{Eat yo' veggies} muffins

Although our son has a healthy appetite and will try anything once, I am always trying to find ways to get his veggies in. There's only so many goldfish I'm willing to let him jam in his face. If only goldfish crackers were made with veggies. Sigh.

A friend of mine here has a picky eater, and she concocted some pumpkin muffins into toddler muffins packed with veggies that her son will actually eat. I decided I would try my hand at it too.

Here's what I came up with:

Eat yo' veggies muffins
 (adapted from Runner's World magazine)

2 1/2 cups  flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup melted unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce ( replaced oil and butter and added sweetness)
1/2 cup shredded zucchini
1 cup pureed or mashed cooked sweet potato
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup buttermilk ( made by adding 1/2 TBSP lemon juice to lowfat milk and letting it sit 10 minutes)

Heat oven to 375&deg F. Grease 12 muffin cups or add paper liners.

Combine flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.

In a bowl, whisk applesauce, sweet potato, egg, and buttermilk. Fold wet mixture into the dry; stir until just combined.

Fill muffin cups three-quarters full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

And as expected, Sal annihilated them. I will say, as an adult, these are not very tasty ( no sugar in a muffin? Puh-lease!) but for a toddler that doesn't know any different, these were the best muffins ever and earned me a gold star in his book.

If you try them, let me know how your kids like them. Feedback is always appreciated.

Homemade Holidays: Paisano Horeshoes

NZ & his sister play a game of Paisano Horseshoes

In the spirit of keeping our Christmas gifts unique, NZ and I did our best to continue our streak of making Christmas gifts. Last year, NZ made fishing poles for a few lucky recipients, and this year, he and I found ourselves at Home Depot, loading up on materials to make a couple of fun backyard games for our Christmas "picks".

It took him a few weeks from start to finish, and he even learned how to lay and tack carpeting down in the process while covering the boards, which were made out of pressure treated wood and 2x4's. He's pretty crafty, that ol man of mine.

The Zentil family ( all of them, not just the immediate Zentils) love their games. Every year in Yosemite, there are a couple of games of cribbage going at any given time, using a cribbage board that Nick's grandfather made long ago. We all enjoy word games, board games, and anything interactive. At our wedding "after party", a rousing game of Bocce Ball was played in my father-in-law's backyard until it got too dark to continue.

So, NZ and I decided that a couple of "Paisano Horseshoe" games would be a good gift for our family members. The game is usually called "Mexican Horseshoes" or "Washer toss", but to keep in the spirit of being Italian, I just renamed it. So there you have it, it's now called Paisano Horseshoes, and I'm stickin' to it.

NZ's sister, Breakin' in her new game

 Looking forward to watching these boards get years upon years of use, and good family memories made in the meantime.