brown goat
the life of city dwellers with a healthy obsession with natureArchive for ny times
a day off
i hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. i had a great one, even though i was flying solo on friday and saturday while david was away at a conference.
i am still reminiscing over last week, when i had a lovely and rare day off in the middle of the week since i worked over the weekend. i spent the day wisely and got everything on my to-do list crossed off, but also still relaxed and enjoyed my time away from work.
the day started with the a reading of the new york times (wednesdays are my favorite because of the dining section and i especially enjoyed the julie and julia article: film food, ready for its “bon appetit”- wouldn’t it be so much fun to be a food stylist—i would love that job! and mark bittman’s recipe (i LOVE all his recipes…i really must get his cookbook) stone fruit patchwork bake. i plan to make this soon and will share my results…
next, i ordered lots of decor stuff for our baby boy’s room! i am so excited to get everything in its place and then just be able to sit in the room and enjoy it all. i will post pictures as each part of the room is complete. i think the crib area will be the first one finished, so i look forward to sharing it with you soon. i, then, finished the book i had been reading (for way too long)…a walk in the woods by bill bryson. it was very good, but i am happy to be moving on to my next book (which i started within minutes of finishing a walk in the woods)- consider the oyster by mfk fischer. already, this book makes me long to be near the sea.
i made deliciously tasty granola too. it’s so simple and so good, every time i make it i wonder why i ever buy granola! i combined 4 cups of toasted old fashioned oats with 1 cup of chopped pecans, 2 cups of whole almonds, 1/3 cup of light brown sugar, 3/4 cup of olive oil (this is the secret to extra tasty granola), 1/2 cup of honey, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. i baked it on 350F for 45 minutes, stirring about every 10 minutes. yummy!!! and, it will keep in a tupperware for up to 2 weeks.
i even had time in my day to take a walk with sadie, nap for an hour, talk to dad, make a lovely dinner, and watch top chef masters. it’s all in a day’s non-work!
freeze it!
i have quite an obsession with the minimalist, mark bittman, of the new york times. and, his article, freeze that thought, if you can get over the terrible cover picture, makes me even more of a bittman worshipper. it has such great ideas on how to use our freezers to make our lives more convenient, which is what we are all trying to do, right?
this is my favorite paragraph: “In that messy box you have some ice cubes, some stuff you bought frozen — a pizza? Lean Gourmet? peas? — and maybe, if you cook a lot, some stock or hastily stored leftovers. You also have a load of things you’ve already forgotten about and will eventually toss, even though you would have been guilt-struck if you had discarded them when they were fresh.” SO TRUE!
and, he includes really helpful tips organized by individual foods. i learned a lot and have lots of great ideas for things to do with food in the future. watch out, freezer, you are about to be stocked!
it’s a time to play
this article really tugs at my heart strings. homework in kindergarten??! - how absurd! but, what makes me really sad is that kindergarten students in LA (where the stats for this article were collected from) only spend an average of 19 minutes a day in free play! yikes! it is a terrifying thought to wonder how our children will respond when they “grow up” and have to figure out how to schedule and fill their own time…
let’s let kids be kids! get out this weekend and PLAY!
sugar is back in?
i wrote a post back in october about my distaste for people who have an unrational fear of sugar. well, the new york times just recently wrote an article about sugar’s “comeback” in light of the public’s negative perception of high fructose corn syrup. beginning with its opening phrase, “Sugar, the nutritional pariah that dentists and dietitians have long reviled…,” the article leads its readers to believe that all sweeteners are evil and that if you happen to be against the corn sweetener industry that you are clearly an “unknowledgable consumer.”
instead of focusing on the growing problem of obesity in america, this article has pooled the two schools of thought together, claiming that both high fructose corn syrup supporters and sugar supporters are wrong and “no sweetner or no sugar” is right.
let’s face it, sugar exists. let’s learn how to eat around it by keeping it out of foods that it doesn’t belong in, learn how to eat whole foods instead of those that are pieced and processed, and to save REAL sugar for what it was made for- to make our life sweeter.
fresh start in the kitchen
seriously, besides being guilty of keeping dried spices for WAY too long (however, now i am inspired to go through them all and toss ‘em!), these are the habits i keep in my culinary life.
if you have not already read this, you should. i think everyone would benefit from the minimalist’s great suggestions…following his advice willwill inevitably make your cooking experience and dining experience more pleasurable.
the food issue
this article brought me to tears. admittedly, i am obsessed with michael pollan and the positions he takes in relation to food and agriculture. i only wish i was as prophetic as he…
i urge you to read farmer in chief and to consider the issues.
goats are TOO cute.
its not often that an article highlights goats, so when that happens i feel the need to draw your attention to it by posting in on my blog. mr bill niman and i may not share the same reason for having a yard full of goats, but i do think he may love them just the same. i never intend to raise goats for their meat- i want them as milk and cheese producing PETS (pet being the important descriptor here)- but i truly respect mr niman’s work and devotion to the humane treatment of animals. And, being a flexatarian (a part-time vegetarian who mostly eats and cooks a plant-based diet, but eats meat when it is served and when it is “ethically” raised and killed) i love that people, like him, are focusing their work on the idea “that the better an animal is treated, the better the meat will be”.
but, with a face like this…how could you think of eating it?!
