New Mommy Kitchen Part I- Screaming Baby and All

A friend of mine who is a new mommy to a beautiful baby boy reached out to me recently asking what she could make with what she had and with 5 to 10 minutes of prep. She had some fresh ingredients and basic pantry items. Before I got back to her she had made a delicious meal that also made for a second dinner the following night. But she still was looking for a little help for future meals.

I had this vision of her just getting home after a long day of work, she is a prenatal nurse, with a baby she is so happy to see that she doesn't want to put him down no matter how much he is screaming at her and she’s starving. Not to mention that the baby needs a diaper change and just wants to be fed himself. This vision inspired me to create a kitchen and recipes that are meant for new parents to be able to prep in minutes and walk away while it cooked.

The obvious challenge, I’m not a mom with the challenge of balancing life, family and a good home cooked meal. I have several friends who have been moms for awhile and have reached out to them about what they wish they knew or had when they were first time moms.

But first I tried to imagine what it would be like to be full-time working new mom and what I would need in my kitchen. This made me think of how well a job my mom did balancing family, work and cooking. No matter how tough things got for my parents or how stressed they were, my sister and I wouldn't know it because we always ate together as a family. However, I imagine this took my parents a few years to figure out through bad meals and possibly some swearing in the kitchen.

So begins my New Mommy Kitchen series dedicated to all new moms and those who simplified the kitchen before them and have figured out the challenge of cooking a delicious meal while holding a screaming baby who needs a diaper change and is hungry too.

My next blog in the series will be about what every new busy mom needs in the kitchen to make fast meals. This includes pantry items, cook books, utensils, tools, fridge and freezer foods. Basically building the perfect no fuss easy to use kitchen

To all the moms and dads- what kitchen trick or tool do you wish you had or knew about when you were a first time mom?

Fresh Fall Dinner

The Fall weather is here.

Its brought much needed rain, chill in the air and the inspiration for hearty comforting food. Tonight we roasted a turkey breast with fresh herbs and fall apples. Sides were Castroville artichokes and roasted potatoes. But I think my favorite part of the meal was a fresh salad made with Farmer's Market veggies and strawberries.

Ingredients for 2 servings:

2 cups fresh mixed greens

1 tbls minced shallot

8 basil leaves, chopped or sliced into thin pieces

EVOO & aged balsamic vinegar to taste

Salt & pepper to taste

Strawberries, quartered

Crumbled blue cheese or whatever cheese you have in the fridge

Chopped walnuts

Mix the greens, shallot, basil, EVOO, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper in a bowl. Divide among two bowls. Top with strawberries, cheese and nuts.

Thats all there is to a bowl of Fall deliciousness.

You could make a meal out of it by adding chicken or salmon.

What are you going to do with the Fall harvest?

My Favorite Mac and Cheese

Another Cookbook Addition 

My family cookbook would not be complete without the mac and cheese I grew up on. Its perfectly creamy and cheesy. It is always bowl of comfort when needed. My mom would always serve it with a main dish, but I prefer just a bowl of it all by itself.

The first time I made this it took me forever to find Velveeta cheese at the grocery store because it was not in the cheese section where I assumed it would be because it had the word “cheese”in it, right? I called my Mom and she thought it was hilarious I couldn't find it. She explained I would find it in a middle aisle. For a moment I had second  thoughts about using a cheese that was in a aisle........ but just for a second. There was nothing that was going to stop me from making the best mac and cheese ever. Fortunately you can find Velveeta in the cheese section which is more comforting to me.

1950s old fashion Mac and Cheese

by Peggy Jones

This is my Mom’s recipe that we grow up on and in turn, Natalie and Michelle grew up on.  Michelle has been making this recipe for her friends now. 

1 ½ lb. (or more) Velveeta Cheese

½ Cup Whole Milk

16 oz package of Macaroni

Butter for pan

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Boil Macaroni in two quarts of water to desired tenderness.

Place Macaroni in a BUTTERED 9 x 12 inch baking pan. Shake the pan to even the macaroni over the pan surface.  Pour milk over the macaroni down the middle of the pan. Using a cheese slicer cut thick pieces of cheese to layer all over the top of the macaroni, making sure that no macaroni shows through the cheese.

Place in oven for about 10 min or so until the cheese has melted but on browned.  Remove from oven and take a large serving spoon to stir the mac and cheese making sure that all the macaroni has been coated with cheese.  

Serve with an entrée or by itself in your favorite bowl.

My Mom's Ribs- our favorite

Another Cookbook Addition

There is one dish that my sister, brother-in-law, my dad and I always ask for a special occasion at home- My Mom’s Ribs. This is a day long process that starts early in the morning. This of course makes for fall-off-the-bone ribs. These are the ribs my sister and I grew up on. I have no idea what style they would be considered, I’d like to think California style because thats where I grew up eating them. 

She found the recipe in “the Complete Family Cookbook” printed in 1970. This is what you would envision an old family cookbook to look like (okay, it may not be that old, but it looks like it)- it no longer has the cover, falling apart from years of use in the kitchen and is kept in a giant zip lock bag. It has food stains, torn and missing pages. Its seen its fair share of cooking successes and of course culinary disasters.  

But the ribs have been the favorite of everything she has made from the cookbook. The following recipe is form the cookbook with some changes. Of course there has been experiments and variations over the years. So feel free to add other herbs, lavender or chili flakes for example.

Basic BBQ Spareribs

Serves 6

5 lb pork spareribs

1 cup or more of brown sugar

1 1/2 tbls of dry mustard

2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp dry ginger

1 8-ounce can tomato sauce

1 cup orange juice

2 tbls minced onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 tbls fresh chopped parsley

2 tbls Worcestershire Sauce 

Trim some fat from the ribs, you want to keep some for flavor and moisture. Boil ribs in a large pot with salted water that covers the ribs. You may have to cut the rack in half to fit. Then simmer them covered for 45 to 60 minutes or until a grey color. Flip the ribs occasionally to ensure even cooking. 

While the ribs boil, mix all the sauce ingredients. Let stand for at least 15 minutes. Place boiled ribs in a large deep dish or zip lock bags. Place the sauce all over the ribs. Place ribs in fridge for one and half hours, turning occasionally to ensure even coverage. Remove ribs from fridge and bring to room temperature, about a 30 minutes. This will help grill the ribs evenly.

Remove ribs and pour sauce in a bowl. Reserve 1 cup of the sauce. Cook ribs on a heated outdoor grill. Cook until ribs are heated and have a nice caramelization or slightly crunchy. Baste frequently with the rib marinade. When finished remove and let rest for 10 minutes then slice into individual ribs. 

While ribs are cooking heat the reserved cup of sauce until it is evaporated to about 3/4 cup. Serve with ribs as extra sauce.

Celebrating Family With Love and Food

Like a lot of families mine gets together over food for all celebrations. If its a birthday, you bet that birthday boy or girl is getting a feast to remember. Thanksgiving is always the tradition of turkey and all of the fixings. We like to save Christmas for indulgences. So naturally for my Grandmother's 90th it needs to be a huge celebration with food, we're still working out exactly what we are going to make. Any excuse to spoiler her we will.

But what to do for a birthday gift that will honor a woman who has been an inspiration, supporter and brought so much to others. I decided that I would do something that combined two things that are very important to me- family and cooking.

So I have decided to put together a book of our family recipes. Everyone in our family has a signature dish (or two or three...) that has a story. I have asked everyone in my family and extended family to send a recipe with a story to match.

I started with my Grandmother. I gave her a red note book to write what she could remember. I never asked her to include stories because deep down I know she would.

This is what she wrote on the first page:

"I am writing down my personal recipes for my beloved Granddaughter, Michelle Marie Jones. She is a very giving and thoughtful young lady who loves the work she does for the Cancer Society (American Cancer Society). She also volunteers for other good causes because her heart is so big"

This is such a perfect example of how supporting she is. She has always put those she loves ahead of her and has always made sure we felt loved. She has seen struggles (grew up during the Depression), raised three amazing women, still gives back to the community and of course inspired all of us to cook with love.

I can only hope that I can inspire, nurture and support those I love the way my Grandmother has. Wether its through words, a hug or my cooking.

Natalie (my sister), Geri (my Grandmother and me 

A Bowl Full of Love

I know it is cliche to write about mac n cheese, but I cant help it. We all have a favorite version of it and most of us grew up on it in some form or another. From a box to a béchamel sauce, we enjoy it anytime of the day on its own or as a side dish.

It always makes me happy, especially when my mom makes it. She has never ever altered her simple recipe- elbow macaroni, Velveeta cheese and milk. Its always perfectly creamy and cheesy.

The first time I made my Mom's version was when Velveeta was still on a shelf. Of course I went to the cheese section to find it, but to my horror it wasn't there. My Mom laughed when I called her from the store asking where it was. When I found it, I stood there, stared at it wondering what it was made of and why it wasn't with the cheese. I used better judgment and chose not to read the ingredients and grabbed it.......I never looked back. Of course you can find it in the cheese section now and that makes me feel a little better in some silly way.

Even in my mid 30's there is nothing more comforting than my Mom's mac n cheese. I've tried the box stuff, several restaurant's versions and I even tried to make my own fancy version. Of course nothing comes close what I grew up on.

A Bowl of Love

I sarted to think of my mac n cheese guidelines:

• First there are no rules- when it comes to certain foods you should do whatever you want
• Cheesier the better- lots of one kind of cheese or a mixture of several
• There should be no such thing as "healthy" mac n cheese- that just doesn't make any sense
• Endless toppings- bread crumbs, crumbled bacon, tater tots, chicken, etc. 
• Eat it whenever- I will eat it for breakfast or for a snack.
• Have fun with it- I've been know to re-heat mine in a pan of butter to get it crispy. Once I even made a seafood version with crab and shrimp.
• Be proud of your favorite version! If you like the box kind who cares, if you like to get fancy with it have fun and if you're like me don't be afraid of the mystery cheese on the shelf. 

Wow, I guess that is my celebration of mac n cheese, my Bowl of Love.

Feeling Saucy

I’ve realized recently that store bought BBQ sauce is just not as good as fresh BBQ sauce you can make on your stove top. Sometimes the same can be said of BBQ sauces that your favorite restaurant sell, the bottle version just doesn't taste as good as when it is served in the restaurant. As always, fresh made food is always better.

I've been having fun creating and experimenting with different ingredients. This is a basic tomato based BBQ sauce that you can add too with whatever fresh herbs or spices you have around. Of course you can add anything from fresh thyme to ginger to red wine. Have fun with it, just remember to taste as you go along and you can add to it but not take away.

2 tablespoon of olive oil

1/2 medium size onion, minced

3 garlic gloves, minced

1 cup of ketchup

3 tablespoon of cider vinegar, add more if needed

3 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce

Juice of one lemon

3 tablespoon of brown sugar

4 tablespoon of honey, add more if needed

2 tablespoon of yellow mustard

1 teaspoon of dried mustard

Pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Add the onion and garlic, saute until soft.

Stir in the rest of the ingredients and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer at low heat uncovered until thickened, about 10 minutes. Stirring often to prevent burning.

Taste the sauce when finished for seasoning- you may want to add more pepper, cider, honey or any extra seasoning. 

This is enough to baste a whole cut up chicken with extra for serving. I recommend doubling the recipe so you have extra. It stores for several weeks in an airtight container in the fridge.

Room temperature chicken seasoned with salt & pepper

Can you smell it?

Extra sauce is a must, its that good

How easy is that?!?! 

Now time to own it and make it yours:

• add fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme or lavender. This is a great time to use up any extra herbs you might have in the fridge.
• add your favorite hot sauce. Start off with a teaspoon then add to taste
• substitute the cider vinegar with another flavored vinegar such as champagne vinegar
• add red wine, bourbon or whatever you think would add another depth of flavor
• what else do you have in your fridge or pantry? Chutney? soy sauce? flavored honey? Molasses? 

The homemaker in me thinks this would make a delicious housewarming gift or party favor in a small jar. 

As you can see the possibilities are endless. What will you put in your sauce?