Perfect Eggless King Cake

I married a man from Louisiana, and I lived there for 2 years in grad school.  By far, my fave Louisiana treats are shrimp po'boys (fully dressed with only a little mayo), pecan pralines, and king cake.

My husband makes amazing pralines, the best shrimp po'boys come from a little gas station in my husband's home town, and I make King Cake usually just once a year here in NYC (though when in Louisiana I will happily inhale King Cake from the end of Epiphany through Fat Tuesday, usually from the local Rouses grocery store bakery in my husband's home town), so when I make it I want it to be great!

It's taken me three years, but this is the perfect king cake recipe with no eggs!  Sometimes eggless yeast doughs can be dry and tough and I have never made a confectioners sugar glaze that didn't have a weird after taste.  I always preferred the Rouses King Cakes to mine, which NEVER happens, I am not a grocery store bakery over homemade kind of girl.  But this year...score one for mama!

Mama's King Cake

Dough
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
2 pkg active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
5 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Filling
3/4 c brown sugar
3/4 c white sugar
1 1/2 TBSP cinnamon
3/4 all purpose flour
1/2 cup very soft or melted butter
1/2 tsp salt

Icing
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
purple, gold, and green sanding sugar

For Dough

• Scald milk, remove from heat, add butter, salt, and nutmeg
• Dissolve yeast in warm water with 1 Tbsp sugar, wait approx. 10 minutes for it to get foamy
• When milk/butter mixture has cooled to warm but not hot, add to yeast mixture
• stir in remaining sugar and flour, knead 8-10 minutes.  Dough should be a little sticky but easy to work with. If too dry, add warm water or milk 1 Tbsp at a time.
• Coat in butter or neutral oil, let rise covered in a warm place for 2 hours (until double)
• Cut dough ball in half
• Roll each half out into 10x17 rectangle

For Filling

• Mix all filling ingredients into a paste
• Spread on each dough rectangle

For Cake

• Roll up each dough rectangle to form long roll and join the ends to shape into an oval
• Bake at 330 for 20-25 min, until top is just starting to be golden on the edges
• Mix powdered sugar, vanilla, and cream to desired consistency and spread or pour on top of cooled cake
• Top with sanding sugars

Our favorite newborn baby items so far...

My SIL is expecting a baby boy this summer, so before I forget I wanted to share our favorite baby items so far...We really do love everything we have for the baby as we tried to keep our list very streamlined and intentional. Pretty much everything was either purchased from craigslist, received as a gift, or gotten from our local parents listserve. We can't wait for baby E to be able to enjoy the toys and books and other items he received, but right now, at this newborn stage, these are our essential items:

Our Top 10 11 14 Baby Items

Dutailier Glider (we got ours in great condition for $25 off of craigslist!) and use it with this nursing stool since we don't have room for an ottoman.

Aden and Anais Swaddle Blankets (we received these as a gift and use them for EVERYTHING, swaddling the baby, make-shift nursing cover, wiping spit-up or breastmilk leaks...super cute and super handy!)

Rock and Play Sleeper (this is the only place baby E will sleep besides my chest.  We did put the wedge insert from our Uppababy Cruz stroller in the seat to make it not such a steep angle and he was still too little for this the first few days home from the hospital, but now...now this sleeper is AMAZING and we are still using it with the insert)

Britax Pavilion Car Seat (we skipped the newborn bucket seat in favor of this, it's an amazing seat and will last baby E for several years)

Earth Mama Angel Baby Mama Bottom Balm (a life saver those first few days after labor, especially if you have stitches!)

Little Joeys Newborn Cloth Diapers (buy the brand name ones, the knock-offs from ebay look like the same design but seem to leak:-(  We have other newborn cloth diapers too, but these are our favorite and the only ones that Ababa will use)

Wool Nursing Pads (whatever you do, stick with medium.  Do not get the largest size as they are literally the size of dinner plates! These are way more comfortable than the cotton pads and don't leave you feeling damp)

Green Mountain Diapers Newborn Prefolds (Absolutely the best prefold diapers!  The newborn size work great on baby E as diapers, but also function as burp clothes, spit up wipers, heavy duty breast pads, changing table liners, and pretty much anything else you can imagine.  We have newborn and infant sizes and used both to stuff B's pocket diapers.  We used these for 2 years with B and will likely use them for the next 2-3 years with baby E.  Our favorite cover is the rumparooz newborn but we also use thirsties)

Womb Sounds (this youtube link has increased our nighttime sleep by 50%)

Zutano Booties (these actually stay on and keep baby E's feet warm. We will be getting the next size up when he outgrows these.  They are great for a winter baby!)

Snusa Monitor (baby E sometimes likes to stop breathing which is terrifying and I have a friend whose son died of SIDS, so this monitor gives me some peace of mind at night...I do have a love/hate relationship with this monitor as it does have some false alarms when it comes out of contact with the baby, but I would rather that than the alternative...)

MIracle Blanket E is a great sleeper during the day, but the Miracle Blanket is living up to its name at night!  He LOVES it.

Sleeping Baby Productions Linen Ring Sling This is working SO much better for us than the Sleepy/Boba Wrap.  I think it may be the perfect newborn carrier and will also be handy in the summer b/c the linen is so breathable.  Plus I got it in purple with black rings and it is gorgeous!!!

Graco Sweet Slumber Machine Since the white noise/womb sounds have become part of E's necessary nighttime routine (for the whole night!) we invested in this so we could reclaim our laptop for work in the evenings.

I am still searching for the perfect nursing bra, nursing cover, and newborn baby carrier (baby E won't be big enough for our beloved Boba 2G carrier until he's almost 1).  I'll keep you posted when I find the right ones.  I just ordered materials to make nursing covers and to convert a regular bra to a nursing bra, so hopefully those projects will be successful.  Also, our sleepy/boba wrap is great, but difficult to maneuver in slushy NYC winters.  I just ordered a sleeping baby productions ring sling and hope that will be a winner (and it is!).

Welcome baby E and "scrummin' on the old man Joe"

Well, impatience must run in our family, because baby E made his debut on January 26, more than 2 weeks early.  We are in love:-)

My water broke, fast and hard contractions started immediately, and somehow my labor stalled about 12 hours in (turns out baby E was posterior, and tilted, and in general just wasn't a big fan of labor). There were lots of complications (group B strep, meconium, heart rate decelerations for baby E, hyperemesis for me to the point of vomiting blood and being severely dehydrated, a fever for me, baby E not tolerating pushing, and an IT guy who had to come into the delivery room to fix the frozen fetal monitor!...), labor was almost 40 hours long--the first 24 hours were totally natural and then I chose pitocin and an epidural over a c-section--at the end there was a vacuum and a small episiotomy, and literally until he was crowning, the midwife thought that I would still need to have a c-section...but, praise God I had a vaginal delivery and have had a very easy recovery.

Baby E was quite banged up from delivery (a big ridge on his forehead, small hematoma on the back of his head, etc. but he has a full head of straight black hair that covered it all up, so he just looks cute:-)  He's a great nurser and is gaining weight like a champ!

B has been a fabulous big brother and we are feeling very, very blessed.  Despite the difficult pregnancy and labor, about 12 hours after delivery I looked at DH and was like "let's do this again"...hormones are a powerful thing!!!  I pretty much did the same thing after we adopted B.  We were in the trial by fire period of the first week and I was already like, let's start another adoption.  Whether through pregnancy, adoption, or both, Ababa and I would very much like to have a third (and maybe fourth) child.  So, we'll see what God has in store for us...right now we are lovin' life with B and E.

B really, REALLY wanted a girl, so he's already got a plan that "mommy has more eggs, so we can have a girl next...and if we have three baby girls that's call triplets" YIKES!  B's family planning is even more extreme than mine:-)

B is obsessed with "I've been working on the railroad" lately and knows all the words...in his own fashion....he is convinced there is a "dino" in the kitchen and that someone is "scrummin' on the old man Joe".  He cracks me up:-)

I love my boys!

Mommy, she looks like me!

Last week, B and I were in the elevator and our Dominican neighbor and her daughter (who is exactly B's age, they share a birthday!) got in.  We see them all the time, but this day was different.

They got off the elevator, and B looked at me with wide eyes.  "Mommy" he said "She looks like me, that mommy looks like me".

"How does she look like you?" I asked, trying to clarify what he was seeing as well as take a minute to formulate my response. Even after 2 1/2 years of reading "The Colors of Us" with him and talking about all the beautiful and yummy colors different people are, this is the first time he's talked about this.

"She's brown like me" he said, rubbing the back of his gorgeous brown hand. "She has brown skin"

"She does" I said.  "Sometimes mommies and their babies have the same color skin and sometimes they don't."

"What color skin do I have", I asked?

"Yellow" was his response.

"What color skin does daddy have?" I asked.

"Brown" he said, "but not the same as me."

We talked about how daddy is chocolate brown and B is honey brown and the baby will probably be honey brown like B (and that mommy is yellow, he's sticking to that:-) and that people in families can be different colors and we are still a family.  I am his mommy even though our skin is different colors.

And then we went for our walk.

But he's talked about his brown skin and my yellow skin several times this week. it is clearly top of mind for him right now.

My sweet, sweet boy. I am and always will be your mommy.  You are adopted, which is very special, and often children who are adopted are a different color than their parents (just like Horace is spotted and his parents are striped, and just like Rosie is brown and her family is grey and Choco is a bird and Mrs Bear is his mama).

You'll see when the baby arrives, that even if you had been born from me, we would probably still be different colors. I could be purple and you could be green and daddy could be blue, and we would still be a family.

Mommy and Daddy love you so much and we are so proud to be your parents!!!

You are a Who!

Great Post that I am Saving to Read my Children "For the Onlies"

I love this excerpt (but you should really read the whole post:-)..

To the only black girl in her school batting away swinging ponytails while combating a limited retelling your her-story choosing to begin with slavery rather than your Motherland. To the only Latina on campus who thinks in another language, constantly making translations in your head. To the only Asian girl always assumed to be from somewhere else, somewhere far. To the only Indian girl whose name reflects her parent's fears of a future of discrimination. To the only Native American girl whose image of self is hidden behind stereotypical mascots of male faces. To the only biracial girl in the neighborhood who is always bracing to hear the question, "What are you?"

May you know that your history is vast, your language beautiful, your home here. May your full name embody your full self. May you know stories of significance, of wonder, of greatness that look just like you. May you know that you are a who.  

This is what I want for my children!

For my son who has two cultures....who is completely Ethiopian and completely American and should not have to choose one or the other.  For the child growing within me who will likely spend their whole life being asked "what are you--are you black or are you white?" who should also not have to choose to define themselves as one or the other.

Each of my children is special.  Each of my children is unique.  Each of my children are multi-faceted.  They are both and they are beautiful and they are whole.  Their very self is so much more than the sum of their parts.  They may be or look different than many of their peers, and they may defy labels.  I want to celebrate all the incredible aspects that make them, them.

You are special, your history matters (all of it, both of it, the complicated parts and the obvious parts)...your heritage and language are beautiful (even if you no longer remember how to speak your first language(s), it is still a part of your heritage)...your home is here (you are not a partial-citizen or a second-class citizen)...and your home is there (it may no longer be as familiar as where we now live, but your birth country is also your home and we will celebrate it always and try to keep it an important part of your life that you recognize as home)..May your full name embody your full self. May you know stories of significance, of wonder, of greatness that look just like you. May you know that you are a who.  

You are a who!

A teeny tiny secret...

I've been AWOL this summer because, well, life has been insane...mostly because of

We are shocked and thrilled and very blessed, and I am sick...very, very sick.  17 weeks along, still puking regularly and nauseous every day, but praying that sometime soon I get to experience that alleged second trimester glow.

B is very interested in the whole, "how babies grow in the mommy's UTERNAS" (yep, that's what he calls it:-)  DH is truly holding down the fort at home!

Other than the 24/7 "morning sickness", we had great summer with family vacations and weekend trips.  

Lots to post re B as we just realized he has now been part of our family longer than any other living situation in his life.  He is definitely processing some things but we are so grateful he is our son and are loving the funny, energetic, quirky, smart, inquisitive little boy he is becoming!  We are all ready for back to school next week (PreK again) as he's getting a little bit of cabin fever:-)

Amazing Salted Maple "Sugar" Cookies:-)

Adapted from
Detoxinista.com

Amazing Salted Maple "Sugar" Cookies

makes 12 cookies

Cookies:

2 cups Honeyville blanched almond flour
1/4 cup coconut oil, softened but not melted
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt

Icing Glaze:

2 tablespoons coconut oil, softened but not melted
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350F. 

In medium bowl, mix together the cookie ingredients until a soft dough is formed. 

Form into walnut sized balls and place on silpat-lined cookie sheet.  Press each cookie with the tines of a fork to flatten the cookie and create ridges on the top.

Bake 10-15 minutes (bottoms should be golden brown and tops should be just starting to brown).

Cool on wire racks and spread/drizzle glaze over the top.