waste less, eat cake

Today, running more than usual on not enough sleep, I've been spending too much time sitting on the couch wasting time with the computer and tv. I watched some of an Oprah show on recognising waste and challenging oneself to waste less.

I've been trying to push myself a little at a time to waste less and do more. Still a long way to go for my idea of what I could be achieving, but watching Oprah made me feel positively virtuous at times (if the families they were following are representative of average middle class America anyway). Setting the heat to run at 75 on a warm day? Trashing still edible food to make space to go grocery shopping? Why would you do these things?? I also can't imagine sleeping with the tv on all night but then I've never had a tv in the bedroom - I do like falling asleep to an audio book and using the radio to wake myself up but I don't think I'd sleep well with the tv on all night. I am definitely guilty of watching too much tv, spending too much time at the computer and of allowing my daughter to watch way more tv than I ever thought I would (especially at her age). I noticed several people on the show (children in particular) saying without those technologies there's nothing to do. Once again my mind boggles. I kick myself for wasting my time with these things because there are so many other things I want to spend more time doing. I don't want my daughter to develop that attitude (I don't think that's likely to happen any time soon thankfully).

Later in the show I caught some of a woman who had challenged herself to consume more mindfully and was thinking about only consuming her "share"; what she needs rather than over-consuming because there's so much on offer out there. That struck more of a chord with me it is an issue I think about a lot. I've been so happy lately because we finally got a compost bin. I try to always bring containers to our coop for my bulk items, and cloth bags for shopping. But thinking, globally, about what my share of the earth's resources always makes me uncomfortable because even though I don't consume as much as the guests on Oprah's show today I do still waste and I do still consume more than I would if resources were shared more equally across the world (which would mean many of us consuming much less of course since the world resources are limited - check out this "game" where you can see what the world would look like if everyone lived like you).

I don't know how much of that I am willing to change in the near future but I do want to challenge myself more. I'd love to live more of a Slow Life but how much my husband would go along with I'm not sure. Little by little though perhaps we can move in that direction. I'm not going to be Riana any time soon (she's certainly one of my sources of inspiration though).

What I did do was turn away from the computer, switch off the tv and spend time with my daughter. We checked our plants outside (we're growing some peas, beans, tomatoes, greens and herbs in containers this year), read a few stories, talked with my parents (using technology to tune in rather than switch off), did a jigsaw puzzle and prepared food.

I've had some over ripe bananas which I've been meaning to make banana bread with for several days and have not quite got around to the baking. So rather than let them get to the point of no return I decided to bake a cake. My daughter liked this idea but wanted to make a smoothie first (there would have been 3 bananas in the cake). By that time we really needed to get on with dinner so I put softened butter and banana into a bowl and gave that to my daughter to mash up while I cooked adding new ingredients for her to work in at intervals.I was going to make banana bread but in the end made a somewhat lighter textured cake. We ate some for our dessert before bedtime with cocoa (which I also sweeten with molasses) and my daughter announced she's having this cake for her birthday. It's just as well I made notes as I went along so that I can recreate it.

Double Chocolate Banana Cake

2 over-ripe bananas mashed
1 stick/4oz butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
a glug of walnut oil
1/4 milk*

1 cup All Purpose Flour
1 cup whole wheat cake flour
1/4 cocoa (sieve)
1 rounded tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg (one could also use cinnamon or no spices according to taste)
3/4 cup chocolate chips

• mix together wet ingredients in a large bowl and dry ingredients in a smaller bowl

• add dry ingredients to wet and mix to combine
  

• pour into prepared 8"x8" square pan

• bake in 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes
  

*I actually added the milk in at the end because I wanted the batter a bit wetter

banana cake

My husband got me a standmixer for Christmas - it arrived really quickly and we opened it since this means I can use it to make stuff for Christmas more easily! My husband gave me a rundown of the features (he's compulsive about reading manuals) and my daughter must have been paying attention because the next day she gave me another whole spiel about it and demonstrated the mechanism for moving the bowl up and down. Then she wanted to use it and since we had some over ripe bananas lying around the kitchen we improvised a banana cake. The basis for this cake lies in three banana bread recipes that I like - one from bakingbites, one from orangette and one by Delia Smith (from a recipe book my mum owns, oh but wait it's on her website - I usually omit the walnuts and add chocolate chips and chopped dates).

Banana Cake

5oz butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
4 Tbspns walnut oil
4 bananas
1 egg (I wasn't originally intending to use the egg but my daughter fetched one from the fridge and insisted)
1 1/2 Tbspn rum (optional)
1 cup AP flour
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger (to taste)
3/4 cup coconut
1 cup chocolate chips

• cream butter and sugar

• add remaining wet ingredients and mix thoroughly

• mix dry ingredients in separate bowl

• add dry ingredients to wet and mix until combined

• pour batter into 9x9 cake pan

• sprinkle with demerara/turbinado sugar (or the coarsest grained kind you have)

• bake in a 350 degree oven for approximately 40 minutes

This is a moist, slightly crumbly cake. We brought half of it to share at breaktime during the evening singing (along with another oaty thing I threw together) and we didn't bring any leftovers home so I'll take that as a positive review.

Unfortunately with the miserable weather we're having at the moment getting a good photo is more difficult than usual. Maybe the sun will come out again before it's all eaten...

Party!

We had a little birthday party for my daughter at the weekend (at last, only just over a month since her birthday). My organization skills in general leave a lot to be desired, but my drive to provide food at social events is strong so party favors didn't get finished but we had more than enough food to be in danger of spoiling our dinner (it was a late afternoon party).

The picture shows the selection of sweet baked goods I made (with help from my daughter who loves to pour and mix and press the button on the food processor and call for "more choc'ate").

The leftmost cookies are the Honeyed Chocolate Chip Cookies that I spotted on the Baking Bites blog last week. When I noted that honey makes the cookies moist and therefore less prone to going dry and stale I thought that was perfect for my purposes since I could make a batch a day or two ahead to spread the baking out. I used to make a honey and ginger cookie quite often when I was at uni which I'd all but forgotten about, this brought the memory back and I added maybe half a teaspoon of ginger to the dough. I might add more ginger another time for my taste, as it was it gave that slight hint that makes you think "there's something in here I wasn't expecting but I can't put my finger on what it is".

The other cookies are two variations on the Flourless Nut Butter Cookies which I've made several times before. I made a double batch with peanut butter to which I added some cocoa powder and chopped chocolate. Also made a single batch with almond butter which I tried putting a spoonful of jam (some strawberry rhubarb I made a while back) in the middle and a little chocolate on some too. I personally like the almond butter ones much better than peanut, and the jam and chocolate topping was really yummy.

Finally the birthday cake! I took two banana bread recipes I've made and liked in the past and combined elements from both to make a spiced banana coconut cake with molasses then baked it in an 8x8 square baking tin. Should have taken notes, it came out very nice and moist and tasty.

I had intended a flourless chocolate cake too (since some guests don't do flour or dairy). When that didn't happen I thought I'd better put chocolate on top of this cake (after all I had been told there needed to be chocolate by the birthday girl). I had the end of a batch of ganache in the fridge and threw in some extra chocolate and melted them together and spread it on top. Not the most picturesque but it worked for us!

There were some more healthful food options - hummus with carrots and socca for dipping plus lots of fresh fruit.

The party was nice and small and relaxed. We went to the common in town with friends, sat at and around a picnic table, ate and chatted. There was singing to the birthday girl, and she got to open some presents, eat cake, kick a ball around, pet a dog and play with bubbles.

I made her a big footed bunny (using a pattern from WeeWonderfuls) with a pinafore to match the one I made daughter for Easter (which daughter was suitably impressed with when she noticed). Unfortunately I didn't quite manage to finish so we still need to sew on a face, I shall be asking for input from the new owner (there has already been a vote for blue eyes) who is quite appalled at the face with no face. I imagine that once the face is in place the bunny will get her own photo shoot and blog post.

Porridge Bread

My daughter's choice for breakfast most often is oats and raisins. Partly this is habit, and I suspect she also likes that she gets to do cooking (I measure the water and oats and she pours them into the pan, puts the lid on and watches for the bubbles).

Sometimes she'll devour her bowl of oats and raisins and sometimes she'll pick for ages and eat very little. I hate to throw out the leftover oatmeal but it's not something I like to eat myself and I've been meaning to experiment with making bread with the leftovers. I came across a recipe online the other day that prompted me to give it a go. So here's what I came up with.

Porridge Bread
(modified from this recipe, and I already forgot where I found the link I'm afraid, and influenced by my ABI5MAD experiences so far)

I had 1/2 cup of leftover oatmeal and raisins (had a little milk mixed in but was made with water)
to that I added 1tbspn walnut oil, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 cup molasses

In the measuring cup I had measured out the molasses in I put 1/4 cup warm water and 1/4 cup milk then sprinkled over 1tspn yeast (if I'd thought about it more I would have used the warm water to dissolve the rest of the molasses and then transfered the liquids to the mixing bowl before adding the yeast)

Mixed wet ingredients in the bottom of a mixing bowl then on top added 1&1/2 cups AP flour, 1/2 cup whole wheat bread flour and 1/4 cup oat flour plus salt

Mixed until flour all wet, I needed to add maybe another 1/8 cup water and also decided to throw in a handful or two of currants (next time I might add even a bit more water as the dough seemed a bit denser than I might have ideally liked). No kneading.

This made about 1 1/2 lbs of bread dough.

Allowed dough to rise in the bowl for about 3 hrs (it was a cool day), shaped quickly and placed into small loaf pan and left the dough to rise maybe another hour until it was poking up above the top of the loaf pan.

Baked at 375 degrees for about 45 mins (this may not be the best temp/time configuration for the crust so I'll have to experiment).

I've been eating it lightly toasted with butter, I'm thinking it would also be good with some of the apple butter I made last year too.

modern conveniences

We've been planning to replace some of our old inherited appliances (after finally filing some overdue tax returns and getting refunds). There's good news and bad news...

Bad News: this morning our washing machine was still full of water when it should have drained and spun while we were sleeping. It did not seem at all interested in draining and spinning although it did still agitate so not completely dead. Now when I was in my first year at university I did all my washing by hand in the tiny sink and a big plastic container in my room. With a toddler who wears cloth diapers and a husband who also produce laundry in the house I am not so thrilled with the idea of going back to washing by hand while we wait for a new machine!

Good News: this got my husband to finally order the washing machine he's been talking about us getting for many many moons (unfortunately it will take 3 to 4 weeks to get here)... and after some coaxing and poking the washing machine did finally drain and spin and my husband rinsed the clothes out and put them back in the machine and got them to spin again - hurrah! We shall experiment with it further over the weekend I'm sure but it seems there is hope at least.

More Good News: We had a new stove delivered last Friday, hurrah! The old oven worked just fine but the burners were quite unreliable to say the least so this is very nice for me. I broke it in on Friday evening by making a roast chicken dinner and baking bread. I've also made banana chocolate chip flapjacks (recipe found here, tasty) and had another go at the beef and rhubarb dish (this time I did serve it over rice) for a potluck dinner. Last night I made another version of potato and cheese bake which I served with some pea greens bought at the farmers market (where I also got rhubarb) cooked up with bacon and mushroom. (See the nice shiny stove that the plates are sitting on? It makes me happy.)

Today I decided to make granola for the first time (having polished of the last of the bought stuff the previous day). I've always intended to have a go at making my own, but I always wonder whether it's worth it since I don't consistently eat it and somehow it'd be worse to let it go to waste if it's homemade. Well I saw a recipe for cocoa-coconut granola at everybodylikessandwiches, and since I love chocolate and have actually been eating cereal more often recently I thought this would be a good time to finally give granola making a go.

I started while my daughter's breakfast oats were cooking so she insisted on helping with the dry ingredients and I finished putting it all together while she was eating. I didn't actually try eating it in a bowl with milk or yoghurt or anything yet, I've just been snacking on it from the jar, mmmm. I'm thinking it'd be good with raisins, or dried cranberries (as well as the apples, or bananas in the photos posted with the recipe). Maybe tomorrow I'll have some with some of the strawberries I didn't put in our rhubarb and strawberry sponge pudding tonight...

Links for 2007-09-01 to 04 [del.icio.us]

• If you can handle the mess: fun things to do with toddlers - ParentDish
  A few fun ideas in the post. I was hoping there'd be more comments too, oh well.
• angry chicken: not made in china.
  great blog post about toys for children in light of all the recalls recently of toys made in China includes ideas for making toys, where to buy safe toys and how to talk to family and friends about the kinds of things to get your children for gifts
• Results of the cold brew coffee experiment - Slashfood
• Cold Coffee Drinks Without Special Equipment - Instructables
  I am intrigued by this cold brew coffee idea. Not that I'm a coffee drinker myself, but my husband is and I've thought of trying to figure out making him iced coffee in the summertime so this is on my list of things to try.
• How to construct a slash pocket - Instructables
Useful tutorial for incorporation into my favourite trouser pattern.

• Simply Recipes: Perfect Popcorn Recipe
Not that I don't know how to pop corn, but this has a few tips I hadn't come across before.

• Tutowlrial
  A picture tutorial for sewing a cute little owl found via Domesticali
• BBC NEWS World Asia-Pacific Miscarriage prompts Japan pledge
  "Japan's health minister has pledged to address the shortage of doctors in the country after a woman in labour was turned away by eight hospitals."
• BBC NEWS Health Ovary removal 'raises brain risk'
  "Women who have ovaries removed before the menopause could be increasing their risk of both Parkinson's Disease and memory problems, research suggests.
  "Removing one or both ovaries at a young age doubled the risk.
  "Sex hormones made by the ovary may be protecting the brain, said experts from the US Mayo Clinic."
• What do you think of Attachment Parenting? - ParentDish
  "These days, I don't hear much about AP v. traditional parenting. Is it just because I'm out of the baby loop, or is it because like me with the twins, parents have decided to take and use the best of both worlds?"
• BBC NEWS Health Junk sleep 'damaging teen health'
  "Too many teenagers are damaging their health by not getting enough sleep and by falling asleep with electrical gadgets on, researchers say.
  "A third of 12 to 16-year-olds asked slept for between four to seven hours a night. Experts recommend eight hours."
• 25 Worlds Weirdest Animals
  Found via parentdish definitely worth a look!
• BBC NEWS In Pictures Beards and Moustaches: Your photos
Fun, pictures from the 2007 World Beard and Moustache Championships!

• BBC NEWS Health Confusion over diabetes testing
"Diabetics could be giving up vital home blood sugar checks because they believe they are of no use, says a researcher.
"Psychologist Dr Elizabeth Peel interviewed type 2 diabetes patients, and found that many were confused over what to do with the results.
"Writing in the British Medical Journal, she said that some doctors simply ignored detailed records kept by diabetics, compounding the problem."

• Top 50 Sites for Kids - The Amusement Park of the Web : All My Faves Blog
  AllMyFaves blog has "rounded up 150+ sites that will provide the children with hours of endless entertainment." (via http://www.parentdish.com/ )
• knittywhipped: Monkey Hooters!
  this blogger found someone's purl free monkey variation and made a pair. I'd been wondering how a purl free pair would look, and suspecting I might prefer them that way and I think I was right! So, next pair of monkeys I make I plan to do this way.
• Lamaze International: The Lamaze Institute for Normal Birth
• Simply Recipes: Tomatoes!A granola recipe from my mom's hippie youth - Slashfood
  This looks like a good ratio of stuff to oil and sweetener and I've been meaning to try my hand at making my own granola.
• The explosion of vileness that followed her death Libby Purves - Times Online
  A reflection on the media reaction after the death of Princess Diana -- I really appreciated reading this article. I was remembering that time and how it seemed to me as though people were rather missing what was important in all the hysteria.
  

Links for 2007-08-24 to 26 [del.icio.us]

• The Meal Assembly Network
  I've heard of this meal assembly thing before:
  

  "A meal assembly kitchen is the ultimate partner in helping busy families get healthy, tasty dinners prepared. The typical kitchen has 12 to 16 stations that look like salad bars. Each station includes all of the ingredients necessary to put together a main entrée that serves 4 to 6. The ingredients are already chopped, sliced, and/or cut. Customers follow detailed instructions at each station and assemble the ingredients into freezer-ready bags. Buying and preparing the ingredients, as well as cleaning up the mess, is the responsibility of the meal assembly kitchen. The customer typically assembles 12 meals, and takes them home in a cooler or a laundry basket for storage in the freezer. Actual cooking happens at home."

  I like the idea but I don't think I'd actually do it -- but if I had more freezer space and could clear the time it'd be good to try and put stuff together like this at home sometimes for those nights when I don't want to cook but I don't want to eat take-out.
• He has your... fear of veggies | Health & Fitness | Reuters
  

  "In a large study of identical and fraternal twins, researchers from University College London found that nearly 80 percent of children's tendency to avoid unfamiliar foods was inherited."

  I was interested to hear the part about fear of new foods, and the idea of just keeping giving children a new food until it's a familiar food and then they may find it's ok, or even that they like it! I know that for me (somewhat picky eater that I am) I've gotten more able to stomach foods through forcing myself to take a few bites. My mum always used to do this with vegetables we didn't like. We had one bites worth on our plate that we had to try then we could have more if we liked, or not. It hasn't got me to like swede but I could eat it if needed!
• Breakthrough in obesity battle - 25 Jul 2007 - NZ Herald: New Zealand National news
  

  "The scientists have shown that if a mother is undernourished, her children's bodies are set up to cope with a life of scarcity.
  "But the energy-dense "hamburger and milkshake" diet of modern Western society is likely to result in children who are likely to become fat - unlike those from mothers who eat a balanced diet during pregnancy."

• Neonatal Doc: Loss
  A wonderful post from a neonatologist - a quote:
  

  "After years of seeing various types of pregnancy and newborn loss, I have decided that there are really no good words of comfort at such a time. The loss is so final, so absolute, so irrevocable, that only time can lessen the wound and even then often not completely heal it. We can express our condolences to the family and offer to do anything we can for them, but beyond that we seem relatively powerless."

  Some great comments too. Made me cry, but in a good way. I'm so glad we also had wonderful staff at the hospital where our first daughter was born, and died.
• Craving for junk food ‘begins in the womb’ - Times Online
  
• not martha - more tiny kitchen storage
  a neat idea for storing utensils -- a good way to keep them out of reach from little hands!
  
• Pattern for “Chunky Braided Scarf” « Butterfly Morning
• Bust Alteration
  A handy how-to on altering sewing patterns to fit your bust size.
• SO busy sewing › Red Instead BLOG
  
  Found the link for bust alteration at this blog post, there are some other handy links there too.
• Six weeks without a wash: The soapless experiment | the Daily Mail
  An article about a woman who decided to try an experiment which I think was recorded for a tv show:
  

  "for 40 days and 40 nights, there has been no showering, no hair washing, no teeth cleaning and no deodorant.
  "She has ditched her make-up and hair styling products, and allowed herself access to just three outfits (her running kit, a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, and one summer dress)."

  I found this interesting; I think she went a little overboard, but still. It's good to hear what was good and what was bad about cutting all that stuff out. Clearly she felt all the chemicals she'd been putting on and in her body as part of her daily routine were not doing her a lot of favours (her IBS symptoms improved during the experiment, and her skin seemed much healthier), but at the same time). It was interesting to hear that as long as she was away from other people (and societal expectations) she felt " felt really healthy and good about [her]self" and that when she was tested at the end of the experiment she didn't show a great increase in bacteria and suchlike which confirms we probably don't need to be sanitizing our hands every five seconds!
  
  The article ends with her summing up:
  

  "the experiment worked in that I proved to myself there is no need for all these beauty products on which I've been frittering away so much money. My desire for them was all in my mind, not an actual physical need.
  "It showed me that for years I've been using excessive amounts, and, at the same time, potentially putting my health at risk because of all the chemicals they contain.
  "I was amazed to find that the point when my skin looked its best was after a month of not using anything at all. As a result, I've become far more moderate in what products I use and what I am prepared to spend money on.
  "A bar of soap, organic shampoo and conditioner, and a basic moisturiser are all I need now. I no longer wash my hair every day and I no longer feel self-conscious if I'm not done up to the nines.
  "If people didn't notice when they had me standing next to them during the experiment, I'm sure they won't be aware of small things that would once have got me down, such as a bad hair day or a minor skin outbreak."

• Knitty: Fall 2006 - red herring
  
  Another CookieA sock pattern for my to-do list -- I've been wanting to try colour work again. I'm intimidated by it because of the tension issue but love all the possibilities that would open up if I could master it.
• Choc Fudge Shortbread on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  This sounds tasty, need to make fudge first though!
• eat me, delicious: Chocolate Orbit Cake
  This looks so incredibly chocolaty and rich, mmmm.
• Vanana Cookies (Vegan Banana Peanut Butter Cocoa Cookies) » vanesscipes
  These look yummy. [I made some - posted on flickr]

And a couple more tasty looking recipes to try some time:

• Sausage-stuffed portobello mushrooms - The Boston Globe
• Creamy corn chowder with very little cream - The Boston Globe

Links for 2007-08-20 [del.icio.us]

• Woolgathering: Mad Color Weave pattern now available
  sock pattern found via Needle Exchange's Saturday Pattern Day #9 post
  
• domesticrafts - Get your Drunken Bees here
  another sock pattern found via Needle Exchange's Saturday Pattern Day #10
  
• domesticrafts - Zephyr Socks
  and once I was at domesticrafts I saw this sock pattern that I like even more!
  
• Stitch Catalog - Stitch Count Listing
• Stashmina - knittywhipped: Wrap it up
  Idea for a wrap, love the fir cone pattern.
• Clapotis pattern at knitty.com
  Another wrap/shawl/scarf pattern I want to make. I've seen so many pictures of this pattern at flickr and it sounds simple and looks great.
• 1x umrühren bitte: Ein Brot macht die Runde: Hokkaido Milchbrot
  this bread looks very tasty (I especially like the idea of the variation with Nutella, and guess I could alternatively use some kind of ganache and chopped nuts perhaps). Just need to brush up on my German so that I can understand more of the recipe!
• Culinary in the Desert: Mocha Mudslides
  Saw a picture of these cookies at flickr. I'm not a fan of the flavour of coffee (love the smell though) but I can think of a few people I know who would like these a lot.
• Swirl socks for Mom and MIL…and you? « Sulala
  Another aesthetically pleasing sock pattern (yet more socks for my to-do list). These socks have a swirl that spirals around the leg and foot. I suspect it would be look very interesting to babies exploring feet! Found via Needle Exchange's Saturday Pattern Day #10
  

Links for 2007-08-11 & 12 [del.icio.us]

• BBC NEWS | UK | Double-nosed dog not to be sniffed at
• 2007: Accio Quote!, the Largest Archive of J.K. Rowling quotes on the web
  
  I hear I should read this, but not until I get around to reading the last book so I figure I'll save the link here for now.
• Mabel's Labels: Personalized dishwasher safe kids labels Stickers Iron on Shoe Bag tag Camp Clothing Skinny-minis Stickies Allergy Tag-mates Fundraising School Daycare Pre-school
• More Zing, Less Sodium
  
  A list of suggestions of which herbs and spices work well with different kinds of foods/dishes.
• Banana Jam on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  Go over to flickr for the link to the recipe
• Confabulation in the Kitchen: Homemade Take-Out
  Sesame Chicken recipe
• Soft Pretzels (w/recipe) on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
• BBC NEWS | Scotland | Scots 'mither tongue' goes online
  
  "An archive of the Scots language is now available all over the world thanks to a comprehensive new website.
  
  "Researchers at Glasgow University have completed work on the online resource, which contains more than four million words in Scots and Scottish English.
  
  "As well as meaning and usage, the project also has audio links, allowing people to hear words being spoken."
• Instructables Paper ball ornaments for your Christmas tree
  
  "Recycling paper is one of the many things we can do to protect environment, so instead of dispose our old magazines and the tons of catalogs and paper junk we receive, why don't use it to make some nice ornaments for Christmas? They are original, cheap and safer for your children than the traditional glass balls."

Links for 2007-08-10 [del.icio.us]

• BBC NEWS | Health | Bones offer new hope for diabetes
  "An international team found the molecule osteocalcin, produced by bone cells, is active in helping to regulate blood sugar levels in mice."
• the barmy baker: Because Some Days You Just Need A Lot of Chocolate
  Saw a picture of these Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies cookies at flickr and thought I needed to add them to my to make list immediately (although I don't like the taste of coffee so may need to modify a bit)!
• 14 Numbers Your Cell Phone Can't Live Without · The Cranking Widgets Blog
  "if your cell phone has no other numbers stored in its memory, make sure it has these numbers." I haven't actually had a cell phone until just now but I was thinking this would also be useful as a starting point for a phone list to go on the wall by the phone (or on the fridge perhaps) at home so you don't need to go looking for numbers in an emergency (especially if the person needing the number is an out of town visitor or baby sitter).
  
• the knitted blog: Make your own envelopes.
  seen at :Craft
  
• Nearly half of early breast cancers missed by mammograms, research suggests |Guardian
• London looks at bike hire scheme | Guardian
  "Ken Livingstone yesterday confirmed he wants a network of hire pushbikes for London. The capital's mayor ordered officials to investigate a scheme to mirror the one introduced in Paris, where the provision of 10,000 bicycles at 750 dedicated hire points has been hugely successful. The study will also look at other cycle-friendly cities such as Barcelona, Lyon, Brussels, Vienna, Berlin, Munich, Oslo and Copenhagen."
• BakeSpace.com - Recipe Swap and Food Social Network
• tumbling blocks: oilcloth lunch bag
  seen via flickr, this is a blog post with a tutorial for making your own lunch bag with oilcloth.
  
• The Link Between Estrogen And Pain | Scientific Blogging
  "Estrogen plays an important role in determining how sensitive a person is to pain, and the estrogen receptor known as ER-beta is particularly significant in this context. These are the conclusions of a study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet."
• baby led weaning :: The NHS agrees with us that finger food is A-Okay from 6 months.
  "some links from the NHS Breastfeeding People and NHS Healthy Start that say finger food is fine from 6 months"

Links for 2007-07-31 through 2007-08-05 [del.icio.us]

• Burma: A plight we can ignore no longer - Independent Online Edition > Asia
• Burma: Forgotten and locked in the shadow of the past - Independent
• Pregnancy Depression May Affect Baby
  '"Anxiety and depression don't predict [a baby's] total sleep, but do predict sleep problems and disruptive sleep," says researcher Thomas O'Connor, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York. "The babies may sleep just as long, but they wake up more often and they have trouble falling asleep."'
• Sew,Mama,Sew! Blog » » Interfacing Guide from Amy Butler
• Wheat-Free Baking Recipes
• BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Orangutans use 'charades' to talk
  "Researchers from St Andrews University have shown that the animals intentionally modify or repeat their signals to get their messages across.
  "The scientists said they believed all great apes could have this capability, suggesting that the skill may have evolved millions of years ago."
• Soft Drinks Linked To Increase In Heart Disease | Scientific Blogging
  "Drinking more than one soft drink daily — whether it's regular or diet — may be associated with an increase in the risk factors for heart disease."
• Magnetic Capsules Protect Insulin Cell Transplants in Type I Diabetes | Scientific Blogging
• Green Toys Brand Toys - Platsic Toys Made From Corn!!
• Soaker pattern - Just Jussi: New free pattern
• Scientists issue warning about chemical in plastic - Los Angeles Times
  "In an unusual effort targeting a single chemical, several dozen scientists on Thursday issued a strongly worded consensus statement warning that an estrogen-like compound in plastic is likely causing an array of serious reproductive disorders in people.
  "The compound, bisphenol A or BPA, is one of the highest-volume chemicals in the world and has found its way into the bodies of most human beings."
• CorePsychBlog: Who Cares about Estrogen Dominance?

Links for 2007-07-24 [del.icio.us]

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Nerve gas antidote made by goats

Multi Grain Rolls Recipe at Mothering.com

Wendy Cooling: I want to get every child in the country reading for pleasure - Independent

Identity theft: parents who steal from their kids - ParentDish
Well this is horrible to contemplate; sabotaging your own child's life.

The peace of paper » Little Boxes
A tutorial for making a cute little gift box.

Medical Imaging News Articles | Cholesterol-lowering diet can modify fetal Doppler velocimetry in mid-pregnancy | Radiology News

Links for 2007-07-20 & 21[del.icio.us]

joybucket: Peek-a-Boo Bunting Tutorial
found via Craftzine, a tutorial for a baby quilt that attaches to a stroller so the baby can't kick it off. Excellent idea!

Mandela turns 89 and launches 'a robust force for good' | Guardian Unlimited
Nelson Mandela marked his 89th birthday today with the launch of a group of world-renowned leaders who plan to use several Nobel peace prizes and "almost 1,000 years of collective experience" to tackle global crises that governments are unable or unwilling to confront."
Using their collective experience, their moral courage and their ability to rise above nation, race and creed, they can make our planet a more peaceful and equitable place to live," said the former South African president.

perfect pikelets ~ My Way or the Highway » Wear it. Eat it. Deny you are responsible.
Mmmm, pikelets.

By request. on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
A great knitted top (cardigan/jacket) seen at flickr. I think this would make a great garment for a nursing mother -- may need to make myself one!

Your Gamete, Myself - Egg Donation - Reproduction - In Vitro Fertilization - Infertility - Women - Peggy Orenstein - New York Times
An interesting look at the implications of egg donation.

Magazine Box Tutorial - a photoset on Flickr
found via Craft

Snicket Socks - MagKnits, your friendly online knitting magazine
"These socks were inspired by the dress Violet Baudelaire (Emily Browning) wears in the movie Lemony Snicket – A Series of Unfortunate Events. I wanted to translate the net-like sleeves into knitting.

BBC NEWS | From Our Own Correspondent | Losing the taste for China's delicacies

BBC NEWS | Health | Healthy weight link to longevity
"Keeping a healthy weight may help people live longer by limiting brain exposure to insulin, say US scientists."

Celtic Braid Socks: Tuulian omia juttuja:
Another sock pattern, this one with a nice celtic looking cable pattern

Black Dog Designs
A collection of knitting patterns from the blogger of the blog Black Dog Knits
. Quite a few I would like to try sometime, probably going to stick with the socks for now (and there are several sock patterns that caught my fancy there.

Shetland Lace Rib Sock Pattern: Stitches of Violet
And, yes, another knitting pattern for socks!

Links for 2007-07-19 [del.icio.us]

• No-Knead Bread - OregonLive.com
  I made some of the no-knead bread after it was in the NYTimes a while back and the second batch came out really nicely and I've been meaning to make more. It's a great way to make bread for someone like me who doesn't have much time to bake, but plenty of time to let things hang around to mature for a day! And I'm entering a bread baking phase at the moment.
• BBC NEWS | UK | Education | The dead parrot curriculum
• Guardian Unlimited | A precious provision
  "We were unlucky in the tragic hand dealt to our son, but blessed to have had British healthcare "
  This article resonated with me. It made me remember after my first daughter died at birth (I had a 40% placental abruption at 23 weeks) getting the hospital bill for the delivery and the autopsy and everything: Obviously those people who took care of us and our baby and were doing there jobs so well deserve to be paid, but (especially as someone who grew up in the UK and still hasn't got used to the way it works in the USA) it seems unthinkable that I should have to look at a bill for that when my baby just died. And thankfully we have good health insurance, but what if we didn't? In the midst of that experience or some other unexpected turn your life upside-down event I think people should be able to focus on the very real things happening in their lives and not have to worry about what their insurance will cover, and how to afford the rest. The money wasn't really a headache for us in our situation, but it could have been, and it certainly made me think.
  
• Knitty: Spring 2007 - Clessidra Stockings
  I think my mum would love these, she likes nice long socks. The question is should I just send her the link to the pattern or should I attempt to make her some for Christmas?
• Summer Express: 101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less - New York Times
• Warming Report Warns of Increased Flooding - New York Times
• Dewey? At This Library With a Very Different Outlook, They Don’t - New York Times
• V-Neck Hippie Dress w/ 6 Strips - theElektron
  found via :Craft
• Top 7 Tutorials for Making Your Own Shopping Tote
  found via :Craft
• Tickle Turdle Wool Wrap Pattern
  I've been knitting wool soakers for my daughter since before she was actually here to wear them but I've never tried to crochet one. I'm definitely much more of a knitter, but I do crochet sometimes and I hear the crochet soakers make up faster and may be a bit denser too. (Of course I should also work on my ripple blanket again one of these days.)

Links for 2007-07-07 [del.icio.us]

• The Big Question: As Bush spares Libby, what is the history of presidential pardons? - Independent Online
  
• BBC NEWS | Technology | Warning of data ticking time bomb
  "Unless more work is done to ensure legacy file formats can be read and edited in the future, we face a digital dark hole."
• Unpartisan campaigner: Alan Bennett, the rebel with a lot of causes - Independent Online
  
• In his own words: Alan Johnston on his release - Independent Online
  'You have to have been a prisoner to know how good freedom is'
• Robert Fisk: The forgotten art of handwriting - Independent Online
  "I find something painfully human about reading the letters of long-dead heroes"
• Piece of cake | Food and drink | Life and Health
  "British summer fruit is so damned tasty, it's easy to end up buying far more than you can ever hope to eat fresh. But there's no need to turn all those berries, cherries and currants into jam or, worse, let them go to waste..."
• Get a cutting edge | Homes and gardens | Life and Health
  "Many gardeners, even experienced ones, are intimidated by the idea of taking cuttings. Yet it's such fun, as well as a great way to save money."
• A shocking act of disrespect - Independent Online
  Another article about Bush pardoning Libby -- this one is (angry) opinion on this case rather than looking at presidential pardons in general like the first link in this post.
• Baking Dish and Pan Size Conversion
• Vegan Low-Fat Chocolate Applesauce Cake Recipe - Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe
  I'm making this for my daughters first birthday party.
• Jemima Lewis: The lessons of George Melly's final years - Independent Online
  Wonderful thought provoking, challenging article about ageing, caring, family, duty and death.
  "At the age of 80, and despite creeping deafness and dementia, [George Melly] had not succumbed to the clichés of old age: he was sociable, funny, energetic and still much in demand. ...
  It takes luck and a certain kind of temperament to navigate your way through old age so successfully. You need to be open-minded enough to keep enjoying the world without resenting the young who have inherited it; physically mobile (and fearless) enough to keep going out into that world; financially secure enough to live at home, or at least in a comfortable spot of your own choosing; and sufficiently lovable that your friends and family want to keep you company."

del.icio.us links of the day
Posted: 05 Jul 2007 12:00 AM CDT

Bubbly Ployes (Buckwheat Pancakes) on Flickr - Photo Sharing! - These look a little like pikelets crossed with pancakes, this makes me want to try the recipe sometime. Also need to try to make pikelets again sometime since I can't get them where I live.

CEREAL BOX GIFT BOX: Craft projects from recycled, reused and natural materials.

:10 Things is a place for gratitude.
Found this blog via a post at "happythings" blog: " 10 Things is a place for gratitude. To be thankful for all sorts of things... big, little and medium." "10 Things features writers and photographers, exploring life's little joys through their lens."

The Validity ( Or Not ) Of Cognitive Tests | Scientific Blogging
"Timothy Salthouse, PhD, a noted cognitive psychologist at the University of Virginia, has demonstrated that giving a test only once isn't enough to get a clear picture of someone's mental functioning. It appears that repeating tests over a short period may give a more accurate range of scores, improving diagnostic workups."

BBC NEWS | Health | Yawning may keep us 'on the ball'
"Yawning may appear the height of rudeness, but in fact your body is desperately trying to keep you awake, according to research from the US."

Mommy Is Truly Dearest - New York Times

Eating our vegetables

I read at Slashfood that June is National Fruit and Vegetable Month. I think I'm more inspired to eat fresh fruit and veggies around now every year just because 'tis the season. And of course there's all kinds of inspiration on the internet. These days I'm also trying to interest our daughter in fruits and veggies. Current favourites are steamed spinach, peas and most every fruit she's offered (especially peaches, plums, kiwi fruit and mango).

As suggested I had a go at the Chocolate and Beetroot Cake seen at the Great Big Vegetable Challenge. There weren't pictures from the blog, or the site with the recipe so I thought I'd take some to share. You can get an idea of how pretty the batter is! And you can see the slivers of beetroot in the slice of cake too. The recipe says that the beetroot makes the cake moist so I was surprised at how dry it looked when I cut a slice. I wonder if I should have grated the beetroot more finely (I did it in the food processor for speed and in the interest of keeping my hands closer to their original colour!). Actually it doesn't taste dry, although mine's quite crumbly. It's very chocolaty, I don't particularly notice the beetroot but maybe it's what's enhancing the chocolate so well.

I noticed that I also have a chocolate and beetroot layer cake in my chocolate cookbook. It uses canned beets though and I'm not sure how one would substitute canned for home cooked in terms of liquid. Perhaps I'll have a go some other time. *** edited to add -- I just came across another chocolate-beetroot cake while looking for recipes for my daughter. This definitely looks like something I want to try -- Beet Chocolate Cake with Banana-Peanut Butter Sauce**

Here are my purchases from the mid-week farmers market last week.

I've bought both rosemary and mint at the farmers market recently which naturally got me to thinking about lamb. So, I went to the coop and got lamb chops, new potatoes and heirloom tomatoes (I already had the mushrooms and peas).


For dinner I made a dressing of balsamic vinegar, oil, scallions, garlic, mint and rosemary, a little of that went on the lamb and mushrooms in the frying pan, and the tomatoes in the oven. I boiled the potatoes with some mint 'til soft then added the peas (the were frozen so just needed warming through). Once the meat and mushrooms were done I served them onto the plates and put the potatoes and peas in the frying pan and tossed them in the lamb juices and the rest of the dressing. So good, the mint is so refreshing with the rich taste of the lamb and I just love the brief opportunity for boiled new potatoes (which seem much harder to come by in the US).

Some of the strawberries from the farmers market cut up went very nicely with a slice of the chocolate/beetroot cake for dessert too.

Greenery with Bacon and Eggs

I've been following along at the Great Big Vegetable Challenge and have several recipes on my to try list (Chocolate and Beetroot Cake, Chard and Basil Fritters, Chicory with Herby Chicken and Watercress Pesto Sauce are at the top. The most recent post (Dandelions in the Post) inspired me to more instantaneous action. I've tried making something similar before - a warm bacon dressed salad - and it just wasn't satisfying but I always thought it should be yummy so why not try again?

What I made is a little different because I can't help but fiddle with recipes most of the time. Actually I did what I often do and went to a recipe site (epicurious in this case) and search for recipes of the kind I want to make (bacon salad) and read a whole bunch (including comments by people who've made the dish) then make up something based on what I glean from all that.

I didn't actually use dandelion leaves in the end, even though they have them at our co-op (so maybe next time), but thought I'd try some curly endive (as someone mentioned in the comments at the Great Big Vegetable Challenge site) . I also grabbed some cress to give a peppery hit, and happened to have spinach in the fridge already.

Since my husband is opposed to croutons in salad, and I saw a couple of recipes that used potatoes in various ways, I decided to have crouton sized pieces of fried potato in the salad. Yum.

So here's how I made my dinner salad:

• I tore up some greenery (a mix of curly endive/chicory, cress and spinach) and let it soak. Meanwhile I diced four small redskin potatoes and put them to boil.

• Cut some slab bacon (a quarter of a pound or so) into a cast iron pan as it was heating and fried until crispy, removed the bacon and most of the fat from the pan and set aside (I put the oven on warm and set them in there).

• When the potatoes were most of the way cooked I drained them and fried them in the bacon fat (to which I had added a little olive oil and a splash of cider vinegar).

• I drained the greens and put them in the salad spinner.

• Once the potatoes started to crisp up I added the bacon back in (not the rest of the bacon fat though) and moved them to the oven to keep warm.

• To the reserved bacon fat I added some walnut oil, cider vinegar, lemon juice and honey mustard to make dressing.
  

• I poured dressing over the greenery and tossed to coat evenly. Then I mixed in the potatoes, bacon and a chopped tomato.

Here it is served up for dinner with eggs (hard boiled for my husband and poached for me).

Next time I'd either add more cress, or put pepper in the dressing. Also I used honey mustard in the dressing because I thought what with the bitter greens a little sweetness might be good but the potatoes added a sweetness so maybe next time Dijon mustard.

And to close this post a couple more food related links:

From the BBC: Tea 'healthier' drink than water
Which is excellent news because I do love my cups of tea.

And this article from (EatingWell.com via) ArcaMax:
Fast Road to Fat City - What price all those cheap burgers & fries? Science starts to find the unsettling answers. I must admit I did not actually get all the way through this article (it's long, I have a baby around most of the time) but the part I read had me interested, and kinda depressed. This is the part from what I read that stuck in my mind.

The average American consumer eats three burgers and four orders of fries each week. A typical American child now gets one-fourth of his or her vegetables in the form of French fries or potato chips. Half our nation's family food budgets are spent in restaurants, with fast-food operations and chains getting the lion's share of the spending.

I always thought potatoes counted as a starch more than a vegetable. Somewhere else I believe I heard that most of the nutritional value from vegetables children received came from corn (I forget where or when though so who knows how reliable the memory is). Also disturbing since it's not the most nutritionally valuable food item out there, and isn't it really a grain anyway? Maybe I have my food categorisation mixed up.

It's so tempting to have fast food when you're busy. I feel as though we get burgers and fries a lot and really we don't usually go more than once a week if that, still it's more than I ever used to and I want to cut back because even if she's not eating it yet our daughter is watching us and I don't want to set that example.

I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that if I'm going to keep up with posting to this blog I have to spend a little less time at the Bloglines website. The problem is I just keep coming across more and more blogs and flikr groups and adding them until I could spend the whole day just trying to keep up. After all, I think part of the point of the exercise here is to interact more with the blogging world rather than continue just sitting and staring at it.

My daughter has been teething for the last month also (4th of 4 top teeth hopefully making its appearance soon and then giving us all a break). This makes sleeping hard work for the little girl and at night time she won't fall asleep and stay down without being in bed with me. Consequently I have to go to bed with her instead of grabbing a few hours of time when I can actually focus on anything for more than a minute (which is the kind of time I find useful for writing among other things). You'd think this would have the advantage of me feeling more rested, being forced to go to bed and all, but unfortunately it doesn't seem to be working that way.

The arrival of warm, even hot, weather has also been keeping me away from the computer. I've taken the girl out in the stroller for walks on a lot of days over the last week. Often she'll take a nap, sometimes we'll eat together. One day I met another mother and daughter who we chatted with. Sometimes I've managed to get some rippling in while we've been out.

I have been making slow progress on my ripple-along blanket, on my fourth colour. I'm making it wide enough to fit on our queen sized bed so one row takes a long time, and there are two rows of each colour so I don't think I'm doing too badly. I can't get too far before acquiring more yarn anyway since I want at least one more colour than I already have (I'm using greens, blue, purples, an off-white and I think I want some yellow and a dark brown which may just be for around the edge when it's done).

Much of the "free" time that I have had recently I've spent on being a bit more creative in the kitchen (since I have to cook it's somehow a more legitimate use of time than sewing). Last night I made pizza (ever popular) with fresh mozzarella, tomato sauce, kale and mushrooms (having made dough on Monday to rise overnight in the fridge). The night before I was more experimental having bought tilapia which I'd never cooked before. I did what I often do in such situations and searched at various websites for interesting looking recipes and then used them to make my own. So we ended up with this baked fish and vegetable dish with roasted (red-skinned and sweet) potatoes. Here's what I did, for future reference:

• Heat oven to about 375


• Roughly chop 1 large tomato and mix with crushed garlic (2 cloves), lemon juice (tbsp), herbs (basil & oregano) and a little salt and pepper


• Put a knob of butter in baking dish big enough to hold fish, set in oven to melt. Meanwhile wilt 8oz spinach in steamer.


• Spread spinach in bottom of baking pan on the melted butter. Place fish on top of spinach, then tomato mixture on top of the fish.


• Bake in oven for 15 minutes or so


• Serve and enjoy!
  

You will notice that there is also corn. I served up the food and then put some frozen corn in the juices to warm through and added it to the top (as per husband's request). There was quite a bit of liquid in the baking dish after I'd served out the food which I put into a jug -- I ended up using most of it on my potatoes. I think we'll be having this again.

Since I really love to bake (and eat the results) I've also been making cookies. I discovered this recipe for Flourless Nut-Butter Cookies at Baking Bites a while ago.
I really like it because it's really quick and easy to throw together. The first time I made it the cookies spread more than I was expecting, either because I pressed the balls down too much, or because of the nut butter combination perhaps (peanut, almond and homemade cashew). This picture is of my second batch of dough (made with peanut and almond butter) which if you clicked on the recipe link you will note looks nothing like the picture there. This is because I added some cocoa powder for extra chocolaty goodness, and used chocolate chips instead of Hershey's Kisses. (I don't really like Hershey's chocolate, particularly their milk chocolate, probably because I grew up in England and ate Cadbury's which I still bring from England and horde. Also these days I like darker chocolate.) I think they came out pretty tasty this way, husband agreed.

Commonplace jumble

A recipe for chocolate almond cookies at Bunnyfoot that I want to remember to try out. (Also includes a good paragraph detailing some of the less appealing parts of having a newborn baby to mother.)

Whilst on the subject of food, the NYTimes has an article with The Perfect Bacon Sandwich Decoded which includes an actual formula ("the formula evolved to establish the amount of force in the bite, expressed in newtons, and the level of noise, expressed in decibels, to make the perfect crunch"). I do like a good bacon sandwich.

More articles that caught my eye:

In the Independent: Are mobile phones wiping out our bees? Cheery reading. It mentions that 'Albert Einstein once said that if the bees disappeared, "man would have only four years of life left"', and lists things some scientists think mobiles could be doing to humans too.

The GuardianOnline has an article from The Observer about Daphne duMaurier (Daphne's unruly passions -- Haunting mysteries, wild landscapes, brooding mansions and secret Sapphic desire ... welcome to 100 years of du Maurier) that I've been reading today. I haven't read a lot of duMaurier, and none at all for many years but maybe it's time again.

I came across this set of pictures through looking at images tagged with Art Nouveau. I don't remember hearing of George Frederick Watts or Mary Seton Watts before so I'm very happy with this discovery! Already did a mapquest check to see whether it'd be a reasonable idea to spend an afternoon visiting the Watts Gallery and Chapel the next time we're in England (answer is Yes, hurrah!).