Pet Weightloss?

That is the SECOND article I've seen in the last month about pet weightloss.  Are you kidding me?  Could there by anything easier than getting your pet to lose pounds?  It should be far easier than a human diet.  They don't have thumbs to open pantry doors, they can't drive through the fastfood lane, and they can't get a gallon of chocolate chunk when they're feeling sad.  At least not at my house.  The quantity of food should go down while the quality should go up.  No more sneaking treats from the table or anywhere else.  Plus exercise is good for all of us.  Oh weight (har!) that advice applies to all of us. 

Memorial Day '11

On Memorial Day I try to always remember the sacrifices of the brave soldiers who fought our battles down the years.  From the revolution to the wars going on today, there have been people who've given the ultimate sacrifice in support of American principles and policies.  Both my grandfathers served (and lived thank goodness) and I absolutely honor the hardships and courage of all these heroes.  However, some people seem to see this as a day to celebrate the "glories" of war and display a grossly overwrought version of patriotism.  To me this skews the real purpose of the holiday and detracts from those it was originally meant to remember. 

"I cannot believe that war is the best solution.  No one won the last war and no one will win the next."

Eleanor Roosevelt

The Uh-Oh Game

If you've ever had any contact with a toddler, you know about the classic game. It consists of picking something up (a ball say) dropping it, and saying "uh-oh!" as if you are taken completely by surprise. Then you repeat the steps dozens of times or until your mom gets so tired of hearing it that she distracts you with kitties. Delphinium learned to play this game a little while ago, and I try my best to be patient. Then, a few nights ago, I was trying to make dinner, and Delphinium was registering her displeasure at the lack of attention by crying and clinging to my pant legs. I was slicing rounds of squash, trying to focus on the knife and not the baby, when one of the squash rounds rolled off the cutting board and on to the floor. She stopped crying and bent to look. Then she grabbed the squash, turned her little teary face up to me, and said "uh-oh?" as if she was wondering if this were some new version of the game. I agreed "uh-oh" and the rest of dinner prep went off without any crying. All I had to do was throw vegetables on the floor every couple of minutes.

Swimsuits 2011

Okay so I took the advice of a prominent women's mag and tried on a compression-style swim suit.  I don't know how these actually work, but the results were pretty impressive.  I have on or two slight figure issues (har!) and I was suprised at how good this suit made me look.  I think it's most intended for those body shapes that need containment and smoothing (if you know what I mean).  "The girls" were locked up tight, and I felt as though baby hands and waves were not likely to expose me as they have in the past.  The only question here is one of price.  The suit cost about three times what I would normally pay.  Is that worthwhile?  Will the suit hold up as well or even better than normal ones?

International Food Month: Indonesian

My husband happens to be a really incredible maker of Indian curries.  My favorite is his tomato paneer, but really, that man can do amazing things with curry spices and just about anything you might find in the crisper.  That is why I hardly ever tinker with curry.  Why dabble when you have a master to take care of business?  Nevertheless, it was fun for me to try out an Indonesian curry recipe.  There are a million variations on this recipe, but I just picked one at random (it's actually a chicken recipe where I swapped in tempeh) and it happened to be quite good.  Tempeh is a fermented soy bean cake that is traditional to Indonesia.  It is something of an acquired taste, but it has a mild, nutty flavor, and the texture is firm and satisfying.  Making this dish reminds me that I want to use it more often.  More on that in another post.

Farm Visits Part 2

Not long ago I mentioned the joys of farm visits (with or without kids), but I neglected to mention any names.  This got me thinking that maybe we should not only visit our regular favorites this summer, but also try out some new places as well.  After all, I can never seem to get enough fresh-picked (sometimes even U-picked!) fruits and veggies, and the baby is always ecstatic to see the animals.  Thus I'm doing a little research, and the farm list is born.  I'm including everything in the greater Seattle area that seems to get a good crit. online.  Here are the first three that we've actually visited ourselves.  Hopefully I'll be adding to it as we go.  If you know and love one that I've missed, please feel free to comment, and I'll update the list.

Visiting Farms --- Greater Seattle

Kelsey Creek Farm Park (This is not a working farm, so no veggies to buy, but the animals are a treat, and the setting is incredible.  Right in Bellevue too!)

Farrel-McWhirter Farm Park  (This is not a working farm, but a portion of a Redmond park.  Great chance to see animals, and they even have pony rides, but check the website for info on that.)

Remlinger Farms (This is a farm with produce, animals, and a carnival-type area.  Very kid-friendly, but you do have to buy and entry ticket if you want to visit most of the activities.  They have u-pick berries too!)

Sick Baby Day Two

I'm glad to report that the baby is feeling much better today. She's still not "out of the woods" but she isn't curled up on my lap either.  Yesterday was not so fun because she spent so much of it being a limp little noodle.  Having a sick kid is way worse than being sick yourself.  It feels terrible not being able to make things better.  Isn't that what parents are supposed to do after all?  Luckily nature took care of things in a way that I couldn't, and she's very much on the mend.  We'll still take it very easy today, but she's already back to causing trouble and demanding stories.  Ahh back to normal.

Sick Baby

Our day began very early (2:30am) with the baby tossing her cookies in her crib.  After clean up, changing, cuddles, and a story she went back to bed without complaint.  However, when she woke at 8am, she had another episode.  That was only the beginning.  In fact, I'm skipping a description of the rest of the morning in order to protect the sensibilities of my readers.   There can't be much sadder than a sick baby.  They just collapse against you, and wait for you to make everything better.  When you can't make them better, the recriminations start.  By lunchtime the baby was glaring at me.  Now we're following the pediatrician's guidelines and eating bananas, potatoes, and rice.  Her majesty is not pleased by this diet.  Also she is tired of drinking water and would like her milk NOW please!  Wish me luck.

Baby Words: Thirteen Months

I am having such a good time watching the baby grow up.  She unfurls new leaves and stems so fast I'm afraid I may miss one.  This is that stage of language development where I think she understands much more than she can communicate.  I'm constantly discovering that she's trying to use a word, but I've been too dense to notice what she means.  For instance, we were at music class the other day when she started saying something that sounded like "boo ooo".  I thought she was noticing the owl on the wall, but when I turned around there was a balloon floating near the ceiling.  Here's a list of her current vocabulary (or at least those words I can understand):

Mou mou (rhymes with cow) = Meow Meow = Kitty
Mama = Kitty or banana or me
Dada = The man himself (he doesn't even have to share!)
Fsh = Fish or shoes or cheese
Baa ooo = Balloon or bubbles
Baa baa = baby (I think)
Wow = wow (It's so stupendously cute because she makes her mouth into a very round "o")
Hi = Hi (usually accompanied by one of her patented two-handed waves)
Uh-oh = Something has been dropped

Then there are also a whole bunch of animal sounds, but since they are very inconsistent, I won't count them here.  Yet.  I have no idea if she's ahead, on target, or behind in her language skills, and I don't care.  It seems to me that she's fabulous in every way.  Now if I could just get a title to myself instead of having to share it with a fruit...

Hideous Recipe #1

Every once in a while I come across something so awful-sounding I feel like I have to tell someone. Thus I'm sharing hideous recipe #1. Sandra Lee is often guilty of nauseating combinations, but this one, for hot apple cider toddy, is bad even for her. It involves large amounts of melted butter, crushed graham crackers, and non-dairy whipped topping. Ugh! What's the matter with some nice hot cider? Maybe a few spices? Apparently that's not fatty and disgusting enough.

Farm Visits

We are doing our best these days to get out and enjoy what bits of spring we can find.  One of the baby's (and my) favorite ways to do this is visiting farms.  Since the greater Seattle area seems quite interested in the whole farm to table movement (love it!) there are many farms that allow and even welcome visitors.  Some are always open for this purpose while others have seasonal visiting times. 

We find that there are really very few times of year that are not fun on the farm.  Maybe from about January to March there isn't much to see, but any other time it's certainly worth the visit.  Here's our pastoral year:


April --- Spring lambs are hopping around, and on some farms this is sheering time
May --- More spring babies are born, lots of flowers are out, and you can get leeks, peas, and spinach
June --- Strawberries!  Also our farms often have ducklings and goslings this time of year
July --- Raspberries plus so much wonderful summer produce is out at this point; it's hard to go wrong
August --- Blueberries!   Don't forget the fresh eggs too
September --- Corn is fresh and ready to pick, and so many of the animals are out on pasture
October --- Who doesn't need an autumn pumpkin, and perhaps a ride on the hay wagon?
November --- Even the late varieties of apples are out, and they are so crisp and sweet
December --- Lots of greenery and even fresh cut Christmas trees can be found

International Food Month: Swedish

The next country we visited after Libya was Sweden. Of course many Swedish recipes use meat, but we also found a fair number of mushroom items. I remember my wonderful Swedish grandmother making us a fabulous mid-summer meal that featured mushrooms folded in flakey pastry. It was heavenly. Unfortunately I do not have the recipe, and I do not make very good pastry. Thus we went with a mushroom soup that I found mentioned in several places. In the end, I took a basic mushroom soup recipe and amended it to include some of the Swedish flavors I kept seeing.
Vegetarian Mushroom Soup

Saute about one pound of mushrooms and 1/2 a cup of chopped shallots in a mix of olive oil and butter (just enough) for about five minutes. Once they are wilted, add about 2-4 tbs of dry sherry (this depends on how dry the mushrooms are) and about 2 tsps of dill . After that is well mixed, add about 4 tbs of plain flour. I like to blend the flour with some of the stock to prevent lumps, but that's just me. Top up with about 3-4 cups of stock. Whisk carefully to avoid lumps. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, turn down to low, and cook for at least 15 minutes. Finish with cream (if you're feeling naughty) or milk if you aren't. Chopped fresh dill, chives, or parsley are nice on top.

The soup was actually really good (if I do say so myself) and we ate it with steamed potatoes, sweet and sour beats (as my mom makes them) and beat greens too. It was certainly a meal I would make again, and next time I might experiment with different types of mushrooms.  Hopefully my Swedish granny would be proud. 

Walking!

Yes it is true! Another big milestone for sure! Delphinium is now walking with serious purpose. She started out just cruising from one bit of furniture to another, but after a few weeks of that, independent steps began. She's a pretty cautious girl, so there weren't any mad rushes and big falls (or bonks thank goodness!). Instead she carefully levers herself onto her feet, takes a moment to be sure she's steady, and then tentatively steps out.

You never know what combination of foot ware and flooring surface you might find, so it pays to be watchful. Now that she's had a few weeks of practice, she's up to about ten or twelve steps at a time, but she still has to catch herself quite often to make sure she doesn't fall. When she does take a tumble I'm amazed at how controlled she is. So far no bruises (know on wood). When she makes a long series of steps, she looks up to be sure you saw, and then claps her hands at the thrill of success. Side benefit? You can carry a whole lot more toys when your hands are free!

Kindermusik Redmond

For a couple of months now the baby and I have been attending Kindermusik classes in Redmond. We don't actually live in Redmond, but we heard that the music classes there are especially good. We were not disappointed. Our class is with Miss Anna, and she does a wonderful job of making the classes fun and age-appropriate without allowing them to become overwhelming for the little ones.

First we play with toys such as puppets or balls as the other children arrive. This is a great way to warm up to the activity, and by the time we sing the welcome song, the children are most happy to participate. Each day has some activities that stay the same, and other things that change each time. We always sing, we always dance, and we always have some playtime too. The baby's favorite part is playing with the bouncy balls, no wait, maybe doing drums, or perhaps doing a line dance. It's just too hard to choose. I'm not very good at explaining it, but something about Kindermusik is a good fit for us where Gymboree was not. It's less twee, less overwhelming, and also costs about 1/3 less at only $68 a month. Yay for Kindermusik!

Mothers' Day '11

Well it seems that I've now been a mother for more than a year!  I still cannot believe it's really true.  Sometimes I look at our beautiful little girl and think that I must be back to being a nanny because she can't possibly be ours.  But she is!  At the top of my life list were a real career, a wonderful husband, and a baby of our own, so I feel completely spoiled.  Of course it is not easy, and from time to time it can be really difficult to look after such a busy little person.  I would not trade this job for any other one in the world.

I guess that was happy Mothers' Day to me.  Now this is one for my mom.  What made me want to be a mother in the first place, what makes me the halfway decent mother that I am (on my good days!) is the relationship I've always had with my mother.  She's not your normal type.  I've always known that she was my biggest fan, and someone that gave me armor against all sorts of trials and troubles (also mean people).  It also gave me confidence that I could do or be anything I liked.  If I can be half so good a champion for my daughter, I will be doing a marvelous job.

International Food Month: Libyan

We started out with the country most in the news when we made the actual list.  I confess that I know almost nothing about Libya beyond what makes the headlines.  After some research I found that Libyan food seems to be a cross between Middle Eastern and African traditions with a smattering of the Med. thrown in as well.  It's a place with so much history, and that means all kinds of food customs too. 

Of course all the lamb and mutton recipes were out since we're vegetarian, but I did settle on a lovely lentil salad and summer soup.  For the salad, I combined several on-line and book recipes to create one that worked with the ingredients I had on hand.  No, no, no I did not scour ten thousand sources to ensure that this is one hundred percent authentic.  If you are Libyan and this is not how your grandma made it, please cut me a little slack:

Libyan Lentil Salad

-2 Cups Lentils

-2-3 Cups water or stock

-1 Medium Onion chopped

-2 Bay Leaves

-2-3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

-2-3 Cloves Garlic -- finely chopped

-Peel of one lemon

-2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

-Dash Cinnamon

-1 Teaspoon ground cumin

-2 Teaspoons coriander

-Salt And Pepper

-Green olives

Saute olive oil, onions and half the garlic until soft.  Pour in lentils, bay leaves, spices, and enough water to cover.  Cook for thirty minutes or until tender.  Drain the lentils, and then add the remaining ingredients including the other half of the garlic.  Garnish with green onions, yogurt, or cheese as you choose.  The recipe for the soup is here.  Both were quite tasty, and I would definitely make them again.

Soaking Up Sun

It's absolutely glorious outside my window right now.  Just imagine the perfect quintessential springtime day, including the birdsong, and you've just about got it.  I've just spent nearly the whole morning in the backyard, and now we're gearing up to go to the park.  If you're from a warm place, you probably won't get this, but sun in the Seattle area is a very exciting thing.  Even in the "good" year it takes us a long time to warm up in spring.  This year it's been especially slow, and here we are in May having one of our rare warm spells.  According to reports, it will all shift back to gray drizzle by tomorrow, so I'm lapping up as much as I can.  In order to really make the most of the sun, I made a few promises to myself this morning:

1. Open all the windows in the house
2. Strip our favorite pillows for a good sun bleaching
3. Brush off patio furniture
4. Plant potatoes in the garden box
5. Shove kitties out to smell the grass
6. Take baby on backyard tour
7. Walk!
8. Eat lunch in the sunshine
9. Get a little sun (no more than 15 minutes) on my pale, pale legs and tum
10. Visit the park

International Food Month

There we were, at the table, eating one of those meals.  You know the ones.  They're easy, relatively healthy and tasty, and you've made them a thousand times.  Pasta, red sauce, and salad for instance.  Or maybe some sausages, potatoes, and peas.  Those are just two examples of the sort of menu I fall back on constantly.  There's nothing wrong with those meals, but it just gets boring.  It's boring to prepare the same thing over and over, and it's boring to eat it too.  Why, then, don't I just break out and do something different?  It's mostly laziness plain and simple.  After a long day, it's just so easy to get out that packet of pasta. 

Then one day it struck me.  If I didn't get out of this food rut, we'd be eating the same six or eight meals for the rest of our lives!  I've actually met grannies and aunties who refused to serve (or eat) anything but a few safe and familiar dishes.  That will not happen to us!  I do not want our baby to think that food consists of peas and potatoes baked, boiled, fried.  I want her to taste things that are fresh and flavorful.  Oh and by the way, I want that for us too.  Thus we embarked on International Food Month (hey when you're a stay-at-home mom you need goals)

Here's the plot we hatched.  We would take on twenty-five countries in roughly thirty days (that leaves some nights to go out woo!).  We made a list of the countries in advance, and posted it on the fridge so that we would be inspired to continue.  We would research traditional recipes on the internet and in cookbooks (yay library!), and then we would do our best to prepare a dinner from each country.  The pact also stated that we could buy the ingredients that were needed for the meal, but we should try to stick with recipes that don't require too much money or supplies that we are likely not to use again.  We're trying to be moderate here!

Some of our country picks were fairly familiar ones like Mexico, Italy, and France.  Others were much more "out there" such as Egypt, Vietnam, and Kenya.  We did not order the countries according to the month because we want to be free to cook each one as we find good recipes.  If this all goes as planned, by the end of the thirty days we'll have prepared a whole range of new recipes, and we'll have the chance to try a lot of new flavors too.  Best of all, we won't see the same old, same old fall back meals for at least a month.  Wish us luck.

Spring for Flowers

Right now at my local Trader Joes (oh how I love you!) daffodils are $1.29 per dozen!  You absolutely cannot beat that price.  I love the way a fresh bunch of spring flowers just seems to chase the fusty winters out of a room.  It's like turning up the heat by about ten degrees, or opening a window in a shuttered room.  I don't care what else is going on today, you must go out and buy yourself some flowers.  You deserve them, and you'll get to enjoy them all weekend while they're the most fresh and perfect.  Better yet, get something with a scent if you can.  To what better use could $1.29 (or $5 or even $10!) be put?