Dinner #2 consisted of black bean soup, baked potatoes, roasted broccoli, and banana bread. Bearing in mind that everything I make is gluten free and I hate to bake, the banana bread was both exciting and intimidating to consider. If I havent made this clear so far, the internet is the best thing that has happened to my cooking.
http://helenjane.com/2012/03/26/vegetarian-slow-cooker-black-bean-soup-recipe/
I told the kids we'd be having black bean soup for dinner, and the girls immediately got upset. Which is always a good way to start off a conversation about food, right? Due to unforseen cisrcumstances thatmay or may not have included getting caught up in a FB conversation while also cleaning the house, I didn't actually leave to the grocery store until noon. I had 25 minutes at home to prep the soup, which was on the nose how long it took. I put it up and ran out the door to get E from school. When I got home, I could aready smell it cooking, which is always a nice sign. When I walked in with the girls, Gus said "Mmm! What is that delicious smell?!"
I love the magic that makes this
Next up was the baked potatoes. Gus hates the taste of potatoes, and only eats them in french fry form. And that's a recent thing! She used to shun them completely. When I was younger, I would often bake a potato and eat with broccoli and a touch of cheese for dinner, and I really want my kids to learn to enjoy such simple, easy, and basic fare.
I bought smaller potatoes for the kids, not expecting much from them, and large ones for myself and my friend Abby. I rubbed them with olive oil, put a dash on them, and popped them in the oven for an hour. Then I pulled them out, cut them in half the long way, then slice each half the long way again. I lightly salted them, put a thin pad of butter one, then sprinkled on a little cheese.
And? The potatoes were a hit. Fred surprisingly didn't finish hers, but Gus loved them, and Earl devoured his. By the time I grabbed my phone, this is all that was left of the taters:
http://www.inspiredtaste.net/7388/cheddar-roasted-broccoli-recipe/
My kids already like broccoli, but they've' only had it raw and steamed. I wanted to make a special treat for them. Yes, I'm stupid. The broccoli came out of the oven with beautiful carmelization; I touched it with a little lemon juice and parmesan, a few shreds of cheese, and each child spit it out in disgust Oh, well. More for me and Abby!
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/banana_bread/
The banana bread recipe was completely intimidating to me. I've never enjoyed baking, not really knowing much about it, and in my head it's always very complicated and therefore best avoided. But I had promised the kids banana bread, and I felt bad reneging. As soon as Earl and I got back from school, we collected the ingredients and went to work. I debated having him help me mash the bananas, but he was amused enough watching me do it. It took all of 5 minutes to prep the batter and grease the pans. I'm so glad I did this - another thing vanquished, and it was a delicious and special end to dinner in a house where we rarely serve dessert.
Given the inconsistencies of our oven, I had to keep putting it back in to bake, and I'm so glad I did! Look at that caramelization on the bottom of the bread (cake)! It was really good, quick and easy to make, and free of most major allergens. This will definitely be appearing on our table again.
Dinner B was a major success. The kids loved it, they now know they love black bean soup and baked potatoes, I faced down a challenge, and we have a few items to add to our rotation of "foods the kids will happily devour". No regrets on the broccoli front either, as the adults got a nice treat. In the future I'll just have to make 2 different kinds of broccoli. I like how this started as expanding the kids' palettes and is turning into expanding Dani's options. On to planning 'C' dinner! (And to warming up Shabbat leftovers for dinner tonight.)
