I had every intention of writing an interesting, witty blog post (ha!). Yet I found gorgeous organic basil at the farmer’s market and found myself taking a detour, making pesto while listening to Miles Davis
Sorry.
To make amends, I thought I’d give you a preview of our almost completed, newly organized pantry:
More on that soon!
For months I’ve been meaning to organize the pantry. To put spices and bulk foods into glass jars. To label everything. To toss the old stuff (like foods containing gluten, which we don’t eat anymore!). To donate our BPA-laced canned goods. To group similar items and reorganize where we keep pretty much everything. It’s such a mess in there.
Step 1: Gathering supplies
I’ve saved glass jam jars and their lids. We’ve bought giant half gallon Mason jars when they were on sale at our local hardware store. David and Miss Leyba picked out two liquid chalk pens at my request so I can easily mark the jars and the labels will easily wash off so I can relabel indefinitely.
Step 2: Getting started
I’m all set to start. What’s stopping me? Evidently I lack is the drive to get going. I still need to wash the mason jars and that’s really holding me back.
Now that I’ve posted about this, the pressure is on.
Ready, set, go!
Laughs. I’m still sitting here. Well, it was worth a try, right?
Stay tuned. I’ll post about my progress. Really.
On Fridays Miss Leyba and I try to do something new with just the two of us.
Today we made fruit crumble (based loosely on this gluten-free recipe). It just came out of the oven and smells heavenly.
Once Miss Leyba finishes reading to her baby doll, it’s tea party time!
Have a great weekend!
All super tasty, healthy and simple, most of them whipped up from random ingredients found in the fridge, but none of them perfect enough to post a recipe (yet).
Quinoa pasta with (leftover) grilled zucchini, chickpeas and garlic (ingredients assembled, ready to go in the sauté pan):
Salad with assorted veggies and grilled figs, purple potatoes, and grilled king salmon (definitely a meal fixed with leftovers, but the salmon was INCREDIBLE and we love grilled figs!):
Gluten-free pizza with pineapple and red onion for Mama / plain cheese for Miss Leyba (tastes SO much better on the grill; we probably won’t make this in the oven again):
Double potato frittata with arugula (too much potato, not enough arugula, garlic and cheese):
And, finally, here are the BEST recipes of the past week, both of which I’m looking forward to refining.
Salad of grilled figs, goat cheese, roasted almonds, and balsamic vinegar (a great example of using simple, high quality ingredients to create a phenomenal dish):
Chilled noodle salad with mango (recipe here, from Vegetarian Times. I have plans for making a more simple, fast and protein packed version. While delicious, it took me a full 45 minutes to put this one together… and, yes, I did have a toddler distracting me. You may be able to cook it in less.):
Yum, yum!
I’m a sucker for food that’s easy, tasty and healthy. We tried the Swiss Chard with Chickpeas recipe and, oh boy, did it fit those categories and, wow, did we love it! I almost threatened to arm wrestle David over who got to eat the leftovers for lunch today. (I gave in; he took them to work. Yes, I sound like quite the doting, loving wife, but really it meant I didn’t need to whip up something else for him to bring in!)
Here’s our adaptation of Real Simple’s recipe for you to try and enjoy:
Swiss Chard With Chickpeas, Pine Nuts, and Quinoa Pasta
Ingredients
1 8-ounce box quinoa pasta
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1 teaspoon to cover pasta after its cooked
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 15.5-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
1/2 cup raisins (dark or golden)
2 bunches Swiss chard, stems trimmed and cut in thirds
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Directions
Cook pasta according to manufacturers directions. Toss with a light coating of olive oil and set aside.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet or stockpot, over low heat, toast the pine nuts, shaking the pan frequently, until golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Return skillet or stockpot to medium heat, add the oil, and heat for 1 minute. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the chickpeas and raisins and cook for 3 minutes. Add the chard, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chard is tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Top the pasta, divided amongst four plates, with the chard and sprinkle with the pine nuts.
And for the kiddos adverse to wilted leafy green vegetables, you can serve them pasta with chickpeas (and a strip of nori on the side). “Yum, yum, delicious!” says Miss Leyba. Can’t argue with that!
I’m so looking forward to making this dish again. Here are some variations I’m excited to try: using spinach or kale instead of chard, almonds or walnuts instead of pine nuts, and substitute the quinoa pasta with cooked millet, rice, quinoa, or (as the original recipe suggests) couscous.
