Yummy new creation

After last night’s beet dish, I had all the greens left over, and boy did they look forlorn this evening. So, I decided to sauté them, stems and all, with garlic, EVOO, lemon, green and black mediterranean olives and za’atar. Let me tell you that this was a good formula. We chowed down!

Do y’all know za’atar? It’s a middle-eastern spice blend of sesame seeds, herbs, and sumac. Makes for a great dipping oil as well. Bene!

Monkey in the bathroom

Finally, a minute of calm…or so I thought. I had just settled in on the couch with Percy to read the Science Times and then heard an extremely loud crash followed by
“MOMMY” and tears. Having no clue what could possibly have happened, I raced upstairs to find Jack leaving the bathroom. Wha?? He had stood on the potty, hung from the little rod that opens/closes your blinds and then, when that didn’t hold him -DUH- he and the rod crashed to the floor. I got him back into bed and he launched into a conversation about how we haaadd to make vanilla pops using the recipe from this month’s Highlights. Fine, fine. Aah- go to sleep!

Leftovers

Y’all, that caramelized fennel was just so darn good. The fennel seeds get caught up in the sugar as it caramelizes so it’s like you have tiny, flavor-burst croutons sprinkled over the fennel, also caramelized. Then you have these delightful puffs of young goat cheese -which is soft and not overly tangy- to add a textural change-up. The whole dish saved very well, and we all loved it at lunch.

The beet salad was very satisfying as well, but I wished for the preserved lemons to stand out more forcefully. If I make this again, I’ll definitely up the amount of preserved lemon and garlic to give it more punch.

Mmmm….