Monday Night's Cuban Kitchen

Tonight for dinner I went with a Cuban theme. I'm always trying to come up with new flavors, new ideas that keep things interesting. Trader Joe's sells Cuban Black Beans ready to go. Easy peasy! I love that. Sure, I could soak black beans, then cook them, and probably make fifteen pounds for what I paid for the two cans - but sometimes it's a jarred pasta sauce night, you know? I never advocate for taking longer in the kitchen than absolutely necessary. Some short cuts are perfectly acceptable and absolutely delicious.

To accompany our cuban black beans (which have sea salt, lime, and cilantro, I believe), I made a coconut rice in the rice cooker. It was one can of coconut milk plus one and a half cups of water (for a total of 3 cups of liquid) added to a cup and a half of rice, plus 1/3 cup of sugar (optional). I kept a close eye on it, because it can scorch at the bottom with the sugar added - but there's just something weird about having coconut and it NOT being sweet.

On the side, we were supposed to have a ripe mango, but when I cut into it, it was brown. We were all very disappointed. However, a huge victory in the avocado department. I always buy three when I need two, because it's virtually guaranteed that one will be brown inside. I go for a slightly hard avocado and let it ripen on the counter for two to three days, which works well for us. Last night - aha! All three were fantastic!! My third daughter was gleeful and ate a whole avocado by herself (a favorite since infancy).

Always making an effort to try new produce, we decided to use a recipe in my new cookbook and have plantains. One ripened faster than the other, so we got a good mix of some that were sweet and some that were more savory. Everyone liked them except #3, who would much rather have another avocado. Dad was surprised at the taste, which we expected to be more banana-y, but was deliciously squash-like, slightly sweet, slightly savory. I squirted some fresh lime juice and a bit of sea salt on them out of the pan and it really heightened the sweetness inside. We'll do this more often!

For this photo, we have #4's plate - she's just 3, so she doesn't get a whole lot. The contrast of spicy beans, creamy avocado, and sweet rice made for a perfect meal!


Now, I don't normally make dessert. Growing up, my Grandma made it every night. I lived with her for several years and I am still in awe of her abilities as a cook. After a great, balance dinner, we would always have a freshly-baked dessert. Many nights it was pie, and it ran the gamut - everything from coconut custard to lemon chiffon (my personal favorite). She made cakes with the staple Dream Whip frosting and many recipes seemed to favor Jell-O products heavily. Since my girls can't have artificial coloring, I have to really do it from scratch, which means more kitchen time. Now, don't get me wrong. I love food, I love cooking. But, sometimes - with a toddler and preschooler underfoot - I don't love it as much.

Baking something like cake, which isn't something we should have every day anyway, is something I reserve for birthdays and special occasions. But, today, since Daddy was home, I indulged them a little and made coconut cupcakes. The frosting is non-hydrogenated shortening by Spectrum, which was accidentally purchased in mass quantity last winter, topped with some of the remaining shaved coconut in the pantry. I love using my Pampered Chef icing gun for cupcakes. We had a cup of Peet's decaf as well, which cut the sweetness perfectly.

Lunch

Lunch is the one meal that throws me a curve ball every week. I never want to spend time in the kitchen, dirtying the dishes, before dinner prep. So, I often rely on easy things like peanut butter sandwiches or pre-made frozen things. However, I'd much rather feed them (and me!) something healthy and homemade. So, we're trying to make sure that our dinners have some extra servings or have things we can carry over.

This week, I decided to grill extra veggies so that we'd have something quick for lunch the next day. I knew that the peppers, onion, and asparagus would be a great addition to pasta salad. I had a half a bag of heart-shaped pasta (half colored with tomato puree for "pink") left in the pantry from our Valentine's Day themed party last month. I added some Newman's Own Lighten Up! Balsamic Vinaigrette while it was still warm, then the leftover grilled veggies. To give it more crunch and texture, I added halved grape tomatoes, some freshly chopped green onions, and for creamy contrast some goat cheese on top. YUM!
(sorry the colors are off in this one - it must be a blogger issue! That looks pretty ugly on here!)

Brunch

On rare occasions, when Daddy is home in the morning, we make a big brunch. This weekend we were out of coffee and had to visit our local roaster and artisan bakery. The couple who owns the shop are some of my favorite people. I admire all they've accomplished just in the last five years. What was once a little stand at the Farmer's Market, giving out free cups of delicious coffee to the visitors, has become quite an accomplished business. Nearly all of their coffee is fair trade and organic, which is something we like to support (particularly with the volume of beans brewed in this house).

Today we're brewing the Breakfast Blend. We've cycled through a few different blends from Goshen, and have yet to be disappointed in a single cup. Our Capresso is a happy machine and we are happy campers. John also bought a loaf of their cinnamon brioche, knowing my love of all things eggy and bready. Matt, the oracle, commented to him, "Is there french toast in your future?"

Oh, Matt. If only you knew.

Today's brunch consisted of cinnamon brioche french toast a la Daddy. Having gone to the store in search of new produce, my oldest begged for Candy Apple Bananas (the mini Hawaiian variety). Yet, once again, the kids didn't like them. So, I thought I'd caramelize them to top our french toast this morning. Questioning the protein content of my kids' breakfast, I added some scrambled eggs to the side. And, for those who weren't too sure about the "yucky bananas," I added some big, beautiful organic raspberries. (The boy is a big fan of these lately).

A drizzle of real maple syrup, a dusting of "snow," and we were ready for breakfast.

Spark of Summer

Today's blissful 72° high begged the barbecue pit to be uncovered.

Not being one to want to disappoint, we had a lovely dinner with plenty of extra grilled veggies for tomorrow's lunch. We try to cook two to three times as much as we'll need so that lunch, or occasionally an extra dinner, will be taken care of for a couple days.

Tonight's dinner was big, fat, spring asparagus, orange and yellow pepper rings, onions, and a bit of zucchini - all tossed in organic extra virgin, cracked pepper, salt, and lemon zest (chef note: always buy organic if you're zesting it - you don't want the outside of a conventional lemon!) grilled to deliciousness.



In addition, we made my favorite warm potato salad with baby white creamer potatoes, sauteed onions, and the tart sweet dressing that is similar to German.


I also made baked beans with brown sugar and molasses.


I had made some marinated cucumber salad in rice wine vinegar, upon request, and we forgot about them in the fridge. So, they will be for tomorrow. Good thing they grow better with age.


Dessert was a fairly good miniature watermelon. It was a good day for the hints of summer to come.

WW Day 2

Our week isn't too terribly exciting. Here my oldest does her school work on the computer and the younger two clean up the books after reading time. The oldest is really struggling with the motivation and dedication to reading, so her new assignment is to read aloud to her siblings. This is working nicely, because she has to pronounce the words properly or they catch her on it - and she can't say she read four chapters and just skim. ugh. That one!

Winter Walk Day 1

DD is working on Time4Learning. We've just started using this online curriculum and all of us are very happy with it. It allows her to set her own pace (and sometimes she needs a little extra help). My older DD soars through her lessons, but they are far more diverse and interesting than I could have (or would have) come up with. I'm very proud of all their keyboard skills and computer skills.

DS is taking the opportunity to hit as many buttons as he possibly can on my computer, which happens any time he can get near a keyboard. Dh is working downstairs and we're waiting for a call-back from the doctor regarding his cast. DD 1, 3, and 4 are upstairs watching TV, playing, and reading, not in that order.