Thursday, October 3, 2013

The South End Night Shift & Kohlrabi

Hi Everyone!  I'm back in action and just sooo appreciative of my life!  I have the best kid, the best husband and the best job!  It really is amazing that I am able to have a full-on stay at home mom experience, yet still earn a great income for my family!  PLUS, my job rocks!  I'm always brainstorming on what to blog about... and last night it really hit me....  The night shift!

Just as you all are settling in watching TV (hopefully something on Bravo!) and ending your day, I am showering, brushing my teeth and heading out the door to work.  The majority of my doula practice is now overnights, where I work roughly 10pm-6am for the most awesome families and adorable babies. It's really a tough life to have to snuggle with a newborn all night as your job!

So last night I was in a cab (my obsession is a luxurious cab ride, usually Uber), and heading over to the South End, where most of my families live.  It is so weird -- everyone lives in the South End, it's like a thing.  As I'm riding along, noticing the scenery I see all these people lollygagging about at the likes of Stella and Boston Chops and a few other amazing restaurants on Washington St, swirling their wine within their beautiful glass stemware.   My reality is soooo the opposite of this lifestyle.  Then in the morning, I'm soooo tired and dragging the bod home -- usually walking to breathe some life into me, and I see a whole other population of people in tight lululemon leggings & tanks running to the gym or walking their dogs.  That's another thing about the South End - it is definitely like a prerequisite that you must have a dog.  It is so funny to see who is out, and when!

Sooo once I arrive at my destination in the evenings, I settle in and see what I can do to be most helpful.  This particular family likes my cooking, so I usually spend a large chunk of the evening when the sweet baby is snoozing to prepare a few meals to throw in the fridge or the freezer.  It is actually really relaxing and fun to be chopping and sauteing at 2am!  Plus, I definitely have a secret desire to be a chef....soooo sometimes in the wee hours of the morning I pretend I am.

One of the funniest things I've encountered recently in my culinary adventures is a mystery vegetable.  It was green and bulby and had a long stem of greens.  After many google image tests and late-night text to chef friends, we figured it out! It was Kohlrabi!   What the heck is Kohlrabi?  Well, it is in the cabbage family and kind of has the texture of broccoli stems on the outside and a potato or turnip on the inside.   I chopped it up, channeled my Barefoot Contessa and did a little olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted it at a very high temp.  SUCCESS!  The family reported back that it was delicious! 

Last night I made more roasted root veggies and also homemade turkey burgers.  It was a really cool & healthy comfort food meal and it made the house smell amazing!  I also prepared a side dish of baked sweet potato & apples with cinnamon for the older sibling in the house.  Here is my super simple recipe for my turkey burgers that have gone over well in my home and several others too:

1lb ground all white meat turkey
1 egg
sprinkle of italian-style breadcrumbs
diced onion & green pepper (sauteed first to soften)
sprinkle of garlic powder
sprinkle of cayenne
salt/pepper

Mix it up with your hands, make patties and then grill them up -- I usually use a grill pan or just a plain old frying pan. 

Soo that's what I've got cooking these days!  Here are some pics below.  Take care, my sweet readers!