CRACKER CRISP TARTINES: FEEDING BABIES

The thing about cooking and summer is that often times, meals are thrown together. It’s lighter longer, we’re outside and it’s so warm out that less actual cooking and more assembly sounds more like it. Tomatoes with a thinned pesto drizzled on top and thick slices of bread on the bbq. Peaches and lentils and lots of herbs mixed into some quick-cooking quinoa. I love when it can be both easy and good, not exclusively one or the other. There is so much great produce this time of year to pull it off. With a toddler and a very messy mash-eating baby at the table, Hugh and I have found it more peaceful to feed, bathe and put the kids to bed and then have dinner ourselves. We can actually talk, sip wine instead of swig it, and no one is asking me to pull the green bits out of their turkey meatballs. And lunch, since we’re usually all around for now, my default is sandwiches but everyone is tiring of those lately too. I started piling things on crackers instead, same but different. In this case, I used the new Wasa THINS. The ingredient list is short and wholesome, they’re great to eat on their own, but also sturdy enough to hold some of my favorite toppings. I have vivid memories of original Wasa crispbread from my childhood - my mom would eat them with mustard as part of some diet she was trying or slather them in peanut butter and honey for my sister and me. These are not just for Curran, these most definitely end up being for all of us. If we’re pulling a late afternoon beach day and I know everyone will get hungry, I bring some dips and cheese to keep everyone happy until dinner time. I can’t get over zealous with the vegetables for the toddler but I can make these recipes below to taste and they make for a quick little lunch. I love that these crackers are thin and delicate so they don’t take over. Crackers can be too much sometimes. All said, let’s just keep snacks and meals easy while the produce is amazing and we’d rather be outside.

This post was sponsored by Wasa Crackers. All words, photos and opinions are my own. Visit their site for more recipe ideas or check out the #snackingwithwasa hashtag.

CRACKER CRISP TARTINES

The trick is to make sure you have a “glue” to hold things down - mashed avocado, nut butter, hummus, ricotta, maybe a soft goat cheese. I have a toaster oven that I use daily so it’s easy to warm up the pizza one but I understand this isn’t the case for everyone. It only needs a minute for the cheese to melt so you could pop 'er in the real oven as well. 
I wrote the recipes for one, but if you are going to make one, you might as well make a few whether it’s a snack or lunch situation. These recipes will work on any Wasa cracker or sturdy cracker of choice.

Pizza Crisp

1 Wasa THINS or similar cracker
1 Tbsp. pizza sauce
1 Tbsp. grated mozzerella
1 Tbsp. grated parmesan
chopped olives
dried Italian Herbs, for garnish
chopped basil, for garnish

Preheat a toasted oven or oven to 375º. Spread the pizza sauce on top of the cracker. Evenly sprinkle the mozzarella and parmesan. Toast for 1 minute for the cheese to just melt. Top with a sprinkle of dried herbs and fresh basil. Enjoy warm.

Peach Crisp

1 Wasa THINS or similar cracker
1 Tbsp. mascarpone
1 tsp. maple syrup
pinch of cinnamon
1/2 a ripe peach, sliced thin
granola, for garnish

Mix the mascarpone with the maple and cinnamon. Spread it on top of the cracker. Arrange the peach slices on top and garnish with granola.

Veggie Crisp

1 Wasa THINS or similar cracker
2 Tbsp. prepared hummus or mashed avocado
1/4 of a cucumber, thinly sliced
shaved fennel
chopped herbs and celery leaves
sea salt and pepper, for garnish

Spread the hummus or avocado on the surface of the cracker. Arrange the vegetables and herbs. Finish with a sprinkle or salt and pepper. 

NECTARINE, TOMATO + BURRATA CAPRESE

It's a version of the same conversation we had at our old apartment when I was pregnant with Curran. As a couple, you become so used to the cadence that is just the two of you. There is both quiet and dance parties and nights when you feel like cooking and others when it's refreshing to get dressed up and go out. Before kids, it's hard to imagine how he, she, they, will fit in to a rhythm that is not always easy, but familiar. But somehow, and not without tears and grace in the adjustment, it's as if I don't remember our son not being here. I don't pine for the quieter days or cleaner floors or less expensive grocery bill. I never felt something was missing, but he makes us feel more whole. "What will it be like with another little person around here?" I ask. It's more rhetorical. I don't expect Hugh to have the answer but suppose by asking, I want him to tell me it's going to be alright, that we can do it, that we will adjust just like we did the first time and he does. 

There is a big sliding mirror behind our bathroom sink and not a beautiful one. It is heavy, hard to open and has a yellow gold trim dating it's origin to the 70's when the house was built. I stand profile to it to take in the shape of my belly. My thighs and hips are showing the lack of exercise and bean and cheese burritos that have taken the place of my pre-pregnancy gigantic green salads. Same song, one year later, I feel like I was just doing this? I was. My body has carried a child, now growing another one, and in my own self consciousness' that can often steal all of the joy from those magical feats, I remember the work that that belly, thighs and hips are doing. The growing and the nursing, your body doesn't feel like your own for well over a year and I think it's ok to find that a little crazy making. I am growing a little girl, our daughter, and vanity aside, it's the most magical process. It feels different this time - harder, hungrier, less beautiful, if I may be so honest. They are babies and then they are PEOPLE! Curran has his own language that we can sometimes understand and gives hugs with a little pat and deduces that any toy that does not move or make noise needs a battery ("mommy. daddy. bowerry?"). He waves at airplanes and dislikes the car seat and really likes to throw things "awey". I, we, are completely taken by him. How does one do that twice?!?! So much to process and anticipate but come January, we will be welcoming a baby girl to the family and I may just burst from how completely I love my babies. 

Thank goodness I do recipe development for work because it forces me to cook when I otherwise can easily talk myself out of it lately. Ashley and I have been developing recipes for Electrolux this past year and they have a seriously delicious looking collection going on over there now. Because it has been blazing hot here and the less heating elements I have to turn on, the better, I wanted to point you towards this super simple salad. I realize we're seeing the end of stonefruits and tomatoes now but they are still sweet and juicy so get to it. 

NECTARINE, TOMATO + BURRATA CAPRESE

Serves 2-4

The full recipe can be found at Live.Love.Lux. along with a heap of other great tomato recipes this month. Think of this as less of a recipe and more an assembly of produce and creamy cheese at it's best. I like this with a bit of balsamic too or pile the goods on garlic rubbed toast. 

GREEK SALAD DIP

Greek Salad Dip . Sprouted Kitchen

We were at some new friends' house for dinner this past weekend and they made a whole Greek-themed dinner. I brought a sub-par peach cake, we listened to Greek music and I soaked in being on the other side of the kitchen. I really like hosting and having people over, but it is such a treat to be the one invited as a guest. I just finished the lovely Jessica Fetchor's book Stir and from the perspective of someone who is sick, she mentions as being the natural hostess and care taker, it is uncomfortable sometimes to be on the other side, being cared for, but how necessary it is. I realize I was merely at someone else's house for dinner on a Saturday night, not holding a candle close to Jessica's story of surviving a brain aneurysm, but we can relate to stories by way of our own reality. I was craving to sit at the table instead of standing in front of the stove, is that ok to say on a food blog? As someone who gets paid to write recipes for work? Maybe especially so. My favorite, unrelated to this, line in the book:

"But we are always swept this way and that. We create the life we want to live, yes. Then, in return, that life creates us. We follow the tides; we have no other choice. We splash about beneath the brightest of moons, then the darkest of skies, tug hard from the surface on anchors that refuse to budge, and then, if we are very brave, dive deep." 

I just really enjoyed the book and Jessica's perspective. Perhaps I feel swept up in some sort of tide myself. Anyway. Erin made this chunky Greek salad with tomato halves, slices of cucumber, whole olives and feta cheese scattered throughout. It seemed so rustic but classic and I could have eaten the entire bowl. So, in light of loving to have lunches ready in the fridge, I thought maybe I could chop everything small and have a Greek salsa type thing. I could bring it to BBQs as a dip or toss it with a bit of lettuce for lunch or just sit with the serving bowl and a bag of sturdy crackers. It is exactly as I imagined it'd be and worth sharing here. No new technique or farmers market romance, just the tale of a summer staple gone right. 

Greek Salad Dip . Sprouted Kitchen

Greek Salad Dip . Sprouted Kitchen

Greek Salad Dip . Sprouted Kitchen

GREEK SALAD DIP // Serves 6 as an appetizer

I'll bring this dip to summer parties, but it's also great to keep stocked at home for a quick lunch. Stuff the mixture into a pita or into romaine leaves to make a meal of it. Not that crackers and a dip like this are not a sufficient lunch. You could add some cooked quinoa and a little more dressing and consider it a side dish, making it even more perfect for backyard BBQs.

• 1 cup cooked French Lentils
• 2-3 persian cucumbers
• 2 roma tomatoes, or something similar
• 1/2 a red bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed
• 1/3 cup minced red onion
• 1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 3 Tbsp. fresh chopped oregano leaves
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
• 1/2-3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese, to taste

Put the lentils into a large mixing bowl. Scoop out the seedy center and finely dice the cucumbers. Do the same with the tomatoes and red pepper. The smaller the dice, the easier to scoop with a cracker. Add them to the mixing bowl. Add the red onion, olives, parsley, oregano, salt, pepper flakes, olive oil and vinegar and stir to mix. Gently stir in the crumbled feta and taste for seasonings. 

Serve at room temperature or chilled. The salad will keep for 4-5 days in the fridge, the vegetables getting a bit softer by the day but still enjoyable. 

Greek Salad Dip . Sprouted Kitchen