Archives for March 2015

Ottolenghi’s Farro Salad

March 26, 2015

Two and a half years ago, Paul and I flew to London, rented a car and drove around Wales for about a week, during which we somehow got into the habit of pausing each afternoon for scones with jam and clotted cream.

By the end of the trip we could hardly fit into our clothes.

But before we started in on all the scones Wales had to offer, we stopped to pick up lunch from Yotam Ottolenghi’s eponymously-named take out joint in Notting Hill.

This was one of those food excursions that I had been looking forward to for months and which Paul had been not-so-secretly hoping I would forget about so that we could head on our way without a detour.

But I didn’t forget, and after a minor parking fiasco we ended up at the tiny counter, picking out an array of colorful salads and other treats, both sweet and savory, which we savored at a nondescript rest stop somewhere along the way….

Fried egg tacos

March 19, 2015

I don’t know whether I’ve mentioned this before, but E. will not eat bread.

When it comes to carbs, he will eat pasta, crackers, Cheerrios, sometimes rice or quinoa, and potatoes (but only in the form of French Fries). He will occasionally eat the crust of bread if I lie and tell him that it is a cracker.

From a nutritional standpoint this isn’t much of an issue. He is still getting plenty of whole grain carbs and he likes his fruit and veggies, so I really can’t complain. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t days when I don’t wish I could just slap together a sandwich and call it lunch.

I guess he really is a little Texan at his core, because a quesadilla is as close as this kid will come to a sandwich.

His tastes have changed a lot in the year or so that he has been eating solid food, but he has always loved Tex-Mex, so much so that we set up a make-your-own taco bar for his first birthday party.

Because of him, tortillas are as much a staple in our house as milk….

Southern Banana Pudding

March 14, 2015

We are building a chicken coop.

Actually, Paul is building a chicken coop. E. and I are just wandering around the yard clucking in anticipation.

I have wanted chickens for years but we’ve always lived in rental houses and never felt completely settled. We didn’t want to move chickens halfway across the country (the cats, baby and cars were enough to deal with), so we waited until now.

Paul cleared out the area where we plan to build the coop and run, but there was a big, fallen tree trunk in the way so he borrowed my brother’s chain saw and hacked it up a few days ago.

My only contribution? Making my brother and sister-in-law a big bowl of banana pudding in thanks….

Double Kate Brownies

March 4, 2015

Ever since he started walking, E. has been really into helping around the house.

Every morning he helps unload the dishwasher and every afternoon we walk to the end of the driveway and I lift him up so that he can open the mailbox and pull out any mail.

When Paul puts on his shoes, E. helps with the laces. And more than once, when I am getting dressed, he has taken it upon himself to rummage through the dresser, pick out clean socks for me and reach up as high as he can to lay them out on the foot of the bed.

Whenever he hears me open the baby gate that blocks off the laundry room, he drops everything and comes running, calling, “Help laundry! Help laundry!”

On Saturday, we made brownies together. It was the first time he has really helped much in the kitchen. We lack a sturdy stool to help him reach the counter, so I measured everything out into little bowls and set them on the kitchen table so that E. could dump and stir.

He was thrilled….