Tag Archives: family

Family

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Remember back when I showed you photos of Younger Daughter’s Valentine’s Day party-for-10 this past weekend (scroll down to see again)? Well, everybody had a great time and the food and decor were awesome but the best part for me was what YD, 23, learned from hosting her first party all on her own. She planned and organized everything and I didn’t even make one suggestion — even when it was the day before the party and not very much had been done and I asked her gently if there were anything I could do to help her AHEAD OF TIME (hint, hint) and she said, “Oh, no. I can get everything done tomorrow.” But the payoff was the day after the party when she realized the benefits of day-before party prep. Yes! Another maternal lesson learned. Read more in my weekly newspaper column, http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20100219/ARTICLES/2195005.

Food

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Has anyone else noticed that Starbucks now is selling all sorts of individually packaged not-so-bad-for-you snacks? Most Starbucks have a display of these right up front as soon as you walk in the door. You’ll find such health-food-store classics as Annie’s Snacks White Cheddar Bunnies and Snack Mix, FoodShouldTasteGood chips and allergen-free Lucy’s Cookies, among others. There also are several fruit items aimed at the kids, gluten- and wheat-free granola bars and — my favorite — Sahale Snacks nuts and nut mixes. This is what a trip to Starbucks has been missing, seems to me. Previously, if you wanted something to munch on along with your coffee, your choices were limited to something out of the pastry case — or a trip to the nearest convenience store. And while I’m a huge fan of Starbucks’ Lowfat Raspberry Sunshine Muffins and Chocolate Mini Sparkle Doughnuts, I do know that indulging every time I order a grande non-fat dry cappuccinno isn’t a good idea. I imagine these are a boon for parents with youngsters in tow, although probably they’ve probably gotten smart by now and just use the drive-in window. Anyway, I’m always a fan of crunchy and salty packaged goodness, so I hope these stick around.

Valentine’s Day

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Back when my two now-23-and-25-year-old daughters were in high school, our house was one of those where all the kids gathered for after-parties — after graduation, after prom, after band banquet, after whatever. I got pretty good at figuring out how to feed dozens of kids — little weiners and chocolate-chip cookies always were big hits — and enjoyed every minute of it. In fact, I sort of miss those days. But Younger Daughter brought them back this weekend when she hosted a party for the girls in the high-school percussion ensemble she’s working with this semester. She planned the menu and did a great job of combining healthy with Valentine’s indulgence: Carrot and celery sticks with no-fat vegetable dip, tortilla and pita chips with salsa and spinach-cheese dip, raspberry squares, Valentine’s fortune cookies, iced and decorated sugar cookies and No-Pudge Fudge cupcakes, vegetable and turkey rollups, pimento cheese (necessary for all Southern parties, you know), olives, Red Velvet cake balls and a chocolate fountain with pretzels, marshmallows and fresh pineapple and strawberries. And she used what we had around the house for decor — red candles, various heart-shaped items and the cards and boxes of candy that were the party favors. And all I had to do was help with food prep and then I got to go watch the Olympics opening ceremonies on TV while YD took care of everything else — she and the girls even cleaned up afterwards. And one of the best parts? Leftover sugar cookies for breakfast the next morning!

And check out my weekly newspaper column about everybody’s favorite love holiday at http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20100212/ARTICLES/2125000

Food

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Am I the only person who’s never seen or thought about using freshly ground cinnamon? I mean, I know about sea salt and freshly ground pepper and grating your own nutmeg but I’d never realized you could grind up cinnamon instead of buying it already ground up for you. Younger Daughter and I were restocking in Publix and came across this cinnamon grinder. And since we are wild and crazy adventurous-type of cooks, we said, “Sure. Why not?” and tossed it in our cart. Am I glad we did. I can’t tell you how much I love the flavor of fresh cinnamon on my morning cappuccino — it’s an entirely different taste and smell than the usual how-long-has-this-jar-been-in-the-pantry you get from regular (is that the right word?) cinnamon. To be honest, I’ve never really connected the cinnamon sticks I buy in bulk in December for Christmas decorations with the actual spice I use in the kitchen — sort of the way I never truly understood that french fries come from potatoes when I was growing up and I was shocked out of my ignorance when a college roommate first made real-from-scratch fries. Anyway, as I trolled around on the Interwebs looking for feedback on my discovery, I found that most people already are aware of cinnamon mills so maybe I’m not telling you anything new here. There’s also discussion about the fineness of the various grinders and which one is good for oatmeal and which one is good for coffee. I’m still enthralled with the whole concept so I’m neutral on that, except to say that I was skeptical at first since the cinnamon in the grinder we bought looks more like miniature landscaping mulch than anything else, so what do I know? Apparently not enough about cinnamon, that’s for sure.

Family

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Here in northwest Alabama, we seem to really be getting winter this year. Usually we can count on mild and sunny with only a couple of freezing wet and dreary days here and there to remind us what winter is. But this year I’m starting to understand terms such as “winter blues” and “cabin fever” — we’ve had several runs of bitterly cold temps and wintery mix precipitation and looks as if that’s continuing. Ugh. The good news is that it doesn’t take much to amuse us — when my ugly winter raincoat is the most-worn item in my closet, I’m up for any bit of fun that comes my way. Luckily, Younger Daughter is hanging out at home before grad school starts. She’s taught me to play two-person Nertz (I even win every once in awhile), convinced me to take a tap-dance class with her (and has the grace not to laugh) and joined me in unhealthy addictions to “reality” TV (we think Jake the Jerk Bachelor deserves to end up with Vienna the Car-Wrecking Daddy’s Girl). Plus, she’s always up for a batch of chocolate-chip cookie dough — the perfect antidote for too much winter. And go here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nertz to find out about Nertz. I think it goes by many other names and many variations, but we play fast and simply: Get rid of your stack first and you’re the winner. Because we need more time to eat that cookie dough.

Family

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At 22 months, grandson Capt. Adorable already is rocking cool pre-preschool fashion.  Wednesday afternoon was a little bit warmer (in the low 50s!), a little bit drier (no rain for 24 hours!) and a little bit sunnier here in north Alabama so we all headed out to the park for some rare outside fun. Let me tell you, there is nothing like chasing a little guy around a playground maze of slides and steps and balance beams to chase away any adult-onset winter blues. And what does the well-dressed pre-preschooler wear to the playground? A cozy striped hoodie topped off with the perfect pair of shades. I was laughing too hard to snap it, but the Captain somehow did the pull-the-glasses-down-a-bit-and-peer-inquiringly-over-the-top move so smoothly that I wish I had taken notes.

Books

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I am absolutely obsessed with these books and have slowly been working my way through the Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child sections of my local library. I have to admit I’d never heard of this thriller-writing team until my daughter and son-in-law lent me some paperbacks with intriguing recommendation of  “better — and earlier — than Dan Brown.” Who could resist that? Preston and Child collaborate on the can’t-put-it-down  series about FBI Special Agent Augustus Pendergast, a sophisticated genius-level investigator who combines otherworldly mental acuity with almost super-human physical strength — yet he still has weaknesses and makes mistakes. So he’s just like us, really! The ongoing series started out as your typical ancient-beast-roaming-deserted-museum-halls type of mystery but now has morphed into a to-the-death chase between our Good Guy and his evil brother, Diogenes Pendergast. There’s also plenty of wine, a creepy mansion, a girl-woman who’s much older somehow than she looks, a curious and impetuous newspaper reporters to keep things riled up and a straight-shooting hardworking police officer to keep things grounded. I’m telling you, once you get hooked you’ll read these books straight through and then haunt the bookstore for the next one — Fever Dream, due out in May. Preston and Child also have written other books both together and each separately that mostly seem to follow the same pattern: Scientists or archaeologists or some other type of professionals discover fossils/dead frozen animals/ancient writings/deadly bacteria/computer viruses that will cause widespread damage and body counts unless Something Is Done In The Next 24 Hours To Stop It. And you know, something always is done, which is reassuring. I think I’ve read more than a dozen of these books in the past couple months — they’re perfect for snow days or when you’re too sick to go to work but not sick enough to spend the whole day sleeping. Go to http://www.prestonchild.com for more.

Magazines

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I love food. I love magazines. And food magazines? Cannot resist. That’s why I’m still mourning the loss of Conde Nast’s Gourmet. But there are a bunch of other magazines that entice with gorgeous photos, informative articles and innovative recipes. But how to know which ones are worth your hard-earned dollars? Chicago Tribune food writer Judy Hevrdejs has written a fun and helpful story comparing seven of the top-selling food magazines. She looks at such variables as average number of recipes per issue, usability, typical reader and her gut reaction. Your local paper might have printed it. If not, read it online at http://www.twincities.com/food/ci_14229780?source=rss. My favorites are Cook’s for intriguing reads, Food & Wine for inspiration and Everyday Food for how-to guides.

And while you’re online, stop by the TimesDaily Web site and read my column at http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20100129/ARTICLES/1295001. This week I wrote about an experience I had this past week, while Younger Daughter and I were babysitting 22-month-old grandson and nephew Capt. Adorable.  The Captain was overdosing on TV and the results were not pretty. I had two choices: 1) Fall back on my old parenting habits and be too lenient and indulgent or 2) employ the good parenting techniques I’d seen Older Daughter — the Captain’s mom — put into play. Read and find out what happened.

Food

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After she graduated college this past December, Younger Daughter moved back home to work part-time and figure out the next step – which is going to be wonderfully awesome, whatever it happens to be. In the meantime, I get the benefits of living with someone who is the healthiest eater I know. And she cooks! When I’m empty-nesting, my usual lunch is 1) breakfast, 2) coffee with friends, 3) steam-table civic-club meeting buffets or 4) Cheeto crumbs eaten standing in the middle of the kitchen. I like Younger Daughter’s way much better. Here’s a typical lunch she’ll sort of insist on fixing for us: Organic cream of tomato soup and stir-fried veggies with sourdough cheese and herb toast. She plans and preps and I clean up — a great deal for both of us.

Breakfast

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I’m like many of y’all — in that wonderful period when my kids are grown, my work-at-home freelance-writing hours are flexible and my night-owl husband sleeps late. This means I can — finally, after years of otherwise — enjoy an hour or so of uninterrupted peace and quiet with my morning coffee. No carpools to get ready for, no homework to finish up frantically, no wild I’ve-got-nothing-to-wear closet marathons. I love it! So on a recent morning when it seemed as if 10 people ended up in the kitchen all with Important Things To Do Right At This Very Minutes, it sort of threw me off. But we all got through it. Read more at http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20100122/ARTICLES/1225004 — and have a great weekend!