Photo: hermitsmoores’

Upon my recent return from New Orleans, I gave you a killer family meal idea: a hummus platter dinner. A great tip for sure  (has it become a go-to weeknight meal at your house, too?), but not exactly the Big Easy flavors you may have expected. I owe you. And it’s pay up time. Sort of.

New Orleans has a ton of great seafood and draws a lot of inspiration from traditional French cooking. This equates to (among other things) a lot of creamy seafood preparations like a favorite of mine, crawfish etouffee. Since I didn’t indulge in any such dishes this past visit, I decided to make one at home. Except I didn’t use cajun seasoning. The big kid is going through a “no spicy” phase, so I substituted Old Bay for my favorite Tony Chachere’s creole seasoning. Hm. I guess that means that  this isn’t much of an homage to New Orleans after all. Oh well. It’s good. And it reminds me of my shrimp salad, a favorite lobster roll substitute inspired by the Old Bay brown butter I had at Momofuku Ko.

So have I settled the score? If not, substitute your preferred creole seasoning for Old Bay (modulate the amount for how much heat you want). And keep tuning in. I’ve got another trip to New Orleans coming up in June. I’ll get ya back then.

Old Bay Shrimp Pasta

(can be adapted for kids 10+ mos)*

1 lb organic pasta (I like linguine or fettuccine)
3 tbsp organic butter
2 cloves organic garlic, minced
1/3 c chopped organic celery
1 1/2 tbsp Old Bay seasoning
1 1/2 dozen medium shrimp, shelled & deveined*
1/4 c white wine (optional)
1 tbsp organic tomato paste
1/2 c organic chicken broth
1 1/2 c organic heavy cream
organic parmesan
ground black pepper
chives or celery leaves (optional, for garnish)

1. Put a large pot of salted water on medium-high heat (about 6 qts water to 2 tbs salt). Bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain, and set pasta aside.

2. In the meantime, melt butter in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic and celery; saute until soft and fragrant. Add Old Bay and stir quickly to coat veggies, making sure not to burn the seasoning. Add shrimp and white wine, stir.

3. When wine has cooked off and shrimp are just opaque, add tomato paste. Cook for 1 minute, then add broth and cream. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring, to bring all of the flavors together.

4. Add pasta and toss to coat. Take off heat and finish with grated parmesan and pepper to taste. (Old Bay has salt added—I don’t add any additional.) Garnish and serve.

*Note: Food introduction guidelines are constantly changing. There is mounting evidence that even high allergen foods can be carefully introduced as early as 6-8 months so long as the child has no personal or family history of allergies. (Read here, here and here to learn more.) Shellfish is considered a high allergen food and the traditional recommendation is to hold off on introducing shellfish until 12+ mos or even 3+ years if the child has a history of food allergies. Speak to your pediatrician about what’s best for your child. And you can always substitute a firm flaky fish for shrimp in this recipe.

I love this meal. It’s simple. It’s quick. It’s hearty and affordable. You’ll spend about $15 and get a huge pasta meal that, unless you have 4 ravenous or 6 people total, will give you leftovers (yummy even cold). And, if you want to save a few bucks or keep it vegetarian, just skip the sausage. It’s still delicious.

If you’re like me and keep roasted cherry tomatoes in the fridge for when you need a quick meal, this will take 30 minutes max to throw together. Otherwise, start roasting the tomatoes about 45 minutes before dinnertime. Go back to whatever you were doing for 15 minutes, then take the last 30 to start putting dinner together. What more is there to say?

Penne with Roasted Tomatoes, Sausage & Ricotta
(can be served to kids 10+ mos)

2 pints organic cherry or grape tomatoes
1/3 c organic olive oil, plus more for sauteing sausage
1 lb organic penne
1 lb sweet italian sausage (turkey or pork), cut into 1″ pieces
7 oz ricotta (about 1/2 of a 15 oz container)
salt and pepper

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees and roast tomatoes: throw them in a roasting pan with 1/3 c olive oil and a healthy sprinkle of salt. Cook for 45 minutes, unattended.

2. 15 minutes into your roasting time, put a large pot of salted water on medium-high heat (about 6 qts water to 2 tbs salt). Bring to a boil. Add penne and cook until al dente. Drain, saving a mugful of cooking water. Set pasta aside.

3. Very lightly coat the bottom of the pot you cooked your pasta in with olive oil. When hot, add sausage and saute until cooked through, about 5-10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove cooked sausage from pot and drain remaining fat.

4. Return pasta to pot. Add sausage and roasted tomatoes, complete with oil and accumulated juices. Stir in ricotta and season with salt and pepper. The oil and juices from the tomatoes should thin the ricotta nicely. If not—if it’s too thick—use some of the reserved pasta cooking water to thin it to your desired consistency.

• Basil – has strong antioxidant properties and volatile oils that have antibacterial properties, and it may decrease the immune response to allergens.
• Cardamom – contains essential oils that have high antioxidant properties and could help alleviate ulcers and has anti-inflammatory properties.
• Celery – the leaves can substitute for parsley. Contains polyacetylenes, substances that are highly toxic against fungi and bacteria. Essential oils in celery seeds has been shown to have anticancer properties.
• Cilantro/Coriander – could help with diabetes, digestive health, heart health and contains dodecenal which in laboratory studies is effective at killing salmonella.
• Cinnamon – could reduce blood pressure and contribute to heart health.
• Cloves – contain eugenol, a substance that could be helpful for relieving pain, killing bacteria and reducing inflammation.
• Cumin – is rich in essential oils that have been associated with blood glucose-lowering effects. It is found to be highly effective at killing the H. pylori bacteria associated with stomach ulcers.
• Garlic – contains allicin, a bacteria killer, and saponin, a cholesterol soaker-upper. A study out of London found that garlic may help decrease preeclampsia complications at birth.
• Ginger – is rich in antioxidants and could protect against cancer. It’s also been shown to help with motion and morning sickness.
• Horseradish/Wasabi – contains glucosinolates, which are known cancer and bacteria fighters. Wasabi is known to prevent tooth decay
• Mint – contains phenolic compounds that have strong antioxidant activity and may prevent E. coli bacteria from forming.
• Oregano – a study showed that oregano oil caused damage to E. coli bacteria within one minute, and another study showed it to cause damage to a parasite that causes diarrhea and abdominal pain.
• Parsley – contains many volatile oils with cancer protective properties, and can lower blood sugar.
• Peppers – contain capsaicinoids which are inflammation reducing phytochemicals.
• Rosemary – contains polyphenolic compounds that could inhibit oxidation and bacterial growth of E. coli.
• Turmeric – contains curcumin which could be a cancer-fighter and have anti-inflammatory properties.

Super herb home-made baby food
According to Dave, a tablespoon of oregano packs the same antioxidant strength as an apple! Why not add some fresh herbs to your next batch of veggies and whiz some into the puree. Add flavor and boost baby’s antioxidant intake.   An herby puree the whole family will love is this spinach basil pesto, a great alternative to butter or oil on cooked pasta.

Dry works as well as fresh
I don’t know about your kiddos, but my boys usually find tiny green flecks of fresh herbs and pick them out of salads. Herbs do have a strong fresh flavor that probably doesn’t appeal to most kids who are learning to tolerate bitter flavors. I know eventually they’ll eat them raw, but for now, in addition to cooking fresh herbs down in sauces and using them to flavor stocks for soups, I try to include as many dry spices in our meals as possible. To make taco night a breeze I mixed up this home-made taco seasoning which contains six super spices. Our morning oatmeal — with cloves, ginger and cinnamon —reminds me of pumpkin pie.

Optimize your stalks
Unless you have an herb garden, buying fresh herbs can be pricey. Don’t waste the stalks, toss them in a zip lock back with other veggie scraps and collect in the freezer. Use your veggie scraps to flavor meat stocks or simmer in a pot of water, then strain. Use the vegetable broth for soup or to replace water when cooking grains.

Natural food dyes
Make food colorful without the toxins in commercial food coloring. Use turmeric to turn rice yellow, and try wilted pureed herbs to turn pizza, tortilla or pita dough green.

About Jenna
At Food with Kid Appeal, Jenna blogs about her journey to feed her family whole food and grow good eaters with the obstacles of high food costs, a demanding day job, and a barrage confusing nutrition  information in the news.  Follow her on her mission to nourish her carnivore Hubby, and two sons:  unfamiliar-food-protester 5 year old Big Boo and picky-palate 3 year old Little Boo.

• Inspired by Cathy Erway’s new book, The Art of Eating In, the Huffington Post challenges us to eat in for a whole week. Starts on Monday. Join in! (via Huffington Post)
• Jamie Oliver at TED: On a Mission to Feed Kids Better (via Civil Eats)
• Why Childhood Obesity is a Matter of National Security (via Living Liberally)
• Marion Nestle applauds Michelle Obama’s campaign against childhood obesity (via Food Politics)

Things I Crave

• I was recently offered (free) samples of Crofter’s Organics Superfruit Spreads. I gave my usual spiel about not promising to post about the product but, lo and behold, these are delish! The ChowPapa, ChowBaby and I liked all 4 flavors, made with nothing more than fruit, pectin & fair trade cane sugar. Packed with antioxidants from around the globe, each jam is named after the continent from where its antioxidant-rich fruit is indigenous. Find out more, including where to buy, here.
• I’m so getting this new book Free for All: Fixing School Food in America by sociologist Janet Poppendieck who “takes us through the deals, concessions and compromises that have bureaucratized the school food process while simultaneously dumbing down the food.” This is a must-read, people (via Civil Eats)
• I LOVE this gold Ritz cracker necklace!! Adorable! (via Happy Lady Eats)
• Beautifully hip, these melamine plates depicting the four seasons are on sale for $54 with 100% of all profits going to the Oxfam efforts in Haiti (via Oh Joy!)

Green Your Eats

• This is an old post, but I just came across it… and it’s super useful: multigrain pasta taste test (via Slashfood)

Tips, Tools & Techniques

• Thoughtful, useful and clear design—organize your kitchen using this (free) downloadable how-to guide from Hello Kitchen
• Bring out your inner Martha with these oh so lovely food craft and gift ideas from Design*Sponge

Weekly Roundtable

• I started the week warming things up with soup: Broccoli and Cheddar Soup
• I kept things rolling vegetarian with a hearty vegetable main entree: Quick Curried Cauliflower with Pistachio Couscous

Non-Resolution Update

• So, 5 weeks in and I’ve gone to the gym 3 times each week… except this week, which was ridiculously busy. So busy, in fact, that I haven’t even gone once. But maybe all of the running around counts?
• I did manage to eat fish once and a bunch of vegetarian meals, so all was not lost. (Right?!)
• I still haven’t managed to get a massage, but I’m close to finished with the wedding album (hallelujah!), got to eat two awesome meals out and am heading to New Orleans for a week on Sunday—I can’t complain!

Photo: Martha Stewart

I love risotto. (Who doesn’t?) Rich, creamy and endlessly versatile, it can be made to suit most any occasion, winter, spring, summer or fall. But despite this, risotto has a reputation for being a special occasion dish. Even I fall victim to this, sometimes thinking that it’ll take too much time or is unnecessarily fussy for a quick weeknight meal. I was recently reminded, though, that risotto is as basic as it comes. The most simple version is made entirely of pantry staples including olive oil, onion, rice and broth. And, as a 2-pot dish that has about an 18 minute cooking time and can be fed to kids as young as 8+ months, I’d say it’s a PERFECT family meal.

There are many classic risottos: milanese made with beef stock and flavored simply with saffron; risotto al Barolo made with red wine; seafood risotto, sometimes made black by the ink of squid or cuttlefish; and mushroom risotto rich in umami flavor from rehydrated porcini mushrooms. But these are far from the whole of your options. In fact, since risotto can hold (and make delicious) a huge variety of added ingredients, I’ve come to think of my weeknight versions as kitchen sink meals. I start by checking the fridge for unused veggies and build from there, adding stock (chicken, beef or veggie), cheese (traditional parmesan and pecorino, or any cheese that melts easily like feta or fontina), and herbs and flavorings (anything from leftover chives to lemon zest to dried mint). Simple as that.

Remember the carrot sticks that never made it into my ChowBaby’s birthday spread? Well, they were aging in my fridge when I most recently decided to make risotto. Since carrots were the only veg I added to the rice, I replaced onions with shallots and added white wine for slightly more depth of flavor. The nutty sweetness of parmesan paired nicely with the carrots, also adding a balancing bite of salt. (I even added some frozen peas to my ChowBaby’s portion to ensure that he got plenty of veggies while we chomped on salad.)

So, re-think risotto! Keep a bag of arborio rice in your pantry along with olive oil, onions and stock. Put together with whatever veggies and cheese you have in the fridge, you’ll have a quick any night meal in no time.

Basic Risotto
(can be served to kids 8+ mos)

1/4 c organic olive oil
1 organic onion, chopped
1 c arborio rice
1/4 c white wine (optional)
6-8 c organic broth (usually chicken or vegetable)
1/2 c organic grated cheese (usually parmesan)
salt and pepper

1. Heat stock to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to lowest setting, keeping the broth hot but making sure that it doesn’t cook off.

2. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and saute until translucent, about 2 minutes. [This is where you'd add most veggies and other ingredients, like sausage or bacon, to personalize. You'd saute the ingredients until done before adding the rice. Some veggies, like mushrooms, are sometimes sauteed separately and added at the end, but on weeknights I add them here to keep this a 2 pot meal. Just be sure to cook off most of the liquid before adding rice. If necessary, you can always add another tablespoon or two of olive oil so that the rice won't stick.]

3. Add rice, stirring to make sure that all of the grains get coated with oil, and cook until rice begins to turn translucent, about another 2 minutes.

4. Add wine. Cook until most of the liquid is absorbed.

5. Begin adding broth, 1/2 cup at a time. Stir constantly, waiting for each batch of broth to be about 3/4 absorbed before adding the next. (One way to tell if it’s time to add more broth: your spoon should leave a trail that holds for a moment as you drag it across the bottom of the pan.) Risotto is done when the rice is al dente—is should be cooked through but still be a little toothsome. You may not use all of the broth. In fact, towards the end of the cooking process—which should take about 18-20 minutes—you may want to taste along the way and begin adding broth in amounts less than a 1/2 cup.

6. Turn off heat. Stir in parmesan, salt and pepper. [You'd stir in zest and finishing herbs here, as well]

Carrot Risotto
(can be served to kids 8+ mos)

1/4 c organic olive oil
3 organic shallots chopped
4 organic carrots, cleaned and grated
1 c arborio rice
1/4 c white wine (optional)
6-8 c organic chicken broth
1/2 c organic grated parmesan
salt and pepper

• In step 1 above, after sauteing onions until translucent, add carrots. Saute until soft, about a minute or so before adding rice and continuing as directed above.
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