Try, try again

Life happens. It happens so much in my experience that I really hesitated commencing this blogging project; but, I decided to go ahead with it because I have something to share and I want to do that. So, I decided to keep at it, even though weeks like the last one will inevitably keep happening. I keep cooking, I keep nourishing my family (or trying to, anyway!), and I keep writing.

The Conversation Game

I am a mother of four children and I have been interrupted. A lot. Today. Well, perhaps that is an overdramatization of the situation, but, the fact is that my children did not come pre-programed to listen. They came pre-programed to talk and be noticed, and they feel compelled to share little gems of childhood insight, wisdom, and humor as they arrive. While this is both endearing and insightful on many levels, this compulsion seems to override any natural tendency to listen, which is frustrating, especially at dinnertime. We keep working on it and I thought I would share one of our latest attempts, which was actually pretty successful. Let me know if you try it!

The Conversation Game

Rules:

• Each individual at the table shares something while everyone else listens. This could be something he or she experienced that day, something imagined or thought out, or something entirely random and silly.
• After everyone has shared, go around the table and have each person list one thing he or she remembers another person saying. Keep going around as long as people can remember anything, but only say one thing at a time or the people on the other end of the table will be left without anything to remember.
• A point is earned for each thing that is remembered. A point is lost for each time an interruption happens, including in the initial sharing time, which means you can start with a point deficit.
• When 100 points are accumulated, the family does something together that they enjoy doing, such as going to get ice cream or taking a hike.

Chickpea Tagine

When my husband said that he didn't want a lot of meat for his birthday dinner my mind went immediately to chickpea tagine. It is savory and lovely and one of those vegetarian dishes that doesn't seem particularly vegetarian. Along with the savory fried onions and tangy cucumber relish it is a real favorite in my family, at least most of us. My son has a quarrel with chickpeas for some reason. If you run out of time to fry the onions, don't get stressed about it, just serve with parmesan cheese and it is almost as good. For gluten free adaptations, see below. Gluten free bread pictured. Enjoy!

Chickpea Tagine with bread and cucumber relish
Prep Time:    overnight, 2 hours
Cook Time:   3 hours                    
Servings:       6-8

1 lb dried chickpeas (soak night before)	Pick the beans over to remove any broken, shriveled beans. Place them in a large bowl and cover with 2 inches of water. Soak overnight. Or quick-soak if you forget.
Bread (begin night before): 3 cups/15 oz all purpose flour 1 cup whole wheat flour 1 tsp salt 1 ½ tsp yeast ¼ cup honey ¼ cup olive oil 1 cup water	Whisk together the flours, salt, and yeast. Whisk together honey, oil, and water. Stir the oil into the flour until it is universally moistened. Cover and place in the refrigerator to rise overnight.
2 bay leaves	Rinse soaked beans and place them in a large Dutch oven. Cover with 2 inches of water. Add the bay leaves. Bring to a simmer (a few bubbles breaking the surface) and simmer for 2 hours or until the beans are tender and the water is level with the beans.
1 onion, peeled 1/4 cup cornstarch 1/2 cup oil Salt	Slice the onion in half from the stem to the root. Cut along the ridges into slices that are as thin as you can make them. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. When it is hot, toss the onions in the cornstarch and place them in the oil in 4 batches. Fry until golden and drain on paper towel. Sprinkle with salt.
3 pieces preserved lemon 4 figs, stemmed and chopped small 2 shallots, chopped small 6-8 inch cucumber, chopped medium 4-6 leaves mint, minced ½ tsp salt	Remove any seeds from the lemon and chop peel and pulp into small pieces. Combine all components into a bowl and stir. Allow flavors to meld for a few minutes and taste. Salt to taste.
Bread baking: Flour	Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it in half. Form each half into a ½-inch thick circle. Cover with and rise 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 425-degrees. Place a baking sheet into the oven while it is preheating. Cut a cross into the top of each loaf. Dust the hot pan with a bit of flour and place each round on the sheet. Bake 20-25 minutes.
Finishing tagine: 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 onion, chopped 2 carrots, peeled and chopped 1 tsp salt 1 28 oz can chopped tomatoes with juice 1 tsp coriander 2 Tbsp fish sauce	Place oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, and salt. Cook until the onion and carrot are tender. Stir in the tomatoes and coriander. Stir in cooked beans with bean stock. Simmer 20-30 minutes to allow flavors to meld. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve with bread, lemon salsa, and fried onions.

Gluten Free Variation:

Bread: 1 cup + 3 Tbsp warm water 1 ½ Tbsp yeast ½ tp brown sugar	Combine and allow to get foamy.
1 1/3 cup/3 oz brown rice flour 1 cup/4 5/8 oz garbanzo bean flour 1 cup/4 3/8 oz tapioca flour 1 tsp xanthan gum 1 ½ tsp salt 1 tsp dried herb blend 3 Tbsp Honey 5 Tbsp olive oil	Stir together, preferably with a stand mixer if possible.
1 egg	Stir the yeast mixture into the flour mixture until nearly combined. Beat in the eggs. Continue to beat the mixture for about six minutes. Remove to a greased bowl in a warm place, cover, and allow to rise for an hour.
Small bowl of water Parchment lined baking sheet.	Wet your hands with water. Take half of the dough and place it on one side of a parchment lined baking sheet. Wet your hands. Smooth the dough into a round approximately 12-inches wide by 1-inch tall. Repeat with remaining dough on other side of the baking sheet. Allow dough to rise for one hour. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake the bread for approximately 25-minutes. Allow it to cool on a wire rack, completely, before slicing.

What bean stew recipe would you add to your Labor of Love dinner file?

4/8/19-4/14/19 Dinner Menus

Here is a breakdown of my week and what I will be preparing for dinner. I will post some of the recipes this week:

Monday (PTG meeting--Mom away for dinner)

• Cheeseburger casserole, green beans (Make Ahead)

Tuesday (After school activities, birthday dinner!)

• Chickpea tagine, pea salad, birthday cake (carrot) (Labor of Love)

Wednesday (Evening activities--people eating at different times)

• Quiche, muffins, salad (Make Ahead/Frozen)

Thursday (After school activities)

• Pasta primavera (Quick Prep)

Friday (Girl's Night for Mom)

• Orange chicken, rice, cabbage (Supermarket Meal)

Saturday (Church party) 

• Vegetable soup, bread (Make Ahead)

Sunday (Busy morning at church, family time emphasis in the afternoon)

• Crispy fish and frozen fries, green peas (Quick Prep)

Toothpick Dinner

This #Quick Prep Dinner is fun because it can be consumed entirely with toothpicks! It is also easy and very satisfying.

Chop it up, roast it up

Easy as a wink

Pick it up, eat it up

Dishes in the sink!

Toothpick Dinner


Prep Time:      15 minutes
Cook Time:     30 minutes             
Servings:      4-6   

Roasted Potatoes and Sausages: 6 medium gold potatoes ¼ cup olive oil ½ tsp salt 12 oz-1 lb Polish sausage 1 onion Ketchup	Preheat the oven to 425-degrees. Cut the potatoes into 1-inch chunks. Cut sausage into ½-inch slices and the onion into 1-inch slices. Toss with oil and sprinkle with salt. Scatter on parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Serve with toothpicks for spearing.
Caprese Salad: 1 package fresh mozzarella 8 oz grape or cherry tomatoes 2 Tbsp pesto Sea salt	Cut mozzarella into pieces a little smaller than the tomatoes. Toss together and sprinkle with sea salt. Serve with toothpicks for spearing.
Caramel Apple slices: 2 medium apples Toothpicks Caramel sauce Sea salt	Slice the apples ½-inch thick by 1-inch long and place on serving plate. Poke each apple slice with a toothpick. Warm caramel and drizzle over apples. Sprinkle sparingly with sea salt.

Gluten Free Variation: Ensure that the sausage and caramel sauce are gluten free.

#QuickPrepDinners, #GlutenFree, #FunDinnerforKids

Hope from a blood orange

It is the end of February and winter continues with a vengeance in the Inland Northwest. The long-range forecast does not seem to offer much relief. Such are the conditions that often drive me to daydreams of warmer climes. I muse over travel brochures and dream of the hopeful green daffodil shoots that herald the advent of another gardening year. I feel anxious over the robins and other wild creatures who are eking out a survival at the very end of their proverbial rope. Frankly, the land has given up most of its leftovers and little remains. Often, I feel the same way come March.

In such a moment the other day, I happened to open a blood orange for my daughter's lunch. 

The peel itself is a gorgeous blend of sunset orange and pink. When prised open, it releases the expected citrus aroma with a certain tang that is absent in its delicious but more pedestrian cousins. Inside, the color is deeply crimson to coral. It really is almost enough to just look at it. Almost. 

I gave my daughter most of the orange, but, attracted by the gorgeous show of color, let myself enjoy some of it too. I inhaled the sweet-tart scent as I peeled the pith from each section. Instead of eating them quickly in the usual hurry of lunch, I allowed myself to take a minute and really taste the sweet juice as it exploded in little bursts between my teeth. I felt lifted. Certainly God knew what he was about in bringing citrus into season during these bleak, gray winter months. Oranges never attract me like this in the rest of the year.

Sometimes life is unabashedly beautiful. In those times when the sun is golden and the garden is growing, it is easy to feel buoyed up by the loveliness around oneself. But, in those moments of interminable winter, it is almost natural to miss the more subtle glories of living. It is easy to just want to escape to some other place where the sun is shining, the birds are nest building, and no one is complaining about the weather. But, if I look only beyond my current experience to one that is ostensibly more attractive, I will likely miss the unique and beautiful moments in the now. These blood orange moments are enough, for now, to lift me from the listlessness of a survival mindset to a more vibrant, hopeful point of view.