The Whole Story

I’ve been leaving out the whole truth from you all for a few months now. I’m pregnant! And moving to the suburbs! We closed on a house in Maplewood NJ this week. Buying a house is exciting in itself but I’m finally getting a full sized fridge, a dishwasher and a gas stove! I don’t have any of those things in my Brooklyn apartment. Toddler and a mini fridge, yep! And we’re expecting Baby McCool #2 in early 2022. So remember that day that Dean put the crayon in the dishwasher and smeared poop all over himself? What I didn’t mention is that I was simultaneously throwing up in the garden...and peeing myself while doing it. Yes, TMI. But my other moms here who gave birth to a baby will feel me on that. 

This pregnancy has been a rough road. It’s been almost 3 months of throwing up nearly everyday and debilitating nausea.  I wasn't sick with Dean, so I was way caught off guard this time. Girl? Maybe. Hope so! But you’ll all find out when I find out.  Food52 asked me to write an article about it and a recipe for this really satisfying pasta I’ve been eating through the whole ordeal. I’ll keep you all posted when it’s posted. Because pregnant or not it’s a delicious 4 ingredient pasta. 

We have been so busy with vacation, packing and lots of work but I did cook two things recently that were stand outs. Firstly, I made my Chili Broccoli Salad but I bolstered it with cooked farro. I brought it to a community picnic and it was a huge hit. I’ve written about this favorite salad of mine but as a reminder it’s DELICIOUS. Super flavorful, lots of texture and it happens to be very good for you. 

Second, I made a Corn and Bacon Quiche with all the great corn we’re getting. This will be the subscriber recipe later today. If you’re subscribed it will land in your inbox in a few hours. If you’re not, you can click the button below to take the first step to making quiche this weekend. 

Mini Mouths:

As always, the tastes and preferences of the renown food critic Dean McCool are changing every week. The minute Mom finds his “favorite food” he’s onto the next. But the quiche was a big success for a few days. And one of the benefits of this quiche is it keeps well for a few days, so we got a lot of bang for our buck on this one. On vacation in Lake Superior MN, Dean feasted on ice cream, snacks, lemonade and anything else his older cousins were eating. He was in hog heaven. 

What I’m Loving This Week:

1. Dates dipped in Almond Butter & Salt: Snacks and never being without snacks is a big key to staving off morning sickness. This one hits the sweet mark and the salty mark. Trader Joe's pitted medjool dates, dipped in Trader Joe's raw almond butter and sprinkled with flaky salt like Maldon. Not reinventing the wheel here, but it’s just simply a delicious snack. 

2. Trader Joes Mini Ice Cream Cones: Pregnant much? Normally I am not one to stock the freezer with novelty desserts let alone even just ice cream. But extreme times call for extreme measures. These are really simple and very satisfying. A mini cone filled with vanilla ice cream and dipped in dark chocolate. Not too much, just enough. 

3. Iced Jasmine Green Tea: My husband and I went on a weekday day date last week. In NYC there are these vespas you can rent, like Citibike. We hopped on one and rode it down to Industry City where we did some outlet shopping at West Elm & Design Within Reach. And for lunch we ordered way too much food at a Japanese food hall called Japan Village. Best date. And at lunch I had a bottled iced jasmine green tea. Which I had a long time ago but I was reminded just how refreshing and tasty it is. So I bought a box of Jasmine Green Tea and I’ve been making iced tea all week. 

Hope everyone enjoys this beautiful summer weather coming up and feels better than I do!! XO Liv