Brown Sugar Lemon Body Scrub

As part of my part-time librarian job, I get to plan events for our Mom's Night Out program at the library.  My co-worker and I put together a night out that included a book discussion of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake,  lemon cupcakes, and a brown sugar lemon body scrub that I came up with.  We had the participants put the scrub together (see photo below), and then place the scrub in baby food jars that I had been saving for a while.  (I did make some of A.J.'s baby food, but did supplement with Earth's Best jarred foods).    This is sooo ridiculously easy to make and fun to use, that I had to share the recipe.  The smell of this scrub is heavenly! 

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons of brown sugar

3 tablespoons almond oil (or oil of your choice)

8-12 drops of lemon essential oil

Stir all the ingredients together.  To use, rub the scrub on your skin in a circular motion and rinse in the shower.  Pat skin dry. 

Scrubs are excellent for exfoliating skin and improving circulation.  Lemon is a natural anti-bacterial and helps to remove toxins from the body.

Peanut Butter Granola "Sandwich"

I made this as a bedtime snack for A.J. the other night, after he refused to eat my Moroccan couscous.  They looked so delicious, I had to make one for myself and gobbled it up after A.J. was tucked into bed and I was parked in front of the season premier of Glee!

As you can see, my photography is horrible, so I swiped the picture from the Whole Foods website (where this recipe came from), just to show you how delicious this thing looks!

Looks delicious, doesn't it?  And it's super easy to make.  Here's what you do.

1. Core an apple.  (I sliced mine up first, and then cored it.  One large apple made two sandwiches. )
2. Take your favorite peanut butter (or other nut spread), and spread it on both slices of apple.  Try to use a natural or organic, peanut butter. The fewer ingredients the better. 
3.  Take your favorite granola.  I used some homemade granola, but store bought is great.  I love Udi's brand!  Sprinkle the granola over the peanut butter on each slice.
4.  Put the two slices together and enjoy!

The original recipe calls to add chocolate chips, but I think it's already sweet enough with the granola and apple.  There are tons of variations you could try out.  Add some cinnamon, different varieties of apple, or granola, etc. 

This is a great recipe to make with kids too.  If we hadn't been running late that night, I would have A.J. help me assemble the sandwich too.

Cauliflower Maranca

Now that my computer is back up and running, I can start to post about the many, many recipes that I've made in recent months that have been sitting in the pipeline.  I knew as soon as I made this recipe months ago from the classic Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen that I would have to post it.  I made it on a whim.  Some days when I'm planning my menu, I feel adventurous and want to branch out and fearlessly try new, but "weird" and unusal dishes in the hopes that I will find another dish to add to my vegetarian repertoire.  Sometimes they are instant success and others are downright duds.  I'd never heard of a maranca( and I'm still not quite sure what it is).  A quick Google search came up with no answers, but I had some millet I wanted to use up, and I wanted to expose A.J. to it again.  So, I gathered up the ingredients and made my first maranca.  I was pleasantly surprised by the results.  If you're not a fan of millet (it has a slightly crunchy texture that is unlike most grains) or if it's not available in your local store, you can substitute brown rice.  You can also make it vegan by omitting the cheese or using some vegan margarine and  Daiya vegan cheddar "cheese."

Cauliflower Maranca
Ingredients
oil for the pan
1 1/2 c raw millet
2 1/2 c water
1 Tbsp butter
2 c chopped onion
1 lb mushrooms, sliced
black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil
1 large head of cauliflower, cut into 1-inch pieces (or smaller)
3 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 Tbsp lemon juice
grated cheese, optional
paprika, for the top

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Oil a 9x13 inch baking pan.

2. Place the millet and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until tender (15 to 20 minutes). Transfer to a large bowl and fluff with a fork to let steam escape.

3. Melt butter in a large skillet. Add onion, mushrooms, pepper, salt, and basil, and saute about 5 minutes - until the onions soften. Add cauliflower and garlic, and saute about 10 minutes more - until the cauliflower is tender. Add lemon juice.

4. Stir the sauteed veggies into the millet, along with the optional cheese, and mix well. Spread into the prepared pan, dust with paprika and bake for 25-30 minutes.

You can eat it as a side dish or serve with a salad!  Yum!