What's Cooking: Something Orange, Sweet and Yummy

I have only followed Dorie Greenspan's recipe for a pumpkin"Stuffed with Everything Good" once, and it was very good.  Since then I have made multiple variations on the theme.  I find that using a covered baking dish (e.g. a dutch oven or a covered pyrex dish) simplifies the cooking method because you do not have to worry about picking a pumpkin of the right size and carving it.

I admit that my "recipe" below is rather vague.  It would be best to treat it as notes on what I did when diverging from the original recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 Butternut squash
• 1-1 1/2 cups of Cheddar cheese grated (other cheeses would work well too)
• a large crown of broccoli
• rice (I cooked one dry cup of brown and wild rice mixture, but used about 2/3 of the result)
• 2-3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1-2 cups of heavy cream
• salt and ground pepper to taste

1. Start cooking rice.  (I slightly undercooked it, because it would finish cooking in the oven.)
2. Peel butternut squash, remove the seeds and cube it.  (OR if you are like me and think that cutting or peeling a raw butternut squash is really hard, "PRE-bake" it first -- see my notes at the end of the recipe.) 
3. You can chop the broccoli and garlic, and grate the cheese while the butternut squash is baking and the rice is cooking.
4. Once all of your ingredients are prepared, preheat the oven to 350F and butter your baking dish. 
5. Mix all the butternut squash, rice, broccoli, cheese, spices/herbs and garlic in a large bowl. 
6. Fill your baking dish with the mixture.
7. Pour the heavy cream over the mixture.  (I used about a cup and a half.)
8. Sprinkle a little more cheese on top (optional)
9. Cover and bake.  The baking time will depend on how big your buttersquash was, and how much mixture you ended up with, on whether you precooked the butternut squash, on the size of your baking dish, etc.  Start checking after 40 minutes.  When the squash is almost cooked (can easily be pierced with a fork or a knife), bake the casserole for another 10-20 minutes uncovered to brown the top a little bit.

Serve with a salad as a main course, or as a hearty side dish. 

Variations on the theme:

• Use chard or spinach instead of broccoli
• Use sweet potato instead of the butternut squash
• Use bread instead of rice, as the original recipe suggests
• Check out the "Bonne Idee" section of the original recipe for more possibilities
• Use a variety of different cheeses

PRE-baking the butternut squash:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F
2. Wash the butternut squash and pokes some holes in its skin with a fork
3. Put it on a baking sheet (I cover the baking sheet with foil for easy cleanup) and bake for about 20 minutes.  (You may want to flip the squash in the oven after the first 10-15 minutes.)  You want the squash to cook enough so that the outside gets a little softer making it easier to peel. 

What's Cooking: Borsch

This is a vegetarian version of borsch, but it can easily be cooked with a little bit of beef for a more smooth meaty flavor. (See notes below).

Cabbage just added to the borsch

Ingredients:

• 5-6 medium red beets (more if the beets are tiny)
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced or pushed through the garlic press
• 1-2 carrots chopped
• 1 fresh tomato, or 1-2 tomatoes from a can (optional)
• fresh dill
• 4 medium potatoes
• cabbage (I end up using less than one head, so pick a small one)
• black pepper
• bay leaf

"Magic ingredients":

• Some acidic liquid, e.g.
• Vinegar or
• brine from dill pickles or really anything pickled, e.g. banana peppers
• tomato juice
• Stems from fresh parsley, and/or dill, cilantro

1. Peel the beets. Put them in a large pot with water and bring to boil. (You can cut them into large cubes for faster cooking.)  While the water is heating up, add 1-2 table spoons of your "acidic liquid" of choice. Add 3-5 black peppers, 1 bay leaf and the stems from the fresh herbs if using. (These are just for flavor--you can fish all of them out before serving.) When the liquid boils, lower the heat and let it simmer, until the beets are almost cooked. 
2. This step can be done either while the beets are cooking or in advance (e.g. 1-2 days ahead). Chop onions. Peel and shred (or thinly chop) carrots. Saute onions and carrots. (It is really yummy in butter, but for health reasons sauteing in vegetable oil works just as well). When sauteing is almost done, add tomatoes and cook for a couple of more minutes. Set aside.
3. Peel potatoes and cut them into large cubes.
4. Chop the cabbage
5. When the beets are cooked, fish them out of the beet broth.
6. Add sauted onions and carrots, and potatoes to the broth and continue simmering. (Depending on whether your like your cabbage crispy or well boiled, you can add it to the beet broth now, or later when the potatoes are almost done).
7. Shred the beets and add them back into the broth.
8. Continue simmering until potatoes are fully cooked.
9. Serve with sour cream and fresh dill

Notes:

• I usually make it in a 6 quart pot, but by no means do I fill up the pot with water. (Although I do often end up with borsch that does have more stuff than liquid in it:). But you can always add more liquid later, as you go.
• If you want to make a beef based borsch, just throw in a beef bone, or some stew kind of beef at the same time as you start cooking the beets.

What's Cooking: Cauliflower Dal

I am starting  a new theme. I cook SO MUCH these days, but I can never remember which recipes I used, what I did, etc.  So I am attempting to capture it here for my own reference purposes and of course for your entertainment.  First up is dal with cauliflower.  This is what Nat has been eating for lunch for the last 2 days (and he has a few more days to go).

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 chana dal (yellow lentils)
• Veg. oil for sauteing
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• ~2 Tbsp ginger, minced
• 2 tomatoes, skinned and chopped
• 1 head of cauliflower, broken into florets
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp garam masala
• dash of tumeric
• 1/4 tsp coriander

1. Wash out the dal, and soak for 15-20 minutes

2. Cover dal with new cold water, bring to boil and simmer for 20 + minutes, until done

3. In a large pot, saute onion, garlic and ginger

4. Add cauliflower, tomatoes and spices, and cook for a couple of minutes

5. Add ~1/2 cup of water, cover and simmer

6. When the dal is almost done, add it to the cauliflower mixture, and continue cooking until the cauliflower is soft

Recipes I referenced:

• Cauliflower Dal with Panch Phoran
• Dal with cauliflower and carrots
• Lentil Cauliflower Dal
• Spicy Urad Dal with Cauliflower and Peas

My Go-To Pumpkin Dessert

It is no secret that I like to consume a dessert before I go to bed (even if it is past midnight sadly).  This requirement of course means that I bake regularly so that dessert is available.  Since I never have enough time for anything these days, I opt for desserts that are take as little time to make as possible and do not require the electric mixer (the noise might wake up the child).  This chocolate pumpkin bake thing fulfills both requirements.  (If you can think of a better name for it, please let me know!)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup wheat flour (or any combination of wheat and all purpose flour)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup cooked pumpkin (1/2 of a ~15oz can)
• 3/4 cups brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.  Get out an 8x8 inch square dish (Pyrex works well).  There is no need to butter the dish.
2. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnomon and salt
3. In a large bowl, combine eggs, pumpkin, sugar, vanilla and vegetable oil and mix well.  (No need for an electric mixer or anything even remotely that vigorous.)
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix just until combined. 
5. Add the chocolate chips and mix just enough to distribute the chips.
6. Spread the mixture in the oven proof dish and bake for 30+ minutes or until the toothpick comes clean (unless it hit a chocolate chip). 

Notes:

• This recipe can easily be doubled--use a 13x9 inch baking dish and a whole ~15oz can of pumpkin.
• The baked result freezes really well
• If cooking the recipe as written, you can use half of a 15oz can of pumpkin and freeze the rest. Using the previously frozen (and now defrosted) pumpkin pure will most likely increase your baking time because it will make the batter more liquid.  The result will taste just as yummy.

Inspired by:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars from Cook Woman
Pumpkin Muffins from Smitten Kitchen

Imagination

"Our son has imagination," said Nick as we watched Nat walk around the house with an empty cup in his hands.  Notably, one of the things he was doing with the cup was holding it up to his mouth and tilting his head as far as he could.  He was clearing doing what his dad does when he is finishing a cup of juice.  And then we took it to the next level.

"Why don't we give some water to Winnie the Pooh" I said and held Nat's cup up under the bear's nose.  (This particular Winnie the Pooh does not seem to have a well defined mouth.)   Nat liked this very much.  He proceeded to "give water" to his tiger, another bear and his zebra.  (Covering their protruding muzzles with the cup seemed to qualify.)  

A Long Weekend in Philadelphia

A couple of weeks ago we visited Philadelphia--our first time traveling with Nat to a place we have never been before.

Overall the trip was definitely a success:

• We visited Brooke (Even IF we did not drive her crazy by our slow pace and loud banter late into the night, we surely drove her cats crazy.)
• We saw a little bit of different parts of the city
• We ate some excellent food
• Nat did not have too much of a hard time with all the traveling, and he loved the kitties

Hopefully, this trip was our first, but not our last trip to Philadelphia.  We strolled around different neighborhoods, admiring the all the different row houses.  We walked by the Independence Hall, peeked at the Liberty Bell through the window, and stopped by the Reading Terminal Market for lunch.  Nick even had time to explore the Philadelphia Museum of Art with Brooke, while Nat and I walked along the Schuylkill River and learned a little bit about the first water works in the country.  We even said "Hello" to New Jersey from Penn's Landing area on the Delaware River.

A view of New Jersey from Penn's Landing across the Delaware River

Philadelphia definitely holds a lot more for us to explorer.  My only pet peeve was how unfriendly the city's public transit system seems to be to traveling with babies.  And I am not even talking about elevators at every subway station--that would be luxury.  When we boarded a bus, we were immediately asked to fold the stroller.  The trolley doors are so narrow, that it is hard to walk on just carrying a folded stroller.  These issues did not present a problem for us because there were three of us, and because Nat is not tiny baby anymore.  However, it seems that a parent traveling alone with a child under 6 months could not use the bus or the trolley system unless the child was in a carrier and not a stroller. 

Nat really enjoyed eating out--being held hostage by the high chair is much easier when there are all these interesting things and people to look at.  He also really liked the two kitties who are temporarily living with Brooke.  It did not take Nat long to start chasing the cats around the apartment trying to grab their tails.  We kept trying to teach him proper cat petting etiquette, but the wagging tails were just so enticing and just at the right height.  I have to say that these two cats were extremely nice--they did not retaliate against him not once. 

Martino

The trip marked the second time that Nat traveled on a train. 

He did pretty well, minus a tantrum on the way back when he woke up crying inconsolably.  On the way back Nat also met a very nice 13 month old girl, Menea.  This little girl was clearly used to spending time with other babies.  She alternated between giving Nat her toys and taking them away.  When prompted by her mom, she would also give Nat and me hugs.  Nat, who has not had a chance to meet other babies, mostly just stared.  Clearly curious, but also a little bit afraid, he just did not know what to do.

More Socks

Here is my third attempt to make it to the finals of the Design A Sock contest, held by Sock It To Me.  Wish me luck!

Point!

Sometime this morning, Nat took a sock out of my boot and carried it around for awhile.  In case you do not know, socks are excellent for shaking, holding above your head, covering your eyes with (especially while walking), and stuffing into your mouth...  When he was done, he put the sock back in my boot.  When I went to put on my boots this afternoon, I found 3 toys stored in my boots.

In other news, Nat started pointing today.  When I tried to rock him to sleep for his nap this afternoon, he held his head up and pointed to his crib.  He wanted me to put him in his crib, so that he could walk around on his mattress while wearing his sleeping sack... 

Time Just Flies - Recapping the Holidays

There is so much to write about and so little time to do it.  In the meantime our baby is rapidly turning into a toddler.

First of all I have been meaning to recap the holidays--they were great. All three of them!  (Hanukkah, Christmas and New Years).  We lit candles for Hanukkah every day--a first for us.  Of course Nat will not remember any of it, but it still felt nice to do.

Our Christmas might have been a little frenzied, but we hit all the "essentials": family (one of the bigger turn outs this year), rolls, Christmas jello, sugar high, interesting cocktails (ok, Nat might have skipped those last two...).  

Clearly Walla Walla deserves a lot more coverage than just one sentence.  In contrast, there is not much to say about our New Years celebration--just us at home, with a little bit of cake, strawberries and champagne.  

Of course there was also Nat's first airplane ride, and he was a trooper.  He fussed a bit, but not unreasonably.  During take off and landing, he fell asleep instead of screaming.  

Unfortunately, our car ride to and from Walla Walla, which is only marginally shorter than the plane ride, was not nearly as pleasant.  Nat hardly slept, and screamed bloody murder for over an hour each way.  The short periods of time he did not scream were all due to Aunt Brooke's creative entertainment.  (Thanks, Brooke!)

In addition to meeting a lot of family for the first time over the holidays, Nat also got to spend quality time with several dogs.  Being a very small animal himself, he was cautious at first.  While Mojo, the energetic pug, scared Nat out of his high chair for good, Roo, the super mellow Newfoundland mix was the favorite despite his enormous size.  After a couple of days in the same house, Nat chased Roo with happy squeals.  He also maintained what he must have deemed a safe distance of about a foot when the dog was facing him, and promptly "ran" away with similarly loud squeals if Roo moved towards him. 

Now over a month has passed.  While Nick and I have barely had time to recover from the holidays, Nat grew two more teeth, started walking on his own, and stopped being a vegetarian.  He is still attracted to kitchen cabinets, but has discovered how to open and close the bedroom door, and grew absolutely obsessed with lifting the flaps in his Toes, Ears and Nose! book.

Donating Bone Marrow

Five years ago I registered with the National Marrow Donor Program.  It is notoriously difficult to find a match for someone needing a bone marrow transplant, and I wanted to help.  At the same time, because it is so difficult to find a match, I did not really expect to ever be contacted. 

So you can imagine my shock when last October I received an email informing me that I was a possible match.  I followed the instructions and got in touch with the people in the donor program.  I had to make some difficult choices.  For a variety of reasons the program provided me, the perspective donor, with limited information while asking me to make an unconditional go/no-go decision upfront. 

For example, there are multiple methods for extracting bone marrow.  The least invasive and the most common one used currently requires the donor to take medication for at least a week.  For a breastfeeding mother like me, 7 days of medication implied 7 days of pumping and dumping, while my baby ate frozen breastmilk or formula.  I knew my baby would be in no danger of malnutrition, but I worried that he would inadvertently be weaned by the time I was ready to breastfeed him again. 

Many questions whirled around my mind.  Who is more important to me, my baby or a leukemia patient I have never met?  Can I compare the benefits of breastfeeding to an attempt to give someone another chance to live?  Can I subject my family to the extra work that will result from my pumping around the clock, having to feed the baby from the bottle around the clock, not to mention dealing with me potentially feeling weak and/or sick from the medication and the donation itself? 

Feeling overwhelmed, I called my very good friend whose brother has now been cancer free for two years after having a bone marrow transplant.  Talking to her made the decision easy.  I never wanted to wonder whether someone could have lived but died because I was worried that my baby might wean too early.  I never wanted to wonder if parents lost their child because I was worried about the possibility of having to feed formula instead of breastmilk to my baby.  I never wanted to wonder if children lost their parent because I was worried about having to do more work while feeling tired.  My concerns fizzled away in comparison to losing someone who could have lived.

So I agreed to proceed.

As it turns out, my bone marrow was not needed this time around.  Perhaps a better match was found, or the patient decided against the procedure, or the doctors decided against the procedure for this patient.  I will never know what really happened, but I am glad that I will never have to think back to this episode in my life and wonder "what if..."

Our First Sensory Bag

Since I never have enough time to write for the blog, I thought I would try a more visual approach.

Here is what I did last night after putting the baby to bed, baking some shortbread and making my lunch for the next day.

Later Edit: This is NOT blood (Это НЕ кровь.)  This is food coloring!

This is our first "sensory bag", something I came across on the internet (where else).  This taped Ziploc bag contains baby oil, water and food coloring.  It is squishy. The color blobs change shape.  It is supposed to be a great thing for the baby to explore.  Nat liked it, but I think I was more excited about it than he was.