Yogurt and Coriander Hummus

The other day I was watching a cooking show (I ♥ me some cooking shows), and the lady-chef-host made some hummus…with yogurt!

So, it doesn’t seem weird, right? I mean, it’s not that far-fetched. I had never thought of it though! It seemed like such a great replacement for tahini, which can be expensive. Ok, yogurt doesn’t taste like tahini, but it does give the hummus a tangy-ness that is very nice.

I gave it a go.

I threw a tin of chickpeas and some of their juice into the old blender, along with a handful of fresh coriander and about 1/4 cup of greek yogurt…maybe more. I added some lemon juice and garlic powder and blitzed until smooth, adding a little olive oil as I went to loosen things up.

And behold! It was DELICIOUS! I highly recommend using yogurt in hummus! I baked some pitta chips to go along with it–I sprayed the cut pitta bread with olive oil spray, sprinkled with salt, smoked paprika, and dried mint, and then baked for about 15 minutes at 170 degrees C. The perfect accompaniment

Homemade yogurt hummus and pitta chips

Oh, and my son loved it too…Hummus-BONUS.

Broken Glass…Broken DREAMS!

Ok. I have a doodle. It was an art project, from my high-school art class. I had finished a previous project, with time to spare, so my awesome teacher gave me a huge piece of paper and a tiny-nibbed pen and said, ‘Go for it.’ Hence the name ‘doodle’–because I just drew whatever came to mind. Is it the best piece of art ever? No. Will it win the Turner prize? No. Do I love it? YES!

All through University, it hung over my bed, almost as a dreamcatcher. And now, that I have my own home, I have been wanting to frame it properly and hang it up. FINALLY–FINALLY–I measured the thing (American paper sizes are different to UK ones), and decided to get me a frame at IKEA.

So, I buy the frame. The next morning, I’m excited to put my doodle in this frame. I proceed to break the glass of the frame.

I then proceed to beat myself up for my innate stupidity and lack of patience.

I WOULD love you, picture frame, but you’ve broken my heart with your shoddy engineering (read: my ineptitude)!
picture copyright of madebygirl.com

Options:

• Just get  a new frame.
• Get new glass from a framing shop/glazier.
• Buy a HUGE clip frame and cut the glass down to fit my frame.
• Burn everything in a huge bonfire

I’m looking into all these options.
However, I am leaning towards cutting glass–I know, I know–not a great choice of activity for someone with the aforementioned stupidity and impatience. BUT–it might be the cheapest option, AND I can learn a handy new skill.  I’ve even had a look at this ‘How To’ video and instructions online: http://www.wikihow.com/Cut-Glass. So, in the hopefully near future–watch this space for my attempts at fixing this sham of a framing attempt!

Summer…but not summer

British summer…well, up north it is fairly non-existent. We’ve had alot of rain. Alot of humidity. And a few days of good, ol’fashioned sunshininess. Complaining–me? Never! But seriously, I can’t complain–in America, it’s currently in the 100s of degrees Fahrenheit, which, in my book, is encroaching on WTF temperatures.

The L-town crew, circa 1987

My parents are coming over soon for a visit. They haven’t seen their 9 month old grandson since he was born, so, it’s going to be a pretty exciting visit. I miss them–my parents. My sister. My best friend. I also miss my childhood and teenage years in the States–ok, not the WHOLE time. But the summers. They were the BEST.

• The vacations–to Amish country, renting a house in Ocean City, MD or in the Poconos with my aunt’s family
• playing outside
• sun-showers and running inside for a towel
• trips to the pool
• staying in our neighbours pool ALL DAY until we were ‘water-logged’
• trips out for ice-cream and sitting on the pull-down of my dad’s truck or our family’s station wagon while we ate it
• riding in the back of my dad’s flatbed truck (before it was illegal)
• waiting and then RUNNING for the ice-cream man
• the smell of newly mowed grass, even with the lawnmower/petrol smell, which, ALWAYS reminds me of my dad SO HARD that I end up aching with how much I miss him
• summer thunderstorms–and sitting outside on the carport watching the lightning crash
• Family barbecues
• visiting my grandparents and aunt, uncle, and cousins in upstate PA
• playing ALL day, with kids on the street–and later, in my teens, riding around with friends and going on road trips
• In high school–going away to the theatre festival at William and Mary College in Virginia

Our set for ‘Godspell’, 1998

• My birthday!
• Going to the shore–walking around the boardwalk and spending a small fortune trying to win candy and stuffed toys…or, in my parents case–cigarettes
• St Mikes Fair–the tilt-a-whurl is still my favourite ride!
• rolling up, at the end of summer, to the school to see what teacher we’d have that year…

There’s SO much that I remember and adore about that time. So much that I hold in my heart, and in my soul. I hope my son has just as good a time in the summer…even a northern British summer!

The Growling, Growing Baby

Does anyone else’s kid GROWL?

My kid growls. He growls.

AND he throws mighty tantrums, which are surprising not only in their intensity, but in their NEWNESS.

I never thought that these would start so early. 6+ months, and we got full tantrums. He sees, he wants, and if he can’t have–boy, oh, boy.

The first stage is a whimpering cry–saying, I want that, so, give it to me. If that doesn’t happen, it escalates to stage two, which is turning beet red and screaming even louder. Stage three is going stiff as a board, going even redder, and screaming even LOUDER. Luckily for us, this screaming baby can be thwarted with silly faces and funny noises.

He LOVES remote controls, telephone handsets, mobile phones, cameras, etc, in stereotypical man fashion. I will usually relent with the remote, but, obviously, with things that are slightly dangerous for him, I won’t cave. But more and more, I keep thinking that he needs to learn that he can’t have every thing he wants. And then I think–is that reasonable? He’s not even 1 yet! Is this a lesson he can even learn? I’m not sure, but I guess, over time, he would learn. I just didn’t think we’d have to start this early!

And maybe I should be the type of mom who teaches those lessons, instead of, I don’t know…taking pictures….

It's clobberin' time! ((c) athenapearl)

Springtime!

Springtime! (c)athenapearl

Spring has finally arrived in Britain! Ok…it’s still been overcast a few days out of the week here, but still! There has been SOME sun! Yay!

On Thursday, I took my son for a walk into town, and it was wonderful to get out and about while the sun was shining for a change! We walked around, shopped, and visited some people. As we were heading back towards home, I had a great dinner idea and stopped off for some supplies.

A few weeks ago, my husband had come back from a grocery run with a few odd bits for a tapas type meal. I say tapas, but really I mean smorgasbord. We had a little of this and a little of that–chicken, pasta salad, olives, hummus, and…miso soup. Ok, a little bit odd, perhaps, given the rest of the buffet, but still–it was really tasty! And I thought–hey! I can try something like this! And so, on this one lovely spring day, I decided to give it a go…

Springtime Miso Soup with Pork and Chive Dumplings
Ingredients:

• 1/2 large onion, finely sliced
• 1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
• 2 C button mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1-2 C choy sum, chopped (but keep the leaves whole)
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp ginger, finely chopped
• 1/2 C white wine
• 1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp light soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp red miso paste
• 1/2 tsp wasabi
• 800ml water
• packet of frozen pork and chive dumplings
• 100g rice noodles, or vermicelli

1. Heat a little oil in a pan and gently fry the onions, carrot, and ginger for a few minutes.
2. Add the sliced mushrooms, choy sum, and the garlic, and carry on frying for a few more minutes.
3. De-glaze the pan with the wine and vinegar. Let that cook off for a minute, then add the soy sauce, honey, wasabi, and miso paste. Once that is all incorporated, add the water and let simmer.
4. Follow the instructions for cooking the dumplings. Ours said to boil from frozen for 8 minutes.
5. Add the rice noodles to the soup, and cook for 3 minutes (or however long yours need). Add the cooked dumplings, and let the assembled soup simmer for a few minutes.
6. Serve!

Springtime Miso Soup (c)athenapearl

This was a light and delicious soup. I garnished ours with some cilantro, but to be honest, it was a little overpowering. We didn’t have any, but shiitake mushrooms would have been a great addition, and probably a bit more authentic! Also, as we didn’t have any mirin, I just used the white wine. This type of soup is great because each person can add an individual touch, like more wasabi to taste–or chilli paste, lime, or anything else you fancy. I also had bought some char sui buns, and steamed those over the dumplings as they were boiling. All together, it was a light, but very filling meal!

My Blueberry Weekend…

This past weekend was a blueberry weekend. By that, I mean that I used a fair amount of blueberries. Ok–I used blueberries in 2 things, but they were DELICIOUS things.

My first experiment was to make Ina Garten’s (or the ‘Barefoot Contessa”s) Blueberry Crumb Cake–which is basically a streusel cake. Streusel is a crumb topping of butter, flour, and sugar, and in this case–some cinnamon and nutmeg too.

Ina Garten's Blueberry Crumble Cake (by athenapearl)

First things first–the blueberries. Now, I had read somewhere that if you flour the blueberries before putting them in the batter, they won’t sink to the bottom of the cake. I floured the blueberries. THEY SUNK. So, with some further thought, next time I make this cake I’m going to set aside the blueberries, put 2/3 of the batter in the cake pan, sprinkle in the blueberries, and then top with the remaining batter…and then the streusel, as per the recipe instructions. With this recipe, I used 3 regular sized eggs instead of the 2 extra-large eggs, and I didn’t have any brown sugar, so I used Demerara sugar. This may have made the streusel a little more crunchy than it should have been, but nonetheless tasty.

Homemade apple, banana, and blueberry baby food (by athenapearl)

Blueberry experiment number 2: I made some homemade baby food for my son. I made it using an apple, a banana, and the leftover blueberries from the punnet I used for the cake recipe. My kid LOVED it. It was great on its own, or mixed with some baby rice for a ‘breakfast’-y alternative.

So–2 great ways to use 1 punnet of blueberries!

How do you like to use your blueberries?
Any great recipes you’d like to share?

Pajama Mom

from hubimg.com

Recently, I read an article on Babble.com on the debate of ‘dirty’ moms vs. ‘primped’ moms.  I have to admit, if I had to label myself with either of those titles, I would be the former. However, in reality, I am not ‘dirty’ in the sense that I’m unclean–although I will admit that there have been occasions when I haven’t managed to get in the shower for a few days.

 

I consider myself what I’m going to call a ‘pajama’ mom. And apparently, I’m not alone in this. Even before I had my son, even before I was pregnant, I’ve been the type of person who comes home and gets in her pajamas–even if I was already wearing something comfortable. I really can’t say why. I tend to be a couch potato–not necessarily watching telly all the time, but I like to sit, relax, get comfy. And pajamas are the best way to get comfy.  Background story is that I had a C-section. After I got released from the hospital, even some of the yoga trousers I wore almost religiously during pregnancy felt tight around my sore tummy. I tried on some normal jeans that were a size larger than my pre-pregnancy ones, and although they fit, the structure around my tummy felt horrible. Not tight, just WRONG. So I kept on wearing yoga trousers and pajama bottoms whenever I could. I switch it up more now, but I still wear the comfy things on a day-to-day basis. I keep my hair tied back (because my boy LOVES hair and will grab it if he can), my glasses on, and my outfit as comfortable and breastfeeding friendly as possible. That’s it. Make-up–only if I’m going into town, and only if I can manage it. It’s not the top priority.

The thing that people really need to keep and mind, and what is an interesting part of this dirty vs. pimped debate,  is that mothers are really sensitive. Myself totally included. Some of us are insecure, whether it’s because we’re first-time moms, or just because that’s our nature. In general though, most of us are just immediately on the defensive because once you have a kid, people come out of the woodwork to give their opinions on what you’re doing. People are always coming to us with advice. But its an odd thing–there are times we WANT advice and times we DON’T. We DON’T want to hear that you think what we’re doing is wrong. That should be a given with most people–something that would register as ‘rude’. But it doesn’t. People will tell you that you’re feeding your child wrong. That your baby is small. That your baby is really big for his age. Sure, many things are said with all good thoughts and intentions behind them. Then again, some people are trying to be rude. They’re trying to get at you. Luckily, I’ve only come across the former. I’ve known people who’ve been on the receiving end of some extremely rude comments. For example, a friend from high school on a social networking site was criticised openly for having 3 children and not being in a relationship with any of their respective fathers. She’s a good mother. She takes care of her kids, has a job, and makes a home for them. But that gets tossed aside once some people hear that she’s not with a man.  Number 1, why is it anyone’s business so long as her kids are happy and well cared for? Number 2, it’s not a blame game. Some relationships don’t work out.

It’s a bit ridiculous that someone has to almost justify why they’re not all dressed up to take their kid to baby massage or to the supermarket.  And oppositely, why some women are sneered at for having their hair done or make-up perfect–as if they were being selfish. It’s a double-edged sword, moms. And seemingly, we’re judged by a lot of people. Whether it’s being looked down on for wearing trackie-bottoms while walking your baby through the park, or for not having your kid in cloth nappies, or for breastfeeding in public–some people think they have the right to say rude things to you, or simply judge your parenting.
The trick is not to care.

Being Pregnant–the things they don’t tell you…

In my last post, about having a baby (more like living with a baby), a friend commented and asked me what I feared whilst pregnant. So, I thought I’d make another list!

1. You fear for your safety, but at the same time feel solid as a rock.
Naturally, your instinct will be to protect yourself, of course. This, I think, heightens when you’re pregnant. You worry about something prodding your belly. About people targetting you for a mugging or something because you can’t run away fast enough or because you’re more likely to do what they want because you want to protect your child. Or you worry about tripping, because you’re clumsy anyway, and hey! your sense of space is off because you’re not used to so much girthage. BUT, at the same time you feel almost…invincible. I don’t know if that’s the right word. Personally, I felt right. Like, this is the perfect place for me right now, and I am a ‘goddess’. Seriously. You feel golden.

2. You fear childbirth, the pain–sure, but more about shitting the bed whilst doing it.
Ok, this is self-explanatory. But let me say, which most women will tell you, you do not care at all when you’re in the middle of it. So many people saw my who-ha and me just at my WORST, but I didn’t care AT ALL. I could barely see straight. Believe me, when you’re in the middle of childbirth, you’re thinking about other stuff.

3. Towards D-Day, you start to think ‘What the hell did I sign up for?’.
Again, I think this is natural. It’s akin to performance anxiety–will I be a good parent? What’s labour going to feel like? Will my baby be ok?  All those questions come to the fore, and you start to freak out a bit.

4. You really worry that something will be wrong with your baby before it’s even born.
They give you pamphlets, usually before you’re second big screening, that list pretty much everything and anything that can be wrong with your baby. Including that he or she could be born without the top of their head. For realsies. This is NOT what you want to hear. You can’t worry about this stuff, but you will. At every screening, and for days before hand.

5. You worry about having a miscarriage or stillbirth.
This is almost a taboo subject. And even writing this makes me cringe or want to cry. It’s the darker side of the above, you will worry–pretty much throughout your pregnancy–about the possibilty of miscarriage. It does happen. And it’s heartbreaking. But like so many scary things in life, you just can’t think about them. You’ll go insane. The thing to remember is that the statistics they give you take into account miscarriages that occur before the 4 week mark. Miscarriage is tragic at any point in a pregnancy, but before 4 weeks, many women don’t even know they’re pregnant. However, in this modern age, with pregnancy tests telling giving you a plus or a minus even days before your period’s due, it makes pregnancy at the forefront of many of our minds.

6. It’s a bit selfish, but you worry that your body will never be the same.
Whether it’s the additional inches on your ass, the criss-crossing red marks on your now flabby stomach, or the weird state of your bajingo–you worry about ‘bouncing back’. Me–I’ve always had a bad body image–so this was a concern for me, I’m not gonna lie. But your pregnant body—is awesome. Like I said before, I felt so right. And I LOVED my tummy. I felt tired and encumbered at times, but I adored that big, but pert belly. It’s the post-game that’s a bit of a bitch.

Having a baby–the things they don’t tell you…

…and if they DO tell you, you won’t believe them.

Well…I went and had a kid.

Now, I don’t want to start yammering on about what labour and c-sections are like, so don’t worry…but I DID want to go through some of the things that you just don’t hear often enough, or believe even when people tell you…for starters–

1. You really DO want to yammer on about labour and c-sections…but I won’t.

2. They tell you that your life will change, irrevocably, but you don’t realise that truth until it happens to you. 
Yeah, it sounds silly, doesn’t it? Of COURSE your life will change! You know that, right? Wrong. You don’t know until it happens, and when it happens, you can’t believe it.

3. You worry about hurting the baby, especially at first.
Am I holding him right? What if I drop him? tThis disapates once you get used to handling your baby. However, then, other random scenarios will sporadically pop into your head. What if I trip coming down the stairs while holding him? What if something falls on his head while he’s playing on the floor? This will never really go away–so I’ve been told.

4. You want to/will cry when your health visitor/midwife/doctor tells you that your baby isn’t putting on enough weight.
It feels like a slap across the face with a 1-2 punch to the gut. You feel like you’re not taking care of your child. Other parents will tell you that it is not the end of the world–your kid could be a slow grower, or just small, and that it’s just a chart someome made up, for Pete’s sake! But–it still sucks when you hear it.

5. You can get lonely.
If you don’t make friends with some of the mommies in whichever classes you take your kid to, you’re going to get lonely. Basically, it is just you and the kid for most of the day–so, try and make as many play dates and get-together’s as possible. To tie into this–be aware that you will most likely SUCK at responding to emails and getting back to people. In the beginning, you might not even know what day it is. Also, some friends will be there for you no matter what, and others might leave you be. Having a kid is a life-changing thing, and some people won’t really get that. That’s just life though, I guess.

6. You won’t feel like yourself any more.
Ok, so this sorta goes with ‘things change’, but it’s way more personal. Yoor mind works differently. You notice that maybe you’re more patient, or more diligent, or that you get flustered way more than you thought–any bevy of new character traits may arise or be magnified. Also, your body has been through something totally nutso. Hormones are CRAZY and physically you’re SO run down and puffed out. You’re not used to not being pregnant, and you’re not what you were pre-pregnancy. It makes you feel like you don’t know who you are  anymore.

ADDITION: In addendum to the above, you sortof end up feeling like the queen of a whole new world–one where you’re expected to know what to do at all times, and how to do it. You’re expected to know the language, and answer all questions. But you don’t know the language, and it’s hard to learn! But you, you’re still responsible for SO much that it does completely change you. How you perceive, how you act, and how you handle situations.

Smokey Apple Chicken Thighs

Awhile ago, a friend of mine (YoungWifey), posted a recipe for delicious apple smoked turkey tenderloin. I made it (with chicken breasts) and loved it! The other day, I had some chicken thighs defrosting, but wanted to make something simple and all in one pot/pan. I looked up recipes and decided to make up my own–whilst stealing a bit of inspiration from YoungWifey too…

INGREDIENTS

• 5 large chicken thighs (on the bone), washed with skin on (mine still had some backbone on, which I chose to cut out, whilst leaving the rest of the bones, but do what you feel)
• 1 medium to large apple (any variety)
• 10-12 small or new potatoes–honestly, just put in as many as will fit across the bottom of the pan without piling on top of one another
• 1 large onion, cut into large wedges
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 large stalk of celery, cut into large chunks
• 100 ml of white wine
• 100 ml of apple juice (I used apple and pear)
• 1 1/2 tsp of smoked paprika
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp of dried mint
• 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1 Tbsp of olive oil

THE PROCEDURE

1. Preheat your oven to 200 C/180 C for fan assisted ovens.
2. Wash your chicken thighs. Pat them dry with some kitchen towel, and then, taking a sharp knife, score the skin.
3. Wash and thinly slice your apple. Place a few of the apple slices underneath the skin of each thigh. Any leftover apple can be added to the vegetables later.
4. Wash your potatoes and cut them in half if they’re small, or into even smaller chunks if they’re larger. You want pieces about an inch and a half/2 inches thick. I left the skins on mine, but you can peel them if you prefer. Once these are cut, throw them into a baking/roasting pan.
5. Cut your onion and celery and add those to the potatoes along with any leftover apple.
6. Place your chicken thighs on top of the vegetables, skin side up.
7. In a small bowl, or measuring cup, mix together your wine, juice, olive oil, garlic and spices. I put my garlic through a press to get the most out of it. Once mixed, pour over the chicken and vegetables. Sprinkle some extra seasonings (I used a spice blend) onto the chicken skin, and pour over a bit more olive oil.
8. Place in the middle of the oven, and bake (uncovered) for about 40 minutes. After about 25 minutes, pull it out and baste the chicken with the juices. Don’t worry too much if the chicken skin gets dark–mine did, but it wasn’t burnt just caramelised a bit. If you are burning, just flip them over for a bit, being careful not to tear the skin on top. Check the chicken again after 40 minutes–if the juices run clear, then its good to go as long as the potatoes are tender too. If it’s still running pink, then pop it back in the oven and check it again every 5 minutes or so until the juices run clear.
9. I served this simply with some peas (microwaved from the freezer), but it would work well with any green vegetables you like. The peas added to the sweetness of the apple for me, so I really liked this combination.

The only thing I should add to these instructions is to keep an eye on the liquid. I didn’t measure precisely, I must confess, but it wouldn’t be a problem, if after the 25 minute check, you removed some of the liquid. It will reduce in the oven, however. I basically had enough liquid in to cover up to a little less than half the vegetables.

Also, if you don’t like chicken on the bone, and would rather use chicken breast or deboned thighs, you might have to experiment by cooking the vegetables for 20 minutes or so without the chicken, and then adding the chicken later so it doesn’t dry out. If doing this, I would also add some chicken stock to the liquid (possibly instead of the wine) for added chicken flavour.