Rainforest Smoothie

I really love our neighborhood. It's full of friendly people and we can walk to the best bakery in Providence, the library, pharmacy, wine shop, three playgrounds, a fabulous toy store (complete with in-store train table), a great Indian restaurant, cutest retail shop, and a juice bar.

I always order one of two smoothies at the juice bar - Rainforest or Dino. But let's be honest, an $8 smoothie is not an everyday occasion. So I've mastered my at home recipe.

Rainforest Smoothie
1 banana
1/2 cup frozen mango
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup baby spinach

Dylan seriously can't get enough of it. He must like a taste of the tropics because this green glass is full of sunny pina colada goodness.

15 Minute Fish Dinner

I've never been a land-locked type of gal. I get the same feeling as I do when I'm in the middle of a big city without a car...stuck. So it's no surprise I've found myself in the Ocean State surrounded by coastline. Big bonus? Fresh fish. If you are also a Rhode Islander here is a list of local seafood suppliers.

photo Djhockman7

This 15 minute flounder dinner is inspired by a dish my mother in law cooks for us on Cape Cod. I love the idea of layering two thin flounder fillets, creating a sandwich of flavor, and popping it in the oven. Done. Delicious.

15 Minute Fish Dinner
serves 2

The beauty of this dinner is that it can serve 2 or 12. For a large group, stack fish on a baking sheet and rotate halfway through to ensure even cooking.

4 local flounder fillets (2 per person)
olive oil
Dijon mustard
salt and pepper
high quality flavored panko breadcrumbs (sold at the Whole Foods' fish counter)
lemon, sliced into wedges 

-Pre-heat oven to 425
-Rub olive oil on the bottom of a pan
-Lay 1 fillet down, sprinkle with salt and pepper, brush with 1/4 teaspoon (each) of Dijon mustard
-Sprinkle with panko, top with second fillet
-Again sprinkle top fillet with salt and pepper, then with panko
-Drizzle olive oil over the top
-Bake for 10-15 minutes

I served this with big lemon wedges and a huge arugula salad.

Pad Thai

I'm a white girl from the Northeast but Pad Thai reminds me of home. For a while it was our family's favorite take-out dinner and often my best girlfriends and I would order it for those fabulous girls stay in have drinks watch bad TV nights. Oh and us ladies have had some pretty serious conversations over Pad Thai too - who to marry, where to live, should I have a baby? For a simple wok fried noodle dish it carries some heavy weight for me.

For these reasons I've never made it at home but decided my Ikea wok was worth the honor.

Pad Thai 
slightly adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home
serves 4

2 quarts water
3/4 lb mung bean sprouts
6 oz brown rice noodles, 1/4 in wide

sauce:
juice of 2 limes
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup fish sauce or soy sauce

3 tablespoons canola oil
3-4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 tablespoon minced fresh chile, or 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 cups grated carrots
4 large eggs, lightly beaten with a pinch of salt
2/3 cup chopped peanuts
6-8 scallions, chopped (about 1 cup)

In a covered pot, bring the water to a rolling boil. Blanch the mung bean sprouts by placing them in a strainer or small colander and dipping it into the boiling water for 30 seconds. Set aside to drain well. When the water returns to a boil, stir in the rice noodles and cook for 3-5 minutes, until tender but firm. Drain the cooked noodles, rinse them under cool water, and set them aside to drain well. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together the sauce ingredients.

Prepare the remaining ingredients and have them near at hand before you begin to stir-fry. Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet just shy of high. Add the garlic and chile, swirl them in the oil for a moment, and stir in the grated carrots. Stir-fry for 1 minute. Push the carrots to the sides to make a hollow in the center. Pour the beaten eggs into the center and quickly scramble them. When the eggs have just set, pour in the sauce mixture and stir everything together. Add the drained rice noodles and mung sprouts, and toss to distribute evenly. Stir in the peanuts and scallions, and serve at once.

My Favorite Soup ~ Tomato, White Bean, Pasta

Who goes on a cleanse in the middle of snowy football season? Oh right, we did.

All is well though because this soup is about warming up after snowy adventures and couch slurping. It reminds me of my favorite macaroni and bean soup growing up - salty, creamy, and comforting.

Snowy Day Soup

olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
pinch cayenne pepper
1 28 oz. can tomatoes for a good cause
28 oz. vegetable stock
1 can white beans, rinsed
2 cups kale, chopped
1/3 lb. whole wheat chiocciole pasta (use your favorite GF pasta)
parmesean cheese (optional)

Preparation:

1. Coat the bottom of a soup pan with olive oil, stir in chopeed garlic and onion, let cook until the onion is translucent - 5 minutes

2. Add chopped carrots, herbs, cayenne, and salt - saute for 15 minutes

3. Add jar of tomatoes, stock, and kale

5. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 15 minutes

6. While the soup is simmering, cook pasta until al dente

7. When the soup has reduced and is the thickness you like, add the pasta and beans, cook together for a few minutes to heat through

Taste and add salt and pepper

Serve in big bowls and top with a couple tablespoons of grated (or shaved with a vegetable peeler) parmesean cheese.

Pick out any pieces your baby would like or let your toddler dive in with a spoon. Dylan loved the beans and pasta.

Nick's 30th Birthday Dinner(s)

My husband turned 30 on Tuesday and we have two birthday dinners down and one to go. The first was the fancy dinner - at Persimmon in Bristol. It was delicious, quaint, unexpected, and romantic. We drank Cava, ate things like raviolo with slow cooked egg, Point Judith fluke, and chocolate ganache tart.

Oh and breakfast in a barn? Check. I love winter in coastal towns - it's raw and unapologetic.

Tuesday morning Dylan and I decorated our dining room with streamers and put out party hats. We woke Nick up with a pancake breakfast. That night, I cooked us lemon-herb cod fillets with crispy garlic potatoes and a simple arugula salad. We both agreed this is one of the easiest and best fish recipes we've had. Give it a try.

Lemon-Herb Cod Fillets w. Crispy Garlic Potatoes
from America's Test Kitchen 
serves 4 

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 lbs. russet potatoes, sliced into 1/4 in rounds
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
4 (6 oz) skinless cod fillets, 1-1 1/2 in. thick
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 in pieces
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 lemon, sliced thin

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 425. Brush large rimmed baking sheet w. 1 tablespoon oil.

2. In a large bowl, toss potatoes with remaining 2 tablespoons oil and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Shingle potatoes into 4 rectangular piles of 3 rows each, about 4x6". Gently push rows together so potatoes form cohesive pile. Roast potatoes until spotty brown and just tender - 30-35 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through roasting.

3. Pat cod dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Carefully place 1 cod fillet, skinned side down, on top of each potato pile. Top fish with butter pieces, thyme sprigs, and lemon slices. Continue to bake fish and potatoes until fish flakes apart when gently prodded-about 15 minutes.

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY*

Fried Brown Rice with Red Cabbage Slaw

This is a short and sweet post for a short and sweet recipe. The moral of the story is a delicious dinner can be found in your seemingly barren refrigerator. I was about to serve peanut butter and raisins for dinner until the tired recipe inspiration part of my brain was turned on with the last ounce of Monday energy I had. Phew.

Fried Brown Rice with Red Cabbage Slaw
Serves 2-3

2 tablespoons canola oil 
3 cups cooked brown rice
1/2 red onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
3 scallions, chopped
2 tablespoons shoyu sauce
1/2 teaspoon hot sesame oil
1 cup grilled tofu, cubed (mine was purchased from Whole Foods' salad bar)

Heat a skillet over medium/high. Add oil. When hot add onion, garlic and ginger. Saute for a few minutes then add rice. Stir around then let rice sit and get crispy - toss and allow to crisp up again. Add in shoyu sauce, sesame oil, scallions, and tofu. Toss and heat for another 5 minutes. Meanwhile...

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 small head purple cabbage, sliced thin
1 bunch bok choy, sliced thin
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
pinch salt

Heat another skillet over medium/high. Add oil. When hot add cabbage and bok choy. Toss then add sugar, vinegar, and salt. Saute until vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Mix in sesame seeds before serving.

Fill a bowl with fried rice and top with slaw. When in doubt, add a fried egg.

Popcorn

I hope most of you are home today - lazing around and playing games. It feels like a popcorn day at our house...or is everyday now a popcorn day at our house?

The process of making popcorn has turned into an event over here. First Dylan shakes the container of kernels for a new minutes, then we play with the measuring cups, crawl around the pot and pan cabinet, yell POP POP POP when the kernels begin to burst, and finally chant "POPCORN POPCORN" when it's time to sit down. Hey, whatever will kill a half hour when it's 12 degrees outside.

Popcorn
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/3 cup popcorn kernels
1 tablespoon unsalted organic butter
salt

Heat oil in 3 quart pot over medium/high. Add kernels and put lid on. Shake around. When kernels start popping, shake more and keep on heat until popping slows/stops. Turn heat off, sprinkle with salt and toss in butter to melt.

If you feel inspired mix cinnamon, cayenne pepper, curry powder, or any other favorite flavoring with the salt and sprinkle over the popped kernels.

Brown Rice Pudding

This recipe is my biggest score of 2012. It requires an embarrassingly little amount of work and pleases just about everybody - sweet people, creamy people, snack people, dessert people, warm breakfast people, and young picky people who prefer to eat bubble wands.

Brown Rice Pudding: 
serves 4-6

This recipe requires very little hands on time but a lot of cooking time so plan it for a lazy morning or afternoon when you know you'll be home and available to check in on it.

1/3 cup long-grain brown rice
3 1/2 cups (2 14 oz cans) full fat coconut milk
1/2 cup maple syrup
small pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Other flavoring options - a few cardamom pods, a split vanilla bean, a pinch of saffron, orange zest.

1. Heat the oven to 300 F. Put the rice in a food processor and pulse 10 times to break the grains up a bit and scratch up their hulls; don't overprocess.

2. Put all the ingredients in a 2-quart ovenproof pot or Dutch oven. Stir to combine, and put in the oven, uncovered. Cook for 45 minutes, then stir. Cook for 45 minutes more, and stir again; at the point the milk will have darkened a bit and should be bubbling, and the rice will have begun to swell.

3. Cook for 30 minutes more. The milk will be even darker this time, and the pudding will start to look more like rice than milk. It may be done now or need another 10 minutes.

4. Taste to make sure the rice is soft but you want it still soupy as it firms up while it cools off.

Garnish with a sprinkling of toasted coconut, sliced almonds, drizzle of cream, or other chopped nuts.

Snacking On...

You know when you get obsessed with a certain snack? I've had affairs with apples and cheddar, homemade popcorn, and curried cashews but this is my January crush. Whole milk plain yogurt sprinkled with raw sunflower seeds and maple syrup. Ah the trifecta of creamy, crunchy, sweet...

It's also fun to share. Especially with someone who just discovered the intended purpose of a spoon. I'm telling you, this snack fuels tired mamas and miniature gymnasts alike.

Simplify: Roast Those Vegetables & Cut Thy Hair

That's my advice. You should roast more vegetables and you should probably cut your hair. Both are easy and leave you with great satisfaction.

Winter Vegetables ~ Roasted: 

4 carrots, chopped into 1/2" dice
5 red potatoes, chopped into 1/2" dice
2 cups of brussel sprouts, either cut in 1/2 if large or left whole
olive oil
salt & pepper

Heat oven to 425. Chop all vegetables so they are more or less the same size. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Arrange on a baking sheet in a single layer. Roast for 30-40 minutes or until golden.

Then, make a hair appointment. Walk up the street to salon, read magazine, sip coffee, stare into space.

I cut 10 inches off of my hair once before - it was 2007. I was unmarried, living in Boston, working at a creative firm, going out at night, running along the river, and wearing really cute clothes every day.

Doing it again took me right back to that place - a place I felt I could never get back to. Not with a toddler, unending chores, sleepiness, and constant attachment. I feel good. And now maybe people won't think I'm Dylan's nanny because I have an actual hair style!