Naa's Bakery

There's a little place, tucked inside a nondescript shopping center off of Tidewater Drive in Norfolk, where you can get some of the best pastries in the area. It's called Naa's Bakery, and Anouk and I met Miss Molly and Little A. there last week to get ourselves sugared up before a park playdate.

Naa's has been around for the better part of a century, and as soon as you walk in you realize why it's earned its place as a Norfolk landmark, alongside places like Doumars and Charlie's Cafe. There's a sweetly (no pun intended) old fashioned charm that you just can't find anyplace else that makes you think it probably hasn't changed very much over the years. The long bakery case houses dozens of delicacies, from thick slices of homemade cake to feathery fluffed doughnuts to whimsically iced cupcakes and cookies. We had a hard time deciding what to order because everything looked so good (and a hard time meeting the $5 credit card minimum despite the half-dozen or so goodies we ordered -- seriously, the prices are so reasonable). As we sat at our table in the front of the bakery and sampled bites of each others' desserts, we chatted with the friendly staff behind the counter and it was a little bit like stepping back to a simpler time and place. The ladies behind the counter made us promise to come back -- they didn't have to twist our arms.

Have you been to Naa's? What were your favorites? In case you were wondering, our top picks were the plain glazed doughnuts and the thickly iced black-and-white cookies. Although everything we sampled was delicious. So much yum in one small place!

Naa's Bakery brings the love, for real. 

Banana Pudding à la Anouk

Lately, Anouk's most-often uttered phase is, "I do it myself!" She says it during bath time, when she gets dressed, when we return books to the library, and most of all, when I ask her if she wants to help me cook. Because I have an inquiring mind, I started to wonder, what WOULD happen if I let a not-quite-two-and-a-half-year-old cook something -- all by herself? Then I pulled out all of the ingredients for banana pudding and decided to find out. Because of A's milk allergy, our version of this pudding is dairy free (hooray!).

Ingredients:

1 package instant vanilla pudding
1.5 cups coconut milk
1 box vanilla wafer cookies
3-4 sliced bananas
Coconut whipped cream

Directions:

Follow the directions on the back of the instant pudding box to prepare the pudding. The trick of using coconut milk for this is to 1) use full fat coconut milk, the stuff in cans as opposed to the cartons, and 2) to use a half a cup less than the package calls for. It should set up nicely, but if it's too thick, you can add more milk, a little at a time, to think it out. Put a layer of cookies in the bottom of the bowl, follow with a layer of pudding and a layer of sliced bananas. Repeat. Serve with whipped cream on top.

I measured out the milk for the pudding and helped A. stir the lumps out. I also sliced some of the bananas and gave her a general overview of the project. But other than that, Anouk assembled this recipe on her own, all by herself.

The end result is a little pudding-heavy, and several of the banana slices and a bit more of the cookies went into her mouth instead of the bowl. Oh, and our carefully mixed up coconut cream had a tragic accident with the floor, so we were sadly without delicious (non)dairy topping this go-round. But she was so happy with her creation that I'm deeming the project a full-blown success.

Tastes like victory!

Egg Creams (Discuss)

Over the past couple of weeks, our family has developed a little bit of an obsession with the egg cream, which, like a Linda Richman joke, contains neither egg, nor cream but is rather a mix of milk, chocolate syrup, and seltzer. The history of the egg cream varies widely according to whom you ask -- a few minutes of internet research turned up at least four people/institutions claiming responsibility for it. Everyone can agree, however, that it seemed to originate in the late 1800s/early 1900s in New York City and that it is delicious.

When mixed correctly, an egg cream tastes like a velvety chocolate soda with a refreshing, fizzy snap. When mixed incorrectly -- it's kind of weird/unappealing, not gonna lie. Luckily, we have had enough practice by now to be able pass on the correct mixing procedure to you and you will be able to avoid less-than-stellar egg creams! Hooray!

Step 1: Fill a 16 ounce glass with three tablespoons of chocolate syrup and 1/2 cup of very cold milk. To get the milk to the desired level of coldness, we usually chill it in the freezer for a few minutes. Most places seem to recommend whole milk as opposed to skim or 2% for the creaminess factor; we use soy milk because A. and I have issues with milk. Full-fat coconut milk works, too and is probably my favorite, but the flavor is a little off from the original recipe.

Step 2: While whipping the chocolate and milk mixture with a fork, as though you were beating and egg, pour enough chilled seltzer into the glass to fill it to about an half-inch from the top. The result of the whipping and the pouring should cause a thick layer of foam to form that will rise up and fill the rest of the glass.

Step 3: Enjoy immediately, while it's still at maximum levels of coldness and fizziness.

Our recipe lacks total authenticity because we didn't use Fox's U-Bet, the legendary syrup used to make this drink in the old days, and also because we added the chocolate before we added the seltzer, which made our foam turn brown instead of white. Technically, you're supposed to pour the chocolate down the side of the glass and stir it gently into the milk and seltzer once the foam has formed, but we found that led to improperly mixed egg creams or a lack of foam. We just don't have the knack, but what do you expect from a bunch of Southerners?

After our first perfect egg cream, I had to admit that y'all Yankees actually can do some eats pretty well (though I still think your cornbread sucks). Who knows, we might even have to venture north of the Mason-Dixon line to try out a real New York egg cream one of these days.

Have you ever made an egg cream? Do you have any tips on mixing? Do tell.

Tahini Halawa

Halawa, or halvah, is a traditional Middle Eastern sweetmeat, considered by some to be the first candy ever made in recorded history, with sesame seeds and honey. Nowadays, halawa is served in many cultures all over the world, using ingredients ranging from semolina flour to almonds to yams but the most traditional recipe calls for tahini (sesame paste), honey, and pistachios. My aunt says that she remembers my Lebanese great-grandmother cooking up big batches of this sweet, though nobody thought to save the recipe she used because halawa wasn't one of their favorites.

I can understand that. I do like halawa, but I admit that it is kind of an acquired taste. The texture not exactly fudgy, slightly flaky, slightly creamy. It's not super-sweet like most Western desserts, and the tahini gives it a faint smoky taste (I've heard some people substitute the tahini with almond butter which sounds intriguing though I've never tried it). But it's also incredibly addicting. I find myself craving it sometimes, and when a halawa craving hits, nothing else will do. There is literally nothing else like it in the world.

I've been making halawa a lot lately, to try and get Anouk in touch with her Lebanese roots (she didn't like it at first but seems to like it more and more every time she has it). Though I don't have my great-grandmother's specific recipe, it does make me feel a connection with her every time I make this and I love that.

Ingredients:

1 cup honey
3/4 cup roasted, unsalted pistachios
1/2 tsp vanilla

1 cup tahini, stirred

Directions:

Over medium heat, cook the honey until it reaches 240 degrees F, or the "soft ball" stage (when dropped in water, the honey forms a round, flexible ball). Let cool slightly, then stir in the nuts and vanilla. Fold in the tahini, then stir well to combine. Pour mixture into a lightly greased dish (we find a standard bread loaf pan works well for this). Chill in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Cut into pieces and serve at room temperature. Makes about 1 pound.

Just-Because Cake

We got this idea from The Artful Parent, another project we did with Cousin K. A box of plain vanilla cake mix, a can of white icing -- a blank slate, if you will -- and two kids. What would they come up with?

The answer: A sheet cake, decorated with a LOT of pink frosting, some blueberries (as a nod to health or a color contrast I'm not sure), and a plastic princess for good measure.

This one was barely a craft, requiring minimal effort and I debated posting it. But in then I decided that I would as a reminder to myself if nobody else. In this age of competitive Pinteresting and overplanning, it's nice to just go with the flow sometimes, to have no idea how a project is going to turn out, to make a cake and have a celebration just because you can. It was a joy to watch the girls with their cake.

It was also pretty nice to eat it when they were done. Yum!

Watergate Salad

The best recipes for cooking with very little kids (at least, in our kitchen) are the ones in which not a lot of actual cooking is involved. In my experience, a toddler's attention span is mostly limited to dumping things in a bowl and stirring and not much else. This recipe for Watergate Salad, then, is perfect because dumping things in a bowl and stirring is basically all that's required to make it.

Watergate Salad was first served at the Watergate Hotel in DC in the 1970s, which is strange to me because it seems like this kitschy, neon-green dessert would be the last thing you would think of gracing a high-end hotel brunch buffet. Still, the mix of chilled pudding, marshmallows, and fruit make it a wonderful treat at a cookout on a hot summer day.

The recipe we use is adapted from the one published on the Kraft Foods website, with a few special additions that sprang up over the years (as we really just experimented with throwing random things in the mix).

Ingredients:

1 20 oz. can of crushed pineapple, with juice
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 cup pecans
1 cup blueberries
1 package instant pistachio pudding mix
1.5 cups Cool Whip, thawed
Shredded coconut (sweetened or not, depending on your preference)

Directions:

Combine the pineapple, marshmallows, pecans, blueberries, and pudding mix in a large bowl. Add the Cool Whip. Refrigerate for one hour. Sprinkle shredded coconut generously over the top of each serving. Eat.

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The last time we brought this to a party, someone commented that it was like sex on a plate. Which isn't perhaps the most kid-friendly way to talk about something your two-year-old helped make, but it sure is descriptive.

Are there any retro recipes that you can't help but love?

Strawberry Flummery

One of my all-time favorite cookbooks is The Virginia Housewife, written in 1825 by Mary Randolph, a cousin of Thomas Jefferson's. It's considered to be the very first American cookbook, and despite a few idiosyncrasies of the time (like instructions on what to do with a leftover calf's head?), it's amazing how much of the information in the book is still useful today. One of the recipes that I come back to again and again is for flummery, a dish first brought to the New World by English colonists. First Lady Dolley Madison famously served this "delicate fruit stew" at dinner parties in the White House.

Yesterday I looked at the half-gallon of berries left over from our strawberry picking adventure last weekend, and decided that some strawberry flummery was in order. (Doesn't that just sound like a delicious dish? Flummery even rhymes with yummy...sort of).

Mary Randolph's original flummery recipe reads as follows:

One measure of jelly, one of cream, and half a one of wine; boil it fifteen minutes over a slow fire, stirring all the time; sweeten it, and add a spoonful of orange flower or rose water; cool it in a mould, turn it in a dish, and pour around it cream, seasoned in any way you like.

My modern adaptation is just a little different:

2 pints berries
1/2 cup sugar (we use honey)
2 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot powder
3 tbsp cold water
juice from 1/2 lemon
Heavy cream or full-fat coconut milk

Combine the berries, sugar, and 1/2 cup hot water in a saucepan and set over low heat. Stir constantly, until the mixture is liquid and comes to a boil.

While this is happening, blend the cornstarch or arrowroot with the cold water. Stir this into the boiling berries. Add the lemon juice, reduce heat, and simmer for a minute or two. Remove the pan from heat and spoon the berry mixture into individual bowls. When mixture has cooled and thickened, pour a dollop of cream or coconut milk over the top of each bowl before serving.

Most flummery recipes call for it to be chilled until set and to be served cold, but we like to eat it still warmish -- that way there's a nice interplay of cold milk and warm berries. We haven't had problems with the arrowroot thickening up if left at room temperature for a little while. On a truly hot day, it would probably be more refreshing served cold. But honestly, there is no wrong way to eat flummery. It's berries, sugar, and cream. You could eat it right from the pan and be perfectly happy -- I know this from experience.

Fondue party

I've been meaning to post about the fondue party playgroup we hosted in honor of Anouk's birthday since it happened, all the way back in March. But somewhere along the way I misplaced my SD card with the party pictures on it and didn't find it again until this past weekend (in the bottom of my camera bag...like, who would ever look there?)

Fondue might just be one of the best kids' party foods out there. It keeps little hands occupied. It encourages children to see food in a fresh way, to try new things in different combinations. It's fun, it's novel, and it's yummy. I think you could even make an argument that it builds motor skills, using those pointy little fondue forks.

We had two kinds of fondue at our party, with a whole tableful of dippables to go along with them. Strawberries, bananas, marshmallows and pound cake for the chocolate fondue; broccoli and carrots, french bread and homemade pretzels for the cheese. 

The talented Molly contributed both the charming vintage fondue pots and the sauces to go in them. The recipes are below -- with a few tweaks suggested for making them even more kid-friendly. The recipes come from a 1970s edition of a Better Homes and Gardens book titled simply "Fondue." Unlike most of the other recipes on this blog, there is absolutely nothing healthy about these recipes (1.5 cups of sugar!?) but sometimes you have to splurge, you know? So here you go.

Chocolate fondue (makes 6-8 servings)

6 oz of unsweetened chocolate

1.5 cups sugar

1 cup light cream (substitute full-fat coconut milk, if your kid has a milk intolerance like mine does) 

1/2 cup butter 

1/8 teaspoon salt

In a saucepan, melt chocolate over low heat. Add sugar, cream, butter, and salt. Cook, stirring constantly, about five minutes or until thickened. Pour into fondue pot, place over fondue burner. 

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Cheese fondue (makes 4-6 servings)

1 small clove garlic

3/4 cup beer (you can substitute unsweetened grape or apple juice)

8 ounces shredded Swiss cheese 

4 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese 

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Dash bottled hot pepper sauce

Rub inside of saucepan with cut surface of garlic. Discard garlic. Add beer (or juice) and heat slowly. Coat cheese with flour. Gradually add the cheese to the liquid in the pan, stirring constantly, till mixture is thick and bubbly. (Do NOT allow the mixture to become too hot). Stir in pepper sauce. Transfer to fondue pot, place over fondue burner. 

One thing to note: when they say "place over fondue burner," they mean right away. Our cheese fondue had to be transported and the sauce cooled and broke during the journey, which is why it looks kind of blobby in the photos. But it was still delicious! 

The chocolate was the big hit of the afternoon, as you might imagine. A table of kids plus a big old pot of chocolate? Who has eyes for anything else? We moms ate most of the cheese fondue and we let the wee ones have their fill of the sweet stuff. (A. was cresting the sugar wave for hours after, which is why this is best saved for a once-in-a-while treat). 

Just looking back at these photos makes me hungry all over again! Have your kids tried fondue? What did they think of it? What are some of your favorite things to dip? The BHG book suggests small boiled potatoes to dip in the cheese -- I never would have thought of it but yummm.

Where to eat in Colonial Williamsburg

Last week I posted Part I of our trip to Colonial Williamsburg with friends. Today I want to post Part II:  namely, the two can't-miss places to eat (with kids or even without them) when you're in town.

My little sis went to William and Mary, and so our family got to sample many of Williamsburg's great restaurants when we visited her. But in my opinion, the only place to get lunch when you're there is The Cheese Shop, a little gourmet market/sandwichery on Duke of Gloucester Street. It has everything: the food is fantastic and it's just a short walk to the main attractions and sights across Henry St. Plus, there is heaps of cheese, and also wine. By the time we'd finished outletting on Thursday, we were all starving and so I suggested The Cheese Shop as our lunch destination -- and by "suggested" I mean that I basically told the others in the group they would regret it for the rest of their lives if we went anywhere else.

The only drawback of The Cheese Shop is that wait times can be upwards of 15-20 minutes for your food to be prepared and also, seating is limited, and most of it is outdoors. Because we hit it just at the lunch rush, our option was basically one of the benches that line DoG Street. We parked ourselves and our strollers, and tucked in. I think the verdict across the board was YUM and well-worth waiting for.

Try: the super-sized grilled cheese sandwich, with a locally made Chowning's Tavern root beer -- and don't forget to pick up a bag of bread ends for $1, to dip in the wonderful, mustardy house spread.

And then, for dessert! After Molly and I said goodbye to our friends B. and J. and Baby T., we drove by Sno-to-Go on our way out of town. The tiny, walk-up frozen-treat place is open only part of the year, and the last time I was in town, it was closed for the season. It opened back up in March, and I've been dreaming of it ever since. I raved about it so much that Molly had no choice but to join me in my pilgrimage.

Sno-to-Go's specialty is shaved ice snow-cones in literally hundreds of flavor combinations, which can then be "stuffed" with soft-serve ice cream. The combination at first sounds strange but you'll have to believe me when I tell you that the end result is one of those perfect "why didn't I think of it?" pairings. Even if you're not a shaved ice fan, the soft serve by itself is worth the drive -- it's thick and creamy and custardy delicious.

We ordered treats for ourselves and the kids even though it wasn't really the day for it -- 46 degrees and sleeting (!). We sat in the car with the heat blaring and shivered while we ate. But sometimes you just have to go for it -- Sno-to-Go is amazing, any time of year.

Try: Tiger's Blood (mixed berry and coconut) shaved ice stuffed with vanilla soft serve.

I think this face says it all:

Ain't nobody taking Baby Anne's Sno-to-Go. 

She will cut you, watch out.