New Baby Meal

When someone has a new little one a delivered home cooked meal can do wonders! It's one of my favorite things to do and I'm excited to do it tonight for one of the hubby's oldest childhood friends. I like to put together a yummy but healthy meal and usually provide enough for leftovers for lunch the next day.

A few other things I like to do are print out a menu of all the recipes I've cooked/baked so that the new parents can see exactly what they are eating and can also save the recipes if they want to cook them down the road. I also love to include a little present for the baby and books are my favorite gift to give. I have such fond memories of bedtime story time with my parents so I like to keep that traditional alive. My current favorie book to give is Goodnight Cowtown, it's a playoff of Goodnight Moon and highlights all the amazing sights and traditions of Fort Worth. Get your own copy here!

Now back to the actual meal. I did shredded pork, a wild rice edamame salad and espresso brownie bites. I can already tell this Wild Rice Edamame Salad is going to be something I make again and again, so easy and so good. Whilte there is quite a bit of prep time involved it's SO worth it. Enjoy!

Wild Rice and Edamame Salad via Pixelated Crumb

Wild Rice and Edamame Salad from Pixelated Crumb

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds
• 2 tablespoons white sesame seeds
• 4 cups cooked wild rice
• 2 cups shelled cooked edamame, thawed if frozen
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 3 medium scallions, thinly sliced (green parts only)
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar, plus more as needed
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon chili pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Toast the almonds in a medium frying pan over medium heat, stirring often, until golden brown (don't let them burn!), about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the almonds to a large heatproof bowl. Add the sesame seeds to the pan and toast, stirring often, until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the almonds.
2. Add the rice, edamame, carrots, scallions, and cranberries to the bowl with the almonds and sesame seeds and toss to combine.
3. Whisk the olive oil, sesame oil, rice vinegar, honey, chili pepper flakes, salt and pepper in a medium bowl until combined. Drizzle over the rice mixture and toss to combine. Taste and season as needed with more salt, pepper, and vinegar. Cover and chill for at least one hour before serving.