verbatim

Last Night

The other day I read Stewart O'Nan's tiny little gem of a novel, Last Night at the Lobster, all in one sitting. It tells the story of Manny DeLeon, the dedicated and sensitive manager of a Red Lobster restaurant in New Britain, Connecticut, on the last day and night that they're open. The corporate powers-that-be have determined that that particular location is not showing good enough numbers, so they're being shut down. Manny will move into an assistant manager's position at an Olive Garden in a neighboring town, but he's allowed to take only five of his employees with him.

To complicate matters, it's just a few days before Christmas, and Manny still hasn't found an appropriately romantic gift for his pregnant girlfriend, Deena—nor has he gotten over his former girlfriend, Jacquie, a waitress at the restaurant. And, as if all that weren't enough, there's a major blizzard rolling in.

The descriptions of the day-to-day routines of a chain restaurant are spot-on (as confirmed by this former Memory Lane waitress), and the interrelationships among the chefs, waiters, manager, hostess, bartender, and customers (from the elderly couples to the stroller-pushing moms) are shown rather than told.

All in all, a wonderful read, even though it lasts only a couple of hours. Too much more and it would have gotten tedious, but I did wonder what would happen on Monday at the Olive Garden in Bristol.

Obama-Rama

Every time I'm browsing the book tables at Costco, I linger over Obama: The Historic Journey, the gorgeous New York Times book about President Obama. The photos are magnificent, but I also find myself reading bits and pieces and learning about Obama's life from birth right on up through the inauguration. But I never give in and buy it for myself—I just "visit" it as often as I can.

So you can imagine my delight when my friends at Mom Central sent me a copy of Obama: The Historic Journey: Young Reader's Edition, which, as you can guess, is the same book in an abridged format specifically for kids ages 9–12. It's slimmer (96 pages, compared to 237 pages) and thus less daunting, and the prose has been adapted to be easier for kids to understand. I showed it to my kids and then just left it in the living room; every now and then I notice one of them flipping through it, and they frequently come show me a picture or something interesting they read.

As for me, every time I look at this book, I get that wonderful giddy feeling I had just after Election Day and again on Inauguration Day.

Bam!

Last night I made a version of bolognese sauce that is meant to be a little lighter than the traditional kind in that it uses ground turkey and turkey bacon instead of beef and pancetta. The recipe comes courtesy of Emeril Lagasse and was really fun to make—what can I say, I like recipes that require you to keep adding stuff to a pot and waiting for each to become incorporated.

I thought it was delicious, but my family was less enthusiastic. Andy wanted more flavor (like, from beef and pancetta...), and the kids were a little weirded out by all the extraneous "stuff" (read: vegetables). I still think it's a terrific recipe, though, and perhaps we could tinker with it to get more flavor out of it. For instance, maybe keeping the ground turkey but using pancetta instead of the turkey bacon? Anyhow, here it is:

Turkey Bolognese

8 oz. turkey bacon, finely chopped

1 large onion, finely chopped

3 carrots, finely chopped

2 celery stalks, finely chopped

2 pounds lean ground turkey

¾ cup dry white wine

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste

2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

½ cup half-and-half

¼ cup chopped parsley

In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp, 10–12 minutes. (My turkey bacon was so lean that I needed to add a little olive oil to prevent it from burning.) Add onion, carrots, and celery; season with coarse salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, 8–10 minutes.

Add turkey; cook, breaking up meat with a spoon, until no longer pink, 8–9 minutes. Add wine and garlic; cook until wine has almost evaporated, 10–15 minutes. Add tomato paste; cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 7–10 minutes.

Add broth and half-and-half; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer, and cook until sauce is thick and creamy, about 30 minutes more. Stir in the parsley. (The recipe doesn't say when to add the parsley, so I consulted my cooking pals on Twitter, and they all agreed that it should go in at the very end.) Serve over pasta.

Friday iPod Random Ten

1. It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City - Bruce Springsteen  
2. Statesboro Blues - Chris Smither
3. Morning Dew (live) - Grateful Dead
4. Shame - The Avett Brothers
5. Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans - Harry Connick, Jr.   
6. Seven Little Indians - John Hiatt
7. I Wanna Be Loved - Elvis Costello
8. Genius of Love - Tom Tom Club
9. America the Beautiful (live) - Martin Sexton 
10. Spar Wid Me - English Beat

Steak and Rice

We eat beef about once a week, and it's usually grilled rib-eyes for me and Andy, and marinated steak tips for the kids. Last night I tried a different marinade, and it surprisingly didn't taste much different, despite the maple syrup. The kids (and I) gobbled it down. You could obviously use any cut of meat that you like; the original recipe called for sirloin flap steaks, whatever that means.

Marinade for Steak Tips

3 Tbsp soy sauce
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 Tbsp maple syrup
4 garlic cloves, pressed
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper

The recipe called for using a blender; next time I think I will just whisk it. Anyhow, in both recipes it seems to be the balsamic vinegar that does the trick, but it's nice to have an alternative concoction in case I run out of brown sugar or something. Give it a try and see what you think. (The recipe calls for only about 15 minutes of marinating, which is very helpful at the end of a long day!)

With the steak we had vegetable fried rice. All the recipes I've ever seen for fried rice say that you really have to use day-old cold, dry rice to get an authentic Chinese texture. It's rare that we have much leftover rice from Chinese takeout, and I always forget to order extra, but this week we had a whole quart sitting in the fridge. (Ming Tsai says that you if you don't have day-old rice, you can spread out freshly cooked rice in a single layer on a baking sheet, and then place it in the freezer to cool and dry.)

This recipe is really just a guideline; you can do almost anything and not go wrong. Use any vegetables you want, but keep in mind that some denser veggies may need to cook for an extra minute or two. I had no time for chopping up lots of vegetables, so I just bought a bag of frozen corn, peas, carrots, and green beans—yes, I did! The whole thing took less than 10 minutes from start to finish.

Vegetable Fried Rice

3 Tbsp vegetable oil, divided use
3–4 cups chopped vegetables (A bag of frozen works great!)
4 scallions (both white and green parts), thinly sliced
2 large garlic cloves, pressed
4 cups cold steamed white rice
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce (Somehow this seemed like a lot to me, so I used only about 3 Tbsp, but the full 4 Tbsp would have been fine.)

Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the vegetables and stir-fry until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the scallion and garlic and cook for another minute. Add the rice and cook, stirring to break up the clumps of rice, until heated through, about 5 minutes. [Update: I usually like to give this a little longer, to get some of the rice kind of browned and crunchy.]

Push everything to the edges of the pan to make a "well" in the center. Add the last tablespoon of oil to the well and then add the beaten eggs. Stir-fry the eggs in the well until they are almost fully scrambled, then stir the scrambled eggs into the rice and veggie mixture. Stir in the soy sauce and serve.

Am I a Skinny Cow?

The lovely ladies at Mom Central recently sent me a coupon for a free package of ice cream sandwiches from The Skinny Cow! Can you imagine how fast I drove to the market? Out of the seven varieties available, I chose Cookies 'n' Cream—aka crunched-up Oreos swirled into low-fat vanilla ice cream, then smushed between two big chocolate cookies. Oh, behave!

They're delicious, and they also come in mint, chocolate, chocolate–peanut butter, vanilla, and strawberry shortcake. But here's the best part: Each sandwich has only 150 calories and 2 grams of fat. That is really not bad for such a yummy treat. (Reference point: A good-sized chocolate-chip cookie has 220 calories and 10 grams of fat.) In addition to ice cream sandwiches, the Skinny Cow also offers several flavors of cones and bars to choose from.

So, yes, I got these for free—but I will absolutely buy them in the future. There is a place and a time for really indulgent desserts, no question, but for those day-to-day sweet-tooth cravings, these ice cream sandwiches really fit the bill.

Walk the Plank

I'm currently editing a cookbook that is all about "planking"—that is, cooking food on a hardwood plank atop a grill (or even in the oven). I have never tried this technique, and I'd previously heard of it only for fish (the ubiquitous cedar-planked salmon), but this book has recipes for "planked" cheese, vegetables, chicken, and even beef. I'm intrigued enough that I intend to buy a plank and give it a whirl. I'll let you know how it goes.

But what I want to say here is that after several days with this manuscript, "plank" no longer even remotely resembles a real English word. Plank Plank Plank.

In the Swim

Our neighborhood pool opened on Saturday, but Pete still had a slight fever, so Andy decided to keep everyone home (I was at my reunion). Yesterday we got the kids all lotioned up and suited up and headed over. As soon as they jumped in, there was a rumble of thunder, and they had to get out. (Pammy was quick to remind me that last summer, I could cause the rain to fall just by bringing my kids to the pool! Here's hoping I am not quite so powerful this year.)

We dropped Pete at a pal's house, and Steph and I went off to run errands. Shortly after, Andy and Julie went back to the pool and had a grand time. While we were all gone, she decided to try taking the deep-end test, despite the fact that I had suggested she wait a week or two until she was back in the swing of things in terms of both endurance and form. (They have to swim one length of the pool doing the crawl and one length any stroke, then tread water for 2 minutes.) Well, Andy thought she looked ready—and she was! She passed! She wanted to keep it a secret until today, but she told me—and it's just as well, because I would have had a heart attack if she'd gone with her original plan of just jumping in the deep end today without letting me know! She was doing a great job of holding her secret but then caved and told Pete last night too. But she didn't let Steph know until we were all there today. She said, "I have a surprise for you!" and jumped in! Steph was very impressed, and Julie was very proud. She swam all afternoon, grinning the whole time.

The other big swimming news for Julie is that we bought her prescription goggles, and they are wonderful! A friend had told me about them at the end of last summer, and I checked with Dr. Bhatt, who OK'd the idea. They cost only $30, and they are amazing. It's like a whole different world for Julie now, because when she takes off her glasses, her left eye crosses and she sees double. That's how she spends most of her summer, seeing (blurry) pairs of everything. Now she can see! I am just thrilled. My only regret is that we waited all these years to get them.

Reunited

Yesterday was my much-anticipated 25th reunion at Wesleyan! It was a great day, from start to finish. I drove down in the morning and immediately met up with a dear friend I hadn't seen in probably 20 years, which was wonderful. Over the course of the day, I spent time with two other good friends, as well as countless other friends and acquaintances—and quite a few other people I hadn't even known at Wesleyan! For such a small school, I'm always amazed at how many I didn't know when I was there (and I wasn't exactly a hermit there, as you can probably imagine). I took in a couple of seminars but was mostly happier to just shmooze with everyone.

I had a surreal sense of the familiar and the unfamiliar at the same time, in terms of both the campus itself and the people. Was that building there back in '84? What was there before they put up that brand-spanking-new University Center? Is that who I think it is? What is that person's name? (Thank goodness for name tags!)

The weather was beautiful all day, so we got to hang out on Foss Hill and chat—unlike our 20th, which was a damp, raw day and sent us running for cover in small groups. The traditional roll down the hill in honor of our classmates who've died (don't ask—I really don't know how it got started; and no, I didn't take part) naturally reminded me of my friend who was murdered last month. And, both because people knew that we'd been friends and because I'm the Class Secretary, I was asked many times throughout the day about the sordid details of that story. It turned out to be not as depressing as I feared—and almost cathartic to be able to talk about it a lot. There was also quite a bit of talk around campus about the student who was murdered there a couple of weeks ago.

People were still doing quite a bit of socializing after dinner, and I would have gladly stayed for another hour, but I didn't want to be driving into the wee hours, so I hit the road at about 9:30 and was in bed, still smiling, by 11:30.

(Oh, and for those of you who have been scanning frantically for this crucial information: Yes, Pete's fever finally broke, so I did manage to get a pedicure on Friday. Phew.)

He'll Be a Man -- in 2 Years

This has to be a cosmic prank: Just as I'm starting to face the reality of Steph's Bat Mitzvah in February, I receive a letter telling me that Pete's Bar Mitzvah will be June 9, 2012. Oy squared!

But, speaking of Pete, he made it through last night without spiking a fever, so now I can head off to my Wesleyan reunion without worry. Well, I'm not sure I've ever done anything completely without worry, but at least it will be in the background as usual. I'll report back tomorrow.

Friday iPod Random Ten

1. Bartender's Blues - George Jones & James Taylor 
2. When the Saints Go Marching In (live) - Bruce Springsteen & the Sessions Band
3. Diner (live) - Martin Sexton
4. Ever Fallen in Love - Fine Young Cannibals
5. From the Rivers to the Oceans - Bill Callahan
6. New York - Cat Power
7. Get Down River - Bottle Rockets
8. Evangeline - Emmylou Harris & The Band
9. Still Crazy After All These Years (live) - Paul Simon
10. Sin City (live) - Uncle Tupelo

Big Love, Ugly Feet

One good reason not to leave your pedicure until the last day before your college reunion: Your son might wake up with 102° fever. Poor little guy. I know I'm a big worrier anyhow, but somehow when my kids are sick, I almost feel sick too. There was a story on NPR yesterday that mentioned a theory called "quantum entanglement":

Once two particles have interacted, if you separate them, even by miles, they behave as if they're still connected. So far, this has only been demonstrated on the subatomic level. But could people in close relationships — couples, siblings, parent and child — also be "entangled"? Not just emotionally, and psychologically — but also physically?

Who knows. But more importantly: Will my feet be sandal-worthy tomorrow? Only if I can sneak over to the salon after Andy gets home tonight.

8.5 Months to Go

We recently went to our very first Bar Mitzvah at our own temple. It was exciting (and a little scary!) to watch and imagine Steph (and us) doing all that stuff come February.

Steph has been meeting with her tutor once a week to go over her Torah portion, but they won't meet from mid-June to mid-September, so it'll practically be back to square 1 at that point. She's also been volunteering at Cradles to Crayons for her community service project. Their mission is "to provide, free of charge, low-income and homeless children from birth to pre-teen the basic essentials they need to be safe, warm, ready to learn, and valued." I'm hoping to figure out a way to tie that work in to her party. One friend suggested doing some kind of centerpiece for the tables (in lieu of pricey flowers that will be dead in a day or two), like brand-new toys with balloons tied to them, later to be donated to C2C. I like that idea.

As for me, I finally broke my event-anxiety paralysis and hired a DJ for the party! And I made a few calls to caterers and am nearly ready to pull the trigger on that one too! Woo-hoo! Then it's just a matter of finding a photographer, a florist, and an invitation lady, and making some sort of plan for a kiddush right after the ceremony. Oh, and fancy-shmancy dresses for Steph, Julie, and me, and something nicer than cargo pants and a T-shirt for Pete. And everything else I forgot or don't even know about.

Oy.

Link Link Link

1. Watch as a man's life flashes before his eyes in 42 seconds. Wow.

2. Check out this Flickr photostream, which contains several clever examples of "Famous Movie Moments Conducted Through iChat." You get Scarlett and Rhett, Darth and Luke, and more.

3. Wow, I've never even read an interview with Jeffrey Eugenides, and now I get to watch one! I'm relieved that he's just as likable as I had hoped after reading his novels. The bad news is that his next novel is still a few years off.

I Am Terminated

(Git yer own here.)

To Whom It May Concern

I'm trying to expand my client base these days and wonder whether my standard cover letter (and even possibly my resume?) is woefully dull or old-fashioned. It's been many years since I worked in-house and was on the receiving end of such letters, so I don't know what the current style is.

Whenever possible, I address a cover letter to the person in question ("Dear Joe Shmoe"). Sometimes an ad will provide the appropriate person's name, or a friend or former colleague has given me the name of someone to contact, or I can do a little research within a company to find out whom I need to contact. I've also been known to write "Dear Managing Editor" or the like if a job title is all the information I have.

But sometimes I answer a blind ad (often from Craigslist), and I have no contact person's name or job title or even company name. For instance, imagine a listing that says simply “Small publishing house specializing in regional cookbooks seeks experienced freelance copyeditor” with a generic email address like “[email protected]” In those cases, I fall back on the old reliable, "To whom it may concern." A while back I asked the folks on Twitter how they would address such a cover letter. Specifically, I asked whether there was any preference between "To whom it may concern" and "Dear Sir or Madame"—or whether there was something else I hadn't thought of. No one felt too strongly about either one (or offered any better alternatives), but as I recall, slightly more people preferred "To whom it may concern."

A couple of days ago I was Googling and came across a guy who maintains that "To whom it may concern" is the kiss of death, but he doesn't address the issue of what to use instead in the case of a blind ad. He talks only about the importance of doing research to find a person's name when you are directing a cover letter to a particular department within a known company. I left a comment asking him what he would suggest for a blind ad response, but he hasn't replied (yet?).

What do you all think? Are you still seeing/using "To whom it may concern"? Would you automatically discard a letter addressed that way? Got any other tips for me?

Duet

Today was my Julie's recital! We were both nervous. I thought my heart was going to leap out of my chest. She played her first two pieces beautifully; then came our duet. We played "The Trout" by Franz Schubert. Double-click to watch—it's only about a minute long:

I made a mistake about halfway through, but luckily it didn't mess Julie up at all. I was so nervous that I couldn't even tell if I was reading the music or just playing from memory or looking my hands or what. In case there was any doubt about whether I should have become a professional performer of some sort, this settled it.

Oh, and you can thank Cameraman Pete for the close-ups of the shoulders of the couple sitting in front of him. But in truth, the original Flip video I can watch on my computer is better than this one—the piano is front and center the whole time, and we are not cut off at all. Anyone know why it changed when I uploaded it? (Update: Hmm, now when I watch it from Google Reader, it looks fine. Tell me: Do you see the whole thing framed pretty normally, or is it all over the place? For instance, at the end, can you see me lean over and kiss Julie?)

Head of State

President Barack Obama bends over so the son of a White House staff member can pat his head during a family visit to the Oval Office May 8, 2009. The youngster wanted to see if the President's haircut felt like his own. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

It must be fun to be a White House photographer when you get a photo op like this one—after a long day of boring photos of Obama having a meeting or standing at a podium or giving a speech. (Hat-tip Head-tip to Nancy for this one. I keep forgetting how much fun it is to check out the official White House photostream.)

The Ides of May

I joked on Twitter the other day that I might never have had kids if I'd known how much time I'd have to spend on paperwork for them! Who knew that there would be endless forms to fill out—permission slips, registrations forms, medical records, emergency notification cards, and on and on. It definitely comes in waves, though; right now I'm doing the summer camp stuff and registration for Hebrew school next fall. Some of the online forms are wonderful, because they automatically populate all the fields for the shared info within a family (like address and phone number) and then you just have to go in and add each kid's name and birth date. But almost everything we do is still on paper, and I get tired of writing it all out each time. If I had a personal assistant, that would be the first job I'd delegate. (Followed quickly by cleaning the humidifiers. Ugh.)

It's hard to believe that we have just 5½ weeks left of school. Steph gets exactly one day off before she leaves for camp—good thing we didn't have any more snow days than we did! As school winds down, though, activities briefly ramp up. There are concerts and in-class presentations, plus the never-ending sports schedules. At this time of year we're always busy-busy-busy, and then all of a sudden it's ... nothing. I'm looking forward to a little nothingness, actually.

Friday iPod Random Ten

1. Blackberry Blossom - Michelle Shocked
2. Honky Tonk Girl - Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3. The Main Street Moan - David Bromberg
4. On Your Radio (live) - Joe Jackson
5. Shape I'm In- The Band
6. Birds - Paul Weller
7. City of New Orleans - Steve Goodman & John Prine
8. Civilians - Joe Henry
9. Three Days - k.d. lang
10. Hurts Me Too (live) - Grateful Dead

Wicked Smart

 

Remember that old Maxell ad with the guy getting his head practically blown off by the music? That's how my brain felt while I watched this demonstration of WolframAlpha, the new Google-killer. Set aside 13 minutes and 23 seconds sometime today and watch. Really. Holy crap.

Who Needs Another Sheepskin?

Along with many people, I was stunned when Arizona* State University invited President Obama to deliver their commencement address—and then refused to present him with an honorary degree because they felt that he hadn't yet made "significant contributions to education and society over the course of [his] career." Aside from being president of the United States, that is—and the first African-American president at that! And having been a U.S. senator. And an Illinois state senator. And a constitutional law professor for 12 years before that. And a community organizer. (But enough about education and society!)

Anyhow, ASU quickly back-pedaled and decided to name a scholarship program after him, which I'm sure Obama thinks is better than an ASU honorary degree anyhow. I guess that a B.A. from Columbia and a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School will just have to suffice. Oh yeah, and the presidency thing.

I love how he started off his address:

Now, before I begin, I'd like to clear the air about that little controversy everyone was talking about a few weeks back. I have to tell you, I really thought it was much ado about nothing, although I think we all learned an important lesson. I learned to never again pick another team over the Sun Devils in my NCAA bracket. And your university President and Board of Regents will soon learn all about being audited by the IRS.

*Of course we know that Arizona was the third-to-last state (before New Hampshire and South Carolina) to recognize Martin Luther King, Jr. day as a holiday, but I digress. (Thanks to Gerry for correct info on this!)

Crime

Across from the Waban T stop, there are 6 storefronts in an L-shape: Bank of America, Starbucks, shoe repair shop, Village Bank, new ice cream place (formerly hair salon), and post office. Yesterday I made a deposit at Bank of America (and took a photo of the ATM) and then walked to the post office to buy 200 Simpsons stamps (OK, OK, I got carried away—Steph better be prepared to write a lot of letters home from camp!). I obviously walked by the Village Bank, never thinking twice.

Well, today, at just about the same time, the Village Bank was robbed! It's unthinkable! No information has been released yet. The kids had indoor recess in the afternoon (the school is not even ¼ mile away), and parents had to pick them up inside the school at dismissal time, just in case. The kids were not told exactly why, just that there had been "an incident" in Waban Center. (Julie, and probably half the other kids, thought it was "an accident.") That way parents could explain it however they wanted to.

This is the second time recently that I've been stunned by a criminal act hitting close to home. The first time, however, was an old "home": the murder of a 20-year-old student at Wesleyan last week. What a shocker. Can you imagine being the parent of a student there during the campus lockdown (let alone the parents of the victim—I'm not even going there)? Oy. Meanwhile, I'm driving down there for my 25th reunion next week, and there's no way I would have gone if they hadn't caught the guy yet.

Life's Great Mystery

How come the numbers go from bottom to top on calculators:

 

and adding machines:

and computer keypads:

 

but from top to bottom on telephones:

 

and ATMs:

 

I'm sure someone out there will know. My money's on Dr. Momentum.

She's Catching Up!

Steph hit a long-awaited milestone yesterday: The 5-feet-tall mark!

Go Mets?

Pete's Little League team hasn't won a game yet. We came the closest on Friday, when the ump made the most surprising, controversial call imaginable. (I won't bother to go into details here.) Despite what you've heard, there is crying in baseball. Even coaches and parents from other teams are buzzing about it—the emails and phone calls and chit-chat have not abated. It's insane how worked up some people have gotten.

Pete has mostly been playing second base; he pitched only once, and it didn't go too well. He is wildly inconsistent—no one gets a hit off him; he either strikes them out or walks them. Then the other night he tried catching. Last year he was in AA, which doesn't allow bunting or stealing bases, so the less confident players were generally put in the catcher position, because there wasn't much action. This year, in AAA, with seemingly nonstop bunting and stealing, it's a crucial position, so he gave it a try. And he loved it! And he was good at it! He made some nice stops, and he has a great arm—he even got someone out who was stealing third. It also keeps him focused, which is no small feat for these 10-year-olds. He caught a whole (6-inning) game.

His batting hasn't been up to snuff either, although he did have a nice bunt on Friday, and a decent base hit. Last night, however, he hit a doozy of a triple. I don't know who was grinning harder, him or me.

Well, we have about 10 zillion more games this season, so here's hoping we win one. In any event, I think it's safe to say that Pete probably won't win back-to-back World Series!

Mother's Day Sentiment

My family gave me a whole load of Mother's Day cards this morning! One from Andy says on the front:

"Motherhood: A summary."

And inside:

Holy crap!
It's hard.
The End.
(Happy Mother's Day to someone who makes it look easy.)

And Andy wrote, "Don't think I don't notice."

Laughing at the Prez

Barack Obama has a good sense of humor. Here are some of my favorite lines from his speech at last night's White House Correspondents' Association dinner:

• "Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers in the audience. I do have to say, though, that this is a tough holiday for Rahm Emanuel because he's not used to saying the word 'day' after 'mother.'"
• "[Hillary Clinton and I] had been rivals during the campaign. But these days we could not be closer. In fact, the second she got back from Mexico, she pulled me into a hug and gave me a big kiss. Told me I had better get down there myself."
• "I've cut the tension by bringing a new friend to the White House. He's warm, he's cuddly, loyal, enthusiastic. You just have to keep him on a tight leash. Every once in a while he goes charging off in the wrong direction and gets himself into trouble. But enough about Joe Biden."
• "In the next hundred days, I will meet with a leader who rules over millions with an iron fist, who owns the airwaves and uses his power to crush all who would challenge his authority at the ballot box. It's good to see you, Mayor Bloomberg."
• "In the next hundred days, I will strongly consider losing my cool."

Oldie But Goodie

This video of Elvis Costello and Glen Tilbrook doing "From a Whisper to a Scream" (c. 1981) makes me feel young and old at the same time:

Friday iPod Random Ten

1. (Dawning of a) New Era - The Specials
2. Dona Got a Ramblin' Mind - Carolina Chocolate Drops
3. Can't Stop Thinking About You - Martin Sexton
4. Mexico (live) - James Taylor
5. Say a Little Prayer - Shawn Colvin
6. Five Years Old - Loudon Wainwright III
7. Don't Bet Money on the Shanghai - BR5-49
8. Slippery People - Talking Heads
9. My Oklahoma Home (live) - Bruce Springsteen
10. You've Got to Hide Your Love Away - Elvis Costello

Fried Cow

Vaca Frita (Crispy Beef)

1½ pounds flank steak, cut into 4 pieces
1 green bell pepper, cored and quartered
2 large onions—1 halved, 1 thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
2 garlic cloves, mashed to a paste with ½ tsp salt
¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp (6 Tbsp total) fresh lime juice
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

In a pot, combine the steak with the bell pepper, halved onion, and bay leaf. Add enough water to cover and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderate heat for 20 minutes. Transfer the steak to a work surface and let cool. (Discard broth, onions, and pepper.) Shred the meat and transfer it to a bowl. (I found the meat tougher than I expected; I really had to work it with two forks and my fingers to shred.)

Stir the garlic-salt paste into the meat, along with the lime juice, olive oil, and sliced onion. Let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or up to 1½ hours.

Heat a large, flat griddle until very hot. Working in batches, spread the shredded beef (and sliced onions, if desired) on the griddle in a thin layer and season with salt and pepper. Cook over high heat, turning once or twice, until sizzling and crispy in spots, about 6 minutes per batch. Transfer to a platter and serve.

This was delicious—even the kids thought so! I served it with Rice and Beans, tortillas, and all the other usual fixin's.

Rain Date

I just knew it would rain today, because it was (1) Massachusetts Walk-to-School Day and (2) the first-grade field trip to Fenway Park. Sure enough, the day dawned overcast and wet. We walk to school every day anyhow, but this was supposed to be the day that all those other people walk instead of driving. The kids had been sent home with pinwheel-making kits (a paper template, a pencil, a pin, and several beads) that they were to decorate and assemble and "plant" in the school garden. Luckily, it was just barely sprinkling when we left the house, and the garden was already looking quite festive when we arrived:

I had about a half hour to kill before boarding the school bus for Fenway (You didn't think I'd pass up this chaperoning opportunity, did you?), so I put my teacup on top of Julie's cubby and hung up my umbrella on one of her hooks. Then I reached into my coat pocket for my camera to see how the pinwheel photos came out, but it wasn't there, nor in any of my other pockets! Huh?

I looked on top of Julie's cubby, figuring that I had put it next to my teacup. I looked in her classroom, where I'd gone in for a second to tell her I'd be right back. Nothing. I went down to Pete's classroom to see whether I'd left it in there when I said goodbye to him. No. I retraced my steps out and back into the building. I asked in the office if anyone had turned in a camera. I couldn't believe it had just vanished! I was pretty sure I hadn't dropped it, because I would have heard it fall, and I certainly didn't think anyone had reached into my pocket and swiped it. But I looked everywhere and asked everyone, and it was gone.

I was just about to give up when I remembered the old saying that you always find what you're looking for in the first place you looked, the second time you look there. Back I went to Julie's cubby, but it wasn't there. I looked inside her jacket pockets and backpack in case it had fallen in. Nope. Then I thought, "What did I do after I put my teacup down?" I had hung up my umbrella. So I took it off the hook, and there at the tapered bottom was a small rectangular bulge! I must have knocked the camera off the cubby and into the umbrella, then fastened the velcro strip around the umbrella and hung it up! Phew.

If I hadn't found it, I wouldn't have been able to take this shot of Julie atop the Green Monster:

The tour was fun. We learned a lot of trivia (including the story of the lone red seat out in the green bleachers), saw old Sox jerseys through the years and the 6 Cy Young awards (Can you name them? Hover your mouse here to see the answer.), learned about the retired numbers, got to see the rooftop seats, and more.

And the sun even came out before we had to head back to school.

Aporkalypse Now

OK, so a student at one of the middle schools (not Steph's, but right next door, due to a bizarre use of buildings in Newton) has a "probable" case of swine flu—I mean H1N1. This afternoon we got a robocall from the superintendent telling us that there's no reason to panic or close the schools or do anything we wouldn't normally do for the regular old seasonal flu. I applaud this response.

If you had to guess, how many people in the U.S. would you say die of the "regular" flu every year? Give up? How does 36,000 grab you? Did you think it was that large a number? I bet not. In 2009 so far, some 13,000 people in the U.S. have already died of seasonal flu. But we don't cancel school or close public buildings or freak out, do we? No, we don't.

The swine flu—I mean H1N1—is weird for a number of reasons (it passed from animals to humans, it seems to hit young, healthy people, and so on), but it's not a reason to get your undies in a twist. Pretend it's the regular flu and do what you'd normally do. Keep yourself or your kid home if you're feverish, wash your hands, sneeze into your elbow, and, for heaven's sake, don't stop eating bacon.

The Family Dinner

Last night when I was soliciting ideas on Twitter for future blog posts, @GabbyGail suggested, "Over busyness. The importance of family meals vs. keeping your kids involved in extracurriculars. Tough balance." Tough indeed! This was the very topic I addressed in a post for Foodie Mama back in October. I'm no longer posting over there, but I went back and reread what I'd written, and I liked it. So I'm reposting it here:

The Family Dinner

Ah, the Family Dinner! Picture the whole family seated around the table, smiling and passing bowls and platters, chowing down while discussing the day. You do that every single night, don't you? What?

Let's not kid ourselves here: Everyone thinks the Family Dinner is a good idea. No one thinks it's doable 365 days a year.

There. I've gone and said it: In my house, we don't all sit down together at the table every night to enjoy our dinner. Sure, most of the time we do, but on those other nights? Well, it just so happens now and then that there is not a single window of time in which everyone is home and awake. On Tuesdays in my house, the only opportunity for a Family Dinner is 5:45–5:55, if everyone and everything are ready at the stroke of 5:45, and we chew quickly. You know what? It’s not worth it. So on Tuesdays, the kids get a “catch as catch can” dinner, which means a turkey hot dog or a bowl of Annie’s mac & cheese or whatever they choose. Andy and I eat later, at our leisure—and usually it's something the kids don’t much care for anyhow, like duck à l’orange or lamb chops. With a bottle of wine. And grownup conversation. Talk about a win-win!

I have friends who will move earth and sky just to make sure everyone is sitting down together at dinner every night, even if it means that no one is happy about it. Don’t get me wrong, I think that the Family Dinner is wonderful when it works. But I will not sacrifice my sanity or my family's nutrition or digestive health to make it happen. It's a good thing, but it's not the only good thing. If your kids are starving and sleepy by the time Dad gets home from work, or there's soccer practice from 5:30 to 6:30, or you cannot even imagine cooking anything after the hellish day you've had, give yourself a break. I hereby give you permission to declare it French Toast and Bacon for Dinner Night!

I'll tell you another secret: This flexibility makes kids appreciate both the "catch as catch can" nights and the Family Dinner nights all the more. They're delighted to have soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner once in a while, but they also get excited when we're all sitting together sharing steak or spaghetti.

We always lights candles on the table for Family Dinner, just to make it feel special. While we eat, we go around the table with, "Hey, hey, what do you say? What was your favorite thing today?" It's corny as all get-out, but eventually everyone gets the floor, and that's how we end up finding out what the others were up to all day. (We usually go backward after that, with "What was your worst thing today?" to get the gripes out in the open too.) I believe my kids will someday look back fondly on their childhood and remember these meals—even if they don't happen every night.

So, I recommend enjoying the Family Dinner whenever you can make it happen. But don't beat yourself up over it when it's the course of most resistance. Cut yourself some slack and try again tomorrow.

By Request

About an hour ago, I asked my pals on Twitter for some suggestions for blog topics, and did they ever come through for me! I think I got enough fodder for a week's worth of blog posts.

Today I'll knock off a few of the food-related suggestions.

@drmomentum asks, "What's your favorite kind of chocolate and why?" Well, that's an easy one: dark chocolate all the way. I don't have a favorite brand; pretty much all of the high-end dark chocolates out there will do the trick for me. I actively dislike milk chocolate—I'd rather have no chocolate than milk chocolate (except for M&Ms, for some reason). I don't like chocolate with fruit flavor (I frequently see dark chocolate with orange or raspberry), and I don't mind nuts but I'd prefer they be left out. One of my favorite taste sensations is to take a bite of some dark chocolate, hold it in my mouth, and then swish some red wine in there. It's like a cherry just exploded in my mouth! Promise me you'll try it.

@kdjmom3 wonders, "Why everything tastes better with pesto!" Because it has lots of garlic in it, probably! Honestly, look at the ingredients: basil, olive oil, pine nuts, garlic, and Parmesan cheese—how could it not be awesome? My stand-by recipe is here. The only problem with pesto is that Andy doesn't care for it. Wah!

@salisburydowns suggests, "How about what mums REALLY want for mothers day, including a recipe that any dad/child could do?" I don't know about other mothers, but all I want on Mother's Day is to be with my family. I think Dad and the kids could easily make you pancakes, no?

"Dinner and a Movie" Lives!

Last night Steph and Pete were both sleeping at friends' houses, so Andy and I were free as birds! Oh wait, no we weren't, we still had Julie home. Dang. But it did give us a glimpse into the future when there is a possibility that all three children will be away at sleepovers and Andy and I can, um, do whatever we used to do before we had kids. If we can remember what any of those things are. At the very least, we could go out without having to spring for a babysitter.

In any event, the good news is that Julie goes to bed at 8:00, so we fed her early and revisited our old habit of having "date night" in the living room. Long-time Verbatim readers will recall that when our kids were little, we used to put them to bed, cook ourselves something far too sophisticated for their palates, spread out a picnic blanket on the rug, open a bottle of wine, and insert the latest Netflix offering into the DVD. It's been a long time since we could do that, so last night was really nice.

We watched "Milk," which I'd been dying to see. It fully lived up to all the raves I'd heard and read. Sean Penn was outstanding. As soon as I saw his face on the screen, I could no longer even picture the real Milk in my brain. He just took over. Even though I of course knew how the story would end, it was fascinating to watch it play out. I think this was the first time I'd seen James Franco, Emile Hirsch, and Diego Luna, who were all terrific, as was Josh Brolin. I thought that the era was recreated very convincingly, what with all the bad moustaches and faux-grainy news footage.

We made a really delicious new recipe:

Beef Ribs with Orange and Smoked Paprika Sauce 

⅔ cup sweet orange marmalade
¼ cup Sherry vinegar
2 Tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp smoked paprika* (plus more for sprinkling)
1¼ tsp ground cumin (plus more for sprinkling)
6 meaty beef back ribs (not short ribs, which require long, slow cooking)

*Not to be confused with regular paprika! This stuff is awesome. You might find it labeled Pimentón Dulce or Pimentón de La Vera Dulce.

Heat grill on medium-low. Combine all ingredients besides ribs in small bowl. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Transfer half of sauce to small pitcher and reserve.

Sprinkle ribs on all sides with extra paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper. Grill 20 minutes, turning occasionally. Brush ribs with some sauce from bowl. Grill until slightly charred and cooked to medium-rare, brushing with remaining sauce in bowl, about 15 more minutes. Transfer ribs to platter. Drizzle with some of reserved sauce in pitcher and sprinkle with salt and pepper; pass remaining sauce.

I made 7 ribs, but next time I think I'll get 8; we were both looking for a few more bites. Alongside I served roasted asparagus and one of my favorite quick side dishes, Trader Joe's Harvest Grains blend, which contains Israeli couscous, red and green orzo, baby garbanzo beans, and red quinoa. I make it with low-sodium chicken broth instead of water.

The Sound of Music

Here's what the bustling crowds at a train station in Antwerp got treated to one morning last month:

(Update: For some reason, this doesn't load anymore, so go here instead.)

Anyone who isn't smiling by the end of this has a chunk of black coal where their heart should be.

(According to the YouTube description, this was a publicity stunt for a Belgian television program, and the more than 200 dancers had had only two rehearsals before this performance!)

What's the News?

Specifically, the Boston Globe, which might cease publication after tomorrow's edition. It's hard to imagine. Unthinkable, really. (via)

Friday iPod Random Ten

1. Swamp - Talking Heads
2. St. Joseph's - The Avett Brothers
3. Speed of the Sound of Loneliness - Nanci Griffith & John Prine
4. All the Way from Italy - The Greencards
5. Nashville Radio - Jon Langford
6. Ranking Full Stop (live) - English Beat
7. I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow - The Soggy Bottom Boys
8. I'm Shipping Up to Boston - Dropkick Murphys 
9. Luck in My Eyes - k.d. lang
10. Cold Shot (live) - Stevie Ray Vaughan