The Nuni as a baby

So guess what I’m doing today? I’m off having a baby! I’ve set the camera to auto, so hopefully I’ll be back soon with pictures, but in the meantime, I wanted to leave you with a guest post by my wise and wonderful friend from law school Cat. Cat has shiny hair to rival Kate Middleton’s (maybe it goes with the name) and is a fantastic writer. She still considers herself a novice cook, but wanted to tell you about her cooking inspiration, and I thought today of all days this would be appropriate!
–Kate

Cooking for Baby
Catherine Cugell Rombeau

When Kate graciously invited me to guest-blog here on Savour Fare, I pitched myself as an outside voice: someone who doesn’t cook, posting on a cooking blog! Oh, the anarchy of it all. But what else did I have? I am not a good cook. I salivate over the food porn on here as often as anyone, but at the end of the day, I end up setting the water to boil for Annie’s Organic. And I am a fearful cook, which may be the worst kind. I measure obsessively, am afraid to substitute, and have an unfortunate tendency to pull things out of the oven just a little too early. Once in a while I will venture into slow-cooker land, but I have to be feeling particularly girded.

When I got pregnant, I did consider that my current culinary acumen wouldn’t manage to keep our child alive once she joined us on the outside. But I figured I had plenty of time before she needed real food. And didn’t reading food blogs count as preparation? Turns out, though, that many folks feel very strongly that unless you scrub, peel, steam and puree every morsel that goes into your beloved babe’s mouth, you are one sorry excuse for a parent. I have a knee-jerk reaction to this sort of dogma; it makes me want to push Ellie’s stroller right up to the McDonald’s drive-through already. I was determined to dig in my heels: my daughter wasn’t going to miss out on any life-altering culinary experiences just because I didn’t mash up her yams myself.

And yet, somehow, I’ve ended up making all of Ellie’s baby food after all. I know it doesn’t actually count as real cooking, but I’m still sort of astounded by my enthusiasm for it. To the great skepticism of my husband, I went and bought one of those baby food processors to steam and puree all of Ellie’s fruits and vegetables in one easy little machine. And I actually use it! All the time! Unlike, say, the mixer taking up space on our kitchen counter, or the bread maker hiding in our basement (what can I say, my husband did our wedding registry). I’m not sure why–so I can claim the moral high ground? Save money on store-bought options? Conserve time by freezing trays worth of food at once? Use up leftovers? Maybe all of those hold some truth (bananas going bad? Smoosh them up for Ellie, she won’t know any better!). But I think in some small way, making Ellie’s food myself has allowed me to connect with her and with the safest edges of cooking, without feeling so afraid.

My parents didn’t cook much for us. Anyone remember Steak-Ums? Staple of my childhood diet. I often feel at sea in the kitchen, without instinct or experience telling me how long to bake or how much spice to use (note to self–do not double cayenne pepper just because you are doubling the rest of a jambalaya recipe). But it’s nearly impossible to screw up pureeing peas. And when I feed them to Ellie, and she smacks her lips in appreciation, I think: I did this! I made something that fills my daughter! I can take care of her! Somehow it gives me hope that I can come up with 18 years’ worth of meals for her that don’t necessarily consist of Velveeta Shells & Cheese (well, not every night anyway), and that Ellie will be more excited to try new and unconventional foods than I ever was. Perhaps she will not be 24 years old and have to move to Manhattan before she tries sushi, for instance. And maybe one day we will cook together. Today, steamed and blended broccoli, tomorrow, mother-daughter dinner parties for 12! Or maybe I’ll settle for baking her a first birthday cake that doesn’t collapse in the middle. Baby steps.

© Kate for Savour Fare, 2012. | Permalink |
Post tags: parenting

Salad dressing may not seem like a hill to die on, but homemade is so simple (once you know how), and it tastes so much cleaner. It’s free of the gums and sugars and preservatives you get in even high-end bottled dressing. And it’s pretty infinitely variable.

Making salad dressing has become like breathing to me, but as I’ve been trying to put my feet up lately and assigning the salad making task to the husband, I realized that it’s not universal knowledge. The key is knowing what ingredients to use and what ratio to use them in.

I didn’t always grow up on homemade dressing. Sure, my mom always made Caesar from scratch, and my dad was a dab hand with blue cheese, but I remember a parade of bottles of Italian dressing marching through my childhood. Then balsamic vinegar came on the scene, and we started to dress salads with oil and vinegar. But it never had the feeling of “salad dressing.” I remember sitting at a little cafe in the South of France one summer when I was in high school, and wondering why my oil and vinegar dressing wasn’t like the perfect vinaigrette you find on every green salad in France.

And then I discovered the secret.
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Read the rest of Back to Basics: Homemade Salad Dressing (402 words)

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Post tags: Basics, French, salad, Salad Dressing, Scratch, Vegetarian

I’ve been watching bemusedly as the latest “battle” in the “mommy wars” has exploded over the internet. First, it was a controversial statement by a French sociologist that attachment parenting is anti-feminist. (For those not up on their parenting terminology, “attachment parenting” is a term coined by Dr. Sears and is characterized by parents or caregivers creating an attached relationship with their children. Some practices that are typically considered “AP” include breastfeeding, extended breastfeeding (after age 1), babywearing (carrying baby in a sling or carrier instead of a stroller), cosleeping (a family bed), feeding on demand, responding to a child’s nighttime cries instead of “crying it out”), and other practices that aren’t necessarily AP as Dr. Sears defines it but are often practiced by parents who practice other AP practices, including elimination communication (early toilet training by following a baby’s cues instead of diapering), unmedicated childbirth, vaccine avoidance or delay, cloth diapering, homeschooling, unschooling, etc.) This was picked up by the New York Times in a ludicrous “Room for Debate” feature in which various “experts” (note to the NYT – just because someone writes a blog called “PhD in Parenting” does not mean that she has, in fact, a PhD in parenting) weighed in, mostly with arguments as nuanced as “Attachment Parenting is best!” “Attachment parenting is pointless!” or my favorite “Feminism is bad!” (Thanks, NYT. I feel so educated.) Then Time Magazine joined the fray with this provocative cover and the even more provocative headline “Are you Mom Enough?”

The argument is that a) on the one hand, the principles of attachment parenting cause Mothers (and don’t get me started on where fathers are in this whole debate) to subjugate themselves to the whims of their children and lose everything in the process. Breastfeed? You can’t work. Cosleep? You’ll NEVER HAVE SEX AGAIN. Babywearing? YOU WILL NEVER BE FREE OF THE MONSTERS. On the other side, Mothers (again) should follow the principles of attachment parenting because it’s best for the delicate psyches of their children, and Mothers (again) should recognize that mothering is their most important job and putting their child’s needs comes before all else in a Mother’s world.

I am here to tell you that attachment parenting is not that far outside the norm. It does not automatically create a choice between the child’s happiness and the mother’s. I know this, because by many measures, I am an attachment parent. The dirty little secret that the media isn’t telling you is that most mothers are attachment parents to some degree or another. It’s not an all or nothing proposition. Parents adopt the parenting strategies that work for their families. And the other dirty little secret is this: nobody really cares what you do with your family. When it comes to surviving and thriving as parents, there are no “mommy wars.” We’re all just trying to get along and raise our kids the best way we can.

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Read the rest of The Attachment Parenting and Breastfeeding “Controversy” (691 words)

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Post tags: parenting

Mother’s Day is on my mind this week. I am replete with motherhood. My belly is large with motherhood. I wake up in the morning with my fingers swollen with motherhood. My feet are so full of motherhood that my shoes don’t fit. My hips are aching with motherhood. A day? Ha! I deserve at least a week of celebration. Or a month.

Check back in two weeks, when all this motherhood will be external rather than internal, but I’m not quite up to the mother’s day celebration this year. So instead of making brunch, I made reservations. The Nuni, my mom and I had a lovely girl’s tea at the historic Langham Hotel right here in Pasadena. The view was lovely, the service gracious, and the sandwiches and pastries were delicious. We ignored the fact that our homemade scones are better. I told Ken that he is in charge of dinner on Mother’s day – we can go out, we can get takeout, he can cook — but I don’t want to be responsible for planning, executing or cleaning up.

If some of you are less lazy encumbered than I am, this blueberry cornmeal cake would be an excellent treat for Mother’s Day. The recipe is supposedly one from Huckleberry, which is one of the best bakeries in LA, and it’s a lovely crunchy, fruity, not too sweet cake. If you’re into mother’s day breakfast or brunch, this would be a great addition – it’s not too rich or decadent for morning. It would also be a standout at afternoon tea, or if you’re cooking dinner for the mother or mothers in your life, it would be excellent with a bit of ice cream (vanilla would work, or I’m thinking a lovely buttermilk sorbet if you want to get ambitious.)

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Read the rest of Huckleberry Blueberry Cornmeal Cake and Mother’s Day (242 words)

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Post tags: blueberry, breakfast, brunch, cake, Coffee Cake, cornmeal, Mother's Day, tea

Cinco de Mayo is one of those strange holidays where the original meaning (Battle against the French? Ring a bell?) is completely forgotten by most of the people celebrating. I could be wrong, but I would hazard a guess that for many Americans, Cinco de Mayo is just an excuse to indulge in tacos, burritos and nachos, preferably washed down with some cheap beer or cheaper margaritas.

As an Angeleno, I don’t need an annual holiday as an excuse to eat Mexican food. We have a vibrant and thriving Mexican and Mexican-American community, and, while tacos and burritos are a regular part of life, I also know that the cuisine goes far beyond them. Mexican cuisine, like any other cuisine, is a changing entity, open to improvisation and inspiration.

This salsa is the perfect example. I make no pretenses that this is based on some autentico salsa especiale I tasted in a tiny cafe in Zihuatanejo. In fact, this recipe is based entirely on a pineapple I had in my refrigerator that was quickly getting a little too ripe (shopping with a 4 year old means you come home with lots of produce and few plans). But it makes use of the Mexican flavors and produce I find all over southern California — the sweet acidity of pineapple matched by savory onions, chiles and cilantro, all mellowed by avocado and enlivened with the crunch of jicama. (If you’ve never had jicama, it’s a great ingredient. Resembling a large pale brown turnip, it’s a juicy root vegetable that’s very faintly sweet and has a terrific crunch not unlike a water chestnut.)
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Read the rest of Pineapple Avocado Salsa with Jicama (213 words)

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Post tags: healthy, mexican, Vegetarian, weeknight

Mother’s Day is coming up soon, and shortly afterwards, my own role in motherhood is going to be expanding (hopefully, in an inverse ratio to my waistline, which has already expanded plenty), so you could say I have mothers on the brain. All of this makes me appreciate my own mother more and more. Which is not surprising, because my mom is awesome sauce.

My mother is the most shockingly competent person I have ever met in my life. Sure, there are really smart people. And sure, there are kickass homemakers. And sure, there are independent women. But my mom manages to combine all of those and make it seem easy. She’s worked full time since before I was born, is a distinguished professor at her academic institution, and has written at least six books (I’ve lost count) and dozens of scholarly articles, all of which make her an expert in her field. Does that mean we ate takeout Chinese food every night through my childhood? Of course not. She’s a terrific cook. My mother makes the world’s best fried chicken, the world’s best Caesar salad, and the world’s best cabbage rolls. She sews (she made both my prom dress and my wedding dress), does projects around the house (paints, wallpapers, rebuilds decks), and travels around the world (this summer will be spent in Oxford, touring wool churches and doing research). She also spends a ton of time with the Nuni, and does my dishes every time she visits my house (which is fairly often, as I was smart enough to buy a house two minutes away from hers.)

So yeah, my mom? She’s pretty much the bomb.
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Read the rest of Roasted Garlic, Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Canapes, or Why My Mom is Awesome Sauce (373 words)

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My personal favorite take on a bunny cake (or a birthday cake, or a Sunday afternoon for no reason layer cake) is an orange layer cake with orange buttercream frosting. I love chocolate cake, and won’t turn up my nose at a good coconut cake, or carrot cake, but when it comes to layer cakes, orange cake might just be my favorite. Orange cake seems to magically straddle that divide between those who prefer what my friend Mike calls the “brown” flavors (caramel, nuts, chocolate) and those who prefer a fruitier touch. I’ve been making this particular cake quite a bit lately (layer cake happens to be a pregnancy craving) and it’s easy to throw together, with a nice orange flavor and a moist crumb.

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Read the rest of Moist Orange Layer Cake with Orange Buttercream (706 words)

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Post tags: birthday cake, cake, Easter, layer cake, sweets

Ordinarily as a Californian, I decry hot weather. “We get plenty of sunshine!” I say. “Bring on the rain and the fire’s cozy glow.” Well, here it is, the end of March, and I realize I am spoiled. This winter was dry as a bone, but with spring has come the rain and the wet and nights in the 30′s. And flu season. Working on my second cold in as many weeks and a single warm maternity cardigan, I cry uncle. I’m ready for our usual spring weather (heck, our usual weather) — 75 degrees and sunny. I want sandals and sundresses and time in the hammock. I have optimistically assembled adirondack chairs and ordered outside rugs for the deck, only to watch them soaking in the rain. (We won’t address the fact that “tired of cold weather” may translate in my bruised and battered psyche to “tired of being pregnant” with May seeming very far away indeed.)

This will probably all come back to bite me this summer when I face yet another triple digit day at home with an active preschooler (almost kindergartener! How did THAT happen?) and a baby who wants to be held all the time (which is, IME, all babies), but right now I could use some sunshine, even if it’s just sunshine on a plate. Eating a springtime salad for dinner when it’s 50 degrees inside your house just seems wrong, but by March I am done with hearty beef stews and warming casseroles. Enter chicken bouillabaisse. Sure, it’s a stew, but one that is lighter, fresher than your typical stew, singing of warmer climes and summer.

Along the Cote D’Azur, pretty much every restaurant offers a version of fish soup. Made with the local catch, it is always served with croutons, rouille (a garlic and saffron mayonnaise), and cheese. I had been craving a good soupe de poissons but not the trip to the fishmonger to get the bones to make the stock and the fish to puree into the soup and .. . well, you get the idea. Chicken bouillabaisse, though less traditional, is infinitely simpler, and offers many of the same flavors. I make mine with fennel, herbes de provence, and, because I had it, a pinch of lavender, all of which are ubiquitous in that part of the world. Served with the requisite croutons, rouille, and cheese, I could almost imagine myself on a terrace covered with rosemary, sipping my chilled rose next to the Mediterranean.

I made the rouille in my mini food processor,adding the olive oil a little at a time. It’s best to make it in advance so the saffron gets a chance to infuse the mixture. I used pasteurized eggs to minimize the risk of food poisoning with le bebe — I would ordinarily take my chances with raw egg yolks, but that’s your call. If you’re short on time or lazy, adding some minced garlic, cayenne and saffron to prepared mayonnaise will also do in a pinch.

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Read the rest of Chicken Bouillabaisse (Electric Pressure Cooker Recipe) (503 words)

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Post tags: chicken, French, pressure cooker, Stew, weeknight

I’m probably not alone when I say that mornings can be a little rushed in our house. I need some serious wakeup time with a cup of coffee and some reading material, but I pay for it dearly by the rushing that follows. Shower, dress, wake the Nuni, dress the Nuni (an ordeal at times — the girl has OPINIONS), get everyone out the door and into the car appropriately brushed and washed and with hopefully matching socks.

Did I forget something? Oh yes, fed.

I’m a big believer in a decent breakfast. If I don’t eat one, I’m climbing the walls and eating whatever I’ve packed for lunch at 10 am. The Nuni gets to eat at preschool, but their idea of a proper breakfast (waffles, mini bagels, cold cereal) is not my idea of a proper breakfast. There should be protein! Fiber! Preferably a little fruit! A breakfast that can get you through to elevenses, at least. Eggs and toast are lovely, or a bowl of oatmeal with lots of milk, but they don’t really help the morning chaos. These oatmeal breakfast bars are the answer to that.

On Sunday afternoon, I throw the ingredients together (which takes only about 5 minutes longer than it takes to chop an apple), bake them, let them cool, and wrap them individually. Stored in the fridge, I can grab them quickly in the rush of weekday mornings, and they can be eaten on the go. (In the car, at the desk). They’ve got plenty of satisfying fiber (apple AND oatmeal), some good protein from nuts, milk and eggs, and enough sweetness that the Nuni will eat them. I’ve given you my favorite recipe below, which I make with dried mangos, blueberries and cranberries, but feel free to use any combination of dried fruits and nuts and spices. I sometimes add in some ground flaxseeds, too, and the milk can also be substituted with soy milk, if you’re so inclined.
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Read the rest of Fruit and Oatmeal Breakfast Bars – Morning on the Go (206 words)

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Post tags: breakfast, fruit, Oatmeal, Vegetarian

The plus side of this exercise is that I was able to rediscover some of my favorite books from her babyhood, that were read over and over again and beloved by both mother and child. Right now most of our reading together time is spent on chapter books (right now we’re enjoying The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton), and her solo reading time is spent on early readers, like Mo Willems’ excellent Elephant and Piggie Series. So it was fun to revisit these old board books (from the time when chewing was a very real possibility) that I’m looking forward to reading to Roo.

Here’s a list of my favorites:

Moo Baa La La La by Sandra Boynton

A twist on your classic “animal noises” book, this one never failed to elicit a toddler laugh. All Boynton’s books are silly and delightful, but this one, with its simple words and lilting rhythms, is my favorite.

Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlburg

This is a wonderful “I spy” book containing multiple nursery rhyme and fairy tale characters. Babies will love the rhythms and rhymes (Cinderella on the Stairs I spy the Three Bears!) and toddlers love finding the hidden characters in the detailed illustrations. This was one of my favorites from childhood, and I’ve loved sharing it with my child, too.

ABC: A Child’s First Alphabet Book by Allison Jay

There are a million and twelve ABC books out there, but this one is just BEAUTIFUL. The words are simple (A is for apple, B is for Balloon, etc.) but the illustrations, done in Jay’s signature folk art style, are gorgeous and intricate. Each page is its own “I spy” game, with B standing not only for balloon, but also for beehive, butterfly, and ball (and can you see the C cows?) The pictures also tell a charming story, making this a wonderful book for children to look at on their own, as well.

Dr. Seuss’s ABC

While we’re on the subject of ABCs, I would be remiss if I didn’t also point out Dr. Seuss’s wonderful version. There’s a reason the good doctor is beloved, and this book, full of bouncing rhythms, nonsense words, and a secret lesson in phonics, pretty much sums it up.

I Love You Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt and Cyd Moore

I was given this as a gift at my baby shower with the Nuni, and I love the message (mothers give unconditional love) and the execution (EVEN if you’re a green alien who eats bugs instead of peanut butter). My girlie girl found it hilarious, and I’m sure this little boy will be just as tickled.

The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch

Every parent of a girl must own this princess tale, in which the princess in question exhibits bravery and a can-do attitude and demands respect in return. Every parent of a little boy should read it too — we could all stand to benefit from the lessons about gratitude and what’s important (hint: it’s not wearing a nice dress).

First Book of Sushi by Amy Wilson Sanger

One of my girlfriends gave this to me before I was even pregnant with the Nuni, and it quickly became a fast favorite. How could I not love this whole series (which includes Yum Yum Dim Sum and Hola, Jalapeno!)? The brightly colored collage pictures are fun, here, and the rhythms are addictive (Miso in my sippy cup, tofu in my bowl. Crab and avocado fill my California roll). What a great way to introduce tiny kids to a variety of foods!

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

THE classic baby book. But classic for good reason. Nothing beats the soothing rhythms of Good Night Moon for talking a child down to sleep. You’ll read it so many times you’ll have it memorized, which comes in handy when you’re driving and trying to calm an excited child in the car seat behind you. Baby hypnosis of the best kind.

© Kate for Savour Fare, 2012. | Permalink |
Post tags: Baby, Books, Child, Children, Nuni, parenting, Roo