Who Loves Ya, Baby?

I realize that I used the word "baby" twice this past week.  But I had no idea that I'd be talking about a Real Live baby this time.  And I am!!!  My brother and sister in-law had their baby boy and we are getting up at the bumcrack of dawn today to hit the road so that we can go and see him.  I cannot even begin to describe how excited I am to be on my way....just thinking about little Ameer is making me smile like an idiot.  I was so happy all day long that instead of packing us up, I did what any rational new auntie would do:

I baked boatloads of goodies.  I have no idea why.  It's not like Ameer can eat any of that stuff...but I just wanted to do...something.

I guess I figured that normally when you have a new baby people bring by dinners, but nobody ever thinks about those snackish moments that you have at three in the morning after a feeding.  And there is nothing better to fill that craving than Coconut Kiwi Muffins, Cupcakes, Cinnamon Bread and Brownies.  Am I right?

Anyway, I'm going to be gone for a couple of days - but when I return I'm hoping to have lots of squishy baby pictures to share with you.  I'm so happy to be meeting my baby nephew!!

Rant.

It's the weekend.  I'm enjoying my morning tea while reading the New York Times.  And I come across this article:

Debate Heating Up on Plans for Mosque Near Ground Zero

And I can't help but comment on this.  This makes me so sad.  Can't we all just get along?  Really?  No matter your thoughts about having a Muslim anything near Ground Zero, the point is that the ADL really didn't think this one through, and their position (which is so inconsistent with who they are and what they stand for) is giving credence to fear-mongers across the country.  And I am disgusted that politicians are using this issue to further their campaigns.  Lastly (because I know you've had enough of me by now), I am most hurt by the sentiment.  Hurt that this is what most Americans think of their Muslim co-workers, friends and neighbors.  It's all fine and dandy to talk about tolerance and interfaith gestures but at the end of the day we still think of MODERATE Muslims as outsiders.

It just doesn't sound very American to me.

/rant

What's Cookin': Bean Dip, Baby!

I can't believe how long it's been since I've done one of these!  It's not that we haven't been creating culinary delights, but we've just been eating them far too fast.  I barely have time to whip out the trusty camera before some tiny person comes along and swipes my grub.  Bad form!

I did have a chance to take a few shots of this fantastic lunch that I threw together last week - it was really easy to make, given that I had just gone to the farmer's market and had lots of fresh produce on hand (well, what was left of the produce after Nissa got done with it).  The trick, I learned very quickly, was to keep everyone else OUT of the kitchen until I've had my way with it (which sounds a lot dirtier than me taking a bunch of pictures of lettuce.  Unless you have a lettuce fetish.  In which case this post will make you feel good in ways I don't want to really think about right now).

Basically I took a bunch of fresh romaine lettuce (locally grown, natch) and rinsed it, patted it dry and spread it all out.  Then I took some raw beets (also locally grown!  Hooray for good food karma!), chopped off the greens, scrubbed them a bit, cut them up into biggish chunks and then tossed them into the food processor to get them grated.  I also rinsed a can of chick peas and had them at the ready, along with some chopped scallions (not too much).

Before putting all of this together on the lettuce leaves, I spread my Totally Amazing, Goes-With-Everything Bean Dip on each leaf.  We always have tubs of this stuff in our fridge- it's healthy, filling and tasty and it's the perfect companion to so many things - chopped veggies, nacho chips, and as a spread on sandwiches, wraps and lettuce.  It's really THAT good.

Did someone say Recipe?  Well certainly, dahlings!

Totally Amazing, Goes-With-Everything Bean Dip

(adapted from the Black Bean Hummus Recipe in Eat For Health by Joel Fuhrman, M.D.)

This makes a LOT of dip.  If you don't eat it almost every day like we do, you may want to reduce the portions to suit your own needs.  Here's the way we rock our dip, though...

Ingredients:
3 15-ounce cans of beans (You can do any combination, really.  We usually do two cans of black beans and one can of garbanzo beans.)
6 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon seasonings to taste (We do different things here too.  Sometimes chili powder, paprika, ground black pepper, or a tablespoon of Mrs. Dash - any flavor that suits you.  Really anything goes!)
6 Tablespoons tahini (Arrowhead Mills is the brand that we get in the organic section of our grocery store.)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 clove garlic

Optional:
1 or 2 teaspoons Bragg's Liquid Aminos or low sodium Soy Sauce (this is optional because it makes your dip saltier...which you may or may not need/want.  We sometimes like it, and sometimes we leave it out.  The dip tastes great either way)

Directions:
Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender.  This is a really thick puree, so you may need to add a tiny bit of water (the original recipe calls for 2 Tablespoons) to get things going.  Our Vitamix slows down a bit but can still handle the mix without water. 

Process until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed, and add additional seasonings and water to taste.

That's it!  It's really that easy.  Now go make some, and tell me if it doesn't knock your socks off!

Happy Friday, all.  See you on the flip side...

Surly Girl

I don't know when exactly it happened, but I woke up this morning and realized that my just-turned-four-year-old is actually a teenager in disguise (you see how I used italics there?  That's because this is serious business, yo. That means it's time to pay attention.  Time to stop with the italics, Mahreen. Right-tee-oh.  Onwards!).

Ever since she turned four (going on fourteen), Inara has been...challenging.  Most days she is sweet and loving and lots of fun to hang out with - but there are the occasional days (and today has been one of them) where she walks around with this huge chip on her shoulder.  Because being four is apparently very stressful and there is no POSSIBLE way that I could ever relate to her - may I be smitten by the lightning bolts shooting out of her eyeballs if I even think about being nice or understanding or compassionate.  And lord help me if I should try to FIX THINGS. 

I think part of it may have to do with the fact that the baby formerly known as ever-sweet Nissa is starting to hold her own around her big sis. Nissa is starting to go after what she wants - which is usually whatever toy or activity Inara is playing with.  The problem is that she won't back down and she won't give up and she is not afraid to get hurt trying to get her way.  She's like a bionic baby whose sense of fear has been replaced by continuous shrieks of euphoria when faced with extreme danger.  Most rational human beings would say: "Oh, lookie there.  That Big Person doesn't want me to have that toy.  That Big Person is now running away from me.  Oh, well.  I want a cookie."  But not Nissa.  I am fairly certain that if I could take a peek into the insantity of her mind I would find the following: "ME WANT RA-RA'S TOY.  ME WANT IT NOW!  RA-RA RUN!!! ME RUN TOO (never mind that I can't actually walk)!!!  RA-RA JUMP OFF TOP STEP!!  ME JUMP TOO (never mind THAT I CAN'T WALK!!!!)!!! ME GO HEADFIRST BECAUSE IT BE FASTER.  AND BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW HOW TO MAKE MY LEGS WORK YET.  AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!  THAT WAS AWESOOOOME - FORGET COOKIES, LET'S DO THAT AGAIN! RA-RA, RA-RA, RA-RA - WHERE ARE YOU??????"

And this goes on and on and on alllllllll day long.  And by this point Inara is downright pissed off (I'm still having fun with italics, peeps).

Enter surly four year-old teenager person, stage left. 

A typical conversation between Exasperated Mama and Surly Four Year-Old Teenager Person (filled with lots of italics just to annoy you):
Surly: stomp stomp stomp stomp - followed by the very loud slamming of our coat closet door.
Me: (opening door to talk to her) Inara.  We don't slam doors.
Surly: Ugh!  But MOM (Not Mama. She only says MOM when she's in Surly Mode).
Me:  Yes, Inara.
Surly: (sighing) I need some PRIVACY IN HERE.
Me:  You need privacy?  In the coat closet?
Surly: Yeah. I need PRIVACY.  From YOU.
Me: (resisting every urge to not sound like my mother and say "there is no such thing as privacy from ME, missy!"...plus when did all this become MY fault?  I'm trying to HELP YOU, SURLY)  Okay.  You need privacy.  I can respect that.  Do you want this to be your own private space?  Is it a place where you feel like nobody is bothering you?  Because I think you might be frustrated by Nissa always trying to take your toys...
Surly:  I told you already, MOM.  I want to have privacy from EVERYTHING.  So can you give it to me now?  Can you just shut the door and not come back?

What's a mom to do?  I mean I do feel for her, it's got to be tough to always have to watch your back around your big scary one year-old sister who doesn't process the concept of personal space like a rational human being.  So you know what I did?  I let Inara have her private space.  In the coat closet. 

Every so often, she will scurry in and out of there - as fast as her little legs will take her.  It's as if she's a guerilla soldier taking enemy fire, she's dodging and jumping and rolling to get to the pantry or the toy box or the bookshelf.  And then she's shooting these furtive glances all around and I can see her brain processing - processing the angles and the routes and the path of least resistance to get her back to the safety of her private coat closet. 

Most days she won't even let me come in to join her - I think that she thinks that if she lets me in then it won't be long before other, less-wanted little people (or person) will be in there too.  Or who knows, maybe she just doesn't like me very much right now - she is a mini-teenager, after all. Every time I open the door (after knocking, of course.  I remember how much it irked me when my parents didn't knock before coming into my room...I just didn't think I'd have to follow privacy protocol at age FOUR), I'm told, "MOM! What are you DOING?!?  Can you just shut the DOOR????" 

So I actually have no idea what she's doing in there, amongst our coats and shoes and umbrellas.  Until now, that is.  Today after lunch (which she ate in there) Inara left the door to the coat closet open  and this is what I found:

 Surly Mini-Teenager Den 

I can SO see her in there now, listening to her angsty Rainbow Brite records, chugging back big swigs of water, wearing her badass bike helmet and glove, and mulling over the unfairness of the world in general. 

Sometimes it's so hard to be a four year old.

Whatever, MOM.  You should have known that I was going to be Surly when I put on my angsty mini-teen skull necklace this morning. Now leave me alone.  

Nobody gets me like Rainbrow Brite, anyway.

Bountiful Harvest

I just love this time of year in our town.  We have so many farmer's markets with their locally grown and organic produce to choose from, that every day is a veritable food adventure.  It's really been pushing us to try new and interesting recipes, which I always love sharing here on the blog too.  Another benefit of living in the city is that we've been able to walk to at least two different farmer's markets per week - and the time spent outside with the girls has been so full of happiness and childhood bliss.  I feel like we're making such great memories this summer, and both my stomach and my soul feel so nourished because of it. 

Last night we walked to our one of our favorite farmer's markets (the girls love it because there's always a kid's activity...which is just so thoughtful of the organizers to put together), and Yousuf and I love that there is always a fantastic variety of food to pick from. 

So get this - for under thirty dollars, this is what we brought home:

Kale, blueberries, beets, carrots, blue potatoes, peaches, apples and some cute little patty pan squash.  The baby was free, although I did have the urge to take a nibble out of one her delectable cheeks. 

By the time I had snapped this really not-so-good quality photo, she'd already half-finished a peach.  Which was then followed by the rapid inhalation of blueberries and squash:

I had to stop taking pictures when she made a grab for the carrots and the beets (both of which she managed to take chunks out before Mean Mommy took them away).  I had plans for those!

I hope you're all enjoying your summer as much as we have been.  Here's to long summer days filled with lots of great adventures.  And to fabulous food!