Do you remember the last time you had one of those days, when the world seems to be plotting against you? Well, this last Tuesday was my most recent hope-it’s-soon-tomorrow-day.
My son is currently going through a quiet intense teething phase which turns this normally well-behaved little angle into someone that Santa Clause would most probably have on the naughty list…
For all of you, who have never been a mom of a teething toddler: imagine a cute, little monkey of around 13 kg sitting on your hip, wanting to be carried around pretty much all day – and don’t even think about putting him down. He will make you get him again: either by determinedly trying to climb up on you with heart-tearing sobs or by looking at you with those large, warm eyes that say: I love you – pick me up, mama. Let me assure you: both works!
First I considered it a bit of a workout session – who needs a gym, right? But after some hours it’s just getting annoying… You do get some breaks of carrying though, when he finds something more exciting. Of course it would be some item that he cannot have. Either because he could break it (having great fun in the process), or because he could hurt himself, or possibly both! My boy’s favourite no-object of the moment: glass bottles. I think I have never used the word “no” as often in my life, as I used it this last Tuesday…
And that is what I pretty much did all day. I should probably also mention that the monkey is biting. I know, he is a poor fellow with his teeth trying to find their way to the other end, but why does he have to nibble on mama’s arm so hard? I like wearing blue, however not necessarily that directly on my skin…
The real animal in our house, cat Chico, also joined the world’s conspiracy against me. He decided that, when the toddler gets more attention, he needs that too: meowing furiously in-between baby boy’s “Aaahhhh!!”s (= I WANNA have THAT) and Mom’s “No!”s; suddenly jumping up places he is not allowed, like right into my food photography, on top of the table, elegantly kicking a glass over the edge for good measure. Imagine how exciting THAT was for the little monkey! Made him slide off me in a fraction of a second so he could wiggle-woggle right into the shiny broken glass! Luckily mama’s legs are longer yet and her arms are still strong enough to lift the little guy off his feet, despite the biting and continuous workout.
The rainy, cold weather was right in line and it didn’t improve my mood either when my husband (= much needed helper) informed me that he would arrive late from work.
So, what do you do for food on such a day? Nothing fancy, because you really don’t have the nerv (and it would probably go wrong anyway, hah)! Something quick, because your level of patience is below zero. Something delicious, because you need AT LEAST THAT to stay sane.
And the answer is…. oven potatoes!
Great for an easy side dish with a quick steak or fish out of the frying pan. But tastes so good, you can totally skip that and enjoy a big potato portion as your main dish, maybe accompanied by some salad and a sour cream dip. Just check what your fridge has to offer and go with it ;–)
This recipe even transformed my son into a potato-lover. So far he strictly refused potatoes, no matter how I prepared them. So, definitely a winner-dish in my books :–) You might just want to take the skins off the slices you serve to your little one, except of course, that little mouth is already armed with skilled enough teeth ;–)
After devouring that awesome dinner and having my son finally put to bed, the end of this Tuesday wasn’t so bad after all :–)
What’s great about this recipe is that you don’t need a lot of ingredients and you probably have them at home already. Plus, it’s hardly any work: just slice up the potatoes, mix in the seasonings and the oven does the rest ;–)
My go-to seasoning is rosemary, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. But you can easily go into a complete different taste department, e.g. garlic+(smoked) paprica or curcuma+cumin+coriander,… all yummy! I achieved best results using baby potatoes, but it works with any other kind too. So, if you have a bag of potatoes sitting in your pantry, waiting to be used up, give it a try!
PS: They also taste good as a cold snack with a dip of your choice. Just make sure not to eat them fridge-cold. Enjoy them at room temperature.
PPS: If you have garlic at home, pop the whole garlic bulb into the oven too. Yes, you understood right: the WHOLE bulb. I do that a lot when baking veges in the oven. Once cooked, you can simply squeeze out the garlic of each single clove and add it to a whole bunch of things. To salad dressings, soups, sauces, dips (like a sour cream dip mentioned above),… or do what I love: spread it directly on a nice slice of bread, with some of my herbal salt on top. Mmmmhhh… delish!
Through the cooking process, the garlic gets really soft and mild. So it adds a lovely subtle garlicy note to your dishes. In an airtight container it keeps in the fridge for around 2 weeks.
Ingredients:
- 1 kg potatoes (preferably baby potatoes)
- 2 garlic gloves minced (or granulated garlic – see directions)
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (or dried)
- 2 tsp fresh chopped rosemary (or dried)
- 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- pepper and a bit of extra salt for sprinkling
Directions:
- Wash potatoes but do not peel them (we wanna keep all the good nutrients!), cut them into approx. 7 mm or 1/4 inch slices and transfer them into a large mixing bowl.
- Add garlic (if using), oil, herbs, 1 tsp salt and mix well until all potato slices are coated.
- Cover two baking trays with baking parchment and spread the slices on top. Be sure that they are not overlapping.
- From a hight sprinkle on some pepper, some extra salt and granulated garlic (if using).
- Pop the slices into the oven on 180 °C hotair and bake for approx. 45 minutes until they are slightly browned around the edges. Enjoy!
Prep time 15 minutes
Cook time 45 minutes
Yields approx. 2 – 3 portions as main dish or 4 – 6 as side dish