Jun 9 2009

Toys, toys, toys

Category: Just Me

Seeing the holiday toy commercials this year, I know I'm done with expensive toys. Nathan and Lucie are getting books, board games, and clothing instead.

Besides being tired of brightly colored plastic monstrosities taking over my home, I know my kids rarely play with these kinds of toys. (An exception is when they're at other people's homes, where they can't get enough of brightly colored, plastic, battery powered toys.) The several hundred dollars worth of Thomas the Tank engine train tracks and cars sit in a large plastic bin in my living room. Three years after buying him the set, Nathan has yet to build a track on his own. In fact, it's gotten more use from friends coming over or Paul setting it up. It's just a matter of time before I list it on eBay.

I'm tired of the toy companies promising that their expensive, electronic toys will teach your kids their colors, numbers, or letters, too. Believe me, I used to think that the toys would do it all for you. My kids have learned from inexpensive card games like UNO or books much more than educational, electronic gadgets. In reality, parents need to play games and do activities with their kids so they learn.

Also, there's something to be said for the theory that the more expensive the toy, the less time kids spend with it. Lately my kids have more fun playing with boxes, bubble wrap, paper, stickers, and crayons than anything else. Plastic dishes, funny hats, and thrift store finery have been a big hit, too, along with toys coming from fast food meals.

But their favorite toy costs under a dollar. Nathan and Lucie received it as a gag gift at a birthday party. It's a jar of neon colored plastic goo. When you stick your fingers into it, it produces loud flatulence sounds. Both kids break into a fit of giggles when it "farts." It's been so popular, that Nathan and Lucie showed it to Miss Mary, Nathan's speech therapist. Luckily she has two almost grown boys, and can relate to potty humor.

So don't be surprised when I tell you Santa will be bringing the kids whoopee cushions this year. Santa's no dummy. He knows my kids love that kind of stuff.

Jun 8 2009

Potato soup

Category: Come and Get It

Even though we live in suburbia, until about 10 years ago this was prime agricultural (and coal mining) land. There are still several family farms close by including Miller Farms, only a 10 minute drive away. Luckily for us, Miller Farms encourages families and schools to visit to pick vegetables and learn about how food is grown.

Every year we make a trek out to Miller Farms to pick vegetables and pumpkins. This started with Nathan's preschool when he was three. The first year I went, but afterwards I had Paul go with Nathan because he could carry more vegetables than I could. They'd come back with two large bags, including potatoes, onions and turnips bigger than Nathan's head. (No, I'm not exaggerating -- the produce was huge.)

This year, the school took care of our yearly fall visit. Nathan's entire first grade class went for a full day of hayrides and digging in the mud. Lucie tagged along with a preschool friend's family. (They also have a first grader, Cameron, who was in Nathan's homeroom last year.)

Besides getting muddy, exhausted children after a farm trip, I usually get a large bag full of potatoes, onions, turnips, and carrots. Since it was late in the season, they only brought home potatoes, but that gave me the excuse to make a potage.

I do not make the classical French Potage Parmentier which has cream added to it as a thickener. Instead, I wing it with whatever I have on hand. My recipe is super simple to make (though a bit time consuming because of all the peeling and chopping). And my kids love it! The first night Nathan ate two large bowls.

Just remember, the more orange vegetables you use, the more orange-ish the soup. The more green veggies, the greener it will look. Use both and the soup will be brown. So you decide what color your kids will eat. Either way, it's a delicious, healthy dish, and perfect for those cold fall and winter nights. It's also a great way to take advantage of all the seasonal sales on potatoes and chicken broth.

Anne-Marie's Potage

Ingredients:
Vegetables. You want enough vegetables to fill 4/5 of the pot -- potatoes, carrots, leeks, onions, turnips, parsnips, garlic cloves, broccoli, cauliflower, yams, cabbage, etc. No beets or red cabbage. Feel free to add any veggies that have been getting a little old in the refrigerator. Just make sure to trim off any "yucky" bits. The mix should be at least 50% potatoes.

Chicken or veggie broth. You will need enough to cover the vegetables in the pot. 

Salt and pepper.

Herbs de Provence spice mix (I use a liberal amount of this mix, which I've already made up beforehand):

• 3 tbsp. dried marjoram
• 3 tbsp. dried thyme
• 3 tbsp. dried savory
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp. dried sage
• 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds

Preparation:
1. Wash, peel, and roughly chop up all the vegetables and place in a very large stock pot.
2. Cover with broth and season to taste.
3. Bring to a boil. Cover and lower burner so the pot simmers for 1 hour or until vegetables are soft. Do not overcook so they turn into mush, however.
4. Let cool enough to puree in a blender or food processor, or use a wand blender.
(I use a wand blender, which was much easier than transferring the cooked vegetables and broth to my Cuisinart. Just remember to unplug the wand before cleaning. I didn't once, and spent time at the emergency room getting my fingers stitched up.)
5. Serve in individual bowls. Salt and pepper to taste. For an extra bit of yumminess, serve with a pat of butter melting on the top.

May 22 2009

Caffeinated kiddos

Category: Come and Get It

Paul has come a long way from the trailer park he grew up in. Considering that his parents didn't finish high school, it's impressive that Paul has managed to not only graduate from high school, but leave college with two undergraduate and two graduate degrees.

Yet you can take the boy out of the trailer, but not the trailer out of the boy. There's something about Paul being white trash that comes out in our kitchen -- his love of cabbage fried up in bacon grease or cooking up big bowls of steamed beet leaves covered in vinegar. I've learned to like those dishes, too.

Then there's the white trash habit of letting kids drink coffee. Being true to their roots, Nathan and Lucie have developed an early love for the stuff. For most folks, coffee is an acquired taste. I didn't like it until I was in high school, but only drank coffee at the trendy cafes my friends and I hung out at way before Starbucks conquered the world. Still, I'm a diehard tea drinker. Herbal, chai, English or Asian blends...I love them all.

Paul's the family coffee drinker, having developed a strong habit in graduate school. (He's convinced that without it and beer, he wouldn't have survived college.) Weekend mornings, Paul will make himself a big mug of the stuff. But if he leaves it on the coffee table unguarded, it's a guarantee that the kids will sneak sips from it until it's gone.

There's nothing funnier than Paul picking up his mug, peering into it, and declaring, "Darn it, you kids! Who drank all my coffee?" Nathan and Lucie will then flee the scene of the crime, giggling all the way.

Just so Paul doesn't go into the coffee DTs, we've developed a recipe for kid's coffee so they can have their own mugs. You can probably find a version of this in your better white trash cookbooks.

Kid's Coffee
Take one kid sized mug and fill 1/2 to 3/4 of the way with milk. Add lots of granulated sugar, and then fill the rest of the way with coffee. Zap it in the microwave until warm but not hot. Stir and serve.

(You can also fill up a sippy cup 3/4 of the way with milk. Add some sugar and a little coffee. Then put on the lid and shake. Do not heat in microwave. Serve.)

Note:  After drinking, take the kids to school and let the teachers deal with your over-caffeinated, hyper offspring. If it's summer break, call grandma to come over and play toss in the yard so you can go back to bed.