Mediterranean Green Beans & Potatoes
Tender green beans & creamy potatoes with Mediterranean flavor + the domestic routine
Hi!
Today is Leap Day, which makes me feel like I should be using this extra day to do something special. It’s a whole extra day! Instead, I dropped the kids off at school, went to the grocery store and now I’m sitting at my desk working until the afternoon routine of pick-ups/snacks/homework/dinner/karate begins.
In other words, I’m not doing anything special. It’s hard to break out of the regular domestic routine on a weekday when the demands of work/school/laundry/dinner are ever-present.
It’s funny how a domestic routine can feel both comforting and life-affirming and also suffocating. I love being a parent and I don’t mind most of the responsibilities that come along with it. I feel incredibly lucky to live the life that I do.
But also, is this all there is?
For the past month or so we’ve been watching the Wonder Years (with the Arnold family) on TV. It’s a nice way to end the day, the four of us on the couch eating orange slices and watching something we can all enjoy together.
One thing that has struck me through all 6 seasons is that Norma Arnold spends 90% of her time standing at the kitchen sink or folding laundry. The poor woman never gets to do anything else. It’s a little depressing and overdone but also, I can relate.
I may be a modern, liberated woman with a husband who tries to do his fair share but I still spend a significant part of my week in the kitchen or folding laundry. There’s just no way to escape it. Either you and your partner do it or you hire someone to do it for you, but it has to get done.
My kids know that I am out in the world doing things, but what they see most often is a mom standing at the kitchen sink like Norma Arnold. What you can’t overlook about Norma, though (besides her frosty pink lipstick) is that while she stands there peeling potatoes and folding underwear, she’s always having conversations with her kids. It’s not lost time.
It’s easy to feel bored by the chores of parenting. But the mindless busy work of domesticity creates pockets of time when I can also talk to my kids and hear about their day and wonder with them what the difference is between sad tears and onion tears.1 It’s not lost time.
Recipe of the Week: Mediterranean Green Beans & Potatoes
This week’s recipe is made from tender green beans (fresh or frozen) and creamy potatoes that are infused with the Mediterranean flavors of tomato, olive oil, oregano, lemon and garlic. It’s veggie comfort food at its best.
Technically, Mediterranean green beans and potatoes is a side dish but it’s a good example of a side dish that you can easily promote to main dish. It’s satisfying and filling, in the same way that a veggie stew is.
As a main course, I like to serve it with frozen spanakopita, hummus and pita.
As a side dish, it pairs well with salmon or white fish, chicken, pork chops and any type of meatball with Greek flavors (maybe these lamb meatballs with lemon and feta?)
This recipe is inspired by a traditional Greek dish called Fasolakia or Fasolakia Lathera. It’s usually made with canned or fresh tomatoes, but I use tomato paste because one of my kids does not like “tomato chunks” in her food. When I took out the “tomato chunks” I actually liked the recipe better too. The result is a smooth, rich tomatoey broth that bathes the veggies as they cook.
You can find the full recipe for Mediterranean green beans on Kitchen Skip. Here are four main steps:
Step 1: Saute onion and garlic with olive oil and tomato paste.
Step 2: Add broth, frozen green beans (or fresh) and dried oregano.
Step 3: Add potatoes and simmer for 15 minutes.
Step 4: Transfer the dish to the oven and bake for 30 minutes with a lid until the green beans and potatoes are meltingly tender.
Reading Lately
I don’t have a cookbook to share this week, instead I’m sharing three things I’ve been reading lately.
Tom Lake
I finally got my copy from the library and at page 120 I’m a little underwhelmed? I like it, but do I love it and feel compelled to keep reading like I did with The Dutch House? Not yet. I keep waiting for something to happen, which I think is my mistake. The back cover describes this book as a meditation, which I didn’t fully understand when I started reading. Now that I do, I think I might enjoy the second half more.
Has anyone else read Tom Lake? What did you think?
Division of Labor No. 2: Two parents working in tech with two kids under 3
(from the Substack Newsletter The Purse)
Maybe it’s because I’m nosy or because I find the little details of parenting interesting, but I love “a day in life” articles that share what other parents are up to all day. These particular parents seem to have their act together much more than I do, but I did enjoy hearing that their miscommunication led to 9 half gallons of milk in the fridge. I could also relate to this comment from the husband, “Every day I ask myself: Is today the day I have enough motivation/energy to start working out again? Tonight’s answer: Nope.”The Bedtime Book of Incredible Questions by Isabel Thomas. If your kids like fun facts, this book is full of them. It inspired our conversation about tears (answer below) and other fun topics like could you actually swim in ice cream and why can’t we remember the exact moment we fall asleep (which actually has a fascinating answer).
Emotional tears are different from onion tears because they contain more proteins that make them stick to our faces longer, which helps other people identity that we are sad.
Dinner Last Week
I’m always curious about what other families are eating. Aren’t you? Here’s what my crew ate last week.
This was a bit of a lackluster dinner week. I made a couple of unmemorable dinners and tried a couple of new “meh” recipes.
Monday: The drive home from Arizona on President’s Day felt very loooong due to traffic, one kid who was coming down with a cold and one kid who requested 4 bathroom stops. I made a quick dinner from pasta, a jar of red sauce and roasted frozen broccoli on the side.
Tuesday: Groceries were very low, but the aforementioned child was home sick from school and it was pouring rain, so I chose to scrounge around for dinner instead of going to the store. We had Trader Joe’s squiggly noodles with soy and sesame sauce and sliced cucumbers. I also roasted a bag of leftover baby carrots from our weekend road trip.
Wednesday: I tried a new recipe for chickpea patties and they were…fine. Not amazing, but definitely edible. We also ate roasted cauliflower and Trader Joe’s veggie samosas.
Thursday: I wanted to shoot new photos for the slow cooker 15 bean soup recipe on my blog, so that’s what we had for dinner (although I made the soup in my Instant Pot).
Friday: I was excited to try a recipe for chicken and tofu meatballs, but they turned out a bit dry and bland. I also served white rice and a cabbage salad.
Hope you have a good weekend!
xo
Jenny
Thank you for sharing The Purse! Also, I love the account of what you ate for the week! It’s so hard!