Double Delicious (13 page)

Lo Mein

An easy-to-make version of a great Chinese classic—tastier, healthier, and less greasy. Serve warm or cold with fresh sliced cucumber, a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds, or even baby corn, which lots of kids seem to love.

QUICK!

Prep:

20 minutes

Total:
20 minutes

Yield:
Serves 4

• 1 (12-ounce) box whole-wheat spaghetti
  
• ½ cup low-fat, reduced-sodium chicken broth, plus ¼ cup
  
• ½ cup
  sweet potato puree
  
• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
  
• 1 tablespoon firmly packed dark or light brown sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 4 green onions, white ends only, thinly sliced
  
• 4 (6-ounce) center-cut pork chops or cutlets, trimmed of fat and cut across the grain into ¼-inch-thick slices
  

• 1.
  Cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the ½ cup of chicken broth, sweet potato puree, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and cornstarch. Set aside.
  
• 2.
  Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, green onions, and pork. Cook until the garlic and onions become fragrant and the pork begins to brown, 4 to 5 minutes.
  
• 3.
  Add the soy sauce mixture and spaghetti to the skillet. Reduce the heat to low. Cook 1 to 2 minutes more, stirring well, until a thick sauce forms and coats the noodles. Add the remaining chicken broth if the sauce is too thick. Serve immediately.
  

Sascha:

Baby corn is so cute.

Calories: 673, Carbohydrate: 77 g, Protein: 54 g, Total Fat: 17 g, Saturated Fat: 3 g, Sodium: 470 mg, Fiber: 8 g

Orange-Glazed Pork

I love to make this in the early winter, but it’s great to make any time of year because it’s sweet and tasty and simple to prepare! Serve hot or at room temperature.

QUICK!

Prep:

20 minutes

Total:
55 minutes

Yield:
Serves 4

GLAZE

• 3 tablespoons orange marmalade
  
• ½ cup water
  
• ½ cup
  carrot puree
  
• 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
  
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger
  
• 2 teaspoons apple cider or white vinegar
  
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes or ground cayenne
  

• 2 pounds pork tenderloin (usually 2 small pieces)
  
• ½ teaspoon salt
  
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
  
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
  
• ½ cup water
  

• 1.
  Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a medium saucepan, whisk all ingredients for the glaze until smooth. Warm the glaze over medium heat until it begins to bubble. Cook 10 to 15 minutes more, until the liquid is reduced by one quarter and the glaze thickens.
  
• 2.
  Meanwhile, sprinkle the pork loin with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet over high heat. Carefully add the pork and cook 10 minutes, turning once until both sides are browned.
  
• 3.
  Off the heat, add the glaze. Turn the pork once to coat in the glaze. Slide the skillet into the oven and bake until the glaze starts to brown around the inner edges of the skillet, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the skillet, add the water, and continue to bake 15 to 20 minutes more, until the pork is cooked through and the water has evaporated. Remove the pork to a cutting board and stir the glaze until smooth. Slice the pork and serve with the glaze.
  

Calories: 341, Carbohydrate: 16 g, Protein: 48 g, Total Fat: 8.5 g, Saturated Fat: 2 g, Sodium: 590 mg, Fiber: 2 g

Salmon Burgers

Make sure the salmon has no pin bones. If it does, pull the bones out with
clean
pliers—it’s actually quite therapeutic. That’s the only time-consuming part of this recipe. Otherwise, it’s a breeze.

Shown here with Summer Corn Fritters (recipe “Summer Corn Fritters”).

QUICK!

Prep:

15 minutes

Total:
1 hour 25 minutes (including chill time)

Yield:
Serves 6

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
  
• 2 cloves garlic
  
• 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
  
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce, plus more to top the burgers, if desired
  
• 2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
  
• ½ cup
  carrot puree
  
• ¼ teaspoon salt
  
• 2 pounds wild salmon, pin bones and skin removed, cut into 1-inch pieces
  
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
  
• 6 whole-wheat hamburger buns
  
• Lettuce and sliced tomato, for garnish (optional)
  

• 1.
  Put the ginger and garlic in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the soy sauce, hoisin, mayonnaise, carrot puree, salt, and salmon. Pulse until the ingredients are combined and begin to hold together.
  
• 2.
  Form the salmon mixture into 6 patties. (The mixture will be very soft.) Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to firm them up.
  
• 3.
  In a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat, brown the burgers in the olive oil, approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side. Serve on toasted buns spread with hoisin sauce and top with lettuce and tomatoes, if desired.
  

Joy:

Wild salmon is one of the best sources of omega-3 fats. In growing kids, omega-3s are especially important for healthy brain development.

Calories: 394, Carbohydrate: 30 g, Protein: 38 g, Total Fat: 13.5 g, Saturated Fat: 2 g, Sodium: 645 mg, Fiber: 5 g

My Kitchen, My Kids

W
hen my first two children were very small, I saw my kitchen as one big danger zone: the simmering saucepans on the stove, the hot oven, the sharp knives, and my eager kids balancing on chairs in the middle of it all. In my mind, it was a perfect storm of disaster. Besides worrying about safety, there was my sanity. One child inevitably wanted to do what another was doing, like stir the pancake batter instead of cracking the egg. That would lead to a push here, a pull there, and if I didn’t catch it in time, a downward spiral into a mini crisis where someone left the kitchen in a huff. All of this to make pancakes together!

But just as my kids have changed as they’ve grown, so too has my view of them in the kitchen. Over the years, I witnessed with awe the sense of accomplishment and independence they got from “big kid” skills—everything from clearing the table after dinner to washing and drying the dishes. Gradually it dawned on me (as it has on many other moms, I’m sure) that cooking was actually a next logical step in their big-kid development.

Then came the lightning bolt. Shortly after my then eight-year-old daughter started taking a cooking class after school, she excitedly brought home manicotti she had made and devoured it, along with the rest of us, at dinner that night. Two weeks earlier, I had made manicotti and she had raised her eyebrows, pushed her plate away without even trying anything, and sat back in her chair. I realized when she brought
her
version home that it was time to bring my kids into the kitchen with me.

We started slowly, but quickly I realized not only did they enjoy taking ownership of what they had prepared, they were actually interested in how food is grown, harvested, transported, and sold. I soon came to see in my own children what I’ve since learned—that when children touch food, smell food, and understand the seasons in which these foods grow, they develop an understanding of agriculture, geography, and economics, as well as an overall comfort with these foods when they get to taste them.