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So glad my sister reminded us about this recipe. We all absolutely love Vietnamese Noodle Salad with (or without) Shrimp. And it really is super-easy, except for the prep, specifically all of that julienning.

Fortunately, my mom did a lot of the prep in advance, which made it easier for my sister to single-handedly pull together a massive platter piled high with this delicious dish.

In case you’re wondering what we have planned for next week: Monday is going to be burgers, dogs, Carrot Salad with Harisa, Feta & Mint and a green salad. On Tuesday, Rose has requested sushi takeout instead of our usual Frank Pepe. Wednesday will be Linguini with Pecorino, Pepper & Arugula. And on Thursday Shane’s going to make some of his awesome pizza pie from scratch. We like to wing it on Friday.

Happy weekend!

My last post was all about planning dinner for the week, so I thought today I’d post about prepping all the food for the week, breakfast and lunches too.

Since the kids love pancakes and I’m always making them on weekend mornings anyhow, I’ve taken to making extra pancakes which I heat up in the oven on school days. I use this pancake recipe. We go back and forth between liking them thin and thick, right now we’re in a thick phase, with chocolate chips.

If you’re going to do this, I recommend not refrigerating the cooked pancakes, they get too stiff. Just wrap them well and leave them on the counter, they’ll last 2-3 days easy. When you wake up, wrap however many pancakes you need in foil, pop them in a warm oven while you shower, and they’re ready when you the kids get up (assuming you do things in that order).

I’m an oatmeal junkie and that’s what I bring to work for my breakfast. Rather than the tedious process of microwaving at work, I do overnight oats in a jar. You combine some old fashioned oats with the liquid of your choice (I like almond milk), sweetener (maple syrup) and whatever else you like. Let it sit in the fridge overnight or for a day or two and it’s edible right out of the jar.

We do lunches the night before because we’re just not that good in the mornings. I can’t imaging finding time to make lunch in the morning short of waking up in the fives, which is something I really try my best not to do, ever.

At the top of this page is pictured Sid’s lunch for tomorrow. He’s got a sun butter sandwich, some of the shepherd’s pie that Shane made (which Sid would never eat for me but may eat for the nice ladies at daycare), an applesauce packet, yogurt and an orange.

My lunch is almost always a hearty salad. I like to make up a batch or two of grains on the weekend (farro, quinoa, wild rice, barley) and then roast up a root vegetable or two (beets, sweet potatoes, carrots) and use those as my base.

The night before I add fresh herbs, olive oil, a dash of vinegar, maybe some cheese or nuts and a big handful of greens at the very top. If you put the greens in last and then don’t toss the salad until you’re ready to eat it, the greens don’t wilt in the dressing.

Shane takes care of his own lunch (thank god), and we tag team making the kids lunches. Rose alternates between buying lunch at the cafeteria and bringing a sandwich, pasta or whatever is currently working for her.

So once all of that is done and while Sid has his afternoon nap I plan the dinners for the week (see below). Our dinner plan includes recipes, when relevant, and has spots for family members to volunteer for shopping, cooking etc. We also put notes about who will or will not be around for dinner and whether Rose is buying her lunch the next day, or needs it prepared.

And look at that, I only spent most of the day getting our food sorted out for the week. Happy work week friends!

I finally received and assembled (and tried) my new food photography light and it’s amazing. It’s like—yes it’s true—it’s like night and day.

Just look at the lovely image above of Penne with 5 Cheeses. Looks great, right? Like I took it in daylight, which is impossible because we’ve just suffered through daylight savings time and now it gets dark at 2pm (or whatever).

Take a look at the image below, it was taken at the same time of day (9:30pm), under our perfectly nice but horrible for food photography overhead lighting. Ick, right?

Well yay Lowel Ego light (and check out the yummy pasta recipe above too).

It was Sunday night, and I was really in the mood for farro. My usual recipes didn’t appeal to me so I thought I’d try this one.

Not surprisingly, we didn’t have all the ingredients and I decided to mess with the recipe. The result was amazing (and smelled amazing while cooking too!) The recipe is below.

We also had salad with broccoli, leeks, basil, goat cheese and radicchio, and pork tenderloin. But what I’m taking home from this dinner is the farro.

P.S. If you have a baby, he or she may devour this dish.

• Farro with Roasted Butternut Squash, Goat Cheese & Almonds •
adapted from this recipe from 101 Cookbooks
serves 6 as a side dish

1 cup farro, rinsed and drained
salt
3 or more cups butternut squash, cut into 1/2-inch dice 
1/2 large red onion cut into inch-ish sized chunks
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced
olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup almonds, toasted & chopped
1/4 cup (about half a small log – more to taste) goat cheese, crumbled

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. In a small saucepan, boil the farro in plenty of salted water until al dente. When done, remove from heat, drain, and set aside.

Meanwhile, toss chopped butternut squash, thyme, onion & balsamic vinegar in a bowl with a good amount of olive oil and salt. Roast in a baking tray for about 45 minutes until fragrant and cooked through, browned nicely and not too mushy. Toss with a spatula for even cooking and taste along the way.

When the squash is done, toss it in a large bowl with the farro and almonds, taste for seasoning, adding more salt and oil if needed. Add crumbled goat cheese and toss one more time. Serve warm.

These veggies. If you haven’t made them, do it now, run! If you have, do it again. Go!

It’s been over 6 months and I still don’t really feel settled into our new home/city/life yet. I still miss New York. I miss it a lot. Like in a totally heartbroken, feel like I’m in mourning most of the time, kind of  a way.

I know that sounds a bit dramatic, but hey, it’s how I feel. Except on Fridays.

Fridays feel normal, probably because they’re most like my old life. On Fridays I work from home, and then I pick up Rose from school, I chat with a mom or two at pickup, hang with my kids and… I cook dinner! (Usually)

On this particular Friday my mom and I cooked together. She made Baked Chicken Meatballs from Smitten Kitchen. I made Lemony Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Turnips, Potatoes and Horseradish Creme Fraiche from Dash & Bella.

The highlight of the meal was the roasted brussels etc. from Dash & Bella. First of all, it’s totally my kind of recipe, no quantities or proportions, just a general guideline, a cooks-cook kind of a recipe.

Throwing big chunks of lemon and all of those fresh herbs in with the vegetables, really makes the dish. And the combination of different textures—turnip, brussels sprouts, potato—keeps things interesting.

We had a bit of trouble with the horseradish creme fraiche, I added too much horseradish and it caused it to separate, like when you’re halfway to making butter. Next time I’ll just add a small amount of horseradish. And I promise you, next time will be soon.

The chicken meatballs were well-received as well, but couldn’t hold a candle to the veggies.

Happy Weekend. xo

• Lemony Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Turnips, Potatoes and Horseradish Creme Fraiche •
from Dash & Bella

Serve with Horseradish Crème Fraîche (freshly grated horseradish and chopped parsley mixed into crème fraîche). Be careful not to add too much horseradish, you want to keep it creamy and relatively mild.

Holy cheese is this dish good! Cauliflower Cheese. Cauliflower. Cheese. It’s like macaroni & cheese, with cauliflower instead of pasta. The recipe is from Smitten Kitchen, so of course it’s good, even one of my kids thought so.

I was thinking you could make a gluten-free version of this—if you’re into that kind of thing—by substituting the 4 tablespoons of flour with whatever flour-free people substitute flour with. It would be a nice way for a person who doesn’t eat wheat pasta to feel the love that is macaroni and cheese.

• Cauliflower Cheese •
from Smitten Kitchen
Serves 4 as a side

1 medium head (about 2 to 2 1/4 pounds) cauliflower
4 tablespoons (55 grams or 2 ounces) unsalted butter
4 tablespoons (30 grams or 1 ounce) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons mustard powder (resist the temptation to skip this ingredient)
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper or ground cayenne
2 cups (475 ml) milk, whole is best but low-fat will probably work just fine
1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons (about 155 grams or 5 1/2 ounces total) grated cheddar, the strongest you can get, preferably English or Irish (plain old cheddar will work in a pinch)
Chopped chives or flat-leaf parsley, for garnish (optional)

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Trim cauliflower and remove tough core. Cut into 1 to 2-inch florets. Steam (for about 10 minutes) or par-boil (6 to 7 minutes) florets until firm but tender. Drain, if needed, and spread florets on a towel so that it can wick out as much moisture as possible

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add flour and whisk to combine; cook for 1 minute to ensure you get rid of the floury taste. Add mustard powder and a pinch of cayenne or few grinds of black pepper, and stir to combine. Drizzle in milk in a thin, steady stream, whisking the whole time so that no lumps form. Season with salt and bring mixture to a simmer, stirring with a spoon; mixture should thicken. Stir in 1 1/4 cups cheddar, a handful at a time, letting each handful melt before adding the next. Taste sauce and adjust seasonings if needed.

Spread cauliflower florets in a 2-quart baking ovenproof baking dish. Spoon sauce over florets and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons cheese. Bake until until bronzed and bubbly, about 30-35 minutes. 

Sprinkle with herbs, if desired.

My folks and I made a really nice dinner tonight. Dad made a baked branzino with herbs, using cod instead of branzino. My mom made Company Carrots and a salad. I made roasted potatoes with lots and lots of lemon. Sid cried, because that’s what he does at dinner time.

On Tuesdays we order pizza. Tonight it came from Upper Crust.