an easy breakfast - baked eggs

I love breakfast, but Colby doesn't have much of a sweet tooth, so I'm always trying to find meals that will make both of us happy. When my mom was here to help us out after River was born, she cooked lots and lots of good food for us. One morning, she sat Colby and I on the couch to just relax for a bit and made us a tasty breakfast of baked eggs and fruit. I think she threw some smashed fingerling potatoes on the plate too. I'm not sure...those first few weeks were a little hazy. Anyway, I remember it being delicious and have made it many times since then. And, while nothing is ever as good as when mom makes it, I think this is pretty close.

Baked Eggs
serves 1

You're gonna need...

2 eggs
1 tablespoon of butter
1 sprig of thyme
1 tablespoon mushrooms, chopped
2 cherry tomatoes, chopped
2 teaspoons of parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon Italian parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons heavy cream or half and half
Salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to a ramekin. Place the ramekin in the oven to melt the butter - just a minute or two. Pull the ramekin out and add 1 tablespoon of cream, then add one egg. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and add the add half of the mushrooms and tomatoes. Add 1 teaspoon of cheese and half of the thyme and parsley. Crack the next egg over this and repeat the previous steps with the veggies and herbs. Pour the last tablespoon of cream on top and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 27 minutes (more or less depending on how you like your eggs done). 27 minutes will give you pretty hard eggs. You can check on it at 22 minutes and see if it's where you want it.

You can play around with this and add or take away whatever you want. Maybe do rosemary instead of thyme--or both! You could try cilantro, salsa, and peppers. When we have kale in the house I usually add that also. This is a great, versatile breakfast and can be easily multiplied for however many mouths you have to feed.

Enjoy!

leek soup

When the weather gets colder my mind goes to one place. Ok, two... Soup and hot tubs. Since we don't have a hot tub, I mainly just think about the soup. This year I tried a soup I had never made before. And the main ingredient is a vegetable I had never even cooked with before. But, when I saw this recipe for leek soup in the October issue of Bon Apetit (and I saw how easy it was) I couldn't wait to try it.

We've made this soup many times now and it's so delicious--creamy, smooth, and the potatoes on top add the perfect bit of crunch. This is the ideal fast meal after a day of skiing.

Leek soup with shoestring potatoes and fried herbs
Serves 8

For the soup you're gonna need...

1 stick of butter
6 large leeks, white and pale green parts only, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise
1 small onion, thinly sliced
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Kosher salt
2 cups of whole milk, divided
1 cup of heavy cream, divided
1 cup of plain whole fat yogurt, divided
Black pepper

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add leeks, onion, and garlic and then season with salt. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5-7 minutes. Add 1 cup of water and cook, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are very soft, 25-30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly, then add the milk, cream, and yogurt. Mix together and then, using an immersion blender, blend all of the ingredients together. Return the soup to heat over medium and add small bits of water in 1/4 cup increments if you think it is too thick. It should be thick enough to hold the potatoes on top but thin enough that if a spoon is dragged along the top it doesn't leave a trail. Season with salt and pepper.

For the potatoes you're gonna need...

1 russet potato, cut into thin matchsticks
Vegetable oil for frying (about 4 cups)
1/4 cup of flat leaf parsley
1 sprig of rosemary
Kosher salt
Flaky sea salt

Rinse the potatoes under cold water and then pat until completely dry. If they're too wet, they will splatter a lot when placed in the hot oil. Fit a medium sauce pan with thermometer, pour in the oil to measure about 2 inches deep. Heat the oil until the temperature comes to 350 degrees. Working in batches and returning the oil to 350 degrees, add the potato by the handful and fry. Turn them occasionally until they turn golden and crispy--about 2 minutes. Then, using a slotted spoon, take the potatoes from the pan and place them on a paper towel to drain. Fry the parsley and rosemary for about 15 seconds. Mix the herbs with the potatoes and let cool. Season with salt and place them on top of the soup like a little nest when you're ready to serve.

Enjoy!
 

six months already - first food

We celebrated River's six months of life by preparing his first food (if we don't count the french fry I let him suck on while we were skiing last weekend...). I was expecting him to make funny faces, spit it all out, and just start playing with it. These seem to be the common stories among parents when it comes to trying food for the first time. But River surprised us once again and, even though he's been battling a fever for the last few days, he loved it. He kept reaching for more and did a great job of mixing it in his mouth and swallowing it. It was actually pretty anti-climactic--but in the best way. We took pictures, and videos, and even FaceTimed with my parents and brother and sister-in-law. Another milestone reached!

His first food was just a pureed baked sweet potato mixed with a little water to thin it out. We'll eat this for a few days and then switch to something else. I found all kinds of little food recipes on the Weelicious website and I'm so excited to try them out. We're using these and these to store the food in the freezer. They're so convenient. The idea of encouraging River to love food as much as we do is so exciting. I've been reading this book and it makes me very curious to see what River's relationship with food will be like.

River, this month you...

Learned how to clap your feet
Tried food for the first time
Had your first bad fever
Learned to scoot all around the floor
Started reaching out to pet Hank
Made my heart melt daily