Leftovers Lorna-style

I am not great at eating the same thing twice in a row.  Sometimes I do, but mostly I like to change it up.  This is easy to do when you have great ingredients on hand. A left over chicken leg became a venue for fresh basil and tomato with some quinoa and a couple of beans left from my earlier visit to the antipasti bar at wholefoods, and voila: a brand new lovely and flavorful dish.  I ate it with a salad to my delight.

Grilled chicken with zucchini & peppers

When buying chicken straight from the person who raised it, you most likely aren't going to get a lot of choices. There is no creature that grows four boneless skinless breasts or thighs.  This packaging abstracts us from the source of our food: an animal, and to a certain extent babies our cooking skills. My chicken options are: half or whole and it comes frozen. I usually opt for halves because the defrosting is much faster.  At first making the transition to dealing with bones and skin totally threw me. I was pampered by packaged meats.  Through experimentation and research I have learned how to quarter a chicken and also spatchcock which removes the backbone. One cannot be squeamish when performing these tasks and it makes me face my food. There is no abstraction, I am eating a creature. I think that's good. I think everyone should face the reality of their diet if they chose to eat meat.

This chicken was marinaded with garlic, hoisin, and toasted sesame oil and grilled on aluminum foil.  I made greens in little aluminum foil packets and mixed some sautéed fava beans with garlic scapes into some quinoa for fun.  Fava beans and scapes being a new food for us.  Great meal!

Survived the Six month checkup

My little guy is weighing in at 20 pounds and supposedly on track to be over 6 feet tall.  My goodness!  He is growing well and was had a great time crawling around the examination table.  He cried a bit when he got his shot but recovered well.  Unfortunately, he has had some side effects from the shot, namely restlessness through the night that has left us both very tired. 

Grabbing is getting to be his favorite past time.  Nursing on the couch yesterday, he suddenly was eating the remote and today I found myself wearing my morning tea.  The lesson is: mama must be very careful with what goes on the shelf behind the couch, as in nothing is safe from Reachy McGrabsalot. No problem, I can do that.

Mobility is also blowing my mind.  He is not crawling exactly but can turn and turn and scoot where ever he wants to go. Backwards is also a favorite direction.  When the motivation is there, he's determined to get there. It's entrancing to watch him explore his world.  I love every moment.

Oatmeal for breakfast

Breakfast is easily to look forward to when it's so delicious.  We start our day with oatmeal filled with nuts, seeds, coconut, dried fruit, and honey .  I usually skip the dried fruit and honey for berries and cinnamon because I try to stick to fruits with a low glycemic index.  This breakfast starts the day right with lots of fiber, protein, and deliciousness.  Oatmeal doesn't have to be bland or boring or sweetened with sugar.

Camping Meals

My husband and I are avid hikers and love to be in the woods.  This summer we caught the camping bug and our little guy seems to have it too! He loves the woods too! No one should be surprised.

My husbands new favorite meal is highly portable and about as easy as it gets.  After learning that Trader Joes canned goods are bpa free, this meal has become a staple. It's chicken chili. Combine all this in a crockpot or for me a dutch oven with cumin, garlic, chili powder and oregano and cook on low for several hours until it is thick and the meat  shreds.  So good so easy. Eat it in the woods, even better.

You'll notice kale has been added, no meal is complete without a leafy green. And a salad.