Liv eats

On Easter Sunday, at 5 months, 2 weeks & 2 days Olive started solids!
She was ready. She has been ready for a few weeks now, but we were planning to travel so I didn't want to start her while away from home.

And I also introduced her to the sippy cup with just an ounce of water. She has been leaning in with her mouth wide open when I drink out of a glass and she started reaching out for my glass. She really liked it.

Her first meal was pears and she LOVED them. I had read that starting babies with a sweet fruit may be a good start because breast milk is so sweet. I have to say it was a great choice. I baked the pear, pureed it in her baby bullet and mixed them with some breast milk.

"Mmmm!"

Here's a video of her eating pears:

Olive eats pears

The next food we introduced was brown rice cereal. Yeah she didn't care for that too much and I don't blame her.

Assuming pears were coming, "Pears!"

"Um, mama this is not pears."

"I guess it isn't so bad."

And here's a video of her eating cereal...

Olive eats cereal

Next up: sweet potatoes!

I just love introducing our girl to new foods! This is just the beginning of her foodie adventures.  :)

Pregnancy and Food

Besides IBS being a foodie's worst nightmare, pregnancy falls right behind that.

I remember the days when I didn't have to double/triple check a list of fish to see if it was okay to consume it. And I didn't have to think about how much seafood I could consume per week. I didn't have to worry about my lunchmeat being warmed up. I enjoyed soft cheeses without thinking twice about it. Oh brie, I miss you. Although, I may be able to find an non-imported, pasteurized brie at the market. (Note to self: Check out cheese section next time I'm at the market). I remember being able to eat a steak just the way I like it. Sometimes a pregnant woman just wants to enjoy a steak, but I'm not going to enjoy it if it has to be well-done. Yuck. Spicy tuna rolls would be great this time of year. I miss sushi/sashimi. Raw oysters would be wonderful. And I can't wait to enjoy an over-easy egg again. It's so hard to pass the refrigerated case at the market that stores smoked fish (lox). And limiting my intake of caffeine is tough. I don't care so much about Dr. Pepper, but sometimes I just want to eat tons of chocolate. :)

::sigh:: Oh the joys of pregnancy. It'll all be worth it in the end and then I can enjoy the foods I love once again. And then it'll be fun to eventually introduce foods we love to our little girl. :)

Pregnancy Cravings

Oh the pregnancy cravings have kicked in. :)

I've craved raw red bell peppers, tomatoes and fresh fruit (like watermelon, mango, pineapple) and even cucumbers with chile and lime. Yep, sweet & spicy is delicious. Don't knock it until you try it. :)

Watermelon w/chile & lime

Thanks to probiotics I can now enjoy pickles again! I've only craved kosher pickles.

Nom nom nom.

These Carnegie Deli Kosher Spears are by far the best kosher pickle out there and luckily they sell this huge jar at Costco to satisfy my cravings. ::gasp:: I just hate to think what will become of me when they no longer carry these. :)

I'll be interested to see if my cravings change over the next few months.

Strawberry & Cream Cheese Muffins

I promise these muffins will not disappoint. Go out, buy the ingredients and make these yummy muffins ASAP! Luckily, we had all of the ingredients on-hand and made these using all organic products and we used vanilla paste instead of vanilla extract. :) Our muffins didn't turn out picture worthy, but who cares they tasted AMAZING and that's all that matters!

Pic courtesy of lululuathome.com

Strawberry & Cream Cheese Muffins

Ribs & Bread

Dan makes the best homemade pork ribs. And his tart cherry bbq sauce is "to die for" as my in-laws and hubby like to say.

Dan's bread is never a let down, but this time for some reason it was the best loaf he has ever made. I'm telling you, if this whole film business doesn't work out he definitely has something to fall back on. I'm just saying. :P

Indian yumminess at home

We had a delicious dinner the other night. You must try.

Paneer Fish Cakes w/Apple Chutney & Spiced Okra

Yummy Chicken Dishes

Time for a post that will make you drool!

Thomas Keller's Chicken Soup w/Dumplings (It's a full day of cooking)

You can see the recipe here. I love this dish!

Thomas Keller's Buttermilk Fried Chicken (with a few adjustments like using a different brine and only brining for 6 hours). It was the best fried chicken!

I was in the mood for hot wings, but we only eat Organic Chicken so Dan had to make these for me. Delicious! And the Blue Cheese Dip was so yummy.

Buffalo Wing Recipe & Blue Cheese Dip

Mustard Chicken Salad (added red bell pepper to this dish). Delicious Salad w/delicious dressing.

Getting in touch with my Hispanic roots

One day I hope to be able to speak Spanish fluently. I know a lot of food-related words in Spanish and can say whether we are eating at the restaurant (por aqui) or taking it to go (para llevar). I'm also learning how to read and comprehend Spanish.

Until I can speak Spanish, I'll make yummy dishes to stay connected to my roots. :D

I've made several Mexican dishes (carne guisada, chile con carne and caldo de res). I've made flour tortillas, but I really wanted to try my hand at corn tortillas.

On New Year's Day, Dan made carnitas (little meats) de (of) pato (duck), rice, beans and my mom and I made corn tortillas. We also made salsa. Yum! Talk about a delicious way to ring in the New Year. :)

We bought fresh ground corn masa (dough).

Roll Masa into balls and let them rest

Place the tortilla ball on top of a piece of plastic on the tortilla press

Put the other piece of plastic on top of the tortilla ball and press handle down

Apply a bit of pressure to ensure ball is spreading

Release handle, lift tortilla press and see your perfect raw tortilla

Carefully peel off tortilla and throw on a warm comal (griddle)

2 Different Salsas (1 Tomatillo & 1 Pico de Gallo)

Carnitas de Pato (Duck)

Now be honest, how many of you out there didn't know I was Hispanic (Mexican)? :D

And the Award for the Best Pound Cake Ever Goes To...

Elvis Presley's Favorite Pound Cake!

Would you love to try this delicious dessert? Go to Elvis Presley's Favorite Pound Cake .

A great pairing for this delicious pound cake is Thomas Keller's Pear w/ Vanilla Bean Compote. This was one of the gifts in the gift basket. It won't disappoint. :)

I don't feel like typing out the full recipe so I copy & pasted it below, courtesy of http://www.eating-sf.com/2010/01/vanilla-bean-pear-compotesundae.html

Vanilla Bean Pear Compote
recipe adapted from Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc at Home

2 pounds of Comice pears, peeled, cored and sliced into 1/2 inch thick slices
2 cups of Sauvignon Blanc (or other dry white wine)
1/2 cup of sugar
2 cloves
1 vanilla bean

1. In a large pot, combine the wine, sugar and cloves.
2. Split the vanilla bean in half and scrape the seeds into the mixture. Add in the pod itself.
3. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then add the pear slices.
4. Add enough water to cover the pears, and dial the heat down a notch. Cook for about 15-20 minutes, until the pears are translucent and can easily be pierced with a fork.
5. Remove the pears from the mixture using a slotted spoon and place into a large container with a tight seal.

6. Bring the liquid to a boil and cook until it is reduced to about 1/2 cup (it should be the consistency of a syrup). Pour the syrup over the pears and place the vanilla bean pod into the container. Throw away the cloves. Refrigerate for up to one month.

Homemade Christmas Gifts

Like a lot of people we were on a budget this year when it came to Christmas gifts.

We decided it was best to do a family gift basket that was filled with all kinds of yummy goodies.

Here's what everyone had in their basket:

Pear and Vanilla Bean Compote

Onion-Bacon Marmalade

Chimichurri Rub

Apple Butter

Cream Soda Syrup

A handmade ornament

Holiday Spiced Sugar

Candied Pecans (spiced with honey and fleur de sel)

Sugar Palmiers

Cranberry-Pistachio Cornmeal Biscotti

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

Homemade Country Loaf

Dan’s Secret BBQ sauce

Making gifts this year ended up saving us a lot of money, but it was also a lot of work and took up a lot of time so who knows if we'll be going the homemade route again. :)

Belated Birthday Yumminess!

Since Dan was shooting his film and actually wrapping the day of my birthday he said he would make me something delicious when we returned to Houston. This past weekend he made me dinner & dessert. And oh my god it did not disappoint at all, but then again when does he ever disappoint? This meal is seriously one of my favorite meals now. Thank you to our dear friend, Josiah, and his mom for the recipe. It was amazing!

Kimchi Fried Rice & Fried Egg with Korean Marinated Grass fed Beef

Blackout Cake w/Raspberries (picture does not do it justice)

A slice of my delicious cake

And what do you make with leftover kimchi?

A delicious Kimchi Pancake of course. YUM!

Yogurt Pancakes

Looking for a new pancake recipe?!

Look no further. :) This is one of my new favorites.

I found the recipe on Stonyfield's website, but I've also posted the recipe below. We didn't make the blueberry topping because we didn't have blueberries. We also substituted cinnamon with vanilla paste because I wasn't in the mood for cinnamon. :)

The pancakes were delicious. The texture of the pancake was so smooth and moist. You won't be disappointed, I promise. :)

Ingredients

Pancakes

1 egg

1 cup Stonyfield lowfat plain yogurt

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar or maple syrup

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Blueberry Topping

1 cup Stonyfield lowfat plain yogurt

2 tablespoons honey

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup blueberries

Directions

In a blender, combine egg, yogurt and oil. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and mix. Add the yogurt mixture and lightly combine. Using 1/4 cup batter for each pancake, cook the pancakes on a preheated, very hot, oiled griddle until golden, approximately 2 to 3 minutes.

For topping, mix together the yogurt, honey and cinnamon. Fold in the blueberries. Spoon over the pancakes and serve.

Crave Pancakes. Make Pancakes. Eat Pancakes.

While D has been away I've been really good about eating most of my meals from TruMeals.

And while those meals are really good, sometimes you just crave something ultra yummy and since the hubs isn't here to make some ultra yummy meals I had to make my own. (:

Yummy Whole Grain Pancakes!

Even better with bananas and a bit of dark chocolate drizzled on top.

Mmmm I love brinner.

Note: I did NOT eat all of this!

I CAN cook!

That is when I have to. :)

My husband is out of town right now doing pre-production work for his film and so that leaves me in the kitchen. Uh-oh. I went to what would be easiest for me and something I used to make when I was living with my parents.

Yesterday, I made roast chicken with garlic, thyme and roasted celery & carrots and roasted broccoli on the side. I wish I had onion & potatoes, but I made do with what I had in the house. It was delicious!

Makin' Bacon

Dan bought pork belly & jowls (cheeks) from a local farmer to make bacon!

Cured Bacon

Wondering why it's not red like the bacon you buy in the grocery store?

Nitrates & Nitrites are additives/preservatives that make bacon red.

There are no additives/preservatives in this bacon!

Cured Maple Bacon

Now this is what bacon is supposed to look like!

And these are jowls/cheeks or guanciale!

Guanciale is an unsmoked Italian bacon made with jowls.

They have been hanging/drying in our mini fridge for almost 3 weeks.

We will dice them up and use them to make spaghetti alla carbonara or simply slice it up and make bacon.

3 weeks ago

Today

Today

He also made a cold-smoke smoker a few weeks ago and smoked some pork belly to make bacon.

It looks silly, but it really does work. :D

Yum! Now I'm hungry for bacon.