Where were we?

Shortly after this was taken, they were turned over to combat the dreaded "float."

I would first like to sing the praises of both my husband and the variety of quality playgrounds in Philadelphia which made this morning possible.  It's about 11 am and my small batch of strawberry jam is processing individually in an asparagus steamer on the stove top.  (More on that later.)  But here's what else I managed to accomplish today:

• Baked three salmon filets (for the kid - who loves salmon - or salads during the early part of the week)
• Roasted a bunch of beets (to make this tonight)
• Roasted a bunch of carrots (again, for the kid)
• Dealt with those 20 lbs of asparagus - I considered a combination of pickling, canning, and freezing but ended up just freezing all of it in 1 lb batches.  It actually ends up being about 11 lbs worth once you trim off all the ends.  I blanched for 2 minutes and plunged into an ice bath before draining well and putting into bags.  I'm in the market for a vacuum sealer for future projects like this one, but hooray for asparagus throughout the winter!
• Packaged and froze all but one quart of the 8 quarts of strawberries from yesterday.  I trimmed and washed all of them last night and laid them out in single layers on baking sheets and in large plastic containers.  Then I put them in the freezer overnight.  This morning I just needed a tiny bit of elbow grease with a spatula to lift them up and freeze in quart batches.  This is a good measurement for batches of jam or baking, so I went with that.

Tired yet?  I am.

And then there's the jam.  I saw Pomona's Universal Pectin in the canning supply closet at Greensgrow, while I was picking up the produce haul yesterday. I wasn't thinking of making jam, but Pomona's is made for use in low-sugar recipes, so that was enough to tempt me.  I was happy to use one quarter the amount of sugar I usually use for jam and a quick taste of the mixture revealed that it was still sweet and delicious.  I took a tip from my favorite local canning guru and bought an asparagus steamer a while ago, but was waiting to use it.  Even though I have to process one jar at a time, it was way easier than hauling the camping stove outside, hooking up the propane and standing out in the heat while jars process.  Man, I can't wait until we have a kitchen with a gas stove and burners and stuff. The camp stove will make an appearance during tomato season!

So that was my morning.  I fully plan to put the kid down for a nap and do nothing but watch Real Housewives reruns, just in case you thought I was going to go make a dozen quiches or something.

I'm back...back in a Kenzo grooooove.

What does one do with 20 lbs of asparagus and a flat of strawberries?  Well, my sweets, you'll have to keep an eye on this spot to find out.

Truth be told, I had one foot out of Kenzo for the last couple months, as a job offer came my way that seemed too good to be true...and then turned out to be just that.  I wasn't sure how long we'd be here.  I wasn't sure if Cooking in Kenzo would survive the summer.  Cooking in Suburban New Jersey just doesn't have the same ring to it. 

But we're not leaving!  At least not for now.  We've closed on the vacant house next door, which will yield endless posts with cheesy titles like "A House Grows in Kenzo."  Now that the kiddo isn't attached to me at the nipple, we're growing veggies in the yard, got a full CSA share, and I'm buying local produce (like that in the pic above) to get back to some canning and freezing.  I might even go really nuts and start knitting again! 

I probably should have gotten my knives sharpened before I bought all that produce...

The obligatory bad blogger post...

I'm too afraid to do the math and figure out how long it's been since I posted.  April - June is a crazy time for fundraisers, with the fiscal year and all, so our dinner planning has taken a real turn for the boring.  I've managed to keep our dinners, and most of our lunches, grain-free.  But breakfast has been hard because I've eaten it on the road as I rush to meetings, end of the year events, or doctor appointments - leave it to Charlie to get every bug under the sun as the weather gets warmer.  I keep imagining the Starbucks icon tapping her fingers all Mr. Burns style, saying, "Welcome back, my pretty" and then following up with a maniacal laugh.

So a typical dinner right now is broiled or grilled meat of some sort with two vegetables, one of which is usually broiled right on the same pan with the meat.  I start the protein first.  Last night it was pork chops with a quick spray of olive oil from the misto, salt and pepper, and a sprinkle of my new favorite broiler condiment Liquid Smoke.  I put them under the broiler for 8 minutes (they were thick little buggers), then pulled them out to flip them and add the veggies.  I threw some slice zucchini and leeks (I've been obsessed with the leeks from our local farmers market lately) on the pan, doused them in olive oil, salt, and pepper and then gave them a good toss before throwing the pan back under the broiler for another 10 minutes.  While that cooked, I sauteed some baby spinach in olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper, on the stovetop.  My new favorite short cut is minced garlic in a jar.  Don't hate, all you foodies out there.  We all have to make our sacrifices where we can!  Fresh garlic is awesome, but taking an hour just to chop everything I need to start dinner is most definitely not awesome.

I have so many food-related goals for the summer and I doubt all of them will get done.  I'd like to start going to pick my own fruits as each one comes into season so that I can freeze bunches of them for use during the winter.  We bought a couple tomato plants and a bean plant that I hope to nurture this summer, as well as maybe another eggplant plant which always seems to be fruitful for us.  I'd like to do some canning, at least of tomatoes but also peaches and pickles.  And I would like to get back on the grain-free train for all meals because being off has been a very unpleasant experience. 

On the weight loss front, a friend has buddied up with me to work out.  We purchased a Living Social deal for a local Cross Fit operation and went to the intro class.  It's taken us two weeks to work up the courage to go back after we got our asses handed to us, but I'm psyched.  I'm a fan of tough, athletic work outs that push you to your limits and beyond.  One of my favorite feelings is walking out of a gym with sweat pouring off me feeling like an utter and total badass.  Rah rah for crazy Type A personalities.

All these goals might be tossed up in the air, as the potential for big change is on the horizon.  (And NO, it does not mean another kid is on the way.  Please.  The very thought of two sets of ear aches and fevers gives me hives right now.)  It's a change we've wanted for so so long, but we are patiently enduring the state of limbo right now.  It won't be awful if things stay the same but it will be AMAZING if they change.

To sum up - things are crazy, my eating is "meh" both in terms of variety and health, I am going to continue to put too many tasks on my plate and then lament all of them, and none of this will mean anything if just one thing goes my way in the next few weeks. 

Carry on.

A menu and what's really important

After a week of long days at work (which culminated in me getting to shake hands with Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor), I looked forward to a quiet weekend at home with the family. Then I got the devastating news that a law school friend and former work colleague had lost his 35-year-old wife tragically and suddenly. They have two little boys under the age of 4. I was devastated for him and it also made me think about my own mortality and what would happen if one of us was gone from Charlie's life. I tried to distract myself with a grain-free baking experiment, but that failed miserably. I realized I needed to worry about perfecting it later and just spend the evening watching my little guy toddle around and babble to me. That's what was really important. As much as I value the quality of food that I feed my family, what is most important to me is the time I have with them.

This morning, we awoke to the news that a five alarm fire was ripping through an abandoned warehouse just a few blocks from where we live. Community members have been begging the city to do something about the property for months, but no action was taken. As a result two firefighters have died. I'm channeling my anger into productivity, attempting to get a collection together to provide coffee and pastry to the local ladder company for a few days.

Here is this week's menu. I'm trying to keep it simple this week to accommodate a busy schedule and leave time for plenty of baby-hugging and tickling.

Monday - Sausages with braised kale & leeks

Tuesday - Roasted chicken breasts

Wednesday - Leftovers

Thursday - Crockpot pork dish of some sort

Friday - Chuck roast

This post is part of Menu Plan Monday.

Making an oopsie into a yummy...

I tend to be very hard on myself about everything, including my cooking. When a dish I've been imagining and planning for days ends up being a dud, I always get pretty pissed at myself about it. Last night's dish was one I've been wanting to make for weeks. One of our favorite neighborhood restaurants put a picture up on their FB page, about a month ago, for a new special they were introducing: Philly cheesesteak tater tots. It was tots topped with sliced sandwich steak and cheese whiz. I knew I could make both a healthier version and one that was grain-free. I researched and planned and purchased ingredients and just waited for a Saturday when I'd have adequate time to dedicate to a meal that had a few steps.

This recipe was the guide for the grain-free, paleo "tots" made with...you guessed it...cauliflower. I broiled a small piece of flank steak. And then created a cheese sauce (see recipe below) to go on top.

So what was the problem? The tots mixture was too wet, so I couldn't get any tots to form or brown easily. Luckily, it made a delicious mash, so we layered the steak and sauce on top of a pile of the mash and enjoyed it just the same. I cooked broccoli to go on the side and right after the photo up there was taken, the broccoli got a good ladle of cheese sauce too!

This recipe makes a LOT of sauce, so cut it in half or be prepared to store some if you are just making one meal for a few people. We ended up putting it on omelets the next morning and still have more left to eat.

Cheese Sauce
1 onion, diced
4 TBSP coconut oil
3/4 cup almond flour
3 cup milk
8 oz shredded cheddar
8 oz goat cheese
1 tsp salt plus more to taste
pepper to taste

- Melt the coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cool until translucent.
- Mix in the almond flour, then stir in the milk, salt, and pepper. Keep stirring and adjust heat so as not to burn any of the mixture.
- When the mixture is relatively thick and warm, stir in the cheddar cheese. Break the goat cheese up into hunks and stir it in.
- Stir slowly until thick and creamy. Serve warm.

Better than plain baked chicken

A friend recently said to me, "Don't you ever just throw a chicken breast in the oven to bake, microwave some frozen vegetables, and call it a meal?" The answer is yes...sort of. I had two working parents as a kid, so I ate a lot of plain baked chicken with plain microwaved veggies. While I rarely cook anything that has no spice or flavor, I do sometimes take a recipe and change certain elements so that I can get it on the table a little faster. Tonight, I cooked took this awesome recipe for Almond Strawberry Stuffed Chicken and switched it up a little. First, as I'm trying to use up some of our older frozen meat, I used two pork chops and two chicken breasts. Instead of marinating, I just sprayed them with my misto, doused them in balsamic and lemon, and then sprinkled them with salt, pepper, and cinnamon before putting them into the oven to bake. Then, I made the stuffing into more of a topping, just throwing it on top of the protein when it was done. Tasty!

Oh, and it was accompanied by steam-in-the-bag green beans fresh out of the microwave. My mother would be proud.

This week's menu:

Monday - Almond Strawberry Chicken/Pork

Tuesday - Southwestern Chorizo Burgers

Wednesday - Salmon

Thursday - Crockpot BBQ Chicken

Friday -A special grain-free version of a comfort food that I'm trying to keep a surprise

This post is part of Menu Planning Monday and Monday Mania.

Random thoughts on a Friday

I've had a million ideas for posts swimming around in my head this week, but none of them developed into full-length items. But it's Friday, so I figured a post with a bunch of random thoughts would be appropriate pre-weekend fare.



1. That picture up there is the leftover lunch I am having today after making these ribs, but paleo-ized by substituting almond meal for the bread crumbs. I also realized that I was out of cayenne so I used some cajun seasoning - not as spicy, I bet, but pretty tasty! The cabbage was simply dressed in some olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.

2. My husband has been away all week for work and I've been home alone with a nearly-one year old. I did a menu plan for this week and just assumed that I'd never actually cook all that stuff because I'd be swamped. But I did it! A steak, a lemongrass pork stirfry, stuffed chicken breasts, and ribs. I did it all on my own, made enough for lunches the next day, and prepared breakfasts/coffee to take to work too. One convenience tool that I bought for this week was a microwave omelet maker. That thing has changed my life. We had a microwave egg poacher, but it never really worked very well and almost always exploded egg gunk all over my microwave. I'm the worst omelet maker in the world, and not a huge fan of sweet breakfasts, so this thing will get used a ton. As I type this, I am noshing on a delicious omelet with spinach and mozz!

3. I'm going to save most of the mommy-related stuff about my solo week for my column at The Shopping Mama, but I'm still sort of amazed at how I kept our kitchen relatively clean and tidy this week. Usually my husband does dishes and feeds pets while I feed the kid dinner and prep our meal, but this week, I fed kid and I fed pets and I loaded the dishwasher with the day's bottles and food stuff. After kid was asleep, I put my own dinner on to cook and while it was cooking, I prepped mine and the kid's food for the next day and cleaned up a bit. I even managed to get into a habit of making the kiddo's dinner for the next day so that he didn't have to wait for it! This is a life-changing revelation, people.

4. I wore a dress this week that was skin-tight when I tried it on a couple months post-partum but fit like a dream this time around. This grain free thing is working. Like, really.

5. There's no way I could afford to get a culinary degree at this point in my life, but I'm wondering if there are ways to pick up specific skills that you learn in cooking school. I'd love to take a short course on knife skills, for example.

6. A friend asked if I've ever considered being a personal chef, specializing in grainfree cooking. I never considered it, really, because I just assumed no one would want a personal chef who's never actually been...a chef. And I've only been grainfree for a couple months now, so I'm far from being an expert although I'd have much more time to do my research and develop recipes if I was cooking for a living. I don't know, though...how much do personal chefs make? Can you make more by cooking for more than one family? How do you do that? So many interesting little questions to consider...just for fun, for now.