CityMama™

Friday Link Love—11.30.07

I'm woefully behind on linking up the love, but I have a bunch o' stuff rolling around my desk that I have wanted to share for weeks now.  Brain dump alert!

I receive lots of solicitations from PR people and from companies. Look at this! Please blog this! Most of the emails end up getting deleted, but sometimes, 1 or 2 of them catch my eye.  If I mention goods or services it's because it meets one or more of the following criteria:

1. I would use it myself/My kids would use it.
2. It makes a parent's life easier.
3. It's a mom-based business.
4. There's something in it for you (the reader).
5. It's not totally lame.

• Discovery Girls is a magazine created by girls for girls. My gals are too young to read it, but it's something I wouldn't mind them taking a gander at when they are old enough. You might flip through it and think, "Wow. This is really...girly. It focuses a lot on 'stuff.'" But just think back to when you were 10. I was into: Judy Blume books, Andy Gibb, and trying on my mom's makeup. Not necessarily in that order. The friendship-focused books offer up simple, sensible, easy-to-swallow advice.
• Speaking of girls, Ubisoft is a videogame company that has created a line of Nintendo DS games aimed at girls. They are called "Imagine games" and include "Babyz," "Fashion Designer," "Pet Horsez," and "Master Chef." (PS: Kreeaytiv spelling drivz me nutz.) Did I want to review them? I agreed but asked, "Where are the doctor and president games for girls?" Their answer: focus group.  Again I had to think back to when I was a tween and what I would have been interested in. You had Fashion Plates and a giant Barbie Head, too? Mmmm hmmm, that's what I thought.  My 8yo niece tested the games out for a week over Thanksgiving.  In her words: "I like it." and "Fun!" Then she said her DS battery ran out. If you are looking for a techie holiday gift for your tween gal, you might want to check these out.
• And more with the girls, what can I say?  It takes a twirl to raise a girl is something you understand if you have girls and is the tagline for Twirly Girl, a mom-based biz that focuses on, you got, twirly dresses. These would make a special holiday gift for the twirliest girl on your list. The dresses are super-fun (layers and layers of fabric), super-soft, super-versatile (reversible), and most of all: super-duper-twirly. You can even design one of your own from the hippie-chic fabric. But the best part about these dresses is the little booklet that accompanies each one. Very sweet.
• Tis the season for online shopping and for me that includes gifts and flowers.  When the 1-800-Flowers folks said they would extend a $10 discount to you all, I said, okay, but there's always a catch, right? I'm supposed to reference two links to gifts they are trying to push (that's how these things go). If the gift ideas weren't cool, I would have taken a pass, but they are, so here: Check out the sweet Barefoot Contessa gift basket (love her) among other offerings from your fave celeb chefs, and the unique bouquets designed by celebrity floral designers (these would be beautiful gifts for a far away loved one or would be stunning on your holiday table or sideboard.)  Use the link above and coupon code: all2u. Enjoy!

Bon weekend `a  vous tous!

NaBloPoMo Recipe #30: Hooray it's over!

National Blog Posting Month is ovah! I made it! Whew! 

While I fell short of posting a recipe every day (I think I missed 4 days total), I did manage to post something every day. I want to end this month with a recipe, though, and when I got to thinking about it, I couldn't decide what to post. I wanted it to be sort of momentous as this is the last day of my NaBloPoMo recipe deluge, but what to pick?

Then it dawned on me. In celebration of Family Food and on the occassion of it's shuttering, I'm going to choose the very first recipe I ever posted on that blog. I started that blog because I wanted to show that  even though you have kids, you can still cook fast healthful meals that don't rely on boxed, canned, or frozen processed foods. I began the blog talking about my philosophy of cooking, getting organized and sharing simple basic recipes like an easy marinara sauce.

And so, from the May 2005 index (the month I started the blog) comes this tutorial for making salad dressings.  Enjoy!

A new CityMama is born

Now that we've got our soft launch behind us and the kinks worked out, I'd like to "formally" welcome everyone to the new me. Pull up a chair and sit, why don't you?

The decision to fold Family Food, my food blog, into CityMama was about a year in the making. Actually, maybe even a little longer than that. I've been seriously blogging since 2004, and somewhere along the way, I decided that the focus would be less on my kids and more about my life in general.

When you have one child, it's easy to focus are your blogging time and attention on that one child. They are the center of your world, the stars of the show. Their photos plaster your blog. They are so cute, how can you resist sharing that cuteness with the world? When you have two or more children, you suddenly think about devoting equal time to each, and being fair. At least I did. And I knew that I probably never be no matter how hard I tried. That realization combined with an effort by me to reclaim a shred or two of privacy in my life led me to the decision to focus less on my girls and more on our world.

I will miss seeing my sweetpeas in the banner at the top of my blog. Their photo made me smile and made my heart swell with pride every day. And I admit having a twinge of "buyers remorse" not seeing them there anymore. They are still here, though in the background, as I strive to present a fuller, more rounded (no pun intended) picture of our world.

Our world includes many things: the usual packing of lunches and school runs, the carting to and fro from gymnastics to soccer to birthday parties. But it is also informed by me: a 38-year-old woman who unabashedly loves pop culture, who is a serious media junkie, who can be easily distracted from almost anything by the words, "Want to go to Target?," who loves to cook. Mostly who loves to cook. More than anything.

I considered shuttering CityMama completely and only focusing on Family Food, and about a year ago I almost did, but then I started question why my food blogging and "CityMama blogging" (for lack of a better term) needed to be separate. Both blogs seemed to serve different purposes, but in the end I decided that they both defined me. So why couldn't they be combined? The answer to that question for me is here, in the new CityMama. These are the stories of our lives, captured forever for Bunny and Wallie, combined with what I cooked along the way.

Thanks to Trish for inspiring the tagline: Always Cooking Something Up.  She's won the contest and will receive the prize consisting of "Random Crap PR People Send Me," although the package will be light since she lives in Australia!

Thanks also to Marlynn and Alain of Event Bliss for helping me to realize my vision. The biggest recommendation I can give them is that they worked with me—a fickle, indecisive, emotional, finicky, Libra—and managed to turn my eccentricities into a functional and beautiful site. (They also didn't bat an eyelash when I said, "Here's the deposit for your services, cash the check right away!") Yes, I know the script is hard to read for some, but I love it, and it's called "Jane Austen" so you have to love it, too!

So welcome to my new digs. I hope you'll stick around and keep the conversation going. There will always be a seat at the table—and a glass of your favorite libation and some nibbles—waiting for you here!

photo credit: CityMama

"What you are now, you are not forever."

Tonight = crappy evening. Wallie was being a complete turd, and at one point, when something wasn't going her way and I wasn't relenting, she said and I quote:

I'm going to kill you then I will have no mamma. Hmph.

Hi, auditions for The Shining were held sometime back in 1979.

Yes, she's three. No, she doesn't quite understand what it means. She just knows what she hears her older sister say* and knows it's something that triggers strong emotions.

While Wallie was in her timeout, I immediately shot an email off to J. You know the one, where the subject line is "Please come home. Now." Thankfully, he works seven minutes away. And makes a mean cosmo.

I just passed the baton to J. and he is anchorman for the rest of the night. I sat down with my cosmo and my laptop looking for something, anything to read, and happened upon this post on Thingamababy.

Pretty amazing. And definitely something to remember.

*As evidenced by my previous post, Bunny is obsessed with death right now. She recently wanted to know the difference between "kill" and "die." Someone overheard our conversation.

NaBloPoMo Recipe #28: Chicken Tortilla Soup (perfect for a soup party)

Get out your big pots, we're making soup! Lots of it!

The Sunday before Thanksgiving, we had a soup party, one of my favorite ways to entertain. I made two soups, the Chicken Tortilla Soup below and a lighter Kale, White Bean, and Sausage Soup (topped with shredded parmigiano) made with two beeyootiful bunches of kale I got at the farmer's market that morning.

My sister helped me set out platters of cured meats, cheeses, and a big bowl of crusty bread (also from the farmer's market), and a salad rounded out the meal. Set out bowls and spoons and a couple three bottles of wine and you're done. It's seriously the easiest party you will ever throw.

We invited two families and my brother and his family arrived from Oregon just in time for dinner. My pal Mary—who I always bump into at the farmer's market and finally thought to invite for dinner—brought gingery cupcakes for dessert that were so good they should be illegal.

Bunny. Today.

How do reindeer fly?
They don't really fly, Bunny. It's just pretend.
But how do they fly?
They don't fl—By magic.
What kind of magic?
I don't know.
So reindeer don't really fly?
No.
Okay. So how will Santa's reindeer get to our house? Will they run or fly?
Fly.
But you said they don't really fly. And Santa's reindeer aren't pretend. They are real.
Right. See, Santa is the only one that has the special reindeer that can fly. All the rest, the ones that don't live in the North Pole, can't fly.

She ponders that for a moment then asks, "Why can't people turn into animals when they grow-up?"

"Because we are born people. But maybe, after you die, you will be born again as an animal."

She brightens and says, "When I die I want to be reborn as a reindeer."

And, from somewhere in another part of the house, Wallie calls, "Me, too!"

Welcome to the new CityMama!

If you are reading this through a feedreader, you might want to click over to see the big changes. Please bear with us as we fine tune. Merging Family Food into CityMama has so far been seamless, but we may encounter a hiccup or two. Now you get two! two! two! blogs in one! Hope you like it!

NaBloPoMo Recipe #27: Easy and cheap homemade holiday gifts

Okay not so much recipes, but simple ideas for homemade gifts that may involve recipes.

Recently my pal Pamela put up a post up on the Silicon Valley Moms Blog about shopping local this holiday season. A commenter responded wanting to know (paraphrasing) how to shop local while on a Wal-Mart budget, since locally-made items from specialty shops can be pricier that its mass-produced, big-box store counterpart.

This really struck home for me because we always try to give homemade gifts for the bulk of our presents. We're not lavish gift givers anyway, and I suppose when push comes to shove, we give gifts we make as our own personal stand against over doing it during the holidays. It's not like we're against buying anything ever. We like "stuff," but we hate cheap cluttery crap and aren't frivolous. During the holidays our focus is always on family and not spending 'til we're broke. For us, it's a conscious choice to be this way.

I was thinking about how to focus more on giving locally sourced homemade gifts and I realized as I reflect back over the years of gifts that I've made that using local ingredients wouldn't have significantly increased the cost of the item.

For those looking for simple homemade gifts, I'll share my list of things I've made and given, and I'd love it if you shared yours, too!

Here goes:

NaBloPoMo Recipe #26: Ochazuke (Japanese Green Tea with Rice)

(I wrote this post last night.)

Only 4 more days to go until National Blog Posting Month is over. So far I've skipped two recipes, but have managed to post everyday. I haven't found it to be too much of a burden, but deciding which recipes to share has been a little tough.

As I type this, Wallie is in bed coughing. Sick. Crying. Trying to sleep. So not happy. It makes me wish that three-year-olds could eat dak yukgaejang or tom yum or pho with fresh chiles. Some probably can, just not my little sensitive girl.

Before going to sleep she requested one of her favorite breakfasts: ochazuke. It's essentially green tea poured over rice to which savory things like seaweed or small rice crackers are added. It's a dish I grew up eating, usually when I needed to settle my stomach, but I associate it with being sick and needing comfort.

You can make it from scratch simply from steamed short-grain rice (cooked in a rice cooker) and a fresh pot of green tea. Then add Japanese cucumber pickles or umeboshi plums, leftover flaked salmon or raw tuna slices, shiso leaves and seaweed "sprinkles" to your taste. Or you can do what I do most often and that is to buy an instant ochazuke mix and add your own hot water or tea.

Ochazuke mixes can be found at any Japanese store (like Nijika) or at places like Uwajimaya, Daiso or Ichiban-kan. I usually buy the Nagatanien brand easily recognizable by its distinctive color-blocked packaging, but I like to experiment with other brands (Hello Kitty anyone?), too. My favorite flavors are ume, nori, and wasabi.

Now I'm off to put some rice in the cooker so it's hot for tomorrow's breakfast, and I hope that sometime soon Wallie is able to sleep.

[photo from japanizing.blogspot.com]

We figure we're saving at least 25 trees

This year we're doing the fake tree thing, namely a 7 1/2-foot tall, pre-lit Douglas Fir that looks so real it's freaking me out. I've been pushing for a fake tree for years, mainly because we usually travel at Christmas and it would be easy to set up and leave for two weeks without worrying about it. This year J. finally relented because he realized that if we had a fake tree we could set it up the day after Thanksgiving and leave it up, shoot, all year if we wanted to.

It's been at least two years since I've seen our boxes of Christmas stuff and even longer since I really decorated the house for the holidays. (Again, because we are usually traveling.) As I peeked into the boxes I realized, sadly, that I didn't even know what I was looking for. I couldn't even remember what our ornaments looked like or if we even had any. What I found wasn't pretty. It was like opening a time capsule to the mid-nineties. I found a ratty-looking poinsettia-covered holiday tablecloth, red and green pillar candles, a fake juniper garland which I thought was super-cool when I got it at the San Francisco Flower Market but has since seen better days. The personalized Pottery Barn stockings that I loved back in aught-two look terribly dated now.

Our ornaments are in even worse shape: 1 box of frosted red glass balls from IKEA, the obligatory Santa-kid photos through the years, some Radko ornaments my mom gave us after we got married (still so beautimous), and that's about it.

When I was in Target today I was overwhelmed by the beautiful, coordinated ornaments they have on display. I could have a tree full of birds or musical instruments or silvery icicles and snowflakes. I imagined our tree decked out in trendy frosted grey-blue and silver and realized that while it would be pretty, it probably wouldn't be us. Because I love multi-colored blinky lights and those messy fake icicles that get everywhere. I even secretly loved flocked trees.

So up will go the sequined candy cane, the wooden apples, the plastic photo ornaments, the Hawaiian Santa, and the drug store glass balls.  I'll probably get a few more ornaments this year to fill in the tree, but it will remain a hodge-podge of randomness. Kinda like the rest of our house. Which is cool.

And even though we know Xmas trees are farmed like anything else, it feels good not to have wasted a real tree this year.