Reno (22 months)
I thought I’d just do a quick Reno post tonight. Yesterday was her first trip to the beach this summer. Last year was a success at the beach for her as was this day trip on Wednesday with myself and my mother in law. We might even go again tomorrow!
The past few months have been really cool and frustrating at the same time..she runs, jumps, climbs, and talks now. She is obsessed and I mean OBSESSED with BOYS!! A bunch of boys will walk by and all of a sudden she is saying out the window “Hiiiii boooys!” She takes swimming lessons and has gone to some toddler gym classes. She selfed named one of her dolls Coco. She like vegetables but has no idea she is actually eating them because if she did she would promptly spit them out. Her favorite food is seitan and she likes to drink Coconut Water. She loves our 2 cats but they do not love her. CB bites her once a week and Riley hides in the closet and only comes out during nap time and bed time. She has recently developed her first fear. She is afraid of “fireBOOMS” more traditionally known as fireworks. On August 31st she will turn 2!
July 9th, 2009
Beer Battered Seitan with Hidden Green Bean Mashed Potatoes
I love fried food. I wish it was good for you. Since it’s not I don’t eat it all the time but if I am going to eat it I want it to be battered in some way. Beer battered! Yum Yum! I can’t get enough of this stuff. It reminds me of my disgusting days when I would eat Chicken Crisper’s dipped in Honey Mustard from a popular chain restaurant. I would feel disgustingly sick after eat those and vow never to eat them again even though I would. I don’t feel sick after eating my own which is a good thing.
I’ve been tinkering with this recipe for awhile. The spices in it don’t give it a super specific taste but definitely add something to the flavor of the whole thing. I served this particular meal with some Hidden Green Bean Mashed Potatoes which is just my sneaky way to get Reno to eat her veggies which she is not doing these days. You basically throw in some frozen green beans into the boiling potatoes when they are just about done and mash them how you usually do. Its quite tasty.
Beer Battered Seitan
1 12oz bottle beer
1 to 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 heaping teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 pound seitan, cut into strips about 1/2 in thick, boiled seitan works best
canola oil (or preferred oil of your choice)
Pour the beer in a large bowl then whisk in the first 1 cup of flour. It should resemble a nice thick pancake batter if it’s really thin then add the 1/2 cup of flour slowly until you have a nice thick batter. Stir in the salt, garlic powder, mustard powder and chili powder until combined. You don’t want to over stir the batter. Add the strips of seitan and toss until they are fully coated with the batter.
Fill a large frying pan about 1/2 an inch with canola oil and heat on high heat. When heated carefully place battered seitan into the oil, lower the flame to medium-high and fry for a few minutes on each side until golden brown. Have a plate covered with paper towels or a clean paper bag to help absorb some of the excess oil.
Serve with your favorite dipping sauce or give everyone 1/2 a lemon to squeeze onto their beer battered seitan!
July 2nd, 2009