A pasta salad for all that zucchini

+cornbread, toddler pancakes and a not so new mindless TV binge

...just finished putting all the toys back in the bins for the second time today after narrowly escaping a disaster with a bottle of soy sauce. Bedtime! Hallelujah! I’m wondering if a day will come that Dean will think it’s “super fun” to clean up. 

MiniMouths

There were two clear winners this week. Steamed sweet potatoes, cut into cubes, tossed in butter and dusted with everything bagel spice. Even daycare reported that he demolished it, beating out blackberries for first & finished. So that means it was a homerun. The other was the blender toddler pancakes sweeping Pinterest and mom groups. (Can’t believe I even just typed that sentence) I took some liberties with adding some extra fats and a little flour. We still have a very skinny boy on our hands. 

Toddler Pancakes

Makes about 6 silver dollar sized pancakes

• ¼ cup + 2 T oats

• 2 Tablespoons all purpose  flour

• Pinch of salt

• Pinch of cinnamon

• Spoonful of sour cream, creme fraiche or full fat yogurt

• 1 Tablespoon avocado oil

• 1 banana

• 1 egg

• Butter or ghee, to cook them in

1. Heat a large non-stick skillet or griddle pan over medium low heat. Pre-heating the pan while you prep the batter will help even your first pancake get nice and golden brown. 

2. Add the oats, flour, salt, and cinnamon to a blender and blend until the oats are well broken down. 

3. Add the banana, egg, sour cream and avocado oil. Blend until smooth. 

4. Lightly grease the pan with ghee or butter. Pour the batter onto the pan in small circles. 

5. Cook on each side for 2 minutes, until golden brown. 

Pasta Salad with Grilled Zucchini, Ricotta Salata & Mint

Zucchini has started popping up at the farmers market. And very soon here we’re going to be overrun by the stuff. Think back to previous summers… by August it’s piles and piles of zucchini that they are basically giving away for free. I’m no gardener, so I don’t know, but does the stuff grow like a weed? I thought it’d be nice to have a really solid recipe that you could dump a bunch of zucchini into that also is a perfect summer side dish. Enter this pasta salad. It’s minimal effort, makes a bunch for a party but also keeps well in the fridge. I like ricotta salata, but feta, or even the delicious Greek cheese manouri would both work great. The recipe will be landing in subscriber’s inboxes later today. 

What I’m Loving This Week:

1. Potato Salad: Last week I ate some potato salad that my friend's mom made. She said all it was was red potatoes, red onions, mayo and dill. It was amazing. It reminded me how good potato salad is. It’s on my list for the weekend. 

2. Rewatching The OC on HBO: Remember? If you’re not 29-35 years old maybe not. It’s SO bad which makes it SO good. For the past few months my husband and I have been rewatching the series at night after Dena goes to bed. Re-watching it as a married woman, I now know my perfect answer if anyone ever asks “Who is your ideal on screen husband?”. Sandy Cohen hands down. If you know you know. 

3. Cornbread: I had a hankering for cornbread this week, which I swiftly indulged. I was reminded how much I love the cornbread recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction. It’s perfection. Cornbread toasted up with butter in a pan and served with two fried eggs is a breakfast from my childhood and is SO good. Try it! 

You guys, it’s been a week with the baby, and the heat, and all the poop, and the clutter, and and and and… this week’s newsletter is going out by the skin of my teeth. But I love writing to you every week!  Any comments of encouragement or commiseration would be greatly appreciated. XO Liv