Baked Potatoes with Jalapeños

We are huge fans of baked potato night in our house. It is the perfect dinner with a little pepper-crusted broiled steak on the side. Well. The perfect dinner just got better. :) Have you ever tried putting jalapeños on your baked potato? It takes the baked potato to a whole new place. Tonight we used butter, sour cream, finely grated cheddar, diced red onion, steamed broccoli and diced jalapeños. I'm never going back to plain old bacon, cheddar and chives! All of the warm creamy ingredients with the zest of the red onion and the spice of the jalapeños made for an interesting, flavor-packed potato like never before. Delicious!

What are your favorite weeknight meals? Do you like to experiment with new flavor combos or stick to the classics? 

Baked Potatoes on the Grill

Baked potato night is one of our favorites, but baked potatoes from the grill are even yummier! I'm in the process of perfecting our grilling/picnic kit after Saturday night. We packed up and grilled by the lake at sunset. It was dreamy!

I have to admit that when we moved to the city last summer and gave up two balconies, I was a little worried about not having any outdoor space. Here in Zurich lots of people don't have any outdoor space, but the city is set up so beautifully, you almost don't need any. In the Coop, you can buy potatoes pre-wrapped in gold foil for grilling and single use grills. The grills light with just one match and give your food that wonderful charcoal grilled taste. Isn't that just too perfect?

When we move back to the States we will buy a house. Then we'll have plenty of outdoor space, and I'll love it and never take it for granted! Lately I have days when I really want a garden for Coco to (very soon) crawl around in, or to be able to hang out laundry in the sun, and I'd love to grow veggies and flowers. When that time comes, it will be lovely. But for now, city life in Zurich is pretty much as good as it gets! Do you have outdoor space where you live? Do you use it as much as you could?

The Perfect Eggs and Hashbrowns

Lately I have a new obsession. Hash browns topped with over-medium eggs, bacon, cheddar, diced avocado and Tapatío hot sauce. It is unbelievably perfect. Heaven on a plate. What an odd twist of fate. After months of missing and pining away for Mexican food, hash browns and breakfast sausage, I've pretty much learned to make everything I love and miss by myself and from scratch. Bravo!

If you would like to recreate this perfect breakfast (it also makes a good lunch!) I've shared the recipe with you after the break. :)

The key to really yummy hash browns is super hot oil. I use organic sunflower oil and you want it to be shimmering before you throw your shredded potato in there. Do you see the shimmer? That's on high heat right there. No messing around or you'll wind up with soggy, greasy hash browns. No, thank you! Put the oil in the pan to heat up while you prepare your potato.

A regular cheese grater will get the job done just fine, but a mandoline makes it that much easier and faster! Wash and peel your potato and then shred. Now wait for the oil to start shimmering and then toss it in. Use a spatula to spread it evenly in uniform thickness.

Once they're in the pan sizzling away, be patient. I typically put a lid on them and dice the avocado. Then I check my email or do whatever dishes are lying around while I resist the urge to check on them or touch them. Wait until the edges are well browned if you like 'em crispy, or golden if you don't. Then use your spatula to loosen completely and flip in one piece!

Grate some cheddar while you wait a few minutes more. Then put the finished hash browns on a plate and sprinkle with the cheddar. Set aside while you make the bacon and eggs. 

I like to use a little cubed pancetta when I add bacon. I just toss it right in and sautée a few minutes in the leftover oil from the hash browns. Then I break the eggs right on top, pour in a half an eggshell of water on the exposed bottom of the pan, and throw the lid on it to trap in the steam. I take the eggs out promptly when the whites are done, thanks to the steam, and the yolk is still runny. Yum!

The eggs go on top of the cheddar-sprinkled hash browns and then the diced avocado and lots of Tapatío go on last. Enjoy!

What is your favorite breakfast? And, more importantly, do you prefer hash browns or homefries? xo

The Extreme Weather Weekend

Our weekend was completely awesome. J was feeling super sick Friday evening because he was still recovering from a virus he had picked up at school. But then, by the time we'd had breakfast on Saturday morning, he was starting to feel better! It was a super hot, sunny day, so we got our stuff together and headed down to the Badi for a relaxing afternoon of reading, swimming and taking in the view. It was pretty much the perfect day.  

I'll probably say this a million times in my life, but once you have a baby, you just don't travel light anymore! It was blistering hot on Saturday, so we were really thankful for our umbrellas. I had my first swim of the season and the lake felt like silk. It was also so disorienting/liberating/amazing to dive in the water without a big pregnant belly! First time swimming since giving birth. Wowza! 

Coco got all tuckered out splashing around in the baby pool, which is probably the cutest thing you'll ever see. Sorry I don't have photos, but I wasn't brave enough to bring my camera to the baby pool for two reasons: One, because there are children. Everywhere. And some of them are running and cameras are expensive. Two, because Coco is still quite tippy when she's sitting and I'd feel absolutely terrible if she tipped over while I was several feet away taking her photo instead of sitting right behind her in case she falls. Particularly into the water, even if it is only two inches deep. That's just not a risk a mommy takes! So, for now, no pictures. But I'm sure we'll come up with a team system to get her photo splashing around in there. That is if the weather ever returns to being summery. 

Which takes us to Sunday. My goodness! Sunday was probably the stormiest day of all time. We woke up to hail the size of nickels. Some people will tell you they were bigger than that, but let's be literal. They were not the size of golf balls. Not even close. But they were definitely the size of nickels, maybe with the odd quarter thrown in. It was so loud and scary. I thought - I don't know what I thought - I just woke up in a state of panic and J was already out of bed and on guard and confused and then he said it was hail, so I started to get back into the bed until I saw the ice cubes being hurled out of the sky and then I closed the window and just watched in complete awe. It was scary. Hazardous. It made me glad we don't have a car that we park on the street. It didn't last long (and it was hot out so those ice balls melted quickly!) but I did get one, not very good photo. Yikes.

The pouring rain and thunder and lightning continued all day. So I did what any normal person would do. I baked cupcakes while Coco pushed around on the kitchen floor squealing with delight. Gotta love that girl. She's enthusiastic and can entertain herself to boot. 

Why is it so satisfying to cream butter and sugar together? I can never resist tasting a finger-full before adding the eggs.

Vanilla extract is definitely on my list of goodies to have my mom bring from the States when she visits this summer. Along with a bunch of other things I can't think of right now and really need to start writing down so I don't forget! 

I was a hopeless baker until I got pregnant and heard an invaluable trick from my friend Romy. Her advice: Don't use a timer when baking, just go off of how it smells. When it smells ready, it's done. Infallible!

I've taken to baking everything gluten-free with this flour. So far cakes and cookies turn out perfect. J took a dozen cupcakes to work, we have a few left and the rest went to our wonderful neighbors. So far I've yet to get a picture of one frosted because they're gobbled up too quickly! A sure sign they're yummy. :)

What did you get up to on your weekend? Did you have crazy, night and day weather back-to-back, too? Happy Monday! xo

Mexican Food in Switzerland

The lack of good Mexican food is one of the hardest things about living in Switzerland. Once we went to Tres Kilos, which is supposedly the best Mexican in the whole country, and spent 100 francs on a terribly disappointing meal. :( It's bad enough now, but when I was pregnant it was absolute torture! I craved nothing more than Mexican food. It's kind of insane, but I used to dream (like several times a week!) that J and I were walking along in Zurich, and then suddenly there was a Chipotle that we had just never noticed before! Can you imagine?! It's like those dreams New Yorkers have of discovering extra rooms in their tiny apartments. So, we would run inside and get in line, and I'd be giddy thinking about my order and then every time. Every. Single. Time. Something would happen and we would never get to the front of the line! One time the dream was so overly elaborate that a gang fight broke out, complete with gunfire and ambulances, but usually, I just woke up. So sad.

Instead of continuing to dream of Mexican food, I've learned to make it all myself. It's very time consuming, but so worth it.  What could be better than fresh guacamole and salsa made with heirloom tomatoes and lots of fresh squeezed lime juice? Mmmmm. Not much. What is your favorite food? Do you ever dream about it? 

The Perfect Tuna Salad

Last week I had a craving for tuna salad, so I set out to make one that matched my craving. I was after a tuna salad with no mayo, lots of fresh and zesty flavors, big tender hunks of tuna rather than all mashed together, and for satisfaction's sake, a bit of crunch. I found a recipe online with most of what I was looking for and then adapted it for the perfect tuna salad.

The Perfect Tuna Salad (adapted from Tuna Salad Sandwich Recipe by Elise on Simply Recipes)

• 2 cans (81 g each) of white tuna packed in olive oil
• 1 shallot finely chopped
• 3 celery stalks thinly sliced
• 1 Tablespoon capers
• Juice of half a lemon
• Pinch of dill
• 2 Tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon whole grain dijon mustard

For serving:

• Sliced baguette
• Butter
• Crema di Balsamico
• Salt & vinegar potato chips
• Coca-Cola

Drain one can of tuna and flake into mixing bowl, then add the tuna and oil from the other can to the mix. Add the other ingredients and mix gently until just incorporated. Be careful not to over mix.

We served ours open-faced on buttered baguette and then drizzled with crema di balsamico. A side of salt & vinegar chips and a Coke kept the menu down to earth. ;) It was so delicious we made it again two days later! Try it. You will absolutely love it. 

Endspurt

You know that immensely difficult last push through a long and arduous task, like say the school year if you're a teacher? Well, in German they actually have a word for it: Endspurt. It translates very well. In Switzerland, people will wish you a "good endspurt" much like you might wish someone a happy birthday.

I'm taking all the wishes for a good endspurt that I can get. These days, J and I are just SO tired! Really, we are seriously running out of steam.

Luckily when trying to push through an endspurt, there is a breakfast that is fast, easy as pie and gives you lots of energy right through lunchtime. Just the ticket. Thank you, oatmeal, for being so wonderful!

Saturday Morning

Saturday morning is my favorite of all mornings. Friday nights we get a lot of sleep and then wake up on our own (no alarm!) and snuggle until we're ready to get out of bed. I'm especially happy this Saturday because it's raining and cloudy and inside feels so cozy and warm with a cup of strong coffee.

Today I tried a new recipe from my America's Test Kitchen Cook Book. I made the Cream Biscuits, which they promised would be fast at only 30 minutes start to finish and light. They were both. If I had taken them about just a few minutes earlier, they would have been a bit moister and chewier, but they were not the least bit dense or heavy. Overall very impressive, especially because I used Schär Gluten Free flour! Because I was on a roll, I also whipped together some pork breakfast sausages that I adapted from this recipe. I prefer the Hot version, but I up the sage and omit the MSG - of course! 

All in all, a pretty perfect morning if you ask me. What do you do on Saturdays? What are your weekend rituals?

Stretching Menus

My New Year's resolution is to stick to our monthly budget. I'm very good at making budgets thanks to the handy and intelligent Excel spreadsheet. And it does gives me such a great feeling of satisfaction to know that everything is accounted for and planned out. The problem is that once that fateful payday has occurred and I've made the requisite transfers to our savings account and US account to pay our student loans, then everything goes to pot. Somehow, we wind up spending more than I had planned, and along with the overspending seems to come a lot of wasted food. Why didn't I freeze that leftover chili? I completely forgot about those tender asparagus spears! Clunk, thud, it all goes in the garbage. Bad.

This weekend we're having one of our favorites: Roast Chicken. Typically, we only get two meals out of a roast chicken and then wind up wasting the rest because it becomes unappealing having sat in the fridge covered in saran wrap for too long. Not this chicken! It's a free range chicken from France and I intend to get every last Franc out of it.

Tonight we'll have the roast chicken with vegetables, same tomorrow. Then, I'm going to pull the rest of the chicken from the carcass and make Oriental Chicken Salad from Nourishing Traditions. 

Do you think I can get more from this chicken? Please send me your ideas! I hereby declare 2011 the year of waste not, want not. 

Out of Time

Sometime in early to mid-November when my December issue of Sunset magazine arrived, I was really taken in by an article titled Kanella Christmas by Joyce Maynard. Her cookies, the Kanellas, sound absolutely amazing, and I've been fancying her Kanellas my signature cookie every since. I've gone so far as to tell many friends about these fabulous cookies I'm going to make and give to coworkers and loved ones alike. I've described them and their adorable, stubby, misshapen form. I've even imagined myself years from now eating a lovely Kanella and thinking I really hit the nail on the head back in 2009 when I found that Kanella recipe. They're just right, I imagine myself thinking then as I do now. Timeless, simple, yet surprising.

Keep in mind I have yet to taste a Kanella. I can tell you that the recipe seems like a good one and that the picture on page 76 of this month's Sunset is adorable. It's just I don't seem to have enough time. And while I know everyone says that, as the year draws to a close this is something that is really troubling me. Over the past week, I finally got through all of my obligations for work and now it's 9pm and the Kanellas take two hours. I have the whimsical jars to present them in, charming gift tags and all the ingredients in my kitchen. It's just not going to happen tonight.

I have to go to bed now. 26 children need me to be full of energy for them tomorrow. Maybe I'll just lug all the ingredients in to school and make the Kanellas with them. Now there's an idea. Besides, I can't risk everyone going on a diet and not eating them come January!