Hello again, MK readers! We have another short and sweet meal for you. But this time, instead of tasty libations, we would like to share one of our all-time favorite little salads. This Thai salad has saved us on many nights, when we were suffering from a severe lack of motivation—and/or time—but wanted something fresh and homemade. It is refreshing and incorporates the spicy, salty, sweet and sour flavors that we love.

This dish is also great because it is infinitely adaptable. Most of the ingredients are things that you usually have on hand anyway. Noodles, veggies, soy, sugar, oil, that’s pretty much it. However, if you find yourself missing anything on the list, you can always substitute/omit to your hearts content. Just try to use as many fresh, local ingredients as possible, and you will definitely end up on top. This is also a good recipe to know if you have mutant, alien basil growing right outside your back door. Ya know, in case you were wondering.

thai noodle salad
for the salad: (all veggie measurements are based on our preference. feel free to adjust accordingly)

8 oz rice noodles, softened in hot water
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 small daikon, julienned
1 cucumber, julienned
3 medium carrots, julienned
thai chile, thinly sliced
basil
cilantro
lime for garnish
chopped, unsalted peanuts for garnish

for the dressing: (feel free to double if you like it saucy!)

1/4 teaspoon of sesame oil
3 tablespoons soy
1 teaspoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon sriracha
2 tablespoons lime juice

Combine noodles, sweet pepper, daikon, cucumber, and carrot.  Dress to taste.  Top with, chile, basil, cilantro and peanuts.  Serve with lime, sriracha and fish sauce.

Enjoy! We’ll see you next week, friends….

Hello Modern Kiddo readers, Lindsay and John here from Bird and Cleaver. This week, we’ve got a quick little recipe, just for Mom and Dad.

As the temperatures begin to soar, ’tis the season for icy cold cocktails on the patio. Not only are they totally delicious, but sometimes entirely necessary. Around here, even after hours, it is not an uncommon occurrence for the temperatures to remain high enough that you need a little help getting comfortable. So, we have come up with a few tried and true refreshers for those times when just can’t seem to cool down. This fennel+ orange cocktail combines a few of our favorite flavors into one serious little thirst quencher. It’s perfect for a cocktail party, or sippin’ all by your lonesome. Either way, it will get the job done!

fennel + orange cocktail

2 oz gin
1 oz vermouth
1 oz lemon juice
1/4 cup fennel bulb/stem coarsely chopped. try not to get the frond in it.
3 orange slices + 1 for garnish
1 oz simple syrup. (we use the 50/50 sugar/water recipe. just mix them in a jar and shake until dissolved)

**should you desire an alcohol-free drink, simply omit the booze and add 3 oz soda water!

Combine gin, vermouth, fennel and orange slices in cocktail shaker. Muddle ingredients. Add lemon juice and simple syrup, shake and strain into glass with fresh ice. Garnish with fennel stem (make sure the fronds do not hang into cocktail!) and 1/2 an orange slice. Enjoy!

Hurrah! It’s our first Tasty Bites recipe and I’m can’t wait to share it with you guy. Like I said, we are so thrilled to have the Bird & Cleaver team over here sharing some of their delicious takes on yummy treats. First up? Homemade blueberry pop tarts. What?? Mmm hmm. I said homemade pop tarts. Sure these may take a little longer than ripping open that crinkly silver package we’re all used to, but soooo worth it. And as Ashley recommends, you can make these ahead of time and freeze til the craving hits ya. OK, take it away guys…

Hello Modern Kiddo readers. It’s great to be here! In our house, a big Sunday breakfast is definitely a favorite weekly ritual. This is one of the few times during our busy week when we can all relax and enjoy each others company (mostly) uninterrupted. If only for a little while. It is also the one meal, where we tend to indulge ourselves a little more than usual. We still eat relatively healthy, whole foods, but if we are feeling particularly inspired (or have a huge sweet tooth!), some sort of fresh baked good makes it way to the table. And by “we”, I mean Mom. (Dad is not much help in the way of sweet treats, unless of course, you lump heaping bowls of Captain Crunch into this category….)

This time around it was Mom to the rescue with a homemade take on childhood favorite Pop Tarts. Flaky, gooey  and full of rich blueberry flavor—with very little sugar.  While I wouldn’t say these are “healthy”, they are made with real ingredients.  We all agreed that these were going to have to make another appearance really soon. Give them a try, we think you will agree!

• 2 1/2 cups All Purpose flour
• 3 tablespoon granulated sugar + more for sprinkling
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup cold butter
• 2 egg yolks + 1 egg for wash
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup water

In a bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt.  Use a box grater and grate butter into flour mixture.  Toss together with your fingers.

In a glass measuring cup, whisk together egg yolks and water.  Add ice.  Add to flour / butter mixture a few tablespoons at a a time, kneading until dough comes together.

Shape in a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour.  (This dough will keep in the fridge for up to two weeks.)  Make filling while dough chills.

Roll it out to 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick. Cut into desired rectangular size and shape. Push together scraps and repeat.  Mine were about 2 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches. You should get 6-8 pop tarts at this size.  Place bottom layers on cookie sheet.

Place blueberry filling in the center and brush egg around edges. Place top rectangle over filling and seal edges with fork tine. Poke em’ with holes to let the steam escape, and brush tops with egg wash. Sprinkle with sugar. Repeat with remaining tarts. Pop into freezer for 10-15 minutes while oven preheats.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 18-25 minutes or until golden brown. (Although we made these for breakfast, general consensus was that these would be delicious straight from the oven with a scoop of ice cream) Store in an airtight container…if there are leftovers.

• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 pint of blueberries
• 1/4 cup sugar

Combine ingredients in small saucepan.  Cook over medium heat until mixture is thick and the consistency of jam, about five minutes. Set aside and cool.

{recipe + photos by Lindsay & John of Bird & Cleaver for Modern Kiddo. For more recipes, go here!)

Friends, I’m thrilled to announce we are adding a few fabulous contributors in the coming weeks. First up? John and Lindsay Cheesebrew from Bird & Cleaver who are launching our new food column Tasty Bites. This super cool, talented “dining duo” live in Fort Wayne, Indiana with their two mega cute sons. Their colorful blog is filled with luscious photos and recipes that are sure to leave you salivating. I thought it would be fun to get to know them a little better, so the lovely Lindsay and I had a little virtual coffee date the other day. I know you’re gonna love these guys as much as I do!

MODERN KIDDO: Hey Lindsay! I’m so SOOO excited to have you come on board. A cooking duo! I love it! Was this something you each already loved to do, or did you develop your love of cooking together?

BIRD+CLEAVER: Hey Alix! We’re super excited to be here! John and I have always loved cooking. We grew up in the kitchen learning from our grand-mamas—both of whom were strong southern women who had a knack for making something out of nothing. Even from our earliest dates we knew we were going to get along because of how well we worked together in the kitchen. It was obvious that food was going to play a role in our future, and whatever we ended up doing with ourselves once we decided to “grow up”. We did a little culinary schoolin’, spent plenty of time in various kitchens, and now we run B&C while we make plans for our next venture.

MODERN KIDDO: Can you share with us a little bit about your favorite types of things to cook? Do you guys each have your specialty areas?

BIRD+CLEAVER: We both just really love to cook, so it doesn’t much matter what it is. However, we do definitely have some personal favorites. I’d say all baking—pastries, breads, cakes, cookies, etc.— are my territory. Grilled foods, and any meat-centric dishes (charcuterie, sausage making, steaks, etc!) are a John job. We also both really enjoy all kinds of ethnically inspired dishes, most of which usually end up being of the non-meat persuasion. We collaborate all the time.

MODERN KIDDO: Isn’t there an old saying, “the family that cooks together….” haha. So I know you have two awesome boys,  Gavin (12) and Finn (6). I have to ask, do they love to eat as much as you love to cook?? Or are they picky?

BIRD+CLEAVER: We’ve been really fortunate in that our boys are pretty adventurous eaters. However, they are still kids, so there are of course a handful of foods that do fall into the “ick” category.

MODERN KIDDO: I have to tell you how much I love your blog. The recipes are divine, but the photos are just SO gorgeous. How long have you guys been blogging? Oh, and what’s the story behind the name Bird and Cleaver?

BIRD+CLEAVER: Bird and Cleaver is 1 1/2 old now. No big back-story on the name, really. “Bird” has always been my nickname and “Cleaver” is kind of a reference to the opposite. Or, depending on how you look at it, the balance. So, it’s just us.

MODERN KIDDO: Makes perfect sense to me! I love how it reflects the two of you. So, when you’re not taking over the world with your amazing culinary skills, what do you and the boys like to do?

BIRD+CLEAVER: Hmmm. Well, we are a pretty tight little unit. We really just like being together. So most of our free time is spent doing things as a family. We like being outside, camping, hiking, riding bicycles, and diggin’ in the dirt (but really, who doesn’t!). We have also been known to take the occasional spur of the moment road trip—probably our favorite thing to do! These trips could be to anywhere: a random flea market, a state park, or totally different state. When we’re together, we’re happy.

MODERN KIDDO: Aw I LOVE that answer. We’re the same. I mean, of course it’s nice to get a little alone time, but we really just love hanging out as a family too. OK lady, one last question, just for fun. If we were to stop by the Bird and Cleaver offices, what music would we find on your playlist??

BIRD+CLEAVER: Hmmm, well hat would certainly depend on whose shift it is! If Mom is flying solo, you would likely hear Twin Shadow or the sweet sounds of Belle and Sebastian at a moderate volume. However, if Dad is manning the stove, there would likely be some sort of difficult to pronounce black metal playing at deafening volumes (or possibly Sabbath, even louder). If it’s the pair of us, we can usually agree on some sort of Jazz/Samba LP. So yeah, we like our music diverse!

MODERN KIDDO: Hahaha, awesome! I love Belle and Sebastian and Paranoid/Black Sabbath was my old “go to” karaoke song (and what I sang when Greg and I first met) so I think we’re going to get along fabulously!!! Now, if only I could convince you two to fly out here to San Francisco and cook me up some of these amazingly TASTY BITES! Hey, you see what I did there? That’s called “bringing it back around”……Lindsay thank you SO much for taking a little time to chat with me!

BIRD+CLEAVER: You’re welcome Alix! John and I can’t wait to share some of our favorite bites with your readers.

Is it just me or are you suddenly hungry too?? Friends, stay tuned for the first Tasty Bites column from Lindsay and John next Tuesday! Until then, be sure to follow @birdandclever on Instagram for a sneak peek into their world.