Recovered

Max has mostly recovered from his cold. He's still got a cough but at least his appetite is back and his congestion is mostly gone. He's still not sleeping as well as he used to although I now think it's from teething. He's drooling more than ever and chewing on everything in sight. This morning I stuck a finger in his mouth to feel around and I'm pretty sure I felt a hard point where the molars should be. I thought molars were the last to come in?? I guess we'll see.

Chorizo and Bean Soup

Last night, I made chorizo and bean soup. It took several hours to cook since I started from raw beans, but the hands on time was minimal so I didn't mind. The chorizo lent a nice flavorful broth and the beans made it a hearty meal. Add on a generous dollop of queso fresco and some cubed bread, and you've got yourself a worthy winter's meal!

Earlier in the week, I also made pasta with olives and sun dried tomatoes. Pretty quick and easy although a tad salty from the olives. I did very much enjoy the toasted garlic bread crumbles on top.


For his meal, Badge made pasta with cashew cream and broccolini. This came out great! I was amazed by the creaminess of the sauce given there was no dairy in it. Sadly I did not take any pics. Sorry Badge.

As an aside, Badge and I have decided to eat less dairy. Even though we only cook meat maybe twice a month now, we pretty much have some form of dairy every day. I think we can cut this down a bit, esp if we incorporate more Asian meals.

The Phenomenon Continues

Badge continues to make tasty treats. Last night, he made onion bread pudding. Very good and not too heavy at all. He served up sauteed chards on the side. Sadly my pic does not do it justice.

As a reward, I made chocolate chip cookies today. I used the usual recipe. Came out great, perfect texture.


In other news, Max had a rough night but woke up without a fever, thank goodness. He's still very phlegmy and congested (with the most pitiful cough) but at least he isn't burning up anymore. While he napped this afternoon, my mom and I puttered around the garden and finally used up all that worm tea she brought a few months ago. Whoo hoo.

Sick As a Cat

Do not be fooled by Max's jovial expression here. That boy is sick. Sick as a cat (no dogs in this household). He had a 101 fever this morning but luckily it seems better now that we've given him some infant tylenol. He's pretty congested and has the saddest cough (extra pitiful when it happens during his sleep). Somehow, he's still maintaing a mostly happy facade. Hope he gets better soon!

On a side note, Kris gave birth today! We've seen some pics/videos, and can report that she is a healthy and beautiful. Congrats!!

Baking Baking Baking

Being the considerate daughter that I am :), I try to bake a little something sweet for my mom to snack on when she's in town watching Max. Last week, I made cranberry pistachio biscotti. Quite tasty and easy to make, although it was rather annoying to have to take the shells off all the pistachios. Nice afternoon snack.

I also had leftover buttermilk so decided to whip up some buttermilk biscuits! So good with honey. I think I will try to make this once every week or two. It's quite comforting.



Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti
Courtesy of AllRecipes.com

1/4 cup light olive oil
3/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 1/2 cups pistachio nuts

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
In a large bowl, mix together oil and sugar until well blended. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts, then beat in the eggs. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder; gradually stir into egg mixture. Mix in cranberries and nuts by hand.
Divide dough in half. Form two logs (12x2 inches) on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Dough may be sticky; wet hands with cool water to handle dough more easily.
Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until logs are light brown. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).
Cut logs on diagonal into 3/4 inch thick slices. Lay on sides on parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake approximately 8 to 10 minutes, or until dry; cool.

Buttermilk Biscuits
Courtesy of Baking Illustrated

1 cup (5 oz) all purpose flour
1 cup (4 oz) plain cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
3/4 cup cold buttermilk, or 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons plain yogurt

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat to 450
2. Place flours, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt in large bowl, whisk together
3. Cut butter into mixture until resembles coarse meal
4. Stir buttermilk in until mixture forms a soft slightly sticky ball
5. Transfer dough to lightly floured surface and quickly form into a rough ball. Do not overmix. Using sharp knife or dough cutter, divide into quarters than cut each quarter into thirds. Quickly shape each into a rough ball and place on ungreased cookie sheet.
6. Bake until biscuit tops are light brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve immediately

Musical Rewind

Monkey and I used to love watching musicals. We had a set of them on VHS that we would watch over and over and over and over. This past Christmas, I added some of our old favorites to Netflix in hopes that we could walk down memory lane. Unfortunately, we never really got a chance to watch them what with the baby and cooking and family activities.

So instead, I made Badge watch them over the past couple weeks (after some grumbling and wrestling away of the soccer channel). So far we've watched Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Kiss Me Kate. Last night we watched one of his recommendations, Guys and Dolls, which I've never seen before. Quite entertaining.

Still in the queue: Singing in the Rain (we attempted to watch this earlier but never got to it), My Fair Lady, On the Town, American in Paris, the Unsinkable Molly Brown, and the King and I (another one I've never seen).

But the real gem is a video we currently have on hand: MARY POPPINS!! This truly was THE movie of my childhood. Monkey and I must have watched this a thousand times, I kid you not. At some point I'm pretty sure we could have recited the whole movie word for word. Badge has only seen it once so I'm quite excited to watch it tonight as soon as baby burrito goes to bed.

The Grasshopper Becomes the Master

As of two weeks ago, Badge and I decided to assign dinner nights. He would cook twice a week, I would cook two or three times a week, my mom would cook once or twice a week, and we'd eat out once a week. Having two dedicated nights is a tall order for my hubby. Up till now, his culinary skills mostly lie in making fried rice (he does make a mean fried rice). Sure he can cook up pasta and mix in pre bought pasta sauce, or heat up beans and make quesadillas/nachos/other-variations-of-tortilla-and-cheese, but let's be honest. That's not really cooking.

We'll I'm proud to say, he's taken the bull by the horns and delivered on some tasty meals. Last week, he made a mushroom lasagna with his own béchamel sauce. And this week, he made lemon saffron risotto! Look at that beautiful presentation. What a man.

Props for my newly discovered master chef. Now go make me a chocolate souffle...

Baby Be Sitting

Badge and I are fond our baby-be acronyms. For example:

BBC = baby be crying
BBSS = baby be still sleeping
BBOTM = baby be on the move

Well the acronym for this week is BBS, baby be sitting! This last week, Max has started sitting on his own for short periods of time. Crazy! It's so funny to see him sitting there like a little man. He really seems to enjoy this new perspective.

No Chicken Pot Pie

This week I made chicken pot pie with dill biscuit topping. However, since Badge is currently not eating much meat, I substituted potato for chicken. Surprisingly, I didn't miss the chicken much! It was still quite hearty. The biscuit topping is the shining star in this dish. I ended up having to bake mine much longer in order to get the top to brown but that's probably because I didn't roll it thin enough.

A great dish to make on a cold(ish) winter night.

Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

A few days ago I made Cream Cheese Coffee Cake. It was one of the top recipes from CI so I gave it a go. Making this was a bit more involved than I hoped for a quick weekday bake. You have to make the filling separately and layer it in. I did have a mishap where I started to beat cream cheese into the batter (should be for filling) instead of sour cream but quickly stopped and fished out the clumps. Overall, tasty and lemony which I like, but probably more effort than I'm willing to put in for a coffee cake.

As an aside, I also made potato leek soup with bacon and paprika toast. Quick easy and good. A good weekday recipe to warm the soul.


Potato Leek Soup
Courtesy of Food Network
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 1/2 cups cubed crusty bread
4 slices bacon, chopped
2 large leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups frozen peas (do not thaw)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Make the croutons: Melt 1 tablespoon butter, then mix with the paprika in a bowl. Add the bread cubes and toss. Spread on a baking sheet and bake until golden, 8 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large saucepan over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate. Discard all but about 1 tablespoon fat from the pan. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, then add the leeks and garlic; cover and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the broth, 2 cups water, the potatoes and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper; cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, partially covered, until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.

Puree half the soup in a blender (remove the filler cap to let steam escape), then return to the pot. Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Add the peas and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve topped with the croutons, bacon and parsley.