Feb 25, 2007

Easy Thousand Island Sandwich Spread

The taste of this spread is a little stronger than the salad dressing, which works well in a sandwich - particularly one with smoked turkey, salami and swiss cheese. You can easily make the spread low-fat by using reduced-fat mayo and nonfat yogurt.

Easy Thousand Island Sandwich Spread

3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon plain yogurt
1/2 tablespoon sweet relish

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.

Feb 20, 2007

Zen Shorts by Jon Muth

The importance of reading to your children is well-documented, so I'm thrilled that we have a new ritual after dinner now: Marc sits with Alex at the dining table and reads him stories. Alex continues to love John, Paul, George & Ben, but a new favorite is Zen Shorts by Jon Muth, which I adore. It is a Caldecott Honor Book and features some fabulous art that brings to life a gentle giant panda named Stillwater who gently shares his wisdom with three neighboring children.

Feb 16, 2007

How You Praise Your Kids Matters

I just read a great article about the difference between telling kids they succeeded because they're smart and telling them they succeeded because they worked hard. The research concludes that the latter yields better results, i.e., that kids told their success was a product of hard work were more likely to embrace new challenges and succeed when the going got tough. I was shocked at the part of the article that discussed parents doubting the research because I could completely relate to the first kid discussed, who was extremely smart but therefore afraid to fail. Having been labeled a "smart kid" in fourth grade (when I dominated the class spelling bee - as if spelling is indicative of intelligence), a fear of failure has been ever-present in my life and has kept me from doing or at least trying countless things. As a parent, one of the things I want to do most is save my children from the problems that have plagued me (I realize they'll just end up with a whole different set of issues but I don't see any way of preventing that). Now I have one more tool to help me.

Feb 5, 2007

Recipe Reviews

I've tried quite a few new recipes recently, mostly from Cooking Light. They weren't keepers but made for nice variety in my regular rotation of meals.
  • Key Lime Cheesecake - I didn't think the crust was very good, and the cheesecake itself was a little bland, maybe because of the tofu.
  • Bow Tie Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper and Cream Sauce - I liked this enough to eat the leftovers (with extra cheese), but not enough to make again. I'm only lukewarm when it comes to bell peppers, though, so if you like red peppers, you might love this dish.
  • Beef Carnitas - This recipe came out mostly tasteless, but that was probably because of my modifications rather than the recipe's fault. I left out the onions, because Marc hates them and I'm not that fond of them either, and I used chicken broth instead of beef broth because that's what I had. I also made the recipe in the slow cooker instead of on the stove. The meat did come out tender and was acceptable in tacos with all the fixings.
  • Gnocchi Gratin - This was good, but a little too creamy for my taste, even with the addition of a pound of ground beef. It also needed a little more salt. I used whole wheat gnocchi from Trader Joe's and give that a thumbs up.
  • Swiss Enchiladas - This was okay, I just wasn't crazy about the taste of the swiss cheese and white sauce. Be sure to really evaporate the liquid from the skillet before making the enchiladas.
  • Molten Chocolate Cakes - These just didn't bake enough in the time given so what I got was a nice crusty muffin top and lots of goo underneath. I didn't keep the recipe to try again because it was just a good-tasting cake, not to-die-for.