snowangel

And, depending on what stage of gestation at which the baby is born, the milk composition also varies. Heidi was a preemie (not by much) and they strongly urged moms of preemies to breastfeed (or pump and feed) because the milk contains things that can aid in development (like lungs) that would normally occur in utero. Miraculous stuff.

Let's talk window boxes. I have just reduced the pile of lumber in the garage and have nice, new window boxes. The tradition, at least here is impatiens, petunias, etc. along with overpriced "accent" plants. I want different, but I do want cascading -- I don't want to obstruct the view out the windows too much. Edible would be good. I first thought of pole beans. If they grow up, surely they'll grow down. But I'm afraid there might not be enough soil mass to give them what they need. Herbs that cascade? Ideas, please! On a different note, we have had a most glorious spring. The right amount of rain coupled with absolutely clear days in the upper 60's and low 70's. The bugs haven't come out yet. Everything looks lush and lucious. Some days I just sit out under the pergola and watch and hear the stuff grow. My shoulders are getting brown, my shins are losing their neon white hue, and my feet have birkie tan lines. Tis a grand time to live here. Warm weather veggies (tomatos, beans, cukes, peppers) go in the week after Memorial Day.

As a former "Bessie the Cow" (yes, I nursed all three, far longer than is fashionable in the U. S., and could pump 8 oz in under 5 minutes). None of my kids, having had the "real" stuff would have anything to do with formula. The former is quite "vanilley" as some have said, and I'm not sure if it tasted like vanilla or tasted like what vanilla smells like; maybe rice puddingy? When they were babies, I made a point of tasting every thing that went into their mouths (even the worms ). My proudest "introducing to a new taste" moments where when they first had bacon. I knew then that they were my kids. As to the milk/corn syrup thing. Remember, this was back in the days when women were not admonished to quit drinking or smoking, and we encouraged to gain as little weight as possible. And, weird is just fine, in fact appealing.

Some of my great grandmother's recipes refer to a "tidge." According to my grandmother, it was more than a pinch.

I, too, have enjoyed your columns and cookbooks. In fact, the birthday fairy will be giving Diana (age 12) "How to Cook Everything" for her birthday (she has requested cookbooks of late). My kids are quite involved in the kitchen -- from ideas to grocery shopping to preparation. How do your kids figure into your kitchen -- shopping, assistance in preparation, inspiration, etc? Do they ever cook for you?

Frittata! Load it up with veggies and whatever. Eggs are a great fast food. Toast makes a perfectly acceptable accompaniment.

On our way to the cabin this past weekend, we passed a billboard advertising the revolving restaurant in the Radisson Hotel in Duluth. Peter (age 7) asked what a revolving restaurant was, and we explained it to him, adding that when Diana was baptized in Duluth, we had brunch following the service at the revolving restaurant. He was mighty jealous, especially when he asked, and we explained, that the meal following his baptism was catered, in my folks house. Diana asked how the food was, and, quite frankly, I can't recall a thing about the meal. Paul and I seem to think that it was a Sunday buffet thing with forgettable food, but we recall very clearly the view. Lake Superior was not frozen (it rarely totally freezes) and given that it was 26 degrees below zero, there was steam hanging over the lake. It was breathtaking. As the restaurant revolved, we were treated to almost equally breathtaking sights of the snow-covered hill. I seem to also recall eating in a revolving restaurant when I was a child living in Thailand, but my food memories of this time revolve around markets, not restaurants serving continental food. How many revolving restaurants are there? Do they rely on the novelty and views as opposed to good food? Are there any new-construction revolving restaurants?

In my kids vocab. Likewise, licking out the pan after making cooked frosting (see Burnt Sugar Cake). There's a reason I always make a double batch of frosting. Nothing better, for adult or child, to be frosting or cake batter from head to toe. Peter, at age 3, accompanied me to the grocery. In the baking aisle, he noticed Cake Mixes. "Mom, what these is?" "Cake mixes, honey." "What do you mean?" "Where you cheat and just add oil and eggs and make a thing like a cake." "Olibe oil?" "Sort of, Peets." "Mommy, what a 'sorta cake'?" "A cake that presumes to be a cake but really isn't." "Mommy, what's presume?" We bought the mix, and the canned frosting. After one bite, he asked "when can we make a real cake?" In my house, by age 2, they were able to sit on the counter and know that when I said "3", they knew it meant matching the thingee on the Kitchenaide to the number 3. Cake making. Not a lost art, at least among some of us. And, cake, even sorta stale, crumbled in a bowl, with milk poured over, makes a great breakfast. Surely more wholesome than anything sugary that GM or Post puts out. It's all above love.

Spotted in the kitchen here not long ago: A young lass, washing down flamin' hot cheetos and Gedney Jalapeno Baby Dills with strawberry-flavored Quik milk. A quick glance on my part brought forth a profusion of excuses...

The key is to eschew every table but the one closest to the kitchen door. Every low-brow (read not high buck) dim sum place I ever went to in Hong Kong, Taipei and Singapore always had carts. And, we learned early on to snag one of the tables closest to the kitchen. And, I remember that most of the best dim sum places I ever went to required at least an hour visit, because they usually cycle dishes. There will often be a whole bunch of steamed dumpling carts. Wait a few minutes, and there will be a whole different set of carts. Wait a little longer, and yet another type of food will be offered. I think the food quality is higher (fresher) when they "cycle" the food. It does make sense.

For use as a cake pan or medieval hat?

I buy Maesri curry paste, and don't even keep it in the fridge. According to the label, it contains no artificial colors or preservatives, and the ingredient list confirms this. When I lived in Thailand, I never knew anyone who refridgerated the stuff.

I checked The Perfect Cake out from the library, read it late into the night, and promptly went out and bought it (B & N fundraiser for my kids school). Heidi will turn 9 later this month. She is a princess, so nicknamed by her younger brother when he was just over 1. The Coconut Layer Cake is just what this princess would order were she not non-verbal. Question: It calls for making two 9" layers and cutting them in half. Is there any reason that a person could not make 4 thin 9" layers (I have 8 -- yes 8 -- 9" layer pans, thanks to my great grandmother ), adjusting baking time, of course? And, as an aside, the only "classic" cake missing from the book was burnt sugar, but one merely has to go to here to obtain this one. It's always my choice for my birthday. My mom makes it for me. And, my mom always mentions how tough cooked frosting can be in early August when it's hot and humid. Further to the cake thread, I have a set, made by my great aunt, of little candle-holder things -- they are ceramic and shaped and painted (also glazed) like little flat flowers -- pansies and such -- with one hole in the middle of each one just the right size for birthday candles. I'm sure Aunt Laura made them during her ceramics phase, and are of late 20's vintage. They will look lovely on Heidi's birthday cake.

Suzanne is right. The stuff will keep practically forever. And, you can Freezing Coconut Cream/Milk.

In Minneapolis, Dunkin Donuts have all but disappeared. However, most of the old Dunkin Donut stores are still donut places -- all independent (and not under the DD name) run by Vietnamese immigrants. They make wonderful donuts, and most of them do sandwiches at noon.

In the Twin Cities, it's Mickey's Diner. This place is such a classic (it's on the National Register of Historic Places), it has been a location in a bunch of movies produced here. Consistently great, cheap food. Packed after bar closing.

For the next few weeks, Heidi and Peter have swimming lessons at 6:00 pm Mondays and Wednesdays. So, for these few weeks, Diana is in charge of preparing dinner those two nights, and timing it to be on the table at 7:15 pm. She is to come up with menus, and let me know what I need to have on hand for these meals. Last night, she made "tacos" -- leftover carnitas, corn tortillas, and she made embellished rice and salsa. The avocados at the grocery were not acceptable, so that traditional accompaniment was missing.

The root canal diet ranks right up there with the strep diet In all seriousness, I worked for several years with a woman who weighed more than her "ideal," as did her husband and two college-aged kids (still living at home). She started plating food, instead of putting dishes on the table to be served family style. She was amazed at how much less food they consumed -- rather than continuing to pick away at the dishes on the table, she found that they were satisfied with what was plated in the kitchen. Further, she did not eliminate snacks, but went to a plating system for those as well -- no more sitting with an open bag of chips, or a hunk of cheese and a knife. They all lost the weight they wanted, but without deprivation. Yes, portion control is key. Good luck, and keep us posted.

One of the things I really like about Halloween is that there are really fresh Baby Ruths for sale. The best candy bar ever. Really.

We've talked cookbooks, let's talk gardening books. My favorite perennial flower book is "The Well Tended Perennial Garden" by Tracy DiSabato-Aust. Although she's based in Ohio, I can translate to MN. She has great info in how to prune/trim to stagger bloom time, plus good info on just how labor intensive the different plants are. For vegetables, I rely on U of MN Extension Service bulletins. Better than any book I've found. And, for anyone who lives in MN, there is "Gardening in the Upper Midwest" by Leon Snyder, "father" of the MN Landscape Arboreteum. I have an autographed copy. This book would be as well used as my dictionary. These, plus seed catalogues, provide great night time reading from Feb. 1 onwards. I've been planning for months, and the spectacular weather on Friday spurred my first major perennial transplant of the season.

Fine dining, depending on the circumstances, can mean very different things, and you (and perhaps Jonathan) seem to mean "upper end restaurant" dining? Probably the finest meal I have eaten in the past two years was at our cabin. We drove up on a Friday evening. In the cooler -- one seared (but leftover from night before) strip steak. One freshly baked loaf of thin, crusty bread. One jar of Malle dijon mustard. One bottle of Russian River pinot noit. A container of freshly picked strawberries. One bag of freshly harvested greens. The meal: on the dock. In swimming suits. Kids swimming. Thinly sliced leftover seared strips, bread, mustard, greens, strawberries, pinot noir (lemonade for the kids). 1,000 feet of lakeshore, can't see another cabin, no one else on the lake. Not a cloud in the sky, so still that the water is warm (we're near Canadian border), not a soul on the lake. Best meal I've had in years...including "upper end, fine dining." Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

The dry aged New York strips from the Nicollet Meat Market in Nicollet, MN (population 485 or so).

In some countries (Thailand comes to mind immediately), street food offers the ultimate in culinary value.

Prune everything that still look dormant. That you have some new growth branches indicates that it is still alive, and you'd probably get more new growth if the plant wasn't putting any energy into the branches that aren't doing anything.

What kind of potatos are they?