Adventures in Food
MyKidsEatSquid
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Parents Need to Eat Too giveaway!
Feb 21st
It’s been awhile since I’ve been awake all night with a fussy baby. These days when my “baby” can’t sleep, usually because of a thunderstorm, she’ll curl up in her doorway in her favorite blanket and I’ll find her there dozing in the morning.
When I flipped through my review copy of Parent Needs to Eat Too by Debbie Koenig (it came out today!) it brought back so many memories of harried days trying to keep my baby–and toddlers–happy and occupied while I tried to turn out a meal that involved more than flakes, a bowl, and milk.
Koenig understands the often daunting task of wanting to have good food for your family and holding on to your sanity at the same time, especially when you’re a new parent. The cookbook draws on her own experiences as a new mom and is divided into handy sections on meals to make while your kids nap, last-minute dinner ideas, good-for-you snacks, a whole section on slow cookers (I’ve already dog-eared that chapter) and cooking tips sprinkled throughout.
What surprised me about that book is that Koenig doesn’t shy away from flavor or dishes from around the world. Tucked in the pages you’ll find Polynesian flank steak, fish nicoise, Indian potatoes, soba noodle salad with tahini-lime dressing. And two. Count ‘em two recipes for homemade black beans. Sure, I won’t need the sidebars on how to make these dishes into baby food (well, maybe the next time they tighten my tween’s braces). But I thought the tips, tricks, and recipes in the cookbook work well for parents like me who may not have a baby in the house, yet we’re still trying to make good food for our kids between laundry, work, sports practices, piano lessons, field trips…
Here’s how to win a copy of Parents Need to Eat Too:
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Next post I'll be sharing Koenig's recipe for a chocolate yogurt loaf.
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The giveaway starts now and runs through Tuesday, February 28th at 9a.m. EST, when the winner will be chosen at random. Both a review and giveaway copy were provided by the publisher. Open to U.S. residents only.
Spinach apple salad with honey dressing
Feb 18th
It’s been a mild winter here in Ohio, but I’m still finding myself a little stir-crazy for Springtime. This salad gives me a bit of a taste of spring–with both kicks of fruit (both fresh and dried) along with a light vinaigrette.
Kid reaction: My teen liked the fruit/spinach combo but asked for it sans onions next time. The two youngest still aren’t convinced about vinaigrettes–to them salad dressing equals something creamy. I’m working on that.
Recipe
Prep time: 10 minutes
Servings: 4-6
Ingredients
12-ounce bag baby spinach (romaine works well too)
1 apple (Gala, Empire, Pink Lady), cut into thin slices
4 thin slices of red onion
½ cup roasted sunflower seeds
¼ cup dried cranberries
Vinaigrette
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup water
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Whisk together all of the vinaigrette ingredients.
- Pour the vinaigrette over the spinach and toss along with the apples, red onion, sunflower seeds, and dried cranberries.
- Serve right away.
Sheryl Crow’s recipe for roasted chicken breasts
Feb 15th
I’m usually not one to check out celebrity cookbooks, but I ran across this recipe in an issue of Prevention magazine on a week when chicken breasts happened to be on sale. Apparently this is a favorite from Sheryl Crow’s recent cookbook, If It Makes You Healthy (and I thought I was a fan of questionable puns). The recipe was easy, tasty, and made enough for two meals. (On day #2 I used the extra meat to make tacos, quesadillas, or burritos.)
Idea to make this even simpler:
I’ll buy enough ingredients to make this recipe 2 or 3 times. Place the meat in the marinade in plastic bags or containers then freeze until you’re ready to use. That way, as the chicken thaws, it’s marinating too.
Recipe
Prep time: 20 minutes + baking
Servings: 4-6
Ingredients
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
1/3 cup olive oil (I use half flavored oil, like basil, half regular)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (the juice of about 1 lemon; go ahead and toss the whole lemon in the bag once you’re done juicing it)
3 cloves garlic (or ½ teaspoon garlic powder)
1 teaspoon dried basil or Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Olive oil
Directions
- In a mixing bowl, add all of the ingredients except the chicken. Stir.
- Add the chicken to a large, heavy-duty plastic bag and then pour in the marinade ingredients.
- Marinate at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Add ½ tablespoon olive oil to a nonstick skillet and bring to medium-high temperature.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and put it in the hot pan, skin side down. Heat for about three minutes or until the skin is browned.
- Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet lightly coated with cooking spray.
- Cook for about 20 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer measures the chicken at 155 degrees. (The chicken meat should reach 160 after it’s out of the oven.)
- Allow the chicken to sit for five minutes before serving.
Dark chocolate apricot cheesecake with blackberry sauce
Feb 9th
Chocolate. Make that dark chocolate. That’s what Happy Valentine’s Day are all about. If you’re looking for something decadent and special come February 14th, this is one show-stopper of a dessert. And the best part is you can make it a couple days ahead of time: it’s even better after it’s had time to–in Mr. Squid’s words–”densify.”
I actually made this dessert by request awhile back for my tween’s birthday cake. But I was getting bored doing the same-old cheesecake; I wanted to have some fun with the recipe.
So I was looking for a few ways to tweak my classic recipe and I thought of a common dessert combination from Viennese desserts where apricots are the fruit of choice with chocolate, instead of strawberries or raspberries. I like a hint of tartness to desserts so along with subbing apricot jam for raspberry, I also decided to forgo the regular whipped cream on top with a fresh blackberry sauce instead. That said, you can’t even taste the apricot in the final cake, it just intensifies the depth of the dark chocolate.
You’re intrigued, right? I hope so. This was by far my favorite cheesecake I’ve ever made. Ever.
Note: Another update to this recipe was trying to make it just a smidge healthier. I know, this wouldn’t qualify for a light recipe by any stretch of the imagination but I used Neufchatel cream cheese instead of the full fat variety and I nixed the whip cream for a fruit sauce. Small steps, right?
Okay, one more note: Please don’t let these directions scare you, just being thorough here because I believe in cheesecakes without cracks, and a waterbath is the way to go.
Recipe
Prep time: 30 minutes + 75 minutes baking + 60 minutes cooling
Servings: 12
Ingredients
Crust
9 ounces chocolate wafers
3 tablespoons butter, melted (lower fat butter works well too!)
Cheesecake
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chips are fine
1 cup heavy cream
¾ cup apricot jam
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese (Neufchatel recommended)
*Make sure the cheese is at room temperature
¾ cups sugar (I used 2/3 this time)
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Sauce
2 cups blackberries (thawed or fresh)
1 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
lemon (optional)
Directions
For the crust: In a food processor, grind up the chocolate wafers (I also add just a touch of salt). I use Pepperidge Farms chocolate goldfish as the base for my crust—they’re not overly sweet like Oreos with cream filling. Add the melted butter to the crushed cookies. Here’s the tricky part. You’ll need a 9-inch springform pan. Surround the outside of the pan with aluminum foil (I’ll explain more on this later.) Cut a round piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom part of the pan. Spray the pan with cooking spray then insert the paper and spray again. Press the cookie crumbs into the pan and half way up the sides with your fingers (I’ve tried this with spoons, but frankly fingers are best). Put the crust into the fridge while you prepare the filling.
For the filling: Preheat the over to 325 degrees. In a large, glass measuring bowl, melt the chocolate and the heavy cream together in the microwave. Melt the two slowly. I usually start at half the power level for around two minutes. When the chips start to lose their shape, I finish the melting process by stirring the mixture vigorously. Add the jam to the chocolate mixture, stir and let it cool about 10 minutes.
In another large mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese and the sugar. As I noted in the directions, it’s key to have the cream cheese at room temperature. (Eggs, too!) Beat the sugar and cream cheese for at least 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Now, add the vanilla and the chocolate-apricot mixture. Beat all the ingredients together for at least 5 minutes (I set a timer).
Constructing a waterbath: Here’s another tricky part—creating a water bath for your cheesecake. water bath keeps your cheesecake dense and smooth instead of dry. You’ll need a large, glass baking dish. I wish I had a larger one, but my biggest is 9×11” so I have to improvise. (I also add a larger, cookie baking pan under the casserole dish to make it easier to get it into and out of the oven.) make several aluminum balls and place them in the center of the baking dish because the casserole dish isn’t wide enough. Next, gently press the springform pan into the casserole dish. Pour the cheesecake filling into the crust, making surethat your aluminum balls stay in place and keep your pan level. Add about a half an inch of water to the bottom of the casserole dish (not into your cheesecake!). Carefully put the whole contraption into the preheated oven.
Bake for 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours or until the cheesecake just jiggles in the center. Once the cheesecake is set, turn off and leave the door open. Wait one hour and then remove the cheesecake. Carefully pull it out of the water bath. Gently release the springform mechanism, but don’t remove it. Use a butter knife to separate the crust from the pan (this will ensure that the top doesn’t crack). Put your cheesecake into the fridge for at least one day before serving.
For the sauce: Place the water, sugar, and butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat and cook until the mixture thickens and just barely become syrupy (about 4 minutes on my power burner). Pour the berries into the hot mixture and simmer until the berries start to break apart. Use a handheld immersion blender to liquify the berries. Alternatively, you can pour the sauce into a blender. Adjust the seasonings: I like my sauce tart so I added 1 teaspoon lemon zest and 1/2 teaspoon red raspberry vinegar. You might like adding orange zest or a bit of juice to add a hint of sourness and interest to the sauce. Cool to room temperature before serving. The sauce will thicken as it cools.
Note: I’ve had this recipe for years, it comes from an old recipe book called 365 Great Chocolate Desserts by Natalie Haughton
Roasted tomatillo guacamole
Feb 3rd
Forget the chunky guacamole. What about a smooth, tart version that’s nearly as fast to make as your standard plop-it-in-a-bowl-and-mush-with-a-fork variety? Time to break out the blender.
Traditional Mexican taco shops, or tacquerias, often offer a liquidy version of guacamole along with salsas and such to put on your tacos. The thin guac is fine for tacos, but not so good for chip dipping. I wanted to come up with an in-between guacamole. Not too thin, not too chunky. Enter tomatillos, a mandarin-orange sized green berry that many people mistake for a green tomato. You can usually find fresh tomatillos in the produce section at the grocers near the chiles. Tomatillos have husks that cover the green berry, which is slightly sticky on the outside and tangy with a subtle sweetness on the inside.
Recipe
Servings: About 2 cups
Prep time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
7 tomatillos
2 ripe avocados
2 cloves garlic
2 large slices white onion (about 1/4 of the onion)
1/2-1 fresh serrano chile or jalapeno
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup cilantro
1/3-3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons diced, canned green chiles (optional, but really good)
Olive oil
Directions
- Bring 1 teaspoon olive oil to medium-high heat in a heavy bottomed pan (I used my cast iron).
- Remove the husks, rinse, and then place the tomatillos, garlic, and onion into the hot pan.
- Roast for 2-3 minutes on each side or until the tomatillo skin is beginning to blister.
- Place the tomatillos, onions, and garlic into a blender along with the vinegar, 1/3 cup water, avocados, and serrano chile (keep in mind, the more chile you use, the hotter the guac will be so you might want to start with one half, before adding the entire chile).
- Add more water to adjust consistency. Sprinkle in salt and pepper to taste.
- Blend in the cilantro (and green chiles, if using) and get your dipping chips ready!
Bonus: I made this guacamole a day ahead to serve with dinner and with the vinegar whipped in the color stayed bright.
Barbecue beef mac ‘n cheese
Feb 1st
I know this looks tailor-made for Super Bowl Sunday, but we’ve been making this dish ever since sampling it as a small plate at a local restaurant One Red Door a couple years ago (I’m still trying to figure out how to make their chocolate mousse oatmeal cookie tower.)
So for a knock-out dish for the big game, or if you’re in need of amped up comfort food, here you go. Warning: after having mac ‘n cheese with barbecue sauce you’ll wonder why you haven’t been eating it that way for years.
Recipe:
Servings: 4-6
Ingredients
One creamy, homemade batch of mac ‘n cheese
1 1/2 pounds London broil or round steak roast, cut into 1″ chunks
2 cups prepared barbecue sauce
1/2 cup water or chicken broth
Flour
Oil
Directions
- Prepare your mac ‘n cheese and set aside. Don’t have a favorite recipe? Try this one from Zingerman’s Roadhouse.
- In a heavy bottomed saute pan, bring 1 tablespoon canola oil up to medium-high heat.
- Meanwhile, toss the beef pieces in flour to coat. You can do this easily by putting the chunks and about 1/2 cup flour in a heavy duty plastic bag and giving it a good shake.
- Add the flour-coated beef to the hot oil and cook until browned.
- Place the browned beef pieces, barbecue sauce, and chicken broth in a slow cooker set on LOW for 5-6 hours.
- Note: I also like to add a dash of Tabasco sauce or cayenne powder to the sauce to give it a kick.
- Serve each serving of mac ‘n cheese with a portion of barbecued beef.
Not a fan of beef? No problem. For a vegetarian version try roasting cauliflower or broccoli and then heat the barbecue sauce in a saucepan. Add the roasted vegetables to the mac ‘n cheese and grab a fork!
Banana buckwheat bread
Jan 28th
Who else likes to experiment with different flours? Me too. Buckwheat flour has been on my list since I noticed a popular, local eatery, Crepes De Luxe, touting that they used it to make their nearly tire-sized crepes.
So buckwheat works to make hearty crepes, I wondered about using it in breads and muffins. The texture of buckwheat flour is noticeably courser then white flour and even whole wheat. I thought it might pair well with a recipe that tends to be moist anyway. Banana bread! I don’t like banana bread that gets too gummy. Have you ever had that happen where on day #2 of cutting into your banana bread the top is sticky? Buckwheat might just solve the problem.
As long as I was using buckwheat flour, which happens to be packed with nutrients, I wanted to keep all of the other ingredients as healthy as possible. I looked for a butter-free recipe that was also slim on sugar. But of course I added a few dark chocolate mini chips to the mix because they’re full of anti-oxidants. (Okay, it doesn’t take much for me to add chocolate to just about anything, but hey, dark chocolate is good for you.) I tweaked a recipe from Ginger Jen to come up with my version.
Recipe
Prep time: 15 minutes + baking
Servings: 4-6
Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat
3/4 cup buckwheat flour
1 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar (I used coconut sugar)
3 ripened bananas
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
2 tablespoons milk (I used fat-free Greek yogurt)
1 tablespoon honey (optional)
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup mini dark chocolate chips
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a small mixing bowl, stir together all of the dry ingredients, except the sugar, chips, and nuts.
- In a medium-sized bowl, mash the bananas using a handheld mixer. Add the eggs, then oil, then sugar, and blend until combined.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the banana mixture, just until moistened.
- Mix in the chocolate chips (if using) and walnuts.
- Coat one regular-sized loaf pan or two mini-sized ones (I prefer the smaller size) with cooking spray and pour the batter into the pan(s).
- Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the loaf tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool before cutting.
Kid reaction: I honestly didn’t think my kids would go for this heartier bread. Admittedly, the mini chocolate chips helped but I kept asking my youngest if she thought it tasted any different from our regular, whole wheat banana bread. She didn’t seem to notice and even walked off with the pieces I was using to take pictures for this post! I did think the bread was a bit drier and tended to crumble more than my usual recipe, but I liked it, especially since the crust stayed crisp on day #2.
6 Favorite Spots at Cleveland’s West Side Market
Jan 25th
With my crew overlooking the market
My kids each have favorite finds at Cleveland’s West Side Market, an indoor/outdoor food mecca that boasts about 100 vendors selling everything from fresh blackberries to spicy beef jerky.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the market so I thought I’d share some of my favorite food vendors there. Although I haven’t yet visited all of the booths—and we do try to visit a new place each time we go—these are my top finds.
You can download a map so that you won’t get lost when you visit. Then again, getting lost has its advantages—new discoveries.
What to buy: ravioli, yummy sauces & specialty butters
We usually buy a couple different kinds of ravioli along with one carton of sauce to make a meal at home. My kids love the asiago cheese-stuffed ravioli with the lobster cream sauce. There are also daily specials. The walnut butter was a hit, but the cilantro-lime linguine (my choice) wasn’t so tasty.
What to buy: monk cake, pecan rolls
Monk cake is a West Side Market original. Chocolate cake with layers of mouse and raspberry filling are enveloped by a thick piece of chocolate. There are two bakeries that happen to be right next to each other that both sell monk cake. Cake Royale, created it, but
Say it with reverence...the monk cake
Theresa’s offers it too. I’m partial to Theresa’s version since it’s denser and less sweet than Cake Royale’s but I’m holding out a final verdict until I’m sampled it a few more times;) Maybe I also favor Theresa’s since I’m addicted to their pecan rolls.
What to buy: the best brats. ever.
I don’t like brats, really. Mr. Squid tried to get me to try Frank’s, but I wouldn’t budge until someone walked by me eating one and it smelled…heavenly. The folks at Frank’s make the brats using ground veal and then flash fry them before cooking. The result is a crispy brat outside and a moist, smooth inside. When they ask, make sure to get the hard roll versus the soft and even though the
Thank you for the handmade veal brats, Frank's
sauerkraut is good, I’d stick with just the meat and the roll to get the full flavor.
What to buy: beef jerky, bacon, whatever’s on sale
My tween actually saves her allowance to spend on homemade beef jerky at J+J. The little mom-and-pop shop has been busy since it was featured in The Food Network’s “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” as Iron Chef Michael Symon’s pick. The folks who own J+J also own another food booth with the same offerings, Czuchraj.
What to buy: gyros
Steve's, 'nuf said
You have to get in line at Steve’s before about 11:15 a.m. to avoid the lunch crowd. And I mean crowd. And there are rules to Steve’s line. No cutting. No holding a place for someone else. No ordering more than one extra sandwich per person. Yeah, it’s that good. This booth solidified its fame in an episode of the Travel Channel’s Man v. Food. I’ve eaten gyros off the street in Greece–these are better. Maybe it’s the mounds of meat that have been basting on the vertical spit all day or the warm, fresh pitas, or the creamy yogurt sauce. Whatever it is, a stop at Steve’s is a must (a regular sandwich IMHO will easily feed two people).
What to buy: sweet or savory crepes
Looking for a vegetarian meal? Or maybe something sweet that’s not too heavy? That’s when I head to Crepes De Luxe. Whether you choose a savory a crepe that’s piled with veggies and cheese or a dessert one filled with fresh fruit or Nutella (or both!), these huge crepes are folded so they’re easy to eat while you meander through the market. And each one is made right in front of you.
*If you go to the West Side Market (and you should) it’s open Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday during the day. Check the website for hours and where to park. Keep in mind that some vendors are open different times than others.
I couldn't resist..one more monk cake shot
Black out dinner
Jan 21st
Ah, it was dinner by candlelight on Tuesday night. Now before you go thinking this was some romantic meal that I planned for Mr. Squid, truth be told I have a wind-drenched snowstorm to thank for our hours by candelight. That’s right, our power was knocked out for most of the afternoon and into the evening.
The occasional power outage doesn’t bother me. I’ve got my forehead camping light stashed in my nightstand and enough candles to keep things cozy when I need to use ‘em for light. And it just so happens that I’d already put dinner in the slow cooker earlier in the day so our meal kept warm even though the power went out a few hours before dinnertime.
Our dinner? One of my favorites because it’s simple, healthy and easy enough to make with limited visibility. I add four frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts to the slow cooker along with two jars of pasta sauce (per Cooks Illustrated picks, I’ve been using Classico lately). That’s it. Let it cook on low for five to six hours and then make a pot of pasta to serve with it. Luckily, we have a gas range so I was able to light the burners no problem and even made some garlic bread for dipping.
You’ll notice the strange blue glow in the picture above. That’s not my camera flash, but the light from my forehead flashlight.
Your turn–has anyone else been without power lately?
How to use cotija cheese
Jan 19th
Photo credit: sigmafoodsusa
“That cheese I like,” is what my middle daughter calls cotija (coat-eeha) cheese. She sprinkles it on nearly everything. And for good reason: the cheese has the sharpness of grated Parmesan, but not the bite. While the crumbly cheese originated in Cotija area in the state of Michoacan in Mexico, I’m finding it more widely available in grocery stores in the U.S.
Here’s what you need to know about using cotija cheese:
When do you use cotija cheese?
Sprinkle it on salads and Mexican dishes. Oooo, and it’s also good on roasted vegetables and to garnish soups.
Can I use it in place of Parmesan cheese?
I wouldn’t. Cotija is saltier than Parmesan, so a little goes a long way. I find that it’s creamier, smaller, and softer too. BUT, I would use a little bit of Parmesan cheese as a substitute for cotija in Mexican dishes. The Americanized versions of enchiladas, tostadas, and tacos are often coated with bland, cheddar cheese. Why not try making your dish a bit more authentic (hey, and tastier) by adding a bit of grated Parmesan on top and not using any other cheese?
Where can I find it?
cojita-coated tostada
Your best bet would be to look at a Mexican grocers, but large supermarkets may have it too.
Is there anything else I should know?
Like grated Parmesan, cotija cheese lasts for months when it’s refrigerated, so no rush to use it right away. Also, cotjia cheese doesn’t melt. It’s often called, Mexican Parmesan.
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