Girl Detective

It’s been rather chilly in MN lately, and the feel of winter has set in. Do I mean snowflakes that cling to my nose and eyelashes? No. Remember back when you were a kid, and it was the feel of the insides of your nose sticking together, and you thought your boogers were freezing? It’s not that, either. I mean that awful feeling as my dry, cracked skin scrapes against fleece. I can almost hear the “KRRRRRCK” sound it must make. Or the burning sensation in my hands that no amount of hand lotion can quell after I’ve done the dishes and not used rubber gloves.

I brought the Sound of Music soundtrack home from the library for 4yo Drake. He plays it over and over, start to finish, morning till night.

I think I’m going to have to have it surgically removed from my brain.

Ergh.

For them to think about while they’re on strike (go writers!):

Please, please, please don’t make Sweets be Gormogon. He’s a great, funny, recurring character, and it would be a shame to lose him.

Bones is on hiatus till the new year, but if you haven’t been watching, catch a rerun or two. The banter, chemistry, and writing have fairly crackled this fall.

For those who have been watching, did anyone else wonder if David Boreanaz had Buffy flashbacks during last week’s graveyard scene?

#77 in my 2007 movie challenge was Hot Fuzz, Simon Pegg’s parody of bad buddy-cop movies. It’s silly, goofy fun, though the blood, gore and violence make it not for the squeamish. While it runs a little long at two hours, it’s really quite good, which is an impressive feat, given the less-than-high-art source material, like Bad Boys II and Point Break. What’s more interesting to contemplate, though, is how studios keep churning out bad buddy-cop movies, whether drama or comedy, that don’t hold a candle to this spoof.

When I brought the DVD home from the library, 4yo Drake asked what it was called. Once I told him Hot Fuzz, he pestered me to watch it constantly, and was crestfallen when I said I’d returned it. It has a very catchy title.

Twin Citians, do you appreciate local treasure, Tea Source? I finally drank my way down to only one black tea in the pantry; I had either ten or twelve as of last mother’s day, when I hosted a tea. We had Thanksgiving at our friend Haddayr’s house, and she extolled the virtues of Tea Source’s Popped Rooibos. It smelled rich like pipe smoke, and tasted toasty and of the popped corn that’s in it. Unable to resist restocking the pantry, I hied myself to Tea Source where 4yo Drake and I sniffed all the tea samples, and got four lovely winter teas:

Popped Rooibos: This delicious and unique blend is very full-bodied and is slightly sweet (almost caramel-like), slightly toasty, and slightly popcorny. Contains rooibos, green tea, almond brittle, roasted rice, flavor.

Genmaicha: A refreshing blend of a high grade Sencha green tea, toasted brown rice, and puffed rice, producing a more full bodied green tea with slightly toasty undertones. Delicious.

Evening in Missoula: Chamomile, rosehips, raspberry, papaya, peppermint, spearmint, strawberry leaf, vanilla, passion flower, red clover, star anise, and wild cherry bark. Absolutely fabulous.

Tea Source ships, and it really is a lovely little shop, if you’re looking for gifts for the tea lover in your life. (I get nothing for this gush; I just want to spread the joy.)

Top Chef info, from Maureen Ryan’s The Watcher:

A “Top Chef” cooking special, which will reunite competitors from various seasons, will air Dec. 6 on Bravo. For all you “Chef”-heads, here’s the lineup, direct from Bravo’s Tuesday press release: “Season 1’s Stephen Asprinio and Tiffani Faison, Season 2’s Betty Fraser, Marcel Vigneron and Josie Smith-Malave and Season 3’s Chris ‘C.J.’ Jacobson, ‘Tre’ Wilcox and Sandee Birdsong.”

Also launching December 6 is Bravo’s new mobile game “Top Chef Challenge.” Designed and developed by leading mobile publisher LimeLife, Inc., the game is set behind-the-scenes of a Tom Colicchio fictional restaurant. Players customize their character and enter the game’s virtual kitchen as an entry-level dishwasher and can advance to “Top Chef,” gain 5-star status and fame along the way with commentary and advice from show host, Padma Lakshmi. A series of mini-games and culinary challenges test reflexes, memory and patience to prove you have what it takes to be the next “Top Chef.” As an added bonus, the Trivia Challenge mini-game lets players demonstrate their culinary knowledge to earn extra points. Top Chef Challenge will be available for a one-time download charge of $6.99 or $2.99 monthly subscription fee (where available) at major U.S. carriers. Consumers should check with their carrier for handset compatibility.

I am sad that my big, gay, chef Dale from Season 3 isn’t participating. I hope he’s off being wildly successful somewhere.

My husband and I hope to make the upcoming holidays about joy and wonder for our 4yo and almost 2yo sons. An article I received in one of my parenting classes has some good ideas.

Star Tribune 12/24/89 - Pat Gardner “Tender Years”

The weeks of hectic preparation are coming to a close. Within days, the magic will begin to unfold for our children and, vicariously through them, for us. Just as we remember those wonderful Christmas Eves and mornings long ago, our children will one day look back on these days. How will they remember them? What are you giving your children this year?

I know one family of modest means that makes a great effort to celebrate Christmas in the best way possible. Their children always find five gifts under the tree. And more than that, the gifts are always accompanied by a parent. Here’s how they do it.

The children always receive a gift to hug and love. Sometimes it’s a doll or maybe a stuffed animal. Every Christmas each child has something to care for, to carry along and finally at night to share a bed, secrets and dreams.

The wise parents know that the children will themselves learn to care for others by practicing on dolls and stuffed animals. Mom and Dad demonstrate rocking the stuffed bear and wiping the doll’s face. They talk about being gentle and giving care.

More important, they treat their children tenderly. They make a special effort at this busy time of year for a little more lap time, more frequent hugs and all the physical care and attention their young children need.

The children in this family always receive something to read. The parents know that to give them books is to give them wings. The little ones get books, and the big ones get books. Books aren’t foreign to any member of this family. Books are treasures. And more than that, they become a daily connection between parent and child.

The wise parents know that the best way to raise a reader is to read to a child….They share curiosity. They take the time to listen patiently to their beginning reader. They share discoveries. Through books, these parents explore worlds within their home and beyond their front door with all of their children.

The children receive toys and games. These parents are concerned about each child’s skills and find fun ways to enhance their present capabilities and encourage further development. For a grasping baby, a crib gym; for a beginning walker, a push toy; for a pre-schooler, a shape and color sorter; for a beginning reader, a game of sequence and strategy.

The parents know that play is the work of childhood. They understand that to meet a child at her level of accomplishment is to encourage success in play. Success stimulates motivation and interest in a challenge. So the parents judge their toy and game choices carefully. Not too easy, but not too hard.

They they do the most important thing. They play with their children. The children see that learning is a toy, that it’s fun to challenge oneself, that play can be a very social activity, that it’s OK to win and also to lose and that Mom and Dad wholeheartedly approve of play.

The children in this family always receive a gift of activity. From a simple ball or jump rope to a basketball hoop or a pair of ice skates, they always have one gift that encourages action.

The parents know that those children who, by nature, are very active may need to be channeled into acceptable and appropriate activities. And they know that those children who, by nature, are very passive may need to be encouraged to move with purpose. But their message to their children is that physical activity is important and good.

These parents make their message clear by joining their children in physical play. They skate and play catch. They’re on the floor with their crawlers and walk hand in hand with their toddlers. They get bumped and bruised and laugh and shout. They sled and they bowl. And many times in the next few weeks when resting on the couch sounds much more inviting, these parents will give their kids one more gift. They’ll get up and play with them.

The children always receive a gift of artistic expression. They might find crayons, paints or markers in their stockings. It might be a gift of clay this year or rubber stamps or scissors and glue. The materials change, but the object remains the same: create with joy.

These wise parents aren’t terribly concerned about the mess of finger paints. They’re more concerned about the exposure to unique sensations. They want their children to use their imaginations. They want their children to approach life in a hands-on fashion. And they want them to express themselves through their artistic activities in ways that exceed their vocabularies.

For my sister Ruthie: Thanksgiving deserves a repeat of one of my favorite easy recipes. It turns out perfectly for me every time. Blend, pour, bake, cool, ta-da!

1 15-oz. can pumpkin
1 1/2 c. milk, or 1 13-oz. can evaporated milk
1/2 c. biscuit/pancake mix or 1/2 c. flour plus 3/4 tsp. baking powder
1 c. sugar
2 Tbl. butter, melted then cooled
2 large eggs, beaten
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch glass or Pyrex pie plate.

Place all ingredients in blender; blend for 2 minutes. Pour mixture into pie plate and bake for about an hour, or till center is set and tester comes out clean. Cool. Serve with vanilla or ginger ice cream, or vanilla or maple whipped cream.

For my dad, who didn’t ask for this. I can’t help offering my opinion though. His twice baked potatoes have a glue-y mouth feel to me, since he uses either a blender or a food processor rather than mashing them, and this destroys some science-y molecule that makes them fluffy.

And my dad is used to me telling how to do things he’s been doing for years. He just nods politely, then does his own thing anyway, so we both end up happy.

From Cook’s Illustrated:

Quicker Twice-Baked Stuffed Potatoes with Ham, Peas, and Gruyere 9/2004
Serves 4 as a main dish, 8 as a side

4 russet potatoes , scrubbed and dried
vegetable oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (melt 2 tablespoons)
3/4 pound deli-style baked ham , sliced 1/4-inch thick and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 cup frozen peas
6 ounces Gruyère cheese , shredded (2 cups)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup half-and-half
2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
ground black pepper

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 400 degrees.

1a. Place four potatoes in a shallow baking dish, puncture the skin with a fork, and microwave the spuds, rotating them every three minutes, until a skewer can be inserted and removed with little resistance, nine to 12 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes.

2. While potatoes are baking, heat 1 tablespoon butter in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until foaming; add ham in even layer and cook, without stirring, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Stir and cook 30 seconds longer. Off heat, stir in peas; transfer mixture to large plate.

3. Halve each potato lengthwise. Using soup spoon, scoop flesh from each half into bowl, leaving about 3/8-inch thickness of flesh. Place shells cut-sides up on baking sheet and return to oven until dry and slightly crisp, about 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, mash potato flesh with fork until smooth; stir in melted butter, ham mixture, 1 cup cheese, sour cream, half-and-half, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste.

5. Remove shells from oven; heat broiler. Mound filling into shells; sprinkle with remaining cheese and broil until spotty brown, 6 to 10 minutes. Cool 5 minutes; serve.

My sister Sydney avoids carbs, but is helpless in the face of these muffins. She also seems unable to hang onto the recipe, which is from Cook’s Illustrated (9/02):

Corn Muffins

Whole-grain cornmeal has a fuller flavor than regular cornmeal milled from degerminated corn. To determine what kind of cornmeal a package contains, look closely at the label.

Makes 12 muffins

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (10 ounces)
1 cup fine-ground, whole-grain yellow cornmeal (4 1/2 ounces)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar (5 1/4 ounces)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), melted
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl to combine; set aside. Whisk eggs in second medium bowl until well combined and light-colored, about 20 seconds. Add sugar to eggs; whisk vigorously until thick and homogenous, about 30 seconds; add melted butter in 3 additions, whisking to combine after each addition. Add half the sour cream and half the milk and whisk to combine; whisk in remaining sour cream and milk until combined. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients; mix gently with rubber spatula until batter is just combined and evenly moistened. Do not over-mix. Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, divide batter evenly among muffin cups, dropping it to form mound. Do not level or flatten surface of mounds.

3. Bake until muffins are light golden brown and skewer inserted into center of muffins comes out clean, about 18 minutes, rotating muffin tin from front to back halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in tin 5 minutes; invert muffins onto wire rack, stand muffins upright, cool 5 minutes longer, and serve warm.

I am helpless to resist the powerful tractor beam of Tim Gunn’s charm and fashion sense. I don’t even really like his show, and at the end I feel guilty for having watched it, but there’s something about Gunn that manages to transcend my gripes.

Some of the fashion advice is useful, some of it’s not so. One of the moments in their makeovers that’s meant to shock is when sidekick Veronica Webb insists on going through the makeover-ee’s underwear drawer. This is played for awkwardness, but there’s sound reasoning behind it. In this week’s episode, Webb surprised contestant Elena when she announced that bras were only meant to last six months.

I got some flak when I wrote about this once, but a former bra-fitter assured me it’s true. If you machine wash them, hooked and in a lingerie bag, they will stay supportive and fitting for about 6 months. Hand washing will extend this to about a year. Wearing old, stretched-out bras isn’t comfortable, and isn’t flattering. They’re not called foundations for nothing.

Now, don’t let this imply that I take my own advice. Most of what’s in my drawer is way older than six months, and those that aren’t don’t fit really well–I fall between band sizes, and my size is tough to find. I’m not sure I can really condone going bra shopping (and spending) every six months. Or the mock seriousness of Tim and Veronica Webb when they insist on examining the unmentionables. But I can’t argue that it’s a good ideal.

Oh, Manolo the Shoe Blogger, you make me laugh:

sweet and gentle Simone, you had the banging eyebrows, but your dress sucked.

Adam’s PR assessment is good, but the comments are the thing at ALLoTT5MA

The fabulous Blogging Project Runway babes

And, of course, Bravo’s own Project Runway page

But, hello?, where’s the love at Everybody Loves Saturday Night?

#76 in my 2007 movie challenge was How to Marry a Millionaire, a classic good bad movie. Bacall, Grable, and Monroe play models who rent a posh NYC penthouse in order to lure a better class of suitor into marriage. Unsurprisingly, the scheme goes awry. They are forced to sell the furnishings in order to stay, and Grable and Monroe end up marrying for love, not money. Bacall thinks she does the same, but her ostensibly happy ending rang false, and her comeuppance was too slight.

The scheming sexism is a disappointment, as is the predictable story. For a film starring three beautiful actresses, there was a curious dearth of close-ups. And the seven-minute long orchestra intro, followed by long credits over loving shots of NYC, made me wonder if the movie was ever going to start. But there’s a sass and style that overcome the film’s faults. The costumes are by turns beautiful and deliberately outrageous, exemplified in a very funny modeling scene. All three end up renouncing their mercenary plan. And there are several surprisingly post-modern references to the stars’ previous famous work: Monroe wears an outfit named “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend”; Grable re-enacts her famous over-the-shoulder pose; and Bacall, defending the attractiveness of older men, remarks, “Look at Roosevelt, look at Churchill, look at that old fella–what’s his name–in The African Queen. Absolutely crazy about him.”

Enjoyable, as long as your expectations aren’t high.

#52 in my 2007 book challenge was 1001 Nights of Snowfall, written by Bill Willingham and illustrated by many. It’s a graphic novel original collection of linked short stories, set in Willingham’s mythical Fables world. Fables, for the uninitiated, is a monthly comic from the Vertigo line of DC Comics, very much in the tradition of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman. It takes mythic elements–here, characters from fairy tales–and transforms with new, and very modern, twists on the ancient tales. In the series, a group of fables, e.g. Snow White, escaped a rampaging other-worldly Adversary and established a “safe” community within New York City.

1001 Nights of Snowfall has been sitting on my metaphorical shelf for some time. It is a series of short stories set within a larger frame. Snow White, as ambassador for Fabletown, visits a sultan in the East. He says he is going to marry her, then kill her. Instead, she beguiles him with stories, all of which provide details into the past of many of the Fables characters. As in all good fiction, the stories answer many questions, but beget even more.

As in the Sandman series, there are different artists for different stories. The amazing Charles Vess illustrates the framing story. The other stories are done by some of the brightest talents in the arts and comics world, all of whose work is beautifully suited to the fantastic world of the Fables.

My one concern, and it’s a big one, is Willingham’s disturbing sexism, which I’ve noticed occasionally in Fables, but was more prevalent in his previous fantasy works. He’s done a decent job of overcoming, or perhaps hiding, this in the ongoing series by making both male and female characters by turns nasty, loving, loyal, and depraved. In 1001 Nights, though, there is a troubling rape scene in the Frog Prince short story, which is unnecessarily depicted in the art. The story would have been more powerful, IMO, if the story and the illustration showed this in a more sophisticated, allusive and less graphic manner, as was done in the first Snow White short story in the book. As written and illustrated, it places itself squarely in the realm of the torture porn so prevalent in recent movies like Saw and Hostel. It’s a short part (two or three panels) within a longer, very moving story. But for me, it marred the entire work.

I enjoy Fables the series, and I thought this book was quite good. But my reservations about some of the depictions of women in both the series and 1001 Nights result in a qualified recommendation of both.

Everyone in our family is in some stage of whatever virus is going around. Today, I stayed indoors with 4yo Drake and 21mo Guppy, so we could keep quiet and rest. But whenever I sit still, I look around and see something that needs to be done. I either go do it, which isn’t restful, or I fret that I’m not doing it, which isn’t really restful either. I think the solutions are either to be too sick to notice anything, or to lie in bed with an eye mask. The latter doesn’t seem like a sensible choice, what with two small kids and all.

Oh, how I’ve missed Project Runway. Not enough so I enjoyed the lame, awkward “introducing the new designer” snippets that Bravo has been running. But in a way perfectly captured by the classy Tim Gunn commercial that announced the new season: “Finally.”

Once again, we have fifteen designers competing for a big-ass prize. This season, though, the group of designers are the most talented ever, according to every mention of Season 4 anywhere. And it certainly sounded like it from the designer bios. Many owned their own stores or had done lines before. Also, more are nearer 40 than 20, which is a definite departure from seasons past. These aren’t amateurs, they’re more like semi and actual pros.

Spoilers ahead:

The first challenge was easy compared to what past contestants have had. The designers were given tents full of fabulous fabrics and told simply to make something that showed their individual designing selves.

The claws came out in the creative process, as people scrambled to snatch choice fabrics, and later as they looked around at each others’ work. Assymetrical haircut young diva Christian was one of the bitchiest of the bunch, though his second place finish hints that he’s not to be underestimated, even at the tender age of 21. But the win went to Rami, an Israeli who can work wonders draping silk georgette. Michael Kors did get his jab in, though, with his comment about the shoulder flower looking very MOB, i.e., Mother-of-the-Bride.

The two bottom spots were ably filled. Elisa’s bizarre fabric train was supposed to look like a fountain. Instead, it caused her model to trip; Heidi Klum said it looked like the model was pooping fabric. Simone’s dress had been hastily finished. While she talked a good game about mixing feminine styles and eras, the result was a clash, not a complement.

The lesson for the week was to listen to Tim Gunn. He’d told Elisa to clean up the train, and warned Simone that she had too much finishing to do. If either had heeded his advice, they might not have been called on the carpet.

At last week’s “Adventures in Parenting” class we talked about giving children choices so they feel in control. Drake long ago twigged that a “choice” usually meant two variations on something he didn’t want to do. I offered him zig or zag. He would pick zog.

Yesterday, in a sleep-deprived parental lapse of judgment, I told him he needed to go to the bathroom before we left for preschool. Then I turned that into a choice: go to the bathroom, or stay home from preschool. He dug in his heels, and continued his refusal to use the bathroom for over an hour. He then got angry when I wouldn’t take him to preschool, which was half over, plus 21mo Guppy was then napping.

So Drake and I had a power struggle, which I clearly lost, he missed preschool, and I didn’t get an afternoon break that I desperately needed. The only winner was Guppy, who got an uninterrupted three-hour nap.

Today, I more wisely gave him the choice of going to the bathroom at home, or at preschool, and we made it to school on time.

A few years ago, my husband G. Grod and I saw a commercial for Chex cereal. A woman rhapsodized how her mom had made it at the holidays, and now SHE was the mom, so she made the Chex mix. I can’t remember what the emphasis was–that becoming a mom allowed her the privilege of making the mix, or if making the mix somehow cemented her identity as a mother, but the commercial strongly tied the two together. Chex Mix pretty much equaled motherhood.

So it was with my tongue in my cheek during last week’s homemaking frenzy that I made cereal snack mix for the first time. I used a different brand of cereal (less expensive and not as ethically challenged as Chex), and a recipe from the Dec/Jan 2008 issue of Cook’s Country for an Asian variation with dried ginger and soy sauce. 4yo Drake promptly nicknamed it Snarf Snacks, after something we’d read about in The Fabulous Bouncing Chowder. But he and young Guppy took offense at the wasabi peas, so G. Grod and I have been happily munching it all week.

If my child refuses to eat it, do I still get mom points for having made “Chex” mix?

#75 in my 2007 movie challenge was Noah Baumbach’s Squid and the Whale. I’d avoided watching this. While I heard it was good, I also was rarely in the mood for a depressing divorce movie. But it’s been mentioned so many times recently, since Baumbach has a new film out soon, that I felt it was time to check it out. I’m glad I did. This is a dry, darkly funny and very moving film. The acting is across-the-board outstanding, and the characters complex. It was hard to watch the toll the divorce took on the two young sons without squirming, though. The quirky script and well-chosen music reminded me of Wes Anderson, so I wasn’t surprised to see his name in the credits as a producer.

I’ve been on a home-making tear. Starting Sunday, I weeded our yard and cut down the hostas. I roasted a pumpkin, then toasted the seeds and pureed the flesh. Yesterday I managed to do laundry AND put it away. I made pumpkin chocolate-chip cupcakes with maple cream-cheese frosting* for Drake’s preschool snack today. (He’s getting better at baking: he didn’t sneeze in the batter. I’m getting quicker: I stopped him before licking the frosting utensils at least three times.)

I’m not sure what’s prompted this nesting phase; perhaps it’s the looming of winter. But I’m exhausted. I’m off to make sure those cupcakes turned out well. (Again.)

*Recipe from the Jessica Seinfeld cookbook, Deceptively Delicious that all the moms I know are talking about, and which my kind mother-in-law brought me as a gift when she visited. It’s given me minor notoriety among friends: Gasp! “You HAVE it? Can I SEE it?” I’ve tried a few recipes, like sneaking pumpkin into mac and cheese, or sloppy joes, or cupcakes. She goes too far in making the recipes low fat, though, so she’s sacrificed both flavor and texture in the recipes I’ve tried so far. But it’s a lovely, hardcover, spiral bound book with good photography and clever “talking head” illustrations. The art director should be proud.