Vegan Waffles: Easier said than done

After a year of debating and deciding and hesitating and changing our minds, Husband and I have finally decided that we are going to do our first home improvement on our vintage, as-is 1969 home.  It came to a head when I noticed that one of the sinks wasn't working properly so I took a wrench to it and discovered some rusty bits of crud blocking the filter which allows the water to come through.  We have known that it needed to be done, but those of you who have ever taken on home improvement know this - once you start, you cannot stop.  Beginning this process is like opening of floodgate of things we are going to have to fix.  New pipes.  New kitchen.  New bathrooms.  New carpeting.  Removing popcorn from ceiling.  Repainting interior and exterior. New windows.  New. New. New.  Replace. Replace.  Fix. Fix. Fix.  We were both reluctant to start the process, but start it we have, because of our urgency to get new pipes.  (The water pressure in this house is so poor, you would not believe.)

This evening I began the process of looking for the RIGHT plumber to do the job.  Unfortunately, due to the internet, a simple "find a plumber in the yellow pages" has turned into "Scour every single name on yelp and on Angie's list until you go blind."  After 2 hours of trying to find someone, I gave up.  I can't do it.  The process overwhelms me and gives me the willies.  Too many choices, too many reviews, too many things to consider.  I've been asking friends for recommendations and now, I'm through.  I'm not sure I have it in me to attack any level or any bit of this home renovation/fix-up/repair process because I can't stand the thought of choosing the wrong person or getting a bad deal (this second part is really Husband.)

Easier said than done.  I've been waiting for the green light from Husband for a year, and now that I have it, I can't execute.  I can't act.  I can't take charge.  My head hurts from scrolling down all these different reviews, and I still don't have a SINGLE name I'm interested in seeing for an estimate.  Easier said than done.

About 2 years ago, once Son became more cognizant about what our food was compared to what HIS food was, I put away the waffle iron.  I tried a couple of times to create a waffle that he would be able to eat, but failed a miserable several times.  Therefore, I tucked my favorite waffle iron way back in the pantry.  And left it there.  It was in Son's search for a missing lego piece last week (in our pantry - don't ask) that he discovered the iron and asked, "What is this mom?"

"It's a waffle iron honey."

"Waffles?  What's that?"

"Kind of like a pancake.  You get to dip it in syrup."

"I want a waffle.  Can you make me a waffle mom?"

I looked at him and thought, yeah right.  Easier said than done.  After all, I had TRIED it already several times and they didn't come out right.  But he looked so excited about the waffle, I thought to myself, I could TRY again.  After all, my vegan pancakes are really good, so how much harder could creating a better waffle be?

I made them both on Saturday and Sunday.  I experimented with using some whole wheat flour mixed in with the white flour (wasn't thrilled with the whole wheat) and came up with this version. Children have asked for them for breakfast AGAIN tomorrow, so they'll be making an appearance for the THIRD day. This ended up being easier DONE than said. (Try saying "Vegan Waffle" 10 times really fast.  Wegan Vaffle comes out at some point.)

Just so you know - if you make the other waffles on my blog (here), these are different.  Eggs add a bit of tender chewiness that is missing in the vegan version.  I tried to combat it unsuccessfully with bananas the last time I tried, and this time, I went with the vegan pancake method of simply leaving out any sort of egg substitute.  This is also a method I've used with vegan cupcakes, so it seemed as if it would make sense.  These have a crispier, almost cracker like quality, with a bit of moist fluffiness in the middle.  I've also shredded ham and sprinkled it on top of the waffle right before pressing down the top (which eliminates the vegan factor I know) and it was a bit of salty tender chewiness on top of crispy crunchy waffle dipped in gooey sweet maple syrup.  If you're curious about that one, I'll try to post more details (with photos) later.

Vegan Waffles
Makes 4 to 6 waffles, depending on your iron

Ingredients
3 cups all purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt

2 ½ cups coconut milk (Trader Joe’s brand or So Delicious Brand in the carton) (almond or soy is also fine)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method
Preheat waffle iron. Allow it to get super hot.

Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. To the dry mix, add coconut milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Using a wooden spoon or spatula (not a whisk) carefully mix together, trying NOT to create too many bubbles. Go gently and slowly until mixture is nice and smooth and uniform in texture.

If desired, grease waffle iron with cooking oil spray. (This is optional, but it does help speed up a golden crust.) Carefully scoop enough mixture (only you know your waffle maker) into your preheated iron and allow to cook until golden brown. My waffle iron beeps a minute too early for my choice of golden waffles. I just watch for a reduction in the steam coming out from the sides of the iron. Lots of steam means it still needs more time.

Serve warm with fresh fruit and lots of wonderful maple syrup.

Printable recipe

My beloved Villaware Waffle Maker isn't being sold anymore, but this one got fantastic reviews and I love the flip action (for more even cooking and spreading.)

Poached Chicken Breast with Three Sauces: Reforming a snacker

It became clear to me in recent weeks that Son's food allergies had blinded me.  Because of my obsession in reading food labels and finding foods that Son could eat, I ended up stocking up on the snacks that were safe for him in mass amounts.

Son discovered that he LOVED snacks in massive amounts and in the past year has readily set aside meals to snack more.  I wasn't totally conscious of it at first, because I was too busy to really track it and get a sense of it, but it came to a head this summer when I had more time to focus in on what he was eating and realized that mostly, what Son was eating was junk.  Allergy free junk for him, but junk.  Bagel chips, tons of granola bars, and lots of snacky things and avoiding, by being too full to eat, healthy, well-balanced meals.  

I decided to put my money where my mouth was and reform this.  I stopped buying all number of snacks, and limited any crackerish/carbish type snack to mid morning on the days he went to school or camp.  The rest of the day, while at home with me, we had only fruits and vegetables.  I began letting him be hungry in between meals - really hungry, to the point where his hunger would push him to eat more of the better stuff - not the junk.  In two weeks, I reformed my snacker.

It took a lot of work and watching him be hungry was hard.  After all, he lives in the world where half the stuff is off limits already and to let him be HUNGRY seemed somewhat cruel.  But I remembered the objective was to get him to eat better, more balanced, more nutritious meals, and because that objective loomed in front of me, I stuck to my guns.  I explained to Son what was going to happen, the new rules of fruits or vegetables only between meals  (which I applied similarly to Daughters) and that if he didn't eat a meal, there would be no second chance at a later meal or snacks.  There would be fruit or vegetables but nothing else.  The first day was hard, with a lot of whining, but I focused in and offered him other things when he was hungry like a banana, or mango, or cantaloupe, or peach, or carrots with hummus, or bell peppers with Korean dipping sauce.  I gave him choices, but not the ones he wanted, and although he'd wail about wanting his favorite Trader Joe's Bagel Chips, I wouldn't give in.  "Sorry buddy. You know the rules.  You can have some food if you're hungry, but your choices are fruits or vegetables."  He discovered that spicy hummus with carrots tasted really good and that his favorite fruit is actually a slightly tender nectarine.  I think his tongue cleared out from all the excess salt and carbohydrates and began really appreciating food.

This poached chicken has become one of his favorites to eat with rice and a few green vegetables.  He'll smell the ginger sauce, and say "I love that smell mom" and when he sees the chicken resting at room temperature before I cut it up, he'll beg me over and over again for "just a bit."  With brown rice and some green beans, it's the perfect meal.  I love it for its ease of preparation and its flexibility in cooking times.  This version is very similar to the whole chicken version, but since it only uses white meat it is in some ways suited to the families where white meat only is consumed.  (Daughter #1 is a white meat lover.)  It cooks in quicker time, but again is forgiving if you leave the chicken in the water longer than necessary.  It can be served hot, warm, room temperature, or cold, and with the dipping sauces you have a winner.

Poached Chicken Breasts with Three Dipping Sauces
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients
2 to 3 whole chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
5 slices of ginger
1 onion, or leek, or a few cloves of garlic (to flavor the water)

4 inches ginger root, peeled finely chopped (I use my mini food processor)
3 scallions, finely chopped
½ cup vegetable oil
¾ teaspoon salt

2 jalapenos, finely chopped (I use my mini food processor)
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ cup rice wine vinegar

5 scallions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
¼ cup soy sauce (I prefer low sodium, Kikkoman green)

Method
Fill a large stockpot with water. The water should be at a level which will allow you to completely SUBMERGE your chicken underwater, with no problem. A large stock pot will generally be big enough.

Cover your stockpot and bring water, ginger, and onion/leek/garlic to a boil. In the meanwhile, salt chicken breasts liberally and give it a bit of a salt scrub. Rinse thoroughly and set aside, until water is fully boiling.

Once water is fully boiling, place chicken into the water, making sure that it is completely submerged in the water. Leave pot uncovered and bring chicken and water to another rolling boil again. While waiting it to boil again, you can skim off any scum off the surface of the water, if you intend to use the broth for rice porridge or something else. If you don’t want to use the broth for anything, go ahead and just wait for the chicken and water to boil again.

Once water is boiling, carefully stir chicken to make sure that the entire pot is evenly distributed with hot water. Cover pot with lid and TURN OFF stove. Do NOT remove lid of pot for the next 45 minutes, but you can even let it rest for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

While your chicken is enjoying a nice soak in the hot water, begin making your 3 dipping sauces.

For the ginger sauce, mix together finely chopped ginger, finely chopped scallions, oil and salt together in a bowl. Mix and set aside.

For the jalapeno sauce, mix together finely chopped jalapenos, sugar, and vinegar. Set aside.

For the scallion sauce, place chopped scallions in a bowl. Heat two tablespoons of oil in a small, fry pan or sauce pan. The oil should be hot enough that it shimmers or you can test by carefully putting one scallion piece in the oil to see if it sizzles. If the oil sizzles the scallion, then carefully pour the two tablespoons of oil over the scallions in the bowl and allow the scallions to be cooked by the oil. Add soy sauce and mix. Set aside.

Once the 45 or more minutes of chicken cooking in water is up, uncover pot, and remove chicken breasts from water and place in a bowl (in order to catch residual liquid). Allow chicken to cool enough so that you can handle it without screaming OUCH!

Once chicken has cooled sufficiently (30 minutes or so), begin cutting chicken as you wish. I don’t like skin so I removed skin, peeled breast off of bone and cut it into nice large cubes.

Serve chicken warm, room temp, or cold from fridge, with dipping sauces. Allow diners to dip however they please. Perfect with hot rice.

Printable recipe

Dry Sauteed Green Beans with Pancetta: Six of what?

As I sat talking to Husband the other day, he suddenly said, "Baby.  I'm going to give you as six pack."

"Of beer?" I asked.

"No.  Me.  Six-pack abs."

"Beer might be easier," I quipped.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm sure Husband can do it.  He puts his mind to something and it gets done.  I watched him lose 20 lbs in less than 6 months, and these days, due his concern over his aging body and health, he has also lost weight again.   He looks good - young, hip, and handsome (and still with a good majority of his hair intact).  People often mistaken him for a college student from behind and are surprised by his more mature face in front.

But I wonder about what my response should be.  "Okay babe.  Me too.  I'll get you a six pack - abs, not beer." So I pause.  Because although Husband's body is older than my body, my body carried three babies and breast-fed them each for over twelve months.  Furthermore, although I've lost weight and changed my body shape over the last year, I think I'm pretty far off from the six pack.  And it really isn't a particular goal of mine to give him six pack abs.

Instead, Dear Husband, I give you your favorite Chinese vegetable dish - the dry sauteed green beans!  I know how much you love these, how we used to love eating them together while I was in grad school at our favorite Chinese restaurant Jing-Jing's.  (I know there are some people for whom THAT restaurant brings back crazy memories as well.) This is your non-six-pack-abs wife's version and it'll taste really good with the six pack that you bring (beer, not abs).

My version takes advantage of those lovely 4 oz packages of chopped pancetta which fry up so crispy and brown and are really a lovely little salty kick next to the crisp tender green beans.  Dry sauteeing (which really means cooking in oil and high heat) blisters the outside of the green beans and gives them that crisp tender texture.  Children loved them tonight, with Daughter #2 (professed veggie hater) taking down more than her fair share.  They go perfectly with rice and some Poached Chicken.

Dry Sauteed Green Beans with Pancetta
Serves 4

Ingredients
Vegetable oil, for deep frying
1 lb green beans (slim ones like haricot vert), ends trimmed
2 tablespoons soy sauce (I always cook with kikoman low sodium)
1 tablespoon shao xing wine or sake
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon sambal oelek (ground chili paste)
4 oz chopped pancetta (chop it yourself or prepackaged)
¼ cup minced scallions
3 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (I like Kadoya brand)

Method
Heat a large wok over high heat. Add about 3 tablespoons of oil and heat until oil shimmers (you can test for this by putting in a green bean and seeing if it begins sizzling. When oil is ready, add green beans and fry until they are bright green and slightly shriveled, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove green beans from oil, and allow to drain on paper towel. Discard all but 1 tablespoons of oil from wok.

Combine soy sauce, sugar, sake, and chili paste in a bowl. Set aside.

Return wok with oil to high heat. Add pancetta and stir fry for 1 minute. Add scallions and garlic and fry for 20 seconds and then add green beans. Stir fry together for another minute. Add soy sauce mixture and fry until sauce is almost completely reduced, about 30 seconds. Add sesame oil and serve hot from the wok.

Printable recipe

Breakfast Cookie: Teaching an old dog new tricks

For HKL who pushes me to try new things; for CJR who reminds me that if I try, I can do anything; for KY for penning the book on how to practice.

Often the best practices of teaching find their way into my parenting.  I've been thinking about how to really encourage Daughters in the things that I ask them to do, because there are links that are not obvious to them.  How come mommy can play the piano so well?  She's been playing more than 30 years, which is why.  How come you drive so well?  20 plus years behind the wheel will do that.  Multiplication tables?  Telling time?  Reading a book?  Cooking?  All these things I've had practice.

One important thing that teachers can do for their students is MODEL.  Show the model of what you want them to produce.  Give them the model of what it looks like to work on the tiniest segment of what it is that you want.  Model the behavior that you want, the words that you want; whatever you want from your students, your best bet at getting it is modeling it.  You want high standards?  Model what that looks like.  And then after you model it, give tons of time for practice in order to master.  The road to mastery of anything is not glamorous or easy, but practice is the absolute cornerstone of it.

So for the sake of Daughters' piano practice and overall perception of practice and grunt work, I've also decided to model how long it takes to learn an instrument and how much work it takes.  A couple of years back I tried learning the drums, only practicing the drums in the house late at night was counter productive.  Even with headphones on practice just didn't seem to quite work.  Then began the quest for the next instrument to learn, and it was in conversation with friend CJR who said, "You should learn to play the bass guitar.  You know how to hear it, you feel the rhythms of it, and you essentially copy it when you're playing the piano."  Only we don't own a bass guitar.  We do however own a guitar which is what Husband has been trying to learn to play for many years, only he doesn't put in the practice time.  I've commandeered it and have taken it over.

I've committed to myself daily practice.  I watch online videos and study chord charts and have just been getting comfortable holding an instrument.  To learn something new I will tell you is not easy.  In frustration I told CJR, "I'm missing the gene that allows me to play this!" to which she responded "There is no gene that you are missing that will prevent you from playing it."  The answer, of course, is that I have to practice a lot more.  The skill that I have at playing piano doesn't automatically transfer over to the guitar, as much as I wish it would.  The 30 plus years invested in the piano doesn't mean that the guitar will come easy at all.  I am essentially an old dog, learning new tricks.

After three days of practice, I pulled the guitar out to show Children how far I had come.  I had figured out how to really hold the guitar comfortably, how to play a chromatic scale up all the strings, and how to strum an "A" chord, the only chord that I successfully deciphered off of the chord chart.  Daughters' response to my playing was "THAT'S ALL YOU CAN DO?" while Son's response was, "Let me strum the guitar."  I'm hoping that in a few more weeks, I might have actually mastered five chords (I'm on the schedule of mastering one chord a week) and that I'll be able to strum some sort of song.  Maybe.  But in the meanwhile, I showed Children how hard it is for me to learn the guitar, but how I'm not giving up, and every single night (after I post this blog post) I'll be sitting and practicing until my fingertips are numb.

Along with trying to get this guitar thing under order, I've been trying to rework and teach Children new breakfast habits.  Sugary cereals, empty calories, and empty nutrition foods are normally what many eat for breakfast; I'm trying a new standard at home.  Friend HKL challenged me to make a "breakfast cookie" or "brookie" that took out all the normal breakfasty type ingredients - sugar, flour, eggs, and oil, and just really pared down the cookie into really good, nutrition packed ingredients.  This is what I came up with.  It's almost like a granola bar, but far less sweet, but the texture is chewy and crunchy at the same time.  You can definitely take out the ingredients you don't like and add what you like, but I really liked the addition of toasted sesame seeds to give it a nutty flavor.

It's not too late to learn new tricks, as long as you give it a good solid practice.  (this was my 3rd attempt at this cookie.)

Breakfast Cookie (Vegan)
Makes 16 to 18 cookies

Ingredients
2 cups old-fashioned oats (you can make this gluten free by buying gluten free oats)
1 cup dried cranberries (or dried blueberries, dried cherries, raisins)
¼ cup toasted sesame seeds
¼ cup sliced almonds (optional - add flax seeds, chia seeds, or any other seed or nut you’d like to add)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt

3 ripe bananas, mashed really well
¼ cup coconut oil. heated and melted so that it is liquid
1 tablespoon of honey
2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Method
Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix together oats, cranberries, sesame seeds, almonds, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well to make sure fruit is well distributed throughout mixture.

In a separate bowl, mix together mashed bananas, warm coconut oil, honey and vanilla extract. Mix until uniform in texture. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients, mixing together well.

To help make a nice shape for the cookie, use a ¼ cup measuring cup, filling it halfway. Press to slightly compress mixture together and then flip cup over onto parchment lined baking sheet and slightly reshape if necessary.

Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool and set on pan for 5 minutes. Serve warm (or at room temperature for a breakfast on the run.)

Printable recipe

If you have any interest in reading about how to make practice better - this book hasn't been published yet, but the writers (including my awesome friend) have studied the way to make practice more effective and more powerful.  These are super smart teachers and I am thinking of ways to convince them to come to the west coast to spark change and reform.

Lunchbox System Review: Simple, Functional, Flexible

We've started school and a year ago I said I'd do a post talking about my favorite lunch box system, only I wasn't sure what it was a year ago, as I still was figuring it out.  A year later, I know what it is (after road testing it for a year) so here I am, posting about the lunchbox system I like.

To give some authority to what I am saying, I pack a lunch for Daughters DAILY.  I do not like the hot lunch vendor at our school one tiny little bit (the list of reasons why I dislike it is long, but I won't go into that here), so until there is a change on that front, I will not consider hot lunch an option.  This means that every single day, I have to be able to put something in a lunch box that Daughters will EAT, without making me insane.  

I also do not like using many plastic bags, because already our school playground has enough wrappers and plastic bags to pollute the oceans several times over, and I care not to add to that madness and chaos, for our school is windy most days, and inevitably, something WILL blow away.  

Ziploc Rectangle

So after some trial and error and two years of field testing, the lunch box that I prefer, is the Ziploc, rectangle, divided lunch container.  These are readily found at Target, for under $4 for the two pack, or you can also buy them on Amazon, $6.78 for a pack of four.  This is a bento box system, which basically means one box divided into sections to you can put a few different things together.

Why do I like this so much?  I like that I can pack three different things in one container.  I can pick a couple of things very quickly, because I'm not fiddling with different containers or bags, but just have to fill one.  I mix it up - sometimes it's rice, with a few side dishes, and a pack of seaweed thrown in.  Other times it's a sandwich, a fruit and a vegetable.  Sometimes I can put cheese and crackers, grapes, and celery in there.  The combos are endless.  People have asked me if each individual compartment is completely separated and isolated - yes it is, so you can even put yogurt in one section, and not worry that it's going to turn the tuna sandwich into some weird yogurt mush.  The container itself is leakproof, and it does snap shut, and I don't worry about leaks. (I also can throw it into the dishwasher!)

Easy Lunch Boxes
Now, Easy Lunch Boxes has their own version.

This was the one I thought I'd like the most originally, only I ran into a couple of problems.

1.  Their lids are NOT snap tight.  They shut, but they are easy to take off (which is a pro and a con, but mostly in the case of spillage, a con.)  My friend solved the problem by using a rubberband to help lock it into place, which seems okay, only I worry about the rubberband snapping off and getting someone in the eye.  It isn't my favorite.  But if you're packing mostly dry things (no soup or yogurt or syrupy fruits) then it's nice and sturdy.

2.  Their compartments are not totally individually sealed.  Because the lid isn't "snap tight" it means that stuff from one container can seep into another one.  I've seen the solution to this which is the "press and seal" saran wrap type products, but that annoys me as once again, it's an extra step, and an extra piece of trash that can go sailing onto your child's playground.

The containers are incredibly sturdy however, and last a long time, so it is my second choice, but not a first.  Again these are dishwasher safe and are BPA free.  You get four in a set and you could easily test it out and split a set with a friend (which is what I did.)

Easy Lunch Boxes does have a fabulous website for you to check out their gallery of really fun lunch ideas that others have come up with.  Get some lunch ideas here.

Lunch Bags
With these bento type box lunches, how to carry the lunchbox to school becomes another issue that must be dealt with.  You generally want the boxes to be carried upright so that things don't get too squashed or moved around.

This is the bag by Easy Lunch Boxes.  I love that the Ziploc container fits in it, and I can even add a water bottle and additional fruit for snack (in the case of a longer day) and it all fits in.  It's insulated, so if you want to throw in an ice pack, do that too.  Some may think that this is a rather large lunch box, but Neither Daughter has complained about the larger size, and in fact, both like it.   I think they like the bigger size because trying to cram containers into a lunchbox that is too small isn't fun, and this is pretty much the lunchbox that can hold anything.



Thermos for hot food
As a final note, Daughters like warm food when the weather gets cold.  Our school doesn't have an indoor cafeteria, so as fall and sometimes winter approaches, they'll be eating their meals outside, and I like to pack them something warm to eat, like soup or a warm pasta.  (Sometimes hot rice and poached chicken on top.)  Sometimes I'll even pack the ziploc box with the thermos full of soup for extra sustenance, or sometimes it's just the thermos with their water bottle.  This also still fits into their lunch bag, with no problem and no headache for me.

Just a final trick to keeping that soup or pasta extra hot - you should warm up your thermos BEFORE putting the hot food in it.  Put boiling water into the thermos and allow it to sit there, covered, for 5 or 6 minutes, and then dump the water out and add your piping hot food.  Heating up the thermos and its surrounding insulating layers means that the food inside will be hot when your child opens it up.



I hope this post at least helps one or two of you plan a better lunch for your child this school year.   You need to find the system that best works for you, so give yourself time.  Best of luck everyone, and happy happy packing!

Poached Chicken with Three Sauces: Friends show up when you need them most

To SH - my hero in my time of need

You know the saying that friends are the ones that are with you when times are hard?

I experienced this, this past weekend when I was under the weather.  The symptoms, to my confusion, were very much like those I had when I was pregnant, only I was sure I was not.  But the overall malaise, inability to feel like my normal self, and the strong desire to lay down and stay down for hours on end were very debilitating to my ability to mother my children.  Add the fact that Husband was out of town for work and it meant that it was me and me alone to care for three rather nice Children.

But cooking was the last thing on my mind.  And there were many commitments to push through which I did, by barely eating and drinking little.  I slept when I could and lay down when I could.  And finally on Sunday, although I was feeling a bit better, I was in no mood to do anything but stand.  Cook?  HA.  I figured out a meal that would require minimal cooking (rice porridge made with frozen rice in the fridge, bacon, and some sliced cucumbers) and sat there feeling proud of my ability to think of throw something together despite my complete desire to just tell the kids to starve.

But, like a spark in the night, I got a text. "Are you home?  I'm bringing you food."

"Yes.  I'm home.  But you don't need to."

"I'm bringing you food.  Make rice if you don't have any.  Be there in a minute."

My friend and neighbor SH brought me a complete meal.  Poached chicken, three sauces (with a special one of ginger made just for me because she knows I like it) and some vegetables.  And Children attacked that meal like there was no tomorrow.

"Mommy?  Is there more chicken?  Why does this chicken taste so good?"

"Mommy, why is Auntie S a better cook than you are?"

"Mommy, can Auntie S make this chicken for me tomorrow?"

I was too grateful to care that Children had decided that someone else's cooking far exceeded my own.  After all, it had been a long while since I'd seen Children gobble up food that quickly.

I texted friend SH lots of thanks and then asked if she would teach me her chicken method.  She readily agreed and I get to post it.  YIPPEE!!

The most lovely thing about this chicken is that the great bulk of the time is cooked without your help.  The chicken is allowed to sit in hot water, on a stove that is OFF, until it is poached to perfection, which according to my friend is a Chinese method.  We talked about the merits of cooking it this way, one of them being the ability to make it ahead and the other being that it is energy effective.  Once the heat is set, you just allow hot water to do most of the work, which is really very smart.  The method may seem a bit finicky at first as there are two separate water boil markers, as well as a time when you have to lift the chicken out of the water to drain lukewarm water out of cavities, only to fill them up again with hot water.  But give it a try, because once mastered, you can have poached chicken without barely thinking about it.

The result is a super moist and succulent poached chicken. It is not dry, it is not stringy, but rather, lush and silky.  It can be served warm, room temperature, or even chilled, as long as you have hot rice and delicious dipping sauces.

Poached Chicken with Three Dipping Sauces
Serves 8

Ingredients
4 ½ to 6 lbs whole chicken (the better your chicken, the better your flavor, since there isn’t a lot of extra going on in this recipe) - this chicken needs to be fully defrosted if frozen with no frozen bits. A fresh chicken will work better here.
5 slices of ginger
1 onion, or leek, or a few cloves of garlic (to flavor the water)

4 inches ginger root, peeled finely chopped (I use my mini food processor)
3 scallions, finely chopped
½ cup vegetable oil
¾ teaspoon salt

2 jalapenos, finely chopped (I use my mini food processor)
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ cup rice wine vinegar

5 scallions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
¼ cup soy sauce (I prefer low sodium, Kikkoman green)

Method
Fill a large stockpot with water. The water should be at a level which will allow you to completely SUBMERGE your chicken underwater, with no problem. Bigger is better here. (I tried a smaller pot only to have to dump and start over in my bigger pot.) If in doubt, until you master this recipe, err with the bigger pot. You don’t want overflow of chicken water all over your kitchen. You can do a test run with your raw chicken, by submerging in water to see how much you need. Remove chicken before boiling water.

Cover your stockpot and bring water, ginger, and onion/leek/garlic to a boil. In the meanwhile, salt chicken liberally and give it a bit of a salt scrub. Rinse thoroughly and set aside, until water is fully boiling.

Once water is fully boiling, place chicken into the water, making sure that it is completely submerged in the water. Leave pot uncovered and bring chicken and water to another rolling boil again. While waiting it to boil again, you can skim off any scum off the surface of the water, if you intend to use the broth for rice porridge or something else. If you don’t want to use the broth for anything, go ahead and just wait for the chicken and water to boil again.

Once water is boiling, using tongs carefully lift chicken out of the water. You want to drain all the cavities of any lukewarmish water. While water is boiling, carefully re-submerge chicken into the water to fill all the cavities with hot boiling water. Cover pot with lid and TURN OFF stove. Do NOT remove lid of pot for the next 1 hour if your chicken is under 5 ¼ lbs, or the next 75 minutes if your chicken is over 5 ¼ lbs.

While your chicken is enjoying a nice soak in the hot water, begin making your 3 dipping sauces.

For the ginger sauce, mix together finely chopped ginger, finely chopped scallions, oil and salt together in a bowl. Mix and set aside.

For the jalapeno sauce, mix together finely chopped jalapenos, sugar, and vinegar. Set aside.

For the scallion sauce, place chopped scallions in a bowl. Heat two tablespoons of oil in a small, fry pan or sauce pan. The oil should be hot enough that it shimmers or you can test by carefully putting one scallion piece in the oil to see if it sizzles. If the oil sizzles the scallion, then carefully pour the two tablespoons of oil over the scallions in the bowl and allow the scallions to be cooked by the oil. Add soy sauce and mix. Set aside.

Once the 60 minutes or 75 minutes of chicken cooking in water is up, uncover pot, and remove chicken from water and place in a bowl (in order to catch residual liquid). Allow chicken to cool enough so that you can handle it without screaming OUCH!

Once chicken has cooled sufficiently (30 minutes or so), begin cutting chicken as you wish. I don’t like skin so I removed skin, cut of drumsticks, wings, and removed the meat from bones and roughly cut it into bite-sized, dippable pieces.

Serve chicken warm, room temp, or cold from fridge, with dipping sauces. Allow diners to dip however they please. Perfect with hot rice.

Printable recipe

Something for everyone

Spinach, Feta, Roasted Peppers Pasta Salad: Back to school routines

Our summer is over.  Daughters school started and once again, I'm in the throes of early wakeups, lunch packing, snack packing, school supply shopping, massive form filling, and general breathlessness as I try to keep up with the pace that always accompanies back to school.

But in the midst of it all, I remember my time as a classroom teacher; "Back-to-school" was a time filled with excitement, anxiety, stress, joy, trepidation, and more stress.  It's not an easy time to be a teacher; parents come up to you with a million questions, some students may burst out crying in your class (kindergarten issue), others still may announce in a stage whisper, "This is boring" while all the time you keep that smile plastered on your face.  I make no comparison - as hard as my life is as a parent with back to school, I know the life of a teacher is that much harder.  I'm dealing with three children, they're dealing with over 20.

I always go out of my way, at the beginning of the school year, to do small, quiet things to show teachers that I appreciate what they are going through.  I actually really DO appreciate it, and I don't like to make a lot of noise about it, but I like to do something small for them.  One thing I've made it a tradition to do is to feed them.  I know that the last thing that a teacher wants to do during their first or second weeks of school is cook - it's too harried, too stressful, and the push and shove of many children in and out of your space is hard.  I quietly try and give something nourishing to the teachers after school so that they can enjoy a bit of peace and have some peace of mind, if only for the 15 minutes they eat.

Usually I do the tomato orzo salad, mostly because it holds up well, can be eaten the day after, and I have yet to find a person who doesn't love it.  But I wanted to try something new this time as well, since I had it in my head, a pasta salad that used spinach, bell peppers and feta.  I recruited friend SH, who is usually my partner in crime for food related experiments, and together we set out to make a bunch of pasta salads for different teachers at our school.

The end result was lovely, a pasta salad that was bright, colorful, nutty, sweet, salty, all at the same time.  The teachers got two pasta salads, a few cookies, all packed with a few nice touches for them to enjoy.  Friend SH and I were a bit tired by the time we got to school, but no matter, the smiles on the teachers' as well as the squeal of glee from one made it all worth it.  I even got a lovely handwritten note thanking me.  How that teacher managed to do that after her two days, is beyond me.

Spinach, Feta, Roasted Bell Peppers Pasta Salad
Serves 8

Ingredients
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 cup olive oil

1 pound penne, or your choice of pasta salad shape (Bear in mind that baby spinach takes up some space, so you want a shape that isn’t too small that will get overwhelmed)

6 oz bag, baby spinach
1 7-ounce package feta cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 medium red onion, sliced
1 cup chopped fresh basil
12 oz jar (drained about 7 to 8 ounces) roasted red pepper (Trader Joes has a very lovely one)
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted (or pine nuts if you prefer)

Method
Whisk vinegar, lemon juice, and honey in small bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Season vinaigrette with salt and pepper. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill.)

Bring water to boil in pot. Salt water and cook pasta according to package directions. Wash and drain pasta.

Mix together spinach, feta, red onion, basil, roasted red peppers, pasta. . Add vinaigrette; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.) Add almonds; toss. Serve at room temperature.

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packed up, almost ready to go

Marshmallow Crispy Cookie: How to Go on Vacation

I recently came back from a houseboating trip with other families and friends.  To decide to go on the trip took much consideration and time because I like to be in control.  The last trip with this same group was camping two years ago, and I came back home deciding that, ahem, that camping really wasn't for me, especially with three kids in tow.

However, friends patiently convinced me that this trip would be different, far less dusty, and far more fun and exciting for the kids.  It would be our family vacation and one filled with tons of fun and laughter.  I vacillated for a few weeks and then finally committed.

I've always avoided vacations since I've considered them times when you're not at home but working just as hard.  With three Children, it just can't feel like a vacation.  I figured that this would be no different.  Before the trip itself, I had to do a lot of grocery shopping, cookie dough preparation, chicken preparation, packing, laundry and a list of things to do.  By the time boarding the boat came about, I was exhausted, but getting ready to just do what needed to be done.  I got on the boat, made the beds, showed the kids the bathrooms, got everyone organized, and all in all, just began living the same life I live at home, only now I was on a boat, stuffed into a tiny bunk room.  I was thinking about schedules, about time, about bedtime routines, about making dinner, about all the TASKS that I saw before me.

Friend JEL pulled me aside and said, "Dude.  This is your vacation.  RELAX."

"I am relaxed.  This is me relaxed.  Don't you know?" I said while madly cleaning up the mess of Children and others in the kitchen.

"You're not relaxed.  Just let go.  Seriously.  Come on."

And with that statement, I slowly began letting go.

I became less fussy about bedtimes, about meal times, about washing hands regularly.  I didn't worry about junk food, about what the kids were eating, or what they were drinking.  I let them have a vacation from their stressed-out-must-be-in-control-of-everything mommy, and let them have a tiny taste of the life that would be if they could ever get rid of me.  (In their minds, I think this life would be one filled with juice boxes, cheetos and dirty underwear.  But I digress.)

In a word, vacation.  I let go.  I relaxed.  I found peace in doing nothing.  I discovered that by floating on my back in the lake, I can completely surround myself in silence, with only the tune that runs in my brain.  There are no cries of mommy, Joanne, "I'm hungry", or "I'm bored."  Vacation.

At one point, I completely let go, grabbed friend JEL, and said, "Let's go on a sunset ride on the jetski.  Let someone else do the dishes."  (This is so unlike either of us.)  And we did.

I'm back in the grind of things, back with Children who are back in school, so the vacation was extremely short-lived, but it was completely worth it.  But now that I'm back in control, the captain of this family, I'm back attacking those things that I want under my control.

In this case, the thing I want under control is a recipe.  I struggled with this recipe (4 different batches to be exact), to get the effect and look that I wanted.  Don't get me wrong, all the batches tasted good in my their own way, but the unruly marshmallow kept on throwing things off balance for me to the point that I decided that I WOULD control this cookie.  Finally, I got the little white fluffs of sugar under control, and I give you....

MARSHMALLOW CRISPY COOKIE!  The idea was to combine a chocolate chip cookie with the flavors of a rice krispy treat. This is the result - crispy, chewy, gooey, yummy.  I took these on the vacation (one of the versions) and the houseboat guests went in a frenzy over them.

Marshmallow Crispy Cookies
Makes 5 dozen

Ingredients
2 sticks of butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups rice crispies
1 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup old-fashioned oats
2 ¼ cups mini marshmallows

Method
Combine the butter and sugars in the bowl (either in a stand mixer or in a bowl where you can use a hand mixer) and cream on medium high for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the egg and vanilla and beat until all ingredients are mixed together, another 3 to 4 minutes.

Reduce speed to low, and add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat until just mixed, about 1 minute.

Add rice crispies, chocolate chips, and oats, and mix until just blended. Finally, add marshmallows and mix until marshmallows are well distributed.

Now the dough needs to rest. Take cookie dough, wrap it in saran wrap, place it in a sealed plastic bag and refrigerate. You can rest it for 8 hours, but 24 hours is usually better. You want the dough firm and cold.

When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 375. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop tablespoon scoops and lay them about 2 inches apart on your baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies are golden and firmed up.

Allow cookies to cool in pan for 5 minutes, before removing them to a cooling rack. Enjoy.

Printable recipe

I packed a few of these up for teachers at the start of school  They were very popular.