Category Archives: life

Homemade pizza kit to the rescue

 three slices of pizza on a plastic cutting boardI keep homemade pizza dough and sauce in the freezer along with shredded mozzarella, so if I think of it soon enough on a Friday afternoon, I can defrost them all in time to make pizza for dinner. 

Tonight’s oeuvre was half smoked turkey (you know, for kids) and half Genoese salami, smoked turkey, and fresh basil. Dunno what I did this time but it was unusually delicious!  Trying to talk myself out of eating the cold leftovers now that the kids are asleep and Tom’s out. Willpower! 

Freezer management pro-tip

For a household with two parents who work “outside” the home and also care a lot about eating healthy, the freezer is a secret weapon in the fight against take out, processed food, aggravation, and starvation. The only problem is that sometimes food goes in the freezer and (practically) never comes back out again. (Software joke: this is a bug, not a feature.)

IMG_4816I’ve found that when I label freezer bags descriptively — pictured here are “Delish Mexican style chicken soup” and “Really terrific lentil soup” — we are much more likely to defrost and eat the food (again; I usually freeze leftovers because my kids crave variety) in a timely manner. I try to use words that remind me of how the food tasted, like “rich and meaty pasta sauce” for the slow-braised short ribs sauce I made last month, or “mild and savory enchilada sauce” to remind myself it’s kids friendly (or not, in the case of that braise).

On Racism

My friend Shannon asked for suggestions for videos that were funny but spot-on about racism/race, and I suggested Chris Rock’s but about his (current, wealthy) neighborhood:

While surfing around Chris Rock videos on YouTube (the above has some weird cuts that I thought might alienate her students), I listened to him talk about how much he admires Bill Cosby and Eddie Murphy, and now I’m watching 48 Hours while I enjoy my very classy evening snack.

IMG_4806

There’s a lot of nudity and violence in this movie, in case you forgot. I had. 🙂

Tasting Pepperwood Pinot Noir 2011

20140208-195204.jpg

The search of a drinkable $6 Pinot noir continues. This was discounted at Fred’s from $8.49 to $5.99, and I like its fancy twirly cap since, as I have mentioned in the past, my good wine key is missing.

Color: Darkish red. Nothing too noteworthy.

Nose: lots of sandalwood and vanilla, so I’m figuring they oaked this with chips? Some green pepper – weird – but also some pretty cherry scents. Vanilla and cherry are nice together, and I’m down with spicy wood smells. So far I’m cautiously optimistic.

Palate: cranberry and sour cherry, very mild tannins – but enough to give it a bit of structure – and a slight lingering touch of spice. One might go so far as to say “sprightly.” Really a pretty long finish of tart cherry, considering. Nothing requiring deep thought, but entirely quaffable.

If you can find Pepperwood Pinot Noir for 6 bucks, it’s worth buying one, maybe two bottles for easy & inoffensive drinking. Woot.

Dear Amelia, this is where I am staying while in Miami.

This is the house.

20130219-180537.jpg

There is a pool with a fountain in it! The weather is sunny and warm.

We are close to the water: it is not the ocean, but it is close to the ocean.

20130219-180628.jpg

In the backyard there are lots of flowers, and even a mango tree!

20130219-180810.jpg

Too bad I’m still allergic to mangos.

I love you and miss you and your daddy and Baxter very much. I hope you had a great day at school today! I’ll see you on Friday night.