Gone Fishing: Starting Him Young

Well, Aunt Louise, you'll be happy to know that one of your shower presents is a total hit with our little peanut.


He loves "going fishing" with the wooden fish set.

...Even if going fishing means slobbering over every single fish he can get his hands on.


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6 Ingredient Butternut Squash Soup

There's one Butternut Squash Soup recipe that I keep going back to, and it just so happens to have only 6 ingredients (well, 7 if you include salt, but whatevs).


Despite its minuscule  list of ingredients, it tastes like it was made in some fancy restaurant served in tiny cups. And since the main ingredients are simply squash and water, it’s pretty healthy (we’ll just ignore that 1/2 cup of cream for the whole pot of soup, mmmkkaayy?).

The best part? With all ingredients included, the whole pot of soup only cost $5 (I am not kidding here!) to make.

Butternut Squash Soup
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated

• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter 
• 2 medium shallots , minced (about 4 tablespoons) - I've used onions in a pinch
• 3 pounds butternut squash (about 1 large), peeled, squash halved lengthwise, seeds and stringy fibers scraped with spoon and reserved (about 1/4 cup), and then cut into large-ish chunks (1-2 inches so iy won't take forever to steam) 
• 6 cups water
• 1/2 cup heavy cream 
• 1 teaspoon dark brown sugar 
• Salt, to taste

1. Heat butter in large Dutch oven over medium-low heat until foaming; add shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add squash scrapings and seeds and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and butter turns saffron color, about 4 minutes. Add 6 cups water and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt to Dutch oven and bring to boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium-low, place squash cut-side down in steamer basket, and lower basket into pot. Cover and steam until squash is completely tender, about 30 minutes. Off heat, use tongs to transfer squash to a separate bowl; reserve steaming liquid.

2. Pour reserved steaming liquid through mesh strainer into second bowl; discard solids in strainer. Rinse and dry Dutch oven.

3. In blender, puree squash and reserved liquid in batches, pulsing on low until smooth (or use an immersion blender, but a regular blender gets the soup much more creamy). Transfer puree to Dutch oven; stir in cream and brown sugar and heat over medium-low heat until hot. Add salt to taste; serve immediately.

The soup also freezes really well, so if you have leftovers, don't hesitate to throw them in the freezer for a night when you don't feel like making dinner.

Ever Heard of Kabocha Squash?

No?  Me neither.

Until last week.  We came across this squat little squash while on our weekly grocery store trip and decided to give it a try.

Excuse the crappy iPhone pic

After some quick Pinteresting (what did we ever do before Pinterest?  Google is *so* 2005), I narrowed it down to one recipe that I wanted to try...but I made a few changes.

How did it turn out?  Really good.  Like, shockingly good.  It's a bit like butternut squash but a bit more savory.  I would definitely get it again and maybe make it into baked Kabocha fries (recipes also found on Pinterest).

Thai Red Curry with Kabocha Squash

Slightly modified from the recipe linked above on chow.com based on what I had around or was able to find at Target, natch.

Ingredients:

• sesame oil
• 1 white onion
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
• 1 red bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed and cut into 1/4-inch strips
• 4 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
• ground ginger (original recipe called for fresh ginger but who has that on hand regularly?)
• 3 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
• 1 (13- to 14-ounce) can unsweetened regular coconut milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 medium kabocha squash (about 2 1/2 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
• steamed rice for serving

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and 1 teaspoon of the salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion has softened, about 6 minutes. Add the red pepper, garlic, and ginger (I used a few shakes of the spice jar), stir to combine, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

2. Add the curry paste, stir to coat the onion-pepper mixture, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the coconut milk, water, soy sauce, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, stir to combine, and bring to a simmer.

3. Stir in the squash, return to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium low, and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the squash is fork-tender but still firm, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Taste and season with salt as needed.

4. Serve immediately over steamed rice.

Possible Variations:

The next night, Hubs fried up some pork cutlets and mixed it with the leftovers.  If he wouldn't have done that, I would have pureed it into a soup.  It would also be great with chicken.  The original recipe called for lime juice and cilantro...which I had both of, but had to feed LO and forgot to ask Hubs to add.  FAIL.

Although...one word of caution.  Peeling that sucker is a pain in the you-know-where.  (Just like any other winter squash.)

We have a problem. Maybe two problems.

It's St. Patrick's Day, and since little man is officially 25% Irish (I think?), I felt the need to officially celebrate it in some way other than dressing him up in green all weekend.






Oh, who am I kidding? I just wanted an excuse to go out to eat. GUILTY.

We were on our merry old way to dinner (at 4:30, mind you) at Omega when Hubs suggested we go to Standard Market instead.

Yes, Theresa, I can practically see you rolling your eyes from all the way over here. And yes, we were just there yesterday.
Enter: Problem #1 - addiction to Standard Market.



But really, when given the choice between a typical Greek restaurant and one that serves THESE (Vanilla Cider):


...which would you choose?

So we ate. At 4:45 (the lunch menu was still up, people. Embarrassing.). But MAN was it good.


And the baby was happy because he was facing out towards the restaurant so he could see EVERYTHING.


...and now comes problem #2: Addiction to Shamrock Shakes.


Oh, yes. We did.

I'm pretty sure my stomach is dyed artificial green from the past 2 days.


Peanut does not approve.

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Shamrock Shakes + Target = One Happy Girl

This post doesn't really have any point other than to share pictures of food.  Just keepin' it real.

IT'S THE WEEKEND, Y'ALL!

Seriously, can he get any cuter?!

Hubs, the peanut, and I make a point of going somewhere every weekend.  Which, thank goodness, considering I am tied to my bedroom also-known-as office 5 days a week and like never leave the house.  These stretch pants are getting quite the workout.  Just sayin'.

Anyhow.

Today's trip consisted of Standard Market (duh.), McD's, Target (angels are singing!), and some random grocery store on the way home from Target.

Lamb? Dog? Either way, more impressive than Jewel.
But $25? NO THANKS.

So, the first thing I think to take pictures of on this little outing wasn't the baby (shocking, I know)...it was a flipping lamb cake.  And not one of those crappy lamb cakes you see at Jewel and wonder just how long it has been sitting there based on the fact that the jelly bean "eggs" are bleeding all over the huge mounds of frosting that are supposed to be lamb feet (and can someone explain to me why a lamb is sitting with "eggs," anyway?  I mean, I know it's Easter and all but you really don't need to make it look like the lamb just happened to lay a few.  You'd might as well throw some bunny ears on the thing, then.)  But I'm getting carried away (limited adult interaction, much?).  Check this thing out (uh, I think the picture is to the right?  Who knows what Blogger is doing anymore.):

So then, it only took me a nanosecond to spot the things right next to the aforementioned cake.

And before I knew it, I was saying, "Yeahhhhh can I have two of (pointing like my life depended on it) those things?  The chocolate Guiness caramel cupcakes?" :::Wipe drool off the counter:::

Then I had to do the sugar-induced walk of shame back to the cart where I quickly blurted out, "I had a moment of weakness...they were on sale...I don't know what happened..."

...and then Hubs asked what was in my right hand.  Apparently I had asked for a chocolate croissant split seconds before spotting the cupcakes from heaven.  It's all a blur and I clearly can't be held accountable.

Back in the car.  Baby is happy and babbling away, which means we are granted the luxury of going somewhere else. (My, my, how times have changed.)  Hubs almost passes McDonald's and practically flips the CR-V over trying to pull into the parking lot.  "SHAMROCK SHAKES!" he says.

I knew I loved this man.

Natch, I had to take some pictures.

"Oh my gosh I'm out of the house and have a Shamrock Shake AND am on the way to Target?!   BEST. DAY. EVER!"

Next stop, Target.  Because Hubs says peanut is getting bored with his toys. (Can a 6 month old get bored with toys?  I'm not about to question it when it means I get a guilt-free trip into Target.  "OF COURSE the kid is bored with his toys!  By all means, let's go to Target!")

$20 later (cheapest trip to Target I've had in months), we're back on the road with a baby with red-rimmed eyes who is STILL refusing to nap because he doesn't want to miss one. single. thing. ever.  And then we pass some sketchy market on the way home and Hubs decides to stop.  Because that's the type of things he does...and actually? I love it.  He creates adventures.  Even if it involves a 95 year old market that smells like bleach and fish (never a good sign).

We spot canollis (no idea how to spell that one, so I'm not even going to try)...again, I am taken over by a sugar haze.  Hubs is taken over by a German potato salad haze.  It's not pretty.

All of this to say, I probably should have bought this towel.

...because I'm pretty sure I ingested 4,000 calories today.  But at least I have some memories :)

Kale Chips | AKA my pathetic attempt at healthy eating

I know, I know. I'm about 5 Pinterest years late on the Kale Chips bandwagon. But with Operation Feed the Baby Real People Food beginning this weekend (ok, holdup a sec. When the HECK did this kid get old enough to eat actual food?! Please bring back my itty bitty baby!), I figured it's high time we learn how to cook some healthier foods around these parts. Because, ya know, baby probably shouldn't be eating pizza.

Enter kale chips.


By now, I've learned to take what I read on Pinterest with a grain of salt. Kale chips recipes were spattered with things like, "Better than potato chips!" "Husband kept asking for more!" yadda yadda blah. Whatevs. It was worth a shot considering kale costs like $1 and is some so-called superfood of the past and future.

The shocker? They were actually good, people. Really good. Don't get me wrong - these are not potato chips (I love me some sour cream & onion Lays), but for something that consists of nothing but a leaf and spices, I was shocked. I even caught us snacking on them when we would walk into the kitchen. (A drastic improvement upon previous habits which may have included grabbing 3 cookies at one time.)

Kale Chips
A ridiculously easy recipe

Ingredients:
A bunch of kale
Olive oil
Some random spices

Directions (I feel stupid even typing this out, it's that simple):

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Prep a cookie sheet with parchment paper and a wire rack (if you have one - just the parchment if you don't).

Wash and dry the kale. Rip it into chip-sized pieces.

At this point, most recipes said to toss the kale with 2 Tbsp olive oil. I'm a bit of a rebel (read: lazy), so I simply coated my fingers with some olive oil and rubbed it on the kale as I placed them on the cookie sheet/wire rack. Place them as close together as you can without overlapping them too much. Those suckers will shrink like you wouldn't believe, so don't be shocked. I had some that were overlapping a bit too much and they were still a bit soggy when I pulled them out.

Moving on.

Once they're placed on the rack/sheet, sprinkle some spices of your choice on them. I used chipotle, sweet paprika, and seasoned salt. (Go easy on the chipotle if you do this combo.)


Pop it in the oven for 20 minutes.


Done.


Hubs and I went to the grocery store last night. We went home with two bunches of kale. You should probably try making this. Your waist can thank me later.

...just don't chase them with Skittles like I did.

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Want to see what I've been up to?

I'm coping off of Theresa - blogging is hard work and there's so many other things I'd rather be doing.  Luckilyforyou, you can check up on me via my Instagram feed.

And maybe you should join me?  All the cool kids are doing it.