Aunt Elizabeth Cooks. Uncle Bob Eats.

 WE HAVE A NIECE!!!!!

My sister-in-law’s friends threw a baby shower for her this past weekend. Allison, my sister-in-law, announced this past fall that she was pregnant with her first child, and soon after the announcement, her friends began plans for a gender-neutral shower (my sister and brother-in-law wanted to wait to find out the baby’s sex.) The shower was scheduled for January 23^rd, approx. 6 weeks before Allison’s due date. I coordinated with Allison’s friends and agreed to bring a salad. After looking at the menu they had prepared, I decided to bring two salads so that I (a gluten-free girl) and my mother-in-law (a sugar free, yeast free Vegan) would have something to eat.

The January 19^th rolled around and Allison’s water broke 6weeks early. Elliot (Ellie) was born. She weighed 5lbs and 4ozs at birth and is currently living in the NICU at the hospital while she is developing. She and her mother are doing very well.

We still had the baby shower on January 23^rd, but it was more Baby Girl themed than gender-neutral.

Here are the salads I made for the occasion.

Black Bean and Mango Quinoa

Take some Quinoa and cook it in a pot using the same water to grain ratio as you would with rice. I did this step the night before so my Quinoa could cool.

I then chopped red bell pepper, cilantro, and mango. I decided that this day would be a wonderful time to use the food processor for the first time. I received it in June as a Wedding gift, and just now got up the nerve to open the box. Here is a photo of my boys with the box.

I processed the bell pepper, mango, and cilantro briefly in the food processor and to my surprise it turned out well and was easy to do. I think I have found my new favorite kitchen appliance.

I added the cilantro, red bell pepper, mango, and a can of drained black beans to the Quinoa and stirred well.

Greek Inspired Greens

I wanted to take a green salad to the party because I had a pretty bowl to put it in. I also received the bowl as a wedding gift and had yet to use it because it has to be hand washed.

I do not eat gluten and therefore I do not eat croutons. My mother-in-law does not eat cheese. This salad needed something special, so I roasted some eggplant with some springs of rosemary. I diced up a meadium sized eggplant and roasted it in the oven for about 20mins. After they were done, I took them out of the oven and put the pieces of eggplant into a ziploc bag to add to the salad after I arrived at the party.

While the eggplant was in the oven, I put some mixed greens, sliced tomatoes, olives, and sliced cucumber in a bowl.

Then, I used my fancy food processor to make a relish/dressing for the salad. I bought a jar of marinated artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers. I put the contents of the jar, liquid and all, into the food processor and pulsed it 4 times. It made a nice, chunky topping that I dressed the salad with after I arrived at the party.

Food was yummy. Party was fun. My niece got a ton of stuff. Elliot finally got to come home from the hospital yesterday, January 31st.