family

The tiniest birthday cake

By in cakes, dessert, family 1 Comment

BeanieBoo_Birthday_IMG_0074When Rose asked if we could make a birthday cake for her Beanie Boo, Ice Cube, I said yes. Not because I have an excess of free time on my hands (or free hands on my hands, for that matter) but because I still had the pink half of my gender reveal cake and some frosting in the freezer. The cake just needed a bit of cutting and assembly.

Collecting and having parties for Beanie Boos is one of the ways we’re allowing ourselves to indulge Rose, as she adjusts to getting only half of our attention. We did our best to get behind her birthday plan, which involved buying even more Boos (with her own quarters) to give to the birthday Boo.

Dinner was store bought meatballs (which no one liked), in homemade sauce (which they liked) over spaghetti. And roasted broccoli. Since Shane is still doing physical therapy until 8:30 two nights a week, I can’t be bothered with attempting a nice looking table. A table with edible food on it will suffice.

Happy Birthday Ice Cube!
Spaghetti_Meatballs_IMG_0065

 

 

 

Blast from the past

By in family

Wasabi_Mashed_Potatoes_IMG_1152Tonight we had good old Parmesan Chicken Goujons. I was going to make a new kind of oven fries, which are even easier than my usual recipe. Actually, they’re not really easier, just easier to do while baby wearing.

Anyhow, I got to nursing the baby while the potatoes were par-boiling, and next thing I knew they were too soft to make oven fries with. So I made mashed potatoes. Wasabi mashed potatoes! Remember those?

I don’t have a recipe. I just mashed the spuds with a few squirts of the wasabi that comes in a tube, butter and heavy cream. I highly recommend that you too do this, tasting as you go, until it tastes just right.

You’ll know you’ve got it right, when the flavor brings you right back to the late 1990’s (or possibly the early aughts)*. Back when, if you’re my age, it’s possible you were out on a date with someone who may or may not have turned out to be your spouse. Back when you most definitely didn’t have kids!

Yeah. That’s about as good as it gets around here these days.

*If you’re too young to know what I’m talking about, just add wasabi till it tastes good.

 

I could learn to like trucks

By in family, pregnancy 4 Comments

Trucks_IMG_2919I wrote rather publicly (here and here) about my anxiety over having a second child, and a boy child to boot. It seems like a follow-up is in order, now that the little guy is here.

My second pregnancy was not the comfortable, wonder-filled event that my first was. I tried to get excited, to envision this little baby who I knew I would (and did!) fall madly in love with, but I just couldn’t get there.

It’s possible that I’m just one of those people, who can’t really get excited about something until it happens. It’s also possible that a whole lot of crazy circumstances prevented me from getting on board with having a bun in my oven.

About a month after I found out I was expecting, my husband Shane, was hit by a car while cycling home. Over the next several months he underwent three surgeries, two to his shoulder and one to his back. The back surgery was just over a month before my due date.

Don’t they say to avoid stress while pregnant?

Things weren’t going so smoothly on my end either. After the morning sickness passed, I developed a common but not oft-spoken-of condition that made me feel like I’d been whacked in the groin with a two by four. All the time. The condition only got more painful as my pregnancy progressed. (Ladies, if you have this problem feel free to contact me for some sympathy).

Maybe if circumstances had been different, it would have been easier to find the joy in expecting a baby. It made me sad that I couldn’t find a way to relish what was sure to be my last pregnancy. I felt guilty for not feeling the way I thought I should, and I worried.

I worried about having a boy, and not liking stereotypical boy stuff, like trucks, superheroes and primary color combinations. I worried about how to care for a penis. I worried that my daughter would not be able to handle the transition from only child to sibling. I worried about not being able to afford a second child. I worried about the lack of sleep.

And then he arrived.

There’s a video from when they plopped him on my chest after a ruthless, un-medicated labor. I looked at him and said: “Hi, hi. It’s okay. It’s all going to be okay because it’s over now.” And then, as if it just dawned on me: “It’s a baby! Look, Shane! It’s a baby!” He won our hearts, just like that. He didn’t even have a name yet.

All of my anxiety evaporated with his arrival, and many of my concerns turned out to be unwarranted.

I no longer worry about the fact that he’s a boy, because he’s not really a boy yet. I mean, he is of course, but for now he’s just a sweet, little, totally adorable baby. He doesn’t run around screaming and banging on things with sticks, he hasn’t shown a preference for garish color combinations, he didn’t come out with a truck in his tiny hand.

By the time he develops an interest in all those “boy things” that I was so worked up about, I don’t think I’ll care, because I’m already madly in love with him. By that time, I might even find that I’ve learned to like trucks.

Oh, and baby penises? Totally easy to care for. Aside from the occasional spray, they require very little effort, and are simpler than baby vaginas.

Not everything has been as easy as the boy stuff though. My concerns about lack of sleep, and the transition from only child to sibling, turned out to be warranted. Anyone who tells you newborns are easy, is either crazy or a much more capable person than I. Probably the latter.

The same goes for the transition from one kid to two. It can be pretty heartbreaking when you have to choose between getting food on the table, and giving either of your kids only half the attention you feel they deserve.

It hasn’t been easy, but it’s been not-easy with a big fat side of joy and love. And it’s the joy and the love that I cling to, when I add another poop and barf stained item of clothing to a pile of similarly soiled items, and realize that dinner should have been ready an hour ago.

New baby meals: 10 tips & 10+ food suggestions

By in family

NewBabyFoodBaby Sid turned 1 month old yesterday. This post is inspired by all of the wonderful friends and family who provided us with food (and otherwise cared for us) as we adjusted to being a family of four. Without you, this first month would have been a lot harder.

While it’s fresh in my mind. I thought I’d share a few dishes and tips that are great to have when there’s a new baby in the house.

Tips:
Whether making the recipes below, or something else, here are some good tips on cooking for a family with a newborn.
1. Veggies, veggies, veggies. It’s surprisingly hard to get enough vegetables in your diet with a newborn in the house.
2. Consider one-handed food or snacks. It’s hard to put down a newborn sometimes (okay, all the time), food that can be eaten one-handed is a lifesaver.
3. Provide the condiments or toppings too. Your friends are not going to have the time or manpower to grate cheese, chop fresh herbs or make salad dressing.
4. Think whole grains and high-fibre, if bringing food in the first week of a baby’s life. The mom will thank you.
5. Nursing moms often crave sweets, bring oatmeal cookies or whole-grain quick breads, laden with nuts and dried fruits. The more fruit and nuts the better.
6. Fresh fruit is wonderful. Pre-washed and no-need-to-peel fruit is even better (see #2 above).
7. Think beyond baked pasta. Personally, I could eat baked pasta every day, after all, macaroni and cheese is my signature new-baby dish. But other folks will be bringing baked pasta dishes too, try your hand at something non-pasta, if you can, to give your friends a change of pace.
8. Bring something they can freeze and reheat later, in case they’ve already been given a lot of food. Bonus points for includng freezing and reheating instructions.
9. If you live far away, or just don’t want to cook, but still want to provide a meal, send a gift certificate to a restaurant in their area that delivers.
10. It will make the new parents’ day if you throw in a couple of beers or a bottle of wine with dinner.

Recipes:
1. Spicy (or not-spicy) Vegetarian (and Turkey) Chili Chock full of vegetables and protein-packed beans, this is a great one for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike. It only takes a couple of minutes to heat up on the stove. Bring to a friend with the toppings already prepared, take your pick of grated cheddar, chopped fresh cilantro, sour cream or avocado chunks. Be sure to leave the pit in with the avocado pieces, and toss with lemon, so they don’t go brown.
2. Torta Verde (Swiss Chard Pie) I like this because it can be eaten warm or at room temperature, it has a lot of nice green veggies in it and can be eaten with one hand.
3. Macaroni & Cheese  It didn’t take me long to get around to baked pasta did it? But really, this is my signature new baby dish, so how could I not include it?
4. Lasagna. Try Spinach & Bufala Mozzarella, Rita’s Lasagna or Butternut Squash.
5. Pasta Sauce, this is something they can easily keep in the fridge for a while or even freeze. Try Marcella’s Famous or Sweet Italian Sausage Sauce. Include some grated parmesan and a box of pasta with your delivery, so all they’ll have to do is reheat the sauce and cook the pasta.
6. Easy Chicken Cacciatore. My family loves this one, it’s quick and easy to make despite the fancy name.
7. Oktoberfest Stew. I’ve never met a meat eater who didn’t love this, make this on a weekend, when you have some time. Shane recommends a side of potatoes.
8. Anna’s Oatmeal Cookies (recipe below). See tips #2 and #6 above. My neighbors and sister each made us a batch which kept me going over the first couple of weeks.
9. A big salad (your choice of veggies) with a jar of homemade dressing on the side. Dressing on the side will keep the salad from wilting if not eaten right away. Try my version of Rita’s Dressing, Homemade Ranch (you can also do ranch with crudite) or a simple Tart Dressing.
10. Soup! Try White Bean with Rosemary Oil or Pasta e Fagioli if you don’t have a lot of time, and Minestrone or Kale, Cabbage & Farro if you do. All of these soups are full of veggies and beans, lots of healthful nutrition in there.

None of these dishes float your boat? Check out our recipe index for more great ideas.

• Anna’s Oatmeal Raisin Chip Cookies •

2 sticks butter (salted)
1 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 cup old fashioned Quaker oats (not quick cook)
1 cup raisins
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, beat well. Add combined flour and baking soda; mix well. Stir in oats then raisins, chips and pecans. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto un-greased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Note: feel free to play around with the chocolate, fruit and nuts. Anna sometimes uses coconut, white chips, dried cranberries and lots of other stuff. Substitute as you like.

New Year’s Sweet

By in cakes, dessert, family, traditions 1 Comment

Baked_Alaska_IMG_2612This New Year’s Eve was nothing like last year’s. The baby and I snuggled off to bed at 9:00. Shane and Rose stayed up until midnight playing cards, Spot It and who knows what else.

At midnight they went up to the roof—so as not to wake us up—and set off some questionable poppers that my sister bought from a street vendor. I don’t know the details, but word is the poppers were kind of scary.

There was no elaborate meal, just a simple lasagna, roasted asparagus and a bottle of bubbly that we couldn’t finish. As I said, nothing like last year… except for the dessert.

Rather than a recap of this tumultuous, but ultimately rewarding year, I’ll leave you with this, New Year’s Cake (aka Baked Alaska). Something sweet for the New Year, and a tradition to carry on. Wishing you all the sweetest 2014, I think we’re off to a good start.

• New Year’s Cake (aka Baked Alaska) •
original recipe from Saveur Magazine

For the filling and cake:
2 pints strawberry ice cream, slightly softened (you can use whatever flavors you want, of course)
Unsalted butter, for pan
½ cup cake flour, plus more for pan (cake flour is good but not essential, it will come out fine if you use all purpose)
¼ tsp. kosher salt
½ cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
½ tsp. grated lemon zest

For the meringue:
¼ tsp. cream of tartar
4 egg whites
½ cup sugar

For topping:
Toy penguins (optional, and yes, we know penguins don’t really live in Alaska – you can use caribou or polar bears if you prefer)

Instructions:
1. For the filling: Line a 7″-diameter bowl with a 15″ piece of plastic wrap, allowing excess to hang over rim of bowl. Pack ice cream into bowl, smoothing top, and freeze until solid, at least 4 hours.

2. For the cake: Heat oven to 325°. Grease and flour an 8″ round cake pan; set aside. Whisk together flour and salt in a bowl; set aside. Beat sugar and eggs in a bowl on medium-high speed of a hand mixer until tripled in volume, about 5 minutes. Stir in juice and zest; fold in flour mixture. Pour into prepared pan; bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool completely, invert onto a rack, and set aside.

3. For the meringue: Heat oven to 450°. Place cream of tartar and egg whites in a large bowl; beat on medium speed of a hand mixer until soft peaks form, about 1 minute. Add sugar, and beat until stiff but not dry peaks form, about 2-5 minutes.

4. To serve, place cake on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Invert ice cream onto cake and peel off plastic. Cover ice cream and cake with meringue. Bake until meringue begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Using 2 metal spatulas, transfer to a cake plate and serve immediately.
Baked_Alaska2_IMG_2612

Happy, Hazy, Dreamy, Delicious, Holidays

By in family

20131226-181109.jpg
It was ambitious to think I could keep up with the weekly meal digests. I forgot how truly tired and disconnected one feels during weeks 2-6 of a newborn’s life.

It’s a beautiful time, in a hazy, sleepless, dreamlike way. More so with knowing how fleeting it is. How briefly your baby will be the soft, sleepy, fragile, dependent creature he is.

For now, we’ll stay on maternity leave. You can check out last year’s Christmas or New Years Eve posts to see what we usually do. And we’ll get back to regular posting as soon as we can.

Wishing everyone a home as totally full of love, as ours is right now.

Weekly Digest 2

By in family

Here’s what we’ve been up to dinner-wise for the past week or so.

Left to Right:
1. Pasta with Easy Sweet Italian Sausage & Tomato Sauce, and a beet salad similar to this one.
2. The beet salad really hit the spot.
3. Spinach lasagna from a kind neighbor, steak and Romanesco broccoli.
4. Kale, Cabbage & Farro Soup (from the freezer)
5. Oktoberfest Stew, amazing potatoes (a Shane ad-hoc, so no recipe – sorry!), salad & a selection of cheeses from the Cowgirl Creamery, courtesy of good friends in San Francisco.
6. Macaroni & Cheese, you know, for babies. Thanks to Jenya.
7. What’s on my lap at dinner these days.
8. Loads of fun with candy from Dylan’s Candy Bar. They are my sunshine once the tiredness kicks in (Shane & Rose, not the candy).
9. Making dinner 24/7, if you know what I mean.

What we’re eating now

By in family 1 Comment

In these early, foggy, newborn days, we’ve been mostly surviving on food that has been brought to us by a whole bunch of very kind friends, neighbors and family. Pictured above is week 1: Dec 2 – Dec 8. There is more, but I’m too sleep deprived to remember to take photos every night.

Left to Right:
1. Me and my children(!) very tired after being up all night and a totally unmedicated birth.
2. My reward, dinner in a private hospital room, which comes with better food than the regular, shared room. (This is a weird New York thing.)
3. Jamie Oliver’s friend’s lasagna, made by my aunt and served up (two nights in a row) by my girls Jenya & Anna.
4. This chili (from the freezer),
5. Delectable spinach lasagna from our neighbors who are amazing because they have a newborn of their own.
6. This chicken with potatoes and roasted broccoli, by Shane.

Thanksgiving

By in family

My aunt and uncle host Thanksgiving every year. Usually we go up to their place in the country, but with my due date a mere 9 days away, they had it at home. This made things very easy for us, since we only live a few blocks away from them. It was just our speed, thanks guys.

Among my favorite dishes tonight were: My Grandma Lillian’s Company Carrots, I think her recipe was similar to this one. Kirst’s (actually, Melissa Clark’s) kale salad, which we had last year too. The chestnut stuffing. And my sister’s pea and mint crostini appetizer.

The plan for tonight was for me to displace the baby with food, but sadly, I forgot that when you’re this pregnant you can’t eat very much at one time. So no turkey baby for us, and I hobble on.

Our camera fell this week, so photos are few this year, and are going to be a bit sparse and/or blurry until I manage to get it fixed. Recommendations on where to service a Cannon Digital Rebel in NYC, anyone?

 

«< 8 9 10 11 12 >»