Pasta Primavera

Getting Vivi to eat veggies is an ongoing battle. Her repertoire is limited to the usual suspects of carrots, broccoli, and corn. We went through an avocado stage and a short-lived edemame stage. But they are now on the "I-don't-like-that-anymore" list. So we stick to what we know works. And what really works is mixing them with pasta.

And what's better than pasta primavera as a way to get your 5-year old to eat some veggies. The beauty of this dish is that it's the perfect way to use what you have on hand. No need to rush to the supermarket for specific veggies. Just empty the crisper. And in ours was carrots, mushrooms, broccolini, and Brussels sprouts. The mushrooms are sauteed with butter and garlic. White wine and cream get added and simmered while the veggies are blanched with the pasta in stages. Drain the pasta-veggie combo and cover it with the mushroom sauce. Sprinkle with grated cheese and watch your kid devour it. And Vivi didn't even realize she was eating Brussels sprouts!

Here's the recipe to use as a jumping off point. Just substitute the veggies with what's in your fridge.

2 tablespoons butter
1 (8-ounce) package fresh mushrooms, trimmed and sliced (we used button mushrooms, but shiitakes would be nice too)
¼ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup dry white wine
1 cup whipping cream
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
about 1 ½ cups broccolini, cut into 1 ½-inch pieces
about 1 cup Brussels sprouts, quartered
2 medium carrots, cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
1/2 pound of pasta (we used radiatori, cuz they're cute)

1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, ¼ teaspoon salt, and pepper; sauté 3 minutes. Add garlic, and sauté 1 minute. Add wine, and reduce liquid by half, cooking about 8 minutes. Add cream and, if desired, nutmeg; simmer 2 minutes. Remove sauce from heat, and stir in cheese. Set aside.
2. Cook pasta in boiling, salted water for about 4 or 5 minutes, or until al dente. Add broccolini and carrots, and cook 1 minute. Add Brussels sprouts, and cook 1 minute or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Drain, reserving ¼ cup water.
3. Return pasta to pot and gently toss with sauce, adding reserved water as needed for moisture. Sprinkle with more grated cheese and, for the brave, some shredded fresh basil (green flecks would never fly in my house!)

How we spent Earth Day

I know Earth Day was last week, but I wanted to post these pictures of how we celebrated Mother Earth. We got our hands and feet (Vivi!) dirty by tilling the garden. Unfortunately the tiller I rented didn't work as well as we had hoped (the blade-depth adjuster was broken and we could only go down a few inches), but it was great to stir it all up.

When we were shopping for houses last summer, we kept coming back to this one over and over. Part of the appeal was the backyard and the garden. Although nothing was planted in the garden (the previous owners had already moved out), the soil was just begging for some attention. So I was eager to get out there and start digging. Actually there is one thing growing: rhubarb. You can see the plants in the background of the picture. Anyone have a recipe for strawberry-rhubarb pie?

The garden is pretty big, and I didn't want to take on more than I could handle. So I only tilled part of it—20 feet by 25 feet, which should be enough space to plant the seeds I ordered: lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, Brussels sprouts, peas, and cucumbers. Some of these need to get in the ground right away, but before I plant anything I need to put a fence around the garden. I assumed I had deer nibbling at my tulips but I haven't seen any. Instead, I think we might have some hungry rabbits. So I'm not sure if I can get away with just a 4-foot fence or if I should go for the taller deer fence. Any suggestions? That's this weekend's project. Wish me luck.

Six-minute pork chops

Sunday dinner could not have been any easier (well, it was super easy for me since I didn't make it!). Fred made these delicious pork chops in less than 10 minutes. It's recipes like this that make is so easy for all of us to sit down and eat dinner together, which is a major challenge for us. Most weeknights I don't get home until close to 7 o'clock, and that's too late to start dinner and get Vivi to bed on time. So Fred whips up dinner for Vivi, and then I make something for me and Fred. It's a crazy set up. So I love it when we can make something tasty and quick and we all eat it together. This is one of those dishes that will work great during the week.

The seasoning mix is a combination of smokey cumin and sweet brown sugar. I got the recipe from the myrecipes.com newsletter. Not only did we love it, but Vivi ate an entire chop. I think the fresh, spring air is giving that little girl an appetite.

Check out the recipe (we doubled the original):

4 (4-ounce) boneless pork loin chops (about 3/4-inch thick)
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
3 teaspoons olive oil

Combine coriander, cumin, and sugar in a shallow bowl.

Sprinkle pork with garlic salt.

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat (we used a cast-iron skillet).

Sprinkle spice mixture over 1 side of pork.

Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add pork to pan, spice side down.

Cook 2 minutes or until browned. Turn pork over, and cook 4 minutes or until done.

Hello neighbor

Look who's been living in the backyard all winter. So sorry to disturb you, but....

Spring has sprung

This is our first spring in Copake,and we've decided to take a wait and see approach to planting. There are some beautiful trees and shrubs throughout the yard, and we're curious to see how they bloom. So we decided not to plant too much, and instead see what is already out there.

The first thing to show up--right on schedule--are the bulbs: crocus, tulips, and daffodils. They lined the stone wall along the driveway. Next came the forsythia, or floorslithia, as Vivi called it. She and I took a walk in the backyard on this rainy Sunday morning, and snipped a few blooms and branches to bring a little bit of Spring into the house.

Enjoy!

Swedish meatballs

I made these meatballs on Easter weekend, and I'm finally posting them. This recipe came via ivillage.com's daily What's For Dinner newsletter (full disclosure: I'm the editor of this particular newsletter, so I may be a bit partial to some of the recipe selections).

I made some minor tweaks to the recipe, such as using a mix of pork, veal, and beef and I used regular, unseasoned bread crumbs, which I added to the meat along with the milk. Otherwise, the recipe worked out great, and my five-year-old daughter gobbled them up. That alone is the best review a recipe can get. (Have you noticed that pictures of creamy sauces tend to be bit less appetizing than the food really is? Don't hold this picture against me, I'm figuring out the art of food photography.)

Here's the recipe.

1 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1 small onion, finely minced
1/3 pound ground sirloin

1/3 pound ground pork

1/3 pound ground veal
1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons flour

2 cups beef broth
1/2 cup sour cream

Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat and slowly cook the onion until tender and translucent, not brown, about 6 to 7 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, milk, meat, salt, allspice, pepper and nutmeg.

Stir the onions into the meat mixture and set the skillet aside without washing it.

Roll the meat into tiny meatballs, about 1 inch in diameter (if you wet your hands first, you won't end up with clumps of meat between your fingers).

Heat 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter in the skillet over medium heat and cook the meatballs in batches, adding a bit more butter as needed, until browned all over. (Don’t worry about cooking them through; just brown them lightly.) As the meatballs cook, lift them into a bowl to make room for the next batch.

Meanwhile, whisk the flour and broth in a medium bowl.

When all the meatballs are browned, return them to the skillet and slowly pour in the broth and bring to a simmer. Cook 7 to 8 minutes, or until the sauce thickens and the meatballs are cooked through. Stir in the sour cream and bring to a simmer to thicken the sauce a bit more. (You may want to take the meatballs out of the pan and put them in a serving bowl before stirring the sour cream through the sauce, just to make room for stirring. Then pour the sauce over the meatballs in the bowl.)

Serve with egg noodles or mashed potatoes and lignonberry sauce.