Comfort Food

It hasn't all been coconut water-and-kale smoothies.

This pregnancy has been all about carbs. I sneak in all of the good stuff, too -- berries, bananas, water, walnuts, sardines, salmon, spinach, beans, grassfed beef, dried apricots, daily prenatal vitamins, etc. -- but at every turn, I crave the least necessary section of the food pyramid. Well, it's not a pyramid these days, but I digress.

Here are just a few examples of my carb consumption these last few weeks. I've highlighted the health benefits of each to prove that, despite the indulgences, I remain a conscientious expectant mother:

Surprisingly, my pizza intake has been moderate, despite a weekly craving for the stuff. One of the few I've had during the past 9 months is featured here with pepperoni and mushrooms. (Mushrooms = vegetable, tomato sauce = fruit. And cheese. Good for baby. Calcium, etc.)


Then there's Mike's amazing, 10-minute pressure-cooker risotto, shown here with oven-roasted asparagus and generous amounts of parm. (Veggie and cheese.)


Dark chocolate is also good for you, so I took this cast iron skillet brownies recipe and used dark chips instead of milk chocolate chips. And then there's 3% milk, DHA eggs, and natural sugars.) I highly recommend this recipe, but ignore the suggested cook time and check your brownies early. Mine were done (a little dryer than I would have liked) in about 22 minutes, even though the recipe called for 35 minutes.)


You can't neglect the classics. Especially in your third trimester. A PG&J at 36+ weeks pregnant tastes like a Monte Cristo. Besides, check out all the good stuff here. Bread: organic. PB: organic and chockful of protein. J: fruit. (Not shown: glass of cold 2% milk.)


And finally ... whole grain toast. So good for you. Even when you dip it into homemade beer cheese soup, I suspect. Our soup was laden with celery, onions and 2% milk instead of half-and-half. Practically Weight-Watchers friendly.

Coco Kale smoothie

"It looks like split pea soup."

That's what I overheard one woman telling her friend when the guy behind the Whole Foods juice bar yelled out my name and set down my smoothie.

The Coco Kale is the perfect compromise for those of us who want the nutrients of a wheatgrass shot but the flavor of a fruit smoothie. The base is coconut water and fresh apple juice, and the only other ingredients are mango, strawberry, kale and ginger.

This is a weekly treat for me, and for the baby -- though I was enjoying this long before he came along. It tastes good, it makes me feel good, and I don't mind spending the $6 as it's usually a complete lunch (if I pair with a slice of whole grain toast and some peanut butter that are always on hand at hte office). I hope my little peanut likes this smoothie in the womb as much as I like it outside.

(As a bonus, it makes me feel a little better about what I had for breakfast.)

Pepperoni soup + peanut butter Rice Krispie treats

I joined Melanie for lunch a couple of Fridays ago, doing my small part to 'assist' with her latest food review project for the local weekly: a round-up of Austin soups. (Coming out soon! Will post a link here.)

We met at the swank, still-new-to-me Second Bar + Kitchen for their pepperoni soup, which touts San Marzano tomatoes, along with mozzarella and garlic croutons. (The "croutons" were extremely generous in size, and the perfect vehicle for hoisting spoonfuls of this chunky splendidness into my mouth.)


I don't know what I was expecting from a $6 pepperoni soup -- some watery tomato goop with sliced rounds of oily pepperoni floating about -- but this "Why has no one done this before?" treat tastes just like pizza in a bowl, good pizza, right down to the lovely cap of melted, oozing cheese. The pepperoni pieces were cube-shaped, and while they were tasty, I'd suggest the folks at Second call up the folks at Enoteca and ask what kind of pork product they're putting on their Calabrese pizza. *That* stuff is the best version of pepperoni I've ever had. (Pictures of that pizza coming in future post.)

Melanie and I decided to skip an actual lunch portion (we'd shared an order of blistered shishito peppers prior to the soup), and we went straight to dessert. We split the chocolate brioche bread pudding and the peanut butter rice krispie treats, topped with a smooth layer of semi-salted peanut brittle.

The bread pudding was solid. But the peanut butter rice krispie bites? Those were Last Meal material. At $2.50 for two "bites", I'd happily buy 5 orders, take them home, and eat them all alone when no one else was looking. I'm sad we didn't take a picture of these little treats, but this just means I'll have to go back. And soon.

2012: The Year of the Cheesecake?

We stayed in Austin for our last childless New Year's Eve together, and for perhaps the first time in my life, I rang in the new year with only one other person (my husband). A couple of minutes til midnight, we paused our movie to step outside, check out the neighborhood fireworks and kiss on our front porch. I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Earlier in the evening, we'd gone to two separate NYE parties, and we prepared to have a couple of friends over as midnight approached. Sick kids and busy schedules got in the way, and only Melanie stopped by for a bit to say hello and share some of the cheesecake I'd made that afternoon.

The cheesecake was inspired by Mike's friend Jen, who posted on Facebook before the new year that she was making her annual eggnog cheesecake.* Intrigued, I went to Google and found a few recipes. I picked this one -- probably because it was less involved than others, and I had nearly every ingredient at home, save the two whopping pounds of cream cheese, gingersnap cookies and eggnog. (I nabbed the last bag of gingersnap cookies at our neighborhood Target, a sure sign that I was meant to make this cake.)

This was my first cheesecake ever, not counting the no-bake crap I made in my twenties and perhaps one or two fuzzy attempts (also in my twenties) with a springform pan that I accidentally left in the home of an ex.

So I'm counting this as my first, and I'm happy to say I was pleased with the results. A couple of minor lessons were learned, but overall, there's little I'd change. I hope to make another one in the coming weeks ... before the baby comes, or maybe while on maternity leave as I try finding ways to kill time during my three months off. I'm sure to have tons of energy and endless hours to just putter around the house, bake cheesecakes, and watch The Wire from start to finish.**

The best thing about this cheesecake was that it lasted three days and was shared with exactly one dozen friends over the course of those three days. (I was so delighted when Jodi asked me where we'd purchased it! And even after she tasted it, she seemed impressed it was homemade.)

It was so much fun to share this massive hunk o' cake with so many. It felt like a Hannukah miracle, this giant cheesecake that lasted for days. But it's probably because you really don't need much of this at all. It's sweet and creamy ... but oh so dense.


After Mike and I sent Melanie home with a slice for her hubby on New Year's Eve, we had two more rounds of friends visit us for cheesecake and coffee in the first two days of the new year.

Sitting around our dining table in the middle of the day as friends came in and out, making fresh batches of coffee in the French Press, not looking at the clock or playing with my iPhone or thinking about to-do lists ... well, it was the absolute perfect start to our 2012. If we're lucky, the rest of the year will feel just as cozy and sweet.


*I can see why this cheesecake is an annual tradition for Jen!
**sarcasm