Crossing the Prairie

How to Make Injera: A Cautionary Tale for Ferengis

2012-03-13T08:46:00.000-06:00

GLOSSARY:
Habesha: Ethiopian, relating to Ethiopian culture
Ferengi: foreigner. Antonym: habesha

This is injera.

It is the staple food of Ethiopia - the equivalent of rice in most parts of Asia, or potatoes in North Dakota. Ethiopians generally eat injera with every meal of the day. It's made from a nutritious grain called teff, which is indigenous to the highlands of Ethiopia (and now becoming trendy among the gluten-free crowd). Learning ~~how to make injera~~ how injera is made was something I really wanted to do while I was there, and I was lucky to have good teachers. (Read: my failure is not their fault.)

To make injera, a batter is prepared ("canned"), mixing teff flour and water, and a bit of leftover batter from the last batch of injera. It's made like a sourdough bread - the previous batter is the "starter." The whole thing is mixed in a bucket, covered, and left to ferment for four days. During this time, excess water that rises to the surface is skimmed off and discarded, and the mixture is stirred occasionally.

On the left, the cooking injera. The batter is in the red bucket. In the green bucket is gomen - greens. Recipe for gomen forthcoming.

After the fermentation period, a few cups are removed from the bucket of batter, and brought to a boil and stirred until very thick. This cooked batter is added back to the bucket, and the whole mixture is left to rise until it's bubbly - forty-five minutes to an hour.

At this point, enough water is added to the batter to thin it to the consistency of heavy cream. The injera stove is heated.

This is an injera stove.

The mesob - the basket in which injera is stored - needs to be dry when you add the fresh injera. Here's how you dry it.

That's my friend Waineselassie in the background, chopping gomen. The mesob is drying on the stove while it heats.

When the injera stove is hot, you begin cooking the injera. The batter is poured in a circular motion around the surface of the griddle, quickly filling any gaps that might be left behind, like so:

Simple, right? Now, let's see the ferengi give it a shot.

On the left is Birhani. She thought my incompetence was hilarious.

Nailed it.

Once the batter is poured, close the lid of your injera stove, and allow the injera to steam a bit as it cooks. This helps makes the bubbles nice and large - or the "eyes wide" - and the injera soft.

Then, using a large round woven "injera spatula" (I know there's a real name for this - anybody?), you slide the injera off the griddle, and transfer it to the mesob, like this.

Not like this.

If you do it like I did (don't be like me), you will end up with this:

Not so good. Pretty bad, actually.

instead of this:

Good!

But don't worry - nothing goes to waste in Ethiopia. My sad attempt made an excellent fir-fir - a breakfast meal of sauteed onions, peppers, and tomatoes, cooked with torn pieces of injera. I just helped out by tearing mine to shreds upon cooking, right?

Home.

2012-03-06T07:32:00.000-07:00

As you can see, that blogging-whilst-overseas thing did not work out. Some of it was because of technical difficulties, but most of it was because I made a conscious decision that my priority was to just be there. I carried a notebook with me, wrote everything down so I wouldn't forget, and paid attention to the people and places around me.

What I can say right now is this: I am forever changed.

How exactly, I'm not sure. I got practice in being flexible, as my flying itinerary was changed on the fly, on both ends of my trip, and travel extended in both directions by more than 12 hours. I was welcomed in during a surprise all-day layover in London by a friend I haven't seen since high school, and saw the Queen's palace, Big Ben, and was wrapped in the warmth of an old friendship renewed (Justen, I *heart* you).

I saw faith lived with courage and conviction unlike anything I have ever seen before, in the face of circumstances more difficult than anything I've had to overcome in my life. I spent hours in the kitchen among women who embraced me as one of their own, and was made to feel welcome there. I was utterly humbled by hospitality at every turn, and fed until I could eat no more. I took cold showers every day, and was grateful for running water. I ran into someone I knew in a bank - proof that the world is indeed very small.

Sami, my driver and babysitter.

I also did what I set out to do: I met my children's family. It was humbling - devastatingly so - and beautiful. The relief that comes from knowing for sure that everything I have been told about my children's history was absolutely true is something I can't quite put into words yet. Knowing that they were loved, and still are loved - worth absolutely everything, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I have baby pictures of Danny now - something we never expected to find.

I also went shopping in the Merkato, heard a youth choir practice in Amharic, went out into the countryside (looks a lot like Wyoming with different architecture - go figure), and drank habesha buna (dark, beautiful Ethiopian coffee, served ceremonially in small cups), and made a complete failure of an attempt to make injera. I was welcomed into a new family in totally unexpected ways. I was cared for like a child, and treated with respect, compassion, kindness, and generosity. Waineselassie told me to "feel at home," and I did. I missed my children fiercely - I can't imagine making my next trip without them.

Waineselassie, my host, detective, cooking instructor, master coffee maker, and habesha enat She called me this morning to make sure I was home safe, and to check on my children.

Life is hard in Ethiopia. The poverty is crushing, inflation is on the rise, and things don't look like they'll be getting easier any time soon. In the middle of all this, though, there is tenacious hope, and the astonishing ingenuity of the human spirit. The life I live here makes me feel ashamed of how much I have, having done nothing to deserve it besides being born at the right place, at the right time. It also makes me feel fiercely determined to spend the rest of my life giving back to try to right the balance - it is the only thing to do.

In the Kitchen: Ethiopian Style Slow Cooker Beef and Potatoes (Dinich Wat)

2012-02-23T20:33:00.003-07:00

Since tomorrow I leave on my Big Journey, an Ethiopian (well, at least "Ethiopian inspired") seems only right. I made this last weekend for a Saturday church function - I have to admit I was a little worried it would be too spicy for the Northern crowd. To my surprise and delight, I picked up a nearly empty crockpot, along with plenty of rave reviews.

[Side note: Dear church friends, feel free to copy and paste this recipe to the newsletter - I know a few people were asking for it. I have berbere to share with folks who want some.]

Today's slow cooker love is based on a traditional Ethiopian dish called dinich wat. Denich wat is potato stew - some versions contain meat, some don't. My version comes from Mary Ostyn's Ethiopian Sloppy Joes - she's another adoptive mama and blogger, and the author of Family Feasts for $75 a Week (check it out!). Her version is useful if you don't have access to berbere, a fiery spice blend that is central to Ethiopian cuisine. (You can buy some here or make your own, if you don't get it from the source - my friends who have traveled to Ethiopia since I brought my kids home have given it to me by the pound.)

My method of cooking isn't completely authentic, since I added a panade - a mixture of bread and milk added to raw ground meat - to keep the beef tender while it cooked (a trick I can thank Cook's Illustrated for).To be totally frank, part of the reason I'm posting this is is so that *I* can remember how I did it, since I played pretty fast and loose with the recipe.

Bon appetit!

(Small picture - brown food does not photograph well.)

Slow Cooker Ethiopian Style Beef and Potatoes (Dinich Wat)

1 1/2 - 2 lbs ground beef
2 slices good quality white bread
1/4 cup milk
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 TBS niter kibbeh (optional), or vegetable oil
3 large onions, minced or pureed in a food processor
1/4 cup berbere (for a spicy version)
OR
1 TBS chili powder + 1 tsp ground cumin (for a mild version)
5 medium russet potatoes, diced into 1/4 inch cubes
1 15-oz can tomato sauce
1 cup water

In a large bowl, mash bread and milk together to form a paste. Add the meat and mix with your hands to combine, adding 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper.

In a large skillet, heat niter kibbeh or oil over medium heat. Add beef and garlic, breaking it up into small pieces as it browns. When no pink remains, drain excess fat from the pan, leaving about a tablespoon behind. Push beef to the edges of the pan to make a well, and add the onions. Allow to cook until some of the liquid evaporates - 2 to 3 minutes, and then mix to combine. Add berbere or other spices. Cook until onions are soft.

Add diced potatoes, tomatoes, and water - mix to combine. Transfer to to slow cooker. Cook until potatoes are tender - 3-5 hours on high, or 6-8 hours on low.

Serve with injera, over rice, or on toasted hamburger buns, like sloppy joes.

2012-02-14T12:16:00.002-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day, to the great loves of my life!

xoxo

Big things.

2012-02-08T17:07:00.001-07:00

So, there are big things happening around here. I've kept it all pretty close to the chest, because I have to tell you, it's intensely personal. Sort of like when I found out I was pregnant the second time, after just suffering a miscarriage - it was a sweet and tender secret I wanted to hold next to my heart for a little while, before I was ready to share it with the world.

No, I'm not pregnant (phew). It's a lot bigger than that, really.

Late last fall, we began searching for my children's family in Ethiopia. My mother's friend, who she met in her travels a year ago, agreed to help us. To our infinite surprise, it only took her three weeks before she found my children's mother, grandmother, and aunt. She also met their younger brother, who is three. And just like that, my family tree grew branches, sprouted leaves, and my world expanded.

I would love to share their pictures with you here, but because I do not have their permission at this time, I won't be doing that. I can tell you that their mother looks astonishingly young for a woman with a nine-and-a-half year old son. When she smiles, she looks just like Danny. When she stares right into the camera, I can see what Lina will look like when she's grown. Danny and his brother would never be mistaken for anything but siblings.

Adoption is complicated. As Christine at Welcome to My Brain has excellently discussed, in this post and in many others, adoption begins with grief and loss, with unfulfilled need and broken hearts (SIDE NOTE: Great blog, by the way - I recommend it for all parents, adoptive and non-adoptive. That said, her February blog posts always have a slightly adult theme - Valentine's Day and all - so keep your company in mind when you click the link. She's happily married to a former pastor, with five kids, and she doesn't pull punches). I thought long and hard about sharing this part of our journey at all here, because it is a public forum, and some of this is private family business. I don't want to put the pain and loss of others on display, even if the flip side is tremendous personal joy and growth. I talked to my husband, to my son, to some adult adoptees, and asked what they thought about privacy in this matter. Overall, I got the thumbs up, so here we go. That said, if my kids change their minds on any of this at any point, I'll delete the posts. They're entitled to their own stories, and to tell them to whom they choose. I'm going to do my best to talk mostly about my own journey here, which is about to get wild.

In just over two weeks, I'm traveling to Ethiopia to meet my children's family.

Their family. Not their "birth family," or their "first family," or their "biological family." All of those terms stick in my craw. Their family, my family. It's all the same, and traveling to meet the woman who carried my children - our children - in her body, and lovingly raised them until circumstances forced her to make an impossible decision, feels like the only honorable thing for me to do. I am going alone - I don't think my kids are old enough for this kind of trip just yet, and my instincts tell me that I need to walk this road before they do. My husband will be staying here with the children - no doubt they will need his presence to steady them while I'm away.

I am at a crossroads where I realize that my life will change in ways I can't predict. But to be honest, I need this, for my own soul. When I was younger, I was the kind of person who would jump on a plane and just go places. I went to Quebec on my own right after I turned 16, traveled to Guatemala and Costa Rica just before I turned 18, lived in France for a semester when I was 20. And let's be honest - it takes some gumption to move to Germany with a baby, and decide to adopt two more children. Brave or crazy - hard to say. But having children has changed a lot of that for me - I have needed to be much more cautious with my decisions, because I make them for myself and for the three little souls who have elected me for a term at the center of their Universe.

When the constraints of parenting, being a military spouse, and the other challenges of the past year combined, I can honestly say that a good bit of my sense of self burned to the ground in the last twelve or thirteen months. Part of the reason I'm getting on that plane is to go in search of myself. Part of my life - a very important part - is at 8500 feet above sea level, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I left it there almost five years ago. When I flew away with my children, I had only an inkling of what we were all leaving behind. It's about time I went back to collect it, at least as much as I can carry. If my children are ever going to have a deep and real connection to their country and family of origin, I feel like I need to have one, also.

So, up, up, and away. Wish me luck - this is a pretty big deal, ya know?

Dinner Photo Montage

2012-01-25T19:20:00.003-07:00

After all that drama, I think we could all use something a bit more lighthearted. So, I present to you, my children over dinner this evening.

(I was totally smitten by Lina's pigtails, which started the whole thing, and it went downhill from there.)

How was your dinner?

UPDATE: What a Best Case Scenario looks like.

2012-01-20T18:15:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, people really surprise you, ya know? When my child came home upset over an insensitive lesson taught before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I prepared myself for a fight. I asked around for others' perspectives, I gathered lists of resources, and I carbon-copied emails, ready to take it to the superintendent of the school district (or the governor's office, if I didn't get a satisfactory response). I put on my armor, ready to do battle for my child.

Well, I may have been a bit over-prepared.

On Friday, I contacted the school counselor, and she spoke with my child's teacher. Monday was a holiday, and Tuesday was a teacher in-service day (so, no school for kids). I sent the teacher an email that day, with a resource list (I'll tack that on to the end of this post, for your reading pleasure.) The principal of the school called me directly - the teacher had already come to speak to him. His question was, "What can I do to help?" The teacher called me, and left a voicemail with four possible times in the next two days when she would be available for a conference.

The principal forwarded my resource list in a very diplomatically worded email to the entire staff of the school, for other teachers to be able to access. My husband and I scheduled a conference on a morning we could both attend, feeling slightly less prickly after all the positive messages we'd already received.

The teacher sat at the table with us, visibly upset. She told us she'd been positively sick all weekend, knowing that she had hurt my child the way she had. She told us that initially, she felt defensive of her lesson (as I think anyone would, in her position), but after thinking about it all weekend, she realized that she was, in fact, mistaken. In her mind, the dark-haired/light-haired groups were random (yes, this school is predominantly white) - she hadn't thought about how that might have grouped children in ways that would leave some of them feeling truly marginalized. She asked us for advice as to what to do next. She listened. She changed her lesson plans.

She had always prided herself on being progressive, inclusive, and tolerant. Combating prejudice and promoting empathy are part of her mission as an educator. She is a good person, and a good teacher. And she made a mistake. She made no excuses - she owned it. She apologized.

It doesn't erase the mistake, but it does make me feel more optimistic about the future. She will be an ideal voice for change around her, because I think she now sees how we can all be blinded by privilege, especially when we spend most of our time surrounded by people who look, think, and live like we do. My child got a chance to feel heard, and to see a change in the world around him because of it. His friend had a chance to take a stand for what he believed in - something that his mother tells me has been a pivotal moment in his young life.

I told my child about this meeting, and how impressed I was with his teacher, and with his courage to stand up for himself. When I told him that night, "You can change the world," he smiled. And he believed me.

If you're interested in that resource list, here it is.

http://www.npr.org/2012/01/16/145309336/teachers-discuss-how-they-approach-mlk-day (Teachers from a variety of backgrounds discuss their lesson plans)

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson248.shtml (alternative lesson plans for MLK Day)

http://loveisntenough.com/ (A website for race conscious parenting)

http://news.yahoo.com/martin-luther-king-jr-american-life-different-without-185640690.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/ (A Frontline show on the original experiment, dividing classes by eye color to demonstrate segregation)

http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/01/resolved_to_make_change_this_mlk_day_heres_a_guide_to_doing_it_all_year.html (How to Be an Activist All Year Long)

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video?id=2452826 (ABC's 20/20 feature on Stereotypes in America)

How Not to Teach about Martin Luther King, Jr.

2012-01-16T06:45:00.000-07:00

There's this lesson that some teachers like to teach this time of year to help kids understand the deep and pervasive effects of segregation and discrimination in the Jim Crow South. Here's how it works: you divide your class of little people into seemingly random groups, and one group gets to be the "privileged" group, and the other gets to be the underclass, without choices or privileges. The intended result is that all children walk away with a better sense of what segregation meant, and how wrong it was.

First let me make this point. Teachers, STOP USING THIS LESSON PLAN. Just stop. No excuses, no justifications - just stop. Never teach it again. The end.

Children have a great capacity to understand compassion, courage, generosity, mercy, and justice. Elementary school children do not have the developmental capacity to take on a position of power or disempowerment, and then transfer that lesson to an understanding of how it hard it was to live as a minority in Mississippi in the first part of the 20th century. They are just barely beginning to understand the concept of fair and unfair in the small context of their own lives - they do not have the life experience to transfer the feeling of being unfairly discriminated against to one of the most important social movements of the last century. I've read about this social experiment from the point of view of many adult people of color, including adoptees, and their experience was largely one of being singled-out, confused, belittled, and humiliated. For many of them, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day came to be the day they were blatantly reminded them that they were different from, and often less than, their peers.

On Friday, my child came home broken-hearted, shoulders slumped over, usual run was slowed to a walk. The teacher, who has otherwise been a great help this year, had divided their class up and put all the "dark-haired kids" in one group (conveniently including all of the minority children), and this group had to sit at their desks and "do nothing" during reading time, and the blonde-haired kids got to move around the room and do whatever they wanted.

The lesson was lost. My child teared up, telling me how the teacher smirked and said, "I bet you guys feel really bad right now," and how the Lakota girl in the class cried and cried.

I think I get where the teacher was coming from, although it smacks of unexamined privilege. She was trying to get the kids to understand why the Civil Rights Movement needed to happen, and what it might feel like to be on the side of the Freedom Riders. The problem is that she singled out all the kids who ALREADY know what that feels like because it reflects their current reality, and the unintended message that was once again reinforced for the entire class was that it is, indeed, better to be blond and white, instead of dark-haired and brown.

I am waiting to hear back from the teacher before I decide whether or not this issue needs to be taken higher up in the school and the district. I'm also looking for alternative curriculum materials, so I can come to the table with something other than fightin' words (I've got plenty of those, too.) I'm hoping for a good resolution in the end, and a better experience for future classes.

I am also hoping that taking my concerns to a public forum does not blow up in my face. That said, the fact that I have heard of this exact scenario happening over, and over, and over again makes me think that being silent is not the best course of action. As a parent with a professional background in education and child development, I believe that classrooms should be safe places for children to learn, explore, and express themselves, where all children feel valued and heard. This exercise flies in the face of that core belief.

I sat down with my child, and we listened to the entire seventeen minutes of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. My child wisely said to me, "Martin Luther King would not have like that lesson." My child understood that his real message was one of equality, love, justice, fairness - not about subjecting another generation of children to the experience of exclusion and injustice. So did my child's (fair-haired, white) best friend, who quietly refused to participate in the activity, as a sign of solidarity, and then stood in front of the whole class and expressed his own discomfort with the unfairness of it all.

As the great man said himself, "We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity."

If you haven't watched the whole speech in awhile, I encourage you to honor one of the greatest leaders of our modern time by sitting down with your family, and doing that. Reflect on the fact that, while we certainly have come quite a long way since 1963, we still have so very far to go.

Ski bums.

2012-01-14T12:13:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned before, we celebrated Christmas with a variety of winter sports out in the Rockies. Santa brought Danny some cross-country skis, so we hit the trails on Christmas afternoon to try them out. R and I used to cross-country ski quite a lot back in our pre-kid days - it was practically free, which fit well in our budget. Now that we have to pay a babysitter the equivalent of a lift ticket for a day of skiing, it's not quite as cost effective, but we're hoping to get back to it one of these days.

Our first outing was pretty successful, all things considered.

Shuffle, shuffle, little buddy.

Easy does it!

And yes, that's Miss Lina in snow shoes! This was the first year that everyone is old enough to operate snow shoes without stepping on their own feet - I think there are some good times in our future with those. (Of course, Mother Nature is a hilarious gal - last winter, while my cold-loving husband was sweltering in the desert, we had weeks on end of unbelievably frigid temperatures. This year, he's home and itching to get out in the snow, and it's been in the seventies. Un-freaking-believable. Very funny, lady.)

Of course, it wasn't without a few mishaps.

My father-in-law felt pretty bad about accidentally capturing this inglorious moment. Because I am a sensitive and very caring mother, I thought it was pretty hilarious. No child was (seriously) injured in the making of this photograph.

Because one kind of skiing is definitely NOT enough when one is in the vicinity of places like Vail and Breckenridge, we also fit in a day of downhill skiing. It was a first for the kids, a second for me. R put us all in a morning of ski school so he could get some actual speed in (I am the biggest downhill chicken of all time - it's kind of embarrassing.) Ski school was a good idea - I wasn't a total wuss, and the kids were AWESOME.

I may never be much of a skier, but I'd pay for a lift ticket just to watch this again - holy cow. Watching these little guys ski may be the cutest thing ever.

That's Danny coming down first, asking to continue down the hill without a grown-up (sorry kiddo, maybe next time), and Rome heading down second - he DID stop right after the video ended - no crashes. Thanks, Opa, for taking the video! Lina was just as brave - just less prone to being in a good spot for the camera. Her favorite trick was to ski directly at me, and stop six inches from my skis, once she could see the whites of my eyes. Good times, good times.

Rock on, little dudes!

Of course, there was Christmas.

2012-01-10T15:40:00.001-07:00

We had a good one, too! We drove over the continental divide (proving that this flat-lander does not tolerate 10,000 ft. all that well - holy altitude, Batman), and joined R's sister in Glenwood Springs, near Vail, Colorado. What a lovely little town, way up in the Rockies! We enjoyed ideal travel weather, and much warmer than average temperatures, making dog walking along the river right outside their house a real joy. We managed to squeeze in two kinds of skiing, plus an afternoon in the thermal springs. (Watching my boys jump off an outdoor diving board in 30 F weather - totally giggle inducing. Apparently freezing increases courage!)

Santa managed to find us, even way up in the mountains.

Those are cross-country skis for Danny - boy, was he excited (he was only slightly less enthusiastic after we put them on him - it's not quite as easy as he thought it would be!)

Santa knows what a budding rock star we have on our hands, and brought Rome the guitar he's been begging for.

And he must have had a family band in mind, because Lina got a karaoke machine.

Of course, there were plenty of other exciting things under the tree - some of which we are still sorting through, even after the tree is down at our house. Generosity abounded - thanks to all who contributed!

There was plenty of other fun to be had, too. My sister-in-law and her husband are lovely hosts, and they know the way to a Southern girl's heart - lots of good cooking (and even better eating!). Thanks, y'all, for the most excellent eats (and also for the general goodwill and tolerance of children in the kitchen - no small feat).

Never a dull moment - it's a well known fact that children will entertain themselves, even without toys. Hence, this picture - no, it's not an illusion, and yes, it was his idea. My giraffe of a son (he's over 4 feet tall, but by how much, I'm not sure) fit himself into a suitcase that I could put in the overhead bin of an aircraft.

Much hilarity ensued, and we eventually had to MAKE him get out (and hide the suitcase from him, to prevent him or his siblings from zipping him inside it and throwing him down a flight of stairs.) I'd consider taking him as a carry-on on my next flight, but I'm not sure the x-rays at security are particularly good for a growing boy.

Hope your holiday was just as warm, merry, and full of happy weirdness!

Hope and the New Year.

2011-12-31T16:09:00.000-07:00

Here we are, the last day of 2011. Y'all, this has been a hard year. For me, personally, for our family, and for many of you also. My energy, my faith, my heart, and at times, my very soul, have been stretched so far I thought they'd break. I have learned that there are hardships that you just can't imagine until you're faced with them, and it has taken all the grace I can muster, and some I've had to fake, to keep on walking.

But you know what? We're all still here, more or less upright, even if this brute of a year got one last jab in by putting my mom in the hospital in Virginia with cellulitis to celebrate the arrival of 2012. Thanks, buddy. Don't let the door hit you in the backside on your way out.

We'll be celebrating by eating crockpot chili and staying home. I am totally okay with that. In the midst of some very dark days, we've had some really amazing miracles appear out of the ethers, and I've found myself a circle of friends that have wrapped themselves around me like a blanket during the hard times. I have stumbled, and been caught by love and compassion, sometimes in the most unexpected places, at every turn.

So here's to the end of the longest year I can remember, and a fresh start in 2012. If it's not the end of the world, I do believe it has to be a better year. I heard a wonderful poem by Wendell Berry on this program last week about hope in the face of hardship, I'm paraphrasing, but the gist is this: Against all odds, hope sets off on its' desperate search for reason."

Here we go, y'all. Hope beyond reason - the last, great good in the human soul. I wish you all a peaceful and safe New Year, wrapped in the knowledge that you are where you are meant to be, and surrounded by the all the love to which you are entitled.

In the Kitchen: Thai-Style Chicken Soup (Tom Kha Gai)

2011-12-21T06:30:00.000-07:00

Since I'm playing fast and loose with this blog these days, and making no promises about when things will get published, what was formerly known as "Mondays in the Kitchen" will now be called simply, "In the Kitchen." That way, it will be less confusing when I post recipes on Wednesdays, right?

This is how I remember tom kha gai looking.
Also, imagine the sound of angels singing.

Now that we've got the format change out of the way, let me tell you about this soup. I first had Tom Kha Gai in San Francisco when I was seventeen, right after I graduated from high school. It was my first exposure to Thai food of any kind, and we've had a wild love affair ever since. That said, good Thai food is hard to find, and having my first experience with this AMAZING genre of cuisine in one of the foodie capitals of the world may not have been all that fair to my gastronomical sensibilities. It's a lot to live up to, ya know?

I have rarely attempted Thai food in my own kitchen. The first reason is because it's spicy, and one child of mine (guess which one...) is profoundly adverse to any heat whatsoever in his food. This is the one accommodation I make in my kitchen for children - I get it. Not everybody can take the heat. He may grow into or out of it. For the time being, we run mild here at home.

The second reason is that I am loathe to make mediocre food, especially from a cuisine with which I am not terribly familiar. Lack of authenticity also worries me. I am insecure when it comes to cooking food other people do well, without a proper lesson.

I still have not had a proper lesson, but I do have Cook's Illustrated "The Best International Recipe" Cookbook, and it has not let me down. It has wonderful descriptions of global cuisines, and adaptations for the American chef, who might not have access to ingredients like kaffir lime leaves and galangal. You should be able to find these ingredients in most places - in any well-stocked grocery store, or a basic Asian foods store. This recipe comes together so easily and quickly (under 30 minutes) that it has been one I sometimes throw together on the odd occasion my husband and I are dining alone. It is delicious, and simple, and tastes as good as I remember from my first time. Do try it. Baby, it's cold outside, and this will warm you right up, and still leave time for wrapping those last minute gifts.

Thai-Style Chicken Soup (Tom Kha Gai)
adapted from Cook's Illustrated: The Best International Recipe

Cast of characters. Pretty basic.

1 tsp vegetable oil
3 stalks lemon grass, bottom 5 inches only, tough outer layer removed, trimmed and sliced thin (do not use dried)
3 large shallots, chopped coarse
8 sprigs fresh cilantro, chopped coarse
3 TBS fish sauce
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 (14-oz) cans coconut milk
1 TBS sugar
1/2 pound white mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, halved lengthwise and sliced on the bias, 1/8 in thick
3 TBS juice from 2 limes
2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste (or more, for a spicier soup)

GARNISH: (do not omit)
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
2 fresh Thai, serrano, or jalapeno chiles, seeds and ribs removed, sliced thin
2 scallions, sliced thin on the bias
1 lime, cut into wedges

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until just shimmering. Add the lemon grass, shallots, chopped cilantro sprigs, and 1 TBS of the fish sauce. Cook, stirring frequently, until just softened but not browned - 2 to 5 minutes.

Stir in the chicken broth and 1 can of the coconut milk and bring to a simmer over high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until flavors have blended - about 10 minutes. Pour the broth through a fine-mesh strainer, discarding the solids left in the strainer. (At this point, the soup can be refrigerated for up to 1 day).

Return strained soup to a clean saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Stir in the remaining can of coconut milk and the sugar and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium, add the mushrooms and cook until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chicken and cook, stirring constantly, until no longer pink, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove soup from the heat.

Whisk together the lime juice, curry paste, and remaining 2 TBS fish sauce, then stir into the soup. Ladle soup into individual bowls and garnish with cilantro leaves, chiles, and scallions. Serve with the lime wedges.

Thanksgiving: Brought to you by my cell phone

2011-12-13T17:28:00.001-07:00

Disney on Ice. What this picture omits is my husband appearing with these hats on his head, four overpriced snow cones, four large sodas, and two bags of cotton candy tied to his belt.

If you were waiting around for good pictures, well, these are not those pictures. These are, however, a snapshot of the fun times we had in our long week in Texas. It's been a long time since I celebrated a major holiday with my brother and my sister, and now that we have three spouses and 5.5 kids between us (Liz is expecting her newest bundle 'o joy in May!), things are wild and wonderful.

Even the SD card on my good camera was dominated by blurry pictures of various family members engaged in wrestling and dodge ball matches - you'd think we spent the whole week in battle. So, it wasn't exactly a high-brow holiday. It was, however, wonderful.

I'll get you some of those good pictures.... you know... at some point.

In the meantime, here's the terrible ones! Hope your Thanksgiving was just as blurry and wonderful!

Up, up, and away!!

Even with some pretty exciting turbulence and mighty headwinds, flying is a welcome change to driving to Texas.

The newlyweds - baby brother James, and his lovely bride, Sara.

When did my son start to look just like my brother?

Muppet Mouth, and all? (I'm pretty sure Rome could also fit ten grapes in his mouth.)

And of course, there was the food. We started with a cheese and olive plate, an olive oil and balsamic vinegar tasting with homemade focaccia, and stuffed jalapenos wrapped in bacon. Salad course was spinach and orange salad with walnuts, followed by a soup course - butternut squash bisque. Our main course was a turducken with my dad's cranberry sauce, spinach madeline, cornbread dressing, seared brussel sprouts, and mashed potatoes. Bananas Foster and creme brulee for dessert, although nobody had enough stomach space for that creme brulee, and it had to wait until the next day. It was glorious, and totally worth the weight gain.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

Still here.

2011-12-01T13:39:00.000-07:00

Y'all really are a nice group of folks, you know that? I know I've been absent here - thanks to all of you who have checked on me lately. As we enter the last month of 2011, all I can say is... it's been real.

My plate has been full to the point of overflowing, with kids in school, R back home and finding work as challenging as ever, and my own editing career picking up some speed. Between deployments and other extended family separations, the regular sort of stress and excitement raising three kids brings along, and some deeply personal struggles that are not the kind of thing I feel comfortable sharing on a public forum, the last year has been challenging in ways that I never could have anticipated. That said, I can finally tell you that I am fairly certain that the light at the end of the tunnel is not a train.

The last month has been the good kind of busy - all five of us spent a week in Texas with my sister, her husband, and their girls, and their growing bun-in-the-oven (I got to hear the baby's heartbeat - squeee!!!). We celebrated Thanksgiving with my dad and my brother and his wife, and both the food and the company were equally fabulous. Now we enter the race to Christmas - the weeks when time speeds up dramatically every year, it seems.

I finally made my editing business official (got my DBA and everything!), and have a finished manuscript for a book I've been working on for about two years now. Hopefully the book will be published this year - appendices, references, and indexes are looming challenges. Seeing a "real" career start to develop has been exciting and a little scary - maintaining any kind of professional life is difficult for most military spouses, and I feel very fortunate for the opportunities I have in front of me.

The unexpected consequence of all of this is that I don't have as much energy leftover for blogging these days - I've had to cut back on my commitments all over the place, in order to make sure that there's enough left for the four very important people (and one very devoted dog) who live here with me. I'm also cultivating the lost art of self-care - boy, is that a tough one. I didn't realize quite how far behind I'd fallen on this one, and climbing out of that hole continues to be a rather monumental task.

So, while I have lots I want to share with you, realistic expectations mean that blogging will probably be more sporatic for awhile - maybe forever. Contrary to popular belief (and my own desperate wishes), I am not, in fact, Superwoman. I thank those of you who continue to check in - I promise I'll do my best to get things up for you to check out as often as I can manage (I've got at least half a dozen recipes for you! Stay tuned!).

xoxo

Me

Happy Halloween: Part Deux

2011-11-04T06:50:00.001-06:00

So..... guessing you want to see the kids, too?

How about some pumpkins instead? We outdid ourselves this year, if I do say so myself.

No? How about some cute homemade signs? The kids made them themselves.....

Specific. I like it.

Simple. To the point. Our future politician.

SHE WROTE "HALLOWEEN"!!! That is all.

No?

Okay, fine. Here are the little lunatics. They were awfully cute. Their enthusiasm is the only thing that makes this high-fructose corn syrup fueled holiday tolerable for me. They really, really, really, super love it.

Ladies and gentleman, I present for you, Tinkerbelle:

The Red Power Ranger:

Those skinny legs echo the spider quite nicely, don't you think?

And the ninja:

Happy now?

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-02T06:18:00.002-06:00

*Waiting for Oma and Opa*

October 2011

home

Happy Halloween: Part I

2011-10-31T18:45:00.000-06:00

My husband really gets into Halloween. It runs in the family - his mom has made it up (or down, as our geographical case may be) every Halloween except the two we were in Germany. She and her husband come out, decorate the house, carve the pumpkins, and generally make pagan merriment.

Yes, that's Oma, placing a dismembered hand under the lawnmower.

R's little homemade decoration. There's a bloody skull in a dog bowl that goes along with it. I'll spare you.

This is good, because this is pretty much how I feel about Halloween.

This IS my Halloween t-shirt. I did break out the red patent leather high heels and eyeliner. Does that count?

It works out fine, because R and his folks take the kids trick or treating, and I stay home and ~~drink wine~~ pass out candy. It's a good system.

R: "What spider?"

Me: "Bwah ha ha ha!!!"

Things are getting kind of wild around here, though. Our trick-or-treat entourage is getting pretty awesome. This year, it included three adults, two ninjas, a Power Ranger, a seventies throw-back rock star, a werewolf, a skeleton joker, Rapunzel, and Tinkerbell. In no particular order.

Actually, I'm pretty sure there was no order whatsoever.

I'm at home now, waiting for their return, so we can do our annual candy binge, and go to bed really late. (Whose idea was it to schedule Halloween on a Monday, huh??) And then, off to school they go tomorrow, so I can steal their peanut butter cups.

Happy Halloween!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-26T18:05:00.000-06:00

*It would seem fall has arrived. Snow flurries this afternoon.*
October 2011
my front steps

On silver linings.

2011-10-25T15:43:00.001-06:00

Let's be frank - my husband spent eight months away from home this year, and it's not even November yet. It's been a long, hard year for our family. There's just no sugar coating it. That said, homecomings are definitely one of those silver linings I've spent 2011 looking for.

This time, R flew into the regional airport while the kids were still in school. Until he got on that plane, I really wasn't sure he was coming home that day, so I kept the kids in the dark (better to be surprised than disappointed, let me tell you). They had a pre-arranged playdate with some friends who live a few houses down, so I dropped them off there right after school, and then conspired to walk down with R to pick them up a little while later.

Oh my. It was fantastic.

Guess who saw him first? Blurry picture, but that expression is PRICELESS.

Even walking home was an adventure. Notice how Rome is walking backwards - he just couldn't take his eyes off his Papa.

It was pretty nice that R got home early, and we got a couple hours to ourselves before the kids got home, because I'm pretty sure I didn't get a word in edgewise for at least two days.

Silver lining: I don't know if I will ever I take old-fashioned, unstructured, everyday family time for granted again. There really is nothing better, you know?

What you did.

2011-10-21T07:10:00.001-06:00

So, a very long time ago, I asked for help to buy a washing machine for the foster center where my children lived before they came home to us. Here's an excerpt of that post:

Last year, three children at the Thomas Center died of pneumonia, waiting for their new families. Take a minute, look at your children, and think of this. I am not exaggerating or speculating when I say that they could easily have been my children. When Lina came home, she had giardia, salmonella, and a respiratory infection that left her with reduced lung capacity and required steroids and breathing treatments to get under control. Our American doctor was worried that she might need to be hospitalized. If pneumonia had raced through the Thomas Center while she was still there, her little system might not have been strong enough to fight it, and plenty of the children there are much weaker than she was. The worst part is that these kids were so close to a new life, where things like that wouldn't threaten them anymore.

But here's the problem. Although handwashing is attended to with near fanaticism (people who eat with their hands are very clean), all clothes and linens are washed by hand, because there is no other way. Almost no one in Ethiopia, including our guest house, has a washing machine. Everything - clothes, sheets, diapers - is washed by hand in cold water, and then hung to dry in the cool damp air. It can take days for clothes to dry, and that's only if you have time to wait - otherwise, they just get worn wet. There are forty five children at the Thomas Center, coming in from various orphanages or even more desperate situations, bringing with them a constant barrage of parasites, bacteria, and viruses. Without a way to keep the most basic things clean, there is no way to stop the spread of disease.

Earlier this year, my mom traveled to Ethiopia to launch the Ethiopian Women's Empowerment Fund. She was able to visit the Thomas Center, and take a picture of the washing machine so many of you helped to buy.

To say I was astonished to see such a big machine is an understatement. It's been in operation for quite some time. Just thought you'd like to know.

Thank you.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-19T06:15:00.002-06:00

*In honor of my mother, whose birthday is today: Bete Giyorgis - The Church of St. George at Lalibela, Ethiopia*

St. George is a slayer of dragons, and considered a champion of women in Ethiopia. He and my mother have a lot in common. Happy birthday, Momma!

photo via Tumblr

Mondays in the Kitchen: Baked Ravioli (a.k.a. Fake Lasanga)

2011-10-17T09:15:00.001-06:00

While I'm not generally a fan of the doctor-ed up, sort-of homemade cooking school of thought, this particular recipe has somehow entered our standard rotation. Why is no mystery - the kids love (love!!) it, it takes me 20 minutes and one pot to prepare, and I can cram a whole lot of vegetables into it, given the willpower and freezer stockpile.

The first time I made it, the rave reviews included: "This tastes just like lasagna!" And so, Fake Lasagna was born. Now we eat it once a week - it is the answer to, "What the heck are we going to eat for dinner?" when "scrambled eggs" was last night's answer. (Yes, I've been without another adult in the house for eight months of the past year. The bar is LOW, people.)

But truthfully, I can think of nothing damning about this recipe - it's tasty, simple, adaptable, and nutritious. You could double it, or halve it, depending on how many mouths you have to feed, and it makes great leftovers. If you serve it with a salad, you'll be super virtuous, as I aspire to be, but we've been following it up with Your Choice from the Fruit Bowl. That works, too. These children are growing like weeds, and they all need a new winter wardrobe to prove it, so I must be doing something right, yes?

Baked Ravioli (a.k.a. Fake Lasagna)

1 bag frozen ravioli, any kind you like
1 jar decent spaghetti sauce (we like this one)
1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed mostly dry
any leftover veggies from the fridge (mushrooms and roasted veggies work beautifully for this)
dried basil, oregano, garlic powder, and/or Italian seasonings
generous handful grated mozzarella and/or provolone cheese
3 TBS panko bread crumbs
1 tsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 F. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil on the stove. Spray an 8 x 8 (or similarly sized) glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Pour in enough pasta sauce to cover the bottom - about a half cup. Shake it around a bit until the bottom is fully coated. Sprinkle a bit of basil, oregano, and garlic powder over the top of the sauce.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, toss the panko crumbs with the olive oil, salt and pepper, and a generous sprinkling of basil, oregano, and garlic powder. Set aside.

When the water comes to a boil, salt it generously (1 to 2 TBS kosher salt, depending on how much water is in your pot), and add the frozen ravioli. Cook until just heated through - when most of the ravioli begin to float. Drain, and return to the pot.

Add spinach, any other vegetables of your choosing, and enough sauce to coat the pasta well, to the pot. Toss gently, and pour the mixture into the baking dish. Top with the shredded cheese, and then with the seasoned panko crumbs. (This step can be done a couple of hours ahead. If you leave of the crumbs, you could probably do it a day ahead, or freeze the entire casserole for later reheating.)

Bake in 350 F oven until sauce is bubbly, and the crumbs on top are brown and crispy. Let cool five to ten minutes before serving.

A boat is a hole in the water....

2011-10-16T20:35:00.003-06:00

Well, if you have a boat, you know the rest of the joke.

A few days before R came home from his deployment (and no, he's still not home from his most recent foray - thanks for asking), I saw he was up on Instant Messanger, and asked him casually, "Hey, what are you up to?"

His response: "I'm about to buy a boat."

My response (and I stand by it): "Are you drunk?"

We had talked about this kayak thing for years and years. And years. But he finally found The One, and apparently, was hovering over the "Submit Order" button on Amazon when I interrupted him. And honestly? When your man has been gone for six-point-five months, forward deployed to a combat location, what are you going to say?

So, we have a boat. An inflatable kayak, to be precise. I did not want to love it. I really didn't. But, I kind of do. We first took it out of its handy duffel bag at the family reunion at the lake. I was very impressed with how quickly the assembly part went.

The boat weighs 53 pounds dry, and folds up to fit in a duffel bag. It's really kind of cool. The kids, outfitted to the gills, were impressed.

That's my husband - yes, every penny well spent.

The boat is light and maneuverable enough that we all can manage it, even me, with no boating experience whatsoever. We really are fond of the thing, and I love how portable it is. Now of course, that's not to say there aren't other, really engaging, lakeside activities:

Like hunting frogs.

Or being generally adorable.

We got a chance to take the boat out a few more times, and even go fishing, before R had to hit the road all too soon, and I have to tell you, I love being out on the water with my kids. Danny has a really wonderful sense for the whole thing - I put him in the front of the boat, and just followed his lead. I love his ability to be silent and totally present. Such a rare gift in a human being, and especially rare in a child. Being on the water with him feels like meditation.

Taking Rome out could not be more different - he has no internal monologue, but I just loved listening to him: "If you want to go right, you paddle left. Paddle left. Paddle left. Paddle left." I get so little time with my children individually - it was so special to be out on the water, in the quiet, with nothing else going on to distract us. (I didn't feel confident enough to take Lina out on my own just yet - we got shore-time together, and she and R had a grand old time paddling around.)

Good stuff, y'all. Good stuff. Now, to get more of it....yes, that would be the thing.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-12T17:24:00.000-06:00

*We love art camp.*
October 2011
South Dakota

Mondays in the Kitchen: Roasted Tomato Soup

2011-10-10T18:24:00.000-06:00

Nothing like having a husband gone for 42 days, following a six month deployment, to put the LONG in "long weekend." And because we are pragmatic up here in the Great Frozen North, they like to attach teacehr in-service days to three-day federal holidays, making a nice four day weekend. Looooooong weekend.

[Note: My husband has not had a federal holiday off since New Year's Day. He hasn't had a day off in a month. Thank a service member, y'all. And then, go vote.]

Luckily, we're having an uncommonly long summer around here. We've only had one real frost. It was enough to kill my cucumbers, green beans, and basil, but I covered my tomatoes, and they are all happily ripening on the vine. I have tomato issues - bringing in a dozen large, beautiful tomatoes a day. Apparently, I have finally planted enough tomatoes, because I have to admit, I am sick of them. So are my kids. And apparently the dog only eats cherry tomatoes, so we have tomato issues.

I'd love to say I've been doing all sorts of great, creative things with these lovely fruits, but that would make me a liar. Mostly, I've been giving them away to anyone who will take them, and tossing them with garlic vinagrette (not a bad option, really, but we're all a little weary of it).

Enter roasted tomato soup. My sister introduced me to this marvel, and since it requires so little of me to make large, freezable batches, it's actually happened. Twice. This soup is easy and delicious, but do not attempt it with tomatoes that are less than wonderful. You could blanch and peel the tomatoes before roasting, but I don't - I just puree the skins along with everything else.

Roasted Tomato Soup

6-8 large, ripe tomatoes, cut into 2 inch wedges
1 red onion, chopped into 1 inch pieces
3-4 cloves garlic, peeled
olive oil
salt and pepper
about 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
basil - fresh if you've got it (optional)
cream (optional, but recommended. really, really recommended)

Preheat your oven to 450 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, to make clean-up easier and spray it with nonstick spray. In a large bowl, toss the tomatoes with the onions and garlic, and enough olive oil to coat them well. Season with salt and pepper. Pour tomatoes, onto the baking sheet, and roast until tomatoes and onions are soft, and nice and browned in places, stirring occasionally - 20 minutes or so.

Transfer vegetables, and any juices, to a large heavy pot. Add broth, and puree with an immersion blender. (You could do this in batches in a blender, also.) When as smooth as you like it, bring to a simmer. If you're using dried basil, add about a teaspoon here. If you're using fresh, you'll want to add a small handful right at the end to avoid muting the flavors. Simmer for 20 minutes or so, until flavors are blended. Adjust seasonings to taste - you might need a teaspoon or two of sugar if your tomatoes are particularly acidic.

Serve with crusty bread (we did cheesy garlic bread, and called it a meal), and a splash of cream in each bowl. You could add the cream to the pot, and warm it up (don't boil it, or it will curdle), but if you're freezing leftovers, you're better off adding it to individual bowls.

Bon appetit!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-28T16:05:00.000-06:00

*We haven't talked about Lina's hair in awhile. Here's her newest style.*
September 2011

There's a lot of us, eh?

2011-09-27T06:15:00.005-06:00

This picture would be more effective in panorama.

Just two days after R returned from his deployment, we piled into the minivan (Oh, how I love my minivan. It's true. I'm a convert.), and headed east to Minnesota for a family reunion with R's dad's family. My father-in-law is one of seven children, and we all - ALL of us - met at a resort on a lake for the long weekend. For the first time in more years than anyone can remember, every single person - child, grandchild, great-grandchild, and in-law - was there, from all over the Midwest, and one couple all the way from Arizona. That makes forty-one people, y'all.

This was particularly special, because R's grandmother spent the spring battling a very severe illness. She is well on her way to recovery, but it was a scary few months. Being all together was especially important this time around. She and Grandpa celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this spring, but the festivities had to be postponed, due to her illness. We were so glad she was in good shape. Her good spirits really go without saying - she is one of the most genuinely happy people I've ever known.

Mustaches, of course, liven up every party.

And pinatas!

We also had a great time swimming and paddling in the lake, and hanging out at the water park (oh my gosh - my kids are brave!). We arrived the Week of the Leopard Frog - the entire property was covered by one-inch long frogs. The boys caught frogs from dawn until dusk. R declared that after that week, he was quite certain there was no shortage of leopard frogs anywhere in the world.

But mostly, it was just really neat to be all together.

R's grandparents in the middle, surrounded by all their grandchildren. We should all be so lucky.

Mondays in the Kitchen: Pasta with Ricotta and Roasted Tomatoes

2011-09-26T14:37:00.000-06:00

As of today, R has been gone a month. In the year 2011, I have spent approximately six weeks under the same roof as my husband, and to be frank, things are getting rough. School is going great for the kids, giving me quite a lot more down-time, which is good, of course, but still. This is not what we thought our fall would look like.

Especially when I planted my garden, anticipating two grown-ups eating in my house during the time of plenty (read: NOW). I have tomatoes coming out my ears, and I've been so busy that we've been eating ..... pizza. Yeah - not even the homemade kind.

All of this is well and good - this is what we call "survival parenting." Until last night, when Rome asked me if tomorrow, we could have, "a real meal." I asked him what he meant, and he said, "You know, like YOU cook." Busted.

I found this recipe on Real Simple, and that's exactly what it is. It is also delicious. I threw in an extra zucchini I had in the fridge - you could add red onions, eggplant, mushrooms, or any number of veggies that make you happy. And..... it's done in under a half hour. No kidding. And lucky me - I could make it with ingredients I had in my garden, my pantry, and my fridge (I've been ~~cursed~~ blessed with copious amounts of raw milk from our CSA, and have been making ricotta like it's going out of style. My freezer is well stocked). Score!

This makes a great meatless dish, but you could pair it with grilled chicken or shrimp, if that's your preference. The original recipe called for spaghetti, but I had farfalle, and that worked just fine (and is a little easier for kids to eat - if you're feeding ~~ungrateful short people~~ children like I do.)

Pasta with Ricotta and Roasted Tomatoes

2 pints grape tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, lightly smashed
1 TBS olive oil
12 oz pasta - about 3/4 box
1 cup ricotta
1/4 cup chopped parsley
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

Heat oven to 450 F. On a rimmed baking sheet - lined with foil for easy clean-up, if you'd like, toss the tomatoes, garlic, (and any optional veggies you're including) with the oil. Roast for 8 to 10 minutes, until the tomatoes burst. Remove from oven, and set aside. When cool enough to handle, remove garlic cloves from the pan. Chop them roughly, and then smash the roasted cloves to a paste with the side of your knife. Set aside.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions in salted water. Reserve 3/4 cup of pasta cooking water, and drain pasta. Return to pot.

Toss the pasta with ricotta, parsley, garlic paste, and enough of the pasta cooking water to make a nice sauce that will coat the pasta. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve the pasta topped with the roasted tomatoes. Mmmmmmmm.......

First day of school! First day of school!

2011-09-17T07:36:00.001-06:00

Due to my "vacation," we may be working backwards in time for a little while, but I thought I ought to get those First Day of School Pictures up before their first month of school was over. (And for those of you without little kids, I apologize for the Nemo reference - it really was kind of like that. The kids were excited, too....)

Can I say how great it is to have three kids who are totally stoked for school? General report is that all of their teachers are "awesome," their classmates are "nice," and Rome tells me that the school cafeteria serves "the best hamburgers EVER." Both boys have some good friends in their classes again, and Lina's class includes a little girl we've known awhile, who has two brothers adopted from Ethiopia, and another Ethiopian boy. Another charming bonus of being in the same place for a few years in a row: Rome has Danny's first grade teacher, and Lina has Rome's kindergarten teacher. As a parent, this is awfully reassuring - knowing (and liking) two of the three teachers, before the school year even gets off the ground.

Rome, ready for first grade, and his first "hot lunch." It was everything he dreamed it would be.

Danny, off to third grade. How did THAT happen?

Here's Lina on her fake first day of school - school started on a Monday, but because of gradual enrollment of kindergarten, she didn't start until Thursday. She wanted a picture with her backpack anyway.

Here she is on her REAL first day:

To say she was excited would be an understatement. She has literally (literally) not stopped talking about kindergarten, to anyone who will listen - and plenty of people who are not listening, since starting two weeks ago. I am beyond thrilled to see her so happy.

So there you go - first day of school pictures, and September isn't even over yet. Considering R left before the crack of dawn on their first day of school for a temporary job in New Mexico, and will be home again before Halloween if we're lucky, their enthusiasm is really commendable. I guess we're all just used to it by now, eh?

And, oh, the beautiful silence in the house....I could get used to that.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-14T06:56:00.009-06:00

Danny's sidewalk art
August 2011
my back porch

Mondays in the Kitchen: Key Lime Pie

2011-09-12T21:15:00.000-06:00

This is what key lime pie looks like in Heaven. This is not my pie.

Key Lime Pie has a long and tarnished reputation in this family. When R and I had just began dating (many, many moons ago....), we used to go out to dinner with his folks quite regularly. (Nice of them to feed us poor, broke college kids, by the way). On more than one occasion, when dessert was ordered, I was warned, "Never, ever, EVER, let R order the key lime pie, unless you plan on eating it yourself."

Apparently, he had a history of deciding it sure sounded good, ordering it, and then remembering that he actually didn't like key lime pie after all, after he had a couple of bites. And we are not a family who wastes pie, so other folks, who might have been in the mood for, say, molten chocolate cake, end up eating key lime pie instead.

Fast-forward approximately ...... 150 moons. (Wow - that's a lot.) All without key lime pie ever being ordered in a restaurant.

Somewhere in his travels, R has had a few slices of key lime pie here and there, in various chow halls and other eating establishments. He announced pretty recently that he has decided that he does, indeed, like key lime pie, regardless of what his family might have told me all those years ago. When I found a bag of key limes on sale at the grocery store up here in the Great Soon-To-Be Frozen North, I thought I'd better seize the day. (It helps that my sister gave me a handy citrus juicer for my birthday, which makes turning out more than a squeeze of juice a much less daunting task). Lo and behold, when I turned to my old pal, Cooks Illustrated, I discovered I didn't need key limes after all. I could have been making ~~regular~~ key lime pie all along!

We learned two things in this adventure. One: Tastes do change, and R does indeed like key lime pie, now that he's rounded the bend into his thirties. Two: Key lime pie is a cinch to make.

[Small aside: For somebody who professes not to enjoy baking, I realize I post quite a lot of baked goods on this blog. I guess I'm just so darn proud of myself when I do get around to it.]

Alas, I did not have the foresight to take any decent pictures of this pie before we were polishing off the leftovers. Please enjoy these unflattering pictures of my children (and my pie) being unphotogenic.

Nice pie face, Rome.

Lina wanted her turn to be in a bad photograph. Rome wins, I think.

Bad photography be darned, you should really try this recipe, while it's still warm out. It doesn't take long to bake, so it won't heat up your house, and it can be made well ahead. It is refreshing and tart - the perfect dessert to follow up something cooked on the grill and eaten outdoors on the patio.

~~Regular~~ Key Lime Pie
from who else, but Cook's Illustrated. God bless 'em.

Lime Filling:
4 teaspoons grated lime zest
1/2 cup lime juice, from 3 to 4 limes (for the love of all things holy, please use fresh squeezed)
4 large egg yolks
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

Graham Cracker Crust
11 graham crackers, processed to fine dust (or you can buy the box of pre-made crumbs - either way, it should equal about 1 1/4 cups)
3 TBS granulated sugar
5 TBS unsalted butter, melted

Whipped Cream Topping
* this part is optional. I didn't make it, but I thought you might, so here you go. I'm sure that's how they make it in Heaven.
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 confectioners sugar
1/2 lime, sliced paper thin and dipped in sugar (optional)

For the filling: Whisk zest and yolks in a medium bowl, until tinted light green - about 2 minutes. Beat in the milk, then the juice. Set aside at room temperature to thicken.

For the crust: (Yes, I know you can go buy a pre-made graham cracker crust. This really is much better, and worth the small effort.) Adjust oven rack to center position, and heat to 325 degrees. Mix sugar and crumbs in a medium bowl. Add butter; stir with a fork until well blended. Pour mixture into a 9-inch pie pan; press crumbs over the bottom of the pan and up the sides to form an even crust. Bake until lightly browned and fragrant, about 15 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack, and cool until room temperature - about 20 minutes.

Pour lime filling into cooled crust, and bake until center is set, but still wiggly when jiggled (yes, that's verbatim instructions - I didn't make that up) - 15 to 17 minutes. Return to wire rack. Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least three hours. (Can be covered with lightly oiled plastic wrap placed directly on the filling, and refrigerated for up to a day).

For the whipped cream (and the more ambitious bakers than myself): Up to two hours before serving, whip cream in a medium bowl until very soft peaks form. Adding confectioners sugar one tablespoon at a time, whip until just-stiff peaks form. Decoratively pipe whipped cream over filling (ha! not in my house...), or spread evenly with a rubber spatula (that's more like it). Garnish with optional sugared lime slices, and serve.

(That last part will probably get you prettier pictures than I got - let me know how it goes.)

2011-09-11T08:50:00.000-06:00

Every year, I try to find the words. I try to put a box around September 11, 2001, explain how it changed everything, for so many of us. I fail every year.

My children will never know a pre-9/11 world. What they know is deployment after deployment, a world at war. Last week, they asked me who we are fighting. I have no good answer for them. I'm not sure that I know anymore. "Terrorism" is nebulous and inadequate as an answer, and it offers no forseeable end.

Ten years ago, I was hundreds of miles away from my husband, just like I am today. A decade later, we find ourselves apart for seven months of this year, as a consequence of that day, and the choices made in the aftermath. And our sacrifice is so small, in comparison to the losses that so many others have suffered.

I want to believe that the good that came out of the tragedy outweighs the trauma, loss, and sadness borne by so many. But my heart breaks again today, and I am not so sure.

Hope feels like a robin's egg in my heart - fragile, and so small. Today I pray the prayer of every soldier's wife: a prayer for peace.

The Names

a poem written by poet laureate, Billy Collins, a year after the attacks

Yesterday, I lay awake in the palm of the night.
A soft rain stole in, unhelped by any breeze,
And when I saw the silver glaze on the windows,
I started with A, with Ackerman, as it happened,
Then Baxter and Calabro,
Davis and Eberling, names falling into place
As droplets fell through the dark.
Names printed on the ceiling of the night.
Names slipping around a watery bend.
Twenty-six willows on the banks of a stream.
In the morning, I walked out barefoot
Among thousands of flowers
Heavy with dew like the eyes of tears,
And each had a name --
Fiori inscribed on a yellow petal
Then Gonzalez and Han, Ishikawa and Jenkins.
Names written in the air
And stitched into the cloth of the day.
A name under a photograph taped to a mailbox.
Monogram on a torn shirt,
I see you spelled out on storefront windows
And on the bright unfurled awnings of this city.
I say the syllables as I turn a corner --
Kelly and Lee,
Medina, Nardella, and O'Connor.
When I peer into the woods,
I see a thick tangle where letters are hidden
As in a puzzle concocted for children.
Parker and Quigley in the twigs of an ash,
Rizzo, Schubert, Torres, and Upton,
Secrets in the boughs of an ancient maple.
Names written in the pale sky.
Names rising in the updraft amid buildings.
Names silent in stone
Or cried out behind a door.
Names blown over the earth and out to sea.
In the evening -- weakening light, the last swallows.
A boy on a lake lifts his oars.
A woman by a window puts a match to a candle,
And the names are outlined on the rose clouds --
Vanacore and Wallace,
(let X stand, if it can, for the ones unfound)
Then Young and Ziminsky, the final jolt of Z.
Names etched on the head of a pin.
One name spanning a bridge, another undergoing a tunnel.
A blue name needled into the skin.
Names of citizens, workers, mothers and fathers,
The bright-eyed daughter, the quick son.
Alphabet of names in a green field.
Names in the small tracks of birds.
Names lifted from a hat
Or balanced on the tip of the tongue.
Names wheeled into the dim warehouse of memory.
So many names, there is barely room on the walls of the heart.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-07T12:18:00.000-06:00

*tomato season in the garden*
South Dakota
September 2011

Homecoming Pictures

2011-09-06T15:38:00.000-06:00

So, we're back. The kids are back in school, the weather is agreeable, and it's time to get back on the wagon. First things first: those homecoming pictures.

Back when R's homecoming date was still months away, my sister ~~begged~~ asked me to ask a friend to take some pictures when he came home. It was good advice - I don't have any from his return from Iraq in 2008. I left my camera at home because my kids were tiny and required a lot of supervision, and because I wanted to really be present for the moment, and not stuck behind the lens. Lucky for me, I have a new friend here in the squadron who has the double bonus of being a very talented professional photographer (hi, Joice!), and also not being one of the many of us whose spouses were returning that night. I am so grateful she agreed to take pictures, for our family, and for lots of other families, too. The pictures are priceless.

It was an absolutely gorgeous South Dakota night - they just don't get any more perfect.

Waiting for Papa was hard, but it was worth it!

There he is! Six feet, none touching the ground.

My poor, sweet boys were a little overwhelmed.

As far as good days go, this was one of the best. Ever.

[Sadly, our family-of-five reuion was short-lived - R left on Monday for another month (or so... you never know with these things) away. This time, he's "just" in New Mexico, so at least the time difference is easier to manage. Military life - not for the faint of heart.]

Summer Vacation

2011-08-23T17:13:00.000-06:00

Well, "vacation" is probably too strong a word. R has been after me since he got home to just sit down every now and then, for Pete's sake. Busy is my default, especially after six months of solo parenting, when there is always something that should have been done yesterday, and already too much on your plate for tomorrow.

You know you wish THIS was on your plate.

In any case, this is the last week of my kids' summer vacation. The boys start school on Monday, and Lina will start on Thursday (like Rome, she will attend her first day of kindy with a quarter of her classmates, and then the full class will attend together on Friday). The short season of abundance is upon us, and my empty pantry shelves are nagging at me to get my canner out again. Trail running, my favorite way to stay in my jeans, is possible, and even pleasant this time of year. I am editing a book that should be out this fall, and I'm a bit behind. It's always something.

So, I'm making the obvious official - I'm putting the blog on summer vacation until after Labor Day. I'll be back in September, with overdue summer pictures and First Day of School updates. And maybe a few more of these on my shelves.

xoxo

Mondays in the Kitchen: Garlicky Green Beans

2011-08-08T19:19:00.000-06:00

My poor garden has been so neglected this year. I've barely weeded, I've barely watered, and with the exception of a cucumber plant that totally vanished from existence while I was in Texas, the carrot seeds Rome drowned before they got a chance to start, and three tomato plants that have gorgeous, vigorous plants but no actual tomatoes, my garden has been generous and forgiving. I have lettuce coming out of my ears, including volunteer plants from last year. My pickling cucumbers have gone gang-busters, and I have pickled nothing. My beautiful rainbow chard is lovely, despite regular peltings by thunderstorms and hail. I finally found a spot I could plant basil and actually get it to grow.

The rainbow over my garden the night R came home. Pretty neat, huh?

And until the last few days, we've been eating, among other things, spaghetti sauce out of the freezer. I feel terrible - eating fresh out of the garden is a primal joy for me, but oy vey - I have been busy. R has two weeks of "reconstitution" leave, which has been glorious, but does throw the schedule off a bit.

I have, however, been able to make use of the green beans flooding the garden, mostly with this very simple recipe. The other advantage is that, since you're parboiling already, if you have extra beans, it's easy to parboil them, too, and then toss them in a freezer bag for wintertime goodness. (I've got exactly...one.... such bag. But it's a start, yes?).

This recipe goes well with... just about anything. If you happen to be home during the day, the green beans can be parboiled well ahead of time (even a day ahead) and refrigerated. Bring them to room temperature before sauteeing.

Garlicky Green Beans

1 1/2 lbs green beans, trimmed of tough ends
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 TBS vegetable oil, or extra-virgin olive oil, if you prefer it
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Fill a large bowl with ice water, and set aside. When the water boils, add about 1 TBS of salt to the water. Add green beans to the boiling salted water, in batches if necessary, for about 90 seconds, until crisp-tender. Remove beans from the pot, and immediately submerge in the bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. When all of the beans have been parboiled and cooled, transfer them to a colander and set aside.

[NOTE: I find this easiest to do in small-ish batches, using a fine mesh sieve with a handle. The sieve works well to drop the beans in the pot and fish them out again, and then drop them into the ice water.]

Add the oil and minced garlic to a large skillet. Heat skillet over medium-low heat, until garlic is fragrant and begins to soften. Raise heat to medium-high, and add green beans all at once. Cook, stirring often to prevent garlic from burning, until beans are tender and speckled brown in a few places. Remove from heat, add salt and pepper to taste, and serve immediately. (For what it's worth, my kids eat these like french fries, minus the ketchup, but with equal enthusiasm.)

Rome is six!!

2011-08-07T20:48:00.000-06:00

Now seriously - how can that be right? How can my tiny baby be six years old, and first grade bound? I know I say this every year, but it certainly hasn't gotten any less shocking. (Makes me wonder if my mother feels the same way, as I have turned the corner into my early thirties....).

By some twist of the universe, the weeks or days prior to Rome's birthday seem to always be filled with drama - moving to Germany in 2006, bringing home two new kids in 2007, moving away from Germany in 2008, a worst-case scenario wisdom tooth removal in 2009, meningitis in 2010, and this year, a lovely but complicated homecoming, weighed down a bit by some private business that I won't be blogging about here. (Kids okay, marriage is good, everybody healthy, and R's job is secure - life sometimes throws you unexpected curveballs that there are no way to avoid - hence my unexplained absence here as of late.) I feel bad for Rome that his big day has so often found me overwhelmed by other life events.

He, on the other hand, seems to notice not at all. He and Danny already had their birthday party, so today will be his "family party." He wants a yo-yo and a microscope and a Pirate Dinner (meaning, all components of the meal can be eaten without utensils - very popular with the younger crowd around here). He chose hamburgers, french fries, and spinach salad he can "eat without a fork." His cake: banana cupcakes with chocolate frosting, and the obvious choice for ice cream: mint chocolate chip. (Whatever - it's his birthday, right?)

We went out for breakfast en famille this morning, so the birthday boy could get french toast, and run around like a lunatic in public. We followed that up with an emergency trip to Target to replace his water shoes (he somehow lost one of them yesterday..... how do these things happen?), and then headed for a gorgeous hike through the hills, including several river crossings - hence the need for water shoes. This evening, he's been happily watching movies on the couch, and waiting patiently for his presents. Of our three, he is definitely the most gracious birthday boy.

Now let me tell you about Rome. He is a kid who is on fire for learning. For Christmas, I got him an anatomy book, which he has pored over. My sister gave him a model of the human body for his birthday, and he nearly came out of his skin with excitement. He told me yesterday, "When I'm six, I'll be big. I think I'm going to do Big Things." He is unbelievably driven to understand how the world works around him, asking questions that are so complex and unusual that it often takes me awhile to figure out what exactly he's trying to find out, only to discover that I have no idea what the answer is. My favorite example recently was when, after seeing a watermelon in the pool at my aunt and uncle's house, and then eating chunks of watermelon later, he asked me if you carve a watermelon "like a pumpkin," and if so, how you glue the rind back together - it took me a good ten minutes to figure out that the answer is: "There were TWO watermelons. One in the pool, and one we ate." His follow-up question to this discussion: "How do you make bricks?"

(Rome's lightning fast mind and constant questions have become a bit of party trick for me - I was telling my brother about that conversation, and suggested that we go find Rome and see if he had any questions. Without a moment's pause, Rome looked at the new Marine, and asked, "How do you blow up a castle?").

He is by far my most emotive kid - whatever he's feeling, you'll know it. He greets life with total enthusiasm - he is utterly fearless, and will stick with a task until he's got it figured out, no matter how long it takes. He's got a knack for navigation - he's becoming quite the little backseat driver, but it's pretty cool to see how well he can get himself around town (Yesterday, he pointed in three different directions at an intersection: "Mama, this way goes to Safeway. That way goes to the highway, and that way goes to the airport." All correct.) In the last year, he's grown close to two inches, and learned to read, swim, and do multiplication in his head. He remains deeply compassionate, sensitive, and considerate of the beings he shares his wide world with, even if his impulse control hasn't quite caught up with all his good intentions. He'll get there.

Sometimes (most of the time), I just can't quite believe this amazing little guy came from me - he's such an astonishing human being, all his own person. Rome's birthday marks my walk into motherhood, but his journey is so clearly his own now, and the pride and love I feel for him has no bounds. Rome, you are, as you have always been, a miracle, and being your mama is has made me a better, braver, more compassionate, and more deeply human person. Thanks for letting me join you on your ride on this planet.

xoxo

Mama

Happy, happy, joy, joy!!

2011-07-28T10:53:00.000-06:00

Last night, on an absolutely perfect South Dakota summer night, a big old airliner brought my husband back to me. The kids are ecstatic, the dog came unglued, and I feel like I exhaled for the first time in months. In my little world, all is right today.

To all of you who have been by my side, holding me up the last six months, thank you. I couldn't have done it without you.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-27T07:25:00.000-06:00

*a real improvement*
July 2011

Mondays in the Kitchen: Crispy Kale

2011-07-25T06:35:00.004-06:00

I know, I know. I was a skeptic, too. I grew Russian kale in my garden this year mostly because it's pretty, and also because it's nutritious and we're supposed to eat it. R, who is a great sport about all my kitchen adventures, does have one culinary foe: dark, leafy greens. I've tried all sorts of things, and generally speaking, his perspective is, "This tastes great - too bad there's leaves in it." The fact that beautiful Russian kale is thriving in my garden is not something he's particularly stoked about.

To be honest, this is the very first thing I've done with it - it's been getting bigger and bigger, and has gotten no attention from me whatsoever. Well, this recipe changed all that.

The kids ate it standing up at the counter, burning their fingers in their haste, and expressing genuine disappointment when they found out there was no more left. R is still not home, but I have high hopes for this recipe - it's kind of a cross between roasted broccoli and potato chips. (I know! I didn't believe it, either! Trust me, okay?)

Also? It's super simple. Only four ingredients, a pan, and a bowl. I served it with this main dish, but it would compliment everything from burgers to lasagna. Be brave - just try it. Like Thumper said, "Eating greens is a special treat...."

Crispy Kale with Garlic
adapted from this recipe at Steamy Kitchen - check her pictures out; they're way prettier than mine.

4 very large handfuls of kale, torn into bite sized pieces, tough stems removed (about 1/3 lb)
1-2 TBS olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed with the flat side of a knife
kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350 F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the kale into a salad spinner, and spin all the water out. Dump the water out, and spin a couple more times, to be sure it's as dry as possible. Place the kale on several layers of paper towels, and make sure it's really really dry (this will make the difference between crispy kale and steamed kale). For real. Really dry. Got it?

Put the kale into a large bowl, along with the smashed clove of garlic. Drizzle with olive oil, and toss with your hands, making sure the kale is evenly coated. DO NOT SALT IT. (You'll salt it after you cook it - if you do it, now, you'll pull water out of the leaves, and get steamed kale, and you will call me a liar.)

Spread it evenly over the parchment paper, and put it in the oven for 12-20 minutes. The time can vary widely, depending on how much olive oil you use, and how thick your kale leaves are. Check them at 12 minutes, and then continue toasting them for two minutes at a time, if they're not crispy yet, tossing them gently a little bit with tongs, if it seems necessary. Do not let the leaves turn brown - they'll be bitter.

When the leaves are all crisp, remove from oven, sprinkle with salt, and serve immediately.

Children's Museum Montage

2011-07-21T07:48:00.000-06:00

Back when we were in Texas, we spent a day at the Children's Museum in Dallas. With five kids going in approximately six directions at any given moments, it wasn't exactly a linear experience, so a montage of my favorite moments seems like the logical way to share the day with you, Dear Readers. Pardon the random nature - such is the way of children.

Getting a decent picture of five children at the same time = Mission Impossible

Giant sneezing nose. Both hilarious and terrifying.

This picture captures EXACTLY how Lina feels about spiders.

Cutest Ladybugs Evah.

Um.... not totally sure what's going on here.

They do this more than you'd expect. Brotherly love rocks.

This picture cracks me up - where is Lina, other than in the reflection??

Girls on a mission.

We may have an operator error.

Sure sign of a good day. I think I took this picture before we were out of the parking lot.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-20T06:15:00.000-06:00

*Tommy's day lily - the first one to bloom at this house*
South Dakota
July 2011

Birthday Par-Tay

2011-07-16T21:06:00.000-06:00

So, I may have mentioned once or twice that, with all of our birthdays (even the dog's - although we do not celebrate hers) falling between mid-May and the first week of August, birthday season gets a little intense around here. When you factor in multiple celebrations with multiple sets of grandparents, things can get ~~wildly out of hand~~ pretty busy. And by August, I am completely and utterly sick of birthday cake.

This year, birthday season has been even wilder than usual, and I decided to contract all the parties out. I also ~~conned the boys into~~ suggested to the boys that they share a party, offering either our usual backyard sprinkler party for each of them, or a joint party at a gymnastics school. Being smart kids, they totally went for that second option, and we celebrated the two of them today. It worked out perfectly, especially since it was 100F (38 C?) today - hot even for a sprinkler party.

The theme was eclectic.

The kids had a fabulous time.

Run, Lina, run!

This is Maggie. I really like her style.

This is the only picture I have of Danny that is not blurry.

As usual, it's not a party until Rome gets his groove on. Get down with your bad self, son.

There was only one injury (which was neither inflicted by nor recieved by one of my children - hooray! Sorry, Richard...), and one minor catastrophe:

No, that wall actually WASN'T as solid as it looked...

And then there were cupcakes!

And then, there was this exact moment (see above) when my camera battery ran out, and that's all she wrote. Y'all will have to imagine the boys blowing out their candles and tearing into their presents. While you're at it, imagine this crew going bonkers in a small room, with no soft surfaces - it was LOUD. Also, imagine coming back to my house, which was completely untouched by all this ~~insanity~~ fun. Ahhhhh.

Family-versary

2011-07-14T06:15:00.031-06:00

Today marks four years since we all came back from Ethiopia together, and began our life as a family. The first picture is the last family picture we have of the five of us, taken in January, but if the good Lord is willing and the creeks don't rise, we'll have new ones pretty soon.

We keep this day low key around here, because, like many new beginnings (childbirth comes to mind...), it was a hard day, especially for my children. Their bravery during that time was something unlike I have ever seen. Many families celebrate "Gotcha Day," but that doesn't feel right for us, so I just hug my kids extra tight on July 14th, and keep their first family extra close in my thoughts.

This was the first year I even mentioned it to Danny, and he agreed: "Mama, it's kind of happy and sad." I told him that he can feel however he wants to about it, and as he gets older, if he feels like it's something he wants to celebrate more, we'll honor it however he wants to. This year, we just talked about it.

You can see this mix of feelings in one of our first family pictures - R and I couldn't have been happier to be holding our babies, but it's clear that the children don't feel the same. That's okay. Paperwork does not a family make, but time and love does.

Happy Family-versary, to my children, and my husband. Thanks to all of you for all that you have given me, including all of the opportunities for growth, compassion, and love beyond my wildest imagination. I love all of you, beyond words.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-13T20:25:00.000-06:00

The Black Hills
July 2011

Danny is nine!

2011-07-12T06:00:00.011-06:00

With this birthday, I enter my last year without children in the double digits. I'm told he's officially a "tween" - whatever that means. (Does it mean the slight air of attitude we've been seeing lately? Cuz if so, I'm not telling him anything about it.) His last single digit birthday feels like a big milestone for me, though.

The truth is, he's grown up a lot in the last year. Maybe it's the deployment, maybe it's just the age - but he's gone from "little boy" to "big boy" all of a sudden, it seems. I see flashes of his teenage and grown-man self on a daily basis, and often in a good way. The other day, I asked him to check a load of laundry in the dryer, and tell me if it was dry, and he took it out, put it in a basket, and brought it to me, all on his own. He has a self-sustaining social life now, and we've got this marvelous pack of boys that rotate houses around the neighborhood, sometimes raising ruckus, and sometimes surprising me by sitting for great lengths of times deep in conversation (oh, to be a fly on the wall....).

Did I mention he is also very patient?

Always the artist, he has left behind dinosaurs, put superheroes aside just a bit, and turned his focus to big cats - mountain lions in particular. He is both fascinated and terrified by them - you never met a kid more thrilled by the idea of getting in an altercation with a large predator (we're hoping to avoid this scenario, but he asks every time we go hiking or camping.) He learned how to "do research" on the computer at school, and loves to look at Google images of his newest interests.

Academically, this was a stellar year for him. He soared, especially with reading and writing. He finished up the school year by reading James and the Giant Peach. He had a great teacher, and a great class - the combination gave him the last little boost he needed, and he finished the year at or above grade level in everything. This is expecially amazing when you consider he only learned English four years ago! We are so very proud of him, and all his hard work this year.

He is still a gifted athlete - this summer, learning how to swim was his big accomplishment. Once he got the hang of it, it was just amazing to see how quickly he got confident in the water. A good deal of his identity is tied up in being fast - getting him to wear snowboots this winter was a battle I could not win, because they slowed him down (apparently wet tennis shoes are faster in snow - who knew?). He stunned us all with the ease with which he could pick up his cousin Alyssa, who weighs approximately half his body weight - he can lift her in the air, straight armed, like a figure skater. Even I can't do that (well, at least not more than once, which he definitely could.) He does push-ups that would put many a grown man to shame, and seems to get more coordinated by the day.

As the deployment draws to a close (can I get a "hallelujia" from the choir?), I can't quite find words to express how grateful I have been to have spent the last six months with Danny. His helpful and sweet attitude, his teamwork, and his generous spirit were a blessing, and more help than I ever anticipated (or expected). He has risen to every challenge I have put in front of him, and made solo parenting so much more do-able. More importantly, HE has handled the deployment beautifully - being both brave and open about his own challenges.

My Danny, my oldest son - I see in you these days the man that you will grow into, and I am so proud, I could burst. I am lucky just to know you, and blessed beyond words to be your mother. You are a beautiful soul, a brave champion, and a phenomenal human being. Happy birthday, sweetheart.

xoxo

Mama

"Shoot 'em, Elizabeth!!"

2011-06-24T07:10:00.006-06:00

During our visit, my sister introduced me to Swamp People on the History Channel - oh dear, it's almost enough to make me get cable again. I love this show. This is where my people come from, y'all. We may have moved out of the swamp a couple of generations ago, but just the accents are enough to transport me back home.

After all the guests had left the reception for my brother and his new bride, we pulled out the crawfish leftover from the Louisiana boil, popped open a bottle of champagne, and things really got cooking.

Sara, bless her heart, was not so sure about this crawfish thing....

And we came up with this great theory - you know Troy?

(For the unitiated, here's a clip.)

He sounds just like my uncle, if my uncle had ten grapes in his mouth. Because my brother has a very large mouth, we decided to test the theory.

....four, five, six.....

....seven, eight.....

....nine.... TEN!!

Now say, "Shoot 'em, Elizabeth!"

AND THE CROWD GOES WILD!!!!

Now, chewing ten grapes - that's a project only a Marine could manage without gagging. And also - here is the proof that he may be a six-and-a-half foot tall, trained killing machine, but his big sisters can still get him to do dumb stuff for our entertainment.

My baby brother - the best present my parents ever got me.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-22T10:17:00.000-06:00

Dallas, Texas
June 2011

Louisiana Crawfish Boil

2011-06-21T10:39:00.000-06:00

Because my sister and I are ~~insane~~ totally awesome mothers and a really good team, last week, we strapped all five kids into the minivan, and drove eight hours to my hometown in South Louisiana.


The photo really doesn't quite capture it. At a gas station, somebody asked Liz what we had done to deserve this.

To their credit, the kids did great, especially the big ones. Alyssa did as well as one would expect from at two-year-old, although we did confirm that for some reason, she hates the town of Forney, Texas, and has to have a tantrum within a 30 mile radius of the place, regardless from which direction you are driving. She was also not pleased to discover that Road Trip Nanny is not quite as fun as At Home Nanny, and I will make Dora disappear when children are screaming. I won.

Despite getting only slightly turned around in the ~~Bermuda Triangle~~ Nachitoches exit we chose for lunch, we made it down and back without incident. [Side note: It seems I lose my sense of direction entirely when I cross the Louisiana border - I can't even tell you how many times I got us completely lost. Sorry, Liz.]

One of the highlights of our visit was a real-deal Cajun crawfish boil my uncle cooked for us. I haven't been to one in at least ten years, although they were a regular part of my childhood. Sharing it with my kids made it extra special (plus, omg - so, so delicious.).

Danny is my resident foodie, and once he found out that men were cooking outside with fire, he was out of the pool and ready to help.

Rinsing the crawfish - there's a reason some people call them "mudbugs."

Rome was beyond thrilled to get to hold one - I wish I had some video for this photo. The grin was accompanied by squeals, giggles, and a little dance.

Lina was really stoked about boiling them alive - the girl makes me nervous sometimes. I missed the photo op, but here's the finished product.

Sitting around the table, peeling crawfish, and feeding the kids brought back all kinds of good memories for me. When I was little, I remember doing this outside, on long tables covered with newspaper - the grownups would sit for hours peeling crawfish and ~~drinking~~ talking, while us kids ran and played and stopped by to be fed like little birdies when we got hungry. Seeing my own kids doing the same just did my Cajun heart some good.

Lina, along with my cousin and her cutie of a son.

But this baby made my day - here she is with a crawfish tail in each cheek, and another one ready to go:

Aw, yeah. Laissez les bon temps roulez!

Mondays in the Kitchen: Bananas Foster

2011-06-20T14:09:00.000-06:00

Or, as my brother calls it: Banana Sphoster. One of my favorite misspellings OF ALL TIME - in his words, "It was my best guess - I didn't think 'banana' would be possessive." It still gives me the giggles every time I think of it.

Bananas Foster is a pretty traditional Louisiana dessert, especially in New Orleans, and it's my brother's favorite. So, of course, my dad had to make it for the party we threw him and his new bride last weekend. Would you believe I'd never had it before? Oh. My. Head. It was something else. It's best served over (rapidly melting) vanilla ice cream, making it, to quote my sister, "The Best Soup Ever."

One of my favorite things about Louisiana: All self-respecting men cook. Hi, Dad!

This is my father's version of his mother's version of this recipe - so there you have it. That's how we roll in this kitchen, y'all. Feel free to adjust to taste, you know, like I always tell you. This recipe is designed for a gas stove, but you could probably improvise with another flame source (Gas grill? Mind your eyebrows...) if you need to.

Bananas Foster

1 stick butter
1 to 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 cup Banana Liqueur
4 bananas, cut in half lengthwise, and across
1/4 cup brandy (or rum)
vanilla ice cream, for serving

Melt butter in a generously sized skillet or flambe pan, over medium heat. As the butter melts, add brown sugar and spices. When sugar and butter are almost liquified, add banana liqueur.

As this mixture comes to a simmer, add the bananas. Turn 3 to 4 times, to coat. When bananas begin to soften, remove skillet from the heat.

Pour brandy into a medal ladle, and heat above a flame until either it starts to simmer OR it flames, then pour it over the mixture in the skillet and return the skillet to the flame. Stir the boiling mixture until it stops flaming. Tilt the skillet over the flame until the liquid is boiling along the edge. This will allow any remaining excess alcohol to burn off.

Remove from heat, and ladle a few bananas and sauce over vanilla ice cream. Serve immediately.

Una mariposa.

2011-06-18T10:36:00.000-06:00

One of our grand adventures deep in the heart of Texas (clap, clap) was a trip to the Children's Museum at the Museum of Nature and Science (blog post forthcoming). Right next door is the Butterfly Gardens, so we made a day of it. The butterfly gardens is basically a big arboretum/greenhouse - it was sticky, hot, and absolutely gorgeous. I think I was as enchanted as the children were.

This is not me, of course - it is my lovely sister and her lovely eldest child. They were also enchanted.

It turns out that Danny is a natural butterfly catcher - he "caught" no less than eight butterflies, lifting each gently, and carrying them around with the utmost care.

Rome, who has neither the stealth nor the patience of his older brother, was not such a natural. He was also not an especially good sport about it.

That's my dad, providing a little emotional support.

Not that it helped.

Lucky for him, he has a brother who is good at sharing, and helped him and the other little guys get a chance to hold a few. He was the hero of the hour, no bones about it.

Alyssa's butterfly catching technique left something to be desired, but it's probably just as well, as she's prone to "over-love" and accidentally squishing things that give her great delight (her cat can testify - poor Dakota...).

Right before we left, Rome had the chance to hold a blue morpho butterfly - to say he was delighted would be an understatement.

And look - a picture of me and the kids! And only one of them is making a totally weird face - that's pretty good, for us.


(Thanks, Rome.)

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-15T06:30:00.006-06:00

South Louisiana
June 2011

*Sorry, I just couldn't pick just one of these special family moments. ;-) *

A big day.

2011-06-14T13:21:00.001-06:00

This is my little brother, James. Last week, he graduated boot camp and became a Marine. Today, he marries Sara in Colorado, during the ten days he has for leave between boot camp and six months of training. Due to the five kids between us, the travel constraints I have because of R's deployment, and the necessary midweek date, Liz and I will be watching the wedding from Texas via Skype.

Today is a mixture of heartsickness and happiness - so proud of my brother and happy he has found such a wonderful girl, who has helped him become a truly fine young man, and so, so sad that I can't be there in person.

Welcome to the crazy family, Sara - you bring a great deal of class to this operation. Congratulations to you both - we all wish you a lifetime of love, happiness, and adventure. James, I love you so very much, I am so proud my heart could burst, and I am with you in spirit today.

xoxo

Update: They did it, y'all!! Congratulations!! Look how proud he is. Aw. (And yes, I cried like a freaking baby.)

Swimming, swimming, in the swimming pool....

2011-06-09T14:35:00.000-06:00

Swimming has definitely been one of the highlights of our trip so far - we've gone more days than not. Liz has a great community pool just a few minutes from her house, and we have been making good use of it. Getting five kids out of the house, with swimming gear and adequate snacks (read: more than you'd think), is no small project, but it is much easier than it was a year ago.

(Now, if we could just get somebody to come do the post-swim reintegration - that project is a whopper, with five hot, tired, and soggy kids, no matter how you slice it.)

The boys have made huge progress in their swimming skills in the past year. Danny is an independent swimmer now, and Rome can swim a good ways by himself - he just hasn't figured out how to take a breath without putting his feet down, so is still stuck in the shallow end. I predict he'll be swimming all over the place by early July, at this rate. Lina is content in her floaty ring - she is a girl who does things on her own timeline, so independent swimming may not be in the cards for her this summer. That's okay, too. She doesn't mind getting her face wet, and holds her own with the boys. Liz's girls are both in floatation vests, and having the fear of losing a kid to drowning reduced really makes the whole excursion so much more enjoyable for everyone!

Liz's friend Sylvia loaned us her underwater camera, and while it took awhile for us to work up the nerve to actually submerge the thing ("Is it really going to work?", "I don't know - YOU try it." "No, YOU try it...."), the pictures we got were super fun. Thank you, Sylvia!

Happy summer, everybody!!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-08T14:22:00.001-06:00

*Guess who got her ears pierced, and didn't even flinch?*
Texas, June 2011

UPDATE: Spoke too soon. She took her earring out, and waited an hour to tell me, and by then, we couldn't get it back in. I guess we'll try again when she's six. Sigh....

Mondays in the Kitchen: Strawberry Basil Cooler

2011-06-06T15:14:00.000-06:00

So, you may recall that last winter, my sister and I started a tradition of creating a signature cocktail for each of our visits. Awhile back, Liz had a strawberry basil martini at Roy's, and was inspired. I know it sounds like an odd combination, but it is so delightfully refreshing. I'd like to think I haven't steered you wrong in the past - I encourage you to take a leap of faith for me and give this one a shot.

The recipe makes enough for a small pitcher, about four servings (maybe more, depending on how much club soda you choose to add). Adjust the sweetness to your taste, and according to how sweet your strawberries are. Feel free to substitute good frozen strawberries, if the fresh ones in your neighborhood aren't up to par.

Cheers!

Strawberry Basil Cooler

1 pint of good strawberries, pureed in the food processor
1/2 to 1 cup basil-infused simple syrup (recipe follows), to taste
1 1/2 cup vodka
the juice of 2 small limes
club soda

Mix strawberry puree, simple syrup, vodka, and lime juice in a small pitcher. Fill glasses with ice, fill about 2/3 of the way with the strawberry mixture, and top with club soda. Mix gently, and serve.

Basil Infused Simple Syrup

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 generous handfuls of fresh basil, torn into large pieces

In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients. Heat on medium-low heat until sugar dissolves, and then reduce heat to low. Warm for about 30 minutes, until flavor is well infused. Cool to room temperature, and then store in the refrigerator. This can be made well ahead - it will keep for several weeks.

Springtime in the Great Frozen North

2011-06-04T11:02:00.000-06:00

First things first - the kids and I made it safely to Texas, and the only mishap was a slightly testy air-conditioning system that started to go out somewhere in the middle of Kansas. The good news is that it started up again once we turned the car off for a bit, and I was able to get the van in to the dealership near my sister's house the day after we got here, and it's all fixed now.

If that is the biggest disaster of the trip, I will be THRILLED.

We've been swimming, swimming, swimming - down here where summer arrived weeks ago. But back home, spring is heralded by rain, rain, rain, and it's cold rain. As I was working on last minute preparations, my kids proved to me that they are indeed true Northerners.

When I was a kid, I certainly enjoyed a good splash in a puddle, but grew up in Louisiana. It was 50 F (8 C?) when I took these pictures!

At the end, they were so soaked that I had to pour water OUT of their rubber boots. I was glad to have the company of R's cousin and his wife to help me strip kids down at the backyard, and get them into dry clothes.

What's one more load of laundry, in the grand scheme of things, right?

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-01T06:30:00.001-06:00

*finally spring in my backyard - the view from my bedroom window*
late May 2011

Mondays in the Kitchen: Mixed Berry Sorbet

2011-05-30T19:10:00.001-06:00

For my birthday last year, Lina got me the Kitchen Aid ice cream maker attachment, and let me tell you, that thing ROCKS. While R has been gone, this sorbet has been one of those things I keep in the house, just for me, because I like it.

A lot.

The ingredients are simple, and while the Cook's Illustrated version calls for fresh berries, I find that frozen one work just fine, and are a very good alternative when one lives in the Great Frozen North and decent berries are not so easy to find. My favorite version so far has been made with Wyman's Fresh Frozen Mixed Berries, although I've had outstanding results with just frozen raspberries, too. I think I prefer the complexity of the mixed berries just a little more, though. FYI: The vodka keeps the sorbet from crystalizing, so do not omit it.

This will keep nicely in your freezer for a couple of weeks, if you lay a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of it, and press it down to keep out the air, before sealing the container you're storing it in. It goes great with any sort of chocolate anything, and if you want to be entirely decadent, serve it with a spash of champagne poured over the top. Trust me.

Mixed Berry Sorbet

3 cups frozen mixed berries, defrosted*
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon vodka or berry liqueur

In your food processor, puree berries, along with 1/2 cup of cold water, until very smooth. Strain puree through a fine mesh sieve to remove all seeds (this part is a total pain - I apologize in advance, and assure you that it's worth it.)

Combine berry puree, sugar, lemon juice, and vodka in a medium bowl, stirring off and on for several minutes, until the sugar is dissolved (run your finger along the bottom of the bowl to check). Chill mixture to about 40 F (5 C) - you can speed this process by stirring it over a bowl of ice water, or by blending the berries while they are still partially frozen.

Pour chilled mixture into ice cream maker, and churn until frozen.

Scoop frozen sorbet into a container, cover with plastic wrap and seal. Freeze for several hours, to allow sorbet to firm up.

*You could substitute fresh or frozen raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, or a combination. If you buy the Wyman's 15 oz bags, one bag equals just the right amount for this recipe.

Easter Montage

2011-05-28T08:37:00.003-06:00

Seeing as Easter was a whole month ago, and the details are getting kind of fuzzy, I decided just to put aside the witty banter, and just show you the pictures.

It was a good day. The kids stayed in bed until 7:00, because I told them that if they made a sound before then, they'd scare the bunny off. Oma, R's mom, joined us at the end of the Easter egg hunt, and we all had a gorgeous brunch with R's extended family (Lina picked my dress out - this was a highlight for both of us).

Afterwards, we came home, and the kids played in the back yard, and I took a nap. If we do it just like that again next year (minus the absence of my husband), you won't hear a complaint from me.

Birthday Recap

2011-05-26T22:16:00.000-06:00

A few of my favorites from Lina's big day.

"And the Earth went around the Sun with Lina on it."

She loves school!

Birthday cake deemed satisfactory.

Momentary pause: Behold my friend's extraordinarily cute baby. Gasp.

A moment of brotherly love.

The singing card from my grandparents was a HUGE hit.

It's not a party until Rome gets his groove on!

Lina is five!

2011-05-25T20:34:00.000-06:00

FIVE!?! Did you hear that? That's like serious big kid stuff, y'all. Starting in September, I won't even have any preschoolers around anymore. Honest to goodness, I just can't quite wrap my head around that part just yet.

But get a load of my big girl.

Could she be any prettier? I really think not.

Lina's amazing mind continues to be... well, amazing. She has the most unusual and interesting way of looking at the world. The other night, she was telling R about "two fives" of something, holding up both hands, and then she said, "I can make three fives" - and crossed her eyes. HA!! All of that internal imagination I talked about last year is all on the outside now, and getting to see more of the inner workings of her fascinating mind has been an adventure all in itself. I have often come running to serious sounds of distress in her room, only to be corrected, "It's just my Barbies talking, Mama." There is a future in the theater for this gal, if she wants one.

Lina's favorite toys continue to be the little tiny things she can manipulate in her hands - she got a set of Squinkies at her party, and she is obsessed. (So is Rome, but that is neither here nor there.) She has built some good solid friendships in the last year, and that has been a beautiful thing to see. Their little girl community is a wondrous thing.

She has a love of movies that rivals her oldest brother's, and she is both fascinated and terrified of spiders. She is fascinated by the moon and the solars system. She is still fiercely independent, and does all things in her own time. Patience is a quality she is teaching me, because she has it in spades.

For her birthday dinner this year, she wanted hamburgers and french fries, and a pink cake. I wrestled the grill out of its winter stupor, and she got her wish, shared with good friends. She went to bed dirty and covered in frosting, and a little miffed that she doesn't get to start kindergarten tomorrow: "I'm five now!!"

Of all my children, Lina, you are the greatest mystery to me, and every year, it seems I read another chapter, only to find myself deeper in love, and still just as mystified. I will spend the rest of my life getting to know you, and cherishing the journey. You are such a marvelous, special girl.

Happy birthday, baby.

xoxo

Mama

Fête de Lina

2011-05-21T21:05:00.000-06:00

Lina's coming up on the big oh-five next week. Today was here big fête - and my first ever birthday party not at home. Word to the wise: WORTH EVERY PENNY.

Also, I begin the summer of this conversation:

Random Stranger: "How old are your kids?"
Me: "Five, five, and eight."
Random Stranger: "Oh! You have twins!"
Me: "No."
Random Stranger: "You know what causes that, right?"
Me: "Adoption?" [zing!]

I anticipate this year will be a little less intense, as "five, five, and eight" doesn't sound nearly as mind-boggling as "two, two, and five" - now THAT was a summer..... but I digress.

The venue, first of all, was awesome. The local downtown theater, built in the 1920's, rents out for birthday parties on Saturday mornings. They have a small upstairs theatre, but that one was booked, and for the same price, we got the BIG one. Also, my daughter's favorite food is popcorn, which comes included in the price of rental (which is not as much as one might thing - local peeps, I highly recommend it!)

Word. Now, that Mother of the Year award seriously should be in the mail now.

Since last week included putting in 50 hours or so working on a manuscript for a book on incorporating play therapy strategies into early childhood curriculum (and let me tell you, that work brings your parenting into INTENSE focus), we kept the party planning simple. Safeway provided us with pink cupcakes, a fruit and cheese tray, and a veggie plate, and party favors were a balloon for each kid who came. My aunt, who is the author of the book, and who was here all week working with me, was instrumental in getting this whole operation off the ground - thanks, Kay! AND we got the whole theater, y'all.

After we spent some time twirling on the stage,

and we sang "Happy Birthday,"

we watched Rango (or, alternately, ran laps around the theater while Rango played on the screen. It's all good.)

Lina was a gracious hostess, and so excited by her party - she told everyone she saw about it, both before and after the party. When it was all done, the other attending adults helped me load things into my car, and we went right home, where we snacked on the remaining fruit, veggies, and cheese in lieu of dinner, and put ourselves to bed at a decent hour. A successful Saturday, if I ever had one.

(Also, hosting birthday parties may be something I contract out permanently - that part ROCKED.)

2011-05-20T08:16:00.002-06:00

Hello Faithful Readers. I am finishing a manuscript I've been editing this week, and that has taken up all my blogging time.

Rest assured, all is well. I'll be back next week!

xoxo

Mondays in the Kitchen: Baked Ziti

2011-05-16T17:39:00.000-06:00

Let's be honest - baked ziti is hardly ever bad. Noodles, marinara, some cheese - what could go wrong? However, it is often quite.... mediocre. Perfectly good for filling your belly, but nothing to write home about. This recipe, though, is outstanding. I've made it several times now, and my sister has tried it on her crowd of ravenous in-laws (and there are a LOT of them!), and there have been rave reviews across the board.

I should warn you that this recipe is not the simplest thing I've ever cooked - it requires quite a few pots and pans, and a good chunk of prep time. This is sometimes a deal-breaker between me and a recipe, but this one is worth it. Besides being DELICIOUS, it can be made several hours ahead, allowing you to do all your dishes before your company arrives, it feeds a ton of people, and the leftovers freeze beautifully. In fact, the reason the photograph here is so unattractive is that these leftovers were freezer-bound before I went to bed that night, and I was trying to get the thing documented before the sun went down.

I highly recommend this for your next big gathering - make it ahead of time, serve it with a gorgeous salad and garlic bread, and enjoy the smiles on the faces of your guests. That said - please take note: this dish takes almost 90 minutes from the time you put it in the oven to the time you can put it on the table. You don't need to do anything much during this time, other than enjoy a glass of wine, but do factor it into your dinnertime schedule.

Baked Ziti
from my good friends at Cook's Illustrated, as usual

1 pound whole milk cottage cheese
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 oz grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 pound ziti (or other similarly shaped pasta)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 28-oz can tomato sauce
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped fine
1 teaspoon sugar
ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon cornstarch
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces whole milk mozzerella, cut into 1/4 inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk cottage cheese, eggs, and 1 cup Parmesan together in medium bowl; set aside. Bring 4 quarts of water to boil in large Dutch oven over high heat. Stir in 1 tablespoon salt and pasta; cook, stirring occasionally, until pasta begins to soften but is not yet cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain pasta and leave in colander (do not wash Dutch oven).

Meanwhile, heat oil and garlic in 12-inch skillet over medium heat until garlic is fragrant but not brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and oregano; simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Off heat, stir in ½ cup basil and sugar, then season with salt and pepper.

Stir cornstarch into heavy cream in small bowl; transfer mixture to now-empty Dutch oven set over medium heat. Bring to simmer and cook until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove pot from heat and add cottage cheese mixture, 1 cup tomato sauce, and ¾ cup mozzarella, then stir to combine. Add pasta and stir to coat thoroughly with sauce.

Transfer pasta mixture to 13- by 9-inch baking dish and spread remaining tomato sauce evenly over pasta. Sprinkle remaining ¾ cup mozzarella and remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan over top. Cover baking dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove foil and continue to cook until cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown, about 30 minutes longer. Cool for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons basil and serve.

Denver Museum of Nature and Science

2011-05-14T13:44:00.001-06:00

Also during our Colorado trip, we had a chance to meet up with some dear friends at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Becky, and her girls Tori and Erin, live in Colorado Springs now, but we were all stationed together in Germany a few years ago, and we survived our first big deployment together, when our husbands were in Iraq in 2007-2008. Becky was the first babysitter Rome ever had, and she threw my baby shower for Danny and Lina. She has saved my hide and my sanity more times than I can count. In my inner circle, we ~~reverently~~ affectionately call her Saint Becky.

If you are a doubter, please know that this woman saw on Facebook that Rome was hospitalized in Dallas for meningitis. She, by a true miracle, happened to be in Dallas visiting her sister, and started calling Children's Hospitals until she found us. She was at the hospital before R's flight landed, with stickers and a cool swirly straw cup, perfect for a kid to drink from while lying in a hospital bed. When I opened the hospital room door and saw her standing there, I burst into tears - I could not have been more surprised or relieved (if an apparition of the Virgin Mary had been floating there instead, I might have been less shocked). Becky is one of those people who not only makes you want to be a better person, but actually shows you how to do it.

And she is going to be COMPLETELY MORTIFIED by this blog post, so I'll quit gushing before she unfriends me. But let me first say that, if I have ever saved you from a bind, know that I do it in large part because of the lessons in friendship I got from Becky (along with the great karmic debt I owe the Universe, just for knowing her).

So, back to the museum. Becky's girls had the day off from school one weekday we were there, so we were all able to meet at the museum. What fun. My kids are at the perfect age for that kind of thing, and Tori and Erin are at the perfect age to help corral them!

The dioramas were particularly fascinating. I am not sure how I feel about all the taxidermy involved, but they were so cool.

Of course, the dinosaur exhibits were both mandatory and awesome. Pardon the blur - the Dawn of Time was not well lit.

"What does a dinosaur say?"

And the big girls may or may not have enjoyed the excuse to revisit their own earlier years....

All told, we had a wonderful time. It was so good to catch up, and the kids had a blast. Also? The museum is free for military! (Yay for perks!)

Another one of those perks is the truly amazing friendships that you make along the road. While the military gig isn't always easy, I don't think I'd trade a more stable life for the friends I've made along the way. Thanks, Becky, Erin, and Tori! We love you!!

Chopping wood.

2011-05-13T13:37:00.000-06:00

We had a great time at my parents' house in Colorado. The kids, in particular, enjoyed all kinds of outdoor adventures. Woodchopping with Grandpa was pretty high on that list.

Background info on Grandpa: he got his first pocket knife before he was in kindergarten, and was chopping wood FOR REAL as an elementary student. He has never required stitches, as far as I know.

Background info on me: I was in the house when this project started, and it was midway through by the time I got outside. I required stitches a couple of years ago after a bad run-in with a jagged tin can edge.

I figured, since they were already in the middle of it, I'd see how things shook out. (Afterwards, Grandpa explained to me all the safety precautions he had in place of which I was unaware, and I was retroactively relieved. The kids weren't in nearly as much peril as it seemed.)

Lina was way better at this than I anticipated.

Loving the look of intense concentration, paired with the giant sucker in her cheek.

Aw! How proud is she! (And I repeat, that is a LOLLIPOP in her mouth.)

Then Rome took a swing at it.

I was not too concerned about him, until I looked at the pictures, and realized he was making this face in every single one of them:

Woodchopping by Braille. My kid is hardcore.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-11T12:53:00.001-06:00

asparagus
chez moi
May 2011

So, how many of you knew that's how asparagus grew?

Apologies for Wordless Wednesday not showing up until Friday - Blogger has been down.

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T07:29:00.000-06:00

A love note from Danny, written in March of this year.

It's Mother's Day.

Of the five I've had since I've been a mother, this is the third one for which I've been a solo parent. I am inviting a couple of my other favorite solo mamas over to join me for supper to avoid pouting about it. R did good - he helped the kids pick out presents for me on Amazon, and if we get moving before the crowds are out, I'll get the kids to take me out to breakfast.

I spent Thursday morning with a fellow adoptive mama, and both of us commented on how we're feeling a little raw this week. It's complicated, being an adoptive mom. I'm lucky enough to have become a mother two ways - by birth and by adoption, and I gotta tell you, being an adoptive mom is different. Because I'm not the only mom in this picture. And the gifts that are the two children who came to me through adoption are somebody else's loss. The fact that the needed me at all means a great tragedy had to take place - their is great loss in their own little hearts that was there before I even saw their faces. They endured heartbreak no child should have to face, and as their mother, this weighs heavy on me. There is a tenderness in my heart around Mother's Day, and a quietness.

As I do every year, I made a donation to Heifer International in honor of Danny and Lina's first mother. My hope is that through their kind of organization, more children will grow up in the families in which they are born, and more parents can live with the dignity and hope to which they are entitled.

I also want to wish a very happy Mother's Day to my own amazing mother. (Hey, Mom - I bought you a llama...).

Because of her work, Arsema will be able to stay with her mother, Tsion, who is doing a beautiful job raising her with very, very few resources. When my mom arrived in Ethiopia, Tsion was looking for an orphanage for Arsema, because her milk was drying up, and she had no way to feed her. My mom was able to help her find some different resources, and Arsema will grow up in Ethiopia, as she should, with her hard-working and most excellent mother.

Happy Mother's Day, indeed.

Our new snaggletooth.

2011-05-07T13:48:00.000-06:00

Aw, my firstborn hit a big milestone today - he lost his first tooth!

He's just a little excited.

Once I got done gagging (oh, how I hate loose teeth... I still have nightmares about my own. Him NOT losing it on Mother's Day works out to be a pretty good gift - I barely survived Danny losing his first tooth!), I got a little choked up. It seems like he just got that tooth.

Sigh.

[Pause for wistful maternal moment. Okay. Moment over.]

Congratulations, baby!

Our own mad scientist.

2011-05-05T20:18:00.000-06:00

We are doing a bit of a time warp here, as I'm back-logged with things to tell you about. April kind of came and went (thank GAWD - longest month ever), and blogging got put on the back burner. I have quite a lot going on in the next eight weeks - hoping that will make them fly by. In the meantime, let me share with you what's been keeping us so darn busy.

Just when I'd breathed a sigh of relief after surviving the Pinewood Derby, I found out about The Science Fair. OMG. I would have been one of those up-till-midnight-the-night-before kinda moms if I hadn't had the sheer luck of ~~having a complete coniption fit~~ asking Danny to clean out his backpack in mid-March, and discovering the very thorough packet his teacher thoughtfully sent home.... well, who knows when. We scooted under the deadline for coming up with a topic, with much thanks to Google (Alex, I'll take, "second grade science fair projects.....")

Danny and I went through the many options second graders have for demonstrating their knowledge of the scientific process, and he settled on this burning question:

How Much Salt Does It Take to Make an Egg Float?

I know you were all wondering this. Now we know.

Two tablespoons of salt dissolved in one cup of water will meet all your egg-floating needs. After four tablespoons of salt, it all accumulates in a pile at the bottom of the cup - an unanticipated, but interesting, side effect.

The experiment, it turns out, is the easy part. After we had that knocked out (in the time it took me to make Saturday breakfast, thankyouverymuch), we had to make The Project Board.

Oh my head. The aforementioned very thorough packet of information specified that parents were not to do this part for their chidlren (although there were some science fair projects involving circuits and electricity that made me more than a little skeptical about whether or not they were indeed completed by an eight-year-old) - but how on Earth is a mama supposed to accomplish this, when your kid looks at you like a ~~deer~~ dear in the headlights when you say "scientific process"?

Well, let's just say we struck a delicate balance between "guidance" and "enabling," and we got the darn thing done. The best part, of course, was the Science Fair, during which all the children donned large white shirts and got to present their work to all the parents who were able to make it to the second grade classroom that day.

Danny was so darn proud of himself. It was beyond cute. I got him a brand new set of multi-colored Sharpies for this project, and he spent HOURS on that board. I was so proud of his hard work! He did a great job explaining his project to the other parents, too. Harvard, here we come!

I also enjoyed having a look around his classroom, and checking out the other things he's been working on. They've been doing acrostic poetry, and I found this gem:

Yes, that says, "Yells at my brother."

Aw, just warms the heart, doesn't it?? All kidding aside, doesn't he have great handwriting?

Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-04T06:30:00.001-06:00

*found whilst cleaning out my children's ~~piles of cr*p~~ creative products - I think they're trying to communicate....*
April 2011

Proverbs 24:17

2011-05-02T20:29:00.003-06:00

"Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." - Martin Luther King Jr.

Nothing happening in my kitchen today (fried rice, in case you're wondering) seems at all relevant. Last night, I found out via Facebook that Osama bin Laden had been killed in Pakistan. In a military action by US Navy SEALS, he died in a gunfight, along with four other men and one woman, who was being used as a human shield. No American casualties. Hats off to our military, who did an outstanding job with this operation.

There is no doubt that the world is better off without this very bad man in it. In his daily email to the children, R called bin Laden "the baddest bad guy in the world." The damage he has done is almost unfathomable. I think most people can recall where they were when the Twin Towers fell, and we must also remember the lives lost in Kenya and around the world, as he spread violence and hate and a truly perverse representation of Islam. I am relieved - the decade I have been married has been dominated by this man's legacy. I sincerely hope his death brings some closure to those touched most deeply by his violence.

That said, I am not naive. Bin Laden was a brilliant man - smart enough to live out in the open, an hour from the capital of Pakistan, while the most powerful military in the world looked for him under rocks. The power structure he created no doubt has machinery in place for this exact scenario (apparently, his body guards had instructions to shoot him rather than let him be taken alive). I heard Lawrence Wright, who won a Pulitzer prize for his research and writing on Al-Qaida, speak today about bin Laden's relevance - if you're a really interested party, this is worth a listen. If not, let me sum up the part that stayed with me: it would have been better if he'd gone to trial. We have to deal not just with the man, but with his legacy. This is not the end of anything. It is the ending of an ugly chapter, but the story is still unfinished.

For the immediate future, and in my immediate sphere, this means nothing. My husband will not come home any sooner because of this. Yesterday, an Army unit he was protecting took fire, and a soldier he was talking to was shot, just after he left (the soldier survived, and is expected to recover, from what I understand). Whether bin Laden is alive or dead means little to that man's mother, his wife, or his children. If anything, the fighting on the ground is likely to intensify, as anger about bin Laden's death spreads. My hope is that the surge in the Middle East demanding democratic and fair government is stronger than the wave of anti-Western sentiment that is sure to come in the next days and weeks. I am praying fervently for the safety of troops on the ground, and for the safety of innocent citizens caught in the crossfire.

I know that opinions run high on this one, and we all were changed on September 11, 2001. But this is my blog, and I need to say this: it is not for us to decide what is justice. I feel quite certain that Osama bin Laden chose his own end - he had no intentions of coming out of this alive. But for this to happen, a man had to take the life of another person, and this is a heavy burden to carry. On both sides of this conflict, children are fatherless. Women are widows. Lives have been irreparably destroyed. Who among us is wise enough to judge the value of a life? Whether or not this is justice is between bin Laden and Whoever is waiting for him on the other side of this life.

When the Twin Towers fell, America was horrified by the celebrations in parts of the Middle East, rejoicing in our deepest tragedy. We should tread lightly, as we express our own relief that one man is dead. It will be many years - generations, even - before we know what today really means. The atrocities and injustices of others do not excuse us from our responsibility to be our highest selves. It is one thing to be privately relieved, or even glad, that a person who committed such horrors is gone from the Earth. It is another thing entirely to use it as an excuse to throw a margarita party. My understanding from my husband is that things are quite sober in his neck of the woods today. Relief is not the same as joy.

Tonight, my heart is heavy with the awareness of the grief one man has caused. Maywe find in our hearts a rare collective moment of betterment, of compassion, of understanding of one another - this is how we defeat Osama bin Laden, for good.

For another very thoughtful perspective, please see today's Being Blog. There you will find more discussion on Proverbs 24:17: "Do not rejoice when your enemies fall, and do not let your heart be glad when they stumble."

Note: Normally, I publish every comment submitted by my readers (Heaven knows, I realize it's a royal pain in the neck). Under the circumstances, I ask that you understand that this is my space, and a place in which I leave my own legacy for my children, and I will only publish comments that are respectful and thoughtful in nature.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-27T09:20:00.001-06:00

*cupcake poisoning*
April 2011
Colorado

On attending weddings with children.

2011-04-26T21:19:00.001-06:00

Well, more specifically, forthcoming is a post on attending a wedding with my specific children. They are nice children - my kids - and let me, in print, thank them for making me look pretty darn good as a mother in public, on this specific occasion. Thanks, guys! Y'all were awesome!

The official - and most note-worthy- reason for our trip to Colorado last week was the wedding of Amanda and Noah. Amanda is the niece of R's stepfather. She is a lovely gal, and her new husband is an equally lovely fellow. We were very glad to be part of their big day. Plus, it gave the kids some great opportunities! (Here come those exclamation points I promised you!)

They got to teach themselves how to read music (and Lina got to practice finding all the 'L's - there are a lot of them in the Bible!).

They got to break in the dance floor!

They got to be reallyreallyreally bored during toasts!

But most important, they got to be witnesses to the first day of a long and happy marriage.

Congratulations, Amanda and Noah!

We're back!

2011-04-25T09:44:00.000-06:00

[***crickets chirping***]

Sooooo.......yeah. I know it's been quiet here. I had some really noble intentions about blogging while I was at my mom's house, but we all see how that turned out. Sometime mid-week, I decided to make it my Spring Break, and just gave up. I stayed up late, slept in (thanks, Mom!!), spent way too much time in my pajamas, and generally got the recharge that I was really needing. It was the first week since R left that went by too fast. I ended up staying an extra day, which was great, but meant that I didn't have that day I was planning to recoup before Easter - we drove home on Saturday, and I was still unpacking as the Easter Bunny started hopping our direction.

But! I'm hoping to make it up to you, because we did a TON of fun stuff (despite my aforementioned schedule of leisure), and I have loads of good pictures and stories to share with you. The kids enjoyed their Colorado visit so much that, the whole trip home, Lina kept telling me, "I wish to stay FOREVER, Mama."

I know what she means, but times, they are a' changing. The rescue dog I met at my second job, working at a drive-thru espresso joint on the edge of the mountains, is suddenly a very old dog. The kitten from my childhood is twenty years old (she doesn't look a day over nineteen), and my parents are getting their house ready to put on the market. There's really nothing holding them there now that my sister and I have moved away. My brother is in boot camp in California right now - he'll come home in June as a Marine Reservist, get married, go to college, and then move somewhere else, too. This visit definitely had an end-of-an-era sort of feel to it. Bittersweet, a bit.

But, after the long dark winter of my soul (and also, of my backyard), it is finally spring! This brings me more joy than I can tell you. And in the next week or so, I'll have these exciting moments to share with you:

a wedding!
preschool wood chopping!
a trip to the Denver Museum of Natural Science!
Ethiopia project updates!
Easter!
cupcake overdose!
gardening updates!
more exclamation points!

So, hang in there with me. Check back - I'm not gone forever! And as a token of my appreciation, please enjoy a picture of my kids in their Easter outfits yesterday morning. The boys' vests are from Ethiopia - my mom brought them back home for them. She also brought Lina a gorgeous traditional white dress, but since our destination after this picture was brunch, I left it in the closet. I'm sure you understand.

You are such understanding people. :-)

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-13T20:22:00.001-06:00

quality time with Papa
April 2011

So, welcome to Not-Quite-Wordless Wednesday (I can't even tell you how much of a personal challenge this "Wordless Wednesday" thing is for me. Also, I am the worst person in history at giving the silent treatment.) Skype rules, and so does my husband. As his schedule has allowed, he's been reading The Chronicles of Narnia to the kids as their bedtime story. He has to get up at 4:00 in the morning to do this - I am amazed and humbled at the hard work he's been putting in for our kids.

Not much happening around here the last few days. I made beans and rice on Monday(s in the Kitchen) night - yes, I realize I forgot to post anything. The truth is, I've got nothing. Lina tossed her cookies mid-Skype session on Monday night - it took me an hour the next morning to find out that she'd actually consumed some of the "grass soup" she'd concocted in the backyard that afternoon. (I became suspicious when the dog exhibited... ahem... similiar symptoms at 5:00 the next morning - what an awesome night that was.) I was just relieved she wasn't actually sick, and could go to school - yay for understanding directors!

We're gearing up for a week-long trip down to Colorado - we have a wedding to attend next weekend, and the kids have Thursday and Friday before Easter off of school, so I'm pulling them out for a few days, and pointing the minivan in the direction of a change of scenery. Friday marks the halfway point for us with the deployment. I'd love to say something cheerful, like, "It's all downhill from here!", but I'm just not feeling it. It's been a long three months. I miss my husband. My kids miss their dad. I have had quite enough of this war, thankyouverymuch.

BUT. The schedule is pretty jam-packed between now and homecoming. I have been telling myself that time will go faster now (I have yet to convince myself, but you can't blame a gal for trying).

Pizza Therapy

2011-04-09T11:37:00.002-06:00

We have a family tradition of pizza and movies on Friday nights. This tradition goes way back to the beginning of my marriage, when the "mandatory fun" on Friday evenings at R's squadron would stretch well into the dinner hour, leaving me, a new bride, ~~totally enraged~~ a little frustrated by well-planned dinners repeatedly ruined by unpredictable schedules. After ~~a few tears~~ some calm discussion, I decided cooking on Fridays was overrated, and we started picking up take-out or going out to dinner on those days.

Well, that equation changed a little when the kids arrived, as they are not as fun as I am to take out to dinner. Enter "Pizza and Movie Night." It also had the advantage of helping Danny learn the cyclical nature of the school week as a kindergartener - after Pizza and Movie Night, he knew he'd have a couple days off school.

Last week, we had the pleasure of R's sister's company for Pizza and Movie Night (which contrary to my children's belief, is not a national phenomenon). She is more ambitious than I am, and offered to make pizza with the kids.

They were SUPER excited.

And it only got better, as Carmia explained that to properly knead pizza dough, you need to punch it.

My kids have been waiting all their lives for something to punch, and the opportunity is so rare.

And it was good.

Besides having yummy pizza, we also enjoyed lots of hiking, lots of visiting, and a gymnastics party. It was good to catch up, and diversions are more than welcome around here. (And sorry, Carmia, that it took me a week to get this up. You got a glimpse of how things go around here....)

So, lesson of the day: Stressed? Make pizza!

(Or call Carmia.... maybe she'll make pizza for you.)

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-06T15:04:00.000-06:00

signs of spring
my front yard
April 2011

Mondays in the Kitchen: Salerno-Style Spaghetti with Fried Eggs and Bread Crumbs

2011-04-04T21:21:00.001-06:00

Simplicity is the name of the game around here these days, when it comes to the kitchen. Every now and then, I get a burr in my hide, and bake a batch of rolls, and most weekends, I make muffins to last us for a few days of snacks, but the dinner hour has had a pretty frantic feel about it lately.

So, when I found this recipe, which requires pretty much only this cast of characters:

and only 15 minutes or so of hands-on time, I was intrigued. And when you pair it with the fact that my kids are gonzo for fried eggs (I know, right? Weird kids.), I was very, very hopeful that it would be a winner.

And it was.

I've made it four times in the last three weeks. You should make it, too, if you're the sort of person who likes fried eggs, and also likes garlic and pasta. It goes really, really nicely with roasted broccoli - you can serve it all in one big, wide bowl. Oh, and you can make the crispy bread crumbs at any point earlier in the day - they keep well. Timing is everything this recipe - be sure that pasta is done before you start the eggs. When you get your bowlful, cut up your egg and toss it all together, so the yolk coats the pasta. And then try not to fall out of your chair when your eyes roll back in your head.

Salerno-Style Spaghetti with Fried Eggs and Bread Crumbs
from The Best International Recipe, from my best buddies, Cooks Illustrated

2 slices high-quality white sandwich bread, torn into quarters
10 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
salt and ground black pepper
4 medium garlic cloves, minced
1/4-1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 pound spaghetti (for my current crew, I use half that)
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup), plus more for serving
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
4 large eggs, cracked into 2 small bowls

For the bread crumbs: Heat oven to 375. Pulse the bread in a food processor to coarse crumbs, about 10 pulses. Toss bread with about 2 TBS of the oil, and season with salt and pepper. Spread crumbs out over a rimmed baking sheet, and bake, stirring every few minutes, until golden broand- about 8-10 minutes. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. Meanwhile, add 3 TBS of the oil, the minced garlic, pepper flakes, and 1/2 tsp of salt to a large nonstick skillet. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until garlic foams and becomes sticky and straw-colored (about 8 minutes). Transfer garlic to a small bowl, set aside. Rinse skillet out.

Stir 1 TBS of salt into the pot of boiling water, and add the pasta. Cook, stirring often, until the pasta is al dente. A minute or two before draining the pasta, return the skillet to low heat for 5 minutes (for the eggs). Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Stir in 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water, the garlic mixture, 3 tablespoons of oil, Parmesan, parsley, and 3/4 tsp salt, and toss to combine. Cover and set aside to keep warm while you cook the eggs.

When the skillet is hot, add the remaining 2 TBS oil and swirl to coat the pan. Quickly add the eggs to the skillet, using those two bowls to pour them into the skillet at the same moment. Season the eggs with salt and pepper, cover, and cook until the whites are set, but the yolks are still runny - 2 to 3 minutes. Uncover the eggs, and remove from heat.

Loosen the pasta with the reserved cooking water as needed, then divide it into 4 individual serving bowls. Sprinkle each bowl with 2 tablespoons of the bread crumbs, and carefully slide one fried egg on top in each bowl, serving immedately, and passing extra Parmesan seperately.

Dessert Burgers.

2011-03-31T14:04:00.000-06:00

Apparently, it's all about the food around here this week. To be honest, there's not much else to report. The weather has thawed (hooray!), but it's been cloudy and drizzly - not much fun to play outside in. We haven't had quite so much Murphy-induced drama in the past couple of weeks - can I get a whoop-whoop for some normalcy??

And while we're at it, let's get a whoop-whoop for Becca, who besides being generally awesome, introduced my kids to ice cream sandwiches last week, when she and her husband (R's cousin, Tom) came for dinner.

[Slightly off topic - Becca took her orals for her Master's Degree today. Yay, Becca! So proud of you!!]

I do not know how my children, who are well-fed and not deprived of treats, have never encountered an ice cream sandwich. I'm not sure how it happened - it's not like I have a moral objection to them, like I do for s'mores (ew.... sticky....). Anyway, Tom actually had to explain to the kids what exactly an ice cream sandwich is. He said, "It's like a DESSERT BURGER."

And the skies opened up, and the angels sang. We decided on the spot that we're going to open up a chain of Dessert Burger joints, and make a billion dollars. You heard it here first.

The children gave our newly trademarked Dessert Burgers two very sticky thumbs up.

You'll have to imagine the "om-nom-nom" sounds that went with this picture.

It appears to me that this child is accustomed to being photographed while eating...

And we decided that the following picture will be featured prominently on the wrapper of the Dessert Burger signature ice cream sammich:

That little whooshing sound you heard was the sound of Tom swooning - Miss Lina has his tall self wrapped all the way around her little finger. I can't imagine why..... ;-)

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-30T20:33:00.000-06:00

my garden - 2010
almost time to plant again!

Mondays in the Kitchen: Baked Potato Soup

2011-03-28T08:03:00.000-06:00

I know it's spring in a lot of places, but here up North, it's still soup season, and I have a confession. As much as I want to love potato soup, generally speaking, I do not love it. At best, it's just.... okay. Even when other folks are raving about how awesome said soup might be, I have usually been unimpressed. Too creamy, too thick, too thin, too watery, too gritty. Potato soup is not as easy as it seems.

I have potato issues. Here is my first potato problem: because of my CSA, and the lack of my lovely, potato-eating husband at the dinner table, I have a surplus of potatoes. Potatoes coming out of my ears, potatoes sprouting in my pantry. My second problem? My kids are not big potato fans. They'll usually eat the alotted amount I put on their plates, but it's pretty rare for them to ask for seconds, even if there is ketchup involved. And there are only so many potatoes a girl can eat on her own. I keep making potato soup, and we keep.... well, not really eating much of it.

Still, I am no quitter. I keep trying new versions. This latest round is courtesy of my brother-in-law, and my sister says that regardless of the variation, he's never made a bad batch. She has never steered me wrong, so before the potatoes climbed out of the pantry and met me on the stairs, I decided to cook up a batch.

I am convinced. This soup is DA BOMB. Even the kids ate it up, with Danny complimenting on "a really good supper, Mama."

So, here you go - the only potato soup I like.

John's Baked Potato Soup

4 or 5 medium russet potatoes, scrubbed clean
3 slices of thick cut bacon
1 large onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 sprigs fresh thyme, or about 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
about 3 cups whole milk (have a little extra on hand, if possible)

Garnishes:
grated extra sharp cheddar cheese
3 scallions, sliced thin on the bias
sour cream
hot sauce

Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C). Place potatoes on a heavy baking sheet. Prick several times with a fork, and bake until very tender - an hour or more. When potatoes are soft, remove from the oven and immediately cut potatoes open, allowing steam to escape. When potatoes have cooled enough to handle, scoop flesh into a medium bowl, and mash lightly. Set aside.

In a heavy bottomed soup pot, cook bacon over medium heat until brown and crisp. Remove to paper towels to drain. Chop the bacon into bits, and set aside.

Add onions and a pinch of salt to the bacon grease. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and beginning to brown on the edges - 5 to 6 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme, and saute until garlic is fragrant - about 30 seconds. Add potatoes and milk, immediately reduce heat to medium-low (add more milk, if needed to achieve your desired level of soupiness). DO NOT BOIL.

Slowly bring milk and potato up to a very bare simmer - just steaming, really. DO NOT BOIL IT. It will curdle, you'll be sad. Just keep it at that near-simmer for awhile, letting the potatoes get softer, and the flavors combine. I let mine hang out for about an hour, but thirty minutes probably would have been plenty of time. If you'd like, mash the potatoes in with the milk further, for a creamier texture. You could blend it up with your immersion blender, too, if you like a very smooth soup. Add plenty of salt (to taste, of course - do it a little at a time), pepper, and maybe a few dashes of Cajun seasoning, if you have it on hand.

Serve, passing chopped bacon and other garnishes at the table, allowing your hungry people to top their soup as desired.

I do this to her every year.

2011-03-26T10:14:00.000-06:00

Remember my super awesome, really, really pretty dog?

One of the really lovely things about Old English Sheepdogs is that they don't shed. I mean it - not at all. The only downside to this is that she requires a doggy haircut every few months, or else she'd look like this:

This is a very cute look, but it requires hours and hours of grooming each week to keep the dog from getting matted. I have neither the time nor the energy to spend eight hours a week brushing a dog, so we keep her nicely trimmed. She has a "winter haircut" and a "summer haircut." When I brought her in, I requested her winter cut, which is a bit longer, but she was already on the matted side, since I put off grooming too long due to the cold temperatures we've been having. That meant they had to trim her.... a bit shorter.

Don't laugh. She feels sorry for herself already.

Normally, they style her facial hair a little less drastically. Nonetheless, I do this every year. I put off her spring haircut, hoping for a warm spell, and miss the mark entirely.

Look what we woke up to this morning:

Poor girl - she's so cold. I moved her big fluffy bed down to her usual spot in the living room, so she could keep watch without shivering. If you look at the weather forecast for our neck of the woods, every day in the forseeable future includes little snowflake graphics.

Anybody got an extra-large doggy sweater we could borrow until Easter?

Happy Birthday, Alyssa!

2011-03-24T15:54:00.000-06:00

My niece Alyssa turns two today. I can't believe how fast the time has gone, nor can I believe what a marvelous little creature she is. The best thing about our extended stay in Texas in 2008/2009 was being able to share my sister's pregnancy with her. I was the first person to feel her kick (other than my sister, obviously), and I was in the delivery room when she was born. This little girl has been cemented on my heart long before she graced the world with her sweet self. I adore this child.

But it's a little bigger than just loving her for her own self. Alyssa's story is intertwined with my own. The day she was born healed something broken in me, something that broke in the days before I gave birth to my own son. All of my children came to me through trauma. With Rome, the trauma was probably more mine than his, although I'm convinced his five weeks in the NICU made a mark on his little soul. Danny and Lina had their own trauma - adoption is inherently traumatic for children. They have proven remarkably resilient, but those hard first months left scars on all of us. Just like with Rome, as thrilled as I was to have them, we were all scared to death, not to mention the fact that the stories of their lives before me have broken all our hearts more than once.

Somewhere in the darker parts of my soul, birth and the process of becoming a mother had a deep shadow, colored with fear, guilt, and pain.

And then came Alyssa. The most meticulously planned baby in history - right down to her birthday. She was wanted before she was conceived. My sister's pregnancy for her was blissfully uncomplicated, and I spent hours and hours laying hands on her growing belly. We moved up north right before Alyssa's birth, but Lina and I flew back down before Liz was induced.

The day of Alyssa's birth, I still had a knot in my stomach, but my sister was calmer than she usually is planning a trip to the grocery store. Everything, and I do mean everything, went smoothly. Alyssa was delivered after just a few pushes. Labor that could have been a party with all the company in the room, if my sister had just been allowed some snacks.

When Alyssa was all swaddled up, and the room was returned to it's pre-delivery condition, I think part of me exhaled for the first time in four and a half years.

And so, I have to tell you that Alyssa's birth is a little anniversary for me, too - the day I let go of the fear I'd been holding, and was able to embrace my own mothering experience in a different way.

Plus she's so darn cute, she stops traffic.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-23T16:36:00.003-06:00

March 2008

Mondays in the Kitchen: Refried Bean Tostadas with 5 Minute Salsa

2011-03-21T20:51:00.001-06:00

My apologies: no pictures today. 'Cuz we ate it all.

This is a recipe I found after R deployed, and I've made it about once a week since then. The kids love it (especially the no-silverware-required aspect), and so do I. Yes, you could make this whole thing with ingredients from plastic bags, cans, and jars, but the extra work (and it's not that much extra work) is so worth it. You do need a food processor to make this work. You can have all this on the table in under an hour. In my opinion, it doesn't really require any side dishes, but spanish rice goes nicely along side.

Refried Bean Tostadas
guess where it's adapted from?

1/4 cup corn or vegetable oil
8 6-inch corn tortillas (white or yellow)
2 cups refried beans (recipe to follow)
8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 cup 5 Minute Salsa (recipe to follow)

Optional Garnishes:
chopped cilantro
your favorite guacamole recipe
sour cream (we use Greek yogurt around here)

Adjust oven rack to the middle position, and heat the oven to 475 F (245 C).

Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat to 350 F (175 C), for about 5 minutes (the oil should bubble when a small piece of tortilla is dropped in; the tortilla piece should rise to the surface in 2 seconds). Meanwhile, line a rimmed baking sheet with a double layer of paper towels. Using tongs, slide 1 tortilla into the oil, and fry until it has stiffened and is just beginning to brown - about 45 seconds. Flip the tortilla, and cook the other side until lightly browned. Transfer to baking sheet and drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

To assemble tostadas, smear each tortilla with 1/4 cup refried beans and sprinkle evenly with 1/4 cup cheese. Lay the tostadas on a second rimmed baking sheet, and bake until cheese is just melted - about 5 minutes. Serve immediately, passing salsa and garnishes at the table.

Refried Beans

3 15-oz cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
4 TBS olive oil
1 meidum onion, chopped fine
1 large jalapeno, seeded and minced (or substitute 1/2 a small green bell pepper)
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander

In your food processor, process the beans with 1 cup water until smooth (about 30 seconds), scraping down the sides of the workbowl if needed. Set aside.

Put oil, onion, jalapeno, and 1/2 tsp salt in a large nonstick skillet over med-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion softens and begins to brown - about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, and coriander, and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add beans, and a couple of splashes of water. Stir to combine.

Turn heat down to med-low, and simmer until thickened and the flavors have blended - 10-15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. This can be served immediately, or made earlier in the day. It refrigerates well - beans keep for about a week in the fridge.

5 Minute Salsa

1/2 small jalapeno, seeded and minced (leave seeds in for more heat, if you prefer)
1/4 small red onion, peeled and chopped into a couple of chunks
1 small garlic clove, minced
2 TBS packed fresh cilantro leaves
2 tsp fresh lime juice (plus more, to taste)
1/4 tsp salt
1 (15 oz) can good quality diced tomatoes, drained (don't skimp on quality here - if your tomatoes aren't so great, this won't turn out well)

Put all ingredients except for tomatoes in the workbowl of a food processor. Pulse in one-second bursts, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until all ingredients are minced - about 5 pulses. Add tomatoes and pulse until roughly chopped. Transfer mixture to a fine mesh sieve and allow excess liquid to drain for couple of minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl. (Can be made up to 2 days ahead.)

Pinewood Derby

2011-03-19T07:00:00.001-06:00

Some time back, you might remember that I was ~~freaking out~~ slightly concerned about the Pinewood Derby. Assembling the car was a lot more challenging than I expected, and I had a minor meltdown over the fact that I have no husband around to bail me out on that sort of thing. (My damsel-in-distress routine did attract all manner of attention, though, and Danny and I soon had all the help we needed.)

We got the car all put together, and more importantly, we made it look cool (Shout-out to the future Eagle Scout across the street, who helped Danny with the decals!) I was feeling mighty pleased with myself the night before the big race, until the furnace went out, and I had to send Danny off to the races with a buddy.

I did manage to catch the end of derby, though, once the repairman came out. I even remembered the camera! Too bad I forgot the SD card. D'oh!! (Last year we had all kinds of cool pictures of the race, taken by my husband - please feel free to use your imagination for actual race day events.)

Much to my relief, the car Danny and I built came in ~~not last~~ third! He even got a trophy!! He was thrilled, and my relief was palpable.

And my goodness, he's grown a lot since last year! Go look at this post... I'll wait.

Danny was a good sport, and did a great job. And I will be totally stoked to punt this ball back into his dad's court next year!

Is it spring yet?

2011-03-17T15:47:00.000-06:00

Somehow, I always forget that March is the snowiest month up here in the Frozen North. In Louisiana, the azaeleas are blooming. Here, it's all snowdrifts and blizzards. I know this about South Dakota, but some time around August, I erase this knowledge from my mind completely, and thus am completely surprised when March blows in.

The spring ~~tease~~ warm-up has commenced, though - we've had temperatures well above freezing. Yesterday, it was in the 70's - enough that Rome told me it was "soaking hot!" (Whatever that means.) Danny is bummed by the necessity of more regular baths - he was horrified when I told him that grown-ups actually shower every single day. I figured it was better to break the news to him before he hits puberty.

I've been snowed under in all manner of ways (Murphy has a special love for spouses of the deployed, I've found), so these pictures are actually a couple of weeks old. We are now enjoying a backyard full of mud - exciting! I'm sure we've got at least another big snow or two ahead of it, but I'm holding out hope that the sub-zero temperatures might be behind us for the season (I'm probably wrong about this, but a girl can dream, right?).

But you know, these kids of mine love the snow. I keep hoping their enthusiasm will rub off on me. At a minimum, I love, love, love taking pictures of them in the snow.

Even my faithful old dog got excited about this last round. (She has since fallen victim to a Very Bad Haircut, and would probably not be so stoked about the cold. Sorry, Anja.)

Seriously, I have an awesome dog. Just sayin'.

[Off topic: I know it is St. Patrick's Day. I am Cajun, and kinda think it's a tradition for the poor folks who don't get Mardi Gras, although I did wear green, since I don't like getting pinched by strangers. Danny, who may or may not still believe in Santa Claus, said he saw a leprechaun at school today. Cheers to all ~~the rest~~ of you drinking green beer for the occasion!]

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-16T15:38:00.000-06:00

March 2011
my house

Do y'all get tired of seeing my kids making crazy faces? Me, neither.

Mondays in the Kitchen: Dad's Famous Brussel Sprouts

2011-03-14T22:04:00.001-06:00

I know it's been quiet around here - last week just got away from me. On top of the usual and expected insanity, Rome got sick (again). The chaos was complete when I realized on Thursday that my dad's much-anticipated visit was happening THAT DAY and not on Friday, as I had somehow programmed into my addled brain. Luckily, I caught my error early in the day, and made it to the airport - most of my rearranging was mental. And I got an extra day with Dad - yay!!

I enjoyed his visit so much, although I am trying to remember the last time he saw Rome when the child wasn't ill. It's been some time. Dad is such a good sport - go-with-the-flow about everything. He is great company, too - it was nice to have some intelligent and enlightened conversation, in between me droning on about my nemesis, Insomnia, and a midnight visit with the cops on Saturday (nobody in my household involved, and details omitted to protect privacy of those who might be embarrassed - all's well that ends well, yes?).

Dad is also a fellow foodie, and it gave me a lovely opportunity to cook (and be cooked for!). Ooh, and we also went out for a fabulous dinner at a nice restaurant here in town - they have an awesome four-course "Mystery Dinner" - you tell your server about any allergies or aversions, and the chef creates a menu (including signature cocktail!) just for you. It was FANTASTIC, and such a fun way to dine. We ate our way through a ginger, orange, and arugala salad, pesto clams, spicy grilled shrimp with polenta, a perfect curry-bean mango ice with pinot grigio chamapagne, and a strawberry, chocolate, and banana ice-cream pie for dessert. I can't wait to try it again with R, when he gets home.

On Saturday night, I made Indian food - naan, saag paneer, tandoori chicken, and rice pilaf. Soooooo delicious. On Sunday, I made Pioneer Woman's Spicy Lemon Garlic Shrimp - first introduced to me by my sister during her Valentine's Day visit - and Dad made these brussel sprouts. Y'all, these brussel sprouts are legendary - they have made believers out of dedicated, life-long brussel sprout haters. I first posted the recipe on my old blog, which has since vanished into the ethers. This recipe is way too good to let it disappear! Please try it at your earliest convenience, and disregard any prior opinions you might hold about brussel sprouts. These will change your life.

The measurements here are vague and open to interpretation, because that's how we roll. Don't be afraid! Oh, and Dad said I needed to give credit to a Food Network chef who gave him the inspiration.... but now I can't remember who it was. Dad??

Dad's Brussel Sprouts

about 1 pound small brussel sprouts, halved
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lemon
dry white wine
olive oil
butter
salt and pepper

Zest the lemon, set peel aside. Cut the lemon in half, set aside for when you need it.

In the largest skillet you have, melt about 2 TBS butter and 2 TBS olive oil over medim-high heat. When very hot, add brussel sprouts, cut side down, in a single layer. They should be sizzling! If the pan looks a little dry, add a bit more olive oil.

When you have all the brussel sprouts laid out in a single layer (this will take more time than you expect - take the pan off the heat if you need to) and they're beginning to brown, scatter onions over the top, followed by the garlic, lemon zest, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Then, squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the sprouts.

Add about 1/4 inch of white wine to the pan, toss everything together, and then saute over medium heat until the wine is reduced, the onions are brown and tender, and the brussel sprouts are crisp tender (I lean more towards tender instead of crisp - this is a matter of preference). Add a few more splashes of white wine if necessary, if your pan gets too dry and the brussel sprouts aren't quite done. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, and serve immediately.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-09T14:22:00.000-07:00

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
May 2007

My mom should have landed in Addis Ababa a couple of hours ago. Thank you to all of you who have supported her so far. Continuing prayers and positive thoughts for her journey are much appreciated!

Mondays in the Kitchen: Skillet Chicken Biryani

2011-03-07T17:50:00.001-07:00

Regardless of what's going on in your life, you have to eat. R's family is coping well, it seems, as is he. Today is Monday, so back to the kitchen I go.

This is one of my very favorite new dishes. I love, love, love it - I've been known to make it twice in one week. To be fair, this is not real biryani, which is a rich, complex dish originating in southeast Asia (India, Pakistan, and/or Iran, depending on who you ask.) This is a weeknight version, loosely based on the orignal idea.

Normally, this sort of monkeying around with tried and true traditional recipes does not turn out so well. (This is the reason that I won't eat jambalaya north of Louisiana - you never know what you're going to get.) But I've never had authentic biryani, so I have nothing to compare this dish to - this is probably a blessing. And this dish, my friends, is delicious.

I love the combination of spices, which is really different than what I usually cook with, but it's made with rice, which is my go-to comfort food staple (and as such, something we've been eating a lot of around here lately). I also love the fact that my children adore this. It's lovely to cook something I know we'll all enjoy. When R is gone, I usually don't fuss with dishes I'm not sure the kids will like, but that often means that I don't get to eat food that I love. This dish is a nice change, even if it means I have to be careful not to give myself a stomach ache because I love it so.

Please pardon the terrible photograph - I've been avoiding sharing this recipe because my photo is so awful. It tastes better than it looks, I swear - and it looks better in real life than it does in this picture. It goes beautifully with glazed carrots (if you're using this recipe, omit the thyme and subsitute regular sugar for the honey.) Check your local whole foods outlet for cardamom pods - they'll be lots cheaper if you can buy them by the ounce. Saffron is expensive no matter where you get it, but it's worth it. (If it's out of your price range, you could omit it, and still have good results, though.)

Skillet Chicken Biryani
adapted from Cook's Illustrated The Quick Recipe (Have you bought it yet??)

2 TBS vegetable oil
4-6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into large-ish chunks
1 medium onion, chopped
3 large jalapeno chilis, seeded and chopped OR 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
8 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed with the flat side of your knife
1 (1 1/2 inch) piece fresh ginger, cut into 4 coins
2 cinnamon sticks
1 1/2 cups basmati or long grain rice, well rinsed and drained
Pinch saffron threads, crumbled with the fingertips
4 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 cup plain yogurt, preferable whole milk
2 TBS minced fresh cilantro leaves

Adjust your oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Meanwhile, generously salt and pepper the chicken. When the oil is hot, brown the chicken, in batches if necessary. Remove chicken from the pan with a slotted spoon, and set aside, tenting with foil to keep it warm.

Add the onion, jalapenos (or green pepper), cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, 1 tsp salt, and 2 TBS water to deglaze the pan. Cook, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom of the pan to release any browned bits, until the onion softens and d begins to brown - about 4 minutes. Add the rice, saffron, and 1 tablespoon of the minced garlic and cook, continuing to stir frequently, until the grains of rice are coated with fat, about a minute and a half.

Off heat, add 2 1/2 cups water and the browned chicken. Return the pan to the heat and bring to a boil. Cover the skillet with a lid and transfer to the oven. Bake until chicken is cooked through and rice is tender, 20 to 22 minutes. (If you find the rice is still a little crunchy at the end of cooking time, add a couple tablespoons more water, cover, and return to the oven for a few more minutes.)

Meanwhile, mix together the yogurt, remaining 1 teaspoon minced garlic, cilantro, 1/2 tsp salt and pepper to taste, in a small bowl. (For my Littles, who find this sauce too strongly flavored, I provide a small bowl of plain yogurt as an alternative).

When rice and chicken are cooked, remove the cardamom pods, ginger coins, and cinnamon sticks from the skillet, and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper to taste. Serve the chicken and rice immediately, passing the yogurt sauce separately at the table.

Another loss.

2011-03-05T09:36:00.000-07:00

R's aunt, the youngest of five siblings, passed away suddenly yesterday. She leaves behind two sons, both young adults, but much too young to lose their mother. It is also another reminder to leave no kind word unsaid - we really never know how much time we'll have together.

If you could keep the family in your thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time, it would be much appreciated.