when thinking about the new year i made a vow to start sharing favorite recipes in this space again, but it has taken me a while to come up with a starting place.  since we started eating mostly paleo, we’ve tried a ton of new recipes (remember, i’m cooking 3 meals a day – yep, i sorta think i’m wonder woman too) and they have been great.  for example – last night i made lemon/lime carnitas in lettuce wraps – drool.  but i’ve been sticking pretty close to published recipes and haven’t really had the guts to throw my on spin on things.  until now.

i knew as soon as i read about these muffins over on the freckled italian, i’d be baking them up this weekend.  they did not disappoint, plus i had the cutest sous chef on this side of the mississippi.  due to a wonky pantry and my own inability to just follow directions, i’ve taken liberties and changed things up just a bit – it’s just my natural way:

RECIPE NIGHT: CHOCOLATE CHIP AND BERRY PALEO MUFFINS

ingredients:
(made 12 serious muffins)

6 eggs
4 tablespoons of coconut oil
1/2 cup of raw honey
1 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup of almond milk (original recipe calls for coconut milk)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla (i like to add vanilla to my baked goods)
half container of raspberries
4 strawberries
1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips

when i told EBN i was getting her a step-stool, she marched into the bathroom and retrieved this.  i had something different (and higher) in mind but she was a toddler determined and i didn’t want to dissuade her.  so we made this work.  and don’t you always bake in just your dino undies?

pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

we started things off by lining up our ingredients.  after measuring off the coconut oil put it in the microwave to melt.  once melted, beat the eggs into the oil.  this will keep it from re-solidifying.

while i was in charge of cracking the eggs, EBN counted them, and kept track of where we were in the process.  she also put each of the egg-shells in the compost #hippiechild.

chop (i use this term loosely) the strawberries and raspberries and add them along with all the other ingredients to the bowl.  then get to mixing.

she’s got a lot of strength for a very little girl.

grease or line the cupcake pan and spoon in the mixture.  EBN then “bammed” each muffin – an essential part of the process.  i was super impressed by how easily these slipped out of the tin once they were done baking.

pop these suckers in the oven and let them bake for about 25 minutes.  at the half way point take them out and sprinkle a couple extra chocolate chips on top – hey, they are paleo, you gotta get your kicks somewhere.

fresh out of the oven and totally delicious.  so good that i plan to serve them to my dad (no one is a bigger critic, especially when it comes to baked goods) when he and my mom are in town later this week.  after enjoying just a taste last night, we put them in the toaster oven and each had a warm one for breakfast this morning.  already dreaming about another one with a cup of hot tea, for a post dinner treat!

i had a post about “what happens when i drink 1 scotch too many and spend a late night looking up my old hebrew school carpool on facebook” ready to go  but, in light of the tragic events today, i think it’s best to save the post for another day.

for now, sending thoughts and prayers to colorado

and wishing a shabbat shalom to all

xo,

LBN

i’m writing this post at 8:51pm on wednesday night and even though the sun has not yet completely set, the pacifica sky is erupting in flashes of light and sparkles.  last year at this time, having never experienced living in a town that allowed individuals to set off their own fireworks, i was pretty sure the world was ending.  this year, i’m just pretty sure we are in for a long night.

it’s been a small town kind of day.  local bands, potato sack races and a bake sale in the park, hotdogs and beer and watermelon and sparklers with friends for dinner and now hoping and praying that EBN sleeps through the constant, house-shaking blasts, and that we all make it til tomorrow.

———

okay, now it’s the next morning…and we all survived.  is it just me or were the fire works a bit calmer this year than last?  it might have been that our next door neighbors are out-of-town and so the street party that erupted last year went until the wee hours of the morning, way beyond the midnight city curfew, didn’t so much happen.  a house down the block had small, legal, rockets – but they were out of amo before 10 and even swept the street before heading off to bed.  i’m not complaining…this holiday sorta fizzled out and that is more than fine by me AND my kiddo who slept through it completely – rock star, i tell you.

she woke up dancing in her crib (sans poop!) singing NAAAAAAAAAANI, PAAAAAAAAAAAAAPA.  good thing their flight gets in in just under two hours.  i’ve got one very excited little girl – in her beach hat.

this post is seriously a year in the making (no – i’m not pregnant.  gosh.  for the record – i have no plans to get knocked up again before 2014.  and when we do decide it’s time, you’ll know because we will go to hawaii.  until then – quit thinking about it).  this post is about my other baby – my photo wall.

from the day we moved into our house, when every surface was covered in boxes and packing tape and my kiddo was happy to sit in her pack ‘n play and stare at the window, i knew i wanted a photo wall.  i quickly created a pinterest board and filled it with inspiration pictures:

but projects like this take time.  and i’m a woman who doesn’t have much of that lying around these days.  while planning EBN’s birthday extravaganza, hosting 26 for our passover seder, traveling between westport and LA and chicago, working, crocheting and blogging – my photo wall was never far from my mind.  i began picking and choosing the items i wanted to display – order a blown-up family photo here, a chanukah present for ABN there, mementos from our long distance relationship and coasters of israel’s past prime ministers – just to name a few.  i bought frames – and then i bought more frames.  and then the frames took over my craft room our basement.  finally, a few weeks ago ABN, took one ever-supporting look at me and said, “just finish it.”  and it was the kick in the ass that i needed to get the job done.

originally, i thought we would be done last weekend (ok, originally i thought it would have been done last september, in time for our anniversary…ha!), but after spending 5 hours on saturday marking and measuring and leveling and blue taping – we made the mistake of leaving the house for an hour or so, only to come home to find our perfectly realized master piece, in a pile of butcher-paper on the floor.  tear.

after taking a deep breath we decided the project would need to wait until this weekend and so when saturday morning rolled around we got right to work:

we started by finding a level horizontal and vertical.  i know it doesn’t look level from this photo – but it is.  i swear.  as my dad reads this he’s currently having a mini-heart attack that we put all these holes in the wall and he wasn’t here to supervise.  it’s a sorta rational fear considering, until this point, he had hung each and every photo/wall-hanging in our home, other than the mirror above the fire-place – which happens to be a tad off-center.  don’t worry dad – we did good.  also, ABN, once again, showed his genius-ness (word!) and insisted that the way to deal with the multi-sized frames, and my insistence that they be equal distance apart throughout the wall, was to start at the center and work out.

and so we did.  i would like it to be noted that thanks to pinterest (my one true love) i knew that it would work out well to have a horizontal line running through the wall – ABN brought vertical to the table.  and that is the secret to a perfect marriage – ABN and pinterest.  before attempting to hang the frames, i had traced each frame onto butcher paper and labeled the resulting stencil with the photo that would eventually hang in its place – and in the correct direction!

i feel that we should pause for just a moment to acknowledge the cuteness that is our little helper.  moving on…

my plan was working great until it came to the point where ABN started putting actual nails in the actual wall for actual frames.  turns out – “deer/family photo” is not universally interpreted as “the frame that currently holds a print of a deer but will one day hold a beautiful family portrait and doesn’t hold the family portrait now only because when the photo arrived in the mail, ABN’s head was cut-off – for no clear reason.”  also, butcher paper labeled “jews” doesn’t mean “shadow box full of coasters of past israeli prime ministers” to everyone.  weird.  thank goodness i was there to translate.

the end result is really way better than i could have ever imagined.  over time, we can switch out photos and mementos for other photos and mementos – you know, like in 2014, if we have another kid, that kid should probably get a place on the photo wall.  or something.  also, there is still a bit of room to grow – up and down and out so we can add to it as time goes on (quit rolling your eyes ABN, your work is never done!).

looking at these photos i’m thinking a more in-depth photo wall tour might be in order…over time i can introduce you to the photos and mementos that fill this space.

i would like to give a shout-out, freckles in the fog acknowledgement to ABN – he worked his tush off on this and without him, my fantasy photo wall would not be a reality – the least of which are the nails he put in the wall.  but also, i worked hard too.  since last july.  just saying.

(turn up your volume)

but her style is 100% mama approved

while i’m still trying to wrap my head around the last week (a seder recap is coming – i swear), i’ve gotta share my much talked about chicken soup recipe before this here holiday is over.  i don’t know about you all but i’m sorta over living on leftovers and tonight i plan to make my little one and myself (poor ABN has to work) matzah pizza because really, is it even passover if you don’t eat matzah pizza just once?  but, i’m getting off topic.  the topic at hand is this: the best chicken soup recipe…EVER.  how do i know it’s the best?  because it’s a combination of my GRANDMA’s and THE REAL NANI’s and, just like their matching china patterns - this chicken soup is really out of this world.

i always assumed that making chicken soup from scratch was a major deal, and while you do need a few hours (because the soup has to sit…duh) it’s really no biggie.  if anything, making the soup (and i made two batches because i was worried i wouldn’t have enough…guess who had more than enough…for next year too) forces you to slow down a bit.  the hours spent at home were great for getting work done and making progress on my crochet project.

N&G CHICKEN SOUP

ingredients:

• whole roasting chicken, cut into pieces – even better if you get get some extra wings and backs (or my grandma would argue, feet!).  i used pieces rather than a whole chicken – this way i didn’t have to cut it up (gross) and was able to pick out the pieces that my family especially likes because one of the benefits of making soup from scratch is the boiled chicken that is left over (just ask EBN…and ABN).
• 5-6 carrots, 5-6 stalks of celery, 1 onion, parsley (parsnip and will are also good additions)
• kosher salt
• black pepper
• 1-2 telma cubes (shhhhh!  this is a huge family secret, i might get disowned.  but the telma gives the soup great color and extra flavor)

wash and dry chicken pieces and season with salt and pepper

put in a large soup pot and cover with water.  the chicken pieces do not need to be submerged but if you are making a massive amount, like i was, it’s fine to just keep adding water (probably best to not fill the pot more than 3/4 of the way).  uncovered, bring to a rolling boil and let the chicken boil for about 5 minutes until that lovely scum forms on top.  remove as much scum as possible.

wash and clean celery stalks and carrots.  cut in 2-3″ pieces and add to soup pot.  i like to peel my carrots because you can later cut them up and add them to the soup.  be sure to include celery leaves and the “root”; they add additional flavor.  add one whole, peeled onion.  if you are adding parsnip and dill, now is your time.

cover the pot, leaving 1/2″ air vent for steam to escape.  simmer gently for about 2 1/2 hours.  work on crochet project.  in the last 10 minutes, add those TELMA CUBES – tell no one – and parsley.

strain.  N&G both liked the chicken served warm or cold for dinner – and so did a couple of BNs i know and love.  it’s also great for chicken salad.

pull the the meat from the bones and do with it what you desire.  if you are freezing the soup (and you should, keep some on hand for the next flu season), be sure to save the bigger bones (my freezer currently looks like a bit of an avian burial ground) because when you reheat, you’ll want to add them in…did you know the bones are what give the soup the flavor?  just be sure to remove the bones, before serving.

add some matzah balls – sinkers, floaters, spinners – whatever you desire – and enjoy!

legend has it, when my dad was in law school, my grandma wrote out this recipe for him and him to put in 3 Tb of pepper.  let’s just say, that it was the ultimate home cure for any bacterial or viral infection!