Rush

We're back from our whirlwind Massachusetts weekend.  Saw MIL in her new digs at a sub-acute unit that is part of a nursing home off the Cape and 15 minutes from SIL's house.  Not sure how long she'll be there.  Did what I could to cheer her: time with the boys, Sunday papers, the latest People mag and a bag of Werther's candies.

Time with Jay, Amy and the kids was wonderful.  The four younglings played and played.  The alchemy of development and age mixed just right.  We watched Totoro Saturday night and went out for Japanese food last night.

Now I am abuzz with thoughts and feelings about leaving home for three weeks on Friday.  Oh the prep.  About to go food shopping and then crash at Kelly's for a few hours to chill out.  The day after a return from MA is always a day of recovery for me and the boys.  I thought it would be pleasant to be dead weight at a friend's house rather than my own, for a change :-)

Ordered some plane reading for the kids from the local booksellers, thinking about warm and enticing food for Gem for the 13 hour plane ride, gearing up for omiage making for the family and friends we'll be seeing in Japan, tweaking out details of our time in northern California where the kids and I will make a pit stop on our way home...

Here are some pics of another type of rush...focusing on the joy rather than the anxiety.

Sour cream: the after

The DIY vegan sour cream looked solidly 'good enough' so I opted to end the experiment 12 hours early and used it to put together the artichoke dip last night after dinner.  It had a nice texture which may have improved (thickened even more), slightly, with the added time.  There was about 3/4 cup of liquid in the bowl under the sieve.  The taste wasn't very sour, but the 'yogurt'-ness of the yogurt had subtly shifted.

The dip tasted fabulous and I am looking forward to baking it later and scooping some up with homemade crackers.

Yum!

Fortifying

My hummingbird-like anxiety excitement had me out of bed at 6:45.  That's hella early for me these days.

Buoyed by sweet Facebook birthday wishes I have been in the kitchen prepping ingredients and boiling eggs (no occasion is complete without deviled eggs, I say).

I was hungry, so I fortified myself.

I'll be in the kitchen if you need me.  Till I see Vinny for my birthday treatment.  Then I'll be back there again.

A glimpse

In the freezer right now.  A pretty perfect snowball.  I love seeing it there.  It's a mood lifter.

Heading off to clean and clean some more.  I've been putting it off and off and off.  Somehow it never gets done that way.  My motivation today is the lovely dinner party I will be hosting tomorrow evening.  My friends know my flaws and love me despite of them.  But, it will feel good to commune and celebrate in a clean and clear space.  (That one's for you, Wen :-)  So, I will persevere!

Yesterday

Some shots from yesterday, a very full and wonderful day.

DIY vegan sour cream

I am following Erin's recipe over at M.A.G. to make vegan and soy-free sour cream to use in the hot artichoke dip for my dinner party.  I love how simple and DIY this recipe is and am looking forward to my first lump of homemade vegan sour cream.  I will do my best to take an "after" shot on Friday morning!

We are currently experiencing...

...technical difficulties.

I've been working on a post with photos this morning and for some reason the photos are taking forever, as in never, to upload from iPhoto into Blogger.  Not sure what is causing the major malfunction.

It's been a challenging morning pour moi (blogging difficulties aside).  Qigong has helped though, just did 20 minutes and am feeling a shift and...better.

Light and love to you, my blog peeps.

Tonight, the Decemberists. (This is their homage to R.E.M. with Peter Buck along for the ride.)

Recipe round up

I'll be celebrating my birthday with a small group of local friends this week.  As it became clear that the group would be cozy I began to envision more dinner party than traditional potluck and excitement flickered.

I've gone into the archive of "starred" items in my Google Reader and gathered all the recipes I've wanted to try but was saving for a rainy day.  Between attempting to streamline weekly meal plans and feeding kids and a fellow adult who don't completely share my taste in food, there were a lot of recipes-in-waiting.

I will be accommodating a diverse group of eaters so the food will be free of meat, milk/cheese/butter, soy, and gluten.  But, check it out, we will be eating well.  (The table will be overflowing as others will be bringing treats, too!)

Appies

• babaganoush

• hot artichoke dip

• deviled eggs (my own recipe-free recipe)

• almond-poppy crackers

• socca

Mains

• carrot scallion latkes

• creamy almond butter noodles

Desserts

• lemon-rosemary-olive oil cake

• strawberry ice cream

Favors

• christmas chocolate bark

Milestone

first sleepover.

After the fact

A spate of moments and events being lived and unrecorded. 

We've been getting a lot of snow this winter.  And my kids love snow.  We've been going out in the backyard a lot.  They play and I sit in the car and catch up on phone calls.  It's brought me deep joy watching them spend time in the "great" outdoors.  I've brought the camera out, but I've forgotten to take pics every single time.  The whoosh of the frigid air, the blinding sun light, the blue sky which invites the total loss of "mind", the work of shoveling, the peace of gazing at my snow boys...I've been inhabiting this wonderful time/space.

Here are some "after" shots from today's outing.  The kids toppled down the near vertical 3 foot drop of their "hill" over and over again (thanks to the snow plow they have a hill): forwards, backwards, together, alone, sometimes crashing into the snowman remnant, sometimes cascading right past him.

Today, amongst other things, the snow powder coating their handknits caught my eye.  The tiny white flecks so delicate on the bright scarves and hats, the mix of textures, the beauty of impermanence illuminated.   The loveliness will have to be imagined for you, though.  Sorry.  

What I do have for you are those handknits now drying on the heater in the downstairs hallway.  And our boots drying outside our door.  They're not my height or size quite yet, but they are comfortable galumping about in boots that my feet would fit in.

Cold comfort

The last couple of weeks I've been craving salads.  This week I've had a burst of starch craving, as well.  I've been making this 'corn salad' with leftover corn (frozen corn from a bag).  Just mix the corn with a spoonful of mayo and season with salt and pepper.  Simple and comforting.

My Tomioka no Obaachan used to make this for me.  She was my dad's mother (and lived in Tomioka, hence the moniker).  This obaachan (grandmother) had a prolific vegetable garden.  And I loved her sautéed Japanese eggplant as a young adult.  But as these things sometimes go, the vegetable I remember her most fondly for came from a can.  She'd pop open a can at the breakfast table, squirt in some mayo (Kewpie mayo for any of you in the Japanese know) and there it was: corn salad.

I loved her a lot.  She made a deep impression on me despite our spending most of our lives thousands of miles apart.  And I love this corn salad because it reminds me of her.

Hold the shampoo and soap

A few weeks ago, I read this piece and was inspired and intrigued.  And now it has been over two weeks since I last used shampoo or any other hair "product".  It has also been over two weeks since I last used soap on my body.  I do use soap on my hands before preparing food for others (usually) and on the rare occasion that my hands come into contact with noxious bodily excretions (mine or others').

Results so far have been interesting:

• I am realizing my borderline OCD around handwashing/germ phobia.  I had no idea how compulsively I have been washing my hands.  I'd always thought of my hand washing practice as a benign holdover from my days of being a special needs preschool teacher.  Easing off on the use of soap has made me aware not only of how much soap I've been using on my hands, but how freaking much I have been washing them.  I say "borderline" because it hasn't been difficult to downgrade my soap use.  I still wash my hands frequently, but have been comfortable with washing with water.  In fact, I am now tickled by the moisturizing properties of whatever leftover peanut oil from peanut butter, for example, provides the skin of my fingers while I wash up.

• I noticed within the first few days that my hair was tamer.  Once I stopped using shampoo, the pouf-y "sproing" that, even my straight hair would get, disappeared.  My hair felt softer almost immediately.  I no longer had to wear a hat after showers to keep my hair "down" as it dried.  A couple of weeks into my experiment, I am coming to think of my hair as pelt-like.  When I wash it I can feel the natural oils have formed a protective shield.  The hair and scalp are working as one with my own internal system.

• The area of skin I have noticed the most dramatic change in is my feet.  The skin on the bottom of my feet and around my heels has softened and is a lovely "normal".  No dryness, no whiteness, no toughness.  Just regular skin.  Balance has quickly been restored in terms of color and moisture and feel.  Amazing.

• The skin on my hands and legs, the worst areas of my skin in terms of dryness and damage, are recovering, but at a slower rate.  My hands won't recover completely as long as I continue to use soap.  That's clear.  But, I am enjoying the improvement in the skin on my legs.  I am still experiencing some itchiness on them, but that is connected to stuff happening inside, I think.  (The skin is connected to our digestive system among other things.)

• Body odor has not been an issue.  It rarely is for me anyway, but I did have a cheeseburger last week (meat and cheese tend to make me stinky) and nothing.  It will be interesting to see if my hormonally induced body odor is kept in check, too.  I don't remember what time of the month the uptick happens, but in a few weeks this experiment will have been going on for a month so time will tell.  I don't often use deodorant, but I have stopped during this experiment time.

• I am lip balm dependent (Burt's Bees forever) and have not stopped applying as needed.  I am noticing though that the need is decreasing.  I am no longer applying daily/nightly.

So, what am I doing if I'm not using shampoo/soap?  I am simply scrubbing, rubbing, washing with water.  The handheld shower head is key for getting to all parts of the body, especially those nooks and crannies.  I love a hot shower and now that I am washing with more awareness, I am noticing the potentially harsh effects on my skin when it comes to hot water.

In the kitchen, I am realizing that for most washes of the hands while preparing a meal, warm water, vigorous washing and a good rub with a dish towel is totally workable.  I'm using soap after handling raw meat and my nemesis, tuna fish can oil/water.

My hair definitely looks "oily" in spots, sometimes.  But, it's not dirty.  A few strokes with my brush and the natural oil is redistributed and smoothed out.  It feels really good.  And, I've been getting compliments on how my hair looks.  For real.  I am wondering if over the next few weeks my hair will reach more equilibrium on its own.

This has been fascinating and fun.  I love healing part of myself in this simple way.  I have a feeling I will never go back to shampoo and soap!

Sittin' still and feelin' happy

Feel like I'm fighting off/coming down with a cold.  Again.

I'm mildly bummed, but surrendering to just being still.

Plenty to be happy about:

• my guy

• my kids

• leftover birthday cake

• my friends with whom I correspond about Golden Globes runway looks

• sun shining into a warm apartment

• a dad who will place an online order in Japan for GFCF ingredients/products which will await our arrival

• the stars aligning and early birthday money from my mom resulting in Cap and I seeing The Decembrists in NYC next week (great seats at a supposedly sold-out show)

• maybe, just maybe, picking up the knitting needles today

Love and light to you.

From the kitchen

Here's the nikujaga recipe for Kelly (and maybe Jamie? :-) and anyone else who might want to give it a try. It should get big enough to read if you click on it. If not, message me and I'll send you the recipe via e-mail.  The recipe comes from a book I bought when living in Cambridge, at the Japanese bookstore that used to be in Porter Square (not sure if it's still there): Stone Soup Easy Japanese Home Cooking edited by Setsuko Watanabe, published by Kodansha.  It's a nifty bilingual cookbook.

And here are some shots of the birthday cake I made for Cap yesterday.  A yellow layer cake with lingonberry jam filling and coconut frosting.  GFCF, of course.

It was lovely.  I had a slice for breakfast (I think it was even better this morning). 

For the cake, I used Bette Hagman's Featherlight Yellow Cake recipe, our old standby.  However, I used superfine white rice flour this time and the texture of the cake was changed (and in my opinion, improved) significantly.  The result was more refined...more like a sponge cake.  Very smooth, the cake nearly melts in your mouth.  

The lingonberry jam is a seasonal favorite, it definitely has a 'Nordic winter' feel for me.  It also provides a bit of 'summer in winter' for the palate/table, which I have been craving these days.

I tried a new frosting, Coconut Cream Frosting from Elana's Pantry, and found it to be tasty and a perfect match for this cake.  Cap likes coconut and I was happy to find something to celebrate him fittingly.

This evening we have the Patriots game followed by the Golden Globes.  (I'll be rooting for Katey Sagal who is amazing as Gemma in Sons of Anarchy.  And, I'll be oohing and aahing and being snarky about dresses and the like :-)  For dinner I'm making a pot of soup with the last of the homemade chicken stock and corn bread in the cast iron skillet (there's no going back to a regular loaf pan for me when it comes to corn bread...thank you, Alton Brown!)

Anything interesting going in your kitchen lately?

El hombre

46.

Today is Cap's birthday.  Our compass, our foundation, our unwavering masthead.  And, he's really funny.  And he cooks us yummy food.  And in or most vulnerable moments he holds us close and tight and he makes us believe it will be alright.

Happy birthday Capricorn, I hope it's a year full of robust health, deep joy and satisfaction and more music than you can shake a stick at.

♥

Day in the city

I am surprised I haven't posted since Monday.  I had not realized it's been that long.

Yesterday Cap and I had rare alone time with just one child.  A birthday gift to Sag, we spent a few hours with him riding the subway, wandering around the American Museum of Natural History (he likes the "stuffed animals") and tucking into one of the supposed best burgers in Manhattan (Sag, a burger lover, declared it the best burger he's ever had).

Gem hung out at Baba's.  Later in the day we traipsed down to Rockefeller Center and hit both Nintendo World and the Lego store.  The kids spent their otoshidama on Pokemon cards and we admired the Tower Bridge at the Lego store.  Unfortunately, they didn't have any in stock.  Sag has saved up a serious amount of coin for it.

After a yummy dinner at Baba's, we cozied up together around her laptop and watched a home movie Cap made awhile ago of our last (and only one as a foursome) trip to Japan back in Dec 2002-Jan 2003.  It was breathtaking seeing the kids as toddlers.  We are so looking forward to going back!

Comfort

nikujaga.

Nikujaga for dinner tonight.  Nikujaga is, literally, a contraction of "meat and potatoes".  This is classic Japanese comfort food.  The Japanese home cooking I ate growing up equaled "Mom" for a long time for me.  It never occurred to me that I could make it and it could be good.

There are many things that I have yet to try my hand at.  But, nikujaga entered my repertoire once the kids were old enough to appreciate it, too.  I don't make it often because Cap doesn't red meat.  Also, the Japanese supermarket where I can find meat sliced this thinly is far away.

But, lo and behold: Cap is away, I recently stocked up on Berkshire pork belly trimmings (a cheaper way to consume great quality meat) sliced nice and thin at Mitsuwa, and my hemoglobin depleted body is ready for a bit of meat (I've been off meat and dairy for a week and will go back after this meal!)

So nikujaga it is.  Yum.

Despicable me

This was a fun movie we watched over the weekend. Helped brighten things up :-)

In our little corner

So both kids were hit with a powerful GI bug on Friday.  We hadn't seen projectile vomiting like that...ever.  It was hard, but they were troopers.  Friday night Cap was up with them on and off all night as they were wracked with high fever (Sag) and intense body ache (Gem).

Saturday we were all zombies.  The undead rising up after the viral hit.

Yesterday I was knocked sideways by the arrival of Aunt Flo.  (Which confirmed that her next visit will likely coincide with stepping aboard a plane for 13 hours and a day of travel door-to-door...fun!)

Cap left at 7:30 this morning for an overnight to MA to deliver Xmas presents and visit his mom who is working her tush off at a rehab hospital reteaching her muscles and nerves many tasks of functional living.

As all the above unfolded, this was happening to a wall in the kids' bedroom.  The result of a leak in a heating pipe in the third floor apartment which hit critical mass last week.  (Our first floor neighbors had a stream of water coming through their ceiling light in their bathroom.)  It took us awhile to discover this water damage because we usually have two large bookcases against this wall.  The wet carpet around the base of one of the bookcases gave it away eventually.

if you embiggen you'll see the water seeping through the wall...

Through it all, glancing out the windows helped create moments of meditation.  It snowed again on Friday and the landscape was topped off with a blanket of winter wonder.

It was quite the weekend.  How was yours?

And so it goes

The snow has changed over from driving sheets to big fluffy falling flakes.

Karen called to say both her kids are sick.  Poor Will.  It's his birthday today.  And we were supposed to see them tomorrow.

Then Gem threw up.

It's been quite the morning.

Meandering

The four of us wound up at the mall this morning.  A rare, rare thing.

The kids checked out the new Lego mini-figures.  I checked out Chanel no.19.  We all checked out the iPad.

After lunch I made a huge pot of soup using homemade chicken stock and the end of the onions and carrots from the farm.  Soup and rice for dinner tonight.

The kids are playing with a friend...it's been a very Harry Potter kind of afternoon.

My mind is wandering...unable to stop and sit awhile...

Venturing

This morning I spent time exploring new consumer-scapes.  Insurance and cell phones.

Specifically, life insurance, renter's insurance, pre-paid month-to-month cell service, and smart phones.

While I don't have a headache, I am finding the journey unpleasant.  If it's not something I'm into (like yarn or books), I could care less about having choice/the process of choosing.  I don't derive pleasure from bargain hunting/comparison shopping like some folks do.  But, because managing our money well for us is one of my most important jobs, shop around I must.

I'm going to get quotes for insurance from 5 companies and then go for the best package.  But, I realized while on the phone with the first agent that I didn't even know how much life insurance I wanted.  With her, I settled on 75K renter's insurance and 500K/250K life insurance for the hubs and me.  Feel free to chime in with your opinions.  I have yet to receive her e-mail with the worked up quotes.

The cell service I've been working on for a bit longer than just today and based on a strong recommendation from Stephen, I'm leaning towards Virgin Mobile.  Smart phones?  Not as simple.  There is such a variety at different prices, you can buy phones on the Virgin website, or not...

Times like this I would really much rather someone tell me: "go with this company and buy this and you'll be all set."

In a nutshell

I'm not alone!

Check it.

Not so merrily down the stream

...of consciousness, that is.

I'm suffering from meat/dairy withdrawal (I made the family a roasted chicken for dinner...a glutton for punishment as much as a glutton for foods I love that are "bad" for me...)

I also appear to be experiencing some PMS.

{insert heavily sarcastic and/or expletive-filled commentary here}

Good news: our much postponed trip to Massachusetts is coalescing for the weekend.

Potentially bad news: there's a winter storm possibly brewing off the NJ-MA coast.

Off to bury my head in Sons of Anarchy Season 1 or Parks and Recreation Season 2.  Sons of Anarchy is probably not for everyone quite a bit more than Parks and Recreation.  I'd heard that the second season of Parks and Recreation was funny and have been watching the episodes on "Watch Instantly" via Netflix.  There are moments that rival 30 Rock, for sure.

Food for thought: I am mildly obsessing over Chanel no.19.  I used to wear it a loooong time ago when Marci gave me some in high school.  Next time I'm at a mall I'm going to give it a smell (problem is, I rarely go to malls).

Food for thought: Trying not to be bowled over by the thought of planning and saving for a trip to Peru next January.

Food for thought: How shall I celebrate my birthday?

A serious man

image from Ziegenhagen Studio.

I saw A Serious Man the other night.  It was pretty incredible.  Pristinely shot, it was a feast for the eyes, in particular.  I'm a fan of the Coen brothers though I haven't loved all of their movies.  This one, days later, has me completely hooked.  I'm thinking of watching it again which is something I rarely do, especially this close to the first viewing.

This morning

work in progress.

work in progress.

work in progress.

(now that's sexy edition :-)

Rabbity

We had a lovely day yesterday at my parents' place celebrating Oshougatsu.

Today, the kids have been playing with friends.  Cap and I have been doing chores and slowly acclimating to post-holiday openness.  Taking down the tree and lights, vacuuming, putting out the trash and recycling, making a meal plan...

playing a card game they made up together.

I'm going to take it easy this week.  Beginning Dragon's Way again to strengthen my energy before our trip to Japan in February.  My goal is to clean/declutter, nourish myself and the fam, practice Qigong and rest/be quiet.  If I don't show up here, that's what I'll be doing.

I am very excited for our trip.  The kids and I will spend 10 days in Japan (Cap will be with us for a week, all his schedule will allow) and then a week in northern Cali.  The four of us are starting to talk about how we'd like to spend our time.  Sag's interested in the Tokyo Tower and we discovered that there's a Pokemon Center in Yokohama.  At the top of Cap's list is the Daibutsu in Kamakura.  We're also planning a return trip to a zoo that has a 100 meter outdoor roller slide in the adjacent nature park.  Ah, the possibilities...

In the meantime, I am trying not to get carried away playing computer solitaire which I have just recently rediscovered.  Directing my attention to a knitting project should help.  I've started and re-started this cowl for my mom three times now.  It's not complicated, but the pattern and where my mind's been has not been a good match.  When I started, weeks ago, I thought I'd have it done when I saw her on the 19th.  On the 19th, I thought I'd have it done for sure for New Year's Day.  Soon, soon.

May your year be soft, cozy and full of bounce.  Happy Year of the Rabbit!