A Recipe For Success

Welcome back!  How've you been?  What's new?

A funny thing happened when I took a major detour away from writing about the kitchen and immersed myself in the world of nursery school.  I thought I would be surrounded by moms who  A) Are type-cast as Super Moms, and B) Look down on moms who aren't type-cast as Super Moms.  You know, that whole mompetitor thing?  Wrong on both counts.  Yay!

That's not to say I was hanging with a group of chicks who go back to bed after drop-off (me) (kidding) .  Quite the contrary.  I was happy to find out I was surrounded by a group of talented women.  Like boatloads of talent.

True, the majority of us are stay-at-homers, but just because we've all had a bun in the oven at some point doesn't negate the fact that there is a huge -- HUGE -- wealth of creativity at my kid's school.  And sick amounts of intelligent women. 

I signed up to chair the fundraiser event and got hit in the face with Natasha's imagination.  This one woman literally transformed the idea of showcasing our kids' artwork into a beautiful and elegant gallery of topnotch art.  Not surprising, actually, considering she's the Craft Maven of Stamford.  And she has an amazing singing voice, so I'm kind of insanely jealous.

Since we were throwing a party with a huge auction, it helped to get the word out.  Every piece of communication, every poster, everything and anything that had to do with this shindig (and umpteen other events at the school this year) had a logo.  Luckily there's a professional graphic designer at the school.  Note to self:  Hire Liz for blog re-design.

One of the women working on the class projects has her own clothing line.  And she throws tie-dye parties.  And her kids listen to the Grateful Dead.  Michal, you're killing me. 

The woman in charge of the decorations happens to be one of Stamford's most talented photographers.  She tricked out a Trader Joe's hydrangea blossom into an elegant centerpiece.  Are you freakin' kidding me?  I look at a hydrangea and it dies.  But Lauren knows a thing or two about creating beauty. 

There are too many women who were involved in the school this year to list all of their talents.  The woman with a PhD in mathematics from Princeton?  Check.  The former pharmaceuticals sales rep?  Check.  The "Oh, I just like to shoot photos as a hobby" woman who sent me over 2,000 photos for the yearbook which I could barely edit down because they were that good?  Check.  The human resources executive, the copy editor from Hearst, the journalist from Newsweek.  Check, check and check. 

And every single woman who helped out in any way, shape or form because they understand that we are raising the next generation?  Check.

Whew!  Talk about feeling small in a crowd.

And to all those yucky people out on the internets who think that once a uterus has been around the block a couple of times, the brain shuts down and the creativity and intellect get thrown out with the bathwater?  HA!  I'll give ya a Mommy War.

I promise you I'll get back to writing about my adventures in Foodland and life in the garden.  Just wanted to give props to the women of the world (and all my new friends -- I have new friends!!).

A Short Break

Dear Friends:

In the past three (gasp!) years, you have followed my culinary journeys and mommy adventures.  I greatly appreciate all of your feedback, warmth and loyalty.

I will be taking a break from this little blog for a few months.  I have become a person I never, ever, never-in-a-million-years thought I would become:  A member of my kid's nursery school parents' association.  I always saw those moms as uber-organized and having impeccable manicures.  Not the me I thought I was.

It all began last year with the cookbook project.  Besides being a ton of fun, I caught the volunteer-for-school bug.  This year I've been working on fundraising projects and helping out wherever I can.  The school's library project has enabled me to get involved with kid's reading; the Hurricane Sandy relief saw me organizing a toy drive, followed by a ride out to Brooklyn during Chanukah; there was the incredibly fun night when we hosted Jenny Rosentrach at the JCC.  In all, I've been happy and fulfilled with these duties.

Now, however, I've entered the big leagues.  I've signed on as Chairperson for our fundraising gala.  Budgets, committees, meetings.  All that kind of stuff that doesn't sound like me but actually now kind of is me.  So, I'll need to put my blog on the back burner.  Get it?  Back burner/cooking blog?

I will see you in the spring, hopefully having learned how to throw a big party without making a total ass of myself.

--Jodi

Christmas 2012

It isn't easy getting back into the blogging world.  Nor is it easy talking about food.  Writing about  Christmas and festivities and hokey family stories, well... it's difficult.  This past week has been dreadfully sad.  Painful for so many, sad for everybody. 

I don't live far from Newtown.  I have a young child.  This tragedy has hit so close to home that it's almost impossible to think.  I was in the city during 9/11 and had my share of pain then.  But this.  This is so hard to wrap my head around.  My own country has devolved into such madness that the citizenry is allowed to own weapons of mass destruction.  We sent our military halfway around the world to get rid of evil when all along it's been right here.

I'm looking forward to Christmas, when I can focus solely on my daughter's pure delight.  I can stop crying and just look at the best damn gift I ever received.  But there will be the lingering sadness in the back of my mind for those families whose lives have been changed forever.  The gifts that won't be opened and the lights that have gone out.

Cooking Demo by a Favorite Blogger: Jenny Rosentrach

With all the blogs out there, particularly the food blogs, you'd think I'd never leave my desk.  You'd think I'd spend all my time idling in neutral, gawking at the food and recipes leaping out from the screen.  You'd think. 

Less Fat During the Holidays: Anise and Grapefruit Salad

We have now descended into that stretch of time known around here as Gain Weight Now.  First comes Thanksgiving with an abundance of butter and carbs.  Too much stuffing, too many pies.  Then comes all the holiday parties, where candies and alcohol seem to be the two constants in every home.  There's the kid's Chanukah party at school, complete with fried latkes, fried donuts and fried mouth-taste afterwards.  A cookie swap here, a cookie swap there.  Did I mention the annual family dinner at The Post House?  And the annual other family dinner at our house?

You've got your basic recipe for larger hips.