Photo: The Kitchn

Check out this week’s Food News, Things I Crave, Green Your Eats, Tips, Tools & Techniques, and Weekly Roundtable (a roundup of the most recent ChowMama posts). Plus, for a little while, I’ll follow the Weekly Roundtable with a quick update on my non-resolutions. Not that you should care (but maybe you do? I love me support from fellow ChowMamas and ChowPapas!), but it’s a way of keeping me honest.
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Between not posting regularly during the holidays and focusing last week on the “best of” ChowMama, there’s a lot I haven’t had a chance to say to you all. Okay. Not a lot. Just one big (ass) thing: I’m tired. So, so tired.
My adorable, sweet, smiling baby still isn’t sleeping during the day. He’s often (not always, though) happy sitting in his swing, mellowing out, but somehow it’s still exhausting. I feel like I rush through everything and don’t have a moment to savor my cooking, my writing, the silence… anything. For me, this kind of exhaustion has a domino effect. I’m not just tired from the legitimately tiring new baby stuff like lack of sleep, now I’m tired of EVERYTHING. Of wearing maternity jeans (I know it’s only been 2 1/2 months, but still!), of my back aching from breast feeding, my skin breaking out because I don’t get enough rest, of not being ready to give you a big update I’ve been working on… you name it.
So what’s a tired girl to do? Well, first, complain. (See above.) Then take matters into her own hands. I may not be able to control how much sleep I can get or whether my littlest ChowBaby naps, but I can start working on feeling better physically. I know this is going to sound a lot like new year’s resolutions (*yawn*), but I swear it’s just a coincidence of timing. See, I don’t like new year’s resolutions. They never work (for me). Plain and simple. Let’s say these efforts are about approaching the three-month postpartum mark. That’s a milestone, right?

So what’s my plan?
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10-Minute Lemon Thyme Scallops

This week is all about the Best Of ChowMama 2009! To help ensure that you begin 2010 with a recipe box loaded with quick and healthy recipes that your whole family will love, I’ve hand selected my favorites (recipes that I return to over and over again) and the most popular recipes as measured by traffic and comments (ones that worked out well for me and you).
Today is all about main dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Tomorrow I’ll hit ya with veggie sides. Wednesday has snacks and apps covered. I’ll serve up healthy sweets and desserts on Thursday. And, on Friday, I’ll list the best parenting posts of 2009—because how we feed our families is most definitely a parenting issue.
Enjoy. Try a new recipe. Chime in with your favorite 2009 ChowMama posts or what you’d like to see more of in 2010.
And, of course, THANKS for a great year. Cheers!
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Photo: star5112

I’m in Pennsylvania farm country for a few weeks. That means lots of just-picked peaches, more sweet corn than you can possibly imagine, and even a few stellar tomatoes that haven’t been decimated by the 2009 tomato blight. All good. Until a craving for crab cakes hits. And then what’s a rural gal to do?

With no fish market within 30 minutes, I had no choice. Cravings must be satisfied. So don’t blame me. I turned to crab in a can. It isn’t organic. And I’m sure the can is lined with BPA. But I’m posting as a reminder to you (and to myself) that we parents (especially) have to make the most of whatever you’ve got. Just for kicks, I made the recipe almost exactly as printed on the side of the can. And guess what? When I added a little love, these crab cakes were simply delish. Even Atticus (Mr. I’m-not-eating-fish-anymore-because-it-stinks) ate two—with his fingers, of course!

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Photo: kelly sue

By the time you read this, we’ll be blissfully entrenched in the Bay Area thanks to our old friends Emily and Ian (and their 4-legged-babies Buddy and Maggie). I’ve never spent any real time in San Francisco, so it’ll all be new to me.

Of course, I had to do a little food research before I left. Looking for hole-in-the-wall restaurants, kid-friendly cafes, and classic local cuisine. That’s how I landed on today’s recipe for Cioppino. It’s a fish stew developed by Italian fisherman in the 1800s that’s made with the catch of the day. And it is typically served over long pasta like spaghetti or linguini—and what ChowBaby doesn’t like that?

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Photo: hyperbolation

By the time you read this, I will be in California for a wedding and just a few days into my 2-week stay. My posts are going to be short. I’m sure you’ll understand. With no vacation in more than a year, I promised my hubbie, my son, and—perhaps most importantly—myself that I was going to really try to relax.

As I front load my posts in an attempt to do zero work (and I mean zero, since I’m not even bringing my computer!), I’m picturing all of the things I’m going to be enjoying with the ChowFamily. Driving from LA to the bay area, being overstimulated by Disneyland, watching Atticus mesmerized by rays at the Monterey aquarium, gaping at redwoods for the first time, and eating. A lot. One of the first things I’m going to do is hit Malibu to revisit the site of my very first fish taco.
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