Berlin's Whimsy

Celebrating the Now.

Sometimes it is difficult for me to take the time to stop the ever forward movement of our lives long enough to celebrate the milestone that click by along the way. My life is often a hectic flurry of doing the things that are right before me, demanding attention. Often, my hands are so busy with other things that I don't use them to pat my loved ones, and myself, on the back.

So, I'm trying to make a concerted effort to stop. Take a breath. Notice. And celebrate.

 
This year, my son began high school. Adolescence seems to bring on a whole new level of speed by which your children grow up and away. Believe me. For here is my son--- as impish and charming as ever--- yet the future young man is so very quickly taking shape. I can't stop it. Yes, before I know it, he will embark on his own life. If ever there was a time to remind myself to embrace each day with my children, it is now. Savor the moments, I tell myself. Over and over.

Thankfully, I have others who remind me of this, too. Recently, my son won academic awards at his school. It was a night I won't forget. Sitting on the rooftop of his school, as the sun went down behind the awards podium, his name was called. Twice. And we weren't expecting it. The sweetest of all, was the special English & Literature Award he received from his teacher, along with a very flattering letter. Later, at home, P said to me, "Amber, these are the times to celebrate. Savor this moment." And though I was enjoying it all, I hadn't really stopped to take notice---- not in that way of reflecting on all these years of parenting and the years ahead, and thinking this is a night to cherish. This moment.

 
This summer, I finish up the first part of my educational goals. No, I'm not done, but it's a transition from one school to another. I look back on these quarters of school---- all those classes---- and allow myself a little pride in my accomplishments. I've primarily received good grades, but those math classes have been a challenge for me. Slowly but surely, I've plugged away at learning what felt like a foreign language to me, and this term I received an A in math. A major milestone!  And this time, I'm allowing myself a little time to recognize what I've accomplished. What we've all accomplished. And it feels good.

A fall tradition...

 

Once again, my Mom and I traveled east to pick apples recently. It seems to be a fall tradition for the two of us. And once again, it was a glorious day. That golden fall light on the eastern valleys and slopes of Oregon can't be beat.

 

It's quite mesmerizing to travel those backroads and see the slower pace of life. It gathers my thoughts into visions of alternate lifestyles and the paths that lead each of us to where we land.  There are a lot of 'could have beens' in everyone's lives, huh?

 

Because of a scheduling snafu, the orchard was actually closed (!!), but the kind owner still allowed us to pick apples. We sat around on the bumper of my Mom's car, talking with this older gentleman about the area and his memories of how our own city has changed from his distant perspective. He reminded me of my grandfather. I felt the peace that always seemed to embrace me when I listened to my grandfather's stories of a time that seemed so much simpler. I felt a little envious of his life out by the orchard, within the quiet hills so far from the city. Ah, I'd probably grow weary of the solitude, though. Instead, I enjoyed the amount of time I had in that slow lifestyle; living in my dreams.

 

The apples were ready for picking and in no time at all, we had boxes of them! Ever since, I've been trying to find a place for them all. As I cut up apples for applesauce and peel them for drying, I still think about that beautiful trip with my Mom. What a fun tradition!

Would you cook for yourself?

Recently, I told a friend to take care of herself. Afterward, I thought about how the act of taking care of oneself is unique to each person. For me, it means food: miso soup, roasted veggies, tea, healthy food.... it's my usual diet on my own. However, with a family and a sometimes crazy schedule, my routine falls off kilter.  I recognize when my diet has been altered because my body lets me know in that run-down, achy feeling that overcomes me.

Do you cook for yourself? Sometimes, I'm so busy making breakfast and packing lunches for everyone else in the family, that I forget to eat. Come late morning, I find that I'm famished. In that state, I'm apt to stick whatever is nearby into my mouth to fill the void. I try to catch myself and remind: slow down and make something for yourself.

This morning, I made a little helping of polenta/grits, topped with eggs over-easy, garden tomatoes, and this homemade salsa. It was sooooo good! And filling, too.

While I ate by myself, I thought about the very act of eating alone; how eating is such a social activity for us humans. Sharing food innately forms bonds---- I think it's in our DNA somewhere. But what about when you're alone? I've read many reports about the decline in nutrition when one lives alone---- that we're not apt to cook for ourselves. 'Why bother?' seems to be the mentality. I can relate. Like I said, I have to remind myself to truly eat, rather than snack.

What if I was alone, though? Would I cook for myself? I think I possess enough interest in food and cooking that I probably would. I'm sure there are many cookbooks on this very subject.

I also thought about the single men I know---- the ones whose kitchens store extra computer parts and random screw drivers amidst dusty, unused kitchen appliances. They often eat out. I recently read some statistics on the negative repercussions for single men as they age--- the statistics formed a pretty grim picture. I guess in many ways we need each other---- and often food is the common bond. 

There are programs for the elderly, such as Meals-on-Wheels, but I'm not educated about their program---- does it include a social aspect? One of my college classmates worked for a program in which she was paid to travel to the homes of elderly folks to bring them to the regional library.  Besides the opportunity to borrow books and visit the library, the other perk to the program was sharing a lunch together. 

One of my favorite healthy snack books (Raw Energy) includes the author's recommendation of making something healthy for an elderly neighbor---- easily digestible fresh juice or a smoothie. What a nice surprise! Something to consider.

How about you? Would you cook for yourself?

Dairy-full

As I'm nearing the end of my college quarter, my workload intensifies. However, I have found time to tinker in the kitchen.

A small, local Jersey farm offers fresh, raw milk as farm shares and we recently opted in. I received my first gallon this week and put it to good (and tasty) use.

On sight, I enjoyed the simplicity of the milk in its big, glass jar with the cream on top. How have we diverged so far from this basic form of milk? At first, I didn't know what to do with it!

Later, I whipped the cream on top and made butter. The butter is scrumptious and has a beautiful yellow color (no coloring needed). It reminded me of my first experiences with farm-fresh eggs and their deep yellow color.

The butter is a bit on the firm side, though, and next time I'll whip it a little more after rinsing it. I was surprised at the amount of time it took to make butter using a mixer! What a work-out our ancestors must have had making butter by hand!

Out of the butter, came buttermilk. Not the kind of buttermilk you buy in the store, as that buttermilk is cultured. This is just buttery tasting milk. I'll use it for baking or adding to a smoothie.

After that, I used the Bulgarian Yogurt Culture I ordered from The New England Cheese Supply Company and made a big batch of yogurt. It is sooooo good! It also has an enticing creamy tinge of color and is very smooth tasting. This culture can be used over and over so I'm saving a little for my next batch.

This brief experience with fresh milk makes me wish our goats were milk goats! I could really envision myself enjoying making my own healthy and tasty cheeses and dairy goods. I also intend to make sour cream and cultured buttermilk from starters from the cheese supply company.

As you might remember, I went through a period of eating a vegan diet last year. Well, I feel good about using this milk as opposed to milk that has traveled across the country to be mixed with other milk and heated and slapped into an inert state. This farm is small and the cattle graze on grass and alfalfa. It feels more wholesome.

Craving what you know. Pear-Ginger Smoothie.

I wonder which foods my children will remember from their childhood? Sometimes I think they will complain about their mother who forced them to eat all sorts of "weird" and healthy foods. However, my sincere hope is that someday they feel grateful for their exposure to varying tastes, textures, and the overall virtue of nutritious food.

When I reflect on my own upbringing, it's with an ever clearer understanding of the intent behind the food I was served. I was raised on a fairly healthy and wholesome diet---- fresh and home-canned produce from our large garden, farm eggs, and a healthy dose (pun intended) of vitamins, health advice, and snake oils (from my grandmother).

When I recently took a spoonful of flaxseed oil (Omega 3s!), I was transported to my grandmother's kitchen as she opened her old refrigerator and gave me a spoonful of olive oil (was it olive oil? I hope so!).

I also remember my mom's concoctions of wheat germ in whole milk, given to me when I was becoming too skinny, or feeling under the weather. There was also that smoothie she used to make----- as a child I choked it down, but I would probably welcome it now. Once again, wheat germ there was wheat germ in it.

There are some revolting memories, such as eating liver on (what seemed like) a regular occasion. To this day, the thought of liver makes my stomach turn a little.Or a lot.

But on the whole, I believe I am healthy and I crave nutritious food as an adult because of my upbringing. I was exposed to fresh vegetables and homemade food throughout my childhood and I crave those things today. I worked in our large garden and witnessed the growth of life and sustenance at the most basic level.

Yes, I revolted against many of the healthy things I was given as a child, but I'm glad my parents and elders forced me to try them. I'm glad I can do the same thing for my own children, even when it's met with a whole lot of resistance...

*****

As I gather information for a large research paper (for college) on the effects on a child's' behavior and academics due to diet and food choices, I am finding more and more information related to my earlier post on School lunches. If you have not read the comments from that post, please do---- they are insighful. 

I also added a whole slew of links relating to that issue--- including an article about the health and safety of the meat our national lunch program uses, a new Food Corps program, and the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 making its way through congress. Do check those links out! 

If you have any helpful information on how specific food choices affect childrens' behavior (perhaps your own child?) please contact me!

****

Lastly, I whipped up a refreshing smoothie with a bit of that Ginger juice.

Pear-Ginger Smoothie

1 ripe and juicy organic Pear, rinsed and cored

Juice of one lime

1 C. water

2 T. (or more, depending on taste) Ginger juice

pinch of cinnamon

In a blender (Vita-mix), blend all ingredients. Serves 1. Enjoy!

Raw & Pure Ginger Ale Refreshment

Raw foods are of interest to me because of their vibrant and pure flavor, as well as their health benefits. The recipes are often hands-on and they feel new and experimental------- which appeals to me. In fact, I am rethinking and revamping a few of my recipes using raw food preparation techniques.

Which brings me to this new Ginger Ale Recipe. All last summer, we enjoyed the original Ginger Ale recipe. A recent warm spring day had me craving that summer staple but I thought I would revamp it a bit. I love the results!

Before we begin, a few notes:

**I used my high-speed blender in this recipe, but I believe a regular blender would work fine, too (let me know if you try it!).

**This is pure, unadulturated Ginger Ale, which is to say it is gingery!!! It provides spice and  the pure taste of ginger. I recommend finding plump, fresh ginger for this recipe.If the ginger in your store is wrinkly, or it looks dried-out, keep searching.

**We also tried it with a splash of Spicy Rum with high reviews.

**Once you make the "Ginger Juice" it's quite easy to whip up your own Ginger Ale when the urge arises.

**I will share some other recipes using that potent Ginger Juice!

Raw & Pure Ginger Ale Refreshment

Ingredients:

1 large Ginger Root (chopped to make approximately 1 C.)

Raw Agave Syrup, to taste

Sparkling Water

Fresh Lime

Method: Make the Ginger Juice. In a blender, place the chopped ginger root (no need to peel) and add an equal amount of water. Blend on high for approximately one minute, until the ginger is completely chopped and pureed. Allow the mixture to sit in the blender jar for 30 minutes.

Strain the ginger pulp from the juice through a fine-mesh strainer set over a medium-sized bowl. Press the pulp to remove all the juice. Refrigerate the juice until ready to use. It keeps in the refrigerator for one week.

To make a Ginger Ale (Makes one, 8 oz. glass):

In a glass, whisk together until combined---

2 T. Ginger Juice

2 T. Raw Agave Sweetener

Juice of 1 fresh lime

Add ice and sparkling mineral water. Adjust for your taste.

Cheers!

A discussion about nutrition, choices, our School Lunch Program, and Jamie Oliver.

I am watching Jamie Oliver's television show, Food Revolution, with rapt attention. Having worked in a similar school cafeteria, I find the subject extremely interesting and relevant. Interesting because my opinion of the subject is in-line with Jamie Oliver's---- many of our schools need an overhaul of their nutritional offerings. In fact, I assert that we are raising young people to eat fast food---- to crave it.

I believe taste and food habits are developed. I believe that one of the "jobs" of childhood is developing one's palate--- food predispositions. Children are developing their likes and dislikes and learning the subtle nuances of food. Providing school children with processed food, laden with preservatives, fat, and sodium, on a regular basis raises them to crave it as an adult. To crave processed food.

School lunches are not the downfall of nutrition if they are offset by healthy meals and lifestyles at home. Unfortunately, that's not often the case. We're all busy. It's much too convenient to grab fast food, frozen pizzas, or some other processed item after a long day at work. I know, because I do it. However, it's not the norm in our household. It is the norm in some of the households that rely upon our school lunch program for their child's breakfasts and lunches. In fact, the school lunch program provides the most nutritious meal of the day for many, many children. But I believe it's not good enough.

I remember the meals that most of the children ate in the elementary school cafeteria where I worked: highly sugared cold cereal, pasteurized eggs from a bag (thawed from the freezer first), pork patties, frozen waffles with "syrup" (maple flavored high fructose corn syrup).  For lunch, we always offered hamburgers and chicken nuggets. There was an additional choice, but often the students went for the former two choices. They drank chocolate milk. As for fruit and vegetables, we offered a salad of iceberg lettuce with ranch dressing (the only choice), canned fruit (high-fructose corn syrup), and apples or bananas. At least there were those. One time, we offered kiwis but they were not cost effective.

I don't have an easy answer. I look at the struggle Jamie Oliver is dealing with and it overwhelms me. However, one of the strongest issues I have with the school lunch program is that children are allowed to choose between unhealthy offerings and healthy ones. When given a choice between a chicken nugget or a healthier option, they are going to choose the nuggets. As employees, we were not allowed to sway childrens' food decisions. Why?

In fact, when did our lunch program decide that children know what is nutritionally best for them? We don't allow children to choose between playing video games or doing their schoolwork, so why do we allow children to choose to eat unhealthy meals during their school day? That said, I believe in the concept of facilitating a child's sense of control over what enters their body, but give them healthy choices! Don't pit a healthier food item against fast food!

Again, there aren't any easy answers to this issue, nor the larger issue of childhood obesity. However, I believe that developing a healthy attitude and palate during childhood is one step in the right direction. I would like to see our school lunch program provide children with more nutritional options to promote this goal. I would like to see the program quit allowing children to choose unhealthy food. As for me, I'll continue to send nutritious lunches with my kids to school each day, like I have their entire school career.

More action:

Sign Jamie Oliver's petition here to save cooking skills and improve school food.

More Reading: 

Are School Lunches a National Security Threat (AP)

School Lunch Nutrition Worse than Fast Food (USA Today)

Old Hen Meat Fed to Pets and School Children (USA Today)

School Lunch Debate is in Session (op ed piece)

Fed up With Lunch Blog (she is eating and photographing the school lunch every day)

Will Work for Food, new Food Corps program (based on AmeriCorps)

Healthy, Hunger-free Kids Act of 2010 Bill explained in detail

Easter reflections.

Easter tiptoed into our lives this year. So much going on. At least I remembered to put out our Easter decorations (on Saturday). Many of these decorations sat in a box for three years. It is heartwarming to see them again, for many of them bring back memories of my children's younger years, as well as my own childhood.

I grew up with these little chicks and bunnies. My grandmother displayed them on a special table. I remember peering at these figurines longingly. Sometimes I touched them, but mostly I struggled to control the desire to hold and play with them---a big no no. One of the little bunnies still suffers from a fractured ear, haphazardly glued back on after my brother and I got too carried away.

So much has changed while these decorations were stored away. I'm happy to share the charm of them again. But my kids are growing up. Easter is one of those bittersweet holidays----a reminder of how old my kids have grown. There weren't any Easter egg hunts this year, for instance. In fact, they spent most of Easter with their Dad.

With the abundance of sugar and candy in all of our lives, I resolved to give my kids something more practical and healthy in their baskets. "Pants" made an excellent suggestion: how about giving them baskets full of fruits----- novelty fruits that we don't usually buy, such as coconuts. Cracking a coconut is always fun!

As for Easter egg dyeing, we enjoyed 'naturally' dyed eggs from our chickens. Those Araucana eggs are such a beautiful blue color.  

Easter would not be Easter for us without plenty of yummy food. I believe I found my favorite lemon bar recipe in The Grand Central Baking Book. I'm still enjoying this cookbook immensely. 

So, Easter is still Easter---good food, family, traditions---but it also reflects the years that have passed and the changes within those years. 

*** What to do with that fresh coconut? It is an excellent addition to smoothies. We might make this fresh coconut cake from Cooking Light. YUM!

Abilities.

I experienced a little physical bump in the road recently, reminding me once again to be thankful for all the positive things in my life. Why is it so easy to forget? To forget to look at the fall sky and feel gratitude for the eyes that see it and the sensitivity to experience it? To take for granted the legs that allow me to walk under that fall sky? The recognition of the mind with a capacity to understand and the opportunity to learn from life's experiences. The gift of this life's journey that can either be embraced or dismissed. And the ability to choose. 

In a state of Grace.

When I chose to name our daughter, Grace, I wasn't considering the implications of the word. Rather, it felt right and we cherished the name. 

Definition of Grace: A virtue coming from God.

Since then, our infant, Grace, grew into a beautiful child who in many ways impersonates the nature of the word.

Definition of Grace: Ease and Suppleness of movement or bearing.

She has, however, lamented on her name: "Why did you name me Grace? I'm not graceful at all!"

Definition of Grace: A charming or attractive trait or characteristic; a pleasing appearance or effect.

After naming my daughter, I began to recognize the importance and value I place on all the characteristics of Grace. How very much I want to live my own life in a state of Grace.

Definition of Grace: The quality or state of being considerate or thoughtful.

Graceful. Generous. Charming. Virtuous. All attributes I aspire to.

Definition of Grace: A sense of propriety or right.

And now, poised with more challenges and opportunities for personal growth and knowledge, I seek Grace in my life once again.

Definition of Grace: Disposition to or an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency.

I seek Grace in the understanding that within the confines of virtuous generosity, I must also extend those traits to myself, as well.

I believe to live my life in a state of Grace is a hefty goal but one by which to aspire. Gracefully.