Tribeca Yummy Mummy

Following along with Soule Mama, Amanda:

A Friday ritual.  A single photo- no words- capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Happy Weekend, Yummies!

This week our cooking class worked on a traditional Southern recipe, barbeque (usually baked) beans.  Of course, we changed things up by leaving out the pork fat that’s normally used and balancing our barbeque sauce so that it is a bit tangy, not too spicy, and just generally delicious.

One of my mini-chefs, O., has been having a, well, moment.  Every class she starts out by definitively stating that whatever we are making is “disgusting”  and making a terrible face and saying, “YUCK!!!!!”  As we begin our classes with everyone gathered around, she riles everyone up.  All the mini-chefs are eventually chorusing, “EWWWW!  YUCK!  DISGUSTING!”  This, of course, devolves into potty humor, and away we go.

From my experience with my own children and with so many years of babysitting picky eaters under my belt, I know that this kind of behavior is generally a power play.  For the kids in class, besides this instigating mini-chef, they will almost always try the “yucky” food when it’s served to them, and they generally end up liking and sometimes even loving it.

It’s just that it’s so fun to say those powerful words: icky, yucky, disgusting, gross, etc.  Once the fun of the moment has passed, they scarf down the food when they are hungry and that beautiful food that they have helped prepare is served to them.

For little O., though, it is a bit more difficult to let it go.  She came early to class for a bit of a pre-class play date and, when Mira told her what we were making in class, how she and I had made cornbread (Mira’s favorite!) before class to go with everything, O. immediately launched into, “Disgusting!  I hate cornbread!  It’s only yucky!  Yuck!  Beans!  I’m NOT eating those ’cause they’re like poo poo!!!!”  Oy.

Now, I must also say that O. is one of my most favorite children ever.  She is endlessly creative and always herself.  The way that she looks at and moves through the world has always fascinated me since she was a few months old.  She did not crawl in the regular fashion but used this amazing spider walk on two hands and one foot, with one hand free to explore the world.  Her inner life is rich and full, and she has often told me things, both about herself and about others, that are incredibly adept and philosophically wise.  She is most definitely on the list of kids we consider surrogate cousins in our family.  But, that means that she also does not look outside of herself or to what adults feel is socially acceptable on certain issues, such as YUCKY ICKY BLECH.

How to not break a beautiful spirit but also to keep my class under control?  I’m still working on it.  I can tell you that I decided we would all get our “yuckies” out and then throw them out the window.  It helped, at least a little bit.

Ok, so we muddled through all this trash talk, made our BBQ sauce together, and served the food to the mini-chefs. The next thing I know, little O. is wandering back into the kitchen asking for a second serving of cornbread for herself.

I had to rib her a little(humor works out most kinks).  “WHAT!!! I don’t know, O., I thought that you thought cornbread was disgusting.”  Glancing at her plate I continued, “And it looks like you’ve been doing a pretty good job on that chicken and beans as well.”

She got the joke about herself and laughed.  And sat back down to eat her second hunk of cornbread.

One of the reasons that I share this story is just to say that, while we might not have all of the answers and we might have frustrating days when our children will not, WILL NOT eat the food that we (or they!) have prepared, it is worth trying to keep a sense of lightness about it when we can.  Not let ourselves be bogged down in the power struggle.

It does not always turn out so positively as it did this week with O.  Sometimes yucky stays yucky.  For months.  For years even. But, hang in there.  Keep cooking and letting them help, and see what changes over time.  And, remember that humor and love are always ingredients that should be cooked into the sauce.

Tribeca Yummy Mummy Barbeque Sauce

• 1 c. maple syrup
• 1/2 c. gluten-free, low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/3 c. Worcestershire sauce
• 3/4 c. organic ketchup
• 1/4 c. apple cider vinegar (plus 2 T. if you like your sauce vinegar-y)
• 1 t. salt (optional)
• 1 t. mustard powder
• heaping 1/4 t. dried ginger
• 1/4 t. dried thyme
• 1/4 t. freshly grated nutmeg

1. With your mini-chef measure out all of the ingredients into a big bowl.
2. Whisk everything together very well.
3. Pour the sauce into a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan or dutch oven.
4. Big Person: Over medium-low heat, bring the sauce up to a simmer.  Once at a simmer, turn the heat down a bit lower and let it cook for 10 minutes, whisking it every now and again so that the bottom doesn’t burn.
5. Take off the heat and let sit for a few minutes so that the flavors can come together.

Vegan BBQ Beans

• 1/2 recipe of TYM barbeque sauce
• 8 cups cooked navy beans and/or cannelini beans

1. Place the beans and the sauce in a medium, heavy bottomed saucepan.
2. Bring the beans up to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Take the pot off of the heat and let sit for another 5 minutes.  Serve warm.

Mira and I ended up spending our Valentine’s Day day together.  She had two PINK eyes, and I had been up all night long the night before with HEART BURN.  We were quite the pair!

Since Mira was feeling well besides the gory looking eyes, we just enjoyed hanging out together and doing errands around the neighborhood.  Lately, she has been really  into feeling my belly and will sit with me for half hour stretches, just talking and singing to her baby brother or sister.  Sometimes the songs go something like this:

My Baby Brother or Baby Sister, you know I love you!  I lo-o-o-o-o-ve you!  I cannot wait to see you when you’re born in the Springtimes.  We will wrap you up like a tiny burrito-o-o-o-!  But, please stop making our Mama sick and have to run to the bathroom.

(So thoughtful on all accounts!)   Well, it’s either that or Lady Gaga or “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” or “Puff the Magic Dragon”.

Mira squeals and smiles each time the baby kicks, which, let me assure, is often.  It seems to be as endless a source of fascination to feel the baby move as it is for her mama.

In the evening after the love song serenading and love kicks, lots of love notes got passed around.  My family gave me the traditional chocolates and flowers as gifts… only my family truly knows me. Dark chocolate.  And these flowers were printed on one of my most favorite Liberty of London patterns.  They had me swooning!

The pink eye still rages, but I was definitely feeling the love.

Feel the love elsewhere around the globe.  Take a tour of these other Corner Views:

When I was a little girl, my mom would serve us pot de creme only once or twice a year, and we could not wait to have it.  Her presentation was so elegant.  We received our pots in lusterous ivory china demi-tasse cups and served with real silver demi-tasse spoons.  I felt like a princess.

At the time in Georgia, we did not have access to dark chocolate, so the chocolate we would eat was Hershey’s milk or the like.  While I certainly wouldn’t kick it off the table, I was not a huge fan.  I remember sneaking into the kitchen and rummaging through the baking supplies to find the bittersweet baking chocolate, bitter, dark, and rich without being too sweet.  That was the stuff.

So, when my mom made pot de creme, it was like a revelation.  No milk chocolate in sight.  These were definitely, thankfully, not chocolate puddings.  Wanting to savor every moment, it took me forever to finish my little cupful taking the tiniest bites with my fairy sized spoon.

Recently, my mom shared a recipe for pot de creme with me that she thought that I’d like to try out with the kids since it was baked in the oven.  Our family recipe is made at the stovetop, and the mini-chefs cannot take as active a role in their making.  I made minor changes and spiked it with our favorite Mexican chocolate flavorings.  Below is the amended recipe and suggestions for flavoring it with your family’s own favorites.

While the use of a ramekin in place of the demi-tasse cup is a big let down for me in the presentation department, there were no complaints from my family.  There was only silence and the sounds of spoon hitting ramekin.

Chocolate Pot de Creme (with variations)

makes 8 ramekins

• 2 1/2 c. half and half
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 8 oz. bittersweet chocolate chips, chopped a bit
• 8 egg yolks, room temperature
• 1 T. vanilla
• 2 T. cocoa powder (unsweetened)
• 1 1/2 t. cinnamon (optional)
• 1/2 t. ancho chili powder (optional)
• 1/4 t. salt
• variations: to vary the flavor, you can cut the vanilla to 1 t., eliminate the cinnamon and ancho chili powder and try 1 T. coconut extract, almond extract, mint extract, brandy, kirsch, creme de menthe, Kahlua, orange liquer, etc.   The alcohol will evaporate if you’re worried about serving to mini-chefs
• for serving: whipped cream, berries, a dusting of cocoa powder, a small dusting of cinnamon, shaved chocolate, heart candies (red hots are pretty), etc., chocolate covered espresso beans, candied orange peel, etc. to enhance the flavor and beauty of the variation you’ve made

1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F.
2. Bring a kettle of water to a boil.
3. In a medium saucepan, bring the half and half to a simmer over medium heat, whisking every once in a while.
4. Remove from the heat and add the sugar and the chocolate chips.  Whisk it a few times and then let stand for about 5 minutes or until the chocolate completely melts.
5. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, vanilla, cocoa powder, cinnamon, chili powder, and salt.
6. When the chocolate chips are melted, add half of the chocolate chip mixture to the egg yolk mixture and have whisk them together.  Repeat with the other half.
7. Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve to strain out any last bits of unmelted chocolate. (We like to pour into a large measuring cup or bowl with a pourable edge to make the next step easier.
8. Place 8 ramekins in 2 baking dishes or a large roasting pan. Pour the strained mixture into 8 small ramekins, dividing it evenly among the dishes.
9. Big Person: Pour the boiling water from the kettle all around the ramekins (but NOT IN!) so that it comes about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way up the sides of the ramekins.
10. Place the prepared pans with the ramekins in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes, or till set in the middle and very glossy on top.
11. Cool and serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

(photo credit: http://www.tate.org.uk/tateetc/issue10/dancingwhitedarkness.htm)

The divine Maya Deren.  Experimental film maker and actress who lived on the Lower East Side as an artist way before anyone else was doing it.  There is something intensely awake about her on film and very, very subtle.  Go take a peek here.

And, as for a young, up and coming actress’ view, go take a look at Skylar’s blog.  She chose the subject for this week’s Corner View, and her excitement over the subject matter is absolutely contagious.

Who’s the favorite actor in your life?

For other faves: