The Naptime Chef

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.

What’s Going on Today: Fun morning at the playground and beach, easy picnic lunch outdoors.
Naptime Goals: Make Chocolate Chip Coconut Oatmeal Cookies just because, marinate chicken, laundry, vacuum sand out of the car (!)
Tonight’s Menu: Rosemary Lemon Chicken, Carrot Souffle, Arugula Salad.
Parenting Lesson of the Day: You can never have too many stain sticks.

Since I firmly believe that sweets should be homemade rather than store-bought, I always try and dedicate at least one naptime a week to baking simple treats that are perfect for munching on all week long.

I am hardly ever at a loss of baking inspiration given the number of cookbooks on my shelf and magazines I subscribe to. My most recent source of information has come from the awesome SoNo Baking Company & Cafe Cookbook. I think part of the reason I love it so much is that I practically live around the corner from the actual cafe and secretly aspire to recreate their wall of baked goods in my own home. But, since that would require hours, even days, of labor, I bake from the book when I want and swing by to glimpse the real thing on a regular basis.

I’ve made at least two dozen recipes from the book so far and they have all been scrumptious. In fact, this cookie recipe is so totally awesome that I’ve made it almost a dozen times on it’s own. It has already made the transition from “good new recipe” to “old favorite” in my household which, trust me, is not an easy road. I am a bit of a cookie snob and many, many recipes have been cast by the wayside. What I love about this cookie is that it’s perfectly moist, much more so then many chocolate chip cookie recipes I bake, with a great balance of coconut and chocolate flavors. I also love how the added oatmeal creates a firm, chewy texture which I find appealing.

The other day I whipped these up during naptime after I’d set the chicken in to marinade for dinner. Baking them was easy and they were cooling by the time my daughter woke up. That evening we experimented with ice-cream and unanimously agreed that, in addition to being great on their own, they are perfect bookends for an ice-cream cookie sandwich. Over the course of the next three days we whipped through our tupperware container all too quickly and were sad to reach the bottom. I think this evening I’ll set out the butter to warm up for another batch.

What’s Going on Today: Hanging out in Cooperstown for the Fourth. Lots of fun in the sun, planning for an afternoon boat trip.
Naptime Goals: Lesson from Mom on how to make her awesome Gazpacho.
Tonight’s Menu: Gazpacho, Turkey Burgers, salad, ice-cream.
Parenting Lesson of the Day: Don’t tease toddlers about fish eating their toes, unless you don’t want them in the water.

You know I always love a good hand-me-down recipe, so you can imagine how excited I was last weekend when my Mom showed me how to make her nearly famous Gazpacho. I say nearly famous because it hasn’t been printed anywhere yet, but, now that it has, I’m sure it’s destined for glory. The oppressive heat and humidity in Cooperstown gave us the perfect opportunity for a naptime gazpacho making lesson. We were all too happy to stay in the air conditioned kitchen during the heat of the afternoon, and even more pleased that we didn’t have to turn on heat inducing appliances to make dinner.

As you’ll see above, Mom’s recipe is based on an old How to Make Gazpacho tutorial she ripped out of McCall’s long before I was born. It outlines the basics of gazpacho and gives the reader freedom to make changes as needed. My mother has been working on her “changes as needed” for roughly 34 years and has managed to buff and polish her version to a near perfect shine.

It turns out that one of her main secrets for this recipe is spicy V8. She swears that it contains the perfect amount of spice and is easier to measure than Tabasco. If someone wants more heat, she says, place a bottle of Tabasco on the table and they can help themselves. She also swears that a squeeze of lime in each bowl immediately prior to serving is key to uniting the flavors of garlic and tomato. This is a tip she learned from her friend Geri.

Gazpacho, like most soups, is best after it’s been able to rest for a bit in the fridge. This allows the flavors to blend and mature. Though I didn’t tape dinner, rest assured that we gobbled it down in the blink of an eye. You can imagine how grateful we all were to be enjoying cold soup on such a hot day and how particularly happy I was to be in possession of such a fabulous recipe.

What’s Going on Today: Fourth of July weekend fun! Friends over for cocktails, evening dinner al fresco.
Naptime Goals: Relax with a good book, whip up onion dip and help Mom with the tomatoes.
Tonight’s Cocktail Hour: Tomatoes stuffed with blue cheese or pesto, onion dip with vegetables, cheese plate, assorted nuts.
Parenting Lesson of the Day: Sometimes it’s ok to let toddlers eat crackers, carrots and yogurt for dinner.

Over the holiday weekend we were up in Cooperstown with my parents. On Saturday night we invited our neighbors to come over with their teenage grandchildren for a fun cocktail hour. With such beautiful weather and the garden in full bloom it was the perfect occasion to sit on the porch and catch up. The event was to be completely casual, we all planned on wearing jeans, and the food was to be easy and unfussy.

When my daughter was taking her afternoon nap my husband and I helped my parents get things ready. My husband was in charge of setting up the bar with assorted liquor and garnishes for drinks, while Mom and I tackled the food. Since simple cocktail food shouldn’t take long to prepare, we relied on a few old favorites that could be assembled in a snap.

For the two main appetizers we choose to make tomatoes stuffed with pesto or blue cheese with the fresh tomatoes we’d picked up at the farmer’s market. Then, I cooked up my favorite onion dip to serve with carrots and fresh cucumbers, also from the farmer’s market. To balance out the vegetables, we set out a delicious container of goat cheese with strawberry compote and a nice round of runny Camembert with some buttery crackers. Finally, to include a little salt on the table, we poured two bowls of fancy nuts. All in all it was a simple and delicious menu for a party of eight, plus one toddler. I should mention that she munched on so many vegetables and crackers that all she actually ate for dinner was a container of yogurt. With all of us in summer mode I didn’t mind one bit. It was the perfect start to a relaxing weekend.

Casual Summer Cocktail Hour:
Stuffed Tomatoes: Halve and seed cherry tomatoes. Fill with a scoop of fresh pesto or blue cheese. Serve.
Ina Garten’s Pan-Friend Onion Dip with Cucumbers and Carrots
Goat Cheese with Strawberries
Camembert, runny
Fancy Nut Assortment
Lillet with Lemon over ice
Prosecco
Sparkling water and Cokes (for the teens)

What’s Going on Today: Daughter’s first day of camp! July Fourth decoration preparation underway…
Naptime Goals: Prepare Burgers for tonight’s grilling lesson.
Tonight’s Menu: Burgers with Chive Parsley Butter, Caesar Salad, Roasted Red Potatoes with Herbed Salt.
Parenting Lesson of the Day: Rain helps us start over with a clean slate.

I love burgers in the summer and am always up for trying new recipes. Of course, one of my favorites is still Uncle Will’s Burger recipe, which will always be an onion-topped classic. When I was flipping through June’s Bon Appetit the other day I read a great article about a technique utilizing Meyer lemon butter in a burger. I loved it’s promises of moister meat and added flavor. I couldn’t wait to give technique a try and set straight to work.

Of course, unlike my friend Liz, I do not have Meyer lemons growing in my backyard. However, I do have regular access to fresh herbs. So, instead of using lemon butter I decided to make Chive-Parsley butter to give the meat a fresh herbaceous flavor. My neighborhood gourmet shop has a great butcher who grinds grass-fed meat and forms hamburger patties. I bought four of those to start with and made the butter at home. Preparing the butter and burgers during naptime was a snap. Then I was able to leave them covered in the fridge until dinner time. As you’ll see, unfortunately, my grilling dreams were thwarted by the rain, but I still managed to cook them on my stovetop grill pan.

The butter technique worked beautifully. The burgers were tender, juicy and more flavorful thanks to the green herbs. I also toasted the buns on the stovetop and gave them an extra swipe of Chive-Parsley butter for greater depth of flavor. Paired with a salad and potatoes they made for a tasty summer meal. I guess there is also next week for my grilling outdoors!

What’s Going on Today: Heatwave continues: slow stroll to morning Farmer’s Market, quick stop at Arts and Crafts show on town green.
Naptime Goals: Set garlic, olive oil and basil to marinate for salad. Pre-chop mozzarella and tomatoes.
Tonight’s Menu: BBQ chicken, Caprese Pasta Salad, Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies.
Parenting Lesson of the Day: I love whomever invented the concept of sidewalk chalk.

It’s been wayyyy too hot hot hot to turn on the oven this week. During summer days like this I don’t steer clear of cooking altogether, I just choose dishes that don’t require long hours cooking with high heat. After all, years of experience have taught me that there will be plenty of days in January when I am layering on wool socks and braising short ribs while freezing containers of ragu! On Saturday we were having our neighbors over for dinner and I decided to make my favorite caprese pasta salad. A delicious simple salad that is almost a complete no-cook affair, it is packed with a fresh summer flavor that can’t be beat.

I first read this recipe years ago in the The New York Times and have been making it ever since. I’ve always been a fan of the traditional caprese salad (who isn’t?) and it seemed only right and natural that pasta be added to give it more heft, transforming it from an appetizer to a side dish or main course. I’ve served it as both. My only tip for you is to make sure you squirrel away a bowl or two for lunch the next day before you present the dish to your guests, there won’t be any left by the end of the meal.

The only heavy duty cooking required to make this salad is boiling the rigatoni at the end. Otherwise, the rest of the assembly can be accomplished at the lazy pace I generally prefer for summer cooking. I started assembling the salad at naptime by setting the garlic, olive oil and basil in a big bowl to marinate while I pre-chopped my mozzarella and tomatoes for later. Then I spent the rest of naptime setting the chicken in the marinade and working at my computer. After my daughter woke up she helped me dump the tomatoes into the bowl and give it another stir. I then abandoned the project for a second time, opting for a (sweltering) trip to the playground. All that was required that evening was boiling the pasta, tossing it with the garlic olive oil, cheese and tomatoes and the salad was ready. Paired with the grilled chicken, a citrusy green salad and some amazing strawberry margheritas (brought by my awesome neighbor) we all managed to enjoy a terrific, and cool, dinner on a hot summer night.

What’s Going on Today: 6am wake-up call (wha?!) from daughter, out and about eeeaaaarly. Errands around town, trip to playground, picnic lunch.
Naptime Goals: Make Vegetable Quiche for dinner tonight, catch up on things around the house and maybe take a quick nap before daughter wakes up!
Tonight’s Menu: Slice of vegetable quiche, white wine, strawberry-mint ice-cream for dessert.
Parenting Lesson of the Day: When decorating a nursery always install black-out shades.

When my daughter wakes up early and my husband tells me he’ll be at the office late I know I’m in for a long day. I don’t blame either one of them, sometimes my daughter wakes up early when the sun is especially bright, and my husband works hard at his job which often requires long hours. The only person kind of stuck in the middle of this equation is me. I want to give my daughter my full attention during the day, but I’m also responsible for the entire household and any errands or chores that need to get done.

When days like this happen I know I need to keep dinner simple and healthy. I like to Naptime Chef dishes that are delicious and fun, but not overly fussy. I also choose dishes that don’t require hours to cook since I still want some time during naptime to put my feet up. Some may wonder why it is worth cooking at all. But I know good food will keep me going well into the evening, plus cooking during naptime helps me relax in the middle of a hectic day.

When this scenario played out earlier this week I decided to make my favorite simple Vegetable Quiche. As you’ll see above, I had a lot of leftovers from my farmer’s market wares last week and didn’t want anything to go to waste. I love this recipe because it is adaptable. In this case I added some onions, fresh baby spinach, toasted pine nuts and Parmesan cheese. There have been many instances when I’ve added different greens, additional cheese and finely chopped vegetables. There are nearly endless different possibilities and I encourage you to get used to the recipe and play with the ingredients a bit to see what works best for you. Enjoy!