it's the messiest, most fun part of my day.
I'm so sorry that things have been quiet around here for a few days. this past weekend was incredibly busy, and today the dust has finally started to settle. on friday i came home from ohio and attended the opening for travis' thesis exhibition. his speech was wonderful, and his work looks great. i'm so proud of him!
our parents and travis' brother were here all weekend, so saturday and sunday were equally as busy. everyone except for my mom left yesterday. she is here until wednesday morning. saturday night we enjoyed an amazing meal at our favorite restaurant. sylvie tried both octopus and rabbit for the first time and loved them both! she also went to town on some rosewater black pepper ice cream and some butterscotch pudding. my girl can eat! in fact, in the almost 3 month since she started solids, she's enjoyed raw salmon, duck tamales, palak paneer, lamb shank, fish and chips, curry, and goat cheese. my baby is awesome. just sayin'.
next step: BABY-PROOFING. sylvie is this close to crawling, and is scooting/log rolling everywhere. she has such busy hands. i feel like she's into something potentially unsafe every time i turn around. NOT COOL.
on a separate note, a big CONGRATULATIONS to my cousin, marci! she is expecting baby #3 this fall. travis, sylvie, and i can't wait to meet the little guy or gal!
PARATHAS.
parathas are an indian flat bread. the dough is a basic 2:1 ratio, meaning 2 parts flour to 1 part water. there is also a little oil and salt thrown in for good measure. the traditional preparation is called aloo parathas, in which the flatbread is rolled out and stuffed with a spiced potato mixture. they are quite delicious this way, but are also yummy stuffed with any number of things. tonight i used an herbed goat cheese mixture (goat cheese, olive oil, salt, pepper, and dried herbs). the traditional flour to use is duram atta or golden temple flour. i usually use whole what flour because it is easier to find and i often have it on hand. i have made parathas a few times. they are an easy addition to any meal, take little time to prepare, and use very few ingredients.
BASIC PARATHA (makes 8)
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
a hefty pinch of salt
enough cool water to form the dough into an elastic ball (usually about 1 cup)
1. add the flour, oil, and salt to a large bowl and mix thoroughly with your hands. make a well in the center of the dough, and add the water little by little while stirring together with your hand. keep at it until the dough comes together into a slightly sticky ball. knead the dough until it becomes rather elastic and a bit shiny, about 1-2 minutes. shape into a ball and let rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. closer to an hour is preferable.
2. cut the ball into 8 equal parts. i find it easiest to do this by cutting it into wedges, almost like you would cut a pizza. form each section into a small ball and coat with a very light dusting of flour.
3. flour your work surface and rolling pin. flatten each ball slightly and roll out into a circle. you'll want to keep them quite thin. each circle should be approximately 5-6 in diameter. now is the time when you'll stuff them if you like. they are also very good without any sort of filling.
4. roll your filling into a ball a little over an inch in diameter. place the ball in the middle of your dough circle and flatten it slightly. the process of folding and pinching the dough over the filling is a little tricky to explain. this site has a good step by step tutorial. flip the filled dough over so the pleats are on the bottom and gently roll it back out. take care not to press to hard or the stuffing with break through the dough. you'll want these to be close to the original diameter of 5-6 inches. you should be able to see any flecks in the filling through the dough.
5. meanwhile, heat up a cast iron skillet or electric griddle (what i use) over medium high heat (about 400 degrees) and grease with a little oil. once the oil is hot, place a circle on the pan/griddle, pleat-side down, and heat until the first side starts to brown. flip and heat until the second side browns. if you've made the parathas correctly, they will start to puff up after flipped. here is a video i took while mine cooked tonight:
if they don't puff, don't sweat it! mine didn't the first couple of times i made these and they were still delicious!
6. remove from the heat and serve immediately. note: they will deflate when removed from the heat. the aloo version is nice with grilled chicken marinated in yogurt and curry. i'm sure it would be fabulous with some sag paneer as well. we served the goat cheese version with a simple side of marinara sauce for dipping. it was a sort of inside-out, deconstructed pizza.
enjoy! if you make these or have any questions, please let me know!
curried cauliflower soup with greek yogurt sauce:
turkey burger with goat cheese and arugula:
roasted sockeye salmon with seaweed rice and a thai-style vegetable salad:
i hope everyone is having a good weekend! mine is extremely busy. travis has the last painting critique of his graduate school career on tuesday. needless to say, he is spending a large chunk of the weekend working in his studio. this leaves me and sylvie plenty of time for things like this:
it also leaves me plenty of time to tend to my lovely mushrooms, which i'm sure will be great companions if they decide to grow.
mushrooms in 10 days my foot! it's been a week without so much as a spore. ohhhhhhh well.
what are you doing this weekend? (i hope you're doing something more interesting than watching mushrooms not grow.)
ravis and i are growing our own oyster mushrooms using this kit. it will supposedly take a minimum of 10 days for our first crop to sprout. each crop can yield up to a pound, and each bag can yield up to 4 crops! the bonus: replacement bags are only $7.99 or free if you send a picture of your family enjoying the kit. this is my first time growing anything other than herbs in my own home. i plan to document the progress everyday. yesterday was day one.
day one: soak the bag for 24 hours in cold tap water.
day two: dry the bag off, place it in its new cardboard home and spray with with water twice per day.
the maintenance on these mushrooms seems very simple. all you have to do is spray them with water twice a day (they even include a spray bottle!) and watch them grow.
i want to always have things growing in and around our home. travis and i would love to have a vegetable and herb garden in the backyard--once we have a backyard. i think feist said it best in her song mushaboom: "in the meantime we've got it hard, second floor living without a yard." that will all change once we settle into our new home in texas. i can't wait! for now, growing a small crop of mushrooms on our kitchen counter will have to do.
ibimbap, yogurt marinated chicken and aloo parathas. that's what!
what's cookin' in your home this weekend?
his is a dish i made for my parents and myself for dinner sunday night. i think this recipe could use a few improvements, but i'm going to post it anyway. next time i think i will try adding some saffron or crushed tomatoes and more garlic.
MUSSELS WITH WHITE WINE
4lbs of mussels
cold water
1/3 cup of flour or cornmeal
3 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 large leeks, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 and 1/2 cups dry white wine, such as sauvignon blanc or pinot gris (grigio)
kosher salt and pepper to taste
1. place the mussels in a large bowl, cover with the cold water and flour/cornmeal. soak for at least 30 minutes (an hour is better) so they can release their grit. discard any open shells, as this indicates a dead mussel. if your mussels have beards, go ahead and debeard them after they finish soaking. there is a good tutorial on that here.
2. heat the butter and olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. add the leeks and cook until tender and somewhat translucent, about 7-10 minutes. add the shallots and the garlic and cook until tender, another 3-5 minutes.
3. add all of your wine and allow it to come to a simmer. add all of the mussels and cover. note: the cooking liquid will not be enough to cover the mussels. you are actually using the liquid to steam them, not simmer them. cook for about 8-10 minutes or until the shells open. as soon as the shells open, the mussels are done.
4. serve the mussels in a shallow bowl with some of the cooking liquid. i grilled some sourdough bread to accompany them.
on a personal note, i need some mama advice. over the last few days it's as if sylvie has forgotten how to use a bottle. every time we offer it she coughs and spits it all out. i don't think it is a nipple issue. we have been using the same bottles/nipples for months now and she's never had a problem. they have 3 flow speeds built in and we've tried them all. do you mamas out there have any advice for me? have any of you experienced this? is it time to start the transition to a sippy cup? i would REALLY appreciate any and all advice. she takes barely 3 six ounce bottles a day (down from 5 or 6). i'm really worried about this. THANK YOU for your help!
EDIT: also, THANK YOU for all of your comments on my lurker post the other day. it was such a joy to "meet" some of my readers!
tonight i made bucatini with bacon and leeks for dinner. it was quick, easy, and delicious so i thought i would share the recipe here. i cooked this intuitively as i went, so all measurements are approximate.
BUCATINI WITH BACON AND LEEKS
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
6 strips of bacon (you want to use 3 strips per person), sliced
1 large leek, halved lengthwise and sliced
1/4 cup of heavy cream
8 ounces of dried bucatini** (about half of a package)
a handful of kosher salt
black pepper
grated or shaved parmesan
1. melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. in the meantime, boil some water and the kosher salt in a large pot to cook the pasta.
2. add the bacon to the skillet and cook until crisp, about 10 minutes.
3. once the bacon is crisp, start cooking your pasta.
4. add the leeks to the skillet and cook until very soft, about 7 minutes.
5. stir the heavy cream and some black pepper to taste into the bacon and leek mixture.
6. once your pasta is nicely al dente, drain it, reserving about 1/4 cup of the cooking water. add the pasta to the skillet and toss to combine. add some of the pasta water to help thicken the sauce if need be. top with the parmesan and serve immediately.
**if you can't find or don't have bucatini, you can substitute any kind of pasta you like.
i served this dish with a side of roasted radicchio tossed with a balsamic reduction.
sylvie had leftover curried peas for dinner. i don't think she's quite ready for bacon yet!
stay tuned for a lot of new things happening on the blog. i registered a new domain on typepad and am currently working on the design of a new blog. not too worry, i plan to export all of my old posts to my new internet home! i'm so excited to expand my blogging beyond being a mommy. thank you so much to everyone who commented on my last post. your kind words and sage advice made my weekend that much brighter.
also, i now have a twitter account! sarawithoutan_h. you can follow me by clicking the link in the sidebar! happy monday!
while i cooked, sylvie teethed on a cold green bean and hung out in bed with her daddy.
i love letting her explore food in this way. we're not doing baby-led weaning per se, but i do let her gum on some whole foods as well as practice spoon feeding herself. we seem to have found our happy medium, and meal times with sylvie at the table are a complete joy. i am so thankful to have this time with my young daughter as i watch her learn and explore her food and her world.
