1st easter

I've felt a bit guilty over the past year for not making each event a grandiose budget busting newspaper worthy affair. But when i stop and think logically about it i feel better in the end, after all she wont remember most of these days and most of the money + time spent would be for us.

Today will be no different.

When i was a kid and had my first Easter with my adoptive mother i remember waking up to a big basket of toys and goodies at the foot of the bed. Even though she probably wont remember it i want to have a similar experience to me so I bought her first Easter basket and filled it with a few 1 year old friendly items.

For eggs i just used vinegar and red cabbage which i then boiled and placed in the refrigerator overnight so the color would set then deepen.

I was going to use turmeric as well for some yellow ones but i only had so much time on my hands. 

Anyways if your interested in giving it a try the basic instructions are below:

Cut up some red cabbage, i used half a head and sliced it into smaller pieces so the color would really seep out quickly.

Add your eggs to room temp. water, a 1 year old can only eat so many so i used four. 

Then 2-3 tbsp of white vinegar and 1 quart of water, or slightly more if you have a lot of cabbage.

Add the cabbage then turn on he heat til it boils. Let it boil for 10 minutes then turn it off, let it sit til cool. at this point transfer to the refrigerator overnight. In the morning you will have nice blue eggs waiting for you're L.O. to eat, hunt, and enjoy however he/she sees fit. Just be sure to let air dry as the color can be wiped off until it is dry, you can also use a hairdryer on low (or no if you have the option) heat.

Happy Easter!!!

Vacationers blues

As we sit here, early for a late flight, I'm forced to think about the lessons I've learned today:

1. Motion sickness spitup smells worse than regular day to day spit-up. MUCH worse.
2. Always, Always, Always pack a spare set of clothes for the baby in the diaper bag.
3. Boiled crawfish are better on Fridays.
4. Discount bins at drug stores rock for finding cheap toys.
5. Vacations are draining and only fun for the baby.
6. Apparently a bottle of orange juice next to a bottle of formula make the TSAs spidey senses tingle.

Today is the day

That we go to the doctor for more shots. I feel as though i hear taps being played in the background whenever i get up on a day that includes doctor visits for the baby. Unsurprisingly Madison HATES shots....as do I since I'm the one who has to force her to get them and then calm her cries of "Waaaaah" which loosely translates from babynese to "When i'm sixteen i'm so going to get even by crashing your car into a tree." 

Crazy eyes AKA chipmunk and me at the doctor.

Still its one of those things that HAS to be done, and for those who aren't parents yet I've got some bad news, they get them every 3 months. Even worse is that after 2 or 3 times simply bringing them to the office they know whats coming so the screams of horror begin immediately.

Tip: One way to keep her from going into a frenzy post shot is to reassure her and give her a bottle. Cel phones and keys are another way if you're short on formula/milk, anything to get their mind off of it.

Blueberry Lemon cake with vanilla buttercream frosting

or: Madisons first birthday cake!

First birthdays only come around once a lifetime so i figured what better way to celebrate than to make one from scratch here at home. After all, the store bought ones are so impersonal right? Plus i had been dying to break in my new stand mixer!

How did this lovely piece of heaven come to be you ask? 

Ingredients needed:

3-1/3 cups all purpose flour

.5 teaspoons of kosher salt

.5 teaspoons baking powder

.5 teaspoons baking soda

1.5 sticks of room temperature unsalted butter

2 cups sugar 

1/3 cup of lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest 

4 eggs

1 cup + of buttermilk

2.5 cups of blueberries

Frosting

2 sticks unsalted room temp butter

1 lb confectioners sugar

2 tablespoons whole milk room temperature

.5 teaspoons vanilla extract 

Start by sifting 3-1/3 cups of flour, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda into a bowl.

Set aside and in a separate bowl cream together 1.5 sticks (3/4 cups) of room temperature unsalted butter and 2 cups of sugar. You'll know its done once it looks light and fluffy and you cant see granules of sugar. 

Grate 1 teaspoon of lemon zest and add to the mixture. Beware, lemon graters and thumbs dont play well together....

Add in 1/3 cup of lemon juice to the wet mixture. To that beat in 4 eggs one at a time, it should be nice and yellow when you're done.

With your mixer set to a very low speed sift in your dry ingredients a bit at a time and 1 cup of buttermilk. Alternate adding in dry and wet about 1/4 of each at a time. 

After its all combined gently fold in (by hand using a spatula) 2 cups of blueberries. 

Next fill an three 8 inch round nonstick cake pans with 1/3 of the mixture and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until its done and a toothpick, inserted into the center comes out clean.I sifted flour on mine to help it come out clean but you can also use cooking spray or nothing at all if you fancy. 

Let cool completely then transfer to a wire rack until you are ready to ice and stack. 

Now, the FROSTING!!!

Cream 2 sticks of room temp unsalted butter in a large bowl then with the mixer on its lowest speed slowly add 1 lb of powdered confectioners sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of room temperature whole milk. 

Once done, place your first layer on a cake tray or plate, ice the top of it, then place the second tier on top. Repeat to the top then ice the sides. Be sure its cooled completely as it will make the icing thin out and drip. 

When done, decorate the top with remaining blueberries and if its your first birthday, oodles of sparkly candles. 

I would say it was a success.

Facebook

Just an FYI to all my billions of readers (hey its good to have a goal to aim for right?) we have a facebook page to accompany this here blog.

Link.

Compost in the kitchen

Im an earth nut AND a gardening nut which means anything that combines recycling and beefing up my plants is an automatic no brainer. Since we are in a new home and my outdoor compost heap hasn't been built yet i wanted a way to start my heap indoors that didnt stink up the joint.

Then, she stepped into my life.....

The Norpro kitchen compost crock is an odorless way to save all your kitchen scraps and turn them into compost and it doesn't look too shabby to boot.  I cook most if not all of my food from scratch, I mean, I even feel guilty for using pre-made pie crusts.....THE SHAME! So this usually means lots of rinds and berries and stems and shavings with nowhere to go except the trash. This solved that problem, it eats a good amount of trash without using red wigglers (i dont think there would be enough oxygen for worms to survive in there) and once its done you can go straight to your garden or flower pots with the brown gold known as compost. 

The black thing on top is the air filter to keep all the methane smells at bay. 

I highly suggest this one for any gardeners or even if you just have house plants and want to keep them in best of health. 

For some info on HOW to compost, check out this link, or the book "Compost" by Ken Thompson its not particularly difficult but there are a few things to keep in mind: acidity, moisture level, temperature, worms if you choose to use them, nitrogen levels. It may sound confusing but its very easy after you do a wee bit of reading. 

Adoption finalized!

For those who dont know how adoption works, here is a brief summary of how it goes:

1) Party A decides is wants a baby and since natural birth isnt an option for one reason or another they start searching for a party B

2) Party B meets party A and decides to give them their child.

3) Birth takes place, preliminary paperwork is signed and child goes into custody of party A

4) Courts go over documents and there is a long back and forth between the Courts and the lawyer hired by party A.

5) Once everything is in order (in our case 1 year later) the paperwork is signed and our status is updated from "glorified baby sitters" to "Official fathers".

That was a long process but i am happy its finally complete. Now, time to find her a little brother!

Chicharrones de Pollo aka Dominican style cracklin chicken

There are a few things i will never forget in this lifetime,  the birth of my daughter, my wedding day, the first time i set foot on foreign soil, and the first time i sunk my teeth into Dominican fried chicken. It was a great little Dominican restaurant called El Conuco complete with live dancing, lots of great music and side dishes that made me feel complete. A word of advice for travelling abroad, if you like to cook and enjoy the local cuisine buy spices at the local market to bring back with you....many times you cannot find the same things at home and they often cost little to nothing by comparison when you buy them overseas.

But i digress......CHICKEN!!!

the above served a home, complete with all the fixins'

Since i cant afford to fly to Santo Domingo every time i want to get my fix i decided to make it at home, what follows is the recipe that will turn you into an immediate Chicharrones de Pollo addict.

First you will need to make your marinade, its really the key to the whole conglomeration:


First take some garlic, about 4 cloves should do.

To easily access the garlic press down on it with a knife and it will pop right out of its little shell.

Then mince it or use a garlic press and add to a large bowl. Then get your limes ready, you will need enough lime juice for a cup so i would recommend at least 10-12 depending on how juicy they are. Roll them with the palm of your hand to get them to release their juices before you cut into them.

Cut em, juice em, and add em to the bowl. The add your soy sauce (4 Tbsp) + Worcestershire (2 Tbsp)  

Add your cut up chicken to the marinade, i use both breasts and legs with bone in but you can do whatever type you want. Typically when you go to a restaurant in Dominican republic and order this dish you will get legs that have been fried and chopped into pieces but since my household prefers white meat i add in breast pieces. 

Traditions-shmaditions...

After it has sat for at least a few hours, (not overnight though as you dont want the lime juice to turn the chicken into a ceviche) you can begin to make your dry ingredients which you will dredge the chicken pieces in before tossing them in your fryer (or pot of hot oil).

Combine 2 cups of flour, 2 Tsp of paprika, and Salt and pepper to taste to a paper bag. I only had a leftover diesel bag which, while nice looking in its own right, is absolutely horrible for dredging chicken as it all came out of the sides. If you dont have a paper bag you can just put it in a bowl but the paper bag absorbs some of the moisture and makes for a better even coating. Shake it up in the bag, then grab some tongs.

set your deep fryer to 350, or if your using a pot like me you may have to just do it by eye and check each piece as it comes out.

Drop in 3 or 4 pieces at a time keeping in mind larger pieces and pieces with bones will take longer to cook than boneless breast pieces. 

When its done it should look like this....Serve with tostones a very easy recipe can be found here, and some nice white rice + beans. 

And dont forget your Presidente!!!

Taken from an original recipe by Hector Rodriguez 

If theres one thing baby needs

Its a brand new moustache

Only 10.99.

Homemade peanut butter

My resolution for this new year is: I will never again buy peanut butter. Ever.

When something is this ridiculously easy to make and to tailor to your personal taste why would you pay for a watered down over processed version? Not to mention the recent recalls due to salmonella.

All you need is a food processor (you can get a decent one for 25 bucks at JC Penney), some peanuts (i chose plain lightly salted), and whatever you want to add. I chose honey as it sweetens it naturally and also adds some needed pliability to the mixture. Depending on your preference also have some oil handy, peanut, vegetable, any type is fine. 

Add the peanuts to the processor and if your processor has an option to grind, select that in order to save your blade from unnecessary wear until it begins to look like this:

 Then switch to regular chop, or whatever your machine does for finer purees.

Eventually it will get thinner and softer releasing the natural peanut oil, if you want it softer and thinner you can add a tiny bit of oil. 1/4 teaspoon at a time as you really don't want to overdo it. Finally add your seasonings, anything you prefer, honey, ginger, chocolate, paprika (if you like a bit of spice!). 

If you have a baby like i do you can use agave sweetener as honey can't be taken by them until their systems can handle it. 1 year of age is the recommendation, also their mouths are more sensitive so any sweetener you DO add you only need a very small amount. 

Lastly, bottle it up and store on the shelf or the fridge. It can last in a tight container for 3 to 4 months, but who keeps peanut butter that long?!?! 

This batch will be lucky to survive the night. 

Making your own baby food

Did you know baby food from the grocery store contains acid? Acid which is intended to preserve it for a long shelf life, but acid nonetheless and it can cause acid reflux in babies. Not to mention the BPA added to plastics on the lids and baby food recalls that seemingly happen at least once per year. For the first 9 months  i chose to cook my little ones food from scratch, it may sound daunting especially considering time constraints but its considerably easier than it sounds. Add in the money you save and its a no brainer.

You will need freezing trays, i chose Green sprouts variety as they were inexpensive and held a lot of 2oz cubes. I also got a Cuisinart  processor which was also inexpensive and it really works well in my daily cooking when i need to make a coulis or any other puree. The book is completely optional, it has a lot of good recipes but in hindsight most of it is common sense.

The easiest, cheapest, and most loved item i made for baby was pureed sweet potatoes. All you need to do is skin them with a peeler, cut into chunks, then boil until softened. Puree with a little water then fill your trays to the top, cover with plastic wrap, then freeze. Once its frozen pop them out into a Ziploc bag and label them with the name and date.

Most foods hold for about a month so if you do one day of cooking every other week you can always have a freezer stocked with a good variety of healthy homemade food.

Theres a whole list of what holds well in the freezer, most fruit + vegetables hold well, chicken is good also.

Give it a try, youll be so happy you did.

Laundry? ain't nobody got time for that!

How to do laundry when parenting a mobile infant 

1) wash + dry while trying to entertain, feed, and generally keep the baby in one piece. Typically it goes over without a problem, except that one time.....of which i swore never to speak again. 

2) Place dry laundry in basket, and try to fold while my helper attempts to lend a hand. By lend a hand i mean rip everything out of the basket as soon as possible and then climb in thereby making it her private lounge area. 

3) Distract child with a sippy cup or non-spill snack cup. Then furiously fold everything and pile it in the basket, do this quickly before she notices whats going on then rushes back to undo everything you've just done.

That blur in the upper left corner? thats a baby....yes they're THAT fast, so beware.

4) Relax for 5 minutes and try to catch up on what's happening on todays episode of Days of Our Lives.

Cheaper the second time around.

I've recently discovered the beauty of 2nd hand clothes...initially i was petrified of giving my child anything not shiny new and pre-dipped in bleach never touched by any other human being on earth. OK, maybe im exaggerating, but only a little.

Anyways baby clothes are not cheap and when you factor in how quickly they grow out of them it makes no sense to go on $2000 Dolce & Gabbana shopping sprees with her considering it will only fit for about a month. That's where second hand clothing comes into play, i've found some nice name brand clothing for dirt cheap on places like eBay and considering its children's clothing its usually barely worn. I got the below Hilfiger dress for a measly 10 dollars and it looks even better in person.

Now if i can only find a matching pair of Mary Janes and a decent handbag we will be in business! 

Baby has a cold day three...hundred fifty four

No, im really not joking, she has had a cold since she was born....or at least that's how it seems.

According to the pediatrician babies tend to have minor colds for the first year as their immune systems develop and unless the fever gets to 100.4 there's no cause for alarm. So its good to know its no big deal, right? now please tell that to my almost 1 year old.

Parents used to suck the gook out of their babies noses back in the day when they were congested, and being someone who was born in the wrong decade my first inclination was to do just that. Then, in steps my pediatrician (so to speak) and advised against it as it can cause further infection. YIKES! so on to plan B

The Super powered Snot Sucker-5000!

Well, its actually called the Graco Nasal Clear Nasal Aspirator. I like my name better. It plays music and vacuums out the little ones nose and has a little reservoir on the bottom so you can see all the ick thats coming out. 

As if parenthood weren't gross enough already, you can see every booger as it is slowly extracted in living color! 

Diapers Diapers, Diapers

One of the most important first steps i took on he long road of fatherhood was deciding what to cover my babes bottom in. Disposable diapers weren't an option  because, dolphins and whales and blah blah blah, so my attention next turned to cloth diapers. Cloth diapers are about as old fashioned and romantic as it gets when it comes to child rearing, only second to having a morning delivery of milk from the friendly neighborhood milkman, but the work! The idea of washing, drying, folding et al of diapers was a bit daunting, not to mention the idea of the leaks and smells.

SO my attention turned to a hybrid by the name of G-diapers

The exterior is cloth, and there is a plastic liner which runs the length of the diaper 

and inside the liner is a giant maxi pad type contraption that absorbs all manner of ick. When she goes pee or poo i just remove the liner, either flush, toss, or (if im feeling adventurous) compost then replace the pad and we're done. Occasionally the plastic part will get a bit of poo on it, but that comes off in a snap (literally) by removing the plastic liner, rinsing it, giving it a rub with a bleach pen, then hanging over the sink to dry. 

To flush the pad just yank, rip, then drop in the toilet and swish around using the patented swish stick. Something i used to do, but considering its biodegradable i don't have too much guilt sending it to the local landfill knowing it wont be there TOO long. 

If asked to review Gdiapers, and i know you're totally asking, the only con i would list would be that they dont offer nighttime pads and since the mini-me sleeps from 9 pm to 7 am usually she wakes up with a wet front. If they made a nighttime variety i would certainly purchase it as she needs extra absorption in the overnight hours. Maybe ill try doubling it. Maybe not. 

If you plan to sell them as you go up in sizes, and trust me you will want to as they go through sizes every 4 or 5 months, i suggest hand washing and line drying. That way the velcro stays nice and taught and it ends up looking good as new wear after wear. 

HAPPY DIAPERING!!!

Baby has a cold....CHICKEN SOUP TIME

This winter has been rough, it seems like every week one of the three of us has a cold or flu. Now the baby AND I have a cold which means lots of runny noses, lots of sneezing, and plenty of tears. The baby cries a bit too...

Looks like a case for my Cure-All Chicken Soup:

I don't do anything particularly special for my variety, the main difference between mine and other peoples is i start by frying the chicken at a medium-high temp  in a pan with a good hefty sprinkling of Adobo seasoning....dont be stingy with it, REALLY load it up as most of the flavor comes from the little flavor bombs aka chicken pieces.

While its cooking i start simmering 2 or 3 cups of chicken broth, to this i add diced carrots, diced celery, 1 large diced onion, 2 bay leaves, oregano, sage, pepper, garlic, and a dash (or more) of powdered chicken bouillon.

Once the chicken is cooked almost all the way and browned on one or both sides i take it out, dice it or shred it by hand then add it to my already stewing pot. Let it stew for a good 30 minutes and if add your noodles, let it stew 7-8 more minutes and your done. Just be sure to toss the bay leaves out, theyre arent fun to discover accidentally when youre in the middle of drinking a nice helping of warm broth.

Oh, and be sure to use your oldest most treasured bowl/utensils for eating, 50% of the part of the cure in this recipe comes from love and care that's put into the process so presentation is EVERYTHING.

Public speaking with children is apparently not the easiest thing

Great message and very cute kids.

Time to perform a jedi mind meld.

Link

Apparently mr mom is dead.....

Or so ive heard.

Many things bother me about being a father in today's mom controlled world, but the term Mr Mom isnt one of them. I can understand the thought process behind it, however if the reasoning behind dislike of the term is that men find it emasculating then maybe we should reevaluate why it is being compared to a woman is offensive. 

If anything becoming a father without having a mother in the picture has made me MORE appreciative of  the slew of stay at home moms around the world who do the job i do and make it look easy! This is all while cooking a four course meal, balancing the checkbook, dropping off 3 to school and breastfeeding twins.

All at the same time. 

Tree hugging non-hippy

Ever since i was a youngin ive been concerned with my carbon footprint, i would venture to say well before the term carbon footprint was even coined (how hipster of me, no?)....I was so concerned with my carbon footprint that i always thought i will probably never be a father because babies use up so many resources and the diapers aren't biodegradable.

Fast forward 20 years, and one child, and my view has changed on the subject have been definitely been refined. Raising a baby can definitely be done without tossing out a metric ton of plastic diapers per week it just takes a bit of effort and spending a few extra dollars.

WHEW! what an intro just to say: im buying a second hand ride-on today!!! I always try to buy her larger plastic toys second hand because

A) they're completely reusable and it makes no sense to buy + throw out something that is so easily recyclable

B) its cheaper that way, so the extra dollars i spend on purchasing her G-Diapers i save on buying some of her toys.


without any further ado, the Step 2 whisper ride buggy

Yes, it is blue. Yes, i have a daughter. Take THAT gender stereotypes....HA!

Things baby loves:

One of the first steps i made towards moving away from bottle feeding for Madison was buying her a sippy cup. I lucked out on this one because this thing is awesome, it doesn't leak unless you hold it upside down for long periods of time and it was a great way to get her to drink things on her own. Even before she could hold a bottle by herself (around 6 or 7 months) she was using her sippy cup which made things just a wee bit easier for dear old pop.

The Munchkin 7 oz Click Lock sippy cup aka the 7oz Munchkin Training cup

The bumbling father trope

Really needs to be put to rest. Yes there is a slew of ignoramus' parading as fathers (and mothers) but there are plenty of us who work very hard to ensure our little ones are well taken care of, and do so quite well.

Its good to see the topic getting more and more attention lately, in February the NY Times published an article covering the Dad 2.0 summit where blogging dads from around the nation meet to discuss the current state of things for dads in today's marketing world. A lot of major advertisers are finally catching on that we aren't the hapless dimwits we have been portrayed as over the past 3/4 of a century ever since televisions began broadcasting what a typical american family was like into our daily lives.

Kudos especially to Huggies for correcting themselves when the issue was brought to light and doing a complete 180 on the topic.

Sure we still have a long way to go before i'll be able to go shopping at a local grocery store and not have a line of women ask me "where is the mother??" and "there's no way YOU are taking care of that baby by yourself", but at least things appear to be swinging in the right direction. 

BRB....time to put that "One and done" title to the test. 

Saturday morning blues

Yet another Saturday morning...

After sleeping off a meal of tarragon chicken courtesy of Laura Calders "French Food at Home" cookbook (which I 100% recommend) and a homemade berry tart which is currently on life support i need to decide how to spend the day.

Typically i go to the gym on Saturdays so i can finally get this gut whipped back into submission, and since my husband is able to stay home with the baby i get some much needed air. The question is, do i break out the motorcycle from its long winter slumber or do i take the more responsible way out, the Prius.


Baby is awake....time for breakfast.