Recipe: Homemade Apple Cider

This is more of a method than a recipe, but I had to share.

We have apple trees.  4 Macintosh, a Yellow Transparent, and a Jona Gold (which is not yet producing fruit - it was a present for The Boy for his 5th birthday.  Yes, he asked for an apple tree of his very own.  His wish was granted).

The apples are thick on the trees this year.  We decided to pick some last week, though it is really a bit early for them.

Then, I remembered that my mom had an apple cider press.  Dad used to use it to make apple wine and grape wine as well.  For a bit of family fun, we worked together to make some apple cider.  Honestly, I thought we would maybe get two cups of cider at the end.

We ended up with a bit more than a gallon.  The kids want to make more.  So do I.  It was time consuming, but all in all, super fun and also educational for all of us.

To make cider, start with washed whole apples.  We chopped them into hunks and discarded any bad parts and the stems, but didn't worry about a stray seed or two, since we were straining them anyway.  After the rough cut, we chopped them finely in the food processor, and then pureed them in a blender with a little added water.

Once we had the puree, it was time to transfer them to the cider press.

The press was lined with a straining bag, and then the press was slowly turned to release the cider.

CIDER!

All pressed out

We turned the bag over once during the pressing to make sure the liquid was all squeezed out.

That's really all there was to it!  It helps that we had a cider press available to us, but all in all, it is something I can recommend if you have a little time on your hands and a yen for something fun for the whole family.

Family Lunches: 9.6.13

Happy Friday!  Don't miss my MOMables giveaway!

Sandwich: 35g, carrots & ranch: 2g, cookies: 3g, melon: 5g, cheese: 1g

The Boy has kaleidoscope bread with pesto and ham, a string cheese, carrots with ranch, melon, and a couple cinnamon cookies, in his Yumbox.  For snack, he will have Scrabble Cheez-its (not pictured, 20g)

The Girl has a ham, cheese, and lettuce sandwich with lettuce on kaleidoscope bread, carrots in the small heart container, grapes, and Scrabble Cheez-its, in her Easylunchbox.

I have leftover Garden Couscous Stuffed Pattypan Squash, grapes, grape tomatoes, and apple slices, in an Easylunchbox.

Recipe: Garden Couscous Stuffed Pattypan Squash

I have never before had pattypan squash.  My mother mentioned that she doesn't much care for it, so we never grew it.  Always interested in trying new things, I was excited to have it as an option at my CSA this week, and grabbed them happily.

I am so glad that I did!  The kids loved them, I loved them, The Hubby loved them... and they are super cute!  I bet I could even convert my mother.

Garden Couscous Stuffed Pattypan Squash

1 Tbsp oil
6 small to medium sized pattypan squash
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 cubanelle (or sweet bell) pepper, chopped
1 ear corn, kernels cut off
3 links sausage (I used Spinach & Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Sausage)
1/4 c Philadelphia Savory Garlic Cooking Creme
1 c water
1 c couscous
1 tsp butter

Preheat oven to 400 F. Hollow out pattypan squash with a melon baller or small spoon until there is only a small amount of flesh left under the skin.  Save the squash you scoop out.

Heat oil in a saute pan.  Combine chopped veggies with the squash in the pan and cook over medium heat.  Remove skin from the sausages and crumble the meat into the pan.  Cook until the meat is done and the veggies are tender.  Stir in the cooking creme (or use cream cheese with a little milk mixed in, with some garlic powder).

Meanwhile, boil the water in a sauce pan.  Melt the butter in the water.  When the water comes to a boil, stir in the couscous, cover, and remove from heat.  Allow to sit for 5 minutes.  Fluff the couscous with a fork and stir into the veggie mixture.

Filling

Place the hollowed out squash into a baking dish. Fill the squash with the couscous veggie mixture.  Put any remaining filling into an oven safe pan (or the saucepan you cooked the couscous in).  Bake both the stuffed squash and the remaining filling for about 30 minutes, or until the flesh of the squash is tender.

Serve squash on top of a little of the filling and enjoy.

Family Lunches: 9.5.13

Don't miss my MOMables Giveaway!

Pasta: 20g, egg: 0g, grapes: 5g, melon: 5g, Cheezits: 10g

For Thursday lunches, The Boy has some more leftover veggie pasta, a hard boiled egg (under the eyes pick), grapes, melon, and Scrabble Cheez-its, in an Easylunchbox.  For snack, he has a banana (not pictured).

The Girl has a tuna sandwich with lettuce on Kaleidoscope bread, grapes in a Lego container, apple slices, and kale chips, in an Easylunchbox.  She has a banana and a Chobani Champions for snack (not pictured)

The Hubby has some leftover pizza, cucumber slices, and grapes, in an Easylunchbox.

I have a leftover tuna melt with Cabot cheddar cheese, with grape tomatoes and some grapes, in an Easylunchbox.

Family Lunches: 9.4.13

Don't miss my MOMables giveaway!

I made a really yummy pasta for dinner, using a cubanelle pepper, zucchini, yellow squash, and fresh corn, along with rotini and Philadelphia Cooking Cream.

Pasta: 20g, feta: 1g, Crackers: 10g, egg: 0g, melon: 5g, apple slices: 5g

The Boy asked for some of the pasta for lunch, and wants to put some feta on it, so I gave him a little container of it.  He also has a car shaped hard boiled egg, apple slices, Scrabble Cheez-its, and some melon mint salad from the new Weelicious Lunches cookbook (review and giveaway coming soon!) in an Easylunchbox. His snack is a banana (not pictured, 28g)

The Girl has a Kaleidoscope Bread sandwich with Miracle Whip, ham, and Cabot cheddar, along with grapes, kale chips, and a square hard boiled egg, in an Easylunchbox.  Her snack is a banana and a Chobani Champions yogurt (not pictured).

 I have leftover pasta for lunch, along with kale chips and a mint and melon salad in an Easylunchbox,

Family Lunches: 9.3.13

Don't miss my MOMables giveaway!

I attempted to make some polka dot bread, but ended up with rainbow kaleidoscope bread.  Still cool, but not quite what I was going for.  No one is complaining.

Sandwich: 40g, cucumber & ranch: 3g, apple: 5g, melon & strawberries: 5g

The Boy has a kaleidoscope bread sandwich with pesto, liverwurst, and cheese, along with cucumber and ranch, a tiny apple from our own apple tree, melon and strawberries, all in an Easylunchbox.   His snack is a Chobani Champions yogurt and some cinnamon crackers (not pictured - Yogurt: 9g and crackers: 12g)

The Girl has a kaleidoscope bread sandwich with ham and cheese, a pluot, strawberries, grapes, and some cinnamon crackers, in an Easylunchbox.  Her snack is Chobani Champions yogurt and some cinnamon crackers (not pictured).

The Hubby has some leftover pizza, cucumber, and an apple from our trees, in an Easylunchbox.

I have leftover pizza, leftover Asian wings, and cucumber, in an Easylunchbox.

Lunches for an Outing: Boston Museum of Science - Labor Day Weekend 2013

Don't miss my MOMables giveaway!

We have a membership to the Boston Museum of Science, which we got for The Girl's birthday last March, but haven't had a chance to go until now... it's a fantastic museum, and well worth the drive (which is about 4 hours from our house), but it's something of a feat to find a time when the whole family can go, since The Hubby works on most Saturdays, and I work on most Sundays..

So, we took advantage of the Labor Day weekend, and we took my mother, too.

Butterflies enjoy fruit, too!

What a place!  If you live anywhere near, I cannot recommend it enough.  We loved the Butterfly Garden, and as members, we got a huge discount on the visiting Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit, on loan to the museum only until October.  We didn't even get to the Planetarium, the OMNI theatre, or the Theatre of Electricity Lightening Show... so, another visit will have to come sooner rather than later!

One wonderful thing about the museum is that they don't mind if you bring in your own lunches.  Perfect for us!

My mother made a lovely loaf of whole wheat sourdough for our sandwiches.  I packed us a whole cooler full of Easylunchboxes.

My mother had a sandwich with pesto, Cabot cheddar cheese, turkey and salami, and lettuce, along with a fresh local peach, and some strawberries, along with some butterfly crackers.

The Hubby had a sandwich with mayo, Cabot cheddar cheese, turkey and turkey salami, and lettuce, along with apple slices, strawberries, and butterfly crackers.

I had a sandwich with pesto, Cabot cheddar cheese, turkey and salami, and lettuce, along with apple slices, and some strawberries, along with some butterfly crackers.

The Girl had a sandwich with mayo, Cabot cheddar cheese, turkey and salami, and lettuce, along with a fresh local peach, and some strawberries, along with some butterfly crackers.

The Boy had a sandwich with pesto, Cabot cheddar cheese, turkey and salami, and lettuce, along with apple slices, and some strawberries, along with some butterfly crackers.

The dining options at the museum are varied, but expensive, so we saved a lot of money, and had healthier food than we would easily have had if we had bought lunches there.