Gracen’s been talking about applesauce {and the fact that her Mama may have eaten what was left of our strawberry applesauce during nap time one day a few weeks back} for a long time now, so I decided we’d make a new batch today.

There were a ton of yummy nectarines laying around Grandma Charlotte’s kitchen and we just picked up some local apricots during our most recent visit to Davison Orchards, so we decided to switch things up a bit… This time around, it was going to be nectarine apricot applesauce. Sounds yummy, right?

Here’s our list of ingredients… A few apples, a couple of small nectarines, a couple of apricots, a little water, and some of the most delicious smelling Mexican vanilla you’ve ever come in contact with.

You’ll have to excuse our ‘vacation look’… Messy hair, no make-up and comfy clothes is the way to go when in relaxation mode. Plus, you don’t have to look nice to whip up a delicious snack, now do you? ☺

To get started, wash, peel, and chop all of your fruit.

And put it in a pot.

Next, pour in a little water…

And a capful of really good vanilla.

Give everything a little stir…

And pop it on the stove. Cover the pot and let the mixture simmer on medium low for the better part of an hour.

When the fruit is nice and soft, remove it from the heat.

After it’s cooled for a few minutes, arm your little one with giant oven mitts and get mashing.

Eat it while it’s still warm, or transfer it into a mason jar and store in the fridge for later.

{No Sugar Added} Nectarine Apricot Applesauce

• 3 small apples
• 2 small nectarines
• 2 apricots
• 3 – 4 tablespoons of water
• 1 capful of good vanilla

Wash, peel, and chop all fruit. Put it in a pot with the water and vanilla. Give the mixture a quick stir, then cover and simmer over medium low heat for 45 minutes to an hour. When the fruit is good and soft, remove the pot from the heat. Mash until your desired consistency is reached. Serve warm or refrigerate for future use.

Enjoy!

This afternoon we did something I’ve been avoiding for much of the week… we used the oven {the perks of a much cooler day}.  When I came across this recipe from allrecipes.com on Pinterest a little while back, I knew it would be right up my little edamame lover’s alley. We tweaked the original recipe just a tad, and it turned out great.

The best part is that it’s really simple.  Here’s everything you need: edamame beans, olive oil, fresh-ground pepper, sea salt, and some cheese (we used asiago).

First things first, run your beans under some cool water for a few minutes to thaw them.

Next, have your sous chef place them all in a large mixing bowl.

Add a drizzle of olive oil…

Your cheese…

A generous grinding of pepper…

And just a tiny touch of sea salt.

Then mix everything together.

Lay your beans out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (who doesn’t love easy clean up?!) and pop them in the oven, flipping them once about half way through.

Take them out when they’re golden brown and have a good crunch to them.

Let cool for a few minutes and serve while still warm. Mmmmm!

Crispy Asiago Edamame Beans

• 1/2 a package of thawed, shelled edamame beans
• 1/4 cup of finely grated asiago
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of freshly-grated pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon of sea salt

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir well. Lay beans on a parchment-lined baking pan and bake for approximately 30 minutes at 400 degrees, flipping once about halfway through.  Let cool for a few minutes and serve warm.

Enjoy!

If you’ve ever wanted your toddler {and the rest of your family} to eat kale, but didn’t know how to prepare it, or got the thumbs down on the way you did prepare it, this is for you.  Not only are kale chips fun to make with munchkins, but if your little ones are anything like Gracen, they’ll munch them up by the bowl full.  I’ve always liked kale, but I must admit, the first time I tried kale chips I was not a fan.  I’m not sure what it was, but I’m so glad I tried them again recently.  For me, the key to delicious kale chips is that they are very crisp (who wants to eat soggy chips?!), not overly oily, and slightly salted.  And eating them when they’re fresh out of the oven increases the deliciousness even more. Here’s how Miss G and I whipped up our batch this morning…

{Scroll to the bottom to see our updated method…  But in the meantime – Baby G – GAH!}

First, start with a couple of bunches of kale. The fresher, the better.

Fill your sink with cool water and give the leaves a good washing.

Rinse your leaves under cool running water, shake them out, and place on a clean towel to dry.

Place another clean towel on top of the leaves and pat gently to remove excess water.

Next, remove the stems and chop the leafy parts into chip-sized pieces.

Although the chopping part is obviously not toddler-friendly, while I did the chopping, Gracen’s job was to collect the soon-to-be chips and place them in a large bowl.  In order to keep her little fingers safe, we stuck with the same rule we always use – no touching anything on the chopping board.  This is something I’ve reinforced since I started cooking with her and she’s very good about waiting for me to move things onto the counter before she touches them.

Next, drizzle a small amount of oil on the leaves (a little goes a long way). We used grapeseed oil because it’s flavourless, but olive oil works too.

Mix well.

With the oil evenly distributed, move about half of your leaves onto a large baking pan (Judging by her heaping pile, G got a little excited).

Arrange them so that they are in as close to a single layer as possible…

And grind just a very tiny touch of sea salt on top.

Do the same thing with the other half of your leaves, and pop both pans into the oven.  Be sure to watch them quite closely and flip them every now and then to ensure an even crispness.

Voila! Done.  They may not look like the prettiest things, but I promise they’re yummy.

Serve them on their own as a snack, or in this case, as a side with lunch (smashed avocado and chickpea roll ups).

Homemade {Toddler-Approved} Kale Chips

• 2 bunches of kale
• 2 tablespoons of grapeseed oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt

Wash, rinse, and dry your kale. Remove stems and chop leafy parts into large chip-sized pieces.  Drizzle kale with oil, sprinkle on salt, and mix well until oil is evenly distributed. Using 2 large baking sheets, arrange leaves so that they are in as close to a single layer as possible.  Bake at 400 degrees, flipping them every now and then.  Remove chips as ready to avoid over-browning. Eat immediately or store at room temperature.

Enjoy!

UPDATE:  After years and years of making kale chips at home, a) they’re still a favourite and b) our method has changed just slightly.  First off, we’ve discovered lacinato kale – the kind that has fairly flat leaves {we get it at Nature’s Fare here in Vernon}.  WELL.  Game changer.  It cooks much more evenly which means that you always get the perfect, crisp kale chip.  We also add garlic powder {and sometimes nutritional yeast} because… YUM.  As far as prep goes, we now use a salad spinner (so much faster and easier) and we’ve switched to doing just one bunch of kale at a time which I think helps the chips crisp up better.  With two bunches / pans in the oven at once I was finding that it sometimes got steamy in there, which is not really what you want when making crisp chips.

Here’s our updated recipe {though the first one does still work just fine}…

Crispy Homemade Kale Chips (UPDATED VERSION)

• 1 bunch of lacinato kale (approximately 10 leaves)
• 1 tablespoon of olive or avocado oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt
• sprinkling of nutritional yeast (if desired)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash your lacinato kale leaves and dry them fully using a salad spinner.  Using a knife, remove the stems and cut each leaf into 4-6 big pieces.  Dump the kale onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone liner and drizzle the oil on top.  Use your hands to toss the leaves and evenly distribute the oil.  Sprinkle on the garlic powder, sea salt, and nutritional yeast if using, and toss them with your hands once again.  Arrange the kale in a single layer and pop them into the oven for 10 minutes.  When the timer goes, remove the pan, flip each individual chip, and bake for an additional 3 minutes.  

Serve fresh out of the oven or let cool completely and then store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Enjoy!

Before going on vacation, I had washed, chopped, and frozen a bunch of fruit we hadn’t yet gotten around to eating. Well this morning, when a bag of strawberries landed at my feet as a result of opening the freezer door, I decided it was time to put some of that fruit to good use.  I did consider making a smoothie, but I wanted to try something we don’t make all the time already.  I ran through a couple of options and quickly settled on applesauce when I saw my dish rack full of apples from washing them the night before. Miss G really enjoys applesauce and although you can easily buy organic ‘just apples’ applesauce at most grocery stores, nothing beats the real thing.  I gathered my {always enthusiastic helper} and a few ingredients and we got busy in the kitchen.

The line up of ingredients: strawberries, apples, pure maple syrup (optional), vanilla, and water.

Get started by peeling and coring your apples. (I haven’t yet taught Gracen how to peel things, so I peeled and cored our apples while she gathered all of the scraps and placed them in a bowl for composting.)

Next up, chop your apples into smallish pieces. (We both did this job – Gracen using a regular butter knife, of course. FYI: I’ve done this several times with my Kindergarten classes and decent-quality plastic/wooden knives work too.)

Then, chop your strawberries.

Dump everything into a large pot.

Add a little bit of water…

Just a touch of pure maple syrup… (Only if you want some extra sweetness – turns out ours could have easily done without.)

And a good amount of pure vanilla.

Give everything a quick stir and pop it on the stove at medium heat.

Slowly cook the fruit, stirring occasionally, until everything is soft and easily mashed with a fork. 

Remove from the heat and mash until the sauce reaches your desired consistency. If you like a smoother texture, an immersion blender works well.

Dish out a small bowl…

And give it to your extremely excited toddler. Watch her gobble it up and ask for more.

Strawberry Applesauce

• 2 large apples (the sweeter they are the better – we used Fujis)
• Approximately 10 strawberries (fresh or frozen)
• 4 tablespoons of water
• 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon of pure maple syrup (completely optional – ours would have been plenty sweet without)

Peel, core, and chop apples. Chop strawberries. Add all ingredients to a large pot and cook over medium heat for approximately 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove pot from heat and mash or blend fruit until it reaches desired consistency. Serve warm or refrigerate for later.

Enjoy!