roasted roots

This post is inspired by: one part depression for the end of summer, one part lament over the dwindling produce in our garden... (We do have some transplanted beets still growing, but only two carrots remain uneaten; the basil is still going but I think I almost killed it pinching some leaves off with my fingernails last week; the tomatoes we just weren't able to keep up with and wasted a bunch; the brussels sprouts are still maturing and although one stalk is twice the size of the others I'm hoping they'll all come along and it'll be a merry christmas, ribbon-tied sprout stalks for all!) ... oh, and one part a delicious non-recipe that's scrumptious for summer or fall.

This is what we've been eating, on nights when it's not basil pesto, at least once a week since the beets and carrots came in.  I call it roasted roots but often include green beans/kale/chicken as well.

Here are my directions...

-- Preheat your oven to 350 or 400 degrees or somewhere in there, depending on how hungry everyone is.
-- Wash and scrub your veggies til they're nice and clean.
-- Chop your carrots into thin slices and toss them onto a baking sheet or casserole dish.
-- Peel your beets, then chop into thin slices and add to the carrots.
-- Do up any other veggies you have (take the ends off green beans and chop in half, rip kale into bite sized pieces) and add them to the pan.
-- Chop up a handful of fresh basil and add that too.
-- Cut up your raw meat, if you want this to be a whole meal rather than a side dish, into chunks and toss those on the pan with the veggies.
-- Drizzle some olive oil and balsamic vinegar on top; Sprinkle on some salt, pepper, and rosemary (or whatever other herbs you like); Stir it all up.
-- Bake for about 20-25 minutes, give or take, for nice crunchy veggies and cooked meat.

(We also call this dish pink chicken because the beet juice turns the chicken a lovely bright pink.  Which, by the way, does not make my pink-loving son want to eat it.  No matter how many times I serve beets, the boys will not eat them.  About carrots they are completely fickle; one day they love carrots and the next day they hate carrots and always have.)

fresh basil pesto

If nothing else, we've eaten what we spent on the garden in pesto.  There is so much fresh basil around here and I am in love.  We're eating this pesto at least once a week (let's be honest: twice) and I'm not even close to sick of it (can't quite say the same for hubby but I'm the one cooking and he doesn't complain).  I originally got the recipe {here} but now I don't measure, I just go for it.

Here it is, my current favorite basil pesto recipe:

Stuff your food processor with fresh, clean basil, then add:

• 1/4 to 1/3 cup olive oil
• juice and/or zest of a lemon or two
• salt and pepper
• a couple tablespoons of freshly grated parmesan
• a tablespoon or two of cream cheese
• a couple cloves or spoonful of minced garlic
• a handful of pecans or walnuts (better to toast these but I often don't)

Process until nice and smooth, and add to your favorite pasta with some blanched garden veggies or finely chopped broccoli and shredded chicken.  so. good.

birthday {29} + preschool and peter pan

Last week was my birthday.  {Whoopdie doo.}  Bob was anticipating the big day with much excitement: "Mom, I can't wait for your birthday!  I think Grandmother is going to bring you a cheesecake, and I love cheesecakes, and I love birthdays!!"  He had been working for days on a secret list of special things for us to do, but I can't read his writing and he never would tell me what it said.  Except for the bit about cheesecake.

So-- without much planned we went to check out the preschool down the road from the house we're moving to {in ten days!} and the good news: Bob loved it!  He's been totally opposed to school at this age; he has continually insisted, "I'll go to school when I'm five."  But the teacher was great -- she won him over straight away -- and even though the classroom wasn't set up yet he seemed comfortable with the environment.  A meeting with the school nurses's skeleton sealed the deal.  Then the playgrounds were a bonus.  I love that's it's so close we can walk, and even though we weren't really planning on sending Bob to preschool this year it just seems like a good fit and we're excited about it.

After our preschool adventure we stopped for berries at a farm stand and then I took the boys out for lunch at Matt Reilly's because I had a serious hankering for a fisherman's platter.  The boys ran around on the deck while we waited, then we shared the meal and ate every bite.  It was damn good.

We went to the "present store" because Bob wanted to buy something for me, but as it turned out he could only choose something for himself.  Hmm.

We went home for naptime... I cooked dinner {buffalo chicken dip and beet hummus}... and then as Bobby predicted my mom came through with the cheesecake.  {Bob had three servings, and two for breakfast the next day!}

On Friday, Ben took me on a hot date to see Peter Pan at the Colonial Theater.  {Funny that we used our rare time away from the kids to see a children's play, but Ben knows me well and that play was a staple of my childhood and I loved it.  Though I did feel a twinge of guilt that we didn't bring Bob along.}  The kid who played Peter Pan (12 year old Charles Kerzner) was awesome -- he had the biggest smile on his face for almost the entire show, except for when he was sad and then you could see that frown from the very last row.  The scene where Peter Pan and Hook are in the forest, and Peter is disguised as a "lady" -- he had the entire place dying laughing.  He sang just about every single song in the play, and he got to fly over the stage and the audience; you could just see it in his face that he was having the time of his life.  So great.

a photo of a photo of the colonial before it was restored

So that was my birthday.  Just one more year of being young and then I'm officially old.  Just kidding.  And, in keeping with my little tradition, here's a video of the boys wishing me a happy birthday.

{that's just beet hummus on O's face}

They sure have grown up in the past year.  Check out last year.  And Bob the year before.

Addictive sweet potato burritos

I was going through photos from the summer and came across this one, which stopped me because 1. it's a picture of my little green glass; and 2. ohmygoodness I miss eating these burritos every day and I need to make and freeze another batch.  For both reasons, I'm sharing the recipe.  A must-try for all mamas pregnant or nursing, or anyone really.  Not trying to exclude, peeps.

Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos

the ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil (or 2 - let's be honest)
1 onion, chopped (make it a big one)
4 cloves garlic, minced (I use the pre-minced jarred variety, 1 big spoonful)
4 cans black beans, drained
2 cups water
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
4 teaspoons mustard of choice
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
3 tablespoons soy sauce
4 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes (maybe 3 large ones, baked and peeled)
12 or so (10 inch) flour tortillas, warmed
8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

the directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Heat oil in a skillet and saute onion until soft; add garlic and saute another minute.  Stir in beans and mash to desired mashiness.
3. Stir in water, chili powder, cumin, mustard, cayenne pepper, and soy sauce and heat until warm.
4. Put some bean mixture, some mashed sweet potatoes, and some cheddar cheese into each tortilla.  (The exact amounts are up to you.  I've never measured exactly.)  Fold up the tortillas burrito style and place on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking oil.
5. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven and serve, or wrap 'em and freeze 'em individually for a satisfying and easy lunch or snack.  Boom.

my favorite thing i ate this summer

saw it {here}

made it at least ten times.  or at least i wish i did.

but it's not too late.  for me, or you.

because it's still corn season.

so... here you have it.

Corn, Avocado & Black Bean Salsa

Ingredients

3 ears fresh corn, cooked and cooled and kernels sliced off
1 can black beans, drained
3 avocados, peeled, pitted, and chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced (I never once included this and didn't miss it)
2 cloves of garlic, minced (I always use pre-minced in the jar)
1/4 cup olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

In a large bowl mix together the corn, black beans, onion and jalapeno.  Add olive oil, lemon juice, cider vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper and toss together.  Refrigerate for 2 hours (not necessary in my opinion) then add the avocado chunks and serve with chips.  And eat all in one sitting because it's that crazy good.

Enjoying the small things and other links

This right here is why I blog -- to help me enjoy and and also remember forever all the small things (like Bob staring at a little people rooster on his finger) that make this simple life oh so amazing.  And also a perfect example of why I enjoy "Enjoying the small things" by Kelle Hampton (perhaps you've noticed the link on my blog list).  Kelle's photos and writing are simply beautiful.

This right here is a recipe for sweet potato and sausage soup that I've been thinking about for weeks since I ate the last bowl.  Dare I say -- the best soup I ever had?

Blogger has some new blog viewing options, which are kinda cool if your internet connection is cooperative at all, which mine is not.  Check it.  Use the drop down menu at the top right to switch views.

Real post coming soon -- have a great week!

Avocado Egg Salad

I guess you could say we have a bit of an egg surplus going on here.
Which makes it only natural that I should start eating them for lunch in addition to breakfast.
Plus, it feels very good feeding our eggs to Bob -- I mean, it's the incredible edible egg, right?  Perfect, untouched, pure food.  Straight from the chicken's butt -- fresh as fresh gets.

So I searched for a delicious-sounding egg salad recipe.  Honestly I associate egg salad sandwiches with kindergarten when my mom packed my lunch, and I don't exactly remember the taste fondly.  Thus the need for a really special egg salad.

And I found it.  Well, I found a version that used avocados and I improvised the rest.  And it's GOOD.  Last time I made it I found myself craving lunch all day long.

(And by the way, Mom and Big Gram, this would be great to make for Gram: lots of protein and good fats.)

AVOCADO EGG SALAD

6 eggs, hard boiled* and cooled and shells removed
1 avocado (or you could use two if you like)
1/4 cup sweet pickles  (I used Grandma Kay's version of Gram's homemade pickles -- simply delicious)
1 tablespoon mustard of your choice (I used a three pepper mustard that is just amazing)
1/3 cup mayonaise
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Chop the eggs, avocado, and pickles.  (Some people probably just mash the eggs and avocado, but I like a chunkier consistency.)

2.  Mix everything together.

3.  Put it on some rye bread, slice some cheddar cheese and put that on there too, and EAT.

A perfect lunch for Bob!

* I had to look up how to boil an egg.  This is what I found as the "proper" way:  Put the eggs in cold water, bring to a boil, then turn off heat and cover for 10 minutes (my jumbo eggs could have used 15).  Transfer the eggs to cold water again for a few minutes, then peel.

A double-yolker!  I love these!

Pumpkin cheesecake: what could be better?

Cheesecake is my number one all-time favorite dessert.  (But no cheesecake compares to my mom's.)  Pumpkin pie is quite possibly my second favorite if you don't count ice cream.  So, what could be better than pumpkin cheesecake?  That's what I thought to myself when I stumbled upon this recipe in Parents or Parenting magazine or whatever it's called, which we get for free for some reason.  And let me tell you, after much anticipation, this cakepie did not disappoint.

I'll admit, I had never before baked a cheesecake nor a pumpkin pie, but with the help of Grandma Kay's mixer and spice stash, it really wasn't hard.  If you don't try this amazing treat this fall, you will totally be missing out.

Crust:
Cooking spray
8 graham crackers, crumbled (I used my mom's method of putting them in a ziploc bag and smashing them.  actually now that I think about it I believe she used a rolling pin)
5 tbsp butter, melted
1/4 cup of sugar (I used natural raw sugar to make it super healthy)


Filling:
24 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar (again, I went raw so that I could eat more and feed it to my baby with less guilt)
3 tbsp flour
1 tsp vanilla
5 large eggs
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup sour cream


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Coat a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray.
2. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar.  Pat the mixture on the bottom and partway up the sides of the pan.  Bake 10 minutes; remove from oven and let cool.
3. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F.
4. Mix all of the filling ingredients by hand or with an electric mixer.
5. Pour the filling into the cooled crust.
6. Place the cake in the center of the oven and bake 1 hour (the cake will still shimmy, but will set later)  Turn off the oven and let the cake sit undisturbed inside for another hour.  Cool, then refrigerate at least overnight (this is the hardest part of the whole recipe).
7. Garnish with candied nuts, chopped dried cranberries, or whipped cream just before serving.

Mmmm...

Delicious zucchini breads

To be perfectly honest, I can barely stomach zucchini on its own, but even I know that zucchini bread is amazing.  Mom and Gram sent us home with a couple of zucchinis from the garden last time we were home, so I decided to take that next step into momhood and whip up a couple o' breads.  Here's the recipe I used ("Mom's Zucchini Bread" from allrecipes.com):

Prep Time:
20 Min

Cook Time:
1 Hr

Ready In:
1 Hr 40 Min

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 1/4 cups white sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
3. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
4. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

And that's pretty much what I did, except that...

1. I probably would have been sneaky and used less sugar than that, but Ben did the majority of the measuring and mixing and that would be appalling to him.
2. I wasn't about to spend $6.99 on a bag of chopped walnuts so I used the mixed nuts that we already had instead.
3. I tried chopping the nuts in the Magic Bullet but half the nuts turned to powder in .5 seconds.  So I sifted out the chunks and mixed them into the batter, and I used the nutty powder as a topping.
4. I only own one bread pan, so I had to wait to make the second bread.  
5. Also, that one "bread pan" is a 9"x5" glass casserole dish, so I think that threw off the baking time a bit.  I ended up baking the first bread for 65 minutes and the second one (which was slightly larger) for 75 or so.
6. I wanted to try a chocolate bread also, so I added 3 tablespoons of special dark cocoa baking powder to the second half of the batter.  I also mixed some brown sugar in with the powdery nut topping.  The chocolate "bread" (I mean, let's be honest, this is more like cake) seems perhaps a bit less moist than the original, so maybe it needed something else to go with the cocoa?

Both of the zucchini breads (my first ever) turned out pretty darn good.  But I'm not saying there isn't a better recipe out there...

I made my first ever quiche.

What is this weird mothering instinct that kicks in when you have a baby and makes you so much more domestic?  I mean... making baby food, looking up new recipes, and creating a quiche even though the recipe says 45 minutes prep time AND Ben hates eggs anyway... I never saw this coming.

I must say it turned out delicious.  And it carried us through quite a few meals this week, which is one of my favorite things about quiche anyway.  Bob and I ate it just about every day.  Sometimes for both breakfast and lunch.

And just because swiss chard is so good and good for you, here's the recipe (I followed it almost exactly except I added cheese -- what's the point of quiche without cheese?):

Salmon and Swiss Chard Quiche

Prep Time:
45 Min

Cook Time:
35 Min

Ready In:
1 Hr 20 Min

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1/4 cup plain dried bread crumbs
• 2 cups 2% milk
• 8 ounces salmon fillets, skin removed
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 bunch Swiss chard, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3 eggs

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 10 inch pie plate using about 1 tablespoon of butter. Sprinkle bread crumbs into the pie dish and shake to coat evenly, discarding excess.
2. Pour the milk into a large saucepan and warm over medium heat. Add the salmon fillets and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, or until salmon can be flaked with a fork.
3. Melt the remaining butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and Swiss chard; cook and stir until tender and most of the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt, pepper, marjoram and nutmeg. Set aside to cool; you should have about one cup of chard and onion.
4. Spread the chard mixture and flake the salmon into the prepared pie plate. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and one cup of cooled milk from poaching the salmon. Pour into the pie dish.
5. Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the center is set. Cool slightly before serving.