The Naptime Chef

I’m lucky to have a great friend like Kate in my life. We first met in high school and then ended up at the same college together. Through the years we’ve had our share of laughter and tears, and now we are both moms to cute little girls. Ever since I’ve known Kate she has been a friend of the animals and even recently became a vegetarian. She and her husband have opened their home to two fantastic dogs (one of whom is featured above!) and they both support animal charities. Today Kate is sharing her recipe for the most amazingly delicious vegan cookies that are entirely cruelty free. Like a true Naptime Chef she always bakes them when her daughter is napping! I hope you’ll join me in supporting Kate in her mission to rid our world of violence towards animals, and giving this fabulous recipe a try.

When Kelsey asked me to participate in “Tales from the Trenches” I was elated.  It gave me a much needed yummy diversion to work on, but even deeper than that, it gave me a unique opportunity to share a bit of a lifestyle that is very important to me with an accepting, eager audience.  Being of the vegan/veggie variety (cue the Debbie Downer music), I knew my contribution carried a special responsibility in convincing people to 1.) to try the recipe, 2.) and make sure the recipe was uber-delicious to hopefully encourage more vegan curiousity.

So I racked my brain, interrogated my husband nightly, and called everyone I have ever cooked for to try and find the evangelical goodness necessary to ignite a vegan revolution, starting here on the Naptime Chef. Or a recipe that people would want to try.  Let me start by saying I became veg by accident.  Most recipes do not require you to cook in Birkinstocks, and you do not need to know the words to Kumbaya.  I don’t drive a VW camper and I don’t wear patchouli.  Most people are surprised to find that my diet is plant-based, and I take that as a compliment (see above).  If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me where I get my protein…let’s just say I could buy a lot of tofu.  And I get that.  I once was that person, which is why I wanted to change that perception so badly.  My plant-based diet is a healthful way of eating that allows me to teach my daughter to take pride and purpose in where our food comes from.  There is power in knowing each time we buy our groceries, cook our meal, and sit down as a family to eat, our morals and ethics are reflected in our choices.  Luckily, eating 3 times a day, your choices are never far from your mind and you can live each day knowing you made a difference.  And a lifetime of eating this way, well, it brings a deep sense of satisfaction.

In preparation for tomorrow night’s celebration I thought I’d share this fun recipe from Nigella’s new book. I don’t talk about cocktails often since I am usually a wine drinker, but I am always up for a cool champagne cocktail when the occasion calls for it. I mean, with a name like Filthy Fizz how can it not be the perfect beverage for a New Year’s Celebration!

Before I cut straight to the bubbly I want to thank you all, readers, once again for your amazing support this year. It has been a big year for The Naptime Chef with moving to Connecticut, starting a daily column at Babble’s The Family Kitchen, securing the Book Deal, redesigning the website, starting my Tales from the Trenches columns, and producing my first ever packaged food products for JMcLaughlin Westport. It has been a lot of hard work and you have been with me every step of the way. So thank you from the very bottom of my heart. I know that I have a lot to be thankful for as we kick-off 2011. I promise this coming year I’ll do my best to deliver even more delicious food, helpful articles and fun webisodes. Happy New Year!

A Typical Grocery Haul When Farmer's Market isn't in Season

Chalk it up to too many glasses of champagne, but today I thought I’d take a break from recipes and give you a peak under the tent. I try to do this with every post – give you an idea of my daily routine – but this time I am going into much more detail. On occasion people ask if I really do it all, or if I have a housekeeper (no) and full-time nanny (no) to assist me with my daily work. These are legitimate questions and I want you to see how I really make it through each day. I am not Supermom by any stretch, I just love to cook and bake and make a point of fitting great food into our family life. I also clean the house, care for our daughter and take care of all those little things that come with family life. I am drawing inspiration from these types of Daily Diary articles. I love how they provide a glimpse into the inner workings of someone’s day or week, a true picture of how it all fits together.

With the book project underway I’ve hired a babysitter for a few (just a few, less than 6) hours a week. This gives me the time I need to work on the manuscript, or meet with people to discuss my other exciting projects like the JMcLaughlin Westport Cafe and such. Also, my daughter is attending pre-school now which frees up a nice amount of time, in addition to naptime, for work and cooking. On a typical non-babysitter weekday this is how my day flows:

7:00am-ish – Blasted out of bed by calls for cereal coming from down the hall. Retrieve daughter from her room, blanket in tow. Immediately brush her hair and put it into ponytails; god forbid the long ends dip into the cereal bowl and bring breakfast to a teary and premature end. Multi-vitamins for the whole family.

7:30am-ish – Make our bed. Make her bed. Toss in a load of laundry. Stumble downstairs in my exercise outfit, maybe wearing make-up and contacts, maybe not. We like hot breakfasts so I dive right in with the hot oatmeal for my daughter and I. My husband doesn’t eat breakfast and he is off to work. I like to savor my oatmeal while sipping hot tea, my daughter barrels through her bowl and asks for another. I often try to have her eat at least one serving of fruit at breakfast so she wraps up her second bowl of oatmeal with a banana. I am always amazed at how much food that little tummy can hold. Clean up after breakfast, empty clean dishwasher from night before, start loading it with dirty dishes for the day.

8:15-ish – Change laundry into dryer and it’s off to the gym! Daughter dressed in a semi-coordinated outfit comprised of clothes that are entirely her choice. I pick my battles. If it is seasonally appropriate she is allowed to wear it. No tank tops in January. I pack a snack trap with pretzels and raisins for the ride. I work-out at the gym while watching the news. It’s usually a boring news show since all the relevant news shows are on earlier in the morning. Make shopping list in the locker room before picking up daughter from the child care area.

9:45 – Grocery store! Yes, I am one of those people walking around the grocery store in yoga tights and a down jacket pushing a cart with a toddler in it. Don’t judge, I just don’t have the time to run home to shower before going back out to shop. Also, shopping after exercising inspires me to steer clear of all the carbs and sweets in the grocery store, bathing suit season is never that far away! I am partial to Balducci’s and our local gourmet shop for most of our food when the Farmer’s Market is not in session. They do a great job supporting local producers. A Whole Foods is being built in our town and Trader Joe’s isn’t too far away, so there is a lot of good food shopping available. While shopping my daughter usually rides in the cart seat and I give her “jobs,” like holding boxes of grains and selecting the fruit she wants for the week.

11:00 am – Home to shower, unload groceries and think about lunch. My daughter prefers hot lunches so we do a lot of pasta with butter and cheese, quesadillas, grilled cheeses and macaroni and cheese. Obviously she is obsessed with cheese. She almost always finishes off her lunch with a yogurt. I like my Trader Joe’s Almond Butter with Sea Salt on whole wheat toast and either pretzels or potato chips. Load more dirty dishes into the dishwasher.

What’s Going on Today: Christmas craziness, is there any more I need to say?

Naptime Goals: Pull together Macaroni & Cheese with Leeks

Tonight’s Menu: Macaroni & Cheese with Leeks, Baked Chicken, Wine (and lots of it!)

Parenting Lesson of the Day: Don’t laugh when they ask Santa for a trampoline.

The next few weeks will be a little nutty for me. We are hosting our first ever Christmas with my in-law’s. I’ve always traveled for the holidays so it will be fun to stay at home this year. In order to get things accomplished I’ve been making dinners that will last me at least two nights. For example, we had this delicious casserole for two nights in a row and I baked chicken or fish to serve alongside it. It was nice having this in the fridge and ready to go at a moment’s notice. I even prepared the whole thing during naptime one afternoon so it didn’t take away from any of the Christmas activities with my daughter.

Introducing The Naptime Chef for JMcLaughlin Westport! The grand opening of the JMcLaughlin store in Westport on Sunday December 12th was a blast. I was so pleased to introduce my limited edition Peppermint Hot Fudge line and chat with all of the fantastic customers. I also racked up quite a wish list which I promptly handed over to my husband. How I hope that faux-fur vest is under our tree this year!

I snapped lots of photos before the party started, so enjoy this visual tour of the event. And remember, I am catering their cafe all December so you can swing by for some fun nibbles any time. Also, the hot fudge went over so well that a few jars are available for sale in the New York City JMcLaughlin stores at 72nd Street & Lexington Avenue, as well as 93rd Street and Madison Avenue. If you are in the New York City area swing by and pick some up!

The bar was all set with nibbles like Spiced Pecans and Parmesan Cheese Straws. We served wine, seasonal ales and spiked mulled cider as well as sparkling water and cold spiced cider.