Beet green and cheese filled flatbread

While serving as Peace Corps volunteers in Georgia, Joe and I gorged ourselves on flatbread. We loved tonis puri,plain flatbread straight out of a clay oven, khatchapuri,  a cheese-filled flatbread, lobiani, which was filled with beans, and tchahrakina, filled with beet greens and cheese.

Here’s our version of tchahrakina. We found that a mix of havarti and feta was a good simulation of a tangy, squeaky, white Georgian cheese. The flatbread is also delish with just the havarti. Joe is the flatbread maker in our family, so I’m reporting on his technique here. The recipe looks more complicated than it is–so yes, you can make this even if you have a baby.

Flatbread Dough

1 cup warm water
1 tsp yeast
3 cups bread flour
2 tsp salt

Filling

olive oil
garlic, sliced or minced
beet greens, washed, spun, and chopped
havarti, shredded
feta, broken into chunks

In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve yeast in warm water (takes about five minutes).

Add 1 cup of the flour to the mixer bowl. Stir until smooth.

Using the paddle attachment, run the mixer on low and begin gradually adding remaining flour. Mix until dough is no longer sticky (you can handle it) but still elastic.

Remove paddle attachment and attach the dough hook. Run the mixer on low to knead the dough for 3-4 minutes, until all flour is incorporated and no dough is sticking to the hook or the bowl.

Cover the bowl and let the dough rise–anywhere between 2 and 24 hours.

When you are ready to make the flatbreads, place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 450°.

Saute the beet greens in olive oil with a little garlic until wilted. Don’t overcook the greens since they will cook more in the oven.

Flour your hands, the dough in the bowl, and your rolling surface. Dump the dough out of the bowl and divide it into two balls. Smoosh the balls flat and roll and stretch them out until they are about 16-18 inches in diameter. Transfer one of sheets of dough onto a floured pizza peel.

Spread the cooked beet greens in a circle on top of the dough, leaving an edge. Sprinkle the cheeses on top of the beet greens.

Fold the dough over the top of the filling in pleats, leaving a little hole in the middle.

Using the peel, slide the first flatbread onto the pizza stone. Bake for about 8 minutes, until the top of the flatbread starts to brown and you can see that your cheese has melted.

Remove the flatbread from the oven with the peel. Spread some butter on top. Repeat with the second flatbread.

Cut into wedges and serve!

This flatbread has been Buster-tested, Buster-approved.

 

Couscous

Apologies for the lack of posts…I promise to make it up to you. Here’s what happens when you give a baby couscous.

A little couscous universe on the dining table.

That is all.

A Boy and His Apple

Everyone asks me if Buster has a favorite food. It’s a bit hard to say, since every piece of food is an interesting toy right now. He’s gone back for more of almost everything, and he’s only made funny faces for three things: a lime wedge, a raisin, and a mushroom. There is one food, though, that I’ve seen him working especially hard to master.

The apple.

First of all, apples, even small ones, are pretty big to Buster. So maneuvering it is the first challenge.

Next, he’s got to hang on while guming it (and it gets slippery, believe me).

But apparently the reward is worth the effort. Sweet success.

Looks like an apple a day for this little guy.

PS: When I give him an apple, I take a few bites first and then hand it over to him.

Taste of Summer: BLTs and Sweet Corn

It goes without saying that with anything as simple as a BLT, it’s all about having the best ingredients.  When we found ourselves with picked-today lettuce and tomato, we got bacon from our local butcher shop and bread from our favorite bakery. To top that off, I made mayonnaise, something I’d never tried before. I’m happy to report that it was easy and tasty. No more industrial mayo for us!

Buster’s deconstructed BLT did not include mayo. I’ve read that some pediatricians recommend waiting a bit before giving kids eggs since eggs are a common allergen. For that reason, I’ve decided to hold off on eggs until I can ask Buster’s doctor’s opinion. And of course he needs to wait a while for raw eggs!

Burning Calories

Remember that chubby girl in your elementary school class? The one that always got picked last for kickball?

Yeah, that was me.

Even in elementary school I was making up excuses to get out of PE. Whether it was a tummy ache or that I’d forgotten to wear shorts under my uniform skirt, I couldn’t possibly take part in the day’s activity of tumbling. At that young age I already had a deeply-ingrained fear of cracking my head open (thanks, Mom), as well as a belief that I just couldn’t succeed at anything remotely physical. By middle school I’d given up so completely that when we played softball in gym class I took an outfield position and just sat down for the whole game (chatting up my first crush, who apparently was also part of the PE-resistance movement).

My early self-image of a pudgy, uncoordinated, and unathletic girl endured for years. In fact, to a certain extent that self-image is still with me now, even though I’ve been active for a long time. Which is why it blows my mind that I ran eight miles this morning.

Eight freakin’ miles!

I’ve never done that before. And I even met my time goal–crazily, I met it exactly–of 90 minutes. I’m not speedy, but I’m doing it. I’m actually running. Something I thought I just couldn’t do.

Before Buster was born, I set this goal for myself: to complete a half marathon in 2014. It was important to me to get back in shape after baby’s arrival, and to instill sufficient fear to keep me on the training plan, I decided to do something I had never done before. I can’t say that I’m really enjoying running during the runs, but I sure feel a sense of accomplishment afterward. And that counts for something.

Speaking of counting, my online exercise tracker tells me that on today’s run I burned around 1400 calories. That makes room for a whole lot of deliciousness. Specifically it made room for two servings of Thai green curry and a mocha mug brownie.

Mocha Mug Brownie

Adapted from the brownie in a mug recipe at Simply Recipes.

1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
a pinch of salt
sprinkle of cinnamon
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp avocado oil (a different neutral-flavored oil would work just fine)
a drop of vanilla
a splash (or two) of Kahlúa
a splash of half and half

1. In a large, microwave-safe mug, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add water, oil, and vanilla and stir well, making sure all dry ingredients are fully incorporated (the flour likes to hide out on the bottom of the mug).
2. Microwave on high for 90 seconds.
3. Remove mug from microwave and let brownie stand for at least one minute. Pour a splash of Kahlúa and a splash of half and half over the top.
4. Enjoy slowly and carefully–it’s hot!

No Tears

Tonight, for the first time, Buster made it through dinner without crying. Not one single tear.

So what went right this time? Was it:

a) eating outside?
b) eating off of Mom’s plate?
c) the dinner guests (especially the three year old)?
d) SWEET POTATOES?!

I have to say eating outside with a baby-led weaning baby is brilliant. Next time I’m just going to bring Buster’s bathtub out onto the patio, plop him right into it when he’s done eating,  and then hose the whole place down after the bath.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes in the Slow Cooker

The inspiration recipe can be found in America’s Test Kitchen Slow Cooker Revolution. Here, I left out salt and sugar because I don’t want Buster to have much of either. I used half and half instead of heavy cream because that’s what I had on hand.

4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into one-inch cubes
3/4 stick of butter
half and half (as much as you need to get your desired level of creaminess)

1. Add cubed sweet potatoes to slow cooker and add enough water to almost cover the potatoes. Cook on low 4-6 hours.
2. Drain sweet potatoes and mash. Stir in butter and half and half. Return to slow cooker and keep warm on low setting until ready to serve.

Catalog: Week 1

A list of everything Buster sampled in his first week:

Veggies

green beans
garlic
beets
potatoes
asparagus
beet greens
onion
cucumber
green bell pepper
kale
carrots

Fruit

banana
avocado
cantaloupe
pear
apple
tomato
watermelon

Meat and Fish

orange roughy
venison
chicken
lamb

Grain

flatbread

Dairy

feta cheese
havarti cheese
butter

A decent list, but I cried after dinner tonight. Every time we put Buster in the high chair, he cries. When he sees his food he stops crying and focuses on grabbing and nomming it. But before long he’s crying again because…why? Because he can’t pick something up, or he’s dropped it, or he just doesn’t like sitting in the high chair, or any combination of these things. Even if he sits in my lap to eat he cries. Food has always been an expression of love for me. It breaks my heart to see tears at the dinner table.

What am I doing wrong?

Venison, kale, and carrots

There’s just so much to love about this meal: wild game hunted and butchered by my husband, garden veggies grown by my dad. You can’t get more real and local than this.

After starting with the kale, Buster moved on to the carrots, finally attacking the venison. That’s my boy.

A successful dinner. Still,these first few days of baby-led weaning have not been the stress-free foodie bliss I was expecting. Buster is eager to try everything, but he has a hard time holding onto slippery food, and he loudly expresses his ire when he drops something before he can get it to his mouth. While the high chair is making meals a little calmer (and a little less messy), it’s too big for Buster, and the various booster configurations we’re trying have made getting in and out rough. It’s all new for all three of us, so there’s plenty of frustration going around the table. One day at a time, right?

The “recipe”

The kale was steamed with just a little water in a saucepan.

The carrots were boiled and then tossed with butter and dill.

The venison medallions were seared in butter. Joe and I ate ours rare, but Buster’s portion was well done.

 

Lunch: Bananas with Granny

Buster introduced Granny to baby-led weaning.

And had his first taste of banana, which he liked pretty well.

The feta cheese was also a hit. The beets were just too difficult to pick up. But they sure made everything else colorful!

GREEN BEANS!!!

It happened. Buster ate his first solid food.

He wasn’t quite sure about it at first.

But he kept going for more.

It wasn’t what I’d planned. I was going to wait until he was officially six months old. I was going to wait until we got the high chair. It was going to be banana or avocado. But we had these lovely green beans (the perfect shape for a baby fist to hold), and he reached for my plate, and…I just went with it.

Fresh green beans from Granddad’s garden, cooked by Dad, with butter and garlic and dill. Not bad for a baby’s first nom. Buster really got the timing right, being ready for solids when we finally have some garden veggies.

In my last post, I may have come across as a bit of a control freak. Well, the truth is, I am a bit of a control freak. But having a baby is teaching me to let go, to stay in the moment, and to accept imperfection. All good lessons–because life rarely goes as planned.