In the Kitchen - Part 1

Trying to come up with meals that my husband and children will eat is a trying business.  I will eat anything.  My mother would hardly believe it - I was a bit of a picky eater as a kid and growing up.  But I digress....   I will eat anything, my husband is a steak and potatoes kind of guy and then there are my children.  At 5 1/2 and 4 years of age, you could say they are a bit picky.

So it's a challenge  I like to cook, but I am not a creative cook.  I need recipes.  I have boxes and folders of recipes!  To be honest, I stick to what I know and what everyone likes most of the time, but I do like to try new things - thanks to my mother's influence.

I learned a lot from my mother, especially in the kitchen.  She taught me all sorts of fun tricks (like a teaspoon of salt is about the size of  the cup of your palm) but mostly, she taught me the importance of quality cookware.  Pots, pans and knives, particularly   One day, at my brother's house, I was stunned to find out that my sister-in-law bought my brother (the cook in that family) a new set of knives EVERY YEAR!  Every year?  I couldn't believe it.  I have had one of my Wusthof knives for 12 years!  And it is still in perfect condition.


Oh, and I miss my Professional-Grade Calphalon set like you wouldn't believe.  My father got it for me 12 years ago, when I bought my condo.  That set finally had to be replaced and although I replaced it with a really nice stainless steel set, the calphalon was so much better.

Cooking can be fun, but just like with any job, you have to have the right tools.  So, if you hate cooking or find it to be a chore, make sure you have the right tools and some help by the way of good recipes, so you can enjoy your time in the kitchen.

Boston Strong, Boston Proud - Part One

What a week!  Horrible really, although it did have a great ending.  I don't know where to start.  So much has happened.  I am so proud of my city.  I am so proud of the marathon organizers that were thrown into a war zone and performed brilliantly.  These people are volunteers, helping to organize an internationally acclaimed marathon and they end up seeing death and bodies literally blown to pieces, running with the injured in wheelchairs to get them to safety. I am so proud of the plain, everyday citizens using their shirts and using direct pressure and tourniquets to stop bleeding of severed arteries.  A clothing store-owner used his stock for bandages and blankets.  Fearless.  Selfless.  Heroes.  And I am so proud of the surviving victims - many of them are already on the road to recovery with positive attitudes and smiles on their faces.  One kid had both his legs blown off, seen all over Facebook and the news with a guy in a cowboy hat pinching off a main artery.  I saw a picture of him in the hospital, in a chair sitting up with a Patriots hat and football with a member of the New England Patriots standing with him - he was smiling.

So....next came three days of investigation.  Who the hell did this to our people?  Who did this to our holiday?  We all felt violated.  And angry.  There was sorrow and sympathy.  But there was love and support and strength, too.  We all leaned on each other and waited.  "You messed with the wrong city".  Not a statement of dumb arrogance but a statement of strength and defiance.  It was a message saying we are not going to cave or cower and hide. 


Then there was the National Anthem at the Garden to start the Bruins game on Wednesday night.  The first sporting event since the bombings.  I cried.  I sang and cried along with everyone else. It felt good and it sounded amazing.  But the players (of both teams) salute of support to the fans was my undoing.  I sobbed.  

The support and outreach from all over the world, choked me up.  It was unbelievable.

Thursday night comes and the FBI announce they have identified the losers that did it.  A couple of young adults, practically kids, with baseball caps and sunglasses.  My gut clenched the first time I saw those faces.  [Expletive!]

Then I wake up Friday morning and see a post from a friend on Facebook that says "What the hell is going on?"  I scroll through my news feed and discover all hell had broken loose in Cambridge and Watertown, two cities outside of Boston!  Gun fight, more death, more bombs and the beginning of a manhunt like Massachusetts has never seen before.  What a HORRIBLE day.  I have friends and family that live in and around Boston and Watertown.  Practically impossible to work.  I got home at the end of the day exhausted and sick from listening to the news all day.  I swore I wasn't going to watch TV for the rest of the night.  I went to bed early and turned on "Rio".  I had to stop myself from turning on the news.  And I missed the best part, dammit!  I missed the part were they found him!  I missed the part where they fired flash-bangs at him.  I missed the part where they dragged him out of that boat and put hand-cuffs on him.

But I DIDN'T miss the best part.  The best part was yet to come.  The residents that had been in lock-down all day came out of their homes, lined the streets and clapped and cheered as the police officers, swat team members, EMT and the FBI began to leave.  It was like a parade.  It was amazing!  I have never felt more pride or gratitude for anything in my life.  THEY GOT HIM!

THE ONE FUND

Patriots Day Tragedy

Surreal.  I have lived 30 - 40 miles west of Boston for 42 years.  To hear President Obama talk about Boston and Bostonians and people and pages on Facebook sending out prayers and respects to Boston. Absolutely surreal.

My emotions run the gamut.

Anger.  On a selfish level, I am pissed that this "person" (assuming it is one person) ruined my amazing Patriots Day weekend.  I love this holiday for so many reasons. What it is about (America and patriotism) and when it is (Spring!).  The weather was glorious and I did so much yard work I am icing my neck and shoulders as I type.  I came inside with the kids after a happy afternoon spent doing lawn-"tractor" rides cleaning up the yard waste to hear about a double explosion at the Boston Marathon.  "WHAT?"  Did I hear that right?  I am angry that someone would do this on a holiday that celebrates the birth of America!  We should celebrate together with pride, not by hurting people.

Sadness.  Those poor people whose lives were just thrown into unimaginable pain and fear.  I won't go into the details that I am hearing, but it was horrific.  I was sitting at the dinner table with my family, thinking of those people - some grieving the death of a loved one, or not knowing where their loved ones are, or waiting at the hospital wondering if their loved ones are going to survive - fighting the guilt that I was sitting with my family eating a delicious dinner.  It is a blessing that two of the best hospitals in the country (Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham's and Women's) were right around the corner.

Gratitude.  I am so grateful for the fact that, as of this moment, I do not know anyone that was hurt or killed in this tragedy.  Yet.  With over 100 people hurt, I might hear something in the next day or two. I am also grateful for my kids.  While my husband sat in front of the news and seethed in anger to the point he gave himself a migraine, I had to tend to the kids (4 and 5 1/2 years old), get them a bath and get dinner on the table.  I did keep an eye on Facebook to keep track of friends who live in the city ant that run (2 have run the Marathon in the past but didn't this year, thank goodness) but I had "tubby time" and the joy of smelling my clean happy "babies".  We even had a wrestling/tickling match.  The giggles and squeals of young children is a balm for any hurt.

Pride.  Last but not least, pride.  For my city and my neighbors.  We will stand tall and strong.  We will get through this, like those who suffered before us - Oklahoma City, Littleton, CO (Columbine), Blacksburg, VA (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University), Aurora, CO and Newtown, CT.  And, sadly, many others.

Remember to hug and kiss your loved ones - family and friends - and tell them you love them.  Everyday.

Vegetable Garden

In my last post, I talked about growing your own vegetables.  You can have a vegetable garden anywhere these days!  City apartment, suburban house - anywhere really, as long as you have sun and water.  Raised beds, patio containers...even a standing bed to save your knees!  I, personally, am very excited to try again this year.  I have a full compost bin that I nurtured last year with grass clippings, compost-able garbage from the kitchen and yes, the failed, dying vegetable plants from last years garden.  The only problem I have right now is my vegetable garden bed is still covered in two feet of snow!  So I am starting to sow the seeds inside.  I am learning as I go and in the last post, I mentioned a site called Growveg.com.  It is a wealth of information!  But I need supplies - both now and for later.

Look at the deal I found!  Fertilizer, raised beds, tomato cages....all of that weighs a lot and would cost a fortune in shipping.  

Free shipping!

Check them out.  Really nice stuff!  Seed starting kits, stunning garden beds and containers, some really cool tomato cages, pest control, fertilizer - everything you need to get a vegetable garden going.  And any other garden for that matter. Are you a flower lover?  Do you have a deck or patio that needs some dressing up?  It is pansy season, you know!  ;-)

 I can't help myself!  I hope you are catching the fever I am feeling!  

Grow your own vegetables

Spring is in the air and winter is pretty much over.  The northeast is experiencing a significant cold front right now.  It has dropped 30 degrees in 6 hours.  But that spring sun will make all the difference. 

The year we moved into our house (from a condo), my friends asked "Are you going to have a garden and grow your own vegetables, now?  Yes!  And I have tried two years in a row.  The first year I did a container garden and the zucchini did incredibly well. I made so many loaves of zucchini bread I can't even count them all.  So yummy!  And the tomatoes did pretty well.  The rest....not so much.  

Last year, I worked really hard to get a garden bed going.  I tried to grow my own vegetables from seeds!  My seedlings sprouted beautifully, but I started them all at the same time and realized my mistake too late, so I just shoved them all in the ground at once.  Fail.  Kind of embarrassing, really.  

So I have done a lot of research this time.  I discovered Growveg.com to be a great resource for anyone who wants to grow their own vegetables.  It allows you to plan a garden visually - you enter the dimensions of your space and then choose the vegetables you want to grow.  Then the software tells you when to sow the seeds inside (if you are so inclined), when to plant them in the ground and when to harvest.  You enter your zip code and it adjusts to your growing season.  I have a nice garden planned and Growveg.com is telling me I have to start my lettuce, tomato and pepper seedlings now (April).  So that is on the list of things to do this weekend, with the kids.  

I strongly encourage anyone that has thought about growing your own vegetables, to give it a shot.  Failure is quite possible the first and maybe second try.  But it is fun and you'll probably get something.  Start with something easy like tomatoes and zucchini.   Gardening is a great way to get outside, you can get the kids involved and there is nothing better than eating your own homegrown vegetables.  When I close my eyes I can smell and taste a homegrown cherry tomato.  I can't wait....