Lilly's Table Blog | Cook seasonally. Eat consciously. Live well.

In some ways there is nothing particularly enchanting about this lentil salad or even today really. In many ways, it seemed a hoo-hum day that should simply flow into the next without much notice. A day I have no real reason to cherish or remember as standing out dramatically from any other.

But, it was a day that had sustenance, just as this salad does. Balance. Flavor. Satisfaction. A day of making sure a toddler had curls in her hair for picture day and a baby had plenty of smiles to keep him cracking up (seriously this child loves to giggle). And this lentil salad had just enough veggies to balance the toasted pine nuts, fresh herbs and beans with a flavorful dressing that runs throughout. Little snippets from throughout the garden ended up in here, including nasturtiums, a handful of basil, summer squash, a few of its blossoms and just a pinch of herbs from each pot. If I didn’t have all of those flowers waiting for attention, I would substitute my favorite fresh herbs instead.

My hand kept reaching to add cheese at the end, which is my natural inclination with lentil salads. Especially since we have a lovely parmesan and super fresh feta waiting to play starring roles in my creations. Each would have added its own charm to the mix, but for some reason I decided to let them wait and gave this particular lentil salad a chance to sing all by itself.

I used beluga lentils as I have a bit of a crush on them lately, but a sturdy lentil such as French or green would work well, too. I would avoid red lentils or beans that cook up soft are better for soup or dals.

Italian Fresh Herb Lentils

1 cup dry lentils (soak them to cut down on cooking time)
3 cups water
1 teaspoon bouillon (or better than bouillon!)
1 onion, finely chopped
2-3 stalks of celery, finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons olive oil (add more or less to taste)
1 yellow summer squash or zucchini, chop finely
1 tablespoons balsamic
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black pepper, freshly ground to taste
1/4 cup fresh finely minced herbs including basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, and rosemary
8 nasturtiums or other edible flowers, optional
4 squash blossoms, chopped, optional

Bring the lentils and broth up to a simmer. The time will depend on the lentil you use, altitude and whether you soaked the beans prior, but something between 15-30 minutes is generally a good idea. Just test them every 5 minutes or so. When the lentils are nearly done, add the bouillon and a pinch of the salt. Cook for a few more minutes and then add the onions and celery.

Meanwhile, in a dry skillet, sauté the pine nuts until toasty and slightly golden.

Drain the lentils & veggies and dunk in cold water. Drain again and shake dry. Toss with the chopped yellow squash.

Dress the lentils with olive oil, balsamic and salt. Gently fold in the fresh herbs and blossoms.

What are your favorite additions to lentil salad?

Buon Appetito!

Lilly

Juliette and I were wheeling around Whole Foods and she was being less than cooperative. It didn’t help that I was barely following my list and I was spinning in circles around the store, remembering this, forgetting that. Going crazy.

One thing Juliette loves to do while shopping is taste-testing. Who are we kidding!? Don’t we all love the samples! Isn’t it even more fabulous when you taste something that you were slightly tempted by and then it is awful. It is such a relief to think: whew, not going to be tempted by that pretty packaging ever again!

When we spotted a display of Wild Planet Sardines, I couldn’t resist. The guy was sweet and told us about the different options: tuna or sardines in water or olive oil. I grabbed at the olive oil sardines, knowing that we eat their tuna at home, and gave a sample to her as well. We wheeled off while Juilette raved about her delicious sample.

After a few other samples and her increasing frustration with my disorganized shopping trip, she started to beg for another sardine sample. Since we managed to be back in that area, I trooped up to the Wild Planet guy and asked if she could have ‘seconds’. His jaw dropped a bit and he said “of course! I can’t believe she likes it.”

Love, is a better word for Juliette’s relationship with this super sustainable, omega packed fish. Xerxes and I love it too and I realized we really don’t eat often enough.

This week I decided we should have it at least once a week. While I have made all sorts of recipes with it, including the Garbanzo Sardine Salad and the Garlic Sardines & Artichokes this Sardine Salad is an easy go to, take in your lunch bag salad that we all like is as follows:

Sardine Crostini

1 can sardines in olive oil (don’t drain!)
1 tablespoons minced sweet onion or green onions
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1/2 lemon, zest and juice
1 tablespoon minced parsley

1/2 small baguette
1 tablespoon olive oil

Dump the sardines with the olive oil in the a bowl. Top with the sweet onions, celery, lemon zest and parsley. Fold together, breaking up the sardines and mixing in the toppings.

Meanwhile, slice the baguette into thin slices. Brush or drizzle with the olive oil. Toast, broil or grill the bread until crispy.

What do you make with your sardines? Maybe I should ask instead… when was the last time you had sardines?

Enjoy!

Lilly

After a lovely morning with friends, I decided we should head out for a walk to the library. As the clock ticked and my preparations seemed ever delayed by a distraction or child in need, it was suddenly clearly lunch time.

To slow the ‘getting out the door process’ further, I decided we really should have a picnic just a bit further past the library at the park with a gazebo. I figured we could spread out a blanket and have a lovely time.

When that grandiose plan was finally packed and tucked in the stroller and we were rolling away, I saw out of the corner of my eye our dog Rhubarb effortlessly come through the base of the fence. Arghaugh!

I know at this point, you are thinking why did I not take the poor pup with me in the first place? Clearly, Rhubarb would agree with your sentiments.

However, if you saw me pushing the extra wide stroller stuffed with a picnic, baby bag and an infant dangling out of the Bjorn carrier, you would have begged me to leave the dog at home. I could barely walk with this set up and yet I was determined. Rhubie went into the house sadly, but please know she did go for a walk later in the day, when I had a buddy to assist us.

About four blocks into this adventure, Juliette started making proclamations of hunger, at which point I realized I forgot the crackers for lunch. I also noticed Zed’s head, which is normally easy to cover with the ergo pack, was well on its way to a sad baby sunburn.

At first, when I suggest to Juliette we turn around, explaining the crackers were missing and maybe it best we just have lunch at home, she was adamant that we carry on and that she was still in fact hungry. Hmmm…

So, I tried again this time suggesting we just quickly run home and grab the crackers. She agreed to this, if she was able to push the stroller. Fine by me.Side-by-side we pushed the stroller. She casually suggested that maybe it would be best if we had a picnic at home on the front lawn and then tomorrow we go to the library.

What a perfect plan!

The picnic was really a treat. We spread out a blanket, Zed kicked next to us and we arranged a small pile of each item in between us: a stack of cucumber slices and provolone cut in quarters, tuna salad and a bottle of bright yellow mustard.

I started with a few combinations of the four items. Next I suggested she show me her favorite combination. She put the stacks into various bold combinations: two slices of cheese with a blob of tuna and a few drips of yellow mustard oozing out, a stack with each element, or cucumbers with the squishy center. Her selections were thoughtful and ever-changing.

We giggled. Chit-chatted about what to make for dinner. She then showed me a few ‘tricks’ and futile attempts to climb the tree we were under. It was one of those joyful moments you hope gets saved in that part of the brain for when you need to remember how incredible life is and your endless supply of blessings.

Of course, I wanted to stay there as long as possible. Drinking in the delight of the moment but my grand plans to make mozzarella distracted me and I talked Juliette in to joining me inside for the next food project.

While I started the mozzarella making process, I read that my junket rennet wasn’t good enough. Then I accidentally heated the milk too high and had to wait for it to cool. Actually, that was the first of two over reheats. It probably should have taken less than an hour total and I was already nearly three hours into the process.

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Of course, I also started a salad to go with the main dish during the madness of cheese making. I seem to have lots of happy memories of combining peach & summer squash together. They are sort of my own personal Colorado version of that dynamic duo: basil & tomato.

Every year I seem to have a new peach & squash staple salad, including the Peach & Summer Squash Quinoa or the Grilled Zucs & Peaches. This years version was all about the current state of our garden: green & yellow squash, super spicy arugula, sweet as can be basil, and an enthusiastic nasturtium plant. My refrigerator donated a Colorado peach that I have been coveting in the final days of the season and a rather dry Homemade Ricotta. I was quite pleased with the finished product, although, I did have to add a generous amount of salt. If you use feta cheese instead or prefer things low-salt, scale back on it a bit and add more as needed. If possible, add plenty of salt to the dressing since it will help flavor up the squash as it marinates.

Summer Squash, Peach & Nasturtium Salad

3 small to medium sized Summer squash (yellow, straight-necked, zucchini, etc)
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon balsamic
4-5 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt (adjust as needed)
1/2 cup dry Homemade Ricotta or Queso Fresco
2 small to medium sized peaches
1 cup arugula
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup nasturtiums, about 6-10 blossoms

Cut the squash into diagonals and then again in halves. Or slice them in half moons. Either way, the thinner the better.

Whisk the dijon, balsamic and salt (start with half the salt, if your prefer) together in the salad bowl and slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking quickly until it is thoroughly combined. Fold in the slices of summer squash into the dressing and let sit for at least 5-10 minutes, but the longer the better.

Just before serving, fold in the crumbled cheese. Then lightly toss in the peaches, arugula, basil and nasturtiums.

Enjoy and sweet dreams!

Lilly

I don’t often shop at regular, national chain grocery stores. I try to buy from Farmers Markets, grow my own, often I go to places that have lots of bulk options or I hit up other interesting locally run shops. I would hardly say I buy our food from one spot.

But, when I lived in Colorado before our stint in Tucson, I actually shopped at King Soopers all the time.

#1 I could walk there and I loved the walk, even on snowy days.

#2 They sold a whole lotta local food and had a decent organic or other natural food selection too. Woot, woot!

For whatever reason, not all King Soopers are the same, it seems. As a personal chef, I shopped at whatever grocery my clients wanted or whichever was closest to them and it gave me an opportunity to notice the pros & cons of each place.

The one near us now after our return to Denver is so-so at best. This past week, I saw an ad that said Colorado grown green beans were on sale. I was quickly sold and we headed to the store for those as well as cabbage, peaches and a couple other fabulous local goodies, too.

Since I had a good ton of green beans, I wanted to do something that made them sparkle and shine a bit. So, I steamed them. Added some sweet onions at the end for a quickie blanch and then gave them a cold shower until they were salad ready.

Xerxes picked cherry tomatoes for me in the rain, while I whipped up the dressing and toasted pine nuts. The feta was easy enough to crumble on top- feel free to use more than I did too!

Italian Cherry Tomato & Green Bean Salad

4 cups of trimmed greens beans
1 small sweet onion (or half of a big one)
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
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4 tablespoons olive oil
1 pinch of black pepper ground to taste
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Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Trim the green beans and cut the sweet onion into thin slices.

Once the water is boiling, add most of the salt (save about a 1/2 teaspoon) and dump in the trimmed green beans. Simmer for 4-8 minutes until the green beans are tender to the bite. Add the onions and swirl around until the strips are intertwined with the green beans.

Drain the onions & green beans into a bowl of ice water (or if you are feeling lazy, spray the green beans with icy cold water from you facet). Shake the green beans dry.

Meanwhile, place the pine nuts in a skillet over medium heat. Shake in the pan for about 1-3 minutes until they are each kissed with a bit of color.

Whisk together the mustard, balsamic and remaining salt in a large salad bowl. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking. Taste. Add more salt and even a bit of black pepper to taste.

Toss the green beans, onions, cherry tomatoes, pine nuts and feta cheese together. Taste. Add more cheese, salt and pepper as desired if needed.

Serve this unfussy, tossed salad with a baguette to mop up the drips.

Sweet dreams, friend,

Lilly

Just a day past the 40th and again it feels time to reflect. First, I am patting myself on the back. For whatever reason, starting and maintaining a blog has been an annoying challenge for me. I have started and stopped numerous blogs, always feeling guilty and bummed by my failure.

The other night, as I sat in that super loud restaurant contemplating life rather than chatting with my husband who was out of speaking distance sitting a mere 2-feet away, I finally figured it out! You see, I started this 100-day series because just saying to myself “you will blog everyday” has clearly never worked. Instead, saying “you will blog for 100 days” seemed doable.

Now, I am a bit addicted and determined. But, something seemed to be missing. Rambling everyday about what I am eating was a great starting point, but now I want to offer more. And for the last several days I wasn’t sure what that may be. I considered many possibilities… Top 10 this, Top 5 that, Best of something, etc. But, this little voice in the back of my head said “too challenging”. While in some ways that may sound like a Little Hater (love this video!) which is more often than not the case. But this time, was different. I know the moment I take on too much, I fail. Miserably.

I still wanted to do something that would keep me close to my family without spending extra hours on the computer. Then that little voice whispered “what about recipes”.

Dugh! Of course! When I first started Lilly’s Table I prepared, wrote, and photographed 3-5 recipes everyday. That initial effort created quite an arsenal of at least 1000 recipes for members to play around with. Whether they are creating there own meal plan or they are following the one I create every week.

During the crazy transition this past year and the arrival of Zedekiah, I decided to stress less about 3-5 recipes per day. But, ONE per day!? Now, that I can handle. And for you, dear reader, wouldn’t you enjoy seeing my process of recipe development a bit more?

Now that I have rambled long and loud about my next step during this 100day process, here is what I have to share about today’s recipe…

As you know, my fam and I are on a sugar detox. I love baking and cooking on the weekends and doing something a bit outside of the box for breakfast. Many times, this is sweet and each of us adores my scone recipe, which only has about a 1/4 cup of sugar in it. Thinking about it further, I figured scones are just a sweet biscuit, right? Wouldn’t a biscuit taste pretty good stuffed with bits of Colorado fresh peaches?

This past February when I was preparing my Tucson Supper Club I researched graham crackers and found out it was simply a cracker made from graham flour. I remember noting that I had no idea where to buy it.

The other day I saw graham flour for the first time at the store for just a a couple bucks. Without much thinking the graham flour landed in my cart.

As I envisioned these unsweet scones, the flavorful graham flour suddenly had a use. But, if a package of graham flour didn’t land in your shopping cart recently, just substitute a whole wheat flour.

Peach Graham Biscuits

1 cup all-pupose flour
1/2 cup graham flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
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5 tablespoons butter, cold & cut in pieces
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract, optional
1-2 peaches, washed and chopped (Our peaches are giant, but if you have small ones, use two)

Preheat the oven to 375.

Toss together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add the cold butter. With your fingers or a pastry cutter, press the butter into the flour until it is pea-sized and grainy.

Pour in the milk and almond or vanilla extract. Gently fold the mixture together, until it is just combined. It will be super wet. And as I recently read about biscuits, the wetter the better.

ALSO- when I say “until it is just combined” I mean it. The moment you over do it with the mixing, the biscuits will become sad and tough. Gentle with your dough. Gentle.

With that delicate touch, fold in half of the chopped peaches. Barely. This is not an opportunity to overdo it! Gentle.

Use a bit of butter, or as I like to do take the butter wrapper that is still a bit greasy, and wipe it around a 8-10 inch cast iron pan or cake pan. Scoop up the biscuit batter and dollop in six big blobs in a circle.

Gently press the remaining peaches on top of each glob. At this point, I would be seriously tempted to sprinkle the top with a bit of course sea salt next time. Just to add another element of character, but please know that I did not actually try it. Yet. If you do, please tell me about that experience in the comment section.

Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the edges are golden and the biscuits are fluffing up. Cut in wedges and serve warm.

Remember, these are unsweet, savory with little kisses of peachy sweetness.

Speaking of kisses…

xoxo,

Lilly

The rain continues and our town specifically was given a Flash Flood Warning. For the first time in this week of insane weather. We weren’t really sure what to anticipate. Our house is a couple steps higher than the ground, on a slight hill without a basement, so we figure wait and see would be the best action. Unless told otherwise.

In the midst of this uncertain weather, we were staying close to home. Doing activities here and there around the house, including a grand attempt to build a trench in the backyard so that we can eventually have electricity in our garage. Xerxes was figuring the ground would be a bit easier to work with while damp.

Inside, I figured Lulu and him would appreciate a nice warm lunch. I have been wanting to make a German Pancake, but since we are taking this no sugar thing seriously it seemed worth skipping. After thinking it through for a few days, I decided that the candy-sweet cherry tomatoes I still had in the fridge from my friends would be the perfect addition. And no one would be tempted to drizzle it with maple syrup.

With a light drizzle coming down, I picked arugula, basil, and a couple nasturtiums to have as a little salad on the side. The workers gave the bistro-style meal rave reviews. The pancake itself is almost a cross between quiche and bread, if that makes any sense. Eggy bread? Super dry frittata? All in all it is just a Puffed Pancake!

Baked Cherry Tomato Pancake

1 tablespoon butter
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup rye flour or your favorite flour mixture (gluten-free or all-purpose will work)
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
fresh black pepper
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes

Preheat the oven to 425. Spread the butter around an 8-10 inch cast iron pan or cake pan.

Whip together the eggs, flours, parmesan, milk, salt and pepper. Pour into the baking dish. Arrange the cherry tomatoes on top.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and slightly puffed. Remove from the oven and fully anticipate that it will fall from its puffed state, while remaining tasty. Sprinkle with additional shreds of parmesan. Serve alongside a simple salad of greens, basil, balsamic and olive oil with extra cherry tomatoes too.
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Lulu offered to watch Juliette for the evening, so we could go out on a date. We were excited, but exhausted for each of our own reasons. I actually went to bed the night prior feeling a bit sick and managed to lie awake in bed in the middle of the night deeply considering all of the donation possibilities for my daughter’s preschool’s auction.

I cannot think of a worse way to spend my time in the middle of the night.

While I of course want the auction to be successful, this is a very silly reason to lie awake. Fortunately, I do not often have insomnia so I forgive myself quickly… usually.

Feeling a bit less than fabulous, we headed out for what we anticipated would be a quiet dinner with a sleeping Zed in our arms. With all of the rain and disaster in Colorado this past week, I felt a bit concerned that we were heading out on the town in the middle of a flood warning, but it was barely spitting on us and it seemed worth the taking advantage of Juliette being with Lulu.

Unfortunately, that quiet evening we hoped for did not happen. The restaurant was chaotic and overly loud. We were sitting across from each other, shouting and still unable to understand the other. One of us would say “Oh dear, it is so loud in here” and the other would respond “I’m sorry, I cannot hear you. Can you say that again?”

The entire experience made me feel painfully old. I have memories of wonderful dates in obnoxiously loud concerts or bars where I enjoyed everything my friends said to me, but this was not to be listed among those loud memories.

Fortunately, the food was quite lovely. I am pretty sure Xerxes enjoyed it as he was mostly smiling through his bites of the Brie Bruschetta with onions, balsamic and bacon. I insisted on a Fig Salad with crispy prosciutto, blue cheese and greens and I am so glad I did.

Our shared entree was a pasta stuffed with duck and topped with a strawberry salad. It was good enough that I forgot to grab a shot of it.

Not many bites past the entree, we realized we were not communicating well enough to stay. We pack up the sleeping Zed and another patron signals for me to come over. We arrive at his table and he says “If your baby could teach the people in hear how to be that quiet, this restaurant may actually be pleasant.”

It was certainly worth a laugh and with that, we headed out under the threatening skies that had yet to burst into that 7pm flash flood. Predictably, Xerxes couldn’t hear the man’s joke.

Stay dry friends!

Chef Lilly

The floods around our state are devastating. We haven’t been quite as effected by the impact. However, seeing images of places we love in our gorgeous state completely underwater is sad and scary. We feel blessed, but are praying for those who will hopefully be able to finally begin recovering in the next couple of days. For now, the rain has stopped but it seems likely to come again.

In the midst of the chaotic weather, I have been stealing away moments all week to read Bringing up Bebe that I had checked out from my library. As parent’s Xerxes and I entered the job with a vague amount of past experience (I lived with my sister, her husband and four little ones for awhile) and the culture that we were raised in. Somewhere in the middle of my first pregnancy, one of us threw a parenting book across the room and we were both wary to grab another. So, in the first three years of being parents we have been sort of winging it.

For the most part, this seems to work. While I hold my infant and write this I realize I am super comfortable with the baby stage. When in doubt about what to do, I usually nurse him. It is when they get older that I feel a bit more confused. When the book started talking about the slightly older child I was all ears.

The basic gist from the book is that children need boundaries and a whole lot of freedom within that. In many ways, you could argue Americans want a lot of freedom too. There seems an obsession with things such as self-soothing and sleeping through the night, but it seems our idea of freedom is often at the expense of boundaries. Then we manage to over-parent in strange ways that actually hinder creativity and freedom, elements that I feel are essential to the growing process. Reading the book, or her shorter al a carte version that I just found, will give you the actual incite as relates to your own life and I highly recommend checking it out.

For me, especially this week I have been relaxing a lot about how I parent. Mostly, I have realized I am not the type to get down and play with Juliette on a regular basis. But, I am aware that is the norm in our society. This often leaves me feeling guilty and frustrated since I am unable to ‘get anything done’ because I am battling with the ‘fun’ obligations to her. I’d love to go to a park, have her play and just read a book without feeling guilty, but that isn’t what we are expected to do as parent’s. Honestly, I usually let her run off and I will occasionally swing her or if she requests go down the slide with her. But, I want her to experience, feel and love the world without me. Standing by and catching glimpses of her joy is my prize.

Reading the book made me realize my natural desire to let her play solo is actually a good thing. This is where she is gaining independence. This is how she learns and becomes creative. My interruptions are not helpful. Granted, there are days I will build a sandcastle with her at the beach, run alongside her bike and put her up on my legs to play airplane, but this is no longer a daily demand.

There are other elements that I became more aware of, too. For example, our ‘good little eater’ probably comes from our semi-French approach of just expecting her to try everything at the dinner table, not forcing her to finish anything and more importantly not downplaying her taste buds by only serving ‘kid-foods’. We also don’t snack much in general and for example today she didn’t finish her lunch, but declared she was hungry after school. We opened her lunch bag and she dove in and finished most of it.

She seems to have become aware that everything from goldfish crackers to pirate booty are super special treats that she can enjoy at friend’s homes. We don’t offer them here, but they are not really missed either. We do have popcorn, which she loves helping whip up a batch and we usually enjoy it while watching a movie as a family.
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Speaking of food, Juliette and I started the day with a breakfast of yogurt, peaches, and a light sprinkle of granola. Despite our sugar fast, the book has made me realize that for her complete absence from sugar will only make it more crave-worthy, so I am trying to lighten how I approach it with her. The rest of us in the family know this is temporary and should be able to fully handle living without. Although, I did notice a bit of ketchup being used with fries and the burger that was eaten last night, but I didn’t do too much finger wagging. We all have our indiscretions and I am feeling guilty enough about my small mistakes throughout this sugar process to point too many fingers.

For lunch, I made sandwiches for Juliette and I to enjoy separately: Cucumber & Hummus Sandwiches and Homemade Ricotta & Peach Sandwiches. Hers went into her lunch bag, mine tucked in my purse/diaper bag. I loved mine up on the bed while rocking Zed back to sleep, after a morning at a cafe. Juliette brought home her lunch bag that appeared only slightly touched. The six little raisins in her coconut flake greek yogurt had been enjoyed and a bite or two out of each little sandwich. The Carrot & Celery Stick Stack had decreased in size, but not by much. Of course, as I mentioned above, she devoured it as soon as we were home.

Barely a couple hours after we got home from school, Xerxes texted to say he was done with work. They let everyone go home early since road closures continue to increase by the hour as every new storm arrives. Knowing the roads between him and us were relatively fine, we headed to Golden, swooped him up and went to the Mountain Toad Brewery. A barbeque Food Truck was also there and the large picnic table umbrellas meant that any impending rain would not ruin our fun. Which we certainly had! There were games for Juliette to play and the Homemade Potato Chips, Smoked Pork, Slaw and Potato Salad were a great compliment to our micro-brews. A few of Xerxes’ co-workers and wives arrived as well.

Just as our fun was about to finish, Lulu arrived. As the sun set we were blessed with a gorgeous double rainbow and a generous sprinkle of rain that really only required rain jackets and umbrellas dangling closed from our swinging hands.

At this point, we walked along Clear Creek which was rushing madder than we had ever seen in all of our time living in Golden. We continued our walk and ended up at Table Mountain Inn for a bit more food: Guacamole & Chips and Xerxes and his Mom shared a Burger. Much to my chagrin, we ordered the Mac n Cheese with Fruit for Juliette, but the swirling noodles were actually prepared with sauce & cheese not powdered mix and this made me feel a bit better after my subconscious declaration to not buy from the kid’s menu. It was a huge portion, so I dined on some of it myself. 😉

Cheers and for anyone in Colorado- I pray you stay dry and out of the deep mud and scary floods,

Lilly

The rain has turned to floods. While our Denver Metro area seems to be fairing okay, our neighbors to the North are getting pretty beat up with the storms and floods. While I am enjoying my peaceful Seattle days, I hope the weather relaxes a bit so everyone else can.

At home, Juliette started yet another week of school. She again woke up with enthusiasm and dined on a bit of granola while I whipped up some fluffy scrambled eggs with feta and a few cherry tomatoes.

I managed to get Zed in and out of the car several times this early morning to drop off Juliette and then finally to a coffee shop with just a bit of rain streaking his sweet face. This darling boy decided to sleep the entire morning! It was a nice break to have my lap full of sweetness and my hands diligently typing away at the computer. I indulged at the coffee shop with an Everything Bagel, Cream Cheese and a Cappuccino.

Since Zed was such a sleepy little dude, I dared not move until it was time to pick up Juliette. When she finally hopped in the car we both decided we were hungry. She proclaimed “I would like to eat in a restaurant”. I had just the place in mind.

From our dinner at friends on Tuesday, I had the Mint-Basil Pesto leftover and intentions to use it. There were a couple of summer squash in the garden just the right size that I wanted to julienne into noodles with this handy-dandy device. As I envisioned the completed meal, I realized it needed a baguette. The Deli Italia that is in between the preschool and our house with long loaves for just a few bucks was the perfect solution especially with it’s delightful made from scratch sandwiches. Xerxes had been there before, while I waited in the car with the babes pretty much staring at the box of baguettes and I was itching to try it.

I stared at the menu far too long and realized it was partially because I probably need glasses. Again. My vision is just a touch off and I am a borderline candidate. At one point, forever ago, I had glasses, but dropped them in line for the Coachella Festival. When I realized and went back to find them, they were there but mostly crushed. Oh well.

The guy at the counter (the owner?) sensed my distress and handed me a menu. Xerxes previously had mentioned the meatballs were made in house, which made my choice a bit easier as soon as I finally spotted them on the menu.

Juliette and I sat down with our Meatball Sandwich on a whole wheat baguette and antipasto olives, in front of an oversize flatscreen showing a gigantic Giada demonstrating meatloaf and some cheesy-yum looking rice dish. Juliette placed herself in front of it and gave me a minute by minute explanation of the show while we shared the sandwich, Zedekiah cooed and smiled and I blissfully watched the rain (and my sweeties, of course). She was most excited about the rice dish and once I looked up, I completely understood why. Rice, creamy with cheese and crusty golden topping? Good idea Miss Giada. Juliette and I will have to recreate it at home soon.

The owner forgot to charge me for the bread, but wrapped it in paper and brought it to my table. Instructing me that I must return again. And oh we shall.

We brought home the goods and I slowly started preparing some of the vegetables before we headed to the Farmers Market. We eventually packed ourselves up, headed out and realized the market was closed. Since we were in the car already we just kept going to Sprouts. Not exactly a Farmers Market, but we did find Colorado Peaches and Rocky Ford Cantaloupes. Mission accomplished.

Returning home, I quickly realized we all needed to get some food in our bellies. So, I made ricotta. I realize this may sound insane as a quick meal, but it actually whips up fast!
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My new favorite way to make it is as follows:

Homemade Ricotta

2 cups milk, whole
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice*

Warm the milk and yogurt over medium heat until it starts to bubble around the edges. Because of the acid in the yogurt, it will slowly clump and start to separate in to curds. Reduce the heat to as low as it goes or if you have an electric stove, turn it off but leave the pot on. Pour in the lemon juice. Stir a few times and then let it sit for about five minutes or so until you see more distinction between the curds and whey: white clumps and yellowish to clear liquid.

Line a wire mesh sieve with a thin dish towel or cheesecloth and pour through. Allow it to drain until it is your desired texture. I usually drain it for only 5-10 minutes as I like it loose, soft and billowy.

*Save the zest and whip in after the cheese has drained for a flavorful Lemon Ricotta. Also, add a pinch of salt or sugar depending on whether your dish is sweet or savory.

While I made the cheese, the water came up to a boil. I cooked up the spaghetti and Juliette helped me sort through the olives we bought. Kalamatas went into a bowl for dinner. The garlic stuffed green olives mostly went into her mouth. She occasionally would pull out the garlic, eat it and then push the green olive on to her finger.

When the pasta was almost cooked, I tossed in the long strands of zucchinis. Then we drained it all into a large bowl and tossed it with pesto, greek yogurt and cherry tomatoes. We devoured it with the warm ricotta, whole wheat baguette, extra pesto and fig butter all on the side.

Unfortunately, the biggest pasta eater of the family didn’t join us until much later in the evening as he has a big presentation tomorrow. No problem, as he packed up the leftovers for lunch, too. Lucky pasta loving man. Hopefully, all this pasta will help him with his talk.

Buona Notte!

Lilly

I love these Seattle days. Refreshing. Rejuvenating. Peaceful. Despite the sleepy weather, Zed had an “awake day” but blessedly did not cry much throughout. It was challenging because he seemed tired, however refused to sleep.

Since it is a bit cooler, cooking indoors has been easier. I am lingering over the stove with less of a sense of urgency. I was even able to sit in between dinner duties. I found myself staring into Zed’s eyes and repeatedly saying”I love you” and joyfully responding to any gurgle back that had an “L” sound in it. Clearly he is reciprocating my affection, no?

I am typically one of those people who puts on an outfit and rarely deviates from what I throw on. When it comes to cooking though often I will start with one combination of ideas or ingredients and then end up with a totally different dish than I intended.

Tonight the strangest thing about dinner is how I started out making tacos:

Caramelized Onions
Hatch chile strips
Green Beans
Shredded Carrots

Then I added a splash of braggs aminos for a bit of salt.

The soy sauce flavor was just enough for me to start craving a stir-fry. Suddenly I was making a faux Pad Thai with steak and these Red Rice Noodles that I saw on sale today at King Soopers. How could I resist? I have cooked red, purple, black rices… putting them into noodles seemed the perfect next step.

In the spirit of pad thai, I added lime and a handful of torn basil. Then we piled up leaves of cabbage in order to roll up dinner into wraps.
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Somewhere in there I managed to overcook the noodles and they became a bit gummy, but we inhaled it and fought over the last few bites, so it was at least relatively successful.

Originally, I thought the evening would involve pesto, but we started the day with a delightful cherry tomato, pesto and feta stuffed omelette. For lunch, we followed up with a Pesto & Cherry Tomato Omelette Pesto Cucumber Sandwich.

I spent the day sharing most of my meals with Juliette, so when we considered having a snack I looked in the fridge and realized all that I wanted was the Hot Dog and Whole Wheat bun staring back at me.

I feel one of the initial successes with this sugar fast is how I managed to convince Juliette to not have ketchup. Actually, I offered her mustard and mayo (not exactly traditional, I know) and when she asked about ketchup I simply told her it had sugar in it. She was okay with that response and happily settled on the mustard & mayo.

Speaking of the sugar fast, I did pretty well avoiding it all day, but if someone offered me dessert I probably would have to say “Yes, with sprinkles on top, too, please!” Actually, as I type this I am day dreaming of how I am going to devour a peach very soon. I am looking forward to these intense cravings to subside.

May you have peachy sweet dreams tonight,

Chef Lilly

Yesterday, I was at the whim of my desire to work in cafes and yet it mostly just lead to some frustration and less than exciting food choices.

Today made up for it! Breakfast was the same, but I have intentions to make exciting changes in that. After eating, Xerxes and I whipped up some might pretty Hummus Sandwiches with cucumbers, tomatoes, and a bit of provolone.

We met our friends at the library for the rainy afternoon and this particular library is nice and let’s families discretely eat in the kid’s area. This was perfect since we couldn’t exactly go outside for a picnic.

One of our friends also brought a basket of Berry Muffins. She has been gluten-free for a long time and loves to bake, so I felt compelled to try one since I imagine she is a good baker. Of course, it was also obvious that they certainly had sugar or a sweetener in them. She mentioned it was unrefined and I reminded myself that we were just skipping desserts this week. Juliette and I split one. Speaking of Juliette, she adored her sandwich as did I.

While we were enjoying our library time, I was also making arrangements to swing by a friends house to help her with her over-abundance of cherry tomatoes. She also ended up with a Colorado grown leg of lamb that had to be slow braised tonight. I couldn’t help, but agree to assist her with eating it.

We came home and I got to work preparing a simple Braised Summer Squash & Caramelized Onion dish, topped with a crumble based on the topping for my Mushroom Crumble. Unfortunately, I decided to pulse the mixture in the cuisinart, somehow used too much butter, to compensate I added cornmeal. In the end I created these herb-pellets that were okay on top, but not great. As I discussed the situation at dinner, we all agreed the taste was still good but it is good to try and fail in a recipe to at least know what not to do.
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Our other contribution was a Mint-Basil Pesto. At first I wasn’t crazy about the finished product, but after it settled it worked perfectly with the lamb- which did I mention was perfectly medium-rare and delightful. Now, to find out the name of the company that grew that fine animal.

After dinner, I ducked outside and filled a bowl of bright orange cherry tomatoes and a few baby red cherry tomatoes. It was drizzling and with Zed in the pack sleeping I wasn’t able to pick nearly as many as I would have liked, but I did a pretty good job. At one point, I bumped into a large white spider and her web. I am not really afraid of spiders, but touching it creeped me out a bit to say the least.

The evening ended and we needed to pick up Xerxes, but we needed to kill sometime prior. So, we headed to a drive thru Starbucks. And then I realized that would not be nearly enough time, so we ran into Whole Foods for eggs, a few dairy products and fruit.

Now, moments before bed, we discussed how we are all doing on with the sugar fast. It seems everyone had a slight indiscretion, but for the most part we are all skipping the big old desserts we were having way too often, so we decided we were still on a good track. Trying to stay away from sugar is a challenge!

Good night, sleep tight,

Lilly

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