Raspberry and Cherry Hamantaschen

I was so tired from the cold this afternoon that I thought I'd either bake, nap, or go to the gym to wake myself up. Baking won.

It dawned on me today that Purim starts this weekend, so what better cookie to bake than Hamantaschen? I remember one year when Jake lived in Philadelphia - his mom used an Amazon.com box to send him Hamantaschen. She crossed out Amazon.com and wrote Purim.mom instead:) For some reason this always stayed with me.

Tonight I scoured the net and found a recipe I could make at jewishrecipes.org - which I halved:

Favorite Hamantaschen Cookie Dough and Fillings
Yield: about 5 dozen

* 3 eggs
* 1 cup oil
* 1 cup sugar
* 2 tsp baking powder
* 1/2 cup water
* 1/2 cup orange juice
* 1/8 tsp salt
* 4 cups flour

Let the dough sit for 15 minutes, then roll it out and use a cookie cutter (or mug) to make round shapes, add your preserves, fold into triangles, and brush with beaten egg batter before placing them on a lightly greased cooking sheet and putting them in the oven for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

This year I used cherry preserves and raspberry preserves, since we typically don't keep prunes or poppy seeds in the house. I usually prefer apricot, but we were out of that, too.

I remember how my grandma loved Hamantaschen from Pratzel's, a bakery in town. I miss her. She once told me my cookies were like Pratzel's. But, well, they're really not. Grandmas just say stuff like that...

Stuffed French Toast

I’ve been waking up around 6 a.m. lately, so I’ve been eating meals earlier. Okay by me. Anyway today I was home around lunchtime, waiting for the Salvation Army reps to pick up an old desk, so I started leafing through Eating Well When You’re Expecting. I had ordered it when I was about eight weeks pregnant, read it in one sitting, and pretty much forgot about it. However, there are tons of useful – and vegetarian – recipes in the back of the book. Lately I’ve been trying to eat more protein so I looked for something quick and protein-rich to make for lunch.

Here is what I found:

Stuffed French Toast (my photo does not do it justice)

1. Spread 1 T of almond, soy, or peanut butter on whole wheat bread. Spread 2 T of fruit preserves over one slice. Arrange ½ a banana sliced thinly between the bread.

2. Place one egg, ¼ cup milk (I used soymilk), ½ t vanilla extract and ½ t ground cinnamon in a bowl and whisk.

3. Place the sandwich in the milk mixture and let soak for a minute on each side.

4. Heat up oil (I used butter spray) in a small skillet over medium-high heat – cook the sandwich 2-3 minutes on each side.

So yummy. Chief, my mercurial cat, looked hopeful that he would get a bite. He didn’t.

Kitchen Sink Chili

Good news: just about everything works out in chili.

I thought I had a can of tomato paste at home but when I started cooking I realized it was tomato soup. Oh well -- it certainly worked. I thought I had Quorn but no, I had Morningstar protein on hand. I remembered that I had carrots but I only had mushrooms.

Here's what wound up in the pot tonight:

1/2 yellow onion, 3 cloves of garlic, 3 stalks of celery and 1/2 c mushrooms -- diced and sautéd in 2 T of extra virgin olive oil
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of chili beans
1 can of diced tomatoes (flavored with garlic)
1/2 can condensed tomato soup
1/2 can water
1 c leftover pea soup
1 cup Morningstar tofu crumbles
a liberal sprinkling of chili powder and black pepper
1/4 c cheddar cheese.

Voila~ I am now eating it with corn chips and it is mighty tasty. And full of protein. Which I need. So hooray.

In other news, check out this little bear cub that was recently painted in our office-turned-nursery:

Astra's Split Pea and Sweet Potato Soup

After my beautiful and talented friend posted this soup recipe the other day, I felt compelled to make it -- and soon. I'm not a fan of lentils, so instead I doubled the amount of split peas. It made the house smell delicious Saturday afternoon. I will eat it for dinner and will probably eat it again for lunch tomorrow. Mmmm, soothing in the cold weather...

Vegetable-Rice Mixture (heavy on the onions)

The snow made me want to eat something hearty tonight for dinner, so while I tried to write an abstract at home this afternoon, I also boiled water for 1 cup of brown rice and began sauteing the following in some extra virgin olive oil:

- 1 yellow onion

- 1 chopped carrot

- ¼ diced yellow pepper

- 1/3 diced tomato

- 1 head of broccoli

- ½ c of diced mushrooms

- ½ sliced avocado (I wasn't sure about using the avocado, but it actually made a nice addition).

I then combined the plump rice and mixed veggies and I then added a handful of sesame seeds, a box of yellow raisins, and 1/3 c vegetable broth. The result is lovely, and I plan to eat a bit now and pack some away for tonight’s mega-long dress rehearsal. Did I mention that I am going to be in a play? I think I did.

And here is one from me over the weekend after a snowfall. A freakin' snow angel:)

Nectarine/Pineapple/Berry Breakfast Shake

I woke up at 5:45 a.m. today thinking about a breakfast shake. Luckily I fell back to sleep. But the desire did not wane.

So I made this:
1/2 plain yogurt single serving (I prefer Stonyfield)
a splash of vanilla soy milk
1-2 slices of fresh pineapple
1 nectarine (chopped)
about 1/2 c of frozen berries (I use a strawberry/blueberry/raspberry mixture)
1/2 t of honey
1 T of wheat germ
ice

Voila!

And here is an update on our nursery, too:)

Blue! Our building's handyman told me, "Jamie, didn't you know blue is a boy's color?" I guess I didn't see "male" on the can of paint when I picked it out;)

A Very Exciting Dinner:)

Phew, what a day it has been. We woke up and drove to the doctor's office for our 20-week ultrasound. Gosh, I was anxious - I could barely sleep.

Thank goodness, everything seems to be going really well. The baby is currently 10 ounces and 10 inches long and looks to be perfectly healthy. What can I say other than we just feel so blessed.

Annnd we waited all day, working and wondering -- excruciating -- and then went out to dinner around 6:30 p.m. Over an appetizer and cranberry juice, we opened an envelope with a photo the ultrasound technician had typed on: "I'm a girl!" So sweet.

Hooray:)