Tuesday, August 09, 2011

hungry thoughts

Today is the 9th of Av, a day of fasting and mourning for the lost centers of Jewish holiness. There's a whole constellation of concepts that go with that, but I'm going to point you to Eicha and leave it there. I'm too hungry to do the subject justice. Instead, all I can think about (4.08 pm, fast ends and 8.56? 8.57 pm? so that's what, 4 hours and 49 minutes to go - unless it's 46 minutes and I should really look that up which means that if I can get through feeding the kids dinner then it ice cream a couple of hours later and damn, my stomach is gnawing on my  collarbones) is food.

We've been eating peanut butter around here, every since the Eldest was veeerrrry carefully fed pb in a hospital setting, surrounded by a group of people who were only the teeniest bit disappointed when nothing happened. As it happens, when you don't grow up with peanut butter, it's a tough sell. Sticky on the roof of the mouth, a sort of strong taste that you've already been taught is dangerous, and now? now you should forget that and fall in love? Instantly? Um. Guesses as to how this goes?

It might help if one's mother lit up more at the idea of pb&j. But I'm frankly a little ooked by the idea, and me, I'm holding out for the barley allergy to go. I want my Vegemite. Peanut butter + toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, a leetle vinegar and a bunch of garlic, maybe some pepper and water and stir...now, you are talking. So, talk to me about peanut butter when the sesame allergy goes.

Clearly, now that we've kicked a couple of allergies, I'm turning into the demanding type. Either that, or peanut butter has simply never been all that central to my world. Until we discovered PB&J cookies. Gluten free, egg free, and nut free (if you can find a safely nut free peanut butter), these are delish. And pretty darned quick, too.


Our Imperfect thanks to rae1954 and eHow for the (slightly adapted) recipe:

PB& J cookies

1 cup peanut butter (smooth)
1 cup sugar
1 Tb soy flour (or other high protein flour)
2 Tb water, plus more as needed to get a workable consistency.
Jam of choice

Preheat oven to 350F. Dump all ingredients (except jam) in a mixing bowl. Mix, adding water until the result will form a ball when rolled between your palms. Cover a cookie sheet with baking parchment, or spray with cooking spray.

Drop balls of dough (roughly 1 coffee scoop, or 1/4th cup) onto cookies sheet. Use your thumb to make an indentation in each. Invite the kids to drip a wee bit of jam into each thumbprint, and take photos.

Bake 16-18 minutes, until slightly browned. Cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Consider the possibility that PB goes with a slightly caramelized J, and that other versions of this lovely combination are worth tolerating - conceptually, if not in practice. They are, after all, not that far from a fairly delicious truth.

Monday, August 08, 2011

strategic summer snarling



My goal for this month is to wear a mildly humorous, distinctly wry face when asked, so, how's the summer going? Last month, I managed a less than slightly desperate look, and when asked, offered practical demonstrations. Or loan of small children. Over the course of the month, the Giggles learned what his older brother already knew: when the mama has that wild look in the maternal eye, it's a really bad time for small Lego to be underfoot. So tidy up. Tidy it all up.

It is actually possible that the best parenting that I did all month involved time-ins. The Eldest was fined with three days of time-in (a.k.a. helping the mama), and learned to stack dishwashers. His mama-placating strategies took a big jump forward when he shared notes with his fellow inmate, and learned that the Giggles had been instructed in the art of cleaning the dryer's lint filter.

Together, they made a potent team. 

The lads still failed to understand the whole morning, get up and brush teeth and put on clothes business, but hey, they can splash in every single puddle in our perma-construction site of a block. Because they can do the laundry. And they can now eat their weight in fruit, if they like, with a solid 42% childsworth of cheese and corn thins. Because they can wash up.

Well, they can. And will, if there's sufficiently terrifying maternal incentive in front of them. 

i will use my powers for good. i will use my powers for good. i will use my powers for good. i will use my powers for good. i will use my powers for good. i will use my powers for good. i will use my powers for good. i will use my powers for good. i will use my powers for good. i will use my powers for good. i will use my powers for good. starting right after dinner.

Thursday, August 04, 2011

aim? ball seventeen?

Note to self: throwing a ball at a small person's bat is a lot harder than it looks. But hey, it's a heckuva lot of fun to say, authoritatively, okay, kiddo. Now, you have to keep an eye on the ball...


Heh. As if I know anything about the subject.