First Regular Food Post in Forever: Chile Rellanos

I haven't been posting much about our regular food.  I've posted about holidays and such but not about the day-to-day.  Partially, I've just been busy busy and haven't taken any kitchen pictures.  I really admire food bloggers who can somehow stop the forward trajectory of dinner time to beautifully plate and display their food without their families totally losing their minds with hunger.  I am not that girl.

The other thing keeping me from blogging about food is that we have started to a grain-free, legume-free diet.  For us, that means I'm cooking more meat.  And frankly, pictures of cooking meat are just about the grossest pictures that exist.  It also means that in the kitchen, I don't know what I'm doing.  Here I am making gluten-free "pizza".

I wasn't sure how this diet change would work, but I wanted to give it a try because we were having so health issues.  Although I do feel better than ever, I haven't yet fully settled in to my new way of cooking and the cooking itself is messier and less photogenic.  That is more than made up for by my increased energy, lack of joint pain, and lack of chronic stuffy nose.  Still, a person's gotta blog.  So let's blog this.

The other night I made a grain-free version of one of my favorite comfort foods: Chile Rellenos.  Frankly, before we changed our eating habits, I never made this dish. I ordered it in restaurants and it came deliciously fried and with a side of beans and rice.  This version is baked without sides, but is still totally delicious.  The seasonings are vague.  Don't you just love a vague recipe?  See, I don't know what I'm doing yet.

Grain-Free Chile Rellenos

1 lb. chorizo, mild or hot depending on your preference
Rice or cauliflower "rice" (recipe follows)
cumin, chile powder, and/or other spices
hot sauce or salsa, to taste
6-8 poblanos, ends cut off and seeds and ribs removed
queso fresco

Preheat oven to 400F.

Remove chorizo from casings and prepare according to package instructions.  Drain the grease.  Add rice or cauliflower "rice" queso fresco and sautee.  Salt to taste.  You could also sautee and add any yummy veggies you like as long as they aren't too wet (or if they are too wet, drain them!)  Add hot sauce or salsa to taste.

Fill the peppers and place in baking pan.  Bake until heated through and the skins are bubbly, approximately

I'd also like to try a version of this recipe where I smother the peppers in melty cheese, but I haven't gone there yet.

Cauliflower Rice
1/2 head of cauliflower
1/8 cup red onion cut very teeny
1 TBS EVOO, coconut oil, bacon fat, lard, or other fat of your choice.
salt to taste

1.  Chop the cauliflower into small pieces and then pulse in food processor until the bits are rice-sized and uniform.
2.  Heat the fat in a pan and sautee onion until soft.
3.  Add cauliflower and sautee until entire mixture is warm.
4.  Salt to taste.

As a side note, grain-free, legume-free eating can get expensive in a hurry if you aren't careful.  This dish is nice because it uses inexpensive ingredients as its base and can easily be adapted for whatever you have on hand--even leftovers.

Flowers

Last week, Sarah got me flowers.

Aren't they pretty? They were to celebrate the sale of this towel that's been in the shop since day one. It had been put on like a zillion favorite lists but no one would buy it. Always a bridesmaid. Anyway, it finally found a home.  Here it is getting all dressed up for its big day.

I was sad to see it go. It's been one of my favorite pieces, with some really unique appliqués. I hope the new owner enjoys it.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to increase my small shop inventory.

I have a few pieces in process.

And I have a few new pieces in the shop.

I'm still working on taking awesome pictures. My pieces are tricky to photograph. They require bright light to accent the colors, which in a Chicago Spring is not in high supply. It's also really tricky to capture the detail. But I'm working on it.

I do much better with the more casual pictures.

Home Is Where The New Couch Is

We've made some recent upgrades to our living room.   Although it was lovely before, there was the issue of a giant, hideous broken tomato-colored uncomfortable couch that was simply ruining everything.  There was also the matter of our budget, which was and is as tight as can be.  Any changes had to be cheap and probably thrifted.

We were thrilled to find a very reasonably-priced Ikea couch and desk on Craigslist and to have accented it with a very cheap but new Ikea rug.

I do need a new shelf for under the window to hold books and fabric and other supplies. The perfect shelf in the the proper dimensions has proven elusive.   I may have to make it with my own two hands (and the hands of others who know more what they're doing).  The ottoman also cries out now to be refinished.  I don't know what direction that will take.  Ruby likes it how it is, of course.

I have also at long last put our vintage card catalogue (which was free, by the way) to good use holding some smaller fabric pieces and other notions.

Of course, now that I have this giant work table organized all nicely, I hate to mess it up with work.  I pretty much just want to sit here and gaze upon it's general awesomeness, its vast expanse of space, and imagine the possibilities.  Look at these beautiful linens all in their places!  How can I toss them around?

This is, of course, part of my own artistic struggle with perfection.  I probably should just be working in a cave with a cardboard box of material and a sewing machine on a card table.  That way, whatever I created would be a miracle.  Instead I have this new amazing space, rife with expectations.  Suffice it to say, I think this is the right problem to have.

Getting Out of Their Way

We've been working on some art, oh yes we have.

I finished this piece and it's now up in the shop.  Josie approves.

And Ellis has been finishing pieces, too.  My Aunt Ann gave Ellis an art kit for Christmas.  Although he has a full array of other art supplies at his disposal, there's something about this kit that seems to make him feel like an artist.  This art session was fully kid-directed.  His idea, his process.

This giant tube is from a new rug we got.  Totally his idea to paint it.  Also, for the record, he's wearing shorts underneath that t-shirt!  We have a pants-required policy for using paint.

He also created this paper towel piece.  I gave him the paper towel to wipe his hands off and he noticed the way the towel soaked up the paint and decided to make art out of it.  Children really are natural artists.  I have to keep reminding myself to get out of his way.

Spring Break: A Week of Milestones!

We didn't go anywhere but Sarah took several days off.  So we had some good family time.  And we conquered some milestones.

Ellis learned to write his whole name.  The best part of about that was that he was eligible for his first library card!  He was so proud.

Ellis got his first haircut at a "salon".  He's been having trouble sitting still for our at-home haircuts, so we needed to bring in the professionals.

He got to sit in a race car and watch The Little Mermaid.  Pretty sweet.

 
He enjoyed the experience and the results!

And finally, Ellis had his first eye exam.

I'll likely do an entire post at some point on kids and glasses.  But meanwhile, he loves them, can see better, and looks ridiculously cute in them.

Easter, After the Fact

Oh, Life, you do get in the way of blogging sometimes.  The catch-up is too big for one post, so I'll spread it out.  This post is Easter.

Last year, we used natural dyes for our eggs.  See?  This year I just wasn't that girl.  We used neon food coloring from the grocery store, oh yes we did.

Oh, I want to be that girl all the time, always seeking natural, lovely, environmentally sustainable everything for my family.  But as it turns out, that is a tricky business in the world these days.  And sometimes (often), I fall short.

There was an Easter egg hunt at our local park.  It pretty much covered our candy quota for the year.  Again, it'd be great to not get my kid all hopped up on HFCS and whatever else is in that candy.  But sometimes it's also nice to just to to the egg hunt that's happening three houses away.

In any case, Ellis had a great time.

 

Bunny ears, courtesy of Ava.

We had Easter dinner at my friend Venessa's house.  It was low-key and lovely. I made apple gorgonzola walnut salad and scalloped potatoes to go along with the leg of lamb Venessa roasted.  I tried a new potato recipe, courtesy of Martha Stewart.  It did not disappoint.  It shall be my new go-to scalloped potato recipe.  Except next time I will use more salt and pepper (I under-seasoned it for some reason), more cheese, and I will add nutmeg.  I may also make this into a casserole for regular eating by adding more veggies and some bacon or ham.

So that was Easter.  Stay tuned for more on Ellis' new glasses, kid art, our new couch, and new work.