Chimichurri

Even before I was married or had kids I probably spent some portion of my weekend getting organized for the week ahead.  Doing some of the things that I knew I wouldn’t want to do after a long day at work (i.e. cleaning, laundry) and getting other tasks (i.e. making portable breakfasts/snacks) out of the way so that I couldn’t use them as an excuse not to go to the gym before heading into the office. Now that I have three children under the age of three, getting prepared for the week ahead takes on a whole new meaning. Buying a tub of yogurt and cutting up some fruit does not cut it if I want to have any semblance of order and sanity for the upcoming week.

By now I’m pretty good at using the weekend to get laundry taken care of, cook a few things and make sure that we have what we need foodwise to make it at least most of the way through the week.  I also try to make sure the car has gas in it (which rarely happens and I’m always full of regret when I find myself pumping gas on a dark, freezing cold weeknight with three grumpy kids in the car - bad planning!).  

One of the other things I’m not so good at remembering to do is sorting and prepping groceries once I get back from the store. The fact that I don’t do the majority of my grocery shopping on the weekend is partially to blame. I usually cram my groceries in the fridge, freezer, cupboards - anywhere there’s space - as soon as I get home from work and immediately launch into dinner, dishes, play, baths, etc. I promptly forget about the head of lettuce and bags of herbs I’ve shoved into my crisper drawer, only to find them a week later, all wilted, leaves mushy and stuck together.

This year, in an effort to do better, I’ve been focusing on preparing for the week more and getting the kids involved in the process. This means, the older two have already learned to vacuum, not very effectively, but it’s the act of contributing that matters. And Paul and I are putting more emphasis on cleaning up after activities. Isla wants to do absolutely everything “by myself!” and Emmett loves to be my little helper so I’m capitalizing on these phases while I can.

This weekend I discovered a great way that they can help me in my quest to have an organized fridge full of ready-to-eat food. The SALAD SPINNER! I can’t believe I never thought of it before. I had tons of cilantro and parsley because I had planned on roasting pork shoulder and making chimichurri to go with it but never got around to it. Ah, the best laid plans...

By the next Saturday I needed to do something with my herbs, stat. I decided to make the chimichurri anyway because it’s so good. On anything. Um, everything.  I washed my herbs and got out the salad spinner. One look at that thing and the kids were underfoot, wondering what on earth I was going to do next. I let them take turns washing the herbs, spinning them dry and pouring out the green-tinged water left behind. They had a ball.  

The bonus for me was that I was actually able to get a few pics of Emmett, my little hummingbird, always flying too fast to capture in a photo. People say you have so many photos of your first born and less and less of your younger ones but it hasn’t played out that way for me at all. Isla and Eve both love to stop whatever they are doing for a photo op and I am happy to oblige. So capturing my oldest on film was a treat.

So is the chimichurri. If you need ideas, it’s great with: any kind of meat or chicken, mixed with some greek yogurt for a dip, stirred into soft butter for an herby compound butter, or smeared on your avocado toast. Stir a spoonful into your soup if you want to feel French or add some to your vinaigrette. Now I’m feeling like I should have made more. Luckily I had Emmett prep the remaining herbs in case I run out.

Chimichurri

2 cups parsley, roughly chopped

1 cup cilantro, roughly chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

Juice of one lime

¼ cup red wine vinegar

⅔ cup good extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Pinch of sugar

Crushed red pepper flakes to taste

Throw all of the ingredients into a food processor and process until combined. Just a few seconds is fine. I know it’s not the traditional method, but it is fast and still tastes amazing. You can also make this by hand, just chop the herbs very finely and mix everything in a bowl.

Dutch Baby

I’m not sure exactly when it dawned on me, but I know it was sometime in the last couple of years...a dutch baby is just a giant, slightly sweet Yorkshire pudding. Have you ever met anyone who doesn’t like Yorkshire pudding or Dutch babies? I haven’t. I love the way they have soft bits and crispy bits, the way they puff up sky high in the oven and even the way they begin to fall in on themselves as they cool.  The way they are eggy but not too eggy and chewy but not too chewy. Did you know that they couldn’t be easier to make? Whoever came up with them was a genius.  

I promised the kids a special “Birthday Breakfast” in advance of their joint birthday party last weekend.  Because I knew it would be hard enough to get everyone out the door in time to pick up the cake and be there when our guests started to arrive, I decided to do the easiest thing possible and make a big, family-sized dutch baby. I made the batter the night before so that once we woke up it was just a matter of turning the oven on, preheating the pan and pouring in the batter.  

I implore you to try this at home.

Seriously.

Emmett loved watching it rise in the oven. Science at its best.  After about 15 minutes, our Dutch baby was ready.  I sprinkled it with powdered sugar, tore a piece off for each plate and let everyone apply their own toppings.  Yogurt, berries, almonds and maple syrup for me, mini m&m’s, marshmallows and yogurt chips for the littles. Even baby Eve was able to partake (I love that she’s getting to the age where she can eat table food).

To make the batter for these I simply used this Yorkshire pudding recipe and added a tablespoon of sugar, 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and a big pinch of cinnamon.  Alternatively, you could add sugar, vanilla and cinnamon to a box of Yorkshire pudding mix (available at the Irish Boutique).  

To make a 12-inch Dutch baby I followed this process:

Place a 12” cast iron pan in oven. Preheat oven to 450F.

Once it is hot, remove pan and put 2 tablespoons of butter in the pan.  

Put the pan back in the oven for a couple of minutes until butter has melted.  

Remove pan from oven and swirl butter in the pan to coat the bottom of the pan evenly.

Pour your batter in the pan and turn the oven down to 425F.

Cook for 15 minutes or until Dutch baby is cooked through but still soft in the center and puffy all over. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

It was hard to explain the term Dutch baby to Emmett so I told him it was called “Puffy Pancake”. That made a lot more sense. 

Kale and Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Maple-Mustard Dressing

This one enjoyed her Holiday immensely - chocolate and whipped cream still on her face. 

Happy New Year! How was your Christmas? We had the perfect low key day with our family and closest friends this year. According to my father-in-law, Christmas dinner in Ireland is usually a roast turkey but after just having one on Thanksgiving we usually find ourselves wanting something different. This year we decided to do lamb.  We also had mashed potatoes, rice, roasted vegetables, creamed spinach, green bean casserole and finished with a lovely Guinness pudding from the Boutique.  

I don’t do resolutions, not in the strict sense, but I’m doing a little bit of reorganizing around the house, donating some old clothes and hopefully, going to get around to decorating those rooms of the house that we somehow haven’t gotten to in the last five years (how did that happen?). I’m also thinking about all of the new recipes I want to try in 2017.  Actually, I keep a list.  I’ve been keeping a log of each new recipe attempted and notes about what worked and what didn’t since 2011. I think I can credit this blog with making my 2016 list the longest one yet. In 2017, I want to have more people over for dinner and I hope to get Isla cooking and Emmett taking on more complex tasks in the kitchen.  Yesterday he asked me for his own knife, so I think he’s ready to up the ante.

Today we are keeping it easy. Salad. Not because it’s a new year or because we were particularly gluttonous over the holidays.  We weren’t too bad, except that Emmett discovered the frozen disks of cookie dough in the freezer and realized that it meant we could make fresh cookies whenever we want. Then he FORCED us all to eat way too many cookies.  Oops, not that last part, but still.

Greens. While kale has become ubiquitous and somehow, against all odds, loved by all, Brussels sprouts remain sort of polarizing.  You either love them or hate them. I love them (I’m so predictable).  They are adorable. Mini-cabbages! Grown on a stalk!  What’s not to love? I never make them for the holidays because I’m pretty sure my brother-in-law doesn’t like them but now that Christmas is over, here they are. I think that even a Brussels sprout hater could get behind this shaved Brussels sprout and kale salad with maple-mustard dressing. I like this just the way it is but you could add bacon or chicken or both and make it more of a meal. It also travels well. And, because it is best eaten at room temperature, it’s a great option for those times when you have to bring something.

Kale and Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Maple-Mustard Dressing

For the salad:

1 cup shredded Brussels sprouts

2 cups shredded kale

1 large apple, thinly sliced

1 handful of dried cherries or cranberries

½ cup crumbled chevre, feta or blue cheese

½ cup toasted walnuts, chopped

For the dressing:

½ cup walnut oil, or canola oil

¼ cup maple syrup

¼ cup cider vinegar

2 tablespoons coarse-grained mustard

½ shallot, minced

2 teaspoons chives, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

Ok. You know how to make a salad. For the dressing, I usually just shake up all of the ingredients in the cool little dressing shaker my mom bought for me, or when that’s already in use as it was today, a mason jar.

I think Paul and John were both happy that the kids wanted this toy cash register. The beginning of their training to work in the stores? Starting them young.