Summer Salad Series: Steak Salad with Corn Salsa

I'm serious. It's a blazing 72 degrees in Bellingham. I always joke that when the sun is out in The Ham, it's like you just handed everyone a $100 bill. People are so stinking happy.

Yancey is home recovering from knee surgery, and we're happy, too. The surgery went without a hitch, it was overdue, and he's mending nicely. And we've had the strangest couple days--just hanging out, doing puzzles (him, not me--I have ZERO attention span for puzzles), lolling about with the kids, family dropping by to bring food or say hello. I can't resist philosophizing here--it's too bad it takes a surgery for an unplanned weekend! We're pretty good about saying "NO!" to things, but still. I resolve to do LESS in the future. It's pretty great. Yancey's sister Kelly is here today kicking #%$ on the puzzle. Look at this sweet photo.

The biggest news around here might be that Wyatt is now riding around the neighborhood on his bike. Alone. And the shoes I just bought him are a size SIX. Get out. He is suddenly giant, witty, independent, and more engaging than ever. He took his bike out this morning and went garage saleing with his allowance. He bought a puzzle and a foot massager. He would grimace at me calling him cute, but God. He's cute. And mine. That is what's so crazy. He came from me.

I suppose I should get around to the food here. This site was down for a week (please say you noticed!) because of some technical glitches, and I'm all chatty now that it's up again. Sometimes I think, "Maybe In Praise of Leftovers has run its course." Then things happen to change my mind. Like it disappearing and me missing it. Or Jenny and Dusty bringing me cocoa nib shortbread from The Breadfarm and writing me a card about how much iPol has meant to them. Or Janie sending me an email and saying it's made her gluten intolerance so much more bearable. Or Emily saying, "Where did it go? It's a community service!" Ah. Happy to oblige.

Okay. Really getting around to the food now. Our new thing around here is salad bar. I cook, chop, and whisk some things, set them in the middle of the table, and wash a lot of dishes at the end. If you're into One Pot Meals, this probably isn't your thing. My Mom and I have always been into Thousand Pot Meals. Ask our husbands. 

There are going to be so many salads this summer that I can't see myself recording every single "recipe" or proportion. (Okay. I can see it. I just don't want to.) The great thing about salads is they're pretty hard to screw up. So I've decided to give myself a break and just post the ingredients, and by the end of the summer, you'll have lots of good ideas and you'll be proud of yourself for winging it.

For this salad, assemble something like this:

1. Salsa of cooked corn kernels (fresh or frozen roasted corn from TJ's), tomatoes, cilantro, basil, salt, olive oil, and lime juice
2. Avocado
3. Pickled or fresh red onions
4. Crumbled feta, cojita, or queso fresco cheese
5. Roasted or fresh poblano chiles
6. Greens (romaine, kale, beet greens, arugula, etc.)
7. Thinly sliced grilled steak or chicken (or leave meat out alltogether)
8. Dressing of lime juice, cumin, garlic, olive oil, and salt

Set everything out and let the fam or guests assemble their own. Mysteriously diappear when it's time to clean all the bowls. How I adore my home office.

Happy Summer, friends. I like being here with you.

Vietnamese Cucumber and Melon Salad with Peanuts

When I got home from my retreat last week, the fridge was bare. The kids and I had to go out for breakfast on Sunday morning for lack of fruit, bread, milk, or eggs. Amazing! Monday I could hardly close the fridge!

Once the grocery shopping is done, I often spend a good 2 hours in the kitchen--cleaning the fridge, consolidating boxes of crackers, freezing overly ripe bananas for smoothies, and washing veggies for the week. If I don't make time for this task (which, crazily, I actually LIKE), I am sure to be frustrated and impulse-eating by Wednesday. A giant bunch of unwashed kale taking up a whole shelf in the fridge isn't nearly as likely to be sauteed with eggs in the morning as a neat like bag of washed and chopped kale. I overestimate myself if I think otherwise.

This week, I cut up a cantaloupe and a pineapple. I washed two big bunches of cilantro and a head of lettuce, roasted a head of cauliflower, made a big batch of brown rice, and rescued half a head of radicchio that looked past its prime but actually just needed a little trimming.

I was famished by the time I was done. And of course, inspired by handling all those beautiful fruits and veggies. This salad is what I made for lunch. My goodness. It's not summer here in the Northwest, but this salad tricked me. Juicy, sweet, spicy, sour, crunchy. A delicious little number to bring to a potluck or BBQ and infinitely more fascinating that the other salads that might be sitting on the table. (I'm always looking for a chance to be popular. At least I admit it.)

Vietnamese Cucumber and Melon Salad with Peanuts
Gently combine about 1 c. each of thickly sliced cucumber, pineapple, and cantaloupe in a medium bowl. Add a good portion of cilantro (I used stems and all), mint leaves, celery leaves, thinly sliced red onion, and fresh chile if you wish. Add 1 Tb. sugar, a good jigger of fish sauce, salt, juice from half a lime, and about 1 Tb. of sesame oil. Combine gently with your hands, and scatter chopped salted peanuts over the top. Serves 1 famished Household Coordinator or 2 more petite eaters. Eyeball it for a crowd. 

Feeding Kids

Almost summer.All of us are ready, especially Wyatt, who's insanely jealous that Loretta's preschool ended May 23. 

And here's what snacksville summer will sound like:

Loretta: Mom, I'm hungry. What can I have?
Me: Fruit, yogurt, or a rice cake with peanut butter. Or a pickle.
Loretta: But what ELSE can I have? 
Me: What do you want?
Loretta (stomp of the foot): I didn't say I wanted a treat. Just what else can I have?
Me: You can't have crackers. You can have fruit or yogurt or a rice cake with peanut butter. Or a pickle.
Loretta (big sigh): Ooookaaay. I guess I'll have a banana. 

And, of course, I have reproduced for you one of the more successful conversations. Not the one where she waits till I'm on a conference call, waves fruit leather and animal crackers at me, I nod frantically, and emerge later to a pile of wrappers and sticky fingers.

I could really fill up this post with BAD news about childhood obesity and diabetes and all the ailments lying in wait for consumers of the Western diet. There's plenty of information out there if that's what motivates you.

What motivates me is family dinner time, my unabashedly favorite hour of the day. I've got a few tips, tricks, and credos that have helped me in my 9 years (!!) of motherhood, and the advent of summer seems a good time to pass them on. Like always, take my pontifications with a rather large grain of salt. These are what work for me, but we all have to find our own way.

1. Kids like interactive food. I have fabulous luck with serving things family style--lots of condiments, kids get to take the amount they want. Our latest thing is good old-fashioned salad bar. I've given several ideas at the end of this post. The best thing about this, of course, is that it's difficult to complain about something they've created! Genius.
2. Something they'll go ape for twice a week. I try to make something they'll unequivocally love about twice a week. That way, when they complain, I"ll say, "I'm immune to your complaints. We had pizza last night." I actually say that. I am mean. And what do they love? Potstickers and rice, pizza, tuna melts, any kind of pasta, BLT's, teriyaki chicken, tortilla soup, rice and beans, burritos, tostadas, panini, anything with meat.
3. Once a day treats. They get a treat after dinner (small dish of ice cream, piece of candy) only if they haven't had a treat already during the day. I am POSITIVE I don't know everything they've eaten and don't interrogate them, but if we've had something together earlier, they've been to a birthday party, etc., no after-dinner treat. 
4. Exposure to everything. My kids love sushi, pho, ramen, Korean BBQ, Mexcian food, dim sum, curries. Maybe they just like the BBQ steam buns and chow mein at dim sum, but they can see Yancey and I eating everything and that's important to me. (No chicken feet for me, though.)
5. Turtle shell. That describes me when they're complaining--impervious! Protected! Do I like to see them love my food? Of course. Do I take their tastes into account when menu planning? Of course. But I don't try to please them all the time and I don't take their complaints personally. Their abilities to adapt and be thankful are much more important.
6. Parties are a free-for-all. Birthday parties, BBQ's, family reunions...who knows what they eat!! I'm having fun with adults. I'm positive Wyatt has found a bush to hide in and chugged four sodas. Better than having a soda every day. Childhood has got to have some of these stories, right?
7. We don't eat meals in the car unless we are on a road trip. A few times a week, all four of us are home for dinner. But often, Yancey or I is at work, and it's just one of us with the kids. No matter what, whoever is here sits down and eats together. Quite leisurely, too. When Wyatt was in basketball this winter, we'd wait until the game or practice was over and often eat at 7:30 rather than get fast food or eat in the car. This takes planning, but it's worth it.
8. I want to be able to take my kids anywhere. Practicing manners and patience at the dinner table is a perfect place to prepare kids for more formal situations. (And, it must be said, my kids aren't toddlers anymore! That's a whole different ball of wax.) They are very capable of sitting still and making conversation. Plus, it's cute conversation.

And here are some MK family interactive favorites:

• Baked potato bar with roasted or stirfried broccoli, cheese, sunflower seeds, spinach, red pepper, cottage cheese, and bacon if we have it.
• Good old rice and beans (black or pinto) with cheese, avocado, salsa, cilantro, crushed tortilla chips, spinach or kale.
• Cobb salad bar with grilled chicken, bacon, avocado, tomato, feta or blue cheese, thinly sliced red onion, hard boiled eggs, and dijon vinaigrette
• Greek salad bar with cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, feta, grilled chicken, and grilled pita wedges
• Tostadas with refried beans, salsa, greens, cheese
• Grilled teriyaki chicken with rice, thinly sliced cucmbers, and toasted seaweed
• Whatever the *$# is in the fridge salad bar. Bacon helps the kids excited about anything if you have it.
• Veggie roll ups with hummus, shredded carrots, diced cucumber, feta, sunflower seeds, julienned lettuce, yogurt
• Spring rolls rice paper wrappers with rice noodles, peanuts, cilantro, julienned carrots, hoisin sauce
• Make your own pizzas on naan or pita bread. Tomato sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, thinly sliced peppers and onions

What are your no-fail family favorites?

Happy Summer, favorite readers. 

Dijon Sausage and Broccoli Bake

Friends! Family! Everyone About To Give Up On Me!

I am here, cooking, living, and opining, but you wouldn't know it to visit this site. I have always said this blog goes how my life goes. Which is to say, in spurts. I'm fine with that, and I'm glad you are too.

We are so blessed to be settling into Bellingham life. Each of us commutes twice a week to Seattle for work, which is turning out to be very doable. And we're living close to five grandparents, toting kids to soccer games and playdates, plotting the next phase of our remodel, and making friends. We are not, like so many people in the world, scrounging for our next meal or scheming about how to get our children medical care. We are not victims of political unrest or war. We are not waiting in long lines for fuel or applying for assylum. I'm aware, more and more every day, that our reality is not the world's reality. The fact that I can find time and bandwidth to write about food and community means I've been given so much. I just have to say this every once in awhile.

And I have to say, "One Baking Sheet!!" That's all you need for a great dinner. If you've got parchment paper, even better. Bon Appetit have a great feature on this that's inspiring. I've taken to roasting everything--sausages, fish, prawns, bok choy, broccoli, caulifower. Of course, there are the standards like peppers, potatoes, eggplant, onions, zucchini. I've heard Lynne Rossetto Kasper say that when she doesn't know what to cook for dinner, she walk in the door, turns the oven to 425, and then opens the fridge. I find myself in a similar pattern these days.

Depending on your ingredients, you can start things at different times (as I do here), separate them on the sheet if you don't want them mingled, or mix everything up and throw it in all at once. An essential tip is that the closer things are together, the more they will steam and not roast. They'll still cook, but without the delectable crispy edges.

My kids down the sausage, eat a good bit of broccoli, and usually leave the peppers for us. I've been around lots of picky kids lately, which has got me thinking about tips and philosophies for feeding children. Next post? See you then.

Dijon Sausage and Broccoli Bake
Serves 4 with some highly unlikely leftovers. Preheat oven to 425 and line a large jelly rolll pan (baking sheet with sides) with parchment paper or foil. In a large bowl, combine 6-8 fat sausages (Italian, bratwurst, etc.) with 2 coarsely chopped red, yellow, or orange peppers, a coarsely chopped onion, 1/4 c. olive oil, coarse salt, 2 Tb. coarse dijon mustard, and a squeeze of lemon or some lemon zest. Toss with your hands. Spread evenly on your baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, take a big bunch of baby broccoli, coarsely chop it (stems and all) and toss with olive oil (a couple tablespoons) and salt. Add to roasting mixture after it's been in the oven for 10 minutes, and roast for 15 minutes more, until sausage is bubbling and charred in places and everything's crisping up. Dump everything into a pretty bowl, put in the middle of the table, and serve with potatoes or bread, if you like. And maybe a dallop of dijon.

Pecan Sour Cream Coffeecake

Rich, Mary, and family came up last weekend. It's the first time we've been together in Bellingham since we moved. At our 800 square foot house in Seattle, all 9 of us in one place would have been physically impossible without a tent in the yard. It's hard to describe how wonderful it felt to host THEM, for once. The kids ran around willy nilly and we very loosely kept an eye on them while we drank coffee all day and caught up on months of news and musings.

Rich and Mary are one of my most appreciative cooking audiences. They swoon over everything and don't complain about the carnage I leave in my wake. I'm really, really speedy in the kitchen. As Yancey will tell you, that's partly because "Clean as you go!" is not a mantra of mine. (But I'm getting better. We've had the serious conversation where I say, "If it's important to you, it's important to me." That's marriage in a nutshell.) So Mary (cheerfully) did a lot of dishes. But with the walls we knocked down, it doesn't matter! We are still all together. Thank you, Universe, for this house and all the people it's hosted already. The fact that it's only half done hasn't stopped us at all.

I always joke that I'm not a brunch fan. Who would ever want to combine two meals into one?! Let's eat all three, at LEAST. But a weekend with friends is why brunch was invented--no one is paying attention to the clock, there's no pressure or plans, and it meant we could go out for "dinner" at 4:30 with all the kids. (Fiamma Burger, of course.)

I'll bet your mother or your aunt used to make a coffee cake like this--tons of sour cream, a layer of nut struesel in the middle. Nigella Lawson has a cake she calls, "Cut and Come Again." Cut some big wedges for brunch, leave the rest on the counter, and find a plate of crumbs at the end of the day.

Pecan Sour Cream Coffeecake
Adapted from Ina Garten. I used one cup of sour cream and one cup of nonfat Greek yogurt because that's what I had in the fridge. If you used all Greek yogurt, I'd recommend that at least half of it be the whole milk kind. And you could sub walnuts or almonds for the pecans.

For cake:
12 Tb. unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. sour cream (or 1 c. sour cream and 1 c. Greek plain yogurt)
3 extra large eggs at room temperature
2 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt 

For struesel:
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. pecans, finely chopped
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. cinnamon

For icing:
3/4 c. powdered sugar
3 Tb. real maple syrup 

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a bundt pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy, 4-5 minutes. Add eggs one at at a time, then add vanilla and sour cream. 

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Finish stirring with a spatula to make sure the batter is completely mixed.

For the struesel, combine nuts, sugar, salt, and cinnamon.

Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle the struesel topping over and top with the rest of the batter. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.

Let cool for at least 30 minutes, then turn out on a plate. Stir powdered sugar and maple syrup together. Mixture will be quite thick. Spread it on, and a bit will start to run down the sides. Cut and come again.