A Mom's Year

Creating a comfortable life one moment at a time

Archives for August 2012

Country of the Week: Japan / Roasted Seaweed and Mochi

This is the face of someone who has tried roasted seaweed only to discover that it tastes like fish. And not the kind of fish that’s been slow roasted on a cedar plank with a nice ginger glaze. Nope, this was like scooping a fish out of the creek and licking it. But I give Lily and Lexie props for at least trying Trader Joe’s Roasted Seaweed Snacks. Andrew and Will took a sniff of the snacks and ran for the hills.

Apparently the snacks are wildly popular and Trader Joe’s can’t keep them on the shelves. I wanted us to like them because they’re probably super healthy, but we just couldn’t do it. Fortunately, Trader Joe’s had plenty of other options for Japan Week. [Read more…] about Country of the Week: Japan / Roasted Seaweed and Mochi

Favorite Julia Child Quotes

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Today Julia Child would have turned 100 years old. (She passed away in 2004 at the age of 91.) I remember watching her cooking show on PBS when I was growing up. I’d get my younger brother to film me doing my own show afterward, which usually involved brownies or pineapple upside-down cake. I liked Julia’s enthusiasm and can-do attitude, but it wasn’t until I was older that I understood that she brought a much-needed enthusiasm back to the American kitchen.

Here are some of her most famous quotes, beautifully rendered by talented artists around the blogosphere. [Read more…] about Favorite Julia Child Quotes

Using Our CSA / Grandma’s Summer Salad

I was so happy when I got this week’s CSA box because, among other goodies, it contained the three main ingredients needed for Grandma Campobasso’s summer salad.

It’s the simplest salad in the world to make, just a couple of chopped cucumbers, green peppers, and tomatoes tossed in a bowl with some olive oil, salt and pepper, and a dash of dried oregano. But I love it because it reminds me of visits to my grandparents when I was little. We’d pick the ingredients from their garden and Grandma would make this salad. It tastes like summer to me.

Olympic Fever / Playlist

The sight of Michael Phelps preparing for his Olympic races, headphones firmly in place, got me thinking about how I need some new workout music. Michael says he listens to Young Jeezy, Lil Wayne, and Lil Jon (lots of Lils!), but since they’re not exactly my cup of tea, I went to my fitness-loving friends on Facebook for their favorite, most motivational workout songs.

Here are their suggestions, with links to iTunes. I love that it’s a mix of old and new songs. And I had to include “Spice Up Your Life” from the Closing Ceremonies! Go Mamas!

I can’t wait to download these songs and let them work their motivational magic. If I missed your favorites, please share them in the comments! Here you go: [Read more…] about Olympic Fever / Playlist

Our Favorite New (Old) Game

At this year’s Father’s Day gathering, my aunt brought an old-fashioned Bingo game for us to play. It was a huge hit. The kids loved spinning the wire cage, watching the balls drop, and calling the numbers. Aunt Karna even had prizes for the winners.

The next time we were at Target I took a peek in the games section, hoping they had a Bingo game like hers. And they did! It’s not exactly the same, but it works. We’ve taken to playing Bingo at nearly every gathering these days. All ages can play, and the kids keep at it for hours. At a recent get-together, we actually had to drag them away from the game to go outside and make s’mores. Unheard of!

I have a bag that I keep filled with prizes—nothing fancy, just things you can find in the dollar section at Target—to add a little excitement.

And a nice added bonus is that Bingo is great practice for people working on learning their numbers!

Country of the Week: England / Trifle

I totally forgot to post the trifle we made during England Week. The kids and their schedules are driving all thoughts from my brain. Actually, it’s not them—their schedules aren’t too crazy at the moment. It must be Olympic Fever!

Have you ever had trifle? It’s a crazy-good English dessert made from custard, fruit, sponge cake, whipped cream, and (in some versions) sherry. You can get really creative with trifles: my mom makes a fantastic version with angel food cake, strawberries and bananas, and pudding, and my boss at the publishing company made one with gingerbread, whipped cream, and butterscotch pudding. Delicious. [Read more…] about Country of the Week: England / Trifle

Country of the Week: Antarctica / Blubber Gloves

You’ve probably heard of blubber, but I bet you’ve never stuck your hand inside a bag of it. But that’s what I made my children do as part of an experiment for Antarctica Week.

The Blubber Glove experiment (courtesy of the Spangler Science Labs) uses ice water and a bag filled with shortening (filling in for actual blubber) to show how those penguins and seals in Antarctica survive subfreezing air temperatures and frigid water.

Here’s a quick summary of what we did. It’s easy to do and it really works! [Read more…] about Country of the Week: Antarctica / Blubber Gloves

Country of the Week: Antarctica / Fake Snow

Antarctica isn’t a country, technically, but since Little Passports sent us this cool fake snow we’re going with it. Snow-making is probably more exciting for kids who don’t live in a land that’s covered in snow half the year, but they still enjoyed it. All you have to do is add water to the powder and stir. The funny thing is that we all expected it to be cold to the touch, but of course it wasn’t since it’s not actually snow! [Read more…] about Country of the Week: Antarctica / Fake Snow

Lily’s Birthday Party / Favors and Games

Grammy’s melting ice cream cone cake was the highlight of Lily’s party, but I think these ice cream container favors from One Charming Party were a close second.

If you want your favors to look just like theirs, you can order your pint containers from Garnish for about $1 each. I waited too long to order online, so I called a local ice cream store and asked the owner if he’d mind telling me where he bought his containers. He said he bought them in bulk from a wholesale store, so unless I needed at least 500 that option probably wouldn’t work. He asked what I needed them for and when I told him, he said he’d be happy to sell me some. So nice! [Read more…] about Lily’s Birthday Party / Favors and Games

Country of the Week: England / Bangers and Mash

We finished up England last week and are on to—well, you’ll never guess, so please come back tomorrow to find out! But before we move on I wanted to share one last thing with you.

England Week was basically us glued to the television watching the Olympics. Have you been watching? The competitions are incredible, of course, but I love the stories behind the spectacle: Lashinda Demus coming back from postpartum depression to compete in the women’s 400-meter hurdles, Oscar Pistorius racing on prosthetic legs—losing in the 400-meter semifinals but winning the adoration of the world, and Felix Sanchez sobbing on the podium after securing the gold in honor of his grandmother.

Have you heard his story? Sanchez was all set to compete in the 400-meter hurdles at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing when he found out his grandmother, the woman who had raised him, had died. He was devastated by the news and ran a poor race. But he made a promise to himself that he wouldn’t retire until he had won a medal in her honor. [Read more…] about Country of the Week: England / Bangers and Mash