stressed much?

School is hard. That is all.

Bring Home Ec Back?

Interesting post on The Kitchn. Should home ec have a comeback in public schools? I say yes! I had really rudimentary home ec in middle school. I remember making an omelet, but that's about it.

I'm not really confident that kids these days (I can't believe those three words just came together in my mind...oh dear) know how to do anything close to cooking a healthy meal. They know how to microwave. They know how to order a combo meal.

I think it is crucial for every kid to learn how to make basic meals and exercise creativity while using their hands (baking, sewing, folkcraft, etc). I think it's also important to find out how your food reaches your table, how to make choices about what you should eat, how to grow plants, how to budget.

I was lucky enough to have a large set of grandparents. I would spend at least one day each week, usually, learning how to make something with a grandparent, whether it was a simple soup, a rag rug, an experiment on the sewing machine, biscotti, a casserole, etc. I was around food. A lot. My mom didn't cook, which was also a catalyst for learning. I was making omelets way before middle school home ec.

My grandma was a teacher and for a while she used the old home ec room. One of my fondest memories was using that hour between when classes were over and she could leave to dig through the debris of the fabric closets in her class and fashioning outfits for my stuffed animals. Remember that? I'll never forget it.

2 years

Tomorrow will be our second anniversary. What a beautiful day it was.

Scattered Sushi

I found this article from Bittman, one of our very favorite foodies (Aaron says: “he’s a man after our own hearts and stomachs”) and I thought I would share it because there has been a lot of this happening in our household.

For the past two weeks and counting, Aaron and I have been taking fishless sushi to work for lunch. Sorry there are no pics…mornings are dysfunctional enough. Anyway, let me tell you: it’s awesome. I love lunch again. And it’s healthy as all get out.

We don’t roll the sushi, but we do it salad style and call it “scattered sushi.” I do about a ½ cup of sushi rice (Aaron does more because he’s a growing boy), I use black sesame seeds, which adds a nice touch. We’ve been doing matchstick carrots, English cucumber, pretty radish, bell pepper and (my favorite) avocado. Once in a while I’ll throw in a fake crab stick if I’m feeling sassy. We’ve just been adding the soy sauce to the bowl and throwing a generous dollop of wasabi to the center. We use scissors to cut strips of nori for the top. That’s it. And it’s delicious. I end up constructing perfect little sushi bites at my desk which is so much more fun than the sheer bovinity of a typical salad.

Now we have many more ideas to play around with.
Thanks, Bittman!

My brain must have developed new patterns for cilantro flavor

Here is a really interesting article on a topic that comes up with regularity in our household: the notion that, for some, the soapy taste experienced while eating cilantro is due to a genetic predisposition and sensory function.

I found this article to be really helpful in explaining why I used to think cilantro tasted like soap and now I find it to be delicious. It has become one of the top 5 constantly used ingredients in our household.

I had never had cilantro until I moved to Boston. The first time I had it I was like: "why would anyone eat something that tastes like soap?!" I kept encountering it, much like the author of the article, and it took about five years or more for the taste to change for me and just within the last three or four years, it has totally transformed into green goodness. Which seemed odd, as I knew I was supposedly genetically predisposed to taste soap, so why the change? Read the article.

This totally convinces me that my theory about taste is accurate: you create your palate. There may be things you might not like, but if you work on that, you can totally change your tastes. Something you don't care for or just feel so-so about can become a favorite taste if you practice.

I hate to harp on the WV thing as always, but I just find this so interesting. Some West Virginians, as far as I can tell, have the most sensitive palates I have ever encountered. Any slight recipe variation or addition is likely to become a tragic event. I've had to completely retool my old potluck/cookout standbys because my dishes haven't been touched a number of times. (Which, really, is okay with me because I get to take it home, but still....) Goat cheese? Forget it. Sharp cheese is even a deal-breaker. Remember that delicious pasta salad with the Gorgonzola and kalamata olives that I'm sure you've had if you've attended any bbq with me? I can't make it here. Green food is pretty much a no-no, but I still make spinach dip because there are at least two processed foods used in it. Anything sweet is okay. Salty is good. Processed is better. Lately, I turn to the backs of containers for recipes that might be acceptable at a gathering. Now, this isn't everyone, obviously. But people are really not afraid to hurt your feelings and say something like "oh, it has _____ in it? Eeeww."

But, I think it's just a comfort-zone thing. I struggle, because I know you can work to overcome these prejudices. If you want to.

Seed Exchange

Yesterday I hosted a seed exchange through work. The idea is simple: if you grow plants, chances are you aren't using the whole packet of seeds. So, why not swap out those extra seeds for something else you'll use? You get something, someone else gets what you don't need. We all celebrate locally grown food. Everyone is happy.

The more significant aspect of this has to do with beliefs that run a little deeper, a little more serious. Hybridization and large-scale agribusiness have ensured that only a fraction of plant species are being consumed in America today. Others are becoming extinct or are on the brink of extinction because no one grows them. This makes our food system very unsustainable and susceptible to devastating disease. So, though all seeds were welcome, the focus of the seed exchange was heirloom varieties, whether the seeds were purchased or saved year after year at harvest time.

I was honored that our favorite seed company, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, out of Missouri, donated an astronomical amount of heirloom seeds specifically for this event. It allowed me the opportunity to make sure that people had a lot (A LOT) to choose from and also it gave me the chance to make sure everyone left with seeds, whether they had something to trade or not. Because, the point is that people plant them and hopefully save the seeds from this crop to plant next year. I need to make sure I properly thank my friends at Baker Creek.

One of the stars of the day was a pack of seeds for the West Virginia 63 tomato, a locally refined heirloom variety. I can't say how I got the seeds, but I worked hard to track them down. I felt it added another dimension to the idea of celebrating locally grown food if we could have a local heirloom present.

I was a little nervous about this event. It seems like there are some very deep-running class issues about growing your own food here for some reason, so I wasn't sure what the response would be. However, I managed to get the word out to the right places and more than 50 people swapped seeds and stories and gardening tips yesterday. They all want to do it again. It was kind of incredible and I have to say, I am so proud that this experiment was such a success. It really confirmed the importance of promoting locally grown food, self-reliance, community action, and etc.

Crazy Hippie Jelly

Aaron: How does it make you feel that, for your first time canning anything, you made crazy hippie jelly?


I feel great about it! Success! We had all of these violets growing in our yard and I had been wondering what I could do with them, if they were edible, etc, etc. And then I stumbled across this recipe and I knew that I should try it. I am sure my neighbors think I'm crazy. I was crawling around on our lawn for an hour and a half picking flowers while two little chickens followed closely behind.


One neighbor even stood out on his deck and asked if I'd been stung by a bee or something. Embarrassing. But it's good to use what grows around you and come winter, these little pots of sugared jewels will be a welcome reminder of spring.

This recipe was very easy, but the canning of it was a little high-stress. I kept wishing that I had a grandma there to show me how it's done. Not quite sure I mastered it. Are you supposed to put it into the jars while it's still boiling or take it off the heat to fill the jars? Help!

Anyway, I have 10 little jars of violet goodness in my pantry, so I guess I did something right!

Picnic No. 1: Easter

We decided to go for an Easter picnic at the last minute. We hadn't planned a fancy meal or anything. Enjoying the weather seemed just the ticket. When we got to the arboretum, we were ecstatic to find the magnolias in bloom! The purple-pink flowers are so pretty, but I swear: they bloom for like a day and then look like brown, depressing death. So, it was nice to catch them while they were here.


I liked the bark on this tree.


Elf always thinks the picnics are just for him. They kind of are.



Best friends.



Aaron and I took turns reading one of our favorite read-aloud books: My Side of the Mountain. Yes, we ate cold pizza.

Menu

Pizza, two kinds
Fresh strawberries
Homemade half-moon cookies

4 Happinesses

1) Oregon

2) Donkey Baby

3) Nice Weather
4) Gardening

Sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight!

I have had major flight delays and cancellations on the last three trips I've taken. Each time, I've had to stay overnight because of a missed connecting flight. This last time, I was kicking myself because I thought a simple flight to Portland, OR would not require provisions. Had my hours of playing Oregon Trail taught me nothing? Boy, was I wishing for a care package at 3am in the Seattle Airport*. Needless to say, as I was sitting there stewing -- tired and hungry and dirty -- I started a list of things I will take with me in my carry-on luggage from now on. I thought I would share, for all you vagabonds out there:

1) Extra underwear. 2 pairs.

2) Toothbrush and travel toothpaste.

3) A change of clothes. If you are traveling on business, make it a nice change of clothes in case something happens to your bags and your meeting is the next morning. Seriously. See below.

4) Travel pillow.

5) Light blanket. I'm pretty sure they keep the airport in Seattle at a toasty 32 degrees. I was trying to cover my legs with a cardigan while curled into the fetal position. Next time, I'll bring a little lap blanket.

6) Eye Coverlet. This is always a carry-on must for me. As my friend Jen once wrote: "The horse needs blinders."

7) Chapstick, mascara, and any other personal care product that will at least upgrade your resulting appearance from zombie to undead.

8) Snacks. Most airport snack shops are closed between 12am-6am.



*Actually, long afterward, as well, because they lost my luggage. And then I fell in the mud (no joke).

news and lesser news

The lesser news is that I am officially 50 pages into Gravity's Rainbow, this year's BIG READ. Lately, I've been trying to read at least one major work per year, something that has been on my to-read list for at least 10 years. Take that, intimidating novels! Last year, I picked Ulysses. The year before, I geared up for future times by reading both Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Crying of Lot 49. I always have this crippling guilt about reading worthwhile things. If you read at all, the majority of it should be good quality and a big chunk of that should be a challenge. I like the way I read and don't see this pattern changing any time soon. But these two books were the bulk of my on-going to-read list, so I'm going to have to spend some time revising that.

Anyway, I am reading it now because I may not get a chance to later in the year. Onto my news: I got accepted into a grad program at Pitt. Hooray! I'll continue to work full-time and go to school...it's really scary to actually see that in writing. I'll continue to work full-time and go to school. I'll continue to work full-time and go to school. I'll continue to WORK...full-time...and go to school. oh my.

Elf-sized bed

Aaron's latest wood shop creation was the sweetest little bed for Elf:

The picture doesn't even do it justice. It's just too cute! He found a picture of a little sleigh bed for a doll and modified it to fit an Elf. And Elf just loves it. He lays on his bed with his little pillow and just has the happiest look on his face. He literally loved his other beds to pieces, so we hope this will last a bit longer.


And of course, Matilda had to give it a try.