FoodieTots.com

I know, here we are on the cusp of holiday baking season — the arrival of Gourmet’s annual cookie issue was better than Christmas to many a food blogger — and here I am with plain old chocolate chip cookies. But before the hustle and bustle of the holidays, why not enjoy a simple pleasure. A recipe simple enough to make with the kids, an easy after-school treat for a rainy Monday, or, in my case, a quick way to assuage a mama’s guilt after a weekend away.

Chocolate chip cookies can be a polarizing matter — do you like yours crispy or chewy? I add oatmeal, which makes them healthy (it does, right?) and lends the perfect crisp-chewy texture, in my opinion. Like many recipes, it is based off the back of the chocolate chip package. Aside from the addition of oatmeal, I also double the salt and add almond extract with the vanilla. (I can’t take credit for that either — it’s a tip gleaned from Giada.) I’ve been known to use a mix of raisins or cranberries, or even coconut, with the chocolate chips, but I’ll leave those choices up to you.

Recipe: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Ghiradelli’s baking chip package

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated cane sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 eggs
• 12 ounces chocolate baking chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Beat butter and sugars at medium speed until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla and almond extracts, continuing to mix on low speed until well combined. Add flour, baking powder and salt, then gradually add oats until just incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips.

3. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and drop dough by tablespoon onto pans. Bake for 9-11 minutes, until centers are dry and edges are lightly golden. Remove to cooling rack and try to hold back little hands at least until the cookies are no longer piping hot.  Makes about 3 dozen cookies, depending on the size of your scoops.

Today marks the eight-month anniversary of the Japan earthquake and tsunami that brought widespread devastation to that country. While our news cycle has moved on to many other stories in the weeks and months since then, the people of Japan continue to rebuild their homes and livelihoods. A few months ago, I contributed a recipe to Peko Peko: Family Friendly Japanese Recipes, a charity cookbook organized by Stacie of One Hungry Mama and Rachel of La Fuji Mama. Through the generous support of Blurb.com, $11.45 from each book sale (purchase price $29.95) goes directly to the GlobalGiving Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund. That’s right — unlike other charity sales where pennies and nickles go to the cause, more than 1/3 of the sales go to the most critical areas in Japan.

Click here to see the full list of recipes contained in the cookbook — each contributed by well-known food bloggers.

(My contribution is pictured above, but you’ll have to buy the book for the recipe!) And then hop over to Blurb to order copies for all your friends and family for the holidays.

Thanks for your support!

A confession: I avoided black beans for nearly a decade, after being scarred by my mother’s frequent cooking of them during my high school years. Thanks to the open floor plan of my childhood home, the scent wafted throughout the house relentlessly. I don’t know why it was so offensive at the time, but just the mention of black beans made me nauseous for years after I left home.

Fast forward a few years, with a new baby in the house, and it became unavoidable as I researched real food options for babies that I would, in fact, have to learn to cook black beans. (Black beans are a good source of protein, iron, magnesium and folate.) It was one thing to order black beans on the side when out to eat, but I still shied away from making them at home.

Recently, the boy requested that we start observing “Taco Tuesday.” Now, he doesn’t eat tacos, but that didn’t deter him from the idea. He figured I’d make him a quesadilla and the rest of us would have tacos. For week one, I made these cider baked beans and pork carnitas. Week two I had less time, so used chicken breast for the meat — but the boy was so excited about the beans that he decided to try a bean and cheese “taco” (really, more like a burrito). And last night he asked for it again — so I think we have a winner on our hands. Now, I also used bacon in the beans — so it’s not a meatless recipe — but it won praise from my previously bean-adverse husband as well.

You could use dried beans and cook this the slow way — but thanks to my favorite Eden Foods canned beans (BPA-free and no added salt), this can be ready in 20 minutes flat. Just enough time to warm tortillas and prep the other taco fillings and accompaniments. (I think half the reason the boy requested taco night was for the all-important tortilla chips and salsa.) Thanks to the Washington Post, whose recipe for cider baked beans inspired me to add the sweet boiled cider here.

Recipe: Cider Black Beans with Bacon

Ingredients:

• 1-2 slices bacon, chopped
• 1/2 small yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 15-ounce can no-salt-added black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons boiled cider*
• 1/2 cup water
• pinch salt and black pepper

Instructions:

In a Dutch oven or large saucepan, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Add onion and cook 3-4 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add beans, stir and cook one minute. Add boiled cider and water and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer, stirring just once or twice, for about 15 minutes (until most of the liquid is absorbed). Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with brown rice, tortillas, and thinly sliced peppers, shredded carrots or other favorite vegetables. Makes 4 servings.

[*Note: if you don’t have boiled cider on hand, replace the boiled cider and water with fresh apple cider. Alternatively, you could swap it for pure maple syrup.]

Do you have a theme dinner night at your house?

Happy Food Day! Yes, we just marked World Food Day about a week ago, but today is US Food Day — a day to celebrate real, good-for-you & good-for-the-earth food. It’s also Monday, so if you’d like to learn more about Meatless Monday, here’s a look back to our feature on NPR. As I thought about what to say today, I thought I’d try to summarize our food philosophy. Just about every recipe I post contains farm-fresh real ingredients. Why? Because Foodie Tots know their farmers, know where their food comes from, and know real food helps grow strong and healthy minds and bodies. And so I present the Foodie Tots manifesto:

EAT FOOD.
REAL FOOD.
TOGETHER.

Tonight we’ll be eating mushroom risotto. {Check out our recipe for carrot risotto for a kid-friendly favorite.} What’s on your dinner table tonight?

P.S. Please take a moment to sign your name to a letter to Congress urging their support of the Eat Real agenda.

While the number of farmers markets continue to grow, the amount of farmland in America is shrinking — nearly 1 million acres are lost each year. The American Farmland Trust works to reverse this trend by supporting farm and ranch land conservation. To help fund their efforts, participating restaurants in the annual Dine Out for Farms event are donating to the cause. You have three nights left to participate — visit the website to find a supporting restaurant near you. Locally, the José Andres empire (Jaleo, Oyamel, Zaytinya), DC Coast, Founding Farmers, Graffiato and Pinkberry are among those participating.

At the kick-off event, Graffiato Chef Mike Isabella (you may recognize him from Top Chef) and Virginia’s Bev Eggleston, EcoFriendly Foods (pictured above with AFT’s Jon Scholl), talked about the importance of chefs partnering with farmers and some of the challenges in doing so. It can be hard for an individual farmer to provide the steady supply needed by restaurants, but by forming cooperatives — the business model for EcoFriendly — the relationship can be much more successful. And profitable for the farmers, ensuring they can continue to farm on their land.

Dine Out For Farms runs through Saturday, October 22. Do you make a point to dine at restaurants who support local farms?