I have often got the best table in the house, though I use open table in much smaller markets, like the Outer Banks (the Left Bank is fabulous by the way!) and Gervasi Vineyards in Canton, OH.

Good ideas here for using the oven/broiler--i don't have a gas burner. My question is this? Why do you have to peel it? Does the char taste that bad?

Yes, we had the same goulash too--absolutely NO flavor. Mom also made "Spanish rice"--the same thing with rice instead of elbows. Those were the dishes that sent me over the edge and made me take over the cooking at age 10. No offense to those who like it, though, I just like spicy!

Sounds great! DD liked Mahi last time we had it. DH is not a salmon lover but if I could recruit my daughter that means we can have it more often...yay!

oooh that sounds tasty!

Makes sense. Thanks for the maple syrup info!

Here's the link to the soup recipe. It is scrumptious! I heart kale is a great blog!
http://iheartkale.blogspot.com/2008/0...

My daughter is in the stage where she doesn't like to be spoon fed but doesn't have teeth so meals get very messy--which is fine at home but when we are snacking on the go I don't want to have to change her clothes (or mine!).
Nice blog! Ahh..rationing bananas and baby crack (I mean graham crackers!), yes, add in dirty diapers and saying "No!" and that is my life....;)

Great! I'll have to try the crisps. Any recipes are appreciated!

Thanks!

Oh yes, she loves hummus and pita. Her first real hummus (when she was a baby her "hummus was just pureed chickpeas and roasted garlic with oil--now she is old enough for tahini) was at Jazz Fest in New Orleans!
Thanks for reminding me, we are out of apple butter! Got to go to the farmers market soon!

It all sounds so good, I'm drooling! Well I forgot to post what I ended up making.
I started with some frozen chicken breast tenderloins (not enough to do very much with for three people besides making a meat sauce!), a shallot and garlic, the lonely leftover heirloom tomato, some tomato paste (to make up the difference), olive oil, balsamic vinegar, pesto, oregano, lots of feta cheese, greek olives and whole wheat rotini. I didn't know what it was going to be until it was almost done. When DH called and asked, "what's for dinner?" I told him that I wasn't sure and not to get excited cause it probably wasn't going to be any good. We all loved it and later he commented that my nervousness is a sure sign of a good dinner experiment! It was a good use of leftovers! The ripe tomato and the sweetness of the balsamic paired well with the creamy feta and salty olives! I didn't like the dark color of the sauce--but otherwise it was good enough for company!

sounds like my cooking style!

Yum! Is your recipe top secret?

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions! Here's an update.

I went to whole foods and got a couple of healthier versions of what I know she likes--Cheddar bunnies, stone wheat crackers, and vanilla wafers (with actual vanilla in it!!!).

I bought a couple of travel containers so that I can take messier snacks on the go! I'm still looking for cute and eco-friendly bento boxes and lunch boxes/wraps.

DD tried tofu for the first time last night---Yum! She likes it with teryaki sauce and toasted sesame seeds. And so do I.

Does anyone know:
When do kids start eating chocolate? Honey? Maple syrup? We use dark chocolate in our healthy cookies, and would like to make them for her.
Here's the recipe link:
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/...
seriously--make them!! they are great!
And I put unsweetened chocolate in my black bean soup which I think she would like too...just wondering...

so true!

The plantain chips and rice crackers sound like good ideas--I'll have to buy lots so I can snack too! DD loves plantains--we eat them alot!

What would we do without Trader Joe's? I'm afraid that I'll find out soon. We're moving and the city that we are moving to (Akron, OH) doesn't have one yet. DH and I are already talking about making regular TJ's runs. We tried tofu last night and she loved it! I bought some travel containers so that we can take some along for a picnic lunch!
I'll have to try sunflower seeds!

Freeze dried asian pears?! yum! We'll have to try!

Interesting, oatmeal with S&P. I think I would like that! I crave savory foods and always preferred my cottage cheese with s&p instead of sweet fruits! DD is still acquiring a taste for pepper (I hope!) she freaks out whenever she gets a taste of black pepper. I've been seasoning her veggies and some other foods separately in the meantime.
She does LOVE oatmeal!
I've been looking for graham flour--where do you buy it?

Thanks! I'll have to try cooking edamame myself for her--I usually only get it in trail mixes or at restaurants. I'm sure she'll love that. Question, how long does it keep once you cook it?

I'll have to try the Puffins! Thanks for the advice!

oohh That sounds tasty. DH makes healthy cookies using bananas and almond meal so I always have it on hand!

I noticed that too when comparing ingredient lists! I thought that multi-grain would be better--til I compared the sugar content! Oats must not need as much sugar to sweeten as the other grains!

She loves peas! Can you have too many peas? I try not to feed them to her everyday, but she would love that! I also eat them like candy!

Sorry, didn't come out well. I have trouble feeding my little one anything that I don't like--that means that I had to make my own baby food and also learn to try a lot of new foods (it's been good for us!) We didn't have healthy snacks in our house as kids so I am mostly learning through what I see other moms offering. I just feel weird offering her snack foods that I find unpalatable!

If only she had teeth!!!! I can't give her too many raw fruits (she loves fruits but gets a diaper rash if she eats too many and she can handle bananas, berries, and really ripe things. I have to cook apples and mush up oranges. She won't use a mesh feeder--we've tried several times!) or raw veggies even some cooked are too much for her. She loves asparagus and green beans but can only suck on them! LOL!

Thanks! I made bean pancakes too! I still make them when we have leftover rice and beans. They make a good appetizer for adults too when served with salsa and sour cream!

Toddlerhood here we come!
The leftovers were great too!

Help! I'm a new mom and my 12 month old daughter has been eating pretty traditional snack foods--you know, those dry and thus easy to carry around when on the go foods, animal crackers, nilla wafers, graham crackers, saltines, toasted O's, etc. Problem is most of these have high fructose corn syrup!

I'm at a disadvantage because as a kid I didn't like vanilla wafers (too artificial tasting), animal crackers (too dry and bland) and graham crackers (just taste weird). I know that I probably just have a weird palette, but I need some good product recommendations and maybe even some recipes for making snacks on my own. I'm NOT much of a baker so hopefully there are some easy things to make ahead of time to feed her throughout the week at snacktime.

I found some good oyster crackers made by Trader Joes and also Olde Cape Cod (actually since I like them I found them helpful during bouts of morning sickness) and Toasted O's are easy to find in health food sections, but all the graham crackers at my grocery store had HFCS so I just bought the one with the most fiber.

We are big fans of organic rice cakes-you can get them lightly salted and they are easy to take along in the diaper bag. We're just getting tired of eating them everyday!
Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
Peace,

I'm feeling uninspired and was wondering, what are all you chowhounds making for dinner tonight?