Tribeca Yummy Mummy

Last night I had a dream that I was too balanced… and had therefore become unbalanced.  Goodness, Autumn.  You are schooling me.

Thank goodness Anything Goes this week for Corner View, and I get to play catch up from last week!  Follow along with the rest of the laissez-faire Corner Viewers:

Our big cooking class is really beginning to find its groove.  This strata has many (easy) steps, and the mini-chefs seemed to each have his or her role secured in bringing it together.  The older ones helped the younger ones, and the younger ones generally smiled big smiles when they got their turn to do their important part of the cooking.

A mom asked me a couple of weeks ago how to get her older son to eat green things, or really just more veggies in general.  This is one of my responses.  Savory, satisfying things with plenty of greens and plenty of other child-pleasing flavors can ease a kid into collards, kale, spinach, or swiss chard- all of which can be used interchangeably in the recipe below.  For some reason, spinach and swiss chard are the greens to which most people seem to be receptive.  For me, it is a texture thing.  They are also slightly sweeter than some of the other greens, so start with them when you’re thinking about adding them to a your family’s palate.

Now, this strata is not your low-fat dish.  Note the cheese, eggs, cream, and whole milk, not to mention the optional bacon.  Do not skip any of the ingredients or try to do the low fat version, please!  It will not taste good.  As my Aunt Holly says about Fettucine Alfredo: If you are afraid to use lots of cream and butter, do not make an Alfredo.  Make marinara, and call it a day.  If you are a family that needs to watch fat intake, skip this recipe and go for a turkey meatloaf with greens or even an egg white frittata.  The lush quality of this strata, however, did bring a few new swiss chard eaters to our table, and it might just bring some to yours as well.

Swiss Chard and Cheddar Strata

• 1 T. butter, softened to grease the pan + 4 T butter, softened, to butter the bread
• 10-12 slices of sandwich-style French bread (pre-sliced), stale or dried out in the oven
• 2 bunches of swiss chard, rinsed well , patted dry, and chopped
• 2 red onions, about 2 cups, finely diced
• 2 T. olive oil
• 2 T. apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
• 3 T. apple cider (or apple juice)
• 1 1/3 c. cheddar cheese, grated
• 1/3 c. parmesan cheese, grated
• 7 eggs, room temperature
• black pepper, to taste
• 1 1/4 c. whole milk
• 3/4 c. cream
• 1/2 t. freshly grated nutmeg
• optional: 4 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled

1. Big Person: Heat the olive oil over low heat in a medium pan.
2. Add the red onion and cook slowly till the onion is pink and translucent.
3. Add the vinegar and the apple cider and cook another couple of minutes, till some of the liquid evaporates.
4. Add the swiss chard, turn the heat up to medium-high, and cook, stirring occasionally, till the swiss chard is bright green and slightly tender.
5. With your mini-chef, crack the eggs into a medium sized bowl (pulling out any stray pieces of shell that happen to find their way into the bowl); whisk the eggs and season with some black pepper.
6. Add the parmesan cheese, half and half, and the nutmeg.  Whisk till combined.
7. Butter the entire bottom and sides of a 9×13-inch baking dish.
8. Use the 4 tablespoons of butter to butter one side of the bread slices.
9. Place a single layer of bread slices in the bottom of your pan, buttered side up.  You may find that you need to puzzle the slices together, cutting some in half or in quarters to cover at least most of the bottom of the pan.
10. Spread half of the swiss chard mixture on top of the bread slices and top with a sprinkling of about half of the cheddar cheese.
11. Place another layer of the bread, buttered side up again, on top of that.
12. Spread the second half of the swiss chard mixture and the bacon if you are using it.   Sprinkle with remaining half of the cheddar cheese.
13. Pour the egg mixture over the entire thing.
14. Cover completely with plastic wrap and place a bag of rice or beans on top of the plastic wrap to weight it down while the egg mixture soaks into the bread.
15. Refrigerate for at least an hour and up to 10 hours.
16. When you are ready to cook the strata, Big Person, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Pull the strata out of the fridge while the oven comes up to the right temperature.
17. Make sure you take the plastic wrap off before cooking!
18. Bake in the oven for about an hour.  Cool for a few minutes and serve warm. Enjoy!

“This moment.  A Friday ritual.  A single photo- no words- capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.” – Soule Mama

Wishing you the sweetest of weekends, Yummies!

In America, we have begun the slow build toward the Holidays, and our cooking class’s focus has turned to building up a bit of a repertoire of special occasion dishes. Mini-chefs can help out with feasts when they know how to make a few staples that they are excited to eat with their friends and family.

While the mamas in the class love a beautiful green salad all done up in a lovely vinaigrette, the mini-chefs show very little interest.  Mini-chef T’s plastic turtle, Speedy, indicated that even he would have nothing to do with lettuce and the like.  To quote his owner, “He sees lettuce, and he just runs away!”

Pretty harsh words coming from a turtle.

It seems that, when it comes to making salads for the Yummies or for your pet toy turtle, it’s best to turn to the grain salad.  In class, we made up a big batch of leek, celery, and stock infused Israeli cous cous, mixed in some Macoun apples and dried cranberries.  To soften it up and give it a pleasing amount of tang, we added a warm cumin vinaigrette.

Our salad recipe could most definitely be included in your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners, but it also simple enough to  whip up for lunch with a soup or a sandwich if you have a special play date or company coming for lunch.  When serving to adults, I recommend including the scallions listed in the ingredients below but setting aside a separate bowl of scallion-less salad for more delicate, finicky palates.  Perhaps, after getting a few grain salads under their belts, one day the mini-chefs will evolve into eating green salads with aplomb.  Until that day arrives, get some of the goodness in tasty grain salads.

Israeli Cous Cous Salad with a Warm Cumin Vinaigrette

For the Cous Cous:

• 4 c. Israeli cous cous
• 5 cups of stock (vegetable stock is best when you serve at room temperature)
• 2 T. butter, olive oil, or a mixture of both
• 1 large leek, just the white and light green parts finely chopped
• 2 ribs of celery, finely chopped
• 3 medium apples, small to medium dice
• juice of half a lemon
• 8 mini-chef handfuls of dried cranberries (about 1 1/2 cups or so)
• optional: 3 scallions, root ends cut off and the rest of scallion chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste

1. Fill a small bowl with water, and have your mini-chef add the leeks to it.  They will soak there for a couple of minutes, cleaning off any dirt or grit before you add them to the cous cous.
2. Big Person: In a large, heavy bottomed pan over low heat, melt the butter or heat up the oil.
3. Add the leeks and celery and cook slowly, stirring from time to time, till soft and translucent.
4. Add the cous cous and stir constantly for about a minute, coating it with the oil from the leek and celery mixture.
5. Add the stock, turn up the heat to high, stirring a few times, bring the stock to a boil.
6. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, till the cous cous is cooked through and the stock has been absorbed.
7. Remove from the heat.

For the Vinaigrette:

• 3/4 c. canola oil
• 1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
• 1 T. cumin
• 1 t. cinnamon
• 2 heaping T. honey
• salt and pepper, to taste

1. In a medium saucepan, measure and whisk together all the ingredients.
2. Over medium-low heat, warm the vinaigrette for a couple of minutes, whisking it a bit.
3. Check for seasoning before pouring it over the cous cous.

To serve:

Gently toss together the cous cous mixture with the warm vinaigrette and serve immediately.  If you are planning on serving the salad at room temperature, then skip warming up the vinaigrette, and just toss together the vinaigrette with the cous cous and set aside till ready to serve.  Enjoy!

Following that sweet Soulemama…. “A Friday ritual- no words- capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember.”

And, wishing you a weekend of golden light, falling leaves, and encounters with interesting creatures!