[Food Series] Five Onion Soup with Baked Gruyere Crostini

Posted on by Jennifer Fontaine
I look at Onion Soup as if it were a long term relationship. It’s warm and comforting and of course, it’s a commitment, but it’s totally worth every minute! When I make it, I generally prefer the heartier 5 onion soup mainly because I’m in love with leeks and shallots and garlic! I hope you are, too! Enjoy!
Ingredients
6 large Brown Onions
6 medium Shallots
1 large Leek
8 Green Onions
10 large Garlic Cloves
4 tablespoons Butter
2 ups Red Wine
2 ups Beef Stock
2 ups Chicken Stock
4 Bay Leaves
3 teaspoons freshly chopped Thyme
Salt and Pepper
Ok, so get the onion goggles on and get to chopping! Slice the onions, shallots, leeks, green onions and garlic. Add 4 tablespoons of butter to a deep pot on medium low heat and toss in all of your various onion types! Sprinkle in about a teaspoon of salt and then stir the pot. The salt will help the onions sweat. Put the lid on it and let it do its thing! Meanwhile, finely chop your fresh thyme. Stir in the bay leaves and thyme, then cover and let it simmer away! Check in on the onions about every 15-20 minutes, giving them a stir each time. At about the hour and a half (yes! an hour and a half) your onions should be looking pretty soupy. Add the wine, beef and chicken stocks and half a teaspoon of pepper. Allow the soup to simmer for at least another 45 minutes to an hour. Grate about 2 cups of gruyere cheese. Take crusty bread and slice one inch slices. Place them in the broiler til nice and golden brown on both sides! Once the soup has finished reducing, place the soup in an oven safe dish, put the toasted bread on top, then pile on the cheese! Place the oven safe dish in the broiler until the cheese has melted and has started to brown slightly. Then, enjoy!
By Jennifer Fontaine

5 Healthy and Hearty Trail Meals For Toddlers Guest Post for Go Explore Nature

Posted on by Jennifer Fontaine

Two things I’m most passionate about in my life are introducing my daughter to nutritious and delicious foods and allowing her to explore, discover and learn from the wonders that Mother Nature has to offer, so when Debi invited me to do a Guest Post on hiking meals for kids I was honored and excited!

Packing lunches on-the-go are pretty commonplace in our household and I have gotten fairly good at keeping the fridge stocked with quick and healthy choices. When doing my weekly shopping I focus on buying a rainbow of fruits and vegetables to ensure our diet is full of vitamin and mineral goodness!

Another trick I learned and implemented early on in motherhood is to intentionally cook extra at dinner time, so there is a nutritious and filling meal already made for lunch the next day! I cook a LOT as it is and doing this saves me time and pot-washing. Win-Win-Win!

One more simple idea I call upon quite frequently are make-ahead meals and am constantly adding new make-ahead meals to my cooking arsenal, Make a bunch ahead and enjoy throughout the week without having to lift a finger! It doesn’t get much sweeter.

Here are some of my favorite go-to trail meals! I hope you enjoy!

[Wheat Berry Salad]

I used to be terrified of a wheat berry! Weren’t they weird and unusual and hard to cook? As a matter of fact, that couldn’t be farther from the truth! 

Toddler eating Wheat Berry Salad

Just soak 2 cups of wheat berries in water overnight in the fridge, then boil them in 4 cups of your favorite stock, 4 cups of cold water and 2 bay leaves for about an hour. That’s it! Rinse and drain them and add whatever tickles your fancy, instant Wheat Berry Salad. I love to add cucumbers, berries and garbanzo beans with a splash of olive oil and lemon.

Want to find out what the other 4 healthy toddler trail meals are? Read the full article at Go Explore Nature!

By Jennifer Fontaine

[Food Series] Healthy and Delicious Oatmeal Banana Bread

Posted on by Jennifer Fontaine

Some people say we are a family of Monkeys because, in our house, we go through bananas at break-neck speed. We just can’t get enough of them! Banana bread is one of my favorite breakfast foods and a must have make-ahead meal when we go camping. It’s also a quick and healthy snack on the trail. This recipe has morphed too many times to count, but feel free to add fun things like semi-sweet chocolate chunks or walnuts. V has a slight nut allergy, so we forgo that for the time being. I love this particular recipe because it’s really flavorful without too much sugar and packed with nutrition. Enjoy!

Healthy and Delicious Banana Bread

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups of Organic Whole Oats
2 very ripe Bananas
1/2 cup Honey
1 cup Yogurt
2 Eggs
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Baking Powder

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Throw the oats in to a food processor until they become a fine, powdery consistency. Into the oatmeal flour, incorporate the other dry ingredients; nutmeg, cinnamon, baking soda and baking powder. Slowly begin to blend in the wet ingredients, starting with the applesauce, then add the 2 eggs, yogurt, bananas, vanilla extract and lastly the honey. Scrape the sides of the processor to ensure there aren’t clumps of the dry mixture stuck and all of the banana is pureed throughout. Spray two bread pans with non-stick cooking spray and evenly divide the batter between the two pans. Bake loaves for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

By Jennifer Fontaine