Real Moms Get Sick. Like Bosses.

Pin It "Moms don't get sick days!" is something you hear all the time from the moment you sneeze your first postpartum sneeze. (And if this is the first time you just sneezed postpartum, you probably care more about your lack of bladder control than a sick day. It gets better.) It is true.

I was fortunate. My tonsils started to ache around 1pm on a Friday. I changed the dinner plan slightly, having the girls set it up early (Raddish Kids apple curry! WIN, post to come.) and tossing it in the crockpot  By 3pm, I had changed into sweats, hit "play all" on Doc McStuffins, and settled into my corner of the couch with some tea, attempting to rest to the dulcet sounds of a contractor and plumber ripping apart the bathroom piping. By 5pm my husband had come home to take over, so I could be properly sick, or at least as sick as I can with two kids and a household to run. Maybe I'd be better by Monday, because really, what choice do I have?

Every day, I miss teaching. I miss being in a classroom, watching kids figure out why math works, discussing the intricacies of language acquisition with specialists, sharing silly stories with coworkers at lunch. But the only time I wish I was working and my kids were daycare goers is on a sick day. I'd love to be able to drop my kids off somewhere and curl up on the couch to hack up a lung in relative peace for a few hours. Can you imagine?

I've learned, in my almost-five-years as a stay-at-home parent, that you need to have systems in order for when you do get sick. I'm awful at maintaining systems, but not this one. The stakes are too high.

Step 1: Have a drawer full of various teas.

When I'm sick, I want Traditional Medicinal's Seasonal Sampler. This stuff is voodoo herbal ancient magic at its finest. I kept it in my desk, too, and would start drinking the Echinacea Plus tea the moment a kid came in with faucet nose. Throat Coat will bring back your voice long enough to make it through a lesson comfortably. And whatever is in the Gypsy Cold Care is delicious and alleviates that foggy head cold feeling. I'm not paid to say any of this. In fact, I spend a good deal of money on this tea every year, the way I chug it. (The way I chug it is out of my biggest mug, with honey, after it has brewed and then cooled for 5 minutes.)

Step 2: Have bones in the freezer.

I start to feel sick, I put this in the crockpot, generally in this order:

Whatever chicken frames I have in the freezer
A few carrots, broken into thirds
1 TBSP apple cider vinegar
a large onion, unpeeled and quartered
about 5 cloves of garlic, unpeeled, chopped in half (you can just chop a whole head in half if you like garlic. Five makes the garlic a nice background note, not a really discernible thing.)
a few stalks of celery, rough chopped
a bay leaf
Water, to cover all the ingredients

I generally always have chicken frames frozen. When you roast a chicken, or have a rotisserie chicken, put all the bones, the neck, and any pan drippings into a bag and freeze it. You can thank me when you feel better.

If I don't have chicken in the freezer (What?! But you just said...) I will drag my starting-to-get-sick self to the grocery store and grab a rotisserie chicken (dinner, done.) or some cheap bone-in chicken pieces (drumsticks work well for this) so that I have some. Ideally you want two frames, but whatever you have is fine. This time, I had one roasted frame and a few uncooked wings and necks. In they go.

Set it on low and leave it. Ideally, you need at least 10 hours so that the nutrients can be sucked out of the bones. You can't overcook this, so even two days is fine. Shabbat Shalom, my cold-hearty people.

I started this after dinner last night and had some for lunch, over white rice, with a squeeze of lemon. I strained out what I needed in the separator and left the rest, still cooking. My bones hurt. I'm not going to futz around with it more than I need to.

If you have turkey bones on hand, those work nicely, too. 

If you want a vegetable broth with this sort of ease, throw this into your crock pot for hours on end:

Two onions, unpeeled and quartered

A head of garlic, unpeeled and cut in half

A bulb of fennel, with fronds, rough chopped

1 pound of carrots, rough chopped

A small bunch of celery, rough chopped

Bay leaf

I like to add ginger to my soup broths (chicken and vegetable) but ginger is strong and specific. If you are just going to drink this or have it with rice, I recommend a nickel-sized slice of fresh ginger. If you are going to use this as a base for dishes, you may want to omit ginger and just add it to the dishes (or stick some in your soup mug to steep) later.

Strain your broth and separate out the fat if you used bones. Freeze any unused portions.

I don't add salt until consumption for the same reason that I hold back on ginger. If you pull out a cup of this later to put in a dish that is already salty (Use broth to make your rice pilaf or couscous. Really.) you'll be disappointed. I also tend to use chicken frames and pan drippings from well-seasoned birds. 

Step 3: Books. If you are like me, your body gets sick, your brain won't shut off, and you end up driving yourself mad overthinking what needs to be done in relation to your physical inability to do anything worthwhile. Expect more posts today. 

You will eat avocado! You will!

Pin It We decided to start V. with homemade fruits and veggies, not the "traditional" baby rices or oatmeals.  (We wanted to start her out with healthy habits.)  Those came later, always paired with another food, and we used brown rice, multi-grain, or oats.  Regardless of how you start feeding your baby, all moms have dreams of having a baby with a mature, discerning, diverse palate.  Some day you will sit down with your child and eat delicious sushi!  Spicy Mexican!  Crunchy chocolate-dipped grasshoppers!

Lolly, anyone?

V.'s first food was a North Carolina peach, eaten on the porch, overlooking the beach at Nags Head.  She was just 4 months old and although we hadn't planned on starting food that very weekend, she snatched it from my hand and had it in her mouth before I could react.  I can't blame her.  From then on in, whenever she saw me eating a peach she would shake with anticipation.  So I shared.

It tastes so good when it hits your lips!

Her second food, and her favorite for a long time, was avocado.  This was no easy decision.  We weighed options, read books, and tried to find what was best for our baby.  (I over thought so much.  But that is what you do postpartum.  Now I can shake my head and laugh at myself!)  We would split a whole avocado just sitting on the back porch, using the "bite for me, bite for you" method.  (This is likely why she thinks anything I'm eating is infinitely better than what she has, regardless of it being from the same pot.)

Then she decided she wasn't going to eat avocados.  The Super Nanny in me said "Oh no you didn't!"

After a while (re: If Mom is just going to keep putting this on my plate, I might as well.) she would eat it if I gave it to her before any other food, mixed into tacos, or if I was standing at the counter cutting it up.

Then I got sneaky, and found this recipe.  Avocado sauce!  Perfect.

Using that idea, I made this:  

This is Day 2, served cold.

Chicken and Broccoli over Pasta with Avocado Pesto

This makes enough for 4 hungry people (it is filling) with a small portion for left-overs.

Pesto:

the meat from 2 medium, ripe avocados

1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

2 heaping tsp or 2 cloves of minced garlic (I used the pre-minced roasted garlic in olive oil)

juice from 1/2 a lime

2 TBS toasted pine nuts (optional)

a generous pinch of onion powder (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Put all ingredients in a food processor.  Process ingredients until smooth.  If you cut the avocado first, whir it with the lime juice to keep it from browning.  

Chicken and Broccoli over Pasta:

This is a GREAT base.  My mother-in-law makes it with a peanut sauce (I think it is from Silver Palate Gourmet), and I've used various dressings or leftover sauces for a quick, healthy dinner.

2-3 chicken breasts

3 crowns (or one frozen box) of broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 lb pasta (can be spaghetti, rotini, wheels... I used whole wheat rotini)

Dice and season (with salt and pepper) chicken breasts and saute in a pan with a little olive oil.  If you are using a small pan, do in small batches, so that the chicken browns, not steams.  

While the chicken cooks, start a pot of salted water boiling for your pasta and broccoli.  You can steam the broccoli, but I'm all about cutting down on dishes and time, and only two of my burners are working.  

Toss your broccoli in the water either before the pasta (and spoon out before the pasta goes in) or 5 minutes after the pasta, so that they are done at the same time.  

Once the pasta and broccoli are cooked, drain and toss with chicken and sauce. 

This makes a great cold salad, but I'd recommend not using whole wheat pasta, because it takes on an odd texture and aftertaste cold.

This was supposed to be a great picture of my deli sandwich
and pasta salad but I ate half the pasta on the way to the table.

V. gobbled this up, as did my husband.  Win.

I used to keep a blog of recipes.  For baby food recipes or if you don't know what you are going to eat for dinner, head on over to karlacancook.blogspot.com.

I have something on my face?

Grilled Chicken Dinner

Pin It Here is what's for dinner tonight:

It all looks one color, but that is the byproduct of CFL lighting.  Sorry.

Purim is a fun holiday that celebrates Queen Ester, encourages good will, and sets me into a chicken-cooking, bone-saving frenzy.  I'm never good with exact dates, but I know that Purim means Passover is roughly one month away.  Passover means matzo ball soup, made with home-made chicken stock.  Our freezer starts to look like the chicken carcass hoarding scene from Girl, Interrupted.  The payoff is delicious, though, so my husband humors me and tolerates my crazy.

Lucky for me my family likes chicken, and it was on silly sale today.

Dinner tonight is a Provencal-inspired chicken-under-a-brick (or cast iron skillet) with sauteed artichoke hearts and cous-cous with peas.  

The chicken can start marinating the morning before, but be sure that it has at least 2 hours.

The sides took 5 minutes each, tops.

Chicken

You need:

juice from 1/2 a lemon
1/2 TBS rosemary (or one 2-3" sprig if you have fresh)
1 tsp Herbs de Provence
1 TBS olive oil
1 large clove of garlic
2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp sage
1 tsp capers - don't be fussy about draining them - the juice is fine in this.

5 sprigs fresh thyme
1 whole roaster, 3-4 lbs



Cut the backbone out of the chicken with kitchen shears.  Turn the chicken over and press on the breastbone until the chicken is flat.  (It is a little like you are trying to do chest compressions.  Odd, but ignore the cracking and flatten that bird.)  Pat the bird dry inside and out with a paper towel.  Save the backbone for broth.

Place the first 8 ingredients in a food processor with 2 sprigs of thyme and blend until they form a paste.

Rub the chicken inside and out with the paste/oil.  Put the chicken in a large container or pan and refrigerate.  Let marinate 2-10 hours.

The chicken is ideally grilled on high over indirect heat.
Wipe olive oil (or use Pam with EVOO) on the part of the grill not above the heat source.
Place the chicken, skin side up, on the greased grill.  Then tear up the remaining thyme and place on the chicken.
Now that your chicken is pretty, spread some olive oil on a piece of foil and place on the chicken.
Put a cast-iron skillet or roaster pan with bricks on top of the foil.

Close the grill and let your artfully arranged chicken cook for 30-35 minutes, until golden around the edges.

After 30-35 minutes, lift the bird, re-oil the grill, and put the bird back on the grill (sans weights), skin side down.  Cook for 5-10 more minutes, until the skin is crispy.

Let the bird rest for 5 minutes before carving.  If you need more time, put the foil back on the bird and put a towel over it.  I promise that chick will stay hot for a long time.


Artichokes
(makes 2 hungry people servings)
One 14-oz can of quartered artichoke hearts, well drained, or frozen artichokes, thawed.
1 slice of lemon
sea salt
olive oil

Heat some (2-second pour, or once around the pan) olive oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat.  When warm (you should be able to smell the oil, but it should not be smoking), add in the artichoke hearts, lemon, and salt.  I like to add a few thin lemon rounds instead of a wedge for the visual.
Toss occasionally, until hearts are browned.


Tips for cous cous!
Cous cous is small pasta.  I like the kind that comes in a box with a spice packet, and cooks in under 10 minutes.  Whether you use this or just the plain pasta, here are some tips and Mommy tricks.

1) Use broth instead of water.  I like using chicken stock, but you can use whatever you like.  (Do this with pasta salads, too.  It is just a good idea.)

2) Add a clove of garlic, sliced into a few pieces, to the broth.  You can also add other spices that will compliment your meal.  My favorites are fresh rosemary, lemon, capers, Parmesan cheese, or oregano.

3) Add frozen peas, edamame, or broccoli (before the pasta).  It is the #1 way I make meals appear healthier. I always have frozen peas on hand, because I stir it into anything too hot when the baby needs to eat right that second, or anything that could use some green, like mac & cheese.


That is dinner tonight!

Enjoy!


And don't forget to freeze the bones for stock!