Cooking Together: The Whole Fish

Posted on August 4, 2010 by admin

There are times when cooking is easier for me—the nights my husband is doing it. I am lucky how often he cooks considering he does this for a living and is at work most nights, especially weekends. I will often defer the cooking to him when he’s home. But, I really enjoy cooking with him, because I often learn something and because we enjoy being together and we work well together. There’s a reason or two I married him.

Today we shopped for dinner at Stew Leonard’s and I picked out the Bronzino (Bronzini) as our main. Bronzino is a Mediterranean sea bass and the ones we purchased were sustainably farm-raised in Greece. If you haven’t noticed, I love fish and because I do and cook it often, my kids do as well. I am careful what I buy and try to pick something sustainable that’s also in my budget. Fish is expensive. It was on sale today and looked fresh. Stew’s is one of our favorite places to buy fish, because the turnover is so great, the fish is very fresh. My husband told me to look at the eyes, if they’re clear and not cloudy, it’s fresher. Ok, yes, the eyes. This fish is whole, head and all. Daunting? Maybe, but not necessarily. Off-putting? That’s up to you. Continue reading →

Grilled Chicken with Indian/Asian Spices

Posted on July 31, 2010 by admin

I was browsing through Jamie Oliver’s recipes when I came across a marinated and grilled chicken dish. I took the idea but adapted it… I do that sometimes, depending on what I have in the house, what I like, and/or what I think might work. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn’t. This time was a big winner. Love when it happens. Especially when all three kids and I like it!

Mix together into paste:

1 tsp garam massala
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander seed (first toast in pan then grind with mortar/pestle)
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ginger
1/2 ground garlic
juice of one lime
2 Tbsp pureed tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil

Coat boneless, skinless chicken thighs on both sides and let sit in refrigerator for one or more hours. Grill until done about 5-8 minutes each side depending on thickness, should read about 140F before you take off and let sit 5-10 minutes before serving as it will keep cooking. (For safety reasons chicken should be cooked to 165F)

I served it with brown rice (cheated— Trader Joe’s 3 minutes in microwave, baby!), steamed kale and broccoli from our CSA.

Kids really loved it and I found a new dish that I can also cut into small pieces and serve as appetizers at parties. Woo-hoo!

Colors of Summer

Posted on July 29, 2010 by admin

What says summer more than grilled foods, fresh corn and local tomatoes? My husband cooked the other night- another swelteringly hot and muggy day. He grilled a ribeye steak that was simply prepared with salt and pepper. He chooses to grill over hardwood charcoal not gas because he likes the added smokiness of the wood. We used to get the charcoal from Trader Joe’s but they only sell the briquettes now, which have been treated with something that imparts an unsavory smell. He grilled some blanched garlic scapes too to go with the meat. My youngest eats them cut up like little green beans.

Served with that was Bread and Butter corn and tomatoes both fresh from the farm that day. Since my 6 year old has another couple of loose teeth, we did our corn per usual then sliced the kernels off the cob. Reheated with butter, salt and pepper. A little of all three can go a long way, and just enough to enhance the corn’s flavors by adding the other taste dimensions. (As previously mentioned I usually only use sea salt now. We always grind fresh peppercorns because the pre-ground pepper from tins have lost its punch and flavor by the time it reaches the food).

Red tomato, basil (fresh from our garden), and goat cheese salad is another summer staple. Though last year it seemed as it was just my husband and I eating it, this year, we can hardly get a bite in before my oldest two are hogging it all for themselves. My middle son was even dipping his meat and potatoes into the left over dressing after the tomatoes were all gone.

Arrange sliced tomatoes on a plate, chop basil in small ribbons (chiffonade), top with chunks of goat cheese (we get TJ’s own brand log), sparinglydrizzle with balsamic vinegar (we use a 50 year old one), a good quality olive oil, and ground pepper to top. We usually use French Grey sea salt or Hawaiian Red sea salt, but we’re out. We used a Himalayan pink (obviously not sea salt) and. But use whatever good quality sea, or mined salt in this case, you have.

All Blue potatoes we received from our CSA bin. They look like Peruvian purple potatoes, but I guess since there are thousands of different kinds of potatoes, these are from elsewhere. Unlike the “magic” purple beans, these are purplish-blue inside and out even after being cooked. We simply boiled them and served as is. They were firm and had a lovely sweet and earthy taste. The kids loved the color. I believe one way to get kids to try foods that might otherwise be seen as healthy (and undesirable) is to add the colorful veggies and not just green ones. It’s also good for them to get the different colors because they have different nutrients.

Lastly we served green zucchini (courgettes) and yellow summer squash. Again my middle son wouldn’t touch them last year, but this year he gobbles them up gladly.

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My sons have favorite colors. When my eldest was 2-3 his favorite was red, then a couple of years later it was green, then turquoise, then “rainbow”, now he’s got several. My middle son loved “lello” when he was 2-3 then blue, then green, then turquoise and now back to blue. And my youngest’s favorite was orange and white, then green, now blue. In such a short period of time their favorite colors have changed. Well, so have their favorite foods. They still love certain things but they keep adding foods to their repertoire and all of a sudden (Now kohlrabi is my middle son’s favorite food. My youngest asked for salmon or “snapping” for dinner two nights ago. My eldest still loves spaghetti, but sushi and tacos have taken top spot.) I believe if you understand that kids change their favorites, their tastes, their interests as they grow you will find that given the opportunity they may actually like that food they had no interest in eating previously. Give them a chance to try it, eventually they may like it… or even love it!

“Here try it” , “ok” — before he asked for more and more…

Potluck

Posted on July 23, 2010 by admin

We went to my friend Amanda’s house to celebrate summer and enjoy food together. I’d suggested a food and dessert gathering since I write a food blog and she writes a dessert blog. Unfortunately the day of the potluck I was feeling rather crappy due to a migraine and I didn’t get around to making a tapenade and tomato and basil salad, but luckily we had plenty of food. Two other families joined us, my migraine medication eventually worked, and it turned out to be a perfect evening. It looked like the setting in a magazine. They’d even set up an inflatable water slide for the kids. And it was really pretty smooth sailing with all 10 of them (ages 3 to 13) for 6 hours!

Our gracious and talented host made more than she should have— watermelon, feta and mint salad, a delicious, soft, yet chewy sourdough no-knead bread with huge sea salt crystals on top, and divine profiteroles for dessert that she blogged about here. Our friend Holly made prosciutto, melon and mint skewers and potato and green bean salad. Our other friend Kymm made grilled asparagus, asparagus with prosciutto and a pasta with beans, spinach, tomatoes and garlic. All yummy. Don’t remember who provided the corn- oven roasted, (steamed) in their husks, then shucked and finished on the grill but I do remember how delicious it was and how much the children loved it!

My husband prepared Moroccan style lamb kebabs the day before and I made a cocktail for the grownups! Yes, this is a blog about kids food but, who makes the food? Parents. Who needs a cocktail every now and then? Parents. So, this is the summer drink I adapted from a recipe I saw in Food Arts by Jeff Hollinger of Absinthe in San Francisco. I made a “simple” syrup of ginger, pink peppercorns, lime zest, sugar and water. I let it sit for at least 8 hours. Then I poured about 2 oz of syrup over ice (straining the big chunks), splash of cranberry-raspberry juice, 2-3 oz of citrus vodka, and filled rest with San Pellegrino Limonata. We dubbed it the Blogger’s Lemonade. It was zesty, spicy, lemony but subtle. A mint leaf or two is great added as well, which a few of us did too!

The lamb was a leg cut into approximately 2 inch pieces. He made a paste that he covered the pieces with for at least 24 hours before grilling. The paste: toasted whole cumin then ground, ground coriander seed, ground allspice, and ground cinnamon. Mixed them together with chopped shallots, garlic, lemon juice, cilantro, fresh grated ginger, olive oil. Soak skewers in water so they don’t burn badly when grilling. He made about 18 skewers with 6 pieces each on them. Served with yogurt sauce. Yogurt, garlic, cilantro, mint, lemon juice. (If you want recipes with actual measurements, please contact me and we’ll figure it out for you!)

When it was time to eat there was much chatter about hotdogs. Some of the kids were expecting them and some of the parents were considering serving them. I said that my kids would eat the lamb and we’d been at a birthday party earlier where they had hotdogs, so I’d reather we didn’t have any. Often when things like hotdogs are given as a choice, kids tend to choose them. I got into a discussion with my friend H about a restaurant she loves to take her kids to because there is no children’s menu, no substitutions and the kids actually eat what they’re given. I said, take that philosophy home with you.

Well, I must have made enough noise (yea, I tend to do that) and no hotdogs were cooked. The kids had what we had. And they sat on a couple of large quilts in the grass, eating away happily while the parents sat under the new pergola, eating, drinking wine, talking, and laughing— and sometimes just glancing over at 10 kids enjoying a summer night. They had fun with it too—the skewers were sometimes used as spears for the lamb and other foods. And the kids really ate it.

Later there were s’mores with homemade marshmallows (I have a lot to live up to next time I host) and the profiteroles. It was late by the time we all left— happy, full and ready to do it again.

Thanks to Amanda and Jonathan for the photos- damn migraine! Left my camera at home!

Gallery

Posted on July 14, 2010 by admin

This gallery contains 5 photos.

I came up with this recipe because I got some Napa cabbage in our CSA bin, we had mushrooms in our fridge and I remembered once having pork, mushrooms and cabbage sautéed together in an Asian dish. Marinated pork in … Continue reading →

Two Outta Three Ain’t Bad

Posted on July 8, 2010 by admin

Tonight we came home fairly late from a day at the lake. It’s been swelteringly hot lately and the last thing I wanted to do was cook dinner, especially this late. But the boys had been eating so much pizza lately at birthday parties and 4th of July events, that I just couldn’t not cook. Plus I had picked up my favorite fish, Red Snapper, today and I wanted to eat it right away; the fresher the better. We’d gotten our CSA bin on the way home from the beach and inside was another purple kohlrabi, some gorgeous rainbow chard and new potatoes that I knew I would cook up with the Snapper. I put the potatoes on to boil in their jackets, cut up and steamed the chard and tried to figure out the best way to handle the kohlrabi.

My German father had loved kohlrabi and we had it occasionally when I was a child. I think he even grew it. But, I don’t recall liking it very much. My family usually added it to a family favorite stew-like cabbage and beef soup called Eintopf. I ran into a German au pair the other day and I asked her if she ever made kohlrabi. She did. She said she usually “cooked” it and served it with Hollandaise. Hollandaise sauce is not going to happen in my kitchen in the summer unless it’s going over an egg, ham and English muffin for brunch. And that would normally be served to me, not me cooking it. Anyway, “How do you normally “cook” it, do you boil it, bake it, roast it…?” She said, “Boil it.” So I did. I put them (two bulbs) on to boil with the skin on but cut it in half to speed up the cooking time; it was late, remember?

On to the next step. Mango Salsa. The mango wasn’t the best, ripest one ever, but the best the store had to offer. I defrosted some I had in freezer for smoothies and added it to it, so it ended up just fine.

Finally got to the Snapper. I ran my finger tips along the filet and noticed it had a few bones it so I pulled them out using a bone puller (kind of like tweezers). Then I scored the skin with a sharp knife. That way, when you flip over the fish onto its skin side, it won’t curl so much. In a hot pan with minimal canola oil I put the flesh side down first. When it was nice and golden brown, I flipped it over and put the pan into the preheated oven (350F). (It only takes a few more minutes in there until it’s done.)

I could then finish off the potatoes, chard and kohlrabi. I used the already-melted-from-the-stifling-heat butter and put them with all of them and a little sea salt and pepper. Less is more or if you find something that works stick with it, I guess. I took the outer layer of skin off the kohlrabi and cut them into smaller pieces before adding the butter and heating them.

And we were sitting down to eat just over 35 minutes after I started. The kids loved it! Well, my two eldest loved the kohlrabi and the youngest at first refused to try it and when he did he said, “Yuck.” I can’t win them all. My middle son said the kohlrabi tasted like cauliflower, one of his favorite veggies. All did love the Snapper (although theirs was sans salsa), chard and potatoes. I’m glad I made it, because I loved it too and my boys tried a new vegetable with fairly good results.

From here or over there

Posted on July 2, 2010 by admin

A good friend and neighbor got some local lamb and is now proud to be called a “locavore”. I am so excited for her; I am always touting the benefits of buying local — environmental, health, supporting local economy. Anytime you have the opportunity, grab it!

I do realize it can be tough for some people due to location and what’s available. It made me remember some articles I read from Otago University Magazine and the New York Times about NZ lamb and it’s carbon footprint or foodmiles. So if you can’t buy any local grass fed lamb, don’t fret, get some NZ lamb. Same goes with NZ beef, if you can get it in the Northern Hemisphere. With NZ and Australian (I’m pretty sure they also grass feed their sheep/lamb) lamb available in places like Trader Joe’s and Costco, you too can have grass fed, low carbon footprint, delicious lamb.

A friend in NZ, where it is winter right now, commented on my seasonal slant of my blog. The following lamb rack recipe is for any season, but you probably don’t want the oven on in swelteringly hot summer days.

Rack of Lamb

Preheat oven to 400F. Trim excess fat off bone, leaving some. Get a pan really hot with a tsp of oil. With tongs hold the rack (careful not to burn yourself) and sear the outside of the meat on all sides that you can. You’re not really cooking it, just searing the outside to seal in juices, it should still be cold on inside. Put in fridge.

Make breadcrumbs. In Cuisinart blend:

· approximately 2 cups of bread

· Tbsp fresh parsley

· salt and pepper to taste

· optional—clove Garlic, Tbsp fresh rosemary and/or parmesan

Chop/mix together and add olive oil through top until consistency is moist enough to hold together when you press them with your fingers.

Take rack out of refrigerator and spread sides with dijon mustard— enough to that breadcrumbs have something to stick to. Press crumbs onto rack top and sides. Cook at 400F for 25 minutes. Internal temperature should be 125F for med-rare. Take out and let rest while you finish vegetables, etc. Cut in between bones. And scoop any fallen breadcrumbs onto plate- they’re crisp and yummy!

My kids love grabbing the bones and eating them like you would drumsticks.

Taco Night

Posted on June 26, 2010 by admin

My sons love tacos! But they prefer the way I do them. When my eldest got tacos at school one day he told me how they weren’t very good because they didn’t have all the “things” we have on tacos at home- “No vegetables! Not even lettuce! It was just meat and cheese.” Ugh, school lunches…another topic for another time.

I set up a taco bar on our island in the kitchen. The offerings at the bar can change according to what’s in the fridge or cabinet. Mostly on the bar are bowls with shredded lettuce, black beans, rice, shredded cheese, chopped avocado and/or avocado salsa, tomato salsa, tomatoes, chopped cilantro, cabbage if we’re having fish tacos, most often I serve beef but sometimes other meats or fish. I give them hard and soft tacos- corn shells and flour tortillas.

Last night’s was organic beef (no hormones, antibiotics, etc) made with shallots, garlic and tomatoes and a pre-packaged spice mix from Trader Joe’s (careful— I used only 1/2 the packet and it was very spicy for the kids), but you can mix chili powder, cumin, garlic, oregano, paprika and black pepper to get a good taco seasoning. I also put out the left over swordfish and my eldest jumped at the chance to have in a hard corn tortilla. I used up the black rice too. If the kids don’t want all the stuff in the tacos I serve some things on the side.

It really doesn’t take long to prepare, mostly time spent chopping, and they get a well-rounded meal that they absolutely love!

FYI- you can get organic corn tortillas. I don’t like to buy conventional corn as most corn in the US is genetically modified.

Compromise Without Acquiescence

Posted on June 17, 2010 by admin

Sometimes dinners are a struggle. Keeping the kids in their seats until they’re finished; getting them to eat all their food, or at least a satisfactory amount; getting them to try the food they refuse, but you know is good for them and that they might actually like; making sure they use their manners; etc. Well it seems like when a grandparent visits it’s extra stressful because they’re much stricter about the kids staying seated during the whole dinner and eating all that they’ve been given.

Most nights I am alone with my kids while my husband’s at work. Yes, I cook the dinner but also eat with them, clean up, bath them, make sure teeth are brushed, get them into pajamas, have homework completed and read them stories in bed. So, sometimes, my table rules might be relaxed and now that can carry over into when others are here as well.

The other night we were going out and had their grandparent babysitting. We prepared the left over chicken that I’d marinated for the satay. It was sautéed with Napa cabbage, orange bell peppers, scallions, garlic scapes, cilantro and served over rice. The marinade made a nice sauce (just have to make sure it’s brought to temperature since it had raw chicken in it). I also sautéed a side dish of Crimini mushrooms for my youngest. The older two just had sushi before dinner, so I served small portions.

Well, my eldest, who’s normally the best eater of all three of them, flat out refused to eat the dinner; no amount of pleading would change his mind. We believed he’d like it, but he dug in his heels. It became such an ordeal, I couldn’t leave to go. I didn’t want the grandparent to have to deal with any unruly children. I offered him some of my three-year old’s mushrooms; no. Then my husband gave him a dish of beets and my son was so excited he dug into them with gusto and then actually started eating a little of the dinner I prepared. That just sent the grandparent into a tizzy. “You shouldn’t give them treats!” (the mushrooms and beets) For us it wasn’t a treat, but an appetite stimulant and something to calm the situation (to relieve the stress, get him to comply, and allow us to leave). They were getting dinner and — and it was healthful and homemade, but to the grandparent we were giving in to obstinate behavior.

Sometimes you have to choose your battles… sometimes you have to compromise on what/how much they eat. I didn’t think of it as acquiescing. My son still had to eat all the cabbage, most of the rice, two pieces of chicken, few pieces of peppers and all the beets. I wasn’t making different meals or letting him go to the fridge and eat snack food instead. He wouldn’t have been allowed to eat dessert or any other food once he was up from the table. Yes, my children need to modify their behavior and make sure their grandparents will enjoy eating with them.

But, sometimes, we need to relax some rules for peace’s sake. My eldest has been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome and forcing him to eat the dinner that he’s got into his head that he won’t like is just not going to have positive consequences— for anyone. Parents don’t need to dig in their heels as well. No matter the personality of your children, I think having some flexibility will get beneficial long-term results. Yes, stick to your goals but understand that sometimes you’re not going to win the battle and realize it doesn’t have to be an all-out war.

She Serves Seared Sea Scallops

Posted on June 11, 2010 by admin

Dry Sea Scallops (Day Boat Scallops) are large, sweet flavorful scallops that have no water (or other liquids) injected into them. You can tell when you cook them because they won’t release any water. My family loves the sweetness of the scallops when they’re seared, which also retains the soft juiciness.

Blanch or steam your vegetables first. Prepare rice, grains or potatoes. When they’re done or 5 minutes away from finished you can cook the scallops.

Heat pan then add one Tbsp of grapeseed oil (doesn’t impart contradicting flavors and has a high burning point -won’t smoke and turn brown at higher temps) until hot. Put the scallops (can season with salt and pepper if you wish but be careful if using salty sauce) in the pan starting with largest ones first (lay out on plate first to see the sizes). Flip over once nice and brown (like above). Once second side is browned and they look whiter, less translucent, they should be ready to serve. It only takes a few minutes. You can always cut into one to check for doneness if you’re unsure. You don’t want to overcook as they’ll get tough and rubbery.

We served ours with a Ponzu (citrus soy) sauce my husband made (but you can find a decent bottled one from Trader Joe’s). Usually made with yuzu juice, which is hard to find, you can substitute oj, lemon and lime juices with the tamari soy sauce, bonito flakes and rice wine vinegar. Careful though as a little goes a long way! If you’d like the measurements just ask me.

We also served rice, avocado salsa, spinach, cucumber salad and corn— in a method many friends have adopted. It’s kind of like lazy lobster but with corn. Boil the corn until done then shock in cold water. Cut the corn kernels off the cob (just don’t go too far into the cob center or you’ll get the harder parts that hold the kernels onto the cob) and put in a pan with a pat or two of butter, sea salt and pepper. Everyone loves the taste and kids who are loosing their front teeth can still eat one of their favorite vegetables!

If there are any recipes or methods you’d like to know, just ask me!

My Kids Really Eat This

getting kids to eat well in the real world

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