Back to School!

It is that time folks.  The time most kids avoid thinking about all summer.  The time most kids dread.  That's right, whether we like it or not, its time to get our brains out of summer fun time mode and into learning mode.  But have no fear we're not talking math on here, we are all about fun food for school!

Breakfast Bites

We will start with healthy, fast, and easy breakfast ideas.  We all know most families do not have a seemingly endless amount of time to fix a large breakfast Monday-Friday, so I have made it a mission to create what I call JBistro's Breakfast Bites.  I take many components of everyone's favorite breakfast items, and perfect a muffin recipe out of them (pictured below).

Starting from the top: fruit stuffed pancake, mini frittata, pastrami popper, and egg & potato muffin.

The common denominator of all these dishes is the muffin pan.  My muffin pan is my best friend in the kitchen.  You can cook almost anything in the muffin pan, and the best thing about it is that you can put your hearts desire into it, stick it in the oven and walk away.  Intrigued yet?  Recipes can be found here.

Lunch Essentials

Let's move on to lunch packing essentials.  Best advice: keep it simple, healthy, and fun food!  You do not have to send sandwiches and chips every day.  My first and most important rule for lunch making is include the kids!  They always love having input into their own lunches.  My second rule, little food for little fingers.  I have found with my daughter that she loves anything that is bite sized.  Personally I think this is because it doesn't seem so overwhelming like a big sandwich.  I noticed a few years back that she would never finish an entire sandwich and that just added to the wasted food.  My last, and one of the most important, rules is keep the food fun.  If you're going to make a sandwich, try using a cookie cutter to make shapes.  Both of my kids love it when I take the normal sandwich fixings and roll them up in a tortilla.  The sky is the limit on what you can put into a tortilla, and when you slice them up in fun size bites it makes them even more enticing!  Here are a few of my substitutions ideas:

• Sandwich bread: hot dog bun, tortilla, pita pocket
• Chips: "french fry" style veggies, small tossed salad, make your own mix & match trail mix
• Cookies: fruit salad, fun-cut fruit, fruit skewer (kids love anything on a stick!), animal crackers

Snacks here, snacks there, snacks everywhere

You remember always looking forward to coming home from school and having some great after school snacks, and that is still the case with our kids.  Even if your kids go to after school care and not home to you doesn't mean you can't give them a great snack.  If you have to pack their snack here are some fun tips:

• use a dark colored storage container and put a "Top Secret Snack" post-it note on the top of it.  Tell your kid(s) not to open until school is out.
• Provide the daycare or sitter with your snack and put a "made with love" or "scavenger snack" note on it.  Tell the sitter to have the kids "scavenger" for their snack to make it fun.

Now if you're able to be home for your kids, the after school snack ideas are almost endless.  Here are some easy and fun food ideas:

• pizza bites, pictured to the left: wonton wrappers, fill with your favorite toppings, and bake for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

   

• keep it old school with "ants on a log." Celery stick, filled with 
• peanut butter and topped with raisins or update with mini chocolate chips.
• my kids personal favorite, "smore bites" pictured to the right:

If you follow these easy rules, your kids will start to love their school lunches again, and get excited about healthy food!  Be sure and share your pictures and/or ideas with us on our Facebook page.

Keep following the food with JBistro Style!

Glorious 500!

I wanted to take a moment to say Thank You to everyone that is walking with me on my culinary adventure!  I know in today's world, video's reign supreme, so I will be working on one to post for y'all.  Stay tuned for more culinary knowledge and as always, I greatly appreciate the support!!!

Heirloom you say? Research & Development

Hello everyone, as usual I have been working hard in the kitchen and my garden.  Currently I am working on developing something very special to me and I hope it turns into my next venture.

During my childhood, my Grandparents had this "special spice" that they would add to a lot of different dishes.  When my Grandfather passed away last year my Mother was given this special spice and a portion of it was given to me.  Normally I would tell you what this "special sauce" was, but this is a family secret.  Inspired by this inheritance, I decided to add a Chile Pequin or "Tiny Chile" bush to my garden so I could create my very own special spice.  My goal for this venture, is to develop a new spice that people from all walks of culinary life will want to add to their go-to spice choice!

As you can see in the picture, this chile is very small in size (pequin means small;tiny), but packs a very powerful punch!  My research thus far has been very interesting, which is why I wanted to share it with the world.  Remember, as I learn new and exciting things I will share it with you in hopes of inspiring a new generation of home cooks!  During my research I discovered that these chiles are 10x hotter than a jalapeno.  They are closely related to the jalapeno and bell pepper, and they grow wild in Mexico.  I have also learned that you can preserve them by drying them.

This is just a few things I've learned but as I delve further into the research and then development I will share more exciting facts and finds about this unique chile.

Want to see more of my garden?  Visit JBistro Styles "My garden to your dishes" to see all that I have to offer.  And remember to Follow the Food with me!

Magnificant Mint...It's not just for gum anymore!

Sweet Mint

Good morning my fellow food lovers!  As some of you might know, I have a pretty descent sized garden and one of my herbs is mint.  Actually, I have three types of mint; peppermint, sweet mint, and chocolate mint.

Mint is a very hardy and fast growing herb, so I have more mint then I know what to do with.  This dilemma has inspired today's conversation.  What to do with all that mint?

Simple Syrup:
This option is my favorite!  Simple syrup is the best way to infuse almost any flavor into almost anything.  Follow these simple instructions and add a sprig of mint to transform instantly your simple "simple syrup" to mint simple syrup.

Interesting Ice Cubes
I am excited about this option!  Not only is this a great way to use mint leaves, but it also provides a touch of food art.  Here is how-to properly do mint infused ice cubes.  Remember to add the ice cubes to your tea, lemonade, or mojito.

Fruit Salad
We all have our version of a fruit salad, so why not take something we all love and give it a fresh update?  Adding mint leaves is simple but provides a huge flavor boost nobody will be expecting, but will certainly love.

I hope these ideas have inspired everyone to think inside and outside their culinary boxes.

4th of July Inspiration!

Good morning everyone.  Today is going to be short and sweet.  I know there are some of y'all always looking for recipe inspirations so here is a great one for a 4th of July celebration! 

Healthy, fun to make, and super kid-friendly.

Enjoy and please remember to share your photo's on our Facebook page!!

Freezerlicious Frenzy!

A Facebook friend of mine posted the following question: "okay so now what do I do ~~~bring the peas to a boil ....boil for 3 min then chill , bag and freeze????"  When I saw her post I promptly responded and realized, this is a good topic of discussion.

In a world full of modern conveniences, we have forgotten that all those companies providing us with canned or frozen foods started in a small kitchen before they went global.  So why not do this ourselves?  My top 3 favorite reasons for freezing your own fruits and veggies:

1. You get to pick where your fruits & veggies come from. (support your local growers)
2. You season to your liking.
3. You save money!

I'm a strong believer in supporting local businesses and growers, so this is highest on my list.  Who doesn't like knowing what is going into their food?  Freezing your own veggies ensures you know exactly what's going in them.  Even if you have deep pockets, everyone enjoys saving money!  Now if you're going to tackle the freezer frenzy, you have to have a guide.  This is where my knowledge comes into play.  Here are the steps you need to follow for foolproof freezing of vegetables:

1. Thoroughly wash your veggies.
2. Parboil desired amount (3 minutes tops)
3. Drain and lay flat on a sheet pan so veggies are not touching.
4. Freeze for 30 minutes and remove.
5. Put the veggies into a freezer proof zip top bag and return to freezer until needed. 

*Side note: if working with carrots, asparagus, or string beans, cute them to desired length and follow above mentioned steps.*

Steps for foolproof fruit freezing:

1. Thoroughly wash your fruit.
2. Peel, hull, and/or chop as needed, depending on the types of fruit.
3. Lay flat on a sheet pan so they are not touching.
4. Freeze for 30 minutes and remove.
5. Put fruit into a freezer proof zip top bag and return to freezer until needed.

The most crucial step?  Laying flat on the sheet pan is a crucial step, in my opinion, because it prevents your fruits and veggies from clumping together.

I know it seems time consuming but trust me when I say its worth it!  Most of it is just remembering the order of the 5 steps.

As usual, I hope this inspires you to think outside of the "grocery store box" and take your food into your own hands!

"Follow The Food" with JBistro Style Catering!

"Cookware Material Types! The good, the okay, and the great!"

Good morning everyone!  In our last conversation we discussed different types of cookware and what they're meant to be used for.  Of course, I couldn't just stop at telling you the types of cookware.  So this inspired today's conversation.

"Cookware Material Types! The good, the okay, and the great!"

Cast Iron
We'll start with my personal favorite.  Cast iron cookware does require some extra love and attention but it is considered to be one of the best cookware materials out there because of its even heat distribution and ability to last for generations when cared for properly.  According to roseindia.net, it can be beneficial to people with anemia and pregnant women.  Cast iron, when cared for and seasoned properly, can distribute iron into the food that is prepared in it.  If your food sticks, your pan has not been seasoned properly.

Copper Cookware
This is considered to be the top of line, the creme de la creme, favorite of all time cookware because it is the best at proper heat distribution.  While the cookware that is total copper can be very expensive, it is worth the investment.  For those of you that want the benefits of the even heat distribution you get from solid copper, but don't want to spend that cash, consider investing in the cookware that have copper bottoms.  These are a great alternative!  Just like the Cast Iron, Copper cookware requires a little more attention.  They are not dishwasher safe and must be well maintained to get the most shelf life out of it.  If the internal layers become exposed it is toxic!

Stainless Steel
Not only is this one of the "prettiest" cookware types out there, it is also very durable.  It is easy to clean, usually dishwasher safe (but not always recommended so it can keep its luster), and is considered "low stick" so less oil or butter is needed when preparing meals therefore providing healthier cooking.

Anodized Aluminum
This is the most common cookware. Fairly inexpensive and distributes heat well so it reduces hot spots. Lighter than steel, and twice as strong. Even without a nonstick surface, it is considered "low stick." Insides usually have a nonstick surface now.  They do not recommend putting these in the dishwasher and the dark color can make it a little harder to see problems on/in your food.

Nonstick Cookware
Easiest to clean, great for short cooking times, and healthier since no oil is really needed when utilizing this cookware.  Some, but not all, are dishwasher safe.  Never use scouring pads when cleaning and do not use metal utensils when cooking.  This will eventually scrape off the nonstick coating and can get into your food making it potentially hazardous.

Stoneware, Ceramic, and Glass
These types can be pretty, and useful because of its ability to go from the refrigerator straight to the oven.  These are great for casseroles, they do not absorb food smells, and they retain heat very well.  But, on the down side, they usually cannot be used on the stoves higher than medium heat, and they do not distribute heat very well.

Remember, I am always here to answer any of your cooking and kitchen questions! 

"Follow the Food" with JBistro Style Catering!