Homemade "Poptarts"

I’m always looking for some fun and new food to try.  If you’ll remember, I’m a big fan of oatmeal for breakfast, but this morning I was looking for something different to feed Aiden.  I have this really great book for “baby food” and I had remembered seeing a recipe for “Pop Tarts”.  Seeing as how my little alarm clock (Aiden) went off early today I had a little extra time before the feeding frenzy would start so I decided to give these a try.

This book I have, Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron, is amazing.  It says its baby food, but let me tell you it is not limited to food and certainly isn’t limited to baby.  I very highly recommend this book to anyone with a new baby, and well anyone in general.  There are a lot of healthier recipes for convenience products, like the pop tarts, “Shake n Bake” and other things like that, but also “recipes” for cleaning solutions without chemicals.  And, to be honest, there are very few differences between what a healthy baby should eat and what a healthy adult should eat; fruits, vegetables; unprocessed foods.  Seriously, this book is invaluable.

So here is the recipe:

                2 beaten eggs
                ¼ c olive oil
                2 T melted butter
                ¼ c +2T honey
                2 c flour
                2 tsp baking powder

Mix ingredients together and chill for an hour in the freezer.  Cut and roll dough into 12 rectangles.  Place about a tablespoon of filling in the center of half of the rectangles.  Top with another rectangle and crimp edges.  Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

If you want a frosting mix 2 T powdered sugar, ¼ tsp vanilla and 1 T milk and drizzle over top of baked pastries.

The dough can be a little difficult to work with because it is so delicate with all the liquid in it.  I did half the batch with about a half hour in the freezer, but the other half I left in for more like an hour plus and that worked easier.  I also recommend only working on half of the dough out at a time for that same reason.   Cut and roll out 6 pieces of dough from each half, using one piece for the bottom and one for the top.   The dough is just so delicate that it kept tearing if I tried just folding it over. 

As far as fillings go, you can really do anything.  I used strawberry jam because that’s what I had.  I’m going to experiment more with some other fillings, like maybe homemade apple butter or peanut butter and banana, or Nutella!  The possibilities are endless really!

The Incredible Edible Egg

Eggs are such a versatile food.  Breakfast, lunch and dinner, there’s an egg for that!  I love a fried egg sandwich with ham and cheese, a weekend delicacy I grew up with.  In my house, my Dad was the Egg Man.  He would heat up the little cast iron skillet, for me the only appropriate egg cooking vessel, and whip up egg sandwiches for the whole family.  When I go home to this day I still ask him to make me an egg sandwich, because even with all my culinary training, somehow, my dad still makes the best sandwich.
Many people will disagree with me that a cast iron skillet is the best way to cook an egg; they will say you want to use a non-stick skillet.  Well, let me tell you, I’ve tried it both ways, and toxicity issues aside, I think an egg made in cast iron just tastes better.

 The “issue” with cast iron is that you have to know how to use it.  It takes a while to get hot, and then retains the heat, so if you crank it up to get it going quickly you may need to completely take the pan off the heat by the time you are ready to cook.  I like to heat my pan on low for maybe 10 minutes while I’m getting everything else ready. 

The other thing you need to be aware of when using cast iron, is the cleaning and upkeep.  It is important to “season” your cast iron.  This is a simple process that produces a non-stick surface.  To season your pan, heat it on medium heat until hot.  Remove it from the heat and pour about a tablespoon of vegetable oil in and swirl it around.  Carefully, using a paper towel, rub the oil around the surface of the pan.  I like to get the edges and even outside of the pan as well, but not the bottom.   Let the pan cool and then wipe out any excess oil.  You should do this every time after using your pan. 

When cleaning the cast iron, you really just want to use a non-abrasive cloth and warm water, no soap.  Some people don’t like that, and if it really bothers you, use the soap.   Then re-season the pan.  The more you use your pan the better the season gets, which is why these pans are great passed down through generations.

Getting back to the eggs; as I said, I love a runny fried egg sandwich, but I like using fried eggs in a lot of different ways.  When I make risotto and have a little left over, I’ll throw a fried egg on top of it and have it for breakfast.  I have a Sausage and Kale Risotto that I make that is especially good with the egg.  It’s so good that it’s even worth making the risotto especially for the egg-garnish it with a little truffle salt if you’re feeling extra special!  My Kale and White Bean Ragout is also another favorite to top with a fried egg.  It may sound weird, but try it out.  You may find that you’re making dinner just to have leftovers!