I always thought I would be one of those moms who pureed all her babies' food way ahead of time and had it labeled and had it perfect in the freezer and ready for my little ones. When I was pregnant with Ellington, my pediatrician told me about baby led weaning ("BLW"). She recommended it and did it with her kids. I read up on BLW and as soon as I heard that there was a food introduction method that cuts down on time slaving over a blender and putting it in small containers, I was sold. I love ...
Recipes
Pistachio Cherry Granola Recipe
If you know me, you know I love making and gifting granola. It's such a special treat when it's made with good ingredients and love. I've heard from most people I give it to that they hide their granola (randomly, often in their nightstand) and don't share it with their family or friends. This granola also has the perfect balance of sweet and salty so it's hard to stop eating. I hope you enjoy this pistachio cherry granola recipe (and sometimes share with others!). I have given this out in ...
Whole Octopus Recipe
Whenever my cousin Anika comes into town, we primarily cook and drink wine together. Both of us love to cook and be in the kitchen together. Anika had the idea of making a whole octopus so we decided to do a bit spanish/mediterranean with the menu. We made Food 52's recipe for whole octopus. We went to Quality Seafood - an excellent fish market on the Redondo Pier in walking distance from our house. We bought one whole 2.5 lb octopus and 6 baby octopus. The octopus looks large, but it ...
Clean out the Fridge Soup
We returned home from the Bay Area for Thanksgiving and I definitely ate more than I planned on eating. I generally stuck to my food restrictions given to me by my GI (no acidic foods; small portions), but the choices were not spectacular. We had also been gone a week so I needed to clean out the fridge. Enter clean out the fridge soup – a very forgiving recipe (if you can even call it that). The key is using fresh herbs (if you have them, not fatal if you don’t) and not overcooking it. I know I ...
Wild Salmon Cake Recipe on a Grateful Thanksgiving Day
The Sarnor family is a blended family. Lateef was married before and he and Sophia had Evan. One of the things I am most thankful for is that our blended family functions so smoothly. This recipe for wild salmon cakes is a recipe Sophia shared with us and it is now in my holiday brunch rotation. One caveat, this recipe does take a bit of time so I would not personally make it if I were also hosting on the same holiday, but this is perfect if you are just bringing a dish or two to someone else's ...
Review of Udi’s Gluten Free Bagels
My whole family was in town this past weekend for Sienna's dedication (like a christening). My parents and sister Jackie stayed with me and my cousin Khari (Sienna's newly minted godfather) was over every morning at 8:30 to get the party started. When I have a house full, one of the mornings I usually end up asking Lateef to run and get bagels and lox - even hungry hungry mama gets tired of cooking every meal. I asked him to stop at Whole Foods and grab me a bag of Udi's Gluten Free Everything ...