The Naptime Chef

One of the many things I miss about living in New York City are the food trucks. They always served the most delicious cuisines and were the perfect spot for grabbing a quick lunch or dinner. I lived there during the food truck trend explosion and nearly every week an awesome new truck would burst on the scene. By the time we moved out of the city there were hundreds of trucks serving nearly every kind of food on the planet! I was never at a loss for something new to try. Luckily, it hasn’t taken too long for the food truck trend to spread to the suburbs. Our little town in Connecticut even has one food truck, Christophe’s Crepes. Christophe is a jolly frenchman who parks his truck outside our local library. My daughter and I eat there at least once a month. We usually combine it with a trip to return her library books. Here are some shots of our recent trip over the weekend:

Christophe is always smiling. Every time we visit we chat and tells us what ingredients are freshest that day. This week he recommended the pears!

The menu is so extensive. I always debate forever before deciding which one to get!

I love that he has a Specials board. Doesn’t a Caprese Crepe sound amazing??!! I think I might try and make one this summer.

This time I selected the savory crepe with Gorgonzola, Pear, Walnuts & Honey. It was SO good!

My daughter selected the chocolate crepe sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar. Naturally.

As we walked away we discussed what we will order next time. My daughter plans on strawberry and I am hoping for another savory one.  I also secretly want to order the caramel apple crepe but am afraid it might set me back too much on the baby weight diet. Oh well. Bon Appetit!

I am so excited to be exploring the food truck trend for the rest of the year on behalf of my partnership Sargento. Do you know of a food truck I should visit? Let me know!

(This is a sponsored post by Sargento. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make The Naptime Chef possible.)

When Sea Cuisine sent me their Beer Battered Cod as a part of our seven week Seafood Cook-a-Long I jumped for joy! Who doesn’t love the chance to enjoy a little fish and chips now and then?!! The good news is that making fish-n-chips at home is generally much healthier than the greasy fish in a newspaper bag you buy curbside in Scotland. To give our Friday night cod a traditional British feel, yet with a healthy twist, I decided to skip the deep fryer and make spicy baked sweet potato chips to go alongside instead.

Today I am thrilled to have my friend Phoebe of Feed Me Phoebe sharing her awesome recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala. This is not the first time Phoebe has been hanging around Naptime Chef. You may remember that last year she made her television debut on Chef Race UK vs US, and has also shared her fabulous recipe for homemade granola bars for lunchboxes. Today’s recipe would be ideal for a weeknight family dinner. It is also a great recipe for people new to cooking Indian cuisine!

Though I don’t yet have kids of my own, through my private chef business, I’ve spent the last 6 months learning how to navigate the evolving palates of a 7 and 10-year old.

One of my weekly clients is perpetually letting her kids dictate what I make every Tuesday. And what they want isn’t Mac and Cheese or Chicken Pot Pie, it’s Pad Thai and Chicken Tikka Masala. There are times when I feel like I’m providing the most expensive takeout in the world, even if I’m using organic meat and far less oil than the local Thai joint.

Now, these are New York City kids, mind you. But I was still surprised by their enthusiasm for complex spices. My conclusion is this: if you’re going to introduce anyone to new flavors, you might as well do so within the context of a creamy tomato-based stew containing knobs of white meat chicken, and plenty of carrots and onions hidden within.

If you’re venturing down the road of take-out-at-home it’s my feeling that you can have some wiggle room with flavor authenticity if it means putting something inherently healthier in your body. I always wondered why my stomach hurt so much after Indian food. I thought it might be the spices – but I’ve never had a problem with heat. It wasn’t until I started researching Chicken Tikka Masala recipes that I realized, duh, it’s the cream!

Needless to say, my version of this recipe uses much less cream than the one you’re used to eating at your local curry joint. I add in some of the reserved yogurt-based marinade to give the sauce that light, smooth body, and then add just a splash of cream to finish it off. If you’re not into dairy at all, you can keep adding yogurt until the sauce reaches that creamy, light red color that you love.

The number of ingredients and steps in this dish may not make it seem instinctively easy, but I promise you, it is. Everything can be made in advance, and it’s a fairly simple one-pot dish, other than the broiling of the chicken. It’s not as easy as picking up the phone to order take-out, of course. But your stomach will see the reward in DIY-ing this one. And if your kids are anything like my pseudo ones, they’ll love the homespun version even more because it was made by you.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Before I started The Naptime Chef I worked at The Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. I helped Society committees raise money for all of the departments at the hospital. One of the ways we raised money was by writing and selling a charitable cookbook. Park Avenue Potluck: Recipes from New York’s Savviest Hostesses, was published just before my daughter was born. I will always consider that my first cookbook project. I loved being in charge of managing its production and my first published recipe, Mom’s Mac & Cheese, is in it! I also did plenty of direct and event-based fundraising. One of my personal favorite fundraising events was the Bunny Hop. It is a benefit thrown each year by The Associates Committee at FAO Schwarz in mid-town Manhattan. All of the funds raised go toward Pediatrics. What a better way to raise money for kids than by throwing a party for kids?! Though I don’t work there anymore, last week I attended this year’s Bunny Hop, which was sponsored by Tiffany & Co., with my daughter and we had a blast. Here are some of the highlights:

This week marks my first week back in the gym since my son was born in late January. Hooray for exercise! Hooray for touching my toes! Hooray for skinny jeans this summer! And, most importantly, hooray for Advil! It is time for me to tackle the baby weight once and for all and it starts here. First, I’ll be working out regularly. Second, I’ll be doing my best to eat exceptionally well. I am the first to admit I am not a dietitian. But I know it is time to cut out the sweets and stick to the lean and healthy. It won’t be easy but it will be worth. I have so many clothes I can’t wait to wear again! Plus, since we are done having babies, this is the last time I’ll have to embark on any kind of weight loss endeavor.

To kick things off I made this hearty spinach salad to serve alongside some baked chicken. I filled it to the brim with healthy dark spinach, a nice touch of slivered onions and pretty jewel-like wedges of Cara Cara oranges. It was rich and filling and full of nutrients to replenish my body after my first gym work-out in a very, very long time. The not too sweet dressing was the perfect finishing touch. It was even sweet enough to help me pass up dessert!

I am a big fan of the dinner sandwich. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with serving up a hearty sandwich filled with protein and fresh vegetables any night of the week. In fact, it can be quite fun to do. In a way it feels like eating lunch for dinner which can provide a welcome break to any weekly dinner routine. Today I am sharing this great Herbed Cod BLT I made for dinner on Monday night. It is perfect for our Sea Cuisine Cook-a-Long for Lent. It is probably one of the easiest dishes I can think of to make at the end of a busy week!

To make this awesome fish sandwich I cooked my Sea Cuisine Herbed Cod and layered it on freshly toasted country bread, added bacon, tomato, and some greens. I also added a couple slices of fresh avocado to mine. My husband didn’t want any. There wasn’t too much to making this delicious sandwich which is exactly the point. We served it with crunchy kettle chips and dip and called it a night!

Today I am thrilled to welcome my friend Aimee of Simple Bites. She is here to share her five awesome tips for the best ways to source excellent fresh produce outside of the supermarket. I find this incredibly helpful since I much prefer to support local producers and feed my family the healthiest product possible. I am sure you will also find your tips as helpful as I do!

How to Source Your Produce Locally in 2013

We’re still snowed in with no signs of spring yet, but keep thinking about my raised garden beds, buried under the ice, and daydreaming about a simple bowl of freshly picked baby greens.

Beyond the garden lies the forest, and I know that as soon as the spring melt begins, the ramps will be among the first shoots to push through the earth, waving hello with their bright green tips.

Whether you are thinking about starting seeds, or joining a CSA before the cutoff date, now is the time to be thinking about how you can source your spring and summer fruits and vegetables – without relying on the supermarket.

Here are five ways to source your produce outside the supermarket in the upcoming growing season:

Grow Your Own: backyard garden or community garden

Our raised beds keep us in salad fixings and fresh herbs from May to October, while a few buckets of potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini and peppers round out the harvest. It’s a learning process each year, but our efforts are rewarded, rain or shine.

Proper garden planning helps avoid harvest heartbreak, whether they are simply herbs on a sunny window perch or tomatoes in buckets on the back deck. Take time now to decide what you will plant, where you will plant, and what you will need for the spring.

If you live in the city, but will enjoy getting your hands in the dirt, you may want to inquire about a spot in a local community garden.

The Eat Well Guide lists community gardens, just punch in your zip code to find the closest one. You can also visit your local community center or city hall to retrieve more information.

Community Supported Agriculture  (CSA)

Not into gardening, but want farm fresh vegetables? Then perhaps you should be calling around and getting your name on a list for a CSA basket. With the purchase of a membership or share in a local farm, and reviving a monthly CSA box of produce, you are investing in the farm and guaranteeing a certain amount of your food for the year.

Freshness is one thing, but it’s pretty cool to know where your food comes from.You can search for a local CSA at localharvest.org.

Farmers Market or City Market

Shopping the markets on the weekends is one of my favorite summer family outings. It’s also a fantastic way to support local growers, and meet the people who work so hard to grow our food.

USDA Farmer’s Market Search is one way to find a market in your neighborhood. Local Harvest also has a search option; just enter your zip code.

U-Picks, Fruit Stands and Farm Stands

When your backyard plot or CSA box just is providing plenty for the day-to-day eating, but not enough for ‘putting up’ preserves, then its time to head to the farm. These trips are more than just a way to escape the city, but are an opportunity show our children that vegetables grow in the dirt and berries ripen on bushes.

Be sure to phone ahead before you set out for the day and confirm that the farm is indeed open, and the specific fruit or vegetable you are after is in its prime and readily available for the picking.

Keep your eyes peeled for farm stands along the country roads and smaller highways. Keep cash available and plenty of trunk space for when you score that bushel of perfectly ripe peaches.

Pick Your Own.org is a good place to start looking for local U-Pick farms. You can also ask your friends, or local food bloggers to recommend a U-Pick.

Eat Well Guide lists local farms by state or zipcode, and you are sure to find a farm near you.

Foraging: Urban or Country

No, urban foraging isn’t dumpster-diving, but a noble movement to harvest the neglected fruit from public urban areas. You may be surprised at the bounty found in city parks, alleyways and river banks. NotFarFromTheTree.org is a well-known Toronto organization that demonstrates how, ahem, fruitful, urban foraging can be!

If you have an opportunity to forage in the wild, then you are in for some fun. Berries, chanterelle mushrooms and an abundance of ramps are a few of the treasures I have harvested in my own backyard. Foraged food comes with a bit of effort, which makes it all the more enjoyable – or at least that is my personal theory.

Are you planting a garden? Joining a CSA? How are you planning to source local produce this spring?

Photos: Both photos above by Aimee at Simple Bites. Used with permission.