So remember the request to see my MDNW bumper stickers in action? Joslyn T, the mastermind behind Raising Foodies sent this sweet photo to me and I liked it so much I sent her a free cookbook. Everyone who registered on DALS by the June 26 deadline should have received their free sticker by now — and for everyone else, don’t worry, there will be lots of opportunity to win one in the next few weeks. Your chances increase greatly when you send in happy family dinner photos…and in fact, they increase exponentially when you send in unhappy family dinner photos. (Remember, I am in the business of reality here.)

And…BREAKING NEWS! I’m pleased to report that after approximately 325 exposures to quinoa, the girls finally took their first bites a few nights ago without wincing. We think it had something to do with Andy’s money-back guarantee: “You can spit it out if you don’t like it.”

Happy weekend everyone. I think I’m going to make some version of this dinner on Sunday when my parents come over if you’d like to “join” us.

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Is there anything better than looking at the calendar for the weekend and seeing a big huge block of…absolutely nothing? Somehow, last Sunday was the first weekend day in a little while that wasn’t spent shuttling the girls to and from birthday parties, or catching up on errands, or barreling north on 95, or south on the Taconic home from a road trip. And when we get wind that this kind of day is coming, we seize on it like a pack of wolves on a bunny, identifying it as “Moratorium Saturday” or “Moratorium Sunday” and anticipating it like Christmas. Plans are forbidden No playdates — for the kids or the grown-ups. No road trips. No errands that don’t include food. (Trader Joe’s falls into the Leisure category.) It’s a day to do nothing…or, at least, a day where we commit to nothing…but end up doing a million things anyway. Like making a big-ass Sunday dinner: Classic barbecue chicken, chutney potatoes, corn off the cob (Abby is missing a few choppers) and a Lee Brothers- inspired Cabbage and Lime Slaw with Peanuts. (more…)

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I never knew how beautiful the words “In Stock” could look. Until I saw them under our cookbook which, according to readers and friends, is now being delivered to your homes and bookstores around the country. This is part of the note that just arrived in my inbox from Christina in Oregon:

…Now the reason for this email. Um…….THANK YOU! Thank you and your co-authors for this compilation. I consider myself an average to better than average cook and can confidently say I know my way around the kitchen. What you managed to do is allow me to see my kitchen anew…..I love the entire book but especially the I WANT TO HAVE A FAMILY DINNER WHERE WE ALL EAT THE SAME MEAL, and your I WANT SOMETHING SIMPLE, FAST AND HARD TO SCREW UP chapters. Using a muffin tin to make meals more enticing for kids, clearing out the fridge and dishing it up as an appealing smorgasbord, using the waffle iron for grilled cheese sandwiches? None of this is rocket science, none of it requires extra work from me, it’s all there right in front of me and yet I didn’t see it until you pointed it out to me. I could go on and on but I want to save it for the amazon review.  Thank you and your collaborators for the wonderful gem Time for Dinner has turned out to be.

In honor of this day — and in honor of Christina…Bless you, Christina — I wanted to share a recipe from “Chapter 5: I Want to Use What I Already Have.” Well sort of. This is a slightly different version of the steak-and-chard hash in Time for Dinner, but it’s every bit as awesome. Why? For starters, the meal takes advantage of the (more…)

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When I first became a mother, there was a lot riding on a cup of coffee. As my husband once said of new parenthood, “We no longer get tired. We are tired.” For that first year, I was exhausted all the time. I was breastfeeding two or three times through the night, had little time to exercise (always key for keeping my energy level up), and was dealing with the emotional and physical exhaustion of being a working mother. (What am I doing? Why am I leaving her for eight hours a day? God, when will Monday be here? I need to get out of this house.) That first cup of coffee in the morning was my lifeline. I didn’t care at all about the roast or the blend or if it was fair-trade, organic, Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts. All I cared about was that it was caffeinated. After just a few small sips, the day before me would suddenly become all rainbows and sunshine. (more…)

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With the exception of maybe ravioli, Abby’s never met a stuffed, wrapped, bundled food she didn’t love. Shumai, quesadillas (aka “Triangles”) fish en Papillote (aka fish presents)…they all have an ERC (Expected Rate of Consumption) in the high 90th percentile. It was no different with these little pork dumplings, which I debuted at the family table last week. See that photo above? There were seven piled on the plate, but the girls kept grabbing them before I was done taking the picture. It was too hard for them to wait.

I would classify this recipe in the Project category. There are lots of things little kids can do — fold, pinch, and “paint,” — to help move along the sometimes tedious work of assembling them. Goes without saying that you should probably not undertake this kind of “project” on a weeknight when the bedtime clock is ticking. Better for a weekend or vacation day.

How to assemble dumplings: 1) You only need a small bit of pork filling. Dip your fingers in water and dot or “paint” the  edges of the wonton. 2) Fold one corner over the opposite corner to make a triangle shape. 3) Pinch all sides together.

Pork Dumplings
Takes about 1 hour start to finish; Makes about 3 dozen.
If you are so inclined, you can skip the grating and the mincing and chuck all the filling ingredients (not the wonton wrappers or canola oil) into the food processor and pulse until combined. If you do it this way, no need to cook the pork first. Cook the whole mixture in a saute pan over medium heat after it’s been processed.

1 tablespoon canola oil + 1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
3 scallions, green and white parts, chopped
3/4 pound ground pork
2 teaspoons Chinese Five Spice (optional)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 8-ounce can water chestnuts, drained and minced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced
1 12-ounce pack of wonton wrappers (available at any Asian specialty market)
canola oil for frying

Add the oils to a large frying pan over medium heat and cook the scallions and ginger for about one minute. Add pork, breaking it up with your spoon in pan, and raise heat to medium-high. Once the pink of the pork is almost gone, add 5-spice, soy sauce, water chestnuts, and cilantro. Let cook another 2 minutes and take off heat. Transfer filling to a bowl.

Set up your dumpling station: A bowl of water, the filling, and your wonton noodles. Assemble as directed in photos above. Add canola oil to a large skillet. Fry in batches over medium-high heat until crispy and golden, about 2 minutes a side. Serve with dipping sauce and snowpeas.

Dipping sauce note: Instead of making my own (which I imagine would be some combination of soy sauce, scallions, rice wine vinegar) I just used that Fairy Dust, I mean Soyaki sauce from Trader Joe’s.

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