But I still cooked!
a hodgepodge of good food during an unexpected week homebound. Tostadas, White Beans, and 2 different fresh juices.
Well, it was a whirlwind 7 days. Started out in Washington D.C. at The Mandarin Oriental in spa robes and jacuzzi jets. We ate lots of delicious things, notably our first dinner at Rose’s Luxury. There will be lots of future newsletter items inspired by this trip. And it ended on my birthday with us coming home to a raging case of Coxsackie. If you’re not familiar, it’s a very ill named virus that gives toddlers a fever and the nastiest rash all over their bodies. It’s highly contagious so therefore no school all week and no trips to the park. Just me and Dean, hanging out, ALL DAY while I prayed he wasn't passing it to me every time he planted a wet kiss on my lips. I didn't get it! TBD on when we’re returning to school.
But! I still cooked!
An email will go out to subscribers later this morning detailing exactly how it all comes together. But a big pot of white beans turned into a soup/stew thing with slices of sourdough bread toasted in olive oil until golden brown. That then turned into a REALLY GOOD pasta with kale and crunchy, sage infused breadcrumbs. The wildcard was the Tostadas I made for lunch one day. The inspiration stemmed from a package of really good Vista Hermosa corn tortillas that had been in the fridge for a while and then the leftover fry oil from a batch of donuts I made for a recipe development client the day before. These are a great canvas for all sorts of odds and ends you may have in your fridge. I’m giving subscribers a whole run down of how to make it happen - click through the button below to sign up!
Back on the juice train..
Pre-baby my husband and I were on a really solid streak of juicing almost everyday. We both love it. Something about fresh juice makes us both feel really invigorated. But there’s no dancing around it - it’s kind of a bitch to do at home. But if you like fresh juice, you want to control the quality of the ingredients and you can’t stomach the price of it at a juice bar then doing it at home is the best option. Here’s two combos that we made this week plus our made up “rule” for making it more efficient:
Green
Apple
Ginger
Lemon
Kale
Celery
Cucumber
Pink
Apple
Ginger
Lime
Beets
Red Cabbage
Celery
*I’ve been known to throw in a strawberry or two if I have them
The Golden Rule: Thou must not drink the juice until thou has cleaned the juicer. Nothing worse (or easier to do) than letting the juicer sit in the sink all day.
What I’m Loving This Week:
My Breville Juicer: And more specifically the new blade I ordered for it. I’ve had a few juicers over the years. Breville has been my favorite. You can order replacement blades which is great because they do dull over time making juicing a very frustrating process. It’s easy to clean, extracts a lot of juice and is easy to use.
Coconut Oil: I always keep 2 different jars of coconut oil in the house. 1 in the kitchen for cooking and 1 in the bathroom for general hydrating. In the dead of winter it’s in the rotation of various oils that I’m trying to soothe my skin that seems devoid of any moisture whatsoever. But I read that it can help the rash kids get from Coxsackie (Hand Foot Mouth virus) which made sense to me because I know it has anti-viral properties. And I think it really did help! I slathered it on Dean twice a day while he slithered and slipped out of my grip. I think it helped the rash and he was SO SOFT.
Nutella: Nothing complicated or revolutionary here. I just tasted it again after a long time, and yep! It’s amazing. I used it in a recipe for a client and now I have some in my house. I love it. I think I’ll have it on toast tomorrow. My favorite way I’ve ever used it in a recipe was a Nutella buttercream frosting I made to frost a chocolate cake.
I wrap this up as I sit in the dark at 6am with my coffee - my little bit of alone time. I’m hoping to bring you a newsletter shortly inspired by all the fantastic (and I mean that word) non-alcoholic cocktails we had in D.C. Until next week XO Liv