I had a big response/request to share this recipe when I posted about making it on instagram. I know some people like to bookmark/save blog links vs insta stories so I’m sharing it here.
This recipe came into my awareness through a magazine (Costco–via Kim Holderness’ new cookbook “Everybody Fights”) …and was pinned on my pantry door in preparation for my postpartum season with Nellie… “Chicken anxiety tortilla soup” was the original title-and I loved what was in it–knowing I might doctor it up a bit. The secret/surprise ingredient from the original recipe is a can of coconut milk…gives it just a creamier edge & blends perfectly with the hotter flavors of the soup–I think it’s the right balancing act, and packs a nutritional punch too, perfect. The spices in it are what gives the recipe its name—cumin and tumeric are known for their calming effect even while warming the blood—this is a perfect soup to make for a momma in her postpartum phase–the collagen & nutrients of the bone broth, the soft veggies of all kinds & the easy to digest & warming palette (spices) make this perfect for her. If you’re trying to sneak more veggies into your kids–or husband–they will never guess that this is loaded with goodness
So if you’re like me…and value the benefits of a home-made bone broth—then grab your organic rotisserie chicken, strip the meat off, and make your bone broth the day before (or in the afternoon if you’re planning this soup for dinner). It calls for 2-3 cups of broth, which is about half what you’ll get from simmering your chicken bones on low for 3-4 hours (and hence, why I offer a generous doubling of this recipe–it keeps well & just seems to get better the second time you warm it up!)
This recipe got some of it’s additions from my kitchen (the peppers) because we were using them for part of my brand update photo shoot (can’t wait to share more soon!)…and of course they weren’t going to waste. I adore the bright color & bright taste they add to this, after some mellowing by sauteeing, of course.
Fall Calming Chicken Tortilla Soup
*4-6 cups of bone broth, homemade or from a container *depends on how *soupy* you like it, and how much of each of the below you add…
*1-2lbs cooked chicken, cut/shredded finely
*1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk
*2 zucchini
*2 cups carrots, chopped (I used baby carrots to save some steps)
*1 can 28 oz organic diced tomatoes, drained
*4-5 mini peppers–orange, red, yellow, well chopped
*2 medium onions, chopped
*4 garlic cloves, minced
*2 tsp ground cumin
*2 tsp ground tumeric
*2 tsp smoked paprika
*Salt & pepper to taste
*Olive oil for sauteeing veggies
Get the broth warming, and throw in the chicken & coconut milk. Saute the veggies in batches–I did onions & garlic with zuchinni, carrots seperate, and then peppers, since cook times vary to get them soft. Add to soup. Throw in your spices & simmer for 30 min while you take a brisk fall evening stroll or toss the football in the yard with your kids.
Serve with sour cream, avocado slices and/or shredded cheese, and tortilla chips—either on the side or crushed up in the soup, depending on your preference.
Cheers! Enjoy this warm hug of fall comfort in a bowl, from my kitchen to yours.
Maddy’s note: this is my 100th blog post! I had no idea when we started this humble project a few years back, where it would take us, and how much we would enjoy the process. Thanks to all you faithful readers, and a huge shout-out and thank you to my sister Annie, my talented editor.
This post was featured in the Theology of Home roundup on August 5, 2020.
Our humble garden has been changing the pace of our summers for four years now.
It started as a fun project that we took on when moving to the “country,” and has become something we look forward to each year. The first year was a lesson in many things, but mostly in eagerness. We enjoyed building the beds and planting a large multitude of different seeds and seedlings, only to realize we could overcrowd the plants, and that we had alot to learn about tending them into a fruitful harvest.
When I started my gardening habits four years ago, I was in a season of mild postpartum anxiety (PPA) and was generally overwhelmed. Adjusting from two to three kids was hard for me, and on top of that, we had made a big (wonderful) move to a more rural lifestyle, out of the crazy hustling pace of New York City. It was a lot of change, and I needed a full reset of the pace that I’d grown accustomed to. I knew that life could be simpler, slower, and richer in little ways, but I struggled to relinquish the cultural pressures of hustle, “more,” and “instant,” and my kids did too.
As we learned to tend our plants that first summer, I saw a shift in all of us. Of appreciation for simple daily miracles, of slowness, of wonder at the beauty of our world, and at our chance to cultivate a small corner of it.
Over these four summers, we’ve spent some beautifully memorable hours prepping, tending to it (though we’re very low-maintenance about it relative to some expert gardeners), and of course, harvesting, as we are now in July and August.
There are cherry tomatoes we eat like candy, herbs for nightly dinner enhancements (and cocktails, of course), and other things like cucumbers and zucchinis, eggplant, bell peppers, that appear almost overnight and miraculously…the growth can almost be seen if you watch closely. It reminds me of how it feels to watch my children, ages almost 10 to 18 months, growing before my eyes with the simple ingredients of summer: food, sunshine, and long hours of play.
In a culture that emphasizes and values consumption over all (think our overflowing homes, netflix subscriptions and screen consumption, constant need for new, different, the way social media fans the flames of need cycles), I know that our humble attempt to grow a garden is something that helps me pause. To lean towards other values. Of cultivation, care-taking, and a slower pace of life.
Why we garden: some thoughts
Gardening is an excellent form of the “unplugging” and resetting that we all need, especially in the midst of a year that has challenged everything about our sense of normalcy.
In the past, we, like many other families, have gone down the path of summertime crowding and the “consumption” of experiences like camps, activities at the library, and vacations away. I’m still sometimes guilty of falling prey to this, but the presence of our garden and the life flourishing right there in that patch, pulls me back to a more grounded reality, helping me relish staying home and living expansively within our spaces.
A book that I read last summer drove home this perspective from another angle. There are some nearly forgotten values that we would do well to build our lives on—sustainability, cultivation, peace, patience, and a long-term perspective. Cultivating these values leads us to make decisions that have positive ripples for years and decades to come.
I don’t know how much my kids will remember of all of this, or if they will cherish home grown foods or choose to plant a garden in their future lives, but I do know that they take so much pride in the veggies they are growing here today. They eat them willingly, proudly tasting the fruits of their labor, and I believe they have a deeper sense of wonder and appreciation for the earth and its fruits knowing the process that we go through, from seed to harvest.
Living in tune with nature’s rhythms
When we start our seeds in the frigid April air of Connecticut or buy our tiny seedlings from local farms in May, we are committing with hope and joy to the cycles of the year; the long hot days are soon to come.
And in August, when the cherry tomatoes are bursting with ripeness and we walk by and pop them in our mouths as we wander around the yard, it’s a reminder of the goodness of each season and of just how much the little things, simple and fleeting as they may seem, can truly mark and ground our lives. (Do you think we would appreciate juicy summer tomatoes the same way if every day was hot and tomato season was year round? I doubt it.)
When we get a sudden, strong, mid-afternoon summer storm, I sigh happily knowing that nature is doing its watering (even if it means we have to get creative with our rainy day plans). There’s a bigger life cycle at work that we’re tapping into. There’s something to be said for living with these seasonal rhythms that remind us, a time for everything and everything in its time.
This year, the four kids each had the chance to be responsible for designing and tending to one of the garden beds as we built. They enjoyed every aspect from moving soil, picking out seedlings from a local organic farm, and planting their selection of herbs, veggies and flowers. It was a process that kept us happily busy for long spring days, and now they burst with pride when picking veggies for dinner or showing yard guests the growth of their gardens.
Keeping it simple
All these plants really need are good soil, sun, and plentiful water—sometimes rain, sometimes overzealous hose soaks from the kids, or a gentle sprinkler mist, mid-day, that helps punctuate our routines and outdoor time.
The garden welcomes whatever attention it gets, and these plants are hard-wired to thrive. The other day my daughter was having a tough moment and I told her that plants grow and do well when we sing to them. Now I’ll see her pausing in the middle of her play to sing a short song to them (or catch the dragon fly that always linger there) before she goes back to her games.
It’s easy to over-complicate gardening, like anything in life. Or to focus on the results (I have a zucchini plant that is HUGE, but not producing fruit! Puzzling, but I’m going with it). Keeping our expectations for the garden project low has meant that we welcome and relish all the harvest we get, and we stay curious/learn from mishaps or things that don’t turn out as planned.
Creating Space
Turns out–we learned from our beginners’ eagerness the first year, you can definitely over-crowd a garden space, causing nothing to grow very well because each plant is competing for the key ingredients to a good life: sun, water, and soil nutrients.
When I’m pruning my tomato plants, cutting back the stems and growth that, while pretty, will keep the plant from flourishing and producing fruit, I’m struck by the metaphor for our lives. I’ve distilled this metaphor/life lesson into a phrase that’s become a guiding principle of my life (and of my signature life design course): “create space”. In order for the good stuff to flourish (and even before we may fully see it coming to fruit), we have to diligently prune and make room in our lives so that the good fruit can make itself known.
Cultivating patience
As anyone who knows me well can attest, patience is not my strong suit.
Sometimes my impatience leads to gardening catastrophe. Last year I had a great bunch of seeds germinating in my laundry room in trays, and I transplanted them just a wee bit too soon, before it was warm enough…they didn’t make it.
Fortunately, I also have kids who help me grow in this virtue. Tending to little ones (plants or humans) requires ample amounts of patience. Like when I’m teaching my toddler to enjoy watching (not tugging or touching) the green tomatoes, growing in size in June and July, and reminding him to wait until they are perfectly red (or purple) before we pick.
How much more we appreciate and savor the long awaited veggie when it’s finally ripe and ready for the sauce-pan or the salad bowl. And how much more our patience reminds us of the value of what we’re anticipating.
Accepting the times of hidden growth, and of times of blossoming
This year, in our new space, I’ve been marveling at watching the growth up close, and with plot twists. With late frosts and a beach trip, we planted everything pretty late, and the first few weeks it felt like we might never see growth. Between little seedlings trying to survive the elements, some pebbles lovingly thrown at them, sporadic watering, and a child’s attempt to “weed” them, our plantings just couldn’t catch a break. And since this was a new garden plot we didn’t know if it would be the winning combo of sun, shade and distance from roving animals.
But we kept doing all the steps, and trusting the process, more instinctively now, without knowing what kind of a bounty we would get.
Sure enough, after weeks of what felt like incremental growth came a week of heavy daily rains and an explosion of blooms, blossoms, fruits, and veggies just appearing, literally from day to day, before our eyes.
Nothing can prepare you for that sudden shift from nothing to something, from barrenness to fruit, from hopefulness to gratitude. But like everything in life, we have to accept that there are patient, long, dry periods, followed by the beautiful blossoms, fruits of prayer and work and living, that make it all worthwhile, and cause us to marvel: “how could all this bounty have come from such a tiny (hopeful) starting point?”
In the garden, as in life, it feels like a miracle, every time. We simply have to trust and stay present to the process as it unfolds.
Garden rhythms, a slower life
I’m someone that thrives on rituals or daily rhythms. Loose enough (room for adjustments and spontaneity), but structured nonetheless. Moms’ lives can feel a bit chaotic at times, so I look for predictable elements that I can plug into and offer as guideposts to the kids, especially on these long summer days.
Midday naps, morning work and chores, then afternoon simple outings, and predictable morning routines all work for me. Mornings are my best chance to fit in my necessary quiet, recharging moments like an early morning run or walk in nature—sneaking away to be alone with my thoughts.
The rituals of tending to a garden (water, weed, harvest), which I at first saw as yet another thing on the to-do list, has become embedded in how we do summer. When I turn on the hose for a midday garden watering, it often turns into sprinklers and water play. When I take the few minutes needed to weed a bit or harvest, I savor the long evening rays of the sun hitting the garden and their nearby swing, the kids play around me, or I help them harvest without destroying the plants in the process. The pre-dinner ritual is to plan our meal based on what’s ripe and ready to be eaten…and to grab the herbs, veggies and anything else we need to craft our meals.
We live a moment of gratitude for this gift of food growing right here, for our enjoyment.
It’s good to feel connected to the process and helpful to the growth of a garden, but not fully responsible. Like the “soul gardening” I’m doing with my littles.
I can’t imagine summer without these garden rhythms, and I pray that the slower pace of life, and the new rhythms we’ve welcomed (often reluctantly) in 2020, sink deeply into all of us, helping pull us out of our modern busyness & hustle, and reminding us of just how much goodness and beauty lies in timeless rituals of cultivation, care-taking and living in tune with nature.
June…strawberry season…this year it coincided with a big sigh of relief a things start to open up again, and we find new patterns of summer “normalcy”–and of celebrating warm weather (that came late in CT), and being alive after the winter that would never end. And of course, strawberries are the perfect early summer fruit that we’re all craving as the days lengthen & heat up.
We finally did a strawberry patch day at Jones Family farm, after hearing about it for years. Definite summer bucket list for this crew…and the result…LOTS of strawberries…the kids, especially the girls are great pickers! The boys much preferred to romp in the patch and eat everything in sight, and that was wonderful too.
We came home loaded, especially thanks to a mothers helper who was also a dedicated picker 😉 So now the fun decision time…coinciding with fathers day weekend…what to make?
High on the list was strawberry icecream, along with strawberry rhubarb pie, and the desire to attempt Jam for the first time…and along with that, if we had enough left, some strawberry scones for Father’s day brunch. So here we go, sharing the recipes we tried, tweaked, and loved.
I may just want to go back in a few weeks and do this all over again!
The nice thing is, this can easily be made dairy free. Just substitute coconut or almond or a combo milk, and they now have a dairy free heavy whipping cream alternative…so easy!
I also substituted coconut palm sugar for regular sugar…it definitely gives it a different (I would say lighter sweet) flavor, and I personally love it.
We doubled the batch…our kitchenaid icecream attachment couldn’t fit it in all at once…but definitely better to just make it all up and cycle it through if you can!
Ingredients
2 cups fresh strawberries , hulled and chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar, divided–1/2 cup for blending with strawberries and 1 1/2 cups for the main mixture–we used coconut palm sugar
4 cups heavy whipping cream (can sub dairy free)
2 cup milk (whole)
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Directions
Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and 1/2 cup sugar in a mixing bowl, set aside in fridge for 2 hours.
In large mixing bowl (kitchen aid) beat eggs until light and fluffy.
Gradually add remaining sugar, mixing well. Stir in milk and vanilla and mix well.
Blend strawberries in a blender for a more even pink look/flavor and save a few strawberries in chunks for some nice texture.
Add strawberries with juice and mix well.
Gently stir in whipping cream just until combined.
Pour into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer’s instructions.
The kitchen aid icecream attachment is definitely the lazy man’s way to make ice-cream (I’m sitting here writing this out while it churns)….I remember the many hot hours taking turns churning icecream with my cousins as kids. But the reality is…this is much less intimidating, and I don’t want my ability to make ice-cream often in the summer to be dependent on whether my kids are around to lend an arm (they helped with the initial part of the recipe and then went in the sprinkler with friends).
A killer taste. Literally a spoonful tastes like every summer memory, flooding into one bite. Don’t take my word for it…try this!
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
With Father’s day weekend, we needed no excuse to whip up this tasty recipe. I used store bought pie shells because I have no guilt with taking short cuts on full weekend days…but here’s a good recipe if you’re making your own crust!
The rhubarbs grow wild in our yard (planted by the former owners, in a corner of the yard we hardly use…so it’s fun to have the girls bring heaping handfuls of them for us). They have a bitter edge that is balanced well by the ultra sweet strawberries. This wasn’t a pie combo I loved as a kid, but it’s now one of my absolute favorites.
We started with this recipe…and adapted (increased strawberry to rhubarb ratio, etc). Emma was my lattice queen, and it was fun to see her enjoy the creative pastry process…a girl after my own heart, finding flow & enjoyment in the kitchen in creative ways.
Ingredients
3 cups chopped rhubarb
2.5 cups chopped strawberries
3/4 c. raw sugar
1/2 c. cornstarch
1 tbsp lemon juice plus 1 tsp. zest
Pinch kosher salt
2 tbsp. cold butter, chopped
1 large egg, beaten
*Vanilla ice cream, for serving*
Directions
Preheat oven to 425°. Prepare pie crusts and then do a quick pre-bake (scoring the dough) for 10 minutes…meanwhile…
In a large bowl, mix together rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, zest, and salt until mixture begins to look juicy. Place one crust into a pie dish and pour in fruit mixture. Dot with pieces of butter.
Decrease oven temp to 375
With the other sheet of pie dough, make a lattice top. First, cut the dough into ¾” strips. Then, weave strips over and under each other in a criss-cross formation. Using kitchen shears, trim the top and bottom crust so there’s a 1” overhang, then fold under and crimp edges together. Brush crust with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake until pie is golden and filling is bubbling, about 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes. If crust is browning too fast, cover with aluminum foil.
Let pie cool slightly, then serve with vanilla ice cream if desired.
So yummy & balanced! A perfect summer treat…and I also happen to love it for breakfast with cold brew on a warm summer morning! Try it, guilt free…after all, we’re after #intutiveeating here.
Fresh Strawberry Scones
The final recipe we made with our first batch of strawberries…strawberry scones for fathers day brunch. We tripled this recipe (changing some things), and then were able to have 2 extra batches for sharing with neighbors, for guests, and freezing So easy to pull out from freezer and prepare whenever you’re in the mood for that fresh summer taste.
So, is it wise to triple a recipe when it’s new and you’re experimenting? Not always. But in this case, it worked out! It was touch & go for a bit as I worked to get the consistency right with the types of flours I was using. I’ll encourage you to stay flexible, and work with these measurements with a literal grain of salt 😉
I wanted to make mine with less gluten so I started out with half & half einkorn flour and white whole wheat flour. But then, with the heavy cream I used instead of the originally suggested yogurt, it ended up being a bit too moist and needed more flour, so I added almond flour. All of this is reflected here, and it actually worked out to be a wonderful blend of textures/flavors. This process is exactly why my old food blog was named “whoops yummy”…and my family still teases me with that phrase from time to time.
Ingredients
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup einkorn flour
1 cup almond flour
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
1/3 cup sugar (I used raw)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 heaping cup hulled and diced fresh strawberries
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 large egg
Optional but recommended: 1/2 shredded coconut to mix in
Raw sugar to sprinkle on top of the scones before baking
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper or tin foil.
In a medium bowl, blend together all of the dry ingredients.
Cut butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter. It’s old fashioned but genuinely the best…channel your inner Julia Child and enjoy.
Gently mix in the diced strawberries
In a small bowl, whisk the heavy cream and egg until smooth. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, gently stir wet mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form (be careful not to squish all the berries). Use your hands to press the dough against the bowl into a ball. The dough may be crumbly at first, but as you press, the dough will come together. If it’s not crumbly at all, and instead is too moist (the flours like einkorn can absorb it differently)…then go ahead and keep adding almond flour until the consistency is right.
Place dough ball on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles; place on prepared baking sheet, about 1 inch apart.
Bake until golden, about 15 minutes.
Can serve warm (extra yum) or make ahead and then re-heat in a toaster oven or low heat oven for the same melt-in-your mouth effect, but with less worry about timing it perfectly.
We spoiled our guy with these on Father’s day, and Emma, who is a scone afficionado and critic, said they were seriously amazing.
So basically, this blog post can be–ways to eat fresh strawberries all day long, from breakfast (scones), midday (ice-cream), to evening (pie). That’s certainly my plan.
If you try out any or all of these, let me know how you like them! Tag me on insta so I can see your creations.
Lots of love, stay safe, and keep enjoying the summer with simple, beautiful rhythms and some new fun summer recipes!
A step by step kombucha tutorial with the Pidel ladies: spring 2020.
Hat tip to Emma, talented video editor…she wanted to start you with a trailer to give you a sense of the magnitude of this adventure.
And here’s the full tutorial–taking you from day 1, making the tea with scobys, to day 14, when we add the final goodies, taste, and pronounce it good.
Cheers! Thanks for indulging us.
(Let me know if you want more scenes from our kitchen & zany projects we’re up to 🙂 The girls share my love for a good project that comes with a joyful mess.)
Day 4 growth…trust the process
Kombucha recipe and details.
DAY 1
*1 or 2 scobys (we got our from a neighbor—find someone local and you’re all set)
*1 gallon water (bring to a boil as you’re making tea)
*2-3 bags of iced tea, we used harney and sons peach and it turned out amazing! (or 8-9 tea bags, can be a variety, if normal sized tea bags)
*1 cup sugar–we used raw sugar, it dissolves in the hot water so matters not what kind you use (coconut sugar could work too!)
Step 1: Heat water to boil, let tea steep 30 min, as you let it cool to room temp. Add sugar during this time. (We put ours outside with a dish towel to allow it to cool faster)
Step 2: Add your scobys to the brew!
Step 3: Cover with a cloth (and rubberband) and then put it in a warm place, ideally 70-80, and out of the way (we have a small cupboard right next to our oven that served nicely ;))
Step 4: Let the scoby do its thing. Wait!
DAY 7: You can check it each day to monitor the scoby growth.
You can stick a straw in and taste it on day 7. We waited until day 10 until it smelled a bit differently (nice yeasty smell!), and then tasted.
DAY 11 or 12: when it feels like fermentation is at a good point, you can take the scobys out, bottle it (put in fridge after to slow the process from this point on) and you can also add berries. We added some frozen raspberries and blackberries but I honestly think we preferred the taste without this.
Then you take the scobys out, store them in a bit of the kombucha, and you’re ready for your next batch! We enjoyed making 2 to start with, to compare the fermentation process with them, and to puzzle about why they ended up with different taste, timeline of reaching bubbles, etc.
This time of coronavirus pandemic has meant that life has changed, overnight. Many of us are still unpacking what it all means, and working from the ground up to build new rhythms for our days. Suddenly, many of us are homeschooling our children (in the midst of our work and other obligations) and while it’s an abrupt shift, and has been challenging for many of us, I firmly believe that we will look back at this season, and see alot of good in it.
My own childhood history is that of homeschooling, for all of elementary and even for highschool. It was a blessing that I know shaped who I am tremendously, and while I know full well the inherent challenges of it, I have also been a first-hand beneficiary & recipient of so much of the best parts about homeschooling–the freedom, independence, forced habits of personal discipline and motivation, and the reminder that at the end of the day, we are all responsible for our own education. Learning seeds of this (in the right nurtured environment) early on, can shape the trajectory of a beautiful educational experience of a lifetime.
It’s one of those things that can look messy in real-time, in the process, but stepping back just a bit, it’s a beautiful thing. We all need to give ourselves grace and remember that our kids see us, doing our best, adjusting at a steep curve and learning alongside them all (those of us who haven’t been homeschooling)…and in the end, we’ll all look back and say–it wasn’t easy but we did it!
Love establishing our habit of prayer & journaling and learning about a virtue–combined with some read aloud as needed 😉
Here’s a few glimpses into our perfectly imperfect homeschooling life (of one full week), and a few thoughts & tips/tools that I hope may make it just a tiny bit easier and less stressful for you.
*Keeping our mindset on the bigger picture enables us to stay positive throughout–focusing on what we can accomplish each day with all the time we now have at home. I have to remain flexible while firm about a certain list of things getting done, but the order in which they happen may shift, and working on building habits of responsibility and self-direction/motivation in the kids as a top priority. We’re doing a combo of online & book learning, as many of you are, so it ends up being like “station rotation” at our house (like the girls were used to from school): 30 min with me at the dining table, working on specific worksheets/assignments, then a small break for a chore or quick play in the yard, or 30 minutes of free reading, they can sneak off to a comfy spot in the house (quiet and away from little brothers)…before coming back for a 30 minute session in their google classroom in the office, or playing math games on this fun site called www.abcya.com (believe me, it makes me very happy to see how much joy they get out of “fraction monsters”–the bigger fraction eating the smaller one–and it’s entertaining 3 of them (oldest sis gets a mini audience for part of it).
Their simple joy about choosing and planting seeds is contagious. Daily #actsofhope during this time.
*Keeping things light and positive is definitely the name of the game to keep my own stress levels down, and to keep us powering through our day. I’ve chosen to offer rotating “specials” classes, just like they had at school. They get a kick out of this–with science class being planting seeds last week (an ultimate #actofhope in these dark times–that better, brighter days are coming)…and art class, cooking class and PE were we’ll be learning more about certain sports. Having it feel novel and fun (with short segments of focus) is what’s working for us.
Field studies at a local park: nature walk & beach/stream play.
*Here’s a great checklist that has basically taken all the stress out of having to keep them reminded of what they need to do. I detail out all the things we need to have them do in a given day, and establish a simple reward for each week (it’s been a new craft), and they eagerly refer to them often and remind me of what needs to get done. This takes the fighting out of any particular moment when I ask them to do it–I just refer to the chart. And vice versa, I don’t have to control too tightly the order in which things happen: I let them dictate that, so long as it all gets done over the course of the day. It’s really been a life saver and I even established a small checklist for myself to ensure I hit my own daily self-care and personal goals along with the work and family commitments we all feel. With so many big things out of our control, it’s so nice to feel that this one thing–our rhythm, our daily work and commitments, can be checked off a list and represents a day intentionally lived.
*Talk about it all. I have been checking in with them frequently to see how they are feeling about things–if they feel they are getting enough support, if assignments feel easy, hard, at the end of each day how they feel it went–their “highs and lows” (we love this great book to make it a family dinner affair) and of course, talking in general terms about how we’re all handling this crisis. This is an important moment, these little beautiful people are processing a huge life change alongside us, and I want to honor and respect that. For one of mine, it’s also meant some face-timing with her classmates to fill the social hole she feels missing. We all have to take the approach that we’re figuring this out one day at a time, and I think involving the kids in that, so they know they are agents of their new life, is hugely helpful.
I have to admit: when we designed this space a few months back, I thought to myself it would be perfect for homeschool moments…
*Tidying breaks. This is a major lesson learned–if we let the normal messes of schooling build up, it gets to my peace. I love a mid-morning and lunch time quick tidy that everyone can be involved in; and more than ever this is when our spaces need to be well organized with easy access to materials, and a beautiful, calm and productive environment for them to learn. Grateful that we’re able to tailor our new spaces and just test out how things flow best regarding which classes or activities for schooling take place where. Just like in their classrooms, kids love it when we mix it up, and they also respond well to order.
*Regarding schedule–what works for us is some flexibility and grace (spoken as a mom of 4, with lots of moving parts and little needs from everyone)…I don’t sweat if we don’t get everything done before lunch; there are plenty of other moments in the day and afternoon, but I DO emphasize down-time/quiet time during Blaise’s nap–and I will often get my own work done then, or focus in with the older girls, and I make sure that we all MOVE every day—that hasn’t been too hard as they just run out the door any moment they get when it’s sunny. When it’s rainy, we’ll pull out the yoga mats and do some good ol’ mindful movement. Walking/riding bikes in the neighborhood helps all of our moods, and I’ve tried to keep a steady flow of slightly new crafts/coloring pages, and art materials flowing in, so they are always eager to use. Again, we’re only 1 week in, but I know Michaels and other places are having fantastic online sales, and we can get alot of great stuff delivered that can help make this all as bright & fun as possible.
I know that at the end of each day, I want them to know that we learned together, we did our very best, and we were kind and positive to each other. That we listened well, and grew together. It’s challenging me in all the right ways, and stretching my momma heart (with so much pride, especially, for how resilient they can be) and I am very grateful for the hidden blessings and lessons of a challenging time.
You guys. This is SO good. I made peach icecream a few weeks back and got re-acquainted with my kitchen-aid attachment for icecream. BEST gift that I had on my wedding registry–you know, the obscure thing that you think you won’t use, or don’t use…well I’m using it 🙂
I do have the best childhood memories of making ice-cream with an old-fashioned ice-cream maker, the rock salt, hours of churning it on the back porch of my cousins’ house (there were alot of us so we took turns and it went OK–but I remember that it disappeared in an instant!). When I was looking up recipes to inspire my peach ice-cream with freshly picked peaches, I ran into a coffee ice cream recipe, and just left it open, bookmarked in my phone (one of my ways of remembering/noting to come back to something–anyone else?). Anyway, this is entirely my own creation, because low and behold, Trader Joes happens to have this incredible coconut cold brew concentrate. As soon as I saw that, I knew this would be happening.
I had thought about doing a non-dairy or vegan version of this, it would be pretty simple to do, but the intrigue of using egg yolks, and my obsession with sweeten condensed milk and coffee together (a thai combo that I’ve had before) just led me to keep it straightforward. I’ll suggest the substitutions, in case you need to make it vegan or dairy free.
Homemade Coconut Cold Brew Ice-cream.
*TJ’s coconut cold brew concentrate (I used like 1/4 cup, depends on how strong you want the coffee flavor to be)
*1 can sweetened condensed milk (could use coconut cream to make it vegan)
*1 can evaporated milk (see above)
*2 egg yolks, lightly beaten (skip for vegan)
*1/4 cup raw sugar
*1.5 cup heavy cream or regular milk (use a coconut-almond milk instead like the califia one, for dairy free)
*1/4 c to 1/2 c flaked coconut
That’s it!! Crazy, right? If you have the kitchenaid mixer, just throw all the ingredients in with the pre-frozen bowl (freeze for 24 hours first), and let it mix for 20+ minutes (we were outside in the sprinkler while it was happening. Classic summer afternoon).
Then, place bowl in freezer and try to patiently wait. I was dipping my spoon and getting samples as it hardened and was just blown away by the flavor…
Warning to the wise: I think the caffeine in the cold brew made me stay up crazy late the first night I made it (I had a big helping after dinner, and I normally have little to no caffeine ;))…but SO worth it.
Let me know how you love it, and who you’re with when you enjoy it. Summer moments like these will live on in our memories for a long time.
And hop on my email list (above) for more of this delivered right to you—soon we’ll be focused on healthy kids back to school, healthy fall routines, recipes, and more…but for now…enjoy summer to the last moment!
So, this time of year, seasonal eating means all the fruits for this crew, and especially some quick and delicious fruit desserts, that are light and refreshing.
I have shared this crisp recipe before, in apple form. It’s SO easy, and can be made GF if desired.
And of course, on these hot summer days, sometimes we prefer to have a nice cold shake…those are our family breakfasts of choice often in this warmer season…so I also include a fun peaches and cream shake recipe, for any peaches that don’t make it into the crisp…
Peach Crisp
*4-5 ripe peaches, pitted and sliced
*1 stick butter, some for the pan, some for the topping.
*1 cup organic oats
*1/2 cup organic brown sugar, raw sugar, or coconut sugar
*1/2 cup flour: coconut flour, regular flour, or omit if you want.
Directions:
Prep the 9 in glass pie pan with butter, then toss in peaches with a tiny bit of raw sugar, let them sit while you prepare the crumble.
Cut butter into oats and flour & sugar, using a pastry cutter.
Preheat the oven to 350. Pop the crisp into the oven and bake 15-20 minutes, making sure it’s browning on top, bubbling well and smells like summer goodness as you pull it out. Let cool then douse with whipped cream, because, life is short, and the little things can make all the difference 😉
When you prefer to sip your peach crisp…:)
You all know we love our #lifeshakelife. Only plant protein I trust and use and recommend. It’s seriously amazing and if you’ve been wanting to try but haven’t been ready to commit to a 30 serving bag, hit me up for a sample serving.
So, this shake is easy and tastes heavenly. Of course, I’m always tempted to add greens, but the peach skins add a nice amount of fiber and it’s balanced well by the texture of oats, making it an awesome summer lunch that will keep you energized and on your A-game.
Peaches & Cream Shake
*3 ripe peaches, pitted and chopped (leave skins on, extra fiber)
I want to share a series of mini reflections on postpartum life–or, what’s really going on behind all those cute baby milestone photos we love to smile at. Sometimes it’s hard to peel back the layers–to let others in to this truly intense, often emotional, exhausting, time–it can feel that we’re in the eye of a hurricane–quiet but with huge forces of change all around us.
The reality of postpartum is that of a truly transforming existence for mother and child; as they learn to be apart (after the womb life), and learn to be together, in new ways, and in the world. Each week is unique and oh-so-meaningful, and I know, for myself, I want to remember all of it.
I truly believe that postpartum is a time when both baby and momma are meant to thrive. This has been my mission in coaching many women over the past years, and having this focus myself has helped me tremendously in the past years when #postpartumlife was my ever-present reality.
I’m immensely grateful for my tribe of mommas over in the FB postpartum community; they have been incredible in this phase, and I know if you’re not in there already, you’ll be very welcome indeed–whether you’re about to have a baby, or had a baby 6 years ago…
I’m finally ready to write and process some of the beautiful incredible things that made up the first weeks of postpartum life with Blaise. I know this will be part one of a series, because postpartum life is far from over–but there’s something so incredible, so special about the first 40 days, or 6 weeks, when momma is resting and healing and taking time to focus on bonding with babe…and then, the several weeks following that which are a process of unpacking and beginning to take strides to a new normal–new daily rhythms that work well for all–we’re perhaps just now beginning to find these.
Knowing (as this is my 4th) that this phase is both beautiful, intense and oh-so-short…but that postpartum life is more of a marathon not a sprint I wanted to honor and deeply dive into the first 40 days, soaking it all up with intention rather than having it pass like a blur.
*To the first time momma: it’s impossible to have perspective. I remember so clearly wondering: will I ever sleep again? Will my body ever feel normal again? Will this little human being ever stop needing me so much? The answer to all of these is yes, but in the midst of it all you struggle to feel that anything is as it should be*
NOW, knowing what I know, I decided to just truly bask in the first few weeks, to document everything (sooo many pics of the 4th child, he can’t hold that over us)…and to be still, to be offline much of the time, when I needed a mental break, to be quiet with these changes, to watch my family accept and welcome this new life, and to let the big ripples of this major life change, turn into smaller and smaller ripples as everyone breathes and leans into it, and grows. There is plenty of time to start exercising, to be “productive”, to do errands with baby (spoiled me, I didn’t set foot in a grocery store for 6 weeks around Blaise’ birth), and to look the part. (Yes, I do love new clothes in postpartum, but not because there’s a certain goal size waistline or pressure to bounce back).
There’s no going “back” We’re only going forward to new, better levels of ourselves.
Mother fills a distinct role during this time. She needs to be supported to focus on that; her own healing and re-balancing/recovery as a primary need, and with this, the ability to nourish her child as she nourishes and strengthens herself. Anyone who’s been through it can tell you the deep vulnerability and fragility that is felt, and why it’s crucial that she has a strong and supportive community around her, so she can keep her nervous system at peace.
The realization that postpartum life needs to be paced (and this is just my first post in a series, because there are many distinct phases & topics of postpartum)…is something that’s come to me over the years, and helped inspire a group of us to come together to take back conversations about postpartum life, just how different moms’ needs, goals and habits should be during that period, and to honor it as a time to thrive. This requires a tremendous family and community support to do well–mom must be allowed to re-focus her precious energies without guilt.
A short (mini) birth story
Yes, all postpartum experiences begin with the birth. This wasn’t meant to be the focus of this post/series, but I will share a bit about this beautiful birth experience we had with Blaise.
We waited 10 long days from Blaise’ due date to when he was ready to arrive. My patience grows thin during those times, and it becomes harder to care for the kids and do everything as my body preps for birth. I’m no stranger to post-date babies, but this time, with my hypno-birthing meditations each night, I was able to get perspective and embrace/welcome the natural process of things even as my overly planning/impatient mind couldn’t compute it all sometimes. I called on all the help for school pickups, etc, and rested alot, nested more, and stayed in during some of the coldest days of the winter.
The midwives finally did encourage me (when I was mentally done–and spent the morning both crying/swaying on the birthing ball, and bouncing on my kids trampoline!) that it was time to try castor oil. We did that on a thursday morning (Jan 24th) and my husband stayed home from work, and we arranged to go to the hospital by that evening, no matter where things were, because we knew we didn’t want it dragging on. The castor oil was a totally positive experience for me, not at all icky or hard to manage (I snacked alot and drank tons of hydrate/elecytrolytes)…the contractions were consistent all day, not picking up in pace, but remaining, and when we left the kids peacefully and went in to the hospital and met the midwives and team, I was 3cm along, and contracting well but they were ready to get me into a better pattern and prepare to break my water. I was given a little bit of Pit, and then once my water broke, things progressed quickly. I used my hypnobirthing meditations and then went into the tub to labor once a few contractions felt stronger than I was managing well. Once in the tub, I was only there 5 minutes before I told Joel–I need to get out and push. This was 1.5 hours into my active labor. He was used to two over 24 hour labors (Corinne and Ambrose) so he was seriously skeptical, and tried to convince me to stay in the tub just a bit longer, but somehow husbands wisely know not to argue with their laboring wife…sure enough, I was on the table and pushed Blaise out in 3 pushes, before they had time to even finish wheeling in all the materials, and the midwives laughed at me as I held my 9lb 7oz babe with the biggest grin on my face. He spent so little time in the birth canal and I felt AMAZING as soon as he was out. Such a dream labor and delivery–beyond anything I could have hoped for (though I had been visualizing my perfect birth for weeks, so maybe it’s not a coincidence).
Last pregnant picture–this is it!
Born right after 2am January 25th, our little perfect chunky gift of a baby, to start out 2019 with a bang.
I LOVE the hospital for their “baby friendly” policies and he didn’t leave my room once as we recovered. I had the kids visit and then was ready to go home with my parents who drove up the following day. Getting away from it all and being in a different (short) bubble helps me focus in on the important bonding and early postpartum moments, before life, home and kids come rushing at me. Grateful for the right place to make that transition, and wonderful, wise caregivers.
We loved introducing him to the siblings. He was an immediate hit, and slept through all their pokes, snuggles and “kisses”–for weeks, literally 😉
Intentional & restful postpartum
As I talked about before his birth, I had found myself rushing through the other postpartums with the other kids–if I felt great physically, I would push myself too early, take on too much (or travel alot, etc) and end up frazzled and mentally fried. Even if my body could handle it, it was taking a toll on my nervous system, and felt like more of a blur.
This time around, I RESTED. So much. Way more than is normal for me. I don’t consider myself a very restful person 😉 And it was good.
I napped every day for the first 4 weeks–during the first 2, it was hugely important and I craved that break; my mom would drive Ambrose to pick up the girls from school and I would curl up with Blaise and get at least an hour of lying flat rest. The rest of the time I was totally curled up on the couch with meals being brought to me, teas, broths, I literally didn’t cook a single meal or unload my dishwasher for the first 2 weeks. SO so grateful for my mom stepping in and doing everything. The kids loved it, Joel and I even got out on some date nights when my parents were around the first few weekends, and life felt so different and hugely calm, and like a little bubble of love surrounding us, and it was just perfect. The cold evenings we all hung out by our fire, and took turns cuddling this chub. I had imagined it would be fun to hibernate with a baby, and it has suited me so well (ie, needing a major excuse to stay in and enjoy it, rather than itching to get out, and being stir crazy in winter).
I had a no visitor policy for the first 2 weeks (anyone I would have to get dressed to welcome;)). This was challenging only in a few moments with folks wanting to come by, but they did understand, and it gave me permission to focus entirely on babe, nourishing and resting. I’m an extrovert and love hosting, but I like to have things tidy and at a certain level, so this way, the focus was entirely on my own kiddos and those directly supporting. Having family around to socialize with was wonderful—I could chat as long as I had energy, and hide upstairs when I was done (and know that the kids were in the best of hands).
I will look back on and treasure those moments for a long time—I could feel my body recovering well each day, and while I often am high energy and motivated to do things by day 4-5 postpartum, it’s not that wise for me (and I would regret it) so this time I just did less than I thought I could, and was able to get my sleep into good patterns, my hormones and stress levels were balancing, I held baby all the time, whenever I wanted to, and I didn’t experience any deep exhaustion that way; it made it all more balanced and joyful. I didn’t do anything around the house or much kid management at all–since Joel and my mom were both eager to help with that. I did fold some laundry but that’s because I enjoy doing it and insisted 😉 My mom staying here was a huge gift, and having others doing driving of the kids to and from school, etc, made my restful routines at home possible.
As anyone who’s met him will tell you, Blaise is just a chill, fun kid. He’s the dream baby (that I’ve earned:)) who sleeps like a king…and his little lazy self, just drifting into naps whenever he felt like it–on me or anyone holding him, has been inspiring me in a big way, to take my commitment to sleep/napping more seriously. We could all use a little more lazy Blaisey in our life, right?
Postpartum as a time of transformation
I really embraced this experience of postpartum as a cocoon metaphor; we were in an intense and brief period of transformation, and to do so well, we needed to be away from it all//resting//welcoming support in all forms, and really just being quiet and present to the transformation. I journaled (as I always do) daily, and found that to be a hugely beneficial way to process all that I was experiencing and feeling—not always wanting to talk it out, but mothers always have things that need to be processed, and the right supportive helping team provides this for her too. This quiet/inner work went well with the natural hibernating patterns of Jan/Feb up here, and I knew that soon enough, right about when the warm weather came, we’d be ready for adventures, but to enjoy this brief moment fully–not rushing any bit of it.
When possible, I enjoyed moments of getting dressed and getting out—new moms need this too! Staying in pjs all the time is a recipe for losing sanity a bit ;)—but always followed it up with a nap, and we never tried any crazy outings without extra hands to wrangle the toddler–for the first 4 weeks, to make it enjoyable for all.
This level of rest & welcoming help was huge for me, and of course all my nutrition tools–which I’ve had for the past 2 recoveries which made them so good. You can’t underestimate the effects of post-natal depletion–it’s real, and it’s not good. Our bodies have given SO much to create and birth these human beings, and we have to give time and high quality nourishment and rest to re-balance and come out stronger on the other side. It’s possible, but it takes some serious effort and focus. Energized postpartum starts with a strong baseline for the mother, who’s both nourishing/re-balancing herself and giving alot through feeding her baby.
(to check out these tools for your personalized needs, start here—or message me for a quick health consult if you’re in postpartum).
Having been no stranger to some signs of adrenal fatigue in prior postpartums, I can tell you that it’s something that you can’t mess with–pushing to the edge of your physical or mental capacity. Both you and baby need you at your best, so take that extra time and care. That’s been our focus and why we set things up the way we did for this period of time, and especially since I was so clear that I wanted to come out of this postpartum mentally strong and able to exercise (I have a spring race in the calendar), and ready for some exciting things on the business front…so the more rest and rebuilding that I allowed myself in the first 40 days, the more I could be present and ready for the beautiful next phases as they came.
Some other tools in my toolkit for thriving postpartum:
*The Early reclaim program by every mother. It helped me resolve my diastisis in pregnancy and provided an amazing baseline for core recovery and gentle movement in the first 6 weeks.
*Reflexology; I’m a huge fan of Pippa and I had a session right at the end of my 40 day quiet period, to re-balance my nervous system, energy levels and hormones. Such a gift to find someone who truly knows how the body is meant to heal and re-balance itself. I highly recommend this for postpartum if you haven’t tried, and want an optimal recovery.
*Pelvic & core PT: this has become my go-to for staying active/being an athlete and having babies. Melissa is a wonder worker and I went to her at 3 weeks pp, and schedule to go every 3-4 weeks up through my first running races and getting fully back to a new, better level of fitness. Every mother needs this in their life after birth.
As you may know, I’m a huge fan of the book “The first 40 days, the art of nourishing the new mother“–it completely changed my perspective on postpartum life when I read it after Ambrose, and I embraced many of the healing foods of the book this time around, especially broths and all the focus on hormone-balancing foods and snacks, and they helped me so much.
My dream postpartum breakfast: steaming bone broth with a heaping helping of local ice-cream topped with local granola.Breakfasts cooked every day for me for weeks–a true gift, and so that I could focus on serving breakfast to Blaise:)
I also experienced it as a time of clarity about what mattered—-it’s humbling and beautiful to strip life down to the most essentials, not leaving the house, not cooking meals, barely moving from the couch, and reflecting on–what do I want to add back in to my life? Of course laundry and carpooling are non-negotiables (though outsourcing is wise and I’ll reflect more on that in future posts)…but I mean, beyond, what do we want life to look like? How can we create a new balance that includes this new human beautifully and well? I’m so grateful I was able to lean into these reflections and really consider it all without stress or apprehension. It was instead a perfect moment of “creating space”–the term I focus a lot on in coaching and in my new life design course–that of being willing to add blank space to our schedule—letting go of being busy and instead being free to welcome the memorable, surprising, beautiful elements of life that can sneak up on us when we make room in our planners & hearts.
My 3 words for the year of 2019: First is integration–focused on integrating well as a family of 6, and integrating new routines, etc with baby as a focal point. Another word is intention…and living with the highest level of purposefulness that we can. Life with an infant brings this into sharp focus. My 3rd word for 2019 is impact–and already we’ve shifted things to make this possible in new, smarter ways. Blaise is a huge part of the expanded vision and focus I have, and it’s so exciting to know that family goals can accompany our larger life vision. These weeks really allowed us to delve into these themes and make them real in so many ways.
Thank you for taking time to share in this beautiful, unforgettable chapter of life with us. All the lovely notes, gifts, meals brought, helping hands and beautiful reach-outs just made it all the more special as we enjoyed welcoming and falling in love with our new guy.
The series will continue with posts on topics like: postpartum fitness (lots to say there, as I’m smack in the midst of it all), postpartum and work, postpartum & mental health, and much more. If you have topics you’d like to see discussed–reach out and email me. It’s so important to me to emphasize the beautiful layers of postpartum, and to build a culture that helps moms and babies thrive during this time.
If you’re not on my email list yet–you can hop on at the top of the page to catch the rest of the series in the coming weeks.
Welcome to our first guest post of the coming months! So grateful to my lifelong friend Monica for taking time out of her busy life with 4 littles to share this amazing recipe, and some beautiful reflections that all us moms can take to heart.
Congratulations on the entire Pidel family on the beautiful new addition to the family! There is nothing more beautiful than a loving family. I know your newest little angel is going to be so well taken care of by all his siblings!
When I added my fourth child to our tribe this past spring, I received an inspiring piece of advice that, while simple in declaration, has proven to be rather challenging in execution. A nurse at the hospital who was tending to me post-delivery, advised me to be sure to give each one of my children 20 minutes a day of my undivided attention. We could do anything we want during those twenty minutes as long as the focus is entirely on them so that they feel cherished and special. Thinking that was a wonderful idea, I have made that a priority over the past months and at first it seemed an easy enough task to fulfill each day. But then, the days grew shorter, the school year started up again, our schedules became quite hectic, and the baby started becoming more mobile and less content to sit in a bouncy chair or play pen while I tended to his siblings.
I began to notice that my eldest received his 20 minutes of attention fairly easily – he simply demanded it. He never stops talking and will not be silent until he finishes telling me what is on his mind, as well as ever juicy piece of gossip he learned at school that day. He also requires a bit of help with homework on a daily basis, so I always devote some amount of personal time to him in that regard.
My third child, Lucia, is home with me still during the day and I am able to find precious moments here and there to play a game with her, do a craft, or read a book. Lately, she has been enjoying schooling me in Candy Land and I have no idea how she does it because I’m almost completely certain that game is entirely based on luck. But, regardless, she makes it to the magical, sugary Promised Land before me every single time. She easily gets in her 20 minutes of attention.
And baby Daniel, please…he is practically an extra appendage, always hanging off of me similar to a baby orangutan at the zoo. He gets lots of mommy time.
Then there is my second child, Emma. The child who is the most independent, the most dependable, and the most capable of getting all her work done without much fuss or reminding. Emma is very good about entertaining herself, often disappearing to our basement after school to make paper flowers, crowns, or other little creations in solitude. I love her independence, but an unfortunate result of that is she is often the one who gets skipped having special time with me each day.
So, I began inviting Emma to sit at the counter and draw, read, and chat as I make dinner each night. She has never been very enthusiastic about helping me in the kitchen, both Matthew and Lucy are much more willing to lend a hand with cooking, but she has jumped at the opportunity to just be with me as I cook away each and every evening. She is a funny little thing and I so enjoy listening to her perspective on the world – it certainly beats any podcast I would otherwise be tuning into! And she just visibly brightens after having some attention from me and goes to bed at night happier and content. Even though she does not ask for or demand my attention, I have to ensure that I do not skip making some time for her – and all of my children. Even if the dishes are dirty and the laundry is piled high, nothing is more important than being a mother to these precious little ones. I can have a spotless home later in life, but my children are little right now and right now they just want me to be with them.
On that sentimental note, I wish to share with you a recipe for a nourishing, rich, and filling soup, one that soothes the soul while feeding the body. Not everyone loves mushroom, but I have found that even mushroom skeptics – like my husband – think this soup to be delectable. It’s creamy, delicately flavored, and filling while not weighing you down too much. I love the rich mushroom flavor in the broth, the heartiness from the wild rice and the bright finish from the lemon zest. It’s a perfect winter soup, simple enough for weeknight meals but not quite too humble to serve for guests.
Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup
adapted slightly from America’s Test Kitchen
¼ ounce dried shiitake mushrooms, rinsed
4 ¼ cups water
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 garlic clove, peeled, plus 4 cloves, minced
Salt and pepper
¼ teaspoons baking soda
1 cup wild rice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound cremini mushrooms, trimmed and sliced ¼ inch thick
1 onion, chopped fine
1 teaspoon tomato paste
2/3 cup dry sherry
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon soy sauce
¼ cup cornstarch
½ cup heavy cream
¼ cup minced chives
¼ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Chopped fresh parsley, for serving (optional)
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Grind shiitake mushrooms in spice grinder or using a mortar and pestle until finely ground – you should have about 3 tablespoons.
Bring 4 cups of water, thyme, bay leaf, garlic clove, ¾ teaspoon salt, and baking soda to boil in medium saucepan over high heat. Add rice and return to boil. Cover saucepan, transfer to oven, and bake until rice is tender, 35 to 50 minutes. Strain rice through fine-mesh strainer set in 4-cup liquid measuring cup; discard thyme, bay leaf, and garlic. Add enough water to reserved cooking liquid to measure 3 cups.
Melt butter in Dutch oven over high heat. Add cremini mushrooms, onion, minced garlic, tomato paste, ¾ teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are browned and dark fond develops on bottom of pot, 15 minutes. Add sherry, scraping up any browned bits, and cook until reduced and pot is almost dry, about 2 minutes. Add ground shiitake mushrooms, reserved rice cooking liquid, broth and soy sauce and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until onion and mushrooms are tender, about 20 minutes.
Whisk cornstarch and remaining ¼ cup water in small bowl. Stir cornstarch slurry into soup, return to simmer, and cook until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove pot from heat and stir in cooked rice, cream, chives, and lemon zest. Cover and let stand for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle with the chopped fresh parsley, and serve!
More about Monica of A Beautiful Mess
Monica is the cook, baker, and primary administrator of the blog A Beautiful Mess. She initially began the blog at the urging of her husband and sister-in-law as a way to share photographs, stories, and recipes with our families. An avid lover of bread in any form, Monica has had to demonstrate major restraint to not post only carbohydrate-centered recipes. She has successfully convinced her husband that a salad can be a sufficient main dish and vegetables are his friends. When she is not blogging or cooking, Monica enjoys chasing after her kiddos, running, pilates, drinking copious amounts of coffee, scrapbooking, and relaxing with a good book while listening to a selection from her collection of vintage vinyl records. However, her absolute favorite pastime is probably poking fun at her husband.
My intention at the beginning of this busy season was to front load all the things that had to get done, and then, with time and energy left over, create a list of things we wanted to do if time allowed…and this was on the top of the list, after chatting with the girls. We have done these in the past, when they were super little, like with their friends in Brooklyn, and in recent years, I had always done a smaller version or skipped it all together–just dreading the mess 😉 But this year, we timed it well with my cleaning crew arriving the morning after (as I’m writing this) and we also had an older crowd, who were more helpful than anything–that made a huge difference. They were a few of our favorites from school, that mine idolize, so they were in absolute heaven to have them over for tea and cookie afternoon.
We were working with a gluten allergy, and a diabetic in our group, so the focus was on cookies that everyone could enjoy, and I prefer to bake this way anyway. These 2 recipes from Ambitious kitchen worked so well for what we needed—usually almond flour based cookies are super crumbly and are hard to get into that rolling/shaping mode, but this was wonderful in taste and texture. The gingerbread is super tasty (and I’m pretty picky about mine), so give them a try if they inspire you. I’m sharing the better icing recipe of the 2 offered, because we found it was a better consistency, and while it’s not paleo, if you’ll allow for a little organic powdered sugar in your life, it’s a great recipe. Because, balance.
We also made one other fun (EASY!) cranberry bliss bar variation with GF crust of oats instead of the typical graham cracker crumb. I’ll share that too since they are very easy and delicious, and I made it up, so I’m sure I’ll want to come back to this next year to remember. Oh, and cupcakes, because we had the cutest nutcracker toppers to use, and those were GF from a box 😉 And we needed to have different stations to keep these cute hands busy while the cookies were baking…
1 1/2 cups packed fine almond flour (do not use almond meal)
3 tablespoons coconut flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Melt coconut oil, and toss the sugar, honey, egg and vanilla into your kitchenaid. Wait for the coconut oil to cool, then add that in and mix well to combine.
Then, almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda and salt. Mix well–until a nice dough forms. Allow dough to sit for 5 minutes, at least.
Can roll out and bake immediately, or can wait 24 hours (we made ours the night before), just give it 20 minutes to come back to room temp before attempting to roll it. Shape into all the fun holiday shapes you desire…and then bake for 8-10 minutes on parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Remove from oven, and can leave on the counter on the parchment paper, which also makes for an easy decorating set up (we just moved them back and forth during the party). Makes about 15 cookies, depending on the shapes and sizes you use.
Paleo Gingerbread Molasses Cookies
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup melted and cooled coconut oil
1/2 cup coconut sugar (or use organic cane sugar)
3 tablespoons molasses
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups packed blanched almond flour–the finer the better.
3/4 cup organic coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger (or can use something called gingerbread spice which is mellower but same idea)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
Optional: Organic cane sugar for sprinkling, if desired
ICING (works for both cookies above)
1 cup organic powdered sugar
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon almond milk
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a kitchen-aid mixer, mix together melted and cooled coconut oil, coconut sugar, molasses, eggs and vanilla extract. (**Make sure your coconut oil is not HOT; it can be slightly warm just not hot!)
Next add in almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, spices and salt; mix well to combine and form a dough; sometimes using clean hands might be necessary. Let the dough rest for just a few minutes.
Place dough between two sheets of parchment paper on a flat even surface. Roll out the dough so that it’s approximately 1/4 inch thick.
Use cookie cutters of choice to cut the dough out and then place each shape on your prepared baking sheet about an inch apart. Sprinkle with organic cane sugar if you’d like then place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finishing cooling. Makes about 18 medium sized cookie shapes.
To make the icing: Using same mixer (quick rinse!)–Mix together the ingredients well, until smooth.
Transfer to a pastry bag to pipe icing onto cookies. We did with knives after it had been refrigerated a bit and was more solid, but you can also use a Ziploc bag and cut a VERY small hole in the corner after adding half of the frosting to the bag, then decorate! Definitely make 2 batches of this frosting–it’s that yummy that you have to make sure some of it makes it on to the cookies. Adapted from Ambitious kitchen.
Cranberry Bliss bars–GF and Easy
*1 cup oats
*1/2 cup butter, softened
*1/2 cup coconut flour
*1/2 bag white chocolate chips (6 oz)
*1/2 bag coconut (6-8 oz)
*1/2 cup walnuts (optional)
*1 cup cranberries, more if desired (I like mine with lots of cranberries)
*1 can sweetened condensed milk
Directions:
Mix the butter, oats and coconut flour with your hands or a pastry cutter or both, as if you’re making a crisp/crumble crust. Press into a glass pie pan. Then, layer in cranberries, white chocolate chips, coconut and walnuts, ideally in that order. Then, cover it all with the can of sweetened condensed milk, and bake for 12-14 minutes at 350. That’s it. Cut, serve, and enjoy! It has fruit in it…it must be healthier than your average holiday treat;)…but seriously, it’s an easy crowd pleaser, and packages up pretty well for special deliveries around town!
As we head into the final countdown for Christmas, I’m wishing you all the beautiful memory making, embracing the process and the mess that comes with it, and getting quality time with friends and loved ones, which is always such a gift.
