better meals just days away

I quit my job this month. And just in time. I haven't made anything--not even applesauce--for weeks. (Ok, I have kept up the Saturday morning pancake tradition but that's because I can't think of anything else better to do at 6 a.m. on a weekend.) B. has lived on a diet of quesadillas, pasta with plain tomato sauce and prepared chicken breasts with canned sweet potato puree for longer than I like to admit. Bleh. I can't wait to get back into the kitchen once I'm home full time (September 7th is the magic day). The only thing I'm worried about at this point is having zero budget to buy fun stuff at Whole Foods. Mommy + no job = very broke family. So making good food cheap will be my new goal starting in two weeks. Oh and blogging more often :)

beets really aren't that bad

I put so much effort into feeding B. a healthy, balanced diet that I've really felt the need to step it up myself, get healthy and set a better example. Which fits in with this great Mark Bittman article about making family meals a priority. To boil it down, don't say you're too busy to cook and then settle in to watch an hour of TV says Bittman. (Busted!) Just make the time. Which brings us to these beets. I've been meaning to experiment with more veggies, including some golden yellow beets I found at the farmer's market. I roasted them up to make a nice grown-up salad and, bonus, B. was perfectly happy to eat chopped up beets (which is way more adventurous than I was at his age, or even six months ago!).

Roasted Beets with Orange Vinaigrette and Goats Cheese
6 beets with stems cut off but skin on
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 ounces fresh goat cheese
1/2 orange
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the beets (skin on) in a baking dish, drizzle with two tablespoons of olive oil and cover well with aluminum foil. Roast for about 40 minutes or until the beets are tender. Once the beets have cooled, the skin peels off easily. Cut the beets into chunky slices and arrange on a serving platter. Zest and juice the orange and whisk together with the leftover tablespoon of olive oil. Drizzle the beets with the orange vinaigrette. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and top with crumbled goats cheese.

*This is a modified recipe from New Flavors for Vegetables