The Naptime Chef

What’s Going on Today: Errands! Library, dry cleaner, playground break (wearing a purple tutu of course.)
Naptime Goals: Laundry, Carrot Souffle, Peppermint Patty Brownies.
Tonight’s Dinner: Uncle Will’s Ribs, Souffle, Bread, Brownies for dessert.
Parenting Lesson of the Day: Sometimes it’s a good idea to let them pick out their own outfits, sometimes it’s not.

I’ve been on a bit of a brownie kick lately. I’m not sure why, but I guess one doesn’t really need an excuse to bake brownies. They are perfect in both winter and summer, served warm or chilled. On occasion I’ve been known to swirl in caramel, cream cheese or jam, and other times I’ve added espresso powder and chocolate chips. This week I decided to top them with a layer of peppermint icing. I’ve always loved the flavors of chocolate and mint together and this brownie is one it’s best iterations.

I call these Peppermint Patty Brownies for the obvious reason, they taste just like my favorite York, only a million times better. Each bite brings with it a deep chocolate taste and icy mint chill that’s decadent and refreshing all at once. I made these the other day mostly for fun. You know I like to always have a sweet nibble around the house and these brownies just happened to be what I was craving that day.

Baking the brownies during my daughter’s naptime was a snap. Since they shouldn’t be frosted until completely cooled, I made the peppermint and chocolate icings while the brownies were baking and kept them in the fridge until later that afternoon. The brownies had cooled by then and I frosted them while the ribs were on the grill. Thankfully my daughter was deeply involved in her doodling while I did this, lest she have spotted me and insisted on licking the spatula and ruining her dinner. I introduced them after she cleaned her plate and we all enjoyed our fun family dessert.

What’s Going on Today: Trip to The Garbage Museum (no joke, watch the video).
Naptime Goals: Prepare Baked Tomatoes with Parmesan & Herbs, Cookie Crumble Parfaits.
Tonight’s Menu: Tagliatelle, Baked Tomatoes, Cookie Crumble Parfaits, Wine (for the parents)
Parenting Lesson of the Day: Never underestimate the appeal of garbage!

It’s hard to believe that we spent an entire morning at The Garbage Museum, but we did. I have to say, it was quite an educational outing that all the parents, unexpectedly, enjoyed! When we came home from our inspiring outing my daughter crashed for a long afternoon nap. While she rested I used the time to prepare dinner with some of the great tomatoes I’d recently brought home from the farmer’s market.

I love cooking with tomatoes and can’t get enough of them in the summer when they are so readily available. It’s not unusual that I roast tomatoes. If you remember, last summer I wrote about how I love to slow-roast them during naptime and eat them all afternoon. This summer I decided to write about another favorite recipe, baked tomatoes. Here you’ll see that I drizzle them with a generous coating of olive oil, stuff them with a mixture of Parmesan and herbs and keep them in the fridge until I roast them for dinner. Easy and delicious, they are a great way to celebrate summer flavor.

What’s Going on Today: Morning at the beach, afternoon hosting friend’s bridal shower with Mom.
Naptime Goals: Set out napkins, dessert plates and centerpiece.
Today’s Menu: Lemon Cake, Fruit Salad, Meringues, Homemade Snickers Bars, Champagne.
Parenting Lesson of the Day: When hosting parties keep the kids far, far away from the house.

There was a period in my 20’s when I attended a bridal shower or wedding every other week. That era seems to be over now that most of my friends are, in fact, married. Instead, those bridal showers have been swapped for baby showers, baptisms and the like. I have to say, I kind of miss the exciting parties that surrounded all of our weddings. It was such an fun time, the start of a new chapter, picking out flowers and china. Last weekend I was thrilled to relive that excitement when my Mom and I hosted my friend’s younger sister’s bridal shower. It was a chance to dust off our champagne flutes, do up the house with ribbons and host some present-opening fun.

As a centerpiece for our afternoon dessert buffet my Mom ordered a professional cake in the shape of the bride’s house. It was lemon flavored, layered with thin swipes of jam and whipped cream. It was decadent to boot and it was up to me to figure out how to supplement the citrus sponge with a few more sweet nibbles. Since I love just about any recipe by Dorie Greenspan and, of course, we needed something chocolate, I decided to try out her recipe for Snickety Squares. They are the perfect make-ahead sweet and can easily be cut into bite size pieces.

I did a lot of preparation for the shower the day before. While my daughter napped I made the squares, baking the shortbread, layering the dulche de leche and chocolate, topping it all with caramelized peanuts. Then I set about folding the napkins, pulling platters out of the closet and doing some general clean-up in anticipation of guests the next day.

The squares chilled in the fridge overnight and I cut them into bite size pieces right before the shower. Not only did they prove easy to make, they looked great on the table and were the perfect foil for the rest of the buffet which was full of fruit flavors. The entire event came together beautifully though, truth be told, we were all paying more attention to our friend, the bride-to-be, then the food.

What’s Going on Today: Last day in Cooperstown, bike ride with daughter, blueberry picking with Dad!
Naptime Goals: Can 2 quarts of Blueberry Pie filling with my Dad.
Tonight’s Menu: Mom’s cooking (again!), I am in charge of the corn.
Parenting Lesson of the Day: Never let them wear treasured clothes when blueberry picking.

Last weekend in Cooperstown was so much fun that I’m still writing about it. Luckily, our visit coincided with the height of blueberry season. My Dad and I took my daughter blueberry picking one morning and came home with several pints. We also had a few more pints that we’d picked up at the farmer’s market so, come naptime, there was a lot to work with. As you saw earlier this week, I’d already made a cake and this time I wanted to do something different.

The unfortunate part about fruit pies in general is that they are typically seasonal due to the availability of the fruit. However, I have now found a way to get around this. Inspired by my friend Cathy, I made my usual blueberry pie filling recipe and canned it in quart jars for later. As you’ll see above, the process was incredibly simple and easily handled during naptime. Once the jars cooled we even took one right over to our friends house as a gift. I think I might have to dedicate a few more naptimes to canning fruit pie fillings. Not only will the larder be stocked with fresh, local berries for the whole winter, but I’ll have all of my Christmas presents completed by the end of July!

Yes, the rumors are true! The Naptime Chef: Fitting Great Food Into Family Life, my first cookbook, will be published by Running Press in Spring 2012. Just writing that sentence makes me want to jump out of my seat and do a little dance around the room! Or, at least, have another glass of champagne.

Selling a book is an awesome project. Awesome in the sense that it requires quite a bit of work, patience and time. It’s a bit of marathon really, from start to finish, and I definitely did not do it all by myself. This process would never even have started without my awesome agent Jenni. She saw the potential in the story from the start, coached me through the proposal and rallied me through the sale. Because of her I am looking forward to entire year of writing an fantastic cookbook filled to the brim with Naptime Chef recipes (some old, MOST new!) and I couldn’t be more grateful. I promise, I will write and cook my heart out to create a wonderful and true resource that will reside on your cookbook shelf for years to come. I also promise a few great book parties. And, a few more flutes of champagne.

So, my editor, Kristen, and I are off and running. I can’t wait to share more about the process of writing a cookbook the further I dive into this. Also, if anyone has suggestions for something they want to see in the book feel free to leave a comment and let me know. I’m all ears!

In the mean time, as if a new book weren’t enough, this lovely lady is redesigning my entire website that will be debuting in less than month. You can look forward easy navigation, great style and lots of printable recipe pages!

And, last but not least, I thank you, readers, for all of your support and enthusiasm. I look forward to giving you a true bound book that will prove exciting and invaluable. This is a day for all of us to celebrate. So, pour yourself a glass of bubbly and toast to the beginning of a new adventure!

What’s Going Today: Hanging out in Cooperstown preparing for my friend’s bridal shower, catching up with friends, trip to the farmer’s market.
Naptime Goals: Make Homemade Snickers Bars for the bridal shower (it’s a bit of an experiment, post to come next week), help Mom get out the china, silver, etc.
Tonight’s Menu: Mom’s making us all a quesadilla feast with fresh farmer’s market vegetables!
Parenting Lesson of the Day: Once they learn how to ride their bikes they never want to stop.

I have had a blueberry surplus in my house this month. This is one of those once-a-year problems I happily embrace. I’ve frozen a few bags full, preserved some in simple syrup and used the rest to make this cake, a Blueberry Thyme Poundcake with Lemon Glaze, that hits all the right notes with flavor and texture.

I whipped this up during naptime the day before my trip to Cooperstown. The batter came together easily and my kitchen smelled like lemon heaven for the remainder of the afternoon. Tempted though I was to dive right in with my fork, I decided to wait to share it with my parents before taking my first bite.

The following morning I placed the cooled cake in a round Tupperware, snapped on the lid and settled it into the front seat of the car for a trip to Cooperstown. When I arrived at my parent’s house the cake was nice and cool (thank you air-conditioning vent), perfectly moist and ready for consumption. I don’t usually do road tests with my food, but it is worth noting that this cake is a hearty traveler.

The citrusy herbal flavor paired beautifully with the blueberries, giving it an oddly refreshing quality not usually associated with dense cakes. My parents and I would’ve liked to have eaten the entire thing ourselves but, since we are being mindful of our waistlines in the midst of bathing suit season, we decided to take the opportunity to win over some neighbors. Half of the cake was wrapped up in aluminum foil and given to our friends Dotty and Hank, a quarter was served to our friends Geri and Cheryl and the remaining quarter we gobbled right up. Even my daughter liked it – she has become a recent blueberry fan – and was intrigued by it’s lemony flavor. In the end this cake was gone far too quickly but that’s fine with me. Now I have reason to head back to the blueberry bushes and pick more.

What’s Going on Today: Big pancake breakfast, morning trip to the beach (hence the wet hair in the video), sunday chores.
Naptime Goals: Make Zucchini Bites with the zucchini I recently picked up at the farmer’s market this week, finish up some Babble columns.
Tonight’s Menu: Grilled Soyaki Chicken Thighs, Zucchini bites, cous-cous, Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Blondies.
Parenting Lesson of the Day: Never engage your child in negotiations regarding candy before lunchtime.

If you’ve ever seen a woman at your farmer’s market hording zucchini from every available stand it’s probably me. My love for zucchini knows no bounds and I am not afraid to admit that I buy it by the ton this time of year. I have a whole roster of great zucchini recipes and this is one from my mother-in-law. I love to make these little bites for a healthy afternoon snack or to serve alongside dinner. Or both.

As you’ll see in the webisode, making these merely requires a bowl, spoon and measuring cup. The rest is simply a matter of grating and mixing. I easily whipped these up during my daughter’s naptime so that we could all enjoy them for an afternoon snack. The best way to describe their taste is somewhere between a mini-quiche and a muffin. Savory and light, they are puffy and easy on the stomach since, after all, none of us want to be eating heavy foods in the middle of summer. Perhaps I shouldn’t admit this, but after we shot this video the three of us polished off the whole pan! Ah, summer.