Why I love Teriyaki

I love teriyaki. Absolutely love it. It's easy to make, stands up well to any type of protein, is extremely adapatable and kids really like it. There are plenty of teriyaki joints in Seattle (I think it was invented here, LOL) and there are so many variations. The flexibility is what I enjoy most; if I'm out of one ingredient I can always find a substitute in my pantry.

Here's my basic teriyaki sauce recipe. Use it with chicken, beef, pork, salmon, halibut, or tofu; whatever you like, really. A thought: I've never tried it with lamb. Hmm.

2 cups tamari or soy sauce
1 cup pineapple or orange juice
1/2 c packed brown sugar or equivalent amount of Splenda
Red pepper flakes or Cayenne pepper to taste

That's it! My basic recipe. I also like to add any or all of the following, depending on my mood:

• chopped fresh ginger
• sesame oil
• garlic
• Hoisin or Oyster sauce
• fish sauce

Note: using Splenda not only cuts calories and carbs, but imparts sweetness without burning during cooking, as sugar will. Don't like Splenda? Use stevia, agave, or whatever floats your boat. It's all good.

Combine all in a plastic bag large enough to hold your chosen protein. Marinating is essential, but not for too long; 30 minutes is enough. Any longer, and the citric acid in the juice will begin to "cook" the meat, resulting in a mushy texture.

Cook your protein according to your preferred method; for our dinner last night I baked bone-in chicken thighs. Reserve a bit of the marinade, too. It's great on either rice or noodles--but be sure to bring it to a boil first--want to make sure any bacteria from the protein are taken care of.

I also prepared a stir fry of red and yellow peppers, green onions, and chinese cabbage. This is the part the kids enjoy the most--Mom wielding a sharp knife with such colorful vegetables! Mo was allowed to scoop out the seeds and pith from the peppers; and she also scooped out the coconut oil for the wok. I boiled some japanese soba noodles, added them to the veg, and threw the reserved teriyaki in as well---delish!

Wall-E Cake
made by Mo for her Daddy

Look at this adorable cake topper, made by Mo. Have I mentioned she's really in love with Wall-E right now? To her, this is the next best thing to having a Wall-E birthday cake of her own. Her birthday isn't until August, but she's already making plans. *grin* To make the cake topper, she found a site online with Wall-E coloring pages and printed out the picture she liked; she cut it out (she's excellent with her safety scissors) and then glued it to a craft stick. Et voila!

So, in keeping with my resolution to consume only homemade, non-processed foods as much as possible, this cake was made from scratch. I modified a buttermilk cake recipe from The Joy of Cooking; I know, I know, baking is a science and even a slight modification changes the end result, but I didn't have cake flour (ohwell). The cake came out lovely anyway; it was pretty dense and a little chewy, but overall very nice and the birthday boy (can you call someone a boy who just turned 62?!?) liked it, so all was well. It's frosted with chocolate cream cheese frosting, which everyone also loved, but next time I'll add more choc. The recipe called for 5oz of choc chips--I think it needs twice that. But then I prefer a darker, fudge-like frosting. Yum!

Daddy's Birthday

Today is DH's birthday, and Mo couldn't be more excited. I've promised to let her help make the cake, and she's even made some decorations. She's into the movie Wall-E right now, so she's cut a picture of the robot out of a coloring book, colored it, and glued it to a craft stick. It's really cute, and she's happy that Daddy will have a "Wall-E cake."

I'll post some pics later today---she and Daddy are off to the store at the moment, picking up cake ingredients. :)

Inaugural Post

Welcome to my newest site, where I will share information on cooking with and for your kids. My oldest daughter, Maureen, is almost 4, and she loves to help me in the kitchen.

A little bit about me: I'm a late in life mom, or what my OB called "advanced maternal age." Grr. Even now that still sets my teeth on edge. My husband and I tried for 9 years to conceive our first child; I was 35 when she was born. Imagine our surprise when, not quite two years later, we conceived daughter number 2! Sometimes I still can't believe it--I had resigned myself to being an "Auntie" forever.

So what happened when our little stinkers entered our lives? Total chaos, that's what! My toughest challenge has been adapting our meals to be both kid and parent-friendly. I refuse to become a short order cook; I make one meal and that's it! It's a balancing act most days--the husband won't eat the kids food and vice versa. I try not to rely on convenience foods, but I will serve Kraft mac-n-cheese if I'm feeling lazy that day. Mo loves it with ketchup...what a kid thing to do! :)

Recipes and pics coming soon. Tonight we had a very simple meal of burgers with tomatoes, lettuce, and cheese; oven-roasted potatoes and milk on the side. The kids and Daddy scarfed it up! Mo's dessert was applesauce with animal crackers.

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading. Stay tuned.