Hi! Cheerios recently produced this awesome short video by Good Bite bloggers. It is about the ways women spend time with their children to nourish their minds. This clip is wonderfully inspirational and totally worth a look. See it here on my Product Reviews page!
With all that’s been going on this fall I have had to make more time to be with my daughter. Before the blog started it was just the two of us all day long with no obligations. But now we have school (her), work (me), swimming lessons (both of us), and a whole host of playdates. In short, we are busy. The most important thing for me is to make the times between all these activities that is just for us.
My daughter is about to turn three and I find our time together is best spent doing fun, easy activities. We love to color, read and take walks. She also has started to ride a bike with training wheels so I can jog, or ride my own bike, alongside her. These moments where we are both engaged in the same activity are priceless. I also make a point of eating meals together whenever possible.
Breakfast is one of our favorite meals to eat side by side. We both love to eat cereal (Cheerios or otherwise), or waffles or pancakes. Eating breakfast together is the calm before the storm of the day. We talk about our schedule and who we might bump into along the way. I take this time to set her expectations about what will happen at school and after I pick her up. I think she likes this as much as I do, lately she’s taken to asking me what will be happening that day the moment I start pouring the milk.
As you’ll see below, Cheerios made this fantastic video with several Good Bite bloggers about ways they spend time with their children and nourish their mind and body. I love hearing all the ways Moms spend time with their children. The theme here is universal, time together doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. It’s the laughter and enjoyment that counts.
What’s Going on Today: Clear, cold day in Cooperstown during a visit to my parent’s.
Naptime Goals: Bake potatoes and prepare filling. Re-stuff potato skins and save to bake for dinner.
Tonight’s Menu: Turkey (Mom), Green Beans (Mom), Twice-Baked Potatoes (Me).
Parenting Lesson of the Day: Nothing replaces a good day with Mere-mere and Bampa!
My long weekend in Cooperstown was fantastic. We had great fun romping around town with the dogs, picking out pumpkins and bidding farewell to the ducks before they fly south. The weather was so-so, one day it actually snowed, but that didn’t matter. With the cool weather upon us we happily indulged in some cold-weather cooking. One night we had a traditional fall dinner we call our Thanksgiving warm-up. Turkey, potatoes, green beans and stuffing. We didn’t bother with all the fixings like cranberry jelly or soft dinner rolls, but that was fine with me. Truth be told, all I cared about was the potatoes.
Hand-me-down recipes are often the best of the bunch. Today Ellen Hanson is sharing one of her favorites, her mom’s unique recipe for Chicken Curry. These days Ellen leads the life of a busy New Yorker, heading up Ellen Hanson Designs, her own green and eco-sustainable design firm, and traveling around the country to work with clients. Despite her hectic schedule Ellen still makes time to fit great food into her daily life. As you’ll read, Ellen has fond memories of this delicious meal and still discusses it’s merits with her sister. It is perfect for a cozy dinner at home or for serving a crowd. In her post Ellen eloquently, and accurately, explains how this dish can easily be made in steps throughout the day while dealing with everyday household chaos. And, it brings with it the bonus of leftovers!
I learned this simple and flexible recipe from my Mom. She has five kids of her own and we were always curious to try her latest dish from cooking class back in the 70’s. In those days you couldn’t buy a rotisserie chicken, but that’s the secret update to this quick and easy meal.
Purchase an organic rotisserie chicken with no flavoring along with a couple of apples, an onion, and strained Greek yogurt. First step- put your rice on with whatever method works best at your house, by the time it is ready your meal will be done.
While the kids are doing their homework (or their Lego creations), skin and cube both an apple and an onion. Toss them in a large saucepan along with a little vegetable oil. Saute on medium heat until they begin to soften, but not turn to mush. If desired, add minced garlic and/or minced ginger. Sprinkle two teaspoons of curry powder and coat all ingredients thoroughly, then turn off the heat and fold in yogurt, salt, and pepper to taste. You can hold the process at this point if you need to deal with other chaos in the house.
What’s Going on Today: Preparing for weekend trip to Cooperstown, cleaning up from morning brunch with friends.
Naptime Goals: Clean house, pack bags, work on book, prepare Bucatini sauce
Tonight’s Menu: Bucatini all’Amatriciana, Garlic Bread, Salad
Parenting Lesson of the Day: They don’t understand the idea of biting off more than they can chew.
We are heading up to Cooperstown for a long weekend and I am in house wrap-up mode. My husband will be here while we are gone, so I don’t need to clean out the whole place, but I like to leave things in good shape so he doesn’t have to worry about much. Since this will be our last meal together for a few days, tonight I’m going to to make one of his favorites, Bucatini all’Amatriciana.
As part of the Mom’s Breakfast Club I recently hosted a brunch for Kellogg’s new Love Your Cereal initiative. Seven women, all busy moms, gathered at my house one morning to discuss the merits of a healthy breakfast, daily routines and why we care about feeding our children well. I provided several sweet baked goods and a nice fruit platter, and the women provided fascinating conversation.
What’s Going on Today: Cool fall day, enjoy leaf collecting and carving our first jack-o-lantern.
Tonight’s Menu: Pork Tenderloin, Crispy Squashed Potatoes, Green Salad.
Naptime Goals: Prep the tenderloin and potatoes.
Parenting Lesson of the Day: Take a cautious approach to pumpkin carving with toddlers, it looks a tad scary to them!
With the cooler weather I am back to cooking heartier food. Earlier this week I shared my crispy potato experiment, which was a big success, and this was the meat I chose for the main course. I wanted to pair my starchy potatoes with something solid and hearty but not an actual steak. Pork tenderloin fits the bill for these sorts of occasions. In the past I’ve purchased the pre-flavored tenderloins at the market but have decided I prefer flavoring it myself.
My friend Caroline is the mother of two boys, 3 and 2 years old respectively. She is one busy woman! When I asked her to share a favorite treat she enjoys with her children she told me about Amee’s Lace Cookies. Sometimes Caroline bakes these with her boys and other times she enjoys her time baking when they are at school. Her school time, she explained, is her time to do errands and get things taken care of around the house. She is a classic Naptime Chef fitting great food into family life!
My great-grandmother Amee is the source of this delicious recipe. These cookies remain a staple in my family. My relatives and I have wonderful memories of Amee’s cookie tin, which was lined with wax paper and filled with her exquisite lace cookies. As children, we would make a bee line to the refrigerator in her house on each visit, as the tin was stored on top!
The ingredients for lace cookies are as simple as the recipe. Furthermore, no large quantities of any one item are needed, so chances are that you already have everything in your kitchen.
The name of the cookies comes from the lace-like holes that are formed when they bake. Lace cookies are delicate and fragile, but not to worry, the crumbs are tasty as the whole cookie!
Hi! Today’s post is over here and it’s all about my amazing trip to Portland Oregon as part of the Good Egg Project. Come on over and take a look!!
Two weeks ago I participated in a fabulous trip to Portland Oregon to tour the Willamette Egg Farms. My Farm to Table Tour was sponsored by The Good Egg Project. This is an effort by America’s egg farmers to educate people about where eggs come from and encourage them to join America’s egg farmers in the fight against hunger by pledging to “Eat good. Do good every day.” For each pledge made on GoodEggProject.org, America’s egg farmers will donate one egg to Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger relief charity, up to one million eggs. Since 2009, America’s egg farmers have donated more than 28 million eggs to food banks and charities across the nation.
Joining me were some great friends and bloggers, Jennifer from Savoring The Thyme, Amy from She Wears Many Hats, Michelle from Gourmet Mom on the Go, Lynn from Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures, Erin from Prudence Pennywise, Kristy from The Wicked Noodle, Dara of Cookin’ Canuck, and Susan of She’s Becoming Doughmesstic. We had the pleasure of being taught and accompanied by Howard Helmer, the World’s Fastest Omelet Maker (no joke!), Chef Jeffrey Saad upcoming star of the Cooking Channel’s new show The United Tastes of America and Mary Donkersloot, RD. Needless to say, it was quite a crew.
What’s Going on Today: Tropical storm gusting through town, indoors playing after school.
Naptime Goals: Put chicken thighs in to marinate, prepare measuring cups for Honey Spiced Madeleines.
Tonight’s Menu: Soyaki Chicken Thighs, jasmine rice, madeleines.
Parenting Lesson of the Day: Madeleine/Madeline, it really comes down to living in an old house in Paris covered in vines.
The first tropical storm of the season raged through Connecticut the other day. We were stuck inside for most of it, only venturing out for school and swimming lessons. I have to admit, I didn’t really mind the weather-induced seclusion. It gave me an excuse to stay inside and pay attention to my neglected household chores. Plus, it gave my daughter and I a chance to embark on a baking project. For inspiration I flipped open my newest favorite cookbook, Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan, to find a child-friendly goody we could make together. I love this new book so much that today I am giving away a copy! (Entry rules below).
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