Beef, Lamb + Rice Meatballs with Mint Tzatziki

Soooo... I was on the fence about posting this recipe because the photos came out poopy soupy. We had friends over, I was rushing, and it was getting dark out, and all that resulted in some seriously lackluster food photography. But since the meal itself turned out so extra scrumptious, I figured I'd tell you guys all about it anyway.

We're hoping to buy a second income property by the end of the year (woohoo!), which means that we've been trying our best to watch our spending. Some weeks have been better than others, but overall, it's been a nice challenge to try and cook more budget-friendly meals. I probably only prepare meat about 2-3 times a week because it is so costly, and because even as a committed carnivore, I really don't feel that meat is necessary every single day. 

I had been in the mood to whip up some lamb meatballs, but since lamb isn't exactly easy on the wallet, I held back. And then it hit me that mixing beef in would not only make the meatballs cheaper, but it would also provide a milder flavor for those who tend to find lamb to be too gamey. Additionally, I tossed some rice into the mix to really make the recipe stretch. With just half a pound each of ground lamb and ground beef, I was able to feed 4 adults and 2 small kids. Genius, if I do say so myself. 

Although these meatballs were inspired by mediterranean cuisine, in no way would I consider them to be traditional or classic. Like most of my dishes, they're basically a result of a whole bunch of random ingredients thrown together. If you'd prefer to go all lamb or all beef, then go for it; these are virtually impossible to mess up.

Beef, Lamb + Rice Meatballs

olive oil

1 small or 1/2 of a large yellow onion, chopped

2 large cloves of garlic, chopped

1/3 c. of dried cranberries

1 1/2 c. of white wine

1/2 lb. ground lamb

1/2 lb. ground beef (chuck or sirloin, whichever you prefer)

1 1/2 c. cooked long grain white rice

2 tbsp. of pine nuts

2 tbsp. of chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 egg

salt + pepper

Sauté your chopped onion in some olive oil until it starts to become translucent. Add your garlic and cranberries, and sauté for 1-2 minutes more. Pour in your wine, and simmer on low heat until all of the liquid has evaporated. Put this mixture aside, and let cool.

Set oven at 375º. In a large mixing bowl, combine both meats, onion and cranberry mixture, rice, pine nuts, parsley, and egg. Season liberally*. Using your hands, bring all the ingredients together. Once everything is thoroughly combined, form the mixture into meatballs (I got 17 meatballs that were about 1 1/2 in. in diameter), and line them on a foil-lined and greased baking sheet. Bake until they're golden and sizzling. Timing will depend on the size of your meatballs; mine took roughly 20 minutes. 

Serve with Mint Tzatziki (recipe below) and some grilled or roasted summer vegetables. 

*If you're unsure about your seasoning, you can always fry up a mini patty to use as a taste test. Remember, you can always add more, but over seasoning is a tough mistake to fix.

Mint Tzatziki

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

1/2 c. of greek yogurt

1/2 c. of sour cream or creme fraîche

1 tbsp. of chopped dill

1 tbsp. of chopped mint

juice of 1/2 lemon

splash of olive oil

dash of salt

Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse a few times until combined. Pulse for longer periods if you prefer a smoother tzatziki. Refrigerate for a few hours/overnight before serving. 

Quinoa + Chickpea Fritters

Crapballs. I've been trying to keep up with this blog, really I have. If any of you follow me on IG, or came here from my last blog, or know me from here (is that a blast from the past, or what?!), you probably know that we've struggled with Cheech's bedtime since, I don't know, BIRTH. After almost two years of scratching our heads, trying to figure out why we had the only kid who could never manage to fall asleep before 8:30 pm, we gave up at succumbed to a 10-10:30 bedtime. This was challenging, but fine and it was manageable for us. In the past couple months, however, her bedtime has slowly been pushed back, and she wan't asleep until around midnight on most nights. This is all just to say that I've become incredibly unproductive as a result and, sadly, the first thing to suffer was this blog. Without getting too into it, we're trying to phase out naps now. She was sound asleep by 7:30 this evening, so if this can continue, I'll definitely be working on this space more often. Fingers crossed!

Anyhoo... Cheech is currently big on chickpeas, and whenever I see that my kid is obsessed with a healthy food, I try my best to add it to as many dishes as I possibly can. She's happy just eating them plain with maybe a little bit of salt sprinkled on, but that can get a little B-O-R-I-N-G for me. After using them in soups and pasta recipes, I wanted to try something new, and I remembered attempting to make gluten-free quinoa fritters for a gluten-free friend of ours a couple years back. The result was a complete failure. Without gluten to hold everything together, the fritters ended up totally falling apart as soon as they hit the hot oil in my pan. 

That experience was such a disaster, that I've spent the last two years steering clear of any type of gluten-free fritter. But then a lightbulb went off in my head. Perhaps the starchiness of a bean could do the trick! Maybe some mashed chickpeas could help bind my fritters. Well, I was wrong. Very, very wrong. I quickly realized that I was going to end up with the same fiasco on my hands, so I resorted to adding some panko to remedy the situation. It all ended up working out, but I need to give these another go because now I'm determined to make them gluten-free.

Don't get me wrong, these fritters were legit. I just wish this problem was a little easier to solve. I considered omitting the egg, but I fear they might end up too dry if I do that. I suppose I could simply consult the world wide web for the best solution, but I'm the kind of person who likes to assemble IKEA furniture without the handy directions included in the box, so I'll let you come to your own conclusions when it comes to my moronic tendencies. On that note, if any of you happen to know how to fix this dilemma, please feel free to share. 

Quinoa + Chickpea Fritters

olive oil

1/2 medium-large yellow onion, chopped

1 1/2 c. of chopped mushrooms (I used cremini/use whatever you happen to have)

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 large handfuls of baby spinach, roughly chopped

2 c. of cooked quinoa*

2 c. of cooked and drained chickpeas

1/2 c. of grated parmesan cheese

1 egg

1 tbsp. of chopped chives

1 tbsp. of chopped parsley

panko bread crumbs, roughly 1 c.**

salt + pepper

oil for medium-heat frying (I used walnut oil)

*I really like to toast my quinoa before cooking it. This is the absolute best quinoa-cooking tutorial, IMHO.

**Like I mentioned, I added the panko at the end to fix the recipe, so I didn't exactly measure. I'm assuming it was around 1 cup. It could have been a little more, or a little less. Once your mixture is a good consistency for forming patties that hold together, then you're good to go. 

Saute your chopped onion and mushrooms in some olive oil on medium-low heat until they start to caramelize. Add your spinach and garlic, and stir and cook until the spinach is wilted. Take your pan off of the heat, and let it cool. Using a food processor or potato masher (the latter will just take longer), grind your chickpeas into a thick and chunky paste. In a large mixing bowl, combine the quinoa, mashed chickpeas, parmesan, cooled mushroom and spinach mixture, chopped herbs, a generous amount of salt +pepper, and your egg. Bring it all together with your hands, and add the panko to help bind it. Form your mixture into little patties that are a touch smaller than your palm (I was able to get 17 total). Heat your frying oil in a shallow frying pan on medium heat. The oil is ready for frying once the fritters start to sizzle as soon as they hit the pan. Fry until golden, then flip to fry them on the other side. Make sure not to crowd your pan with fritters because it will make them harder to flip (these are delicate little guys). If you feel like they're browning too quickly, just lower your heat. Line them up on paper towels immediately after cooking to drain any excess oil. They're great served with a side salad, or just on their own with a dipping sauce of your choice. 

Herbed Burrata with Maple Roasted Mushrooms + Eggplant

I am an impatient person; it is the bane of my existence. I've learned to control it a touch more since becoming a parent, but still, it is a problem that I've dealt with most of my life and will probably continue to deal with until forever. And so every June when it is almost summer but not actually summer, I convince myself that it is most definitely time to start loading our market hauls with summer produce. And every year, without fail, I kick myself for not waiting the few extra weeks it takes for the absolute best tomatoes, stone fruit, eggplant, etc. This year was, of course, no different.

I love eggplant. I mean, I LOOOVE it and I want to marry it. It is the only vegetable I long for year round, and I anxiously await its arrival in the same way a kid anxiously waits for that last bell to ring before the start of summer break. Once its peak comes, I want to put it in just about anything you can imagine. I want to grill it, roast it, toss it with pastas and grains, stack it on crostini, use it in soups, you name it. Although I cherish its versatility, I'm also always taken aback by how perfect it is on its own without any bells or whistles. I don't mean to get all existential on you, but if there is a God, the creation of eggplant, not beer, is proof that he loves us and wants us to be happy. 

Back to my lack of patience. I made this dish a good three weeks ago and although it was overall great, the eggplant was a little lackluster, so I figured I'd hold off a bit before posting it. We brought some Chinese eggplant home this past Monday and it was superb; summer produce has officially arrived. You could really sub any summer veggies in this recipe and end up with splendid results. Make sure to use top-notch burrata, though. I could wax poetic about how burrata should only be eaten in Italy just as lobster should only be eaten in New England, but at this rate I'm getting to New England about 10x more often than I'm getting to Italy, so something's got to give. If you can, try and pick some up from a local cheesemonger or gourmet shop.

Herbed Burrata with Maple Roasted Mushrooms + Eggplant

1 ball of burrata, drained of its storing liquid

1 medium eggplant, cubed

1/2 red or yellow onion, cubed

6-8 cremini mushrooms, quartered 

olive oil

1 tbsp. of maple syrup

1 tbsp. of balsamic vinegar 

1 tsp. each of chopped basil, mint, and parsley

salt + pepper

Preheat your oven to 400. Toss your vegetables with some olive oil, the maple syrup, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper. Line on a pan and roast until caramelized (mine took about 30 minutes). Once cooked, serve in a bowl alongside your burrata. Top the cheese with your chopped herbs, and finish the entire dish with a drizzle of olive oil and some salt and pepper. Serve with some crostini or on its own. 

Lemony Cilantro White Bean Hummus

Holy Smokes! I didn't mean to start a blog and then slowly begin to abandon it. Long story short, we bought a duplex. We had some money saved + equity in our place and wanted to make a sound investment that would provide us with some extra cash flow (preschool ain't exactly cheap, guys). So Joe and I have basically spent the last month renovating a little cottage that was built in 1910. We'd drop Cheech off at school then head into a day of cleaning, painting, replacing floors, installing light fixtures and closets, mulching, you name it. The unit we've been working on should be ready to go and rented out by the end of the week. Thank God.

Needless to say, there's been very little time for cooking around here. We've enjoyed plenty of quesadillas and simple scrambles, but nothing that's actually worth photographing or writing about. I finally feel like I'll have the energy to catch up on my life though. I made this hummus with the intention of posting it over three weeks ago, but you'd be surprised how exhausting it is to renovate a place when you're on a serious time crunch. Most days, I'd pick Cheech up from school and stare into space while she played at a park for a couple hours before 8pm bath and bed for the both of us. 

Back to the hummus. This recipe was a bit of a happy accident. I had a pot of white beans on the stove that needed about another half hour of cooking when I put Cheech down for her nap one day. I accidentally passed out with her, and ended up sleeping for over two hours (see… I really have been tired). By the time I woke up, the beans had turned to total mush. They were unquestionably inedible in that state, but I hate, hate, HATE to waste food. I think my aversion stems back to my catering days of calculating food costs and learning to always utilize every ingredient to the last bit. Food thrown in the trash = money lost + socially irresponsible practices. In other words, no bueno. So I did what any professional cook would do, which is to turn a disaster into a success. Obviously, this hummus could easily be made with white beans that are cooked just right, but now you'll know how to save the day if you ever find yourself in a similar predicament.

Lemony Cilantro White Bean Hummus

1-1 1/2 c. of cooked (or overcooked) cannellini or navy beans

1 garlic clove

zest and juice of 1 lemon

1/2 bunch of cilantro, coarsely chopped

olive oil

salt + pepper

Mix the beans, garlic, lemon juice and zest, and cilantro in a food processor. Slowly drizzle in oil as the machine is going until you reach desired consistency (I added roughly a cup). Season to taste. Great as a dip for crackers, veggies, meat, etc. Or, slather it on a piece of toast topped with a 7-minute egg, like I did for breakfast 3 days in a row. 

P.S. This would also be fantastic with limes, but we were still suffering through the limepocalypse when I made it. 

Because it's Cinco de Mayo: Mexican Rice and Beans

I made a joke on twitter a couple weeks ago about how much Mexican rice and beans we eat, and I was surprised to see that quite a few of you had requested the recipes. Most weeks, I make a big pot of each and they end up being our filler meals. The two side courses actually make a great dinner on days when I barely have time to do anything besides stick a couple of bowls in our microwave. I also use the beans to assemble mini burritos to pack in Cheech's lunchbox for school, and the rice topped with a fried egg is one of my favorite breakfast options. They're both even great for adding to soups, together or separately, when I'm making some sort of kitchen sink version (try subbing Mexican rice in your chicken an rice soup the next time you make it; it's a nice twist). And I don't know if it's because 2/3 of this family has Mexican roots, but we surprisingly never tire of either dish.

Mexican rice, as most people are familiar with it, is white rice that is cooked in broth (typically chicken) with onions, garlic and tomatoes. Cumin can even be added if cumin is your thing. Traditionally, this kind is served in Northern Mexico (where my family hails from), and plain white rice is served in Southern Mexico. Also, it's obviously not called Mexican rice in Mexico. It's either referred to as sopa de arroz, or simply, sopa. There are a variety of ways to prepare sopa, including making broth-y versions and/or using fresh tomatoes. Although I really enjoy a broth-y sopa, I find that most people prefer it on the drier side, which is the result the recipe below will give you. I also never use fresh tomatoes. Partly because fresh tomatoes suck for most of the year, and partly because I like my sopa better without tomato chunks in it. 

Refried beans, which are more typical of Tex-Mex cuisine, aren't often served in traditional Mexican fare. However, since I am Mexican-American, I grew up probably eating more refried beans than the more common frijoles de la olla. And if you find yourself in Mexico with an order of the classic variety, you'll end up with something resembling a very smooth and dry pinto or black bean paste. My version is soupier and made up of pinto beans that are cooked in salted water with onion and garlic, and then fried and mashed with chorizo in chorizo fat (lard is more often used). Also, contrary to what many people think, there is no double or re-frying involved. Adding the prefix "re" to a word in Spanish is simply a way of adding emphasis. So if you happen to live in the Bay Area, refrito basically translates to "hella fried".

Mexican Rice

1 1/2 c. of dry long grain white rice, rinsed 

1/2 of one yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 c. of tomato sauce

1/2 tsp. of ground cumin (optional)

chicken broth (sub for water and use the measurement given in the directions of your package of rice)

small handful of cilantro stems

olive oil

1 1/2 tsp. of salt

Sweat your onions and garlic in some olive oil. Add your rice and sauté until it becomes fragrant (roughly 1-2 minutes). Pour in the tomato sauce and broth, making sure all the rice is submerged.  Add cumin (if using), salt, and cilantro stems. Once liquids start to boil, lower heat to a simmer and put a lid on your pan. Follow the cooking time given on your package. Once the time is up, turn your burner off and let the rice continue to steam in the pan with the lid on for an additional 10 minutes. Remove the bulk of the cilantro stems (whatever hasn't turned to complete mush), and fluff with a fork and serve.

Refried Beans

1 1/2 c. of pinto beans (no need to soak)
7 c. of water
1/4 of a white or yellow onion
2 smashed cloves of garlic
1/4 lb. of mexican chorizo
salt

Add your beans to a pot of water along with the 1/4 onion, 2 cloves of garlic, and a healthy dose of salt. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Top with a lid and cook on low heat until beans are tender (this will take about 2 1/2-3 hours). Once the beans are cooked, brown your chorizo in a fry pan. Drain your beans, making sure to reserved the liquid. Add your beans, onion, and garlic to the fry pan along with a 1-2 cups of the reserved liquid. Start mashing everything together with a potato masher while keeping the pan on medium-high heat. The longer you mash, the smoother and drier your refried beans will be. If they start to look too dry, add more of the reserved bean liquid (whatever is left can be disposed of). Salt to taste and serve.

Note: Both of these recipes yield a good 6-8 servings each, and they'll keep in your fridge about 5 days.

Fancy Wedge with Buttermilk Creme Fraîche Bleu Cheese Dressing

I'm not what you would call a salad person. Once in a great while I'll suffer through some sort of identity crisis and think that I could be a salad person, but without fail, I am always dead wrong. When people wax poetic about the large beautiful (they always refer to it as beautiful, for some reason) salad they had for lunch, I can't help but think that they are totally bullshitting me. I mean, yeah, I enjoy a well crafted salad as much as the next guy, but to have it be your entire meal just seems completely absurd to me. Maybe my appetite is off the charts, but if I were to eat a salad for lunch and only a salad, I'd be heading for some cheese and crackers within the hour. And it's not that I don't take pleasure in greens and a plethora of vegetables. Oh, I do! We eat LOTS of greens and LOTS of vegetables in this house, but I think I simply prefer them more in a supporting role.

This is not all to say that I will not be posting salads here. I will occasionally make a salad that I devour and am particularly proud of, and I'd love to share those recipes with you. Like this wedge, for example. We invited some friends over for dinner and we wanted to keep the menu from getting too complex, which can actually be challenging for us. I felt like serving a wedge salad, but also wanted something with a little more zest (after all, you have to impress folk who are coming for dinner at least a little bit), so I figured I'd take the traditional wedge just a few steps further. The result was glorious, and although I'm not convinced I would want to pull it off as a meal on its own, I will be making and serving it again, and again, and again.

Let's be honest. A wedge salad is not unlike a wolf in sheep's clothing. At some point in time, someone threw a whole bunch of really great, but possibly not great for you, ingredients on top of some iceberg lettuce and had the bravado to call it a salad. And good for that guy. Whatever you decide to add to your wedge salad, I think the key is always going to be a healthy slathering of creamy bleu cheese dressing. For supreme creaminess, you're going to want to let this dressing sit in your fridge for at least two hours, but overnight is best.

Buttermilk Creme Fraîche Bleu Cheese Dressing

1/2 c. of buttermilk

1/2 c. of creme fraîche

2 tbsp. of mayonnaise

1 tbsp. of balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp. of chopped chives

1 cup of crumbled bleu cheese

salt + pepper

Combine all of the above ingredients into a jar with a tight fitting lid, and shake the daylights out of it. Let it chill before using. Will last a good 4-5 days in your fridge if you have any extra, but I doubt you will.

Fancy Wedge

(serves 6-8)

2 heads of iceberg lettuce, quartered

2 8-minute eggs, peeled and chopped

6 slices of thick-cut bacon, fried and chopped

1 c. of halved cherry or grape tomatoes

1 tbsp. of chopped chives.

bleu cheese dressing

salt + pepper

Arrange your iceberg wedges on a platter. Top with your bleu cheese dressing. Sprinkle remaining ingredients on top of dressing and finish off with some salt and pepper.

Buttermilk Lamb Chops

We're not what I would consider to be big on Easter in this house. Cheech and I usually celebrate with my family in LA the day before. And by celebrate, I mean we have an egg hunt and a piñata for the kids, and we BBQ. More than anything, it's a time for my mom's side of the family to get together to share food and to drink. It's typically an exhausting day filled with lots of catching up, so by the time we get home to Oakland the next morning, I'm really not up for doing much. And in true Easter fashion, that's exactly how yesterday went down. Joe finished up some work on our bathroom renovation while I cleaned up around our place a little. 

This year, I decided to at the very least start making some sort of traditional and festive dinner so that we could sit and have just a small celebration at home as a family. More than anything, Easter has always felt like the true arrival of Spring to me. Extra sun and longer days are things that are nice to recognize, especially considering the warmer weather always inspires us to grill. 

Knowing that I'd want to take it easy, roasting a ham was out of the question. I'm not a stickler when it comes to long-established customs (note: Christmas Burgers), so I was more than happy to stray from the norm.  Lamb felt like the next best option, and there are few things that are more effortless and quicker than lamb chops.  The recipe below is a slight alteration on traditional yogurt-marinated lamb. I had almost a quart of buttermilk in my fridge, and I figured it would be a perfectly fine replacement for yogurt. The result was quite enjoyable, and I'm tempted to marinate everything in buttermilk now. 

Buttermilk Lamb Chops

5-6 single cut lamb rib chops

3/4 c. of buttermilk

1 tbsp. of chopped rosemary

1 tbsp. of chopped oregano

1 tbsp. of chopped thyme

1 tsp. of ground cumin

1 tsp. of lemon zest

1 large, or 2 medium garlic cloves, minced

salt +pepper

Line a baking dish with your lamb chops and add all of your remaining ingredients on top. Don't be afraid to season your marinade liberally. Use your hands to toss the chops in the marinade, making sure that each inch gets covered. Chill the lamb in the marinade for a minimum of two hours (overnight is best). Once your grill is ready, remove the excess marinade from the chops with your fingers and pat them dry. This will ensure that your lamb actually chars. For medium chops, which is how I like them, grill on each side for three minutes. 

Five chops were plenty for a family of three, but this recipe can very easily be doubled if you are cooking for a larger group.

Tapenade Quinoa Bowl with a Fried Egg

You'll soon realize that I put eggs on just about everything. They're an excellent source of protein, and I never tire of them. With the price of meat being astronomically high (especially grass-fed, pastured, organic meat), I probably only buy and cook it at home about three times a week. Eggs are an easy and affordable substitute. 

I'm not sure how I feel about this dish overall. We were low on food but too lazy to buy groceries, so I made do as best I could. Usually that plan works out quite well, though I do get the occasional dud. With a couple easy adjustments, however, I think this recipe can be turned into a winner. For one, I'd use white quinoa, which is what I typically buy. I noticed that the red quinoa at our market was about a dollar cheaper per pound in the bulk aisle, so I thought I'd give it a shot. We don't eat a ton of quinoa, and this was my first time preparing the red variety. In flavor, I thought it was excellent, but the texture killed it. Don't misunderstand me; I appreciate the natural bite that quinoa has to it, and in no way do I want it to be mushy, but this straight up felt like I was chomping down on thousands of tiny rubber bands. Maybe I did something wrong? I assumed that the cooking method would be the same, and from the Googling I've done, that does seem to be the case. Or, maybe I just bought shitty red quinoa and that was the reason for its low price point . 

The second mistake I made was adding too much tapenade. Tapenade, which is basically a combination of olives, herbs, garlic, anchovies (which I don't always use), and olive oil, is, as you can imagine, a condiment that packs a lot of punch. It's not the kind of thing you can just make a little of, so it's easiest to make a large batch, use what you need, and store the rest in the fridge. I got a little too ambitious when I added my tapenade to my quinoa, and probably put in double what I really should have. What resulted was a pot of terribly salty quinoa, so terribly salty tiny rubber bands. Had I enjoyed the red quinoa on its own, I would have saved it by quickly cooking and adding another batch to even out the flavor, but it simply wasn't worth it to me at that point. 

The recipe I have below was written with these revisions in mind. Also note, Joe claims he liked the tiny red rubber bands, so it may just be a personal issue. 

Tapenade Quinoa Bowl with a Fried Egg

1/2 c. of dry white quinoa (or red, if you like that sort of thing)

1 c. of cauliflower florets 

3 medium carrots, chopped into sticks

1 tbsp. of tapenade (recipe below)

2 eggs

olive oil

salt + pepper

Tapenade

1 1/2 c. of pitted mixed olives

1 small clove of garlic

2 stems of fresh oregano, leaves removed and stems discarded 

1 tbsp. of fresh lemon juice

2 tbsp. of olive oil

Traditionally, tapenade is ground into a smooth paste which can easily be done by throwing all of the above ingredients into a food processor. I do also like a coarser-style tapenade, so I am happy to just throw the first three ingredients onto a butcher block and roughly chop away. Once I'm satisfied with the texture (see photo above), I toss my mixture with the lemon juice and olive oil. Tapenade will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, especially if topped with extra olive oil. 

Toss the cauliflower and carrots with some olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast at 400º until they turn to a deep golden hue, roughly 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, cook your quinoa according to the directions on the package. Once the quinoa is done, toss in the tapenade while it is still hot to fully incorporate the flavors. Divide your quinoa and veggies into two bowls, and top each with a fried or over easy egg.

Roasted Whole Grain Mustard Potato Salad

I'm rolling my eyes at myself as I type this, but we've become a [mostly] gluten-free household. Joe and I have both suspected for a while that he might have some sort of gluten intolerance, so he decided to bite the bullet and give it up completely a couple weeks ago. The difference has been so astonishing, that even I noticed it in him the very next day. He's clear headed, bursting with energy, and his mood has improved drastically. Obviously, as a result, mine has improved drastically as well. This has not been an easy transition seeing as we ate more pizza than any family I've ever known, but the pros are far outweighing the cons, so it would be worth our while to stick this one out. And if I'm being completely candid here, Cheech and I will occasionally sneak a morning bun into our day while he's at work so as not to torture his poor bread-less heart. 

Needless to say, our diet has been turned inside out and upside down. We did a market run the day after he made the switch while Cheech was at school, and it was nice to really pay attention to what we were buying without having a toddler screaming at us for more blackberries. This is a whole new way of cooking for me, which I'm taking on as a welcome challenge (please, I'd love to hear any and all suggestions/ideas/links/blogs/etc). Like I mentioned, the kid and I are still on the gluten train, so this is NOT a gluten-free blog. But, there will be lots of gluten-free business going on for sure. 

Cooking gluten-free food for a man who is not fond of rice, polenta, and most legumes has been a touch daunting. I still make those things from time to time in hopes that he'll come around, and also because I refuse to become a short order cook in this house. As far as I'm concerned, my family has three options when it comes to our meals: 1. They eat the dish I've prepared for them. 2. They make their own food. 3. They don't eat at all. Still, I do make more of an effort to make meals that I'm fairly confident we'll all enjoy. And man, if you don't enjoy potatoes, there's something seriously wrong with you. 

This potato salad is a slightly altered version of a French-style potato salad I used to make when I ran my own mini catering business out of my tiny apartment in LA (remember those days, K?). With the old version, I would simply boil the potatoes. I discovered though, that roasting them and throwing in some caramelized onions and garlic is such a lovely compliment to a good mustard's bite. I'm pretty sure I'll be making this version from here on out.

Roasted Whole Grain Mustard Potato Salad

2 lb. of fingerling potatoes (use any variety you'd like), chopped into 1/4 in. thick rounds

1 large shallot, sliced

1 large garlic clove, sliced

olive oil

1 tbsp. of good quality whole grain mustard (more if you really like mustard)

2 tbsp. of fresh chopped herbs (use whatever you have available/I used oregano, rosemary, and chives)

salt + pepper

Season your potato rounds and roast them until they turn golden and their skins become crispy. I put mine in the oven at 400º for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, slowly caramelize your sliced shallot and garlic in a little bit of oil on medium-low heat. Once the potatoes and shallot mixture are done, toss them together with the mustard, half of the chopped herbs, and salt & pepper to taste. Garnish with remaining chopped herbs and serve warm, or at room temperature. Serves 4-6.