at home with ann

Life is busy around here.  Now that Colin is on the move, I spend all my time chasing him around and holding his hands while he toddles.  I also try to prevent him from chewing wires, pulling all the paper out of the recycling bin, and licking shoes.  This means that my previous technique of preparing dinner in the afternoon while he played on the kitchen floor or in his exersaucer doesn't work so well anymore.  Leftover nights are my savior, but I still love to cook, and we still love to eat. Fish is great because it takes just a few minutes to cook, so I can easily make it after Colin is asleep and before Jon gets home. I love sandwich night because it also means I get to eat sweet potato fries, and I can't get enough sweet potato fries.  Cornmeal Crusted Tilapia 2 (or 4) tilapia filets 1 egg, beaten 1/4 cup flour 1/4 cup cornmeal 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning Salt and Pepper Canola oil, for frying Heat canola oil in a frying pan over medium hea...

My sister and her family came by for a quick visit last weekend on their way to Nantucket.  Amidst the craziness of a 6 1/2 and 2 1/2 year old who had been in the car for over 3 hours, they ate this quiche.  It met with positive reviews all around. This is a basic recipe that can be customized however you like.  I made it last year with spinach and cheddar, but really any combination of vegetables, meat, or cheese works.  Crustless Quiche with Goat Cheese and Tomato 6 eggs, beaten 1 cup milk 3-4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled 1 tomato, sliced 1 Tablespoon fresh basil, chopped 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped Salt and Pepper Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a 9 inch ceramic dish or pie plate with cooking spray, or grease with butter. In a bowl, whisk together eggs and milk.  Stir in herbs and season with salt and pepper. Pour into baking dish and crumble goat cheese evenly over the top. Lay slices of tomatoes over the top.  Attempt an a...

You know how when you order take-out Chinese food and you get way more fortune cookies than the number of people in your party?  The highly sophisticated formula for food per person used by takeout Chinese restaurants is a mystery to me.  Since we always order enough for leftovers, it's ok  to get four cookies for two people.  A few weekends ago we ordered from a new-to-us place that turned out to have extremely generous portions.  Our order of two appetizers and three entrees (we like variety) came with seven fortune cookies.  Seven.  We ate the food for three meals, Jon even had some for extra breakfast and we still ended up throwing some away, along with five of those fortune cookies.  The shame of ordering nearly enough food for a football team prompted me to make a little healthy salad for us to detox on Monday. Wheat Berry Salad 1/2 cup dried wheat berries, steamed - I soak mine overnight, and then simmer in fresh water for about an hour...

One Thursday a few weeks ago I went to the market, as I always do.  I carefully selected apples for the next week, inspecting each one to make sure they didn't have any bruises or weird spots.  On Monday morning when Jon was picking an apple to take with his lunch, they were all bad.  And not like, oh this has a little bruise bad, actively bad.  It was like some sort of apple gremlin came and ruined them all overnight.  I made an emergency trip to Whole Foods that day (and wandered around for an hour trying samples and getting things we don't need) to restock, and made apple bread with the reject fruit.  Apple Spice Bread adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour 1/2 cup all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon all spice 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 2 large eggs 1/4 cup canola oil 1/4 cup applesauce 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup granulated sugar 2 cups chopped apples...

For a family that loves tacos as much as we do, I can't believe I haven't made something like this before.  A layered casserole like lasagna, but with taco filling instead of marinara and tortillas instead of pasta.  Use whatever taco filling you like.  I chose ground chicken and onions and peppers, but any ground meat would work, as would beans, sweet potatoes, or tempeh. I went a little crazy buying corn tortillas because the package of 24 was on sale for 69 cents.  Needless to say, we had a lot to use up, and they aren't actually all that wonderful with tacos because they break and explode toppings all over your hands. They are perfect in this casserole, though. Taco-sagna Olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped 1 bell pepper, chopped 1 clove garlic, chopped 1 pound ground chicken 14 oz. can tomato sauce 2 Tablespoons ground cumin 1 Tablespoon ground chili powder 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper ~12 corn tortillas 1 1/2 -2 cups shredded cheddar cheese Toppin...

We've had these before , and they were even better this time around.  When I saw the mini eggplants in our CSA pickup a few weeks ago, my first inclination was to make mini eggplant parm, because that is by far the most searched recipe on my site.  I thought it might be ready for an upgrade, but then I got sidetracked, as I so often do these days.  In any case, these crispy eggplant bites are delicious.  We had them as part of a caprese salad, but they would also be excellent as an hors d'oeuvres with a tomato or pesto sauce for dipping. Crispy Eggplant Bites 3 small eggplants, cut into cubes kosher salt 1/2 cup flour 2-3 eggs, whisked 1 cup breadcrumbs 1 teaspoon Italian herbs (oregano, basil, parsley) Cooking spray Put cut eggplant in a colander and sprinkle with kosher salt.  Leave for at least an hour.  This takes out some of the extra moisture, as well as the bitterness.  If your eggplant are more mature, or have spent a few extra days...

I always thought corn chowder was kind of bland, which is why I hadn't made any yet this summer despite the abundance of corn.  But then, while flipping through the Pioneer Woman cookbook, I happened upon her recipe for Corn Chowder with Chilies .  Corn plus bacon, chipotles and chilies?  This was more up my alley.  I made it my own by subbing in the ingredients I had on hand (jalapenos instead of chilies and grilled corn instead of raw), and it was amazingly good.  It packed quite a kick, though, so much so that my brother-in-law, who ate a bowl after getting home late at night, was caught a bit off guard. He did confirm that it was delicious despite the somewhat mouth-burning quality. Between the time when I started writing this post yesterday and now we have picked up 8 more ears of corn from our CSA.  Might be making another batch this week.  Good thing I have a kitchen helper. Spicy Corn Chowder   Ingredients: 2 slices bacon, ...