What is it about a hotel . . .
Dec 03, 11
"That, too, is something I’ve come to value about hotel stays: how in the accustomed rituals and formalities of arrival and departure, each visit mimics a larger journey. We arrive and go to our rooms and feel relief when the key works and the lock clicks tight so that we can unpack and greet our identities again. We unfold the clothes that we prepared for a temporary imagined future. And in that transition, the span between check-in and check-out, we are liberated from the uncomfortable truth that, sooner than anyone likes to imagine, the trip has ended and the time has come to pay the bill."
My Life in Hotels
GUY TREBAY, NYT
Choosers can be beggars...
Nov 01, 11
Zombie Bash t Motorco Saturday night. Chattting with Flip who was the reason I was there. Flip makes the best taste that my mouth can eat from a food truck in all of Durham and I'd hazard to guess, all of everywhere.
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5 Steps: To Finding A Yoga Class That Is Right For You
Sep 04, 11
There are so many kinds of yoga classes nowadays, it can seem daunting to find a teacher or a class that is right for you.
Are you an athlete, blogger, professional,
Hanai Ohana
Sep 04, 11
Friends so close that they often become our Hanai ohana (adopted or adapted family). I guess we try to create in our friendships the space, love and support that we do not always get from our families.
Floss your teeth! (for fertility and health)
Jul 07, 11
I sometimes wonder why in our culture, dental care is so removed from health care. They not only go hand in hand, but poor dental hygiene can affect many other areas of health.
Read more in Babble.com, Trying to Conceive? Break Out the Dental Floss
[cook] What's for dinner? 15 minute version
Jun 30, 11
Swim team practice takes up the prime dinner making time of day, 4:15 - 6:00pm.
Shopping smart helps. So does prepping earlier in the day. Today, I chose shop smart. And we enjoyed a delicious quick meal, prepared in 15 minutes.
Flounder, my new favorite, easy fish and is available local here in NC. I dust with a mixture of cornmeal, salt, pepper and a tablespoon of whole wheat flour (pretty much the same as for fried green tomatoes). Fry lightly in a hot pan with light oil.
Baby Bok Choy, cleaned, bottoms of stems trimmed. Toss into a hot pan with a little ponzu (citrus soy) and mirin (sweet sake).
Steamed mussels. This is the show stopper for the 7 y.o. Heat small pot with 1 inch of water until boiling, toss in fresh mussels with a celery stalk. Steam for 5 minutes or until shells pop open.
7 y.o. ate easily 15-17 mussels, a fillet of flounder and a bunch of bok choy.
Healthy and quick if not a bit unorthodox. Done and done.
What's for Breakfast? (Gluten free, shhhh) Coconut Waffles
Jun 14, 11
Coconut Waffles. Don't need to tell anyone that they are gluten free. Do tell everyone that they are yummy.
And, have you met Joy? I'm here to introduce you to Joy The Baker, she is exuberant and fun as heck.
What's for dinner? Furikake Salmon!
May 09, 11
Furikake is a nori, sesame condiment that you sprinkle on hot rice to make it delicious.
In Hawaii, it's also a fun ingredient to use for cooking. That is how Furekake Salmon was born, (I think).
Baked Furekake Salmon served with grilled asparagus & mushrooms, sliced cucumbers, brown rice. with some extra krispy nori to wrap rice and make mini dinner musubi.
Kid variation: take 1 small sheet nori, some brown rice, and a bit of salmon for instant salmon sushi.
{make} What's for dinner tonight?
Apr 20, 11
This colorful and tasty vegetarian dinner came together quite easily, once the inspiration struck.
I had wanted to make chana, N boycotted masala style and gave the thumbs up to this summery version made with a light pesto of cilantro, basil and olive oil. We call it Green Chana.
Last night, we had some delicious chinese brocolli that I had flash saute'ed with sesame and ginger. That was the flavor I had in mind when I found this bright and cheerful rainbow chard. Marinated in sesame oil, sake, fresh ginger and a touch of soy sauce.
This Aloo Gobi or cauliflower potato korma is my new favorite warm, comforting vegetable dish. I found the original recipe at Heidi Swanson's 101cookbooks.com. If you haven't yet checked out her blog do so today. She sources from local farms, cooks clean and healthy, california style, and has an amazing eye/takes wonderful photos. 101cookbooks is a pure delight.
{do} Perfect Spring Afternoon
Apr 01, 11
Pick your favorite outdoor spot. Invite a bunch of friends, bring some lunch, a couple of dog friends too and go at it.
In Durham, one of my favorite places to be outdoors is the Eno River. I sometimes call it the Eno Trickle as it's not known for it's impressive size. But after a week of rains, the Eno indulged us.
The sun played hide and seek for a bit. I'm not complaining. Today we were sans mosquitoes, ticks, and poison ivy.
The kids climbed rocks, threw sticks to watch the current, dug in the mud. They chased each other and the dogs, sword fought with pieces of drift wood, collected buckets of river water and boots full of river water.
Thank you beautiful Eno and Spring full of grace.
{use} Cast Iron Skillets, Save the world, save your health
Mar 24, 11
It is widely misunderstood (by me) that cast iron skillets are only for frying bacon and therefore covered in meat juice and not good for vegetarians.
It is also widely accepted that cast iron skillets are difficult to maintain. And what about having to season it first? Too much trouble, give me a good old non-stick anyday, right? I mean aren't cast iron skillets heavy and doesn't everything stick to them and make a big mess?
I'm a convert. The only cast iron I'd been familiar with was my mother's, which was indeed coated in bacon fat. That's what makes the food taste good, you know using the bacon grease from the bacon you just cooked up to fry some eggs in, gives the eggs that special something.
But we were going through our non-stick skillets at about one per year and we'd try to buy the heavy bottomed "good" ones, hoping they'd last longer. Not only were we feeding ourselves and our family teflon (very bad for you) but we were buying into this consumer culture that said you always needed a new this or that. Whomever invented the non-stick pan was brilliant. They don't last long and you always need a new one.
Cast iron lasts for generations. Back in the day, you used to get one handed down to you from your mother or grandmother so it was good and seasoned and ready to use for another lifetime of good meals. Guess what, they sell them new, PRE-SEASONED, ready to use, and they work great. But you never have to replace them. They get better the longer you have them.
They hold their heat so you're actually cooking your food in a real way and using less energy. I make everything in it and it does not stick. At all. And food tastes better. And if some iron gets into you, all the better, it's not bad for you. And it lasts forever, so no replacing every few months (that's the save the world part). To top it all off, they are only between $11 and $15, for a Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet at the hardware store.
I've made scrambled eggs and (veggie) sausage, french toast, sauteed greens, Yaki-tofu, tempeh stroganoff I could go on. You can also use it in the oven, so you can brown something on the stove and continue to cook in the oven. We continue to use and love our good old, new cast iron skillet.
{parenting} 10 Home Birth Lessons for the Hospital
Mar 24, 11
From Babble.com's Stollerderby colunm, one in a series of three articles.
When it comes to talking about birth there can be so much divisiveness: home VS hospital, epidural VS natural, etc. Though these polarized debates can cement an opinion for some, they are confusing as hell to many others. The truth is, most women would be very content with the best of all possible worlds.
cont reading
{make} Crunch up your Oatmeal
Mar 04, 11
A chilly morning calls for a hot bowl of oatmeal. To give it some tasty crunch, I topped it off with home made, Roasted Nutty Granola. Seems redundant, but it's just plain goodness in a bowl.
{make} Brunch Solved
Jan 26, 11
10 Delicious Breakfast Casseroles as seen on The Kitchn dot com.
"Is there anything better than waking up to the aroma of something baking in the oven? Breakfast casseroles are some of the most comforting and delicious dishes we've ever tasted and you can put just about anything in them. Casseroles are crowd pleasers and the great thing about breakfast casseroles — you don't have to just eat them in the morning. Here are ten that look good to us, any time of the day."
Organize Life's Stuff: Lightbulb Edition
Jan 23, 11
A light bulb burns out. You go to the closet and reach for a replacement. Only there are a multitude of boxes and packages of various types and sizes of lightbulbs. They want to tumble down from their high shelf and threaten to shatter before they have given their life to light up your bathroom mirror. Or your ceiling fan light fixture.
If you live in a typical household, you may have a different light bulb for almost every light fixture in your home.
Also, since some of us are practicing energy efficiency, we also have fluorescent bulbs in their many shapes, sizes and forms.
I used to keep all of the light bulbs in a little cabinet above the dryer. It was an odd shaped cabinet, housing the fuse box in it's center.
I tried organizing with little trays to hold the packages and boxes of odd shaped and various sized light bulbs with little success.
Finally, I came across this brilliant idea from Stacks and Stacks, organize light bulbs and batteries in a plastic multi drawer rolling cart. Sterilite manufactures many sizes affordably.
Amazing. Drawers are clear plastic, so you can see contents. It also easily fit under counters or desks. One 3 drawer cart was all it took to corral and organize all the random light bulbs needed for our home.
The little odd sized cabinet has been freed up to house laundry supplies. Lightbulbs are easy to find and access. A calm has come over this little corner of our house. Now if only we had a coat closet in the front hall. If only we had a front hall. Or a linen closet. My closet dreams, out in the open.
Celebrate the holiday - New York City style
Dec 29, 10
Alternate-Side Rules Suspended for Rest of Week
If you own a car and live in New York City, read on to receive your holiday gift from the City of New York.
Alternate-side parking rules and meter regulations will continue their hiatus on Thursday, the city transportation department announced this afternoon.
With the rules already scheduled to be suspended on Friday and Saturday in observance of New Year’s and the rules nearly nonexistent on Sundays, that will make eight days in a row where you can park practically at will in this crazy town, contingent on your shoveling skills (or leave your car where it is). You may now celebrate.
New York Times
December 29, 2010, 1:43 PM
How do we teach our kids to Give, when they live in a world of Get?
Dec 24, 10
For birthdays, gifts are always optional. sometime we request a small donation in place of a gift as an option.
The child selects the charity, we've done the local science museum 4 years running. The birthday child hands the gift of donation to our friend who does public outreach at the museum.
As he has grown older, I explain that his birthday gift, is a gift for many children to come and experience learning and fun at a place he loves.
When he receives a monetary gift, we use the 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 rule: 1/3 into savings; give 1/3 to a charity of his choice; and he may choose to spend 1/3 remaining.
For christmas, we are making ornaments (cardstock, cut into shape of a star hanging on string) to hang on the tree with our chosen charity's name listed on each 'ornament'. Then we write the donation amount on the ornament and send it along with the gift check to the organization. This is a visual cue for a child to recall his commitment to donate.
This year he chose 3 charities: snakes, marine biology and space exploration. He is excited about this.
Another request we've made to family members who ask for suggestions are gifts of experience rather than gifts of toys. This would include live performances, lessons or classes in an enrichment activity (music, dance, sports, gymnastics, swimming). Even summer camp or a camping trip.
If they really want to give a thing to be unwrapped, we suggest board or card games = exercise the brain; OR something like a bicycle or soccer ball that promotes outdoors and exercise for the body.
How do you practice the gift of giving with your kids?
What's for Breakfast?
Nov 05, 10
From The Kitchn this week, 10 Hot Breakfasts for Cold and Busy Mornings.
Some are make ahead and most are easy. Make the mornings go smoothly by putting some thought into breakfast before you go to bed!
My favorite is steel cut oats. They are also the easiest, and the fastest. The night before you want them, bring the oats to boil with hot water, then turn off the heat and cover the pot. In the morning, instead of having to cook for 40 minutes, you can finish cooking in about 10 minutes. Top with dried appricots, hazelnuts and a sprinkle of chai spice. yum.
Are we being drugged by our government?
Nov 04, 10
Sugar addiction is a real epidemic. Does it keep us docile? This is the extent of the conspiracy theorist in me.
from today's GOOP:
Overcoming Sugar Addiction
In the past generation we’ve seen the amount of sugar we consume grow exponentially. Until recently, we had been eating sugar mainly found naturally in foods. It was used as a treat or in small quantities and was never a problem. But today, over a third of the calories we consume come from sugar or white flour, which is highly refined and acts just like sugar in our system. Our bodies cannot cope with such an enormous load. Sugar gives you an initial high, then you crash, then you crave more, so you consume more sugar. It’s this series of highs and lows that provoke unnecessary stress on your adrenals. You get anxious, moody (sugar is a mood-altering drug) and eventually you feel exhausted.
Sugar is also associated with many chronic problems that include decreased immunity, some chronic infections, autoimmune diseases, heart disease, diabetes, pain syndromes, irritable bowel syndrome, ADD, chronic fatigue, and candida. Research suggests that one of the main causes for decreased immunity is that sugars inhibit the entrance of Vitamin C into white blood cells, which then inhibits immunity. The more sugar, the less productive your white blood cells are and thus, the less immune you are. Furthermore, sugars stimulate insulin secretion in the pancreas, which in turn stimulates the liver’s triglyceride production. Triglycerides are linked to stroke, heart disease and obesity. The list goes on and on. This week, Dr. Frank Lipman provides us with all the info on how to curb a sugar addiction.
Rally for Sanity and/or Fear SIGNS!
Nov 01, 10
My absolute favorite part of any public display of affection for a cause is home made signs.
Here are some of my fave's out of 492 pics on Huff Post from the Restore Sanity Rally, 10/30/10.