Do Kids Really sleep? - Green Tomato Salsa

Sleep begets sleep. Before Poet and Flower, I was the best sleeper. I would sleep through anything. As a kid, I would even sleep through fire alarms. Later, as an ob/gyn resident, you get paged a lot at night because babies can come anytime, and typically it felt like that was the only time. I would sleep with my pager clipped to my collar so I could hear it. I was always afraid I would miss hearing the pager and miss a delivery. G was the opposite; he would always sleep late. When we met, he did not even own an alarm clock. As a night owl, he would paint or work late into the evening

Now it's all about Poet and Flower sleeping. I sometimes wonder where all my sleep has gone. We are definitely getting a lot more sleep than when they were babies, but we are not quite there yet. Getting little ones to sleep is a herculean task. I think it is a combination of luck and determination. Sometimes I'm not sure which one wins out. Poet and Flower are such different sleepers. And as twins, we had to navigate their sleep simultaneously, kind of like trial under fire.

Flower loves her sleep. She has always liked to sleep independently, from the time she came home from the hospital. She would quickly drink her milk, have a full tummy, then curls up in her little bassinet, and fall asleep with her little bottom up in the air. Poet, on the other hand, never liked his own bed and has always wanted company. He loves snuggling, and it is wonderful to snuggle with him. After much trial and error, the kids enjoy a glass of milk, bedtime stories, and go to sleep.

One of Poet's favorite bedtime snacks is "chips and salsa." Or in not-kidspeak, that's tortilla chips and salsa. He's a big fan of jarred tomato salsa that's not too hot. He likes Trader Joe's but with the pandemic, he's tried them all. He will sit there happily crunching chips until he's full and is ready to go to sleep.

This week I made green tomato salsa. I had a big batch of green tomatoes sitting in the fridge. They came together to a make a delicious sweet-tart salsa. Roast the tomatoes, onions and garlic to really bring out their flavor. Then I added sugar, cumin, and red chili flakes. It's a great accompaniment to meat or fis, or tortilla chips. Poet would approve.

Green Tomato Salsa

A sweet tart salsa made with green tomatoes. Cumin and red chili flakes add a little spice.

Serves 4

• 2 cups green tomatoes
• 1 small onion (halved)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro (chopped)
• 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. On a baking sheet, add the tomatoes, onions and garlic. Drizzle with olive oil. Roast for 25-30 minutes until tomatoes are soft and just beginning to char.
3. In a medium saucepan, add the roasted tomato mixture. Add the brown sugar, olive oil, red chili flakes, cumin and salt. Gently simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Serve at room temperature.

The salsa will also keep in the refrigerator for about a week.