Cheesy Rice with Leeks and Swiss Chard

We had a fantastic version of this comforting and nourishing casserole from Three Stone Hearth that was a big hit with the whole family, so we decided to try to duplicate it in our kitchen.  Ezra couldn't help much with this recipe, but happily ate his portion.

Cheesy Rice with Leeks and Swiss Chard

For the rice:
1 cup short-grain brown rice
1 tablespoon yogurt
1 cup broth/stock

Everything else:
2 tablespoons butter
1 leek, trimmed and finely minced
3 cups chopped Swiss chard (1 bunch)
3 tablespoons minced parsley
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup broth/stock
salt

We soaked our rice overnight with a tablespoon of yogurt and one cup of water.  You can, of course, skip this step if you aren't afraid of the phytic acid fairy.

Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a small casserole dish.

Add 1 cup stock to the rice and water, bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer until the liquid is fully absorbed.

Heat the butter in a skillet and saute the leeks over low heat until very soft.  Set the leeks aside and saute the chard until soft.

Combine the cooked rice, leeks, chard, parsley, cheddar, 1 cup stock and salt in the casserole dish and cover.  (With unsalted stock, we added 1/2 teaspoon salt.  With commercial salted chicken broth, you might not need any salt.)

Bake for about 45 minutes, until the casserole is bubbly.

Chocolate Chip Almond Meal Cookies

We're such giant hippies that only today, at the ripe old age of two and a half, did Ezra taste his first bite of (grain-free, honey-sweetened) cookie.  This isn't an original recipe--we just used this one--but we decided the occasion was momentous enough to warrant a post.

Ezra helped make these cookies by pouring the ingredients into the bowl and mixing.  He greased the pan with a butter wrapper (big hit!) and he used his well-developed smushing skills to shape the cookies on the pan.  

We made a double batch and only put chocolate chips in half of the cookies.  Yes, we are denying Ezra the joys of chocolate until he's old enough to find his own.

Slow-cooked Kale

Ezra loves slow-cooked kale, which we often eat by itself, but sometimes serve over whole wheat pasta and sausage.
Ezra and I took the kale outside with a bucket of water and washed each leaf thoroughly.  Then we ripped out the stems and ripped the kale into small pieces.  We weren't quite ready to come inside and start cooking at that point, so we fed the kale stems to the chickens.

Once inside, Ezra cut the butter (and helped himself to a pat) and I took over from there. 

Slow-cooked Kale

1 bunch kale, stemmed and chopped
1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped roughly
1 1/2 cups chicken broth or water
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
salt

Heat the butter in a cast-iron skillet with a lid.  Saute the garlic and kale until the kale is wilted.  Add the chicken broth, turn heat to low, and cover.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for about an hour, until the kale is soft -- adding more liquid as needed.  Add the vinegar, salt to taste, and serve.

Soaked Oatmeal with Molasses, Nutritional Yeast and Dried Blueberries

This oatmeal was an exercise in making breakfast as nutritious as humanly possible.  First we soaked the oats, Weston Price style, then added iron-rich molasses, B-vitamin packed nutritional yeast and antioxidant-loaded blueberries.  Also, it was delicious.

Ezra is enjoying his cooking education so much that he's started requesting to "do a recipe".  He participated in making this oatmeal at almost every level, from stirring the oats and water with his hands to carefully arranging the blueberries in each bowl.  (He wasn't involved in the actual cooking, though.)


   Soaked Oatmeal with Molasses, Nutritional Yeast and Dried Blueberries

1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon plain yogurt
1 cup milk
salt
butter
blackstrap molasses
nutritional yeast
dried blueberries
chopped walnuts

Combine the oats, water and yogurt in a small saucepan and soak, at room temperature, overnight.  Add the milk and a pinch of salt, then simmer a until the oats are fully softened.

Top with a pat of butter, small drizzle of molasses, sprinkle of nutritional yeast, dried blueberries and chopped walnuts.

Sauerkraut Borscht

If you're the kind of hippie who has a mason jar of sauerkraut brewing on the kitchen counter (between the jars of water kefir, yogurt and kombucha), this is a great way to add a new kraut recipe to the rotation.  If you don't brew your own kefir and kombucha, you might not be watching enough Portlandia.

(We wrote this recipe before Ezra was born, so we don't have a picture of him eating it.)

3 tablespoons butter
1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped roughly
2 teaspoons caraway seed
4 cups beets, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 medium potato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 sprigs thyme, tied with twine or in a bouquet garni
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons minced dill
1 cup sauerkraut (preferably brined)
apple cider vinegar

Toppings:
yogurt or sour cream

Heat two tablespoons butter in a saucepan. Saute the onions and garlic until the onions are soft. Add the caraway seeds and saute for 2 more minutes. Add the beets, potato, thyme, salt and just enough water to cover. Simmer until the beets are fully cooked.

Remove from the heat. Take out the thyme and stir in the dill. Puree half of the soup in a blender or food mill, then stir it back together.

In a frying pan, saute the sauerkraut in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter until softened. Stir the kraut into the soup, reheat if necessary, and taste. If you would like more sour flavor, add apple cider vinegar to taste.

Serve hot, with sour cream or yogurt.

Egg in the Basket

Indian-spiced Carrot Salad

Ezra is still building up his spice tolerance, so when we make this carrot salad, we set aside his portion before we mix in the chiles.

Indian-spiced Carrot Salad
inspired by The Everything Indian Cookbook

5 carrots, peeled and grated
juice of 1 lemon
a few tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
20 curry leaves (optional)

1 jalapeno, seeds and veins removed, mincedSalt to taste

In a large bowl, mix the carrots and lemon juice.

In a small skillet, heat the oil.  Add the oil, mustard seeds and curry leaves.  When the mustard seeds begin to pop, pour the mixture over the carrots.  Add the minced jalapeno, stir and salt to taste.