Tractors!

I took Asher and Elie to the John Deere Tractor Museum this week. Asher was like a little kid in a candy store. He wanted to see and climb on everything at once!



The beginning of this video is of us walking up to the museum.

Who's who?

Can you guess which one is Asher and which is Elie?

Happy Boy!

Bath Time

Halibut Baked with Tomatoes and Fennel

Halibut Baked with Tomatoes and Fennel, Topped with Feta Crumb Crust

I love how all the different flavors come together. It's one of those dishes that you can prepare ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator (up to 6 hours) until you are ready to bake it.


Serves 6

4 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions thinly sliced
2 cloves thinly sliced garlic
1 cup thinly sliced fennel bulb
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
3 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, diced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 ½ pounds fresh halibut fillets, about 6 fillets (or any other white fish)
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
¼ cup white wine

TOPPING:
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
½ cup Panko or other dry bread crumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a sauté pan, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and sauté the onions, garlic and fennel bulb until softened but not brown. Remove from the heat.

Lightly oil a 3-quart baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and spread half the onion mixture in the bottom of the dish.

Scatter half the tomatoes on top and season with salt and several grindings of black pepper. Arrange the fish evenly on top of the tomatoes and scatter the basil on top.

Season well with salt and pepper. Drizzle with the wine. Layer with the remaining onion mixture followed by the remaining tomatoes.

To make the topping, crumble the feta cheese. Combine the feta, breadcrumbs, thyme and olive oil together to form a loose topping.

Scatter evenly over the top of the fish. The dish can be refrigerated, covered, at this point for up to 6 hours.

Bake for 30-35 minutes (40-45 if it has been refrigerated) or until the fish is done and the topping is a light golden brown.

SPLASH!

Yesterday afternoon I set up this splash/squirter pool for Asher. The boy was in heaven stomping and splashing and slipping and sliding all over it. He couldn't get enough of it!

Naked boy on the loose!

Asher is always escaping through Max's dog door and makes a beeline for his play set. Lately we have been letting him run around the house half naked for potty training purposes (a whole other blog post). And there he goes... now that is what he calls FREEDOM!

Children's Museum

Asher loves going to the children's museum. I love it too because I can let him run around like the wild man that he is, plop myself down and watch him explore.

Megan, we'll miss you!

Asher's babysitter, Megan-- who Asher adores, is going away for college this fall. We are sad to see her go but we wish her all the best during this exciting time in her life!

Seared Tuna Tostadas

I made these when we had our friends, Eric and Leah over last week for appetizers and drinks. They are perfect to serve company because a lot of it can be done ahead of time so you can relax and enjoy.

For the wasabi paste:
1/4 cup wasabi powder
1/4 cup water

For the wonton tostadas: (I just used rice crackers and omitted this part of recipe entirely)
Vegetable oil for frying
8 wonton wrappers, cut into quarters (about 2-inch squares)

For the salsa:
1 lb. (about 4) plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced (I preferred using avocado)
4 fresh shiso leaves (or 1 Tbs. fresh cilantro), chopped
2 scallions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. rice-wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the tuna:
1 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. toasted sesame oil
1 tsp. slivered fresh ginger
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 lb. very fresh tuna steaks (ahi is best), cut into rectangular logs about 1-3/4 inches thick and 5 inches long
1 Tbs. vegetable oil

For the garnish:
1/2 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
1/3 cup chopped scallions

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To make the wasabi paste

At least two days before serving, mix the wasabi powder with the water to form a soft paste. Cover and refrigerate.

To make the wonton tostadas

In a deep skillet, add oil to a depth of 1/2 inch. Heat the oil to 380°F -- a rice noodle will puff into a curlicue within 3 seconds or a cube of bread will turn golden in 15 seconds. (If the oil isn't hot enough, the tostados absorb too much oil and get soggy and greasy after just a few hours.) Fry a few of the wonton squares at a time until they're crisp and evenly golden on both sides, turning them during cooking if necessary, about 5 to 10 seconds. Lift out with tongs and drain on paper towels.

To make the salsa

In a bowl, stir together the tomatoes, shiso or cilantro, scallions, garlic, and rice-wine vinegar. Season with salt and pepper.

To make the tuna

In a bowl, combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, and pepper. Marinate the tuna in this sauce for 15 min. or up to 2 hours, turning it halfway through. Heat a cast-iron skillet over high heat with 1 Tbs. oil. When the oil is very hot -- it will be smoking -- put the tuna logs in the pan and sear, 20 to 30 seconds on each side; they should be seared outside and rare inside. Slice the logs into 1/4-inch pieces.

To assemble

Put a piece of tuna on a wonton. Spread a touch of wasabi paste on the tuna (not too much; it's very hot). Top with a spoonful of salsa. Garnish with a bit of crème fraîche and scallions.

Good Morning!

Final Version of Asher's Pledge

Lemon Meringue Pie

For Moises' birthday "cake" this year he requested a lemon meringue pie. I like to make mine with a graham cracker crust but I came across a pecan-oat pie crust recipe that seemed even better which, in my opinion was.

For the crust:

1 1/3 cup oats (not the quick cooking kind)
1 cup pecans
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon

When the oats are done, remove them from the oven. Transfer both the toasted oats and chopped toasted nuts to a food processor. Add the sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and salt and drizzle in the melted butter.

Process until the oats and nuts are finely ground and the mixture is cohesive. Happily for us, this stage will be obvious — all the ingredients will be moist and stick together.

Remove the mixture from the food processor and press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9- or 10-inch pie plate (not deep dish) that’s at least 1-1/4 inches deep, or a similar tart pan.

Bake at 350 degrees until it’s just barely beginning to brown, 14 minutes. Remove from the over and set it on a rack to cool.

Lemon Filling:

1 1/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups tepid water
4 large egg yolks
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Meringue:

5 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Prepare the filling: Combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a saucepan. Slowly add the water, stirring until smooth. Place over medium heat and bring to a gentle boil, stirring constantly. Boil to thicken, about 1 minute; remove from the heat.

Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl. Whisking constantly, slowly pour about 1/4 cup of the hot sugar mixture into the yolks. Slowly pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan, whisking until smooth. Stir in the lemon juice, zest, and butter, then return the pan to the heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and boil to thicken for 1 minute; remove from the heat. Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust.

Prepare the meringue: Place the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer at low speed until soft peaks begin to form. Increase the speed to medium and add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, beating just until stiff peaks form. Do not over beat.

Spoon the meringue over the filling decoratively, mounding it in the center and spreading it all the way to the outer edge, so it touches the crust.

Bake the pie in the center of the oven until the meringue is lightly browned on the edges, about 5 to 7 minutes. Do not allow the meringue to over color. Cool the pie on a rack. Refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving.

*Some things I do to prevent the pie from weeping is to add a teaspoon of cornstarch to the sugar when beating your meringue. Make sure your filling is HOT before topping with the meringue, this will help it set properly as well. And finally, be sure to allow the pie to cool completely before putting it in the fridge.

All in a row

I'm always finding Asher's toys around the house either neatly stacked up, lined up in a neat little row, or something like this. A mini circus of elephants, sippy cup, airplanes and firetrucks parading through the kitchen. I felt so bad putting them back in his toy box so I took a photo.

Mommy and Elie