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A peek Into My Kitchen: Blueberry Goop Cake

Summer berries make this an insanely yummy cake.  To make the most of Summer's bounty of relatively inexpensive sweet berries, buy in bulk and freeze unwashed blueberries in labeled Ziploc bags for use during the colder months!  Just do a quick rinse and add them to your favorite recipes right out of the freezer--they should last well for about a year.
If you are not in a cake-ey mood, you can also make this 'blueberry goop' as a simple topping for ice cream, pancakes etc.  Cook berries slightly longer if you want a saucier texture.

Blueberry Goop Cake

Ingredients:

For blueberry goop:
1/3 c sugar
1/4 c water
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp cornstarch or potato starch
2 c blueberries

For cake:
1 c flour
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 c sugar
1 large egg
1/2 c milk
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 F. 
Spray a 9-inch square Pyrex-type baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Make blueberry goop :
In a small saucepan, stir together 1/3 c sugar with water, lemon juice and cornstarch or potato starch.  Add blueberries. 
Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally for 3-4 minutes.
Remove from heat.
(You can make the goop the night before, store in the fridge and bring to room temperature before adding to cake the next day)

For cake batter:
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and 1/2 c sugar.
In a large bowl, whisk together egg, milk, butter and vanilla.
Add dry ingredients to wet, and gently stir until just combined.

Pour cake batter into prepared baking pan, spreading evenly. 
Pour blueberry mixture evenly over batter. (Most of the blueberries will sink to the bottom.)
Bake for about 30 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Store at room temperature.  Serve in pan.

Outfit Your Little Cookie in Organic Clothing from ikookie--Giveaway!

It's amazing how much trends have shifted in the 3 years between my son's birth and my daughter's.  I don't know that organic cotton was even on my radar those long 3 years ago...now parents everywhere are buzzing about everything organic. 
Organic cotton is super soft and, since it it grown without harmful pesticides, better for the environment as well (Feel free to put these two facts in your preferred order of priority ;)
ikookie has great collection of super-soft baby essentials in a variety of gutsy pastels with storybook names such as nature, sky and marshmallow. The short sleeved lap bodysuit that I received was at the generous end of the 0-3 month spectrum.  The neck stretched nicely over my daughter's head, and the snaps at the bottom closed without too much fuss.  The bodysuit has also passed the wash-test, having resisted shrinkage even after having been washed several times.  My only complaint is that, as a result of many memories of itchy tags bothering the back of my neck, I have a definite preference for tag-less designs (though the small silky tag did not seem to offend my daughter in the least.)

To win an ikookie t-shirt for your own little cookie,check out the ikookie website and leave a comment telling me what other products on the site catch your eye by July 20th.

Gain extra entries (leave a comment per entry):

1.Follow this blog

2.Follow me on twitter @peekababy (leave an additional comment with your twitter name)

3. Digg this post

4. Stumble this post

5. ReTweet on twitter @peekababy

6. Blog about the contest mentioning the peek a blog and leave an extra comment with a link to your blog posting.

Winner will be chosen using random.org.

A peek Into My Kitchen: Summer Corn & Zucchini Veggie Burger

This can be made all year-round with frozen corn kernels or less than fabulous corn.  For the yummiest patties, make it toward the end of the summer when corn is truly spectacular!
The directions for this recipe are for a food processor, though you can, of course, take a little bit of extra time and do all of the grating and pulverizing by hand. Note: there is no reason to wash the food processor between steps!

Corn & Zucchini Veggie Burger

2 Tbsp Olive oil
1 medium red onion, cut in half
2 cloves garlic
1 medium zucchini
2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary, roughly chopped
2 c corn kernels
3/4 c cornmeal
3-4 Tbsp all-purpose flour, if needed

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Put onion and garlic in a food processor.  Using the regular chopping attachment, pulse until onions and garlic are almost completely  pulverized (you can leave more or less lumps depending upon your preference, but mixture should be pretty wet.)
Put 2 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet over a medium flame.  When oil is hot, add onion-garlic mixture and cook for a minute or two.
Add all but 1/2 cup of corn kernels to food processor and let the machine run until the corn resembles a thick, gluey paste. Empty into a small bowl and set aside.
Switch the food processor to the grater attachment. Grate zucchini and set aside.
Stir zucchini, rosemary and reserved 1/2 cup of corn kernels into onion mixture in pan. 
Cook until vegetable liquid starts to evaporate (vegetables will release quite of bit of liquid before it starts to disappear.)
Add corn paste and cornmeal to vegetable mixture.
Cook for a minute or two more, remove pan from heat and let it rest for a few minutes.
If mixture still seems too wet after resting, stir in flour one tablespoon at a time until mixture looks  mold-able.
Form 4 large or 6 medium patties out of mixture.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or greased tin foil and arrange burgers on pan.
Bake for about 15-20 minutes on each site, until burgers are well browned.

Optional: While burgers are baking, slice remaining half of red onion.  In the same pan that you used to cook the vegetables, saute onions to eat as an accompaniment with the veggie burgers.

Serve with prepared Salsa, Salsa mixed with a equal part of sour cream, sliced tomatoes and sauteed onions.  No bun necessary!

Raising your child without disclosing gender?!

I love when other writers/bloggers draw my attention to interesting things that I would probably never have come across on my own wanderings of the world and web.
Debra Nussbaum Cohen, in an article in the online incarnation of the Jewish Daily Forward, writes about a couple in Sweden who have chosen to raise their child without revealing his/her gender. 
As a former student of drama and perfomance studies, I find myself morbidly transfixed by this story.  How will life unfold for this child who has deliberately been denied a gender identity?
Though I definitely think that so much of the gender nonsense that we impose onto our children is societal construct (Why can't my son wear the Dora swim diapers that he prefers?! He is no less of a boy because he has worn a pink Dora Pull-Up), it seems really strange to me to refuse to give your child a gender-identity at all.  Is this the urge to avoid pink/blue stereo-typing taken to a whole new sick level?

I feel a little bit guilty that I'm so curious to hear how this kid turns out...kind of like watching a train wreck (or a bad reality show ;)

How does potty training work like this? and the inevitable questions about body parts?are mommy and daddy genderless as well?

I just don't get it.

Tethering a pacifier to your baby?!

I was recently checking in on my Facebook page and came across a strange new product in a sidebar ad--The Binky Buddy. 
The Binky Buddy is basically a swath of fabric that looks something like the 'alice band' headbands of yesteryear or a very thin scarf.  The inventor of this contraption, a mom who says that she knows this product is safe because she tested it on her own infant, says that you can drape her product around your baby's head or shoulders to hold a ring-less pacifier in place. 
Though I am glad to hear that this woman's infant son survived her experimenting, I take issues with the pictures on her website which illustrate the Binky Buddy's use--please check them out and let me know what you think.
Am I over-reacting, or appropriately horrified?!

31 days of Awesome Giveaways from Magic Beans!

Happy 5th birthday Magic Beans!

Don't you just love folks who give other people presents on their own birthdays?!

To celebrate their 5th birthday, Sheri and Eli Gurock, brain-parents and proprietors of Magic Beans, have engineered the giveaway to end all giveaways--they are giving away almost $10,000 of their favorite products for parents, babies and kids.

What is Magic Beans? It's a super-cool Boston-area toy and baby gear store stocked with tons of well-researched products to make every parent's life a little more productive (or, at the very least, more fun!)
For those of us who don't live in in the land of the Red Sox, not only can we shop on-line for all of the great stuff available at Magic Beans but we are in on the giveaway as well!
Visit their giveaway page every day between now and July 31st to check out that day's prize and fill out your daily entry...and while you're there, take a gander at the rest of the retail offerings on the rest of their site.
And, don't worry, no one will try to offer you magic beans for your pet cow ;)

A peek Into My Kitchen: Cheesy Cauliflower, Spinach & Mushroom Casserole

I haven't posted a recipe in a while, and while they may not be as regular as before, I promise to try to abide by the complaints that I have received and share them more often.

Whenever my husband and I have to rent a car to go to an event out of the city (which to those of us Manhattan-centric New Yorkers means any of the other boroughs ;) we feel the insane pull of Costco pulling us in...

As usual, I bought some huge containers of the produce that we eat most...unfortunately, I was unable to cancel my Fresh Direct order containing smaller, more expensive packages of many of the very same items.  No stranger to an refrigerator overfull with produce, I had, once again, to improvise.

This casserole makes a nice main with a simple starch as plain baked potatoes or brown rice, but my husband prefers to have a smaller portion with a piece of broiled fish.

This recipe is a different version of the Baked Broccoli and Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce  that I posted a while back.

Cheesy Cauliflower, Spinach & Mushroom Casserole

I medium/large head of cauliflower, cut into florets

Non-stick cooking spray

~2 Tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

4-5 small tomatoes (or 2-3 medium/large tomatoes)

1 8-10 oz container mushrooms, sliced

I bunch (or ~10 oz bag) of spinach, washed well and roughly chopped

1 c milk (skim or low fat work just fine)

1 c grated cheddar cheese

3 Tbsp flour

1 Tbsp butter

~1/2 cup Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

1/2 tsp mustard powder

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Vegetables:

Steam cauliflower until just tender.

While cauliflower is steaming, heat olive oil in a small saucepan or saute pan. 

When oil is hot, add garlic and saute until fragrant. 

Add mushrooms and saute for 2-3 minutes, until mushrooms are softened and starting to brown. 

Add spinach and tomatoes.

Stir, cover and cook until spinach is wilted.

Dump cooked cauliflower into a large baking dish (Pyrex is good) coated with non-stick cooking spray and layer the spinach mixture on top.

Cheese sauce:

Melt butter in a medium saucepan. 

Add flour and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. 

Slowly add milk, stirring with a metal whisk until sauce is smooth and thick (don't worry if you have a small lump or two, with all that's going on in this dish no one will notice!)  

Add about 2/3 of the grated cheese.  Cook for about a minute, whisking constantly, until fully incorporated. Stir in mustard powder.

Pour sauce over vegetables.

Sprinkle cheese over the top and Panko on top of the cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until bubbly and browned.

Pump Ease Pumping Band ...Look Ma! No Hands! Free shipping code & Giveaway

Breastfeeding didn't work at all with my first child, now that I'm chugging along with my second, I have been desperately seeking any and all help with making this experience more palatable for the both of us. 
Pumping, in my mind, is basically a necessary evil--equal parts bizarre, boring and unpleasant.
I mean, get real, who really wants to be hooked up to a milking machine?
I searched high and low for a pumping band that would help me multi-task like the crazy busy mom that I am...
I first tried the Easy Expression Bustier which is a stiff white band that, though it did the job, made me feel like I was wearing a straight jacket.  When I looked at the Pump Ease website, I was amused that I could order it in a bunch of patterns that made the band look more like an accessory for a fembot than anything else (Note: This is NOT a picture of me!)

When it arrived, I was instantly impressed by the softness and stretchiness of the fabric (made from 88% polyester and 12% spandex) and the cool-factor of the Tuxedo pattern that I had selected.  The Pump Ease definitely continues to make pumping a less dreadful experience. Also super cool? $1 from the on-line sale of every Pump Ease goes to Best for Babes , a non-profit organization which non-judgmentally supports women achieve their own breastfeeding goals.

Two caveats with this band: 1) You may need to wash it and put it in the drier or hang it to dry (I have been warned that using the drier may damage the fabric) every so often so that it doesn't get too stretched out of shape (which will negate the hands-free option) and 2) If you haven't pumped or fed in a long while and are somewhat engorged, you may want to take a break from the band so that the seal on the breast pump horns isn't so tight that you get even more engorged.

To win your very own Pump Ease, leave a comment by July 8th detailing what great multi-tasking feats this product will help you accomplish .  Winner will be chose using random.org

Gain extra entries (leave a comment per entry):

1.Follow this blog

2.Follow me on twitter @peekababy (leave an additional comment with your twitter name)

3. Digg this post

4. Stumble this post

5. ReTweet on twitter @peekababy 

If you just can't wait to own your very own Pump Ease, you can use the code FREESHIPPABNY to receive free shipping in North America on all orders.
 

British Mother Gives Birth in Her Pants?!

I have been meaning to post this article for a while...
Is this story more scary or enviable--discuss amongst yourselves!

Cracks me up in particular because, this time around, when I got to the doctor's office, I was so far along that he told my husband to get me out of his office so that I wouldn't have the baby on the way to the hospital. Makes me wonder-- If you give birth on the street, what address do they put on your child's birth certificate?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1191646/Mother-gives-birth-trouser-leg-baby-makes-unexpected-pain-free-arrival.html

Bebe Au Lait--2 for 1 nursing cover sale!

Bebe Au Lait nursing covers are beautiful fabric covers for women who are not 100% comfortable nursing in public.  I have one of my own covered in a pattern of black and white flowers, and it is truly lovely thing to behold...I must sheepishly admit that I still prefer to use one of my daughter's blankets or a burp cloth to shield myself (mostly because those are things that I never forget to include in my diaper bag!)...or to just find a quiet place where I don't have to worry about being covered up at all. These nursing covers are unique because of the stiff neckline which is supposed to make for easier maneuvering and baby-viewing.  I also truly love that, not only was this product designed by a mom, but the business is a collaboration with her husband as well!
Bebe Au Lait is offering a pretty cool deal on their website--until June 22nd, if you use the code Mystery09 when buying any nursing cover or gift set, they will send you a second nursing cover in a pattern of their choosing (hence the 'mystery') 
Hmm...perhaps having two nursing covers would solve my diaper bag dilemma ;)