Savoury Mediterranean Pie

I am the first to admit that pastry is my baking nemesis.  Don't get me wrong, I love pie and even make some pretty delicious fillings.  But, I just can't seem to get pastry right; it falls apart, or it's too sticky, or it's crumbly, or it's tough.  I'm pretty sure that after each failed attempt I over compensate the next time, which results in the next pastry fail.  And so I'm completely reliant on my husband (or anyone else that happens to be around) to make pastry for me.

Yesterday morning my husband made me pastry for two, two crusted pies.  Hooray!  I'd been putting off making pies for a couple of weeks, and finally we found an opportunity for pastry making.  Funnily enough, I might as well have made the pastry myself in the end.  It was a very rare baking failure for him and was too fragile to roll.  Let's blame it on the humidity.  I forged ahead anyhow, hand pressing it together for the bottom crust, and doing my best to piece together the top crust.  My pies looked... rustic.  Sure... let's go with that!

By the time I was done I had two delicious pies cooling on the counter, and looking both odd and delicious at the same time.  The first was a tart and sweet pie with rhubarb fresh from the garden, and a tried and true Betty Crocker recipe.  The second was a savoury and quiche-like recipe that my mom has been making since I was a little kid.  Since I daresay it'll be a while before I attempt pastry again, this seems like the perfect time to share my favourite Sunday lunch - Mediterranean Pie.

Mediterranean Pie

Pastry for a two crust pie (uncooked)
8 oz Black Forest ham, thinly sliced
4-6 slices Swiss Cheese
1 tbsp butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 bag fresh spinach
1 red or yellow pepper
4 eggs

1.  Preheat oven to 375F.
2.  Lay bottom pastry in pie plate, and place ham over it in an even layer.  Top with cheese.
2.  In a frying pan, melt butter.  Sauté garlic and onion until onion is translucent.
4.  Add spinach to frying pan, and toss until wilted.  Transfer spinach to pie plate, in an even layer over the ham and cheese.
5.  Thinly slice red pepper and place in an even layer over the spinach.
6.  Lightly beat eggs, and pour over peppers.  Top with pie crust, cutting slits for steam to escape.

6.  Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until pastry is lightly browned. 

Serve warm; salad makes a great side.

Cross-section - lots of yumminess between two crusts!

Today, happily there was leftover Mediterranean Pie for lunch, and rhubarb pie for dessert after supper!  A delicious treat on both counts!

Shrek Juice

Today we practiced what seems to have become a weekly ritual.  Today was our official try-to-sneak-green-food-into-your-strong-willed-and-picky-toddler day.  So far I've been having the most success with putting greens into beverage form, and have previously posted about some of our favourites (Shamrock Mock-shake and "Chocolate" Thick Shake).  This time, I decided to revisit a favourite of Mini Muffin's that I haven't made for a few months; Shrek Juice.

Gloriously Green - Shrek Juice!

The recipe for Shrek Juice came from Homemade Smoothies for Mother and Baby by Kristine Miles, that my husband picked up for me on a whim at the grocery store about a year ago.  It's been the source of a couple of good ideas for kid friendly smoothies, a few good mama smoothies and, well, a few flops along the way.  From those we've tried, Shrek Juice is a definite gem!

So, without further delay -

Shrek Juice

1 1/2 c coconut water
Large handful of baby spinach
2 dates
1/2 avocado
1 ripe banana
Ice

1.  Soak dates to soften.  I like soaking them overnight to get them as soft as possible.
2.  Add spinach, then dates, then coconut water to blender.  Blend well (no chunks should remain).
3.  Add banana and avocado, blending until smooth.
4.  Add ice, blend and enjoy!

I find this smoothie to be very well suited to the toddler/preschooler pallet.  The banana and avocado make it creamy, the banana and dates make it naturally sweet, and the banana flavour does a great job at hiding the taste of all the other ingredients.  And of course it's a wonderful shade of green that could only be favoured by ogres!  I also like that it gives Mini Muffin healthy fats from the avocado, electrolytes from the coconut water and of course a good helping of spinach! 

Since it's been a while since I've made it, today was Little Smiling Man's first Shrek Juice experience.  He's not as tough a customer to please as his sister, but he greeted it pretty enthusiastically and screeched for some of mine as well.  Mini Muffin eyed it up, then she eyed me up, then conceded to try a sip.  Happily, that sip turned into her drinking her cup.  I think Shrek Juice is officially back in my rotation!

Healthy "Chocolate Thick Shake"

I had a major mommy win last night. Since shortly before my return to work, Mini Muffin has been kicking the picky eating up a notch.  A lot of it, I think, is around the changes in our routine and that's leading to her retesting boundaries and trying to exert control over what she can - in this case whether or not she eats.  It's been a huge struggle as she's been rejecting foods she loves, and generally eating like a bird, which in turn makes her cranky, and well, you know the drill.

One of the significant challenges I've had are vegetables.  I've been struggling to get any form of veggie into her, and it's so frustrating!  Last night I tried something new, and was so happy that it worked!  I found a recipe in a smoothie cookbook I have, gave it some pretty significant tweaks, and the result was a "chocolate thick shake" that when served in a coloured straw cup to hide the green tinge, went down like a treat!  Mini Muffin of course has no idea what a thick shake is, so took to calling it her chocolate drink.

Mini Muffin's Special Chocolate Drink

Large handful of baby spinach
1/2 med or 1/4 large ripe avocado
1 1/2 c coconut milk
1 banana
2 tsp cocoa powder
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Ice

1.  Add spinach, avocado and coconut milk to blender, and blend until smooth.
2.  Add banana, cocoa powder, honey and cinnamon.  Blend until smooth.
3.  Add ice, and blend.  Adjust consistency with extra avocado and/or ice to make thicker, or extra milk to make thinner if desired.

Makes two servings. 

I made and served this drink while Mini Muffin was out of the room, since it does have a bit of an odd colour to it.  However, once she tasted it, she was pretty intent that it was all hers!  She drank about half of the recipe (so a big glass full), and Little Smiling Man and I split the rest.

I totally did a happy dance behind her back as she slurped it back!

Simply Delicious - Healthy Shamrock Mock-Shake

It's been quite the week!  Little Smiling Man turned one over the weekend!!!  I'm still not even sure how that's possible, time is going so quickly.  We had a nice time celebrating as a family, and tomorrow are having some extended family for a visit to celebrate.  He's taking some early, tentative steps, is babbling up a storm and is into everything.  He really is awesome.

At the same time, my maternity leave is rapidly drawing to a close, so our days at the moment are chocked full of appointments.  Mini Muffin had a very successful dental check up, Little Smiling Man will be going to his 12 month well baby check up, and I'm also due for the dentist and a trip to the bank to talk mortgages.  Busy times!

Spring is also upon us, which is drawing me back to summery things... like smoothies.  Mini Muffin hasn't been doing very well with her veggies lately, so I've been trying to get more innovative.  And so, today I'm sharing our long standing favourite Shamrock Mock-Shake.  Kinda timely with St Patrick's Day around the corner as well!  Super easy, and definitely toddler and preschooler approved.  Due to the presence of honey, this recipe is not appropriate for babies under one year.

Healthy Shamrock Mock-Shake

Perfect Afternoon Snack!

1 large handful of baby spinach
1 1/2 cups milk of choice (we use almond milk)
1 small (or 1/2 medium) ripe avocado
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
honey (to taste)
ice

1.  In blender, add spinach then pour milk over top.  Blend until no spinach chunks remain.
2.  Add remaining ingredients, except ice, and blend. 
3.  Add ice and blend until smooth.  Serve immediately.

And just like that, both you and your littles can enjoy a seasonal, refreshing and creamy smoothie complete with a good dose of spinach and healthy fats from avocado.  And, I must say, it makes a great afternoon snack!