pie day

I just got back from a five week vacation.

Coming back to bustling Brooklyn is a bit of a shock. Particularly the size of our tiny apt and difference in the temperature. Being away always allows me to take stock of my life, what is working and what needs work. I generally come to realizations about how to change my life for the better and this was not an exception. Mostly I've come to realize that Europeans know what they're doing. Taking a month off is really essential.

It is interesting to be back home after a month, particularly in NYC. Thing change so fast. On my way to work today I went to my usual deli for a coffee and the deli was gone - priced out. So sad. I loved their salad bar.

So, let's catch up. Pull up a chair and tell me what you've been up to this past month.

While I was away I had loads of excitement. I managed to attend to local hospital not once, but three times. Once for me - I thought I might have Lyme. I did not. The other two for my son whose left foot swelled up after we took out a splinter. Then after four days of antibiotics it swelled up again. He is fine now but it was scary.

I successfully grew  tomatoes on my deck. A first for me.

We had many a camp fire marshmallow roasting event. S'mores included.

I've been reteaching myself to play the violin. It is surprisingly satisfying. I figure if I continue to play a little every day for more than a year I may just get good enough to perform. We'll see how it goes, but I am hopeful.

Oh, yes, and we had our annual Pie Day. Here are some of the goodies we devoured.

spring!!!

Last weekend was glorious! When the trees start to flower my mood lightens. I am a true Spring baby!

I organized an Easter Egg Hunt for a bunch of my son's friends and their families and was granted perfect weather.

I made several paper-mâché eggs from plastic egg templates, so that we had twice the amount I'd bought. I ended up with about 5 eggs per child and that worked out just fine.

I used this tutorial to make the eggs. It worked out pretty well, except I made them extra thick and therefore the eggs took a lot longer to dry than I'd anticipated. If you're planning to try this, leave at least two days for the paper to dry out. I used washi tape to hold them together, instead of bow and ribbons.

I hope you have an egg-ful, happy, springy Easter!

Note: The cat in the plastic bag was her idea, not mine... I couldn't resist snapping her picture in there. No animals were harmed in the making of this post.

indian chickpea soup

Today I toured the public school NESTm, located on Houston Street and Avenue D. It is a school that is only available to children who scored 97% or higher on the G&T test. My son did not, but I tagged along with some friends whose child did. It was an interesting experience.

Basically I was trying to see what makes this school so special. How does it compare to my son's current school? How can I make his current school comparable?

The students did not appear stressed or overly taxed. They have nice facilities including a cafeteria that overlooks the playground outside. The differences are mostly what they expect from the children. For example, buy the end of kindergarten they should be able to write five sentences, read at G level (whatever that is) and be able to sold word problems in math.

It made me feel better about our current situation. And about ways we can make a positive difference for our own school.

Serves 4-6, adapted from Good Food

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh root ginger
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 tablespoon garam masala*
• 4 cups vegetable stock or water
• 2 celery stalks, cut lengthways and chopped
• 490g chickpeas (250 grams dry chickpeas soaked in water over night)
• 150g green beans, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

*Garam Masala is a mixture of spices which can include the following: turmeric cinnamon, clove, cumin seeds or ground, black peppercorn, cardamom in pods or ground, nutmeg, ground ginger, coriander seeds or ground. Look in your spice rack and choose what you have. I just tossed in a bit of each spice I had on hand - it didn't equal a tablespoon but that doesn't really matter.

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan, then add the onion, ginger and garlic. Fry for 2 minutes, then add the garam masala, give it 1 minute more, then add the stock or water and celery. 
2. Simmer for 10 minutes, then add the chickpeas and simmer for 30 minutes, or until chickpeas are tender.
3. Use a stick blender to blender the soup a little, while leaving most of the chickpeas intact. Stir in the green beans and simmer for 3 minutes. 

my baby turns four

photo by Laura Ocelli

photo by Laura Ocelli

cake by Hannah Lemieux (sharks drawn by my husband)

This year my son had not one, but two chocolate shark cakes for his birthday. I'd say he's a bit obsessed. I was totally lazy this year and had a friend make the cake for the big friends party and then I made a brownie mix for the family party. 

I used a salmon mold and trimmed it to look more shark-like. If you ever wondered if you can bake brownies in a molded cake pan the answer is yes. The cream cheese frosting I found on Joy the Baker's blog was really nice. I was worried it would be too sweet with the brownie, but it worked. The black food coloring gel I found made a nice grey underbelly. All in all I was pretty pleased with the results... and so was Simon. Can you tell?

{cream cheese frosting recipe}

spring glen woods in the ny times

This past weekend The New York Times came to our little summer community and shot some pictures for an article they're running on bungalow colonies, due on the news stand this coming Sunday.

The photographer took tons of pictures but we have no idea what they will use. If you're curious, check out the Metro Section on Sunday August 4th.

water park on pier 51

This weekend we checked out a new water park on the Hudson River Park called Pier 51 Play Area. This park is much nicer than the Chelsea Waterside Play Area, which is much more crowded with less shade. This park has a river of water running through it and a large sand area for building castles. In addition there are tones of things to climb on and run through. Because it is on the Pier, it feels really open and you can see the river while sitting in the shaded play area. It was well worth the trip.

cherry-apricot pie

Did I mention my husband makes pie? Most people who know him would be surprised to hear this. He's a bit of a Marlboro Man, the strong, silent type. But he is a really good pie maker (not the crust - that we store bought). He didn't add anything to make this pie congeal and it came out absolutely perfect. It also didn't last long.

This month we celebrated our five year anniversary. Five years. It feels like a life time and the blink of an eye, all at once.

Thank you. You make my life complete.

Cherry-Apricot Pie
2 store bought pie crusts
2 cups cherries, pitted and halved
2 cups apricots, pitted and quartered
1/4 cup sugar

1. Mix fruit and sugar together. Fill pie crust. Cover with second pie crust. Poke holes in top crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-50 minutes (until crust is browned and fruit becomes wet. Serve warm or cold.

sam's point ice caves

For the Fourth of July week we ventured to our local nature preserve in the Shawangunk Mountains, Sam's Point's Ice Cave. The Shawangunks are known for their white rock outcroppings and stunning views. We got a huge helping of both on our hike.

This was my son's first hike and it went really well, all things considered. The long walk to the caves was a bit much for him and did need to be carried much of the way, but once at the caves he was running ahead of us all, eager to climb and explore everywhere.

And afterward we all headed for the pool to cool down!

central park zoo

A funny thing happened on the way to the zoo...

We almost didn't make it there. My son made a friend at the local playground and had an hour of fun running back and forth. I was sure he was too worn out for the long train ride into Manhattan, but when the boy went home he was ready for more.

It has been at least a year, if not two, since I've been to the Central Park Zoo. The highlight was going to be the snow leopard but she was hiding in her den the whole time and has been for a while. Perhaps she is pregnant, perhaps not, but the keepers are keeping their distance in case she is since snow leopards get extra aggressive when expecting.

We had fun looking at all the other animals, the bats were pretty cool, and were able to see everything on offer in about 2 hours, including the petting zoo. I think the Bronx Zoo is more my son's level right now since he wants to see the bigger animals, so we'll be going there next.

bryant park

source

We have had a string of good luck with my son's doctor visits. If you talked to me about four months ago, I would have given a bleak projection; his three year appointment didn't go well. At All. And his last two dentist appointments were disasters. So I am relieved that his recent dentist and eye exams were perfect. He cooperated, was in a good mood and even had fun!

What was the trick, you ask.

Toys. Lots of toys.

But that is not what I want to talk about. While waiting for his eye exam, we had an hour to kill, and ventured over to Bryant Park. I remember this park from when I worked in the stacks of the NY Public Library - a million years ago. At that time it was a nest for derelicts. No one I knew hung out there.

But now! Wow! It has had a major facelift. And it has taken me this long to check it out.

I was blown away by all the activities it offers. My family was lured into a Kubb match against another family, we tried out the carrousel, and ate our fruit snack in the pretty garden. All within one hour. Even with the down pour we experienced and the short visit, it was one of the best times I've had in a public park in recent memory.I see from the Bryant Park website that they offer free ping pong, petanque, summer movies, and numerous other games and events. Pretty cool.

at the aquarium

My son's been asking to visit the shark museum for about a month so as soon as we heard that the New York Aquarium had reopened we took a trip to check it out. Unfortunately, the sharks are not ready for viewing yet. They are building a new tank, slated to open 2016. We bought a shark six pack which was almost as good. Even without the sharks, he is at the perfect age for the place and was excited to see everything.

After we went to the beach and had loads of fun eating corn dogs while ordering our sharks and naming them and tossing sand about.

tree climbing

This past weekend we had not one, but two birthday parties. Quite the excitement. The second one was at a park with many climbable trees. That is pretty much all my son did the whole time, climb trees. Like a monkey.

Lovely party with lovely people. We had a wonderful, but exhausting time.