This is unbelievably tasty despite or maybe due to the simplicity of the ingredients! A perfect pre-dinner salad that you can make quickly or even ahead of time.
My neighbor gives me bags of lemons from her prolific lemon tree from time to time.
This time, before I start squeezing & freezing I remembered a simple carrot salad I’d just read about in La Tartine Gourmande. I noticed the book at the library and quickly photocopied a few recipes from it.
Try this!!! I mean it.
All you need:
The amounts in this recipe serve about 4 people. I would definitely double it next time but I was hand grating…
INGREDIENTS:
4 large carrots, peeled
1 TBSP flat leaf parsley, chopped (I used Italian parsley as that’s all I had)
2 TBSP chives, chopped
Vinaigrette:
sea salt & pepper
1/4 c fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
6 TBSP olive oil
Grate the carrots and place in large bowl. In a separate smaller bowl, combine the vinaigrette ingredients in the order listed, whisk together and pour over the carrots. Combine well with spoon. Cover & refrigerate. Dress with the fresh herbs just before serving.
Maddie ate 3 bowls in rapid succession and then asked if she could take some to school the next day. There were no leftovers.
You know those nights you’re so sick of serving pasta with jar sauce? Yet, you know you’ll still be serving pasta out of some weakness of character? This is the recipe for you!
Our friend, Liana, made this over vacation. It’s the perfect meal for a large crowd – especially a large crowd who just hiked for several hours at altitude carrying toddlers. When we got home she threw this together & everyone loved it!
It’s so easy & satisfying.
You need:
INGREDIENTS:
2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb dried pasta (I used whole wheat)
1 head broccoli, cut into small pieces (I use the stems too – peeled & sliced)
1 can diced tomatoes
a couple of handfuls of baby spinach
salt & pepper to taste
fresh parmesan cheese
OPTIONAL: crushed red pepper to taste
Heat water in large pot for pasta. When water has started boiling, add salt & pasta.
Heat your oil in a large skillet. I only have a medium sized skillet. But if I had a large one, that’s what I would’ve used!
Add garlic & cook for about a minute, stirring occasionally.
Add broccoli & stir to coat with oil.
Cover & lower heat to medium-low. Cook for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Test a piece of broccoli – it should be just tender but still have some crunch.
Remove lid & add tomatoes. This will give it some “juice” too!
Top with a couple of handfuls of spinach, stir to combine & turn heat up to medium.
Meanwhile, cocktail hour Legos.
When spinach has just barely wilted, remove from heat.
When pasta is done, drain & drizzle with olive oil to keep it from sticking.
In a large bowl or pot, combine pasta & veggies. Adjust salt & pepper to taste.
Serve with sprinkled parmesan cheese!
Either my kids loved this or they were starving to death.
Quick & tasty pasta/veggie dish sure to please a big crowd!
Ingredients
2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb dried pasta (I used whole wheat)
1 head broccoli, cut into small pieces (I use the stems too – peeled & sliced)
1 can diced tomatoes
a couple of handfuls of baby spinach
salt & pepper to taste
fresh parmesan cheese
OPTIONAL: crushed red pepper to taste
Instructions
Heat water in large pot for pasta. When water has started boiling, add salt & pasta.
Heat your oil in a large skillet. I only have a medium sized skillet. But if I had a large one, that’s what I would’ve used!
Add garlic & cook for about a minute, stirring occasionally.
Add broccoli & stir to coat with oil.
Cover & lower heat to medium-low. Cook for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Test a piece of broccoli – it should be just tender but still have some crunch.
Remove lid & add tomatoes. This will give it some “juice” too!
Top with a couple of handfuls of spinach, stir to combine & turn heat up to medium.
When spinach has just barely wilted, remove from heat.
When pasta is done, drain & drizzle with olive oil to keep it from sticking.
In a large bowl or pot, combine pasta & veggies. Adjust salt & pepper to taste.
Serve with sprinkled parmesan cheese and/or crushed red pepper if you like it!
My blog is backed up with recipes, LA Family activities, park recommendations, and even a “How to Paint Stripes on Your Ceiling Tutorial” that I need to post but since my in-laws left my kids have been glued to my side. Hell, they’re glued to my side, front, and back (including the older one who is sitting behind me in this small chair at my desk, like, right NOW.) about 12 hours of the day. 2 hours are devoted solely to cleaning up the mess left by the Bea-dozer and trying to catch a Real Housewives or Shahs of Sunset episode here & there. Still, knowing this special time at home with them is so fleeting, I really don’t want to keep pushing them away so I can sit here typing a blog even though it’s such a fun outlet for me. The kids are so silly, inquisitive, entertaining (oh yeah, and infuriating) that I want to be here for all (ahem, most) of it.
Anyway, I’d planned on doing my Easter post but *someone* took the camera to an all-night shoot so I’ll do these easy, oh so yummy sesame noodles instead! These are great for when you’re in a pinch (as I am every other night or so…).
You prolly have all these ingredients:
and this:
INGREDIENTS:
12 oz thin noodles (I used whole wheat spaghetti but you can use soba or another kind of Asian noodle or whatever you like)
1/4 c soy sauce
2 TBSP sugar (or maple syrup)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 TBSP rice vinegar
3 TBSP pure sesame oil
1/2 tsp hot chili oil
4 TBSP canola or vegetable oil
4 green onions, sliced thin
NOTE: if you don’t have all these ingredients, go and get them! You should be able to find them at your regular grocery store in the Asian aisle. Even if you are put off by buying all these ingredients for a supposedly simple dish, you’ll be glad you have them as I promise, you’ll make these noodles like once a week until time immemorial. Trust me!
Holy cow – look it how much soy sauce I bought! I go through this stuff crazy fast.
This dish is really easy! I make these once a week or so for the girls and then I eat half of them, from a standing position behind the counter. They’re not going to trick me into sitting down with them so that the second my bum hits the chair they ask me for something. Fool me once…shame on me, fool me twice, well, you & G.W.Bush know the rest.
1. Set some water to boil.
2. Whisk together the dressing/sauce ingredients.
Taste the sauce & adjust any ingredients to your liking. For instance, if you like it spicier you might want to add more hot chili oil. Or if you like it sweeter, more sugar.
3. Add your noodles to the water.
4. Slice your green onions.
5. Drain your noodles. Really shake them & try to get the water out by tossing them in the air gently a few times.
6. Return noodles to pot and drizzle about 3/4ths of the sauce over the noodles & toss. I reserve about 1/4th of the sauce to drizzle over each person’s bowl when serving. Add green onions & toss. Unless you find it painful to watch your kids pick out each and every green onion. Then just hold those back for your bowl.
Yes, it’s 6PM here in Santa Monica. Love it when summer’s on its way!
I swear, we DO own a hairbrush!
Maddie’s name this week was “Furten” (rhymes with “curtain”) but today it’s “Caston.”
Simple – 5 minutes prep & 10 minutes cook time. Perfect dish for little ones & adults!
Ingredients
12 oz thin noodles (spaghetti, Asian noodles etc.)
¼ c soy sauce
2 TBSP sugar (or maple syrup)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 TBSP rice vinegar
3 TBSP pure sesame oil
½ tsp hot chili oil
4 TBSP canola or vegetable oil
4 green onions, sliced thin
Instructions
Set some water to boil.
Whisk together the dressing/sauce ingredients.
Taste the sauce & adjust any ingredients to your liking. For instance, if you like it spicier you might want to add more hot chili oil. Or if you like it sweeter, more sugar.
Add your noodles to the water.
Slice your green onions.
Drain your noodles. Really shake them & try to get the water out by tossing them in the air gently a few times.
Return noodles to pot and drizzle about ¾ths of the sauce over the noodles & toss. I reserve about ¼th of the sauce to drizzle over each person’s bowl when serving. Add green onions & toss. If you find it painful to watch your kids pick out each and every green onion, hold those back for YOUR bowl.
Notes
Sometimes I add thinly sliced bell peppers (red, orange or yellow) or bean sprouts. You can sautee briefly or add raw to warm noodles depending on what you like!
This afternoon I wrestled two tiny heads of red cabbage out of the garden. They’d stayed about the same size for two weeks now so I assumed they were DONE. Since all I had in my cupboard were some carrots, onions and a ginormous bag of CA grown garlic (COSTCO!!! wink wink), I looked on the internets and found this mayo-less slaw. You remember a few weeks ago I posted a mayo-friendly broccoli slaw. G did not like that one. Here’s this one, G. Just for you, Baby!
You need:
Looks like I am plumb out of maple syrup but I had another full one in the cabinet. Also, forgot to put the sesame seeds in the pic.
INGREDIENTS:
Slaw
1/2 a red cabbage (I used a whole one since my cabbages were so teeny tiny), sliced thin
2 medium carrots, shredded (I used 4 small ones)
1 small onion, sliced thin
3 green onions, sliced
Dressing
2-1/2 TBSP rice vinegar
1 TBSP maple syrup
1 TBSP crushed red pepper (OR hot chili paste)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp salt
2 TBSP toasted sesame seeds
1. Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Taste and adjust anything to your wildest desires! It will be kind of thick due to the sesame seeds. Yum!
2. Combine slaw ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle 3/4ths of the dressing over it and toss to coat. Add more if desired!
3. Let your slaw sit for about 15 minutes before serving if you have the time!
This morning Maddie was eating this dish (yes, for breakfast) and I remarked, “When I was a kid we didn’t eat pesto.”
She asked me what we ate instead.
“Oh, we ate Spaghettios, Fluff-N-Nutter sandwiches on Wonder Bread, Steak-ums, American Goulash (homemade Hamburger Helper), Campbell’s Tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches (on Wonder bread with Kraft singles and margarine). I could go on.
All that sodium, those chemicals & preservatives and look how great WE turned out!
If I’d known how easy this stuff was to make I’d have made it years ago. Try it – it’s very easy and beautiful and you’ll love the results. (Note to Libby: you can get all the ingredients at Trader Joe’s.)
All you need is:
INGREDIENTS:
30 large leaves or 60 small leaves fresh basil
generous pinch of salt
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
3 TBSP pine nuts, toasted
4 TBSP olive oil
4 TBSP parmesan reggiano, grated
1. Add basil, salt & garlic to blender and blend into a thick paste. You might find you need to add 2 TBSP of the olive oil to get it going.
I used coarse sea salt but I prefer using fine sea salt as the coarse didn’t chop up well in my blender and I got a few bites of it when I ate. If you have a powerful blender or food processor you’ll have no problem!
2. Add pine nuts and remaining 2 TBSP olive oil & blend some more. Add cheese and blend till you have a creamy pesto sauce.
Serve on pasta, as a pizza topping, smeared on crusty bread, or tossed in a salad!
Shock of shocks – both my kids love this! Even G loves it. Holy cow.
Add last 2 TBSP olive oil & cheese and blend until smooth & creamy.
Toss with pasta, salads or smear over crusty bread. YUM!
Notes
This recipe yields 1 cup of pesto.
NOTE: If you don’t use it all at once, store covered in fridge with a light coating of olive oil to keep it from turning brown. If it DOES turn brown, you can still eat it!! It’s just not as appealing visually…
Pesto can be frozen. Simply omit the cheese and freeze. You can add the cheese later when it’s defrosted.
Freezing methods: freeze (without the cheese) in tightly wrapped ice cube trays OR as dollops on a cookie sheet. If you use the cookie sheet method, be sure to wrap the dollops as soon as they’re frozen, really well in plastic and then in a Zip-Loc freezer bag. When you defrost you can add the cheese.
