On The Table: Green Goddess

 

Most days we have salads for lunch. My go-to dressing is a balsamic vinaigrette that I mix up at the beginning of the week but it's starting to feel like we were in a rut. Then one night I went to a friend's birthday party and her husband made a really simple and delicious dressing of just avocado and lemon on a spinach salad. It was really tasty and I was hooked. I started looking around for more dressing along those lines and found this Mexican Green Goddess recipe (and this one too, I combined them). It really delicious! I skipped the cilantro and used parsley instead, the husband is not a fan of cilantro at all. It's so lovely and green and I wanted to share! What's your favorite salad dressing recipe?

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all get to spend your holiday with people that you love and lots of tasty food! We'll be spending ours with some pretty awesome friends and I'm excited about that! I'm bring a mushroom and leek tart, this photo is a quiche but it's such a pretty photo I wanted to use it! Stay happy and warm! And don't forget to check out the opening of the Made in the 216 Holiday Shoppe on Friday if you are in Cleveland!

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It's in the Sauce

Back on the quest of sneaking in extra veggies here. Yesterday while we were out and about I was trying to decide what we'd have for dinner. I still had half of a butternut squash in the fridge that needed to be used and when I thought "I wonder if I can make a pasta sauce with this." Being the way that I am, I just started to make something up on my own and then looked a recipe up later. And of course Ms. Martha Stewart had one at the ready for me. Here's hers. And now I'll tell you how I didn't really follow all the directions (read I never have all the ingredients on hand so I wing it).

Forgive me, I know these aren't the best photos...anyhow.

Ingredients
Butternut squash (and if you'd like sweet potato)
Garlic
Parmesan cheese
Olive oil
Rosemary or sage
Whole milk
S&P

Cooked pasta

Heat oven to 350. Dice the vegetables and peel the garlic, toss in olive oil and S&P and herbs. Roast the butternut squash (and potato) for approximately 20 minutes or until tender. Let cool slightly and put in Vitamix (or just any blender but you already know about my love of it) add cheese and milk and puree in to a sauce, adding milk as needed until you reach your desired consistency. I kept ours on the thick side. Add to cooked pasta and serve warm.

Baby boy was pretty sold on it being macaroni and cheese but it wasn't! We really enjoyed the roasted flavors too! It was the perfect meal for a chilly Monday night!

On the Table: Colorful Veggie Roast

I have to admit that I go the idea for this recipe from an Instagram photo about baby food. BUT, these flavors are so amazing I couldn't help but give it a try.  I added the garlic and goat cheese on my own, genius, I know (haha). I'm not sure how she planned to cook it but here's what I did.

Ingredients
1 lb. purple potatoes
2 ears of corns, kernels cut off
1 bunch of asparagus
2 sprigs of rosemary
3 cloves of garlic
Olive oil
S&P
Goat cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Slice potatoes lengthwise. Chop rosemary and garlic, toss with potatoes in olive oil and S&P and cook in the oven for 10 minutes. Meanwhile cook the corn on the stovetop, fill pot with water and corn and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, turn off heat and cover with lid to finish cooking. I found this recipe to roast the corn in the oven but I had already removed the husks so perhaps next time. After 10 minutes, I checked the potatoes to gauge how much longer they needed. I determined it was about 10 more minutes so I added the asparagus and tossed. Cook until tender. Place all ingredients into a bowl and mix in with goat cheese while it's still hot so the cheese can melt. Cut the corn off the cob after it cools a bit and mix that in as well.

Serve warm or as a cooled potato salad. This colorful dish is a winner for sure! It's so bright and pretty it was a treat to eat! I made it to pack in lunches but it would also be tasty for dinner as a side! It was SO delicious and filling. JJ and I both seemed to really enjoy it and I hope that you do too!

On the Table: Backyard Pesto

Yesterday my son took a monster nap after a very fun morning at the splash park, I'll share more about that later. So while he slept I took full advantage of my down time by doing glamorous things like laundry, showering and cooking. We picked up some roasted red pepper linguini from Ohio City Pasta the other day and it was calling my name. But I needed a sauce. Then it dawned on me that the basil was really filling in, so out I went to pick some. Then I decided to get crazy and pick parsley too. Here's how I made it.

Ingredients
2 handfuls of fresh herbs, basil and parsley
2 cloves minced garlic
Juice of about half a lemon
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
1/4 cup roasted almonds
Olive oil
S&P

I made my pesto for linguini with broccoli but you can use whatever you'd like or use it as a spread or dip. I know the ingredients for a traditional pesto but I didn't have them all so I used what I had on hand. Any nuts can work, take the extra few minutes to toast them, it's worth it. Put everything but the olive oil into a food processor and pulse. My processor is a little hinky so I had add some extra liquid to help it along so I used about a tablespoon of pasta water to get it going. Then drizzle in the olive oil until smooth. Toss with hot pasta and serve!

Baby boy was quite the fan of it too.

Here's a truthful representation of what dinner actually looks like. He insists on eating out of my bowl too to be sure we are in fact eating the same thing. Maybe he thinks I'm holding out on him or something. Needless to say it's a habit I wouldn't mind breaking. Hope you enjoy!

Top That Cake

I've got a simple cake decorating DIY to share with you today! Finally, I've had some time to follow through with plans. Sometimes all a cake needs is a pennant banner to top it off. This would be great for a birthday party, wedding, or just a celebration with your friends. Here's how you do it.

Materials
Washi tape
String
2 wooden skewers
Scissors
Marker

Decide what word you are going to write and cut off the appropriate amount of tape. Fold each piece over the string.

Cut the tape into triangles and space them out so they span the length of string while allowing a little bit of slack for tying on. 

Write out your word. I wrote "happy" because most of the time, parties make you happy, right?!

Tie the string to the skewers and plant that banner in your cake. It's time for a party. Go out there and decorate! If you are looking for more inspiration, or just wanting to admire some beautiful design, check out Potter and Butler. Their work is just gorgeous! Have a very happy Friday!

On The Table: Iced Coffee

The weather is getting warmer and it's been harder for me to want that necessary cup of hot coffee every morning. Or maybe it's the mid-afternoon pick me up that I like to be iced. Either way I have a perfectly simple iced coffee recipe for you! It does require some overnight prep time but it's definitely worth it. All you need is a French press, your favorite ground coffee and a little bit of time.

 

Ingredients 
1/2 cup freshly ground coffee
4 cups cold water

Grind up your coffee and dump it into the French Press. Add cold water. Press down the damper and put the whole thing in your refrigerator overnight. In the morning, pour it into your favorite mug, and add ice. My favorite part of iced coffee is adding the milk and watching it swirl in! This recipe brews a strong, cold cup of coffee. Which I think is way better than brewing a hot pot and then trying to ice it down. All that does is make a watery cup of coffee and that's just not as good! Add your milk and sugar, if you like it, and you're ready to go.

On the Table: Strawberry Salad

Saturday was another trip to the Farmer's Market and the winning purchase by far were the fresh strawberries!

It was a beautiful day and that makes for a crowded market so we put the boy in the carrier to make maneuvering the crowds a bit easier.

The line was for berries was at least 15-20 people deep but everyone was patient and nice. Which meant they were all rewarded with quarts of locally grown berries for a pretty decent price.

Just look at these beauties! Strawberries come in a close second only to the beloved banana for the babe so he was pleased. For about a minute I had hopes of making some delicious dessert with these but we just couldn't wait. Oliver ate about half of them on his own by Monday! Here's a tasty lunch recipe that I wanted to share with you now.

Ingredients

Strawberries

Spinach

Avocado

Roasted almonds

Red onion (not pictured above, but I love the combo)

Chop up all of the ingredients and arrange on a plate or bowl. I like to try and make a salad look as fancy as they do at restaurants. It makes things seem more interesting. Toss with a simple balsamic vinaigrette and you have lunch ready in minutes! This spring salad is also great to bring along to a BBQ to have on the side of your main dish. Hope you enjoy!

On The Table: Sandwiches Are Beautiful

My husband eats a turkey sandwich for lunch almost everyday. I ate them too when I was a meat eater but I have to say that I was never really a fan. That's not what I wanted when I opened my lunchbox, my lunchbox with my initials on it I might add. But not all sandwiches are created equally. Nothing is better than a fancy pants sandwich made by someone else. It's not unlikely that we end up with a regular old grilled cheese on the fly around here, but today is different. I was inspired by this one the other day but didn't have all the ingredients. So today I bring you The Queso Fresco Griller

Ingredients
I used 4 slices of an Italian loaf that was a little on the firmer side although a multigrain is usually what I have on hand
1/2 avocado
Handful of spinach
Crumbled queso fresco
Butter

Slice or crumble the queso fresco and put on two of the slices. Cut the avocado in half and slice while still in the skin, then scoop it out with a spoon. Stack sliced avocado on top of cheese and add the spinach on top of that. Then add a little more cheese to make sure the sandwich sticks together nicely. Melt a pat of butter in a pan over medium heat and cook the sandwich on each side until golden brown. This cheese isn't super gooey so I did need to cover it with a lid to make sure it melted nicely. Cut diagonally and enjoy!

I sure hope this brightens up your day. It did the trick for us!

What came first...

Look at these fresh eggs. They are beautiful. We picked them up at the farmer's market on Saturday and I just can't get over the colors. They are gorgeous.

We have family friends that raise chickens in their backyard. They have had them for years and I've always been a little wary of them but my husband admires them. He tried to convince me years ago that we should get some and I've never really been interested. But now here we are years later with a serious egg addict in our house and a renewed appreciation for locally and sustainably grown food. Our city has a new ordinance allowing chickens so now the question may be, should we get chickens?! We probably won't but it sure would be cool.

On the Table: Flax Seed Waffles

Baby boy loves some waffles. While his usual breakfast is scrambled eggs with spinach and a banana, lately, he (ok, we) have really been enjoying a quick frozen waffle. No big deal, right? Well some of the store bought ones are full of sodium and sometimes pricey. I suppose that's all relative depending on how you value your time. Me? I like to make things easy complicated. Enter the idea of just making a bunch of waffles and sticking them in the freezer for later. No biggie.

At first I found this recipe. As I was wandering the aisles at the store wondering where to find malted milk powder, I came across the waffle mix and decided to cut myself a little bit of a break. So I just bought the mix and some flax seeds and called it a day.

Ingredients

1 cup of waffle mix
2/3 cup + 1 Tbsp milk
2 Tbsp honey
1 egg
1/4 cup flax seeds
2 Tbsp melted butter

Mix all the ingredients together until the lumps just disappear and cook! My biggest issue with this was my waffle iron sticking. My plan was to slightly under cook them so I could freeze them and then pop the in the toaster later, but the waffle iron was not agreeing with me. So they are pretty much cooked and then I'll just be sure not to crisp them up too much in the toaster.

They ended up looking really good and tasting delicious. Some of our favorite toppings are blackberry jam, butter with cinnamon and agave, and the old stand-by maple syrup. Eat 'em up!

On the Table: Pizza Night!

Let me begin by saying that last night's dinner preempted my planned post for today. It was that good. My husband took a half day yesterday and that meant that not only did he plan dinner, he also cooked it! How glorious.

                           

A few weeks ago I picked up a Bon Appétit on a whim mostly because of the cover image, a delicious looking pizza, and it featured recipes from Jim Lahey of Sullivan St. Bakery in New York. The article said that his recipes were fun and easy but we've had bad luck in the past making pizza dough so I wasn't buying it. Then yesterday, unbeknownst to me, my husband added one of his recipes to the shopping list! I have to admit that I did buy the already made dough from Whole Foods, but I was pressed for time and I already said we had bad luck, give me a break.

So I give you Jim Lahey's Popeye Pie. A deliciously simple spinach pizza with gruyere and fresh mozzarella. Check it out and report back.

On the Table: At Bonbon Pastry & Cafe

Last Friday we had some celebrating to do so a friend and I took the kiddies down to check out Bonbon Pastry & Cafe, a cute little place in Ohio City. It's just a block west of the Westside Market, see it in the background?

They feature some delicious looking pastries, breakfast/brunch, and some lunch too later in the day. I even noticed some happy hour drinks and meals too! The place was brightly lit and sits on a busy corner so there is some decent people watching to do through the floor to ceiling windows (not that we could do much of that with three children in tow). 

Here's my little guy patiently waiting for his cinnamon pancakes with caramel apple topping. He split them with his date and I think they both really enjoyed them. The apples were pretty amazing!

I got the black bean and avocado slider special that was vegan and totally delicious. If you are in the neighborhood, I'd stop by and check it out if I were you. It was a serious venture for us with all the kids but it was a sunny day and we got serenaded there and back by my friend's daughter so that was pretty great. 

On the Table: Ramp Pesto

It's springtime in Ohio, so that means it's time for ramps! What is this mysterious thing, you ask? Well it's a wild onion that grows in the spring in clusters in the forrest and has broad bright green leaves. I had never heard of it until last year at the farmer's market. It's flavor is like a garlicky onion but spicier. It makes an incredibly green pesto that is delicious on pasta with vegetables. So let's make it!

Pesto

A bunch of wild ramps, ends trimmed

1/2 c toasted nuts

Olive oil

1/4 c Parmesan

Fresh lemon juice

Salt & pepper to taste

Pasta

1 box of Penne

2 potatoes cut into long batons

1/2 bag of frozen peas

For the pesto, toss all of the ingredients into a food processor and slowly drizzle olive in until it reaches your desired consistency. Cook pasta according to box directions and add the potatoes to it when there are 5 or 6 minutes left, then add the peas when there are about 2 minutes left. Drain it all and stir in the pesto. You can top each plate with a little more Parmesan too.

Dinner was pretty simple and delicious, just like we like it over here. Do a little happy dance, if you want because it's pretty good! Next week, I think I'll pick up a bunch of ramps and use them in a soup or something if they are still around. Also if you want a little more info on foraging for them and their history in Ohio, pick up the latest copy (actually the very first copy) of Edible Cleveland!

To Market, To Market

Tomorrow is the first day of the outside season of the North Union Farmer's Market at Shaker Square! This is by far our favorite place to go, there is nothing better! We have a routine that goes like this: Up and out early, fill our mugs with coffee at Dewey's, and grab a scone from Lucy's Sweet Surrender, then we hit up the rest of the stands. Or if it's a special day there might be a food truck there so we treat ourselves to that!

I love the market because it's inspiring! It makes me want to learn how to cook with all these fresh, new ingredients. I love to talk to the vendors and ask their opinion on cooking techniques too. I want to support local growers and do my best to buy what they have to offer. This week I'll be on the look out for ramps and mushrooms!

Now with the babe in tow, the mornings are even more adventurous! Last summer was all about finding new foods for him to try. Making his food was easy when we started with fresh, local ingredients. 

We buy our plants for our little garden there too. These beautiful tomatoes plants came from Ridge Bridge Farm. 

When we travel we always try to check out local farmer's markets. While in Seattle everyone is sure to make a stop here. We were there for a week and I think we went 5 times!

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The Santa Monica Farmer's Market is huge! We went on a sunny Wednesday morning and ogled the amazing produce! There were things there that I have never seen before! I can't find any of the photos that I took while there but imagine a busy street packed with vendors and fresh produce! Oh, and did I mention that you can see the ocean!

And I can't forget to mention the amazing Green City Market in Lincoln Park in Chicago. This place is inspiring! It's huge and has great food to get on the spot, freshly made smoothies from the fruit farmers, and fried cheese curd! We have also gone to Independence Park Market in Irving Park where our lovely friends live. It also has some pretty awesome food on the spot and a good variety of fresh produce too!

So here's a good growing season and a very Happy Friday!