Tyler Florence Dishes on Good Nutrition for his Family, and a Giveaway for Three of his Cookbooks (podcast #115)

When it comes to feeding the public, celebrity chef and Food Network host, Tyler Florence is known for his uncomplicated recipes, bright flavors, and fresh food. And when it comes to feeding his family, this dynamic dad is clearly devoted to good nutrition. On this week’s Cooking with the Moms podcast, we caught up with Tyler to talk about his three kids, the importance of sharing family meals, and some clever ways to get picky eaters to try new foods.

Tyler, who lives in San Francisco and hosts the new Food Network series, The Great Food Truck Race, was in Boston for the National “got milk?” Milk Mustache Milk the Moment Mobile Tour. When we asked him what “milking the moment” means to him, he said it’s about stopping what you’re doing and having dinner with your family. “If you do one thing to improve the quality of your family life and how your family will remember you,” he said, “make your house smell great … cook something every day and eat dinner together.”

Studies show that when families break bread together, kids are more likely to eat a nutritious diet, higher in fruits, veggies, and calcium. They also have healthier body weights and do better in school.

Tyler had lots of great advice for nourishing young families including the best way to serve up veggies kids will happily eat (hint, hint: roast them), lunch box ideas for back to school, and strategies for enticing young children to try new foods. Be sure to tune into the show for all of his creative tips. In the meantime, read on for his simple recipe for Roasted Broccoli with Crispy Parmesan and Lemon and for our latest giveaway for Tyler’s gorgeous cookbooks: Stirring the Pot, Dinner at My Place, and Tyler’s Ultimate!

Roasted Broccoli with Crispy Parmesan and Lemon
Makes 4 Servings

  • 2 heads broccoli (about 3 pounds)
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
  • 1 lemon, juiced

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Trim about 1 inch off the ends of the broccoli stalks and peel the stalks with a vegetable peeler. Then cut the broccoli lengthwise into spears. Arrange the broccoli on a non-stick cookie sheet, drizzle with some olive oil and season with a little bit of salt and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper. Toss to coat evenly. Transfer to the oven and roast for 10 minutes.

3. Remove the broccoli from the oven, sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top and bake until the cheese melt and forms a crisp shell over the broccoli, about 10 minutes. Lift the broccoli out onto a platter with a spatula and hit it with a squeeze of fresh lemon.

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Now for news on our latest GIVEAWAY! Five lucky winners (U.S. only) will be selected to win a Got Milk? T-shirt and autographed copies of Tyler’s cookbooks. Three winners will receive Dinner at My Place, one winner will receive Stirring the Pot, and one winner will receive Tyler’s Ultimate: Brilliant, Simple Food to Make any Time.

To enter …

> Post a comment on this blog post telling us why family dinners are important to you and share your best tip for gathering your family around the dinner table. We will enter you into the giveaway a second, third, and/or fourth time if you …

* Subscribe to our RSS feed
* Tweet about the giveaway with a link back to this post
* Share the giveaway news with your Facebook fans and friends with a link back to the post

Please be sure to leave us a new comment every time you do something extra …. and GOOD LUCK!  The giveaway ends on Wednesday, September 8 at noon, and as always we’ll use random.org to pick our winners.

August 27, 2010 | Filed Under CulinaryAdventures, Giveaways, Podcast, Vegetables | 163 Comments 

Substituting Ingredients: The A to Z Kitchen Reference and a Giveaway (Podcast #114)

How many times have you been in the middle of making a recipe only to discover you’re out of a key ingredient?  We can certainly relate to that! Thanks to Substituting Ingredients: The A to Z Kitchen Reference (Sourcebooks, 2010) by Becky Sue Epstein, the next time you run out of pumpkin pie spice, or teriyaki sauce, or even an egg, you’ll be able to swap it with something else from your pantry in no time.

On this week’s Cooking with the Moms podcast, we caught up with Becky for some substitution secrets, like this one for a sweetened, nonfat whipped cream!

Sweetened Whipped Cream

Makes 1 Cup

  • 1 cup nonfat dry milk powder
  • 1 cup ice water
  • Sweetener of your choice
  • Vanilla extract

1. Whip together the nonfat dry milk powder and the ice water. Sweeten to taste and add vanilla as desired. Serve over berries, pie, or a fruit crisp.

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Becky also shared her best swaps for pumpkin (or apple) pie spice and tartar sauce.

The next time you run out of pie spice, create your own with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/8 teaspoon allspice, and 1/8 teaspoon cardamom. According to Becky, this recipe yields enough to make one 9-inch pie.

Does your tartar sauce sit in the fridge for a year before you “find it” and finally toss it? Make your own (and save money) with Becky’s easy-does-it recipe …

Tartar Sauce

Makes About 1/2 Cup

  • 2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish or sweet pickles, chopped
  • 4 tablespoons light mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon onion, chopped, optional
  • 1 tablespoon hard-boiled eggs, chopped, optional
  • A few drops of lemon juice, optional
  • 1/2 teaspoon mustard, optional
  • 1/2 teaspoon dill, optional

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together until well combined.

Print Recipe

Besides her substitution tips (don’t have a cardoon … no worries!), Becky also reveals common yields (did you know 1 pound of potatoes yields 1 ¾-cups mashed?), remedies for fixing common kitchen disasters, and household formulas. We think every home cook in America should buy this book; it’s truly indispensable. But before you hit the bookstore, enter to win our giveaway for Substituting Ingredients!

To enter, post a comment on this blog post telling us why you’d like to win this book. The giveaway ends on Wednesday, September 1 at noon, and as always we’ll use random.org to pick our winner. We Will Enter You into the Giveaway a Second Time if you Tweet about it and a third time if you subscribe to our RSS feed (just be sure to leave us a new comment if you tweet and/or subscribe). Good luck!

Thanks Becky for an awesome interview!

August 18, 2010 | Filed Under CulinaryAdventures, Giveaways, Podcast | 100 Comments 

Favorite Food Photos & a Giveaway for a Hoover FloorMate!

As all of our wonderful readers may know by now, we’ve spent the better part of this summer finishing the manuscript for our new cookbook, NO WHINE WITH DINNER. As a result, we’ve  been blogging and podcasting quite a bit less than usual (boo hoo). Our deadline for the book is August 9th, so we hope to be back on track very soon!

Last Sunday while our families were out enjoying a glorious summer’s day, we cooked half a dozen recipes from the new book and photographed each one for an inside photo spread. As dietitians, we never considered ourselves “photographers,” but the photo shoot went well and we think we’re finally beginning to get the hang of food photography (though admitedly we still have a lot to learn). Below are a few of our favorite shots from the day.

Simply Delicious Shepherd’s Pie, featured in our
Crazy About Casseroles chapter

Grab-and-Go Granola Bars, featured in our Snack Attack chapter

Mom’s Mango Smoothie, featured in our Sips & Smoothies chapter

It was a chaotic day, and we made a big mess in Janice’s kitchen. Her sink was filled with dishes, her dining room (AKA photo studio) was covered in props, and we couldn’t see a single kitchen counter top. The mess got us thinking about an “appropriate” July giveaway for our Meal Makeover Moms’ friends and fans. What we came up with — a Hoover FloorMate 3-in1 Hard Floor Cleaner — is something we think every home owner and busy cook will certainly appreciate.

A vacuum cleaner you say? Actually, it’s a whole lot more … and something Janice certainly appreciated after our photo shoot (when her kitchen floor had more crumbs and spills than it had ever seen). This vacuum is pretty cool because it eliminates the need for a mop & bucket or a broom & dust pan. It vacuums, washes and dries wood, vinyl, grout, or tile flooring … all with one machine. Ah, if it could only suck up dirty dishes too!

To enter our Hoover FloorMate giveaway all you have to do is post a comment on this blog post with your worst kitchen disaster story, or just tell us why you want to win it (US and Canada residents only please).  The giveaway ends on Friday, August 13 at noon, and we’ll use random.org to pick our winner. We Will Enter You into the Giveaway a second time if you Tweet about it (just be sure to leave us a new comment if you tweet).  You may also want to check out the Hoover FloorMate Summer Spills Photo Contest on Facebook.

As for our kitchen disasters ….
> A couple of years ago Janice opened a can of tomato sauce that may have been in her cupboard for too long and as soon as the can opener punctured the can it sprayed tomato sauce all over her, the ceiling, floor, and even on the couch in the family room!

> Liz recently went to grab something out of the fridge only to have her half-gallon pure maple syrup accidentally topple over. The lid opened and the maple syrup was splattered all over the floor. Talk about a sticky spill.

It’s time to share your messiest kitchen stories!  We can’t wait to hear from you … and laugh with you.

July 30, 2010 | Filed Under Dinner, Giveaways, Snacks | 141 Comments 

Whole Grain Goodness & Bob’s Red Mill Giveaway (Podcast #106)

Have you ever cooked farro or teff?  What about amaranth or barley? For the lowdown on every grain under the sun, visit the Whole Grains Council website, a fabulous resource for everything whole grains … or tune into this week’s Cooking with the Moms podcast.  During the show, we dish about whole grains and all the easy ways to add them to your family’s diet.

Giveaway News: For fresh ideas on whole grains, our friends at Bob’s Red Mill are sponsoring a giveaway for our readers.  To enter, leave a comment at the end of this post with your favorite way to incorporate whole grains into your family’s diet or share a recipe using whole grains. Three lucky winners will receive an assortment of whole grain products from Bob’s Red Mill — things like Spice Apple Bran Muffin Mix, 13-Bean Soup Mix, 10-Grain Hot Cereal, Quinoa, and more.  Winners will be selected randomly using random.org, and the giveaway ends at noon on June 25th.

Several weeks ago, Janice had the pleasure of touring Bob’s Red Mill while in the Portland, Oregon during the annual meeting of the International Association of Culinary Professionals.  Bob Moore founded Bob’s Red Mill over 30 years ago to preserve the ancient craft of stone milling and to grind whole grains for the local community.  Now, with over 200 employees, the company offers 400 wholesome products including ground flaxseed, quinoa, teff, whole wheat pastry flour, millet, whole grain pancake mix, gluten-free all-purpose baking flour, and apple blueberry granola (over 100 of them are gluten free too). You name it … if it’s a whole grain, they grind it, mill it, mix it, and sell it!

After touring the facility and seeing the whole grains being crushed and ground, Janice went to the store and feasted on a breakfast burrito wrapped in a whole grain flour tortilla with grits and fresh fruit on the side.  There, she met Bob and asked if he wanted to be a guest on our podcast.  To her delight, he said yes, and he invited his program director, Lori Sobelson to join the conversation too.  Lori runs all the culinary classes and programs offered to the community, and she shared two of her favorite kid-friendly recipes including Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies and Hazelnut Quinoa Salad (see below).  These two charming folks spent close to an hour chatting with Janice about everything from how the company was started to how to get kids to eat more whole grains.

Breakfast Burrito and Fruit Salad at Bob’s Red Mill

Bob and Janice take a spin in his 1931 Ford

Bob’s Red Mill Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Makes about 24 Cookies

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (we used 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup canola oil)
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups Old-Fashioned Rolled oats (not instant)
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Set aside.

2. In a bowl using an electric mixer, cream butter (or butter and canola oil if using both) and sugar until creamy and smooth about 2 to 3 minutes.  Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat to combine.  Add the flour, baking soda, salt and old-fashioned oats.  Beat until well incorporated.  Stir in cranberries and walnuts.

3. For small cookies place about 1 tablespoon of batter on the prepared baking sheet, spacing cookies about 2 inches apart.  For larger cookies, use an ice cream scoop or about two and one half tablespoons of batter per cookie.  If your batter is too soft, place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm it up before baking the cookies.  Flatten the cookies slightly with the palm of your hand and bake cookies about 10 minutes for smaller cookies and 13 to 14 minutes for larger cookies, or until light golden brown.  Remove from the oven and let cookies cool about 2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.

A recipe from Bob’s Red Mill Bakery, Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods

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As we mentioned in the podcast, on Bob’s 81st birthday he gave the company to his employees. He said, “I didn’t want it to be acquired by a competitor who would take it to pieces and fire everyone.  I couldn’t let that happen.”

Hazelnut Quinoa Salad

Makes 4 Servings (courtesy, Lori Sobelson)

  • 2 cups quinoa, cooked
  • 1/4 cup hazelnuts, toasted and crushed
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
  • 1/2 cup red seedless grapes cut in half

  • 1/3 cup orange juice
  • 1/4 cup strawberry fruit spread
  • 3 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (or white vinegar)
  • 2 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 tablespoon silken tofu
  • 1 medium clove garlic, minced
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt

1. To cook quinoa:  In a saucepan over high heat, bring 2 cups water to boil.  Add 1 cup quinoa grain and ½ teaspoon salt.  Reduce heat and cook covered for 12 minutes.  Quinoa will be done when grain has absorbed all of the liquid.  Place quinoa on cookie sheet to cool.

2. In a medium size bowl combine cooled quinoa, hazelnuts, green onions and grapes.  Serve at room temperature or chill for 2 hours before adding dressing.

3. In a food processor or blender, combine all of the dressing ingredients.  Blend for about 1 minute or until smooth. Set aside until main salad ingredients are ready to serve.  Just before serving pour dressing over quinoa mixture.  Pour slowly as you will have more than you need.

* If you don’t like the dressing recipe listed above a low-fat raspberry vinaigrette may also be used.

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Good luck on the giveaway. We can’t wait to read about all of your ideas!

June 9, 2010 | Filed Under CulinaryAdventures, Giveaways, Grains, Podcast, Sides, Vegetarian | 170 Comments 

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