a day of lists

I am a list maker.  No doubt about it.  And a list re-maker. And a list maker-again. And a list crosser-offer.  I love the feeling of getting things accomplished, even if they're little things, and being able to shout "woo-hoo!" ala Blur.  Silly and kind of sad, but true.

But today's fun with lists wasn't about me, it was about C.  So after school, she was hungry, of course, aren't they always hungry after school?  And she reached into the cabinet for one of the boxes of crackers, grabbed a few handfuls, and starting reading the ingredients list.  Now these are fairly healthy, average, run-of-the-mill multigrain crackers, not too many unpronounceable ingredients.  And C. is a good reader, a great reader in fact, but when she comes to something that she can't pronounce, she sounds it out like your grandmother talking on the phone long distance, to someone who doesn't speak English so well, in that voice.  You know that voice?  So I start to hear "RI-BO-FLA-VIN" and "TRI-TI-CA-LE" and "MO-NO-CAL-CI-UM PHOS-PHATE" and the 2 of us just start cracking up.  Tears in our eyes.  It was one of the funniest moments we've had together in a long time.  Not sure why it struck us as so funny, but it did.  So if you're in the mood for a laugh, grab your 8 year old and a box of crackers, and get yourselves reading.

Today's recipe is for beans.  The same beans as in "I had beans for breakfast".  So just take a good cupful of dried beans, any beans, these were a 16 bean mix from Goya, and soak overnight in cold water to cover.  Easy enough.  Only takes a tiny bit of planning.  Drain, rinse, put in a pot with cold water to cover, some celery and onion if you have it or want to.  Bring to a boil, then turn it down and cover for an hour or more, until really tender.  Drain (and save the broth, more on that later), and mash lightly with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper.  Eat for breakfast, and save the rest for tacos.

goosebumps

Did you ever have one of those days, that starts while you're still sleeping, with weird creepy dreams, complete with a really loud thunderstorm, and one of your kids waking you up at 3 am?  As if the storm wasn't keeping you up already.  Then when you finally roll out of bed at 6:45, it's to a scary low blood sugar.  But more on that another time.  Then you don't have time to make coffee.  Then the treat that you're treating yourself to really isn't that good or what you thought it would be, and so you only take that first bite?  Then it keeps raining all day.  Then you think you hear the recycling truck, and that it's been picked up, bring in the bin, then go to put something in it later and realize that you brought it in too soon?

And then.  I finished the book I was reading when I had 15 minutes to myself.   The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo. A wonderful book about love and loss and children and toys and the passing of time and enjoying each moment and really, truly, learning how to love. Absolutely left me with goosebumps on the last few pages.  Definitely worth getting it from the library and reading.  It will take you just over an hour, tops.  Yes, it's a kid's book, but yes, it's wonderful.  She also wrote Because of Winn-Dixie.  Both excellent. Can't wait to go investigate her other titles.

So then, when you need to wake yourself up, liven things up a little, and bring a little spice into the picture.  You make and eat this sauce.  On whatever.  And you realize that the day really turned out okay after all.

Adapted, barely, from Heidi Swanson
Spicy Lemon Coconut Sauce
into a food processor...1 clove of garlic, 1 jalapeno, pinch of salt, 1 T canola oil, 1 small bunch of scallions, 1/2 bunch cilantro, juice of 1/2 a lemon, and almost a full can of coconut milk.  Blitz.

going to church, and pesto

So we just came back from our first ever church service with the kids.  Not that we thought we were going to a church service.  C.'s viola teacher told us she was performing today, with 3 other violas and a violin, and it happened to be in a church, and did we want to come?  It promised to be beautiful music and would give C. a chance to see her in action.  So we got there, and with 5 minutes to spare, and seated ourselves in a pew towards the back.  It was pretty crowded.  We saw our teacher seated up in the front, and started to get excited.  Looking at the program, we weren't sure what to expect.  Then the processional started, with the priest swinging the incense, and the choir marching in slowly in time to the organ music.  We looked at each other, took a deep breath, and settled in.

The kids did great, we stayed for about half of it.  Except for C. saying aloud "Daddy it says hell on the program!", I think it was a good experience.  The music was beautiful, the acoustics outstanding, and it also gave us a chance to show the kids our old neighborhood.  Next time I'll investigate further before venturing out.

The rest of the weekend was pretty relaxing.  Yesterday C. had her swimming party from school while the boys went to the movies and out to dinner.  Today was a lazy morning, followed by a visit to our cousins and their new baby, viola rehearsal, and, well, church.  That said, we brought our cousins a yummy strata to enjoy so they don't have to think about cooking for at least 1 or 2 meals.

Sun dried tomato and basil pesto strata:  In an 8 x 8 pan, well sprayed...line it with thick slices of bread. I happened to have leftover, frozen  (and homemade, la-di-da) focaccia, but you could use anything hearty-- french, country, sourdough, challah...Spread pesto onto each slice, then top with diced sun dried tomatoes and cubed or shredded mozzarella cheese.  Pour over a mixture of 5 beaten eggs and 1 cup milk, sprinkle on some parmesan, and bake about 45 minutes at 375, or until bubbly and crusty and gooey.  Let cool for a few minutes before taking it over to the new parents, or cutting into it and eating it yourself.

thought I'd seen it all...

Just when you think you've seen it all...a woman driving in the car next to me was USING HER CURLING IRON!!  I mean, in traffic.  As in, busy traffic.  Not stopped at a red light, either.  What was she thinking?  Don't we have enough problems in the world without having to risk getting hit on the road because some yahoo didn't give herself 5 extra minutes to get ready in the morning?  What is wrong with these people?!?  Whew.  Glad to get that out.

In other news, before that, I was helping out at the school for the Nature Keepers program...what a wonderful way to get kids outdoors and into the garden.  Pulling weeds, planting seedlings, shoveling mulch for pathways, all during their recess time.  The science teacher takes 3 kids from each class on a volunteer basis.  They just love it!  One of the 2nd graders told me, "This is way more funner than regular recess."  Way more funner indeed.

A recipe for today?  Easy, easy side dish for tonight -- Moroccan spiced carrots.  One pound of carrots, fairly thinly sliced and boiled, 3 T olive oil (lately I am loving the Spanish extra virgin olive oil from Trader Joe's), 1 T apple cider vinegar, a sprinkle of cumin and smoked paprika.  Salt and pepper of course. Mix, taste, and try to save some for everybody else.

Shabbat Shalom!

#1

Salt and pepper. Bread and butter. Peanut butter and chocolate.  Simple things, that's what it's about. This might be a place to share, this might be a place to rant, not sure what it will be.  Not even sure how to use all the gizmos yet.  So it's a starting off point, a work in progress. 


So here are today's things that make me happy:  beans for breakfast, yes, you heard it here first, folks. Remembering when little I. said "whipped cream is my favorite vegetable", and seeing brand new babies less than 1 day old.  Things that tick me off, still, are the mom in the big huge shiny SUV who parks in the disabled parking space at school when she's running late at pickup. And if Ina Garten sticks her chicken-y fingers into the salt and pepper one more time, I will absolutely scream.


Maybe I'll try to include a recipe with each post, since lately that's what I'm doing. My latest obsession is with raw brussels sprouts.  I know it sounds weird, gross even, especially if you don't like brussels sprouts or don't think that you like them.  But raw and crunchy, this is more a slaw than anything else.  Here are the basics: brussels sprouts, trimmed and cleaned of course and sliced really thin into shreds, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, parmesan, and lots of black pepper.  As in, just when you think you've got enough pepper in there, put in some more.  Toss it all around, then taste.  Probably needs another squeeze of lemon and yup, more pepper.  This is really good at room temperature or just slightly warm.


So that's it for today.  I guess all that's left to do is click publish, right?  Here goes nothing...