The Zoe and Silas Show

I made this for dinner tonight after returning later than expected from a fun afternoon at the park. I love it because a) it can be ready in 30 minutes, b) it is made with pantry ingredients, and c) it is full of bold flavors, which Silas in particular loves! Curried Chickpeas and Cauliflower Adapted from Budget Bytes 2   Tbsp olive oil or coconut oil 1/2  head cauliflower, chopped into florets 1  med yellow onion (or frozen chopped onion, which is one of my favorite shortcuts) 2  cloves garlic (or pre-minced garlic, another go-to shortcut) 1  Tbsp curry powder 1/2  tsp cumin seeds 1  (15 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1  (8 oz.) can "no-salt added" tomato sauce 1 (14.5 oz.) Ro-tel tomatoes with mild green chiles 1  cup water Handful of frozen peas, optional Chopped cilantro or parsley to garnish, optional Salt, as needed Jasmine rice 1. While prepping other ingredients, get the jasmine rice cooking in rice co...

We recently bought a house and moved about 20 miles outside of Boston. One of the changes that came along with a new commute and work schedule is that I have started making dinner for the kids every night, instead of just Friday-Sunday (Julia, our wonderful long-time nanny, historically fed them dinner Monday-Thursday). Derek and I still have opposite work schedules, which means that I have the kids without him 5-6 nights/week. In order to make healthy meals AND pack lunches while flying solo, at a minimum I need to have a well-stocked fridge and basic menu plan for the week. Even better is when I can get some cooking and/or food prep done on Sunday. Before I go to the gym on Sunday mornings I usually peruse some recipes in search of culinary inspiration. Today I came across a recipe that caught my eye on Budget Bytes . I was planning on hitting Trader Joe's after the gym, so I picked up the frozen roasted corn that is the cornerstone of this recipe. The first part of my foo...

5/25/14: Playing with our landlord's boys and enjoying a beautiful afternoon in a newly mowed backyard. We have eaten like kings this weekend, grilling out every night. On Saturday we did Asian Barbecue Chicken  (aka crack chicken), mashed potatoes, and steamed caulflower and broccoli. On Sunday we grilled Korean Kimchi Burgers and served them on top of romaine, with an Orzo Salad . The salad did double duty in our Memorial Day picnic at Hale Reservation today. Tonight we did flat iron steak fajitas with sauteed tri-color peppers and onion, and a side of braised kale. It was definitely a good eating weekend around here!!!

2/8/14: Silas has been wearing half 4T and half 5T clothes for a few months now. Zoe's drawer is populated by 4T but she often pulls from Silas' drawer and has some things that don't fit very well. I finally made it to Old Navy on Friday and decided to just buy a bunch of "gender neutral" (i.e., boys) 5T clothes from which they both can pull from. There were a few "girls only" purchases (see pants below), but for the most part I bought a pile of clothes they can share. Excited about all the new clothes, Zoe put together a fabulous outfit. We are taking a family trip to Portland, Maine for one night during School Vacation Week, so we headed out to look for pool flotation devices on Saturday. We didn't find what we were looking for, but S&Z found kid-size lanterns and fishing poles for camping this summer (which we didn't buy), and Derek found a new sleeping bag (which we did buy). We also found a $2100+ tent with a built...

2/7/14: On the way to school yesterday Zoe wrote both her and Silas' names on the magna doodle. It's amazing how much they are learning this year! Mr. No Napper helped me make Crockpot Refried Beans and Chicken Tacos for dinner. Silas has been obsessed with our old iPod's recently. He pulled out his headphones that we bought for the trip to Minnesota  last summer, and he plugs in to jam out. I can see our younger selves in him...

2/2/14: Is there is a game on today or something? Derek is working so things feel pretty normal around here. The kids and I went to the Y this morning and I started my new strength training routine. I'm going to be very sore tomorrow! I told S&Z that I lifted weights and Zoe walked around the rest of the day lifting a pretend bar bell. Love that kid! Derek had already worked out 4 days this week, so he stayed home and made hummus and cauliflower rice  (my new obsession!). At the library yesterday we got a book about storms. Derek was very happy when they picked it as their before-nap book. I love this picture because it reminds me of  this one  when they were watching a real storm on the back deck, also from the safety of Daddy's lap. Per usual, Silas busted out of quiet time this afternoon, over and over, until he finally said: "But I'm not tired. My brain says it's not time to sleep because I'M NOT TIRED!". Okay, you win. Or depending on ...

1/12/14: Silas was continuing to feel much better on Sunday after a couple of doses of antibiotics. The sun was shining bright so I got out for a 3.5 mile walk to catch a dose of some much-needed Vitamin D. After quiet time the kids (and Derek) needed to get out of the house as well. We headed over to Legacy Place where everyone got some fresh air and I made a couple of returns. I cooked for most of the day otherwise:  Crockpot Chicken Verde , a big batch of brown rice, lavash crackers for the week,  Lal Dal ,  Roasted Spaghetti Squash  to eat with  leftover marinara  (recipe below), and  Mushroom Barley Stew . What a great way to start the week! Marinara Sauce CATEGORIES   sauce INGREDIENTS 1  onion, chopped 2  cloves garlic, minced 1  28 oz. crushed tomatoes or tomato puree 1  14 1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes 1  T. tomato paste Salt and freshly ground pepper, italian seasoning, s...

A friend of mine recently purchased a crockpot and is looking for some good recipes. As usual, I am posting my favorites with links here! Slow Cooker Pulled Pork - this is best served with cole slaw on top or on the side. Our favorite is Mann's Rainbow Salad mix, to which we add sliced red onion and diced granny smith apple, dressed with a good store-bought cole slaw dressing. It really takes the pork to another level! Crockpot Refried Beans - I prefer to use black beans instead of pinto beans. You can do a lot with a pot of beans - one of my favorites is quesadillas or baked tostadas with caramelized red onion and cheese of choice. Chicken Verde - so simple, use a jar of Trader Joe's salsa verde and serve over rice. Spaghetti Squash Curry - a great side dish to use in place of rice. Chickpeas in Curried Coconut Broth - need I say more? The last one is delicious but I have no idea where I got the recipe - I don't have a direct link in Pepperplate, so I'm pas...

A friend of mine is starting to do Meatless Monday's and is looking for some recipes to serve as a jumping-off point. I recommend liking the Vegetarian Times and Eating Well Facebook pages to get inspiration delivered straight to your news feed. In the meantime, here are a few of my favorites- INDIAN- We have a rice cooker, so these indian meals are very easy to serve over brown rice- Lal Dal (Red Lentils)- substitute a can of Ro-tel tomatoes for the fresh tomato and green chili to make this an easy, weeknight meal. Quick Curried Chickpeas ASIAN- Mongolian Stir-Fry - use the fried tofu technique for any of the following recipes. Singapore-Style Rice Noodles - you can use any vegetables you like if the peppers don't sound good to you. I recently used asparagus and bok choy instead of cabbage and peppers and it was delicious! Thai Red Curry - but substitute crispy fried tofu for the meat protein. I recently discovered the Thai Kitchen website - there are lots of easy...

1/3/13: Mr. Sickie... And Ms. Cranky, which is a direct result of her sick brother getting more than his usual share of 1/8 to 1/4 of the total parental attention ;) We were snowed in for the day, and Derek had to work so I made us a big Indian feast for dinner. I combined two recipes that used cauliflower and potatoes - one from America's Test Kitchen  and one from Smitten Kitchen . It was a snow day curry extravaganza! Mr. Sickie LOVED it, and (of course) Ms. Cranky didn't think it was so wonderful :$ It was at dinner that I realized that Silas totally has Zoe figured out. I don't know why this surprised me, but the following conversation cracked me up! S: (innocently comments) it's a little bit spicy. Z: I DON'T LIKE SPICY THINGS (of course she hasn't taken a single bite at this point of the meal). S: Zoe, I was wrong, it's not spicy. Momma, what did you do with all of the spices we toasted? Me: Do you mean the SEASONINGS we toasted? Th...

A friend recently asked for some pointers on how to "cook meals for the week on the weekend", so I'm going to jot a few ideas down here for future reference. You can also click on the 'Cook's Notes' or 'Recipes' keywords in the left hand panel to find more posts about food & cooking. PREPARATION : 1) Make a menu plan and grocery list by Friday (I do mine on Thursday night), so that food shopping can be done after work on Friday night or first thing on Saturday morning. The menu plan should be based on the assumption that there will NOT be time to cook on the weekend. If 1-2 meals get cooked ahead of time then it's an extra bonus, but you don't want to set yourself up with meals that are impossible to make at 6pm when you get home from work. 2) Select meals that will have leftovers - and make sure it's something that no one will complain about eating at least twice. 3) Try to select streamlined menus. The days of 3-component meals a...

12/24/13: We frosted the tree cakes for Santa on Christmas Eve morning. Our little bakers were in fine form! Derek worked that evening and it was a quiet day otherwise. I cooked all afternoon and made a big Christmas Eve feast - chicken cordon bleu , steam-sauteed green beans, and mustard-roasted potatoes . And a Christmas meal wouldn't be complete without some of my mom's delicious homemade lefse! Silas was so hungry waiting for dinner that he sat down at the table an hour before everything was ready! One of our Christmas Eve traditions is to give the kids a new pair of pajamas. They were sooo excited! Of course we had to read a few special bedtime books. Santa's elves were busy after the kids went to bed. It was a very merry Christmas Eve!!!