Duh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh

You may have heard that San Diego underwent a great change over the weekend.  The town was overtaken by superheros, villains, fanboys, and just about every movie and television series you can imagine.

Comic-Con was in town.

Normally we avoid the downtown craziness like the plague.  (fitting since the area was overrun with zombies this year) But when Workwife invited us to join her for dinner and crazy-people watching on Friday we jumped at the chance. 


We met them at Tin Fish - which had been transformed into NBC's Grimm - a show Thatboy and I both enjoy. 

 

A forest filled with mythical (or maybe not so mythical) beings stood right next to the converted restaurant.  And the restaurant itself was forest-ified.

We sat underneath the moss covered umbrellas so we could eat and watch.  They were doing some sort of zombie/monster makeup, but we missed out while waiting for food.  Poor Thatboy.  He said that while he was waiting in line to order he had to physically stop himself from running off to get painted.  "I had to remind myself I was getting food for my family."

 

Surrounding us were a host of famous people.  Obi-Wan Kenobi sat at the table behind us.  You can see Wonder Woman here, and directly in front of us was a real live (or not so live) zombie.   And we watched even more zombies, super heroes, and comic book characters fill the streets.

And after dinner we headed to go enjoy a little piece of Comic-Con ourselves.  An exhibit of all the Batmobiles!  Like the Tumbler from the Dark Knight Batmans.

The "Keaton" batmobile from Batman

The "Kilmer" batmobile from Batman Returns

 

The "Clooney" Batmobile from Batman and Robin (my personal favorite)

And even the Batmobile from the television series!

I've always had a soft spot for Batman.  I'm sure some of it was due to Thatdad who was a huge Batman fan.  Part of it for me was also that Batman doesn't have any super powers.  The only thing that sets him apart from you or me is that Batman has a LOT of money, and some very cool toys.  And unlike Christian Grey, Batman doesn't use his money, power, or toys to abuse women.  So I guess he sets the bar pretty high.  The only thing Batman can't do is fly - which makes him even more like you and me.  But I have my own pretty cool toy - these feather biscuits are lighter than air.  And a bite or two and you almost feel like your flying.  Which gives you an advantage over my favorite masked man.

Feather Rolls (From the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)

1 pkg yeast

4 Tbsp soft butter

1 Tbsp sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1 egg

3/4 cup warm milk

2 cups white flour

1. Stir the yeast into 1/4 cup warm water and let it stand for 5 minutes to dissolve.
2. Mix the butter, sugar, salt, egg, milk, and dissolved yeast in a large bowl and beat until smooth.
3. Add the flour and beat vigorously until well blended.  Cover and let rise in a warm spot for about 1 hour.
4. Stir down and fill buttered muffin tins half full.  Cover and let rise for about 30 minutes.  
5. Preheat oven to 400.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Mommy Mondays: Baby Food

Thatbaby used to pull the cheese off his pizza, now I order him his own slice and he eats it like...pizza!

So the first requests for Mommy Monday information have to deal with the introduction of solids.  As I've mentioned before, we've chosen to do BLW - Babyled Weaning, so my experiences are specific to that.  I have no guidance for how to deal with purees - either making or feeding them.

Broccoli is still one of his favorites

Yesterday Thatmom came down for a visit and we went to the Farmer's Market and to lunch.  She brought up the topic of Thatbaby's eating and said she thinks that the way we introduced solids was so smart, convenient and the best way to do it.  A health care professional, she had never heard of Babyled Weaning when we started.  She was a little skeptical about it.  But now, after watching it in action, she is completely won over.

He likes green beans - even though they tickle his throat

We've really had a great experience with BLW.  Thatbaby just loves to eat.  There is very little he dislikes, although he certainly goes through phases where he prefers one food to another.  Right now he is a watermelon fiend. 

Thatbaby has yet to meet a meat he doesn't like

Eating with him is just so easy.  I've heard complaints about how difficult it is to find time to introduce solids - "Who has time to feed their kid 3 meals a day?  We can barely fit in one solid feeding!"  With BLW, we don't have to feed him, he feeds himself.  Which means he can join us in every meal without us having to do any work.  It makes sense from a busy parent standpoint.  And there's no extra time in making his food, I just make sure I make our meal large enough to feed 2.5

Corn on the cob tastes delicious, but is hard to eat.

There's also the benefits of cost (none) and caregiver ease.  I don't have to leave instructions or special food out for Thatmom when she sits.  She can just raid the fridge.  And his daycare providers love how great he is with food.  His love of eating makes him a very easy baby.  And although they also were unfamiliar with BLW when we first started, they quickly fell in love and want me to speak to other parents who are reluctant to move on from purees. 

With foods like yogurt, I put it on the spoon and hand it to him.  He loves yogurt.

In terms of introductions of foods, the benefit of waiting to introduce solids at 6 months is that you don't have to worry about introducing one food at a time.  The AAP has determined that the risk of allergic reactions is drastically reduced by waiting till 6 months when the digestive system is more mature.  Their new advice?  Just go for it - unless of course you have some sort of family history.  Which means, we didn't have to do one food at a time - Thatbaby started out with full meals!  And we didn't have to worry about strawberries or shellfish.  Thatbaby had shrimp during his very first week of eating - and loved it.  He adores strawberries and eggs - both of which we were able to introduce early on.  The only 2 things we've held off on are nuts and honey - and honey is because of the botulism risk - not for allergic reasons.  Basically what he's been introduced to has really been dependent on whatever Thatboy and I are eating.  Tonight he's having fried chicken and cornbread.

Thatbaby loves tomatoes - like his mama!

Cooking for Thatbaby has meant we've had to make minor modifications -
1) Salt:  Babies really need to watch their sodium intake - even more than you or I.  So everything Thatbaby eats is as sodium-free as I can make it.  I stopped using salt when cooking meals we'll share and Thatboy and I add it to our own portions.  If he wants a snack because Thatboy and I are snacking he gets Trader Joe's Freeze-dried fruits, which have nothing in them but fruit.  No extra salt or sugar.  (I keep an eye on his sugar intake too - but that doesn't really involve our cooking that much.  It does mean he doesn't really eat any processed foods.)

2) Honey:  As I mentioned, honey is a no-no for little ones under 1.  So while Thatboy and I use it for our tea, or a meal Thatbaby won't eat because of the spice factor, anything he eats we use molasses instead.

3) Spices:  Thatbaby is very intolerant of things that are spicy hot.  So if we're having something that uses a lot of tabasco, sriracha, chili peppers, etc. I make his portion before adding the spice in.  Conversely, since we don't use salt while cooking, I tend to throw in a lot of other spices like garlic, cinnamon, cumin, and basil.  So the food is still flavorful for him.

4) Presentation:  Beginning BLW the rule of thumb is to give all the food in a french-fry shape - long enough to stick out of their fist.  Because the pincer grasp isn't developed yet, they grab at the food.  In order to get it in their mouth, it needs to be larger than their grab.  And the french fry shape is perfect for holding and eating.  As their motor skills develop, this becomes less of an issue.  Small slippery things like grape halves Thatbaby has figured out that if he squeezes his fist with the right pressure will pop up to the top of his fist and he can eat it from there.  Pizza and tacos used to get dissected and then eaten, but now he has figured out how to lift the whole thing to his mouth and eat just like you and I.  He used to dump everything out of bowls, but now he eats right out of them.  It's been kind of fun to watch this progression. 

Sometimes BLW requires a little bit of brainstorming

BLW is very much a "learn as you go" experience.  It definitely requires patience and a certain amount of "let it go" attitude when food gets tossed to the floor.  I was very quick to tell his daycare that it didn't matter how much food he ate - and they've noticed that he eats much more now than the earlier days.  You find what shapes work best (like the corn pictures - Thatbaby couldn't handle the whole cob and got frustrated, so you'll see in the picture above we cut it down to something more manageable).  But in general, I highly recommend this method of solid introduction. 

Cheesing It Up

Most nights, Thatboy turns to Thatbaby and says "Do you know how lucky you are to have a mommy who makes us such elaborate meals?"

And then there are nights like this week where Thatboy turns to Thatbaby and says "Yum - soup!"  In an effort to clean the fridge of leftovers we're doing a lot of soups.  And salads.  And sandwiches. 

I kind of love having sandwiches for dinner every now and again.  And there's no reason why a sandwich can't be gourmet.  (Or a soup for that matter).

Prepared on fresh-made bread, even a grilled cheese takes on the air of sophistication.  Especially when made with white cheddar and pears. 

 Pear Grilled Cheese

2 slices of Graham bread (recipe to follow)

2 slices of white cheddar cheese

1/2 ripe pear, sliced thin

butter

1. Spread each slice of bread with butter on both sides.
2. In a skillet, toast the bread on one side.
3. Flip one slice of bread and place slices of cheese and pear on top.  Place other slice of bread, toasted side down on top of cheese and pear.
4. Brown sandwich and flip one more time, until both sides are golden.

Graham Bread (From the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)

1/3 cup molasses

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 pkg yeast

3 cups white flour

3 cups graham flour

1. Mix the molasses, salt, and 2 1/2 cups warm water in a large bowl.  Let cook to lukewarm.
2. Stir the yeast into 1/4 cup warm water and let it stand for 5 minutes to dissolve.
3. Add the dissolved yeast, the white flour and 2 1/2 cups of the graham flour to the lukewarm molasses mixture and beat well.  
4. Slowly add the remaining graham flour.  Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free environment until double in bulk.  
5. Beat again briefly and divide the dough evenly into two greased loaf pans.  Cover and let rise to the tops of the pans.  
6. Preheat oven to 375.  Bake bread for about 45 minutes  Removed from pans and cool on racks.

Life's a beach

Growing up, summers always meant I could look forward to vacations in South Carolina.  Mornings at the beach, afternoons at the pool, shopping, or on the water, and evenings gathered around the table eating the sweetest shrimp. 

We went shrimping so many summers, hauling home bags of the buggy-looking sea creatures.  Then we'd gather round the sink, pulling off heads, legs, and shells before tossing them with olive oil and seasoning.  Or of Thatdad had been successful with his morning fishing endeavors, tossing them into his shark based bouillabaisse.  And if he hadn't been successful, but we'd gathered enough welks, maybe our own version of conch chowder.

Now that we don't travel to the South every summer I have to re-invent those days myself.  Which isn't too hard to do in Southern California.  We can still hit up the beach just as often.  And this weekend we made a playdate out of it.  Thatboy's boss was due the same week as I was, so our kids are literally days apart in age.

I'm always on the lookout for future wives for Thatboy since most of our friends have boys.  And Lashes is certainly a contender.  I've given her the nickname to emphasize just how gorgeous her eyes are.  Perhaps not sure about how his daycare girlfriend would feel about him stepping out with another woman, Thatbaby was reluctant to engage, hiding in my lap for most of the time.  Eventually he came out of his shell a bit.  He's a good sharer - if he can do it on his terms. 

 And although we don't catch our own shrimp out here, the sweet summer shrimp are plentiful.  And we eat a lot of them!  This is a quintessential Southern dish, with a Californian flair.  Shrimp and cheesy grits - which is already a favorite of mine.  But dust the shrimp with some chipotle chile powder and they've got a truly un-Southern kick.

 

Chipotle Shrimp and Grits (From Sam the Cooking Guy)
2 cups milk
2 cups water
1 cup grits or cornmeal
36 shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons chipotle chile powder
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
Olive oil – about 2 tablespoons
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
Fresh ground pepper
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
Chopped cilantro for garnish

1. Combine milk, water & cornmeal – bring to a boil then lower heat and cook slowly, stirring often until thick – 15 to 20 minutes
2. Meanwhile, toss the shrimp with the chile powder, salt and olive oil – set aside
3. To the grits, add butter, salt, pepper and cheese – stir well and keep warm
4. Heat a non-stick pan on high and cook shrimp until they are browned in spots and cooked through, 3-4 minutes
5. Serve shrimp on top of grits with a little chopped cilantro

For All You Land Lubbers

I'm a member of a pretty amazing moms' group.  Thatbaby is one of the youngest in the group, but the moms are all about my age and all really fun.  We get together with the kids, without the kids, in large groups, or even just a couple of us at a time.  But up until this weekend, it's definitely been exclusive to us moms.

This weekend the whole family was invited to a Pirate Party hosted by one of the women in the group.  They had recently returned from a wedding in Barbados where they got to sail on a pirate ship and decided to bring the party home with them.

It was a chance for us to get together and for our husbands to better understand why we drop off the kids with them so we can escape into some margaritas.

The invitation said to wear your best pirate gear.  So we did.  Thatbaby was reluctant to wear his mask.

Poor kid.  It took him 9 months to figure out his parents are nuts.  You can almost see him begging for someone to save him.  Those poor tortured eyes.

I already knew the company would be great.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised that a bunch of fantastic women would have some pretty cool husbands.  And the food was phenomenal.  They served Caribbean chicken, rice, beans, rum punch, fruit, chips, salads.  Thatbaby gorged himself on watermelon which is his favorite thing right now.

My own contribution was in the dessert field - since you can never have too many desserts.  I decided that cupcakes, which are already a crowd pleaser, would be even more so if I kept them with the theme.  I decided on a nice, nutty pecan cupcake and paired it with a cream cheese frosting.  Playing around with food coloring and my little pirate man was born.

Almost as cute as the little pirates that were running around the party (newly walking babies are tough cookies).

Pecan Pirate Cupcakes

2 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/4 cup melted butter

1/2 cup chopped pecans

cream cheese frosting

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Place liners in  muffin pan.  Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl.
2. Add the egg, milk, and butter stirring only enough to mix.
3. Stir in the pecans.
4. Spoon into the pans filling about 2/3 full.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.
5. Cool completely and frost with cream cheese frosting.

So un-American

 I once spent the Fourth of July in Vienna. You'll probably be shocked to hear that outside of the United States, most countries don't celebrate our Independence Day.  I know.  So in Vienna there were no parades and no fireworks.  My friends and I gathered in a Irish Pub and did Tequila shots all night.  Happy Birthday America!  It was probably my most international moment.

This year rivals that memory in terms of really celebrating the Fourth of July.  We barely left the house!  When I asked Thatboy what he wanted to do on our day off he had one request - "Can we sleep in?"

Well, honestly - we couldn't.  Thatbaby wanted to get up and greet the day.  But by not making plans, we could ensure Thatboy sneak in some naptime during the baby's naps.  And I could get a run in. 

When everyone was up and showered we headed out to Lake Miramar for a little walk.  There were flags there, so we were totally patriotic.

 

The plan was to meet up with the K's at a nearby burger joint, because, as Thatboy pointed out, "Hamburgers are very American."  Then we'd come back to the lake for fireworks.  But the lake was closed to car access long before the fireworks and the burger joint was closed for the holiday.  So we had to make spur of the moment new plans.

Thank goodness for smart phones

Instead, we met the Ks at a nearby Thai restaurant.  Which is slightly less American.  But definitely tasty.  Thatbaby loved his first experience with Thai food as he gobbled up satay, pad see-ew, and steak salad.  We loved getting to see the Ks and spend time with their newest and smallest addition.  He's so much more awake and alert now than when we last saw him.

And instead of watching fireworks from the lake, we watched them from the restaurant parking lot.  Which meant no fighting crowds, no getting their insanely early to get a good spot, and no lines of cars in and out of the parking lot.

Most of us watched the fireworks.  The littlest members of our group were either sleeping or eating.

 

 To continue with the less-than-patriotic theme of this thread I leave you with a Mexican dish.  (I know, we've gone from burgers to Thai, to tacos, but bear with me - this one is good.)  Rick Bayless practically introduced a new type of Mexican to Americans - one that wasn't all about ground beef, hard shells, and refried beans.  Using fresh ingredients with tastes you may not expect - like the combination of pineapple and pork.  I actually made these tacos several weeks ago, but as I was making up our menu for this week I knew I'd be adding these on and thought it would be cruel of me not to share.  It's another one of those crockpot meals I've been trying to do more of lately.  Which means it's tasty and easy.  And there's nothing more American than that!

Smoky Pork Tinga Tacos (from Rick Bayless)

1 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1/2″ cubes
2 lbs. boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1″ pieces
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes with chiles
3-4 chipotles in adobo, sliced
1 TBSP adobo sauce
1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp dried oregano
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium white onion, sliced 1/4″ thick

1. Spread the potatoes over the bottom of a crockpot  and top with the pork.
2. In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, chipotles, adobo sauce, Worcestershire, oregano, garlic, onion, and about 1 1/2 tsp. salt.  Pour the mixture evenly over the meat and potatoes.
3. Cover and cook on high for 6 hours or low for 8-10 hours.
4. Serve with warm tortillas, cheese, and avocados for making soft tacos.

New Feature: Mommy Mondays

Inspired by Courtney's latest post asking for baby help I thought maybe I should add a new regular feature to the blog.  As much as this isn't a mommy blog, Thatbaby sure is making his appearance fairly regularly.    Because let's face it - with new little one in the house, there is very little else to report on.  Thatboy and I are insanely boring these days.  In fact, our "busy weekend" was basically just filled up with one playdate after another. 

So I thought I would take one day of the week and use it to address all the fun aspects of new mommyhood.  With all the other new moms and moms-to-be out there it's a little place where I can share my "what I've learned so far" in the hopes it can help others.  I don't represent to be an expert in anything, but I'm more than happy to share my experiences.

With that in mind, let me know if there's any topic you're interested in - pregnancy, labor, breastfeeding, baby products, whatever - and I'll try my best to address them.

But for now, I'll give you a little taste of where we are now.  Thatbaby turned 9 months last week. 9 MONTHS!  The 9 months when I was pregnant seemed to last for years.  The 9 months since he was born have gone by in a blink of an eye.

Weight: 19lbs 3oz (+ 11lbs 13oz)

 Height: 27.5" (+ 7.5")
Head: 18" (+ 4.7")

Sleep: For the most part Thatbaby goes to bed between 8 and 8:30pm and sleeps till around 7am with one wakeup between 2 and 4am where he eats, and then goes to sleep. He's had a couple weeks of congestion this month, which usually means disrupted sleep, but for some reason he's been sleeping really well even stuffed up.  Although we place him to bed on his back, by the time we leave the room he's on his side or his stomach.  Sometimes pressed up against the bars of his crib.

Eating: Apparently babies are supposed to drop feedings and/or space them out.  Thatbaby never got the memo.  He still nurses/gets a bottle every 3 hours or so during the day (more often at daycare) and is scarfing down 3 full meals a day.  This month his daycare has asked us to send in more food for his lunch since he eats pretty much everything we send in.  Which might explain why he's gained 4lbs in the past 3 months.

Best Moment: Definitely crawling!  And not just the crawling - now he comes to find us.  Which is my favorite.  I love when I hear his little "I'm coming to get you noises" and I know I'll see his little face coming around the corner any second.

Monthly Wisdom: This is my all-time favorite age so far.  I love the new mobility, I love the independence, I love the interactions.  He has so much personality and he's such a happy baby these days.  Except of course when he's the saddest baby in the world. I know a lot of people complain about having mobile babies, but this guy is so much happier now that he can get where he wants - which makes us all happy.

Goals for the Upcoming Month:
- Work on Thatbaby's social interactions so he's as fun with his friends as he is at daycare.
- Get Thatbaby to bed earlier (which means get dinner on the table earlier)

Things Thatbaby is doing:
- Crawling
- Pulling on furniture up to his knees
- Hiding his toys in little nooks and crannies.  He loves to put things in holes, underneath other things, in baskets, etc.
-Eating a ton of food.
- Bouncing/Dancing to music

A different kind of brisket

It certainly is a good thing I sent in banana bread this week.  Because my child?  Well, lets just say that he's been less than loveable lately.

Yesterday when I dropped him off at daycare he was sitting in his little "coffee clatch" with his friends as I put away his things.  As I put my shoes back on, about to leave, I watched him pick up a toy block, and throw it at one of his friends.  Whose child is this?  They moved him away from her and told him to be gentle as I cautioned him that if he wasn't nice to his friends, they wouldn't be his friends anymore.

When I went to pick him up, I got the standard report - "Thatbaby is such a happy baby!  He's always in such a good mood." 

"Oh good, does that mean he stopped throwing blocks at the other children?"

"He didn't throw any blocks - his new things is pulling hair.  He thinks it's hysterical.  And when we move him away he reaches for more - laughing."

When did my sweet little boy, who tried to cheer up his daycare girlfriend when she was crying turn into this little monster?

Thankfully dinners have not been as difficult as Thatbaby.  I'm really trying to utilize my crockpot more so that at least one thing is easy in my life.  Coming home and having dinner ready to go is one less thing I need to worry about.  We can get eating, Thatbaby can get to bed, and Thatboy and I can have some time to discuss the day.

It definitely helps that crockpot dinners can be just as delicious as those that you slave away all day making.  Which is understandable, since the food is cooking all day.  Meat becomes so tender it falls apart when you wave a fork over it.  I've never made brisket in the crockpot, but it's the perfect meat for it, something that deserves to be cooked low and slow.

When I have made brisket, it's fallen into one of two categories, a brisket roasted with onions, potatoes, and carrots from my Jewish heritage, or the corned beef variety from Thatboy's Irish heritage.  This one is a bit different.  It belongs to neither of us.  But since it encompasses some of our favorite flavors, it will quickly become ours.

Southwestern Pulled Brisket (From Lemons and Love)

3 pounds beef brisket
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 Spanish onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, with their juices
2 chipotle chiles en adobo
 2 bay leaves
3 tablespoons molasses
tortillas

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Season the beef with salt and pepper. Brown the meat on both sides (10 minutes total)
2. Transfer the beef to the slow cooker.
3. Add garlic, onion, chili powder, coriander, and cumin to drippings in the skillet and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. 
4. Add vinegar and boil until it's almost gone, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
5. Stir in water and pour the mixture over the brisket. 
6. Crush the tomatoes through your fingers into the slow cooker; add the tomato juices, chipotles, bay leaves, and molasses. 
7. Cover the cooker, set it on LOW, and cook the brisket until it pulls apart easily with a fork, about 8 hours.
8. Shred the meat with 2 forks and stir it evenly into the sauce; season with salt and pepper, to taste. 
9. Remove and discard bay leaves. Pile the meat on tortillas and serve.

A special treat for a holiday week

A couple weeks ago I made a banana bread. And it was good. Fabulous on its own, but even better with a little nutella on top.

There's just something about banana bread - don't you think?  It's like the chocolate chip cookie of breads.  Warm, comforting, and homey. The homey quality probably has a lot to do with the fact that Thatmom used to make banana bread quite frequently when I was growing up.  Studded with chocolate chips, there was always one in the freezer.  Even the smell of banana bread cooking brings me home.  I have a hard time not cutting into it as soon as it comes hot out of the oven.

I wanted to do something nice for Thatbaby's daycare providers.  After all, they do so much for him.   So as a pre-holiday treat I made the bread again and brought it in for them.  Thatbaby is already the favorite there, since apparently he saves his "saddest baby in the world" routine for us, but this certainly sealed the deal.

 Banana Bread

2 eggs, beaten
3 bananas, mashed
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. applesauce
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 c. chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a loaf pan.  Combine eggs, banana, sugar, and applesauce in an electric mixer.
2. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Mix thoroughly.
3. Stir in walnuts and pour into the pan.  Bake for about an hour.

He likes to move it, move it

About 3 weeks ago, Thatbaby decided he'd had enough with the sedentary lifestyle.  He started crawling. 

And crawling wasn't enough.  So excited to be mobile, he started with the other hallmarks of near-toddlerhood.  He started exploring.  Exploring our dvds, exploring the bookshelves, exploring under the crib.  So far he hasn't caused any trouble, but we know those days are numbered.  So we spent this past weekend baby-proofing.

Thatbaby was very helpful in the "keeping track of packaging materials" department

Gone are the days of open garbage cans and open bookshelves.  Now all our books and dvds are in fabric shelves.  Our garbage has a lid and stepper. The furniture is securely attached to the wall.  And all the cabinets are locked.  I only managed to break one the first night we installed them.  Obviously the kitchen is now Thatgirl-proofed too.

Don't worry, I can still work my way around.  I just have to remember not to yank open the doors.  Which means I can share in today's festivities with a truly All American dish.  Meatloaf.  It's one of Thatboy's favorites, and it seems like Thatbaby is following suit.  And while it may not be my favorite meal, sometimes I bend to the will of the majority. 

Happy Independence Day Y'all!

 Oatmeal Meatloaf

2 eggs beaten

1 can tomato paste

3/4 tsp seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

3/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

1/2 onion, diced

 1lb ground beef

1 cup of oatmeal

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine eggs, tomato paste, seasoned salt, garlic powder, and black pepper in a medium bowl.
2. Stir in peppers and onions.
3. Add beef and oatmeal and mix well.  Place in a pan and bake for 1 hour.

The rest of the recipe

I promised you yesterday I'd share the recipe for the fabulous brioche the chicken burger rests upon.  I'm true to my word.

I have a thing for egg breads.  Denser, richer, and seemingly more flavorful than your un-egged variety.  So brioche, with its golden yellow color is one of my favorite kinds of breads.  It's perfect for burgers, great for a grilled cheese or patty melts, and one of the best breads to use for French toast. 

Its versatility makes it ideal for just about any of your bread needs.

Brioche (From the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)

2 pkgs yeast

1 cup warm milk

2/3 cup butter

1 egg

4 egg yolk

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

grated rind of 1 lemon

5 1/2 cups white flour

1. Stir the yeast into the milk in a large mixing bowl and let stand for 5 minutes to dissolve.
2. Add the butter, egg, egg yolks, sugar, salt, lemon rind, and about 2 1/2 cups flour.  Beat thoroughly, then add as much of the remaining flour as is necessary for a dough that handles easily.
3. Turn out onto a lightly floured board.  Knead for a minute or two and let rest for 10 minutes.  Continue to knead until smooth and elastic.
4. Put the dough in a large, buttered bowl, over, adn let rise in a warm spot until double in bulk.
5. Punch down and let it rise again until slightly less than double in bulk, for a least 4 hours or in a covered bowl in the refrigerator overnght.
6. Butter a loaf pan and a 6 cup muffin pan and fill them one-third full.  Cover and let double once again.
7. Preheat oven to 375.  Bake bread, allowing about 2 minutes for the muffins and 45 minutes for the bread.  Remove from pan and cool on racks.

Shroomy Sandwich

This weekend we went to the fair.  I love going to the fair.  For so many reasons.

There are the fun exhibits.  This year the theme was "Out of this World" so lots of space type exhibits, black lights, and crazy lighting.  Thatbaby was fascinated.

He also loved the lights on the rides.  He's going to love riding them when he's a little older.

And it was fun to watch him see the animals.  He's been to the zoo a bunch of times, but apparently before he had real awareness of the lions and tigers and bears (oh my).  This weekend he stared open-mouthed at the giant cows and laughed at the antics of the goats.

Being at the fair wore him out.  Which meant he got a really good nap while we were there.  Long enough for us to indulge in our other fair favorite - the food.  The fried delights of the fair which Thatbaby really doesn't need to partake in.  We were glad he was sleeping.

Instead, we gave him faux-fried things.  Chicken patties patted thin and covered in a mushroom crust.  It has all the crunch of fried chicken, but far more figure friendly.  Thatbaby LOVES this, especially the arugula.  But we already know he adores greens.  I served this on some nice brioche slices.  I'll post the recipe tomorrow.

Mushroom Crusted Chicken Burgers (From Elly Says Opa)

1 oz. dried mushrooms (I used porcini)
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1.25 lbs. ground chicken
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 small shallot, minced
2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley
1 Tbsp. olive oil
4 slices Havarti cheese
4 burger buns, split and toasted
arugula, for serving

1. In the bowl of a food processor, grind the dried mushrooms to a coarse powder.  Reserve 1 tablespoon of the powder. Transfer the rest to a shallow bowl or pie plate and mix in the salt and pepper.
2.  In a large bowl, combine the reserved mushroom powder, chicken, Worcestershire, mustard, shallot, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste (I used about 3/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper).  Form into 4 equal-sized patties.
3.  Working one burger at a time, coat the outside with the mushroom powder, pressing lightly to adhere.
4.  Preheat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, and add the oil.
5.  Cook the burgers 4-5 minutes per side, or until the meat is cooked through.  Add the cheese for the last minute or two in order for it to melt.
6.  Serve the burgers on toasted buns, topped with arugula.