The Carroll Pack in Philadelphia

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Game On!

The day I have been training for has arrived. I got the notice to bring in treats for a bake sale at M.'s school.

It was a full work day yesterday then off to gymnastics for M. After dinner I started on these babies...

Madeleines - and to indulge my type A -ness I brought out the label maker.

I'll be crushed if they don't sell.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Activities!

We started M. on a short course in gymnastics. The obstacle course is awesome and he really seemed to enjoy it!

There was actually some parental involvement in this, and I ended up hurting my ankle!

Meanwhile there was other activities to do...

Matt enjoyed the letter I so much he has been asking to do other letters. Here is H.


We've been learning about all sorts of sounds, so we made a wind chime from an old pie plate and spoons. I didn't have high hopes for his project, but I tell you it makes a highly satisfactory chime-y sound.

A closer look at Matt's wind chime.

Spinach lasagna for the week- heavy on the Spinach (it's a super food).

Le Creuset, Ooh la la

It's been a while since I posted about cooking and baking. I have been working through the Four Hour Chef and have tons to say bout it, but in the meantime the first "lesson" in the book demanded a dutch oven pot.

Now, I had been totally clamouring for one for years, but they can get pretty pricey and I had done some research on other pots, and in fact the book does understand that price is an issue and so makes some other recommendations.

But it was my birthday and Christmas present combined, and the Four Hour Chef wants you to aim to cook twice a week. I churn out dinner every god damn day, plus breakfast, baking, etc. Eating out is a once in a while treat for us, not even a weekly thing, which is super rare in a family where both parents work outside the home. There is next to no take out in our house . I don't remember the last time we got pizza, and we only got Indian once I think since the summer and that was only to take over to Marta's house. (Hi Marta).

So you are supposed to buy things you are going to use over and over again right? Now, if I felt at all conflicted about the price it evaporated over the first recipe in this book.

I'm totally in love with my Le Creuset pot.

The ingredients for the inaugural run.

The finished product.

This lamb stew recipe in white wine sauce ROCKS THE HOUSE. It's simple, and juicy and hearty and perfect for winter. In fact since this run I've made it TWICE for a dinner party, and both times I could relax enough to mess around with taking all my china out and setting a pretty table. I must have made it 5 times already, in fact there is some sitting in my fridge right now. It is the perfect winter recipe and I don't know if a cheaper pot would have done the trick but even Ger said the pot was totally worth it if it can cook up meat like that.

So here is round two:

Recipes for the 2nd run...

Braised Beef

Now this was also very tasty, but I have to admit too salty. I don't put salt in our food, or at least try not too, and when you are eating everything from scratch all of a sudden when you make something with 2 cans from Campbell's well, it is kinda like licking a salt lick. Nevertheless I would totally make this again (though maybe with low-salt ingredients, or my own left overs).

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Early January

We took Matt to the kid’s program at the Academy of Music. The session was all about the Trombone.

They didn’t allow pictures during the session, so I don’t have any with him and the Trombone. Ger decided at the last minute to come with us and so we had a nice time. Afterwards you could go up on the stage and Matt jumped right up, which totally surprised Ger and I but we went with it!

Afterwards it was such a nice day we went for a walk and ended up at outside the Rodin museum.

After we got home and relaxed I set Matt up with this short project. I’ve been trying to do more to coordinate with his preschool work. Next week they are learning the letter “I”. So while I made dinner I drew a quick “I” on a sheet o paper while Matt decorated with stickers. (Yes that’s a chocolate stain on his shirt – this is real life people!)

Meanwhile, I had been feeling bad about the all the packages and waste when you order things online. I had this thick, clear plastic bag from Banana Republic and I reused it to store a Christmas Tree Skirt! It’s clear, so you can see what is in the bag and it keeps a big piece of plastic out of the landfill while still being useful. I was pretty proud of my little impromptu repurposing.

Book (Revisited) Review

Sometimes, you have to revisit the oldies but goodies....

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Review: Book Revisited –

When I was a senior in high school, the religion class text book was “The Christian Call to Justice and Peace” by Joseph Stouzenberger. It is basically a tour of contemporary issues and the church’s standing and recommendations for living a life and building a world that is just and peaceful. I’ve kept it handy for almost two decades now. One of the reasons I’ve kept it handy is that it has one chapter for each major social justice issue, like poverty and racial prejudice. The book is a summary of the church’s stance and teachings on these, and other key issues. Despite my conflicting emotions about the Catholic Church, the book itself is a valuable resource and offers lots of food for thought.

In particular, there is one chapter dedicated to the Earth. The themes and arguments in this section are also echoed in the chapters on hunger and poverty.

Are you surprised? Yes, the Catholic Church wants you to be green and it is

important enough to warrant a whole chapter! It has been in the justice and peace handbook for at least 20 years- way before Alicia Silverstone started her blog and Jessica Alba started selling you good-for-the-environment soap. This book makes it quite clear that the Catholic vision of justice and peace for humanity includes and depends – on a sense of justice and peace and caring for the Earth as well.

The 5 issues the book points out as examples are as follows:

1) Land – Preserving Farmland. Namely the concern that farmland is being absorbed by urban developments and our soil is being abused. (My personal vow: COMPOST!!!! Also – it has been to walk and use public transportation as much as possible, and to try not drive so much. Easier in NY, uphill in Philadelphia. This is something I am trying to recommit to. In NH I took the train to NY instead of driving and tried to support the public bus as much as possible. I took up composting the first chance I had to make a real pile. I haven’t dumped any chemicals on our lawn either, though I do need to learn ways to deal with bugs without using pesticides).

2) Air – At the time of this publication, general air pollution eclipsed climate change, though they do mention the “greenhouse effect”. (Personal vow – Try not to drive so much, no aerosol hair spray – huge at the time!)

3) Water – Demand for fresh water is beginning to exceed supply. (Personal vow – No garbage disposal in the house, compost instead. Try not to leave the water running. I still feel enormously guilty taking a bath and instead use the hot tub at the gym to relax. Try not to take long showers.)

4) Waste – Americans make nine pounds daily – but not in our house. (Personal vow- Try not to waste food. Ger remarked on this when my parents stayed with us for hurricane Sandy- food waste was minimal. Also, if you know me you know I’m a recycle nazi. At Bear Stearns I had all the derivatives contracts changed from 12 point font to 11.5 to save paper. No one noticed but I felt good about the paper we were saving. Also, my vegetable soup every week uses up whatever scraps are in the fridge).

5) Animals, Plants and the Natural Habitat – The book points out the cruelty in factory raised chickens. (Personal vow – In NY tried to buy free range chicken (at the Gourmet Garage- RIP!), in NH joined a co-op. In NH I really tried to make the stand on organic milk. Here in Philadelphia we joined weaver’s way co-op. Though we don’t always eat free range (price is an issue) I try to sneak it in –it really does taste better anyways. Also, Vax, our dog was a rescue, rather than subsidize puppy mills).

The point of reviewing this book is to point out that besides being trendy, being green has been a long standing tenant of the Catholic Church. “With conscientious changes in our lifestyles, we can lessen the amount of waste, pollution, and destruction of nature that we require future generations to cope with,” the book reads.

While there are plenty of other reasons besides being advised by the Catholic Church to try and trend lightly on the environment, it often surprises people and I get push back when I bring up this viewpoint in conversation. I’m glad I held on to the book all this years and like to revisit this chapter in particular from time to time.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Into January 2013...

We are so lucky to be so close to take walks along the Wissahickon.

and even luckier to stop in at the Valley Green Inn for brunch to celebrate the end of the holiday season! We walked into the dining room and Matt said, "Let's have Christmas here."

The Valley Green Inn is definitely one of my Philadelphia favorites.

Part of cleaning up after the holidays is sorting out the freezer, I had all the makings of apple, strawberry, raspberry pie...

Meanwhile, I was thinking we might have some fashion fun. Sometimes as a working mom you just keep going to the basics, but that way danger lies. Even the preppy handbook needed updating.

I'm going to see if I can't have some fun while steering clear of that yellow jacket. (Em's work uniform: Body by Victoria Skirt, Colin Stuart slouchy boots, belted cardigan)