The Cart of My Dreams

I am a supermarket snob.  I am not ashamed.   Safeway, Lucky, Albertsons... they are beneath me.  I prefer to shop here and here (of course) and OMG who can resist this store!  Not me.  I am a slave to these stores.   

Draeger's, my sweet Draeger's, you roped me in with your fresh, lovely salad bar and bakery that is to die to for.  Your wine selection is unbeatable, you even have a tiny tasting room almost hidden among the wine section that nearly takes up half the store.  You are killing me with the upstairs specialty store.  I can get any cookie cutter shape imaginable, a springform pan or even adorable birthday party supplies along with my groceries.  The men behind the meat counter always cut my chicken breasts into stir fry pieces for me, flirting with me the whole time and telling me my kids are the cutest you've seen all day.  You have every random ingredient I could ever imagine and some I don't even know what to do with.  Best of all, you are so close to my house and my kids (OK, me too) love the free produce samples.

Whole Foods... I adore you.  Walking into your well stocked and inviting produce section nearly sends me over the edge.  Then you go and let my kids choose a healthy snack like an apple, a fruit roll or some bunny crackers to eat for free while we shop.  Your selection of cheeses sets my heart on fire.  Then you have to go and add all those pre-packaged, healthy salads, sandwiches and all kinds of other stuff.  Your staff is friendly and helpful and always point me to the yogurt which for some reason is not where one would logically assume yogurt would be.  My addiction to you only worsened when you built a brand new, gorgeous store right next to a Peet's Coffee shop.  

Trader Joe's, you need no love song.  Every mother knows the value you have added to our lives with your inexpensive, yummy foods.  My kids are addicted to your frozen french toast and I have developed my own little problem with your Kettle Korn and real brewed ice-tea.  

While Draeger's does sell Diet Pepsi and plain old French's mustard, the prices are outrageous.  So once in a while, I will slum it and make a trip to Safeway for some basics.  I used to do all my shopping exclusively at Safeway until I was enlightened.  Alas, I am trying to turn over a new leaf and save some money rather than indulge my grocery shopping whims.  So today, Gloppy and I hit the local Safeway.

Damn you Safeway.  You had me with the "cart of my dreams."  My kids always want to get the cart with the little car in front.  You know the one.  The one that is impossible to maneuver so that you give your kids whiplash every time you try to turn a corner and whack into something or someone.  The one where other shoppers see you coming and run the other way.  I used to work up a sweat pushing that damn thing with little Lolly and Frostine in the car and Gloppy strapped to my chest in a Baby Bjorn.  I hated that cart with it's slimy seatbelts and flimsy door.

But Safeway, now you go and bust out the big guns.  "The cart of my dreams."  Gloppy and I walked into the store and he immediately spotted a small row of blue carts with Barney on the door.  We walked over to check it out.  He got in one while I noticed the small kiosk nearby.   The kiosk asked me which TV show I would like my son to watch.  What?  OK, I'll play along.  He chose Thomas the Train and as soon as I pushed the button it started playing on the little screen in the front section of the new car cart.  Oh, this cart was much, much easier to steer through the aisles and the doors lock from outside so Gloppy couldn't make a break for it.  There was even a cup holder for me and a little screen that seemed to know where in the store I located.  It would flash ads for popsicles in the frozen food aisle or pasta in the pasta aisle.  I didn't mind the ads, they were easy to ignore. 

This was the best shot I could get of the of "the cart of my dreams" since Gloppy kept telling me "no pictures in Safeway mama."  He has strict rules about when I can take his picture and when I can't.  Apparently grocery shopping in Safeway is not on his list of OK photo ops.

He barely made a peep while I cruised the store and he doesn't even like Thomas that much.  He never once tried to sneak something in the cart or asked me to buy Lucky Charms.  When we reached the checkout, your friendly little voice told Gloppy his show was almost over and you had a fun time with shopping with him.

So damn you Safeway, I may be back sooner rather than later.  It wasn't your $7.00 roast chicken that made me fall in love.  Draeger's amazing roast chicken is $13.00.  It wasn't your 4 boxes of pasta for $5.00 or your sale on Diet Pepsi.  Heck, even my favorite feminine hygiene products were dirt cheap.  No Safeway, it wasn't even the in store Starbucks than won me over.  It was the oh, so very lovely "cart of my dreams."  

A Little Piece of Advice

When your husband comes home from Costco with 50 pounds of cheese tortellini saying that your kids loved the samples they were handing out try to contain your skepticism.  You have already tried feeding those kids every kind of tortelinni known to mankind and they have turned their noses up at all of it.   Just smile and shove it into your already packed freezer.  Bite your tongue when you have the urge to say, "of course they loved it at Costco because it came in a little paper cup, someone else cooked it and their little stomachs are empty since it's almost lunch time.  

Go ahead and make it for dinner.  Serve some edamame on the side and some red plums.   Resist the temptation to call you husband and let him hear your kids response to the Costco tortellini when they discover that's what is for dinner.   After you scrape the tortellini off everyone's plate and get a new plate for the three year old (because the previous one was contaminated by the tortellini), ask if anyone wants some cheesy toast.  You only have one taker out of three so you ask again just to be sure.  When you explain that you are only making cheesy toast once and if they want some after they see their sister's, they are out of luck, you will probably have one more taker.   While you're making the toast they will devour the edamame and one will be crying since the other two got more than her.  Dig around in your freezer for another bag of edamame and get that started, because when your kids ask for seconds of something healthy, you happily oblige.

When you bring out the cheesy toast just take a deep breath and try to maintain your calm when the one who didn't want cheesy toast asks why you didn't make him any.  It's your own fault for even asking who wants some, always assume they will want whatever their sibling has. 

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that after the presentation of the tortellini, the three year old started screaming for string pasta (spaghetti) and so you got that started before you asked about the cheesy toast.  Try not to stick a fork in your eye, or you children's eyes when they don't touch the string pasta.  

Lastly, when your husband comes home and asks what's for dinner, just put on a happy face and tell him there is plenty of that fabulous tortellini left and you'd be happy to warm it up for him.

Not My Proudest Moment

I ran into a mom at drop-off this morning that I haven't seen in quite a while.  I want to run and hide every time I see her.  You see, when we first moved here lots of people would ask me, "have you met the so-and-so family?"  The so-and-so family lives down the street from us and it seems everyone thought we should be best friends.  You know because they are Indian and have three kids and Mr. Mint is Indian and we have three kids around the same age, and we live on the same street.  

I guess everyone was telling her the same thing because she stopped by my house one afternoon.  I was dressed in sweats with my hair pulled back in a pony-tail.  I was not looking my best.  She tentatively asked, "are you the lady of the house?" when I answered the door.  When I said yes, she introduced herself and said she was out walking and thought she would stop by.  I felt compelled to ask her inside.   My kids were eating lunch.  

OK, they were eating lunch and watching Dora the Explorer at the same time.  

OK, OK, OK, they were eating McDonald's Happy Meals (with chocolate milk) while watching Dora.   

Let's just say that from what I gather she is not the type of mom who feeds her kids at the Golden Arches, or at least the kind of mom that will admit it.   I made some joke about not winning Mother of the Year that day and we had a pleasant enough conversation before she left.

We have not exactly become BFFs.  I actually get the feeling that she avoids me sometimes.  Whenever I run into her at school I either want to run the other way or go up to her and explain that she caught me in a not so great parenting moment and did I mention that one of my kids actually likes brussels sprouts?

My guess is even I was feeding my kids stir fried tofu and broccoli over quinoa while listening to Mozart when she came by, we wouldn't end up having spa days together anyway.  Most of my friends would have laughed and told me about the time they let their kids share a box of Oreos so they could talk on the phone for a few minutes.  

Not that I'VE ever done that.

Just To Make You Jealous

Mr. Mint's cousin came over tonight to cook us dinner before he returns to London  tomorrow.  He made some of the most amazing chicken curry I have ever tasted.  Trust me, if you like Indian food, you are wishing you were here.

The women in Mr. Mint's family don't eat meat.  So if the men want a meat dish, they have to make it themselves.  Thus, the men in Mr. Mint's family are some seriously good cooks.  Mr. Mint, his father and his cousin spent about an hour in my kitchen cooking up this particular batch of curry.  Mr. Mint's cousin's curry is so legendary, that Mr. Mint took notes as they cooked.  It's like a science for them.   When we finally sat down to eat, they spent the whole meal talking about different chicken curry techniques, what they did right with this batch, what they would have done differently, dissecting the recipe and debating whose way is the best.   I just sat quietly trying to cool my mouth down between bites.  

I wish I could share a bite with you, but there weren't any leftovers.

Normal

I took Gloppy to the pediatrician this morning for his 3 year old check up.   I learned that his hearing and vision are normal.  Despite only being in the 10th percentile for weight, his growth is normal.  His height in normal.  His speech is normal.  His sleep patterns are normal.   I also learned that his eating patterns and neurosis surrounding food are, you guessed it, normal.   I am somewhat comforted by the fact that scenes like the following play out in households all across America every day.

This morning for breakfast the kids decided they wanted oatmeal.  Everyone picked their flavor and I set about adding milk and microwaving.  Gloppy insisted on opening the packet himself, putting it in the bowl that he picks out himself and pouring in the milk.  Fine.  I put some milk in a measuring cup and let him mix it up himself.  He then insists on carrying the bowl to the microwave himself, spilling a little bit along the way.  While its cooking, he decides to run to the bathroom.  He's still in the bathroom when the microwave dings.  The bowl is hot, so I take it out and put it on a plate.  That was my first mistake.  He comes running in screaming "noooooooo, now I have to get a new one!!"  OK, I put the bowl back in the microwave so he can take it out himself.  Oh no, that won't do.  He doesn't want that oatmeal anymore since I have ruined it.  We start the whole process over again with a new bowl, new measuring cup and new spoon.  This time he takes the bowl out of the microwave himself.   After taking a couple of bites, he tells me he wants french toast instead.  

My pediatrician thought this story was quite funny.  I am sure I will too someday.

In Praise of Trader Joe's Frozen Meatballs

If I've learned anything in my five and half years as a parent, it's that the things I stress and fret about the most seem to work themselves out by the time I've read all the books and consulted my pediatrician.    I make a doctor appointment to get a strange rash checked out, and that morning, it clears up.  Oh the sleep I lost over taking away Lolly and Frostine's pacifiers.  We made a big production over taking them to the toy store, picking out whatever they wanted, and paying with our "binkie bucket."  I was in a such a panic that night at bedtime I broke out in a cold sweat.   But it was like they never had pacifiers at all.   Not a tear was shed and neither of them mentioned the binkie bucket again.

Lately it's been Gloppy's eating habits that have kept me up at night.   Up until recently, we have described him as a pretty good eater, marveled at what he will eat and how much.  The past few weeks, he's been on a pasta and cookie only diet.  Eggs and bananas were his breakfast of choice, now I'm lucky if I can get him to eat a piece of toast and a drink a glass of water.  I think it's pretty typical behavior for an almost three year old, but it has me a little worried.  It has Mr. Mint a lot worried.

Let me just say that I am of the Ellyn Satter camp; you put healthy food in front of them and whether or not they eat it is up to them.    Personally, I am annoyed when people push food on me, telling me how much I'll love it (hello Mr. Mint's family!!!).   I'll decide what I like, thankyouverymuch.  We try to enforce the one bite rule, and if they tell me they don't like something, I don't try to convince them otherwise.   Yes, I get annoyed if I have put a lot of effort into dinner for several nights in a row and most of the food ends up in tupperware in the fridge.  But I refuse to have battles at the dinner table.  There is always something on the table that I know they will eat.  If they eat strawberries and bread for dinner, so be it.   If I really want them to take a few bites of something, I'm not above bribery in the form of ice cream.

Mr. Mint is the exact opposite.   He pays attention to every bite they take, and gets annoyed with me if I let them have their fruit before their protein.  I have a pretty good idea where he gets it.  My mother-in-law will bring up the starving children in India, tell them they'll never grow if they don't eat such and such or ask "aren't you a good boy/girl" if they aren't hungry.  I could go on and on and on.   What and and how much one eats is big deal at my in-laws house.

So I've bought in a little bit to Mr. Mint and my mother-in-laws worries about Gloppy.   There have been a few times when I have considered asking my pediatrician for advice.   Like when all he has eaten all day is a banana, some pasta and some more pasta.   

Today on the way home from Tiny Tots, I asked Gloppy what he wanted for lunch.  He answered, "meatballs, I love meatballs mommy."  I had a moment of panic, thinking I don't have time to run to the store for some ground meat, roll some meatballs and cook them.  Then I remembered the Trader Joe's meatballs I had in the bottom of my freezer.  I almost peed my pants I was so happy.  I cooked up three meatballs and gave them to Gloppy over a little plain pasta.  He ate two whole meatballs, more protein than he's had in one sitting in I don't know how long.   Then at dinner we had build your own soft tacos.  He filled his taco full of ground beef, black beans, rice and cheese and gobbled it right up.  Cue the choir of angels please.  I think he's finally tired of pasta and plain toast.  No sign of his appetite for cookies slowing down though.

Re-Entry

From Wine Country*...

To Whine Country...

Even after a child-free weekend in a fancy hotel, filled with luscious wine and insanely good food... it's good to be home.

*photo taken at Cliff Lede Vineyards

Heaven on a Plate

In case you can't read that, it says "The French Laundry."  Because that's where I had dinner last night.  

You know when someone tells you that you must see a movie because it was the best movie ever, and blah, blah, blah?  So you go to see it and inevitably you're disappointed because you were expecting the best movie ever.  Too much hype.  

Well The French Laundry is worth the hype.  It was indeed not just a meal, but an experience.  Every bite was decadent, perfect and masterfully crafted (did I just say "masterfully crafted" to describe food?).    It was that good.  Even the palate cleansing buttermilk sherbet with candied kumquats and spiced streusel was heavenly.    I am not a very adventurous eater, so I passed on the veal heart (props to my friend C who ordered it).  But I did have a couple bits of Mr. Mint's foie gras.   The waiter spent about 2 minutes describing the three different kinds of salt from all over the world that come with the foie gras.  

Thank you so C and A for inviting us.  We will be eternally grateful. 

In other related news, Mr. Mint and I decided to stay in Napa for the weekend.  So I am typing this from my hotel bed while I sip my coffee and Mr. Mint ponders which wineries we'll visit today.  My kids are at my in-laws house recovering from a night at their version of The French Laundry, otherwise known as Chuck E. Cheese.    I slept until 7:30am two days in a row!  Woo hoo!!

Scenes From My Weekend

Act 1:  We started our weekend by celebrating my brother-in-laws birthday on Friday night.   The restaurant had some freaky decor, but the food was solid.    The service crap though.  I was sitting across the table from my sister and she ordered the surf and turf.  After they took our plates away, her hands were glistening.  I almost had to shield my eyes from the glare.  After about ten minutes and a couple of requests for a towel, they finally brought her some hot towels and lemons.   Despite the service, a good time was had by all. 

Act 2:  Saturday night.  I spent the evening in my kitchen cooking some food for a friend going through a tough time.    It's been a while since I've spent that much time in my kitchen, but I found some good vegetarian recipes and I enjoy cooking.   I just can't stand my kitchen, but that is a post for another day.  Mr. Mint made chicken curry.  Yum, yum and super yum.   Mr. Mint's chicken curry is one of the reasons I married him.  Before I met him, I don't think I had ever had Indian food.   Now I even attempt to make some Indian dishes myself and the kids gobbled up the leftovers for lunch on Sunday.

Act 3:  Mr. Mint flew off to New York for business stuff.  Gloppy had a play date with Grandma Nutt and I took Princess Lolly and Princess Frostine to see Disney's On Ice, Princess Wishes.  Lolly and Frostine have just about outgrown the princess phase, so it was sort of our last hooray with Cinderella and her posse.  It was cute... Disney puts on a good show.  I mean really, where else can you see dancing silverware.

I realize that in some circles Ariel, Aurora, and Belle are very uncool.  Anti-feminist even.  I know some even think Disney is the in bed with satan.   I have never purposely kept my girls away from it, nor have I bought them Princess bed sheets and curtains.  They were Cinderella and Ariel for Halloween when they were three and this past year they were Jasmine and Mulan.  (I personally think Mulan kicks @ss and is a fine role model for young girls).  You are free to disagree, but I don't think exposure to Disney Princesses has done lasting harm to them.   They don't really pay much attention to the princes in the stories.   I don't believe they will grow up waiting for a prince to come and save them so they can be happy.  Besides, the messages aren't all bad.  Belle is a loner who loves books and falls in love with someone "beastly" because he's a good person.   I asked Lolly what she liked best about Ariel and she said, "she is a really good singer."  Frostine said her favorite thing about Cinderella is that "she has lots of animal friends and pretty shoes."  I know I appreciate pretty shoes.   So yes, I am ready to say farewell to the princess phase and introduce them to some more modern ladies to look up to.  Who know, maybe they will see the first female president in their lifetime.

Final Act:  Before I go to bed, I need to address and stamp invitations for my sister-in-laws wedding shower I am hosting in a few weeks.   More on that later, but check out these pretty invites I picked up.

I have a stationery fetish and picking out invites is my favorite part of throwing a party.

That's all I got for today.  Now I must go fill these out, fold laundry and go to bed.

A Night Out

This past Saturday night my sister-in-law and her fiance took all three of the Candy Cane Kids to Chuck E. Cheese.  God bless her.   They had a great time and came back with sparkly bracelets, temporary tattoos and probably some germs since Gloppy the Chocolate Monster has had a runny nose and watery eyes since Sunday.

Mr. Mint and I enjoyed an evening in San Francisco.  We belong to a cooking club that consists of four couples.  Essentially we get together about 4-5 times a year for a potluck type meal at someone's home.  There is usually a theme (i.e., Italian, summer, Thanksgiving) and everyone cooks something that fits into the theme.   We've been getting together with this particular group of people for a little over six years.   When we started, Mr. Mint and I were newly married and the group was a mix of single people, dating couples and married couples.  Over the years it has dwindled to a core group of four couples.  At the beginning, we all lived in San Francisco and one couple had one child.  Today, only one person still lives in San Francisco and there are nine kids between us and one more on the way (not from me!!).

J&M hosted this time at J's house in the city and the theme was Greek.  They are a very well traveled couple who always a story to tell about there latest adventure.  M is a wine enthusiast and always brings some unique bottle to share.  We had this oh so yummy dessert wine the other night courtesy of M.

K&C brought a luscious lemon meringue pie and tasty Greek salad.  They are far and away the dessert experts of the group.   Mr. Mint and I still talk about their bananas foster.  K is a lawyer and C is a graphic artist.  They live in the burbs and have two adorable daughters and one more on the way.  They're a warm and happy couple and I always enjoy spending an evening with them.

R&J couldn't make it on Saturday.   They have four kids, three girls followed by a little baby boy.  They recently remodeled a beautiful house in the suburbs.  R has great taste and her home always feel welcoming.  R&J bring a lot of humor and we feel lucky to be friends with them.  

Whenever we all get together, there is always great food and a few bottles of great wine.  We've shared book recommendations, travel recommendations, nanny tips, remodeling and construction tips, tales of dysfunctional families, stock tips...  you name it.  But mostly we share laughter and friendships that have grown over the past six years.   It's always a great way to spend an evening out.

After we wrapped up our dinner, it was still on the early side and we didn't have to pick up the Candy Cane Kids until the next morning.  So Mr. Mint and I decided to stop by our old neighborhood to one of our favorite restaurants for a glass of wine before we headed home.   I had the "Taste of Italy" wine flight.

The empty glass on the right was a yummy Prosecco that I wasted no time in enjoying.  It was past 10pm when we left the restaurant and it was still quite packed.  Maybe it was all the wine, but being in our old neighborhood in a buzzing restaurant at 10pm made me physically miss living in San Francisco.   I wonder if I'll ever be able to drive through Noe Valley and not feel sentimental and a little bit sad.

Family Dinner

We here in the Candy Cane Forest try to have dinner together as a family as often as possible.  During the week it's tough, but we can usually manage on the weekends.  Princess Lolly has been asking for steak for a while.  We don't eat a ton of red meat and the whole beef recall has me a little spooked.   But we decided to throw caution to the wind and grill a marinated tri tip.   Yum.  I think Lolly ate most of it.   She kept asking for more and finally we cut her off.  Then she ate an entire basket of strawberries.  She clearly shares her mother's appreciation of good food.  

She and Princess Frostine helped me make the side dishes which rounded out a very nice meal.

 

The potatoes were so tasty and the brussels sprouts were simple and delicious.  It was a nice little family dinner despite Gloppy's mini tantrum because we wouldn't give him Diet Pepsi with his dinner and we made the mistake of putting a brussels sprout on his plate.  He was fine after we got him a new plate that had never touched any green food.

A Valentine Photo Essay

CAUTION:  LOTS OF PICTURES AHEAD

The Candy Cane kids started preparing their Valentines this past weekend.  Here are Princess Frostine and Gloppy getting crafty.

Here is Princess Lolly putting some sugar on some sugar cookies.  Gloppy was covered in flour and pink sugar crystals, but he wouldn't let me take his picture.

Here are our creations ready to go in the oven.

And here's the finished product ready to put in bags and attach our valentines.

Princess Frostine and Princess Lolly ready to take their cookies to school and spread the love.  Lolly woke up with a fever though, so she stayed home under the care of Grandma Nutt.

Here's Gloppy at his Tiny Tots Valentine party.  He was a little out of sorts so we left shortly after he finished his pink cupcake and collected his loot.

After dinner we made some popcorn, built a fire and watched A Charlie Brown Valentine.   

After the kids went to bed it was Indian take-out, Diet Pepsi and Survivor for me.  I would have poured myself a glass of wine, but I had one too many glasses last night at my mom's night out.  The flowers were courtesy of Mr. Mint.

Happy Valentine's Day to me.