RECIPES:

Feta and Spinach Purses

Leek and Cream Cheese Quiche

Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Blackberries

Brown Sugar Amaretti

Growing up, our neighborhood was a dozen homes scattered amongst pine trees and a network of ponds. Living things were everywhere—honeybees, snapping turtles, woodpeckers, owls, and egrets. While I stayed close to home picking flowers and experimenting in the kitchen, my naturalist brother would spend hours roaming the woods with his dog, exploring the local ponds and cranberry bogs.

I can’t quite figure out why my kids’ lives are protected and harried when my own childhood was unhurried and free. I often wish I could raise them where I grew up so they could learn as I did, by wandering and exploring. But with the way the world is now, I don’t feel as comfortable as my own mother did when she left us alone for hours. My children have cell phones so that I can call to check in every twenty minutes.

Either the world isn’t as safe as it used to be, or I’m neurotic. Even if my children never have the chance to live where I grew up, however, we can still celebrate the woods.

My children and I live in the Rocky Mountains, so for us, a woodland picnic means heading into higher elevations. As we ascended on this particular occasion, we listened to The Carnival of the Animals. VII. Aquarium by Saint-Saëns in the car. It sounds like the music you’d hear in a fairyland.

After a short hike, we found a clearing in a cluster of quaking aspens, and spread a blanket for our picnic. A few days earlier, the children did research in the library to find out about the local plants and wildlife. Once we arrived, they were able to point out and identify many of the different leaves and bugs. Then, we let our imaginations roam like Wendy Darling’s in Peter Pan. We took turns telling fairy stories, inspired by the woods around us.

To have your own Woodland Picnic, venture to a natural setting such as a meadow, a country field, or even a city park. Have your children research the area’s flora and fauna. Bring colored pencils and field notebooks for the children so they can sketch and take notes on their findings. Then encourage them to make believe the kinds of enchanting creatures that could live in such a setting, hidden away from humans.

music to set the scene:

The Carnival of the Animals. VII. Aquarium, by Camille Saint-Saëns

Peter and the Wolf, by Sergei Prokofiev

Scottish Fantasy, by Max Bruch

Peer Gynt Suite, no. 1, op. 46, by Edvard Grieg

variations on a theme:

Pick any natural outdoor setting if no woods are nearby, such as a meadow, park, beach, or country field.

get creative:

Make your own field notebook. Gather a small stack of unbleached paper, fold it in half, and staple along the fold, or use a needle and twine to sew the binding. Have children sketch and write about their findings, both what they observe with their senses and what they sense with their imaginations.

Feta and Spinach Purses

These purses are just a fun variation on the classic Greek spanakopita. Makes 8 purses

1 tablespoon good olive oil

1 small yellow onion, finely diced

1 pound baby spinach, washed and dried

1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Pinch of cayenne pepper

4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

Kosher salt and pepper

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (optional)

1 package phyllo

1 stick (8 tablespoons) salted butter, melted

2 leek leaves, torn in long, 1⁄4-inch strips (for tying the purses)

1. In a large high-sided skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and turning golden brown around the edges, about 8 minutes. Add spinach and stir occasionally until the spinach is fully wilted.
2. Transfer spinach mixture to a sieve set over a bowl, and allow it to drain until completely cooled. Press on the spinach with a wooden spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Transfer spinach to two layers of paper towels, pull paper towels up around the spinach, and gently squeeze out any liquid that remains.
3. Place spinach mixture in a bowl with nutmeg, cayenne, and feta. Add a pinch of kosher salt and pepper. Taste for seasoning. When the taste is to your liking, gently stir in egg and lemon juice.
4. Unroll phyllo dough and use a sharp knife to cut the stacks of sheets into 5-inch squares. Cover with a clean, slightly damp kitchen towel. Place a square on a clean work surface, and brush with melted butter. Place another square on top, and brush with more butter. Repeat until you create a rough stack of 4–5 sheets. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of spinach mixture onto the center of the stack of phyllo. Gather up the corners of the phyllo sheets to enclose the filling, and tie with a strip of leek. Place on a parchment paper–lined baking sheet, and repeat to make the remaining purses. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 425ºF. Fold a large piece of aluminum foil like a tent, and loosely cover the purses. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the bottom of the purses start to turn golden brown. If they are not brown after 15 minutes, remove the foil and bake for 5 minutes more. Remove from oven and allow purses to cool completely. Best served at room temperature.

Leek and Cream Cheese Quiche

Once, while experimenting in the kitchen with omelets, I discovered how much I love cream cheese baked into eggs. It’s heavenly. Makes 10 mini quiches

For the crust:

21⁄4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

11⁄2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons sugar

1 stick (8 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut in pieces

5 tablespoons ice-cold water (ice removed)

1 egg, lightly beaten

For the filling:

1 leek, washed and cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces

2 teaspoons butter or olive oil

2 ounces cream cheese

6 large eggs

Kosher salt and pepper

1⁄2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade attachment, pulse together flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal, but with some larger pieces of butter remaining.
2. Combine water and egg in a liquid measuring cup, and with the food processor on, slowly pour into the flour mixture. Pour dough onto a floured board and knead a few times to ensure everything is well combined. Wrap with plastic, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
3. Roll dough out on a floured board, and cut into 10 41⁄2-inch circles. Carefully fit each round into a standard muffin tin. Bake for 10–15 minutes, or until the edges just start to brown. Remove from oven, and allow to cool.
4. In a small skillet set over medium-low heat, sauté leeks in butter until tender, about 8 minutes. Spoon a small amount of leeks into the bottom of each crust, followed by a few dots of cream cheese.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture into crusts until nearly full to the top. Top each quiche with a sprinkling of cheddar cheese. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until eggs are completely set.

Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Blackberries

2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin (a little more than half a packet)

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup milk

1 cup heavy cream

2 teaspoons lemon zest

1⁄2 cup sugar

Pinch of kosher salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup blackberries

Panna cotta is an easy dessert that sounds very refined. I love to make it when the weather is warm and I have access to berries.

This recipe makes a little over 3 cups of panna cotta mixture, so the number of vessels you fill will depend on their size. I usually keep a couple of extra ramekins and custard cups at the ready so nothing goes to waste. Serves 6–8

1. In a small bowl, whisk together gelatin and buttermilk. Set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, combine milk, cream, lemon zest, sugar, and salt. Heat until nearly boiling. Remove from heat, and whisk in the buttermilk mixture and vanilla. Strain through a sieve and pour into small individual cups. Refrigerate for 4–6 hours, or overnight.
3. Sprinkle a small handful of blackberries on the top of each container of panna cotta, and serve.

Brown Sugar Amaretti

Ages ago, Martha Stewart hosted a cookie recipe contest on Martha Stewart Living. One of the winning recipes was for Bonnie’s Amaretti, They quickly became a family favorite. These Brown Sugar Amaretti are a variation on Bonnie’s cookies. Makes about 20 small cookies

1 cup raw almonds

6 tablespoons brown sugar

1⁄2 teaspoon pure almond extract

1 egg white

1 tablespoon powdered sugar, for dusting

1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade attachment, pulse almonds until finely ground. Add brown sugar and almond extract, and pulse a few more times until well combined.
2. In a medium stainless steel or glass bowl (a plastic bowl can prevent eggs from whipping), beat egg white until stiff peaks form. Add the almond mixture to the egg white, and fold until well combined.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Scoop dough by heaping teaspoonfuls (or use a 2-teaspoon-size cookie scoop) onto the parchment paper, about 1 inch apart. Let air-dry for 1 hour, or until only slightly sticky to the touch.
4. Preheat oven to 300ºF. Bake cookies until edges almost start to brown, about 18–20 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar and let cool completely on baking sheet. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

books to inspire:

Peter Pan, by J. M. Barrie

Spiderwick Chronicles, by Tony Diterlizzi and Holly Black

Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, adapted by Janet Schulman and illustrated by Peter Malone

Bambi: A Life in the Woods, by Felix Salten