Eat Your Salad
May 12, 2008
Posted by CindyC in : Green Journal , add a comment
In honor of me and National Salad Month (yes, there is one), my husband and daughter made an awesome seasonal salad for Mother’s Day Lunch. Rather than the boring iceberg or romaine, they adapted a recipe that uses seasonal produce from the farmer’s market: asparagus, spinach, mixed baby greens and snap peas. The result was delicious; so if you are looking for ways to add variety of greens to your diet, give this a try.
Grilled Asparagus, Mixed Greens and Peas Salad
1 ½ lb trimmed asparagus
6-7 ozs baby spinach
6-7 ozs mixed seasonal greens
Large handful of snap peas
7 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of Dijon mustard
2 tbsp of cider vinegar
4 oz blue cheese
¾ cup of walnuts
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
1. Peel the lower half of asparagus stems (if they feel stringy and still a bit tough). In a medium bowl, toss asparagus with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and set aside.
2. On medium-high, heat a flat pan and add the asparagus to cook. Turn occasionally until tender for about 8 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, crumble and crush half of the cheese with a fork. Mix in 1 to 2 tablespoons of water and the mustard to thin out the cheese. Stir in the vinegar and whisk in the remaining olive oil. Season the dressing with salt and pepper.
4. Add spinach, mixed greens, snap peas and handful of walnuts into the dressing and toss to coat. Divide the greens among 6 plates.
Cut asparagus spears into 2 and arrange on top of the greens. Finish by topping the salad with the remaining cheese and walnuts.
I would have included a picture but it was all gone by the time I thought of it…..
CindyC at Organicpicks
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We’re Back!
May 8, 2008
Posted by CindyC in : Opinions & Thoughts , 2 comments
After a long car ride yesterday, we are back from our whirlwind trip to Disneyland. Although not my destination of choice, I have to admit that it was great fun for child and the adults.
Quite a bit has changed since the last I visited the theme park. The area that was once a parking lot is now California Adventures; the submarine voyage is now the Nemo Submarine ride; Pirates of the Carribean now features Johnny Depp and Ariel’s Grotto is now available to feed both hungry stomachs and little girls’ fantasies of meeting the famous namesake and her beautiful friends. The weather was pleasant and the lines were short (this is apparently the lull before the summer rush) so we couldn’t have asked for better conditions. During our time at the park, I realized that it probably is one of the happiest places on earth because everything is so unrealistically perfect. The children laugh and sparkle as they see their favorite characters come alive. Flowers and greenery surround us as if there’s no shortage of water supply. Idealized worlds like Fantasy Land, Tomorrow Land and Toon Town have no sadness or disappointments, just happy endings.
As an adult, I appreciated the brief escape from the real world, though I did cringe every time I saw plastic water bottles thrown into the trash instead of recycling.
The one real disappointment for us was the closure of It’s A Small World, my favorite childhood ride. Officially, the ride is closed for renovations to repair the wear-and-tear endured over the years. However, local friends told us the main reason for the year-long closure is to accommodate the increasingly large population, not in numbers but in weight. Average Americans are now 25 pounds heavier than we were back when the ride opened (in 1964). The boats routinely bottom out under heavier weight and get stuck in the narrow turns. For quite some time, the ride operators were told to leave empty seats in boats with heavy riders to combat the weight issue until park officials finally gave up and closed the ride for a permanent fix. At first, I was amazed that our nation has gotten so fat. But then, I looked around and noticed that many folks on the mechanized scooters were not disabled or elderly and appear to have no ailments other than excessive weight or laziness.
I guess there are some problems that even a place meticulously built to satisfy fantasies can’t stay immune to. If you are planning a trip to Disneyland, you better go soon before other rides need to close down for the same problem.
CindyC at Organicpicks
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P.S. Thanks for all the suggestions to my last minute travel panic. We survived both drives with the treasure bag and some books. We did pull out the DVD player, only once, on the way down when we were stuck in the infamous LA traffic.
Copyright 2007 Organicpicks
Do we really have to stop again?
May 7, 2008
Posted by CindyW in : Green Journal , 9 comments
My kids’ school is about 4 miles of driving distance from our house. Luckily we also have a more direct 3-mile bike/walk trail that is mostly separated from car traffic. Going to school on bikes is pretty much out of the question, since we rarely manage to get there on time in the morning even on a good day. However I’ve always been meaning to come home on bikes with my girls, but just haven’t for one lame excuse or another – the weather, swimming, gymnastic, blah, blah, blah.
Since May is the National Bike Month and Green Bean had me think about biking too, yesterday I was shamed into trying it for the first time since I thought about it 3 months ago. The logistics was a bit complicated. Aside from their regular backpacks, lunch boxes and knick-knacks, I dropped off a bike for my 5 year old and two helmets at the school.
It was 70 degrees, cloudless and lightly breezy (Is that why we pay $$$$$$$ for a 50 year old house?) when I picked up the girls. Homebound we went:
Okay, so our trail is not nearly as breathtaking. Nonetheless, how can anyone complain about a pleasant biking path like this:
The 3 miles took us one and a half hours: stopped for and stalled by a lizard, some flowers, a humming bird, a marble some kid must have lost, a dry creek, etc., etc., you name it. Whenever I started muttering, “I could’ve walked 5 miles already”, I tried to remind myself to take it all in and see everything through the eyes of my children.
What I have seen is the reason why we ought to ride home every week if not everyday. Green Bean is right on – this isn’t about being green, it is about seeking pleasure and enjoying life.
CindyW at Organicpicks
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Holey underwear and Mottainai Grandma
May 6, 2008
Posted by CindyW in : Opinions & Thoughts , 11 comments
There was a bit of panic in my household last night. Over the weekend, my 3-year old girl managed to bruise her arm while climbing up a play structure in our friends’ house and scratch her chin when falling on a rock with a sharp edge.
Kids learn physical skills through activities which may cause injuries now and then. As long as we as parents take proper precautions to prevent serious hurt, normal bruises and scratches are a inevitable part of growing up. At least that is my humble opinion.
When my husband picked up the girls yesterday afternoon, he was grilled by one of the teachers at school on how these bruises happened. Now my 3 year old has definitely gone to school with your typical scratches and bruises quite a few times. We’ve never gotten interrogated before. What caused the sudden alarm?
A pair of underwear with a dime-sized hole.
Relieved that my husband’s account of the incidents corroborated with my daughter’s retelling, the teacher proceeded to inform my husband that she HAD to throw away my daughter’s underwear because it was inappropriate to wear underwear with holes. It was not as if she pranced around in her underwear all day. She had long pants on. Nonetheless, “They are inexpensive. Please buy her new ones,” she sternly lectured on.
Did the holey underwear, on top of the bruises, triggered the abuse red flag? While I adore the teachers and am sincerely glad that the school watches child-abuse vigilantly, I can’t help but wonder how her un-mended underwear could possibly become a part of the equation. My motherly failure at noticing and mending the hold aside, when did wearing slightly torn clothes become a symbol for lack of caring?
I took out all my kids’ underwear and examined potential abuse-triggering holes. If I stitch up the holes, will they be more acceptable? Will mended underwear still put me in a danger zone? I remember Green Bean wrote about her son’s teacher not appreciating his repaired lunch box (sorry, GB, can’t find that post).
(picture source: New Statesman)
As I put my pathetically unprofessional stitches through the tiny holes, I recalled a story I heard a while ago. A Japanese mother wrote a book - Mottainai Grandma because her 4-year-old son didn’t comprehend the meaning of “waste”. Loosely translated as “Don’t Waste Grandma“, the book has sold more than 400,000 copies. What does Mottainai Grandma do?
“Mottainai!” she says to her grandson, who is brushing his teeth. “One cup of water is enough!”
“Mottainai Grandma also has a compulsive need to wring every bit of usefulness from an object. Crumpled paper? Make a dinosaur. Leftover pencil stubs? Draw a rainbow!”
I can’t read Japanese; I wish there was a translated version, though the humor would undoubtedly be lost in translation.
I decided to volunteer for a parent-taught session at my daughter’s class – on waste. Watch out teacher X, here comes Mottainai Grandma. You asked for it 
CindyW at Organicpicks
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Public transit lightweight
May 5, 2008
Posted by CindyW in : Green Journal , 9 comments
This past weekend, we went to visit friends at Berkeley, about 50 miles from our home. Normally we just get in the car and head out. But inspired by arduous, the new public transit convert, I decided to follow suit. My irrational fear about public transit is getting off the wrong station and missing an important appointment. Well it was Saturday and arriving at our friends’ house on time wasn’t exactly critical.
My local train station is about a mile away from home. Our friends’ house is also about a mile away from the arrival station. After a bit of debate about how long it would take our 5 and 3 year olds to cover the 4 miles to and fro, we decided to drive to the starting point.
If you live in the San Francisco bay area, 511.org is a fantastic planning tool for public transits. After I put in starting and ending address, it showed which trains to take and where to connect.
The first leg of our train ride was beyond exciting for my normally car-bound kids. Not being able to modulate their voice, the kids were talking and singing with such enthusiasm that it made fellow passengers wince. “Push the mute button”, they must be muttering to themselves. My husband yelled at the kids to pipe down every two minutes, while I was busy chatting about San Francisco with an old couple from Spain, in my broken Spanish and their less than fluent English. Moments like this made me want to travel the world that much more. One chaotic hour went by pretty fast.
The second and third legs of the train ride were 30 minutes each. We played animal alphabet game in which we took turns to spell out animals in alphabetically order.
My 5-year old: “A is for armadillo”
I: “B is for buffalo”
My husband: “C is for Cheetah”
My 3-year old: “D is for Zebra”
By the time we got to Z, we stepped off the last train and walked into the sunshine of Berkeley.
Surprisingly, the one mile walk was a breeze, as Berkeley streets on a Saturday morning showcased a plethora of fascinating characters. Before the kids could utter “are we there yet”, we were at our friends’ front door.
It took us about 2.5 hours and $29 (for two adults and two kids) to get to our friends’ house. On the way back, we got a little smarter (so we thought) – borrowed a couple of kids books for the return trip. Turned out we should have borrowed books for us; the kids napped more or less the whole way. We were pathetic public transit novices
Will we take public transit to visit these friends again? Occasionally. We were at our friends’ house for 4 hours, but we spent 5 hours on the road. That being said, it all depends on one’s perspective. If I (as my kids surely) regarded the train ride and the walking as a part of the totally experience, then we had 9 hours of great family and friends time.
It is however fairly expensive for a family to take public transit. The totally cost was close to $60 for the 4 of us, much more than if we drove our car. Then again, the way my kids are still talking about their train rides and the statue of liberty mime on a street of Berkeley has convinced me that it was money well spent.
Note to self #1: bring books for both adults and kids next time.
Note to self #2: It’ll be a quite while before I can become a public transit black belt. But there is hope.
CindyW at Organicpicks
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Last Minute Travel Panic
May 1, 2008
Posted by CindyC in : Opinions & Thoughts , 5 comments
I started packing for our trip yesterday when I realized that I completely ignored the entertainment long car ride. Yikes! How are we going to keep our five year old entertained for 7 hours in the car?
In a panic, I made a quick dash to Target to find toys to keep her busy.
While at the store, I started to look things like plastic slinky, squishy ball and other small random toys. I stopped my senseless shopping when I almost put a small videogame in the cart. Looking at my shopping cart, I realized we already had a couple of the toys, perhaps just in different colors. What was I doing? Did I really need all this plastic junk and a $70 electronic toy to keep her occupied? Slowly, I put everything back and went home to look for my lost sanity and creativity.
Once home, I dug through my daughter’s toy bins for small forgotten toys like the squishy ball and slinky (that I almost bought again). I also found a small etch-a-sketch, magic doodle, paper dolls, magnetic puzzles, pipe cleaners (to make something), coloring books and stickers. I couldn’t believe the bounty of free stuff, all courtesy of the slew of birthday parties from just this year. Taking my mom’s advice, I wrapped a few of the toys in newspaper and put all of my finds in a bag. Although numerous, the items all fit into a book bag so it’s easy to carry and doesn’t violate Rule #5 from my travel list. I figure whenever my daughter gets bored, she can dig into the “treasure” bag for something “new” to play with.
My mom also reminded me that the best car games are ones that stimulate kids’ senses and requires no props. Old time favorites like I Spy, Find 100 (of something) and 20 Questions were all my childhood favorites.
Of course, when all else fails, we’ll just have to find some park and let my kid run off some energy.
By the way, thanks for all the well wishes. Despite the Disney princess frenzy, I’m pretty excited to spend a few days in a fantasy world.
CindyC at Organicpicks
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Copyright 2007 Organicpicks
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