Ryan Foster 4/17/15 Ryan Foster 4/17/15

Leisurely Sunday Morning Waffles

Sunday mornings at my house are special, and probably my favorite time of the week. There’s no rush to get up and go anywhere, and the mood is very casual. The three of us lounge in bed and watch television for about an hour before breakfast, which I love. I hate feeling rushed, especially when it’s time to cook. Keeping with the casual Sunday morning feel, breakfast is typically just as leisurely. There’s often mimosas involved, which makes the cooking (and eating), significantly more enjoyable than lets say, on your average weeknight.

Because our Sundays are so relaxed, it gives me the opportunity to make more involved meals. When boyfriend brought home a long awaited waffle iron, I was ready. I knew it would work perfectly for our Sunday mornings. So then came the issue of finding the perfect waffle recipe. We eat a lot of pancakes, so I’ve got those down pat, but waffles are a little different. The batter needs to be a little denser, but not so dense that it makes a thick, heavy waffle. You want them to be light and fluffy, but still hold up well to the syrup, whipped cream, and berries you’ll obviously top them with.

Ryan Foster 4/13/15 Ryan Foster 4/13/15

Simple 30 Minute Pasta

We’ve added another baby boy to our family. His name is George, and he’s a five-month-old, sixty-pound Bordeaux mastiff. He’s big, he’s playful, and he’s sweet. Also, he’s nearly impossible to control, so we’ve signed up for puppy training classes. The class is once a week at seven in the evening, which is a pretty annoying commitment given the time of day. It’s around the time we typically eat dinner, which is an issue in itself. If boyfriend doesn’t eat around the same time every day, he turns into a diva. Demanding, aggressive, on edge. His hunger really gets the best of him.

So one evening, about an hour before puppy class, I notice the diva emerging. He’s walking around the kitchen restlessly, snapping at the dogs, opening and closing cabinets. My first mind tells me “don’t cook anything, he’ll be fine until after class”. But I see him angrily chewing on a handful of dry cereal, and come to my senses. I roll my eyes, put on a pot of boiling water, chop some veggies, and in about thirty minutes we have a big, steaming bowl of pasta. Twenty minutes later, we’re in the car on the way to puppy class. The diva has disappeared, and my loving boyfriend is back. Further annoyance diverted.

Ryan Foster 4/10/15 Ryan Foster 4/10/15

Easy Homemade Chicken Stock

Sometime last year, I became really uncomfortable with canned goods. I’d been in the process of “healthy-fying” the contents of my refrigerator and pantry, replacing my standard eggs with cage free ones, dumping the standard milk for organic, etc. I finally reached the cabinet stacked with cans upon cans of beans, tomato paste, and chicken broth and thought to myself, “Hey self. How can you make this stuff better?”

I’m not neurotic about grass fed beef and organic produce. I’m just interested in feeding my family things that aren’t ridden with unnecessary pesticides and preservatives. Forget convenience. I started making beans in bulk and freezing them, and stopped buying them in cans. I switched to organic tomato sauce and paste. And I started making my own chicken and beef stock.

Ryan Foster 4/3/15 Ryan Foster 4/3/15

Easy Crock Pot Carnitas

The crockpot is typically considered a cold weather accessory. Slow cooking ragu, pot roast, soups, and stews are the norm. But what if I told you I was shaking the slow cooking trend up a bit, and ushering in spring with a crock-pot carnitas recipe? Brace yourselves. I’ve done it. After purchasing some random boneless pork at my favorite market. There’s something to be said about buying unfamiliar things at the market because the price has been reduced. Turns out it’s the ticket to unexpected deliciousness. It took me a few weeks to figure out how to best use it, but it was totally worth it.

The slow cooker is ideal for cooking things that need a low and slow type preparation. I literally tossed this boneless pork in with a can of beer, put it on low for eight hours, and got flavorful, tender, falling apart pork, perfect for tacos and tostados. The hardest part of this meal was toasting the tortillas.

Ryan Foster 4/1/15 Ryan Foster 4/1/15

Sweet Potato Banana Bread

Since ushering a little life into the world, sweet potatoes have become a staple in our household. Apparently, they’re one of the most nutrient rich, easy to digest foods for babies who are just starting to explore table food. So sweet potatoes it is, all around! Sweet potato pancakes, mashed sweet potatoes, sweet potato breakfast hash, and my most recent development – sweet potato banana bread. For anyone who loves classic banana bread, this spin kicks it up a notch. You still get the magic of banana bread, with the beautiful color and sweet undertone of the sweet potato.

Also, using a root vegetable puree is a fab way to incorporate beautiful moisture and color into whatever you’re making. One day I’ll bake something using beets, since I’m a hundred percent sure it’s equally as fabulous. Most importantly, this is a super easy recipe that just works for those three leftover overripe bananas in the bunch. We all know no one’s going to eat them. Bake them!