Things in Jars

My friend Nick brings things in jars.



This thing, from his latest visit, was a sort of loose, unsticky, chocolate cereal treat.  It had dried fruit in it -- cherries? raisins?  It reminded me of the treats discussed in this post, but seemed blessedly less healthy.

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Cracker Intentions; Cracker Reality

I bought a box of these peanut butter crackers intending them as an easy-to-eat "early labor" snack, but I was in intense labor so quickly (and the whole thing lasted less than 9 hours) that I didn't get to eat anything between breakfast (cherry Nutrigrain bar and orange juice with liquid iron*) and an hour or so after the kid was born.

They're a little dry, but palatable, especially with a glass of milk.

Here are other things I intended to buy before giving birth, based on research I did on some homebirth websites, so that I'd have them for labor and  post-birth snacking (for me and for my support team):

applesauce
bananas
bread
juice/Vitamin Water/lemonade
grapes (to freeze)
Greek yogurt
Clif bars
soup
popsicles
brownie mix (2)
cottage cheese
oatmeal
tater tots
Toaster Strudel
pudding (chocolate)
Emergen-C
miso soup
bagels
fruit

Of course, this didn't happen, thanks to my intense contractions and speedily-born son, but I've kept the shopping list in the diaper bag and intend to pick up most of these items later this week.  They still sound pretty tasty to me. 

*A Lesson Learned: Drinking OJ in labor turned out to be not the greatest idea.

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Poetry Tuesday: The Difference of Its Parts

Smaller than Snickers, I choke back the laugh
Less than p. buttery, nod to that jar
Not rating a video, accidentally un-still
Underwhelming words, and indeed no muse.

My compliments

We did nothing to deserve a complimentary Lemon-Brown Butter Mochi Cake with kumquat sauce, black sesame streusel, and Il Laboratorio Buttermilk Ice Cream, but were thrilled when it was brought to us at one of our favorite neighborhood spots, Five Leaves.

Thankfully, our relative unworthiness did not sour its flavor.  Delicious!

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Current Favorite Things

1. Giant salads (pictured: tomato, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, cheese, greens, oil, and vinegar)
2. Three-week-old babies (one in particular)
3. Episodes of Downton Abbey (Watch it instantly on Netflix)

Best of all? Combine all three!

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Oh, yeah. And I drank one of these.

Yeah, so, I had a Shamrock Shake from McDonald's in March.  They can be hard to find in NYC, but I found it at the joint just around the corner from my house.

It wasn't bad, BUT it was clearly just a vanilla shake with some sort of colored flavoring mix stirred into it.  I could tell because it hadn't been stirred very well, so it was white and streaky at the bottom. I guess the woman who prepared my shake doesn't consider herself an artisan.  Or something.

Also, the whipped cream on top? Complete overkill.

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Not Pictured: The Great Gumball Fakeout!

A number of weeks ago, I attended the opening for Dan's installation (and the new Andy Warhol exhibit) at the Montclair Art Museum in Montclair, NJ.  You may recall I helped "weed" stickers for his piece a while back.



The photos I took of the artwork look great, but the photos I took in the reception hall came out either dark and murky (no flash) or harsh and unflattering (with flash).  So I'll just tell you (instead of showing you a crummy picture) that there was a nice selection of flavored puddings in shot glasses and delicious cookies to enjoy, as well as fruit, vegetables, and cheese.

There were also tall glass vases filled with large, round balls.  Attractive as decoration, the vases contained serving tongs, so the "balls" were clearly meant to be eaten.  And my dad and I both took some assuming they were malted milk balls or chocolates of some sort.  But they were gumballs.  Giant gumballs.

Gumballs, when one is in the mood for them, can be delightful.  BUT gumballs are chewed over time and keep one's mouth occupied.  You don't just eat a gumball and then move on to the pudding.  And a gumball is seldom found on a buffet at a reception.  It made for a surprising moment in my mouth, and (because I stood near the table and watched other guests) in the mouths of many attendees.  Most of the adults chewed a few times, looked surprised, and headed for the trash can.

It wasn't bad gum, of course, but there were cookies to be eaten!

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Hoppy Days

According to the package, Bunny Crisps are "chocolaty," not "chocolate."  Hmmm...

Somebunny over here (oh, that's me!) thought they tasted close enough.

Thanks, Rusty!

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Hat Trick

I was told I selected the "perfect combination" of three snacks to bring along in my bag when my husband and I attended our first Tribeca Parenting Childbirth Education Class (Home Birth), so I thought I'd share this winning combo:

• Sugar snap peas (healthy, fresh, crispy)
• Reese's Pieces (sweet, chocolate, peanut butter, melt-in-the-mouth)
• Snyders of Hanover Honey Mustard and Onion Pretzel Pieces (savory, tangy, crunchy)

What would make up your ultimate trifecta of snacking?

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Photo Essay: Our Baby Shower (February)

Host: Rachel





Spread: Cheese Fondue with fruit and vegetables, pickles, spice cake. I enjoyed the food so much I didn't get any photos of myself, and very few photos of any of the guests!




Decorations: Tissue paper garland (made by me), flowers and butterflies (made and donated by FEAST organizers).  Flowers.




Activity: Draw a picture for our homemade alphabet book!



Thanks, friends!
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Back on the (Baking) Horse

 
The breastfeeding demands of a newborn have left me little time to execute recipes these past three weeks.  Luckily, my husband is perfectly capable (and willing) in the kitchen.  I have not gone hungry.

The other day, though, I really craved homemade cookies, and I managed to eke out enough time to make (and, dare I say, improve upon) this recipe between a couple of Sebastian's naps.

In a radical sort of mood, I found some mini marshmallows, rolled them into the cookie dough, made larger balls than called for, and baked each dozen for about 13-14 minutes.

They were delicious! Dan and I ripped through them in about 3 days, and I'm itching to make more.

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"We'll eat you up, we love you so."

Here's to the people and restaurants who provided special snacks and meals in the first several weeks after I gave birth to my son (three weeks ago today).

• My smarty-pants husband had Thai delivered from Cheers for the two of us, our doula, and the midwife, an hour or two after our home birth.
   
• Moss, Rachel, and Hero brought fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, biscuits, and slices of pie from Pies 'n' Thighs for dinner that first night.  Turns out that two pieces of fried chicken was EXACTLY what I wanted after 8 1/2 hours of labor.
  
  
• Nick came by with dark beer (good for milk production, they say) and ice cream and chips and...numerous other good things.  Matthew C. also brought beer (which turned out to be more for my husband than for me).
  
  
• Tim and Holly made lasagna and fennel salad, and delivered it with chocolate cake (and brought their gorgeous 6-month old daughter).
  
  
• David and Molly donated homemade chicken pot pies, ready to cook, and chocolate-coconut hand pies (pictured above).  Oh, yum!
  
  
• Carmine's was the first place we "ate out" with the baby.  We only purchased two slices of pizza at the counter, but they still let us sit in the back (which is usually reserved for people ordering from the menu), away from the construction noise on the street.

Inedible but Lovely "special mention" goes to Willow and August's cherry blossoms and two bunches of flowers from Matt C. -- not to mention all the other friends who stopped by or mailed cards and gifts of rattles, blankets, onesies, books, lullabies, and more.  Sorry I haven't named you all here!

I feel really, truly blessed.