Cooking for 2
Recipes for family now include expectant mom
When our middle child was a little girl, she liked to decide things for herself and insisted on doing so. Strong-willed, we said. Tenacious, we said. This chutzpah hung on and is with her in adulthood and she is exactly the same at 22 as when she was 2. Zoe approaches life rather like a racehorse leaving the gate. She charges, without looking back. Mostly, this has served her well.
A few months ago, Zoe came to Paul and me to share her news: She is pregnant and is going to have a baby. A baby, we know, is wonderful. But I like to be honest in this column, about parenting and all that goes along with it, even though my family likes to point out that sometimes I may not be completely honest in, say, their enthusiasm for a kale salad. But I’ll tell the truth here about how I felt when she told us: I was worried. I worried because I wanted her to finish college, travel, find a stable job doing what she loves. A baby, we know, creates shifts (some seismic), in life’s plans. But Zoe, ever-determined and never looking back, would only charge forward. The rest of the stuff, she has plans for later. She has a loyal, loving partner and so I have nothing to do except support and love her.
Before the baby arrives, I get to feed Zoe. Eating when you’re healthy and pregnant is an absolute joy, a privilege and as I remember it, a way to connect with your baby. I’ve been trying to cook for her a bit, to balance her cravings — you know, the ice-cream-and-pickle hankerings that seem a requirement for pregnancy, with healthy, whole foods. Zoe has been craving beef jerky, and anything from Mcdonald’s. I haven’t witnessed
this but she’s been eating toast dipped in soy sauce. I think you’d have to be pregnant to appreciate that. There’s Nutella, straight from the jar, which is what she’s been doing her whole life.
Here are a few things I made for her recently, foods that have lots of protein, flavor and vegetables thrown in. It’s all good balance for french fries, soy sauce and scoops of Nutella.
I made beans and greens after a trip to the farmer’s market not too long ago, inspired by all of the big, green, beautiful bunches of kale I found there. There are as many versions of beans and greens as there are people who cook it in the world. Simply put, there is no wrong way to make greens and beans. Beans and greens is a powerhouse meal: low in fat, high in protein, big on flavor. Here, the pot starts with a few onions, sliced thin and cooked in a long, slow, olive oil bath. These caramelized onions form the base of the dish, which is deeply flavorful. Add in the garlic and as much kale as will fit in the pot. It will all cook down and become silky and soft. I opted for butter beans, because I like them, for their creamy texture and ability to hold shape after a hearty simmer. Butter beans are the same as lima beans, just bigger. You can use lima beans, or cannellini beans, or any bean in the cupboard. You can switch this recipe up in many different ways, but my rules are: garlic, and lots of it, beans — tender is better — and plenty of simmered-down leafy greens. Serve it all with cheese on top and the knowledge that you’ve made something equally good for the belly and the soul for the people you love. Garlic, beans and kale have that effect.
Zoe has always liked simple grilled meats and so I cooked up a batch of Greek-style chicken for her to bring home and have for lunches. This easy recipe calls for chicken breast, though you can use thighs or pork. Start with a marinade made from lemon zest, garlic, oregano and olive oil. Souvlaki needs only a short marinating time, just twenty minutes or so, to impart lots of flavor. If you want to give the meat a longer soak in the flavorful marinade, leave the lemon juice out; Any longer than that and the acid will make meat mushy. The good things here are the plentiful garlic, big lemon flavor and herbaceousness of oregano. My herb garden is still going strong, so I pulled a few stems of fresh leaves for my souvlaki. Dried oregano works well here, too. Just use enough so the meat is generously coated. Souvlaki is Greece’s most popular street food, and the word translates in English to “skewer.” Cooking this on a hot grill is part of the charm and the flavor. But if you don’t have a grill, cook the chicken pieces in hot oil, a few at a time (just don’t crowd the pan) until they’re deeply brown and cooked through. Serve the meat on warm pitas with plenty of tzatziki and napkins to soak it all up. Leftovers make for wonderful salad toppings.
Lastly, I made a batch of blondies for Zoe to eat and share. She has always had a deep love of raspberries, and I could never keep them in the house. As soon as I brought raspberries in with the groceries, little Zoe would dig through the bags for the containers and they would be gone. I still pick up pints for her, and she still eats all of the bright, tart fruit in one sitting. Since she doesn’t live in my house any longer, there are berries available to the rest of us, for snacking, topping granola and baking. Here, I baked up a batch of blondies that feature the tartness of raspberries, deep nutty flavor of browned butter and a touch of flaky sea salt. I love good old regular blondies, but a change up is always nice and this is just that.
Zoe is in her third trimester now, just ten weeks away from baby time. There’s a lot of joy around here, the anticipation that only a baby can bring. It’s hard to describe the feelings we have, because what’s about to happen has such magnitude. It also feels primal, as she’s being inducted into the oldest of all sisterhoods: being a mother. When our baby girl arrives (that’s right, it’s a girl) we’ll cry and celebrate and hold her tight. She will be born into the arms of a strong and smart young woman who has been waiting a long, long time to meet her.