Recap

Well, I am finally getting around to posting about the last few weeks! Most of the things that happened here are out of order, but that's ok. I put the recipes at the bottom so if you are not interested, you can skip that part. It's now May 1st and baby boy Hunt refuses to make an appearance on his own. I will probably consider some induction methods this week . . . depends on how my Dr feels the baby is doing. So now he won't be an April baby- which I am actually kind of sad about. I have a May baby- Ada's birthday is in 2 weeks!

Speaking of April babies, here is a photo of our April birthdays celebration. Last year, a group of women in my ward started this awesome tradition- a bunch of them have April birthdays. So they do a 10$ gift exchange of items bought at West Seattle stores and eat out at a West Seattle restaurant. I took this photo after Ketsy had to leave. We had a great time, can't wait to keep this tradition up!


My birthday has been 3 days of fun- every day starting Thursday we thought "better celebrate tonight, who knows if I will be around tomorrow!" That made for some FUN DAYS! lol Mom and I are focusing on playing since there isn't a baby to take care of yet.
I really wanted a WinCo cake, so when I was there last time, I got one!! It was good for memories, but next time I think I will let those who offer make me something . . .

On my actual birthday, Ada made me a blueberry, blackberry, strawberry cake (she's hold "it") and Odessa gave me my favorite pipe-cleaner creation of hers. I got many other nice things for my b-day including shipped in Chicago pizzas from Lumanati's (Gino's East put me into labor with Ada, so Stephen was hoping . . . ) and a video phone to chat with the Grandparent Hunts, an egg cook book and a little shopping spree to body shop thanks to a great Groupon! Not to mention a couple dinners out . . .


Now on to Easter
The girls in their Easter outfits- their hair looked much cuter this Sunday with Grandma here to help : )

Remember last year? This will always be one of my favorite photos ever


Easter egg hunt!






Tulip festival in Skagit Valley:
We had the most perfect day. Stephen took Friday off work so we wouldn't have QUITE as many crowds to deal with as we would have on a Saturday. But it was Spring Break after all, so there was plenty of people to contend with. This is our third year going up to the tulip fields and usually we drive around, park for free where we aren't "technically" supposed to (don't want to pay for parking) and have never paid for the big garden admissions. This year, I wanted to do it the "right way" and so we paid for admission at Roozengaarde, a 3 acre garden complex with every tulip variety known to man (seems that way). You also get to walk around a couple fields of tulips. We all loved it.
After driving around looking at some of the other fields, we went into La Conner for lunch and found a cafe with patio seating where we enjoyed chowder and fish and chips. We got an ice cream recommendation and ended up eating cones, sitting in the sun and overlooking the river. That's when Stephen said "why don't I do this more often?" - meaning take a day off work since he NEVER EVER DOES. It was the perfect combination of amazing sunny weather, good food and great family time out of the city.





















Recipes:


Marrakesh Stew (I actually learned last week that Marrakech is a city in Morroco- thanks to America's Next Top Model! And I am not ashamed of that fact.)

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large red onion, diced large
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 4 large carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
• 3 3/4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 2 small eggplants, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 can (15.5 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• Cooked couscous (optional), for serving

Directions

1. In an 8-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 5 minutes. Add cumin, cinnamon, coriander, cayenne, and allspice and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add carrots, potatoes, and squash and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and broth (vegetables should be completely covered by liquid; add water to cover if necessary). Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook, uncovered, 20 minutes.

2. Add eggplant, stir to combine, and simmer until eggplant is tender, 20 minutes. Stir in chickpeas, season to taste with salt and pepper, and cook until chickpeas are warmed through, 5 minutes. Serve stew with couscous if desired.

(so this is the stew that Odessa loved and it was very good. We did serve it on couscous. I again subbed zucchini for the eggplant- too expensive.)


One of the main reasons I wanted to make every recipe from Everyday Foods issue 79 was the groups of recipes- crepes and versions of crepe recipes, frittatas and version of frittatas, and of course all those smoothies! What do crepes and frittatas have a lot of? Eggs of course! lol
Here are a couple of the crepe versions and 2 of the frittatas.

Crepes with vegetables and goat cheese

• 4 Simple Crepes
• 8 tablespoons crumbled goat cheese
• 2 cups roasted vegetables, such as bell pepper, eggplant, mushroom, and onion
• Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place 4 crepes on a rimmed baking sheet. Place 2 tablespoons goat cheese and 1/2 cup roasted vegetables down the center of each crepe. Season with salt and pepper. Fold edges over filling. Bake until cheese softens and filling is warm, 5 minutes.

We made 1.5 times the crepe recipe. We roasted bell pepper, mushrooms, carrot, zucchini, carrots and a potato sliced in wedges with olive oil in a 450 oven. We used white cheddar instead of goat because it needed to be used- these were very good, a big hit. The next morning we made the rest of the crepes with the batter and put strawberries, bananas down the middle with either vanilla-honey yogurt I mixed up or melted nutella drizzled on the fruit. DELISH!

Potato-leek Fritatta

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 leek (white and light-green parts only), halved lengthwise, rinsed well, and thinly sliced (1 cup)
• 2 cups cooked, cubed, peeled potato
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 8 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a 10-inch ovenproof nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add leek and potato, season with salt and pepper, and cook until leek is translucent, about 5 minutes.

2. Add eggs and ricotta, season with salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Cook, undisturbed, until edges are set, about 2 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until top of frittata is just set, 10 to 13 minutes. Invert or slide frittata onto a plate and cut into 6 wedges. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cook's Note

The frittata will appear to be mostly liquid on top when you transfer it to the oven, but as long as the edges are set, the eggs will finish cooking evenly.

Onion, Spinach and Bacon Frittata

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced (1 cup)
• 2 cups frozen spinach (from two 10-ounce packages), thawed and squeezed dry
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 8 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup crumbled cooked bacon (5 slices)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a 10-inch ovenproof nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and spinach, season with salt and pepper, and cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.

2. Add eggs and bacon, season with salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Cook, undisturbed, until edges are set, about 2 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until top of frittata is just set, 10 to 13 minutes. Invert or slide frittata onto a plate and cut into 6 wedges. Serve warm or at room temperature.

(both of these frittatas were huge hits- Stephen and I liked them and the girls really ate them well. I didn't substitute anything although I did add some cheddar cheese to the top of the spinach bacon frittata. We will be doing all these frittata versions a lot- I plan on making one strata or frittata a week to cut down on costs as we are getting 6-7 eggs every day).



Spicy Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried black beans, picked over, soaked overnight, and drained
• 2 large yellow onions, diced small
• 2 jalapenos, minced
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 3/4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 2 limes)
• Diced avocado, diced onion, cilantro, low-fat plain yogurt, and tortilla strips, for serving (optional)

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, cover beans with cold water by 2 inches. Add one quarter each of onions and jalapenos and bring to a boil over high. Reduce to a rapid simmer; cook until beans are tender, 45 to 50 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer 1 1/2 cups bean mixture to an airtight container. Let cool, then refrigerate, and save for Mushroom and Black Bean Tortilla Casserole.

2. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add garlic and remaining onions; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until onions are soft and golden brown, 10 minutes. Stir in remaining jalapenos, cumin, beans and their cooking liquid, and broth. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook until beans are soft, 20 minutes (if necessary, add up to 1 cup water to keep beans covered).

3. Transfer 2 cups soup to a blender and add cornstarch. Puree until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). Return to pot. Cook, stirring, until soup thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. Add lime juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. To serve, top with avocado, diced onion, cilantro, yogurt, and tortilla strips if desired.

Cook's Note

Instead of soaking dried beans overnight, cover them with cold water by 2 inches in a pot; bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit 1 hour. Freeze leftover soup, up to 1 month.

(this soup was so good. I didn't sub anything. We had avocado, sour cream and chips on top- yum!! I just cooked a great big batch of beans for this soup and the casserole below- we doubled everything in the soup, made the casserole a little bigger to feed everyone).

Mushroom and black bean tortilla casserole

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 pound cremini or button mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 1/2 cups reserved cooked black beans from Spicy Black-Bean Soup, or 1 can (15.5 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 8 corn tortillas, warmed and halved
• 2 cups salsa
• 1 1/4 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (4 ounces)
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until browned, 7 minutes. Add garlic and cayenne; season with salt and pepper. Add black beans and stir to combine. Cook until beans are warmed through, 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

2. Arrange 5 tortilla halves in a 2-quart baking dish. Top with half the bean mixture and 1/2 cup salsa, then sprinkle with one-third the cheese. Repeat with another layer of tortilla halves, bean mixture, salsa, and cheese. Top with remaining tortilla halves, salsa, and cheese. Cover with foil and bake until center is hot and cheese melts, 10 minutes. Uncover and bake until cheese is bubbling, 5 minutes.

(again, really liked this recipe. I liked the mushrooms as part of it, they were delicious. Didn't sub anything, just increased the amounts slightly to fill a 9x13)