What’s Going on Today: Rainy day errands, laundry, general feelings of need to commence spring cleaning are beginning to emerge.

Naptime Goals: Make manicotti to bake for dinner, finish laundry, consider cleaning closet?

Tonight’s Menu: Arugula & Pea Manicotti with Toasted Pine Nuts, Green Salad, White Wine.

More Great Rainy Day Baked Pastas: Orecchiette with Pancetta & Three Cheeses, Crunchy Mac&Cheese with Bacon, Stuffed Shells with Homemade Ricotta, Eggplant Parmigiana

In my house rainy days and baked pasta go hand in hand. I love to whip up a warm, creamy dish during naptime and serve it up, all hot and bubbly, for dinner. Manicotti is one of those dishes that fits perfectly into this scenario. I usually approach it like my favorite lasagna, stuffing it with a nutmeg scented ricotta and topping it with homemade marinara. But on this particular rainy day I in the mood to try something different, a little risky even.

This is the latest installment of my Powernap column. The series where I share quick, easy food that can be made for all kinds of situations. Powernaps are short and sweet, and so are these recipes. These are the things I make in a jiffy when I need a quick snack, am in the mood for a recipe experiment, or simply need to clean out the pantry.

Today’s Powernap Situation: What is a delicious quick dessert that I can whip up in a snap during naptime and take to mom’s night out?

Last week I volunteered to bring something sweet to mom’s night out. I was so excited by the prospect of spending time with girlfriends, something that happens far too rarely these days, that I wanted to eschew the usual cupcake/brownie/cookie kid-fare and treat everyone to a dessert with a distinctly adult feel. I envisioned something creamy and smooth with a hefty dose of chocolate (obviously), and maybe even a little bit of booze. I hardly ever incorporate liquor into our family baked goods, but I knew it would be no problem, maybe even welcomed, by a group of fellow moms. Enter Kentucky Derby Chocolate-Pecan Pie.

What’s Going on Today: Retrieving computer from Genius Bar (phew!), trip to Goodwill, back in the swing of things.

Naptime Goals: Make Vanilla Bean Toasted Coconut Pound Cake, revel in fixed computer!

Tonight’s Menu: Leftover Chicken Enchiladas, fresh mexican rice, grilled peppers

More Great Cakes: Apple Spice Bundt Cake with Maple Glaze, Lemon Pudding Cake, Pear Butter Cake,

Winter vacation was pretty uneventful. We had what you would call a “staycation,” the popular term for staying at home for an entire vacation week. My daughter didn’t seem to mind, thankfully, and was happily entertained with plenty of playdates and a fun trip the Mystic Seaport Acquarium. I was busy with work, as was my husband, so all in all it was a pretty normal week. I’ll admit though, after a week-long break from our routine I was quite happy when things returned to normal. Though my daughter napped every day during break, I spent most of that free time working on the book for my upcoming deadline. It wasn’t until this week when she went back to school, in addition to taking her naps, that I had some extra time to do some fun baking.

This is the latest installment of my Powernap column. The series where I share quick, easy food that can be made for all kinds of situations. Powernaps are short and sweet, and so are these recipes. These are the things I make in a jiffy when I need a quick snack, am in the mood for a recipe experiment, or simply need to clean out the pantry.

Today’s Powernap Conundrum: How use the almost-finished yogurt in the fridge before it has to be thrown out.

I am constantly on a quest to make sure nothing in my refrigerator goes to waste. This is easier said the done. Almost every week I find myself faced with containers of sour cream, ricotta, yogurt, buttermilk and the like, all only a quarter full, with very little time before their expiration date. Using up things like vegetables, fruit and eggs is easy…omelet with a side of fruit salad anyone? But using up the condiments is a task that requires a bit more creativity. The other day I found myself down near the bottom of the gigantor Stonyfield Fat Free Vanilla Yogurt container I buy every week. I’d been making our usually smoothies and granola yogurt snacks, but hadn’t used it all up. What, I wondered, could I do to finish off the container instead of throwing it out?

This is the latest installment of my Tales from the Trenches Series. An ongoing series where friends and readers share their stories and recipes about the great food they fit into family life. We all have tips and tricks to share with each other: when we cook, what we cook and how we cook the delicious food we love to eat. If you are interested in contributing a story and recipe please feel free to contact me. To my friend Adelaide Mueller is sharing her easy recipe for delicious Fettuccini alla Vodka and Caesar Salad. The recipes can be prepared ahead of time (like during naptime!) and assembled right before dinner. Adelaide frequently fits cooking and easy entertaining into after-work hours and weekends. She is trained in French cuisine and tests recipes for blogs and cookbooks (like mine, for example!), while also writing her own blog The Moonlight Chef.

Like many people, my husband and I rush through the week in anticipation of the weekend.  We occasionally get to eat dinner at home maybe once or twice a week, but with work and other commitments, we don’t get to do this as often as we’d like. Oftentimes, on a crazed night, we’ll stop by our favorite neighborhood pizza spot or Korean restaurant.  And on the weekends, we’ll often meet friends out.  So when we do get to pull up chairs to our own table, light the candles and fold the linen napkins, I like to make something special and involved.

For a long time, Citarella’s vodka sauce was our favorite weekend meal.  Spooned on top of pasta and topped with freshly shredded Parmesan cheese, it made us happy. As I began to feel more confident and comfortable creating my own recipes, I decided to take on our preferred jar of pasta sauce. Once I figured out what made this sauce so delicious (heavy cream, high-quality canned whole tomatoes, a splash of vodka) and the texture so unique (cubed pancetta, delicate leaves of basil and strings of onions) I went to the stove.