Fries, Anyone?

I recently finished reading Michael Pollan's 2001 nonfiction work, The Botany of Desire. In the last chapter Mr. Pollan drives out to a potato farm to see how conventional potatoes are grown. The farmer he interviews gives a detailed (and terrifying) list of the pesticides and herbicides needed to grow his perfect Russett Burbanks. I thought I'd compile the information here for my readers.

On one field, in a single growing season, the following are applied:
1. Soil fumigant (kills all microbial life in the soil)
2. Lexam, Sencor, or Eptam (an herbicide to kill weeds)
3. Thimet (an insecticide)
4. More herbicide
5. Ten weekly sprayings of chemical fertilizer
6. Bravo (a fungicide)
7. Monitor (a deadly chemical known to damage the human nervous system)
After Monitor has been sprayed, the farmer forbids anyone from entering the field for several days.

If, like me, this list is making you feel a little queasy, you may want to avoid McDonald's fries. They are made from Russett Burbanks grown on farms exactly like this one. So are Ore-Ida fries in the freezer section, and basically any fries from fast-food chains. The only way to be sure you are getting pesticide-free potatoes is to ask the farmer who planted them (like at a farmer's market) or buy certified organic.

If you have children, be especially cautious. Studies have shown that these kinds of chemicals show a far greater presence in children because their bodies are smaller. They are basically getting a much stronger dose of poisons. And because their brains are still growing, the herbicides, fungicides, and pesticides may interrupt or interfere with vital development.

Overall the conventional way of growing potatoes is not sustainable. It damages the earth and poses many health risks for people. By purchasing and demanding more organic options, you can hope your next order of fries is not served up with a side of poison.

Julie and Jennifer

Ways I am Exactly Like Julie Powell
ie: Why I will soon be rich and famous
1. I like to cook. Julie Powell likes to cook.
2. I have a wonderful husband who tolerates my many eccentricities. Same for Julie.
3. I consider myself a wanna-be writer. So did Julie Powell.
4. Julie and I both have fat cats.
5. The blogging, of course.

Ways I am Nothing Like Julie Powell
ie: Why I will never be rich and famous
1. I do not live in New York City.
2. I have two small children who take up... my entire life.
3. I have no cool year-long project for readers to rally around.
4. I can't swear online. I just can't do it.
5. About a million more people are blogging now... so very limited chance that my blog will be singled out for any kind of... movie deal.

So there it is. My life as it stands in comparison to Julie Powell's life. Sad.

Eleven Years and Counting

So here I am on a Thursday night wandering around the house looking for something to do besides go to sleep. My kids fell asleep about two hours ago. So did my husband. He didn't turn in early because he was tired. He didn't fall asleep on the couch watching TV as I've heard some spouses do. He fell asleep putting our daughter to bed. This happens about once a week so I really should be used to it. I should relish having a quiet house in which to read a book or, say, write a blog post, but I don't. I'm annoyed that I'm missing out on time alone with my husband.

It wouldn't really matter to me if we just watched Seinfeld re-runs and didn't even talk. I just want to have a shared experience. This is a fundamental difference between men and women. To Jim, falling asleep at nine pm is funny and kind of nice. Boy, I was tired, he'll say tomorrow, grinning. He'll tell me how he woke up and put his pajamas on at two am. Then he'll go on with his day.

Now ladies, I know you're thinking that tomorrow I should kick up a fuss over the whole thing. I should pout around the house until he asks me what's wrong, or go straight in and begin the complaining how he never spends enough time with me, etc. But let me tell you, that is exactly the wrong thing to do.

After eleven years of marriage, I have realized that trying to make a man feel guilty for things he didn't think he did wrong in the first place doesn't work. It just creates this huge gap between you two. He wonders what you're on about. You wonder how he can be so daft. You start questioning the whole state of your marriage-- over an early bed time.

What works with men is a direct request for their time and attention. This request must not contain any hidden guilt trips, secret pre-requisites, or dishonest statements. Tomorrow, when I see my husband again, I will simply ask to spend some time with him, which is all I really wanted in the first place.

Country Mouse and City Mouse

When I moved to the city as a young woman I thought it was the best darn thing I'd ever done. Suddenly I had art, culture, society all around me. I love being in the midst of a pulsing, busy city like Seattle. Yet occassionally I find myself yearning for wide open spaces and the kind of interactions with nature you just can't get in the city. Particularly for my kids. And for my sanity. Did I mention the sanity? Trying to entertain, educate and inspire two young kids at home (or around town) every day is a test of anyone's mettle. First there's the constant lookout for dangers like traffic and broken glass. Then there's just trying to keep two kids happy at all times, doing the kind of play that won't make me look bad in front of strangers. Then there's just that nagging worry that some freak is gonna grab one of my kids and run off. Unlikely, I know, but you gotta think about these things. So basically I am hovering over or near my kids every minute we're out of the house.

Open-ended discovery play is what I experienced growing up. For all you non-educators, that means your parents opening the back door and saying, "There you go. Be back for dinner." Yep. Unsupervised outdoor play. At our home near Fortine, Montana, my brother and I made forts, harvested berries, hunted for bugs, watched birds, deer, squirrels, and all manner of creatures and never once worried that a "bad man" would suddenly appear from behind a tree. In the winter we went sledding, made snow forts, and ice skated. We rode our bikes (without helmets) up and down every road within a two-mile radius.

Man, we didn't know how good we had it. We were country mice all the way. Completely ignorant of most of the dangers in the world. Ignorant too of the cultural and social experiences our city-mouse counterparts were having. Not that our parents didn't do exceptionally well in providing enrichment activities for us, considering where we were. I had piano, swimming, and tennis lessons. My brother had guitar and Tae Kwon Do. In the summers we traveled to cities and saw art and culture all around us. We even got to Disneyland a few times. (Yes, Mickey Mouse is culture). I'll never forget when my mom made us drive hours away from my cousin's house to see a Van Gogh (the irises) in an art museum. I knew then that art was pretty darn important stuff.

But these experiences were few and far between. Mostly we spent a lot of time driving. A LOT. It took me and hour and a half on the bus to get to high school every morning. Going to shop for groceries, clothing, and anything else we needed more complicated than paper and string required a 60-mile drive to the nearest small city. The whole family made this drive every two weeks. Every summer we drove to California or Colorado to see family. While my father drove my brother and I listened to the same six cassette tapes over and over. Then we stared out the windows, watching the landscape pass by.

I remember the feeling of waiting for something to happen. Waiting for my life to start. There was so much time and so little to do. Perhaps this is a universal childhood feeling. Maybe those city kids with their heated pools and rock concerts were feeling just as bored as we were.

So will I save my children from malaise through the constant stimulus of city life? When people ask me what I like about the city I say it is the opportunities it provides. My kids have done so many things that I never did until I went to college. I hope that their broad, deep knowledge of the world helps to shape their personalities and interests in positive ways. I hope my little city mice can take the big bad world and make it cheese.

Rhubarb Rhapsody

In early spring in the Northwest, the only fresh, sweet, local fruit is rhubarb. I admit, I didn't have a single idea what to make with rhubarb when I bought it, but several terrific recipes soon came into my hands. I made them all, to rave reviews. Here there are:

Apple Rhubarb Pandowdy from Local Flavors by Deborah Madison (p. 307)
Uses last fall's apples from storage.

Rhubarb Tart with Orange Glaze from Gourmet, April 2009 (p.56)

Rhubarb Waffles with Rhubarb Sauce from Eating Well, June 2009 (p. 47)
I made them with pancakes and my fav. Bob's Red Mill Buttermilk Pancake Mix instead of waffles.

You can find the Gourmet and Eating Well websites online. The pandowdy recipe you need the book for, or I'll reprint it here if I get the chance. Enjoy!

The Sound of Music

It all started when I rented a video for my family to watch. I decided it was time for a little bit of culture, so I picked a film I loved as a child. Did I say loved? I mean adored, worshiped, memorized. I had seen this film so many times in my childhood that I had not bothered to watch it in the last 19 years. But this was the day. My daughter Cora was four and given to memorizing snatches of songs from her favorite TV shows, so I knew she would be down with it. Secretly I was planning a whole slew of musicals over the next couple of months. What I hadn’t figured out was how I was going to get my husband to watch them.
I got home and my husband spied the movie clutched lovingly in my hand. “Oh no, you didn’t” he said in horror. You must understand, this film was absolutely vilified in his household. A single note sung by Julie Andrews would have his whole family sprinting to the nearest exit. Nevertheless I persevered and my husband made himself scarce for the next couple hours, emerging only to utter snide comments.
As for Cora, she was absolutely enthralled. She sat, mouth agape, listening to every song. The dialogue she was less interested in, but no one really watches The Sound of Music for the dialogue anyway. And we did fast forward past the long instrumental piece at the beginning—-straight to Julie Andrews famously twirling on an Austrian hillside.
It was as good as I remember in many ways. But I also saw its weaknesses for the first time. The songs are simple and repetitive. The plot is a stretch by any means—-Maria and Captain Von Trap fall in love after talking maybe three times? The sixteen-year-old Louisa is happy to wait “a year or two” before dating? And perhaps most far-fetched, all seven Von Trap children adore Maria after one verse of “My favorite things”. Finally, I realized that this was the beauty of the film. It made love seem so easy.
The next day my daughter had some new lyrics to sing. Over breakfast she belted out “How do you solve a problem like Ramia?”. Well, close enough.

The Chore Chart

Rewarding 3-5 Year-Olds for Good Behavior
(P.S. It’s not bribery!)
Bribery is a crime. It happens when someone offers something so enticing, so desirable that saying no just isn’t possible. Ten thousand dollars to lie about someone’s whereabouts. A pony if you tell me where you put my keys. See, it’s not possible to say no, especially when the requested behavior is so easy to do. Bribery is not a policy I condone. So when I tell you to reward your preschooler for good behavior, that’s exactly what I mean—a small token of your appreciation for accomplishing something that’s a little bit hard to do. You know, those things kids are supposed to be doing by themselves every day, but sometimes don’t.
The chore chart is a simple way to create a positive interaction. After all, those preschoolers are just too busy playing, exploring and building to stop and do something as mundane as putting their toys away. Even if you remind them a million times, it may not get done.
The goal with the chore chart is to get the behavior you want without the whining and foot-dragging you don’t. After using this technique for just a week, my daughter started clearing her dishes from the table after every meal without being reminded. She even did it when we forgot to do the chore chart.
Your child, like almost every mammal, can be trained to respond to positive reinforcement. Eventually, you drop the rewards, but the good behavior continues because it is now routine.
For preschoolers, these behavioral inducements should be something fun, small, and temporary. My local toy store has a wall of trinkets for $1 to $2. I pay an average of five bucks a week for whine-free, blissful tooth-brushing, dish-clearing, and room-cleaning.
So here’s how it works:
1.Make a chart or list of jobs the child needs to do to earn the reward. The number of jobs to do is the same as the child’s age, ie. 3 jobs for a 3 year, 4 for a four-year old, etc. Write a short phrase or word and put a picture next to it, then laminate (see directions below for easy laminated wall chart). Using an erasable marker, kids get to cross out each job as it is completed. Visit www.trendenterprises.com for markers.
2.Always make it clear what the reward will be. It can still be a surprise, as long as the child understands the scale of the surprise: I’ve got something in this envelope for you when you finish your jobs.
3.Be positive. Praise the child for what she has accomplished toward the goal instead of nagging about what she hasn’t done.
4.Don’t sweat it. If your child forgets to do a chore or chooses not to, don’t worry about it. The opportunity to remind your child why he needs to do the chore will arise, and you can use positive language to do it. You didn’t do all your jobs today so you don’t get a surprise tonight, but I bet you will do a better job of remembering tomorrow.
Three- to five-year- olds love to be independent. By remembering to do the chart herself, your child already feels positively rewarded. You can up the ante by having her show you the completed chart (and reacting appropriately) or gathering the family around to see her get her reward. That kind of public recognition is something you never get with bribery. It’s so… secret. Your child’s good behavior, on the other hand, should be shared with everyone.

Easy laminated wall chart:
1.Take a 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper or card stock and draw or paste on pictures to represent what your child needs to do.
2.Write a short phrase next to each picture, like brush teeth, comb hair, or make bed.
3.Starting at the bottom of the page, put a strip of shiny cello-tape across the paper. Firmly press the tape in place.
4.Place another strip of tape above this one, overlapping slightly, and press it firmly in place.
5.Repeat the process all the way to the top of the page.
6.Hang on the wall using a thumbtack.

Picky Picky Picky

What is it about a my daughter Cora that makes her so against trying new foods? Is it something she picked up from her friends? Her father and me? Is is simply that she's four years old?
Today, when she asked to make her own quesadilla for lunch, I had no idea it would turn into a battle of wills. I just did my mom duties. I placed a tortilla on a plate in front of her, then handed her the bag of shredded cheese mix. Then, as I watched, she began separating the cheddar cheese from the jack cheese. "I just want the yellow cheese, Mama," she explained. For some reason, this infuriated me. "Don't do that," I said, "Just put it all on. You'll like it."
"No!" she responded. After the cheese was separated, Cora slowly began arranging the cheese into a smiley face on her tortilla. A few minutes later she announced it was ready. "It's for Jody" she said, gesturing to her little brother. Are you kidding me? All this and she's not even going to eat it?
Eventually I agreed to make her a cheese sandwich, and her little brother was more than happy to eat the quesadilla with both kinds of cheese on it. As I drove her to preschool I tried to shake the anger that had so easily taken hold me. After all, it was just a sandwich. There were many foods she liked and ate. I guess what really bothered me is the idea of having a picky child. How could I, an open-minded, omnivorous eater, have a child that refuses to even taste new things? Perhaps it is just the beginning of my daughter's lifelong battle to separate herself from me, her way of saying "I am part of you, but I am not you." This is the reality of having a daughter. Because she will look like me, be my gender, and take after me in many ways she would rather not acknowledge for the rest of her life, she must work that much harder to establish her own identity. Now all I have to do is accept that.

My new soup recipe!

Cream of Turkey Soup

Full of vegetables, grains, and leftover turkey, this soup is filling and inexpensive. Tastes great too!

2 T butter
1/3 cup chopped shallots
2 cups sliced Crimini mushrooms
3/4 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup chopped carrots
1/4 t salt
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup rice, Israeli cous cous, quinoa, or quick-cooking wild rice
2-3 cups shredded turkey
2/3 cup cream or milk
1 T chopped chives

1. Heat butter in soup pot or Dutch oven until melted. Add shallots, mushrooms, celery and carrots and stir to coat. Cook over medium heat until softened and just starting to brown, about 7 minutes. Add salt.
2. Pour in broths and bring to a boil, scraping up an browned bits. Add rice or grain and reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook 10 minutes, or until the grains are tender. Add the turkey, cream, and chives and heat through, with the lid off, about 2 more minutes. Serve immediately.
Serves 3-4.

Curried Broccoli Soup and Whole Wheat Heart Biscuits

Tonight's Menu:

Curried Broccoli Soup. A hearty vegetarian soup made with tons of broccoli, potatoes, onions and garlic. A hint of curry keeps things lively. Source: The City Gardener's Cookbook.

Whole Wheat Heart Biscuits. A quick and easy buttermilk biscuit made with whole wheat flour and cut out using a heart-shaped cookie cutter.

Adaptions for the kids:
Plain steamed broccoli
Cheese sandwiches made from the biscuits