Globe Trotting

This year for his 6^th birthday Matthew asked for a spinning world thingie. Translation: a globe. It has been a lot of fun pointing out all the exotic places he has traveled. So far, about five in total; New Jersey being one of them. The world has really opened up for him and it is exciting to watch. He now has ambitions to travel to the North Pole and his second favorite continent, besides North America, is Australia. Maybe because it is so large, his little finger always ends up on that one.

He can now see where his Daddy is traveling to when he goes away for work. And he can pinpoint Israel, where his Aunt Lisa, lives. It is a destination we point to several times a week. He wants to know when we will visit and I explain to him that even the THOUGHT of traveling 5500 miles on an airplane with him and his brothers is enough to have me committed. Well, not in those exact words…

Good thing she comes to visit us twice a year – Because I am not sure I would survive the 12-hour flight just yet, but SOON we will brave it (I promise, sis!) In the meantime I can bring him a little of the local culture by way of food. If I had my way we’d make a layover in Italy on the way there, so I am combining the two.

Israeli Cous Cous  – Italian Style

Ingredients:

2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes (you will have xtra for another dish)

1/4-cup olive oil, plus 2 Tbsp

1 cup Israeli cous cous

1 lemon, juice of

1 Tbsp capers, with some of the brine

2 scallions, sliced, reserve some for garnish

1 jar or can of Tonno tuna with oil, drained and flaked

Salt & Pepper

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss the tomatoes with 2 Tbsp of the olive oil and spread in one layer on baking sheet, season with salt.

Roast for approximately 25-30 minutes until charred in spots and tomatoes are ready to burst. Shake the pan about halfway through. (Note: this step can be done in advance, refrigerate tomatoes in airtight container)

Meanwhile, cook the cous cous according to package directions. While the cous cous is cooking combine the rest of the olive oil, lemon juice, capers, scallions, tuna, and tomatoes in a large bowl.

Let cous cous cool slightly and then add to tuna mixture. Gently combine, and add salt and pepper to taste.  Add remaining scallions to garnish.

And the VERDICT is:

Matthew (age 6): “Nope, do NOT like it”

Liam (age 4): “I DO like it”

Dylan (age 4): “I only like the white ball parts”

Since Liam only had two bites, I am suspicious he was just trying to butter me up for the ice cream bars he had spotted in the freezer… And ironically Matthew ate the most of anyone even though he didn’t like it, he must have been hungry.

BBQ in BKLYN

Last week we took a road trip to Brooklyn for a BBQ.  After two years on a waiting list my good friend had scored the impossible – a 2BDRM 2BATH apartment with an outdoor space!  A rarity in New York where outdoor spaces usually comprise of fire escapes or tar rooftops. This was a genuine deck; big enough for a patio table, chaise lounge AND grill.

The best feature, aside from the grill, was ample space for our kids to run around while my friends and I could enjoy some wine and cheese, and an actual conversation. My kids were almost as thrilled as I was.

We had to endure two hours of traffic to get to there. The amount of times three children can say “Mommy, are we there yet?” during a ride of that duration is truly mind-boggling. But we eventually saw the sign that we had arrived:

My friend had just purchased her grill and we were christening it that night. Dinner was hamburgers and flank steak pinwheels stuffed with spinach and cheese. The boys were excited about the hamburgers, but I was eager to taste the flank steak pinwheels. They were so delicious I decided to recreate it this week with a different stuffing, as I was still thinking about them.

On the trek home, the boys fell fast asleep; snug in their PJ’s – dreaming of who knows what – And I enjoyed a quiet, traffic-free, ride home.

Flank Steak

Ingredients:

1 (1 1/2 or 2-pound) flank steak, butterflied *

4 oz. prosciutto, thinly sliced, (about 6-8 slices)

4 oz. mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced (6 slices)

1 roasted red pepper, cut in strips

15 fresh basil leaves

Olive oil

Salt & Pepper

* Have your butcher butterfly the steak. The meat dept. at any supermarket will do this.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the steak on a flat surface; cut side up, with the grain of the meat running from left to right. Season the top of steak with salt and pepper. Then layer the surface with the prosciutto slices, next top with the mozzarella cheese. Add the strips of peppers and top with a layer of basil leaves.

Tightly roll the flank steak around the filling (steak should be rolled parallel to the grain). Using kitchen string, tie the roll every two inches or so. Season the roll all around with salt and pepper.

In a large ovenproof skillet, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, sear each side of the roll, approximately 2-3 minutes per side.

Once the steak is seared on all sides, place the skillet in the oven and bake the steak for about 30 minutes until desired doneness.

Transfer the steak from the skillet to a plate and cover with aluminum foil. Let rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing into individual rolls.

Note 1: 125-130 degrees internal temperature is medium rare; which is best for this type of steak. You will need a meat thermometer for this recipe.

Note 2: Normally I would try this on the grill but it was pouring rain that night. Cooking this in the oven was easy, but way more clean up.

And the VERDICT is:

Matthew (age 6): “Not bad – works for me… I like this basil”

Liam (age 4): “I knew this lunch would be bad!”

Dylan (age 4): “Basil makes it yucky but I like the ham so much”

Secretly, I was hoping they wouldn’t eat it so there would be lots of leftovers. This came out even better than I had expected – YUM! 

Gone Fishing

Summer is here and so starts fishing season. There is a local watering hole nearby that is the perfect spot for our little gang. The water is shallow, the fish are small and there is ample space for them to run around. It’s hard not to get caught up in the excitement even though I don’t enjoy storing worms in my refrigerator!

Initially when Brian recruited me to go I was not all that enthusiastic. I just pictured flying hooks getting stuck into little limbs; yucky worms slithering about, and at least one accidental fall into the lake. Neither Brian nor I relished the thought of wading in the mucky water to rescue one of the kids.

But miraculously none of the above happened. What did happen were three little boys casting their lines, sitting in absolute SILENCE, legs dangling off the dock, patiently waiting for a bite. I have been hooked ever since!

Granted, when someone catches a fish all hell breaks loose as everybody jumps into action to help reel it in. But those moments before the fish bite there is a hypnotic calm that overtakes our clan and I love it. I try to appreciate these pockets of quiet time because they are truly rare around here.

This week in celebration of the season I am cooking up a childhood favorite, except I am getting my catch at Fairway instead of from the Gorton Fisherman.

Fish Sticks w/Tartar Sauce

Ingredients

Tartar Sauce:

3 Tbsp mayonnaise

1 pickle, finely diced

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Salt & pepper

 

Fish Sticks:

1 lb. Tilapia, or any firm white fish, skin removed, cut into 1” strips

2 cups buttermilk

2 cups plain panko breadcrumbs

1 Tbsp lemon pepper seasoning

Kosher salt & pepper

Olive oil

Lemon wedges

 

Directions

Tartar Sauce: In a small bowl combine mayonnaise, diced pickle, lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let set in refrigerator for at least one hour.

Fish Sticks: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Season the fish with salt and pepper. Pour buttermilk in a large bowl. In a shallow dish, combine breadcrumbs with lemon pepper seasoning.

Dip the fish sticks into the buttermilk and then dredge in the breadcrumbs, pressing gently to coat completely.

Place on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning once, until crispy and fish cooked through. Serve with tartar sauce and lemon wedges.

And the VERDICT is:

Matthew (age 6): “These fish sticks are AMAZING! What does Tartar mean?”

Liam (age 4): “Can I dip these in apple sauce instead?”

Dylan (age 4): “I don’t like the tick tock sauce but these chicken fingers are yummy”

I walked away from the table for literally two minutes to search for the answer to Matthew’s question. In that time the boys consumed the entire serving (1lb!) of fish sticks – I will definitely be making these again!

And the answer is: Tartar sauce was named after the Tatar peoples of Mongolia. The sauce was originally devised to be eaten with steak tartare, but is now usually served with seafood.

Matthew wasn’t too interested in the explanation; he had already moved onto dessert….

I’m on to something BIG

Most weeknights at our house the kids eat first and Brian and I have dinner after they are tucked away for the night. So sometimes when they are eating I am also cooking something for later. One day soon, and we are slooowwwllly getting there, we will all be eating the exact same thing and life will be less complicated. At least as far as dinner goes…

On this particular night I was roasting asparagus and they asked for a taste. And then another, and another…. The problem was they only ate the crunchy tips so I was left with a whole bunch of headless asparagus. Dinner for Brian and I quickly morphed into a stir-fry with cut-up asparagus, sans tips!

That is when the light bulb went off! Just think how convenient it would be to buy a bunch of asparagus made up entirely of tips! If it could be done with muffin tops why not asparagus tops?  Hmmm, I really might be on to something….

Until my bright idea gets off the ground I will continue to try and get my kids to eat the whole thing, spear and all. And if Birdseye starts selling asparagus tips, remember you heard it here first!

Roasted Asparagus

Ingredients:

1 bunch thin asparagus spears, trimmed*

2 Tbsp olive oil

Sea salt, coarse

Freshly ground black pepper

*To trim asparagus, bend at tough end until it snaps. It will naturally snap where it gets tough. If asparagus are thick you can also peel the ends after they are trimmed.

Optional toppings

Roasted tomatoes

Queso fresco cheese, crumbled

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place the asparagus on a baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss to coat evenly. Spread the asparagus in a single layer and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for about 25 minutes until tender but still crisp, shaking the pan at the halfway mark.

Serve plain or with optional toppings-

And the VERDICT is:

Matthew (age 5): “I ate 3!”

Liam (age 4): “I like the crispy parts – save the long parts for Daddy”

Dylan (age 4): I love asparagisis”

Gluten-free ain’t that bad

A few months ago my good friend told me that her son had been diagnosed with Celiac disease; a digestive disorder involving intolerance to gluten. That same weekend we were at a birthday party together and I remember thinking it was going to be a bummer that he wouldn’t be able to eat birthday cake. From a 4-year olds perspective that’s a pretty big deal. But no worries, she had gotten him a huge gluten-free chocolate cupcake instead. To be honest, it looked a lot better than the cake!

The other day, that same friend and I were hanging at the park, and I asked how the food situation was going. Surprisingly, she said that in some ways it was the best thing that had happened to her family. As a result of the diagnosis, the entire family was now eating better. And since she was doing more cooking it meant they were having less processed foods.

It got me thinking – what would I do if one of my own kids developed gluten intolerance? Beyond the birthday cake dilemma, what would the day-to-day menu be? How would we live without bagels???

We’ve been fortunate not to have to deal with any food allergies. I have little experience cooking gluten-free recipes but after doing some research, found tons of great options. It made me realize; going gluten-free really isn’t all that bad.

This recipe was highly recommended by a friend – she said it made salmon converts out of her kids; it couldn’t be easier and is entirely gluten-free.

Maple-Glazed Salmon

Ingredients:

1-cup Nama Shoyu soy sauce or tamari*

1 clove garlic, grated

1 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated

1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil

1-cup pure maple syrup

4 salmon fillets, well rinsed

• tamari is a naturally fermented soy sauce

 

Directions:

Mix the soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, and maple syrup in a bowl.

Spread the soy mixture over the fish in a baking dish. Marinate the fish in the refrigerator for at least one hour or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Bake salmon for 15-18 minutes, until fish flakes easily with a fork.

And the VERDICT is:

Matthew (age 5): “Yeah, it’s good”

Dylan (age 4): “Yuck – fish is yucky –it swims in water”

Liam (age 4): “Yum – you don’t even have to TELL me to eat it!” “Dylan, it isn’t slimy”

A Yeah, a Yuck and a Yum – could be the lyrics of a new hit song!