Easy ideas to host a luncheon: On bringing meaning back

Today, Book Fair Co-Chair JA and I hosted a luncheon for the teachers at Daughters' school.  The point of the luncheon was to give teachers a chance to view the books of the fair, grab a quick and simple bite to eat, and then be able to make it back to class on time.  For the past several years, the teachers have been served pizza and soda and that was their luncheon.  As I took over the book fair this year, I wanted to do something nicer, healthier, but still keeping in mind that I had to work, be a mommy and wife, and set up the book fair.  With co-chair's JA's approval, I decided to make a few simple things and cater some sandwiches to the luncheon.

I kept things VERY simple, although I admit, I toyed with making things very complicated.  (I wanted to cook  everything.)

Teachers' Luncheon Menu
Sandwiches (ordered from Costco)
Spinach Dip
Everything cookies
Clementines
Various sodas and water

I could have easily bought a bag of chips and a tray of cookies and Costco when I bought the sandwiches, and I don't think that the teachers would have really noticed.  They would have been happy and would have enjoyed their food.  However, making the spinach dip and and the cookies - it added meaning.  The teachers could tell that the dip and the cookies weren't just bought, and suddenly the atmosphere was different.  Someone cared, took time, and put forth the effort to do a little bit extra for them, and it made them extra appreciative.  I got many compliments on the cookies and the dip, and even got to pass out a few blog cards.

The food you cook for your family at home - although it may not always be appreciated, it does have meaning.  It may not be meaningful to your family and may be completely under appreciated while the kids are young, but later, they will remember what you put forth from your hands for them.  When they are off in college, eating frozen dinners and a variety of random purchased foods, they will remember the food that their mother and father cooked for them and it will have meaning then.   And when they come home from where ever they've been and eat your food again, it will have meaning.

Until that day arrives, however, don't give up trying and keep on putting those meaningful meals on the table!

Stir-Fried Vegetables and Crispy Tofu: And the countdown begins

And so it is...in fewer than 40 days, I will be 40 years old.  I haven't even really had time to think about it in the past few months because life and all that it has to offer has been WAY TOO HECTIC!!  So suddenly, what is supposed to be some great big milestone birthday - has become nothing much but another day.  I'm okay with that.

I don't want my birthday to be about turning FORTY, but rather about gaining a year of maturity.  The past year has taught me much spiritually, emotionally, and physically, and it's been a good year.  I hope that my 40th year is another where I can achieve new things in all arenas of my life, motherhood, my walk with God, my relationship with my Husband, and my growth as a woman.

I'm not sad I'm turning 40.  Hopefully I won't be sad turning 41 either.  That's the goal.

In light of finding delight in who I am, I thought we could all find delight in this mix of vegetables and crispy tofu.  I ate a HUGE helping of it, and I wasn't sad about that either.  It is filling, interesting with all of its mix of textures and really satisfying with a bowl of rice.  (which I didn't have sadly.)  I love everything in it, and I am going to make it again.  Maybe tomorrow.

Stir-Fried Vegetables and Crispy Tofu
adapted from Chop, Sizzle, and Stir by Nadia Armugam
Serves 4

Ingredients
14 oz firm tofu, cut into 1 inch cubes
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
6 oz small broccoli florets
6 oz sugar snap peas
6 oz snow peas
1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 red or yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into match sticks
3 to 5 oz can water chestnuts, drained and sliced
3 to 6 oz canned sliced bamboo shoots, drained and rinsed

Sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
½ cup vegetable or chicken stock

Method
In a small bowl, make sauce. Start by mixing cornstarch with cold water. Once it is blended, then add rest of ingredients. Set aside until needed.

Sprinkle tofu cubes with a bit of salt and pepper.

In a heavy fry pan or wok, heat oil until hot. Add tofu and cook carefully, browning each side until golden brown. When the tofu is very wet, this takes time, but as you cook it, you will evaporate more of the water in the tofu and it will brown quicker. The first side always takes the longest time. Be patient. Remove tofu and drain on paper towels. (You can use one fry pan for the tofu and  another for the vegetables if you like.)

Add garlic to the wok and stir-fry for 1 minute, or until golden. Add broccoli, sugar snap peas, snow peas, carrot, and bell pepper with a sprinkle of water, and stir-fry over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Finally add water chestnuts and bamboo shoots.

Pour the sauce into the wok and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer gently for 2 minutes, or until sauce has thickened. Serve with rice.

Printable recipe

Pumpkin Cranberry Pecan Upside-Down Cake: The world from a different angle

To the Stupid Human Tricks Team...no injuries this year!

My friends and I like to gather and do things we like to call "Stupid Human Tricks."  I will only say, that you should NOT try these at home, because they are really stupid.  But we spend time trying to figure out random body acrobatics, team balancing acts, and other silly stunts that we can pull off.  One example of one of these stupid human tricks, was when I said that I had enough leg strength to drag two guys across carpet - and I did- -VERY quickly and very speedily.  Unfortunately it gave one of the guys rug burns on his back, so we stopped doing that.  The guys do "Cirque du Soleil" movements, where they throw each other in the air, and catch each other and balance in various permutations.  It is all very fun and mostly we try stupid tricks and then end up rolling on the floor in laughter.  (I actually have video of these things, but I can't post them in order to protect myself from said friends who might have to hurt me for revealing those videos.)

We're getting old and the energy to pull off such stunts is at an all time low.  Only I'm not ready to give up on my body yet and the things my body can learn to do.  I can still do the splits, and recently I've been learning how to stand on my head AND stand on my hands.  They both require a tremendous amount of some sort of strength I must have been lacking, because the effort to get upside down is tremendous.  However, I've conquered the fear of standing on my head and I can do it, not fully independent from the wall, but I'm getting there.  I'm almost at the point where I can balance on my hands, but I still need some more work in that area.

Why try and get upside down?  It's very interesting to see the world from that angle.  Things that seem clear and obvious suddenly fade away.  Little details that are in the background suddenly come into focus.  (Like the dust bunnies under the piano in my house.)  Even just bending over and looking through your legs provides a totally different viewpoint.  Daughters and Sons regularly get upside down and giggle at all the funny things that they notice. "Mom - you have a booger in your nose" or "Mom your legs look really fat from here."  Whatever the reason, getting upside down once in a while doesn't seem to be too bad of a thing - if anything the rush of blood to your head will clear up some of the stuff and nonsense clogged up there.

In the spirit of upside-down-dom and a little fun, I decided to try an upside down cake.  Typically upside down cakes are known for their cloying sweetness, so I played with the sugar and butter levels in this cake to really highlight the tartness of the cranberry as well as the richness of the nuts and the natural sweetness of the pumpkin.  The result was something yummy but not to sweet that it couldn't be, ahem, enjoyed for breakfast.  (which I did.)  This would be a lovely addition to any fall dinner or to your Thanksgiving table while not being difficult at all.  (no electric mixer needed.)  Make it ahead of time, and allow it to cool before serving it. 

Pumpkin Cranberry Pecan Upside-Down Cake
Adapted from A Passion for Desserts by Emily Luchetti
Makes 9 inch cake, serves 10 to 12

Ingredients
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 cups cranberries
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted
2 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt

Method
Place rack in center of oven, and preheat oven to 350. Line bottom of 9-inc squre pan with parchment paper.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add the brown sugar and whisk until smooth. Pour the brown sugar mixture into bottom of prpeared pan.

Sprinkle cranberries over bottom of brown sugar mixture and then sprinkle pecans. Make an even layer of the topping.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, pumpkin, and oil. In another bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Story flour mixture into pumpkin mixture. Carefully spread batter over cranberry pecan topping.

Bake cake until skewer inserted in middle comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Place large plate or platter on top of cake. Invert cake and plate together, then remove pan. Carefully peel off parchment.

Cool completely before serving.

Printable recipe

Upside down or right side up - delicious.

The delicious book from where I found this recipe

$50 Gift Card Blog Giveaway: Cooking in college

For AAL, KL, AT, EPT, LK, GY, BC, MK, DL, HL, CL - thanks for letting me practice my cooking on you all.

February 14, 1993.  The picture above is of me, cooking a meal for a bunch of my friends.  It was my junior year in college, and I even remember the menu, because due to budget restraints and whatnot, mostly I cooked pasta.  That evening I made two kinds of pasta - one homemade tomato sauce with lots of basil, and another creamy-alfredo-type sauce.  On the side we had vegetable sticks and dip, and I'm pretty sure I made some homemade foccacia that they could dip in all the sauces and stuff their faces with.  It was Valentine's Day, and as none of us were dating one another (interestingly enough, among our friends in college two couples did end up getting married) I threw a Valetine's meal at home.  I had a crush on some guy who was in graduate school and all my friends had some crazy plan to invite him over so that they could vet him and make sure he was good enough (for me).  We even did some crazy decoration with hearts where we put code names of one another up on the wall (mine was "mommy") and laughed like crazy.

Mostly I remember cooking in the kitchen all the sauces, and yelling at everyone to eat.  Back then it seems, I was very much like I am now, only I'm yelling at my children to eat.  My friends joked around, often calling me "Mom" and asking me when dinner was, and we'd eat together, laughing and enjoying one another's company.  The comfort of food and friends, while in college, is something I can't forget, and I think that may really have been the starting point for my desire to cook good food for others, as I often fed many many people then.

For dessert - I made lemon bars, which were my friend LK's absolute favorite and iced sugar cookies which were my other friend's DL's favorite.  The combination of all that food and all that fun - makes for some great memories, and I was thrilled when I found the pictures.

Now for the giveaway!

In the season of students heading off to colleges,  the wonderful folks over at Albertsons are sponsoring this giveaway to promote their easy cooking for college students recipes.  Below you'll find some examples of their ideas of easy to cook recipes for the busy college student.  They have recipes, shopping lists, and weekly planners.

The winner gets two $25 gift certificates to Albertsons, so you can either keep one and give one to a college student, or keep both, or give both of them away.  Either way, someone is going to cook SOMETHING good with this giveaway prize.  (or someone will be buying a lot of ice cream.)

Albertson Gift Card Giveaway Rules!
** Please bear in mind that the comments must be left BELOW this blog post in order to be considered entries.  If you are able to get two entries, you MUST leave two SEPARATE comments below.  (I will generate a number at random based on the number of entries below this blog.)

To enter to win two $25 gift cards,  you MUST do the following:
Leave a comment below telling me what was your go-to meal in college.  For my younger entrants who have not yet attended college, tell me what you THINK you will eat a lot of in college.

For an extra entry - Facebook!
You can have an extra entry if you take a picture of a Week of Menu's dish that you wish you knew how to cook while you were in college and post it on the Week of Menus Facebook page.  For my younger entrants, you can simply post a picture of something from Week of Menus that you hope to cook in college. LEAVE a SECOND COMMENT below saying that you have posted your picture on Facebook.

A winner will be chosen at random on FRIDAY, September 30th, at midnight PST.
(I am a former high school English Teacher, so I am bit of a stickler for rules. Entries which do not follow the instructions will be disqualified.)

Can't wait to hear and see all your entries!!

Ginger Chili Chicken Stir Fry: On stirring your pot of expectations

I have been asking Son's teachers at school about his progress.  It is a totally new situation for him, whereas all of his classmates have gone to school for at least one year more, if not two.  He is brand new to a school setting and I have been worried about his adjustment.  Son LOVES his school, loves his classmates and loves going, so I assumed that all was going well.

I asked last week about his progress, and the teacher responded, "He needs to learn to sit up during circle time and use an inside voice while inside the classroom."

"Does he run around during circle time?" I asked.

"No, he lies down.  He can't sit up and generally he flops onto the floor, lying down," she responded.

"And what do you mean by using an inside voice?  Does he yell?" I asked, starting to feel a blush on my face.

"His voice is just very loud and he doesn't really have volume control.  He's either not talking or he's talking very loudly."

I began visualizing a first month report card for Son. (they don't have it at his school, so this is purely my imagination,)

First Report Card
Sitting still - F
Talking quietly - F

This was so far off from what I was expecting from his performance at school that I couldn't get my head around it.  When I arrived at home with Son, I asked him gently why he couldn't stay seated during circle time. "I'm tired Mom," was his concise answer.  I asked him why he was talking so loudly in class and he said, "I'm happy Mom.  It's my happy voice."

I completely did not expect those as answers from his mouth and then I realized that I really was over-reacting.  He'll learn to sit in the circle and as he adjusts to his school environment and his happy voice is just really loud.  I'll have to help him learn to make it softer, and make his smile bigger to show his happiness.  I will simply take it as a blessing that he is so happy where he is and that he is learning and will eventually (hopefully) get to place where I'll see the following mental postcard.

Last Report Card
Sitting still - A
Talking quietly -A
Being happy - A +

Now this stir fry dish turned my expectations on its head as well, because I'm not a huge stir-fry-as-a-main-dish lover.  Something about stir-frying always makes me think that everything slightly has a similar flavor.  Not so much with this one and it is definitely something new and different.,  I loved it as did Children, and the flavors are different and delicious.  You can control the spiciness of the dish by the chiles you use, but I used a Korean spicy pepper.  Other options are jalapenos, serrano chilis, Thai bird chilis or to keep it mild, just an anaheim chili.  Stir up your own pot of expectations and enjoy!

Ginger Chili Chicken Stir-Fry
Serves 4

Ingredients
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (around 1 ½ lbs), each thigh cut into 4 chunks
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped or minced
juice of one lime
¼ teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, very thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper cut into bit size chunks
3 chiles (I used Korean green chili, but use whatever one you like, keeping in mind the heat of the chili)
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
3 scallions, green and light green parts only, thinly sliced diagonally.

Method
Combine chicken, ginger, garlic, lime juice and sea salt together. Allow chicken to marinate for about 30 minutes, but up to overnight.

Heat oil in a heavy skillet or wok until very hot and then add chicken in two batches. Stir-fry over high heat for about 5 minutes, or until chicken is golden all over. Remove chicken from wok and repeat with second batch of chicken.

Add onions, chiles, and bell peppers to the pan and and stir fry for 2 minutes. Return all the chicken to the wok with the fish sauce and sugar and toss everything together. Reduce heat and continue to stir fry for 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Taste and add more fish sauce if desired.

Garnish with scallions and serve with wedges of lime.

Printable recipe 

a little bit of the unexpected can be great

Healthy Breakfast for Kids: How can I change a life?

For TR, who keeps me on this crusade, while motivating and inspiring me.

For SH, who has joined me on my crusades.  We're a killer team of two, you and I. 

I've found myself on two different crusades in recent years.   One is to improve the academic achievement of all students at the public school where Daughters are right now and the other is to continue to try and inspire people to really cook good food for their families.

However, a very cool opportunity came up recently, when Daughter #1's teacher began working on a nutrition unit with the 2nd grade class.  Suddenly, Daughter #1 came home talking about vegetables and fruits.  (The only thing that bothered me is that they still teach a very USDA driven food pyramid which has people eating between 6-11 servings of bread and pasta - but that's another story.)  Daughter #1 talked about the need to eat more protein at breakfast, the importance of a good breakfast and how to have a healthy lunch, which just pleased me to bits.  She was beginning to understand the importance of food, the effects on her body, and how WONDERFUL her own mom was to COOK ALL THIS GOOD FOOD FOR HER.  But I digress.

Daughter #1's teacher approached me and asked if I might at all be interested in doing something related to cooking with the 26 students in her class.  I told her I'd be delighted, and grabbed friend and fellow mommy SH, to join me.  Together we brainstormed some things we would want the kids to do, and the sort of approach we wanted to take to the lesson.  

We decided to work on easy breakfast foods that students could either make on their own, or help their parents make for breakfast.  We wanted easy, delicious, healthy food that were accessible and appetizing to the kids.  We ended up making these with the kids in different teams.

Yogurt Parfait 

Fruity Crispy (instead of rice krispy, because I was trying to give something new to the kid in this class who is addicted to rice krispies)  The link will take you to the Pandamania Snacks page, and essentially it was Elijah's altar, with a new name.

Breakfast Burritos - scrambled egg, topped with tomatoes, bell peppers, basil, and a bit of cheese.  Whole wheat tortilla.

It was REALLY fun watching the kids try all the new foods and seeing their faces light up.  The yogurt parfaits in particular, I think were a revelation.  The number of kids who didn't want to eat a bell pepper piece (I made them cut them really small and shoved them in all the burritos anyways) was astounding, but I still made everyone try it with a bit of bell pepper.  I had a blast and the kids did as well.  I am hoping that some were inspired to go home and try to either make their own breakfast, or to at least encourage their parents to cook with them a yummy breakfast that isn't too difficult.  Hopefully with the hour I spent with the kids, someone is motivated and inspired to eat better food.

In case you want to perhaps cook breakfast with a classroom of kids, here is the recipe card I handed out to the children.

If you want other ideas on how to make food more fun and appealing to kids, my favorite thing to wow them is a fruit mosaic.  Here is one that I made the other day for Daughter #2's Teddy Bear Picnic at school.  Someone thought it was a cake initially, until I explained it was ALL fruit.  (I think this bear's face was a little fatter than I wanted.)

I hope that we can all continue to teach kids about healthy eating, the wide and delicious varieties of food out there, and how amazing our bodies are and how to fuel them.

Sausage Spinach Stuffed Peppers: When you follow your gut and turn the tide

At the beginning of the school year, I somehow found myself at odds with another mom at Daughters' school.  As she is also Korean, you'd think misunderstandings between us really wouldn't happen, especially at a school where there are so few Koreans.  Unfortunately a slight misunderstanding happened and suddenly there it was - a woman who couldn't stand me.  The misunderstanding was my fault and even after my honest and heartfelt apology there was a huge wall that separated us.  

I felt her ire and her dislike of me every time I walked onto the school campus.   When I explained to friends my discomfort with her dislike of me, they all said to ignore it.  But it was hard to ignore.  I saw this woman twice a day, five times a week, her child's class right next to Daughter #2's class.  RIGHT NEXT DOOR.  We would both stand outside waiting for our respective children, and I would feel the waves of dislike and I would be uncomfortable.  Every single time.

Husband told me to get over it and get thicker skin.  Friends told me to not let it bother me, with one loyal  friend going as far as to say, "Once she figures out how popular and well-liked you are, and how much influence you wield on campus (virtually none for the record), she'll want to be nice to YOU.  Wait for it."  Other friends told me that it wasn't important, that I had already apologized and that I didn't need to swallow any more pride to try and get her to like me.

Yet every single day the stab went into my side, my heart, my head, my ear - some part of my body would physically feel something when I was in her presence.  And last night, I finally decided that enough was enough.  I heard God say I could make it different; I decided to do what I wanted to do from the beginning which was break the ice and make her something to eat.  I had at the ready Pecan Rolo Pretzels  as I had made them for Son's teachers, and I simply made an extra bag for her.

In the morning, I had the bag ready in my purse and part of me worried.  What would happen if I gave it to her?  Would she throw it back in my face?  Would she ignore me?  What would she do?  Could I handle the rejection if she rejected me straight in the face?  I practiced my words, thought about what I wanted to say (it would be in Korean) and rehearsed it over and over.  I wasn't sure if I would be able to see her in the morning, but I was ready in case I did.  

As I walked onto campus, I saw her and again I felt the wave of her dislike of me.  I almost lost my nerve and  was planning on eating them myself, when I heard God whisper "Courage" to me.  I walked over to her, and said, "I made these for you" and handed her the bag.  (There were really prettily packaaged.)  She looked completely taken aback, and said, "You made these for me?  Why would you?"  

"I just wanted to say sorry for the misunderstanding we had at the beginning of the year.  I am very sorry that we started off like that.  As we're both Korean, I'm hoping that we can just get along get to know each other," I explained in Korean.  

Her eyes were big and she just had a smile and said thanks.  And in the moment, I knew.   The tide had turned.  Following what my gut wanted to do caused the tide to turn.  Am I going to be best friends with her? Perhaps.  But can we exist on the same campus without my feeling her dislike of me?  Most definitely.  And what did it cost me?  A few words and a bag of rolo pretzels.  And what did I get?  Peace of mind.  Definitely worth it.

Just as the woman's feelings towards me continually bothered and nudged me daily, a bag of unused bell peppers did the same from its place in the fridge.  Everyday I would open the fridge, see the bag of peppers and it would whisper to me, "Pick me!  It's my turn!  I wanna be cooked" but I would ignore the bag.  Finally I decided that I could ignore it no longer and decided to create something completely different and new, and use up what I had at home.  Stuffed with a mixture of sausage, rice, spinach, carrots and onions, the result is something yummy and easy to enjoy.  Daughters loved it while Son liked the filling, but refused the bell pepper.

This is one of those dishes that you can make ahead, refrigerate, and cook the next day.  (Or just later in the day.)

Sausage Stuffed Bell Peppers
Serves 6

Ingredients
3 bell peppers (red, yellow or orange) cut in half, stem removed and seeded
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
6 oz bag of baby spinach, roughly chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
4 basil leaves, chiffonade
1 cup cooked rice (I just used what was in my rice cooker)
1 lb sausages, casing removed (you want the kind of sausage that hasn’t been previously cooked or smoked)
Salt and pepper

14 oz can tomatoes, pureed OR ½ cup of tomato ketchup
Additional basil leaves, chiffonade for garnish

Method
Preheat oven to 350.

Heat a medium fry pan over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, celery and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until onions are translucent and celery and carrots are tender, about 6 minutes. Add chopped baby spinach, garlic and an additional pinch of salt and pepper. After spinach is wilted and dark green remove from heat.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together cooked rice and vegetable mixture. Allow to cool to room temperature or cooler, before adding raw sausage meat (casing removed.) Add basil and using your hand, mix together mixture until uniform and all ingredients are evenly distributed.

Place bell peppers in a large baking dish and stuff meat mixture into the peppers. Top with tomato puree and a sprinkle of salt and pepper OR spread a thin layer of ketchup on top of each bell pepper.

Bake for 45-55 minutes, until peppers are tender and juices have gathered in the bottom of the baking dish. Sprinkle with basil and serve hot.

Printable recipe

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Soy Honey Glaze: On not becoming THAT mother

As a teacher, I often experienced those mothers who refused to accept what I was saying about their child as being true.  They'd make excuses for the child's behavior, explain away the lack of responsibility in doing homework and would never take my comments about their child to heart.  They couldn't believe that what I was saying was true.  I wasn't a mother when I did the core of my teaching, and I always thought to myself, "I will not be like those mothers.  I will listen to the teachers and hear comments about my child and take them to heart."

I regularly ask Daughters' teachers if they are having problems with the girls.  Generally speaking, my girls are fine so there isn't much to worry about.  With Son's entry into school, I have another teacher with whom to interface and find out about his progress.

Each day, upon picking up, I asked the teachers, "How did he do today?"   Initially, I did have some concerns because Son is the only one who brings his snack daily from home.  I pack him something completely different from his peers and I do it for his own protection in terms of allergies.  He didn't seem to mind it and on the whole, his teachers seemed pleased with his progress and his enjoyment of school.  I felt good and felt as if he was adjusting well and I had nothing to worry about.

However, last week, I asked my routine, "How did he do today?" question and got the answer I was not expecting.

"Oh - he cried a little bit today during movement time."

"What?  He cried?"

"Yes, he cried repeatedly and refused to participate.  He wasn't interested in his movement time."

Immediately rapid fire thoughts went through my head.  My son?  My child did not want movement?  Well - why?  He's the most active, the most athletic, the most joyous, the happiest kid I know. Why would he cry during movement class?

"Did something happen before class that upset him?" I asked.

"No no.  He walked over quietly and then when we got there, he began to cry."

"Well, I'm very very surprised that he behaved that way.  He's really very very athletic," I tried to explain.  "Something must have happened to upset him or make him not want to participate. Because really, he's so athletic and loves physical activity.  I mean - he loves BASKETBALL!"

His teacher gave a strange look and said, "I'm sure he'll be fine next week."

I went home and realized, wow, how could I be that sensitive to the simple comment of his tears during movement?  The teacher simply was giving me some information about Son, to help me know what to talk to him about and just to give me feedback about the day.  She wasn't doing anything else but that and I took the opportunity to freak out.  I immediately went into some mommy defensive mode and I am pretty sure it wasn't all that attractive.

Yesterday  he had movement again and just as his teacher predicted,  he was fine.  And I was fine too.  I am breathing in and out and trying to remember that I don't need to overreact to everything.  (Although I definitely tend to.)  I told Son, "Good job on doing movement" and he replied, "Oh it's fun."  Much ado about nothing.

This potato dish is really delicious and it's easy to execute.  Son loves it and will eat almost a pound of potatoes on his own if I let him.   (I don't let him.)  It's a lovely side to some steak, chicken or even fish and the flavors are sweet, salt and sharp, which lends itself well to a delicious treat.  Try not to over cook the potatoes, or they will be unattractively mushy.  And don't worry - these are not much ado about nothing.  They are little ado about something.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Soy Honey Glaze
Adapted from Japanese Light by Kimiko Barber
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled
3 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
pinch of salt

2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Method
Preheat oven to 350. Cut sweet potatoes into ice cubed dice. Toss potatoes with vegetable and sesame oil and a pinch of salt. Place on a cookie sheet in a single layer and roast for 30 to 40 minutes or until edges are crisp.

While potatoes are baking, mix honey, soy sauce and grated ginger for the glaze. Drizzle over the potatoes and place 4 to 6 inches from broiler. Broil 5-7 minutes shaking baking sheet occasionally until nicely browned on the outside. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

Printable recipe

sweet potatoes, sweet life

Toffee Vanilla Bean Bundt Cake With Caramel Glaze and Sea Salt: Sticky hands

I bought Husband one of those Living Social massage coupons a while back, and as it turns out, he won't be able to use it before the expiration.  This frustrates me because I thought for sure he would love the massage experience but it turned out that he just didn't have an hour to set aside to go.  So now, I have this extra massage  gift certificate.

Logic would say that I should just use the massage for myself and not even worry about it, except I DO NOT like massages.  I'd like to repeat that for all of the people who missed it the first time.  I do not like massages.  Not even a little bit.  I might like a brief rub on the neck, but even that isn't really what I like because what I want more than anything is simply this, NOT to be touched.

From the moment I wake up, to the moment I manage to corral the kids into bed, I am being touched.  They want to hug me, touch me, ask for hugs and kisses, sit on me, rub their feet on me, wipe their sticky hands on my pants and for the most part, can't keep their HANDS off of ME!  Add Husband and his desire to hold me, touch me and have physical contact with me (of the non-dirty kind...ahem) means that in a day, there are just too many people on my body.

What I'd like in reality, more than a massage, is a room, where I can sit, read a book and NOT be touched.  Not once.  I'd like there to be no human contact for an hour, and that, I am sure would be more relaxing than a massage.  As it is, I have to use this gift certificate up and I tried to get my friend to take it and she refused.  I'm still working on another friend to take it, and hopefully I'll manage to convince SOMEONE to take this massage...someone who enjoys being touched.

Sometimes, I do find that making something in the kitchen is a way to afford a few touch-free moments for myself, especially when making caramel.  It isn't hard, this caramel making, but it does require a bit of diligence and precision and the result is this fantastically beautiful glaze to pour over your cake and just enjoy. I'll defer to this great post about caramel that I found on Dave Lebovitz's site.  (He has beautiful photographs to take you through the process and I couldn't capture the same quality of photos.)  The most important thing about making caramel is making sure that you don't burn the sugar when you melt it, and if you are successful in that, really the rest is very very easy.  And the results are very very delicious.  And it's so good, you won't mind the sticky hands trying to massage more stress into your life.

Toffee Vanilla Bean Bundt Cake with Caramel Sauce and Sea Salt
Makes 10-inch bundt cake, serving 12 to 14

Cake
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1¾ cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds removed (empty vanilla bean used for the syrup)
1 cup sour cream
¼ cup toffee chips (like Heath or Skor)

Caramel
Ingredients
1 cup sugar
¾ cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons (½ stick of butter)

Sea salt (I used fleur de sel)

Method
Place rack in center of oven, and preheat oven to 350. Grease and lightly flour inside of 10 inch bundt pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

Using either a stand mixer (paddle attachment) or a hand mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add sugar and beat at medium-high speed until the mixture is light in texture and color, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating for 30 to 40 seconds after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl as necessary. Beat in vanilla bean. At low speed, add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with sour cream. (Add a bit of flour, a bit of sour cream, a bit of flour, a bit of sour cream, a bit of flour.)

Scoop half of batter in pan. Sprinkle ¼ cup of toffee chips over the surface of the batter. Scoop remaining batter on top and smooth out.

Bake cake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then invert it onto another rack. Place the cake, on the rack, over a baking sheet.

While cake is baking, make caramel. Have both butter and cream, measured and ready to go. In a heavy bottom sauce pan (bigger is better - go for a 2 or 3 quart saucepan) add sugar and heat over medium high heat. The sugar will begin to melt and caramelize. As this happens, slowly drag sugar to the center of the pan and swirl the pan around so as to not burn the sugar. Allow all the sugar crystals to melt, using patience and diligence to watch and check the caramel. As soon as the sugar is all melted and is dark amber in color (Dave Leibovitz says like the color of a dirty copper penny) add butter all at once and whisk vigorously incorporating it into the sugar syrup. After butter is all melted remove from heat. Add cream and whisk until the caramel is a delicious mixture, all uniform in texture. Transfer caramel to a jar.

Once cake has cooled for an hour, pour caramel over the entire surface of the cake. Using a spoon, spoon caramel over hard to “pour” areas, covering as much of the surface of the cake as possible. (I used up about ½ of my caramel sauce.) Sprinkle with a bit of sea salt. Serve and watch for sticky fingers.

Printable recipe

Let me be alone with this cake

The bundt pan I love

The vanilla bean I love