Baby Food

Two of our friends recently had a baby; and sharing certain core values with us, they were concerned about having time to cook.  As it turns out, that's a valid concern.  Newborns want to eat practically every time they wake up - and they take their time doing it.  Then they have the nerve to expect that someone will carry them around, doing the baby dance and patting them lightly on the back.

Simple as it seems, this routine makes everything I take for granted nearly impossible.  Pop in the shower?  Not til there's another competent adult to key an eye on the little one.  Throw  a quick meal together on the stove?  Suddenly a herculean feat.  Even assembling a simple salad becomes a rare treat.

 

What could be simpler than salad?  Tear some washed greens, slice some veggies, whisk a little balsamic and olive oil together, and toss.   It only took me a few minutes.  But for the tired mom who'd been microwaving stews and soups and casseroles all week, just having fresh raw veggies was bliss.  Three servings of bliss.

Bite-size Remodel

Gentle Reader,
If you are lovely enough to read both this blog for my anecdotes and my site of the same name for all the non-story information, prepare yourself for a shock.
At this very moment (actually, all moments but now - I'm doing this, now), Bite-size Green is being taken apart and reconstructed.  Unlike a kitchen remodel, there is no dust and no having to eat out for weeks while the construction and re-decorating take place.
The host I am migrating to (yay, Yola) lets me build all my new pages, style elements, and navigation on their server before I move the [extremely valuable, I'm sure] domain over.  In non-tech terms, both sites will exist separately until I press the button to make only one show up when you type the site name in.

While the remodel is underway, you can take a sneak peek by visiting www.greenbites.yolasite.com
If you get a chance, please look at both and tell me how you think the new one compares to the old (bearing in mind that styling, links and pages are still underway - it's a beta version, for another week or two).

• Do the main categories across the top work better for you than the long list down the left side?
• Do you like the overall look and feel?
• Is it easy to move around, and find what you're looking for, and go back again?
• Are there any crucial features missing?

Kindly provide your insights at your earliest convenience, with my gratitude assured.
I remain, as ever,
Yours

Carb-alicious

When I realized how much better I feel not eating wheat, at first I felt euphoric - such a simple route to better health.  But then the creeping fears of deprivation began to rear their ugly heads.  No bread?! No pizza?! No pasta?!

As it turns out, going gluten-free is sometimes an inconvenience.  Eating out requires more care; and some places just don't offer much worth eating that isn't served on bread or with wheat noodles.  Thai and Chinese restaurants are a blessing, but Italian joints are fraught with danger.

Rice, corn and potatoes fill the gap very well most of the time.  Polenta is fabulous, and thai rice noodles are marvelous comfort food.  Homemade bread has turned into a regular treat; and it makes better pizza toast than the frozen gluten-free crusts do.

But pasta stayed a real concern during the phase of trying out the fancy brands from various health food stores.  The poor texture, complex taste and tricky performance (easy to cook til it falls apart, and hard to reheat well) made me even sadder than the leaden quality of store-bought pizza crusts and bread loaves.

Finally we discovered Trader Joe's house brand of brown rice pastas - penne, fusili, and spaghetti.  I serve them to guests without bothering to tell them we're enjoying a gluten-free meal, because they can't tell the difference.  And neither can I.  The simple joy of just making a quick bowl of pasta with red sauce is mine again.  I am complete.

Soup Season

Winter may be mild here - no piles of snow, no ice storms, and hardly even a frost to speak of - but it's wetter and darker, and sometimes very windy.  Which makes me crave baked dishes, and soups.

Today I threw some organic russet potatoes in the oven, and then stuck a big pot of (rice pasta) penne with marinara, sweet Italian sausage, and grated cheese in to join the spuds.  While all that cooked, I put together a big pot of vegetarian chili and set that to simmering on the stovetop.

Since chili tastes bests the next day, I may pull out the leftovers of last weekend's comfort food, a marvelous, hearty split-pea soup.  And for more inspiration, I may search Create TV's archives for Jacques Pepin demonstrating how to make his quick and easy potato leek soup.

Honey Teriyaki Salmon

When beekeeper Wayne Pitts appeared on the Bite-size Green TV episode The Buzz about Bees, he was a marvelous guest.  He not only shared humorous anecdotes, facts, and photos; but he also provided a cooking demonstration.  Like many good cooks, he tried a dish at a restaurant and said, "I could make this."  The result became his Honey-teriyaki glazed grilled salmon.  Naturally, it's best if made from wild salmon and with honey from your own apiary.  If you can't become a beekeeper by suppertime, visit one at your local farmers market (Wayne can be found in Palo Alto every Sunday) and ask for a local variety.

Ingredients (to serve eight):

• One cup honey, warmed
• One cup teriyaki
• A large fillet of wild-caught salmon
• Fresh leaf spinach, in bite-size pieces
• Two types of fruit, in small chunks (or whole, if berries)
• Blue cheese crumbles (or goat, if preferred)
• Walnut bits (or other nut, as preferred)
  
• Cherries tomatoes to garnish
• A fruity vinagrette dressing

To prepare:

• While warming the grill, fold a double layer of aluminum foil into a tray, and pour a layer of glaze into it.  
• Place the salmon onto the glaze, and pour the remainder over the fillet.
• Close the grill and let cook approx 20 minutes (med. heat).  
• Check to make sure the salmon is caramelizing.
• While the salmon is cooking, arrange the spinach on each plate.
• When the salmon is done (and cooled, if you like), place a portion on each plate,  over the spinach.
• Add the fruit, nuts, cheese and garnish to each plate, and drizzle with dressing.
• Enjoy the quiet while everyone digs in.
  

More Produce, Less Plastic

Trader Joe's provides such a more enjoyable experience than most grocery stores, it inspires me to buy as many staples there as I can.  My willingness to choose them for fresh produce, however, has been limited not just to items unavailable at the local farmers' market, but also to items not ridiculously over -packaged in plastic.   Until recently, that left only a few offerings.

Over the last year or so, the stores in my area (always a qualifier, as stores vary by region, with localized offerings for some items - New England dairies on the East Coast, for instance) have transitioned to more and more un-packaged produce.  Where once were stacks of clear plastic containers holding six apples like a half-dozen red eggs, now there are apple bins.  Where once only bagged avocados or red peppers on a shrink-wrapped foam tray like a cut of meat, now these items two have bins.

TJ's really likes efficiency; and a key reason for the old presentation of produce was its choice to not slow check-out down by weighing any item.  In the new system, anything not sold in a bag or carton (such as pre-washed spinach or pre-cut fresh veggies) has a per-item price.  Each apple or banana or loose orange pepper costs the same as any other of its type, even if they vary a bit in size or weight.  As far as I can tell, this feature has not deterred the loyal shoppers.  It certainly has not me.