Now that I’m eating for one and a quarter – he’s not so very big! - my decisions about what to cook have taken on even more importance. I spent hours flipping through my cookbooks before, and now I spend…well, even more hours. One of the food issues that pregnancy has raised my awareness of is the mercury content in seafood. While fish are a great source of protein and Omega-3 fatty acids, some also swim about with loads of mercury under their scales, adding to their stash as they get bigger and older. I’m not so well-informed about just how bad mercury is for babies – or for me! – but the idea of ingesting the silvery gunk from the bottom of thermometers just doesn’t appeal to me.
Fortunately, I’ve learned that some varieties of seafood carry much less metal than others.* Most shrimp, for instance, are relatively low in mercury, but still packed with protein and DHA. And another of my favorites, clams, has a similar profile. So after much cookbook-flipping a few nights ago, I set out to steam clams with shallots, butter, and beer (Yes, I’m still using it in cooking. No, I’m not drinking it.).
I love cooking clams because, unlike almost any food I can think of, they come with a built-in timer. If a clam opens, it’s cooked through, simple as that. There’s no guessing, poking, or slicing involved, and no anxiety about whether you’re risking infection by eating underdone meat. And as long as you remove a clam from heat pretty quickly after it opens, there’s almost no way you’ll overcook it. Beat that, chicken breasts!
Because the clams yield a flavorful sauce once they’re out of the pan, I also steamed small potatoes to accompany them. Once they soak up the sauce, the potatoes transform from boring to buttery, with a touch of bitterness from the beer. And because babies need vegetables too, I also prepared one of my new favorite recipes, carrots roasted with garlic and thyme. After a quick sear-n-saute, halved carrots cook in the oven for about 20 minutes. When they’re tender and well-browned, I squeeze the roasted garlic cloves over them – it’s an incredibly satisfying dish.
I usually don't peel my carrots.
Aside from the carrots, which take a little while in the oven, the components of this meal came together quickly and without much work on my part. Did I mention I love cooking clams?
Between the clam shells and the pale potatoes, this meal made for a pretty monochromatic presentation. Bryce and I ate it too quickly to mind, though, and the baby isn’t much of a critic, just yet. I hear that will come!
*For more information on seafood sustainability and mercury content, visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s well-regarded site.
