7 Quick Takes: Pregnancy Edition!

In case you didn't read yesterday's post carefully enough, that's right! I'm pregnant! And so today, 7 random things that I've wanted to say over the past few months, but haven't been able to lest I prematurely spill the beans! Go see Jen for more quick takes!

- 1 -

There is no sweeter sound to a pregnant lady's ears than to hear someone say, "You look great." No matter how excited I am to be sharing my body with this little person I'm growing, there are times when I just look in the mirror and can't muster a happy thought about what I look like. To hear someone else tell me I look nice really makes my day. (Side note: I don't know how people go back to wearing regular pants, after having worn maternity pants. I'm just saying.)

- 2 -

You can eat soft cheese all you WANT! I am really not good at following rules if I don't understand the reasoning behind them, and since there are some things you're supposed to avoid while pregnant (and I will not take your word for it), I decided to read the fine print. Fact: soft cheese is fine, as long as it's made with pasteurized milk. Do you know how hard it is to even find soft cheese that's made with raw milk? Almost impossible. So indulge in that bacon and bleu cheese burger, or the goat cheese salad, or crackers with Brie, or whatever it is that you're craving. It's perfectly safe. Sushi? Still no. Deli meat? Only if you heat it up to steaming beforehand. All of this is to avoid exposure to Listeria, a bacteria that is easily fought off by adult immune systems, but is a threat to a growing fetus.

- 3 -

Another thing you can have? Coffee. When I was so tired that I could barely make it through the morning without taking a nap under my desk, my morning coffee was an absolute life-saver. The last thing you need when you're more exhausted than you've ever been, and nauseated on top of that, is to have a caffeine-withdrawal migraine. Of course, if you drink coffee all day long, you should probably cut back. But a cup in the morning is perfectly fine and poses no risk to the baby.

- 4 -

It's possible that crackers will not be the best relief for morning sickness. In my first trimester, I had to eat about every 30 minutes to keep nausea at bay, but anything carby or sweet made me feel sicker. No crackers or bread or other things you think you should eat when you're nauseated. Nope, this baby of mine wanted scrambled eggs, cheese, and chicken. Weird, I know. As soon as the constant queasiness went away (Hallelujah!), I started balancing my diet back out again. Lots of fruit, veggies, whole milk dairy (I'm planning to dedicate a whole post to why later), and fatty fish, like salmon. And tons and tons of water.

- 5 -

Prenatal yoga is amazing. I went to my first class last week, and plan to try to take a class once a week until the baby comes. I took one regular yoga class a few weeks ago, and there were a fair number of poses I couldn't comfortably do, so I enjoy a class that's geared toward pregnant women. It also helps keep me in a calm mental space, so that when people start bombarding me with their well-meaning advice and compulsive labor and delivery war stories, I can just let it roll right off.

- 6 -

The book Baby Bargains is a great resource to help you wade through all the many, many brands and styles and types of things people will tell you you absolutely must have in order to safely and adequately raise your baby. It's part guidance from a close friend who's been where you're going, part deluxe all-inclusive Consumer Reports. A huge help as we were starting to put together our registry.

- 7 -

Here's what I looked like at 17 weeks :)

Look what we made!

Post-Thanksgiving ritual: grapefruit and green tea for breakfast, and the advent wreath!

I think I'm addicted to yarn crafts.  I just finished my first sweater (!) during the drive up to Michigan and back this weekend, and my sister and I have established a new holiday tradition - the post-Thanksgiving Christmas craft project!

Knitting with double-pointed needles is ca-razy.  Believe it.

For our first annual post-Thanksgiving Christmas craft project, we made crocheted wreaths!  So easy and fun - they only took about an hour or so to make.  Since all the women in my family tend to not be able to sit still, crafting is a great way for us to get in some quality time.  It allows our hands to be doing something while we focus attention on each other.

Here's what we needed.  Not a lot, eh?

And here's what we got:

We're silly.  Want to make your own?  Oh my goodknits!  You can!

Mushroom and Leek Wild Rice

Thanksgiving in my parents' house always goes about the same way.  Mom wakes up super early and makes coffee and homemade cinnamon rolls with nuts and raisins.  I'm the next to get up, and then we'll sit down together and start going through the stack of old, splattered, hand-written recipes that make up our family's traditional dinner.  Bajee's stuffing, supremely moist and studded with fruit and pecans, Grandmom's traditional cornbread stuffing, candied yams, cranberry sauce and orange-cranberry relish, fluffy pale green jello salad, crescent rolls, the obligatory green vegetable, and 3 kinds of pie: pumpkin, cherry, and pecan.  Nothing changes, and I wouldn't want it to.  This is the one day a year when I believe that nothing can be improved about the meal.

We cook all day, stopping briefly to eat the cinnamon rolls when they're ready and catch a glimpse of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  I always feel slightly bewildered when I see recipes for things like appetizers and starters for Thanksgiving.  It boggles my mind that people would put time and effort into fussy, complicated appetizers for people to eat before the biggest meal of the year.  There are so many problems with that!  First, who has time to make them?  Second, if people are munching on appetizers and snacks all day, how will they have room for dinner? 

Even though I think appetizers and new side dishes have no business near a Thanksgiving dinner, I am not immune to the pull of these things in other contexts.  So I'll make sausage, fig, and cranberry stuffing, or twice-baked sweet potatoes with chipotle-pecan streusel, or sweet potato cupcakes with toasted marshmallow frosting (!) some other time.  And I'll also eat mushroom and leek wild rice, stuffed into roasted winter squash, all week for lunch.

Mushroom and Leek Wild Rice

This would be a great vegan entree for Thanksgiving, if you tend that way.

1 cup wild rice, rinsed well
1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
3 large portobello mushroom caps
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch leeks, cleaned well, and sliced
1/4 teaspoon celery seed (or 1 rib fresh celery, chopped, if you have some on hand)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup dry sherry
salt and pepper to taste

Place dried mushrooms in a medium bowl, and pour 3 cups boiling water over them.  Allow to steep for 20 minutes, until the mushrooms are soft, and the liquid is caramel colored and very fragrant.  Using a slotted spoon, remove the mushrooms and set aside.  Pour the mushroom broth into a medium saucepan with the wild rice, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.  This can take anywhere from 45-60 minutes, depending on the brand of rice you use, so keep your eye on it. 

While the rice is cooking, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil.  Gently scrape the gills from the portobello mushrooms using a spoon, taking care not to scoop out the mushroom flesh.  Slice into 1/2-inch-thick strips.  Arrange on a foil-lined baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast for about 10 minutes, until mushrooms are tender. Set aside.

Place olive oil in a wide shallow saucepan or skillet over medium heat.  Add leeks and saute 2-3 minutes, until soft.  Chop porcini and portobello mushrooms into bite-sized pieces and add to the pan.  Add seasonings and stir to combine.  Add sherry, and deglaze the pan, scraping up any brown bits.  Stir in wild rice, and season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Yield: 4-6 servings

Note: This dish tastes great as is, but if you're not vegan, stir in a couple of tablespoons of butter after removing the finished dish from the heat.  The butter adds a silkiness and finesse that makes it taste even more like a special occasion.

"Your life is an occasion.  Rise to it." -Mr. Magorium

The Best Hummos

My Papa immigrated from Armenia with his parents when he was a little boy.  He was a small man (only 5'7") with dark, curly hair and sparkly eyes.  My grandmother, Bajee, on the other hand, is a tall Welsh woman (5'8" without shoes on), who loves to wear high heels and big hats. 

I take after Bajee in a lot of ways: We're both tall, loud, and bold.  We both love to sing and read.  We both have very close relationships to God, and relish the beauty of creation.  We both like to make things with our hands.  We both like to be alone.

Southern Colorado, where Bajee lives.  What, don't you go hiking in hats like that?

Though I may seem Welsh through and through, and stick out like a sore thumb at Armenian gatherings, I still have an Armenian middle name, and a thoroughly Armenian nose.

Told ya. (That's my beautiful goddaughter, by the way.)

I also love Armenian food.  If you're unfamiliar, Armenian food is similar to Lebanese or Persian food: lots of lamb and pilaf, stuffed grape leaves, yogurt (or madzoon, as my mom always called it), mint, and hummos.  It's amazing.

I wanted to share our family's hummos recipe with you, because I've never tasted anything that holds a candle to it.  Make this, and you'll never go back.

Armenian Hummos

adapted from The Armenian Cookbook

Please note that you don't drain the garbanzo beans before blending them.  I did that the first time I tried to make this on my own, and it doesn't work.

1 14-oz can garbanzo beans (chick peas)
1 clove garlic, smashed
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup taheen (I know you think it's called tahini.  It's not.  ;-))
olive oil, paprika, and chopped parsley, for garnish

Pour the garbanzo beans and their liquid into a blender, and blend until smooth.  Add garlic, lemon juice, and salt, and blend until combined.  Finally, add taheen, and blend again, just until combined.  Pour into a shallow bowl and sprinkle with olive oil, paprika, and chopped parsley.  Serve with lavash (pita) for dipping.

Aunt Shelley's 4-Layer Dessert

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake and Four-Layer Dessert!

This week has been a lot of things.  Fun, exhausting, mildly stressful.  Full to the brim with family, food, and laughter.  In the last seven days, I have:

• flown in three airplanes,
• met my little sister's new beau,
• attended my cousin's wedding,
• babysat my other cousin's kids (including one who had an epic toddler meltdown, poor thing),
• soaked up some sun by the pool,
• spent about 10 hours in the car with my family,
• packed and moved to a new apartment,
• witnessed the arrival (finally!) of summer in Chicago, and
• caught a very nasty cold

Having a cold when it finally gets warm is... well, let's just say I don't appreciate the irony.

Me and Mamma, the bathing beauties!

Being with my family was fantastic.  Many of my extended family members are in the military, so with all their moving, the times when we can all get together have been few and far between (and lately, mostly involving weddings).  There are at least 5 of us who have the same voice, which makes things pretty hilarious.  My cousin and I were standing in the kitchen at one point, and she called out, "Daddy?", and my Daddy answered.  Happens all the time.  And it's even harder on the phone.  It's a blast.  Especially now that people have started having babies!  My aunt has 7 grandbabies already, and another one on the way!  Unbelievable.  My mom has... no grandbabies.  Yet.  Sorry, Mamma!  I'll get right on that!  ;)

My Aunt Shelley with one of her grandbabies.  And my grandbaby-less Mamma.

Needless to say, I haven't been cooking much.  My kitchen is in boxes!  But I still wanted to share a recipe with you, so here it is: Aunt Shelley's Four-Layer Dessert.  Let me say first that this recipe is in no way representative of my aunt's amazing culinary capabilities.  Sometime, I will have to share a recipe that does her justice.  But it's nice to have a really easy dessert up your sleeve, and sometimes you just need some Cool Whip in your life.  Can I get an amen? 

Aunt Shelley's Four-Layer Dessert

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 8-oz package cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 8-oz container Cool Whip
2 4½-oz containers chocolate or butterscotch pudding mix
3 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine flour, butter, and walnuts and press into bottom of a 9x13 baking pan.  Bake for 25 minutes, and cool completely.  Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until fluffy, and fold in 2 cups Cool Whip.  Spread over cooled crust.  Beat pudding and milk until thick, and spread over cream cheese layer.  Top with remaining Cool Whip.  Chill.  Can be made up to 1 day ahead.

Congratulations to a beautiful couple!