Take a bite out of that-

Rach-

Part of being on maternity leave is to give the impression that you're Super Mom - you know, stimulating the mind of your active almost-3 year old through carefully constructed teachable moments, nursing and fostering the cognitive, physical, and emotional development of your angel babe, keeping your house immaculate, appearing effortlessly gorgeous in your Mommy lulu lemon uniform, and always being a lovingly doting wife- all while masking any sleep deprivation (because that may take away Angel Babe's rock star status). I know that you're probably chuckling right now because yes, I am sometimes self-aware, and do acknowledge that I don't meet any number of those criteria.

This became painfully obvious when I was in Victoria last week fielding phone calls from a frantic Mike; he needed his passport to cross the border for a principals conference. After finally helping him locate the passport, he commented on the amount of 'junk drawers' that we have. Oh well, being Super Mom is overrated I'm sure. In order to compensate for my hidden messes I need to go above and beyond in the one Super Mom category that I am capable of achieving - sneaking in a chapter or two of my novel while Finn plays quietly-that is making nutritious meals for my crew.

The latest on the dinner front? Whole wheat pitas from the original Moosewood. They turned out beautifully, puffing out nicely and just asking to be stuffed with deliciousness. For a filling I made: chicken patties with peanut sauce, sauteed onions and mushrooms, bean sprouts, avocado, feta, and tzaztiki sauce. A bit eclectic but tasted amazing.

Here is the Moosewood pita recipe (I made with 1/2 whole wheat flour):

PITA BREAD

Prep. time: about 2 hours (most of which is raising time) Yield: 6 larger (or 12 smaller) pocket breads

1 Cup wrist-temp. water

1 1/2 teaspoons ( half of a 1/4-oz. packet) active dry yeast

1 Tablespoon sugar or honey

1 teaspoon salt

about 3 1/2 cups of flour (1 cup of it can be whole wheat)

OPTIONAL: 1 Tablespoon sesame seeds

a little oil for the dough extra flour for rolling out

oil or cornmeal, for the baking tray

1) Place the water in a medium-sized bowl and sprinkle in the yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes-it will become foamy

2) Add sugar or honey and salt. Stir until everything dissolves.

3) Add three cups of flour, one cup at a time, mixing enthusiastically. As the dough thickens switch to your hand. Knead the dough in the bowl for a few minutes, adding up to 1/2 cup more flour, as needed, to combat stickiness. When the dough is smooth, oil both the bowl and the top surface of the dough. Cover with a clean tea towel, and let rise in a warm place for about an hour, or until the dough has doubled in bulk.

4) Punch down the dough and transfer it to a clean, floured surface. Knead it for about five minutes, then divide it into either 6 or 12 equal pieces I wanted smaller pitas so I did 12. Use a floured rolling pin to flatten the pieces into a thin circle (flour surface and sprinkle flour on dough). The diameter of each circle is unimportant, as long as it is no thicker than 1/8 inch. Let the circles rest for 30 minutes.

5) Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Place a baking tray in the oven for a minute or two, to heat it. Then brush it with oil (I used cooking spray) - or dust it with corn meal. Place as many circles on the tray as will fit without touching, and bake for just 6-8 minutes, or until puffed up and very lightly browned. Hot oven is key.

6) Remove from the oven, and wrap the breads in a clean, slightly damp tea towel, then place in a brown paper bag, close up, for 15 minutes. This will keep the breads supple. I didn't have any paper bags so I just left them between two tea towels - worked beautifully.

I miss you - it was great hanging out last week!