a pretty braid. (I’m planting both.)

If you’re really fussy, you can inoculate the cloves before planting and fertilize in the spring ... I don’t bother. They seem to do fine in their own, even in the heavy clay soil here.

In early summer I watch for leaves turning brown. When just a few green leaves are left, I gently dig the bulbs out of the dirt, carefully shake off as much soil as I can, and set them on newspaper in a single layer, out of the sun, so they can cure for storage.

After a few days, you might want to brush more dirt off the drying bulbs. Be careful not to bruise them. I was overly aggressive last year and damaged quite a few, so this year I skipped this extra cleaning. My bulbs look a little grubby, but they taste great.

I aim for planting my garlic the first two weeks of October or so, but you should check advice specific to your part of the world.

For more detailed guidance, try these simple tips from the Daily Green. Apartment Therapy offers a primer on growing garlic in a container.

If you want to order bulbs for planting, do it now! I like Territorial Seed Company (I ordered their softneck/hardneck combo) and John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds.

New Year Honey Cake

We are sharing this family recipe to celebrate the arrival of the Jewish New Year, thanks to my mother-in-law. She bakes this honey cake not only for the party, but also to renew thoughts and sentiments. Preparing and baking the cake is such a unique time for her, that she once wrote a poem about it called Honey Cake. 

The recipe was published in the late '70s in Aonde Vamos, a magazine edited by her mother-in-law, Mrs. Esther, in Brazil. Since then, Myrna has been improving it, and it has always been a success in the family and a treasured gift to be given to her friends.

Myrna fondly recalls the memories form her grandma, Mme. Schaak, who used to love the cake: "She would keep it in a tin and would eat it even one month after! Grandma used to say that the cake just got better with time," she tells.

Yesterday afternoon I prepared this cake with some help from the kids, and we brought the recipe to life with all its meanings. As I was putting together ingredients and measuring cups and spoons, I thought about the poem. I didn't have enough regular flour, so I ended up using part of whole wheat flour. But I was sure that it was going to work. As part of her poem said, it was time for a cake "flexible, balanced, made in a sensitive way with lots of taste and warm colors."As the poem ends: "I shall fill it with love." And there it was.

What a wonderful way of bringing generations of families together when baking and celebrating. Shanah Tovah!

Honey Cake (Lekach)

I used 2 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour, which gave the cake a bread-like texture. Also kids worked with a nuts chopper and helped to pour the honey. We mixed all wet ingredients separately, integrating them into the dry ingredients with a spatula. Baking time was reduced to 60 minutes, when the crust was already very browned, maybe because of the flour difference.  What a fantastic recipe!

3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 eggs
3/4 cups sugar (preferably brown turbinado sugar)
4 tablespoons oil (canola)
2 cups honey (preferably dark, but it can be any available)
1/2 cup of freshly brewed coffee
1 cup raw walnuts
1 cup raisins

To prepare the walnuts, break them inside a plastic bag, pounding them with a meat mallet. Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix in a stand mixer up until it's all well mixed. Bake in a two metal or ceramic loaf molds for around 70 minutes.