Everything but the Squeal

This time of year

2012-01-12T19:19:00.000-08:00

I was peddling my way to the pool this morning when I smelled... freshness, green, pine cones. I looked around, quickly, confused-- there are no trees on that leg of 16th street, going towards Mission Bay.... or any leg of 16th street, honestly. All I saw was a garbage truck.

And then I got it: this is the time of year, the one time of year garbage trucks smell good. Like freshly mulched christmas trees.

photo from SFBike

New Season (s)

2011-11-09T09:22:00.000-08:00

I was thinking this was the beginning of bouncy-house season (we have 3 more coming up in the next 6 weeks),

but really, I am enjoying ollaliberry-jam-thumbprint season too much.

Crispity Spring Eggs

2011-03-07T07:20:00.000-08:00

My son and husband went to the farmer’s market last week. They came home sad and empty handed. It had been bleak, desolate they said. What crops there were there were big piles of: crops pulled for fear of the heavy frost.

We ate more meat than usual last week; it was warm many days and rainy a few but the frost and snow passed.

This Saturday my son and I went to the market, and the beginning of spring was there. The plant stand back up (missing the week before), some beautiful lettuce. There, over there in the corner, the first tiniest asparagus. And more stands had eggs.

I buy eggs every week at the market. Free range grubbers with delicious brilliant orange egg yolks. But my husband loves a certain stand that occasionally sells eggs, and is usually sold out by the time we get there. And their eggs are at least double anyone else’s prices.

I bought them. I am not sure they are any different from our regular eggs, but oh, how nice to have the choice, to be able to shop from more than one stand.

Thin shell, crispity fried edge. Spring eggs.

We got in!

2011-03-04T07:55:00.001-08:00

To one preschool at least. Waiting to hear from the "prefect" one...

New beginnings

2011-03-02T08:36:00.000-08:00

I always love the idea of projects. Starting them, though, I find difficult. I always worry that I haven't started in the right way, will I have enough time to work on it as mindfully as I like, etc. I think that is part of why I like cooking projects: I have enough skills to be able to evaluate the directions, and enough tools to be able to pickup whatever project I want whenever I’d like.

Once I start any project, I am usually pretty good about finishing it-- even if it takes forever.

But really what I love is the cataloguing, and dreaming, and the fantasy of “what if...”, what if I made this?

So, right now I’m fantasizing about these projects:

Laura Normandin's splashmat, via Purl Soho

Prompts for a life worth leading gift, from Craft Nectar

Garter stitch hoody, via Flint Knits

A new necklace, at Haute Hapa, via Thimble

Given that I am currently designing our bathroom, dealing with a legal/financial (unpaid) home project, a (paid) research project, knitting a scarf, knitting play food, and working on my goal of “learn to bake with whole grains”, I’m not sure yet when or if these will actually make the queue. But it is nice to imagine.

(and, edit to say that the Purl Soho sale might prompt me to actually make some of these, after all)

(Moving towards) No Bags or Boxes

2011-02-28T08:45:00.000-08:00

I think I’ve mentioned before my friend Stacy’s mother’s mantra (when it comes to food): no bags or boxes. It’s a simple/easy to remember phrase, that is very useful in guiding grocery shopping.

It’s a goal I strive for, and habitually fall short of, thanks in large part to one culprit: Mac n Cheese. My son is addicted, it is so easy to just use a box, and Annie’s doesn’t contain chemical dyes (I am terrified of red dye and the correlationw ith ADD).

I’ve found a couple of likely (baked) Mac’n’cheese recipes,and this weekend I bought the required ingredients. And then, on a whim, I made us a bowl of what my husband calls “Mama macky cheese” (bad faux Italian-American accent). Also known as Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe. I think he is right, it must be the original Mac’n’Cheese.

To my surprise, it was a huge hit (I don’t usually think of Pecorino as baby cheese).So much faster than baked Mac n’Cheese, really, just as fast as Annie’s. One more box down.

Mama Mac’n’Cheese
1 lb pasta. Traditionally people use spaghetti, but I like it with penne or rigatoni-- also easier for little toddler hands.
2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbs butter
2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
3/4 c finely grated Pecorino Romano OR 1 cup Parmesan
3⁄4 c finely grated Cacio de Roma (soft Pecorino) OR 1 c mild cheddar
Plus more cheese to serve.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, drain pasta, reserving 1 cup water.

Meanwhile, heat oil and in a large/deep skillet over medium heat. Add pepper and toast for about 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup pasta water into skillet and cook off a little. Add a pasta, stir. Add hard cheese, stir. Add softer cheese, stir. This should all take about 2 minutes. Add more water if necessary-- gummy isn’t good.
Serves 4.

Goldfish Season, again

2011-02-25T08:17:00.000-08:00

Soulemama {this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment

(Hope they survive the snow!)

It Takes a Village

2011-02-24T09:41:00.000-08:00

After writing yesterday about being able to walk to so much stuff I had the pleasant experience of realizing I’d left some stuff off the list. My son has been extremely sick the past week-- and I am dragging along, too. But luckily, we live on the south side of San Francisco, the city of villages.

We took the car to the Doctor’s, but it is less than 2 miles away, and totally walkable when we are not both punky. Walgreens (oh how I wish it were a Pharmaca instead.... one of my half-baked business ideas is to open an integrative pharmacy on this side of town), is 5 blocks away. My next door neighbor spelled me for a half hour (I LOVE my neighbors).

And when I am sick, nothing beats chicken soup. We had homemade broth with tortellini from Lucca. My son, Mission kid that he is, craves Horchata-- fortunately almond/rice milk is super healthful/nutritious and just what he needs to get his strength up.

Tonight I think we are ready for a little sinus-clearing spice, simple with the rotisserie-chicken-based soup from Cookie Magazine(super simple, by the woman who writes Dinner, A Love Story....hopefully some day she'll re-post the recipe there). And it's all right out the door: rotisserie from George's; lime, cilantro and jalapenos from Casa Lucas, totopos from La Palma. It sounds like a lot of stops, but they are all within a few short blocks. The stroller is easier to unfold than it is to negotiate the car seat-- plus, friendly smiles and waves. Or, I might get my neighbor to grab the supplies for me.

Actually, I think the thing that makes me feel the best when I am sick is knowing I can ask for help.... and that supplies are nearby!

We'll get there when we get there

2011-02-23T07:43:00.000-08:00

My son LOVES buses. Telling him we are going to take a bus ride is like telling him we are going on a rollercoaster. I guess in San Francisco they are somewhat similar.

I have had a more mixed relationship with public transportation. I took it everwhere growing up. In Europe, public transportation is in general much better defined, has broader coverage, is more reliable, cleaner, faster, and cheaper than here. It was a luxury to have a car there. And a car was for long distance trips, not a run around the city.

Over the years, I’ve tried to keep some of this attitude towards public transportation alive in me, but the truth is, the buses here are dirty, infrequent, and the price keeps going up. And my mornings before work often turned into work at home and then race to work time: the bus prevented me from being totally plugged in, something I could ill-afford.

Once I had a kid, I focused more on walking +car than car+bus. A lot of my errands became closer, local. My pharmacy, my grocery store,the bakery, the green grocer, the book store, are all in walking distance. I know where the potholes are, which side of the street is better for walking. I have watched a mural being painted, Jaime at La Victoria worries if they don’t see me on Monday morning.

But with a toddler or larger packages, I’ve been defaulting to the car. It just seems easier, faster. Of course, it also costs to park, and gas prices just keep going up. Not to mention, we only have one car.

So this past week I’ve made an effort to get back to the bus. For fun I can check out google's estimated cost of trip -- in San Francisco they compare gas and average gas mileage to bus fare. Often, my trips are about $1.50 in the car versus $2.00 on the bus. Of course, this doesn't include the cost of parking or the cost to the environment.

With a stroller, it’s great. If it’s slow coming, we can walk to the next stop. Everyone smiles and laughs at J. Muni actually goes to most of where I want to go-- and if we have to walk, that’s fine. We have the time, and there is so much to see.

We come out ahead taking the bus, no matter how I do the math.

Baah

2011-02-21T09:37:00.000-08:00

When J was smaller, we only gave him goat’s milk. It must have been for the year between 1 and 2: before 1 he only had Mama’s milk, and after 2 we transitioned to “regular” (cow) milk.

I tasted it a few times--used it in coffee when we’d run out of our own milk, once just out of curiosity.

It tasted like a richer, grassier milk-- but like milk. We’d given it to J because the fat molecules are more similar to mama milk fat molecules, making it easier to digest, and supposedly, reducing the likelihood of lactose intolerance, eczema, and all kinds of other ailments.

It was pretty expensive though, and it had almost too much flavor for us to drink: it stood out in the coffee instead of blending in. You had to pay attention to the flavor instead of letting it blend it. So once J stopped taking a bottle, it seemed to make sense to transition to our (cow) milk. Ironically, while he loves yogurt and cheese and whipped cream, J isn’t much of a milk drinker; usually he takes a cup of half kefir, half milk.

But reading Goat Song made me curious, again. We used to buy J’s goat milk at Rainbow, and I had a vague recollection that they sold cajeta in the cheese department. After Brad Kessler’s lyrical description of it, I was driven to try it. Well really, I just wanted to try something form the book. I think I just wanted to somehow commune with that book in another way--eating a tomme, cajeta, anything. I would have eaten the book if I could.

Somehow instead of cajeta, though, I ended up with goat’s milk fudge, from a place called Kidding Around With Chocolate. Puns with food aren’t usually a good sign to me.... but maybe I am going to have to re-think that, too.

It was divine. Dark, rich, smoky, creamy,mysterious. One of the best things I have ever eaten. Not fudge, really, more like some sort of hand-held chocolate mousse: there was an airyness to it.

I would have taken a picture but I ate it all.

And I wonder, does J not drink cow’s milk because he is missing goat’s milk? Is his platonic ideal of milk grassy, rich, creamy, instead of bland and quiet?

Joy

2011-02-18T08:07:00.000-08:00

From Soulemama:
{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment.

Non-sugary

2011-02-17T11:20:00.000-08:00

My boy loves stamps, stamping and being stamped. He came home from dance class this week with butterfly stamps all over his belly (what a long bath that made for!).

So I really wish I’d seen this tutorial earlier. Nonetheless, it’s definitely an idea we will use sometime in the future.

Instead, we made paper hearts. I have to confess I am a bit baffled by all the candy valentine’s you see these days. Chocolate I get, but when did candy takeover the world? What I remember about St. Valentine’s Day as a kid is the stacks of paper valentines.... my classmates and I would compete to see who had the bigger pile. So much fun to see the different shades of pink, and to realize how many different shapes a heart could really be.

So, we drew hearts, and wrote out words like love, forever, favorite with my “fancy” crayons, in various shades of red and lavender and pink and orange on large sheets of draft paper. Then I cut hearts out the sheets of paper. So we ended up with hearts of all shapes and sizes with semi-random pops of festive color.

J loves stickers almost as much as stamps... I think all 2 or 3year olds do. So for his playgroup we put a handful of paper hearts and a small square of stickers in some of the red pouches I had leftover from our Advent Calender. These were a big (sugar-free) hit.

Now that that is over, I’m stuck on trying to avoid sugar for Easter. As a child, I received one large chocolate egg at Easter-- but that’s it. I’m not sure if we will give J a chocolate egg this year-- he seems a bit young for it to me-- but we will do an egg hunt and the idea of a special treat in his basket appeals. Right now I’m thinking that I will knit him some play food-- maybe a carrot, and an egg? Any other ideas for a fun, non-candy, small Easter basket treat?

Do the repair

2011-02-16T07:33:00.000-08:00

An older, wise woman friend of mine likes to say to me, when I am going on and on about being annoyed with this,or that “Did you do the repair?”. So often when something bothers us, stirs something up, it is pushing a button, returning us to an ancient hurt. But so often, too, the complaining and the kvetching is because we want to ignore our own part in things, our responsibility. But, we can only control our own actions and reactions. So, do the repair, and be released.

At least that’s what I thought she meant, was certain I’d understood which koan she was referring to, until this week.

There was a great tutorial in Martha Stewart and my husband’s favorite (silk and cashmere lusciousness!) sweater had a rent under the arm. And so I made my first non-sock darning repair ever. I had to go slowly, and I misread the directions the first time and I had to start over, and it is almost invisible. I got to hold that soft sweater in my hands and work with it for a while, and had the blessing of that warm orange color on these gray days.

The repair itself made me so happy. Not the benefits,not the results, just the act.

A Kind of Urban Love Song

2011-02-15T10:44:00.000-08:00

When I was about 4, we moved to Italy. We moved to Rome; our new house was across the street from Villa Borghese, a huge park, the former country house of the Prince of Rome... The scale, compared to the size of the city, is that of GoldenGate Park, or Central Park.

We moved to Rome in February, from London. It had just snowed that winter, in London, the first time in 20 years. Miners were marching, every morning, in protest of Mrs.Thatcher’s reforms. In London it got dark at 3 pm, and I ate chicken potpie for supper in our cold, damp kitchen.

That year Ash Wednesday was in February, and so when we got there, it was Carnival season. No single Fat Tuesday for Italians, Carnival lasted several days-- even weeks, depending on the region. Masked balls, and gambling, in Venice; orange fights in Peimonte (no snow balls for them! ). In Rome the weekend family passegiatta was converted into impromptu child parades: girls and boys dressed like something out of Calvino’s fairy tales, throwing confetti, blowing party horns. Like Halloween, only no tricks, or fear,or darkness. Little girls wore hoop skirts, and embroidered over-skirts; the little boys dressed up as princes and captains.

My mother had begun reading King Arthur and the Round Table to me, at bedtime, back in London, and it was my one continuity there in this land of longer warmer days, and oranges and pasta for supper, and hugs from kind filipina ladies. When we went for our first weekend walk in the park across the street, I saw the princesses and knights and ladies and kings and thought I had fallen into the book. I thought little children dressed this way always, and I fell in love with Rome right there and then. It was like living in a fairy tale, only one where it was always warm, and there were always good things to eat, someone there with a hug. No witches, unless you counted the lady who brought presents at Christmas. A very Italian fairy tale, I suppose. Suffused with positive magic.

As an adult, I’ve come to realize that almost any environment or landscape holds it’s own magic: we just have to be alive to it. And as a parent I’ve come to realize that it is so much easier for kids to be alive to that magic: it is real and constant for them. They don’t need trips to Rome-- or Disneyland--the magic is here and now.

It is a blessing to be a parent in this city and have a little guide to remind me of the wonders of cable cars, fire engines, towers, wide open fields, butterfly hunting.

Rainy Monday

2011-02-14T07:40:00.000-08:00

I am totally immersed in this book, Goat Song, right now. It is so beautifully written, so evocative. Part of what I like is that he goes so slow. He describes the color of the grass the goats ate, the 10 different shades in the sky as the sun set the first night. For me, this level/layers of description really allow me to be there. And it is a very peaceful, soul warming book.

I went to a birthday party in the Excelsior neighborhood last night-- right near Itty Bitty Farm (to my knowledge the only working family farm in the city). Between this book and the party I’m thinking I have to ask about a visit sometime soon (And I guess I should read Keeping Poultry and Rabbits on Scraps next?).

Meanwhile, our bizarre summer-in-winter has passed, and it is raining. Which also means my meringues are like glue and the meyer lemon curd wouldn’t quite set up, so no sweet recipes today!

Schizophrenia

2011-02-10T09:51:00.000-08:00

Such a great post on budgeting. I do okay with our family expenses, but hate budgeting for myself-- and I always put myself at the bottom of the list. I don't really need a new bra. The hole in those shoes will magically repair itself...the truth is, maintenance and planning is always cheaper than emergencies and denial.

I'd like to work on the principle of being farseeing, more. We are working on paying down debt, but as home valuation is an issue right now, I must balance that against making some home repairs... like the dreaded bathroom. And avoiding emergencies. I like mint, right now, or a lot of stuff, but I really wish there was software that started with visions and goals... and then mapped down to the everyday, or let you go back and forth, instead of being bottom-up. So often the real goals and meaning of life get lost in trying to figure out how to reduce the food budget.

More Home Design Avoidance....

2011-02-10T07:06:00.000-08:00

I am sadly contemplating turning my son's beloved nursery into a big(ger) boy room. The walls are a purple-y gray, and the rug yellow. I LOVE these colors together; I got the idea from my beloved cat, Mingus, who is gray with yellow eyes. He always makes me feel safe, calm, and happy: exactly what I wanted for my baby. There are some blue and green highlights in there, too, just to give the (tiny)space some depth.

I got the rug at Crate and Barrel, and sad to say but it really hasn’t held up.Well, kids are tough on furniture, too. This time around I am considering flor tiles: at least if one gets dirty, I can replace ONE instead of the whole thing. I like modular. But the yellows they have don't work; it'll have to be a grey-blue. So no more Mingus-color palette.

The crib is sadly outgrown, too. To be replaced with a (Ikea) toddler bed (my way of avoiding a total remodel. But it feels sadly disposable).

I’d like to get a floor lamp, too. Maybe this?

Projects....

2011-02-09T17:06:00.000-08:00

Mostly because I am avoiding (with dread) the next steps on my never-ending bathroom project (and avoiding the disgusting photos, thankyouverymuch), I am casting about for other home projects.

This looks great for reviving my battered but beloved danish modern dining room table & ancient Barcalounger.

An Early Spring

2011-02-07T07:20:00.000-08:00

I thought it was too early to call this Spring,but after 2.5 weeks of being over 65 degrees, oh say 90% of the time
(2-3 cold days in there), I am thinking it is true: a very early spring.
20 years from now will we look back on this year as a harbringer of things to come? I remember visiting San Francisco 15 years ago- the first time ever. It was Late February, and 60s every day... maybe I can just stick my head in the sand and pretend we get this weather every 15 years?

I am not really missing the rain, but the heat leaves me quite confused as to what to cook for dinner, as I weave my way through the stands of the farmer's market. Cauliflower pasta sounds okay, and fish with potatoes. But jerusalem artichokes? kale? It's just not cold enough.

I bought a lot of meyer lemons,which means another batch of canning, and perhaps some fish with meyer lemon aioli and potatoes-- I bought a lot of potatoes, too.

But last night the nachos just seemed too heavy, andI didn't feel like chili. Instead I baked a cake. Light on the flour. Marmalade from the jar with the broken lid (the real excuse). Some leftover chocolate. It was a good dinner for early spring.

Chocolate Marmalade Cake
10 tbs unsalted butter
4 oz bittersweet chocolate
1.5 c orange marmalade
1/2 c sugar
2 large eggs
a pinch of salt
1 c flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Butter and flour an 8 inch cake pan.

Melt the butter over low heat. When it's almost melted, add chocolate pieces, stir and take off the heat. In a separate bowl, beat the sugar and eggs together, and add the marmalade. Add the chocolate mixture, and stir to combine (it won't, completely, which is fine).
Sift in the flour, salt, and baking powder, and stir to combine.

Pour the batter into the pan. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the cake has set.

Serve while warm with softly whipped cream.

Pilot and Co-Pilot

2011-02-04T07:48:00.000-08:00

From Soulemama: {this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Two down, one to go

2011-02-02T14:35:00.000-08:00

“Your children are either the center of your life or they’re not, and the rest is commentary.”
-Calvin Trillin

Finish Line

2011-02-01T07:36:00.000-08:00

I am almost done with our preschool applications,which have consumed 90% of my time since Thursday-- I misread a due date on one of them (today, not the end of the month), and have decided to just knock them all off at once. It weird, writing these pitch letters for my son, telling them "he's the king" (really, he is!)...describing our family, our traditions (the crowns at christmas,above, come from my time in England as a child. And we had fish, the night before, in honor of my time in Italy. I seem to collect traditions). But it has been a good opportunity to reflect,too, on the things that bring me--us--pleasure... and the things it might be nice to change.

And then yesterday I learned that our #1 top choice for elementary school, one he could walk to, one of the best public schools in the city....is moving. And of course a lot of our preschool choices were predicated on this elementary school.

Having gone through this whole process from the point of view of doing some soul searching, I can safely say that our first choice, is still our first choice. But I'll be engaging in some primal scream therapy as soon as I get these suckers posted.

Transmission

2011-01-28T07:22:00.000-08:00

La Latest at La Local....

Lost in the Music

2011-01-25T07:40:00.000-08:00

I have been afloat on a sea of music, lately. Like I haven't been since I was a teenager, maybe. Oh sure, I've listened to music since then, sometimes with some intensity, but not like this.

Sitting down with a few records(ok, mp3's),lyric sheets, following influences and cliques and themes and trajectories .... jackson 5 to jay z to kanye to bon iver to feist. It is not rocket science, but it takes time--or at least focus. Some slow time.It makes me so happy, to tap into that pure pleasure in and with music.It reminds of my son's face when he first get son a merry-go-round,the first really really high swing. Seeing his cousins after a few months away.

When do we lose that instant access to pure pleasure--or the willingness to access it. Why is it so hard to get back to that easy space?

And now, on to the Decemberists....

A Great Kindness/Hollywood Morning

2011-01-24T07:42:00.000-08:00

My son, lately, has ceased to sleep. This is after 2.5 years of pretty good sleeping- not without it’s trials,but all “normal”,and predictable (i.e. 3 month sleep regression, sleep through the night 5 months old through 9 month, the 9 month regression, etc). Last night my husband went to bed with him in an attempt to get him to sleep (it worked), leaving me to our ritual Sunday evening cleaning.

Sunday is typically a big cooking day for us and yesterday was no exception: buckwheat pear pancakes,bacon, roast chicken(I mastered cripsy skin! best ever! more on that later....), bacon-grease panfried potatoes, salad,chicken stock, popcorn, bread, whole wheat chocolate chip cookies (I am loving this book).

All of which left me with a pretty messy kitchen. And my husband’s lunch to make, chicken salad to start (in the fridge in a bowl with a cup of stock poured over,for about 8 hours.Makes it super moist, and rich-flavored),broth to decant and can. Most nights I am okay with leaving a dish or two in the sink, but Sunday, it’s my ritual:clean the whole kitchen,top to bottom, sparkles,mopped floor. Start the week off right.

And usually my husband helps. Decants the stock, takes out the compost, dries the dishes. Chats.

I stayed up late doing this by myself, because I knew the trade-off was worth it: the freshness and light and optimism of a Monday-clean kitchen. I set my alarm for 6.30, too: I’d be tired getting up, but once again, it would be worth it: a little time to myself before toddler-land began.

And of course I couldn’t get out of bed. Hit snooze twice (did I mentioned we had two birthday parties this weekend, too?). At some point though, my husband dragged me out of bed. And the kitty litter was changed, the coffee made, a candle lit by my computer, set up to a fresh blank page. The cats fed, scone mix on the counter.
A hollywood version of my usual Monday morning, all prepped and ready for me.
I think this might be the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me. When I said thanks,he said,I benefit too: if you do your Monday, we have a great week. If not, you spend a lot of time trying to catchup. I think that was just a deflection, an excuse. Look the other way and don’t see how nice I am.

So again,thanks,honey. Really, a lot.

Zebra!! (Golden Gate Carousel)

2011-01-21T07:31:00.000-08:00

Inspired by Soulemama: {this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment.

Flowers

2011-01-20T08:11:00.000-08:00

I try to buy flowers every week. The Italians do it, the French do it. It cleans the air, it is visually pleasing. I think I first got into this from reading Apartment Therapy or maybe it was the book.

I buy them at my Farmer'sMarket, and because there is a "day old"stall,keep my weekly budget to $10. Usually it is $5 or $7--just a few stalks of something pretty. Once I splurged ($12), but then I got an ant invasion.

Last week I lost my wallet en-route to the market, and so no market, no flowers. Rainbow, my crazy local grocery store, doesn't sell flowers. So I made my own,from the leftover scraps of my favorite diy Christmas wrapping this year.

This fall, a relative sent us some old childhood books of my father-in-law. Really, most were disintegrating. But some had lovely illustrations, and I had three framed as a present for my father-in-law.The framers wrapped the package in some simple craft paper, and j and I added confetti flowers.

I cut circles around some flowers, amoebas around others, threaded craft wire through their centers and added some tissue paper leaves.

They won't cleanse the air, but they are green... and entertaining!

Monday Knitting day

2011-01-18T07:36:00.000-08:00

Clarion Alley (our walk to the playground)

Most Mondays, when I take my son and his friend to the playground, I bring knitting. When we first get there we usually try the music class and depending on how that goes, there is then a visit to the merry go-round, seesaw, and spiderweb: all of which involve me, pushing, balancing, spotting. But after that, we visit the awesome tricycle-riding alley behind the rec center. And while there rare one or two other moms I sometimes chat with back there, often, I am alone or with two nannies, chatting in Portuguese with each other, and I knit.

I am not very good at knitting, but I love it. I am aware of some soothing quality in the motion: and it speaks to my type-A need to always be multi-tasking. And the fibers feel lovey, soothing and soft, across my hands. A little bit of sensory therapy during the day. It is easy to watch the boys and do at the same time, and really they don’t want my total engagement in this section of the playground, interfering with their cops-and-robbers fantasies.

But yesterday, I brought my Kindle instead. No music class, and no tricycle racing, in honor of Dr.King’s Birthday. And I knew there would be lots of kids to occupy them, a free moment for me. And I just can’t put down this book. And later, all day, I could feel it: miss the moment of forced awareness, the pleasure of the fibers against my skin. And in the afternoon, I didn’t get most of my to-do list done; instead, crumpling exhausted on the couch. I dragged through the afternoon, dinner was late, and I was strangely not present.

There is some research that shows that babies and small children need gross motor stimualtion in order to be able to access small motor skills successfully. And of course, the Waldorf philosophy stresses the importance of handwork for children. But what about adults? Do I need small motor stimulation to be able to successfully complete gross motor activity? Does it get reversed with age?
I wasn’t able to find anything, googling. But I picked up my knitting, last night, before bed: and I’ll be knitting today, too.

The Yoga of Rituals

2011-01-17T17:56:00.000-08:00

I love my Monday morning routine. At first it started as a list of things I had to, needed to get done, strategically organized in the most time and least tantrum inducing (for young and old alike) manner. It is still the same steps, still in the same order, but now I am so used to it I can savor the little moments within. It has become a ritual, allowing me presence and peace. Safety, and comfort.

Like this: wake up at 6:30, freewrite for 5 minutes, meditate for 5 minutes, pick a mantra for the day. Something to return to when my focus leaves me. A reminder of how quiet the house was, then. Write that down. Review my calender and to-do’s for the day. Put coffee on. Use to be blue bottle, then, 3 years ago I switched to Ritual. Now it is de la paz: the 24th St or Mission St blends, depending on my mood. It is expensive, but worth it: my last vice, my first ritual. Read a blog or two (Soulemama and the Sartorialist are nice for starting the day). Check my email.

I make the coffee in a Moka pot. I pour it into a big tall mug when it is ready and add cold-from-the-fridge Strauss 2%, from a glass bottle, the type with a cream top.
I drink the coffee alone, and slowly; without food I mean. My husband usually gets out of bed when the coffee is ready, poured, and sometimes my son gets up then,too. If he is still sleeping, I read the NY Times. When he gets up, we eat breakfast, this morning marmalade muffins, adapted from here, and smoked salmon, while my husband rushes out the door. We play a game or too, then I shower, drink a glass of water, take my vitamins(I used to do this at night, but changed to a.m. this year and really am able to sleep better), brush teeth, get dressed. Then our neighbor drops his son off, my son gets dressed, I pack snacks, and we hit the road for the park, and music class.

Other days I sleep in, or go to yoga, or the gym, but really my whole week is off if I don’t meditate and set intentions on Monday. Perhaps I should try to do it everyday? Maybe just adding one day at a time?
For now, I am grateful for the comfort this ritual brings me, the quiet moments to both plan and reflect, my bedrock for the week.

Marmalade Season

2011-01-14T08:36:00.000-08:00

Inspired by Soulemama....

(recipe here)

@Missionloc@l

2011-01-14T08:33:00.000-08:00

So.... they cut the part about the ex- marxist teachers, the lesbian peace corps teacher, the friend-of-Marion Barry teacher, and my Public Enemy reference, but I'm still pretty pleased with this week's column....

Just when I thought I was out...

2011-01-13T07:33:00.000-08:00

I feel like I've settled in pretty well into a weekday uniform (or two):

1. jeans, long sleeve t-shirt always v-neck...I have a super short neck, and follow these ladies' advice), cardigan (j.crew cashmere, howI heart you), funny comfy sneaks, for days I am dragging (or being dragged) 1-2 small boys around.

2. leggings, flat black boots, a tunic... and a big cardigan, again!, for the days I don't have J or his friends and subsequently spend all my time running around.

Done and done, right? Especially since this is January. A winter uniform should last me for at least another 2 months... But then it was the j.crew after christmas sale, so I got another cardigan(for less than $50! yay!).And then everyone started posting their spring picks...so here I am already, daydreaming about spring clothes to buy + make, outfits to cut-n-paste,what new shoes I might need...

(Love the socks & sandals with the dress)

Usually, at the beginning of a season, I gather a bunch of images I like, try to make the outfits up out of what I already have, replace basics that are wearing out and buy 1-2 pieces to build out the mix. Plus I try to save some money for something special -- a newAPC dress or a cashmere cardigan. It's all looking a bit schizophrenic right now, but I think one thing I can say is I better get to work on knitting some tabi.

none of these images are mine!

No Solution

2011-01-12T10:05:00.000-08:00

I hate the word resolution...or maybe I hate the concept. Resolved, Solution...these related words all make me think of problems, things to fix.

There are always problems, and things to fix, but I hate the idea of starting the New Year from such a negative/half empty point of view. I want to think about building up, going forward.

So, at the New Year, I thought about my life list, my goals, what I could accomplish this year towards my larger hopes and dreams and plans. NOT resolutions.

For example, improving my health, not reducing my weight. Actually, this was in part a practicality: I gained 2 lbs during the Bikram 30 day challenge, but lost a dress size: muscle weighs more than fat. And picking an arbitrary weight goal is kind of stupid. What it means is the important thing. Better fitting clothes, better health. More strength, endurance; less illness.

So: my goals, all of which have value and relevance to the larger and more general direction I hope my life is growing into.

to grow all of our (natively growable, i.e.no star anise) herbs
to finish 10 knitted objects(up from 5 this year)
to Knit Jasper a sweater
to Sew a garment
to Learn whole grain baking
to Do Bikram 100 times
to Improve my meditation practice
to consistently improve the organization& beauty of our home
to Paint my mantra tree
to Find a new/consistent Volunteer Opportunity

Plus one other that shall remain... private. For now!

Mostly these are not actionable, or tasks. I will need to figure those out, as the days come. Having these as goals, more principles-based reminds me of "why" I am doing the action, and allows for some flexibility in execution, as the seasons and circumstances change.

*********

We make family goals, too...which of course take us a month to agree on! We did about 90% of the list last year,which I think is pretty good. And having that list on the fridge reminded us of things to do, ideas we’d had for the year.

There will be 11 items on the list, 11 things for 2011.

My preliminary thoughts:
go on a new hike
walk across golden gate bridge
finish/re-do our bathroom
see 11 best oscar winners
speak spanish
bake 80% of all baked goods (cookies, bread, crackers, granola bars)
80% of our grocery $$ at local stores
reduce our garbage load by 20%
reduce our debt load by 20%

I’m curious what this list will look like on February 1, our “go” day.

Breakfast of Gods

2011-01-10T22:55:00.000-08:00

I used to spend Friday nights, or Saturday pre- yoga, or the occasional soggy Sunday morning making “treats”: something special for breakfast. Banana bread (a Friday night favorite), sticky buns (the best take two days), morning buns, chocolate croissants with leftover puff pastry dough (Sunday!), Sour Cream Pancakes (Sunday, too).

Weekdays were for yogurt and granola and hard boiled eggs.

At some point this fall I suddenly realized this made no sense. Monday is the day we all need a little tenderness. Something to soften the ease back to the rush of the working week, time to recognize the coming separation. A little something to compensate for a little sleep debt.

Some Sunday evenings I stir up a batch of oatmeal. We nurse it through the week, adding a little milk or water as needed to warm and moisten (we don’t have a microwave). This Sunday we were behind in our bread-making rhythm-- toast and salmon is another standby for breakfast around -- so I decided to try this recipe for homemade english muffins. But I don’t have a bread maker, and I punched it down after the first rise... maybe 3 hours? and refrigerated overnight. Unbelievably, it rose again in the fridge, and because I got my skillet piping hot,my muffins “popped”, and I had the store-bought-ish number of nooks and crannies (vs.what the recipe and comments describe).

Meanwhile, I’ve bee nursing a bucketload of seville oranges into marmalade. And so this morning we had the blessing of hot homemade muffins with fresh homemade jam. It was the most heavenly breakfast I’ve had in awhile, and a very soft opening to the week.

English Muffins
Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients
14 oz warm whole milk
3 tbs butter
1 tsp salt
2 tbs sugar
1 large egg, beaten
17 oz flour
2 tsp instant yeast

Directions
Add the yeast to the milk, and then combine the ingredients, in order, in a bowl. Mix after each ingredient, at the end you should have a shaggy, loose dough.
Cover with a cloth and place in a warm spot until double.
Punch down and refrigerate, or allow to rise again for 1-2 hours.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out it until it's about 1/2-inch thick. Cut out circles with a floured 2.5-inch cutter. Re-roll and cut out the leftover dough (I ended up with about 20 muffins).
Let rest for about 20 minutes.
Sprinkle the muffins with cornmeal or semolina.
Heat a cast iron pan until just below smoking, add 5 or so muffins (cornmeal side down), and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 7 minutes, flip, reduce heat further if needed, and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Thick-cut Orange Marmalade
2 lbs seville oranges
2 meyer lemons
4 pt water
1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
3.5 lbs sugar
.5 lb demerara or other treacle-y brown sugar

Wash the fruit and add it and the water to a larger nonreactive pot (le crueset is great). Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour or so, until the fruit is easily pierced with a fork. Allow to cool overnight. You want the water, so just stick the whole pot in the fridge.
Slice the fruit thinly, removing and reserving the seeds.
Wrap the seeds in cheesecloth.
Remove 1 cup of the water, and discard. Replace with the cup of fresh squeezed orange juice (from juice oranges, not sevilles). Add the cheesecloth-wrapped seeds, and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes.
Remove cheesecloth + seeds.
Add the sliced fruit to the pot and return to a boil.
Add the sugar.
Stir over a gentle heat until it is disolved, then boil up rapidly, without stirring, for about half an hour, or until setting point (approximately 220 degrees).
Pour in jars, let sit for about 30 minutes before covering or boiling.

HUGE Playground

2011-01-07T08:42:00.000-08:00

From Soulemama: {this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment.

How we gift

2011-01-06T09:26:00.000-08:00

J's all time favorite book is Little Blue and Little Yellow. Even cuter, he says he is little blue, and his best friend andnext door neighbor, little yellow. He names the other colors, too. It is a really delightful book about color theory and friendship (! ) worthcheckign out if you havenot.

Every 6 months or so I pick a "fallback gift" and buy 6 or so. I like to make gifts/pick the perfect thing, but J went to about 12 birthday parties and picked 2 friends to give Winter gifts to, and it gets to be a lot. The book will be the "falback" gift this year, but J chose to give it to Basher, his best friend, Little Yellow, for Christmas, so I wanted to do a little more. This summer I made J the child's hat from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, so I decided to make Little Yellow, a little yellow hat. I find this is a successful approach to gifts, too: sometimes a book can seem a bit impersonal, random, but making something from it or I suppose, buying an element from it) can add context and personalize the gift.

One of my favorite gifts like this was the year my parents gave me a new Giuliano Bugiali cookbook, plus a cheese grater, plus forms for shapping gnocchi ala Romana. I think I gained 10 lbs that year!

Emergent Pedagogy

2011-01-05T21:31:00.000-08:00

I thought we'd settled in for a good long winter of train-track-building. My son took about 10 train trips (Muni, Bart, Cable Car,Street Car) in December, we went to the train exhibit at the library, and attempted to visit the SF Railway Museum. For the train set, he got a bus during Advent, a helicopter and pilot from his grandparents, and a fire engine from his Pop.

But then the other day M got this book out:
and it has been all San Francisco, all the time.

Midwinter in San Francisco smells like fallon the east coast. Crisp, clear air, the smell of cedar mulch just laid to trap the first rainy season. So today's stop was the Koret Playground at Golden Gate Park. I wrote a lot about playgrounds this summer, and we visited a lot too, and I have to say: this might just be the best I've ever been to. So much fun.

But, the carousel wasn't open... J was so sad, I told him another time, over and over again. After his nap he asked if we could get Friday (well, "day after Teacher Paula day?" ) and I started to say "no", there is so much to do, this errand, that. But really, is there anything more important than a carousel ride on a crisp midwinter day? So w'll be riding the ponies this Friday, no Goodwill and gift return for us.

I suppose next week it will be the submarines, or the seals...

Circle Meditation

2011-01-04T21:21:00.000-08:00

I remember when my son was first born, the intensity with which I experienced time slowing down. You have to slow it down, to be able to look closely enough to actually be able to get to know them, understand even a fraction of the changes that are happening constantly there. And what a great mindfulness practice.

One I realized I had gotten a little out of the habit of, just recently. Saturday, I signed, sealed, and posted our first preschool application, in which I noted that J couldn’t yet draw a circle (yes, this is the kind of thing preschools in San Francisco want to know, apparently).And then just yesterday, there they were: big sweeping ellipses.

I’m going back to my meditation circle tomorrow (a New Year’s Resolution). Just in time, I think.

Antidope

2011-01-03T07:57:00.000-08:00

We have done a lot of eating the past two weeks. As my husband said, we haven't eaten poorly, but nor have we eaten well.

Well, actually we have eaten well, but not that healthily. Last night, as I reached over the Monte Bianco (really, wintery Eton Mess) I was spooning up to turn down the heat underneath Beef Bourgignon, I realized I hadn't had a single leafy green vegetable all day, or for that matter, a piece of fruit. Oh don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the jalapeno pancakes, bacon, and oj for brunch; the carrots I ate for a snack, but I am looking forward to getting back to my daily 5.

We are lucky, here in San Francisco, to really have 4 seasons of growing, and produce. This season, the apples have been great, although the pears have not been as spectacular as last year. The last time I was at the Alemany Farmer's Market (2 weeks ago?), the kiwis were just coming in to their own. I've always liked kiwis alright, as say a component in deli fruit salad, or in a french fruit tart. Ok, so really: as decoration. But I think perhaps I've never had them ripe enough before last year. The Farmer/Vendor at our market says that when they are ripe enough, when they are ready, you can slice the bud end and push the fruit through. And for most of the weeks of kiwi season, this will be J's Saturday treat-- a sweet, jelly-like piece of fruit, appearing magically from brown fuzz. No knife even necessary if you just pull the bud off with your fingers. My antidope-y antidote from the antipodes.

photo by bensonkua

Onward

2010-12-29T22:05:00.000-08:00

We've had 5 days of family, followed by 5 out of 6 days of friends to visit or visiting, I am writing the first of 3 preschool applications (this one due Friday... crazy, I know, but I live in San Francisco), my column is due tomorrow and my computer died.

Hopefully I will be back next week. I am thinking long and hard about resolutions. I love them, the optimism and opportunity, the possibility to be a new and better me and projects! planning! So there is plenty to say, if I can just find the way.

Nearing the end....

2010-12-22T08:13:00.000-08:00

It's coming up on the end of Advent and of course I am STILL seeing crafts I'd like to do, presents to make, oh and stuff I'd love to receive!

Maybe next year. I still have a coffee sleeve to finish, some birds to stitch up, and a panettone to bake.

So, for next year:

Graphic + Twine = awesome, from Sense & Sensibility
I really really loved West Elm's Christmas offerings this year, and the twine is somewhat reminiscent. If I were the type to buy all new ornaments every year, they would have been kraft paper, twine, papier mache.

San Francisco= Succulent-land. From Prudent Baby

The Zoo

2010-12-21T08:33:00.000-08:00

I was going to write here about how sometimes inspiration comes and goes, how it is sooo mysterious. Why did we make 10 Christmas cards, bake M's favorite cookies, cook a new variation on Walnut pasta, and build three lego towers all in one afternoon, when the previous days feel like a sahara of creativity? Yes, I've been sick, but still.

And then I realized: it's the Zoo. Every time we go, I come home energized, making, inspired, drawing, cooking, gluing.

I really hated Zoos growing up,and I am still not really sure where they fit with my moral compass, so this was a very surprise realization. Maybe it's the landscape? It doesn't matter, for now, I suppose: it's there.

Not Quite What I Planned

2010-12-20T08:58:00.000-08:00

I have been sick for about a week, with my usual sinus problems. But today I am taking the boys to trains. And I have greatly enjoyed having some time to read, listen to the radio, build lego towers, dream of beautiful rooms, plan Christmas dinner....

Lighting the way

2010-12-14T10:18:00.000-08:00

So far Advent has been a success. Trying to find something to celebrate everyday, or figuring out how to weave that day's celebration into a longer story of black vs white, light vs. dark, nature and cycles, whilst being mindful of telling the Axial Easter story in a few months-- i.e. leaving black and white behind, leaving the hard fixed walls of this life, and moving towards Rumi's Guest House.
Of course, part of this is me telling myself these stories, working out my understanding of the world around us.

This daily exercise, too, has forced me to go a little slower with J-- I am always going just a little bit slower!-- and to see how much he is changing, once again. He is clearly working so hard on his grammar, and coordination, and listening, repeating what I say, dancing so beautifully to the music he hears.

I see that I will never be done learning that whenever I think I've just gotten it all figured out, everything will change again. The beauty and the challenge of parenting.

Kale Season

2010-12-13T07:25:00.000-08:00

I wrote a column late this summer about election season -- particularly August and early September-- being called Silly Season in Washington, and, I suppose, by pundits elsewhere/everywhere. In D.C. we knew it was Silly Season when people were getting on the subway in shorts, without a sweater (the air conditioning is very cold in the buildings in D.C.). We knew it was Silly Season when we couldn’t get those cheapo weekend rooms at Dewey Beach, or St. Michael’s. These memories are all strongly photographic: the white socks in the sneaker, chubby knees below the shorts, the bellies pressing against thin cotton t shirts that will be too cold in the Air and Space Museum, in the Metro. The haze across the Chesapeake bay bridge. The yellow of the corn at the roadside stands.

This Saturday, the market was 20% open stands. My son asked for raspberries (the last weekend was it), pears (only a week or two left, said the vendor I secretly call Mountain Girl), a Horchata (still going strong). And these were signs: pointing towards velvet, shimmering green. Kale Season.

This week we’ll be trying the Kale and Pork Chops I saw on DALS, and since it was $2 for three bunches, there will be “homemade pirate booty” (Kale Chips), and, I imagine, next week we’ll be eating one of our top 5 favorite pasta dishes: Portuguese Pasta.

Portuguese Pasta (Or, Pasta with Sausage and Kale)
3 tbs olive oil
1 lb hot sausage, crumbled
1/2 lb kale, center ribs discarded, leaves chopped
1/2 lb rigatoni
1/2 c broth
1 oz grated Pecorino plus additional for serving

Directions
Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat until hot but not smoking, add sausage, breaking up any lumps with a spoon, until browned, 5 to 7 minutes.
Meanwhile, blanch kale in a 6-quart pot of boiling salted water, for about 5 minutes, strain.
Return cooking water to a boil, and cook pasta. Drain, reserving 1/2 c pasta water.
While pasta cooks, add kale to sausage in skillet and sauté, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Add broth, stirring and scraping up any brown bits from bottom of skillet.
Add pasta, reserved cooking water to skillet, tossing until combined. Stir in cheese.

Rainy Day Commute

2010-12-10T09:24:00.000-08:00

via Soulemama

In Gratitude

2010-12-09T07:23:00.000-08:00

When I (wincingly) eased back into the first moon pose, the first day I was back from vacation, I thought "I don't really like to go on Vacation." Oh sure, I'd had a good-- even great time-- but I missed my Bikram, my Farmer's Market, my routines. I was reminded of the dying banker who had no bucket list, he said, for he had lived a balanced life. Know that I was blissfully content in my life, perhaps I didn't need a vacation.

But the next day, when I was cranky and tired, I remembered the restfulness of the vacation, and smiled. When I had no time to read for two days, happily busy, it pleased me to think of the three books I had read. And even yesterday, when I looked at some photos, I remembered, and was gladdened. There is a time and a place for the Bikram, and there is a time and a place for freezing in a yurt, eating the best steak dinner ever, and, in California, there is always a time and a place for a walk along the water. Vacation doesn't have to be a get away, sometimes it can just be different.

Permanent and Disposable/Acorns and Green Berries

2010-12-08T10:17:00.000-08:00

Christmas is under way here. Which means damp air and soft, grayed greens. So different from the Christmases of my childhood, or those on the East Coast. Because this strange land is part of America, this place with 3 mild transitions has been stuck into a mold of 4 wildly swinging seasons, there is always something new to discover. Sometimes it is so hard to see, with the framework of the East, of most of America, overlaying here that each excavation offers something new. And there are always more layers to peel away. An endless voyage of discovery, available every morning by looking out the window.

I didn't think I'd write about the landscape, or how different the seasons are here, when I set out to write this post, but I suppose it is good background for how we celebrate our holidays just a little differently, specifically because we are here, and how it makes me think about decorating our house differently that I would if we lived somewhere else.

I confess: sage green is not my favorite color. But it is the color of Northern California, so I am always looking for ways to highlight it, or counterpoint it.

Two years ago I bought the stockings: unbleached linen, combined with a light loden and red accents. Ever since I've been looking for an Advent calendar to go with it, something non-disposable, anti-plastic.

On the East Coast, and when I first moved here, I used to string cranberries in a garland. But the reds are too obvious, for my taste, with the prevailing light. This year, while searching for a wreath, I found this acorn garland at the local nursery. I can't find a similar one online, but it should be easy enough to make at home. It only cost me $15... $15 that I don't neccessarily have in my Christmas budget, but since it is permanent and not disposable, I bought it. It will save me money for years.

I didn't quite find the wreath I was looking for this year... last year I bought a succulent wreath, but really, it was too small for our window, and big ones cost and arm and a leg. I had fantasties of wooden branches, twisted together, but none were to be found. After 5 stores, I found this sweet thing, the perfect color, right down the street from me.

And of course the day after I bought our wreath I saw a driftwood wreath (permanent! non-disposable!). Maybe next year.

Dance and Make Romance

2010-12-07T16:15:00.000-08:00

He has always loved to dance. We started early, him and I, rocking out to Al Green. These days Kanye and Katy Perry get him grooving.

Last week, he asked for "mouse music" to "practice" to, so the Nutcracker Suite was in heavy rotation.

And Sunday, we got to see why. Twirling, whirling, leaping, on his tippy toes. And a tutu (the other boys refused to dance... J wanted to fit in with the other dancers, all girls, and put on a new outfit!) !

Joy in motion, pure freedom of expression.

California Christmas

2010-12-06T07:47:00.000-08:00

It’s shaping up to be a very California Christmas around here. Christmas lights in palm trees. Boys in Tutus. Walks along the sea, without a coat. Hot chocolate and bare ankles.

I’ve been thinking about what Ohlone traditions at this time of year must have been, too: observation of the seal migration, for sure. Hopefully we’ll do that before too long, but it might be January. Despite my efforts in gathering advent activities--both local and personal-- I don’t really know to much about Mexican advent traditions. I’ve read about La Posada/ La Posarela (I think J is too young this year, but maybe next year), but that’s it.

Mostly, I think J-- and ok, me, too-- might be happy if the “mexican” portion of our observances included a stop at Mitchell’s, say every other day, for a cone of Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream. I think it is my favorite ice cream flavor ever, and I don’t like Chocolate Ice cream. Inspired by that ice cream, and the chocolate spice donut at our local shop, I came up with this cookie for desert for last week’s taco night.

They are spicy, exotic, rich tasting, great with milk or tea or red wine. They are a bit dry, and not super sweet, so I definitely think this is an “adult” cookie, and not an afternoon treat. Unless of course it’s a California Christmas where you are, too.

Mexican Chocolate Biscuits
I cooked these on a lined cookie sheet-- and one sheet was big enough. You could easily make the cookies smaller and use more sheets-- the butter tends to spread, so don’t place them too closely.

1 piece star anise
½ tsp cinnamon
3/4 c flour
1/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c unsalted butter, room temp.
1/2 c sugar (don’t use turbinado, there isn’t enough time for it to melt well)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbs steel-cut oats
1/4 c semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grid the star anise. Combine star anise, cinnamon, flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt in a bowl. With and electric mixer, beat butter with sugar and vanilla until well blended. Add flour mixture, beat just until dough begins to set. Mix in oats with spatula. Add chocolate chips and beat maybe twice (just to combine).
With your hands, shape cookies into 1 tbs size balls. Place on sheet, and smoosh down.
Bake for 15 minutes, cool on sheet.

La Mission

2010-12-05T13:43:00.000-08:00

I always love my neighborhood, especially the fact that there is always something new to love about it.

So inspired by this house and article.

photo © Interstice Architects

Butterfly Observation

2010-12-03T06:39:00.000-08:00

From Soulemama: {this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment.

@ Missionloc@l

2010-12-02T23:51:00.000-08:00

More Advent!

Happy.... Advent!

2010-12-01T09:41:00.000-08:00

Last year I wanted a permanent advent calendar, but left it too late. This year, I've been looking for weeks, but the closest I've come to the sort of thing I want is at Pottery Barn, online only. I'd rather buy something local, and I certainly want to see it first.

And then I couldn't find a paper one I liked, but on my way home I saw that Flax was having a huge sale. I bought an array of small bags, boxes and envelopes in various shades of red, pink, orange, purple. I punched holes in the envelopes and made slings for the boxes out of green raffia-- which
I also used to string the envelopes. A date is written on each "container" and a there is something to find inside of each. I strung them on a white jewelry tree I've had for years and never really used. So this is my half reusable, half discount-paper calendar:

It looks a little like the desert chaparral we saw so much of at my in-laws house. I don't necessarily think that's a good thing-- but I do love the combination of rosy hues.

There are stickers in one envelope, and there will be small ball in one of the boxes, but mostly these are "coupons" of things to do.

Some stuff is traditional, at least for us, but I struggled with coming up with other activities-- what is the meaning of Advent exactly? I don't like the idea of a "countdown"-- seems contradictory to being mindful and present. But I suppose we have this month to contemplate that.

Anyway, here's our list (partially inspired by this post... I read a LOT of Advent stuff the last few days):
J's favorite dinner
3 Special Playdates (i.e. dinner-- we do a lot of entertaining this time of year) with a special friends(give gift)
J's Winter Dance Recital
Collect pine cones and make wreathes
School Party
Get tree
Make Gingerbread Men
Santa Lucia-- candle lit dinner
See the Reindeer at the Academy of Sciences
Go Ice Skating
Make Christmas Cookies
Solstice-- longest night of the year-- new pj's for everyone... I might try to find a kids version of A Christmas Carol to read on another night
Dec 22: Halfway through the year:Family Art Night. Draw the year so far and intentions/wishes for the months to come
Christmas Pageant
Donate Toys & Clothes @ Homeless Prenatal (I resell every other time of the year)
Sing Christmas Carols
Hot Chocolate
Decorate the Tree
Visit our favorite nursery and get a wreath, narcissus
Go see the Tree at Union Square
Holiday Sing-a-long

Chores

2010-11-30T10:44:00.000-08:00

He has gotten old enough to really help with the dishes. I think he makes us all smile, wide, anyway... even when they are still soapy, a drip here, a drip there.

We travel like french people... or pioneers

2010-11-29T22:31:00.000-08:00

Some might call me picky, I’d say, instead, of course, that I have a sensitive stomach, am hyper aware of the affect food has on me-- my mood, my outlook-- and I’m frugal, but with expensive tastes.

Whatever the excuse, I find that I do a lot of cooking right before traveling. This is a somewhat learned trait, for better or worse. One Christmas I was able to withstand a 6 hour delay on my way home thanks to homemade pate sandwiches and a package of belgian chocolates, courtesy of my mother. For swimming parties, I make lentil salads. Actually, I seem to make lentil salad for almost any outdoor eating event.

This year for Thanksgiving we embarked on the long drive down to San Bernardino County and my in-laws’. We decided to take it slow, spend the night along the way. And since its been so temperate, why not camp along the way. I’ve been dying to take a camping trip with J, and now that he is potty trained it seemed like a perfect opportunity: and there are Yurts in the Santa Cruz mountains.

But anyway.... this trip was no different: a new granola recipe, chocolate biscuits, lentil salad (of course!), pate, plus bread, cheese, pears... for lunch and our afternoon hike. For dinner, we planned to grill hamburgers, toast the buns, roast some red peppers, and make s’mores. And perhaps whip up a salad on the side.

So. We got lost looking for camp, and arrived at our Yurt after dark. And while it has averaged 65 degrees from San Francisco to San Luis Obispo, this week temperatures fell to record lows.

The hamburgers were reliably delicious, and so were the s’mores. The peppers burned, the buns got covered in soot. We had some toast.. and because I couldn’t find the food locker handle in the night, the only other thing we had to eat was the chicken liver pate left from lunch. We smeared it on the toast, drank beer, and chatted with other campers, the guys in the RV who gave us matches, the rangers who gave us firewood. It must have been funny, the city slickers with the toddler totally unequipped in the freezing cold eating pate’, but everyone ate it. ALL of it. And told me they loved it. It was what we had to share, to say thank you.

Every winter I order chicken livers, in anticipation of making lasagna, tortellini, “french” meatloaf. Inevitably, I have leftovers. But this year, it was the 70 degree heat that we had all month that foiled my plans. I didn’t make the lasagna or the tortellini, and not wanting to waste the livers before our trip, I turned to a old standby pate recipe. I love chicken liver pate. It is the perfect picnic food... and perfect for making friends and staying warm when the weather hits 25 degrees and you are sleeping in a Yurt (thankfully in super warm extreme-altitude camping bags, thanks to my crazy x-game brother-in-law).

Chicken Liver Pate, good enough for a yurt.
1 stick butter
1 c finely chopped onion
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 tsp minced fresh thyme
1 tbs minced fresh sage
3/4 tsp salt
black pepper
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1 lb chicken livers, trimmed
2 tbs cognac or armagnac
3 tbs whipped cream

Directions
Melt 1 stick butter in a large skillet over moderate heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add herbs, salt, pepper, allspice, and livers. Cook, stirring occasionally until livers are cooked outside but still pink when cut open, about 8 minutes. Stir in cognac/armagnac and remove from heat. Purée mixture in a food processor. Add whipped cream and stir to combine. Transfer pâté to crock/s and smooth top.
Cover and chill at least 2 hours.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

We are off on an adventure in SoCal: yurt camping, visiting migrating butterflies, hiking, a trip to the Purl Warehouse, the Getty, Disney Hall, and best of all, according to one little guy: Gaga and Grampie's house.

Back next week.

Intentions

2010-11-24T09:57:00.000-08:00

I tend to set my intentions for the week on Sunday, and honestly, when I am feelng a little at a loss, my Nikki McClure calendar helps me out :)

But really, what a great-- ideal-- practice to wake every day, take five minutes, and set intentions there and then. A single word, and image to return one to the peace of those early morning hours, before the coffee, before the animals squealing for breakfast, the baby asking to play, the husband hunting for keys. It's been said and done before, but I'm not sure as beautifully or as evocatively. I think I need my own gingko stamp....

Wabi Sabi.... Parenting

2010-11-22T09:54:00.000-08:00

Packing for our trip (and trying to finish these mittens-- it's going to be cold down in the mountains!), but I loved this post. I think Rome is the ultimate Wabi Sabi city--everything is there, 6000 year old temple to modern museum, all next to each other, and, for the most part, open to touch to enter, to experience. Italians paint their houses very very bright colors: because the paint job is expected to last 15-20 ears-- they look for something that will fade -- and peel-- well.

I think Wabi Sabi also appeals to me because there is an inherent requirement to "be present" to enjoy the beauty that is points to. Living with a toddler is very very wabi sabi.

Communing with St. Francis

2010-11-19T08:02:00.000-08:00

Inspired by Soulemama: {this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

The Gift of Experience

2010-11-18T07:03:00.000-08:00

Monday was my birthday. It was a lovely day here, too hot, really for mid-November (74 degrees!), but I took advantage of it and walked these two not-so-small-anymore boys to the park and played with them for 2 hours. As we walked back they each told me how happy they were.

It was too hot to cook, so my day was topped off with the ultimate treat: an impromptu dinner out at the "mango lassie store" (Indian Restaurant).

My real "gift" had come on Saturday: a moonlight kayak trip with my husband on a bay off Sausalito, looking back at San Francisco, all the lights, at the stars, imagining what it must have been like for the Ohlones, not even 300 years ago. It was enchanting, such a truly wonderful gift-- and what a gift to be able to live here, where the past is so close, where nature is endlessly revealing herself in new ways.

1 Down, 7 to go

2010-11-17T10:52:00.000-08:00

I love the baby's cotton hat from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. For me it turns out right everytime, and I love the feel of the coarse/soft nubbly/chunky yarn on my hands as the hat comes together.

And now on to the scarves. Or the play food. Or the mittens...

Sometimes all it takes...

2010-11-16T10:40:00.000-08:00

Our car was stolen last week, then found 2 blocks away. The shop said it was all fine, ready to go. So we returned the rental, picked up "red car" (which immediately got a kiss, too!), and headed up. Start, sop, start stop, all over the hills of San Francisco. The most terrifying ride of my life, and my son was in the back seat.

Called the insurance, call the shop. J and I unloaded the car into our double-doored, too short to be a garage, perhaps once was a stable, front storage area. The tow truck came and took "red car" away, much to J's concern-- why sick? why broken? come back soon? doctor fix it?

Upstairs, his fussing continued, crayons were broken, a toy car thrown. Clearly that ride was as hard on him as it had been on me-- if not harder. I'd planned earlier to make thanksgiving wreaths with him, and started to cut up the cardboard, thinking this would be an activity to distract him, but the crying just went up and up-- I didn't have time. So I turned the box on it's side, said, look, see, it's just like the garage downstairs, and helped him drive some cars in.

I left J's room, and heard nary a peep for 45 minutes. When I looked in on him, and took this picture, I felt like a parenting genius-- for discovering that which parents have known for centuries: sometimes, all it takes is a little imagination.

@Missionloc@l

2010-11-12T16:22:00.000-08:00

My column is up... finding a school is proving overwhelming.

YOUR Gaga

2010-11-11T16:00:00.000-08:00

Last Monday, J and I made a day of the dead altar for my grandmother, Bee. I have been telling him about her lately because our fair city has gone Baseball Crazy, and I always remember her life as being bookended by the Red Sox: she was about a year old the last time they one before the next time, and she died the year they one the next time. She always said she wasn't much interested in Baseball, and really, who could blame her. But now, what with watching games every other night with an ever-widening circle of neighbors, and with Giants t-shirts bestowed upon him by superfans, J is an affirmed Baseball fan. He wants to learn how to play, pretends everything is a baseball stick, calls the stadium "Baseball's house", "Where Baseball live" (I should send that into the Giant's, right?).

So we've been talking about my grandmother, and drew some baseballs for her, and covered our alter in pink tissue paper roses. She loved pink, and always pretended to hate roses... so she wouldn't be disappointed when they didn't come. She was a bit perverse, a tough old lady, a proud New Englander, and I still miss her.

Unfortunately, I didn't take a photo of the alter before we took the cookies to the procession, before J tore the papel picado, but we enjoyed having it on the table on Monday, and talking about our memories of her.

Monsters

2010-11-04T16:13:00.000-07:00

J got quite scared at Halloween, quite unexpectedly:first of the dark at the Jack o Lantern walk in the Community Garden-- so fantastic, on the top of the hill. Panoramic view of the city. In the dark the city lights looked like a thousand more pumpkins, a chorus to join those on display in front of us.

Then at teh neighborhood Halloween party, someone showed up in a Scream/grim reaper costume-- and J asked "why monster here?", and tried to run away.

But then the Day of the Dead fixed everything: little girls (big girls!) with painted faces playing with him on the merry go round, on the swings, the see saw. When we left, as we drove home, J asked me why the monsters had left, why had they gone home-- he liked them he said, they were nice monsters.

Joys of Empire

2010-11-01T07:57:00.000-07:00

When I was a very very little girl we lived in London for a while.
I am old enough that this was before the gastro-revolution that’s turned England into a mecca for Mediterranean cooking done comfort style, but, ironically, I think that there was more authentic, and interesting, and veven good food, to be found then-- in the 70s--than now.

England is far to the north; the reason the vegetables traditionally get cooked to death is that they are not particualrly flavorsome left tender-cooked, or raw, or served with just a little aioli. The vegetables need the long cook, the addition of spices, of broths, a little dairy. The Mediterranean style restaurants that dominate the British landscape of today rely heavily on imported vegetables, and obviously, imported cuisine: it’s not authentic to the land, or he people.

Honestly the “nursery food” was pretty awful when I was a kid, but bangers and mash CAN be done right: it simply, like all other cooking, requires a little hand, some presence of mind.
But what I really loved as a child was the immigrant food-- the incredible curries (yes! even as a 5 yeard old!), the chaat, samosas, poori is still my great love. Having never been to India (yet), my marker for all Indian food is always London. And after 300 years, India has had an indelible effect on Britain-- there is more authenticity to eating curry prepared- even by a with britisher- than roasted red peppers

And then there were the regular (monthly?) trips to SoHo. I think it was still, then, a bit gang-landy, but it also (or maybe because) had some of that subversive chic going for it. It was simultaneously slummy and very sophisticated. And I am not quite sure what my parents were doing taking me there, but I loved the food, and still cook some of the dishes from my memory. I think the SoHo Tiger must have made me special kid food, as I haven’t come across Pork Balls anywhere else.Or perhaps Chinese immigrants in London were from a different region than those that have set up shop in the U.S.

Whatever the case, last week,while M was away, I the Pork Balls.J and I ate a whole half pound between us, and I think he would have eaten more. I served these with some steamed bok choy and rice-- but next time I think I might try one or two of the other dishes I remember from London: Mushroom Stir Fry, Spare Ribs, Fish Quenelles. The British do have good meat, and of course the fish is fantastic. So maybe we’ll just have a double portion of Pork Balls, in commemoration. They are that good.

Pork Balls
3 cloves (about 1/2 tbs) Garlic, minced
1 bunch Scallions, finely chopped
3 tbs fresh grated Ginger
Dash of Cayenne
1/2 lb ground Pork
1 Tbs Soy Sauce
1 Tsp fish Sauce
1 Tsp Brown Sugar
1Egg, beaten
1/4 c Flour (or half- and-half mix of cornstarch and flour)
1/4 c Peanut or Safflower oil

Combine the brown sugar, soy sauce, and fish sauce in a small bowl.In a separate, large bowl, place the Pork, and add the garlic, scallions, ginger, and cayenne, one by one, incorporating (by hand) after each-- try to handle only as much as it takes to mix in the spices.
Pour the liquid ingredients over the top and let rest about 20 minutes, then fold in/mop the liquid ingredients, making a large ball of the sausage, but again trying not to “pack firm”.Let marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 hours-- the remaining prep and cooking only takes about 20 minutes total.

Heat about half the oil in a wok or if using a deep skillet, heat all of it. Form pork into 1-2 inch balls, dip in the egg, and roll, very lightly, in the flour. Drop 4-6 balls at a time in the oil, turning down the heat after the first 3 minutes, and turning it back up in between batches. The balls take about 6 minutes each to cook. Add the remaining oil half way through if/as needed.

Drain on paper towels, and serve with rice and soy sauce. I cut a serrano up and added this to 3 tbs soy,1 tsp vinagar, 1 ts dried ginger, as I Iike things a bit spicier than J.
This dish should serve 3-4 with rice and a vegetable... or 2 very hungry people.

Happy Halloween-cake

2010-10-29T09:24:00.000-07:00

From Soulemama: {this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment.

@MissionLoc@l

2010-10-29T09:20:00.000-07:00

The Giants and Halloween share:
Color Scheme (black and orange)
Beloved in San Francisco
Build Community (here at least)

And, more, now up at MissionLoc@l

Random Objects

2010-10-27T22:26:00.000-07:00

J is fascinated with my camera, and intermittently succeeds at pressing the right buttons in the right order...

I am always amused by the images that he leaves behind.

Party Food

2010-10-22T14:01:00.000-07:00

For whatever reason, Fall always makes me think of party food.
It’s funny, really, because we never have a party in September, too full of the fun of “back to school”, and often, a trip for my father-in-law’s birthday. And November brings my birthday, and thanksgiving, and, in years past, the annual California Road Trip we and some friends would take (in the Before J era).

So really, it’s October that makes me think of parties, although funnily enough not ones that I host. One friend always hosts a Chili Cook-off (we’ve only won the whole thing once:(), swollen now to more than 200 people, 7 types of chili, and separate competitions for sides, deserts, and specials. I think she should get Anchor Steam Brewery to sponsor the event, but not this year: no cook-off, as baby number 2 is due in 2 weeks. Then there is Heather’s annual pumpkin carving: pumpkins, red wine, oatmeal cookies, tortillas and (homemade) tomatillo salsa, and all kinds of sweet potato snacks, her favorites.

Heather moved to Amsterdam two years ago, though.We’d hoped to visit her this October, but instead we are here, in the rain.

I do love fall party food, too. Where as other times of year I feel compelled to cook something innovative, or Asian, or Italian, in the fall, it seems perfectly acceptable, appropriate, even, to simply have comfort food, super traditional stuff that rarely makes it into the sort of cookbook chefs write, Amazon recommends, or the library displays. So this year, I’ve decided to start a new tradition, our own October party... call it an insurance plan against new babies or moves,if you will: I want to make sure I get my fall party in.

This Sunday, we’re hosting our first annual pumpkin carving party, with 10 of J’s friends, their parents, a bevvy of my favorite fa snacks, old and new.

I am originally from Washington, D.C., and Cheese Straw are a common snack in the South, as are the Spiced Nuts and Sugared Bacon. All of these recipes are pretty easy to make, and a bit addictive.

Cheese Straws
8 oz grated Cheddar cheese
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut up
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon cream

Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a food processor, combine all the ingredients through the pepper until the mixture is coarse/breadcrumble-y, then add the cream and blend just until the dough balls.
On a lightly floured surface roll the dough until 1/8-inch thick.
With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut into 1/4 inch wide strips.
Transfer the strips to a lined cookie sheet
Bake the straws on the middle rack for 12 to 15 minutes, until the ends are just brown.
Cool before serving.

Spiced Pecans
4 tablespoons butter, melted
4 cups pecan halves
1 tablespoon of kosher salt
1 teaspoon cayenne

Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Combine the butter and the pecans in a medium bowl and toss to coat.
Spread the pecans in one layer on a large cookie sheet.
Bake for 25 minutes, shaking the pan 2-3 times to prevent scorching.
Let Pecans cool slightly (10 minutes-ish), then sprinkle with salt and cayenne.
Cool completely before serving.

Sugared Bacon
1 lb bacon (in slices)
1 tsp cayenne
1/3 c firmly packed brown sugar
Nonstick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Slice Bacon slices into thirds, length wise (basically you are making bacon snacks or bites instead of big breakfast slices).
Mix Sugar and pepper together
Line two large cookie sheets, and spray with nonstick spray
Arrange bacon in a single layers on the sheets.
Evenly sprinkle with pepper and sugar.
Bake until bacon is crisp and browned, about 30 minutes. Rotate the sheets half-way through cooking to prevent burning.
Drain on paper towels,and serve immediately (while warm!)

Ice Breaker
I first had this drink at a now long-closed restaurant in San Francisco called The Last Supper Club. Cheesy name, but they had a great bar, and some fantastic down home Italian dishes. It is sorely missed.

These are proportions only; I’ll be making a pitcher for us adults:

1 1/2 ounces ice wine
1 1/2 ounces Ciroc or other grape-based vodka
4 frozen grapes

Fill half of a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the wine and vodka and shake well. Strain into a martini glass, garnish with the frozen grapes and serve.

Also on the menu:
Etsy’s cupcake adaptation of Rose Bakery’s Broccoli Cake (the cake is delicious, and so fun for kids) and Orangette’s Sweet Potato Bundt Cake.

My friend Jason says he’s looking forward to his son’s first opportunity to run with scissors.... I’m just looking forward to the food.

This blog post + these recipes are part of Pretty Mommy’s fall recipe exchange. Last up was whiskitgood with the great post on Morocco (we spent our honeymoon there!) and Moroccan food .... next up (Monday) is Tina at Bull in a China Shop.... looking forward to more recipes!

Tafoni

2010-10-20T07:12:00.000-07:00

Last week, to get away from the heat-- although really, it was hot everywhere-- we drove down to Pescadero for the first time. It is like something out of a novel, a fantasy of California. I was going to say going back in time, but it is really just unique, especially the San Gregorio Country Store-- loved the selections, the eavesdropping, and the fact that you could do it all with a drink in hand.

We stopped at Pebble Beach on the way down. It was really incredible... memories of waves etched (semi) permanently into the side of the land. The technical name is tafoni.

Plan 9 from Outerspace

2010-10-19T07:56:00.000-07:00

I had some thoughts of making some play “bugs” for Jout of this plastic tubing, wooden beads and coated wire I had left over from another project. Not sure where I’m going with this stuff, if anywhere, but I like these proportions.

Native American Summer

2010-10-15T13:54:00.000-07:00

It has been so hot here, and yet because it’s October, I don’t feel like just having salade nicoise for dinner. And the market is a strange jumble, too: tomatoes are finally in... sitting right next to pears.

We’ve made chocolate chip cookies, but it’s too hot to make pizza. We’ve eaten lots of the pesto I’d hoped would keep through the winter, as the heat is making me too lazy to even blend a new batch. And grilled steaks, now that this month’s allotment has arrived.

I never thought I’d say something like this, but I wish it would cool off. I’m ready for so cuban-praised pork, some sugo, lasgne, gnocchi, apple pie.

But meanwhile, I am enjoying my frontsteps-beer.

Lewis Hyde & Buddha

2010-10-15T13:22:00.000-07:00

I am, apparently, all-consumed by The Gift, but I managed to crank out this week's column, nonetheless.

October

2010-10-08T10:24:00.000-07:00

This month is so different from how we might experience it on the East Coast, or in any other city.

Hispanic Heritage Month 
This year, we’ll celebrate with J’s first trip to Mission Dolores.

Halloween THE holiday of San Francisco
Lion, lion tamer and zoo keeper.

Blue Angels
This year with my airplane crazy little boy, should be extra-fun

Our Annual “big hike”
Mt Tam!

This is a full enough list, but I added the 30/30 Bikram Challenge and a Kids pumpkin carving project to the list. Which means I need to fix up/clean up our disaster of a back patio... so, some patio inspiration:

(Paxton's Gate, by Eric)

(Flora Grubb, by Unruly Things)

SF Zoo,again,by me-- apparently this section , the Safari section, as we've taken to calling it, has plantings from South Africa, because they have the same Mediterranean climate as SanFrancisco. I love how the plants are tropical-in-nature, but have the sort of grayed colors so common here, like a stormy seashore... really points out the graphical, hard edged shapes.

Apres Bikram

2010-10-08T09:32:00.000-07:00

From Soulemama: {this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment.

What's your moment?

Day 7

2010-10-07T06:54:00.000-07:00

So far so good on the self-inficted Bikram torture.But today,I am braving a "double": two classes, and in this case, back-to-back.

And then when I get back I'm buying stock in a Coconut Water company. Seems to be the only thing keeping me going.

Last Year's Costume

2010-10-06T17:51:00.000-07:00

Posting this as a bit of a reminder to recycle, and for some inspiration.

Last year J was Max from Where the Wild Things Are. I bought a white bunting-y two piece fleecy outfit from Old Navy-- the top had ears, already. I made a crown out of yellow felt, M bought a faux fox tail from Etsy at the last minute. The dinosaur feet slippers came from the Gap, J had them already.

I am thinking a similar neutral body suit type thing this year, a felt ruff and head piece, and re-using the tail. Hopefully that will = LION.

From Lions to Zebras

2010-10-06T15:53:00.000-07:00

I have been obsessed with this zebra’s behind.

I keep drawing, painting, and collaging, trying to understand the hook thats got me.

It’s inspiration, but I am not sure what for.

A Dress (Great price!)?

Or two?

A new rug?

A bag? ClareVivier via KK Is The New Black

Cake? (via tastespotting)

A “real painting?”
Somehow nothing is hitting on the precise percentage combination of graphic and organic that I've been enchanted with....maybe it's just time for another trip to the zoo.

All images from sources as noted

Halloween Costume?

2010-10-05T07:38:00.001-07:00

I just saw these on PurlBee:

These are gorgeous as-is, but also inspiring: maybe a lion costume for J this year, with the ruff made from cut felt, with a brown body suit?

Images from PurlBee

Lion Pose

2010-10-05T06:56:00.000-07:00

J is interested in about 4 things right now: his Uncle Steve, who sadly is on a plane back to Hawaii as I type, lions, airplanes, and yoga.

I am doing a 30 day challenge at the local Bikram studio, and whenever I get home J wants to "do yoga" with me. Some how he has figured out-- I guess I told him-- that the poses have animal names, so he asks for cat, or cow (his favorite) or snake (cobra), etc. I was thrilled to find "lion's pose" the other day, and showed it to him, but J told me I did it wrong-- I needed to "do roar" at the same time, if not it was a "big dog".

Renee

2010-10-04T22:53:00.000-07:00

I knew a woman named Renee once. She and I worked together at a small, well trafficked bookstore in SoHo, before SoHo became a Disneyland version of an arts district, before Giuliani. It’s not there anymore-- Spring Street Books-- but I worked there for 3 years or so when I was in college. SoHo already wasn’t the SoHo it had been, and models lived nearby, and there was an Origins at the corner, and a store called Country Road, which I think was the Australian version of Banana Republic. There was also Moss, and Kelley and Ping, and David Bowie shot his scenes for Basquiat a block away. We had a great magazine department, and Linda Evangelista would come in once a month and buy and armful. Cindy was our favorite, she would buy Barbara Kingsolver and Jane Smiley, and came in with Rande Gerber when she was still married to Richard Gere, only we didn’t know it then.

Renee had finished college and gone to South America to teach English, and had become very ill, and had had to come home. She was small, with long brown hair, and was mousy, and had pasty skin. She was slim, too, but it turned out she’d developed Diabetes, but it took the better part of a year to stabilize her health. I don’t remember all the details, but I think there was a family fall out in there too. Anyway she lived around the corner, staying with her college roommate who was now a stockbroker on Wall Street, while she figured out what to do next.

Renee was always so calm, and never recognized anyone famous, and could deal with our crazy boss, Izzy, the holocaust refugee owner of the store. He was friends with the guy who’d written Maus, and Kinky Friedman, or at least knew them well enough for them to stop by and ask for discounts.

Renee was more mature, and more conscious of money than many of our coworkers. I remember the awe I felt the day she said she’d made the curry she was heating up for lunch. Thai curry. This for me was like when other people realize mayonanaise can be made at home, or dill pickles were once cucumbers. It was life changing . I loved thai food, but of course was too poor to afford it often. I was already a good cook, and able top make a nutritious, tasty food most nights, but it had never occurred to me that ethnic food could be made at home, too.

Renee lent me a cookbook, took me to Chinatown to find ingredients, and invited me over to cook when I was ready to try it for the first time myself. That cookbook is dynamite, and Renee was a great teacher, and Chinatown a great resource.

That Spring Renee got into graduate school for public health, not at NYU, but somewhere out of the city. I am not sure where, or what became of her. But I make a lot of thai food, and whenever my herbs just start to wilt, I make batches of curry paste, and think of her, and how she’d always say to drop by for “tea and sympathy, or vodka and a cigarette” when Izzy was in one of his moods, and she was leaving me to the late shift.

Green Curry Paste
Adapted from Real Thai, by Nancie McDermott. I am allergic to shrimp so I omit the paste, but you coul include 1 tsp shrimp paste in place of the fish sauce.

Ingredients
1 tbs whole coriander seed
1 tbs whole cumin seed
1 tsp whole peppercorn
3 stalks fresh lemongrass
1/2 c coarsely chopped fresh cilantro roots, stems and leaves
1/4 c coarsely chopped mixed thai basil, vietnamese coriander, italian basil, and mint
1 tsp minced lime peel
1 tbs chopped fresh ginger
6 cloves of garlic, smashed and peeled
1 shallot chopped
1/2 c fresh thai (birdseye) chilies, chopped
1 tbs fish sauce
1 tsp salt

Directions
Toast the coriander, cumin, and black pepper together in a skillet, then pound in mortar and pestle.
Trim the lemongrass stalks and chop finely.
In a food processor or blender, grind the cilantro and mixed greens until roughly processed (5 minutes or so), then add lime, ginger, garlic, shallot, chilies, one by one, pureeing to combine after each addition. Add the toasted spices and lemongrass, then the fish sauce and salt.

This makes enough for 2 to 4 pots of curry. To store, put the ingredients in a jar and cover with a thin layer of neutral oil. Lasts for several months in the refrigerator.

Finally Summer

2010-10-01T06:27:00.000-07:00

From Soulemama: {this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment.

In my neighborhood....

2010-09-30T19:26:00.000-07:00

My latest is up at Missionloc@al....

30/30

2010-09-29T09:50:00.000-07:00

It has ben so hot in San Francisco this week. But after a summer of complaints about rain and fog, I’m biting my tongue. Instead, we’ve gone swimming twice, gotten our toes in the grass, made our chili with fresh tomatoes (AMAZING), and finally, had a beer on the front steps.

It has wreaked havoc with one of my favorite fall activities, though: planning the fall wardrobe. I did manage to asses J’s clothes and maximize my coupons and the sales times to the tune of spending less than $50 on his clothes (still need a coat, and this means I am making his mittens, scarf, sweater and slippers). Thank you universe, for giving me friends who work at kids stores, and friends who design kids clothes, and awesome kids second hand stores in my neighborhood.

But for me, it’s hard to think of how a new pair of jeans might feel vs. some wooly tights whenI am wearing short shorts and a tank top to ride my scooter around the block to cool off. And yesterday at Bikram, the teacher told us the studio was struggling to keep the room COOL enough for practice. Crazy yoga addict that I am, I signed up for the 30/30 challenge for October, any way.

At least this gives me an excuse for some legitimate, practical clothes shopping. Maybe just window shopping for now,but I only have 3 pairs of yoga shorts and two tops, and I don’t think they will make it through 30 days straight of wear and tear.

The shorts here are cute, and I figure Bikram in Manhattan is comparable to these temperatures, but I usually pay $20... does $50 get me shorts that last a month?
Is there a way to make your own yoga clothes?

Until I learn how, I really kind of love these:

They're reminding me of this print I saw on design*sponge:

Maybe yoga-wear will be my path to a fall wardrobe, a way to try a new palette?

Bigger

2010-09-28T08:11:00.000-07:00

I had these dream this summer of communing with nature, with J. But the truth of it is, he’s a city boy... and I’m a city girl. Our evening looking at stars at my parents place turned into 5 minutes of “it’s dark out... go inside!” (repeat...).

But we came home, and hiked Glen Canyon: J loved it. Maybe because He could still see buildings? My brother-in-law thinks perhaps it’s being able to see open sky (previous hiking attempts were more wooded).

Tonight we sat outside, in the heat, at twilight, and watched the sky turn to velvet. J took a picture or two, and said it was pretty. From our house we have wide open sky, and buildings. The majesty of the west coast is so different from the delicate miniature scale of the east coast. Maybe he just needed it bigger?

So Wednesday we’ll attempt the Nike missile range: wide open sky, views of the whole Bay.

That time of year

2010-09-27T09:11:00.000-07:00

We are in a strange season here, fall and Summer, all at once.
Last week I made braised artichokes, and had 3 blankets on the bed, and the next day made skordalia and baba ganoush. We ate pasta with the last of the zucchinis, and some freezer pesto.

It’s hard to get used to this weather, but I think that’s just because the calender says so. It’s been foggy and rainy and cool with intermittent warmth for a month or two, so it makes sense that now it’s finally warm. and after this will come a little more briskness in the air, later mornings, a return of damp at night.

But the calender isn’t from the northwest, and it says orange leaves, and pumpkins, and spice. It doesn’t say bright fresh tasting chili made with over-ripe tomatoes, the first tiny chilis, some marinated pork and beef. It doesn’t say that now is the season for Thai food (all the ingredients are in the market), the days to be taking a hike, and going lake swimming.

J can’t read the calender, he gets up and asks “swimming open?”, he giggles at the idea of a hike. He asks for shorts. He says it is still time for “green one” (basil). My trustiest clocks: the sky, the sun, and J.

Zucchini Pasta
This is a great cooler summer day dinner dish, one that J gobbles up by the handful.
1 clove garlic
6 small, firm zucchini
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
salt & pepper
1 pound fusili, or other short, stubby pasta
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup mixed grated Parmesan and Pecorino

Directions
Smash and peel the clove of garlic, don't dice
Cut zucchini in to thin (1/4 to 1/8 inch) circles. into 1/8-inch-thick slices.
Warm the olive oil over a low heat with the garlic clove, for about 5 minutes, or until the oil starts sizzling.
Tear basil into thin strips.
Turn oil up to medium-high, remove the garlic (discard), and add the zucchini and 1/4 the basil. DO NOT STIR for 7 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add 1/4 of the basil, season with salt and pepper, put top on the pot until the pasta is ready (but not more than 10 minutes).
Meanwhile, boil water for pasta; cook pasta, reserve 1/2 c cooking water when you drain the pasta.
Combine the pasta, zucchini, butter, remaining basil, 1/4 c of cheese and 1/4 c of the reserved water. Stir to combine and taste. Add more water, salt, pepper as necessary.
Serve with the remaining cheese.
Serves 4-6.

Fall, Slowing Down

2010-09-24T23:05:00.000-07:00

Fall is not my favorite season (Spring, or Summer... definitely not winter!), but so many things about it are favorites:
New clothes... I always lived and died by my back to school outfit, and it’s a tradition I still keep, something special to wear that first day back from labor day, or the long summer vacation... this year a new Ulla Johnson dress with an old pair of jeans I can (finally) wear again (I love Bikram).

Often, a new haircut although, really, it’s always about my latest take of David Bowie’s haircut on the cover of Low...

Checking in on goals that I never really set until February, at the dawn of Spring, and reviewing my life list, and adjusting the budget.

Fall food is my favorite, an opportunity for big complex flavors, but it’s not cold, and it’s not all root vegetables yet, and it’s not so hot that I can’t stand to cook. Chili, Roast Pork, French Meatloaf, Espresso Cashew Bars, Lasagne, bliss.

But having a child, a family, has changed some of this. It’s made me a little more conscious of the rhythms of nature, it’s helped me slow down and open my eyes to the change in the air, which is a little subtler here in our marine-layer-blanketed city on the west coast. Really, September is still summer for us. And yet it’s bittersweet, a short summer.

Next month, October, is a big time for commemoration here: day of the dead, halloween, Cleanup day at the AIDS Memorial Grove, the names read out on All Saints Sunday. This October I think we’ll take J to Mission Dolores, too, his first visit... and perhaps a historic walk around the neighborhood.

November brings my birthday, and of course Thanksgiving, but my favorite thing about the month is the Beaujolais Noveau, so yummy and so fun. This year I think we’ll drive up to wine country here, for the harvest celebration at our CSA farm.

We spent today on our annual fall hike (it’s too hot for me to hike in the summer, I am too fair and get sunstroke easily), and next week we’ll set off for the Monarch preserve and the migrating butterflies... something I’ve wanted to do ever since I read Dear Mr. Henshaw. I don’t know why I couldn’t go until I had J as an “excuse”, but I am grateful to have one.

And an excuse to buy little boy back to school clothes, an excuse for looking for the harvest moon, for planning a camping trip, for slowing down and enjoying the seasons-- as different as they may be here from anywhere else, wherever we are.

Autumn Equinox = the start of summer

2010-09-24T16:42:00.001-07:00

And more, @Missionloc@l

The Passage

2010-09-23T07:21:00.000-07:00

We went to Alameda to get worms for the composter last Friday. I was in the throws of the last pages of The Passage, and really, the Bay Worms group and the intentional community and the urban farm that surrounds it (partially built out of/in old military barracks) reminded me so much fo the description of the First Colony. I suppose the future is now, except I am annoyed I have to wait 12 months for the next installation in the saga... Hopefully by then our worms will be helping us make some delicious food.

For Breakfast....

2010-09-22T08:29:00.000-07:00

Drowsily, J asked for airplanes for breakfast.

So I painted this before I went to sleep:

J said "Mines?", and asked if we could draw Orange Ladies. This morning's task.

The Pursuit of Beauty

2010-09-21T09:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, J and I went to the Maira Kalman exhibit that's in town. I really love the CJM, they have incredible kids' arts programming-- we saw a fantastic Maurice Sendak exhibit there last fall.

I've always enjoyed Maira Kalman's New Yorker covers, and I loved the Pursuit of Happiness blog. But I never realized what a conceptual artist she was-- really, a design thinker-- before this exhibit. A documentarian. It made me appreciate her casual yet closely observed style that much more. So inspirational.

These were my favorites:

(embroidered with the first lines of the inferno)

(I love how this echoed, and answered, I suppose, her 9/11 image)

And J's:

But most of all he loved this

I can never underestimate is interest in and capacity for music. Also, he thinks the singer is the same woman as the "orange lady". Maybe?

Pink dress: Julie Saul Gallery. Butter & Eggs; Helicopter: New York Times. All other Maira Kalman images from CJM

Putting By

2010-09-20T10:11:00.000-07:00

We had quite the day of making around here yesterday, mostly to make sure nothing went to waste. We used everything but the squeal.
Cabbage pickle to use up the cabbage from green chorizo tacos last week
Babaganoush with the eggplant left over from last week's ratatouille
Tomato conserva with tomatoes that we'd forgotten about (oh and a few new ones, discounted for sauce making, from the market, of course)
Skordalia with the tomato left in the blender from the conserva
Chorizo scrambled eggs, with the last of last weeks' eggs, and the leftover chorizo.

And, focaccia, grilled fish, roasted radicchio, braised artichokes, hibiscus orange iced tea, fig tart, and overnight oatmeal.

I am tired, but looking forward to making pesto tonight with my super-discounted-basil-with-an-extra-bunch-thrown-in.

J, M, and I made up the fig tart recipe, and I made up the babaganoush and skordalia recipes as I went, but didn't write anything down. Of everything we made yesterday, the Conserva is by far the easiest, and I think the one thing that will really "last" through the winter: 2 jars went into the fridge (one for keeping, one for giving), and two jars in the freezer.

Tomato Conserva
This is halfway between tomato paste and tomato jam, and can be used in place of either. It is a great easy way to use up extra tomatoes that are going soft, and just a spoonful adds a really lush, deep flavor to tomato sauces all winter long.

4 lbs tomatoes
1/4 c olive oil
1 tbs salt
1 tsp brown sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a 9x12 pan with foil
Core and then slice or roughly chop the tomatos; you should have enough to cover the pan in a single layer (you can double the recipe before you need to use an additional pan), pour olive oil on top and sprinkle with salt and sugar.

Put the pan in the oven and turn the oven down to the lowest setting. Cook for at least 4 hours and up to 16 hours.

Remove from oven and cool for 30 minutes. Strain the tomatoes for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours-- you don't want to press, just dump the ingredients of the pan into a colander set over a bowl.

Puree strained tomatoes. Add about 1/4 of the strained liquid. You want a really creamy, almost peanut-buttery consistency: add more of the liquid until you get there. I used about 3/4 of the retained liquid, but if you use all of it and need some more, add olive oil.

These proportions should yield 2 small jars of tomato bliss.

Plastics Progress

2010-09-18T14:14:00.001-07:00

So, I decided to start my project of giving up plastics with single-use plastics. And then I got more finite: saran wrap. Replacing the saran wrap I have cheese paper (thekitchn has a good backgrounder), wax paper, tupperware, and foil. And butcher twine, masking tape and washi tape.

I've been lusting after washi tape for oh, I don't know 2 years? And when I saw it at my local arts supply store I resisted for as long as possible. This effort seemed like a great excuse to buy some. I always am more committed to "starting" when I have the incentive of beauty or sensory stimulation-- and I get both with the washi tape. I figure it's worth the $3 a roll (And if I keep telling myself that, maybe I'll believe it!)

@Missionloc@l

2010-09-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hey Kids! is back, just in time for School.

Optical Illusion

2010-09-17T08:50:00.000-07:00

From Soulemama: {this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment.

Nourishment: Hunger/Satiation (Stomach)

2010-09-16T21:08:00.000-07:00

A friend’s mother has a saying about food in her house-- “no bags or boxes”, meaning no processed food. I like the saying, makes things clear and easy to remember.

Over the past year-- before I learned the saying!-- we’ve done a lot to work towards a more purposeful/intentional kitchen. By that I mean buying only what we need and avoiding spur of the moment purchases/take out. Making more things I might once thought of as shelf staples, sometimes because it seemed like a fun project, a way to while away a rainy Saturday (1. I LOVE to cook 2. San Francisco gets very rainy), like making our own pate, making ketchup (soooo good, and so much better than Heinz’s).

Sometimes out of necessity: we use Mayonnaise so infrequently it goes bad in between, so it just makes more sense to make small batches as we need it.

But we’ve never kept a lot of shelf-stable food around at all, not really. I grew up in Italy, where refrigerators were tiny-to-nonexistent, food was bought every day at the farmer’s market. My husband grew up in a small town in upstate New York, eating his mother raspberries, helping to can the tomatoes, knowing, intimately, where his food came from.

Part of my desire to make more of my own food is for health purposes: fewer sick days, less doctor visits. But really, mostly, it’s hedonistic. Touching, cutting, cooking, smelling and eating simple fresh food is a wonderful sensual experience, and I see no reason not to do it as much as possible. It is one of the wonderful gifts that nature provides us, beauty and nourishment for all of our senses.

But practically, resolving to eat even less packaged food -- especially with a toddler underfoot -- can be tricky. Lately we’ve gotten it down to the following: 1. pasta (not gonna change unless someone invents at-home brass cutters) 2. granola bars 3. cheese crackers 4. yogurt 5. canned tomatoes, canned tuna, canned crab, mustard, indian pickles/chutney, peanut and almond butter 6. frozen tortellini

We make (most) of our own bread and buns, I make loose granola for breakfast cereal, we make our own ice cream, we buy dried beans, we make our own jam. This summer unfortunately I won’t be able to can any of M’s fantastic tomato sauce, and I like supporting the indian foods vendor at our farmer’s market with my occasional purchase.

Ironically, #2 and #3 are because of J: these are his snacks. I’m sad to think that in some ways M and I eat more healthily than J does. So I’m focusing there, right now. My goal for this year is to reduced our packaged foods to 1. pasta 2. yogurt 3. the canned goods listed above: so I need to nail some sweet-ish treats, and some savory ones, too (although, nuts are a good compromise).

I’ve been working on the granola bars. So far this is the best recipe I’ve found, but ironically it’s a little too sweet for J. This weekend, though, I hit upon a fantastic compromise: low-sugar peanut butter cookies. So full of protein-y energy goodness.

Peanut butter cookies
Adapted from Epicurious
I use organic peanut butter, so that affects my flour and sugar choices.
2 c peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
1/2 c brown sugar
1 c honey
2 eggs
1/4 oat flour
1 tsp baking soda

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Grease baking sheets.
In a bowl with an electric mixer beat together peanut butter and sugar until combined well. Whisk together eggs and add to peanut butter mixture.
Sift together flour and baking soda, and add to peanut butter mixture, beating all the while.
Roll dough into balls and arrange about 1 inch apart on baking sheets. With tines of a fork flatten balls to 2 inches in diameter. Bake cookies in batches in middle of oven until puffed and pale golden, about 12 minutes.
Makes about 60 cookies.

Korean Paper

2010-09-15T09:57:00.000-07:00

I was really struck by these images I came across on the Upon a Fold blog this morning:

Apparently, they’re french, and part of the Curious Collection Contest.

More than anything, they reminded me of some Christmas decorations I once saw in Korea (the most Christian nation in Asia). I was walking down one of the very busy concourses that seem to be typical of all streets in Seoul one morning,on my way to yet another meeting about one piece of technology or another, when I saw men suspended from the side of a squat, almost brutalist-style office building, maybe 30 stories high, with a digital display affixed to the roof. They were maybe 3 of them, using rock climbing or window washing gear, I’m not sure, to slowly descend the building while affixing squares of green paper, maybe tyvek. I watched for a day or two, as the building was transformed, a green field in the middle of the technology capital of the world.

I didn’t take this photo, apparently someone else was captivated by the building, as well:

(photo by SuzyQuzy)

I can’t recreate the tech-a-palooza at my house, but I wonder if perhaps J and I might try to make a lion with some post-its.

The Joys of Urban Parenting

2010-09-14T16:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday J and I went to the Zoo. It seemed an appropriate fall transition, somehow, after a summer spent painting, watching, catching and swimming with fishies to turn now to more terrestrial creatures.

And really, this transition began a few weeks ago, on Cape Cod, where J had his first horse ride. Yesterday we fed goats and ducks and horses and llamas, and talked about farm life, and how the harvest time was near.

But really what J wanted to see was the Lion (who was sound asleep! on his back!), and I realized we’ve been reading the “Lion Book” and awful lot lately (God, I miss Cookie magazine, which turned me on to that gorgeous book-- I bought it for J's first Christmas, and while he's only now getting around to enjoying it, it's gotten a lot of love from me). When we got home, J asked me to draw Lions with the “big chalks” and we did... and I wondered if he learned this from me, the extending the book as far as it will go, or if I had learned it from him?

Regardless, I’m glad we have both an aquarium and a zoo to help make these books come to life.