“I am not going to LOVE you anymore!!!”,are the heart breaking words screeched on high, by my 4 year old yesterday.
True, these words were said in defiant protest to my unwavering policy on NO SANDAL’s in snow (yes dear, even with your sparkly tights), that were squashing her mini fashionista fantasies. Yet, despite my well intentioned stance on winter footwear, the idea of those words coming from the child of my heart, are still a bit gut wrenching to digest.
Now if my darling 4 year old was nearer to tweenhood, I would, maybe, understand her angst better?
But she is 4..and my life these days is more drama comedy than cozy family sitcom.

Despite my early resolve to be a parent who is consistent and follows through..
I have turned into that mother.
You know, the mother says things like, “Because I said so, thats why!” Or that cringe worthy phrase I uttered just this morning, “fine, if Leah’s mommy lets her, then by all means, trade me in for Leah’s mommy!”
When & where did I catch that cliched parent virus?
I, was suppose to be that mother who listened patiently, talked things out, not overreact …pure Carol Brady calm.
Instead I find this solo parenting thing getting the better of me, and in recent days the Roseanne Bar side of me, comes raging through.

Sure, I can blame it on the very heavy boulders of responsibility sitting on my shoulders at this very moment. Unfinished cookbooks desperate to be done, training for half marathons (what the heck was I thinking?), and you know…day to day life.
But the violins are certainly not going to be playing for me..

The upside, my kid seems oblivious to my cliches & continues on her merry way.
And literally the minute after she said those dreaded words, she looked at my face, and came at me like a linebacker and knocked me down with a huge hug.
What am I suppose to do then? Reprimand her as her scrawny warm little arms wrap tightly around me, squeezing with all the love and gusto a 4 year old can muster?
I am winging it here folks, riding the crashing waves of parenting in a small canoe with a short paddle, trying not to drown.
At least I am consistent with my cliches…
In the end I pray it is the deep soul love that I have for this child that will have to carry us through…

Cranberry Almond Chocolate Biscotti

Talk about consistent… In my attempt to be one of those mothers who always has some fresh cookies in the jar, I find myself always making these biscotti bars. Not only because the recipe is truly one bowl, quick and easy, the base of the recipe is so versitalie, no matter what extras I decided to throw in, it always comes out delicious. This week it was my favorite seasonal cranberries with some leftover toasted almonds and bitter sweet chocolate I had from previous days cookbook recipe testing. Cliched cookie mix for the season, sure…but oh how it works!

Ingredients:

2 eggs

¾ cup sugar

½ cup oil

1 tsp almond extract

1 tsp. lemon extract

pinch cinnamon

2 cups flour

1 ¼ tsp baking powder

½ cup sliced almonds, toasted

3/4 cup chopped frozen cranberries

1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chunks

Directions:

Pre heat oven to 350F

Mix first 6 ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Switch to your paddle attachment and then slowly add the flour and baking powder. Mix just to combine for about 1-2 minutes. Remove bowl from mixer and gently fold in the toasted sliced almonds, cranberries and chocolate.

Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a 9”x2” log. Place logs crosswise, 4 inches apart, on large cookie sheet. With a pastry brush, brush tops and sides of logs with egg. Bake logs 25 minutes. Cool logs on cookie sheet on wire rack for 10 minutes.

Place log on cutting board. With serrated knife, cut warm log crosswise into ½ inch thick diagonal slices. Place slices upright, ¼ inch apart on cookie sheets. Repeat with remaining log. Bake slices 15 minutes to allow biscotti to dry out. Cool completely, the biscotti will harden as they cool.

Store biscotti in tightly covered containers.

Tunie B. style. We compromised on her old summer shabbat shoes. The crown, stickers and jewelry are everyday accessories.

The post that mother… {cranberry almond chocolate biscotti} appeared first on the Patchke Princess.

I know every Christmas song, or at least the first line and entire chorus of every Christmas song.
Don’t ask me how…
I can only assume it is my, talent by osmosis, kicking in.
Having lived thus far, through 39 years of non-stop-holiday-music copiously piped into my cerebrum while shopping (for anything) during the months of November and December, it is understandable, my sometimes vicarious caroling.
But what do I do when my very astute 4 year old declares loudly, in the middle of target’s holiday themed candy and cookie aisle…
“Mommy I am going to be very very hungry on Christmas, what am I going to eat?!”
Now clever little Miss Tunie B. knows how to manipulate a situation to her advantage, you and I both can clearly see that!
But at that moment, after a quick chuckle from me and the other people in the aisle, I realized….
this very Jewish mother has got some explaining to do.
So I did, simply…in terms she could understand, making sure proper respect was given to other people’s beliefs without compromising my own.
Why am I writing about this? I am not sure really…
This last year with all the craziness that I have had to deal with, concerning my Jewish divorce (I still don’t have) and now the added Herculean efforts needed trying to get my kid in school…my concept of faith has sort of been dwindling and its been nagging me.
Don’t misunderstand, my belief in Hashem (god), is absolute.
(even though after 120 he & I are going to have a real Q & A about some things…)
It is my faith, in some of the people of my religion, that I am having a very hard time with lately…
My dealings with them, warps all.
Leaving me drained emotionally….and ultimately spiritually.
Even as I write this, I know the backlash is probably not worth the much needed frustrated release this exercise in blogging affords me, yet I can not help myself.
Surrounded daily by the trappings of another religion, never more than during these last few weeks of December am I more keenly aware, of my Yiddishkeit,
and the need to keep the faith….

Now after this post..you might wonder how I can just jump back into giving out recipes? Simple, because that’s what I do and my time in the kitchen, elbows deep in whatever recipe I am tackling, is my favorite time…my most at peace time. It is when I let all my thoughts gather and marinate, reflecting on it all. Cooking and baking…that is my therapy. So here is one of my favorite recipes for home take-in “Chinese” food, my answer to Tunie B. on what she will be eating.

For those of you who recognize this recipe.. Yes, it is a twist on my The At-Home Gourmet cookbook’s Mommy’s Asian Chicken & Spaghetti recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do in my house!!

Chinese Chicken & Broccoli Lo mein

Ingredients:

1 box Spaghetti, cooked

1 lb. skinless chicken cutlets cut into bite size strips

For the marinade:
1 tbsp. tapioca starch or cornstarch
2 tbsp. orange juice or water

For the sauce:
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

3 cloves fresh garlic, minced

½ cup soy sauce

3 Tbsp. sugar

Pinch of ground ginger

2 cups of frozen broccoli florets that have been microwaved for 1 minute.

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix together the ingredients for your marinade. Add the chicken to the marinade and mix. Let the chicken rest in the marinade for at least 10 minutes.

In a large skillet on med-high flame, heat the olive oil and garlic. Remove chicken from marinade with slotted spoon, and add the chicken strips to the hot skillet and cook for about 1 minute. When the chicken starts turning white, add the soy sauce, sugar and ginger. Add the broccoli. Coat all the chicken & broccoli pieces well with the sauce and cover pan for about 4 minutes. Uncover pan occasionally and stir making sure the chicken is not sticking to pan and the soy sauce is not burning.

When chicken has been fully cooked, turn flame to low and add the spaghetti to the chicken and soy sauce mixture. Using tongs fully coat the spaghetti with the soy and chicken mixture. If it seems to dry add more soy sauce to the spaghetti mixture and mix well. Serve hot.

The post keeping the faith…{Chinese chicken & broccoli lo mein} appeared first on the Patchke Princess.

Happy Sunday All!

We can’t stop time…as much as I might want to, 2014 is literally a few days away.

To celebrate the upcoming new calendar year, I decided to change things up, with my first of hopefully many more, Fireside Chats!

What is a fireside chat?  It just place where I get a little up close and personal with all of you. Chatting about things that make up my crazy (kosher) life – the good, the bad, the food, the kid, … a little taste of what’s going on.  The Patchke Princess this year is branching out ( I know, exciting right?!!)  Even though I will always be about THE FOOD, from time to time I would love to share other things that I am just as passionate about. Get ready for some more on family, cookbooks, my passion for travel, new home DIY projects, the latest fashion & beauty trends I love, books, products, restaurants….you know, the exciting fun & juicy stuff that makes up our lives.

There are big plans in works for this site in 2014, lots of new collaborations, upcoming events, exciting new ideas and posts…I truthfully can not wait for 2014, and the adventure it will take me (us) on!

Click on the video below to get all the fun new details about some exciting new things happening on The Patchke Princess!

AND PLEASE –  also take a minute and comment below to tell me if you want to see more of it? Feel free to send me suggestions and your own thoughts.

With a new calendar year comes the (just a little scary -scratch that - terrifying) thrill of knowing that the next 365 days will be filled with all sorts of new things….unchartered waters.

Literally…anything is possible.

And even though officially, my new year started back in September (with Rosh Hashanah), the chance to stop and reflect this Jan 1st,  & give my self a 2nd chance to recalibrate, is always a good thing in my book.

Wishing all of you, a truly giving, fulfilled and EASY 2014!

And for those of you who want to start 2014 off on the GIVING BACK note – see how to help support my CHAI LIFE LINE RUN FOR ELI GRADON! Get the tax deduction in before the NEW YEAR!!

SUPER EASY (NO Rise) Cinnamon, Chocolate & Raisin STICKY BUNS

Talk about doing things a little bit easier in 2014 – this recipe is just that – EASY!

Now I know I tagged myself the Patchke Princess.. but that certainly doesn’t mean I don’t love a good shortcut. Especially a shortcut that yields these not normally good sticky buns, and there was no waiting for yeast doughs to rise!  Really.. does it get easier or better than that?

This recipe is an adaptation of Ina Gartens (FoolProof Cookbook) Sticky Buns Recipe.

Ingredients:

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter (or margarine/ and or coconut oil to keep it pareve) , at room temperature
1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped in very large pieces
1 package (17.3-ounces/ 2-sheets) frozen puff pastry, defrosted
For the filling:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (or margarine/ and or coconut oil to keep it pareve,) melted and cooled
2/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the 12 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Place 1 rounded tablespoon of the mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups. Distribute the pecans evenly among the 12 muffin cups on top of the butter and sugar mixture.

Nicely flour a wooden board or surface that has been covered in wax paper. Unfold  sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with the melted butter. Leaving a 1-inch border on the puff pastry, sprinkle each sheet with brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins and chocolate chips.

Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down. Trim the ends of the roll about 1/2-inch and discard. Slice the roll in 12 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2 inches wide. Place each piece, spiral side up, in 12 of the muffin cups.

Note: Some puff pastry’s come in 2 sheets – split the ingredients and do each roll separately according to the above directions.

If you loved this recipe and want to be the first to see more of everything that is happening on Patchke Princess by getting my posts in your inbox  - make sure to subscribe  - by adding your email to our mailing list. (I promise – it will be worth it!) For those of you who already did – please sign up again – the site crashed this week – & I lost all my subscriber data!!

The post 2014 keeping it easy….My First Fireside Chat {super easy no rise – cinnamon chocolate & raisin sticky buns} appeared first on the Patchke Princess.

It all started with an invite. New Year’s Day wedding, and that inevitable burning question of “what am I going to wear?”.

Sure I might be a little shallow with a smidgen of vain, but I know that I am not the only woman out there, who before my eyes finish scanning the time and place of event, I am already doing a thorough mental inventory of all possible dress scenarios in my closet!

Once I have determined that, yet again, “I have nothing to wear“‘, my rational side kicks in. After all, I now have a legitimate excuse to go shopping, or what I like to call…retail therapy.
But alas, my days of running into the city and spending the day idly browsing DVF & Dior on the 4th floor level of Saks, are far…no far, far…back in the past, and my single mom bank account is too blame.

So how do I satisfy my very real, self preserving need, to feel good by looking good when I go to yet another wedding as an almost (still no get) divorcé? My disposable income is not what it use to be. Every purchase I make these days,gets calculated and recalculated on the, must have now to live & don’t really need luxury, two sided scale -that is in my pocket book.

A new dress for a close friend’s wedding….even though, in my heart was a must have, my internal banker was seriously not having it.

My solution, it was time to get creative. I mean, I am going to go all sorts of, Project Runway creative. If they could make haute couture from candy wrappers, I could totally do something with my trusty glue gun and some imagination, right?

I did it. For under $100 at that! I created the ultimate little black dress that I found in Dress Barn (first time I was ever there), with a little help of some feathers & ribbon from my local Stitch & Sew shop, because I needed something that was going to add a few inches of length (the joys of being 5’10) , some cool fake jewelry from target and I was one well dressed mama.
Or at least in my head I was…good enough ;).

Here is how I did it:

What you will need: 1 dress, 1 4inch wide flat ribbon (my dress needed about 3 yards – enough for the hem), 2 inch wide ribbon for sleeve, feather trim for double layer hem and single layer sleeves, glue gun with sticks.

Step #1: Buy black dress with beading for the crazy price of $40 from Dress Barn (originally $50 but there was a 20% discount if you texted some code from your smart phone)

Step #2: Go to my favorite fashion/decor resource Stitch & Sew (ask for Beth, not only is she the best in guiding you to exactly what you need & exactly how much of it, she is the owner) and buy some cool looking feather trim and a large wide ribbon that you can glue it on. Total cost $40.

Step #3: Get your glue gun ready (or in my case borrow from my friend Margalit because I couldn’t find mine anywhere!!) and start glueing! First do one layer of feather trim on the bottom of the black ribbon, a little bit at a time to avoid drying out the hot glue and creating a sticky feathery mess. Repeat gluing with the second top layer of feathers, making sure to leave an 1 inch of black ribbon at the top empty for when we need to glue and attach it to the hem of the dress.

Step #4: Turn your dress inside out, and then slowly start gluing the feather lined ribbon(feather side down) to the hem of your dress. Make sure that the end of the hem meets the top of the feathers, with no empty ribbon sticking out!!

Step #5: Repeat above process with ribbon, feather trim and glue for both sleeves.

Step #6: Accessorize with some very good looking fake baubles from Target! (Bracelets from Target, rings I had). Total $16.99

Step #7: WEAR it with Pride! If you don’t blog about your DIY like me, everyone will think you bought this as a designer piece. I got a ton of compliments and I really think it looks like I spent a fortune on this dress.

GRAND TOTAL $96.99

Would love to know what you think? Do you want to see more Sarah’s Style DIY posts? Please comment below and let me know!

{full Sarah wedding photo courtesy of Sharon, Fashion-isha. Bejeweled hands photo courtesy of Margalit.}

The post Sarah’s Style….. {ultimate little black DIY dress – for under $100} appeared first on the Patchke Princess.

Seriously…TGIF.
I can’t even begin to describe how much I am looking forward to shelving this week and bringing it to a final end.
There was something in the news about how this Monday, the first one in January after the new year, was notorious for being, the one day of the year to experience, the worst case of the Monday blues.
I think my inner karma secretary, just didn’t get the memo…
Because it was my Wednesday, that was epic.
One of those days that just kept on giving..one duddy thing after the other.
The final bad gift of the day, when I found our beloved fish “Doggy”…..floating.
Great…as if my sweet Tunie B. hasn’t had enough disappointment in her very short life!
How do I now, break this news, to my very sensitive and attached 4 year old?
Do I even tell her, or do I do a quick switcheroo?
Believe me, this was one of the more tougher decisions I have had to make as a parent.
I went back and forth, weighing the pros and cons about being honest with my child, about life and the doozys she can throw us.
But at the same time, I really just wanted to protect her from the sadness…
life’s little lesson could wait another day or year!
In the end, I chose to tell her about Doggy.
Because she is my kid….she sees everything, I mean there is nothing she doesn’t take notice of.
She would know that the new fish…was not her ..fish.
So I was honest, in the most gentlest of ways that I thought I could explain it to her…
The questions she had were a mile a minute, and I truthfully didn’t have all the answers.
But in the end..it was all good.
And tonight when I asked her what she would like me to make for Dinner with the Liebermans?
She said chicken….
“it was her and Doggies favorite food.”

extra crispy honey garlic chicken

I had found a recipe for crispy honey chicken in one of my American Test kitchen magazines a few months back. It has been sitting on top of a huge pile of cookbooks, whose many pages are folded down, to recipes I MUST try one day soon!
I refuse to put this pile away till I try these recipes out, because in the past when I shelved them, in an attempt to maintain order, I regretted it deeply. It seems I was doomed to never find those recipes again when I went looking.
I have too many cookbooks and magazines.
But tonight, I knew I wanted to make this chicken recipe for Tunie B., it had her name all over it with the sweet spicy honey and the crispy crunchy chicken coating.
After reading the original recipe, I realized that I wanted to try to cut out the double frying it called for, and bake it in the oven. I also wanted to zest up the honey with a little spicy zing that would make the sweet honey flavor all the more prominent and savory.
I also had a container of baked garlic leftover from last week, that needed to be used today, so I tweaked the original recipe quite a bit.
It was a huge hit and I am thinking of making more for shabbat dinner, it was that delicious I could eat it two nights in a row.

Ingredients:
For the brine:
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
5 cups water
3 lbs bone in chicken legs ,wings or thighs. (I used a bag of Empire frozen Chicken drummets and wings)

For the crispy coating:
1 1/2 cups corn or potato starch
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. ginger powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 cup water + 1 tbsp. extra if needed
3 cups vegetable or canola oil for frying

For the honey garlic sauce:
3/4 cup honey
3 tbsp. spicy honey mustard (I used Bone Suckin Sweet Hot Mustard
1/2 cup already baked or fried garlic in olive oil *****

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F

Mix the salt, sugar and water for the brine in a large bowl.

Add the chicken pieces completely submerging them in the brine. Cover and refrigerate them for 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.
In a separate bowl start your crispy coating mixture.
Mix together 1 cup of corn starch, with all the spices and the water. Set aside and refrigerate.

In a large pot or deep frying pan, heat the oil to frying temperature.
Remove chicken from brine and pat dry with paper towel.
Add the 1/2 cup of leftover cornstarch to another small bowl.
Remix the water and spiced cornstarch mixture, add the 1 tbsp. of water now if necessary.
Now it’s time to dredge, dip and fry.
First dredge and coat all the chicken in the plain cornstarch, removing any excess cornstarch by shaking it off.
Place on parchment lined prepared baking tray.
Then one at a time, dip each piece of coated chicken into the spiced watered cornstarch mixture covering completely and allowing the excess to drip off.
Then gently place in the hot oil and fry for about 2-3minutes, making sure to move them around to avoid sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Remove chicken with tongs and place onto a aluminum foil lined baking sheet.
Repeat with the rest of the chicken.

Place the fried chicken lined tray into the oven and bake for about 35 minutes till they have turned a nice crisped golden brown.
Now make the honey garlic sauce. In a small sauce pan on medium heat, pour in the honey, and the mustard. Mix well, until all the mustard dissolves in to the honey and you have a thick liquid honey consistency (about 6 minutes). Add the garlic with its olive oil into the honey mixture and mix well with a wooden spoon, mashing the garlic as much as you can into the honey.

When the chicken is finished cooking, remove from oven and pour the honey mustard sauce over it all. Mix with a wooden spoon making sure to coat all the chicken with some sauce.
With tongs, place chicken into your serving platter, then pour the excess honey sauce from cooking tray over all the chicken.
Serve hot.

*****baked or fried garlic: I normally make a batch of this for shabbat. I put 1/2 cup olive oil to about 20 pieces of whole peeled garlic in a sauce pan on my stove top at medium low for about an hour, till they are soft and dark in color. You can also now buy them in most local kosher supermarkets at the deli counter.
For this recipe, if you don’t have on hand already made; throw the garlic into the cooling hot oil after the chicken has fried and fry a small batch.

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I remember my early elementary days in Yeshiva Dov Revel Day School
where Tu B’Shvat was celebrated with all the gusto and joy it so richly deserves.
Mini pre schoolers walking around the halls in their floppy tree crowns made of oak tag on their heads
the days before filled with art projects of trees and fruit, that now brightly decorated the endless classroom corridors bulletin boards.
the 5th grade boys who always got in trouble for “how far can you spit your boxer seed” contests held on the roof
the small paper bag that we waited breathlessly for…
our little manna from heaven, filled with shriveled dried apricots, raw almonds, fresh dates,and the hardest chewy boxer ever.
and of course the half day assembly where instead of a day usually spent with our heads in books, we were enraptured with fun inspirational mini choirs and skits
in those days… I truly felt like I celebrated Tu B’Shvat.
It is a long way since my 5th grade days…
but I am welcoming in Tu B’Shvat this year with something delicious and just as memorable, with my Orange Chocolate Pomegranate KitKat Squares.
I first infused my favorite bittersweet chocolate with bits of orange and lemon zest. Then I make the most addictive crunchy honey and orange liquor chocolate rice crisp as a base to shmear that chocolate on. Where I then top it all off with the sweetest of fresh pomegranate seeds, roasted almond slivers and more orange and lemon zest.
These KitKat inspired chocolate squares, are my little ode to God’s Trees and what their fruits can provide us.
Happy Tu B’Shvat All!

Orange Chocolate Pomegranate KitKat Squares

The inspiration for this recipe came from a combination of this chocolate pomegranate bark recipe  and my recent kitchen dabbling for my upcoming party inspired cookbook. I have been arduously baking and eating, all in the name of trying to perfect the art of tweaking the recipes to my favorite brand candy bars . Its rough work, I know.

While working on my KitKat recipe, I realized the key to the perfect crisp is not corn flakes as most recipes I found had, but actually Rice Chex cereal. Add to it your favorite melted chocolate and a little hot honey and you have a crisp crunchy bottom that is way better than the real thing. For Tu B’Shavt I went a little crazy and added some orange liquor for a more sophisticated flavor, but feel free to leave it out if you think your kids would not appreciate the liquor taste.

PS. These bars also make a terrific Purim treat for your M’shloach Manot.

Ingredients:

For the crust:
6 cups rice chex cereal
3/4 cups roasted slivered almonds
7 oz bittersweet chocolate
3 tbsp. butter or margarine
1/4 cup honey
3 tbsp. orange liqour (optional)

For the Chocolate Topping:
7oz bittersweet chocolate
3 tbsp. butter
zest from 1 large orange
zest from 1 large lemon
1 1/2 cups fresh pomegranate seeds
3/4 cups roasted slivered almonds

Directions:
In a food processor, plus together the chex and almonds for 7-8 pulses until you have a coarse pebble like mixture. Place the chex mixture into a large mixing bowl.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate and the butter together (2 minutes). Remove from microwave and mix until smooth and all the chocolate bits have melted.

Add the melted chocolate into the chex and nut mix, and blend together with rubber spatula until full incorporated.

In a small sauce pan heat the honey on medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add the liquor and mix. Pour the heated honey into the chex and chocolate mixture and combine totally. You should now have a crispy mixture that sticks together and is ready to be formed into your kitkat square crust.

In a wax paper lined  11×14 tray (spray the wax paper with non-stick spray), add the crushed chex and chocolate mixture. Using your hands, mold and press the chex mixture into a flat even crust that is about 1/2 inch thick. Refridgerate for 20-30 minutes

In another microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate and the butter for the topping.
Using a rubber spatula or knife, spread the melted chocolate evenly over the chex crust.

Quickly add both zests, pomegranate seeds and roasted almonds all over the chocolate. Place back in refrigerator for another 20 minutes.

Remove the chocolate (still on the wax paper) from the tin and place onto flat surface.
Using a very sharp knife, cut the ragged edges off – making an even rectangle.
Then slice long strips, and then cut into 1 1/2-2 inch wide squares.
Serve and enjoy

The post No Bake Orange Chocolate Pomegranate KitKat Squares…Happy Tu B’Shvat! appeared first on the Patchke Princess.

Comfort food. Never has my sanity relied on anything more. It has been rough lately trying to navigate single momdom to a preschool preteen. Throw in never ending freezing temperatures, the occasional snow blizzard and the 24hr hostage negotiation I am in, and comfort food is the only safe drug I can take.

Comfort food is more than just the decadent flavors that consumes all your taste buds the moment you bite in. It is the warm fragrant smells that drift slowly through all the drafty little nook and cranies of my house. The methodical soothing rhythm of chopping, mixing, blending and cleaning that temporarily numbs my racing mind.The blissful pleasure that carouses through my every blue vein as I watch my Tunie B.,lick her fingers clean.

Roasted Chicken. The image of it’s perfectly crispy skin and succulent dark meat was the first thing that flashed through my mind when I heard the words, snow storm. My brain trying to counteract the surge of panic that inevitably pulsates whenever I hear that 4 letter word, snow.

As I am well known to do, I set out that morning, to prepare for the worst case scenario. Ice deglazer, snow salt, milk, eggs, wine, marshmallows, chocolate, and chicken. The essentials for any one looking to survive another one of our NJ snowmageddons. However this time the red chard and clementines were also calling my name, you never know when scurvy might set in during the long hibernation that is a 7 inch freeze.

As I unpacked my survival kit of ingredients, I could already taste the chicken that I was going to prepare for Tunie B and me’s first night of operation #WARM&COZY. There is nothing I love more than whole roasted chicken, laying in its ducth oven jaquzzi, taking a delicious citrus white wine bath. Adding the chard and pieces of clementines to the quick chopped onions and carrots was a stroke of genius I had, increasing the sweet savory level that was the quintessential snow bound, roast chicken gravy, that I served over yellow rice.

I can tell you that chicken lasted for 2 days. We ate the shredded chicken in a quick soup broth (from freezer) with egg noodles for lunch the next day. All while we lounged still in our PJ’s at 1pm on the couch with a roaring fire, watching our neighbors shoveling the drive way in the freezing cold.

Comfort food. Roasted Chicken. My way of taking it one day at a time.

Clementine Roasted Chicken with Red Chard

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken
2 tbsp. dried terragon
1 tbsp. dried rosemarry
1 tbsp. ginger powder
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. mustard powder
2 tsp. fennel seeds
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. black pepper
6 cloves garlic
4-5 clementines
2 medium onions, 1 quartered, 1 diced
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 bunch of red chard, washed and chopped
1 cup semi dry white wine
1/2 cup orange juice

Directions:
pre-heat oven to 375F
In a small bowl mix all your spices together. Remove about 2 tsp. and set aside.
Stuff the inside of your whole chicken with the quartered onion, garlic and 2 clementines. Then using the bulk of your spice rub mixture, rub the entire chicken with the spices getting into all the nooks and cranies. Set the chicken aside on a paper plate or cutting board.


Add the olive oil to the bottom of your dutch oven or large roasting pan. Add the diced onion, carrots, chopped chard and the remainder of your clementines to the pot. Sprinkle over the 2 tsp. of spices that you set aside.

Place the whole chicken onto of the vegetables. Pour in the wine and the orange juice and cover the pot.

Bake in oven semi covered (lid slightly off) for about 1.5 hours.
Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes after removing from the oven and then serve. Spoon the chard and veggies over some rice or enjoy with some delicious crusty bread.

The post Roasted Clementine Chicken with Red Chard appeared first on the Patchke Princess.

I ran the Miami Marathon this past Sunday. This is how it all went down.

Thursday night before the marathon: arrived to airport late. Agent can’t find my name on the manifest. 20 minutes & 1 quick panic attack – she finds me and I get on the plane with 10 minutes to spare.

Get to hotel: HUGE mess-up by EDEN ROC hotel. Apparently my reservation has me sharing a queen size bed with a semi stranger. (Me & the 40 other people that checked in that night were sharing beds…heck no!)  Hotel at FULL capacity – no other rooms available. $20 & a calm me, negotiates the Pent House suite for the evening. 3AM I am finally in my OWN king size bed, listening to the ocean breeze.

Friday Morning: a very rude 8AM wake up call from “manager” apologizing for mix up but warning me that the PH suite may not be available to me for the remainder of my stay. He is having a meeting with the organizer of Chai Lifeline and will let me know when and if I will have to move. I told him, find me a room with two beds and I will happily oblige. I am a team player. Manager takes my cell phone number. I get into my running gear…might as well take advantage of the gorgeous weather and get in one last 3 mile run before the race. It was awesome. Literally the best run I have had in the last 2 months, my lungs were not burning from the bitter NJ cold. I need to move to Miami.

Friday Afternoon: 4:45PM shabbat is here and still no call from manager on my cell phone or message on my hotel phone. Guess there were no more rooms. I am one lucky girl – PH suite for the weekend baby. Had a wonderful Shabbat dinner getting to meet the other members of Team Eli and the man of the hour ELI himself. What an incredible family. Bassi & Makiel Gradon you are inspirational parents -KOl Hakavod!!! Made some new friends for life. Also ate a whole heaping plate of these truly addictive spicy sweet pecans…so good.

Shabbat morning: room phone rings at 8:30 AM. Hmmmm. 9AM BANG! BANG! BANG! on my hotel door. Throw on robe and cover my hair to answer the door. Why it’s Mr. Cook the “manager” I spoke to Friday morning with Mark, the tall mean looking security dude from commercial casting.
“Yes?” “can I help you?”, I ask.
“Mrs. Lasry you need to get your credit card right now and pay for this room or I am going to have security pack up your stuff and escort you out of the hotel right now”, said the bald, very short to tight pants wearing Mr. Cook
“excuse me? are you serious?”
“yes Mrs. Lasry, the time for being nice is over. Mr. Turk (Chai Life line organizer) said you need to pay for this room today or get out”
“he did? hmmm. well. I think I need to hear this from Mr. Turk himself. Can I get dressed, or would you like me to go thru the hotel in my robe?”
“you have 2 minutes to get dressed with security at the door, and we are going to need a credit card.”
“Well, Mr. Cook, as you are obviously aware being the manager and all, that today is my sabbath and like all the other members in my party, I cannot pay or sign for anything, but you are welcome to go into my pocket book and take my wallet for safe keeping.”
“you have 2 minutes”

I get dressed and escorted down to the lobby by big beefy scary face security guy Mark. Ask if Mr. Turk has been called down, to find out that they cannot reach him. Mr. Cook once again threatening to throw me out of the hotel if I do not pay that minute for the room. Realizing that there is no reasoning with this disillusioned mad man, I ask someone to please get Mr. Turk from shul, it’s an emergency.

3 minutes later…
Mr. Turk comes up, hears the story and says quite unhappily to Mr. Cook, ” What do you think you are doing?”
Red faced Mr. Cook takes Mr Turk into his office.
1 minute later, exits Mr. Turk “its taken care of, you are staying in the room”
1 minute later exits the deflated hot headed Mr. Cook, “Mr. Turk says he will take care of your bill”
2 minutes later, I am back sitting on my PH porch enjoying the magnificent view and calming my frazzled nerves with kiddush wine.

Shabbat: spent indulgently lounging and resting by the pool, basking in the much needed vitamin D, enjoying the company of teammates and new friends.

Saturday Night: OMG there is less than 12 hours to the race!!!! Chailife line does a tremendous job pumping us up. So much fun & very inspirational. Go Team Eli! Ate light meal of Pasta and Chicken despite everyone else stuffing it all in.

Go back to room. Prep my Marathon Gear (I look like an impostor – hope security doesn’t escort me out of the race) too anxious can’t sleep. 3:30 AM wake up call.

Sunday Morning: it’s here. 4 am and 75 degrees and HUMID!! 2 hours before race…. get on bus with Sharon Langert (who still annoyingly manages to look cute in the ugly marathon gear) we both are sorta freaking out, but super excited at the same time.

It’s a madhouse. Thousands of people running. Group Pic. Sharon and I get into our gate. now we wait. and wait. We are the last group. 1 hr after the first group…it is FINALLY our turn. I am pumped. My music is blasting in my ears. I got this. I sooo got this. Wait for the horn….Five. Four. Three. Two. One….

horn BLAST!

Mile one: all uphill. Holy CRAP! Holy crap! Holy crap!…What did I get myself into….Run Sarah run! I can do this. I can do this. Sharon? Sharon? She literally flew out the gate.

Mile two: ok now…down hill. I can manage that. I am jogging. keeping pace. 14 minute mile.not bad. not bad. lets go Sarah. run Sarah

Mile three: was that a 70 year old woman running past me? no seriously…how slow am I going. thats ok Sarah…you’re in it to finish not to beat timing. just keep up the jogging pace. slow and steady. slow and steady. where the heck is the water station…I’m dying here in the heat

Mile 4: water. finally. thank you. i don’t think I can feel my hands. no really. my hands…they are the size of footballs. the humidity is killer. but i am running still. slow run but still running…. that’s it Sarah, one foot, two foot…i can do this…

Mile 5: ok these miles are soooo not the miles I trained in. they are way longer. My legs are lead. Why are there so many little hills? Miami is beautiful but do I need to go over every bridge?

Mile 6: that’s it. Can not run a single step more. Where is the Tram of shame? I can use a ride. Just passed a Starbucks..think I can grab a coffee and take a cab to the finish line? No Sarah…just walk it..finish this thing…you can do this. Think about the medal.

Mile 7: walk it Sarah..walk it. No shame. Just finish it. 18 minute mile is not a bad thing.

Mile 8: ok now another bridge.Seriously?… Got some feeling back in my legs. Walk 6 minutes. Jog 6 minutes. Pump up the music in my ears and getting back into it. See that couple who are 30 years older than you and power walking/jogging…just keep pace. KEEP PACE!!

Mile 9: so humid. so hot. KEEP THE PACE. ummm…why is it getting dark?

Mile 10: really god? Freezing cold sideways rain now? suck it up Sarah..better than the hot. Just 3 more miles. Just 3 more miles. Wish I had some of those sport jelly beans about now..need some super powers.

Mile 11: I am soaked. My teichel falls off it is sopping wet. quickly repin it. can’t run in the heavy rain. afraid I am going to fall down flat on my face. actually laying down right now is sounding really good, who cares if the floor is littered with thousands of cups and sticky wet from gatorade and rain…..so cold. sooo tired….. how many more miles? one foot. two foot. one foot. two foot.

Mile 12: rain stops. it’s ok you are not going to be last…look at all the people behind you… hear the screams. go Sarah go. ok ok i can smell it….the finish line

Mile 13: ok sarah one more freaking mile. ONE MORE FREAKING MILE. Do not give up. do not give up. Jog it. Walk it. Jog it. Walk it…look it’s the end…woohoo I got this…I can see the end…one more step. YES!!! (Fist pump) I just ran my FIRST half marathon!!!!

Where’s my medal?

(Miami ran out – what?!!)

In the end, despite the crazy ride that was this marathon trip. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I am forever changed..I am a runner. I went from literally my couch to running 5 miles straight, to finishing up walking and jogging my first 13.1 mile race. I am ready to train for my next one…once I can feel both my legs again and stop walking the marathon waddle.

Sure I am bummed I didn’t get a medal. I had visions of myself running across the finish line, all teary and elated, cheers and screams deafening me as an official from the race adorned my neck with the finish medal. Instead it was anticlimactic…no one left to cheer from my team..I was an hour behind everyone else and of course the no medal thing. Instead I got on the bus and reflected on my journey that led me up to that day (met some great fans of the blog on that ride – Hiya girls) …and all I can say is…medal or no medal…I am proud of myself. I did it. I can do anything now… all easy compared to this.

And next time…I can do even better.

Thank you to my Tunie B. who behaved so well for 3 nights away from her mama.

Thank you to all the friends and family who so generously supported, helped out with Tunie B. and sponsored me. You all know who you are. I am so grateful.

Special Thank you Tzirel Elizary for pushing me to do this and supporting me throughout – you made the reality of me being a runner – true. Thank you Ayala Back for putting this team together and being the cheerleader. Sharon Langert it was fun to have you along for the ride…next year Bahamas?

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