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Stage Fright

Imagine my surprise this afternoon when I read through the program for Julie's piano recital and learned that she'll be doing a duet with me! Her teacher has always encouraged us to practice duets together, but it never occurred to me that this was the reason.

EEK! I've never done a recital! I've never even played in front of anyone besides family—and not even family in more than 35 years!

Well, one way or another, on May 17, we'll be performing "The Trout" by Franz Schubert. I wonder who will be telling whom to relax. Actually, I think I know.

Paranoid or Sensible?

I've been mostly pooh-poohing all the swine flu paranoia swirling around. I know it's not impossible that it could spread everywhere, and quickly, but I just remember that we've been through this with avian flu, West Nile virus, SARS, MRSA, and so on. There's nothing wrong with being alert, but you've got to just live your life. Practice good hygiene, get medical help if you suspect you've been infected, and that should be that, right? (That's me speaking in the daytime; as you know, in the middle of the night I'm always convinced I'm at death's door.)

Then, just a few minutes ago, I did something that seems quite sensible but still out of character for me. I had plans to meet a friend for lunch today. We were going to go to a Mexican restaurant that I'd heard about a while back and was dying to try. It's about midway between my house and her office, and she's never been there either, so it seemed ideal. Then it suddenly occurred to me that it was perhaps not the best idea to go somewhere that might be more likely to have workers or patrons who have recently traveled to Mexico. So we're getting Indian food instead.

Yes We Can Take Your Photograph

I really enjoy looking through the photos in the Official White House Photostream. Here's one where you actually get to see part of the Private Residence:

There are photos of the prez in important meetings, greeting troops, relaxing with Michelle, and more.

Sadness

Something's been weighing heavily on my heart for a week now, and I keep changing my mind about whether to mention it here. Here goes: Last Tuesday I got the news that a dear old college friend had been murdered. That's right, murdered. I'm still in shock. We had been in touch only sporadically over the last few years, but I was half expecting that she might show up at our 25th reunion next month.

The details are sketchy and not for me to go into here, but it does appear that she had been having a tough time with her life for quite some time now, and it just breaks my heart to imagine how much pain she had been living with. I will always remember her as one of the most upbeat and vibrant people I've ever known.

I don't need to be reminded to count my blessings, but when something like this happens, I do tend to hug my family even closer to me. I am very, very lucky.

Lull, Goodbye

Have you noticed that I haven't mentioned much about work lately? That's because I haven't had much work lately to mention—like, none. First I kept clearing the decks for that next big cookbook project I was promised, and they kept telling me it had been delayed again. Then they said they'd give me another project entirely, and now that one's being changed into two smaller books in a new series, but I still haven't seen anything. I haven't exactly been turning away other work, but I haven't been seeking it out either. I just know that as soon as I make a few calls and line something up, the cookbook will show up, and I really want to do it.

I'm not particularly worried, and I do enjoy having extra free time—indeed, it was very nice not to have any nagging responsibilities all last week when the kids were on school vacation—but enough already! I'm ready to get back to work.

Weekend Wrap-Up: Baseball

1. Every year there's a rumor that Jason Varitek will appear at the Little League opening day ceremonies, so every year we go, and he's never there. (You can see where this is going, can't you?) This year we didn't go, and of course this year he not only appeared, but he also gave a nice little speech, threw the opening pitch, and shook lots of hands. Dang. And have I mentioned how thrilled I am that he's having such a great season so far? Go Tek! (P.S. His house—right around the corner from mine—is officially on the market, presumably due to his much-publicized divorce.)

2. Speaking of Little League opening day, today was Pete's first game in AAA league. It seemed endless. The pitchers are not at all up to snuff yet, so there were zillions of walks. After 2.5 hours, we'd gone through only 5 innings but had to stop because the next game needed to start. The score was 20-18 (we lost). Pete struck out once and walked three times.

3. Pete's on the Mets this year, so I found myself shouting, "Go Mets!" for the first time in my life. The only team names that aren't used in our Little League are the Red Sox (because, obviously, every kid would want to be on that team) and the Yankees (because, obviously, every kid would rather die than be on that team). It makes me wonder what happens in other parts of the country. Does your Little League include all but your home team, or also some other team? Do New York Little Leagues have Red Sox teams?

4. Speaking of the Yankees, they allowed 38 runs in the last two Saturdays alone. <cue Nelson from "The Simpsons"> Ha ha!

Weekend Wrap-Up: Food

1. It seems that ice cream joints have been closing right and left these last few years. We were first big fans of Ice Cream Club in Wellesley Hills and Ice Cream Works in Newton Highlands. Neither exists anymore. In truth, J. P. Licks is still the best, but it's a bit of a schlep and a pain to park in Newton Centre. Well, enter the latest player: Freeze, right here in Waban Center! We went yesterday, a week before the grand opening, to find a small selection of ice creams and a large selection of what they call Italian ice and I call sorbet. I got a lemon sorbet that was refreshing and lovely. It was pricey, though—$3 for a small cup of sorbet, $3.40 for ice cream.

2. We ate last night at L'Andana in Burlington. L'Andana is the suburban sibling to Sorellina and our beloved Mistral, both downtown, and it fully lived up to its family reputation. The room is lovely, the service excellent, and the food delicious. For me, the highlights were the truffle fries; the garlicky, buttery herb bread; and my appetizer, a special that featured quail and prosciutto on parmesan polenta. Yum yum yum all around.

Storm Windows 101

Nancy is a true wordsmith, but having spent her entire life on that other coast, she occasionally has to ask me to explain words I toss around on Twitter or in emails. Particularly in the winter. You know, words like balaclava. (Do you Californians get different L.L. Bean catalogs than the rest of us too?)

This morning I tweeted, "It's 72° already! The storm windows are up! The kids are coated with sunscreen and playing outside with the hose!" (For the record, it's already up to 84° now! Woo-hoo!) Nancy tweeted back, "Does 'putting the storm windows up' mean 'taking them down'?"

Ahem. I'm quite sure there are storm windows that you actually remove and store in your garage, but our very old house has very old double-hung windows, and they work like this:

1. Winter position: storm window down (lower half, behind actual window part that goes up and down, which is currently closed), screen up (upper half, behind 6-pane glass that can go up and down, but we don't bother).

2. Unlock rusty old dohickey on top of lower half:

3. Push window up. No breeze yet, though, because the storm window is still down.

4. Engage little latchy things at bottom of storm window...

5. ...and push storm up!

6. Now there's nothing between you and the great outdoors!

7. Reach up to where you just pushed storm and engage little latchy things on screen:

8. Pull screen down:

9. Voilà! Fresh air coming in through the screen!

10. Repeat for all windows in house. (In about six months, prepare to reverse instructions—screens back up, storms back down.)

11. Oh, one more thing: See that little striped rope? That's the sash; there's one on each side. If that breaks, it releases somewhere into the bowels of the woodwork. Then you have to find an old-school handyman who knows how to fix window sashes.

It seems fitting to close with lyrics from one of my favorite John Prine songs, "Storm Windows." Here's the first verse:

I can hear the wheels of automobiles
So far away, just moving along through the drifting snow.
It's times like these when the temperatures freeze
I sit alone just looking at the world through a storm window.
Down on the beach, the sandman sleeps
Time don't fly, it bounds and leaps
And a country band that plays for keeps
They play it so slow....

Four Friday Diversions

1. I'm with Mario Batali on this one: "I wear [Crocs] because they’re the most comfortable thing and I don’t give a fuck about fashion. I like fashion on other people.”

2. This Maira Kalman piece is positively sublime. Do not miss it!

3. Someone has taken the time to condense all of Shakespeare's plays into Twitter-friendly (140-character) synopses. (Dang, I should've posted this yesterday, on the Bard's birthday.)

4. Attention bracketologists: Now you can create your own Bracket Smackdown—or browse brackets others have constructed. (It's a promotional thingy for the book The Final Four of Everything.)

Friday iPod Random Ten

1. Vengeance Is Sleeping - Neko Case
2. Poor Old Dirt Farmer - Levon Helm
3. Drunken Poet's Dream (live) - Hayes Carll
4. Slots - Sam Baker
5. The Boy in the Bubble (live) - Paul Simon
6. One Red Rose - John Prine
7. Too Hot (live) - The Specials
8. Darling Pretty - Mark Knopfler
9. You Can't Fail Me Now - Joe Henry
10. Black Sheep (live) - Martin Sexton

Winnings

I continue to be unusually lucky in online sweepstakes. Since I last updated you, I won some fancy-shmancy skin-care products, which turned out to be so fancy-shmancy that I gave them to my sister-in-law instead. I also won a blue messenger bag, which just arrived today. Oh, and I won a Flip Mino camcorder! It hasn't come yet, though.

Another thing that hasn't come yet is something I've just about given up on, since they have shipped it to me three times already. It's a set of personal calling cards, sort of like business cards but not for business use. Oh, alright all right, they're Mama Cards. You're supposed to give them to your kids' friends' parents so they have your contact phone numbers and such. And they're pretty. I somehow fear they're never going to show up, though!

I'm determined to win something here, but so far no luck.

Birthday, Part 2

For lunch we all went to Johnny's Luncheonette, where I had a yummy California club sandwich. Then we headed over to see "Earth," which was spectacular. I know that some have complained about the "Disneyfication" of the "Planet Earth" series, but it's still breathtaking cinematography—and seeing it on the big screen makes it even more awe-inspiring. Really, really worthwhile viewing, Earth Day or not.

Then we hung out at home for a bit and finally got over to The Local for dinner. It was excellent—all except for Andy's Kobe burger, which was slightly overdone and not terribly flavorful. My lobster mac & cheese was to die for, and the fries are not to be believed.

Now we are back home, and I was just sung to over this:

I am too stuffed to try it right now—but the night is young. Happy birthday to me, indeed!

Birthday, Part 1

Andy took the day off today! Last night he reminded me that I could sleep in, and Julie spilled the beans about breakfast in bed (which I'd pretty much guessed anyhow). At about 8:00 this morning I realized I wasn't going to fall back to sleep, so I called Andy from the bedroom phone to his iPhone to tell him that I was ready! (They were planning to wait until 9:00, but I was hungry!)

In they all paraded with a breakfast tray (tea, toast, and a half grapefruit, plus fresh flowers). I was hugged and kissed as they all got on the bed with me. They handed me armloads of cards and gifts. Among other goodies, Andy got me a spa gift certificate (he rightly guessed that I wouldn't treat myself, even though I said I would), some pretty green earrings, and five—count 'em, five!—books off my wish list:

• Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan
• Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
• The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner
• The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister
• The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supperby Lynne Rossetto Kasper

Not a bad haul, eh?

Then they all left me alone in bed with my MacBook Pro and tea. Bliss!

Food from Home

I've been tagged by the folks at the Dancing Deer Baking Company for their "Sweet Home" initiative:

Dancing Deer’s Sweet Home Initiative raises money for scholarships to help educate homeless women and end family homelessness. As a part of this initiative, our CEO, Trish Karter, will be riding her bike 1,500 miles from Atlanta to Boston, visiting family shelters in each city to raise awareness about this issue. She’ll also be recording stories from the women she meets along the way, asking them about their experiences. One question she’ll ask them are what foods remind them of home. (See more here.)

So, what foods remind me of home? Probably the things I make most often, like roast chicken, kugel, and various pasta dishes, but also the special-occasion foods that come out only once or twice a year, like roast turkey with all the Thanksgiving accoutrements. I guess it's the foods that are often on the table when I'm surrounded by my family.

In order to spread the word about this wonderful cause, I'm tagging the following people to participate (rules here): Di, Tonya, Zoe, Jo, Tammy, Susan, and Miguelina. Even if you're not on this list, please feel free to join in anyhow!

Tuesday Trifecta*

1. Ken George, the social media guy at WBUR, has posted this wonderful behind-the-scenes look at the making of "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me."

2. Check out My First Dictionary, with entries like this:

(via)

3. There's a collection of never-before-published Mark Twain essays out now! Watch this clever video about Twain's intended audience.

*Maybe this will become a regular feature?

Patriots' Day Agenda

1. Sleep in; let kids get own breakfast.
2. Stumble downstairs for tea and toast.
3. Watch Boston Marathon start on TV. Clap and weep as men's and women's wheelchairs cross finish line.
4. Tune in to Sox game. Whoop it up when Tek hits a homer!
5. Head down the street with kids to watch Marathon live.
6. Meet up with friends, start cheering on the runners, miraculously manage to catch Julie's friend's mom and Pete's student teacher run by!
7. Head back home in time to see Sox win it 12-1.

Check 'em all off. This was a good day.

Two Days Hence

I hate to perendinate, but my birthday is on Wednesday!

Still in Love with Viggo

How jealous am I of this interviewer?! She got to share a tea with Viggo—and then he gave her chocolates and a book of poetry! Oh, I'm swooning.

Birthday Cake

I know Pete's birthday was yesterday, but I didn't get a chance to share these birthday cake photos with you.

1.  Presentation:

2. Thinking of a good wish:

3. Blowing 'em out:

4. Seizing the candles:

5. Licking off the frosting:

6. (Forgot to snap a shot of "Digging in.")

High-Tech Banking

I use the same Bank of America ATM for most of my banking; it's had the same familiar interface for as long as I can remember. Every now and then I go to a different machine that offers something else, like a touch screen in addition to the buttons. (I can never decide which is skankier—the touch screen probably gets cleaned more often and more effectively, but the buttons must frequently be used by gloved fingers or pens, no?)

The Bank of America near the Shaw's/Star Market (Which is it, already?) in Auburndale got new ATMs some time ago; they're very big and fancy, with flashing marquee-style lights and loud "boop" noises every time you do something. Today, however, they had a new feature: You deposit checks without an envelope, and the machine scans them! I had a stack of five checks, two typed out by a machine and three made out by hand. I stuck them all in, and in very short order had in my hand a receipt with a scanned image of the checks. All five checks were scanned accurately, even the handwritten ones! Color me impressed.

A Decade Ago...

...I gave birth to a little guy who would grow up to request take-out from Blue Ribbon BBQ for his birthday dinner! Makes his mama proud. Especially when decked out in his Nerf assault vest, goggles, and weaponry:

(He had a baseball scrimmage today, hence the socks.)

Happy Birthday, Pete!

Friday iPod Random Ten

1. Radio, Radio - Elvis Costello
2. Peacherine Rag - Scott Joplin
3. All That You Have Is Your Soul - Emmylou Harris
4. You Don't Want to Know - Loudon Wainwright III
5. Atlantic City (live) - Bruce Springsteen with the Sessions Band
6. Angelina - Keb' Mo' 
7. Pressure Drop - The Clash
8. Bar Room Girls (live) - Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
9. Suspicious Minds - Fine Young Cannibals
10. If I Had a Boat (live) - Dave Matthews

Cat Nap

The cats spend most of the day in Julie's room. If it's cloudy (or I've forgotten to open her shades), they curl up together on her bed. But if the sun is streaming in through the windows, Gracie stays on the bed and Mr. Jones plunks himself down on the rug in a square of sunshine. Today, however, he adopted a different position:

 

He was like that all day—head under the bed and one leg in the sun.

Milestones

Tonight we all took Jerry out to dinner for his 80th (!) birthday. Jo and Lily are in from London too. I bought him a card that said "Happy Birthday, 8-year-old!" and added a zero with my Sharpie. Pete signed a baseball for him so he'll have a valuable collector's item when Pete makes it to the majors—it's the only one in existence!

Yesterday I renewed my license. I realized only by chance that it was expiring next week—I thought they still sent out reminders, but apparently those fell to budget cuts. I was also under the impression somehow that the DMV (or, actually, RMV as it's known here) in Watertown was gone, but it is in fact still there. It's really the easiest place to go—I was in and out in 30 minutes! And, even more surprising, I didn't close my eyes in the photo! I'll show you it when it comes in the mail next week. The photo I've had on there for 10 years was taken when I was just days away from giving birth to Pete, so I looked more than a wee bit tired and bloated. The last time I renewed, in 2004, I did it online, so I kept the photo, but they make you get a new photo every 10 years. I also finally got a generic driver's license number instead of my social security number.

Yes, your math is right: Pete is about to turn 10! This Saturday in fact. My-oh-my.

Yesterday Andy and I went to our sixth and final Kindergarten/Grade 1 "Poetry Happening." Wah!

My New Name

We've talked a lot here in the past about our favorite NPR personality names (Neda Ulaby! Mandalit del Barco! Lakshmi Singh! Silvia Poggioli!), but I finally came across a formula for creating one for myself. For your first name, you take your middle initial and plunk it down somewhere in your first name. For your last name, you take the name of the smallest foreign town you've ever visited. That makes me ...

Karmen Siena

(Did you know that my middle name is Michele?)

I've been lucky enough to travel to a great many foreign locales in my day (Israel when I was 16, and then much of Europe in my 20s, plus Costa Rica and quite a few Caribbean islands). I could never figure out what is the smallest foreign town I've seen, so I just picked one that sounded nice. Siena is the town in Italy where my former brother-in-law went to college; we visited there after he and Andy's sister got married.

I almost went with Karmen Monte Carlo, but the Kar-Car thing didn't sound right.

How 'bout you?

Tuesday Trifecta

1. Here are some photos of Meryl Streep as Julia Child in the upcoming film "Julie & Julia."

2. I like these customizable LED-style note cards:

3. Remember a couple years ago when the unimpressive-looking Paul Potts knocked everyone out of their seats on "Britain's Got Talent"? Check out this year's surprise: Susan Boyle.

Still Here!

The sun rose today despite the fact that I forgot to blog yesterday! I have not missed a single day in several years, even when I was sick or on vacation or swamped with work. I'm sorry to have disappointed all my faithful readers, at least a couple of whom must have been wondering if I'd dropped off the face of the earth. At least now you know I'm human.

I'm going to try to somehow blame this on Maytag.

And Don't Even Ask Me About the Toaster

I haven't wanted to burden you with news of my misfortune, but it's time I came clean: My 2001 refrigerator is on the blink again. Since the last time I bothered you about it, I found yet another puddle of water in the fridge, suggesting that a freezer shut-down was in my very near future. Luckily, it had been not quite 90 days since the last time the repairman was here, so I didn't have to pay him this time. He said that this problem is going to keep happening, and I just have to face it: I got a lemon, and I need to replace it. Never mind that the old fridge in my basement has been working nonstop since 1993 without a problem! (It doesn't fit in the kitchen of this house, which is why it lives in the basement.) Never mind that a new fridge was nowhere near the budget for this year, let alone in it for this quarter. Sigh.

So, I am looking for advice. Specifically:

1. Did you buy a fridge in the last year or two that you love? Or hate? I'd like to hear about it. (I'm not interested in older models, because we all know that they don't make 'em like they used to.)

2. Do you have one of those funky new fridges with the freezer at the bottom and the French doors up top? Do you like it? I'm intrigued.

3. Do you have an on-door water-dispenser/ice-maker thingy? Does it give you trouble?

4. Can you guarantee that a particular brand and model will never break down and will serve me well for the next 25 years? If so, I will love you forever.

I have always favored the top-freezer design, but I am trying to be open to new options. I know I will never get a traditional side-by-side, because you can't fit anything wide on either side. I'd like a model that has an especially big fridge capacity at the expense of the freezer, since I have the fridge-plus-freezer in the basement and a full-size deep freeze. The kitchen freezer just needs to hold ice cubes, a few bagels, and a carton of ice cream.

Thanks in advance for your sympathy and helpful suggestions.

Emergency!

Quick! I need urgent advice!

I last got my hair colored on March 17, nearly 4 weeks ago. My gray roots are already visible if you look closely. I used to get my hair colored every 6 weeks or so, but in an attempt to be a bit more frugal, I've been letting it go more like 8 weeks. My hair is usually a mess very curly, so the roots aren't that obvious. (Although last time I waited 10 weeks, and they were very noticeable!)

So, here's the deal: On May 23, I have my 25th college reunion. Although I'm not terribly vain, I'd like to look my best. Ideally, I'd get my hair colored a week or so before this date, because the color is often very intense that first week and looks better after a few washes.

So what's the big deal, right? Well, then on June 21, I have my summer camp's 70th reunion, and I'd kinda like to look good for that too.

What's a gal to do? I seek advice from the many sophisticated hair-coloring experts among my readership.

Spring in Washington

Yet again I find myself saying: I love this photo.

"The weather was so nice in fact that ... the POTUS and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton decided to hold their 4:15 meeting out behind the White House—next to the swing set installed for the Obama girls in March."

(via)

Friday iPod Random Ten

1. Crossing Muddy Waters - John Hiatt
2. Pato and Roger A-Go Talk - English Beat
3. Strawberry Jam - Michelle Shocked
4. Didn't I - k.d. lang
5. Ain't Hurtin' Nobody (live) - John Prine
6. Looking at the World Through a Windshield - Son Volt
7. Crazy Love, Vol. II - Paul Simon
8. 32 Flavors (live) - Ani DiFranco
9. Wings of a Dove - Nanci Griffith & Lucinda Williams
10. Stagefright (live) - The Band

Pass the Matzoh, Michelle!

You thought maybe I was joking about the White House seder tonight? Think again:

(Biggify here.)

Woo-Hoo!

The Simpsons stamps are here!

Well, that's what they will look like, when they're released on May 7.

From the press release:

“This is the biggest and most adhesive honor The Simpsons has ever received,” said Matt Groening, creator and executive producer of The Simpsons.

“We are emotionally moved by the Postal Service selecting us rather than making the lazy choice of someone who has benefited society,” said James L. Brooks, executive producer of The Simpsons.

"There's Always Room for Jello!"

Last night's seder at Lauren's house was, as always, wonderful. Tons of good food, and nearly all family members in attendance (23 this time!). I really do enjoy the seder, even though (or maybe because) we gallop through the Haggadah very quickly and do only the most important and/or fun parts. I especially love going around the table and reading aloud the story of Passover—everyone in my extended family is an excellent reader. Pete joined in for the first time this year! Even though Julie is a great reader, she didn't want to give it a try. Maybe next year.

I wonder who will do the Four Questions at President Obama's seder tonight at the White House? Maybe Malia and Sasha can read the English translation together. At our seder, all the kids sing them in Hebrew together. Julie doesn't really know them yet, but she followed along as best she could.

My matzoh meal rolls were a big hit—for some reason Dad proclaimed them the best he'd ever had, even though it's Mom's recipe that she's been making for years. I also made another one of my mother's recipes, something simple that I'd never made before: Jello mold! It's a staple at all our family gatherings, but she usually makes it, so I never had to. (Oh, and I know it's supposed to be spelled Jell-o, but I don't like the way that looks. It's my blog, after all.)

Believe it or not, I'd never even bought Jello before! I'd always been sort of grossed out at the idea of gelatin; even though Wikipedia asserts that it's not made from animal hooves and horns as I'd thought, it's bad enough that it's made from "pork skins, pork and cattle bones, or split cattle hides." Ewww! I do occasionally buy Trader Joe's gelatin-free gel cups, which come in peach-mango and black cherry, and the kids love them. (For the record, although vegetarians obviously can't eat any gelatin, people who keep kosher can eat Jello brand gelatin, so it must be made from cow parts and not pig parts. As for other brands ... who knows?)

Anyhow, everyone agrees that Jello is yummy, regardless of where it comes from, and this recipe appears on every holiday table in my family:

Cranberry Jello Mold

3 (3-oz.) packages red and/or orange Jello (I used 1 strawberry, 1 raspberry, and 1 orange.)
1 (8-oz.) can crushed pineapple
1 (16-oz.) can cranberry sauce, either jellied or whole berry (I'd never bought this before either, so I bought the whole berry, but it was completely jellied and contained at most 4 whole berries. Go figure.)

Lightly coat a Jello mold or Bundt pan or bowl with nonstick cooking spray.

Dump 2 packages of Jello mix into a heat-safe bowl.

Into a Pyrex measuring cup, drain off as much liquid from the can of crushed pineapples as possible. (I got about ½ cup.) Reserve pineapples. Top off pineapple juice with enough boiling water to make 2 cups total. Add boiling liquid to Jello in bowl and stir to dissolve completely.

Add can-shaped cylinder of cranberry sauce and mash around until almost all broken up. Add crushed pineapples. Pour into greased mold.

Prepare third package of Jello according to package directions (calls for dissolving powder in 1 cup boiling water, then adding 1 cup cold water) and add to mixture in mold. My mother said that her mold can't quite hold all of this third batch of Jello, so she just saves the remainder in a small bowl in the fridge. I used a Bundt pan, so I was able to fit the entire third package, with plenty of room to spare.

Cover and refrigerate until firm. I don't know how long this takes, because I made it the day before, but I would guess a minimum of 4 hours.

To unmold, lower the mold into a few inches of warm water, or wrap a warm, wet towel around the bottom. Meanwhile, use a flexible rubber spatula to loosen the Jello from the sides of the mold. Put a plate over the top, flip the whole thing over, and hope for the best.

We eat this with our meal—not as a dessert—and it provides a cool and refreshing counterpoint to the delicious but heavy main dish of whatever feast we happen to be celebrating.

The Taste of April

There are certain foods and flavors associated with childhood, and many of them have to do with holidays. Even though we could make these foods at other times of the year, often we just don't. Turkey at Thanksgiving, latkes at Hanukkah, a special birthday cake, and so on. But Passover is different: You really don't make those foods at other times of the year, because, well, why would you? Everyone enjoys butter slathered on a piece of matzoh, or two, or three ... but eight days of it is enough for one year. The same is true of these matzoh meal rolls, which are really quite tasty with butter, or for a sandwich, but you wouldn't want them instead of a regular roll if you didn't have to.

I just made six batches for the seder tonight, so I think I could probably make these in my sleep by now!

Matzoh Meal Rolls

⅓ cup vegetable oil
⅔ cup water
1 Tbsp sugar
½ tsp salt
1 cup matzoh meal
3 large eggs

Heat oven to 350°. Lightly coat a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray or line it with a Silpat.

In a saucepan, bring oil, water, sugar, and salt to a boil. Reduce heat as low as possible, and dump matzoh meal in all at once. For a split second, you will think you were just disqualified from the fifth-grade Science Fair, but just give it a stir or two and it will be fine. Mix well and remove from heat. Cool 3–4 minutes.

Beat in eggs, one at a time, with a fork.

Wet an ice cream scoop or measuring cup (⅓ to ½ cup) and drop 6 mounds onto baking sheet. Use moistened hands to make them as round as possible; they won't spread or rise or change shape much while they bake, and you want 'em to be purty. Bake for 35 minutes until they're flecked with brown.

I don't know whether you can make a double batch of dough successfully. I made the dough for the first batch and started the second while the first one was cooling off, then baked two sheets at once. Three times.

Julie-ism of the Week

The other day, Julie said that she and her school friend "laugh 24/7." I explained what "24/7" means and why that wasn't possible. (I know, I know ... I'm fully aware of my shortcomings as a parent.) She thought for a moment and said, "Well, then, we laugh 6/5."

And He's Even a Doctah!

Andy and the guys at his local lunch place (which, come to think of it, is now my local lunch place, too—at least once a week, anyhow) had an NCAA pool, and Andy won! He was presented with this certificate (in addition to his winnings):

It reads:

The general faculty of Scola Impedimentae Lentesco (the school of soft knocks) have conferred the degree of Doctor of Bracketology upon Andy Wise, who has completed all course work and extracurricular activities related to the science of round ball and is entitled to all benefits accruing therewith, including but not limited to one year of uninterrupted bragging rights and buying lunch for everyone in the neighborhood who has over the years suffered abuse at the hands of his father, Jerry.

And it's signed by James Naismith, of course.

Steal This Book

Sometime last year, my friend Kate gave me The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I finally got around to reading it last week, and I absolutely loved it. It was one of the most beautiful and moving books I've read in eons, and I was sorry when it ended.

The story takes place in Germany during Hitler's rise to power, and eventually World War II. Our heroine, the book's namesake, is Liesel, who is taken in by foster parents in a small village outside of Munich. She steals her first book before she even knows how to read. She will soon learn the power that words have for her, and for others around her.

Liesel, however, is not the narrator. The story is told by Death. I hesitated whether to reveal this here, but you discover it after just the first few paragraphs of the book, so I don't think I'm giving away too much. Death will soon be working overtime in Germany, and he describes his job dispassionately—but occasionally reveals his heart. If you fear you'd be put off by this "gimmick," I want to assure you that it seems very normal once you start reading. Zusak frequently has Death speak in bold-faced headings and numbered lists and such, which I welcomed, since they broke up the text a bit, but some might find it distracting.

I wasn't surprised to discover that this book was marketed in the U.S. as a young-adult novel; in fact, one of the first things I said to Andy's mom when I finished it was that I thought it would make a great (if long) high school reading choice. She taught high school English for many years, and she agreed with me (and also loved it). But I didn't feel as though I was reading a teen novel at all—I think of it more as an adult novel that some teens could appreciate (which is, I think, how Zusak intended it, and how it was marketed in his native Australia).

I think it's a great way for (older, more sophisticated) kids to learn that in Germany at the time, in addition to the Nazis and their followers, there were also many, many "regular people" just doing their best to live their lives and not get killed. Now and then some of them did very heroic things, but most were just trying to survive.

Liesel and the people closest to her are some of the most likeable and well-drawn characters I've ever come across. Although the book is, of necessity, sad, it has many truly heart-gladdening and uplifting moments to savor. Several of the reviews I read liken Zusak to Vonnegut in the sense that both treat crushingly sad and depressing topics with a warm and gentle (albeit dark) humor that somehow makes it all bearable.

A Thousand Words

President Obama shakes hands with a British police officer
outside 10 Downing Street in London.

I love this photo! So much emotion is captured in the expression on that officer's face.

Another Bank Heist Movie

You know that Andy and I can't get enough of heist movies, so today we watched "The Bank Job," which was appropriately named. A bunch of amateur crooks knock over the safety deposit vault at a Lloyds of London bank in the early '70s. From what I've read, the heist actually did occur, although much of the background story was likely invented for this movie.

I really enjoyed this movie. First of all, I most definitely dig Jason Statham, the leader of the ragtag burglary crew. But, more than that, the plot and its requisite (but followable) twists kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. There was a light-heartedness to it, with a few "bumbling amateur" gags, but there was also a very dark and violent side—it was not all fun and games by any means.

I'm trying to remember which DVD we watched recently that had the trailer for "The Bank Job," because I immediately added it to my Netflix queue. Was it "Eastern Promises"? Or "In Bruges"? Something similarly dark and violent but with a certain amount of fun in it too. In any event, today we saw a half-dozen trailers for movies to add to our queue, mostly (no surprise) Lionsgate films featuring Jason Statham.

Friday iPod Random Ten

1. I Shall Be Released - The Band
2. Make Me a Pallet - David Bromberg
3. She's More to Be Pitied (live) - Son Volt
4. The Moonshiner/I'm a Gambler I'm a Rambler -  Joe Ely & The Chieftains
5. Lulu Gal - Crooked Still
6. Thirty Years of Tears - John Hiatt
7. John Wesley Harding's All-Male Threesome (live) - John Wesley Harding's All-Male Threesome
8. Golden Slumbers -  Jackson Browne & Jennifer Warnes 
9. Beale Street Blues - Louis Armstrong
10. Bear Creek Blues - John Prine

Does This Shoulder Make My Butt Look Big?

Lately I'm really enjoying experimenting with pork shoulder (also known as pork butt—isn't that weird?). It's full of flavor, easy to cook, and cheap. Last night I used the slow cooker to make shredded pork for tacos.

This recipe calls for using a blender to mix up a paste for the sauce, which was a huge pain in the butt (or shoulder?). First of all, not all the pieces of pepper and onion got pureed. I had to keep opening up the blender and poking the stuff down closer to the blades. I don't think I could have used the food processor, though, because it was such a small quantity of stuff. Well, whatever you use, be sure to put a piece of plastic wrap under the lid so you don't have to wash it!

Ancho and pasilla chiles (which are large, dried peppers) are not terribly hot, but do be sure to get rid of all the seeds, where the heat resides. I also removed the seeds from the chipotles, for fear of blowing the kids' heads off. As it turned out, the flavor was not hot at all. In fact, the overwhelming flavor and scent came from the lone cinnamon stick! I might leave it out next time, or maybe not leave it in quite so long. Andy found the sweetness almost cloying, although I didn't mind it. And the leftovers I just sampled were even a little sweeter after a day in the fridge.

I served the meat with rice, soft flour tortillas, taco shells, shredded cheese, chopped tomato, and sour cream. You could offer salsa, guacamole or chopped avocado, shredded lettuce, whatever you want.

Oh, and finally, the instructions include an oven method, but I used the slow cooker because I knew I would be too busy yesterday afternoon to be in the kitchen. It worked great.

Pork Tacos

3 whole ancho chiles
3 whole pasilla chiles
4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
2–3 chipotles in adobo sauce
½ medium onion, roughly chopped
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided use
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 Tbsp kosher salt
2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
3¾ cups low-sodium chicken broth
4 lb. boneless pork shoulder (untrimmed), cut into chunks
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick

Put the ancho and pasilla chiles and the garlic in a bowl. Microwave on high until soft and pliable, 2 to 3 minutes. I don't think I did the pasillas quite long enough; there were still some very dry, papery sections. Stem and seed the chiles; peel the garlic. Transfer the chiles and garlic to a blender.

Add the chipotles, onion, 2 Tbsp oil, honey, vinegar, salt, and oregano to the blender; puree until smooth. Mine never got entirely smooth, but it didn't end up mattering. Heat the remaining 1 Tbsp oil in a large skillet over high heat; add the chile sauce and fry, stirring, until thick and fragrant, about 8 minutes. Mine was threatening to burn after about 4–5 minutes, so I moved on. Pour in the broth and reduce until slightly thickened. I had no idea how long to do this, and I think I let it go too long—you want to have enough liquid to almost submerge the meat at the beginning (you'll end up with more liquid than you need at the end anyhow). I know now that it doesn't have to get thick, so just reduce it a bit.

Place the pork in a slow cooker and season all over with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Add the bay leaves and cinnamon stick, then pour in the sauce. Cover and cook on high until the meat is tender, about 5 hours. (Or cook the meat in a large Dutch oven, covered, for 1 hour 45 minutes at 350°; uncover and cook 30 more minutes.)

Discard the bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Transfer the pork to a bowl and shred it with two forks. I also poured just a little bit of the remaining liquid over the meat to moisten and flavor it.

American POTUS in London*

I think it's so cute that the Queen carries her little purse with her even in the palace! Click here for big version of photo. (Purse stays little.)

*Update: Yes, I am fully aware that "American POTUS" is redundant, but after much internal struggle, I decided that I just couldn't resist the fun reference.

Pack It Up

The replacement battery for Steph's cellphone measures 1½" x 2". The padded envelope it came in measures 12½" x 15½".

April 1

1. Rabbit, rabbit! (Although I forgot to say it, for the bazillionth month in a row.)

2. This morning, while the kids were having breakfast, I put an astonished look on my face and went in with my laptop (as if I'd just received an email) and said, "Oh my God, school's canceled today!" They fell for it—hook, line, and sinker. Steph was particularly excited because she has MCAS today. Bwahahaha!

3. Lots of clever April Fools' Day websites are up today; my favorite so far is the one from Whole Foods. (Looks like they didn't give it a special URL, so be sure to take a peek today—I don't know whether you'll be able to see it tomorrow.)

4. Squeez Bacon! (Now what's so funny about that?)

5. It's also the first day of BAFAB week, so get out there and buy a friend a book! Or give a friend a gently used book of your own! Or regift a book you received but didn't like to someone who might better appreciate it!