Caprese Rice with Cannellini Beans

Active cooking time: 25 minutes

Total cooking time: 40 minutes

Serves baby and 2 adults 

Before Cai was born, we cooked with canned beans and ate them much less often. Now we avoid the sodium and preservatives - I've started cooking with soaked dry beans and am amazed at the freshness, the flavor and the resemblance to the fagioli [bean] dishes we’ve had in Italy. This recipe was also inspired by those carefree travellin’ days, when we swooned over buffalo mozzarella and its classic buddies – fresh basil and tomato. Prepare this dish and then set aside half the rice and beans for baby, while the adults dine 'alla Toscana'.

For the rice:

2 cups of brown rice, cooked [season adult rice with salt and pepper]

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar [optional]

1 large tomato [approx. 200 gm chopped tomato]

140 gm buffalo mozzarella, chopped or shredded*

30 gm chopped basil*

Sea salt

Pepper

For the beans: 

500 gm cannellini or white beans soaked overnight

Leaves from 3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme

Extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt

Preparation: 

For baby: Set aside half the rice and beans, and puree if necessary. This should be served with a cooked vegetable - broccoli complements the dish well, as does tomato and fennel.

For adults:It doesn’t get any simpler then this. Add the mozzarella, tomato and basil to the rice. Dress with olive oil and balsamic if desired [I sometimes find the balsamic overwhelms the other flavors, and prefer to leave it out]. Toss and add sea salt and ground pepper before serving.  

Add thyme leaves to cooked beans [beans will be amazing if still warm from cooking]. Dress with olive oil and sea salt.

The two dishes may be mixed together or served separately as shown in the photo on this page. Bon Apetito! 

*Instead of the mozzarella and basil, try this dish with feta cheese and fresh coriander.

Ramekin Dessert

The fantasy dish of working parents is one that requires minimum effort, but invites oohs, aahs and entreaties for the recipe. This dessert won’t disappoint, is as flexible as your changing pantry, and utilizes fruit peel leftover from baby’s meal to boot. Using the peels, fruit and any cookies or cake lying around the house, prepare a Ramekin dessert fit for adults.

Ingredients:

Fruit peel

Fruit

Cookies or ground almond

Liqueur or red wine 

Yogurt or unsalted ricotta

Sugar or confectioner’s sugar

Preparation: Layer the bottom of the ramekin dishes with any cookie, thinly sliced cake, ground almond or combination thereof. Pour a few teaspoons of liqueur such as Amaretto or red wine to soak. Add layers of fruit peel and fruit, and then top with yogurt or ricotta cheese. Sprinkle sugar on top and bake. Or, bake first, sprinkle with sugar and torch for a Brulee finish.

In the photo on this page: Ginger cinnamon cookies soaked in Amaretto, layered with pear peel, strawberry, leftover banana from Cai’s breakfast and ricotta cheese. 

Potato Peel is the New Black?

The poor, overlooked potato peel. Don’t ditch it – if your baby isn’t ready for vegetable peel, there’s plenty to do with this nutritious, flavorful appendage. Raw, potato peel can be added to any soup, frittata or savory pancake. Cooked and with a little of the meat still on it, you can really play around – add mayo and dijon for a potato peel salad, serve with sherry vinegar and salt as a tangy side, or layer it into any sandwich. And of course, what better way to use your potato peel than to sauté a batch in oil with salt and paprika for some homemade chips? There’s nothing you can buy in a bag that will ever match the fabulous freshness of these babies - see the photo on this page.

Mediterranean Chicken Bulgur Salad

Most of these recipes were born on evenings when no meal was planned. That meant rummaging through the pantry and seeing how dinner might be contrived. A few favorite ingredients to have around the house for such nights: fresh herbs, raisins, nuts, seeds and onion. These can add texture, taste and nutrition to family fare when it’s too cold and rainy to go to the market.

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Serves baby and 2 adults*

2 cups of Bulgur

2 chicken breasts from Basic Chicken Breast for Baby Recipe [see Dec 16, 2008 post] shredded or cut into 1 inch pieces

Extra virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup chopped scallion or red onion

1 chopped tomato

1 carrot, chopped

1 apple, chopped

8 pitted olives, chopped

1/2 cup seeds [like sesame and pumpkin]

1/2 cup shelled pistachio [optional]

1/2 cup of avocado [optional]

2 Tbsp sherry vinegar.

1/2 cup chopped coriander

Salt and pepper to taste

Coarse sea salt

Cook bulgur**, and while bulgur is cooking, prepare other ingredients as suggested below. 

For Baby: Remove half of the cooked bulgur, puree and set aside for baby’s lunch and dinner for the next 2 days. Bulgur should be served with protein and a vegetable. For older babies, no need to puree.

For Adults: Mix Balsamic vinegar with 1 Tbsp of lemon juice, drizzle over chicken breasts and set aside. Chop vegetables, and then add scallion, tomato, carrot, apple, seeds, nuts and olives to the cooked bulgur [better if added when bulgur is still warm]. Dress bulgur with remaining lemon juice, sherry vinegar and 1 Tbsp olive oil. Add salt to taste and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper. Add chicken, toss, sprinkle coriander on top, drizzle with olive oil and a few granules of sea salt. Serve at room temperature.

*To serve 4, add another cup of bulgur, two more chicken breasts, and double the seeds and vegetables

**Cooking bulgur depends on whether the grain is finely or coarsely ground. If there are no cooking instructions, start with 2-1 ratio of water to bulgur. Bring to a boil and simmer, but keep adding water if needed. Cooking time will be between 10-30minutes. Bulger should be soft and fluffy. It’s really hard to ruin Bulgur so if you’ve never made it, don’t be afraid to try. 

Fettucini with Chicken and Caper Ragu

Back in the days before we had a baby, my husband and I traveled to Italy at least once a year. Lured by the aesthetic wonders of Rome and Tuscan towns, what really kept us coming back was the food. Many dishes on this blog are inspired from those days, including this super simple pasta dish.

Active cooking time: 20 minutes

Total cooking time: 40 minutes

Serves 3 adults

3 chicken breasts from Basic Chicken Breast for Baby Recipe [see Dec 16, 2008 post] cut into 1 inch pieces

Olive Oil

3 garlic cloves

400 gm tomato paste*

2 cups water or broth

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

2 Tbsp capers

1 Tbsp brine from the capers 

1 Serrano chili, chopped [optional]

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation: Peel and crush garlic. Heat pan, add 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil.  When oil is heated, add garlic and saute until garlic starts to brown. Add tomato paste, chili, and then broth or water. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover pot and simmer for 30 minutes.  Add capers, brine and chicken. Mix in chicken, wait until heated through, and serve over fettuccini.  

*In the summer, use fresh, pureed tomatoes instead of tomato paste, in which case you’ll need to use less broth or water.

8 ideas to turn the Basic Chicken for Baby recipe into dinner for you, friends and family

Many mothers I’ve met tell me they don’t have time to cook for their babies. But what if you cooked just once for baby and adults in one go, increasing the amounts but not the kitchen time? Try the Basic Chicken Recipe for Baby [posted December 16, 2008 on this blog]. You can make a huge batch, freeze it for many baby meals to come, and make a fabulous dinner for yourself and your partner while you’re at it. Try one of these and let us know how it turns out.

1. Mediterranean Chicken Salad [see recipe posted on Dec 16, 2008]

2. Fettuccini with Chicken and Caper Ragu [see recipe posted on Dec 16, 2008]

3. For a taste of Austria, coat chicken with horseradish and dijon mustard, then serve with potato salad.

4. Serve over rice or couscous with a fresh salsa of finely chopped tomato, onion, coriander and lemon juice.

5. Use in any chicken salad recipe

6. Chicken Masala [recipe to come on this blog]

7. Sesame Chicken with Sake [recipe to come on this blog]

8. Curry Chicken Lasagna [recipe to come on this blog] 

Basic Chicken Breast for Baby

Cai loves food packed with flavor. This recipe uses no salt but the leeks and root vegetables give the chicken a savory, succulent kick. When served pureed with the root vegetables and rice, he devours it as if it's doused in honey.

Active cooking time:  30 min

Total cooking time: 1 hour

Don’t cook twice. Cook one recipe for baby, and then turn it into dinner for you. Use this and one of the "8 ideas" posted on December 16, 2008. 

Olive oil

1 Leek

2 kilo [4.4 pounds] boneless chicken breast 

4 - 5 cups of water or broth

Root vegetables, peeled* and chopped. [carrot, kohlrabi, potato, sweet potato, onion, fennel, turnip]

Preparation: Chop leek into thin slices. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in large pot. Add leek and saute for a minute. Add chicken breast, root vegetables and enough broth or water to cover chicken. Bring to a boil and lower to simmer. Cover and leave until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken and  allow vegetables to cook until soft. 

Remove half the chicken, puree and set aside for baby. Chicken can be stored and frozen in batches for future baby meals.  

Prepare second half of the chicken for adults - see '8 ideas' blog posted Dec 16, 2008. Freeze whatever you have left for future meals. 

Puree root vegetables for baby. Serve chicken, root vegetables and a grain to baby for lunch or dinner.

As for the broth:

1. Refrigerate or freeze broth for future use

2. Serve to baby lukewarm with noodles

3. Add salt, pepper and a dash of sesame oil and serve as rich broth to adults

*In an upcoming post, I’ll offer ideas to use the vegetable peel.