Dinner for the Gerig's

Last Wednesday I had the honor of being at the birth of little Veda Gerig. There are really no words to explain how special this was. Bess is one of my best friends, and was there for the birth of Maple. It was amazing to witness a birth, since becoming a mother myself, and to be back at The Birth Center! People kept asking me if I was going to be Bess' doula, and I never quite knew how to respond to that question. I considered myself a friend more than a doula, but I guess I was doing what a doula does also :) Anyway, Jesse, Maple, and I went for a visit Friday afternoon, and took them dinner. New mamas that are breastfeeding need lots of yummy, nutritious, high protein foods. I made this dish of sweet potatoes, kale, onions, and black beans. I also hard boiled a few eggs, chopped them up to be served on top of this, and made a loaf a fresh bread. This was about six servings..... I sent half of it for Matt, Bess, and Bess' mom who was in town, and kept half of it for us to eat for dinner that night.

1. Cut the sweet potato into cubes (I leave the skin on, because we try to always buy organic produce, and the skin has a lot of nutrients). Put a little olive oil in a pan over medium heat, throw in the sweet potato, add some salt and pepper, and cover with a lid. They will get nice and golden because of the heat, and soft because of the lid. Every five minutes or so, stir things around. Do this until the potatoes are done. Real specific, right? Sorry guys, this is as specific as I get. Transfer to a serving bowl.
2. Slice some onion and throw it in the pan you were just using with a little more olive oil. While it cooks, chop some garlic, and throw it in there too. Then add some cumin, some coriander, and some salt. Everything should be soft, and smell amazing. Add this to the bowl with the sweet potatoes.
3. Chop up some kale and throw it in, yes you guessed it, the same pan with a little more olive oil. Add a splash of water, some salt and pepper, and cover it with a lid. Just cook this briefly. You want it to wilt a little, but not get over cooked, no one likes soggy greens. Add this to the rest of the goods.
4. Drain and rinse some black beans, and add them to the bowl.
5. Toss everything, gently. I used a rubber spatula, which worked great.

Okay, I gotta go now, my kid is rubbing Trader Joe's white cheddar cheese puffs all over the couch. (I had to mention where they were from, because come on, I do not feed her total crap, just kind of crap.)