Adventures in cooking

Maybe it was the cool weather or the potty-training imposed house arrest, but I was busy cooking all weekend long! Many would groan at the thought of cooking all weekend but I was in heaven. And this weekend I made a few old stand-by's, but also ventured into making a few things that were way out of my comfort zone. First on Friday I made a seitan and lentil loaf. Seitan is a rubbery sort of food, intended to mimic meat. It is made from vital wheat gluten flour and water, so on its own it is high in protein, low in flavor, which is a pretty good summary of my seitan lentil loaf. I also had a couple of acorn squashes laying around and made this to go with the seitan loaf:

http://smittenkitchen.com/2006/10/unflinchingly-good-things/

Acorn squash with chile-lime vinaigrette

Later that evening an intense sweet tooth craving came on and after sending Chris to the grocery store to retrieve much needed chocolate and heavy cream, I whipped these up:

http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/10/peanut-butter-brownies/#more-312

peanut butter chocolate brownies

After spending Saturday trying to potty-train one little girl (with little success), I decided to skip any more potty pleads and spent Sunday cooking up some more delicious delicacies. First up was an old favorite, granola! I know what you're thinking, "Does this girl ever get tired of granola?"- and the answer is, no! I love granola and since my last blog about granola I have started using a different recipe:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/dining/151arex.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=olive%20oil%20granola&st=cseOlive oil granola

I finished up the afternoon making kimchi, a Korean pickled cabbage type dish. I would love to tell you how that turned out but its still marinating as I type. Kimchi

And then, to please my little pumpkins, I made some mac-n-cheese for dinner. You might be wondering, "How does she have time to cook with two wild things running around?". Well, as much as I would love to say that I have superwoman powers, the truth is that I have a great husband who helps keep the kids entertained in exchange that I promise to let him eat meat every once in a while :).

I feel a change a comin'

Fall is here- hallelujah! Summer in North Carolina is great until about mid-July, by which time the stifling humidity makes you feel like you've been stuffed at the bottom of a young teenage boy's gym locker! The leaves are nearing the peak of their color, the nights are becoming cool enough to wrap yourself up in a blanket, and days are comfortable enough to allow lots of playing outside. A few pictures of the twins enjoying all that fall has to offer:

When Daddy's away....

We do naughty things- like eating peanut butter sandwiches on the couch while watching Sesame Street in our p.j.'s before going to bed!

A day without meat?

Happy World Vegetarian Day loyal blog followers! I know that I have been on bloggin' hiatus for a while but wanted to alert all of you to the holiday upon us on this 1st day of October. Oct. 1st is a day to put down the meat and pick up the veggies. I have been vegetarian pretty much since the kids were born. At first I did it to lose the weight that I gained during the pregnancy and now that most of the weight is gone, I continue to choose a vegetarian diet because I just don't miss meat that much. I have always said that if a strong meat craving comes over me then I will give in, but as of yet that craving hasn't hit. While completely giving up meat is a choice that most people don't feel ready to make, simply choosing to reduce your meat consumption has both beneficial health and environmental effects. So why not choose today to be one day in which the fruits, veggies, and grains take center stage on your plate. Here is a recipe for black bean, swiss chard, and acorn squash chili. I am going to make this tonight with some cornbread and if you're in the neighborhood go ahead and stop by for a bowl! I'm sure Conner and Lizzie would be happy to teach you how to eat chili with your hands.

Black bean with butternut squash and swiss chard chili (from Epicurious):
Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 1/2 cups chopped onions
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 1/2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled butternut squash
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed, drained
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
• 3 cups (packed) coarsely chopped Swiss chard leaves (from 1 small bunch)

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic; sauté until tender and golden, about 9 minutes. Add squash; stir 2 minutes. Stir in chili powder and cumin. Stir in beans, broth, and tomatoes with juices; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until squash is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in chard; simmer until chard is tender but still bright green, about 4 minutes longer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle chili into bowls and serve.

Aquarium!

While at the beach, we took a break from the sand and sun to visit the North Carolina Aquarium. Fish aren't really the animals that interest the kids the most these days, but they were excited to see fish swimming so close to them. Conner kept making growling noises at the fish since that is his default animal noise these days. Lizzie had a pretty bad cough that day and scared off a lot of fish (and people scared of the potential swine flu she may have been harboring)! And Chris and I both quickly learned of the finite limits to the attention span of a toddler. We thought that we would spend a good 2-3 hours at the aquarium, quietly studying each type of fish and reptile on display. Instead, we were in and out in less than 1 1/2 hours. The kids were really excited for the first 3 or 4 fish displays but after that, they really couldn't care whether they were seeing a shark, a crocodile, or a rare pigmy goat. So quickly we made our way to the gift shop at the end to pick up a souvenir from our visit. I was hoping that the kids would be drawn to one of the cuddly river otters, or perhaps a cute tree frog but of course, they had other ideas in mind. What they were most drawn to were the 4 ft. stuffed snakes (even though we skipped the snake displays because I just think snakes are gross) so now our house is shared by these two snakes. Conner likes to wrap his snake around his neck and we are working with him on his performance to Britney Spear's "I'm a slave.. for you". Lizzie likes to hug her snake and give it kisses, such a sweet girl!"Conner, do you see this Xanthichthys auromarginatus ? Isn't it amazing?!"Conner and this frog were BFF's by the end of the tourSnake lovin'Snake wranglin'

Beach babies

Though hurricanes and tropical storms tried their best, nothing could stop Conner and Lizzie from flaunting their beach bodies all over Atlantic Beach this week. It was the first trip for the twins to the beach and they loved it. Conner really loved the sand, even would roll in it to be sure that sand reached every crevice in his body. Lizzie didn't like how the sand ruined her pedicure so she insisted to be carried to the water each time. She did like to lay out on beach towels and anytime she can wear a swimsuit she is happy. It was quite a change from my previous experiences at the beach, which pretty much entailed throwing a blanket on the sand and rotating my body every hour to get all body parts done to a deep crisp. This time no sunburns were had and most of my time was spent picking up kids every time a wave knocked them down, finding the prettiest sea shells for Lizzie, and making sure Conner didn't eat his weight in sand. All in all, a great family vacation. A few highlights captured in pictures:

Let's go to the beach already!This look picked up a lot of girls at the beach!As soon as Baywatch introduces a child lifeguard, Lizzie will be their first pick for the roleLizzie caught up on all of her trashy beach reading

Wine for my sisters

My friend Meredith brought me this wine the other night, and it was just what a middle child would love. A wine that bestows attention to all those women who feel deprived as a result of being a middle child.
And the label has a spot on drawing of the dynamics between the sisters. As you can see, the middle sister is much cooler and hipper than her other two sisters- something I am sure most middle sisters can attest to being a correct depiction. Well, this wine got me thinking, what wine would best fit my older and younger sister. Here's what I envision:

Older sister Meg:
A simple, yet sophisticated wine. It would have to be a red wine. And as I said a simple wine, no blends for her. Probably would have a nice balance between sweetness and acidity. And of course it would be vegan! And I would call it Karma Police for two reasons, 1) Megan really believes in karma, and 2) she is the only one of the three sisters who has been in trouble with the police (which is shocking if you know the three of us!).

Younger sister Lauren:
Definitely a white wine. And it would be a wine that surprised you upon first sip. I imagine a type of Riesling where you are expecting a sweet, syrupy wine but are pleasantly surprised to find it a bit dry and maybe a little spicy (a Riesling from Washington as opposed to the North Carolina Rieslings). And I would call it Karma Cameleon for two reasons, 1) karma matches nicely with the name of Megan's wine, 2) Lauren has the ability to easily blend into the situations she is placed into, like a chameleon (though I am sure Lauren has no clue about the song I am stealing the name from!).