This week, I'm Elephant

At my Mom's birthday last week, my cousin and aunt gave Nico two books.
One was called A New Home for Beaver.
It's about a beaver, a pig and an elephant.
It wasn't long before Nico started calling me Elephant.
He was beaver.
Leo was pig.
Daniel was at work.
When he came home, we called him zebra.
Nico decided to build his own beaver house.
Around my desk.
The blanket covering the computer was the final touch.
He asked for my help with that.
I wonder if he's trying to tell me something. 
He did everything else himself.
Last night, I took down his beaver house after he went to bed.
When he woke up today, he was not happy that I had "destroyed" it.
"My beeeeeeeeeeaver house!"
He built it again.
Just like the beaver in the book.
I get a kick out of his design choices.
Such as the socks.
And the paper towel wedged between two pillows. 
His books always work their way into our lives.
TV shows too.
His Curious George phase was tough.
A monkey is really not the best role model.
Characters from books are better.
Speaking of books, I wish we lived closer to Powerhouse Books in Dumbo.
They have the most beautiful selection of children's books.
The ones by Mo Willems make us laugh the most.
Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog is a family favorite.
Nico used to quote that a lot.
"Oh for Pete's sake!"
They're turning Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale into a musical.
We bought tickets last weekend.
After reading that, Nico changed his lovey's name from Bear Bear to Knuffy.
But back to the beavers.
Last night, Nico and Daniel watched a documentary about beavers together.
Leo kept trying to watch too.
Once the boys were in bed, Daniel told me about it while we ate slices of bacon and cheese quiche.
I promise to give you that recipe soon.
Daniel said the documentary was like a reality show for beavers.
Did you know that beavers change their surroundings more than any other animal?
Aside from humans, of course.
I had no idea.
I never spent much time thinking about beavers.
Until I had a little boy whose books spark his imagination.
And make him surprise me with little things.
Like this.

Three Little Pigs

It's a good thing I froze some of my sugar cookie dough from Christmas Eve. On Sunday, Daniel surprised me with something special. It wasn't long before I put it to use. Nico makes me tell him the story of The Three Little Pigs multiple times every day, so he got a real kick out of making these. He even requested a big bad wolf. For some reason, I have a lobster cookie cutter which came kind of close. We only made one of those and it's long gone.

My sugar cookies still aren't stunning, but I think these are pretty cute.

Ubuntu

After reminiscing about my favorite Brooklyn spots of 2010, I started thinking about other memorable restaurant meals I had last year. The one that stands out most wasn't in Brooklyn, or even New York. It's a place in Napa that my Mom took me to during a Christmas trip to California. Had I not been on a blogging break back then, I would have taken many more photos, scribbled notes, and written about it right away. It's been a year since our visit, but it looks like Ubuntu, a "vegetable" restaurant with one Michelin star is still just as good.

We were in Sonoma with my brother and his family. Nico was 20 months at the time and my niece Adriana had just turned 2. With two little ones, it was easiest to eat most of our meals at home, but my Mom managed to sneak in a few lunch reservations, including one at Ubuntu. At first I didn't think it was a good idea. Not only was the restaurant 45 minutes away, but she made the reservation right in the middle of naptime. Believe me, I know how lame that sounds. I'm cringing even as I type it. Yet there I was, the girl who went from planning international trips around restaurants to a Mom determined to preserve her son's midday snooze.

It's a good thing my Mom knows what she wants. She insisted we go and I learned that if there's ever a time to let schedules slide, it's when you're on vacation.



Ubuntu was incredible. A cool and creative place that transforms seasonal and local produce—a lot is grown in the restaurant's biodynamic garden—into a series of small plates that could make me swear off meat forever. The space is sleek and modern and didn't feel too kid-friendly at first. Attached to a yoga studio, it was actually much more laid-back than it looked.

Nico and Adriana were happy, too. How could they not be with almond milk smoothies and a velvety cream cheese mousse served in a jar? We even lucked out by going at a time when a yoga class wasn't in session. The steps to the studio were right near our table, so instead of taking the kids outside to burn off some energy, we went one flight up and let them romp around there.

Ubuntu
1140 Main Street
Napa, California
707-251-5656

                                                               

A Place to Play in Greenpoint + Good Food

For my latest Mommy Poppins post, I spent a few mornings at Play in Greenpoint. Nico's beloved G train drops us off just a few blocks away and for lunch or a coffee to go, Five Leaves is nearby. The owners Wade and Katja are a lovely, creative and very inspiring couple who also have a children's clothing line Phoenix and Nola, named after their 19-month old twins. Bloomingdale's now carries the line, but you can check everything out at Play, too. For Christmas, I bought my nieces soft sweatshirts in the sweetest shades of lavender and pink, plus grey leggings with buttons on the ankles. If they came in my size, I would have bought similar outfits for myself. They're that cute.

Wade's worked at a bunch of Manhattan hot spots and we spent a lot of time talking about restaurants and food. He's the one who reminded me that Five Leaves is practically next door, and Fiore and El Amacen are his two other neighborhood favorites. The next time Daniel and I are able to sneak away for a dinner alone, we'll be at one of those.

Brooklyn Food Favorites 2010

To kick off my first day of 2011, I'm remembering some of the Brooklyn spots I frequented in 2010. Many are old favorites and a few are new. Happy New Year!

Bklyn Larder
This is where I cheated on the Park Slope Food Coop and my favorite ice cream parlor a lot. Their toasted almond gelato is unreal and the first flavor I've liked as much, if not more than the strawberry from Blue Marble. It's also where I treated myself to the easiest—and most expensive—Thanksgiving ever.

Thistle Hill Tavern

The neighborhood place I've always dreamed about. It's affordable, kid-friendly, and the food is seasonal, often local, and downright delicious. 

Bark
Every time I got rid of old clothes and toys at Lulu's Then and Now, I'd walk a few blocks to blow my earning on high-end hot dogs.

Brooklyn Fare

The perfect place to splurge on a fancy 33rd birthday celebration with a big group of friends.




One Girl Cookies
It's rare that I eat breakfast anywhere other than home. But for my favorite bakery's homemade yogurt, granola and stewed fruit, I'll make an exception. Their coconut coffee cake is the last thing I ate before going into labor with Leo.

Cafe Pedlar
Where I go to get snacks before movies at Cobble Hill Cinemas—the pretzel sandwich with brie and butter is the best. It's also where I recently spent a rare afternoon alone with a chai latte, black forest braid and my new favorite cookbook.

Four and Twenty Blackbirds
The place I almost walked right by when it first opened because black bars on its window made it easy to miss. I'm forever thankful for my friend Karlyn who suggested we peek in. I've been back countless times for Brooklyn's best pie.

Brookies from Baked
A dessert I could eat every day.

Nunu Chocolates
The place where I led my first food tour. I love the handmade chocolates, cozy brown and blue space, and the friendly couple that owns it.

Mast Brothers Chocolate
I always keep a stash of these at home. Pricier than most, they're discounted at the Park Slope Food Coop. This makes my monthly shifts worth it.

Seersucker
Solid southern food makes this one of the best places to open on Smith Street in awhile. I visited a few times this summer and discovered two things: Red Hook rose, and that scallops and watermelon make a surprisingly good combination. 

The Double Windsor
A bar with really good food where Daniel and I shared a flight of beers and a salad with duck confit on our first night out after becoming parents of two.We saw The Swell Season in Prospect Park after.

Dub Pies
Decaf mochas with pretty froth designs make my day. Flaky meat pies are nice too.

Five Leaves
The place where I ate outside on a cold December day with a friend and two little boys, bumped into Kiefer Sutherland on his birthday, and must visit again before 2011 ends.

Staying In

New Year's Eve kind of snuck up on me this year. After such a hectic holiday, we don't have anything special planned. This has never been one of my favorite holidays, unless we're somewhere warm like Brazil all dressed in white. New Year's Eve is always a lot of fun when we're there. Here, it's usually too cold, everything is unbelievably overpriced, and don't even get me started on Times Square. I'd rather do just about anything than celebrate New Year's Eve there. Last year, we didn't do much either. I was pregnant and happy to stay home. Daniel, these pork banh mi meatballs and The Hangover made it one of my best ones yet.

Friends invited us over for ropa vieja in Ft. Greene tonight, but since our regular babysitter is on another coast at the moment, it looks like we're staying in. Now I need to think of something fun to make. Any suggestions? I have a few bars of dark chocolate and a fridge full of fruit, so there will definitely be a big pot of fondue for dessert. 

What are your plans for New Year's Eve? I'd love to hear!

Trail of Inspiration

Daniel and I bought our current apartment almost 4 years ago, transforming it from a very sorry state into a place of our own. Before having kids, I would pick pieces of lint off the floor and sweep our kitchen every night. Tiny scratches on our freshly painted walls made me freak out and I almost had a nervous breakdown after seeing a water ring on our wooden bathroom shelf. I even let my cousin convince me to buy a white couch. My friend Kristen intervened at the last minute saying this was a terrible idea. I'm prone to spilling, and she knew I wanted kids.

I'm thankful I listened. Times have certainly changed. The chocolate couch I went with has seen smashed blueberries, spit-ups and all sorts of other stuff. In most rooms there are legos, train tracks, cars, trucks, diggers, back hoe loaders—I could go on and on, but I'll spare you—scattered everywhere. EVERY FREAKIN WHERE. An exersaucer—an eyesore if there ever was one—in our kitchen, a jumperoo that we move around from door to door, and an army of winter coats smothering beautiful antique hooks that partially block access to our bathroom.

As much as I love this apartment and all of the memories we've made in it, I'm very happy that we've decided to move in a few months. I don't think Daniel and I have another gut renovation in us, at least not now. I'm already counting on not finding a kitchen I love as much as ours. More space is the biggest priority.

One thing's for sure: I'm getting the itch to redecorate. I don't have the funds for many big changes, but a girl can dream, right? Today I found Lulu de Kwiatkowski's blog Trail of Inspiration and am sure I'll refer to it a lot when we find our new place. My cousin might have convinced me to buy a white couch, but by introducing me to Lulu DK fabrics she redeemed herself. Together we picked out this one for two slipper chairs and this one for some pillows. If I had space and money to spare, I would have bought a lot more. In October, Lonny Magazine had an article about Lulu and I loved seeing her LA home. She has two little boys and it barely looks lived in, but that's the beside the point. With lots of white and pops of color everywhere, it's sophisticated and fun. I still have a few more months in very tight quarters and no need or desire to buy anything new. For now, I'll keep tripping on legos and just live very vicariously through Lulu.

First photo via Trail of Inspiration. All others by Patrick Cline via Lonny.

The Bright Side

Last night was perfect. For my Mom, and me.

For days, I'd deliberated. Taking two kids to the city at a time when they were usually both in bed didn't seem to make sense. Lack of sleep, stomach bugs, and a holiday without heat and hot water had me on edge. The snowstorm only complicated things. Our car was buried in a few feet of snow and taxi services were beyond overwhelmed. I considered going alone, but knew how disappointed my Mom would be. When Daniel came home from work, Leo and Nico had major meltdowns at the same time. We both started to feel very negative about the whole situation.

I escaped to the shower. As hot water drowned out the noise in the next room, I gave myself a little pep talk. I knew it was a special night. Maybe everything would go off without a hitch. Maybe the subway wouldn't take forever and we'd have no trouble finding a taxi to take us from Lexington Ave over to York. Maybe the boys would be fine going to bed much later than usual. Maybe they'd both behave and I'd have a much needed night with adults, good food, and even a little wine.

Being positive was a good idea.

Nico, my little party animal, was as happy as could be all night and still in good spirits at 11pm as we were getting ready to leave. Leo hung out with us at the dinner table for the first few courses before taking a nap on my Mom's cozy bed. The food (wild mushroom soup with a pear puree and cumin oil, mache salad with a goat cheese medallion, filet mignon with tomato Madeira confit, stuffed tomatoes, asparagus gruyere, wild mushroom bread pudding, and a gorgeous custom cake from Pink Cake Box) was excellent, friends and family made touching toasts, and my Mom looked more beautiful and exuberant than ever.

I even taught myself a little lesson. When something seems really hard, and I feel like I might crack, it always helps to look on the bright side and forge ahead.

Sixty

Today my Mom turns 60. Already, her new decade is off to a good start. She recently reunited with an old love, her fourth grandchild arrived yesterday, and in a few weeks she's moving to a new apartment. I haven't seen it yet, but a kitchen with a view of the East River sounds nice to me.

Together we've taken many trips that revolve around restaurants—she joined me and Daniel at El Bulli, followed by another multi-course dinner at El Celler de Can Roca in Girona the next night. I've tagged along on some of her European adventures, including a weekend in Dublin where we ate mostly French food. In NY, we've asked for doggie bags at Per Se and other places where most wouldn't dare. At Jean Georges, we cut a 7-course tasting menu short because we were late to the opera. We returned a few hours later to pick up where we'd left off.

At her apartment and mine, we've shared many meals. Pasta or roasted hens that she's made on the spot, and others with many courses that she's planned and prepped for days. At 33, I still crave her grilled cheeses and carefully composed salads. Her lasagna and meatloaf have won awards, and her stuffed tomatoes and linguine with clam sauce easily could. Tonight, she's cooking her own birthday dinner for me and my boys and some family and friends. With many courses, it's sure to rival tastings at some of the city's best spots. Prepared in a small kitchen where most might get flustered, she'll make it seem simple, I'm sure.

As my present, I want to take her to dinner somewhere special. It's been awhile since we've had a few hours together, just the two of us, to eat and catch up. I miss those trips we used to take together before I had kids. I'm considering Corton, but I'll probably give her some choices and let her choose. For now, I want to wish her the happiest 60th birthday ever and thank her for filling my life with a lot of love and such incredible food.

Sledding Envy

 It's day three without heat or hot water over here. Last night I put Leo to bed with a hat and mittens and when he woke up at 3am, his little nose was as cold as mine.

Outside Prospect Park is covered with snow and the wind is whipping. Daniel returned to work this morning, his Mom is spending her last day in the city, and I'm back on my own with the boys. It looks beautiful outside and I'm contemplating bundling us all up and braving the cold. But coming home to a freezing apartment after frolicking in the snow seems strange. Then again, we did that yesterday and once we finally got out, it was wonderful.

What I really want to do is go sledding. I just spotted this family and their yellow sled as I was peeking out the window and wish I could join them. I'm just not sure how to sled with a toddler and infant on my own. Leo in the Ergo and Nico on my lap? Maybe, but doesn't sound the safest. For now, we're stuck inside watching movies, building train tracks, drinking hot cocoa, and wearing layer upon layer of clothes. When Leo wakes up from his morning nap, we'll see.

Staying Warm with Sugar Cookies

We haven't had any heat or hot water for the past two days. It wasn't too bad on Christmas, but today there's a monster snowstorm and it's cold. Sipping lots of tea and eating what seems like a never ending supply of cookies has helped. Now my thoughts are on dinner. I'm thinking fondue.

On Christmas Eve, we made sugar cookies with Nico before he went to bed. I was inspired by these stunning ones, but making cut-out cookies and royal icing with a 2 1/2-year old when it's already past his bedtime can be tricky.

Ours weren't quite stunning. Not even close, but with a hint of almond extract and lemon zest, they were delicious. I love the the cookie recipe I finally settled on, and to make the icing, I went with this one from Alton Brown. It was my first time making royal icing and worried about it being too runny, I made it too stiff. Putting it into squeeze bottles as Emily (the girl with the stunning cookies) instructed made it easier to work with.

Some day we'll make stunning ones. This year, with stomach viruses and sleep deprivation and all sorts of other obstacles, I've been embracing imperfection. And chaos. Especially when it keeps us happy and well fed.

Dub Pies

Decaf mocha lattes from Dub Pies have been keeping me warm this winter. I  just wish I didn't feel like a bull in a china shop every time I go there with my kids. Getting in with a double stroller is kind of tricky since the door opens into the shop and not toward the street and once we're finally in, we take up half the place. On most visits, I feel like that Mom. I could always go to Connecticut Muffin across the street, but everything at Dub is so much better. Good thing Prospect Park is nearby. I get my mocha to go, and usually a few of their flaky and filling New Zealand-Australian meat pies (refried beans/jalapeno and chicken thai curry on my last visit, plus a few mini ones which are perfect for kids) and enjoy everything there. For movies at The Pavilion, I like to sneak in some of their sweet treats. Anzac cookies with oats, coconut, and what seems like a lot of sugar are delicious, and I'm hoping the mini fruit mince pies will be around after the holidays, but something tells me their days are numbered.

Dub Pies
211 Prospect Park West (corner of 16th Street)
718-788-2488