For the love of Yeast

I should be doing laundry right now. I can hear my mother chiming in over my shoulder telling me “if you just did a load, put it in the dryer and folded and put it away right then and there you wouldn’t have such a mountain and such a mess.” She’s right. But lucky me the laundry is hidden far away in the basement on the cold cement floor with some floating cobwebs whispering about. Now you want to go down there and do it? Often times I forget I even have a load in and I have to re wash it. Now you see why I am in the exact predicament I am in.

It is because today I keep dreaming of yeast. Of buttery brioche, of warm cinnamon buns slathered in cream cheese icing, of honey wheat bread toasted with some ricotta cheese and honey. All of that is just so much more appealing than doing laundry don’t you think? Id so much rather be elbow deep in flour than knee deep in my horrendous laundry piles.

Because its late morning while I’m musing all about yeast and its amazing possibilities, it’s a bit late in the day to start some of those items. I for one am an early morning baker who is at her best at 6am after a large iced coffee with milk and sugar and of course with a straw and always iced, never hot. I figure I’ve got time for easy yeast. Which got me thinking of PIZZA DOUGH! Now my pizza can be savory or sweet or maybe both. I’m in one of those kinds of moods. As much as I love the all-daytime consuming recipes sometimes the one-bowl five-minute masterpieces are a refreshing change. And because I still want to watch jersey girl while Nate takes a hopeful 2 and half hour nap. This pizza dough is super fast and super versatile. All you need is one bowl, a few hours and a warmish place. Or just turn your AC off when you leave the house for the day or for an errand.

PIZZA DOUGH:

3 cups all purpose flour

1 and ¼ cup very warm water

¾ tsp. dry active yeast

1 tbsp. honey

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

½ tsp. kosher salt

Because sometimes I don’t feel like picking dough off my fingernails I like to wear disposable gloves to mix the dough. But I always wash my hands well with soap and water before cooking. Number one rule in the kitchen, you had better start with clean hands.

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients, mix well with your hands and knead on your counter for a few minutes until the dough is soft and satiny. As with all bread type dough’s if it feels a little too sticky add a bit of flour to the counter and knead in. if the dough is a little too dry add some water.

Spray that very same bowl you mixed the dough in with some non-stick cooking spray, place your dough in and cover with a clean kitchen towel.

Leave to rise for a few hours or until doubled in size. You can proof in the oven if you’ve got the proofing mode and if you are in a rush. Just pay attention to the dough size. Alternatively you can allow the dough to rise over night in the fridge and use the next day. I have never frozen it but I can’t imagine why that would not work. I have frozen and defrosted the pizza dough from trader Joes and that has always been just fine.

When the dough is ready, preheat your oven to 400, I have a pizza setting on my oven so I just hit that button and slide a sheet pan in to warm. Roll the dough out the length of the sheet pan; be careful when taking the pan out of the oven! Drizzle a little olive oil on the tray and working carefully spread the dough on the pan and push to the corners with your fingers. Top with your favorite sauce and cheese or veggie combo and bake until the dough is lightly browned and the cheese is hot and bubbly, about 15 to 20 minutes.

While I sat here meandering yeast dough’s and pizza I thought about the grapes that sadly were not going to make it another few days. I guess you can say that I can easily food compartmentalize ;) Of course ill throw those babies in the freezer and whip up a fruit smoothie courtesy of my 30^th early birthday present, my new favorite countertop appliance, the vitamix. Even Nate loves these fruit smoothies. He guzzled down my drink the other day and left me an inch in the cup and drooling trail of snot on the straw. Thanks Nate. But I am a HUGE fan of the savory and the sweet and my food wheels in my head start churning “oooh! Grapes and ricotta! And black olives and oregano…and I’ve got a red onion and oh my god I have to throw basil on that just because I planted basil and I haven’t yet killed it…and Aleppo pepper. And then just top that with mozzarella cheese and drizzle of olive oil…and then sprinkle with zaatar!!!!!!!!! Obsessed!!!” Yep, that tasted great in my head!

And it was great on the plate as well. And you are probably wondering to yourself, “Did her kids eat that?”  The answer to that question is a big FAT no way. Nate went to bed way before the pizza was ready and Jonah took one bite, said, “I don’t like this toasted, I want plain.” So he had a yogurt.

Well that was more for me then kids. The day they actually eat what I make for dinner will be the day the laundry gets washed, dried and folded. Miracles do happen mom. You can stop that laughing.

And then there were Two.

I would first like to welcome myself back to World Wide Web, “welcome back Dani!” it has been way to long since I have last been here and where has the time gone? Has it really been a whole year since I last blogged? The time stamp certainly does not lie so cheers, ill raise my diet dr pepper (caffeine free) to that!

 I would then like to congratulate Jonah on becoming a big brother! That’s right; Jonah is no longer senor uno in this household. Little big brother Nate came storming in on October 23^rd weighing in at a whopping ten pounds! That’s really only significant to me because Jonah was five pounds at birth and the whole point of having another child right now was for it to be a boy, which he was but cant say I planned that, I just got lucky, and to have him utilize every single thing of Jonah’s because then he is really no cost to us until he is in school. It is just diapers.

So that’s not really happening. I already purchased a new bigger infant car seat because Nate was squished into the one we already owned, the swing wasn’t so swingy because it was weighed down and battery operated so after spending about 40 dollars in batteries in his first month I broke down and bought a plug in swing that could swing the heft that is Nate. But Nate seems to really enjoy this new plush luxury swing or at least I tell him he does and for now I tell him how he feels. What does he know, huh? The clothing situation is barely hanging in there by a thread and the two will soon be wearing the same size diaper, so that will be helpful at least. Don’t need to have an assortment of sizes and brands, just one generic brand will do.

 Jonah recently chewed up every single straw cup we own so I headed to the mom- friendly –where- you- can buy -everything -and -anything -you –need- and –even-more –so- what- you- don’t- need-but still-end-up-buying known as Target. Because you can't possibly drink out of a straw that has holes in. I tried before i tossed them. I know Nate will also use these cups so I don’t feel too bad, unless he is a nasty straw chewer like Jonah. I cannot really blame them though, take a look at my coffee cup next time you see me, I’m a nasty straw chewer myself. The apples really don’t fall far from this tree. My husband questioned me when I came home with new cups and said “why cant he just drink from a regular cup or water bottle?” so I said “yes dear hubby, a cup is all fine and dandy when we are sitting at a table but have you watched Jonah whip an open water bottle across the room, water doing a neat arc in the air to then to also neatly land all over the room?”  I also sent him to school today with wet pants because he asked me for a drink of water while we were in target (because target opens at 8am so yes we are there cruising the dollar aisle at 8:03am with me dumping in the cart whatever Jonah needs to keep him busy while I am in the store. We leave a trail of dollar items spread throughout the store as we go. I’m sorry target employees. I swear I will make up for it. We also left a trail of sweet potato puffs too.) So I gave him a water bottle from my bag of which he took two sips from and upended it onto his lap. So hubby, I will stick to the Sippy cups for now. Thanks.

People often ask me “So, how’s it going with two???” with a knowing smile and smirk on their faces, I might add.  

Well, I will tell you how it’s going with two. The older child likes to wake up and eat breakfast at 4am because he hears the baby getting up and he is getting food, I mean breast milk. And yes, I am the one who hates this act more than anything else in the world and I signed up for round two. Help me. Really, help me.

So of course why should Jonah not be eating breakfast with him? In order to not promote sibling rivalry so early on in the game, Nate has his milk and Jonah has his…Jonah eats his cereal dry from a bowl and when he needs some milk to wash it down he takes a swig from his bottle. Yes his bottle. Cannot rip that away from him either just yet but the day will come when the bottles just disappear. Maybe next week. or Maybe next month.I will have a pacifier party for him though, that will be cute. Anyone interested in being the pacifier fairy? Or clown? Needless to say he drinks a whole lot of milk these days. But that’s better than soda, of which he has a fondness for, how he knows what it is and why he decided he likes diet coke is really way beyond me.

So right after his 4am breakfast it is of course time to play!! And yes, mommy really wants to play now because conveniently for Jonah, baby Nate is snuggled cozy in his little lamb swing watching his light mobile and swinging his way into dreamland. I get really jealous when I see him like that. Yea, I am jealous of a seven week old. Sleep deprived much?

So playtime for this two year old involves shoving random toys and household articles down his footsy fleecy pajamas. He likes to see how much he can shove down there until it gets uncomfortable. I usually ignore him doing that until his weak little pleas of “help me” have me take pity on him and I unzip him to take out whatever crap he has shoved down. Well ill tell you, the weirdest thing he has done so far has been to open a box of Hanukah candles and shove each candle down the neck of his pjs. Yea. I know, weird. Anyhow, I assumed I caught them all but guess what? I didn’t. so I washed them. Because moms spend a large part of the week doing the laundry in the household. Unless you have cleaning help for that, I don’t know from that yet. Hopefully one day in the near future, like sooner rather than later I will know. Then I dried them. Then I ran the dryer again because some items were not yet dry or I was just too lazy to empty the dryer so if I ran it again it was like I was still being busy doing laundry and wouldn’t have to deal with the most god-awful task of them all. That might actually rank high next to breastfeeding and that god-awful task would be folding the laundry. So that lone little candle buried in the feet of those fleecy footed pjs? Yep, melted right into the fleece and left that foot with a thick coating of wax and an oddly moldable pajama foot. Hm.

Being up at 4am with two little ones doesn’t leave me with a whole lot of time for baking in the kitchen right now, but here is a recipe that is short on time and the two year old seems to love, he would love it even more with a side of diet coke.

Maple Pecan Granola

505 grams of old fashioned oats

225 grams sliced almonds

140 grams pumpkin seeds

70 grams sunflower seeds

225 grams pecans, rough chopped

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

½ cup vegetable oil

¾ cup pure maple syrup

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix with your hands until well coated.

You can let the two year old in your life help you mix, I bet they would like that!

Spread the mixture evenly between two sheet pans lined with parchment paper and bake at 300 stirring occasionally until the granola is toasty brown and the whole house smells fragrant. This takes longer than you think so be patient. The granola should be dried out and not wet at all.

Allow the granola to cool and you can mix in any dried fruit or your choice or chocolate chunks if you like. Store in an airtight container and this last well over a month or two. Or three.

My favorite way to eat it is with honey Greek yogurt topped with sliced bananas and strawberries. Sometimes I drizzle with a little more maple syrup. 

OH NO! mommy is sick...

It really is inevitable. No matter how many multi vitamins I take, healthy fruit shakes I drink, gym classes I attend or well balanced meals I consume, eventually I will come down with something. Now I just lied about all of the above. I forget to take the vitamins, I drink way to much coffee and my main meal of the day is dinner where I consume way to many calories in just one sitting. As for the gym, I’m still on the fence. I have lucked out and I rarely get sick enough to warrantee a doctor visit. In the past I have called out of work for the day, stayed holed up in bed and pumped myself full of anti-cold/cough/vomit/whatever medicine and have been right as rain in just a couple of days. But having a child completely changes how I can take care of myself in the event I do get sick. Because no one is around to take care of sick mommy. There should be a service you can call that will come drop off all your necessary sick needs. Medicines, drinks, ear plugs ect. Because all baby wants to do is play with the loudest god damn toy he owns, throw everything around the room so it lands with a loud THUNK and shriek his head off because he thinks its so funny. Loud annoying noises don’t go to well with your splitting headache. Thank god I can control the food he eats so when mommy feels to sick to her stomach because of the stomach bug she caught from somewhere somehow, baby gets to have three meals a day of oatmeal because that doesn’t smell. And ha, baby can’t talk yet so baby can’t complain. Cheese is ok because that doesn’t smell too bad; mozzarella sticks have little to no odor. Poor mommy. I beg and plead with my baby to please take a super long nap so I can whine and cry and feel bad for myself on the couch but at least it is quiet so my head isn’t pounding all that much anymore. I wish I had some ginger ale or Gatorade but I cant leave the house until baby wakes up and the very thought of having to wrestle him into his jacket and bundle him in the stroller and push the stroller down the block to CVS makes my stomach hurt even more. I guess ill just have to wait till my husband comes home and he can take care of me. Or at least he tried...

He first offered me Chinese food because that is what he and his dad were ordering for dinner because sick mommy really had no energy to make dinner that day. I told him that was the last thing I could possibly choke down but he was convinced that as soon as I smelled that tantalizing Chinese food smell (seriously no matter what Chinese food smells amazing! The wonder of msg..) I would be starving and I would eat some. Or at least I would eat plain rice. Poor mommy had to smell the scent of Chinese food and I wish to god I had a mask because I really thought I was going to run to bathroom every five seconds. Lesson there hubby, people who have a stomach bug do not want to eat Chinese food. He offered me tea and I tried that. He told me to take a bath but I said the tub is too small and there is nothing worse than a too small tub with a too big person and their knobby knees poking out of the water. He then promised me a big Dani size tub one day. I lay on the couch and he offered me some Motrin, I choked that down with some tepid water because he forgot to add the ice. 3 hours later I feebly whispered that maybe I could handle some toast with butter, could he please make me some? Hubby jumped up to make me that toast but stubbed his toes hard into the steps leading up to the kitchen. He howled in pain and lay in a heap on the floor clutching his probably broken again toes so I had to get off the couch and get him an ice pack. I had him sit down for a few moments before I could get my toast. He brings me my toast a short while later but the toast isn’t too toasted; its full of holes and the butter is in little cold chunks. He told me to eat it anyways, he really did try. I fell asleep on the couch so he changed the channel to his video game and left me there sleeping because he says at least if I’m there while he is playing his game its still like we are hanging out.

Needless to say, I am more prepared for next time. I have Gatorade in the basement, chicken soup in the freezer and a plethora of cold medicines and tissues. BRING IT cold!!

Supposedly nothing heals better than Jewish penicillin, also known as chicken soup. Everyone has their own recipes and their own shtick when it comes to making the perfect pot. So here is my rendition passed on to me via my sister to my other two sisters from my mother from my grandmother. None of these women use measurements when making the soup so I did my best to come up with some sort of standardization adjust any seasonings you see fit.

I use an 8-quart soup pot, you will get about 4 quarts of soup.

Four Sisters Chicken Soup

· 1 pkg of beef bones

· 2 pounds chicken bones

· 1 pound turkey necks

· Now I know its weird that I use no actually chicken but rather just the bones but I find that I get a much more concentrated flavor and it is much cheaper! Feel free to add in any stray frozen chicken pieces from your freezer, I usually have a bag of trimmings reserved from when I clean the chickens before roasting.

· 1 large onion, skin on but washed (this is the secret to a golden chicken soup)

· 5 large carrots, peeled and cut in half

· 3 stalks of celery cut in half

· 2 small turnips peeled and cut in half

· 1 whole garlic bulb

· 2 bay leafs

· 1 tbsp. whole peppercorn

· 2 tbsp. or so of kosher salt (keep in mind that kosher meat is salted so go easy on the salt because you can always add more to taste when you are warming up the soup.)

· 1 tsp. dried thyme

· Handful of fresh parsley

· Handful of fresh dill

·

· Place all the ingredients in the pot and add cold water to cover. Bring the pot to a boil and skim off any of the gross meat bone crud. Lower the flame to a simmer and simmer the soup for four and half hours. That is the real secret to a good chicken soup, the longer the simmer the better the soup!

· Allow the soup to cool and strain into containers. Throw out the bones and you can save any of the veg if you have a small infant that can eat mashed carrot or turnip. My niece is coming to visit so that container is reserved for her! If not, it goes in the garbage because those veg have worked hard and have done their job.

· To warm up, bring soup to a boil and throw in some fresh carrot chunks and thinly sliced Portobello mushrooms. The carrots add freshness to the soup while the mushrooms add an earthy undertone.

· Serve the soup with carrot pieces, mushrooms and of course the essential noodles and matzo balls.

· I wont post a matzo ball recipe because I use the good old boxed matzo ball mix. I’ll whip egg whites for a cake but not for the matzo ball. Sorry dude.

I laugh about this now, but then...not so much

Just another Weekday. I’m all packed and ready to leave the house. Diaper bag in tow, check. Swim bag in tow, check. Baby in tow, double check. Heading out the door without my keys, slam the door and then I checked. Check. CHECK. OH GOD CHECK! Nope, no keys. Did I mention that the door is locked from the inside? That I need a key to get to my garage? I had my car keys but no door key. Did I also forget to mention that I am WEARING A BATHING SUIT AND ITS 20 DEGREES OUT?? My kid jumps out of my arms and is busy barking at the dog next door so he is occupied while I dump my bag out in search of the keys that I know are in the red ceramic bowl on the table inside, a mere two feet away from me. I briefly think about breaking the door down but I’m no super hero (secretly yes I am) and I don’t have a battering ram. I wish I did have a battering ram because the Chicago wind is ripping through my measly fleece and I am kind of shivery with only a bathing suit on underneath. We were going to baby swim class if you haven’t figured that out yet. I hate baby swim class but I figure it’s a life lesson for my child. Just like he drinks his wholesome (organic) milk delivered by the milkman so to he should learn to swim at 15 months old, best start in life for him, only the best. I swear, some days I feel like I am on crack when I make certain decisions. Where the hell is my sane conscious when I need her!!! Why else would I be wearing a swimsuit in December? But I paid for that class and I am committed for two months. Only then am I allowed to drop out and not have to pay. I think this is worse than joining a gym. I am trapped in baby swim class hell. Friends, don’t listen to me when I go on about the virtues of swim class, I am lying through my teeth because I cant admit that it is the worse thing ever and the smell of chlorine used to make my heart sing but all I want to do is curl up in a hole and lay there from 9:30 to 10 on that certain weekday morning.

So as my kid is barking at the neighbors dog and eating some mud, I grab my cell phone and call my landlord because maybe she is nearby and can quickly hop skip on over here and let me into the house before I resort to building a battering ram for myself here. Or I could throw a brick through the sliding door but that would be a little hard to explain to both my husband and the landlord. And I don’t want to be cleaning glass up. I have that fun experience from when I broke 5 glass bowls all at once. And that really is not fun. Then genius strikes me. After all you see this all the time on TV. Call the fire department! Yes!!! The firemen will save me and they will be quick and efficient and my kid loves trucks. Why not let him climb and explore a real one? I don’t even want to think about the mud under his fingernails and the leaves trailing out of his mouth. So I dial 911 with a little bit of fear and trepidation. After all dialing 911 is a very serious matter and is not something one can just do on a whim. But being locked out of your house with an unreachable husband or landlord and with a baby who keeps ripping off his hat and is soaking wet by now because he has taken a drink from the neighbors bird fountain and is about to climb in there too before I grab and tell him we need to wait on the corner for the big vroom vrooms to come!!! When the operator picks up, she answers me very calmly and tells me not to worry, this happens often and the firemen will be right there to help me. It felt like forever, I have icicles on my eyebrows but sure enough that fire truck comes ripping around the corner and out jump 3 burly men with tools and my battering ram. They are like ninjas. They scale the house and go flick flick switch…no that didn’t happen. They managed to get me in without breaking anything and I can’t tell you how because I would not want anyone to know how they did. Trade secret. And I would like to keep my TV please. And my kitchen aid mixer. Clearly my high priced valuables and prized possessions. I thank the men and they leave. I swear I will never leave my keys again but I know myself, it may just happen again. Your local fire department is surely reliable no need to leave a key by a friend or a neighbor. At least next time rest assured I wont be wearing a bathing suit.

Nothing warms you up on a cold brisk day than the thought of a meltingly soft brisket warming up in your oven. While I was living in Boston my friend Stefanie made this brisket and she happily shared with me her recipe. I just couldn’t get enough! I think those of us at that meal ate that platter clean and we would have even licked the baking dish!

Here is my version of this amazing dish, great to serve for company and babies love it too.

Hearty Beef Brisket

Ingredients:

· One 4 pound beef brisket

· Extra virgin olive oil

· 4 cloves garlic minced

· 5 medium yellow onions, sliced

· 21 oz. apple juice

· 6 tbsp. tomato paste

· 6 tbsp. dark brown sugar

· 5 tbsp. boiling water

· 4 tsp. soy sauce

· 5 big carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

· 3 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks

· ¼ lb. dried prunes

· ¼ lb. dried apricots

· Kosher salt and pepper

· Pinch of ginger

Method:

· Preheat oven to 500

· Place sliced onions and garlic in the roasting pan; make sure the pan is big enough to fit the meat and the vegetables. Toss with some olive oil, just enough to coat the onions.

· Rinse beef brisket under cold running water and pat dry, place into the pan with the onions and garlic. Sprinkle the top with kosher salt and black pepper. Cover with heavy-duty foil and bake for 30 minutes.

· In a bowl combine the tomato paste, brown sugar, soy sauce, pinch of ginger and boiling water. Mix to form a paste.

· Reduce the oven temp to 325 after 30 minutes of baking time.

· Remove the brisket from the oven, uncover it and spoon the mixture over the beef.

· Place the carrots, parsnips and dried fruit all around the sides.

· Pour the apple juice in the pan and recover the brisket. Place in oven and bake for another 2 to 3 hours until fork tender. A fork inserted into the brisket should meet no resistance and look like its about to fall apart.

· Allow the brisket to cool and refrigerate overnight in order to slice.

· When cold, slice the brisket against the grain, and reheat in the sauce.

· Serve with the carrots and onions, dried fruit is optional

· Best made a day or two in advanced because it only gets better over time.

· Brisket can be wrapped and frozen as well, just make sure you freeze with plenty of the liquid.