When Dinner is Just... Awful

I am so overdue to blog about all of the wonderful things that have happened in my kitchen in the past month, and yet I’m more motivated to write about tonight’s dinner, which was just awful! Terrible! How does this happen?

The menu was so simple, designed to be quick and easy since Ben had to leave at 5:00 for his second job (yes, that means we ate dinner at 4:30... sometimes when we do this, Sophia says “What, are we 80?”).

Here was our menu: organic chicken drumsticks and thighs, to be brushed with a lemon, olive oil and garlic dressing once off the grill, baked sweet potato chips (which were delicious the first time I made them) and sautéed fresh baby spinach. Easy peasy. Very little prep, low-maintenance cooking, quick and easy, right?

The result? Blackened chicken (inexplicably charred beyond recognition by our powerful new grill), oily spinach and overly crispy chips that tasted black as well. I am laughing out loud as I write this, thinking that it doesn’t really matter how easy or challenging a meal is. When you’re on, you’re on, and when you’re off, well, you’re off and dinner is nearly inedible.

Sophia was the only person to clean her plate tonight. I swear, that kid will eat anything.

Overdue postings...

Overdue postings coming soon on homemade waffles, thumbprint cookies and mmm, mmm, tortilla soup!

Nine Meals a Day?

I was feeding my beautiful boy a bottle tonight, just grooving in the rocking chair with him, thinking about my day. I did nothing remarkable. In fact, we didn’t even leave the house. The only item on our schedule was one hour of PT for Joseph. That’s it. And yet, I’m pooped. Yes, I know some of this is the parvo talking, but that can’t be all of it. So, as I rocked and grooved and loved on my boy (listening to Sophia read quietly to herself in the other room), I started to mull over the minutia of the day and I made a startling discovery. I served, as I do every day, NINE unique meals. Nine. How in the world is that possible? (And no wonder my hands always look a mess!)

So, here’s what we ate today:

1. Breakfast for two girls: eggs over easy, sourdough toast, orange juice and blessed coffee for me (coffee courtesy my lovely husband). I don’t mean to brag (as Ben says, Modesty is my middle name), but I’m getting really good at runny eggs.
2. Breakfast for one small boy: organic prunes (the only jarred food I buy) and organic oatmeal cereal.
3. Mid-morning snack: messy but delectable organic peach for Sophia. Juice just running down her arm. She looked overjoyed.
4. Lunch for two girls: tortellini with prosciutto and spinach from the night before. Just as good on day two.
5. Lunch for the boy: organic homemade sweet potatoes and oatmeal cereal.
6. Mid-afternoon snack: the most sinfully delicious double cream brie and more sourdough (really, who can get enough sourdough?).
7. Dinner for everyone, served once to Ben before work and once to two hungry girls: buffalo taco salads with black beans and corn. A successful experiment with buffalo, I believe.
8. Dinner for Joseph: organic homemade peas and, you guessed it, oatmeal cereal.
9. Bedtime snack for the girl: organic blueberry yogurt and five M&Ms. What a treat!

Oh, and lest I forget, Joseph’s also had five bottles today (5:30 a.m., 9:00 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m., two of which his daddy gave him). Does that count as three additional meals I served?

This is a good approximation of a typical day for me, cooking-wise. Some things from scratch, some tasty leftovers, lots of snacks, lots of bottles, lots and lots and lots of dishes.

Okay, so, no wonder I’m pooped. But, as I enjoy a well-deserved glass of red wine, at the very least I get to go to bed with the not-insignificant satisfaction that, no matter what else happened around here today, everyone went to bed well-fed.

Tortellini with Prosciutto and Spinach

How have I missed this recipe in the past six months? I just feel certain I’ve made this before, since it’s once of my easy and healthy quickie dinner recipes from Cooking Light. The first time we had this, I actually think Ben made it, and we now think of it as “his pasta,” even though I’m sure I’ve made it more now than he has. So fast, so flavorful, so little cooking. Gorgeous in a big white bowl.

I make it with frozen tortellini, and use about a pound, rather than use the packaged refrigerator ones—it’s much more cost effective. I also at least double the spinach, and use the really good imported Prosciutto di Parma. Since I’m not using more than three or four ounces for two meals, it’s worth it to splurge on the yummy stuff.

I love that this meal requires very little prep and very little cooking, but nets a meal that is chock-full of a very healthy veggie, is filling for everyone and bursting with flavor. Apparently Sophia ate a HUGE bowl of it last night (I was off getting a massage... yeah me!)

Seriously, how could you possibly go wrong with the three Ps: pine nuts, prosciutto and Parmigiano-Reggiano?

YUM!

Tangy Lentil & Chickpea Soup Recipe

Apparently everyone loves lentils as much as we do. I’ve had several requests for this recipe, which is featured in the September 2009 issue of O Magazine. For some reason the recipe’s not up on their site yet, so I’ve included it below.

2 tsp. olive oil

¾ cup chopped celery

2 medium yellow onions, chopped

1 large yellow potato, peeled and diced [I didn’t peel it, since so many nutrients are in the skin]

1 tsp. mild curry powder

1 tsp. ground turmeric

¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juice

1 cup dried and rinsed lentils (preferably red) [I used whatever I had on hand]

2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, well-rinsed and drained

1 tsp. salt

juice of 1 lemon

1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional) [skipped this time, will probably do some time]

Place olive oil in large pot over medium heat; sauté celery, onions and potatoes, along with curry powder, turmeric and cinnamon, 5 to 8 minutes.

Add canned tomatoes and cook for another 10 minutes.

Add 8 cups of water and the lentils, chickpeas and salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour (check that there is enough liquid; add 1 extra cup of water if necessary).

Just before serving, add lemon juice, balsamic vinegar and cilantro, if using.

Makes 6 servings.

Recipe courtesy of Catherine S. Katz, PhD, coauthor of Dr. David Katz’s Flavor-Full Diet.

Tangy Lentil & Chickpea Soup

Seriously, what is it about soup? Soup is one of my absolute favorite healthy lunches, and I just love to prepare it. I’ve been thinking about this for a few days and here’s what I’ve come up with: for me, making homemade soup is the closest I come to starring in my own cooking show.

Here’s what I mean. When I make soup, I do all my mise en place first: chop chop chop, mince mince mince, measure seasonings into little ramekins, open cans, rinse beans, etc. It’s one of the few times I’m not multitasking in the kitchen. Once my mise en place is complete, then I get to just stand at the stove and sauté, stir and savor the beautiful colors, textures and smells. Then, once everything’s in the pot... simmer! Which is when we take a commercial break and walk away from the stove for an hour or so. Buzzer beeps and I have a colorful, nutritious, hearty one-dish meal. Love it! It really is the most satisfying meal to create.

So, this week’s soup I found in O Magazine. I would have been skeptical if I hadn’t already made something else scrumptious from O (banana walnut muffins). I absolutely loved this recipe. Despite turmeric, curry powder and cinnamon, the soup isn’t overly curry-ish. The addition of lemon juice and balsamic vinegar once the soup has simmered gives it a subtle tang, and the combination of garbanzos and lentils lends a hearty texture. I made the recipe as written, but next time I’m adding a carrot or two. What’s a big soup without carrots? This meal was just lovely and delicious. One funny note: the recipe says it makes six servings. For whom? Linebackers? We got eight to 10.

Despite the not-too-curryish nature of the soup, I did serve them with my favorite new discovery: Rotiland brand Roti-Chapati (in the refrigerated section at Costco). Just throw them on a hot griddle (I used a nonstick skillet) for about 30 seconds a side and they’re just wonderful, lightly browned and just a bit puffed up. I often grapple with what to serve when I make Indian food, because I haven’t yet tackled bread making, and the rice, raita and curry components of the meal are already a lot of prep work. These are a great new find to round out those meals.

Oh, and speaking of lentils. I had the most amazing warm lentil salad with tomato and dill last night at the Montessori back-to-preschool picnic. These events seem to bring out the best in home cooks, and last night was no exception. I told Rudi, Jack B.’s mom, that it was so good I just wanted to kiss her! (Do you imagine she found that alarming?) Here’s the recipe. My people should expect to see it in heavy rotation soon!

You call THAT home cooking?

“Wow, Mom, that looks amazing!” These were Sophia’s exact words when she saw her dinner plate last night. And what amazing dinner elicited such unbridled enthusiasm from such a small diner? Grilled Coleman uncured beef hot dogs (these really are amazing!), grilled corn on the cob (wrapped in foil with butter and salt) and sautéed baby spinach with garlic. And, until I heard her response, I never in a million years would have chosen to blog about this meal, because it would never make the cut.

The cut? When I started this blog, I decided that I would only write about meals cooked “from scratch.” To me, this had a very clear definition: buy a bunch of ingredients, chop them up, cook them up, serve them up. Very little if anything pre-made or packaged. I assumed, too, that this is how the rest of the world would define home cooking. So, last night’s dinner, while delicious, didn’t qualify as homemade to me. Yes, I shucked, buttered and salted corn, minced garlic and sautéed it with baby spinach, but this is unremarkable. In fact, most of the gaps between dates on my blog are either because we’re eating leftovers or because we’re having meals like last night’s (or, if I’m really lucky, we’re out). But Sophia’s enthusiasm, and a recent article in The New York Times, got me to thinking.

Michael Pollan, who wrote In Defense of Food, had a recent piece in the Times inspired by Julie & Julia and the rising popularity of food television. The article is long, and I certainly have no intention of summarizing it, but he did make one interesting point that stuck with me. He has a long conversation with a food-marketing researcher, Harry Belzer, about what people today consider “cooking.” According to Belzer, most people consider any assembling of ingredients to be cooking from scratch. Even just washing a head of lettuce and pouring bottle dressing on it. When Pollan tried to press Belzer on the number of people who still really cook from scratch, he learned that they don’t track that degree of home cooking because so few people actually do it. Ouch!

I was fascinated to find that my definition of home cooking was a) in line with Pollans and b) a less and less common activity. It validated for me my original intention in starting this blog, to capture the details of real homemade meals, and to celebrate the outcome of my sometimes considerable efforts to feed my family well.

But now, Sophia has me thinking. Hot dogs, corn, sautéed spinach. Does this a home-cooked meal make?