Rebecca Davis 1/8/19 Rebecca Davis 1/8/19

Romesco hummus

Romesco hummus is like roasted red pepper hummus, but make it glamour. There’s smoky paprika for some mystery and cayenne for a little kick and tomato for a little sweetness. It’s an all-around treat and game-changing snack.

Take me to the hummus!

It’s happening, people. The “new year, new anxiety” phase of January has begun.

Can we talk about having a second child? I have mixed thoughts about it. Sometimes it feels like a member of our family is missing. And both my husband and I have siblings and love it (both the idea of having a sibling and the actual people that our siblings are). AND being an aunt is one of my very favorite things. I don’t want M to miss out on any of that.

But it took so long for us to get pregnant with M, that I’ve been mentally preparing to have one child since he was born.

And the fact is, it took me a long time to feel like myself again both mentally and physically after having M and I’m scared to give that up. I wouldn’t necessarily claim that we’ve “hit our stride” as a family, but we’ve achieved a sort of equilibrium, so the idea of purposely throwing a HUGE wrench into the works with another baby is very scary.

I’m also scared about the change to M’s life. He’s actually cried a few times because he doesn’t have a sibling, but I know that his sadness is purely theoretical. When another little person actually takes up our time, he’ll be PISSED. I don’t want to ruin his life, you know?

But what about the joy a kid brings? And the funny family stories we’ll have in the future? And M will need someone to complain to about all of the mistakes we’ll inevitably make.

And here’s where the anxiety comes in: We are entering my 39th year of life, so my time to perseverate about having another child is swiftly coming to an end. UUUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH.

What is your advice? Have any of you felt this way? How did you make the final decision? I NEED TO KNOW.

Anyhoo, I can’t think of a good segue, so HUMMUS.

Hummus was one of M’s favorite snacks until…it wasn’t. He actually told me one day that he was “done” with hummus and carrots. Rude.

So I combined plain hummus with the veggies and spices from Romesco sauce, had him measure the ingredients and press the food processor buttons, and HUZZAH he likes hummus again.

To anyone wondering why they should make hummus rather than buying it in the store, I say, it’s truly so easy that a small child can do it (and did). Unlike regular Romesco sauce, this hummus is nut-free, so you don’t have to toast or roast anything. You don’t even need to chop because, food processor.

A couple of notes:

There is a lot of smoked paprika in this recipe, so start with 1/2 tsp and add more to taste if you prefer milder flavors.
I use a brand of roasted red pepper that comes in a tall, thin jar, so the peppers are really big. If your peppers are smaller, use two.

Romesco hummus

Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 16 oz or about 2 cups

1 can chickpeas, drained
1 large roasted red pepper (or 2 smaller peppers)
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 large garlic cloves
1/2-1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp cayenne (or more if you want more of a kick)
3 Tbsp tahini
1-2 Tbsp sherry or red wine vinegar

Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth.

Rebecca Davis 9/11/18 Rebecca Davis 9/11/18

How to fill a lunchbox

Chicken and cheese taco with cherry tomatoes, raspberries, blackberries, Romesco sauce, guacamole, and flax seed tortilla chips.

I spend a lot of time thinking about, planning, and executing M's lunches. And there are days when he eats...none of it. But there are days when he eats tons and I feel utterly triumphant. I wanted to share my top lunchbox tips so that you, too, can declare victory when that lunchbox comes home nearly empty (and you haven't worked that hard to make it happen).

Sushi is always a favorite and can be filled with WHATEVER your kid likes. See my Instagram post for my simple sushi rice recipe.

1) Repurpose leftovers: Obviously, you can plop a portion of last night's dinner into your kids' lunchbox. (See below for some favorite ways to do this.) But another tactic is to make extras of the proteins and veggies that were dinner's components. Those ingredients, plus a tortilla with some cheese (or vegan cheese) and avocado, become a taco, quesadilla, or roll-up. We're also big fans of the "open face" sandwich with cheese melted on top. Or, cube it all up and make a skewer. Or, if your kid is a pasta eater, add those proteins and veggies to noodles and some jarred sauce. Easy peasy.

Leftover fried rice plus smoked salmon, blueberries, cheese, hummus, and pretzels.

2) Prep: Every weekend I do these 5 things:

Hard boil some eggs
Make a white, wheat, rice, or bean pasta
Bake mini muffins or doughnuts
Make no-bake energy balls or granola bars
Roast two veggies that I know M will eat

3) Send breakfast for lunch: I often make double breakfast and add it to a lunchbox later in the week. For instance, these two-ingredient egg and banana pancakes are a big favorite. Use them as sandwich bread with nut or seed butter and chia jam or rolled them up like little cigars. Savory waffles like veggie or cheese can sub in for sandwich bread. Granola cups are also an easy batch bake that work for breakfast, lunch, and snacks.

4) Take inspiration from their classroom learning: I like to theme M's lunches, but that's mostly because I need inspiration and not because I'm trying to win any mom awards. Dinosaurs, Butterflies, and The Ocean were particularly fertile ground. Even if "theme-ing" lunch just means cutting out a sandwich shape, it feels a little special.

5) Deconstruct something they like: Add the fixings for tacos, nachos, sandwiches, pasta, etc and let them put it together themselves. Like a homemade lunchable.

6) Think about appetizers: Have you considered sending your kids to school with a cheese plate or chicken sausage pigs in a blanket? Half of M's lunch most days is a crudite plate.

Double Duty Dinner/Lunch Recipes

Sweets with oomph

No bake add-ins

Happy lunching everyone!

Rebecca Davis 8/27/18 Rebecca Davis 8/27/18

Fried green tomatoes

If you hate wasting those end of season tomatoes (OR, you get impatient waiting for them to ripen), fry them up green and throw them into a sandwich, over some eggs, or alongside of any protein.

Take me to the tomatoes!

The keys to good fried green tomatoes, to me, are soaking overnight in buttermilk, and cooking with HOT oil. I've gotten equally delicious and crunchy results from using a little bit of oil and a lot of oil, but the heat seemed like the common denominator. And lots of salt.

I’ve also experimented a lot with corn flour and different grinds of cornmeal. I initially liked corn flour the best, but it's very easy for the flour to cake onto the tomato slice, which then doesn't cook evenly. Ultimately, my favorite was straight-up, finely ground cornmeal.

Fried green tomatoes

Time: Overnight + 25-30 minutes active cooking
Yield: about 9-16 tomato slices, depending on how big your tomatoes are

3-4 large green tomatoes, sliced into ¼-inch thick slices, discarding the rounded bits*
1-2 cups milk (any fat content is fine)
1-2 Tbsp vinegar (white or apple cider)
2 tsp salt, divided
1 cup finely ground cornmeal
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Ground pepper, to taste
1/4 cup avocado or canola oil
Course sea salt

Thinly slice off the round side bits of the tomato. Slice the rest into 1/4-inch slices. Place the tomatoes in a container with a lid and cover them with milk and vinegar. Add 1 tsp salt, cover, and shake. Refrigerate for at least a few hours and up to 2 days.

Combine the corn meal, remaining 1 tsp salt, paprika, garlic powder, and pepper in a large container. Set aside.

Heat avocado oil until very hot.

Shake off excess buttermilk from 1-2 tomato slices at a time and place them in the cornmeal mixture. Cover both sides well, but shake off any excess cornmeal that seems like it’s caking.

When the oil is hot (you’ll know it’s hot enough when you add a few flecks of corn meal and it immediately starts bubbling), add as many tomatoes as will fit in your pan without touching, and fry them until golden brown. Flip over and cook the other side. When second side reaches golden brown, remove to a paper towel and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.