Happy Halloween!

 

Wishing you a spooky, treat-filled Halloween! Boo!

Baby’s got sauce

My baby got sauce
Your baby ain’t sweet like mine
She got sauce
Your baby ain’t sweet like mine
She got sauce...

Sorry, couldn’t resist a little G Love and Special Sauce reference here.

James is currently experience one heck of a bout of separation anxiety. Poor little guy; Chris and I need to carry him constantly or he screams. He screams and wails and flails his arms and doesn’t breathe for 5 seconds. It’s a pretty rough scene, but soon he won’t want us to hold him at all, so I try to empathize while I do everything with one hand, like cooking and buttoning a shirt and putting on make-up — you get the picture; so dinner prep needs to be minimal and all done with babe on hip. Hence, stir-fries.

I have been working on and perfecting my go-to stir-fry sauce. We try to have some stir-fried greens (mustard, Chinese broccoli, kale, arugula, spinach) and a lean protein with brown rice (or my favorite pure-white, no-whole-grain-here jasmine rice) once a week. This is in no way authentic, but it is complex, crowd-pleasing and pantry-friendly.

 

Sarah’s oh-so-special sauce

enough for one stir-fry that serves 4 hungry bambini or adults

Ingredients

2 tablespoons tamari or low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon raw sugar or brown sugar
½ a lime, juiced
½ tablespoon roasted red chile paste
2 cloves garlic, grated on a microplane
1 thumb-sized knob of ginger, grated on microplane
½ teaspoon cornstarch (optional)

Directions
Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, whisk to break down sugar and chile paste.

Pour onto stir-fry ingredients once they are browned and fully cooked. Cook for 1 minute, until slightly thickened and glossy.  Serve hot.

Happy eating, -s.

welcome back. welcome back, welcome back, welcome back.

I've been away for far too long -- jeez, March was my last post. Really? And it was about booze; fitting given my current situation of being a working mom of two. Whew. Tired just typing that.

For some reason, fall, more than any other season, really gets me excited to cook. Maybe it's because summer is all about fast cooking; eating things in their raw state or quickly cooking them to just enhance their freshness. Fall means roasting, stewing, braising and slowing down. Slowing down ... that sounds nice!

My return will be a slow one. I don't have my cooking act totally back together, but I was so inspired by the market and what I accomplished in the kitchen this weekend that I had to share.

At the market:
Apples -- 6 pounds of glorious orbs: Macoun, Macintosh, Jonagold, Jonathan, Cortland and Spartan.
Apple cider
Arugula
Bell peppers
Carrot
Cilantro
English hothouse cucumber
Italian frying peppers
Mustard greens: purple and green mixed varieties
Sweet corn
Tomatoes: paste, grape and sungold
Parsley
Winter squash: butternut and acorn

What we're eating this week: 30 September 2012
Sunday: Turkey-ricotta meatballs with arugula pesto, homemade applesauce and roasted butternut squash

Monday: Greek-style chicken cutlets with feta, tomatoes and mint; served with whole-grain flatbread and hummus

Tuesday: Burgers on the grill; served carrot and cucumber sticks

Wednesday: Salmon with Indian Spices; served with basmati-rice pilaf

Thursday: Italian wedding soup with mustard greens and leftover turkey meatballs

Friday: Slow-roasted market-tomato and goat cheese pizza; pizza margarita for the kiddos