Eli’s Elegant Broccoli

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by Caroline

I won’t claim to take as much time with presentation as Lisa does, but Eli is either paying more attention than I thought to my small efforts or he is simply reading this blog. The recipe he invented yesterday (with production assistance from Tony) shows he’s as careful with style as substance.

The plan was for our regular rice with tofu and vegetables. I don’t make dinner often under even the best of circumstances; now, after a week locked into a bad head cold, I was just on the sidelines, listening, as Eli chatted about developing a new recipe for the broccoli. His first idea was to serve the cooked spears dipped in beaten egg. Tony balked. Eli cried. I thought about various other nice things into which one can dip one’s vegetables. There was a long conversation on the couch during which Tony successfully distracted Eli from his recipe long enough to return to cooking. We thought the recipe was forgotten, but I should have known my tenacious child would find a way to make his recipe work.

Dinner approached, and then Eli said, “I have another idea for my recipe!” I held my breath.
But in the end, it was OK.

Eli’s Elegant Broccoli

Prepare one head of broccoli by separating the spears and steaming lightly. While it’s cooking, melt a couple tablespoons of butter and let cook until it browns very slightly. Add a sprinkle of brown sugar. Serve in a shallow bowl with the broccoli spears surrounding it.

Now our proud boy wants to write a cookbook; I think we will.

Dinner for Three

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by Lisa

Finally, now that baseball is over, we’ve returned to eating dinner at the table.  And guess what? It’s nice.

This past weekend, my husband took a rare weekend away, so I was home alone with the kids for dinner on Saturday night. I cooked one of our favorite simple spaghetti recipes, made garlic bread, and added a side of broccoli romanesco, which I dress with salt, olive oil and white balsamic vinegar.  It probably would have been easier to put in a DVD and eat pizza, but I lit some tealilghts and we three sat together. Candles are a small , but significant detail, but on a cold, dark night, they turn even a simple table in to a poem. Also, they make the children calm down, focus, and feel like they’ve been given a special occasion.  Finn’s bottom stayed in his seat (not always the case), we had a nice little chat (not always the case), and generally had a very calm, relaxing meal.  It was lovely to remember what coming together around a table can be at its best: a time to be ourelvs fully and remember why we like each other.

Lemon + Honey

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by Caroline

It has been six days now since this cold clamped its vise grip on my head and chest, six days of trying to wash it way with gallons of tea, at first, and then just hot water with lemon and honey. Usually by this point in a cold, I’m tired of the drink and craving a milkshake (even though I know it’ll bring on a coughing fit) but not this time. Yesterday, I even hauled a pile of cookbooks into bed with me to read up on lemons, and found a chapter dedicated to them in the incomparable Laurie Colwin’s More Home Cooking. After detailing the various delicious things that can be made more delicious with the addition of a lemon (roast chicken; any kind of fish; lentils; salads; rice pudding; pound cake; biscuits), she writes:

“And when you have run out of things to cook with lemons, you can use them as medicine. When you or a loved one is sick with the flu, a very good remedy is

Hot Lemonade

For this you need one big water glass. Into the bottom of it put 1 large spoonful of honey and 1 cinnamon stick. Slice half a lemon into thin slices and put those in, too. Now squeeze the remaining lemon half, and 1 more lemon, and put the juice of both into the glass. Fill with hot water, stir, and serve to the sick person with the glass wrapped in a napkin.”

I can’t say it has cured me, but the cinnamon stick is a nice change of pace, and one I’m sticking with as I lie in bed, re-reading the rest of Colwin’s lovely book.

Sausage with Apples and Potatoes

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By Lisa

This is one of those fast and comforting foods you can be happy to serve on a busy weeknight or for an early afternoon Sunday dinner. It came about one day last winter when I was staring at what was left in my pantry and freezer. What spoke to me:  apples, potatoes, an onion, a pre-cooked sausage.  Since then, I’ve made the dish with chicken-apple sausage or kielbasa and both are good. It’s fast and needs little tending.  You can increase or–as we do–decrease the amount of meat to your taste, so it’s more of a flavoring/side accent.  My kids love all of it and I love that it’s a one dish meal.


Baked Sausage with Apples and Potatoes

Serves 4+

  • 1 link pre-cooked kielbasa or about 3 links of pre-cooked sweet sausage, about 3/4-1 lb total
  • 2 apples
  • 1 medium to large sweet onion (red or maui work best)
  • about 3 potatoes
  1. Core and slice apples into 6-8 wedges.
  2. Slice potatoes into sizes similar to apples.
  3. Slice onion into 8 pieces.
  4. Put potatoes and onion in oven proof casserole dish. Sprinkle with salt and olive oil. Bake at 350 until potatoes are nearly tender, about 40 minutes.
  5. Add apples and sausage to casserole, placing sausage on top.
  6. Bake until apples are tender/soft and sausages are well-heated through, about 20 minutes.
  7. Serve with your favorite mustard and a green salad with a mustard-based vinaigrette (white balsamic vinegar + mustard+ 1 smashed clove garlic + olive oil)

When not to eat. Or drink.

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by Lisa

Even though I’m late to the party, my kids are not. They were both born in SF, and have adopted the Giants with what I think is uncommon fervor, but really is not. Their enthusiasm has infected me, and when I called my sister and my mother for “urgent parenting advice”–that is, take them or not?–both said “ABSOLUTELY!”  So I did. Really, how often does your home team win the World Series for the first time in 50+ years AND get a ticker tape parade? Um. Never? Once in a lifetime?  In this way, historicity won out.  I consulted several friends who helped me plan a route and an escape plan in case things went south and we headed off.

Historically speaking, when I’m about to head off to a day-long excursion, on my own, with kids, into throngs of crowds, I pack a lot of food. Too much, really.   Heading out to the SF Giants Victory parade was no exception. I knew we had to leave early (7 AM), take a train, a bus, survey the gathering crowd, find a reasonable spot where we wouldn’t be crushed, and then wait. For 3 hours.   I figured we’d need lots of food while we waited (did I mention the 3 hours???) so this is what I packed to eat in my son’s large red backpack:

  • Pretzel logs
  • 3 apple
  • 1 persimmon
  • 2 turkey sandwiches
  • 1 pb & J
  • 6 or 8 Snickers & Reese’s peanut butter cups (thank you Halloween!)
  • 4 Granola bars
  • 1 liter water

What was amazing was this:  the early start meant we beat all the crowds, got on an empty train, easily hopped a bus, and got front row seats.  As in, this was our view of Willie Mays:

But what was nearly as amazing as that was this: I didn’t need everything I packed.  What was most important for that long wait:

  • sketch book
  • crayons
  • American  girl activity books

In fact, even though they got a little thirsty, I didn’t let them drink anything because there were no bathrooms nearby and I wasn’t about to give up our spots for a bathroom break.  I let them have very small sips, but not much.

The excitement and the crowd carried us through the hours and soon there was this:

And these guys…

The food only came in handy on the crowded train ride back, but even then we needed only:

  • the sandwiches
  • 3 candy bars
  • 2 apples
  • 1 persimmon
  • books +crayons

The lesson: the kids are bigger now. They are more portable.  Food no longer needs to be an activity. Give them a good breakfast, and one snack at something like this is probably enough. I can lighten my load. Go out in the world. Celebrate!

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