Mama's Oatmeal

Mama's Oatmeal is full of lots of delicious goodies and a great way to start the day.

For my second pregnancy, we chose to go to a birth center for my prenatal care and the birth. It was a great team of two midwives, an OB-GYN and birth assistants. I loved the leisurely appointments that really focused on taking care of the whole person and the whole family. If you live in the Phoenix area, I highly recommend checking out Blossom Birth Center. 

In the binder of articles and resources from Blossom, there was a great recipe for Mama's oatmeal. It became a family favorite, and I made it at least a few times each week while I was pregnant. Over time we tweaked and perfected until we landed on our current recipe. We hadn't had it for a while, and decided to make it yesterday morning as part of our cleaning out the pantry, fridge and freezer effort. What a delicious and nostalgic treat. When I started making this, our toddler wasn't eating nuts yet, and she would ask for "hini, hini, hini" for tahini. Amazing that she's now able to clearly discuss "all the delicious goodies" in her oatmeal, and to list the ingredients one-by-one including "tahini'.

*start the recipe the night before*

Mama's Oatmeal - City Share Style (2-3 servings)

1 C Steel Cut Oats

Water

1 T Raw Apple Cider Vinegar

2 C Whole Milk

Pinch of Pink Salt

Dash of Vanilla

Small handful of dried fruit (raisins, cherries, cranberries or prunes)- optional

1 T Black Strap Molasses

2 T Butter

Pecans

Tahini

Soak the oats in water with the apple cider vinegar over night. In the morning, pour the oats into a fine mesh strainer. Rinse with water. Return the oats to the pot, add the milk. Bring to a simmer and add the salt, vanilla, dried fruit, black strap molasses and butter. Continue to cook until the oats are tender - about 15 minutes. Dish up into bowls. Add a small handful of pecans and 1 teaspoon of tahini to each bowl. Top with extra whole milk until it reaches the desired consistency.

How time flies!

We had a beautiful baby girl at the end of June. The doctors suspicions were correct-she was a big baby weighing in at 9.5 pounds. Luckily, I was still able to have the natural birth I was hoping for. I believe that eating right, prenatal yoga, and lots of walking gave me the strength to tough it out (along with my husband's support of course).

We have settled into family life here in Brooklyn. We enjoyed the bounty of the season's CSA vegetables, fruit, eggs and meat. I have been cooking less, and my husband has been taking the lead in keeping this nursing mama well nourished. I am amazed at how so many of you can prepare beautiful feasts night after night with a houseful of children. The meals I have made have been quick and simple which has not provided much fodder for new blog posts. But I have missed writing and being part of the blogging community, so I am planning on getting back into it.

There is a big change on the horizon for us. We are saying farewell to NYC and heading to Boston for a new exciting job for my husband. Stay tuned to hear more about the upcoming move and our efforts to create healthful meals in the midst of the chaos.

Salmon and Lentil Salad with Lemon Caper Dressing

The doctors have been warning me for a while now that we are going to have a big baby. I don't have gestational diabetes, but I think it's just in my genes that everything I eat goes straight to the baby.(Some people will roll their eyes when I complain about this.) I was almost 10 pounds when I was born, but my mom hadn't gained much weight. Her wedding rings were actually loose when she went into the hospital. Sugar, fruit and refined white stuff especially beef up the baby, so I have been trying to stick with a fairly high fiber and protein diet and to stay active with lots of walking and yoga.



One meal we especially enjoyed was a Salmon and Lentil Salad with Lemon Caper Dressing. It was nice and refreshing on a hot night. We simply layered some salad greens, cold lentils (but they could be served hot too), pan-fried salmon and topped it off with a delicious, tangy lemon caper dressing. It's a great low carb meal - whatever your reason. For an extra short cut, Trader Joes has some tasty pre-cooked lentils that are pre-seasoned. They keep for quite a while in the fridge, and are great to keep on hand for a quick meal. We like the seasoning they use, and used them as our flavor inspiration.

French Lentils
1/2 lb French lentils
1/2 T thyme
1/2 T oregano
1 t garlic powder
1/4 t salt and pepper
2 bay leaves

Spread the lentils out on a cookie sheet to check for pebbles. Place in a strainer and rinse. Place in a stockpot and add water to cover by an inch. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until tender but still firm.

Lemon Caper Dressing
2 T olive oil
1 t spicy brown mustard
dash of salt and pepper
1 T apple cider vinegar
2 T water
1 t capers
1/4 lemon, juiced
Extra capers for garnish

Whisk ingredients together to combine.

We enjoyed some extra capers sprinkled over the top of our salad.

This post is part of Ekat's Kitchen Friday Potluck, Designs by Gollum Foodie Friday, Fat Camp Friday, Susie QT Pies Friday Follow, and Ann Kroeker's Food on Friday.

Delicious Pulled Pork

Well, more time has passed than I intended since my last post. Pregnancy has just been more of a game changer than I expected. Luckily I am healthy and feeling well, but the doctor appointments, childbirth classes, prenatal yoga, etc really eat into blogging time. I know that this is only a taste of what is to come once the baby actually arrives. My due date is a week and a half away, so I thought it was a good time to check back-in with City Share.

Several weeks ago, before the spring vegetables were really showing up at the farmers' market, we had a great dinner that took advantage of some of the vegetables that store well over the winter. We got an acorn squash from the market and some spinach out of our freezer, and made some favorite dishes. We simply baked the squash and served it with some butter, and made some creamed spinach with some leftover cream cheese and half and half. As good as the vegetables were, the piece de resistance was some pulled pork inspired by a recipe in our Dinosaur BBQ cookbook. The meat was melt-in-your mouth tender and the sauce was a great combination of tangy, sweet and spicy. It was a delicious feast.



Pulled Pork inspired by Dinosaur BBQ

4.5 lb pork shoulder
1/2 can of tomato paste
10 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 C apple cider vinegar
1/4 C balsamic vinegar
1/4 C water
2 T ketchup
1 T spicy brown mustard
4 T maple syrup
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 t cayenne
1/4 t allspice
1/2 t salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Sear pork shoulder in a Dutch oven over high heat on each side. Remove the meat from the pan, and combine the rest of the ingredients in the pan. Add the meat back in and spoon the sauce over the pork shoulder. Place in the oven and cook for 2.5 to 3 hours. Flip over every hour or so. The meat is done when it is falling off the bone.

This post is part of Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday, Turning the Table Thursday, Jenny's Alphabe-Thursdays, Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life As Mom, Frugal Food Thursday, Recipe Swap Thursday at Prairie Story, and Simple Lives Thursday.

Steak, Rosemary Potatoes and Salad

I haven't posted in more than a week - already falling short of my goal to post at least three times per week. There are two reasons for my absence: I have been craving lots of raw foods and salad, so we have resorted to eating more out-of-season foods. I figure raw vegetables is a pregnancy craving I should listen to, but it doesn't make for interesting posts. I also have been reading the Steig Larsson books. Have you read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series? I got the series as a Christmas present, but just got around to starting it last week. It is hard to put the books down, and it is good that I'm on third (and last) book because it is interfering a bit with the rest of my life.


A couple of weeks ago at the farmers' market, one of the farmers was providing cooking advice to another customer on how to cook steak. His advice turned everything I knew on its head. He suggested first cooking the steak in a cast iron pan in the oven and then searing it. He gave a convincing explanation as to why this would cook the steak more evenly and keep more juices inside. I can't remember the details now.

We had a big thick 2 pound sirloin steak, and I tried cooking it at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. When I checked it, it looked gray and hardly cooked it, so I put it in the oven for another 15 minutes. I seared it for 3 minutes on each side, and it looked nicely browned. After letting it rest, we started to slice it and found that it was well done (instead of the medium I was hoping for), but it was still nice and juicy. I would try using this method again, but cooking it only for 15 minutes in the oven. My husband thinks its crazy, but I think I'll give it one more shot and see if I can convince him.

Have you ever tried cooking a steak in the oven first followed by searing? How did it turn out?

This post is part of SuzieQTPies Scraps of Life Link-up, and...

Weekend Breakfasts

I have fond memories of weekend breakfasts growing up. During the week we would generally eat some cold cereal with milk, but on weekends we would go all out. Without the pressure of having to get out the door to catch the school bus, we would spend time making all sorts of breakfast treats. My brother and I were in charge of the cooking, and if we were lucky Mom and Dad were in charge of clean-up. We made waffles, crepes, pancakes or French toast most weekends. We would top these with maple syrup or yogurt and fruit, and often have a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice on the side.

Fast forward to married life, and I still love weekend breakfasts. My husband doesn't have much of a sweet tooth, so now we tend to have egg based dishes such as frittatas or omelettes with a side of potatoes or bacon. Recently I have been craving French toast, but my husband will not eat it, so last weekend we decided to each make our own breakfasts.

I chose French toast served with blueberries and whipped cream and a glass of orange juice with seltzer. The blueberries were picked by my mother-in-law last summer and have been waiting in the freezer for a winter day to shine. I let them defrost and simply mashed them a bit with a fork. It was a delicious treat.

My husband chose scrambled eggs with ketchup, fried mashed potatoes, andouille sausage, and bread and butter.

As I write this, I'm realizing just how many of my pregnancy cravings are linked to foods with fond childhood memories. I wonder if that is a general phenomenon?

What are your family favorite breakfast traditions?

A Tasty Treat at Bedouin Tent

Friends have been really curious to learn about any new cravings or eating habits since I have been pregnant. Up until recently, I would respond that I didn't really have any cravings, but aversions to foods I traditionally enjoyed. I am a long-time coffee lover/addict, but once I became pregnant the smell of coffee was revolting. I've had trouble eating spinach, and several other things.

I am entering a new phase, not just food aversions anymore, but food cravings too. The first thing was Orangina. I could drink Orangina all day (but I don't). I have started making my own by combing a bit of orange juice and seltzer water. Then came the French toast, and tomato sauce (lasagna, pasta, etc). I normally like to eat new and different things each day, but now I definitely seem to lock in on a few tried and true dishes and want to eat them over and over. Very interesting to see how your body changes.

The latest craving is anything with chickpeas - humus, falafel, salad with chickpeas, etc. So when we were out and about the other day, I was on the lookout for a falafel sandwich for lunch. I was very pleased when we stumbled across Bedouin Tent, Mideastern Stuffed Pita. We peeked through the window to see someone making pita bread to order, and I was sold.

Inside the front door, the restaurant looks just like a take-out place, but if you walk past the kitchen you discover a charming dining room decorated to feel like a Bedouin tent. I guess they also have a charming outdoor dining section during good weather, but right now it is under a large pile of snow.

I ordered the falafel plate which came with humus (mostly outside the photo), a salad of lettuce, tomatoes, onions and green peppers lightly dressed in olive oil and vinegar, and freshly made pita. It hit the spot.

My husband ordered Lambajin which is described in the menu as a Mideastern Pitza with lamb, onion, tomato, parsley and spices. I was expecting pieces of lamb and vegetables, but was pleased with the savory ground mixture too. The crust was similar to an extra thick pita bread. The topping had a selection of spices we couldn't identify. It was a new flavor palette for us, and it took a bit of getting used to, but it was really tasty.

All in all we were pleased with our meal. It satisfied my craving for chickpeas, and it was really affordable. I think we will be back again. My husband says that he would recommend it to anyone.

News to Share

I haven't written a post in several months. I had the best of intentions, but I just couldn't do it. You see my husband and I learned right after we got back from our trip to England that we were going to have a baby. By the beginning of November, I had "morning sickness" around the clock and couldn't bring myself to smell food cooking, prepare food, read about food and definitely couldn't blog about any food.

I have to confess that I have been known previously to be judgmental of pregnant women I have seen eating x, y or z. I have thought to myself, "How can they feed that to their baby?" I told myself that I would eat only grass-fed meat, local vegetables and every other honorable, nourishing food for myself and the baby, but despite my best intentions I could only manage to keep ginger ale and saltine crackers down for weeks on end. I know this is the first of many expectations that will have to be adjusted. You know how people without children see children in public misbehaving and tell themselves that their children will never behave like that... I'm trying to start preparing myself now for the temper tantrums in the grocery store line.

We missed the boat on a winter CSA for both meat and vegetables, so upcoming posts will feature our efforts to eat nourishing seasonal meals that feature local foods. My energy is not up to pre-pregnancy levels yet, so I'm aiming to post two to three times per week.