Lately, perhaps more than ever, I have been really appreciating my iPad. In the past I’ve had a lot of fun playing with cooking apps and using it for email, but these days it has become a lifeline. I am on it day and night, not only for email, but to keep up with the outside world, order baby products, and pretty much organize my whole life. Here are of the few the apps I’ve been relying on the this year. I am curious, do have any apps or websites you rely on?
Artkive: Because pre-school is a never-ending art project. I love all my daughter’s artwork. But if we saved every piece we would have to lease a storage unit! This cool app allows us to photograph and store everything digitally. Later on we can have it made into a printed book. There is also a feature that gives me the option to share the artwork with anyone I want via email. Genius!
Today I am having a fun chat with my friends Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs from Food52 about the second volume in their award-winning cookbook series. You may remember that last year I was thrilled to feature the first Food52 cookbook on the blog since I had three (!) recipes printed in it! I don’t have any recipes in the second book, The Food52 Cookbook, Volume 2: Seasonal Recipes from Our Kitchens to Yours, but I am still completely enamored of the content. The recipes, organized by season, are all winners of the Food52 weekly contests and are lauded for everything from their complete originality (Savory Salt & Pepper French Toast) to their tasteful simplicity (Clementine Pound Cake).
Earlier this month we were having a lot of discussions on Facebook about food I was making and freezing in preparation for baby’s arrival. I also shared how I prepared my pantry for the next month when I won’t have the flexibility to dash to the grocery store like I usually do. Since I am now on the other side of all this I thought I’d share how things are going, what we are eating, and what people are bringing. I hope these help answer a lot of your questions regarding food suggestions for things to bring new parents! If you need more ideas check out my New Parents & Potlucks category in my recipe index. I will also definitely be including a chapter on New Parent Food in the next book. So if you have any requests for recipes or cuisines or food for special diets you’d like to see please let me know and I will do my best to accommodate!
I always struggle with the proper balance of screen time for my preschooler. My husband and I generally lean toward keeping her exposure fairly limited. Like most things with kids, we think (hope) that if it comes in measured amounts it will be constructive in all the right ways. For example, she is obsessed with the iPad. So, when we let her play with it we make sure she gets engaged with an age-appropriate learning game. We were pretty psyched when she got interested in maps based onStack the States and she ended up asking for a globe for her birthday. As for movies, she likes all the normal ones for her age. I can never deny her the classic Mary Poppins late on a snowy Saturday afternoon. I remember loving that movie as much as she does. It is especially poignant for me when she dances around the room to the soundtrack and sings the songs from memory.
To that end I’ve become totally enamored with the Olive Us web series by Design Mom. I have to admit, we started watching Season 1 long before I even knew the Mom, aka Gabrielle Blair, was a blogger. A fellow Babble blogger, no less. Ooops! Now I’ve become addicted to reading the Design Mom website as well. Anyway, my daughter and I have watched every single episode multiple times and I frequently post them on my Facebook page to encourage you all to do the same. These cute five minute vignettes chronicle the six Blair children and their adventures in France and Colorado. I love that they focus on interesting children-centric activities in a way that motivates the watcher to get up and go try it herself. For example, my daughter has already made hand cookies with her own Mere-Mere and she is begging me to find a farm where we can collect our own eggs. Once we are done with that she would like to try her hand at pottery. Whew – I am tired just thinking about it! But I am psyched to see her interested in all of these cool topics.
Above you’ll find our favorite episode about the lemonade stand. I already have a string of real burgees and my brother’s old railroad lanterns set aside for next summer when I’m sure you’ll find us on our corner setting up something similar!
Today I am writing with a hot tip for new parents, or anyone needing to rely on a little prepared food this winter. I am usually an advocate for making nearly everything from scratch but even I, someone who cooks for a living, know it isn’t always possible. While I like to make my own tomato sauce there is nothing wrong with picking up a jar or two of delicious sauce when I simply don’t have the time. When selecting my jarred sauces I always follow two important criteria: the sauce must be organic and can’t contain any funny sounding ingredients or preservatives. These are two of the reasons I love Dave’s Gourmet and was thrilled when they reached out to me about trying some of their delicious pasta sauces.
I don’t have many words of wisdom to share today. The lesson here is that it is always good to keep the preschooler occupied while waiting for a baby to arrive. And, if said preschooler wants to stay occupied with a baking project, make it easy on yourself and choose the simplest thing in your repertoire. Like popovers, for example.
With baby due to arrive any day now I’ve spent the past couple of weeks stocking up my winter pantry. I know I’ll be spending quite a bit of time in the blissful infant fog over the next few weeks so I am making sure all of my go-to staples are filled to the brim to help me avoid daily dashes for food. Last week I spent some time flipping through my cookbook and jotting down ideas for easy healthy meals I want to focus on this winter. For the first few weeks with baby I’ll be sticking exclusively to lean proteins and vegetables. Not only to lose the baby weight, but because they will give me the energy I need to get through each day (and night) while still keeping up with my preschooler. I also plan to focus on a low-salt and low-sugar diet to relieve the end-of-pregnancy swelling I am currently experiencing.
I am so thrilled to be participating in the Second Annual Coast-to-Coast Toast with Vanberg & DeWulf. As I’ve mentioned before, during college I interned with Vanberg & DeWulf and learned all there is to know about imported Belgian beers as well as participated in the building of Brewery Ommegang. Over the years I’ve kept in close touch with Wendy and Don and love celebrating their business whenever I can. Of course, this year I have to abstain from a literal toast and drink (less than 2 weeks to go!) but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy good beer when it is incorporated into great food.
Welcome to my new (website) addition: Naptime Lifestyle! Not only do I love to cook and feed my family, I also have other interests like gardening, reading, decorating, kids, design, and crafting. I added this column to be a place to talk about all of these things. I also suspect I’ll have a lot of baby stuff to talk about this winter so I think this would be a great place for that topic too!
This winter my friends and I have been taking meals to my friend Melissa’s family while she undergoes chemotherapy. Her prognosis is excellent, but the treatments can leave her tired and lethargic. It is the least we can do to drop off a healthy meal now and then so she can concentrate on recuperating. Last week was my turn to bring her dinner and given my current state I ended up taking her a mash-up of homemade foods, like a big batch of these oatmeal heath bar cookies, and a few store-bought items. Together everything comprised enough food for a few healthy family meals with some comforting nibbles thrown in.
We are really in the final stretch now. In less than two weeks (I hope!) we will be meeting our new baby. I am so excited! At the moment I am feeling extremely heavy and slow. I remember this feeling from my pregnancy with my daughter and know that it won’t last forever. So I just take it one day at a time and keep my eye on the prize. As for cooking, well, I am all about (maybe only about) recipes that come together in ten minutes or less. At this point there is simply no other option. While I have a normal appetite, I have no interest in standing on my feet for any longer than a few minutes and am relying strictly on those little, quick meals that satisfy without being too involved.
Happy 2013! Wow, can you believe how time flies? I mean, seriously, where did the year go? I am so thankful for the wonderful year that was 2012 and am thrilled to be looking forward to all the milestones that 2013 will bring. My first big milestone should be arriving toward the end of this very month (!) In light of this heavily-pregnant-oh-so-tired feeling I’ve been focusing on simple, easy meals lately. I just don’t have the energy for anything too involved. This is one of the reasons I loved this post on Food52 about using one healthy gremolata in several different dinner recipes over the course of a week. Not only is this efficient (and delicious) any time of year, it is especially relevant to my cooking strategy these days!
