Napping with a New Mommy

When my daughter was born I needed almost as much coddling as she did. Becoming a mother was wonderful, but I was overwhelmed by my new role. Thankfully, my family and friends swooped in to help, patiently answering my questions, tidying my home, and - perhaps most importantly - bringing me delicious homemade food. You see, during those tender first weeks I was simply too tired to cook. I hadn't yet figured out how to be a Naptime Chef, and was exhausted by my new around-the-clock schedule. Instead, I was nourished, both emotionally and physically, by the near constant stream of goodies brought to my kitchen.


Last month my friend Priscilla had her first baby, a perfect little girl named Grace. Recalling my own experience, I Naptime Chef-ed Priscilla a sweet treat before I went to meet her new family. I knew it would be more than welcome. Deciding what to make for her was not hard. While I was browsing at the market I came across a few quarts of fresh strawberries and picked them up without a second thought. A cheery fruit dessert seemed like the perfect thing to give a new mom.


For this special visit I chose to fill the strawberries with a light cream cheese frosting, and top them with toasted sliced almonds. I love this preparation because each berry tastes like an individual strawberry cheesecake. At times I have taken it a step further and dipped the strawberries in dark chocolate. But, on this occasion, I opted not to. The berries I purchased were perfectly fresh from the field, I didn't want to cover up their sun-ripened flavor.

I make this recipe often during the summer because it is perfect for Naptime Chef-ing. The assembly is a snap, taking less than 30 minutes to complete. Every time I serve these to friends or family they always receives rave reviews. I know Priscilla loved them, she emailed me to say she had polished them off in less than two days! I will be bringing her another batch this summer. We have already agreed that, when Grace's nap schedule improves, I am going to Priscilla' s home to teach her how to become a Naptime Chef, too.

Naptime's Stuffed Strawberries with Toasted Almonds
adapted from an old recipe from my mother-in-law, source unknown
20-25 fresh strawberries
8 oz. cream cheese
3 T. confectioners sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
1 pinch of cinnamon (optional)
1/2 c. sliced almonds, toasted

1. Wash and dry fresh strawberries. Carefully trim the bottom of each berry so that it will stand up on a plate. With a melon baller, scoop off the top and stem. The berry will be hallow inside.
2. In a mixer, whip the cream cheese until it is light and fluffy. Add confections sugar, vanilla and pinch of cinnamon. Beat until fully combined.
3. Fill a medium size Ziploc bag with the cream cheese mixture. Cut off a corner of the bag to make it function like a pastry bag.
4. Gently squeeze the cream cheese through the open corner of the bag and carefully fill each strawberry with a generous amount of cream cheese. Top each berry with 2 or 3 toasted sliced almonds. Serve.

Naptime Notes:
Naptime Recipe Props: Feel free to play around with this recipe. You could add chocolate to the cream cheese to make a chocolate filling, or dip the stuffed berries in chocolate. They are excellent to serve for dessert at a party, or add to any buffet table.
Naptime Stopwatch: Preparing this dessert takes about 20 minutes. There is simply no way you can go wrong. It will easily yield two dozen filled strawberries, perfect for feeding a crowd or for family snacking.
Naptime Reviews: This is a great summer dessert or snack that everyone adores. My daughter likes to eat the cream cheese filling with her fingers first, then eats the strawberry separately.

Napping with Comfort

My mother's homemade banana bread is my favorite comfort food of all time. A fresh loaf, still warm from the oven, can remedy almost any stressful situation in my life. In many ways, it is my personal (and much healthier) version of valium. No matter the situation, one bite of mom's bread and all my concerns melt away for a few blissful moments. In fact, this bread has such power over me that while I was primping for my wedding ceremony, my brother slipped me a few slices. It was a clever move on his part. Casually snacking on my favorite food was the perfect way to calm my jitters, ensuring I wouldn't faint dead away during my vows (I didn't).


Luckily for me, my mother wrote her banana bread recipe on a card with her name on top, "Carla's Kitchen", and gave it to me when I moved to New York. Since then I have been baking it regularly - as evidenced by the stockpile of bananas in my freezer - and it was even one of my daughter's first solid foods. Of course, like any good home baker, I am always happy to entertain new variations of banana bread recipes. I have tried dozens over the years, even tucking a few into my permanent recipe binder. You might remember that last winter I shared one of Molly's favorite banana bread recipes, when I reviewed her book. I love her method and have made it several times since. However, no matter how interesting or unique the variation, Mom's homestyle version is still my top choice.


I love Naptime Chef-ing banana bread for many reasons, not the least of which are that the batter is a snap to prepare, and the final product guarantees several days of snacking pleasure. Even just being in my apartment while it bakes is a treat in itself. I am always seduced by the aroma of warm banana and sweet spices that wafts through our home, making the process of letting it cool before I dig in an exercise in self-restraint. Sometimes I add chocolate chips as a treat, which adds another delicious element to the sweet fragrance. In my opinion the best thing about this bread is it's genuine banana flavor. It is neat and clean, unadulterated by overwhelming spices or additional ingredients. Instead, the cinnamon and nutmeg gently highlight the fresh banana flavor without muddling it up. This bread is perfect for children, as well. Even though my daughter can't articulate her feelings yet, by the way she devours slice after slice, I can already see that it has become a favorite of hers, too.

Naptime's Perfect Homestyle Banana Bread
adapted from an old handwritten recipe from my mother and grandmother
8 T. (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 t. good vanilla extract
3 ripe bananas, mashed (I mash them in a bowl with a fork)
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. nutmeg
1 t. cinnamon
3/4 c. mini-chocolate chips (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour a standard 9x5 loaf pan*.
2. Mix together butter and sugar until fully combined. Add eggs and vanilla extract, mix well. Add mashed bananas, mix again until completely combined.
3. In a separate bowl mix flour, soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and chocolate chips. Stir this mixture a few times and make sure the chips are fully coated with flour.
4. Working slowly, stir flour mixture into egg mixture. Keep stirring until all flour is fully incorporated. The batter may still be a little lumpy from the bananas, this is normal.
5. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 45 - 50 minutes or until top is golden and a cake tester comes out clean.
6. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, carefully remove it from the pan and let it cool on a wire rack before serving.
*You can also divide the batter into smaller loaf pans, or mini loaf pans if you want to make smaller breads.
Freezer Tips: This bread freezes well. If you want to save it for later simply wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Then wrap it again with an outer layer of aluminum foil. Make sure none of the bread is exposed to air. It will last in the freezer for 2-4 months.

Naptime Notes:
Naptime Recipe Props: Banana bread goes with just about anything. It can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dessert. I have even grilled it before - it is delicious this way!
Naptime Stopwatch: The batter preparation takes a brief 5 minutes. Baking breads always takes a long time, this one needs to bake for about 50 minutes.
Naptime Reviews: Banana bread is a regular part of my daughter's diet, she can never get enough. While this is a traditional comfort food, I have served it to guests as well. It is great for serving at playgroup, taking to a potluck, or bringing to a housebound friend.

Napping with Clever Mommies

If you need advice on just about anything, ask a mother. Seriously, mothers are often the best resource when it comes to answering all sorts of practical questions like how to get a grass stain out of jeans, how to bring down a fever, and, of course, how to get your child to eat vegetables. I know lots of clever mommies these days, some I have met on the playground, and others I have known all my life. My friend Jenny is one of these clever moms. I first met her about ten years ago when she married one of my childhood friends and we have been friendly ever since. Jenny and I have a lot in common these days, most notably that we are both mothers of active and fun children.


Jenny's son is about one year older than my daughter and we joke that they are already boyfriend-girlfriend. Her son takes my daughter on romantic races in his Little Tykes car, taking care that her feet are securely perched on the dashboard so that she won't stub her toes. Then, post backyard grand-prix, they exchange strong hugs which slightly resemble football tackling moves. At meal time they sit together in pint-size chairs at a miniature table feeding each other bits of food off their trays. Last month, when we were at their house, Jenny's son fed my daughter some pasta with homemade tomato sauce and she went wild, acting like it was the best thing she had ever tasted. To confirm her notion I tasted it myself, she was right, it was delicious. Noting my daughter's glee over the tasty sauce I asked Jenny for her recipe. She was glad to share the basics of it, admitting she had never written it down since the ingredients change a little every time she makes it. Naturally, the lack of written notes did not deter me, in fact, I viewed it as the perfect Naptime Chef challenge.


Jenny devised her basic marinara recipe as a way to feed her son vegetables he would not eat in their raw state. I knew Jenny was smart, but upon hearing the basis of her recipe theory I realized that she is, actually, brilliant. Every other week Jenny makes a simple tomato sauce packed full of vegetables and freezes it in individual portions. Then, when mealtime arrives, she thaws the sauce and adds it to whatever pasta dish she is making. Taking her cue I quickly got to work, starting with a straightforward variety of vegetables I would like my daughter to consume: onion, garlic, red pepper, carrots and tomatoes. Making the sauce, following the instructions below, took a very short amount of time. When it was complete I poured individual portions into snack-size freezer bags and lined them up in my freezer. As expected, they froze beautifully and thawed well when it was time for dinner. Thankfully my daughter seemed to recall the taste of the sauce from her play-date, gobbling up a huge bowl of alphabet shaped pasta stirred with sauce and grated cheese. I immediately called Jenny to thank her for the great idea. She was thrilled to hear about my success in devising the recipe and agreed that it should be shared with all of you. So here it is, from one clever mommy to another.

Naptime's Kid-Friendly Tomato Sauce - inspired by our friend Jenny
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 28oz. cans crushed tomatoes
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Note: It is perfectly fine to experiment with adding more vegetables, here are some suggestions I have tried: Celery, Chopped Spinach, Green Peppers. It is also fine to add more seasonings like fresh chopped Basil, or fresh Rosemary if you would like.


1. Heat oil in a heavy, deep pan. (I usually use my dutch oven.)
2. Add onion and garlic, cook until soft. About 10 minutes.
3. Add carrots and peppers, cook until soft. About 10 minutes.
4. Add canned tomatoes. Simmer the sauce for about 30 minutes, until it thickens slightly.
5. While the sauce is simmering taste it from time to time, adding salt and pepper if necessary.
6. When the sauce is thickened remove it from the heat and allow it to cool.
7. Pour the cooled sauce into a food processor and blend until totally smooth.
8. Pour into individual baggies, or however you want to divide up the individual portions, and freeze.
9. Thaw portions individually as needed.

Naptime Notes:
Naptime Recipe Props: This recipe is ideal because it is made from basic, healthy, ingredients and is infinitely flexible. As long as you stick to the basic base of tomatoes with onion and garlic you can add or subtract just about any vegetable you want. I recommend starting with the basic ingredients above, then add new vegetables with each new batch.
Naptime Stopwatch: This recipe took about an hour to make from start to finish. I find that thawing from the freezer takes about an hour as well.
Naptime Reviews: Obviously my daughter loves this sauce, and my husband and I do, too. I've started using it with lots of the pasta dishes I make, including my favorite basic lasagna recipe. Adjust the vegetables to suit your own tastes, I guarantee the family will love it.