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Kerplunch Soup
A soup named after my twin daughters when they were 1 year old. It was a lifesaver for my picky eaters. The reason it was named Kerplunch soup is that we would cut cubes of bread and the kids would throw the bread cubes into the soup while saying “kerplunch!” and then would be happy to eat the bread in a spoonful of good healthy soup.
- Butter or olive oil
- Peeled, and cubed pumpkin, carrots, zucchini…(any veggies can be used in this soup)
- 1-2 leeks, chopped
- Some fresh herbs for taste (parsley, coriander etc…)
- Grated fresh ginger (optional but highly recommended)
- 1-2 apples peeled and chopped
- Curry powder (optional but highly recommended)
- Chicken stock (boullion)
- Cream or milk (optional)
- Cubes of bread
Fry the leek in a bit of butter or olive oil. When soft add cubed veggies and sauté for a few minutes. Add any fresh herbs, the ginger, the apple and curry powder. Pour enough boullion/stock over to cover and let simmer for ½ hour to 1 hour. Take hand mixer and puree the soup until nice and smooth. Add cream or milk to obtain desired consistency and serve.
I always make a big pot of this soup and freeze some before adding the cream or milk.
Quiche
Quiche is also a big hit in our family. It’s a great way to incorporate protein (eggs), veggies, meat, milk and starch (quiche pastry) all into one dish. You can make your own pastry (tastes much better) or simply buy one ready to bake (much more convenient). With quiche the rule is usually 3 eggs to 1 ½ cups of liquid.
- 3-4 eggs
- 1 ½ - 2 cups milk/cream/quark (can be a mix of any of these)
- Pancetta/bacon/ham etc
- Grated zucchini/chopped tomatoes/ broccoli etc
- Leek or onion
- Parmesan cheese/gouda/cheddar/feta etc
You can pick and choose what you want to put into your quiche. Just take a look in your fridge and see what’s there! With the pancetta or bacon it’s best to fry it slightly before adding it to your egg and milk/cream mixture. I also like to slightly sauté any onion or leek. Just add all your ingredients to your egg mixture, pour into quiche crust and put into the oven for about 30 minutes or until you see the quiche has a nice brown top.
Zucchini Chocolate Cake Recipe
This is a great recipe for a cake that actually has VEGETABLES in it. The zucchini makes the cake nice and moist and actually really compliments the chocolate. For the kids I omit the cinnamon, orange zest and nuts and instead I add some chocolate chips/chunks. The kids will have no clue that this delicious cake is actually, almost, healthy.
- 1/2 cup cocoa
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3/4 cup soft butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 teaspoons grated orange peel
- 2 cups coarsely shredded zucchini
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
- Glaze (directions follow)
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Combine the four, cocoa, baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.
- With a mixer, beat together the butter and the sugar until they are smoothly blended. Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. With a spoon, stir in the vanilla, orange peel, and zucchini.
- Alternately stir the dry ingredients and the milk into the zucchini mixture, including the nuts with the last addition.
- Pour the batter into a greased and flour-dusted 10-inch tube pan or bundt pan. Bake in the oven for about 50 minutes (test at 45 minutes!) or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes; turn out on wire rack to cool thoroughly.
- Drizzle glaze over cake.
Glaze: Mix together 2 cups powdered sugar, 3 Tablespoons milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until smooth.
Green/Orange Risotto
A dish that my kids really learned to love by attending Scuola Materna is the famous “riso giallo”. After serving this on several occasions I decided to try and make it a bit “healthier” by adding some veggies but still keeping the catchy name the kids seemed to like so much. So we started also enjoying “riso verde” and “riso arancio”. The kids just concerned themselves with the various colours that showed up on their plates and I gloated from close-by at having, once again, introduced some more vegetables into their diet.
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion finely chopped onion
- Risotto rice (however much you need for your family – I usually just guess and end up having way too much or not enough at the end)
- 1 cup white wine
- 3-4 zucchini (for riso verde) or 1-2 cups coarsely chopped fresh pumpkin (for riso arancio)
- Knob of butter
- Fresh parmesan cheese
- Cream (optional)
I usually sauté the veggies for a few minutes then throw them in with the brodo/boullion and let it simmer until soft. After this I blend it until smooth.
Saute the onion in the olive oil until translucent. Add rice and fry until slightly see-through. Pour in the wine and let evaporate. Slowly add the veggie puree/broth mixture (all the while stirring to make sure it doesn’t stick on bottom of pan) until you see the rice is cooked and creamy. If you find it too thick you can also add some straight broth/water to even out the consistency.
At the end add a knob of butter and some parmesan cheese. If your kids are skinny like mine you can also throw in some panna (cream) to add a few extra calories (and taste!).
