Breakfast for Dinner

My people are tired. My people are run-down. My people are at the ends of their proverbial ropes and, frankly, not that much fun to be around. To be fair, I count myself among them. When I headed to the store at 3:45 this afternoon, it was with simple comfort food in mind to maybe soothe the souls of my overworked, buried-in-grading husband, my end-of-the-preschool-week, one-too-many play dates, exhausted daughter and my own anxious self. So, what comfort food did I turn to? Mashers? Soup? Breakfast!

I have a wonderful old friend who works at my neighborhood Vitamin Cottage with whom I always chit-chat when I stop in. She teases me now because on at least two occasions I’ve gone in the store to buys eggs, filled up my basket and gotten home with no eggs. So, every time I see her, she reminds me: “Don’t forget the eggs!”

Eureka! If you can’t cheer people up with breakfast for dinner, I thought, then they just cannot be pleased. So, I whipped up a batch of organic blueberry pancakes (I use the Arrowhead Mills Multigrain mix) with butter and real maple syrup. At the same time, I sautéed some organic baby spinach in a bit of butter, then added beaten eggs, bacon left over from a quiche earlier in the week and diced organic tomato. The kids finished the meal with plain organic goat yogurt—Joseph has discovered he loves this and kept yelling “bipes!” (bites!) at Sophia, who was feeding him. Seriously adorable.

By the end of dinner, we were all grooving to Johnny Mathis Christmas music and in a much better place emotionally. Something to keep in my back pocket for the next time my frazzled family needs an extra touch of culinary comfort.

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?

Baby Arugula Salad & Sourdough Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Friday afternoon lunch and just sinfully delicious. We’re nearing the end of our summer vacation (Ben goes back Monday morning), so this was one of the last of our “beer lunches”—tasty homemade lunches good enough to enjoy with a cold Colorado microbrew (this week it’s New Belgium’s Skinny Dip).

First, I made grilled cheese sandwiches that were just delectable. I started with slices of sourdough Parisienne from Whole Foods (which I’ve been buying to have with runny eggs, a new household favorite), buttered it lightly and filled it with Tillamook medium cheddar slices. Grilled to perfection and served with my new best salad (even better than Benji’s salad!) of baby arugula topped with hearts of palm, quartered cherry tomatoes and shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano.

I made a similar arugula salad earlier in the week and experimented with a vinaigrette made from a blend of cider and white wine vinegars. Unfortunately, the vinegars just weren’t flavorful enough to compete with the strong peppery taste of baby arugula. It tasted like argula coated in olive oil... there was no vinegar taste to speak of. Yuck.

In rethinking the salad, I remembered having an incredible microgreen salad at Radda in Boulder that had a lemon vinaigrette. Actually, if I remember correctly, the Radda salad was so good that I finished my first one and immediately ordered a second. So, I cruised over to epicurious and checked out a variety of lemon vinaigrettes. This recipe seemed the simplest and didn’t require anything I didn’t have on hand and was truly a perfect complement to the arugula salad. Yummo!

I really enjoy making big salads for lunch because a) they feel so good for you, b) we can get a few veggie servings in midday and c) there are so many steps of salad making that Sophia can help with. She filled the salad bowl with greens, rinsed the tomatoes, helped to prepare the vinaigrette, shaved the cheese with a vegetable peeler, and, of course, generously offered to sample all of the toppings for me. Such a helpful kid! I finally bought myself a simple, beautiful salad bowl several months ago at Crate & Barrel, and I really do believe that salad presentation significantly improves salad enjoyment, particularly at home.

Aunt Susan was teasing me the other day for serving complicated lunches that, in other homes, would qualify as dinners. That, to me, has been one of the greatest joys of this tail end of our summer vacation. We’ve really been enjoying the opportunity to savor three creative, healthy meals a day together at the table. I’m sad that this part of our routine has to end, at least for a few months... Sophia, Joseph and I will of course continue to sup together, but we’ll be missing our Benji at breakfast and lunch.

Buffalo New York Strip Steak

One buffalo New York strip steak. Salt and pepper. Grilled to medium rare. Served with a two forks, two knives and two glasses of red wine. Savored by husband and wife after the kids are blissfully asleep. Perfection!

Italian Sausage-Stuffed Globe Zucchinis

One of my favorite finds from the Longmont Farmers’ Market is the globe zucchini. I only learned about these a few years ago, and they’re now a summertime staple. They make a scrumptious, healthy and perfectly self-contained entrée, and they are just beautiful to look at.

My recipe for stuffed zucchini is adapted from a recipe I got years ago from Alison. Her recipe was for stuffed bell peppers, but ever since pregnancy #1 I really can’t digest peppers at all (except for the occasional roasted red pepper). I can’t even recall where I got the idea, but for years now we’ve been stuffing these beautiful summer squash and serving them with tomato sauce.

First, I scoop out the innards of each zucchini with a melon baller (after lopping off the top like a pumpkin) then blanch them in boiling water. Next, I make the stuffing—I sauté onions, garlic and a bit of the zucchini innards (but not too much or it’s too watery), then add Boulder Italian sausage and brown. I combine this sautéed mixture with already-cooked jasmine rice, beaten egg, pine nuts and grated Parmiagiano-Reggiano cheese. Fill each zucchini with the stuffing and cover with Muir Glen tomato sauce, cover with foil and bake.

I wish I’d taken a picture of these when they came out of the oven, or, better yet, Sophia’s empty plate after devouring an entire zucchini by herself!

I made these Friday afternoon before a pool party, and felt such a glow of satisfaction that I had whipped up such a beautiful dinner for my family before our evening adventure. I’ve cooked from scratch several times this week, which is a vast improvement over the past weeks and months. While it’s murder on my arthritic feet, it's wonderful for my soul.

Benji & Sophia’s Salad

This has been christened Benji’s Salad, because it was Ben who came up with the combination of toppings. However, Sophia is insisting it be called Benji & Sophia’s salad, because she loves it so much she eats third! It has been given a five-star rating all around, which is fabulous, since I don’t consider salads to be my forte. In my experience, salad is always best if it’s made by someone else... my versions are never as good as those served to me by friends or restaurants. So, I’m tickled pink to have everyone in our house raving.

The salad is really fairly simple: organic baby spinach topped with garbanzo beans, hearts of palm and Kalamata olives. I’ve made this three times, and the third time was the best, improved with the addition of grilled chicken breast, marinated for a few hours in lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.

I’ve also created a delicious vinaigrette for this salad inspired in part by recipes on epicurious and in part by wonderful salads I’ve had at Alison’s—one parts vinegar (half balsamic vinegar, half white wine vinegar), three parts olive oil, bit of salt and pepper and a hint of local wildflower honey. Yum!

I bought Ben a new grill about a month ago. Only half of our old grill worked, and the ignitors had been broken for years. We absolutely love our new purchase, and it has made pulling together healthy, speedy dinners a breeze. This was the least expensive grill that got a recommendation on Consumer Reports, and it has been really inspiring.

Made-up Chilaquiles

I must confess, I do not enjoy making breakfast. I love to cook dinner and dessert, am fine with putting together lunches, but I really have no love for making eggs, pancakes, waffles, etc. A nice strata (that goes in the fridge the night before) is fine, but getting up and cooking right away is not my thing. That said, I make breakfast all the time, particularly on the weekends, and I’m always looking for ways to mix it up a bit. Well, this week’s experiment was a huge hit... so great, in fact, that we made it two days in a row!

For whatever reason, when I woke up Saturday morning it occurred to me that I might be able to whip up some facsimile of chilaquiles with my leftover bean tostada ingredients. This is where the internet is my best friend. I Googled chilaquiles recipes, looked at about eight, pulled some stuff out of the fridge and started cooking. SO DELICIOUS!

Here were my made-up chilaquiles: I crisped strips of corn tortilla (which go stale almost immediately in the fridge) in some canola oil. I definitely used less oil than most recipes called for, but they crisped very nicely. Once the strips looked like chips, I lowered the heat and added a few beaten eggs and shredded some cheddar cheese on top. Once the eggs were about done (a few minutes), I threw in some spoonfuls of Aunt Jenn’s salsa (I should post her recipe... so easy, so garlic-y, so yum). Done.

Ben and Sophia and I just devoured these. They were so good, in fact, that Benji and I had them again for Father’s Day brunch, with leftover raspberry tart, coffee and pineapple orange juice mimosas! (I'll write more about the fabulous tart later today.)

I rarely experiment like this in the kitchen, and am really thrilled to have a new, crowd-pleasing, satisfying breakfast that turned out well the first time and uses up leftovers. Yeah for me!

Bean Tostadas

Honestly, I was reluctant to blog about this dinner because, well, it involved very little cooking and lots of assembling. After mulling it for a day or so I realized that if I don’t write about assembled meals, I’ll have nothing to write about all summer! In our house, and probably in the homes of many, summer meals are often cobbled together from what is fresh and in-season at the local farmer’s market and what is affordable and beautiful at King Soopers. And what involves very little stove- and oven-time. Thus, the bean tostadas. Honestly, there’s nothing particularly summer-y about this dish other than the fact that it doesn’t require a lot of standing over the stove.

Simply, here are our bean tostadas: corn tortillas brushed with canola oil and crisped in a hot oven, a blend of vegetarian refried and pinto beans heated in the microwave, diced vine-ripened tomatoes, chopped black olives, chopped organic iceberg lettuce, shredded cheddar cheese and sliced avocado. All topped with Aunt Jenn’s homemade salsa, which is garlic-y goodness.

That’s it. Easy peasy. Not remotely authentic but devoured by all. Certainly unremarkable but very tasty and takes about 15 minutes in all to pull together.

A Perfect Meal, or How I’m Getting My Groove Back

I have been absent from this personal space for far too long, because, frankly, I have been in a funk. I have felt fried and maxed out and wholly uninterested in anything but the day-to-day basics. I felt this way when Sophia was four-months-old, too, so it must have something to do with the rhythms of new motherhood. I’ve been trying to make sense of why I am where I am, and wonder if  there’s some burnout zone between the adrenaline-rush sprint that is caring for an infant and the long-haul marathon of raising a little person. Regardless, while we’ve still been eating well, my cookbooks have been growing lonely on the shelf and it is time I turn this around. This project is for me, and I’m hoping my return to this corner of my life helps me to commit a bit more each day to personal renewal. On that note, on to this perfect meal...

My expectations for Mother’s Day are fairly realistic. We have a busy four-year-old and a needy four-month-old and Ben only has two hands to do all of this tending. With that in mind, I helped plan three beautiful meals for Mother’s Day, which I happily shopped for (while Ben hung out with Joseph) and which I happily helped prepare. For breakfast, Ben and Sophia made waffles with fresh berries and whipped cream (yum) and, for lunch, we girls made homemade pizza with Kalamata olives, fresh spinach and Volpi sausage. Also yum.

But dinner. Oh, dinner! On Saturday, Sophia and I went to the Longmont Farmers’ Market and bought the most beautiful organic baby arugula from Ollin Farms here in town. Gorgeous, tender little leaves fresh from the garden. We also bought some spectacular cranberry walnut bread from the Styria Bakery, which we paired with Haystack Mountain’s Haystack Peak, a “creamy fresh-ripened goat cheese [with a] creamy interior enhanced by a bloom-rind surface that gives it character and complexity.” On Sunday, Ben made a simple vinaigrette of lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, and we topped the organic arugula with Parmigiano-Reggiano shavings and toasted pine nuts. To finish off this beautiful meal, a perfectly-grilled, medium-rare New York strip steak.

This meal was so simple, so divine, such an unbelievably perfect combination of fresh, seasonal flavors. It was truly perfect, and really reminded me of why I love spending time in the kitchen, enough so that I even love helping out with a little bit of cooking on Mother’s Day.

And for dessert? Well, dessert could not have been more special, and was my favorite moment of the whole day. At Montessori preschool, students made Mother’s Day cards and inside was a single peach tea bag. Preparing and serving tea with a friend is one of Sophia’s favorite works at school. So, at the end of our beautiful day together, Sophia and I got out my lovely little porcelain tea pot, filled it with hot water, and she made us tea to have with our walnut brownies. She steeped, stirred and served, just like a grown-up hostess, and we sat together, we two girls, and had our own little tea party. 

A beautiful moment, right here in my own kitchen, and one I hope will continue to inspire me as I work to reclaim my culinary groove.

Cooking (Minestrone) as Love

What do you do to help when there’s really nothing you can do? If you’re me, you cook. And cook and cook and cook. On Friday morning, my father-in-law, Bill, had emergency quadruple bypass surgery here in Longmont. As I know from personal experience, there is nothing more terrifying than seeing your parent so vulnerable and knowing there is not much you can do to ease their burden. As an in-law (and, really, an “ex” in-law at that), I felt hopeless to help Eryc and his family, and particularly Bill himself, as they struggled through these days of diagnosis, planning, surgery and recovery. The one thing I felt I could do was to feed everyone, and feed everyone I did.

With a mind on easy-to-transport, easy-to-reheat and heart-healthy meals, I made a huge batch of my homemade minestrone, adapted over the years from The New Moosewood Cookbook, an Earth mama classic. I love this cookbook, and this is my absolute favorite soup. Not to be too arrogant, but over the years I have modified it to make it really the perfect soup. I don’t make it as often as I should because it feels time-consuming, although I’m not sure it really does take that much longer than other soups. Just lots of chopping. 

My version is chockfull of veggies—carrots, celery, tomatoes, zucchini—plus garbanzo and kidney beans and a bit of organic whole wheat rotini. I’ve also started adding the leftover rinds I’ve been saving from my Parmigiano-Reggiano for a bit of added flavor. The soup is gorgeous (all of the veggies maintain their beautiful bright colors), delicious and incredibly healthy. The vegetables still have a nice crisp-tender texture, and the pasta and beans add some needed weight. It’s pretty fabulous soup, and feels entirely nourishing for body and soul, which I suppose was my real intention.

In a frenzy of cooking born entirely out of love, I also made homemade blueberry muffins, macaroni and cheese with Swiss chard, salad with mom’s celery seed dressing, dark chocolate brownies with walnuts (thank you Ghiradelli), dinner rolls to have with the soup (thank you Rhodes), homemade pizza with homemade sauce, dark chocolate chip cookies (Tollhouse recipe with Ghiradelli dark chocolate chips), Boar’s Head natural turkey and ham sandwiches, apples, assorted snacks and, for dinner tonight, tortellini with prosciutto and spinach (which I’ll write about later). 

Bill’s surgery was a huge success, and he is recovering wonderfully. Everyone at the hospital is amazed at his progress. Eryc and his family seem to be gradually emerging from a state of shock and breathing that first, deep sigh of relief. Me, I feel happy to have played a peripheral part in what has been an exhausting, but positive, weekend.

Steamed Artichokes & Abuelita

Yes, this is as weird as it sounds, but it’s a food moment in my life that I can’t let pass by without capturing. We’re having a snow day here in Colorado, so I made a tasty grownup lunch for Ben and myself while Sophia napped—sourdough (because I couldn’t find French bread), brie, steamed artichokes and red wine. I made an extra artichoke for Sophia to have after nap time.

As soon as she got up from her nap, Sophia bundled up and went out to try her new snowshoes with Ben. While they tromped in the snow, I made them Abuelita, the delicious cinnamon-y Mexican hot chocolate I got hooked on years ago in the Riviera Maya.

They came in, unbundled, and I served them each a steaming mug of cocoa. Sophia spied her artichoke and asked if she could have it with her Abuelita. Who am I to deny her midday veggies?

Ben and I watched in wonder as her cocoa was abandoned and grew cold, eschewed for a steamed artichoke.

Simply amazing!

Risotto

Frankly, I can’t believe this is my first risotto posting. I would imagine that most dedicated home cooks have one or two signature dishes, recipes that they gradually hone over time and in which they take great pride. Risotto is absolutely my signature dish. It’s my go-to comfort food as well as a favorite stand-by when entertaining.

What makes risotto so glorious? In my world, the basic ingredients in risotto—olive oil, arborio rice, yellow onion, white wine, chicken broth and Parmigiano-Reggiano—are everyday pantry staples. All I need to do, then, is add flavorful seasonal ingredients for a fresh take on an old favorite. I love the toothy feel of arborio rice, the creamy texture without heavy ingredients, the smell of the white wine cooking off the sautéed onions and rice.

I also love the physical process of making risotto. If you’ve never made it before, risotto requires about 30 minutes of constant stirring as you gradually incorporate the chicken broth into the rice. Ergo, you have to do all of your mise en place, or ingredient prep, before you start cooking. Once onions and veggies are chopped, broth is simmering and cheese is grated, you’re free to stand at the stovetop, slowly ladling and stirring and drinking a glass of white wine or champagne, which is required for truly tasty risotto. I absolutely adore being “stuck” at the stove for 30 minutes, watching this satisfying dish come together.

My first risotto, which served as the basis of my own recipe now, was with fresh tomatoes and basil from 1,000 Vegetarian Recipes, a beautiful gift from my Aunt Bev. Today, I prefer risotto with something green like sweet petite peas or asparagus, or sautéed mushrooms and lemon zest, and always Parmigiano-Reggiano. It’s even wonderful without any embellishment save a tablespoon or two of cream, and I make a dairy-free version when anyone here has the flu and needs something bland and simple yet appetizing.

Risotto is that magical combination of nourishing and healthy yet rich tasting and sumptuous. One of my all-time absolute favorites. Yum! Oh, and it’s even good cold, eaten straight from the container standing in front of the fridge. Or so I’ve been told...

Grandma Guglietta’s Marinara with Turkey Meatballs

Two hours and 1,000 sauce splatters later, we just sat down to Grandma Guglietta’s marinara (this is Eryc’s Italian grandmother, Sophia’s great-grandmother) with turkey meatballs from Joy of Cooking.

This used to be my absolute favorite sauce, and it is wonderful for thick, rick gravy, especially over Lorraine’s crepe-like manicotti. However, we’ve recently become accustomed to the sharp, bright flavors of The Splenid Table’s smoky tomato sauce, and now this sauce disappoints in its just-what-you’d expect-edness (no, this is not a word... what word am I looking for?).

The turkey meatballs were also good, fine, but not nearly as good as they were when my mom made them for us December 21, 2006. Of course, we were snowed in with Grandma Lee after a record 36 inches, so everything may have tasted better then!

I will say that the meal was yummy in a comfort food sort of way, but not a good use of two hours of my life and not worth the sauce splattered kitchen.

Oatmeal and Raisins, the Grandma Lee Way

Of course, you can always follow the instructions on the Quaker Oatmeal canister for perfectly acceptable oatmeal. However, in our family, we prefer our oatmeal the Grandma Lee way, which I suppose now is the Great-Grandma Lee way. My Grandma Lee taught my parents, they taught me, and I have already taught Sophia... yes, she’s only four but she loves to cook! In fact, making oatmeal before school is one of her favorite treats. 

First, a quick note on old-fashioned oat brands: I am generally frugal about all things, and have very few brand loyalties aside from organics. However, I recently skimped and bought Kroger-brand oats. Big mistake. The texture of the oatmeal is mushy, unlike Quaker oats, which retain a little toothsomeness after cooking. What’s funny is that I usually buy Quaker oats, frugality aside, because I adore the oatmeal cookie recipe on the inside of the Quaker lid. See what I get for abandoning my cookie recipe?

So, the Grandma Lee way. Combine one part old-fashioned Quaker oats, one part milk and one part water. Add plenty of raisins (yum) and a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and boil, stirring constantly, for one minute. Cover your oatmeal, remove from the heat and let stand five minutes. The result... oatmeal that is much creamier than the Quaker way.

In my years of serving Grandma Lee oatmeal, I’ve realized that there are as many ways to eat oatmeal as there are kind of people. I imagine this is a family tradition, passed down like recipes through the generations. Our people put a small ring of cold milk around the mound of oatmeal once it’s ladled and topped. My mom leaves the ring intact, gradually incorporating the milk and using it to cool each bite as she goes. Sophia and I stir in our rings of milk right away. We have yet to bring Ben over to our side, so his is milk-free. As for toppings, Ben, Mom and Sophia prefer a sprinkling of brown sugar, and I have recently discovered turbinado sugar, which I have left over from my adventures in Irish-American soda bread.

Like the wonderful women before me, I look forwarding to being Grandma Lee some day, and passing this recipe down, milk ring and all. If you eschew the Quaker recipe for ours, I simply ask that Grandma Lee gets credit where credit is due. Enjoy!

Grandma Lee’s Meatloaf with Mom’s Salad

Apparently this week’s theme is All-American cuisine. Tonight, I made several family favorites, recipes from the Grandmas Lee: my Grandma Lee, named Virginia Lois Lee, and Sophia and Joseph’s Grandma Lee, and my mom, Diana Kay Lee.

I got the original meatloaf recipe from my mom on the phone yesterday. The recipe card reads: “Maw Lee’s Meatloaf” and it’s dated 1967, the year my parents got married. It’s so simple but remarkably delicious, and one of my favorite weekly meals growing up. There are probably as many meatloaf variations as there are families. Our people surround the meatloaf with potato and yellow onion wedges and carrot pieces and add some water to the bottom of the pan. Yum.

This is the first time I’ve made traditional meatloaf. My only other foray into meatloaf was a pancetta-covered turkey meatloaf of Giada's, which is amazing, but not “real” meatloaf. I think tonight’s meatloaf had great flavor, but was perhaps a bit too dry.

I also made a simple salad with organic mixed greens, English cucumber, grape tomatoes and Mom’s most delicious celery seed dressing. It’s salad dressing like you’ve never tasted before—very Midwestern. What makes it taste Midwestern? Sugar and cider vinegar. Just the smell of it makes me nostalgic. 

A very homespun meal and a loving tribute to the wonderful Grandmas Lee.

Black Beans & Rice

There are very few things that I make without a recipe... I’m just more comfortable and have more fun in the kitchen without the pressure of having to be inventive. This is one of the few things I just whipped up one night and continue to make with whatever I have around.

For this dish, I prepare jasmine rice, then add chopped cilantro and fresh lime juice while the rice is still warm. I serve the rice with canned black beans that I’ve rinsed and seasoned with cumin, garlic powder and salt. Tonight, I had some extra pieces of smoked ham, so I added those to the beans.

We usually have some mild picante sauce on top, and I served the beans and rice with steamed broccoli. A staple dish that is simple, inexpensive and full of fresh flavors.