Growing Up Savvy Posts

It seems that our poor oven is getting quite a workout lately. I’ve been cranking out confections almost every other day in recent weeks and I am not sure quite where they go. Secretly, I pray that they don’t go on me in the form of unneeded pounds.

Baking is incredibly easy, you see. All you need for most sweets/baked goods are flour, sugar, butter, eggs & flavorings. In our case, we are partial to chocolate and since spring is not quite here yet, I don’t feel the compulsion to break out strawberries and rhubarb just yet. Just yesterday, overripe bananas were staring me down, taunting me really. I decided that I’d had quite enough and made chocolate banana bread.

ChocBananaBreadThis is it, hot out of the oven with the chocolate chunks still oozing their molten cacao liquor goodness. Loaves and muffins are among the easiest things to bake since most don’t even require pre-meditation. That is, you need not make the decision to bake ahead of time and bring butter to room temperature, just melt and voila, you’re ready to go. Skeptical about a chocolate banana bread, I was quickly converted by the divine smell emanating from the oven while it baked.

That first slice, while the loaf is still hot out of the oven. Can you imagine how good it was? Irresistible. Obviously the bread won’t stick around long at our house, and so I’ll have to find a new diversion. Until then, here are a few other things that have made cameo appearances in our little kitchen.

Monday5Purim1MarchSnow5Zoo5Zoo3Valentines1

 

Culinary Adventures Dessert

Life Moments

It is difficult to imagine that Spring is just around the corner especially when big, fluffy snowflakes are still falling down from the sky all around you. That said, we’re transitioning into Spring dreaming of freshly grown fruits and veggies and the lighter dishes they yield. Lighter dishes will hopefully avoid having to see Dr. Sophia or a real doctor for that matter.

Monda2Local asparagus is still a week or two away, but we couldn’t help but introduce just a bit of green into our big weekend meal with mostly meat-free lasagna. Mostly meat-free you ask? Noodles, home-made marinara, bechamel, ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella, an egg, 3 oz of prosciutto and lastly 10-TEN oz of spinach.

Monday1The lasagna was light and there is no denying that it is the easiest way to get children to eat their greens!

 

 

Flavors Life

 

We are snowed in… again. Dare I mention that its March 17th and we’re a mere few days away from the official start of spring. We have our snow-day routine and responsibilities down! Papa shovels the snow from our driveway while we play and watch cartoons. We horse around a bit especially when I try to get something done in the kitchen. Here’s Sophia in her child’s stand helping out or horsing around or … well, being Sophia. Monday3

 

Then, it being a snow-day and having just celebrated Purim, we indulge with none other than those hamantashen I mentioned that I baked.

Monday5We have the apricot-filled one on the right sitting atop the cream cheese and chocolate chip one on my much-loved Limoges plate. I can’t tell you which one I prefer except that the cream cheese and chocolate ones were a pleasant surprise. I still have quite a bit of apricot filling left so I may have to bake another batch. Can that be a bad thing? I used this recipe for the dough, this recipe for the apricot filling with the caveat that I use Turkish apricots and then used 4 oz of cream cheese, a half a cup of chocolate chips, a quarter cup of sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla for the chocolate chip filling. Mmmmmm. These little pillows of filled goodness are keeping us warm and comfortable while the outside looks like this:

Monday4

 

Cookery Culinary Adventures Flavors

Believe it or not, this post is going to have something to do with celebrating Purim over the weekend. Who doesn’t like a holiday where we bake special cookies and celebrate with food and drink and family. My in-laws visited with us bringing my mother’s delicious, prune and raisin hamantashen and lots of entertainment for Sophia.

Purim2

Here’s Dr. Sophia taking care of Clowdie, the doggie. You could say that Sophia is quite smitten with her canine family member. My mother-in-law generously shared her kiddie doctor set with us so that Sophia can measure everyone’s blood pressure, listen to our heartbeats, and of course administer shots. While she practiced medicine, we practiced the art of baked custards in the form of vanilla challah bread pudding. Drizzled with maple syrup, it is perfect for a leisurely weekend breakfast or a snack.

Purim1

I am reading Little Failure and the descriptions of my former USSR life have made me a bit nostalgic. That and treating our visitors to unique culinary delights had Evan and I turn to Georgia (the country) for a Khatchapuri Adjaruli recipe. It turned out better than I expected though was a quite a treat as far as healthfulness is concerned.

Purim3

We served it with a very tangy arugula and cucumber salad to help cut through the richness of this bread.

Purim4I also made a batch of blintzes, one of my father-in-law’s favorite dishes, with farmer’s cheese using a new crepe batter. The dough was nicer than the previous one I’ve used, but I had a few blintzes bust at the seams during pan searing. Can’t have these previous pillows of heaven bust, can we? I’ll be investigating causes which may include a too-thin crepe or too much filling (sigh). Lastly, this is Purim, yes? I made hamantashen with apricot and cream cheese/chocolate fillings. I’d never had the chocolate filled ones and was surprised at how good they turned out. We are ready to tackle yet another and dare I hope last snow storm with so many delicious treats socked away in the fridge.

 

 

 

 

Culinary Adventures Dessert Flavors Hubby Cooks Life

Moments

Sometimes you just need a fix … a little something to carry you over until the weekend. Sometimes, its a dessert, sometimes, a good book and in this case, the fix is a series of links to things that I am going gaga over.

I’d do anything to get a chance to play with this dollhouse. Sophia has a dollhouse already. Hers is smaller, but something like this is perfect for the 4+ crowd. Coincidentally, I am in the 4+ crowd already, so can I get one?

Perusing my beloved Moma museum store lead me to this stamp set. You see, stamps are all very in at our house and this set is not only fun, but educational. And while on the subject of Moma … and faces, here’s something I just picked up for Sophia.

I would definitely try and get one of these, or something like when decorating a nursery. Sophia’s nursery is mellow, yellow and accented with butterflies. I’d definitely go a little bolder next time.

We don’t get a chance to get out to the movies often, but Chef looks promising. We’re foodies and enjoy a good food truck once in a while.

Lastly, and I am of course late to this party, but maybe you are, too. I love, love, love pretty much every knitted piece on this site as well as the yarns. They’re oh so pricey, but oh so dreamy.

General

Years ago, I had quite a few business trips to Albuquerque, New Mexico. I fell in love with the area, the regional cuisine and their chile peppers. People travel from far and wide during the chile harvesting season to pick, buy and preserve these incredible edibles that turn any food into something extra ordinary. New Mexican chiles aren’t always spicy either and some are verdant, floral and amazing.

Coffee, wine, chocolate and chiles are among foods the taste and flavor of which is greatly affected by the terroir. My trips to Albuquerque or perhaps those who I was with and what I was working, are the reason I have grown to appreciate these green and red rockstars. I have been reminiscing about those days and trips recently and decided that I should cook something with some chiles. Enter enchiladas verdes. The recipe I used called for poblano peppers which are so very floral, so mild and mouthwateringly good. Mixed with tomatillos and spiced with cumin, they bring me right back to many a happy dinner in New Mexico.

March8thWeekend4

 

The enchiladas bathed in the verde sauce and topped (at least partially) with some jack cheese before going in the oven.

March8thWeekend3Bubbling hot and out of the oven the enchiladas fill the house with such an aroma. They’re not as sinful as you may expect and serve a huge crowd  — perfect for mid-week dinner and lunch leftovers. This and the salmon cakes were my two culinary accomplishments this weekend. March8thWeekend1We dressed the salmon cakes which had no bread in the recipe with some sweet potato oven fries, roasted broccoli, home-made tartar sauce and a crispy salmon skin hubby insisted on making. Speaking of hubby, he cooked my mom’s famous sous and I can smell that all the way in the office as I write this. We traded off playing with Sophia while cooking and as you can see, painting and those glorious tulips were all the rage this weekend.

March8thWeekend2

We tried going to the children’s theater to see an age-appropriate play but it had been sold out, so we went to on a long walk stopping by a toy-store and treating Sophia to a mini etch a sketch — an oldie but goodie. Lastly, I admit, I lied, I also made brownies this weekend but since I’ve made them and regaled you with pictures before, I decided not to tease. They’re still just as good. Mmm…

Cookery Dessert Flavors Hubby Cooks Life

29Months1

Look who’s getting so big! This is actually an outtake, and the official 29 months picture is here. Of course toddler modeling is hard work for all involved and we captured a few other bloopers in the process. Who knew that our Sophia likes to work with tools just like her Papa?

Blooper3

Blooper 2

 

I saved the best for last :-). Have to have something for the suitors 18 years down the line.

Blooper1

 

Moments

Growing up, March 8th was a special day in my family and likewise in most others. Today is international women’s day and I join with the rest of the world in celebrating women.
I grew up seeing my dad bring home flowers and the holiday was pretty much about that for a very long time.

Now, my husband remembers the day and his attention is special. He asked me today, perhaps half-jokingly, when the International Men’s Day is. His comment led me to think why it is so important to celebrate women and what their significant contribution is. If I had to sum it up in one word, I would choose the word family. Women create and more importantly nurture and bring together families. We don’t choose our families, but we choose to consciously bring ours closer and nurture bonds not just for ourselves but for our children.

Food For Thought