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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: I am heading up to Cooperstown for a quick overnight and want to bake something to take to my parent’s. With a box of raspberries and blueberries in the fridge I am going to experiment with a new recipe for a simple breakfast cake. Quick, delicious and portable.

Last weekend I dashed to Cooperstown for a quick trip to visit my parent’s and host a friends baby shower. I knew the house would be crazy with the party, my Dad recovering from his second shoulder surgery and a 24 hour visit from me so I thought it would be nice to show up a little something. Mom wouldn’t be cooking much over the weekend other than the party food — which was fine by me — and arriving with a cake in hand meant at least Sunday breakfast would be set. With two packs of fresh berries in hand and an hour before wake-up it was time to experiment.

What’s Going on Today: Planning family brunch for the weekend, cleaning up the house after the little one goes to bed (!)

Naptime Goals: Prepare french toast for tomorrow, work on a few articles and stain stick the grass stains out of my daughter’s clothes.

Brunch Menu Tomorrow: French toast, bacon, mimosas.

Product of the Week: Planning to serve Mom breakfast in bed? Don’t forget the tray! This cute tray is perfect for serving up delicious treats to deserving Mom while she enjoys a day lounging in bed watching the news. Need one? Buy it here at my Amazon store!

To follow up on yesterday’s Mother’s Day post I thought I should tell you about my most recent french toast recipe. This has been in regular rotation in our house as of late. With the weather warmer again we are outside 24/7 and my daughter is one hot mess by 10am. I mean, seriously, we are talking grass stains, mud in her hair, dirt under her finger nails, the whole she-bang. It is really fun for the most part, except when I have to spend the entire evening with my stain stick in hand. In order to take part in the outdoor bedlam fun I need to be dressed and out the door like a shot each morning. This means there is very little time to cook long, involved breakfasts. My solution to this is simple: overnight french toast. Not only is this perfect for harried mornings, but it works beautifully for surprising someone, like, say, your Mom, with breakfast in bed. Pop it in the oven first thing and rig up a tray with some coffee and a fresh slice and the morning celebration is complete!

Cinnamon Blueberry Waffles

I know it seems a little ironic that I, the mother, and giving you tips on how to celebrate Mother’s Day. But, I figure that either a) you reading this are not a mother and need ideas for the mother in your life, b) you need to give directions to your spouse or partner on how to make you breakfast in bed or c) you like breakfast in bed in general and are looking for new ideas.

No matter your reasons for reading I am glad you are here. I, for one, think breakfast in bed is a terrific way to celebrate Mother’s Day. It is always a fun activity for kids to participate in and breakfast food is simple and delicious to make. A lot of things can be made in advance too, so you don’t have to worry about getting up at 3:00am to start cooking. Here are my tips for how to celebrate Mother’s Day with breakfast in bed:

The French Toast Route:

Make-ahead French Toasts are a fantastic way to celebrate breakfast. I’ve made this dish several times the day before and baked it the next morning. Serve a slice with warm maple syrup, hot coffee and a fresh wedge of melon for a sweet breakfast.

The Occasion: Friends coming over for a casual early dinner party with kids.

Menu: Fish Tacos, Roasted Asparagus, Guacamole, Salsa, Mexican Green Rice, Tres Leches Cake, Red Wine Sangria.

Attendees: Party of 7, with kids!

Naptime Goals: Bake cake, trim asparagus, make the green sauce for the rice, cook the onions and peppers for the tacos.

Our family entertaining style is casual with a capital “c.” I mean, who wants to have kids at a formal dinner party where they are expected to be quiet and well-behaved at the table. Not me! Let the kids run around the yard, I say, the more relaxed the better. Last weekend we had friends over for an easy dinner party and I decided to serve a Cinco de Mayo inspired menu. We called it our Treinta de Abril Fiesta! Mexican food always goes well with casual entertaining and it is so much fun to make.

What’s Going on Today: Easter wrap-up, waiting for the rain to subside.

Naptime Goals: Make Asparagus Soup, write thank you note to the Easter bunny for doing such good work.

Tonight’s Menu: Asparagus Soup, soft fresh bread, white wine.

Kitchen Tool of the Week: Cuisinart Hand Blender, the ideal tool for blending soups, smoothies and whatever else you want. Need one? Buy one here at my Amazon store!

I could eat fresh asparagus roasted with olive oil and Parmesan every day of the year. But, the other night when I pulled a bunch of fresh stalks out of the bag and showed them to my husband he looked less than enthusiastic when I announced yet another serving of my favorite dish. I can’t blame him really, when asparagus is in season I serve it at least twice a week, usually prepared the same way. To give him a break I decided to try something new and make an asparagus soup and serve it with fresh crab meat. The latter part of the recipe being influenced by the crab kick we’ve been on recently.

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: Approximately 4 stalks of perfect rhubarb were scored at the early season farmer’s market (I took all that were available!) The kiddo was at school and I had less than an hour to bake. What is the perfect recipe to ring in rhubarb season that doesn’t take long to make? (Don’t forget: If you need tips on selecting and cooking with rhubarb don’t forget to see my All About Rhubarb Tips!)

Muffins, obviously! And, to elevate these muffins from ordinary to awesome I ramped up the flavor by browning the butter and sprinkling the tops with raw sugar for extra texture. I know when it comes to dreaming up a great one hour recipe, simple one-note muffins might seem a little basic — they only require one bowl and a spoon (!) — but I can assure you these are anything but. Each bite yields a new flavor and texture, inviting you to take more as you work your way through each discovery. One minute you chew a piece of golden almond cake, the next a chunk of soft rhubarb paired with a hint of nutty browned butter, followed by a third bite of crunchy raw sugar topping. They are so rich that I swear you could serve them with ice cream as individual rhubarb cakes and your family and friends would be none the wiser.

Rhubarb Hazelnut Oatmeal Squares

Saying I am a fan of rhubarb is putting it mildly. I simply love the stuff and bake or cook with it as often as possible. With rhubarb season on the horizon I thought I would offer up a few great rhubarb tips today and a terrific new rhubarb recipe tomorrow. Here are some helpful hints and tips about my favorite tart stalks:

Taste, Color & Texture: Rhubarb stalks come in a variety of colors from deep red, to pink to green. It is generally believed that the red thin stalks are the sweetest because they are young and the green stalks are more tart since they are more mature. However, the truth is, there are many variety of rhubarb plants and the color of their stalks is not necessarily related to the flavor. The best thing to do is sample a few colors from your local market and see what best suits your palate. Rhubarb can range from being incredibly tart to very sweet. The sweeter rhubarb is terrific for simple compotes and jams, while the more tart variety does well when paired with berries, or plenty of sugar, to balance out the taste.

What’s Going on Today: A birthday celebration!

Naptime Goals: Preparing the food for the party (see previous post), including baking the cake and whipping the cream.

More Great Birthday Baked Goods: Check out this Naptime Simple Tips column!

Yesterday you read all about the birthday dinner I prepped during naptime and today I am focusing on the delicious cake. This year my husband requested an Angel Food Cake for his party. He has fond memories of his mother making it for him when he was little and has asked me to resurrect the tradition. I love Angel Food Cake too, and I knew our daughter would, so I was all too happy to go along with his request. To start things off the first thing I had to do was buy a tube pan.

The Occasion: Husband’s 30-something dinner, served mid-week on a school day.

Menu: Roasted Zucchini with Tomato & Burrata, Grilled Steak with Smoky Blue Cheese Sauce, Parmesan Couscous, Citrusy Angel Food Cake with Dulce de Leche and Cinnamon Whipped Cream, Rasblini (Raspberry Champagne Cocktail)

Attendees: Party of 3!

Naptime Goals: Make Blue Cheese Sauce, season Steak, bake Angel Food Cake, make Cinnamon Whipped Cream, make Raspberry Puree.

It is pretty rare that my husband and I entertain mid-week. Generally my husband works late and it is really only in the dog days of August that he is home at a decent hour to have dinner with friends. However, we will happily break our regular dinner routine and do some mid-week entertaining for each other on special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries. Even if it means eating later in the evening, we think it is nice to serve up a special meal and compose a happy toast on these occasions. For my husband’s birthday this week I decided to make a few of his favorite dishes and have them ready to eat when he walked in the door around seven o’clock. I chose dishes that were ideal for making during naptime then pulling together right before we were ready to eat.

Strawberry Nutella Country Cake

Today I am kicking off a new series called Naptime Simple Tips. It will cover a whole range of simple cooking and food tips for all of your naptime cooking needs. This week I am all about birthdays since my husband is celebrating one shortly. In light of our impending festivities I thought it would be a great time to review naptime baking tips for birthday celebrations!

Tip #1: How to be a Naptime Celebration Baker – I am a big proponent of baking cakes, cookies, and muffins during naptime. By working while the kids are asleep, at school, or generally not around, you can concentrate on measuring ingredients precisely and don’t have to worry about little hands near a hot oven. Baking during the day also means the goods have a chance to cool completely before being iced, glazed or dusted. There is nothing worse than frosting melting off a cake because it hasn’t cooled properly! When planning your birthday baking try to carve out a little bit of time when you can concentrate on the task at hand. Ask the kids to join in the fun once you’ve decided on your baking schedule. It is important to start out with a little bit of organization so that it all will go smoothly.

What’s Going on Today: Registration for summer camp mayhem, spring cleaning!

Naptime Goals: Make and mold crab cakes for dinner dinner. Finish laundry and start to put away winter clothes (!)

Tonight’s Menu: Spicy Whole Wheat Crab Cakes with Tartar Sauce and Creamy Polenta, green salad, crisp white wine.

Crab cakes during naptime?! Yes, it can be done! At least, I was pretty sure this was the case before I made them the other day and now I can tell you with certainty that these babies are great for naptime cooking. The whole reason I was so determined to make them in the first place was because I had a similar dish at a restaurant in Charleston and I couldn’t get them out of my head. I was desperate for another taste of those jumbo lump crab cakes and, since I am not returning to Charleston for at least another few months, the next best option was to make them at home.

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: Dinner is in the fridge and the chores are done. What power lunch can I make and eat in ten minutes before I have to pick up my daughter from school?

We’ve all been in this position: everything around the house is nearly wrapped up and there is ten minutes to make and eat lunch before heading out to pick up the kids/commence errands/make phone calls/yada yada yada. My friends tell me they often make super fast sandwiches or scarf a handful of peanuts and wash them down with a swig of iced tea. But, I’ll be honest, I don’t really like doing that. I have never been a huge fan of cold cuts and rarely buy them, and I am partial to warm lunches when I am making them myself. So, what is my answer to the quick lunch conundrum? Eggs. Poached, fried or scrambled, give me an egg any day of the week.