Twenty down, 7 to go.

flailing with some bok choy

We continue our way towards the 27 vegetables in one month goal. I think we're going to make it, although I'm starting to run low on ideas. What am I missing here? 


Luke has tasted, if not masticated and/or squashed all of the vegetables here. He isn't really getting the hang of actually consuming them quite yet. Favorites seem to be the cruciferous vegetables- there must be something about the flavor, but he likes gnawing on broccoli, cabbage, and kale. He also loved roasted red pepper, though I can't say the same for the fresh red pepper we gave him this week. 


1. carrot
2. sweet potato
3. avocado
4. kale
5. peas
6. acorn squash
7. celery
8. bell pepper
9. asparagus
10. cucumber
11. brussels sprout 
12. arugula
13. zucchini
14. purple cabbage
15. broccoli
16. artichoke heart
17. spinach
18. bok choy
19. mustard greens
20. green bean


Tonight we're giving him a chunk of beet. I anticipate that he'll be covered in pink beet juice, but we'll see if he actually eats any of it! 

slurping on some broccoli

Cornmeal cookies (what?!)

Nathan and I got to go out on a date this weekend (!), and I wanted to bake a little something for our babysitters (our kind and awesome neighbors who have a baby Luke of their own). I found this recipe for Cornmeal Cookies on shutterbean. They sounded weird, but intriguing, and really easy. 

They were a huge hit! The recipe is basically a shortbread recipe, but with a half cup of cornmeal and a bit more salt. They were light and flaky and the texture of the cornmeal was addictive and unexpected. I ate 4 in one sitting. That's a lot of cookies. 


Cornmeal Cookies
(from shutterbean.com)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Cream butter and sugar, then add the egg and vanilla. Mix in the flour, cornmeal, and salt. Form ~1 inch balls, then roll in a dish of granulated sugar (this gives them a pretty crust when baked), place on the baking sheet and smash (lightly) with the bottom of a drinking glass. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. 

The original recipe had them decorated with glazed hearts, but I didn't have it in me to painstakingly paint hearts on each cookie, so I went for a graffiti-glaze effect instead, which I think turned out great! I also made my own food coloring which sounds crazy but was really simple. I had fresh beets, so I sliced one small one up (it was about the size of an egg), and boiled it for about 30 minutes. Then, I used my immersion blender to almost puree it, and then reduced the liquid by boiling it for another 10 minutes or so. Finally, I poured the beet puree into a paper coffee filter, which drained into a small glass jar. I added about 1/2 tsp. of vinegar, and that was it! 


The glaze was made from about a cup of powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp of the beet juice food coloring, and about a tablespoon of water (add small drops as needed to make a viscous glaze). 

Preserved Lemons (are awesome!) (Part 2)

I finally made a couple of dishes with my preserved lemons. I'm planning to make a Moroccan tagine with the lemons, but I ran across several easy and tasty-sounding recipes on Eating From the Ground Up and thought I'd try them out. 


Amazing! I am a huge fan! The lemons added incredible and unique flavor to both dishes. 


I made hummus, and roasted garlic and preserved lemon spaghetti tonight. The hummus was wonderful- though it was a bit salty- I think I need to soak the lemons in cold water to extract some of the salt from the preservation process before I toss them into a dish. 


To make the hummus, I chopped the lemons (which were soft, but not slimy, and tasted brine-y and lemony and not at all bitter) and threw them in a food processor with a can of garbanzo beans, about 1/3 cup tahini, two cloves of roasted garlic and a clove of fresh garlic, a healthy dash of cayenne pepper and olive oil. Usually I add a lot of fresh lemon juice to my hummus, but the preserved lemon flavor was MUCH better... more mature in a way? It definitely added a deeper flavor- less tangy and acidic than just lemon juice.


(Please excuse the horrible photos- Nathan's iPhone was with him all day and clearly my photography suffered.) 

The pasta dish was also delicious. I added a heap of pan-roasted broccoli to the recipe (I like to toss dry broccoli florets on a very hot cast iron skillet until they develop dark brown bits- the dark, roasted, cruciferous-vegetable flavor balanced this dish out well!). It was a simple recipe to make- I sauteed a head of roasted garlic with 3/4 of a preserved lemon (finely diced) in butter and olive oil, then added two generous servings of whole wheat spaghetti and the broccoli. Top with a scattering of parmesan cheese, and done!

Incredible! The roasted garlic and lemon somehow combined to become creamy and smooth- neither flavor was overwhelming. I could probably eat just the garlic and lemon combination spread on crackers (mmm, with goat cheese?). Nathan and I loved it- I'll definitely be making it again! 


Have you cooked with preserved lemon? What did you make? Let me know if you try either of these recipes!