My Dinner Struggle

Let me just put this out there: My husband and I don't usually eat dinner with our kids. I grew up eating family dinner and the thought of sitting and chatting together around a table of deliciousness sounds fantastic, but I can't quite figure out when that's going to happen around here. Or how. But the problem is bigger than that. 

Timing
My kids are still young (9, 5 and 3) and they eat early, around 5:30 pm; my youngest is asleep before my husband gets home from work. The kids eat together and then later in the evening, my husband and I eat together. Having the opportunity to break bread as a twosome at the end of the day is lovely in many ways. That said, I'm naturally hungry much earlier than we eat so I don't particularly love eating dinner at 8:30 or later. I usually end up sitting down with the kids for a little nibble and then eat another small plate later. Far from ideal. 

Planning
Some nights I'm a rockstar and I make one meal for all of us, and serve part of it to the early birds and save the rest for the night owls. But each and every time, I stand in my kitchen wondering: do I leave this food out on the counter or the stove top for hours? Or do I refrigerate it? I never know the answer.
Despite the fact that I cook dinner for 5 people every day and have been doing this for years, I somehow haven't mastered the art of quantity. Sometimes I cook a meal that I think should be enough for all of us and one (or more) of the kids is hungrier than I'd anticipated so there isn't quite enough for the night owl dinner. On the flip side, occasionally I'll make a meal and my kids aren't as hungry as usual so there are way more leftovers than planned. Other times I'm in the mood for something that I know the kids won't enjoy so I end up cooking twice. That's when  I stand in my kitchen wondering how crazy I must be to make two separate dinners in one day (followed by packing three school lunches). 

I'm tired. 

Supplies
You'll find me in the grocery store about twice weekly -- it takes a lot of food to feed five people and my fridge isn't as big as I'd like. But let's be honest, I also enjoy browsing the aisles and discovering new products. Shopping more than once per week gives my kids more options to choose from to plan their lunches and I like to cook so it felt like a win until I realized that I'm feeling stretched too thin. 

The Solution
Something had to give. I decided that any time there was an issue with dinner, eggs were the answer. If I make a dish that I'm pretty sure the kids won't like, I offer it anyway and when it's inevitably rejected, they get eggs (with veggies and fruit). If dinner is gobbled up more than expected, my husband and I have eggs (with veggies). Eggs are a great source of protein and vitamin B and also happen to be delicious! And the money spent on a dozen eggs goes a lot farther than many other proteins. So we're in an egg routine now. I've been buying jumbo eggs for a while now, mostly because of their size but also because finding a double yolk gives me an absolute thrill every single time. 

The Questions

• I'd love to find dishes and straightforward recipes that can accommodate all of us. Do you make one meal for everyone in your family?
• I don't know when I'll figure out a way for us to eat dinner together - for now, our family meal is breakfast. Do you eat together? If so, how old were your kids when you started that? 
• It's pretty lucky that we all dig eggs. For me, it was important to have a fall back option so that I don't feel guilty or stressed out or resentful about dinner. What are your standbys? Do you have a source for recipes that you absolutely love? 

The Recipe
Eggs are so versatile. Here's one of my favorite recipes for Veggie Pie that every member of my family enjoys: 

Ingredients
8 eggs (I use jumbos but large will work just fine)
1 pound of spinach, chopped
1 pound of asparagus, chopped
1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped
2 scallions, chopped
1 teaspoon of salt
fresh ground pepper to taste
1 pie crust*
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil

*the pie crust is optional. I've made this dozens of times with no crust at all. 

Method (photos below)
Preheat the oven to 375. Prepare your pie crust as needed. I often use a ready-made dough which needs to be par-baked. Mix the greens, salt and pepper in a big bowl to evenly distribute all ingredients. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and add the greens. Sauté for just 2 minutes, when the greens begin to shrink. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Place greens back in your big bowl and add the eggs. Combine all ingredients and pour into your pie crust. Bake in the oven for approximately 35 minutes (time will vary depending on the depth of your container, so keep your eye on the oven). 

Chopped greens, all playing nicely together

lightly sauteed greens

eggs + greens + crust = ready for the oven!

Veggie Pi(e)! 

The Thing About Comfort Food

When you think of comfort food, what comes to mind? My mom always says it's her mom's fried chicken wings or a baked potato.  And sure, while fried chicken wings are comforting in their decadence and deliciousness, they are not the first thing that I yearn for. As for baked potatoes, I realize this sounds crazy to some, but they never appealed to me. It's easy to find goodness in a great array of foods that are labeled "comfort foods" (like chocolate chip cookies, big juicy burgers, chicken soup or cheesy pastas). But what is it about comfort foods that make them so comforting anyway? What exactly are we looking for in comfort food? 

I've spent a fair amount of time these past few weeks helping a loved one who just had major surgery. Last week, I made dinner for her kids while she was in the hospital and yesterday I brought groceries to cook in her kitchen for her family. Both times, I relied on my own definition of comfort food: simple roast chicken (dark meat only). For me, roast chicken is a return to home. To reliably delicious family dinners where I sat around a formica table for 18 years with my parents and sister and discussed the comings and goings of the day. Where we hashed out familiar family chatter and where I began to discover, embrace and enjoy the world and my place in it. I'm grateful for those evenings, and a large part of what I find comforting in the food is that return to the simple pleasures of the company of loved ones. 

The smell of my mom's roast chicken and the taste of juicy thigh meat with white rice soaked in chicken juices is, to me, the most comforting food ever. When I was little, we had vegetable minimums; my mom told us we had to eat 4 green beans or two pieces of broccoli. I never had a problem with that, and in fact, green beans alongside that chicken and rice absolutely completes the comfort meal for me. And we must have eaten rice three days a week with dinner. I absolutely love rice. 

So as I set out to make a difficult time even slightly easier for my loved ones, I returned to my concept of comfort food and made roast chicken. I made some additions and modifications to suit the tastebuds of others and included a spinach salad with eggs, onions and bacon with a warm bacon vinaigrette that I knew would be appreciated. 

What do you seek in comfort food? 

Roast Chicken with Roasted Sweet Potato Chips

8 drumsticks
2 large sweet potatoes
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Preheat the oven to 375. Arrange the chicken on a baking tray lined with either aluminum foil or parchment paper. Sprinkle salt, garlic and thyme on both sides of the meat. Drizzle with 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil. Slice the sweet potatoes into rounds. Arrange on a baking tray lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Drizzle with remaining olive oil. Roast for approximately 35 minutes or until the juices of the chicken run clear and the sweet potato chips are slightly browned and crispy. 

Spinach Salad with Bacon, Eggs, Onions and Warm Bacon Vinaigrette

10 ounces baby spinach
3 hard boiled eggs, peeled and sliced
1 large red onion, sliced thinly
1 package of bacon
6 ounces of mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons of dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Toss the spinach and mushrooms in a large bowl. Fry the bacon in a pan (I used a cast iron skillet). Remove the bacon and  reserve most of the bacon grease. Fry the onion in the same pan, in the bacon grease. Cut the bacon into small pieces and add to the salad. Remove the onion from the pan and when slightly cooled, add to the salad. While the skillet is still hot, add the mustard, sugar and red wine vinegar with the reserved bacon grease and stir vigorously so that the mustard clumps dissolve and a fragrant dressing magically materializes. Add the sliced egg to the salad and pour on the warm vinaigrette. Special thanks to The Pioneer Woman for the idea of this recipe! 

Union Square Farmer's Market

The Union Square farmer's market is one of my favorite places to visit in the City. The people watching is out of sight: some folks stroll through (especially tourists, families and caregivers with young children) and others race through at breakneck speed (like those who work in restaurants and have to quickly get specific ingredients back to the kitchen). 

The people who come to Union Square to sell their foods are uniformly friendly and willing to answer any questions. For example, I spoke with a cheese monger about why his cheeses were not organic. His animals are not fed hormones ever but if an animal gets sick, it is given antibiotics to get well. During that time, the milk from that animal is never used in the production of cheese but because of the administration of antibiotics, his cheeses are not able to be labeled organic. 

My kids love going to the farmer's market to see what's in season and to have little snacks along the way. On our most recent visit, the kids and I devoured over a pound of sugar snap peas and a pint of super sweet tiny strawberries. 

Here's just a small sampling of our farmer's market bounty. I'm going to use the rosemary later this week to season a white bean salad with roasted garlic. We'll fly through those eggs in a day or two (most likely scrambled) and the rest of the produce will be eaten raw. It's really hot outside today so I'm particularly excited to have fresh, wonderful foods that don't require my oven. 

Carbonara for Food Revolution Day 2014

My kids are frequently in the kitchen with me, and conversations about where our food comes from and how to prepare it healthfully and deliciously is part of our family fabric. Today is Food Revolution Day, and this year's message from Jamie Oliver really hits home: "I believe that it's every child's right to be taught about food, how to cook it and how it affects their bodies. Without this fundamental knowledge, they'll grow up without the skills or even the desire to eat better." Beyond the knowledge, I want food and food preparation to be fun for my kids. I'm excited for them to try new flavors and develop their palates and taste preferences. Experimenting in the kitchen exposes them to new flavors and helps to free them of inhibition to taste new foods. It also sends a message that setting aside the time to prepare real, whole foods is a family priority. I'm thrilled that Jamie Oliver has been so successful with Food Revolution Day; it is now celebrated in 117 countries! 

Today I've come across loads of events, recipes and blog posts recognizing Food Revolution Day. I absolutely loved this one by Bettina Elias Siegel of The Lunch Tray about home cooking as a political act and agree wholeheartedly with her when she says "I want them to learn by osmosis that we don't need Big Food to feed us, and that we can actually do a better job when we take back control of the cooking."

Today in honor of Food Revolution Day, my kids and I made Pasta Carbonara - a family favorite. This recipe has four ingredients. Three ingredients for my littlest one, who is dairy free and therefore eats the version without cheese.  

pasta, eggs, bacon, parmesan. 

First, we boiled the water to cook the pasta. The classic carbonara is all about spaghetti but my kids love this twirly shape best. Meanwhile, we fried up the bacon. I use Applegate's organic Sunday uncured bacon and I like to put it in the freezer for about 30 minutes before making this recipe so that it's easy to chop before frying. 

When the pasta is done cooking, I reserved 1/2 cup of the pasta water to use in the recipe (full recipe below). My daughter added it to the bacon and then added the cooked, drained pasta. 

I added the eggs and stirred quickly to incorporate them into the pasta without making scrambled eggs. I set a portion aside for my littlest one. My older kids then added cheese and stirred. Yum! Because the pan is still hot, the cheese melts beautifully. 

This dish is easy to make with kids in the kitchen. It uses simple, real, pronounceable ingredients. And it's a crowd pleaser! 

Pasta Carbonara
1 pound of dry pasta
4 large eggs
8 ounces of bacon, chopped
1/2 cup of finely grated parmesan
pepper to taste
salt for boiling water
 

Method
Boil the pasta in salted water as directed, until it's al dente. While the pasta cooks, fry the bacon in a pan over medium heat for approximately 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, crack the eggs and lightly beat them. Set aside. In another small bowl, grate the parmesan. When the pasta is done, reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water before draining. 

Turn the heat back on to medium on the bacon pan. Add the reserved pasta water and stir. Add the cooked pasta and continue stirring until the water has evaporated and the bacon is evenly distributed. Take the pan off the heat again. Let sit for one minute. The pan will still be hot. Add the eggs slowly and mix quickly to thicken the sauce and to prevent the eggs from scrambling. At this point, you can add black pepper to taste for a dairy free version of carbonara. Otherwise, add the grated parmesan and stir well to combine. The cheese should melt immediately into a rich, creamy delicious sauce. 

Serve immediately. (this recipe serves 4-6 people)

Happy Food Revolution Day! 

Resolution Food #3: Eggs

The other day my daughter and I were chatting about meal possibilities for an upcoming brunch that we're hosting. I suggested omelets. "Mom! Omelets are a dinner food. Sunny siders, frittata, poached and soft boiled eggs are for breakfast or brunch. Hard boiled eggs and egg salad are for lunch." Ahem. 

We eat a lot of eggs in my house. It's one of the few things that all five of us regularly enjoy. There's joy in eggs. They're the glue that holds so many recipes together (like cookies, meatballs and muffins) and they are fabulous by themselves.  Eggs can also be an inexpensive way to feed a family. I thought I'd push the envelope on my daughter's thinking with these Egg Eyes - I'd eat them with any meal. We've enjoyed various mini frittatas made similarly (affectionately called Egg Nibbles chez moi) but never the straight up baked egg. Not sure how that's possible, but it's the truth.

Success! The Egg Eyes have been proclaimed "adorable!" I used a small muffin tin, which doesn't hold an entire egg so six eggs made twelve egg eyes (six were whites only). My awesome babysitter took one look at the baked eggs in the tin and assembled them on the plate like this (hence the name): 

Egg Eyes!

Egg Eyes

6 large eggs
Vegetable oil or cooking spray for oiling the muffin tin
Mini muffin tin

Method
Preheat the oven to 350. Bake the Egg Eyes for approximately 9-10 minutes. If you like the yolk slightly more runny or slightly more well done, adjust the time as needed.

*Note: you can use a regular muffin tin for this too. One large egg makes one Egg Eye in this size. 

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Egg Salad on a Seaweed Rice Cracker

Egg Salad

My mother makes the best egg salad ever. Consistently. Other egg salads seem like mayonnaise and salt concoctions with a touch of egg. My mom's is all about the eggs with a touch of mayonnaise. In my own home, I follow my mom's recipe but add fresh dill. We all love it. My kids love to eat this on seaweed rice crackers for lunch. Me too! 

Egg Salad with Dill

Ingredients:
6 large eggs
Slightly less than 1/4 cup of mayo
1/4 teaspoon salt (or salt to taste)
2 tablespoons of fresh dill
 

Method
Place the eggs in boiling water and take them off the heat after 10 minutes. Rinse with cold water. Peel the eggs once they have cooled. Grate or chop the eggs (I prefer to use a boxed grater). Add the mayo, salt and dill and mix thoroughly but gently to avoid mushing the eggs.   

Check out other New Years Resolution foods for kids right here.