Wanna-be Gourmet

As a busy mom--still working full-time until September 1!--when it's time to cook, I go for the fast and easy route. However, I've been reading Secrets of Feeding a Healthy Family lately, and it has motivated me to go more 'gourmet' when I cook. If I don't enjoy making it/tasting it/eating it, then what's the point?

This brings me to the other night (now a week or so ago) when I was concocting the deliciousness below.

Ashley's Dijon Walnut Tilapia and Beet Salad
Ingredients:
1 onion, sliced into rings
2 Tbsp + 2 Tbsp olive oil
2 tilapia filets, thawed2 Tbsp dijon mustard
2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 c. chopped walnuts
1 bunch large beets, scrubbed and quartered
1 bunch beet greens, washed with stems removed4 Tbsp balsamic vinaigrette
1/2 c. crumbled feta cheese


Process:
In large frying pan, warm 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium low heat. Once warmed, place onion in pan and caramelize, stirring often, about 20-30 minutes. (Wait for them to really caramelize - tastes so much better this way!) While they are cooking, place a large pot with 6 cups of water on high heat. Bring to a boil. Place beets in water and boil, uncovered, for about 10-12 minutes (or until beets are able to be easily pierced by fork). While beets are boiling, use the steam from the pot to steam the beet greens! Take a steamer basket and place on top of the pot. Place 1/2 bunch of greens on top and cover with pot lid. Steam for 2-3 minutes until greens have wilted. Remove (carefully!) using tongs and reserve. Repeat with remainder of beet greens until all have been steamed. Once done with the greens, remove the steamer basket. If beets are done boiling, turn off the heat and strain out the water through a colander.

Place 1/2 cup cooked beets on top of 1/4 of the greens on a plate for a salad serving. Top with 1/4 cup feta and 2 Tbsp balsamic vinaigrette. Let this sit to cool while you finish the fish as follows: Once onions are done caramelizing, push to one side of the pan. Place fish filets in pan and brown on each side for 2-3 minutes. Once the filets are mostly cooked (each side browned), add the walnuts, mustard, 2 Tbsp olive oil, honey, and spices to the onions. Mix well, then spoon over the fish filets and stir together. (If the fish breaks up, no biggie - it will still taste great!) Cook for another 3-4 minutes until the fish is done (you can use a meat thermometer to check this). Spoon 1 filet with onions and walnuts onto the plates you made previously. Enjoy!

You need to be a bit of a multitasker to pull this off but it's worth the extra attention! Hope you like it.

Making up some deliciousness

For a Memorial Day party this past Monday I brought a dairy-free modified Hershey's cake (used Earth Balance and almond milk in place of butter and cow's milk) and this tasty little side dish:

Ashley's Zesty Fresh Corn Salad
Also known as The using up stuff in my pantry salad!

Ingredients:
5 ears roasted corn, sliced off the cob (or use two cans of corn)
6 medium tomatoes, sliced into 1/2" pieces
1 can medium black olives
1 can artichoke hearts, quartered
1 jar marinated artichoke hearts, quartered
6 cloves roasted garlic, diced
2 tsp dried rosemary (or 2 Tbsp fresh rosemary), chopped
2 Tbsp brown mustard
1/4 c. olive oil
1/8 c. lemon juice

Process:
Mix garlic, rosemary, mustard, olive oil, and lemon juice in dish (I used a Pyrex measuring cup). Stir until well blended. (Add more olive oil if the taste is too sharp for your liking, or add more lemon juice if it's not sharp enough.) Place corn, tomatoes, olives, and artichokes in large bowl. Pour dressing over top and mix well with large spoon. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 3 days. Serves about 10 (or more). 

The flavoring gives it a nice, refreshing feel. Also makes a good topping for burgers (per my husband).

Feeding baby

One of the great things about making baby food is that it allows me to regain an appreciation for the wonderful colors and textures of food. I've always loved the entire experience of food and eating--the color, the smell, the taste, the texture, and the visual appeal of a well-plated food--and now I get to share that with my son. I also get the responsibility for helping him to start and continue healthy eating habits, which will also help me to better plan my family meals to include more fruits and vegetables.

Joseph is now up to 3-4 solid feedings a day, in addition to his 5 breast feedings. This requires me to plan more in regards to what foods I have in the house, since he gets to try one new food every 4-7 days. However, it also means that I have to keep the foods he's already had available to round out his mealtimes. Case in point: over the weekend I roasted two butternut squashes (such a lovely bright orange color!). This made an entire bowlful of squash, which I will be packaging for freezing. However, my husband and I can also eat some of it, since a serving for a baby is 1/4 to 1/2 cup. I don't normally eat squash, especially in the summer, so it's good for me to add some more color to my veggie mix!

One thing I am a little nervous about starting is meats. I know my little guy will need more protein as he grows, but I am not looking forward to seeing the changes in digestion (most specifically, the smells). We bought a free-range chicken at the Public Market last weekend so I'm trying to decide if I save some of that for him to try or get some lamb or turkey per the recommendations in one of my baby cookbooks. However, something I found interesting was that I didn't totally enjoy the chicken, even though I know it's supposedly better for me. It tastes fine once it's got Dinosaur barbeque sauce on it (what doesn't?), but the texture was totally different than any chicken I've had before (more gamey/rubbery). Not bad, but different.

Formula is expensive!

So continuing on from the last post, I did some research into formula options today. Joseph is, indeed, supposedly allergic to cow's milk protein, so I am still going dairy-free. We do have the option to use some hypoallergenic formulas that have the protein more broken down, but after looking into cost (it will likely be about $12/day for formula!) and the ingredients (lots of corn and syrup and weird sounding things) I am just going to have to suck it up and keep breastfeeding.

I love my little boy and want him to have the best - even if that means I can't have cow's milk or *sob* sharp cheddar cheese.

However, one positive thing in the food arena has been the discovery that chocolate almond milk tastes very similar to chocolate milk! That is the new staple in our fridge. And yes, it's sweetened. :) The unsweetened stuff tastes too chalky for me. I like almonds, but not plain almond milk. (Weird, I know.)

Rice milk is still iffy but I have found that it is way better for baking than almond milk (seems to make things moister). I've been making homemade bread and brownies (using dairy-free "butter" and rice milk) and all of the above are delicious! However, I have to be careful because I could eat brownies all day long!