I ONCE POSTED ABOUT ROASTED ACORN SQUASH and how my four-year-old declared it “the best in the whole wide world.” Awesome yes, but at the time the other two rascals wouldn’t even try it. Well I have good news. Not only do all of them devour squash now but they say things like this. “I don’t…
Slow Cooker Potato Soup with Cheddar Cheese & Bacon
IT’S SOUP SEASON! With brisk evenings coming closer, days getting shorter and still not a full night’s sleep in sight, this new mom thought it was time to give my ol’ slow cooker another try. Inspired by 100 Days of Real Cooking, we made our own version of a thick and rich soup that our kids actually loved….
super simple turkey pot pie (and yes, I cheated)
WHEN YOU HAVE A FRIDGE FULL OF TURKEY and a house full of guests, the best way to handle both is a big casserole of turkey pot pie, just like this one. It’s a new riff on the Barefoot Contessa’s chicken pot pie recipe we made over once (and still the number one recipe of…
Very Versatile Whole Wheat Tarts with Dried Apricot (or Jam or Nutella or…) Filling
WHEN GRANDMA COMES TO TOWN, our kitchen goes into overdrive. Paul’s mom and dad were here for a visit over Thanksgiving and made one of Paul’s childhood favorites, apricot tarts. It’s an old recipe, the original could have, maybe come from a newspaper but this version has definitely been passed around church groups, through family…
one pot dinner: sauteed cabbage & chicken with dried cranberries & toasted almonds
HERE’S THE PINT-SIZED REVIEW FOR THIS ONE: “I like it a little bit.” That would be Phoebe (4) when I served this cabbage dish for dinner the other night. Estelle (2) and George (1) were equally enthusiastic. And you know what? That works for me! A few bites here, a few bites there, and pretty…
Low-Sugar Cranberry Oat Muffins with Fresh Cranberries
These cranberry muffins with fresh cranberries are moist and delicious, but also good for you! Ours are lower in sugar than most cranberry muffin recipes, plus full of whole oats for added fiber and of course, all those fresh cranberries. Best of all, kids love these muffins. Just ask my trusty helpers.
chicken soup with noodles
I HAD TO PHONE A FRIEND FOR THIS ONE. Last night was a much needed ladies’ night for myself and the first friend I made in North Carolina, an outsider like me, only Therese came to Durham from Switzerland. She’s also the mother of three, two girls and one boy, but hers are older and…
oven roasted cauliflower
YOU’VE HEARD ME SAY IT OVER AND OVER. And it’s not just to be annoying (I gave that up in high school. Mostly.) If I want my kids to eat more vegetables, I always roast them. Cauliflower is actually the most delicious. It’s our kids’ favorite. Really. And here’s another bonus. It’s easy.
How to roast beets
THESE WORK IN SO MANY WAYS. On salad, as salad, warm from the oven, pureed for baby food (or as a secret good-for-you ingredient for decadent brownies!). I’m a beet lover, Phoebe is hit or miss with these purple beauties and everyone else is still in the not-quite-sold stage. They’re so good though, and so…
roasted sweet potatoes and chicken with quinoa in mustard sauce
WE’RE PASTA PEOPLE, and I’ll bet any family with small kids will say the same. But when it comes to other fluffy fillers, rice is always an easy sell around here. Barley is not. Millet has a so-so track record (good in muffins, not great as a dish). And that pretty much exhausts the options that were available to…
when all else fails, make baby food: roasted sweet potato and apple baby food
“IT’S NOT GOING WELL”, says my tired old self. “Except that it is!” says the hopeful part of me, the one that remains rosy cheeked despite 2 sleepless nights with our little guy’s new cold. So it’s a bit of both, that’s how I’d sum up this move and here’s why: It’s a complicated process….
mini chicken pot pies with flowers & star crusts
I MADE THESE POT PIES TWICE RECENTLY, once big (for the family) and once small (for each person). The second time I used leftovers from Gwyneth Paltrow’s delicious Rotisserie Style Roast Chicken. Estelle LOVED it. Phoebe was sick. Paul liked them both though he did say that more crust on the bigger version was better….
Mashed potatoes with pork gravy
OLD SCHOOL AND PERFECT for cold weather, I made a variation of Shepard’s pie this week with steamed broccoli on the side. I also learned something in the process: toddlers are excellent at mashing potatoes. Destroying something with no regard for making a mess along the way? Why didn’t I think of this earlier?
Toasted apple butter hand pies (a Martha Stewart makeover)
DESPITE THE UBER-URBAN SETTING, I WAS OBSESSED with all things domestic during my NYC days. Single, living in a series of 4th floor walk-ups and working all hours…it was an unlikely fit. (And definitely not very cool.) Then there was the question of space. None of the six apartments I eventually lived in had what…
Carroty macaroni & cheese (an excerpt from A Way to Garden)
A GREAT IDEA FROM A GREAT BLOG. I’ll take it! This better-for-you mac & cheese recipe comes from Melissa Clark’s book, “Cook This Now”, by way of the best gardening blog around, A Way to Garden. An excerpt from Margret’s masterful gardening site introduces one of my favorite makeover ideas for comfort food: MELISSA CLARK…
Ina Garten’s Lentil soup with sausage
WE LOVED IT, PHOEBE DIDN’T. Such is life, especially when you’ve got a toddler. This lentil soup, originally inspired by the Barefoot Contessa, is a favorite for Paul and me but this time I added a couple of special ingredients: lentils that Paul got from the Salone Del Gusto food festival plus fresh turkey sausage….
Ina Garten’s white bean and rosemary soup
I LOVE THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA. I just do. I always have, I hope I always will. Her recipes are always delicious, they inspire me to try new things and she just seems fun, doesn’t she? With that husky laugh and a button down shirt, there she is making all manner of soups, roasted chicken and…