Semi-Barefoot and Pregnant In the Kitchen

I would like to congratulate myself on having the wisdom to extend my 4 day weekend to a 5 day weekend. It is almost enough time to forget what projects I am working on at the office.

Almost.

So what does one do on the extra day off? Nothing too important. Nothing too productive. Nothing pressing. Nothing that requires me to wear constrictive footwear or open a Microsoft Office program. Things in this category may include filming billowy curtains, photographing pristinely groomed cat toes, grocery shopping in a near-empty store, a pedicure, reorganizing the music collection on the iPod from scratch, and some cookie baking. (Also cringing at the oil gusher in the gulf, but I don’t want to bum you out more than the million websites already have. but SERIOUSLY. That is painful. “Ugh” doesn’t begin to express my feelings on that.) Top it off with some photo editing and a blog entry and you have a mostly cortisol-free day of pre-infant bliss.

The cookies that I made feature Cranberries, Dark Chocolate, and Almonds. They are based on the recipe here, with my own additions listed prior, and a pinch of cinnamon. I kept half the cookies, and delivered the rest to my neighbors. Because I don’t feel like weighing a million pounds. And soon the neighbors will have to put up with some crying. They deserve some pre-baby cookies as well.

One of the perils of pregnancy. Not being able to lick the beaters because of the raw eggs 😦

My feet are so weird looking these days. But I know it's temporary. Right?

I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and this is one of my favorite parts. Our photo collage on the fridge. Can't wait to add the little guy to this. Maybe I can photograph some baby toes instead of cat toes for a change.

Now I would like to talk about something very serious. I have found the epitome of ice creams. (Aside from all homemade versions of course.) Praise be to Häagen-Dazs. They have done something truly amazing. They have crafted something heavenly without anything beyond Milk, Sugar, Eggs, Cream, and Mint. (Other flavors listed here). Less is more. I don’t miss the Guar Gum, Carrageenan, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Propylene Glycol Monostearate,  or  Monocalcium Phosphates. The five simple ingredients in this sublime little pint equal the best texture and purest flavored ice cream that I have bought in a grocery store. No nasty aftertaste. No gooey gummy texture. No too-fluffy air puffed-over-sugared globs. Just good stuff.

*I am not being compensated by Häagen-Dazs for this post in any way. (Although being paid in ice cream would not be a horrible thing, right? Just saying.)

18 Week Sweet Potato Fries

It’s time for another week of maternity and food shots. Seems like time is going REALLY fast by the way. I can’t believe I will be halfway through this pregnancy in only two weeks.

This week, the internet gods of pregnancy have emailed to inform me that baby Boley is about the size of a sweet potato (about 5.5 inches from head to butt). Soon we get to start adding the leg measurements into this equation which means suddenly baby will appear to grow from a something like a grapefruit to a melon within a span of a couple days. This is not exactly the case, but then again this is all very silly with the fruit and veggie thing in the first place.

Once again, the grocery delivery service gave me slightly smaller sweet potatoes than I would have picked out for this shoot, but let’s all pretend they are a bit more rotund. LIKE MY FACE.

Dear FACE, please stop growing. Not cute.

I don’t think I have given credit to the photographer, Mr. Boley. He is not super thrilled about being on the cold porch for these shoots, but he is getting used to the idea. Today he made me sing the filet o’ fish commercial and talk on the potato phone so I would loosen up in front of the camera. I would rather be behind the camera taking the photos, but that is clearly impossible in this situation.

Porpus Boley has been a wonderful director of photography throughout the process. She is generally excited to inspect each food item. NOT TODAY. She doesn’t want anything to do with potatoes. They are neither cute nor tasty in her feline opinion.

DO NOT WANT.

She is right about this being an ugly food. I added the bunny to up the cute factor.

This week, I made a simple and tasty batch of sweet potato fries. You can find a million websites with different spice blends to put on these guys before baking, but you really don’t need a recipe. Just a few favorite herbs and spices that you aren’t afraid to mix.

Here are some important notes to remember when making sweet potato fries:

• Make sure they are cut into small, even sized fries. 1/4 inch is a good measurement, anything too large will be a mushy mess.
• DO NOT crowd the pan. Do a couple batches instead. If you crowd the fries they will steam instead of bake. Hence mush mess.
• Bake at a high heat. 425 degrees for 15 min. Then turn the fries and return them to the oven for 10-15 more minutes. DO NOT open the oven to peek on them all the time. Let them do their thing. Otherwise, mushy mess.
• Experiment with different crisping methods. I have heard that soaking the raw fries in cold water for 10 minutes will remove some of the starch and allow for a crisper outcome. I have also heard that tossing them in egg whites is the way to go. Let me know if you find the perfect method.

All in all, they are a healthy and unexpected fry option, that is generally a winner for most people. And if you are pregnant, they have all these wonderful vitamins and nutrients that your baby will love you for. (If you are not pregnant, don’t worry, you are allowed to have nutrients, too.) So skip the McDonalds’ version, and treat yourself to a healthy plate piled high with these seemingly indulgent fries.

16 Week Guacamole

Every week, thousands of pregnant woman receive communication from websites they have signed up for. The email/text/app tells them what to expect from their bodies that week, as well as how the baby is developing at that stage. In almost all the updates, the baby is compared to a fruit or vegetable, just to show you how large he/she is by that week.

I just hit the 16 week mark yesterday (4 months for those of you who don’t speak in weeks). Baby Boley has just passed the avocado size this week. (Yes, I am aware that I am more melon sized than avocado, and no, I don’t believe twins are in there.)

But seriously, food is for eating, and I am not totally on board with it showing up in my prenatal updates. So I have decided to put food in its place. My mouth. This week, guacamole was a no-brainer. Especially on Superbowl sunday. Stay tuned for next week’s recipe that will feature a large onion. And if you hang around until July, you will get a lovely watermelon or pumpkin recipe.

I didn’t make this one up on my own, but I did add some cumin to the mix. If you are even slightly a fan of guac, I highly recommend this top recipe from All Recipes:

Guacamole by Bob Cody.

EDIT: It has come to my attention that this may be considered creepy–eating a food that is supposed to be your baby. Hmmm. Not what I intended, but I think I am going to stick with the recipe thing regardless. Don’t be scared!

Can You Live at the Chopping Block?

Because, that would be awesome.

My boss had to unexpectedly fly to Switzerland today, so guess who got her two reserved spots in “Totally Hands On: La Cucina Italiana” cooking class at the Chopping Block?! That’s right, I am the lucky winner.

I invited Amber to come along because she looks cute in an apron and has a solid appreciation for good cheese. She also makes me look tall.

We had a small class in a large, well equipped classroom. If it wasn’t a danger to my loins, I would have stuffed a chef’s knife in my pants and headed home with a fine new piece of cutlery. Alas, I have morals and need my loins, so I return home sans world’s greatest knife. I am adding it to my Christmas list right now. (Mom, check the google doc.)

So we made heirloom tomato caprese salad, a frito misto of calamari and scallops, homemade linguine with eggplant, peppers cherry tomatoes and fresh basil pesto, and last but not least, poached pears with marscarpone cheese and pistachios.

The most fun thing to make was the pasta. The most valuable thing learned was some fancy knife skills. The most delicious thing to eat was the caprese salad. And the best part of all was that you don’t have to clean up a thing.

Since I didn’t want to drop or mess up the nice camera, I used the iPhone for a lot of these shots and videos.

I thought this was going to be our classroom, but it ended up being for a chicken class.

Knife skills!

Pesto ingredients

Basil goodness

Poached Pears

Amber mixing it up

Brought out the nice camera for the final spread

The class was lots of fun, and the opposite of intimidating. The instructor and her assistant were welcoming and helpful. And although we opted not to, you can bring a bottle of wine or have some beers during the class if you choose, or even purchase a glass or wine while you are dining on your self-prepared meal. And like I said, you don’t have to clean up a thing. 🙂

Tomato Class

What is better than watching cooking shows on a lazy Sunday morning? Actually being in the chef’s kitchen and eating their food. That is kind of what I got to do yesterday.

Unless you are new to Megagood, you are probably aware that I am obsessed with fresh tomatoes. So when my friends, Ryan and Sarah, told me about a class at the Chopping Block featuring recipes starring tomatoes, I was definitely on board.

This was not one of the classes where we were in the kitchen cooking; we were sitting in the kitchen eating. And we excelled at it.

Here is the demo classroom. We sat at the oversized butcher's block counter.

We learned how to make Bloody Marys, Fried Green Tomatoes with Tarragon Aoli, Tomato Chowder, Heirloom Tomato and Peaches salad, and Mushroom and Goat Cheese Stuffed tomatoes. The dishes ranged from fairly to entirely delicious and all of them tasted like summer. The key was freshness.

The stand-out dish was the Heirloom Tomatoes and Peaches salad. I think Gimmeyummy will freak out about this one:

It doesn't look like much, but it is one of the best flavor combinations I have had in a long time. Slice up some peaches and fresh heirlooms. Drizzle good balsamic vinegar and olive oil over the mixture. Rip up some fresh basil and add it to the goodness. Then fresh-ground salt and pepper. You will love it. I'm 99% sure of it.

Summertime, and the Cooking is Easy

Is it raining?

If the answer is no, then we are probably grilling dinner outside. All the love that the oven got during the winter has been transferred to the grill.

I am new at this, but it’s working out well. Grilling is pretty mindless actually, after you get over the fear of blowing yourself up or singing the eyebrows off while lighting the thing.  I even have time to zone out in the late afternoon sun and wander around the yard while the grill works its magic.

Here is a shot from the yard, taken while I was "making dinner."

More wandering.

I could hug the grill. That’s how happy I am about this new method of cooking. This is not advisable. It smells so good though, especially when there are fresh herbs involved.

One thing I am still trying to do is cook veggies and sides on the grill as well, so no pans need to be washed at all. I haven’t quite mastered this yet, but I will be grilling Brussel sprouts as soon as I can.

You have to like german food and kraut for this one. Brussel sprouts, pan fried with olive oil, butter, nutmeg, fresh sage, salt, pepper, and sauerkraut. DELICIOUS.

<3<3<3<3

The herb garden is thriving, and all my well organized spices in their pretty alphabetized rows are getting about as much love as the oven is.

Fast+Easy+Healthy+Delicious

Yesterday was not great in terms of weather or commuting. Someone was actually clipping their nails on the train. It was a loud, thick-nailed, super nasty kind of clipping sound. This went on for at least 15 minutes!?!? Did they get done with the hands and move to the feet? I didn’t dare look twice, because the first whip-around-and-glare move did nothing more than heat up my irritation further. I had to move cars for my sanity and the nail clipper’s safety.I won’t even talk about the commute home. It was too dreadful to revisit.

Yesterday morning was also wet and stormy, so I had to change my initial couch to 5k training to a Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday schedule. And did that happen this morning? NO. It is still raining. Bummer. Now I have to go treadmill it at lunch. Luckily, one of the perks at work is a company gym complete with laundry service. Not too shabby.

One thing that I have been successful at in the last week is eating healthier. I haven’t gone off the deep end into the pool of strict and irrational eating which I have done before; but better choices have been made. I will call it eating with awareness, not dieting. Part of this awareness means that you have to acknowledge the human need for a treat now and then. Last night, I tricked myself into thinking I had pizza. It was amazing.

All you need is whole wheat pita pockets, and some fresh toppings that you love. Keep them intact for a fluffy crust or peel open the pocket to create two very crisp crusts for the pizza. I added heirloom tomatoes, pesto, basil, and fresh mozzarella. And for Justin, arugula, prosciutto, and Parmesan. Then just bake them for about 5 minutes at 375 or 400 degrees. Very easy and very good.

After his first helping, Justin took his plate back to the kitchen to load it in the dishwasher. When he flipped the lights on in the kitchen, he yelped something unintelligible when he saw the sight of an extra cookie sheet of mini pizzas. I think it would be weeks and weeks before he would complain about eating pizza, even if he ate it for every meal, every day. Needless to say, this was his DPH.

Yeah, not the healthiest thing I have eaten all week. If this is the most sinful thing I have done, my penance is not a big deal.

Farmer’s Market!

I am way behind on my posts. Let’s see…Thursday was great because it was basically Friday. And during lunchtime I got to go to the Daley Plaza Farmer’s Market! It just opened, so most of the produce is limited to asparagus, mushrooms, and potatoes. There were a ton of herb starters, flowers, and veggie plants for those lucky enough to have a garden. I had to stop myself from climbing onto this basil and rolling around.

Oh yes, the bakery stands were tempting as always.

I fell in love with these ugly teeny tiny taters. I bought a few of each color for roasting.

Here is my bounty.

Oh my.

Roasting pan pre-oven. How pretty.

The final product. Just olive oil, butter, rosemary, italian herbs, garlic, salt, and pepper. The purple potatoes were HEAVEN.

Nothing To Do With Swine Flu

Whole wheat pasta is a million times better for you than white pasta. It’s got fiber after all. Who doesn’t need LOVE fiber. OK, sometimes it tastes like:

It is just too rough, stiff, and woodsy. I like oak in my wine, not in my dinner. But when whole-wheat pasta is done right, it is oh so tastey. It’s not merely a vehicle for your sauce, it is really bringing something to the table (heh). It adds a subtle nuttiness and substance to your meal. Whole-wheat pasta can hold up to some abuse if you are doing a baked dish, a scampi, or hoping for leftovers that are more al dente than al mushy.

For the last few months I have been obsessed with Ronzoni Healthy Harvest pasta. Specifically the penne and linguine. The texture is so much better than any other whole-wheat variety that I have tried. It absorbs sauce like white pasta, is lighter than other grainy varieties, and still has 7 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber per serving. If you have another favorite, let me know because I would love to try it.

We had Ronzoni linguine with shrimp scampi with snap peas tonight. A good one-pot dish that was a happy meeting of random ingredients around the kitchen. Garlic, cherry tomatoes, red onion, lemons and olive oil mixed with some seasoning, shrimp, snow peas and pasta for a happy accident dinner for two.

Well aren't you cute.

Snuggling.

Everyone is getting along swimmingly in there.

I know it isn't gorgeous, but it is more for eating than looking.

Daily Bread

If you have a breadmachine, please get off the internet and go make this recipe. Jo’s Rosemary Bread will be one of your favorites if not THE favorite bread you have ever baked. (Unless you are my mom. Then you would add bran and 7 other whole grains before your bread happiness is met. I am pretty sure she just made whole wheat and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Needless to say I was raised on Cheerios, not Lucky Charms).

My breadmachine arrived last September, and kept us well-fed during the winter. I have not been making as much bread as I did during the -10 degree days of winter, but Sunday was dreary enough to warrant baking. This rainy day baking impulse inspired several people I know to hang out in the kitchen and make goodies; it is also the reason I ate cake for breakfast this morning. Thanks, Maria.

Fresh. Fragrant. Savory. We made pressed sandwiches and dipped it in tomato soup. The best.