Easter

We had a very pleasant Easter – egg dyeing using thrift-store ties on Saturday, church on Sunday morning, neighbors over for Easter dinner, and a very non-Eastery James Bond Skyfall viewing in the evening after a movie and TV-free Lent. For Easter dinner we had:

• Glazed ham with homemade mustard sauce
• Cream cheese mashed potatoes
• Asparagus broiled with butter and parmesan cheese
• Shredded carrots in vinaigrette
• Salad with olive oil and balsamic dressing
• Hot rolls with butter (I made my life simpler by using frozen Sister Schubert’s yeast rolls)
• Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting (this recipe was fantastic – I doubled the batter, substituted raisins for nuts, and used 1/4 cup applesauce instead of pineapple. I poured the batter into two round cake pans and baked about 25 minutes. The frosting does not need to be doubled)
• Chocolates
• Drink options of wine, water, milk, and apple juice (for the kids), followed by coffee with dessert

This was by far the largest number of dishes I’ve ever made for guests. My mother loves to set a beautiful formal table and create elaborate special meals for guests. It’s a gift that she’s perfected into both a hobby and a skill. It took me a few years to realize that following the Biblical command to practice hospitality doesn’t mean I have to follow it in exactly the same way. Everyone has their own hosting style, and what’s fun for her is stressful for me. I love to cook, but the key difference between cooking a meal just for our household vs. for guests is that I’m an introvert. Having guests saps a lot of energy. Having them arrive when I’m already drained from two frenzied hours in the kitchen means I dread their arrival and have a hard time summoning social energy to make them welcome.

Eventually I realized that I needed to create my own style of hospitality – something that would enable us to freely and frequently welcome guests with bounty but simplicity.  We set a goal for the number of times we’d like to welcome guests into our home each month, and went from there. Usually I cook a simple but homemade meal that works no matter how crazy the day. Often that means a big pot of soup, a salad, and bread, along with a quick tidy of the kitchen. Sometimes I mentally plan what to serve, then deliberately cut out one dish. More often than not dessert is just chocolates, if anything. The nice thing about a generation raised with terrible fast food and frozen dinners is that guests are delighted to have plentiful home-cooked meals. Once, we knew we wanted to invite a large group of neighbors over. However, the house badly needed a cleaning after busy work weeks for both of us, nd I didn’t have time to cook for that many. Instead, we had an after-dinner ice-cream social on the back porch: I whipped up a pan of brownies, brewed a pot of coffee, and guests made themselves sundaes with brownies, ice cream, and a few no-prep toppings like berries, nuts, and fudge sauce. It was fun and relaxing for guests and hosts alike.

All that to say, a meal like this is not the norm when hosting guests, but it worked. Our neighbors graciously had us over for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners when Carl worked both holidays this year. We wanted to create something truly special, both for Easter and in thanks to them. We prepped everything we could the night before and I wrote out a quick timetable since three different foods needed three different oven temperatures. Once the cold foods were prepared and everything else was boiling and baking I still had time to sit and read with the kids on the couch before guests arrived. After doing the dishes, I think Carl prefers the simpler three-dish dinners though!

What hosting tactics work for your household and personality?

Edited to add: learning to feed guests hasn’t been a perfectly smooth process. There was the episode of greasy ham and too-dry cornbread, the burned soup where we should’ve just ordered a pizza, and a few meals where I didn’t make enough and had to scramble. Practice makes progress.

Haferflocken? Nein Danke

Six weeks ago Jack started rice cereal on his doctor’s orders due to severe reflux. Initially, he hated it. The food tasted different. It felt different. The spoon was not a bottle. You can see his original reaction here.

Somewhat earlier in the training process, or, “painting the baby with oatmeal.”

However, after lots of varied but persistent introductions he’s more than delighted whenever we buckle him into his booster seat for a meal these days. At six months he opens his mouth wide, cleans each mouthful off the spoon, barely dribbles, and neatly keeps his hands in his lap without struggling (anymore…). While we plan to have him feed himself as well, so far we’ve found that starting with a puree of food helps because it first lets him adjust to the taste of a new thing before introducing a new texture. One new factor at a time seems to be the magic key with our boy.

His twin sister, however, is less excited about solids. In part, it’s just because she cares less about food in general while he could eat all.day.long. She’s progressed from spitting everything out, but it’s hard to hit her sweet spot between “hungry enough to try something” and “too full from that delicious bottle to care about food.” The mechanics of eating from a spoon haven’t quite come together for her yet. She politely mouths things, swallows about 40% of her meal, and smiles a lot. Sometimes she tries to swallow but accidentally squishes the food out her lips. Sometimes she just sputters for the fun of it as oatmeal or sweet potato droplets fly across the kitchen. She does like the taste and will eagerly wait for an approaching spoon. However, rather than opening her mouth for the spoon when she sees it she sticks out a hopeful tongue. Like any baby the majority of her nutrition comes from her liquid feedings so we’re in no rush. We have plenty of time to let her figure things out, and for the most part she enjoys the process. Except, that is, for this morning when she’d had her fill, saw the oatmeal-laden spoon coming her way, and began to wail an irritated “Nein! Nein! Nein!” Her English is non-existent, but her German is coming along nicely.

(Last week Jack looked up and yelled “Damn!” while peacefully playing on his back. Perhaps we should redirect him toward German too.)

Leek, Olive, and Goat Cheese Pastry

We had this leek, olive, and goat cheese pastry for dinner this week. With a few modifications to the basic recipe it was delicious and easy to assemble in stages on a busy evening. I cooked the leeks, chopped olives, and crumbled and shredded cheese during the kids’ afternoon nap. When Carl came home all I had to do was stir everything together, roll and assemble the pastry, and pop it in the oven. It would be delicious with something fresh and light like a salad to balance the stronger cheese and olive flavors. My modified version of the recipe is posted below. The original comes from Better Homes & Gardens’ All-Time Favorites brochure.

LEEK, OLIVE, & GOAT CHEESE PASTRY

Serves 4 as a main meal, 6 as a side

• 1 sheet of puff pastry (what we used), or one frozen or homemade tart or piecrust
• 1 cup finely chopped leek (white part only, save the green parts for making vegetable broth another day)
• [1/2 cup finely chopped fennel - the original called for this but our store didn't have fennel in stock. It was still very good without it.]
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup total crumbled aged goat cheese (chèvre) and shredded Parmesan (I used 3/4 cup goat cheese, 1/4 cup parmesan – you could use one or the other, less or more)
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped Gaeta, kalamata, or other Italian olives (The original calls for 3/4 cup, but we found the olive flavor overwhelmed the other ingredients. I would use 1/2 cup next time, and rinse and dry the olives to get rid of some of the brine)
• 1 Tbsp fresh thyme (we only had dry on hand – adjust accordingly as you like)

1. Preheat oven to 375. Allow crust to stand/defrost according to package directions. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll crust into an 11 inch circle on the baking sheet (flour the surface if using puff pastry).

2. Cook the leeks (and fennel, if you have it) in the olive oil over medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes until tender. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese, olives, and thyme. Cool slightly.

3. Spread filling in center of pastry, leaving the outer 1.5 inches uncovered. Fold uncovered pastry up around the edges (like a galette).

4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Cut into wedges and serve warm.

I can picture a lot of tasty variations on this one – mushrooms instead of olives, slivers of sun-dried tomatoes, throwing in a shallot…

 

Six Month Snapshot

Our babies turn six months old today. They’re changing, fast, and I wanted to capture a snapshot of these days before life changes yet again. None of these details are momentous, but they’re things I’m likely to forget as time passes. No day is identical or scheduled to the minute, but we do follow the same basic routine week to week. The structure supports their sleep habits. We also find it’s a big help in reducing crying and helping us accurately diagnose what’s bothering them if they’re fussy without multiple throws at the hungry?tired?wet?uncomfortable?bored?justmessingwithmyhead? dartboard. Overall, with two babies that tend to need the same things around the same time, a routine makes sure they get quality sleep and fit in all their feedings, tummy time, and other needs. It also lets their parents maintain a reasonably clean and tidy house and get quality time together. If Dad has a day off the sleep patterns stay the same, but we feed the kids together when they wake up, and work other activities like church, errands, or hiking into the mix.

0400/0430: The first alarm goes off. Carl is catatonic until he’s had his coffee and dislikes waiting for it to brew and take effect each morning. His efficient solution? Make coffee for the week and refrigerate it in a jug. Each night he pours coffee for the morning into a travel/thermos mug and puts it by the bed. When his first alarm goes off he gulps it down and goes back to sleep. Caffeine has about a thirty minute wait time to full effectiveness – thirty minutes later, it naturally wakes him up. By 4:30 or 4:45 he’s up. I usually sleep about twenty minutes longer than he does, but find getting up well before the kids key to my sanity and a smoothly running home.  Every morning Carl works through a small section of a medical review books to keep his knowledge fresh, exercises, shaves, showers, dresses, and sometimes fits in a small chore or two. I may do chores, check email, do my Bible Study reading, or work on paperwork and administrative tasks before pulling breakfast together. I used to feel a need to completely fill this time with chores before the babies woke, but found that a little quiet time writing or reading leaves me in a much better mood for the day. I gladly get up two hours before the kids to guarantee that time. It’s no sacrifice since we go to bed early and get an uninterupted night’s sleep.

~0600-0615: We eat breakfast together every day, a habit passed on from my family. Even if we’re sleepy and just eating cereal or bagels, starting the day with a meal together really helps things get off on the right foot.

~0615 (sometimes 0545 or 0600): Carl heads out the door to work. I shower, tidy the kitchen, wrap up a few chores, assemble bottles, and generally try to make sure everything is laid out and ready for the day.

0700/0730: The twins wake up cooing and happy after sleeping through the night. I pick each one up for a good morning hug and cuddle, then put them back down in their cribs on their stomachs, facing each other. First-thing-in-the-morning tummy time works well for us right now because 1) their stomachs are empty so they don’t spit up, 2) they’ve been on their backs all night so they’re actually pretty happy to spend time in a new position, 3) they love being set down face to face. Much smiling and squealing at each other ensues. I open the curtains, lay out clothing and burp cloths, pick them up to change diapers and put them back down on their stomachs, mix formula, and heat bottles while talking or singing to the kids. “Morning has Broken” is a favorite hymn for this time – the Third Day version on the link has some alterations to the original hymn and gaelic tune, but you get the idea. After about ten minutes of tummy time Jack becomes impatient. I feed him his breakfast bottle in the rocking chair next to Annie’s crib, flipping her onto her back when she, too, eventually gets tired on her stomach. Once Jack finishes he sits in the swing with a toy for some post-feeding upright time (reduces spit up…at least theoretically) while Annie eats. Throughout feeding there’s lots of talk about our day, lots of singing, and lots of making funny noises for our boy if he starts to get fussy and bored while waiting. I wash and lotion their faces, and oil and comb their hair. Usually we head to the guest bedroom for playtime. I put on some classical music – it’s still just background noise to the babies, but it makes the morning more interesting and fun for Mom. Tickling while singing “Ten Little Monkeys” (they know that song is associated with tickling and start flailing and squealing as soon as I sing the first measure), practicing sitting up, kicking around on their backs playing with toys, peek-a-boo, and sometimes picture books round out the morning before it’s time to change diapers, get dressed for the day, and go down for their morning nap. Occasionally I need to do chores during this time, but since having only two kids is a temporary luxury, I try to follow a rule of focusing on them during their awake time and doing chores or computer time during their naps.

0900/0930 – 1130: I watch for their drowsy-but-not-tired signs and put the kids down for their morning naps. It’s a quick routine – into their crib or car seat, tucked in, blinds closed, fan on and out of the room. Put together those cues mean sleep time to them and they’re usually asleep within two minutes with no fussing. They usually nap for two hours, sometimes three. While they nap, I work on chores and sometimes even get a start on dinner. Meal planning happens before our weekly grocery shopping run, but sometimes a meal can still catch you by surprise when evening comes and the meat isn’t defrosted or vegetables need chopping. A quick recipe or ingredient review in the morning helps the afternoon and evening run smoothly. I also try to fit at least 15 minutes of something calm and refreshing in here – sitting down with a book, for example. Sometimes I’ll also eat an early lunch, a meal that migrates throughout the middle of the day depending on the babies’ behavior. Toward the end of nap time I mix formula for the next feeding so everything is set when the first baby wakes.

~1130: The first baby starts chirping. I sneak him or her out for a diaper change and then we settle onto the couch for a little one-on-one time and a lunch bottle. Sometimes we just sit and cuddle, sometimes I’ll play a recorded book, lecture, or sermon in the background. Four hours of feeding babies a day adds up… About 75% of the time the other twin sleeps until almost the end of this feeding. Sometimes they wake up and fuss off and on. Sometimes they drift back off, or kick around contentedly while they wait upstairs. The simple fact of twins is that there are two of them and one of me. I try to be attentive, but of necessity they are also learning quite early to be patient. Once the bottle is empty, the first baby goes in a bouncy seat with a toy for some post-feeding upright time while the second baby gets changed and fed. If the weather is even halfway decent (meaning anything other than a torrential downpour) we’ll often head out for a long walk or errands. The kids love getting out of the house into the sunshine, and it’s good for me too. The logistics of getting two small babies out the door can be off-putting, but it is always worth it. Depending on the outing length it may be time for their afternoon nap when we get back, or we may spend some more time doing tummy time, playing on the floor, flying through the air like superman, etc. There’s no way to hold both babies all the time, and they’re learning to play independently very well, but I try to regularly pick one or the other up for some individual cuddles and play. It’s hard to get all the attention you want with another baby always getting in the way!

~1300/1330: The babies go down for a two or three-hour afternoon nap when they start showing drowsy signs. It’s back to more of the same household routines for me, plus possibly laying out bedtime/bathtime supplies or getting dinner in the oven depending on what time Carl will be home.

 - 1530/1600: The first baby wakes. If I got alone time with one twin in the morning, I try to get alone time with the other twin in the afternoon as I change them and feed them their afternoon snack bottle. As with the morning, Twin 1 goes in the bouncy seat for upright time while I collect and feed Twin 2. Usually I pull both babies onto my lap to read a stack of picture books together for 20 minutes or so – about their maximum attention span right now. Sometimes Carl gets home early, around 1630. His shortest days are 10 hours, but by going in early he can sometimes make it home for a little pre-bed play time. Other days he works 12 or 14 or 18 hours, so we enjoy the early days when we can get them. Jack gets a quick spoon-feeding of rice cereal in the evening (after much patient coaxing and regular introductions he’s spoon-feeding like a champ), and Annie will start solids soon as well. If Carl’s home, the kids get Daddy play time, if he’s not, they might hang out in their Bumbo seats watching me cook dinner, play on the floor with occasional Mom visits for cuddles, or kick around in the Johnny Jumper for 15 minutes (a favorite treat for both of them). Around 1730 our son goes down for a short catnap is his swing in the library. Our daughter gave up her evening nap about six weeks ago, but sometimes sits in the library in her bouncy seat for some evening quiet/wind-down time during his nap. Otherwise, she usually stays with us and enjoys getting all the attention to herself. Some evenings we have dinner together before we put the kids down. Twice a week (more often dries out their sensitive skin) we start the babies evenings a little early with 1730 or 1745 bath. Otherwise:

- 1800: Bedtime! We lotion or oil the kids head-to-toe, change their diapers, and suit them up in a fresh onesie, sleeper, and sleep sack for bedtime. Bedtime is peaceful and quiet with one soft shaded light and (often) classical music or Gregorian chant playing from Pandora. We love this peaceful family time with all four of us, talking over the day and feeding the kids their dinnertime bottle. By 1845 they are tucked in with a family prayer and kisses goodnight. Fan on, lights off, and that’s the last we hear from them until wake-up time in the morning. Nights when Carl can’t be home for bedtime are definitely the hardest part of parenting baby twins. It’s doable, but by the time I’ve fed and tucked in the last kid I could crawl into a crib and fall right to sleep with them.

1845/1900: If we haven’t already, Carl and I sit down to dinner together, then do dishes, and prep Carl’s bedtime snack, morning coffee, and lunch for the next day. We also try to do a quick tidy each evening, tossing stray burp rags in the hamper, folding up blankets, returning bouncers and Bumbos to their proper places, and returning toys to the toy basket. It only takes five minutes, and keeps the house reasonably tidy. Carl has his evening snack. Usually, this leaves a nice little gap of time to read or play a game, followed by Bible reading together (we just finished Isaiah and are now reading the epistles of Peter). Around 2000 Carl’s bedtime alarm goes off (he’s nothing if not systematic about planning his day) and by 2030 or 2045 we’re usually brushed, changed, and ready for bed. Carl always goes in to check on the babies one last time. Last night he walked in to Annie talking in her sleep for the first time.

An Abbreviated Daybook

Outside my window: Gray skies and chilly days. Sunday, though, the weather after church was so warm and sunny that we packed up the kids, stopped to pick up a sack of BBQ and hushpuppies, and headed to a nearby state park for a riverside picnic and hiking. Getting out the door with two babies is just a bit more work, but always worth it.

I am listening to artillery. It’s been a noisy “war zone” week with helicopters barreling back and forth just above the treetops all day and the Marines in town for training. Artillery is normal here, with occasional loud days and disrupted nights. However, the Marines living over by the coast don’t have ranges long enough for their biggest guns and rockets, so they haul them inland every Spring and then cram a year’s worth of training into two weeks, firing all day and all night and shaking our house like a baby’s rattle. Imagine a bus careening off the road and ramming your house every two minutes; it’s a close approximate.

In the kitchen we’ve been experimenting with vegetable soups for Lent. I’m working alphabetically through the single-vegetable soups section of James Peterson’s wonderful Splendid Soups. Artichoke, asparagus, and avocado all made delicious soups. We’re skipping beets (not a favorite) and cardoons (car-what? car-where? no specialty Italian veggies in rural nowheresville) and moving on to carrots.

I am reading An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace by Tamar Adler. A fantastic read if you’re looking for motivation in the kitchen. It is delightful and inspiring. It is neither a cookbook nor a series of essays, but something in between, full of ideas on how to use every part of everything, and use it well. It’s an invitation to play in the kitchen, starting from the ground up rather than from a recipe down. The tone is sometimes a bit annoying (affected casual, if that’s possible?), and every so often there’s something that sounds good but doesn’t really bear up scientifically. This book assumes some basic cooking knowledge and is not really for beginners even though it’s presented that way. Those small caveats aside, I’m reading and re-reading, making mental lists, playing in the kitchen, and planning on buying it for keeps after returning the library copy.

I am creating something out of nothing. Or at least, meals out of scraps I normally overlook or throw away, thanks to An Everlasting Meal. Last night I brewed up a savory vegetable broth with the greens from leeks, tough broccoli steams, onion skins and ends, celery leaves, a couple of carrots, and other odds and ends. It will be the base for carrot soup on Friday. Meanwhile, parmesan risotto for dinner with bacon-wrapped asparagus.

I am thankful for my husband. The twins received another round of immunizations on Friday. Fussy fevers x 2 are much more manageable when Dad is home to baby juggle.

I am wearing jeans, a sage green t-shirt, and a charcoal gray Old Navy cardigan.

Around the house Taxes, plus advance preparations for many things: Easter (the neighbors are coming for Easter dinner), a road trip (our first nights away from home with the babies. Tips for traveling with babies, anyone?), and house guests, in addition to the usual chores and cooking. We started into Spring yard work over the weekend as well.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Walking with a friend and her young baby, hosting dinner for a house-hunting Army doctor moving to our post this summer, and a Palm Sunday potluck at church.

A peek into my day…

Our daughter is always done at bedtime, no matter how early we start her feeding. At the start of her evening bottle she is wide awake, squealing and smiling. By halfway through, she’s rubbing her eyes and burrowing into our shoulders. At the end, it’s always a race to coax a burp out of her before she flops over into a warm limp puddle of sleeping baby. Her brother is exactly the opposite. With eight delicious ounces in his belly he thinks it’s party time and always flails, chats, and coos as we put him down and give him a goodnight kiss. He’s always asleep within a few minutes, though.

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}

For more {P,H,F,R} please visit Like Mother, Like Daughter.

PRETTY

Out on a walk in her first snow. It was a meager half-inch, but this winter-missing, born-and-raised Chicagoan will take it. Below is a more typical picture of winter here in the South:

*Image credit to Dave Granlund, Metrowest Daily News

HAPPY

FUNNY

Someone was unimpressed by her mother’s finger-over-the-lens photography skills:

REAL

You probably know that you’re not supposed to use Pyrex glass pans under the broiler. I did. Then we moved here, and had to leave our old metal broiler pan behind in Texas. One day we were in the countdown hour to dinner and I realized dinner required broiling. Just that once, I tentatively slid a glass Pyrex 13×9 under the broiler. It was fine. Nothing happened. Between one thing and another I kept reverting to a glass dish for the next two and a half years. Until last week, when I pulled a lovely Filipino-style marinated london broil out of the oven, set it on the counter, and the glass pan exploded:

When I say the pan exploded, I’m not exagerating – in a split second it disintegrated with a deafening bang, sending screaming hot shards of glass shrapnel spinning throughout the kitchen. It is a small miracle that nobody was hurt – only minutes before I’d moved the fussy-from-immunizations babies from the kitchen (where they usually watch me make dinner) to the next room for a nap. Because it was cold I had on jeans, thick socks, a long-sleeved shirt and leather moccasins, plus a spare old shirt of my husband’s that I wear as a smock when feeding our spit-uppy son. No glass made it through the clothing layers for burns or cuts. But basically? When your glass pan says “don’t use under a broiler”, don’t use it under a broiler.

After a quick rinse and pat dry to remove any glass splinters, the London Broil was delicious though .

Also REAL:

Someone was outraged! Outraged! that his mother had attempted to give him rice cereal for the first time. We have another 20 equally blurry, equally irritated photos of him giving his opinion on this new form of baby torture. Normally I’d be with the “wait until they’re bigger” for solids crowd, but in this case his doctor hopes that something a little more solid will help him keep food down.

Seven Quick Takes

Take 1

Carl took several days off this week in compensation for paternity leave days he spent working at the hospital. Since adopting the babies we’ve taken lots of walks around our region, but haven’t gone further afield. We decided to stretch our boundaries this week with two daytrips. On Tuesday we drove two hours to the coast. The kids got their first glimpse of the Atlantic before burrowing their faces into our chests and going to sleep. I’m glad January weather isn’t conducive to swimming; from posted signs we learned that the state record tiger shark was caught off this pier, which juts out from one of our favorite beaches:

For our next daytrip we headed in the other directi0n to a beautiful, mostly deserted county park an hour north. It’s full of rocky hills, lakes, and forests. We usually use our Ergo carriers for local walks, but put the kids in new hiking packs my Aunt gave us for this longer trek. It felt great to be out on the trail again after so many months in populated areas. It was especially nice after all the grim “just wait until you have babies – you’ll never be able to hike again” predictions others gave us. Packing the babies up and heading out on a trail with them is only slightly more complicated than going on a neighborhood walk, and the rewards are very well worth it. It helps that the twins love being outside.

Take 2

After many years of waiting and indecision, we finally upgraded from regular cell phones to smart phones. My parents gave us each an iPhone 4S as our Christmas gift after we did a little research and realized it would do everything we wanted for half the price of the latest model. We don’t regret waiting, having saved thousands of dollars in bills over the last several years, but we’re also having a lot of fun playing with our new toys. It’s nice to have a slim, easy photo and video option along when we’re out and about with the kids, along with easy access to maps and yelp. For those of you who upgraded before me (that would be, um, everybody?), what apps do you find most useful/interesting?

Take 3

Now that the kids are napping well and reliably, I’m really enjoying having a few minutes to read again. On the recommendation of Carl’s stepmom I’m currently reading Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and enjoying it very much.  I haven’t read a lot of African literature, other than works written by European explorers/settlers. Once this one’s finished, I look forward to reading more of Achebe’s works.

Take 4

Speaking of naps: sleep training. I know it’s a touchy subject, and that every baby is wired differently. I am all for every family choosing whatever route works best for them – playing things by ear, attachment parenting, Ezzo, co-sleeping, whatever. All I can say is that, in our case, with two month old babies who had essentially been trained not to sleep, sleep training has been fantastic for our family. We used a combination of advice from Carl’s coworker (a sleep physician), a handmedown book called Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Twins by Marc Weissbluth, and common sense (advice and experts are great, but we’re the one’s interacting with our kids). The twins now sleep from 7:00 at night to 7:00 in the morning without awakenings, along with two good two hour naps each day. They fall asleep without crying, and wake up smiley. The whole training process was non-traumatic and peaceful, with no soul-crushing nights of hour long crying. As the babies have caught up on sleep, and as we’ve learned to watch for their drowsy-but-not-yet-sleepy signs, we’ve seen huge improvements in their happiness during the day. We never realized how much of their screaming and inconsolable fussiness in those first days came from built up sleep-deprivation (not just age/infancy/adoption) until our usually calm happy boy had an utterly exhausting day this week and reverted to the exact same end-of-day behaviors he had when he arrived. Perhaps our sleep training story will be a post of its own, when I get around to it…

Take 5

Like I said, the babies are really pretty calm and happy now. They generally only fuss if it’s time for their feeding (what amazing little alarm-clock stomachs babies have, down to the minute) or they’re ready for sleep. UNLESS, that is, we’re in church. If you’re an X-Men fan, you probably know the character Banshee, who emits such powerful sound waves that he can fly off them. Banshee is one of our nicknames for Jack. He doesn’t cry much, but when he does it is a true force of nature, ricocheting down the halls of the church and through the closed doors of the sanctuary during communion so loudly that other parents ask you in awed tones which twin was it that was screaming like that?

Take 6

People ask funny questions about the babies – some understandable, some head scratchers:

“Are they twins?” Yes

“One boy and one girl, how sweet. Are they identical?” Umm…

“Aww, a boy and a girl. Can you tell them apart?” Umm….

“What are the twins birthdays?” (it’s the s on birthdays that gets me…)

Take 7

Off to cook a wintery dinner of bratwurst with Leeks & White Beans from Food & Wine’s Best of the Best. The Man is currently on post doing battle with TriCare (military health insurance) to get my care switched from the clinic half an hour away to the one five blocks from our house. It took a failed in person visit, a failed call, an email, an approval from the hospital commander, forms from two administrators, another form at the TriCare office, and, now, an hour at their office (and counting). I love him.

For more quick takes please visit Conversion Diary.

Cooking Notes – January 2013

Throughout the month of December kind church members, local friends, and neighbors provided us with a steady stream of meals on the days Carl had to work. Theoretically he was on paternity leave, but practically speaking there were weeks where he had to go in every day, and days when he had to work until 8:00 or 10:00 at night. Having dinner taken care of was incredibly helpful in the twins’ early days before they had a nap schedule and were still screaming little babies adjusting to some huge transitions. We simply didn’t have ten predictable minutes when one baby (if not both) didn’t need to be held. Between donated meals and  a few frozen dishes, I cooked (if you can call it that – brats and canned sauerkraut) exactly once before Christmas. God bless the lovely people that surround us! A month ago I couldn’t imagine how exactly I was going to get meals on the table with two babies in my arms. However, by the week before Christmas nap schedules really began to shape up and these days we have a long predictable nap in the morning and another in the afternoon. In fact, my first several days back to cooking involved not just us but three additional houseguests – we ate simply, but getting meals on the table felt easy and manageable again.

As a caveat to this glowing picture, I should add that earlier this week I made our favorite Leek and Potato Soup from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. It was coming along perfectly, and I turned it up to finish simmering before pureeing it. Then I went upstairs to put a baby down for bed, forgot about it, and came down to a smoky house and a burned mush of vegetables stuck to the pot. Now I know why my mother always burned the lima beans when she had young kids .

BAKING/DESSERTS

- Cream Scones I made these with one of Carl’s sisters when they visited right after New Years. We used my favorite cream scones recipe from The Joy of Cooking and added chopped apricots. I made them a second time when a friend came to tea. With only a handful of ingredients and 15 minutes in the oven this is about as complex as baking gets these days. We skipped our usual Christmas cookie baking throughout Advent this year and instead picked up a few packages of cookie dough for the occasional afternoon or evening of fresh-baked cookies. This Christmas I was very grateful for many items in the frozen food aisle at which I’d previously turned up my nose.

- Lemon Sour Cream Cookies from an old sample copy of Cook’s Country. The New Year just seems to call for lemon…

MAIN MEALS/SIDES

- Beef Soup with Bread When my parents visited right after Christmas, I asked my mother to help with meal planning as I didn’t have much time to prep for my Dad’s special dietary needs (no gluten, onion, garlic, or beans). She graciously jumped in and did most of the cooking as well – not restful for her, but a huge blessing to us. Carl had to work on Christmas, so we had our big Christmas feast two days later after my parents had arrived – a big prime rib with mouth-watering gravy was the centerpiece. After they left, I cooked the leftover rib meat down and made a stew with onions, garlic, celery, carrots, rice, beef broth, and herbs/spices. It felt so good to be experimenting in the kitchen again! We ate the soup with rye bread sent by my grandmother – a good hot winter meal.

- Indian Curry Chicken Salad Piggybacking, once again, on a meal my mother made, I cut up the leftover meat from two roast chickens and tossed it with halved grapes, chopped celery, diced apricots, mayo, cumin, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and LOTS of curry (hot and sweet). It makes a delicious cold chicken salad when you have leftover meat or don’t want to heat up the kitchen. Served with fruit and bread for an easy lunch.

- Steak with Salsa and Black Beans and Salad A group effort – Carl cooked up the steaks. I made the black beans in advance using a recipe from Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook. The beans were fairly bland and uninteresting, so the hunt is on for a good slow cooker black bean recipe. I served the steak with several topping options – chopped tomatoes, tomatillas chopped and mixed into salsa verde, sour cream, and shredded mexican cheeses. Served with a salad dressed with olive oil and balsamic by my mother in law to round out the meal. As a nice leftovers dish, I heated a scoop of black beans, and topped with a fried egg, more salsa verde, and a bit more mexican cheese.

- Ham with Mashed Potatoes and Wilted Greens My sister-in-law helped out by putting the ham in the oven, and after that it pretty much took care of itself until I added the glaze near the end. I mashed the potatoes with cream cheese, butter, salt, pepper, and a splash of cream (a caloric Christmas treat!), and my mother-in-law infused a bit of olive oil with garlic on the stove, then poured it over the spinach greens with a little balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.

- Ham, Tomato, and Cheese Omelette With leftover ham. I diced up five extra baggies worth of ham and put them in the freezer for soups, quiches, and omelettes this winter.

- Spinach Soup I used this recipe, with significant tweaks after realizing that A) a pint of half & half is a LOT, and B) the soup really had no seasoning other than one clove of garlic and a pinch of nutmeg. I used 12 oz. of fresh spinach, three cloves of garlic, significantly less half & half, and added salt, pepper, tabasco, and a few other odds and ends from the spice cupboard. While nothing out of this world, if you cut the half and half it whips up a reasonably healthy dinner in ten minutes. Served with rye bread.

- Korean Steak with veggies and bread The Korean Steak recipe came from a cookbook my grandmother sent for Christmas: Food & Wine’s Best of the Best. It was delicious. Tweaks for next time: low-sodium soy sauce so the salt doesn’t overshadow the other flavors, more meat (the marinade made a lot), and a shorter cooking time (the recommended time resulted in well-done beef – tender, thanks to the marinade, but not what I was hoping for).

- Bratwurst with Warm Leek and White Bean Salad The recipe for Warm Leeks and White Beans also came from Food & Wine’s Best of the Best. A great, very simple recipe – flavorful, without overwhelming the other tastes on the plate. We will definitely make this one again. Served with raw veggies.

- Baked Eggs with Diced Ham - a quick, hot after church meal.

- Thai Ground Pork Wraps From a booklet that came with the food and wine cookbook – Best Healthy Recipes. Ground pork (in this case I had to use a pork/beef/veal mix b/c the grocery store didn’t have straight ground pork), mixed with spices, fried, stirred up with a savory sauce and herbs, and served with lettuce for making rolls, and peanuts and sriracha chile sauce for topping. Tasty, though not quite the flavor I was shooting for.

- Orechietta with N’Duja and Aragula except not because our little hick grocery store had neither orechietta nor n’duja nor aragula, so we substituted and had Farfalle with hot Italian sausage and spinach. It was very tasty. Also from Food & Wine’s Best of the Best, served with salad.

- Baked ham with tomatoes and onions, and crisp-roasted brussels sprouts My Mom’s old easy baked ham dish, plus a very easy, very tasty side of brussels sprouts using a method my friend taught me. You’d never have convinced 12 year old me that I’d one day love brussels sprouts (at least ones cooked in a healthy way vs. soaked in bacon grease…). Sprouts with the stem cut off, quartered, tossed with pepper, olive oil, and lots of salt, and roasted at 350-400 around half an hour until the outer leaves are crispy. Like potato chips but better.

- Pesto Prosciutto Sandwiches Pesto frozen from our garden this summer, whipped up with mayonnaise and diced sun-dried tomatoes, spread on bread, then layered up with prosciutto, turkey, and tomatoes. Lots of flavor in one simple sandwich.

- Soy Sauce Broccoli A quick side whipped up to go with a casserole someone from church dropped off. I’ve never made broccoli in the microwave before, but this actually turned out a very tasty, simple recipe for fresh veggies in minutes – a handy trick to fall back on for busy nights. Place broccoli in a microwave-safe dish. Add 2 Tbsp. water. Drizzle lightly with soy sauce (I used Tamari), and light sprinkles of garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Cover and micrwave 3-4 minutes until cooked but not soft.

- Brussels Sprouts with Avocado, Bacon and Lime, and Polenta with Goat Cheese Delicious dishes, both. Go ahead and click the link – the page of recipes is great! I’m becoming a brussels sprouts convert. These were quartered, sauteed with just a bit of bacon/grease (two pieces for a large pan), and tossed with avocado to warm, with a squeeze of lime over all and salt and pepper. A really delicious, flavorful, and filling plate of vegetables. I make polenta in the microwave – 1/2 cup of polenta, 2.5 cups of water, a dash of salt and pepper. Microwave 4 minutes, stir, microwave another 4, stir, microwave another 2-4 minutes to desired thickness. I like to stir in crumbled goat cheese at the end, but you can also serve plain or with other add-ins or herbs.

- Steak with Mashed Turnips and Garlicky wilted Spinach - When I asked Carl what he wanted to eat this week he said “steak” very firmly. Luckily the grocery store had a great sale on. This was my first time cooking turnips. Peeled, quartered, boiled ~25 minutes until tender, mashed with salt, pepper, and sour cream. I meant to add horseradish (per a recipe) but realized we were out at the last minute. For the spinach I sauteed a couple of crushed garlic cloves in olive oil, then fished out the cloves and poured the hot oil over the spinach, tossing to coat. A little drizzle of balsamic, and just a pinch of salt and pepper.

- Pasta with Mushrooms, plus sauteed Kale The pasta recipe is a favorite from Lidia’s Italian Table (found at a library sale). This was my first time making kale. On the recommendation of a friend I sauteed it in a bit of olive oil and garlic. Delicious! I love how much more body/texture it has than spinach.

What’s cooking in your house?

Stocking the Freezer

When you’re adopting newborns, your hands are tied on most advance preparation. Because a birthmother can revoke her consent to adoption up until a week after the birth, our agency warns against stocking baby supplies, clothing, or furniture in advance. When you can’t work on the nursery or prepare in “traditional” ways, what can you do? Stock the freezer. If babies don’t come, we can still enjoy the convenient meals on busy nights. If they do come, we’ll have dinners prepped to cover several weeks after our church stops dropping suppers off. I’ve been making meals in big batches and freezing the extras. Carl usually goes through a large container of yogurt each week. Those containers (plus large cottage cheese or sour cream containers) are perfect for freezing meals; each container holds enough soup or stew for one dinner for two adults. So far we’ve got:

DINNERS (each meal is enough for two adults)

• Curry Chicken Stew, 2 meals (I always tweak the Silver Palate recipe, but this is close)
• Silvia’s Stew, 2 meals
• Lasagna, 3 meals
• Shredded pork for tacos or quesadillas, 2 meals
• Homemade pesto, 3 meals (more to come – our basil plants are exploding)
• Chunky meaty spaghetti sauce, 2 nights’ worth (making more today)
• Buttermilk Biscuits, 3 meals ‘ worth of sides
• Still to make and freeze: Ham and Mushroom Quiche, 3 meals
• Still to make and freeze: Shredded chicken or turkey

BREAKFASTS

• Cream Scones, 2 meals (Joy of Cooking)
• Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, 4-5 meals (Joy of Cooking)
• Still to make and freeze: Egg and Cheese Burritos
• Still to make and freeze: Sausage Biscuit breakfast sandwiches

I’m still planning ahead and making more as I go. Do you have any favorite meals that you think freeze beautifully? I’m all ears/eyes/potholders.

 

 

 

Silvia’s Stew

Several years ago I asked Carl if he had any favorite childhood meals. He smiled, looked into space with that dreamy gaze males reserve for cherished foods, and described a dish his mother used to make. She obligingly sent the recipe and we’ve been enjoying it in our home ever since. It’s a flavor and vegetable-packed stew with plenty of protein. I love it because almost all of the ingredients are long-lasting staples from our fridge, pantry, and freezer, and because it’s easy to stretch and modify. I just cooked up a big pot of it last night, with several meals worth frozen for post-baby dinners. The recipe is below – it’s really just a flexible plan of attack, with countless variations to suit what you have in the kitchen and how much you need to make.

 

Silvia’s Stew

• 1/4 Lb bacon, chopped
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (adjust to suit – we’re garlic fans)
• ~1.5 Lb boneless-skinless chicken breast cut in bite-size pieces (may substitute other cuts of chicken, pork, lamb, or beef)
• 1/2 tsp Salt ( go easy initially as chicken broth can be salty – you can always add some at the end)
• 2 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tsp dried dill (key to any Romanian dish!)
• 2 tsp dried parsley
• 1/2 cup chicken broth (may substitute beef broth)
• 1/2 cup red wine (may substitute white wine)
• 3 Tbsp to 1/4 cup olive oil (I usually skip this)
• 28 oz. seasoned diced tomatoes (We never have seasoned tomatoes around. I use plain diced or mash up whole tomatoes and throw in seasonings like oregano and basil. In this case we had leftover pesto I tossed in the pot to clean out the fridge)
• 1/2 of a 6 oz. tomato paste can
• 1 Lb frozen baby peas (May substitute green beans, lima beans, zucchini, etc. May add mushrooms)
• 2 Tbsp. flour (optional)

Preheat oven to 375. In an oven-safe pot, fry onions and bacon over medium heat until onions are translucent and bacon is browning. Add garlic, stir and cook for 1 minute more. Add chicken and all seasonings. Brown chicken, stirring frequently to prevent burning the seasonings. Add optional flour at this point if you choose, and stir to brown for thirty seconds. Add broth, wine, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste. Bring dish to a boil, stirring often. Pour in frozen peas, and simmer 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Add seasonings as needed (this dish should be very flavorful, not bland). Place in oven for 20-25 minutes to thicken the dish. This final step gives a nice slightly roasted taste to the dish, but I skip it and just cook things a bit longer on the stovetop if we’re in a hurry.

Depending how much you’ve thickened the dish, this can be a soup or a hearty stew. Eat on its own, or with rice, potatoes, or crusty bread.