A Dinner

It must have been this morning's 4 mile walk that caused me to be ravenous enough at midday to plot out a relatively complex meal for dinner. It wasn't really a complex meal in the least, but since I've been spending so little time in the kitchen lately, it felt like a big deal.

I started some bread and then went to Jack Bishop's A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen for inspiration. The recipes are simple, use relatively few ingredients, and make the most of seasonal produce. I ended up making a salad of tiny lentils with dill and feta and served a pecan and arugula pesto over fresh linguine. I wasn't thrilled by either dish but I think the lentils will improve overnight. The pesto was just a bit odd, I guess. I love the flavor of arugula with mixed greens in a salad or tucked into a sandwich, but the heat of the pasta caused that distinctive flavor to dissipate and the final dish just tasted....green. Not a bad thing, but not what I was hoping for.

The surprise was dessert. While I am in no hurry for Passover to be here, I am mindful that the holiday is approaching and there's quite a bit of flour around here needing to be used up so I spent some time with King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking which I'd recently checked out from the library. It's a huge book full of all kinds of things, but the whole grain orange cake caught my eye. Made mostly with whole wheat pastry flour, it was delightful: moist, light, and with a heavenly orange aroma. It had tasty glaze which surely would have made a white flour cake cloying but took this more substantial cake from sturdy to special. The resident teen was only to happy to gobble it down, as were the rest of us (in a slightly more restrained fashion). The recipe is here.

The Beach

Every time I've gone to the beach in the last 30 or so years I've thought about a childhood visit we made over spring break. We rented a place in Cannon Beach when I was 11 or 12 and every morning my sister and I went out looking for Japanese glass floats. I was horribly jealous the day she found not one but two floats, one of them bigger than our heads.

It's silly but I think of that crazy jealousy every time I see the ocean. My sister and I (along with our parents, kids, and spouses) spent the past weekend at the beach. Despite the expected chaos of 4 huge boys and one small girl in one house, it was a lovely getaway full of stormy vistas, plentiful food, games, and laughs. I told the story of my long held float envy yesterday morning, realizing even as the words spilled out just how stupid I sounded.

I had a wonderful beach day yesterday. We walked in the rain while the kids explored. We strolled along the bayfront and watched the sea lions barking at one another. We swam at the motel pool and visited the Marine Science Center. And late in the day my sister gave me a beautiful glass float that she'd found earlier (in a shop, not on the beach), a gesture which made me inexplicably happy.

Blog Against Sexism Day

In honor of International Women's Day it's also Blog Against Sexism Day and I thought I'd add my voice to the mix.

My recent Barbie musings, my attempts to raise a strong daughter and fair-minded sons--this is how I've thought of my feminism in recent years. But the following factoid from Care.org got me thinking:

Of 876 MILLION illiterate adults in the developing world, two-thirds are women.

Since I started teaching English as a second language, the vast majority of my students have been male. But I do get female students, perhaps one or two for every ten males. Many of them do, indeed, have tremendous literacy challenges. Many of them work outside the home, most cook and keep house for their families, and still they find the time to come to school, to study, to dream of the stability and security they never knew in their countries of birth. They know that education is the key to these dreams and I try to instill in them that it is also the key to their independence and power.

I've seen many of these strong young women over the years, their eyes bright with the excitement of grasping a new idea, of beginning to communicate and express themselves in their new language. Yasmin from Somalia has been one of the most memorable of these students. I had her sister in my class before I met her. Her sister was brilliant, a very quick learner, outgoing, and full of self confidence. Yasmin came to my class a few months later, so different from her sister. She was quiet and struggled persistently with learning English. Nothing came easily to her and there were no other Somali students in the class to help her out. She worked so hard and it broke my heart when she failed the final exam in December. Nonetheless she generously offered to decorate my hands, not holding it against me in the least that she had to repeat. I really felt I'd failed her and spent a lot of time thinking about how I could make things work for her in the coming term.

It's like night and day now. There's another Somali girl in the class along with a young woman from Ethiopia. They speak different languages, but having this female African presence in the class has changed things. They're an outgoing bunch all draped in colorful veils. They lend each other support and it brings me such pleasure to see them tucked in at their table, front and center in my classroom. They're all doing well, but Yasmin has really taken off and it's clear that she's taking great pride in beginning to grasp her new language. I'd begun to have such high hopes for her future.

A couple of weeks ago she announced to me, beaming like the moon, that she's pregnant. Of course I tried to express happiness for her but I knew what this meant for her education. The odds of her continuing on in school are slim. The odds of her mastering English are similarly slim. All her hard work, all her progress may fall by the wayside as she tends to her new baby and those that will surely come after. Her husband will learn his way around in English and she will be dependent on him for information, for money, for everything. I know it's wrong to apply my American values to people with other beliefs but it does sadden me that she'll have no more independence here than she had in Somalia. There is safety and material comfort which must mean a great deal to her, but I imagine her life as a woman will not be significantly different than if she hadn't come to the United States and I can't help but feel that's a shame.

An Angry Girl

The Princess fell apart today. It wasn't the first time, of course, but it hit me particularly hard. I think it began with cleaning her room which is no easy task. The child is a pack rat (not unlike others in the family) and simply can't manage all the stuff that she feels is important, to the point that her room is often so cluttered with "treasures" that it's nearly useless as a play space.

She has a friend coming to play in a couple of days but I simply couldn't face the cleanup this time so I talked her brothers into doing it in exchange for a great deal of unrestricted computer time. They didn't do a bad job at all, but they had quite a different idea about what was important than she did. It wasn't long before she was in tears, worried that they'd "throw everything away". I called for a time out to examine the pile of , well, junk, that had been swept up and even I failed to see what the problem was in tossing it away. She wasn't able to find what was important or articulate what she needed at all. She just lost it and was in various stages of breakdown for quite some time.

Just about anything would set her off, including a comment about Barbie and how no one ever lets her have what she wants. I tried, helplessly, to explain why I didn't want Barbies in the house. Her brothers even attempted fairly coherent feminist argument with her but she was having none of it. At one point she turned to me with her face all flushed and teary and said, in a shaky voice "Can't you see, Mom, Barbie's just a toy, and toys aren't even important!". Except, obviously, they are and to both of us.

I've lowered my once-high parenting standards more times than I care to admit over the years. It turns out that my boys regularly watch terrible movies, read comic books instead of literature, and play computer games, really lame ones with no educational value whatsoever. I feel like there's this .... something....that boys need that I, as a mother, can't possibly understand but if they have to have their battles then who am I to stand in their way?

So why can't I let my daughter have the same freedom to play as she wishes? Why is so damned hard for me to let her wallow in her girliness? Sure, her brothers roll their eyes at her ballerina tutus and her princess drag and the dolls and fairies.....but honestly, so do I. I don't know what I'm worried about--the kid is strong and sure of herself. I was so proud of her today because even through her anger she was able to stick up for herself and try to make me see things her way. There's no way that a plastic Barbie doll is going to shake that.

Or will it? What is it that we fear so much that we've fought so hard to keep Barbie and Disney and McDonald's and TV out of our home? Why do I feel so strongly about keeping them out of school? I wonder what's wrong with letting them be "regular" kids. The Princess so wants to go to kindergarten next year and I know she'd have a great time. She'd wait her turn and color in the lines and do what she was told all day long if she could be around a bunch of other little girls. I know she'd love it, but I think the experience would change her in ways I don't want her to be changed, ways that might well prevent her from growing up to be herself.

But what kind of mother am I if I won't honor her desires, be they for Barbie or school? No wonder the poor kid is angry. Maybe she needs to throw some plates.

Not a Lot of Cooking Going On

Weekends are one thing....but now it's Tuesday. The last of the chana masala over freshly steamed basmati rice was a perfect breakfast. I really did think about cooking some proper food for everyone today but the sun was out and the garden was begging for attention. With any luck I'll be writing in a few months about the fruits of my lovingly tended blueberries. So far I haven't really had much luck with them, but I think last year's early February warm spell followed by a hard freeze really threw things off.

I could have cooked lunch. I should have cooked lunch. But with the sun shining and my tax refund newly deposited I thought it was surely time for lunch out. I gathered up the kids and we met The Spouse for lunch at Bumblekiss, my favorite tiny restaurant in NE Portland. They have a huge menu with lots of choices even for those who avoid meat and mushrooms. I've had a number of delicious pasta dishes there. Today I chose the rigatoni with blue cheese, broccoli, and toasted almonds. It was delicious. Sitting outside in the warm, almost-spring sunshine it was a heavenly meal.

But this gets me no closer to my goal of making good, healthy everyday food for my family.

Miraculous Chana Masala and Butterscotch Layer Cake

This morning I made uppma for the third time this week. I am hooked! Today's version had bell pepper and peas and I forgot the cashews. I chopped a few and sprinkled them on after the fact, but I much prefer the texture when they're sauteed early on.

I spent much of today reading food blogs, trying to learn a thing or two. There are so many great writers out there! I've always loved Orangette, surely one of the best of the best: lovely writing, beautiful photos, tempting recipes, and a format that is easy to navigate. While visiting there today I looked up a chana masala recipe from some time back, gave it a try and I was not disappointed. It was easy enough to make and turned out absolutely delicious over steamed basmati rice. That would have been enough for me but an actual miracle occurred when I placed it on the table. Neither boy turned up his nose. There were no disparaging comments, and no one went off in search of the peanut butter. They actually ate the richly sauced chickpeas, "weird" spices and all.

That unexpected blessing put me in a fine enough mood to tackle a cake I've long wanted to make. Butterscotch Layer Cake (another Nigella Lawson item) always sounded divine but that bit about making caramel always threw me. I've done it before, but I always find it ridiculously stressful as you stand over the stove and wait and wait and check to see if it's dark enough yet but it's not and you wait some more and then it's burned and you have to start all over again. That whole routine makes me grumpy.

I guess I felt unusually strong this evening. I held out until the caramel just barely smelled burnt and the resulting sauce was delicious and disaster free. The cake itself was not spectacular, it was rather nondescript. Also, while I was certain that I had 8" cake pans, they were nowhere to be found. There's probably a box of baking items somewhere that failed to return from Passover exile--it happens every year--but I foolishly thought I could wing it in 9" pans. And, of course, the cakes were thin and skimpy looking. I was trying to think some way to improve the height factor when bananas came to mind. Nigella even suggests the option of inserting dead ripe bananas between the layers but I decided that bananas sauteed in butter and a sprinkle of brown sugar might be perfect. It wasn't--it was all too sweet and cloying but perhaps I'd simply done too much sampling of the splendid cream cheese-caramel icing. Everyone else was pretty happy with the cake.

Do you need a good laugh?

This is about the funniest thing I've read in a long time. Red Molly has a nice way with words and is often funny but this was above and beyond. I was literally weeping with laughter. I guess being an ESL teacher gives me a special fondness for bad translation.

Shabbos Dinner

One of my goals here is to work on my photography skills. I look at some of the food blogs out there and am blown away by the gorgeous photos. Me, I'm just learning so if it looks totally amateur, well, there's a pretty good reason for that. I keep thinking about how my way of seeing food has become so dull over the last few years and I really need to bring the color and the focus back into my kitchen. I'm hoping the photos are one way to enhance the whole process of making and enjoying food.

We had friends over for dinner last night. Friday night is the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath, a time for rest and enjoyment and, ideally, a special meal. My only complaint about Friday night is that it comes on Friday night, after a long and busy week. When Friday afternoon rolls around I'm rarely in the mood for a long stint in the kitchen, especially when it's just us (as if there's anyone more important than my family). So, because I enjoy Beth and Liz immensely, and because I really was ready to do some cooking and hang out for hours around the dining table, I made the invitation and got down to bringing the meal together.

I was working with some dietary restrictions which affected my choices but this is how it shook out:

Challah (photo above, shaped and baked by my son)
Hungarian Sweet Potato Soup
Individual Sharp Cheddar Custards
Roasted Multicolored Potatoes
Fruit Salad (pineapple, blueberries, clementines, and Manila mango)
Green Salad (red leaf lettuce, homegrown arugula, carrot, scallions)
Molten Chocolate Babycakes

It was a good meal, not at all difficult to prepare, a little heavy on the custard cups but who can't use a few more tiny Pyrex bowls, right?

I wanted to share the recipes for the soup and the dessert as they have been enthusiastically received by anyone who's eaten them. The soup comes from Passionate Vegetarian, a giant treasure trove of meatless recipes that a good friend recently gave me. This is a delicious soup, rich with the flavors of sauteed leek, dill, and lots of sweet paprika. I first made it to share with friends on a crisp autumn night in a sukkah where it was happily gobbled down by everyone including the pickiest of my three picky offspring who now regularly asks for it. I've made it a number of times since and have somewhat streamlined the author's original process with no ill effects.

The dessert is really only appropriate for people who really, really love chocolate. As I was making it up last night I realized how much like truffle filling the batter is, so be warned. But with a bit of freshly whipped cream and a piping hot cup of coffee I can't think of a better ending to a meal.

Book Recommendation

I recently finished a book that I found very moving. Crossing Over: A Mexican Family on the Migrant Trail is a beautifully written book about undocumented workers and why they make the risky journey to work in the US. I've worked with lots of these folks over the years, but getting the insight into why they leave and how they get here has really deepened my understanding of their lives. The author is a fine writer and doesn't attempt to hide his sympathies as he speaks with people on both sides of the border. This book is important for anyone who wants to understand the human side of immigration from Mexico (and points south). It's also a really good read.

Hamantashen

The Jewish holiday of Purim is rapidly approaching which means two things around here: a scramble for costumes and baking hamantashen. Hamantashen are the customary Purim treat for Jews of Eastern European origin. Triangular pastries enclosing tasty fillings, they are said to represent the pockets (or ears) of Haman, the evil villain in the Purim story.

One thing I truly enjoy about living Jewishly is that time is marked in many ways, including through specific foods. Some have longstanding traditions behind them, others I've made traditional for our family. I only make latkes and doughnuts at Chanukah, I only have lemon curd at Passover, and I only make hamantashen at Purim.

There are probably hundreds of recipes out there for hamantashen dough but I was lucky to find this one early on in my holiday baking experience. It's an easy dough, fragrant with the aroma of fresh orange which compliments traditional fillings perfectly. I've never had any reason to look at any of the other dough recipes because this one is delicious and a snap to make with a food processor.Many people fill their hamantashen with jam or even canned pie filling, both of which are too sweet for my tastes. I like to make fillings from poppyseeds, apricots, prunes, and, for the kids, there are always a few filled with bittersweet chocolate chips which go splendidly with the orange-scented dough. Filling recipes are here. Hamantashen are not the simplest thing to make. Admittedly, they're a bit fiddly and time-consuming. But for a once yearly treat, they're hard to beat.

This One's for You, Beth!

Beth, the very first reader of Magpie Eats, wrote the following today:

Like you, I am pressed for time; and when I get home from work at 8:30 pm, the last thing I want to do is attempt to cook. So I'm hopeful that eventually something will pop up here that can be made in one pot, in less than 20 minutes.

I usually get home at 9 pm or later so I completely understand the ravenous arrival and the need for something easy and satisfying. Here's what I end up eating at least once a week. There is but one catch: you must buy Pastures of Eden kosher sheep's milk feta from Israel. I buy it regularly at Trader Joe's. It is my all time favorite cheese. When I was staring down the barrel of intense dietary restrictions I insisted I could do without all other dairy if I could just have this cheese in my life. And, while I am sensitive to cow's milk, this sheep's milk cheese doesn't bother me at all. It is creamy, mild, just slightly tangy, and simply divine.

So once you've hit TJ's and made sure you have a package or two of this lovely cheese in your fridge, you come home ravenous and looking for something to eat RIGHT NOW. Bring a pot of water to boil and throw in some kind of tiny pasta. I like orzo best, but there are numerous tiny (quick cooking) shapes. If greens are your thing, add a handful of finely sliced spinach, kale, chard, or mustard greens just before draining the pasta, for a quick wilt. Drain the pasta (and greens), toss everything in the bowl with a dash of olive oil, a clove of pressed garlic, a good grind of black pepper and the crucial couple of handfuls of crumbled Pastures of Eden feta. Give it a moment--the heat from the pasta will soften the cheese and, once you stir, you will have a deliciously creamy and delightful sauce coating your tiny pasta.

I can't tell you how satisfying this is. Obviously you can get more complicated: chopped parsley and basil are lovely additions as are chopped kalamata olives, strips of roasted red pepper, and tiny sliced tomatoes are divine with this if they're in season. But you can also leave the extras out--the pasta with the cheese is amazingly satisfying. But, please, buy the right cheese. Any other feta, in my experience, is unlikely to produce the same result, so you've been warned.

Uppma

Ever since the day a few months ago when a friend brought me a still warm dish of her Indian mother-in-law's freshly prepared uppma I've been hooked. It's hard to describe the appeal of what could simply be defined as a savory Cream of Wheat. Bear with me, it's better than it sounds. Think more of a pilaf/risotto hybrid, speckled with vegetables and nuts, rich with the golden flavor of lightly toasted wheat. It must be the ultimate comfort food for countless South Indians--it just has that warm, wholesome, uncomplicated thing going on.

On a recent trip to Abhiruchi for a Sunday buffet lunch, I had numerous servings of their uppma which was not nearly as delicate as Gita's, but tasty nonetheless.

And finally, I got up the nerve to try my own after buying a bag of farina at Bob's Red Mill last week. I followed the process outlined by Madhur Jaffrey in her World Vegetarian cookbook, but used my own combination of ingredients. We had neither curry leaves nor chana dal, but there was a bowl of leftover shelled edamame in the fridge, making this particular version a Japanese-South Indian fusion experiment. It was delicious though, unsurprisingly, the children were not impressed. You'll find the recipe here. It's clearly a foundation sort of dish--once you have the basics, I'm sure you can play with all sorts of variations. Madhur Jaffrey offers up three versions: cilantro-peanut, cashew and green bean, and a cabbage-pea combo. I plan on trying all of them. If you try it, let me know how it turns out.

Magpie Eats

I've had such fun with this all purpose blog that I'm starting another one!

"Whatever for?", you may well ask.

Well, here's the thing. I really, really miss the food-positive, adventurous cook I used to be. I don't know if it's age, three enormously picky and unadventurous children, Graves' Disease, or just the general chaos of my life, but I've kind of lost interest in food. Meal planning and preparation has become a chore of enormous proportions for numerous reasons and I've become rather estranged from my food. I'm finding that I really want to invite that old foodie back into my home.

I've thrown recipes in here and there on Magpie Ima, which is rather indicative of the way food figures in my current life. I'm thinking I'd like to have a place to focus on food and cooking specifically while keeping this blog as the place for all the bright and shiny things that come my way. Hopefull I can keep up. Anyone interested will find Magpie Eats here.

Reviving Appetite

A new blog? Whatever for?

Well, here's the thing. I really, really miss the food-positive adventurous cook I used to be. I don't know if it's age, three enormously picky and unadventurous children, Graves' Disease, or just the general chaos of my life, but I've kind of lost interest in cooking. Shopping, meal planning, and preparation seem to have become ridiculously difficult and I feel we've hit rather a low spot around here. But lately I'm finding that I really want to invite that old foodie back into my home.

I'd always planned that I'd raise my children on lovingly prepared whole foods, exposing them to a variety of enjoyable flavors, and they would grow to enthusiastically learn at my side in the kitchen. Well, I do have a 4 year old who's happy to fling messy ingredients hither and yon, but dinner, on a good day, might rely heavily on quick-to-fix choices courtesy of Trader Joe's. Sometimes, God help us, we just throw another pot of Annie's macaroni and cheese at the kids and encourage them to consider a piece of fruit as well while we, the adults, forage for sorry leftovers in the fridge or make do with kefir and quesadillas. What a sorry state we've reached around here.

I want to return to the kitchen, so to speak. And I don't want to do it alone. On my other blog I've posted quite a few links to recipes and people seem to be downloading them. I hope they are being used as well, but I've never heard back from anyone about how the cooking went. I'm hoping this blog will attract more folks who are interested in talking food and sharing recipes. I'm looking forward to hearing from people.

What do I hope to provide here? Whatever food-related items come my way, I suppose. I'm bound to comment on meals made for me by others whether in their homes or in restaurants. Well-loved recipes, experiments, and reflections on the process of bringing food to the table should figure heavily in the mix. A caveat: I keep kosher and am primarily vegetarian, so you'll need to look elsewhere for new ways with ham and shrimp. I am fond of a number of cuisines, most especially Indian so there's likely to be some leaning toward veggie dishes from the subcontinent. Or whatever strikes my fancy. I am, after all, a magpie!

More New Knitters!

When I am excited about a new project I often take my knitting to work, hoping to polish off a few quick rows before class and during the break. Lately it's the Embossed Leaves socks which are really stretching my capabilities but will be so gorgeous when complete. There are always a few students who show interest but when I offer to teach them they usually become embarrassed and change the subject.

Imagine my surprise last week when Guadalupe and Juan, two adolescent boys from Guatemala began to show interest in learning to knit. I thought they were just joking around but they insisted they wanted to learn so we made plans to stay after class tonight. I brought some nice worsted weight wool in bright colors and some size 7 bamboo needles which I find a perfect combination for beginners: not too big or small and, more important, not too slippery. A few of the other kids hung around at first, apparently as shocked as I had been that they wanted to learn. When one girl offered the opinion that knitting was only for women I sent the gawkers on their way so we could concentrate.

I was floored by how quickly they picked it up; they were easily the quickest learners I've ever taught and their beginner stitches were even and perfect. It occurred to me that, unlike many of the American teens I've taught, these young men probably grew up around fiber artists. They're from the Guatemalan highlands after all, home of some mighty fine textiles. My very minimal understanding is that Guatemalan men have traditionally been weavers and makers of beautiful things (as well as women) so it's very likely that these boys grew up with lots of examples of creative, talented men.

I filed my taxes today and one of the things I realized is that I really ought to be keeping track of the endless pairs of needles I buy for beginning knitters as I have spent a small fortune and, while I don't mind it at all, a tax deduction is never unwelcome. I now have some muscle on my side in the donation department, however. The fabulous folks at The Naked Sheep Knit Shop in North Portland will be letting me put a plea for donations for the refugee knitting circle in the next newsletter. As more and more women join us on Wednesday mornings, we are in need of more supplies. Knitters are a wonderfully generous bunch and I have no doubt we'll be the recipients of more yarn and needles as people read about what we are doing. Teaching people to knit is one of the joys of my life, but working with people who are new to this country and in need of positive experiences and new skills is that much more satisfying.

Major Adolescent Hysteria!

And it's not the boys for once, it's me. I'm gonna be just a little wound up for the next 3 months.

I found out yesterday that Manu Chao is going to be at the Sasquatch Music Festival with his wonderful band Radio Bemba Sound System over Memorial Day weekend. He is the only musician I'd even consider traveling to see but I am so crazy for his music that I will go to Central Washington if that's what it takes.

He hadn't toured the US in years and was finally as close as Berkeley last summer but we had neither the money to fly nor the time to drive. So now we'll be going to the middle of Washington state deal with this whole crazy festival thing which it sounds absolutely ridiculous for a pair of self-respecting parents in their 40's but we are not missing Manu again. My wonderful parents and some other lucky friends will be taking the kids and The Spouse and I get to have a ridiculous, juvenile, crazy road trip weekend.

Maybe one of these days I'll act like a grownup...but not just yet!

The Talk, Round 2

What is at about kids in the front seat? I probably shouldn't do it, but I've started letting 11 yo MonkeyBoy sit in the front seat from time to time when we're driving around and, like his brother before him, that's when he gets chatty. Well, he's always chatty, but in the front seat his chat is often surprisingly serious.

Today while we were driving around we passed by one of Portland's many Fantasy Video locations and when MB asked me about it, it suddenly occurred to me that one might actually think it was a video store specializing in fantasy titles and not the adults-only kind of place it is. I guess it sounded like a pretty good idea to him but then I set him straight about my impression of what one would see there. Not that I've been. But I can imagine.

Not wanting to put a negative spin on things I made sure to sound positive about sex, how it's the greatest thing ever....with someone you love. We covered pregnancy, menstruation, birth control and more and I brought up the very real possibility that the time was coming when he wouldn't always be thinking with his brain so it was probably good to ask questions as they occur to him, assuring him I'd do my best to answer. I ended by assuring him that all I wanted was for him to find a person he'd be happy with one of these days.

Whew. I know I have to look calm and cool about it all but, honestly, I'm just ready for this.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Today is my father's 66th birthday. He was headed to the beach today so yesterday we had baked goodies from Di Prima Dolce to celebrate and I gave him a copy of Uncle Tungsten which I thought he'd enjoy.

My father is surely one of the greatest people I've ever known. He is brilliant and resourceful and can fix anything. He always has an answer and it's nearly always right. He makes dopey jokes and will drop everything and show up when people need help. He's moved me from place to place countless times and never complained (at least not that I've heard). He's a fine self-taught musician and he has a lovely garden and a thing for bees.

My dad was an enthusiastic single father back in the 70's when role models were hard to come by. He taught me so much about honesty, flexibility and generosity and he showed me that humor can work wonders. He taught me to believe I could achieve anything I wanted. He's a wonderful grandfather and I'm glad my kids have a chance to enjoy being with him.

I sometimes forget to tell him, but I love my dad more than words can say.

So....happy birthday, Daddy. May you have many, many more!

Weekend Roundup

While we did manage to work through an impressive mountain of laundry this weekend, it wasn't all drudgery. Saturday was sunny and delightfully warm, the false spring that so often graces Portland in February. I did not go into a frenzy of pruning or planting as I so often do at the first spot of sun. The yard is as unkempt as ever. We keep talking about pulling down the sunflower skeletons but, ugly as they are, I like to leave them for the birds. Just today there was a cloud of bushtits making a meal on wintered over flower heads, so my garden laziness has its upside after all.

Due to the willingness of friends to allow us to hand of all 3 children simultaneously The Spouse and I managed a nice little lunch together and an afternoon of knitting at a bright and sunny cafe. Later we took the Princess for a few turns on the carousel while her brothers slept over with a friend. She feel asleep on the way home, so it seemed like a perfect opportunity to make Adults Only Stinky Cheese Pasta , a simple but intense dish that we both love. If it all sounds too good to be true, it was. The Princess ended up not going to sleep for the night but, in fact, taking a power nap. She popped up at 9 pm and was good for 3 more hours, which we spent watching a Bollywood extravaganza. I can't help myself-- I'm a fool for those goofy movies and my new Netflix membership is just making it worse!

Things fell apart, as they so often do, in the aisles of Target while buying underwear and socks for boys who are always losing one and outgrowing the other. No one enjoys these excursions, but they are occasionally necessary. Unfortunately the boys decided to make their displeasure known through all manner of screwing around which ended with someone getting hurt and everyone getting mad. We left rather ungraciously and grumbled most of the way home. The grumbling was paused, however, when I spotted a pair of bald eagles overhead which seemed rather marvelous in the middle of the city, just a few blocks from Interstate 205. I'm glad everyone was able to take note of that.

Dinner consisted of a mediocre vegetable-rich minestrone at the Dark Lord's request, accompanied by mediocre biscuits. If I'd started the soup earlier it would have been fine but it was a bit rushed and didn't have much character. But dessert was a perfect: Cherry Chocolate Bread Pudding with whipped cream.

Doubts

I used to think having little ones was the hard part of being a parent. They're so needy and have no language skills or patience. But it turns out I'm still waiting for the easy part to begin. I wonder about when we need to persist, and when we need to follow our instincts about something that doesn't seem to be working.

Right now I am really beginning to question my decisions about my kids. The Dark Lord really wanted to learn to play guitar and we figured that could start immediately post bar mitzvah when he'd have a bit more time. We found a teacher who is highly recommended for both his technical skills and his teaching ability. Generous friends gave the boy a lovely guitar as a bar mitzvah gift and he was quite excited to get started. He was thrilled after the first lesson but as time has gone on he shows less and less enthusiasm for learning. I know it's hard going starting a new skill and he doesn't love to work hard. But he leaves his lessons so visibly unhappy now and has begun to show less and less interest in practicing. It may be that he's simply having to confront the difficulty of learning a new skill. Or it may be that his teacher's expectations and virtuosity are intimidating and taking any possible joy out of learning. I don't know if I should push him to stick with it or honor his feeling that it’s not a good fit.

Perhaps if this weren't coming on the heels of the charter school disaster, I'd have a bit more clarity about how to handle things. That experience was clearly not working well and MonkeyBoy's improved behavior since we took him out should be all the validation I need. But I still worry that maybe I've encouraged them to believe that when things get tough it's OK to cut and run.

I envy all those homeschooling parents who declare with confidence that we must trust that our children will learn what they need and they'll turn out just fine if we just let them be. If any of you folks are reading this.....how do you do it? Where does that confidence come from? I find myself less and less sure about the wisdom of homeschooling these beautiful kids of mine while, at the same time, I'm as unwilling as ever to throw them in to the competitive and conformist world of institutional schooling. What's a mom to do?

All I want, really, is to have a few days now and then when I feel confident that I'm doing the right thing with my kids.

My Valentine's Day Post

18 years ago today my dear one asked me to marry him. There was a romantic Greek dinner, a cheap ring (which I picked out), and music I'm too embarrassed to mention, but we were young and silly and quite madly in love and I didn't miss a beat before saying "yes". The wedding was 16 months later and things really took off from there. Amazingly here we are, all these years later, with a house (a house!) full of kids and cats and books and yarn and endless proof of a full life.

In Judaism, there's a system known as gematria which assigns numerical values to the Hebrew letters. Surely the best known of these correlations is the number 18 whose value means"life". Eighteen years may not be an entire life but I guess in ancient times it would have been considered a generation, time to grow from infant to adult, from innocence to knowledge, dependence to competence. Enough time for some profound transformations.

Certainly the simple future I envisioned all those years ago turned out to be full of complexities I never imagined. I've learned that I don't actually know everything and, in fact, I have had to work through quite a few challenges in my life. Growing a family, building a career, establishing a home, developing passions, saying goodbye--all of these I've done with the support of a man who I know in my heart would do absolutely anything for me. His love has given me strength to bring babies into the world and raise them, to face my fears, to question my assumptions, to explore new ideas, and to try and do what's right even when it's hard. Quite simply, he helps me see more clearly.

For this life, and for the man who's made it with me, I am profoundly grateful.

Chocolate Truffles

My traditional Valentine's gift for my sweetie is homemade chocolate truffles. I roll them in finely ground coffee, cocoa powder, toasted nuts, vanilla sugar, and shredded coconut for a variety of tastes. Each is tucked into a paper or foil cup and then boxed up. They are ridiculously easy and extremely delicious. Who can resist a box of mixed goodies, dressed up in red foil skirts?

The recipe is here. Enjoy!

Rainy Sunday

So often it seems my family is squabbling. We're a testy bunch, that's for sure. Someone's always short on something (sleep, food, patience) with predictable results. Usually it seems like a good idea to just stay home and spare the world our craziness.

This morning the boys got to attend a drawing class with their grandfather at the 3D Center of Art and Photography while The Princess, The Spouse, and I had some time together. We'd expected the boys to be engaged for longer and had planned a day of errands but once we picked up the boys we decided that maybe just hanging out would be better. We took the art supplies and knitting and headed for Extracto, claimed a table amongst the industrious hipsters glued to their iBooks, and settled in.

I always feel like taking our family out is such an event, even when everyone's on an even keel. I never know how long the peace will last or if we'll need to bolt, flushed with embarrassment as someone loses it and I mutter useful comments like "that's the last time we ever take you out again!".

But we did OK. We were all together but engaged in our own projects. A woman came in, unpacked her gear, took a look at us drawing and knitting and remarked to me how wonderful it was to see us. And, you know? It was pretty great. The Princess' drawing skills are improving by leaps and bounds, the boys were full of new ideas, and The Spouse managed a few nice sketches. I'm well into the second of my Embossed Leaves socks and, while the lace is no longer giving me fits, it does require some concentration. I'm not sure how long we were there, doing whatever it was we were doing, but it was a nice way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon.

Lucky

Yesterday was payday and after a delicious lunch with a friend and 2 out of 3 kids, I decided to hit my favorite thrift store in an attempt to find some jeans. My body has changed so much in the last year, and continues to do so. Having a well stocked, super-cheap thrift store in walking distance means I can refresh my wardrobe as needed for next to nothing. Yesterday I think I may have hit my all time greatest thrifting score--a pair of black leather Dansko clogs, barely worn, in my size. The last pair of these I bought new was $109 (and worth every penny) but these I found for......$5! Also I found a pair of fancy new sandals for MonkeyBoy, some lovely, classic looking shirts for The Dark Lord who seems to be developing a new sense of style, a gorgeous summery paisley shirt for The Spouse in a delicious soft cotton, and a copy of The Cooking of India from the 1970's Time Life Foods of the World series in mint condition. I remember poring over these books as a child, though I'm not sure where as they weren't at my own house. Maybe at my grandparents' home. Lots of great photos, classic recipes, and a huge amount of information. I'm thrilled to add this to the collection. Oh, and I got a new pair of jeans, too.

I had a great walk today, a bit longer than usual but not particularly difficult. Inspired by the cycling goal of a friend who feels lucky just to be able to ride, I've set my own personal goal of walking 350 miles this year. She's doing it for charity, I'm just doing it for me right now. I need to either be walking more or up the length of my walks if I'm to make it--anyone want to walk with me? I feel so great after a good walk and I am grateful that I'm healthy enough to enjoy the exercise.

The Princess was invited to a Valentine's party this evening so The Spouse and I had a few hours to ourselves. We visited a new French style bakery where I had a delicious slice of onion tart, followed by a cream puff and a perfect cup of coffee. Bliss! Then, a trip to Mirador because I needed an additional jar for fermenting kombucha so I can up my production. Our evening was nothing terribly exciting, yet I put on my favorite paisley silk blouse and even a dash of lipstick just because a few hours alone with my sweetie is a gift and it felt very special. Every once in a while it occurs to me how very lucky we were to find each other.

Disappointed

I was so gung ho for John Edwards for his stance on poverty, his opposition to the war and especially because he claimed to support universal health care. Now that he has released details of his "universal health care plan" it looks as though it's another giveaway to the insurance companies looking not unlike the sweet deal Massachusetts insurance companies were recently given. Make insurance "more affordable" so everyone can and then must buy in. Hello? Who does that help, exactly?

Reading deeper I find that Edwards' plan requires a Medicare style option among the choices offered to consumers. Some speculate that this requirement opens the door for a single payer system as we would be able to choose the plan that best fits our needs. But the health insurance companies would never allow that to come to pass.

Health care will never be affordable or universally accessible in this country until the insurance companies are driven out of business. There's no other way. Insurance companies exist solely to make money--their interests lie not in improving lives but in lining shareholders' wallets. How we've allowed them to take over this country is beyond me. Nothing short of a single payer, government run health care system (as seen in most of the developed world) will be fair or affordable. I'd like to see a presidential candidate work towards this goal and we, as citizens, should be demanding nothing less.

I'm off my soapbox now. For the moment.

Indian Shabbat

I don't know what came over me yesterday. We had an early morning birthday celebration after which boys were delivered to a friend while The Princess was shuttled 17 miles away to her new music class after which we returned to pick up the boys and finally went home. I put nearly 50 miles on my van yesterday. Ouch. Luckily my electric company just informed me that my 2006 Blue Sky energy purchase kept enough carbon dioxide out of the air to equal at least 2 years of driving the trusty minivan so I felt somewhat better about the long drive.

Nonetheless I was pretty well wiped out by the time I got home. And yet, because I am nuts, when The Dark Lord suggested it was time for me to teach him how to make saag paneer I agreed. And then, because I am completely nuts, I went on to make a multicourse Indian style meal: saag paneer (spinach and homemade cheese), a made up dish I'm calling aloo mutter korma (peas and potatoes in a creamy coconut sauce), basmati rice, naan and tomato chutney. I actually whipped this meal out in about three hours, which I thought was pretty good since I made it all up from scratch. Happily I got a call in the middle of preparations and was able to invite a dear friend to join us for dinner. The potato and pea dish was OK--not as flavorful as I'd hoped and honestly, the naan was not so good either. Normally the kids hoover it down and we had leftovers which pretty much says it all. But slathered in sweet tomato chutney it was just fine. And the saag paneer was absolutely perfect. You'll find my recipe here. It's not a quick and easy dish but it's highly nutritious and, more importantly, absolutely delicious if I say so myself. Feel free to email me if you have any questions about the preparation. It's definitely worth the effort.

A Huge Loss

Molly Ivins died last night after a long struggle with breast cancer. All of 62 years old, she still had so much more to say. There are few political writers whose works I've enjoyed so much. She will be sorely missed by progressives.

Even Shrub had something nice to say about his fellow Texan:

“I respected her convictions, her passionate belief in the power of words, and her ability to turn a phrase. She fought her illness with that same passion. Her quick wit and commitment to her beliefs will be missed,” Bush said.

That was much nicer than anything she said about him.

Rest in peace, Molly.

Worth Watching

The boys and I were fortunate to be able to attend the Inconvenient Truth presentation live at our synagogue the other evening. I wrote earlier about the film, but the presentation is even better. There's more information, the information is more current and, most important there's the opportunity for interaction with other people. It was a very worthwhile evening and opened the boys' eyes in a big way.

On the way home, we picked up a DVD that had been mentioned: Who Killed the Electric Car? This is an excellent film (creepy Mel Gibson interview notwithstanding) and is a must-see about the intentional efforts to prevent US consumers from obtaining zero emissions vehicles. Infuriating, really.

On a completely different subject, but also excellent: The Lost Boys of Sudan.The film was recommended to me by the woman who "hired" me to teach the Somali women to knit. It's a wonderful documentary about the resettlement of a group of young Sudanese orphans in the US. I've worked with refugees and immigrants for many years but never tire of hearing their stories, so I found this film very moving.

Red Scarf Wrapup

I dropped my red scarf off at the local yarn store acting as a collection point. Apparently they had just sent in 150 scarves and were planning on mailing in at least 100 more today. Wow! That's a lot of red scarves. I will likely never work with chenille yarn as long as I live, but I was glad to help out nonetheless.

Cinnamon Rolls

I'm getting very few comments on my posts (except for Elizabeth --thanks, sweetie!) but I do know that lots of folks are out there, silently downloading recipes. Which pleases me immensely. So I'm trying to continue posting the good ones I use. I'm delighted to share, but I would love it if folks could drop me a line just to let me know if they're trying the recipes and how things turn out.

Another gorgeous day here in Portland. We took a brisk family walk, the high point of which was standing on a pedestrian overpass over I-205 with The Princess while she waved madly at the cars below yelling "duckling!" for no reason I could understand. The drivers in the cars below often waved back and honked, including the driver of a large semi whose horn made The Princess giggle with glee.

We returned home for an afternoon snack of cinnamon rolls. I've used many cinnamon roll recipes over the years but had long thought that I could tweak my regular challah recipe just slightly for a good result. I replaced oil with melted butter, water with milk, and upped the sweetening just slightly for a delicious dough. I use my bread machine but it's basically challah dough, the easiest yeast dough in the world as far as I'm concerned, so making it by hand (or heavy duty mixer) should yield similarly delicious results. The recipe is here. Enjoy!

Good Day Sunshine

What a difference a week makes. Last Saturday I was curled up in my bed gripped in the clutches of a nasty stomach virus. I lost a few days to illness and came out of it to find myself panicked about the boys' falling behind in their schoolwork and full of doubts about the wisdom of our educational choices.

As I gained my strength back I also gained my sense and I am so delighted that The Spouse and I made the decision to pull the boys out this week. It's like a cloud has lifted around here. The boys no longer "need" their computers for schoolwork and are suddenly back with us, hanging out in the the common areas of the house and even playing games together--real games, with boards and pieces not just pixels on a screen.

The Spouse and I are scrambling to make a plan because we do realize that the structure offered by Connections was a big draw for the boys. I guess they'll be wanting a daily list of tasks which is hard for me. Anything involving planning and organization is hard for me but hard is not necessarily bad.

Last night we went to a Kabbalat Shabbat service for the first time in ages. Friday nights are so hard for us, everyone is fried at the end of the week but that, of course, is exactly why coming together to welcome Shabbat is so very important. Plus the services were led by two good friends (one if Jonah's Hebrew tutor) who can always be counted on for spirit-lifting music and thoughtful discussion. Once we found out they were leading, we wanted to make the effort to go. Now that The Dark Lord is past his bar mitzvah he believes he never needs to set foot in a synagogue again and it was quite an effort to get him to come. I had to put up with lots of eye rolling and lame excuses but eventually stopped kvetching and joined us.

I woke up to a brilliantly sunny morning and was able to recognize it for the gift it is. I pulled on my trusty running shoes, grabbed my iPod and headed out the door for a good long walk. I hadn't done my full neighborhood loop (2.3 miles) in a couple of months for various reasons: time, weather, illness, whatever. I can usually come up with an excuse that will keep my sorry self in bed but I didn't even try this morning. I was anxious to get out and move. I started with the customary "hello" to the Muscovy duck around the corner, walked down through the sketchy part where I'm always a bit nervous, then the long walk up the hill, a quick stop to catch my breath, and then an easy walk home. I started this walk last spring in an attempt to get fit and lose some weight and came to find that I actually enjoyed this time to get to know my neighborhood and take note of changes as the months went by. After two horrible weeks of illness, I felt such immense joy at being able to get my body moving in the sunshine.

Big Decisions

Last spring we decided homeschooling as we’d been doing wasn’t really working. It had begun to feel quite haphazard and inconsistent and I began to worry that my children would be completely unprepared for The Real World. When we investigated Connections Academy, a virtual charter school based in Scio, Oregon it looked too good to be true. We were skeptical going in, of course. It’s nothing but a big for-profit corporation that couldn’t possibly have our kids’ best interests at heart. But the promise of the box of materials on the doorstep and the pre-planned lessons was just too marvelous to ignore. Surely, we thought, this would be a good bridge between our cozy life at home and The Real World and we’d have real, live teachers standing by to help us.

While the relatives and schooling parents all seemed to breathe a sigh of relief that we were finally doing something sensible with the boys, all our homeschooling friends had reactions ranging from doubt to horror. Why ever would we give up the autonomy and freedom of homeschooling for the experience of others deciding what, how, and when our children need to learn? Honestly, I was happy with the curriculum and felt that my kids would have a great academic foundation in the program. And I felt that having outside authorities night reduce the power struggles I was having with the boys about schoolwork.

We expected a transitional period but it’s now halfway through the school year and both boys are too busy to go anywhere or see friends. We feel trapped in the house, we hardly see anyone, and it’s always all about getting the work done. This is childhood? One child is perpetually “behind” and under pressure (and not surprisingly, acting out) while the other has found that computer based learning provides a world of distraction and that one can skate along doing shoddy work with few consequences. The Princess is stuck at home while I crack the whip over her brothers and I am bordering on depression from the stress of it all.

Oddly enough, the boys tell me that they want to continue with this program. When we talk about it, it’s the structure that appeals to them but not the pace. But we don’t get to make substantive adjustments with Connections. We haven’t found a way to make it work for our family.

While I dread hunting down resources, planning lessons, and developing curriculum again, I feel like this just isn’t a good fit. I know I can take what worked from this experience and adapt as necessary to come up with something that works for our family and helps my boys grow into themselves. I’ve sent in the letter stating our wish to pull the boys out. And I finally feel like I can breathe again.

Birth Day

I took The Princess to a birthday party today. Not only is A her very best friend, she's the daughter of one of my very closest long-time friends. And I was there when she was born. So, technically, was The Princess who was but a tadpole in my womb at the time.

I was honored when A's mother asked me to stay with her and provide support during her labor. It is such an astounding experience to witness labor and birth. All did not go as planned and there were, in my opinion, things that might have led to an easier birth, but it the entire experience was unforgettable. I tried so hard to be there for my friend and her husband despite my exhaustion from the child growing inside me. I so wanted her to have a positive, empowering birth experience and was frustrated when I couldn't help that come to pass. Eventually A arrived, tiny and perfect and magnificent and I got to hold her right at the beginning and gaze into her astounding eyes. That five years have passed since that night is somehow more astounding to me than the years that have passed since my own children's births and each birthday reminds me how honored I was to witness the birth of this child.

Green Rice

Green rice is a staple around here. One of those dishes that's simple, nutritious, and infinitely satisfying--comfort food at its best. We've been making what we now call "regular" green rice around here for years. The recipe comes from Deborah Madison's The Savory Way which was a gift from my sweetie on the birthday right after we were married. We've cooked just about everything out of that book but green rice is a perennial favorite of adults and kids alike in this house. The greens, herbs, Parmesan cheese, and rice is perfect blend of flavors that's become one of our staples.

With this excellent track record I was delighted to find a "new" green rice in Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison's Kitchen. This version is creamy sand elegant, with the gentle bite of fire roasted chiles and velvety sour cream. I still have a few bags of treasured roasted chiles in the freezer from the farmers' market chile man and this is an honorable way to put them to good use. I added corn kernels to make it more of a green-and-yellow rice, and to very good effect, I think. Green Rice with Roasted Green Chiles and Leeks is a keeper--a perfect dish for a cold night and hungry family.

Stripy Goodness

Still snowed in here, but it's beginning to melt. I think the roads will be a nightmare after dark. Luckily school is closed for another night, which keeps hundreds of cars off roads which are bound to be slick and nasty. I realized that between illness, the holiday, and inclement weather I haven't left my house in over 5 days apart from a couple of snowy walks. No wonder my nerves are just a wee bit frayed.

I decided to work on a new project--I've long wanted to try a scrap yarn sweater so yesterday I assembled odd balls of yarn for a cardigan and cast on for a basic top down cardigan for The Princess. The yarns run the gamut from Lamb's Pride to my own Kool-Aid dying experiment with quite a few balls of unknown origin tossed into the mix. A very promising beginning but I dread weaving in all those ends down the road.I've had lots and lots of time to visit other blogs and I have found some real gems. My little efforts here in blogland are rather paltry compared to some of the wonders out there--watch the blogroll for new additions of you are interested. But the most serendipitous find du jour (given the project I just started) is The Random Stripe Generator. I am a fool for stripes so I had all kinds of fun with this. Take a look and have your own stripy fun.

Happy Winter

So many great things today. We woke up to snow, lots of snow, giant fat flakes tumbling out of the sky. Real snow is such a rare treat in this part of the world and the kid in me tends to get very excited about it especially when there's a night off work. I actually felt well enough to walk around the neighborhood with the kids. I love how the snow muffles sound. For a time we heard only our feet crunching the snow. The Princess can't remember a proper snowfall in her lifetime so this was huge for her.

I'm drinking my first cup of coffee since I got sick--what a treat! The little things in life are good, no? As we walked in the snow, I thought of Happy Winter Fudge Cake, a recipe from Laurie Colwin's More Home Cooking which along with the earlier Home Cooking, is one of the most read books in my library. Colwin's novels are not my favorites but her food writing is spectacular. Reading her essays about food and cooking is like hanging out in the kitchen with a clever, talented and much loved friend. Of course there are wonderful recipes but there's more: an enthusiasm for making and sharing food that is contagious and inspiring. Whenever I find myself in a funk a re-read of either of these books will quickly set things right.

The phone keeps ringing as baffled students call to figure out if they need to venture out to school tonight. I am happy to tell them "stay home, keep warm". We have a cozy fire, lovely music, leftovers in the fridge and there's nothing ahead of me but a long night of knitting--bliss! I'm not even knitting alone. The Spouse has gone into the second skein of his eternal vest project and MonkeyBoy has picked up the needles again in the last few days. "Mom", he said, "I love knitting. I really love knitting. I love knitting while it's snowing best of all". That's my boy!

Mmmm...Gumbo!

Well my sweetie sure knows how to take care of me. While I spent the entire day in bed reading and knitting my way back to health he made me one of my very favorite dishes. Deborah Madison's gumbo is delicious--warm, spicy, and packed with nutrition. It's a wee bit time consuming but not at all difficult to make so I urge you to make up a big pot of it soon. It freezes beautifully so you can easily tuck a few servings away in the freezer for another day. I am sure this is going to fix me up and I'll be right as rain tomorrow!

Yuck, Part 2

I thought I felt poorly last week. What I wouldn't give for those run down sniffles today. I finally got whatever The Spouse has had for nearly 2 weeks. When the night sweats became a regular thing, he saw Dr. Ed and got himself a prescription for Zithromax. I am beginning to wonder if The Dark Lord and I aren't headed down the same road. The poor boy sounds like he's going to cough up a lung at night. I'm not so much at the coughing stage--it's more skull-splitting headache/fever/body aches with some dizziness and nausea thrown in for fun.

In the past 48 hours I have done very little but sleep, read, and knit: the red scarf is nearly finished and I read the new 500 page Philippa Gregory novel in under 48 hours. Her historical novels about Tudor England are definitely one of my guilty pleasures, and having the latest show up on the library holds shelf Friday afternoon was extremely good fortune as The Bug began to have its way with me. Also I've had lots of fun browsing craft blogs and wishing I felt well enough to head downstairs and do some sewing.

If I ever had any doubts about my husband's love for me (I didn't, by the way) they would surely be erased by how well he's cared for me this weekend. He made the trip to Salvador Molly's to bring me some spicy macaroni pie which I adore. Currently he and The Princess are out buying supplies to make vegetarian gumbo which will undoubtedly restore me to full vigor. For two days he's done everything (dishes, cooking, laundry) and kept the kids relatively quiet. So even though I feel like warmed over garbage today, I do know how very lucky I am.

The Red Scarf Project

The Oregonian ran a story in today's living section about The Red Scarf Project which aims to support former foster kids now in college. Because these young men and women are often lonely and without support once they leave the foster care system, The Orphan Foundation of America sends care packages as a way of showing that these folks are indeed cared about. They're hoping to include handmade red scarves in the 2500 care packages they'll be sending out for Valentine's Day. Something in the story touched me, so off I went to pick up some yarn. The current state of finances necessitated that the yarn come from Fabric Depot rather than a nice yarn shop, but the scarlet Lion brand chunky chenille is going to make something extra cozy. The best part? As I was paying for my yarn, I noticed the lady in line behind me also had two big skeins of red yarn. I asked if she, too, had read the story in the paper and it turns out that she was also knitting for The Red Scarf Project.

Seven More Knitters in the World!

Today was my first day working with the Somali refugee women as a volunteer knitting instructor. When The Princess and I arrived at Kateri Park in SE Portland, we met the two women organizing the class and another volunteer but no students in sight. Eventually they showed up, eager to get going, which was gratifying. We started out with yarn and needles donated by Mabel's and some of my very kind and generous friends. I decided I'd cast on for them and let them work on learning the knit stitch. I was surprised at how quickly most of them seemed to catch on despite my often awkward instructions. Their English is very limited and I realized the usual beginners' rhymes would only be confusing so I cut it down to the basics: in, around, back, off. It seemed to work.

I was pleased to see how many of the women took the needles from me as I was trying to demonstrate, anxious to get to work. One kept trying to indicate that she was left-handed which I've never really factored in while teaching someone to knit. After a few frustrating rows, she grabbed the needles, turned everything around and got to work figuring out how to do it her way. I look forward to seeing what she's come up with by next week. The women seemed to have a great time, hanging out, schmoozing, and laughing at their mistakes. The began to help each other out, and the smiles as a row was completed were priceless. I am so grateful that I fell into such a wonderful opportunity.

Oh Happy Day!

Anyone who has read my profile or spent any time with me knows I am a huge fan of Manu Chao. I can't get enough of his crazy world beat multilingual music. I love the repetition of musical samples, the clever lyrics, the complex themes covered in seemingly simple songs, and the fabulous audio collage thing he has going on.

He's not terribly well known in the US which is probably why his latest studio album wasn't even released here. It's all in French which probably doesn't do much for sales on our side of the pond. I've only been able to find extremely expensive copies of this CD (like $60 and up) until one day in December when I took a peek on eBay and, miraculously, there was a copy of this very CD with a starting bid of $7.50.

Something went horribly wrong years ago in the process of setting up my account and things became so colossally screwed up that I have never been able to use eBay. And it's probably just as well, really. But when I found this album I simply had to have it. I called on the able assistance of a dear friend who managed to win it for me despite a few hours of competition with some Italian guy. I was considering emailing the guy and explaining to him that since he could actually buy the CD in Italy it would be really nice if he would just let me get it. But I don't speak Italian. Nonetheless he must have sensed my agitation because he stopped bidding and the CD was mine. It's been pointed out that I could have likely special ordered this from any number of music shops here in town, but I rather like this roundabout way of getting my hands on this CD. The best part? It was mailed from Bulgaria! You just don't get stories like this with iTunes!

And the music, unsurprisingly, is great. I'm on my 3rd time through (it would have been more were it not for my job!) and I'm liking it more with each listen. There are a few familiar musical bits from earlier albums but the sound is very distinctive. The lyrics, alternating from silly to serious to indecipherable (for me anyway) are entirely in French and Manu's voice is warm and rich. The album seems somehow simpler and more personal than earlier works. I'm delighted to have this new addition to my collection.

A Finished Object!

...and not even the first since I started this blog but some others got away to their recipients before I could take photos. This is MonkeyBoy's long-awaited sweater made with gorgeous, hand dyed merino from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. I bought a 500 yard skein of their yarn at the 2005 Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival and made a slightly too-small sweater for the boy which he wore and loved despite its less than generous fit. This past fall I bought 2 huge skeins and made a much larger sweater with lots of leftover yarn. Enough to add length at the waist and cuffs as needed. The pattern was a simple top-down raglan, a pattern I highly recommend because it's easy to follow and simple to modify. Also--no seams--when it's done it's done. The best part is knowing it will be well worn and loved!

Links!

Lynn told me there was some other official name which I've completely forgotten, but I finally figured out how to make a list of links which you'll find tidily arranged down on the right side of this very page. Some of these are friends' blogs/websites, and others receive regular visits from moi. Clearly there's a wide range of subjects but I will say that if you can't laugh at Dirty Sugar Cookies, you probably shouldn't hang out here.

Hopefully you'll find something to tide you over as you eagerly await my next post. Warning--the volume should be slowing down as today is Day 1 of Winter Term. I will need to actually tidy up, put on proper clothes and teach some English 4 nights a week which will likely be a bit of a shock to my system after 3 luxurious weeks of vacation.

Yuck

So I feel like I've had a cold for at least 2 weeks. In the old days, pre-Graves', I'd run to New Seasons and stock up on immune stimulating products and kill those bugs dead in their tracks. But the doctor says I'm to avoid such things for now. She did give me the OK for The Tonic, as we refer to it around here. It only occurred to me yesterday to brew up a new batch of this stuff which, alas, takes 3-4 weeks to reach full potency. It's a powerful mixture of onion, garlic, horseradish, cayenne, turmeric, and vinegar, sweetened with honey. Did I mention that it's powerful? It kept some of us virtually bug-free for most of last winter which is saying a lot around here. I finally mixed up a new batch (it's only finding the fresh horseradish that's a tiny bit challenging) and it's merrily steeping away on my counter in all its screaming yellow glory. I won't say "enjoy" but maybe it will be useful.

Cinnamon Puffs

Last night I went to bed virtuously planning to arise at a reasonable hour, gently wake my children, feed them a nutritious breakfast, and bundle them off to Shabbat services at our synagogue. The younger two actually wanted to go. But it didn't work out that way at all. The Spouse is still sick and slept fitfully which affected my own sleep. I awoke rather bleary and not at all motivated to drag sleeping tots from their cozy beds. So I turned on the computer, began the day at Radical Torah in honor of Shabbat and then caught up on some other reading. I was delighted to find new visitors to my blog--thanks for stopping by and leaving comments!

Somewhere between health care reform and The Yarn Harlot my stomach began to rumble. French toast made from Friday night challah is pretty standard on Saturday mornings when we're home. Yesterday's challah was absolutely delicious, the best I've made in months. I don't know why this is, I use exactly the same recipe week after week but there are always variations in the final product. Yesterday's challah was soft, sweet, golden, and perfectly cooked. The Dark Lord and I did some quick calculations and figured I'd probably made close to 800 challahs in the last 10 years, so declaring yesterday's loaves in the top 40 was pretty good, I thought. But I don't much like French toast. I wanted something sweet, but with a little kick. Something to go with coffee. Clearly I needed French Cinnamon Puffs, a rich, eggy muffin-like thing rolled in butter and cinnamon sugar. If you haven't yet figured this out, we are a butter positive family!

These are actually full of wonderful associations for me. As a teen I spent an inordinate amount of time hanging out with friends downtown at the Coffee Ritz. This was way before Starbucks came to Portland, before lattes, before there was a coffee shop on every corner. We would take the bus into town after school and hang out for hours drinking black coffee and people watching. Most of my babysitting money went for coffee but when I was flush I could splurge on a French Cinnamon Puff, with its buttery, sugar-crunchy topping. Absolute heaven.

And then I forgot all about them for many years. Around the time MonkeyBoy was born I began craving these things like a madwoman, which how my cravings always come on. If I had had a computer with internet access in those days no doubt I could have found a recipe in no time. But this was during the Dark Ages, so to speak, so if it wasn't at the library or Powell's, it wasn't available and with infant MonkeyBoy and toddler Dark Lord, my browsing time was severely limited. One day, lo and behold, my marvelous Aunt Nancy sent one of her always appreciated packages. This contained, among other things, a cookbook entitled Breakfast in Bed. If cookbook addiction is hereditary, I blame Aunt Nancy for she surely passed it on to me, along with many wonderful cookbooks. Within this small book I found a recipe for the puffs of my youth.

I have since made them many times. Recently they were on the menu for a Sunday brunch with friends, one of whom grew up here and knew exactly what I was putting on the table. It was a wonderful moment of connection. We didn't know each other as teens but had shared this experience though she actually worked at the Coffee Ritz and apparently suffered mightily whereas I was merely a customer.

The original recipe was stupid in that it only made about 8 good sized puffs. I'm sorry--who has an 8 cup muffin tin? Ridiculous! So I've upped the quantities just slightly in order to fill a normal person's muffin tin.

Even though they are called Cinnamon Puffs, the hint of nutmeg in the batter is crucial. I have not been a huge lover of nutmeg over the years, but it's growing on me. One of the very few actually cool places I've discovered in mid-county is the wonderfully exotic Anoush Deli which is full of all kinds of goodies from Eastern Europe and the Middle East. For pennies, one can buy a handful of whole nutmegs for grating at the Anoush. When you run them over your Microplane grater, not only are you rewarded with a heavenly aroma, but they are beautiful to look at as well. I think so anyway. So try the Puffs. Let me know what you think.

Yippee!

It's turning out to be a pretty good day after all.

I just heard back from a woman who posted to the Portland Stitch and Bitch list last month. She was looking for a volunteer to teach knitting to refugee women. I don't think anyone could have come up with a more perfect volunteer position for me. Knitting and ESL? Yeehaw! I can even bring the kids! I am extremely excited about this. Maybe The Dark Lord's Peace through Yarn logo was prophetic. I start next Wednesday.....yippee!

New Paintings

Last month The Spouse and I happened upon a wonderful show of paintings at a coffeehouse in SE Portland. Ryan Dobrowski was showing 300 (!) 5.5" square paintings which were simply delightful: birds, bicycles, plants, and much more. We bought two of these tiny pieces of art--it was very hard to choose just 2--and waited all month for the show to come down. I picked up the paintings today and can't wait to get them up on the walls.

Tonight we'll be going to an opening at The Portland Art Center where my dear friend Laura has work in a group show entitled THE OTHER PORTLAND Art & Ecology in the 5th Quadrant. I find it odd that a show whose theme is North Portland is showing downtown, but no one ever asks my opinion.

An Historic Moment

I was snuffling around the house this morning in an early January funk. All the fun holiday stuff is over, it's gloomy and gray but entirely without the promise if snow, the boys are back "in school" which is often a tiresome slog to get work done, and I don't get paid until the end of the month. Feh. But then I started reading the day's news and realized that there is indeed something to celebrate--Nancy Pelosi was sworn in as the first woman Speaker of the House. Earlier today she remarked:


(Today) is an historic moment for the Congress, and an historic moment for the women of this country. It is a moment for which we have waited over 200 years. Never losing faith, we waited through the many years of struggle to achieve our rights. But women weren't just waiting; women were working. Never losing faith, we worked to redeem the promise of America, that all men and women are created equal. For our daughters and granddaughters, today we have broken the marble ceiling. For our daughters and our granddaughters, the sky is the limit, anything is possible for them.

The entire text of her speech is available here.

I'm delighted to see Pelosi as Speaker, not only as a groundbreaking role for US women but because she promises to be a counterweight to Bush.

Peace Through Yarn

...or something like that. The Dark Lord just fashioned this groovy little icon for me. I think it's perfect!

New Year's Resolutions

It's a good thing I do mine in the fall because if, like millions of others, I'd vowed to eat right and lose weight in 2007 I'd already be a failure!

We were invited to eat Portzelkje today at the home of some new friends. All I knew was that they were some variation on fried dough and since Chanukah's been over for all of 10 days it must be time to eat fried food again. It was a lovely afternoon -- just the kind of experience to bode well for 2007.

Since it was New Year's Day, it seemed black eyed peas should be on the dinner menu, not that they've ever been customary in my family. But still. The problem, of course, was coming up with a nice, flavorful vegetarian recipe. I figured I'd find something tasty in Passionate Vegetarian (thanks, Karen!) and I was not disappointed. The dish is called Dancin’ John: New South Black-Eyed Peas and Rice and is absolutely delicious, chock full of tasty veggies and warm spices. With some thick slices of crusty bread it was perfect. Next time I might even throw in some thinly sliced mustard greens or kale towards the end but it was most tasty just as written. And even vegan--not a big deal to me, but a subject of interest to many.

I have been trying to figure out a good way to get recipes out there in an easy-to-manage format. If anyone is actually looking at these, please let me know if the current set-up works. Thanks.