John's fantastic pizza company

today we went to a birthday party for a little boy who is in the same pre-school class as the bossy little girl. wow! what a cultural experience! there were at least 3 or 4 parties going on at the same time and all the kids ate from the buffet. Chiara ate pizza and macaroni and cheese. there were no fresh fruit choices and no fresh veggies. There were no drink choices other than sodas and water. there were cartoons going all the time in the room. they played musical chairs. the birthday boy lost and was upset. Then we took our cards into the game room which reminded me a lot of the castle park arcade room from when I was a kid. the games were a bit advanced for the bossy little girl. she traded in her tickets for a magic wand. the noise was overwhelming. mario would've gone nuts with all the lights and sounds. I'm glad I didn't take him.

I asked someone if this place was like chuck e cheese, and they said it was a similar idea, just on steroids. I think I like gymboree better.

you know you are a mom when....

among other things, you can handle multiple vomiting episodes without batting an eye; busting out the towels, the wipies and the cleaning wipes.

In related news, thank goodness I have hardwood floors. Or else life would be much more difficult.

muffins

Many months ago, in an attempt to find a use for a fruit that was readily available from the restaurant (i.e. "free"), I stumbled upon a recipe for raspberry almond muffins. I have made them many times since, and it is rare that the muffins last more than a day or two. The little red haired boy has been known to weasel his way up to the cooling rack and steal muffins when I'm not looking.
I went out and bought a williams-sonoma cookbook on muffins in order to diversify my muffin repetoire and in hopes, quite frankly, of finding another "smash hit" of a muffin. So far I have made the following:

1. apple sauce muffins
2. jam-filled muffins
3. lemon poppyseed muffins
4. vanilla pear muffins

all of them have been good. the grandparents gave good marks to the vanilla pear (my latest creations), and yet none of them have been as popular as the raspberry almond muffins. What is the allure of the muffins? Is it the raspberries? Is it the almond paste??

whoops! forgot my laptop

I forgot to bring my laptop to school this morning, and as a result, whenever my students started pestering me about their grades, I could honestly say "I don't know! I forgot my laptop." It was so liberating! I think I will forget my laptop more often!

CDMOD

What a great museum! I wish it wasn't so far away.

Red!

Every once in a while, I catch a glimpse of the back of my little boy's head and notice the ever-growing patch of blonde hair he's getting, and worry that he won't be a red anymore.

but then I see a picture like this one and figure I don't have to worry....

beautiful, beautiful bread

So I baked the remnants of my inaugural batch of "artisan" bread dough. I was afraid of how it would turn out, since the dough was really, really wet. I practically threw it on the pizza stone and hoped for the best. I forgot to put water in the broiler pan as recommended, but the bread turned out really well in spite of (perhaps because of) my omission.

I find bread somewhat confounding (and fascinating) because, unlike cooking, you are dealing with elements that are alive. If the yeast gets too hot, it fails. Moisture affects bread, the humidity of the day, the relative temperature of the water. So much can, and often does, go wrong that making bread (especially without the benefit of a bread machine) can be so overwhelming and intimidating. That's why this artisan bread book is so fascinating. I still maintain total respect for bakers (the challenge of a good pie crust is one that I am going to put off for now), but now bread seems so much more approachable. I've always maintained that if you can read a recipe, you can cook. Maybe this is true for bread now too.

almost the end....of the semester!

Today was the last day of Fall Semester-wahoo! Although we have a week of finals coming up, and we don't have any vacation, it does feel like a definite "end" of something is in the air. Perhaps it is the ten tons of make-up work that students have been turning in (today was the last day) and maybe it's just the idea that grades are just about done. Apart from acts of God, or other miraculous events, students that have a 45% today will, in all likelihood, not pass my class. I feel kind of liberated at this point. It is out of my hands.

We have an exam to take on the great depression and New Deal and then we are done with the fall semester. On to WWII!

Mad Platter

I had some time today (while on my epic quest to find an 8 amp fuse for the gate opener) and stopped by Mad Platter to buy a few CDs using the gift certificate I got from Chuck Oken (aka the owner of Mad Platter and Rhino Records). The place kind of scared me. It had a really, really low energy vibe. Like maybe they are going out of business? Or Chuck has given up on the location? Usually the place feels pretty vibrant, but the decorations and the people in the place (both employees and customers) just seemed kind of drab. I hope everything is okay with them-I still have $45 left on my gift certificate!

I came out of there with the following:
1. Cafe Tacuba- "Sino"
2. Go! Team-Proof of Youth
3. Gwen Stefani "The sweet escape"

I wanted M.I.A., but they didn't have her disc and the new Cat Power isn't out yet. But in general, you have to ask, who is going to go to the record shop when, for example, you can get the new M.I.A. "album" on Amazon, for $6.99? You don't have to leave your house, it's not digital copyright protected and you are not stuck with a piece of plastic and disc to clutter up your house. I fear that the days of little indie record shops are numbered. Old people like me can only buy so many CDs.

making bread-and eating bread

Today I made a baguette. It tasted FANTASTIC. Even the chef was impressed and kept on scarfing piece after piece. He even ate pieces that the children had leftover from their turkey burgers. I think that's a good sign. The crust was super crunchy (hooray for the pizza stone!) and the crumb was airy and had lots of irregular sized holes. I am pretty sure these are all great things.

The only problem with making bread is that I start to eat the bread. This is okay if it is with a meal, as in tonight's turkey burgers. But then I start to snack on the leftovers and this is where we run into a problem. I made another "baguette" for lunches tomorrow and it is so hard to stay away from it.
Satan is in that baguette. I know it.

bread is fundamental to life

Awhile ago, I was faced with the fact that there was no fresh bread in Riverside. This shocking discovery, plus the indignity of having to make turkey burgers with english muffins as the bun, led me to think about baking bread. I had tried once previously, and ended up with a cinnamon/raising loaf with the consistency and taste of a hockey puck. That scared me away from baking-until now!
With my new book "artisanal bread in five minutes a day" in hand, I have successfully made a loaf of "artisanal" bread. My first attempt was not pretty (I forgot to put the pretty little slashes across the top), but the dough didn't stick to the pizza peel (that's why you put corn meal underneath the dough!) and it baked up quite nicely on my new pizza stone. The bossy little girl LOVED the bread and declared that she just wanted to eat bread for dinner. Only 4 and already joining the carbo junkie lineage of her father and great-grandmother.
I am going to try and make a baguette today to serve with the chicken and roasted bell pepper recipe I intend to make tonight. I am going to make good use of that pizza stone and pizza peel. hey! maybe I'll even try and make a pizza one day....

first lemons, now oranges

Right after "orange county," Riverside County was known for its delicious navel oranges. Since our neighbor's orange trees drape over to our side of the wall, we have been harvesting oranges all week and are now overwhelmed by a ton of delicious oranges! Not a problem most people would complain about, but I am going to have to get creative on how to use these oranges. when we had a ton of lemons a few weeks ago, I made lemon curd, LOTS of lemonade and lemon poppyseed muffins. So I wonder what I should do with all of these navel oranges? Navels aren't as juicy as Valencias, but I think I should be able to get enough juice out of them to make a decent pitcher. Maybe some orange muffins? Candied orange peel? The possibilities are endless.

We signed up for an orange conservancy program a few weeks ago, and starting this wednesday we will be getting two 5-pound bags of citrus every week for the next 16 weeks-yikes! I am happy to be doing my share to help local farmers keep their groves, rather than build more tract houses, but how much citrus can one family eat? I guess we will find out!

While I don't love the smog and congestion of Riverside, I sure do love the oranges!

if I was younger....

I would so have another baby.
I see the little girl getting so tall, using new phrases and speaking in an entirely grown up manner. She has the biggest feet! I know she will outgrow me in a decade. I get really sad when I think of her leaving Temple Beth El and going on to kindergarten. I want to cling on to her little-girlness as long as possible.

The little red haired boy, of course, is not too far behind. He cracks me up when he imitates his sister and tries to do everything she does. When she hides under the table, he shrieks too and runs to the table to hide. His speech is getting better and he's up to 10 words now. when he's all dressed up, he looks so much more like a little boy and less like my baby.

This, of course, is why people have more kids. They see theirs growing up so quickly and they want to cling onto that beautiful stage of baby and toddler. Everyone tells you that it goes so fast, but you really have to experience it to know. Soon the little girl will go to school, the little red haired boy will start pre-school and our daily routine will change. No more afternoon trips to the gym and lazy afternoons spent cooking or lazing about on the floor tickling bellies. Well, we may still do that, but some things will definitely have to change. As usual, contemplating change is difficult. It's inevitable, but that doesn't make it any easier.

So if I was younger, I would definitely have one more. I make such beautiful and smart babies! If only I had started sooner....

No really, I am the muffin queen!

Last night I made lemon poppy seed muffins and we ate them for dinner. With milk! That's nutritious, right?
Anyway, they are not very lemony on their own, but eaten with last week's lemon curd, they are fantastic! Next I have to use up those raspberries in my fridge and make some almond raspberry muffins today.

such is the life of the muffin queen

Bill Richardson has dropped out

The best qualified Democratic candidate out there, Bill Richardson, dropped out of the race today, and I am sad. He not only has international experience, but also legislative and executive experience at the state and national level. As an added bonus, he is latino and not shy about telling people. Despite all of this, he just couldn't attract the money or attention.
Maybe he'll be someone's Secretary of State or VP. Maybe someday he'll be president.....

I am the muffin queen

This morning I whipped up a batch of applesauce muffins for the kids and they are delicious! I ate two for lunch (yikes!) and there are only two left as of 1:30 this afternoon. So Leone, Chiara and Mario must've eaten the other eight.

So far the Williams-Sonoma muffin cookbook has lived up to the hype. tomorrow I am going to try and make lemon poppyseed muffins......

raspberry almond muffins

I made a dozen last night before I went to bed.  I ate one just to make sure it was okay-haha!  It's now a little past noon, and there are three muffins left-wow!

That's because they are delicious!  Time to make some more!

we got a pay raise

The union negotiators reported today that they have agreed on a contract with the District.  We get a 6% pay increase (not retroactive to last June, unfortunately) that is good for two years.  In return, we agreed to split the cost of future health care increases.  I just hope that the increase in health care cost doesn't eat up our raise.

first day back to school

Well, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  The kids moaned and groaned about having to take notes.  Somehow my technology all worked today (miraculous!) and I managed to get exactly to the point I wanted to get in my lecture and be set up for my observation tomorrow.  Only 3 weeks left until the end of the semester when the school year is officially half over!  wow!  

last day of vacation..

Today is our last day of vacation.  The little girl announces to me this morning, "mama!  Tomorrow is a school day!" and I remember that for little ones, going to school is a good and exciting thing.

It's going to take us a few days to get back into the school groove.  I'm sure we all might be a bit cranky and out of sorts for a few days, but then we'll get back into the swing of things.  We've had a nice vacation.  We didn't do a whole lot of exciting things (apart from going to disneyland), but we did enjoy our time together.  We will all especially miss the time with the Chef.

lemons, lemons, lemons

Grandpa and Grandpa gave us a huge bag of lemons last week.  They are super juicy and delicious!  Then the little girl's friend from school gave us a bunch of lemons too. We are drowning in lemons.  When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, right?

So far we've made lemonade (two pitchers full), which was absolutely DELICIOUS because when you make it at home, you can make it as tart unlike the overly sweet stuff they sell at the store.  Because I like my lemonade tart, almost verging on painful, I made mine strong!  The little girl professed she liked it tart too and proceeded to polish off several glasses.  I found that using superfine sugar helped the sugar dissolve more easily and eliminated the grainy texture of regular sugar.

We also made zucchini-lemon bread, which we've nearly polished off, despite the fact that I didn't have time to make the lemon frosting for the top.  I guess it doesn't need it!  I have one more zucchini in the fridge, so I will have to make another loaf and use up a few more lemons.

Finally, I made some lemon curd.  I had never made it before, but I used the Cooking Light recipe and it turned out fantastic!  Sweet, but with a definite tart bite in it.  Yummy!

Now I am looking for other things to do with my lemons.  At some point we will get tired of lemonade, I suppose.  Lemon bars?  Lemon tarts?

reads great, eats not so well

Last night Grandpa and Grandma came over to watch the kids, so the Chef and I could go out on a real "date."  It was so totally strange going out as a couple on Friday night.  It felt like a Sunday night!  Anyway, we intended to go see a movie (Juno) and eat dinner at a place in Claremont that we had heard was really great.

The place was cute and located in a great part of town with lots of shops and a bunch of nicely constructed condos next door.  Talk about a built in market!  The menu read exceptionally well.  There were so many things I wanted to order.  I limited myself, however, to just two appetizers.  Leone had 2 appetizers and a main course.  Plus dessert, of course.

All were profoundly disappointing.  Some were downright bad.  One example:  a desert called "apples," which had some sort of apple custard under a caramelized sheet of sugar with a mini candied apple on the side.  The apple custard was okay, but the caramalized sheet of sugar tasted burnt and the candied apple was nearly impossible to eat.  The Chef tried, and nearly hurt himself.  If you have to work really hard to eat something, and it's mostly for looks rather than for nourishment, then what is it doing on the plate?  Other dishes were just okay or simply uninspiring.  The blood orange special desert was nothing special at all, and frankly, I think I could've made something better at home.  And this is saying something, since I am totally a beginner baker!

Although the food was disappointing at best, the conversation was nice, since I really hadn't talked to the chef since, oh, November.  We had a lot to catch up on.  so much to talk about (and eat) that we totally missed our movie.  Oh well, hopefully we'll be able to make one today.

So don't let a well written menu deceive you; a menu can read great, but eat well?  not so much.

de tal palo, tal astilla

Or, in English, chip off the old block.

Or, what the willfull little girl is to the Chef.  I always knew she looked like him, but whenever we spend a lot of days around the Chef, it always comes back to me in a rush; those two are so much alike.  At one point during our Disneyland excursion, the Chef asks me, "why do things always have to be so difficult?"  Before I could answer, he said "I know, I know."  It occurs to me that Nonna probably literally smacked the Chef's strong-willed tendencies out of him when he was a small child.  As an adult, he can now be independent and challenging and a contrarian and knows (for the most part) when these characteristics are and are not appropriate.  Obviously, the little girl doesn't know these boundaries.  It's our job to teach her.

I just worry that as she gets older, the little girl and chef will clash a lot, since their frustration with each other is sometimes almost physically palpable.  He claims I'm being too soft with her, but sometimes escalation is not the answer.  Sometimes you have to try humor, sometimes you try to change the subject, sometimes you issue a warning and give her time to comply.  He just gets frustrated with her so easily and I forsee really bad things in the future for those two unless he learns how to deal with her.

I know the traits of independence and single-mindedness will serve her well as an adult.  As Texas Uncle told me once, "she's going to change the world, because the world is not going to change her."  So true.

10 things that I learned from Disneyland

Yesterday marked my third trip to Disneyland as an adult with kids.  I learn something new every time.

1.  You can never bring enough snacks.  The kids ate all the fruit leather and honey sticks I brought and drank the juice and milk down to the last drop.  It's a pain in the neck to haul the stuff around, but when your kid is starting to get cranky while you're in an interminable line, whipping out a drink or fruit leather buys you some moments of peace and sanity.

2.  Driving a double stroller in a crowded Disneyland park is like trying to drive a double decker bus through rush hour L.A. traffic.

3.  Layering clothing is totally the way to go.

4.  There are a billion people in southern California, and all of them were at Disneyland yesterday.

5.  The Christmas parade really is cool, according to Chiara.

6.  The battery on the portable DVD player must be able to last at least 3 hours, or it is useless.

7.  The Mickey and Friends parking structure is too far away from the park!

8.  The line for the Nemo ride is always ridiculously long.  I think the only way we'll be able to ever go on it is to get to the park right when it opens.  And even then we'll probably have to wait 3 hours.

9.  The diaper changing stations at Disneyland are remarkably clean and well-stocked.  They are not up to Nordstrom standards, but pretty darn nice, nevertheless.

10.  Although we returned to Riverside tired and poorer, nothing beats the joy of a four year old who just saw Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, Cinderella and a host of other cartoon characters during the parade.  Chiara's joy?  priceless

I need a new iPod playlist-who will make one for me?

I am listening to my "relaxing sundays" mix right now, and am just realizing that I haven't updated my playlists for ages!  I think the song playing right now is Supergrass from 4 years ago.  I need someone cool (like Clark) to kidnap my iBook and create a bunch of new playlists that will surprise me.  It takes time and thought to put together a good playlist and I don't have a surfeit of either right now.

I need a fairy iPod godmother or godfather.

Happy New Year!

The greatest new year's day present from my children; they slept in until 8:45!  So even though I went out on New Year's Eve to the restaurant (and didn't get to sleep until around 2:00), I still got a decent night's sleep.  Not a full 8 hours, but definitely enough to be a human being.

Thank you to the opinionated little girl and the red-haired boy!