• Last updated 3/20/13 by mamazee

We’re building a deck. Last week, we rented a concrete mixer and a “two-man auger” with a 12-inch wide drilly thing. I felt pretty sassy that morning. Two-man auger. Isn’t that a little outmoded? Here we were, two women. Was it was confidence-leaching to go along with that particular name? I comforted myself by seeing that two-man has a woman in it, t(wo-)man. I am sooooo dorky. Well. I think it should be called a “two WWF (could be World Wrestling Federation, could also be What Whuh F$%&) auger, because that sucker was insane. It has a smelly, fumey... read more

• Last updated 3/19/13 by mamazee

My delightful cousin-in-law (is that the right term?) Cassidy André Barbeau, is a mompreneur living in beautiful Costa Rica with her cutie husband Paul and two darling children, Paisley and Satori. She is the creator of Pura Vida Pantry, located on facebook, which provides delicious daily recipes for people who want to add more vegetarian and vegan meals to their lives. Many of her recipes are also made from raw, living foods. She makes it look easy! And…she makes it easy, too. I have a big detector for needlessly complicated recipes–I won’t... read more

• Last updated 3/19/13 by mamazee

  Oatmeal, Carrot and Apple Breakfast Squares I received Myra Goodman’s new cookbook galleys for The Earthbound Cook a few months ago, and it aced my cookbook test: when I’m going through a cookbook, I fold down the corners of recipes I want to go back and try. I must have dog-eared sixty pages. I think we’re kindred spirits, in that we both have the same sensibility when it comes to cooking: use simple, fresh ingredients in ways both novel and comforting-familiar. I got the opportunity to ask Goodman some questions about her relationship to... read more

• Last updated 3/19/13 by mamazee

Teeccino, Chocolate flavor. It’s like drinking a doughnut. A no-sugar added, herbal, liquid doughnut. I mean this in the best possible way. It also reminds me of General Foods International Coffee commercials…that’s the feeling I get drinking it–without actually imbibing crappy, Euro-fetishizing, chemically laden, processed junk. It’s marketed as a coffee substitute. I actually really just like it for what it is (especially since I drink coffee already). Mung beans. About 15 minutes after I eat them, I get the most amazing feeling of well-being. I boil... read more

• Last updated 3/15/13 by mamazee

Everyone’s been loving it. I’m not exactly a big salad person, but I eat this one as if it’s a big bowl of ziti. Incidentally, it tastes great with ziti. Or Shirl’s lasagna (which is made with artichoke pasta, divine).   Spinach, Roasted Red Pepper, Goat Cheese and Pinon Nut Salad (with optional chicken) Big bag o’ spinach jar of roasted red peppers, drained and sliced (a nice extra: a caramelized roasted onion)  2 T. crumbled goat cheese handful of pinon nuts (preferably toasted) just-cooked chicken tenderloins (about 1/4... read more

• Last updated 3/15/13 by mamazee

  It’s no secret that I don’t like to cook. However, I do love to bake—especially with enthusiastic, energetic people . . . like kids. While I was in Ohio a couple of weeks ago visiting my sister and her gang, we made our family’s favorite Christmas cookies. My nephews, Ian, 9, and Graham, 4, did most of the work, but we managed to get my sister to help when it came time to “paint” the cookies. Here that top-secret family recipe and some photos of our baking team in action. Laura’s Mom’s Roll-Out-and-Paint Christmas... read more

• Last updated 3/15/13 by mamazee

what are your favorite recipes? Subscribe to the Mothering.com Blogs Feed This entry was posted on Thursday, January 8th, 2009 at 2:29 pm and is filed under greener pastures, the flavor. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.     read more

• Last updated 3/15/13 by mamazee

So, I’ve really been trying to stretch my grocery dollar. I can be guilty of spending more on recipe ingredients than I would on going out to a restaurant. Lately I’ve been trying to see how little I can spend, and I’ve even come back to clipping an old college love, coupons.  Lately, I buy one package of boneless chicken thighs and make two dinners out of them. You can also use chicken breasts, or tofu. I know chicken breasts are more popular, but I prefer the moistness and tenderness of dark meat. Saturday, we braised the chicken in a mixture of... read more

• Last updated 3/14/13 by mamazee

Earlier this week, I mentioned writer and food guru Cynthia Lair, whose article on healing foods appears in our March–April 2010 issue. But I neglected to mention her breezy, fun, and informative blog, Cookus Interruptus (How to Cook Local Organic Whole Foods Despite Life’s Interruptions)—in which she shares helpful and entertaining tips and recipes. I enjoyed this recent post, where she took a local McDonald’s billboard as a challenge (Three Breakfast Mini-Meals for under $3) and bettered it in three yummy ways. Who knew learning about food... read more

• Last updated 3/14/13 by mamazee

I made French toast this morning, realizing only after doing so that there was maybe a teaspoon of maple syrup in the house. No worries. Google saved the day, providing a plethora of recipes for a wide variety of syrups. Here’s what I ended up going with, a mashup of several recipes, based on the ingredients we had on hand: All-Out-of-Syrup Syrup 3/4 c. brown sugar 1 T. butter 1/2 c. water 1/2 tsp. vanilla 1 T. flour Stir brown sugar, butter, and water in saucepan over medium heat. Add vanilla.... read more