Kids Dish

I’ve posted this recipe before, and I’m reposting a slightly modified version now. The toddler wanted noodles with butter and cheese again for dinner so I decided to see if I could trick him into eating something a bit more substantial. Carbonara, aside from the obvious chunks of bacon, doesn’t look all that different from just plain butter and cheese. It didn’t really work but I can’t tell if it didn’t work because he wasn’t hungry or because he feared it.

Spaghetti Carbonara

When the pasta is still slightly firm (al dente) drain in a colander, first reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. Leaving the pasta slightly wet, add it to the pan and toss it with the bacon and reduced wine. Add in the egg and toss with tongs until well combined. If you didn’t add the olive oil earlier you can add some now. Transfer to warm serving bowl, add fresh parsley if using and salt and fresh ground pepper to taste and serve hot.

I get my eggs from a farm so not cooking them doesn’t phase me, but if you’re sketched out by the barely cooked eggs, this recipe from Emeril calls for cooking them slightly.

One more trick. I made some kale as a side dish. Personally I like kale best when it’s been boiled then sauteed. I boiled it for a few minutes in the pasta water then removed it with a slotted spoon. I added the pasta to the kale water. While I don’t really know that it makes a huge difference, I like the idea that the nutrients that leach out from the kale while boiling make their into the pasta.

I saw a recipe on a blog for a spaghetti pie of sorts. Maybe it was called a strata. Maybe it was called a torte. I don’t remember. I do remember thinking it looked like a good idea.

Yesterday I made a simple dinner with spaghetti and garbanzo beans. Since the box was more than enough for the three of us I left a portion of the spaghetti aside, planning to use it in a pie today. It seemed simple. Just spaghetti, maybe some sauteed onion and garlic, parmesan and eggs cooked in a pan.

I was feeling cocky and didn’t bother looking up a recipe. I sauteed the onion and threw in some cooked, chopped kale. I added the spaghetti, let it warm up a bit, then added the garlic. After I smelled the garlic I poured three beaten eggs into the skillet along with some thyme, oregano, parmesan, salt and pepper. I could tell by looking that things were not going to go as planned. But rather than wing it and start throwing more eggs or liquid into the skillet I decided to stay the course. I turned the heat to low hoping the eggs wouldn’t stick too badly and kept my fingers crossed. After a few minutes I could tell that the eggs had set. I tried to flip the egg/spaghetti pancake over all at once but I failed miserably. I flipped it as best I could and waited for it to finish cooking through.

It wasn’t pretty. It definitely didn’t make the pancake/strata/torte I’d envisioned, but it was good. I’d recommend it as a fine way to use up your pasta leftovers. Only I’d recommend looking up a recipe.

I bought a flat iron steak on a whim from my meat buying club because it was relatively inexpensive and I somehow confused it with flank steak. When I saw it I realized that it was pretty small, not the type of steak I could split with Bob and serve with potatoes so it’s been in the freezer for a few months. Today I decided that even though it’s supposed to be grilled, and it’s not traditionally the right cut of meat for a stir, it was destined for a stir fry anyway.

I mixed up a quick Asian marinade and let it sit in the fridge for an hour or two. Then I threw it in a big, wok-like pan with some bok choy, broccoli and garlic while I cooked some brown minute rice. It took less than half an hour to get it on the table. Everybody liked it, including my mother who claims to hate vegetables and the unpredictable two-year-old.

1 flat iron steak cut into half-inch strips
2 heads of bok choy
1 head of broccoli
2 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger, grated
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar

For the marinade mix together:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Let the meat marinate, covered in the refrigerator for at least an hour and up to 24. Cut the broccoli into florets of similar size. If your broccoli has them, reserve the leaves. Separate the leaves from the stems of the bok choy. Cut the stems lengthwise, then cut into one inch pieces. Stack the leaves and cut into ribbons (with the broccoli leaves if you have them). Stir the sugar into the soy sauce until dissolved.

Heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil in a 12 inch skillet with high sides. Drain the meat and add when the oil is almost smoking. Cook until brown on one side, then flip. When the meat is almost cooked through add the boy choy stems and the broccoli florets. Cook for about three minutes, until the broccoli is bright green. Add the soy sauce mixture and leaves to the wok and stir. When the greens are wilted add the garlic and ginger and cook for about 30 seconds more. Serve over rice.

Early in the day I roasted an acorn squash* with the idea that I’d make squash enchiladas for dinner. I had ripe tomatoes in the garden for salsa and a bowl of leftover rice to serve on the side. But as it got closer to dinner time Sam grew inexplicably sad and needed my undivided attention leaving me unable to cook. So in a hurry to get the cranky toddler and the fussy baby fed and in bed I gave up on my elaborate plans for acorn squash enchiladas and started a batch of acorn squash quesadillas that were so easy my husband was able to finish them.

For three quesadillas that can serve two adults and a child you’ll need:

About a cup of cubed, cooked acorn squash
about a cup of shredded, cooked chicken
half a cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

6 flour tortillas
salsa and sour cream

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Mix the first seven ingredients in a medium bowl until the squash and chicken are well coated with the spices. Taste the mixture and adjust seasonings if necessary. Heat a large, nonstick or cast iron pan to medium. I like to put a pinch of coarse salt in the pan. Place a tortilla in the pan and generous spoonful of the squash mixture in the center. Spread the mixture out towards, but not reaching the edges of the tortilla. You don’t want to lay it on to thick or it won’t heat through. Put another tortilla on top. Cook for about two to three minutes or until you can smell the tortilla starting to brown. Flip and cook the second side for about two to three minutes more. Put the cooked quesadillas in the oven to stay warm while you cook the rest. If you put them directly on the rack or on a rack positioned on a baking sheet they’ll stay warm and crisp.

Serve with sour cream and salsa and rice on the side.

If you don’t have any cooked chicken, a can of drained, rinsed beans slightly mashed make a great protein substitute.

*to roast acorn squash cut it lengthwise down the center, scoop out the seeds, and cook on an oiled baking sheet in a 400 degree oven for 35-40 minutes face down until tender.

I started my garden late this year and haven’t been paying much attention to it. My husband’s been doing all of the watering without any instruction from me. I should have told him that tomatoes tend to do better when they’re watered thoroughly every few days, letting the soil and the roots dry completely in between. My tomato plants aren’t looking so hot. The leaves are yellowed and the fruit is suffering from end rot. The one ripe tomato I’ve seen was completely rotten inside.

Luckily the CSA has plenty of healthier tomatoes to offer. The last pint of tomatoes I received was a gorgeous mix of orange, yellow, brown, green and red cherry and grape tomatoes. The colors were stunning and the tomatoes were small and sweet. Sadly, I’m still not much of a tomato person. So I cooked them.

Sam was hungry and demanding noodles so when I put on the pot of water to boil I heated a tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan and added a handful of leeks I’d chopped and rinsed earlier. I chopped the pint of tomatoes into quarters or halves depending on the size, smashed a couple of cloves of garlic, chopped a carrot, and cut some oregano and basil from the garden. When the leeks were soft I added the carrot, garlic and tomatoes, seeds and all, to the pan with a large pinch of kosher salt. While the tomatoes cooked I chopped the oregano and tore the basil leaves. I let the sauce cook on medium heat for the amount of time it took for the pasta cook and drain, stirring every few minutes. When I turned off the heat I stirred in the oregano and basil.

The tomato sauce was sweet and chunky and made entirely from local ingredients. It cooked in the time it took to boil the water for and cook a pot of whole wheat penne. It was beautiful. I wish I had taken a picture.

My neighbor gave me a huge bunch of parsley that she wouldn’t use and didn’t want to go to waste. She splits a CSA share with a friend who was on vacation, leaving her with more vegetables and herbs than she can use. It was nice of her to pass it along, but I have a ton of parsley in my garden. Most recipes call for small amounts of parsley, not several cups worth, so it sat in my fridge for close to two weeks before I decided to suck it up and just use it all at once. I figured a pesto would be the quickest and easiest way to go.

I found a great recipe in my Bon Appétit cookbook for roasted potatoes with a parsley-based pesto, but my sister in law stopped by with my niece right when I started getting dinner ready. By the time they left I was running out of time if I wanted to make it to yoga. So I skipped the potatoes, boiled up some tortellini, and made a quick parsley pesto using just parsley, lemon juice, garlic and toasted pine nuts. I tossed it all with some fresh fava beans.

It was good, but the cheese tortellini wasn’t quite right with the flavor of the pesto. It’s not like a basil pesto- it tastes fresher, brighter if that makes sense. If I were to do it again I’d use regular spaghetti and add zucchini ribbons.

I had entirely too much parsley for my mini food processor to handle, which means I still have time to make the potatoes with parsley pesto another night.

So far this is shaping up to be the panini summer. Rather than slave over a hot stove I’ve been using my Griddler to make delicious sandwiches without heating up the entire kitchen. I’ll be honest and admit that I can’t just throw a bunch of stuff on bread and let the panini do the work. I prefer my onions caramelized and my greens sautéed so I do a bit of prep work beforehand. But the prep is worth the effort, and caramelizing several onions and sautéing a bunch of greens all at once can leave you with enough for two days worth of sandwiches.

Making a panini (the word panini is pretty much Italian for sandwich) is simple enough. Build a sandwich with your favorite ingredients, brush both sides with butter or olive oil, and grill it until it heats through. If you have a griddler, panini press, sandwich maker or George Forman grill, use that. If you have none of the above, grill it like you’d make a grilled cheese but if the sandwich has a lot of ingredients, weigh down the top slice of bread with a heavy pan so the sandwich heats evenly.

To make a good panini you’ll need a good loaf of ciabatta, focaccia, French or Italian bread to stand up to the ingredients, especially if you’re using sautéed greens or caramelized onions. Paninis are a good vehicle to use up leftovers from the grill. Think flank steak, chicken, peppers, zucchini, or even leftover hot dogs and hamburgers to start. If you don’t have leftovers, lunchmeat will do just fine. If you don’t eat meat (or your kids won’t) try cheese, fruit, and condiments to make a quick healthy dinner- nutella and banana sandwiches are always a crowd pleaser, or thinly sliced apples or pears can add flavor and nutrients to a simple grilled cheese.

The panini of choice these past few weeks has been a winner: roast beef, cheddar, caramelized onions and sautéed greens with raspberry mustard on ciabatta or whole grain Italian.

We’ve been eating a ton of noodles lately since I’ve been way too tired/lazy/pregnant/cranky to cook. Most nights we just toss the cooked pasta with a jar of store bought sauce. Sam, who has for reasons unknown stopped eating tomato sauce, eats his noodles with olive oil or butter and Parmesan. One night, on a whim I decided to go the extra mile and throw together a quick sauce that had a little protein, some vegetable matter, and considerably more flavor than a jar of store bought sauce. I warn you that this recipe is not the healthiest (though it’s not as bad as it could be), but it was delicious. The main selling point was that Sam loved it.

Pasta with Pepperoni, Spinach and Parmesan

*1/2 a box of pasta (I like a sturdy noodle for this recipe- rotini, penne, or farfalle will do) Make it whole wheat or use Barilla plus for more fiber
*2 tablespoons of butter
*2 tablespoons olive oil
*10 slices of pepperoni (turkey pepperoni isn’t quite as bad for you)
*2 oz Parmesan (from a wedge, not the stuff in a can)
*2 cloves garlic, minced (or more to taste)
*1 bag of pre-washed spinach (use baby spinach if you don’t feel like removing the stems

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box. While waiting for the water to boil mince the garlic and prep the spinach if needed.

While the pasta cooks, pulse the Parmesan cheese in a food processor for a few pulses until it’s finely ground. Add the pepperoni and pulse a few times more until the pepperoni and cheese are combined and no large chunks remain. Heat the oil and butter in a large skillet or saute pan. Add the cheese mixture and stir to combine. Add the spinach and cook just until wilted. Add the garlic and stir for about 30 seconds. Drain the cooked pasta, reserving half a cup of water. Add the pasta to the skillet and stir until coated. If needed, add a small amount of pasta water to help distribute the sauce. Serve with fresh ground black pepper.

Disinterested as I’ve been, I’ve still got to get dinner on the table most nights. Dinner has primarily consisted of boxed pasta and jarred sauce with a boring, steamed vegetable, but that’s about all I can take these days. Last night Bob said he’d make dinner. I’d bought feta cheese last week so I could make zucchini and feta patties with the last of the zucchini from last summer but I figured that would be too complicated for him with the draining, mixing and frying. I had a package of organic spinach so I decided to have him make a quiche with spinach and feta instead. I had him pull a package of puff pastry out of the freezer to defrost before he went to scrape paint in one of the third floor bedrooms.

Close to two hours later I realized that if I wanted dinner on the table before 9 I’d have to make it myself. I preheated the oven to 400 degrees, the temperature on the puff pastry package directions for a fruit dessert, and rolled out the puff pastry a little bit. I knew it was too late to make a quiche, so I wasn’t really sure of what to do with it once I rolled it. I decided to just cut it into squares and make little turnovers. I chopped an onion and sauteed it in a knob of butter. When the onion was soft and slightly browned I added a few cloves of garlic. About 30 seconds later I added the fresh spinach and stirred until wilted. I added about 4 ounces of crumbled feta, some fresh ground pepper, a few shakes of dried basil and oregano,and a pinch of nutmeg to the pan and stirred well. I put a spoonful of the spinach filling in each square of puff pastry and sealed the edges. I thought an egg wash would be nice, but didn’t feel like making the effort so I took out the Misto and sprayed each turnover with a little olive oil and stuck them on an ungreased baking sheet and baked for about 20 minutes, until the puff pastry was golden brown.

Aside from defrosting, the whole thing took about 30 minutes start to finish. The turnovers were delicious. Easier than spanakopita and much quicker.

Here’s the recipe for the Leek and Swiss Chard Tart I wrote about on Monday. It was excellent. I mentioned that I don’t love egg dishes. This one was similar to a quiche, but airier and fluffier. Without using too many ingredients it was rich and flavorful.

You can substitute frozen piecrust for the puff pastry or make your own, but using a frozen puff pastry sheet makes the crust light and crisp. I used spinach in place of the chard because chard was unavailable.

I have one complaint. The tart took forever to cook. Forever. I don’t think it was a problem with my oven since I’ve been baking cookies all week without a problem, but nowhere in the recipe reviews does anyone mention that the cooking time is off. The puff pastry browned and puffed in the time suggested, but the eggs took forty-five minutes, not the suggested fifteen to cook through. I don’t know if I was being overly cautious in not wanting to eat runny eggs because I’m pregnant, or if the runny eggs would have set in the resting time, but at one point I ran everything under the broiler hoping to firm things up quickly. It seemed to work, but when I cut all the way through liquid filling rose to meet me. I stuck the whole mess back in the oven for another ten minutes and it was finally cooked when I took it out. It was surprisingly not overdone.

Assuming your tart behaves better than mine did, this is an easy kid-friendly egg dish. If your kids like scrambled eggs they’ll like this. Call it egg pie if they’re suspicious. It would be great for brunch, but it was a nice dinner too. Serve with a salad or a side of veggies and you’ve got a healthy, complete meal.

Leek and Swiss Chard Tart
1 sheet frozen puff pastry (half of 17.3-ounce package), thawed
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
3 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 bunch Swiss chard, ribs removed, leaves chopped (about 2 1/2 cups)
1 1/4 cups whipping cream
3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Pinch of ground nutmeg

Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 425°F. Whisk cream and next 5 ingredients in large bowl. Mix in cooled leek mixture. Pour filling into crust.

I’ve been tired and lazy and haven’t much felt like cooking. When I was pregnant with Sam I had a second trimester energy burst that led to me cooking and baking like crazy. Right now I’m in a second trimester slump that’s led to two nights in a row of pasta with jarred sauce and a night of pizza and french fries. I’m lacking energy and inspiration and Sam’s return to middle of the night wakeups isn’t helping matters much. But I took a large frozen whole chicken breast from my organic, pastured meats stash out to defrost and have no choice but to cook it since I can’t bear the idea of letting it go to waste. Looking for a one-pot meal I can cook before I head off to water aerobics tonight I decided on arroz con pollo.

Arroz Con Pollo, Rice with Chicken, is a Latin American favorite. When I taught high school in a predominantly Puerto Rican part of the city (90-some percent of my students were Puerto Rican and the rest were Dominican) many of our PTO-sponsored events served homemade, Latin American dishes. Arroz con Pollo was a staple. It was always deliciously seasoned, yet the cut up chicken parts were always flabby and greasy. I never tried to make the dish at home because as a rule, I generally try to avoid cooking anything that I know will be flabby and greasy.

But a recipe on one of my favorite cooking blogs, Smitten Kitchen, turned up a recipe that looks and sounds neither flabby or greasy and stresses the importance of it being a one-pot dish. It unfortunately requires a number of ingredients I don’t have in the house and don’t feel like going out to get. (I’m too pregnant and tired to go out to the store again.)So I found another recipe, this one from Simply Recipes, that only requires things I have in the house. Combining the two is my best bet. I’ll post the adjusted recipe tomorrow.

The jícama (pronounced hee-ka-ma) is a South American vegetable, also called the Mexican potato. It’s not pretty, but the taste is surprisingly sweet. It’s similar in texture to a water chestnut, but sliced raw it tastes kind of like an apple or pear. You can do a lot with a jícama, but they’re best served raw with dip or in salads. Since it hails from Latin America it pairs well with other staples from the region, like black beans and corn. Sliced raw, it’s great for scooping guacamole.

Or you can use jícama in a dip and serve it with crudités. Here’s quick recipe for jícama salsa. Serve it with jícama slices, other sliced veggies and veggie batons, and tortilla chips. You can use a less intense pepper if your kids don’t like things too spicy, or use the spicy pepper but remove the seeds to lower the hot-factor.

1/2 small pineapple
a 1/2-pound piece jícama
3 ounces dried apricots (about 1/3 cup)
1 small red onion
1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro sprigs
1/2 fresh habanero or Scotch bonnet chile

Peel pineapple and cut enough into 1/4-inch dice to measure 1 3/4 cups. (You can use canned pineapple, just make certain to drain it or your salsa will be very soggy.) Peel jícama and cut into 1/4-inch dice. Coarsely chop apricots and chop enough onion to measure 3/4 cup. Finely chop cilantro and, wearing rubber gloves, finely chop chile with seeds. In a bowl toss together all ingredients and season with salt. Salsa may be made 6 hours ahead and chilled, covered.

I had every intention of making Spanakopita for dinner last night. I remembered to defrost the filo at room temperature and remembered to buy all of the ingredients I don’t usually have on hand. Bob and I planned on walking to our favorite bakery for coffee and pastries when he got home from work and I figured we’d be home before five, giving me plenty of time to get dinner on the table by seven. But then, when we were on the front porch with our coats on and Sam in his wagon anxiously awaiting the cookies to come, I realized I’d completely forgotten to pick up our meat order the day before.

After filling up my kitchen with great clouds of acrid black smoke, this was my second major case of pregnancy brain in a week. So we packed the unhappy toddler into the car and drove to the house where the meat is delivered, hoping it would still be there and still be frozen. The temperature was on our side and even though someone had removed our order from the cooler it was still there. We drove straight to the bakery and enjoyed cookies (Sam and I) and eclairs (Bob) with our coffee.

By the time we finished our snack it was after five and I still wanted to stop at the library to pick up a book that had come in from my reserve list. It was way too late to make Spanakopita. So we had grilled Delmonico steaks from the meat order, steamed green beans and baked potatoes instead. Dinner was on the table in under an hour, and it would have been on the table sooner if Bob hadn’t lost track of time and forgotten to light the grill.

The part that surprises me most about dinner being ready so quickly is the part about the baked potato. Believe it or not, it’s possible to have a perfect baked potato in half an hour. The amazing people from America’s Test Kitchen have found the perfect recipe for a potato with a crispy skin (my favorite part) and a soft, flaky middle.

30-minute Baked Potatoes

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Prick the top of the potatoes several times with a fork. Microwave for 8 to 12 minutes, or until soft to the touch, rotating halfway through the cooking time. Bake the potatoes for twenty minutes. Using the tines of a fork, make an x on the top of each potato immediately after removing from the oven. Squeeze the potatoes open, allowing the steam to escape. Serve immediately with butter, salt and pepper or your favorite baked potato toppings.

This is the quick-ish and easy-ish lasagna I recently overcomplicated. If your ingredients are measured and ready to go this takes an hour total to make. If you like, you can assemble the lasagna, cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before use. Allow to sit at room temperature for an hour before cooking. You can also make two and freeze one, wrapping it with a layer of foil over the plastic wrap. Defrost it in the refrigerator for 24 hours and allow to sit and room temperature for an hour before baking.

Simple Cheese Lasagna
from the America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

15 oz ricotta cheese (1 ¾ cups)
2 ½ oz Parmesan Cheese, grated (1 ¼ cups)
½ cup minced fresh basil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
6 cups chunky tomato sauce (about 2 24- to 26-oz jars)
1 (8 or 9 oz) package no-boil lasagna noodles
1 lb whole milk mozzarella, shredded (4 cups)

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix the ricotta, 2 cups of Parmesan, basil, egg, salt and pepper until well combined.

Spread ¼ cup of the tomato sauce over the bottom of a 9 by 13- inch baking dish. Place 3 of the noodles on top of the sauce and drop 3 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture down the center of each noodle and spread it to an even thickness. Sprinkle evenly with one cup of the mozzarella. Spoon 1 ½ cups of the sauce evenly over the cheese. Repeat this layering two more times.

For the final layer, place the 3 remaining noodles on top. Spread the remaining sauce over the noodles. Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and then the remaining Parmesan. Spray a large sheet of foil lightly with vegetable oil spray, cover and bake the lasagna for 15 minutes.

Remove the foil and bake until the cheese is browned and the sauce is bubbling, about 25 minutes longer. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Hazelnuts are high in protein and good-for-you unsaturated fat. Many brands of packaged mixed nuts contain lightly salted hazelnuts (also called filberts) in addition to the typical cashew, almond, walnut, peanut mix. They’re great for snacking on plain or salted, and they’re also now making hazelnut butter which is just like peanut butter only, well, made with hazelnuts. Hazelnut coffee is the only flavored coffee l like (though please don’t give coffee to your kids!) and hazelnut liquors like Frangelico are delicious poured over ice cream or just over ice (again, please don’t give booze to your kids!) Combined with chocolate, hazelnuts are divine.

Nutella, a chocolate hazelnut spread, is the easiest way to get your chocolate- hazelnut fix and you can even serve it for breakfast. I love hazelnut crepes, but sticking to my quick and easy theme I’ll just link to a recipe for the crepes (which require more effort for breakfast than I generally like to commit to) and give you a recipe for a close second in deliciousness. Grilled Banana and Nutella sandwiches. If you have a panini press, sandwich press, or George Foreman Grill I recommend using that for the ease of clean up and minimal effort, but if you don’t have specialty equipment any frying pan will do.

Grilled Nutella and Banana Sandwiches
makes 2

1 ripe banana sliced and mashed
4 slices whole wheat bread
1/3 cup Nutella
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon confectioners (powdered) sugar (optional)

Place the bread slices on a flat surface and spread each slice with some Nutella. Spread the mashed banana over 2 of the slices and combine to make 2 sandwiches. Butter both sides of the sandwich.

Heat the grill or frying pan to medium-high. Place the sandwiches on the grill and cook until golden brown on both sides (cooking times vary, but it usually takes 3-5 minutes on my preheated panini press). If using a frying pan flip the sandwiches after the bottom is browned and cook the other side until brown and crisp. Remove from the grill and sprinkle with the confectioners’ sugar. Eat immediately.

Btw, I didn’t forget about the lasagna recipe! I’ll post it tomorrow.