I didn’t want to go to the Cape for another weekend in which it was going to be rainy and miserable, right up until it was time to leave, at which point the sun would come out. Shane wanted to go, but said he’d concede if we could go out for an extra-nice dinner this weekend. We went to Salt & Fat in Sunnyside, and everything was really tasty, albeit heavily pork-laden. But I guess that’s the point.
The answer is no, I didn’t cook the shrimp in bacon. The flavor comes from smoked paprika.
Easy Broiled Shrimp (with smoked paprika, garlic and oil) takes about 10 minutes total, and is soooo good. You really need to try it, it’s too simple and delicious (and quick!) not to try.
I was going to serve it over rice, but there were a couple of weevils in our rice. Ew. Instead we had pearl couscous, cooked with a bit of butter and better than bouillon. Everyone agreed that the couscous went very well with the paprika-oil from the shrimp.
We’ve got a lot of salad greens from our CSA to get through this week. Tonight it was mixed greens, with orange, rice vinegar & fresh oregano dressing, and roasted corn.
We didn’t make nearly as big a dent in the greens as we needed to. I may be offering up free salads on my stoop this weekend.
One of my favorite CSA vegetables is the Japanese (or White) Salad Turnip. I didn’t even know it existed before I joined my CSA. When I first received my first bunch, I went straight to my CSA website to see if they had any good tips on what to do with it.
The recipe they have is wonderful. Both the tender root and the greens are cooked with miso butter. It’s a perfect combination of seasoning and texture. I haven’t tried any other salad turnip recipes because I haven’t wanted to. Needless to say, I was thrilled to get salad turnips in my CSA box today.
CSA night is always a little tricky dinner-wise. Pickup begins at 5:30, but somehow, by the time we get there, drop off our compost, pick up our veggies, socialize and get home, little time is left to prepare dinner. Whatever I make needs to be really quick.
Chicken & Rice from Mark Bittman, via Dinner A Love Story, is a perfect CSA night dish. It’s super easy and only takes about 30 minutes start to finish.
Basically you boil some broth, saute an onion, add rice to the onion and stir, add chicken and broth to the rice, cover and let cook for 20 minutes. That’s it! So simple that you’d think it wouldn’t be very tasty, but Rose and Shane both loved it.
The recipe is here, and also below for convenience.
• Japanese Salad Turnips with Miso Butter •
adapted from Gourmet Magazine via The Golden Earthworm
3 tablespoons white miso
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, divided
1 bunch Japanese turnips with greens
An additional bunch of greens, such as red kale or mustard greens (optional)
1/3 cups water
2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
Stir together miso and 2 tablespoons softened butter. Discard turnip stems and coarsely chop leaves. Do the same with your additional bunch of greens, if using. Halve or quarter turnips (leave whole if tiny) and put in a large saucepan or dutch oven along with water, vinegar, remaining tablespoon butter, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then boil, covered, 10 minutes. Add greens all at once, stir and turn frequently until greens are still bright but thoroughly wilted. Stir in miso butter and cook 1 minute.
• Easy Chicken & Rice •
from Mark Bittman via Dinner A Love Story
2 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, about 8 ounces, peeled and sliced
salt and pepper
2 chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
1 1/2 cups white rice (such as long-grain, jasmine or basmati — brown rice takes longer to tenderize and you don’t want to overcook your chicken)
handful herbs, chopped
juice from 1/2 a lemon
Bring broth and one cup of water to a boil. While you are waiting for it to boil, add olive oil to a large skillet (that has a lid) set over medium-high heat. Add onions, salt and pepper. Cook until onions soften, about 4 minutes. Add rice to the pan and stir until each grain is covered in oil. Nestle chicken in rice, add salt and pepper, then pour in the broth (or water). Reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Cook 2o minutes, until all water is absorbed and chicken is cooked through. Garnish with parsley and a squeeze of lemon.
We had our somewhat-regular Wednesday night grilled cheese at Espresso 77, but I forgot to take a picture. Click on Lazy Wednesday at right, if you want to see a post that is almost identical to what tonight’s post would have been. If you want.
My friend Marji suggested that The Steady Table should become friends with the blog Lottie & Doof. When I clicked over to find out more about them, I was pretty excited to see this recipe for Baked Orecchiette, with fresh ricotta, herbs and lots of greens. Particularly since this week’s CSA box consisted almost entirely of greens.
I used spinach in the recipe instead of kale or chard. Shane really doesn’t like kale and chard, and oddly, feeding it to him often has not cured him of his aversion.
Instead of rosemary, I used sage and thyme, because I misremembered the recipe when I was out shopping. Also I doubled the ricotta, because we all love fresh ricotta, and half a pound didn’t look like nearly enough.
My version had great flavor but was a bit dry, so I won’t post the adapted recipe for you. This is definitely a make-again though. I might actually follow the recipe next time, as it was written. Imagine that.
I made my first pregnancy foray into poultry tonight with 5 Ingredient Turkey Chili (recipe below). It was too meaty tasting for me. I tried to mask the meaty flavor with lots of toppings and condiments, but in the end I just ended up eating the condiments and picking out the beans. For now I’ll be sticking with fish.
5 Ingredient Turkey Chili stays on our weeknight roster though. Shane and Rose love it, and it takes 30-35 minutes start to finish, including condiment prep.
When I went to the fridge to explore my CSA greens, I found another bunch of collard greens. At least, I think they were collard greens. The leaves were a little bigger than the baby bunch I cooked last night. The flavor (once sauteed in olive oil with a smashed garlic clove) was that of a more mature leaf.
It’s also possible that last night’s collards weren’t actually collards. Fortunately, most hearty greens do well when cooked in olive oil with a little garlic, red pepper flakes and salt. So it doesn’t really matter. I love CSA season.
• 5 Ingredient Turkey Chili •
adapted from theKitchn, original recipe here
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground turkey
1 large white onion, diced
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 14-ounce cans diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons to 2 tablespoons chili powder
2 15-ounce cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained
fresh cilantro, avocado, grated cheddar and sour cream for topping
In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat the olive oil and cook the onion for about 3 minutes until it starts to soften. Add the ground turkey and cook over medium heat until the cooked through, about 7-8 minutes. Stir frequently to help crumble up the turkey.
Add the chili powder and stir well. 2 teaspoons of chili powder results in a very mild chili, 2 tablespoons has some kick.
Add the beans, broth and diced tomatoes to the pot and bring to a slow boil. Cover and reduce the heat to low; simmer for 20 minutes. Then uncover and simmer for an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Ladle chili into bowls and serve hot. Top with sour cream, cheddar cheese, cilantro and avocado pieces.
Getting dinner on the table quickly is something I’m pretty good at. Doing it without leaving my kitchen looking like a disaster zone is the challenge. Tonight’s dinner took about as long to prepare as it takes to boil a pot of water and cook the pasta. So, 20-25 minutes or so. (After dinner cleanup took a bit longer).
The pasta sauce was simply tomatoes, sage and cream. There isn’t a real recipe but it’s pretty easy. Sautee some slivered, fresh sage leaves in olive oil and butter, add fresh, chopped tomatoes, cook for 30 seconds or so. Add cream, stir, season with salt and pepper.
The greens were the lovely, tender, young collards, from my CSA box. They hardly resemble the greyish-green, super-cooked version you get at a ribs place. Instead, they take a mere shake in the pan with an onion that’s been sauteed until soft and translucent, to become bright green, tender, fresh and wonderful.
My mom makes a mean greek salad. There is no recipe, of course. She’ll tell you the secret is lots of fresh oregano and a little bit of the brine from the feta cheese.
I’m calling my version Redemption Greek Salad because Rose really pissed me off this afternoon. Recently, after she pulled on my dress and exposed my boob for perhaps the 20th time, I made it very clear that I’d had about enough of clothes-pulling.
When she yanked on my dress, repeatedly, this afternoon, I kinda lost my cool. I yelled at her in public, which is something I’ve always made a point of not doing.
Of course I forgave her a few minutes later, and went back to merely being annoyed that she couldn’t let go of my dress, and enjoy the party she’d insisted on attending. Okay, I might have still been just the teeniest bit bitter.
And then she ate Greek Salad for dinner. Greek Salad! Nothing else, no whining, no requests for something else. She ate Greek Salad for dinner and redeemed herself completely.
• Redemption Greek Salad •
feta cheese in brine
fresh oregano
capers
olive oil
chopped tomatoes
lettuce
kalamata olives
salt and pepper to taste
optional things to add: anchovies, cucumbers, sliced red onion
In a salad bowl, combine equal parts lemon juice and feta brine (that’s the water from the feta cheese that comes in water). Add a sprinkling of capers, crumble in a little bit of feta cheese to make it kind of creamy, add chopped fresh oregano and mix well. Add enough olive oil so that the dressing is tangy but not too tangy. Season with salt and pepper keeping in mind that the feta and olives will add additional salt. Add the tomatoes and toss with the dressing, then add the salad greens and toss again. Top with cubes of feta and olives.
That’s right folks, somehow I managed to get myself knocked up, by accident, at the ripe old age of 41. This is baffling to me on so many levels. The first of which is, that we were not trying, at all.
We are a historically under-fertile couple. Back when I was 34, “experts” told us we had a .05% chance of getting pregnant naturally. With the help of my amazing acupuncturist, we eventually did, but it took a while.
I am in the midst of peri-menopause. My hormones have been in decline for a few years, getting ready for that old pause in the meno. On my way out, expiring, heading towards old-ladydom, that’s me.
The single-kid thing has always been fine by us. I am not one of those people who looks over at the parent with two kids and thinks How lovely! or Maybe someday… No, I look at that mom with one in the Bjorn and another in the stroller, and think: That poor woman or What a pain in the ass.
We were done, diapers and baby-proofing are distant memories. Quit while you’re ahead we’ve always said. We already have one great kid, why spoil a good thing? Plus, it’s cheaper.
At restaurants, our adorable, well behaved child sits quietly between us, and politely engages in our adult conversation. I watch as the parents of multiple children struggle to maintain order and enjoy their meal. Smiling at my husband, I think to myself: Well, aren’t we just the smartest couple here. Just not smart enough to use a condom.
So how did this happen and what does it mean? Well, I know how it happened, technically, I just can’t fathom how it actually came to fruition.
What does it mean? It means we have to completely re-arrange our world view, our life plans, our furniture. Fortunately, Shane and I have not been great about making life plans, so that’s one issue taken care of already.
It means I might eat chicken. Once, during my last pregnancy I found myself standing outside the Gourmet Garage on 7th Avenue devouring a whole (cooked) chicken breast with my bare hands. All bets are off.
It also means that The Steady Table might be on hiatus for a little while. During those dark days, those awful newborn weeks, which people who have more than one kid on purpose seem to forget about between pregnancies.
What if it’s a boy? I don’t like super heroes, video games, guns, aggressive stuff, banging, yelling, screaming or any other loud noises. I don’t know anything about little penises. And man-oh-man, I really don’t like screaming.
I’m sure I sound cold and ungrateful, but I don’t mean to. I struggled with infertility once, I know how it feels. Who am I to scoff at an unexpected baby surprise? It’s just that it’s not what I had in mind. Feeling like shit 24/7 for the past 8 weeks didn’t help either.
I will eventually embrace this pregnancy. It’s pretty much impossible to deny that it was meant to be, the way it happened against all odds. Some little soul, out there in the ether, decided it would be nice to be a part of our family. We’re a pretty fun family, after all.
If everything goes according to plan, this baby’s going to pop out—quickly and painlessly, please!—in early to mid-December. And in spite of everything, I’m going to love it like crazy. We all will. Even if it’s a boy.
Also, this is what we had for dinner:
The blog Dinner A Love Story has a great little section called What To Cook Tonight. I was perusing it during my slow work day today, and the moment I set my eyes on Shrimp Tacos, I was sold.
I didn’t really follow the recipe, except to douse the shrimp in lime juice, and to add a pinch of sugar to the sour cream and lime sauce. The recipe is wonderful in it’s flexibility, you can use whatever you want for your fixin’s.
We used corn tortillas which I warmed quickly over the flame. Our accoutrements were sliced radishes (from our very first CSA box of 2013!), cilantro, slivered red peppers, guacamole and the sour cream and lime sauce from the recipe. Also a CSA salad, of course.
I got everything on the table in 40 minutes start to finish. You could probably cut the time by not emptying the dishwasher and not putting away the CSA veggies until later.
Rose was super-excited about the DIY aspect of the meal, and the fork-free aspect as well. She was a bit ambitious with her fixings and didn’t actually like any part of the taco except the shrimp, but I give her props for trying. Her’s is the top right taco in the image above.
Shane said the meal was tasty but not nearly filling enough. Sigh.
