peek a blog

A peek Into My Kitchen: What to Cook Right After You Have a New Baby

Try to avoid cooking at all costs! Accept all offers of prepared food and freeze portions of everything you get to feed your family on another day!  Do not be afraid to offer cereal for dinner or order takeout several nights in a row!

Doing my best to take my own advice these days--I'll let you know how it goes :)

New Baby Joins the Family! (and a link to a great explanation of Pre-Eclampsia)

So sorry that I have dropped off the radar for a while, and I assume that I may be dropping in and out somewhat intermittently for the next few weeks...baby #2 (a girl!) joined our family last Monday,a little bit ahead of schedule--just into my 36th week.  This marks my second experience with Pre-Eclampsia (check out the linked video explanation of Pre-Eclampsia and risk factors from Dr. Keith Eddleman)...which, Thank God, ended in my second perfect child--this time, without even a short stop in the NICU!  My toddler is adjusting nicely to life as a sibling, though some moments are definitely much smoother than others ;)

I have a lot of really cool products piled up on my desk to review and I promise to try to post as much as possible in between feedings and trying to spend as much time as possible with my toddler.

A peek Into My Kitchen: Simple Beet Salad

Beets are a great iron-rich, generally inexpensive and easy to prepare food. I have never understood why so many adults never add them into their vegetable repertoire. Do not be afraid to offer them to your child--their bright red color and super-sweet flavor make them a highly kid-friendly food.  Just don't be freaked out by the ensuing red diaper contents!

The addition of a small amount of mayonnaise or yogurt to this recipe adds a particularly tangy flavor without turning it into a creamy salad.

If you have a baby who is still eating pureed foods, you can remove one or two of the baked beets and puree them plain before you add the rest to the salad.

Simple Beet Salad

8 medium to large beets

1/4 cup cider or balsamic vinegar

I clove of garlic, minced

1-2 tsp honey

1/2 cup onion (any type), thinly sliced

1 Tbsp firm yogurt or mayonnaise

2 Tbsp minced fresh dill (or about 2 tsp dried) (optional for added flavor)

Dash salt

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Trim beets of their stems and greens.*  Scrub beets and wrap them tightly in foil, piercing them with a sharp knife once or twice.  Bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for about an hour, or until they are tender.

Combine vinegar, garlic, honey, salt & pepper in a small bowl or jar.

Rinse the cooked beets under cool running water as you rub off their skins.  Cut into 1 inch pieces, place in a medium bowl and pour the vinegar mixture over them. Toss to combine.

Add onions, yogurt or mayonnaise and optional dill and stir well.

Chill and correct seasonings.

*You can reserve the greens to saute with garlic and olive oil as a green vegetable side for another day--or add to soup!

Free Child Safety Kit from ADT

I haven't seen this kit myself yet (though I ordered it from the website)--but it sounds pretty worthwhile.  ADT, the home security system company, is offering a free Child Safety Kid, which contains a fingerprint kit, a magnet, a reflective sticker for kids to wear in the dark as well as safety games. They will provide a kit for every child under 14 years of age in your household.

Organic Cotton Baby Clothes from B Nature--10% off!

I try to stock my kitchen with as many organic food and cleaning products as possible--Since my son got old enough to eat solid foods we eat almost 100% organic dairy products and a pretty high percentage of organic produce in my house.  I force myself to cook and eat mostly whole grains, even though I generally prefer the taste of the less wholesome white stuff on which I grew up.

To be honest, though, I have a hard time wrapping my head around the health benefits to the wearer of wearing organic cotton.  By this admission, I am certainly not saying that there are none, just that I don't fully understand the actual impact of clothing, which is worn on the outside of the body, on internal health.  I am always happy to hear about healthy farming conditions and Free-Trade/Fair labor practices, both ethics by which many organic clothing companies, including B Nature, abide. 

Something that I have noticed about organic cotton, though, is that it tends to be incredibly soft--making it ideal for a baby's skin...and the sample tagless onesie and footed pants which arrived in 100% recycled packaging from woman-run company B nature is some of the softest that I have ever felt.  The simple ecru color and flat rainbow stitching also make it a perfect pick for a boy or a girl. I also love that  I can't comment on fit quite yet, as I am not due with #2 until mid-May, but I look forward to testing this outfit out on our new little one! 

Great Deal! Now through the end of May 2009, use the code PABApril when you shop at B Nature's website to receive a 10% discount off all purchases.

A peek Into My Kitchen: Rafi's Matzah Brie

Observing Passover means constantly dealing with the age old dilemma--"How do I eat within the guidelines of the holiday and feel somewhat satisfied without over-relying on a million kinds of reconstituted matzah?"

 

That said, matzah brie (brie, rhymes with eye--it bears nary a relationship to the French cheese) is a family friendly, and extremely easy to whip up, favorite.  In fact, I just heard that a non-kosher diner in the neighborhood has put it on their menu as a Passover-themed seasonal treat.  Be warned--this is in no way a heath food--just one of those traditional comfort foods that has stood the test of time...there are also a million ways to make it, and all of the measurements can be altered to taste.

 

Matzah brie is one of my husband's prized specialties--so I backed him into a corner and made him talk me through his recipe to offer a point at which a matzah brie novice could start. He grew up eating it with G'vina Levana, an Israeli cheese similar to sour cream, and is always horrified that I eat it with ketchup.

 

Rafi's Matzah Brie

about 2 adult portions + 1 child portion

1 medium white onion (or 1/2 large white onion), chopped

handful of mushrooms, sliced (optional)

2-2 1/2 matzahs (regular or whole wheat)

5 large eggs, beaten

~1/2 Tbsp butter + 2 Tbsp olive oil, for frying

Salt & pepper to taste

Grated mild cheese, optional

Ketchup and sour cream for serving

 

Saute onions in hot pan until brown. (if using mushrooms, add them when the onions are just beginning to brown.)

Rinse matzah under warm water and set aside until onions are ready.  Matzah should have lost it's crunch, but not be a mushy mess. 

Break matzah into 1-2 inch pieces and add to onions in pan.

Stir for a minute to dry out matzah and combine flavors.

Lower heat to medium.

Add eggs to matzah and onion mixture, and scramble until it reaches desired consistency (length of time depends on whether you generally like your scrambled eggs wet or dry.)

Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and top with optional cheese.

Serve with ketchup and/or sour cream.

 

A peek Into My Kitchen: Nut-Free Charoset

Charoset is a sweet and fruity paste served at traditional Passover Seders worldwide.  Though most Americans have been exposed to the Ashkenazi/Eastern European mixture of apples, nuts and wine, Jews around the world make their Charoset out of a variety of other fruits, seeds and even matzah meal.

I saw a bunch of recipes which substituted ground matzah farfel or matzah meal for the missing nuts, but my personal philosophy has always been that it is better to find a recipe that works well without an ingredient than to use a lesser substitute.

This nut-optional recipe came from Gil Marks, founding editor of Kosher Gourmet magazine (no longer published) and author of several kosher cookbooks.  I have not made it yet, but I will definitely be trying it without the nuts for my Seder this year so that my nut-allergic son can taste the charoset!

**If your child is allergic to peanuts and treenuts (and depending on the severity of the allergy), read packages carefully to ensure that dried fruit is processed on nut-free equipment or in a nut-free factory**

Turkish Charoset
(About 4 cups)
1 1/3 cups (about 24 whole) chopped dates
1 cup finely chopped dried figs
1 cup finely chopped raisins or dried apricots
1 to 2 peeled and cored apples
[~1 cup (3 to 5 ounces) chopped walnuts, almonds, or any combination (optional)] 
enough sweet red wine to make a paste

Finely chop together the fruits. Add enough wine to make a thick paste. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Serve at room temperature.

I also found a much simpler recipe aalongside some other suggestions for allergen-free Passover recipes (though this one seems much less like 'real' charoset to me) by Sara Atkins, a mom of children with multiple severe food allergies on a Chabad website. 

Allergen-Free Charoset

1 apple

1 pear

sweet red wine (optional)]

In a blender or food processor, blend together apple and pear. Pour off any excess liquid and sweeten with a bit of sweet red wine, if desired.

Bib or Smock--Puddlegear has you covered!

My son loves to paint and draw with markers but is always extremely adamant that he be wearing a smock so that he doesn't even get a little bit dirty.  Most smocks on the market are lacking--whether in coverage (what's with those sleeveless smocks?!), in comfort (some make it seem like you're swaddling your toddler in a plastic bag!)or in durability (plastic flaking off is very yucky.) Though it's somewhat pricey, this bib/smock should last you a long, long time!

When I discovered the Puddle Gear bib, I finally found a great solution.  Though they call it a bib, it's complete lap and arm coverage (designed for messy eaters) make it a super duper smock. The arms are designed so that they cover the front part of the arm, but not the back/elbow portion--so your toddler's movement is not restricted at all.  It is made of super soft and smooth Atec, which is a completely waterproof, PVC and Phthalate free Polyurethane-coated stretch fabric. It comes in Pink, Medium Blue (shown) and Navy. Check out the bibs and their really cool rain gear at www.puddlegear.com !

 

Puddle Gear will give one bib away to a lucky reader (I will randomly generate the winner)--so leave your comments asap!