Category Archives: recipe

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Parenting Project #1: Homemade Baby Wipes

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In honor of today being the first day of Spring, I thought we could start our Spring Cleaning by focusing the most important object in the house: the baby.
And more specifically- her bottom. 
When my little Sadie Jean was a mere 1 week old she got the most hellacious diaper rash I’ve ever seen.  (**it should be noted here that I’ve probably only seen 3-4 diaper rashes in real life but still, it was BAD!)  So- I started asking around to my circle-of-Moms to find out what they use to cure them and more importantly- to prevent them and was handed down this awesome Do-It-Yourself Butt Wipe recipe from my friend Katherine, who’s the mother of twin boys, and I’m happy to report that Sadie is now 12 weeks old and has remained diaper rash free!  This is a big deal in my life.  (Thank you Katherine!!)
So, without further ado, I give you the…

KATHERINE’S RECIPE FOR A HAPPY BABY BUTT
  • 1 roll paper towel, cut in half
  • 2C water
  • 1/8C baby oil (that’s 2 Tbls)
  • a squirt of baby wash (just a dab’ll do ya)
  • 5 drops tea tree oil (a natural antibacterial)
  • a rubbermaid container with a lid
To make these wipes, first cut a roll of papertowels in half.   
(I use Viva because they feel the most like cloth)
Remove the inner cardboard tube and pull out the first square of papertowel.
Now mix your ingredients.  I put mine in a seperate jar and then dump them over the papertowels while already in the Rubbermaid but you can do whatever you want.  It’s your party. 

Swirl the ingredients gently to mix but don’t shake them up or it will get all foamy and not soak into the papertowels right. 

 

Put the half roll of papertowels into the Rubbermaid, pour the mixture of the entire roll and let sit for at least 15 minutes to get them completely wet and you’re done!  You’ve made your first batch of butt wipes.  These are not only a nice way to cut down on the amount of chemicals being used to clean little Juniors rear end but they’re also economical.  For this roll of 88 wipes the total price was $.98!!  You just can’t beat that!!

Hopefully these work for you as well as they’ve worked for us! 
Diaper rash free in one-three!!
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Day 6: Meatless Monday

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According to MeatlessMonday.com:
 
“Ghent, Belgium became the first city to go meatless in May, 2009 and Paul McCartney introduced Meat-Free Mondays to the UK soon after. Since then, Meatless Monday has rapidly expanded into an international movement! The campaign’s simple message allows each nation to bring its unique culture, customs and cuisine to the table. Join the movement. It’s good for your nation’s health, good for the planet!”

And here are 6 reasons why you should join in and go 

Meatless on Mondays:
  • LIMIT CANCER RISK
  • REDUCE HEART DISEASE
  • FIGHT DIABETES
  • CURB OBESITY
  • IMPROVE YOUR DIET
  • REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT
Not to mention that there are a millieu of delicious vegetarian dishes out there to try, like this one that Liz made for me last week that was so so so delicious I can’t even stand it:
For more recipes, information and to pledge to go Meatless on Mondays, go to MeatlessMonday.com now!
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From Farm to Table: Farm Fresh Easter Eggs

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                                                                                   Picture property of Hannah Whipple

 Recently my Jeremy and I went to visit some friends in Plymouth, MA (home of Plymouth Rock) and see their new home (it’s lovely in case you’re wondering).  They’re situated on about 2 acres of land and have a good size garden and a chicken coop complete with five chickens all in the prime egg laying time of their lives- about 2 1/2 years old.  

                                   Picture property of Hannah Whipple
I’ve always been told that farm fresh eggs are far superior to the eggs we’re used to buying in the grocery store but had never really tested the theory, until now.  When I asked our friends if farm fresh is indeed better, they made that “seriously?” face and insisted that we take home a couple of eggs to try.

 

 We had them for breakfast this morning and I’ll be darned if she wasn’t right.  These eggs are much better than the store-bought variety.  They had deep golden orange yolks that were not only pretty but extremely flavorful as well.  What a wonderful way to start this Easter weekend.

To locate a local farm in your area and purchase your own farm fresh eggs use this handy website: http://www.localharvest.org/– they have a national database to help you find organic farms, family run farms, CSAs and farmer’s markets right in your own neighborhood.

Happy Easter everyone!  Thanks Hannah!

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Make Me: St. Patrick’s Day Rainbow Cupcakes

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It is said that every Leprechaun has a pot of gold, hidden deep in the Irish countryside.  The most popular hiding place for this pot of gold is, of course, at the end of a rainbow.
These delicious little rainbows do not have pots of gold at the end of them but they do have icing on top of them and they are, thankfully, far less ellusive than real rainbows.   They’d be a perfect addition to any St. Patrick’s day celebration.
Here’s how to make them. 
First, collect your supplies, you’ll need:

-yellow cake batter
-food coloring
-paper baking cups
-icing

Begin by preparing your cake batter according to your recipe. 

Next, seperate the cake batter evenly into 6 containers.

Then dye each cup of batter a different color of the rainbow.  I like to use Wilton gel food coloring, it makes beautiful, rich colors.  I would highly recommend using them instead of the liquid food coloring from the grocery store. 

Now begin layering batter into your prepared muffin tin purple first. 
Then do the same with the blue…
And the green…
Slap on some yellow…
Add a dollop of orange…

And finally top it off with a spoonful of red.

Bake cupcakes according to recipe.

Remove from oven and let cool. 

Once cooled, the outside of the cupcake will look like this.  Meh, nothin’ special.

But crack ‘er open and you have a vibrant and delicious rainbow surprise!

My 4 year old nephew actually told me that his cupcake was “too beautiful to eat.” 
And then I died of acute cute overload.
You can also play around with the layering to make other cool creations-
Happy baking!
                                                      dry erase board by yours truly

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Make Me: PDQ Veggie Pot Pie

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Why Don’t You Make Me:
PDQ Veggie Pot Pie
It’s a cold, dreary day in Boston today.  A day that makes you want to slip into some sweatpants, get under a blanket and watch 12-13 hours of daytime TV.  A perfect day for comfort food and I have just the thing, this hearty, meat-free pot pie that takes about 15 minutes to prepare and is muy delicioso! 
Ingredients
  • 2 frozen pie crusts
  • frozen mixed veggies
  • Quorn veggie “chick’n” patties
  • 1/2 an onion
  • mushroom gravy
  • salt n peppa
  • Goya season salt
I got this recipe from my Quick Fix Vegetarian cookbook which is chock full of healthy vegetarian meals that can be ready in under 30 minutes.  In the book this recipe is made in a casserole dish with a pie crust over the top.  The crust is my favorite part of a pot pie so the crust-to-filler ratio isn’t high enough for me that way so I decided to make my pot pie in one pie crust and cover it with a second crust to make a full pie. 
Either way is fine.  (My way just happens to be better is all.)
To begin,  cook your frozen veggies and add them to one of your frozen pie shells.  Leave the 2nd pie crust out to allow it to thaw. 
Cut and saute 1/2 an onion, add to veggies.
Add “meat”- I used 2 frozen “chik’n” patties from Quorn, microwaved, cut into cubes and added to my dish.
Cover with gravy (1 can), salt & pepper to taste, add Goya season salt if you want and gently fold all ingredients together.

Next, gently peel your now unfrozen 2nd pie crust from the pan and place it on top of the pie.  Press sides together with a fork and cut 3 vents in the top to allow steam to escape.

Pop it in your preheated 350 degree oven -on top of a cookie sheet to catch any overflow- and bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. 
I’ve never used a store-bought pie crust (God’s honest truth) but they’ve made a believer out of me.  They were flaky, baked up to a perfect golden brown and tasted wonderful.

I shared this pot pie with my non-vegetarian husband and meat eating friend Stephen and were given rave reviews by both!  It’s so hearty and tasty that unless you tell people it’s they probably won’t even know it’s a vegetarian dish. 

So go on, why don’t you make me?