It’s hard to forget the tainted spinach ordeal of last year. Truth is, I have barely touched spinach since then. While I love a good baby spinach salad with strawberries, a bit of feta and a light vinaigrette, something in the back of my head has been apprehensive about eating spinach again. If I could find it locally, I would buy it up . . . but I haven’t yet.

In any case, the whole tainted spinach scandal topped the news almost exactly one year ago. That being so, you can imagine my surprise when I read that there are concerns over salmonella tainted spinach again. Talk about deju vu. Apparently a different California farm had some spinach test positive for the bacteria . . . fortunately, thanks to increased safety measures, it was caught almost immediately and that day’s batch has been pulled from shelves and stockrooms.

But really. Really. It’s time for the farming industry to look beyond safety control and instead work on rectifying the situations lead to tainting. And maybe, just maybe, it’s time to start focusing more on small time farming and less on corporation farming. I buy almost all of my veggies at local farms . . . in fact, most of our produce comes from my cousin’s farm. I know our growers. And I trust them.

When you are getting your produce from unnamed farms in far off states, how can you garner that same level of comfort and trust? Simply put: you can’t.

When I saw a little post on Mele Cotte about this quiz, I had to take it. It’s kind of interesting to see what you come up with. Check it out and see what type of tarot card you are!

(Remember, I said TOMORROW we return to your normally scheduled food talk . . . it’s not tomorrow yet!)

You are The High Priestess

Science, Wisdom, Knowledge, Education.

The High Priestess is the card of knowledge, instinctual, supernatural, secret knowledge. She holds scrolls of arcane information that she might, or might not reveal to you. The moon crown on her head as well as the crescent by her foot indicates her willingness to illuminate what you otherwise might not see, reveal the secrets you need to know. The High Priestess is also associated with the moon however and can also indicate change or fluctuation, particularly when it comes to your moods.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Alright, here is part three of the Mother Blessing Ceremony series. This is the final part. Tomorrow, we get back to strictly food.

1) Read up on Mother Blessings and Blessingways. Start by reading my explanation here. Know what Mother Blessings and Blessingways are all about. Decide which parts you are interested in partaking in.

Remember, you can adapt the activities and rituals to better fit your party. Examples of activities include making a birthing necklace, creating a Mother Blessing/Blessingway scrapbook for the mom, and doing hair brushing (take turns brushing the mom’s hair).

Resources:

• Good information on activities can be found at Richmond Midwife.
• An example of a successful Blessingway can be found on Real Savvy Moms.
• Great tips can be found here.

2) Plan the guest list. Invite a small group of the mother-to-be’s nearest and dearest. If you aren’t sure who to invite, ask her for the list. Choose meaningful invitations that convey the message that this is about the woman becoming mother. For ours, I used blank cards and pasted a description on one side of the inside and the invite on the other. Send the invites 3-4 weeks before the party.

3) Get down to the nitty gritty. Ultimately, planning a Mother Blessing or Blessingway is no different than planning any other party. You have the same basic parts: choose a location, get the guest list ready, send invites, plan the party. The most significant difference is that you are planning things to empower the mother-to-bed, rather than planning fun but silly games like who can identify the most objects in a bag.

In any case, decide on what activities you will be having. Plan the food (remember, this is centered around the mom so choose things she loves to eat). Buy the supplies. Also, consider how you want to decorate. Using just a few candles around is a nice way to go. This is not the time to over decorate.

4) Don’t sweat the little things. On the day of the party, if things don’t go according to your plan, that’s okay! Just let things flow naturally. Accept that things may not be how you imagined – they may be better. And ultimately, make sure the mother to be enjoys herself.

(Updated 6/09)

I mentioned the Mother Blessing Ceremony friends and I held this weekend for a pregnant friend yesterday and promised further details. Tune in tomorrow for tips on how to plan one yourself.

The following is an excerpt from the invitation. I didn’t write this, one of my wonderful cohorts in planning did. But I couldn’t have said it any better than she (and the second cohort who revised it) did.

About the Mother Blessing Ceremony

A Mother Blessing Ceremony is inspired by one of the traditional healing ceremonies of the Navajo people called a Blessingway. It marks a woman’s rite of passage into motherhood (or motherhood again!) by helping her to prepare mentally, emotionally and spiritually for the work of birthing and her role as a mother. During the gathering, friends of the mother come together to honor the strength and beauty of the mother, welcome a new baby to earth, share wisdom, and celebrate life and sisterhood.

We will be doing many things to honor [this mother's] second journey into motherhood, including:

·each creating a personal scrapbook page for the mother(supplies will be provided)

·creating a special birth necklace for the mother to symbolize our support during her birth (please bring two identical beads with you – one will be used on her necklace and one will be for a special bracelet for you)

·sharing stories about what makes her such a brilliant and powerful woman

one

When I was pregnant with Will, I ate everything in sight – except lobster (one of my favorite foods). The favorites during that time were sausage and pepper grinders, nachos and anything from McDonald’s. I couldn’t have chosen a worse diet really.

This pregnancy is the polar opposite. I still like lobster, for one thing. But more importantly, this baby craves fresh vegetables – except for broccoli, something we used to eat a lot of. Figures, it just so happens to be Will’s favorite vegetable. On the other hand, I am suddenly psyched to eat green olives – something I wasn’t fond of prior to pregnancy.

In any case, knowing that my best friend absolutely loves my broccoli slaw (and has told me as much) I had to make it for her Mother Blessing Ceremony yesterday. What is a Mother Blessing Ceremony? It’s a gathering of a woman’s nearest and dearest, also called a Blessingway, to celebrate her womanhood and passage into a new stage of life. Although this is Angel’s second child, a few friends and I thought this would be the perfect way to celebrate for her. But more on that later.

Of course, I forgot to photograph the final product. Isn’t that always the way? Nonetheless, it was a huge hit. Worth making, even if the idea of it doesn’t agree with me right now.

This is, in a word, decadent. I am not a big fan of risotto but this one is awesome. But it’s not for the faint of heart or wallet.

For the lobster meat, I buy cooked and preshelled meat from Stew Leonard’s here in Connecticut. If that is not available in your area, substitute meat from a 1.5 lb lobster or canned lobster meat (though that would be my last choice).

Be sure to use extra light olive oil as it has a lower smoking point that extra virgin or virgin. If you don’t have that, you can substitute something like grapeseed oil or canola (again, last choice).

2 1/2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cup cooked lobster meat, cut into chunks
2 tbsp extra light olive oil
2 cups arborio rice
1/3 cup white wine
4-6 cups chicken broth or stock, simmering
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the lobster and cook for 5 minutes, stirring all the while. Remove from heat and seat aside.

Using a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the rice and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour in white wine and cook until absorbed, still stirring constantly.

Now, it’s time to add the stock. It should be in a nearby pan on a burner and be warm. Use a ladle to add about 1/2 cup at a time to the rice. Stir occasionally and let cook until fully absorbed. Continue this process until almost all the broth is used – then check the rice by taste. If it’s still a little undercooked, then add the remainder of the broth as well as the lobster. Cook until liquid is fully absorbed and then remove from heat and pour into a serving dish.

Stir in the Parmesan and parsley. Serve immediately. For a pretty presentation (and added flavor) serve with lemon wedges on top.

Ever hear something shocking in a store from a worker? I have. It seems these days that customer service is nonexistent and employee conduct is reprehensible. There is no such thing as standing behind a product either . . .

Me: I could never work in a store like this! The paycheck wouldn’t make it home.
Pottery Barn Cashier: You’d be surprised. You learn what to buy and what not to buy pretty quickly.
Me: Oh?
PB Cashier: Like this enamelware (gestures to a Sausalito plate I am buying), I would never spend money on this.
Me: I have a whole set at home. I just wanted to refill the few pieces we’ve damaged over the past few years.
PB Cashier: It chips so easily.
Me: Hmph. Well aside from the bowl and plate we broke, the only problem we’ve had is a few pieces got a funny patina.
PB Cashier: Oh, yea. That’s our warehouse staff. They mean well, but sometimes they don’t watch where they are spraying. You don’t know the crew we have here. (Laughs)

Now, mind you, I have owned this set for three years and we’ve broken three pieces over those years. That is normal wear and tear. While a few serving bowls I bought did chip quickly, overall the set has been solid. So I have NO idea what she’s talking about. And secondly, WHAT ARE THE WAREHOUSE PEOPLE SPRAYING EXACTLY?!? Besides, I doubt that would be the case since the patina took 2 years to show up on two pieces in the set.

And besides that, shouldn’t these employees be standing BEHIND their products, not talking about why they wouldn’t buy them?

——————————————-

Bagger Girl: EW! (Holds up a package of pate for the cashier to check out. Meanwhile the purchaser is standing right there.)

I’m sorry, but since when was it okay for cashiers and baggers to critique your grocery purchases?!? I mean really! These kids need some better conduct training.

I have to tell you something.

I live in the middle of nowhere.

And wildlife live here too.

Did I ever mention that I am a city girl?

Finally! Finally I have perfected my risotto technique. After making it twice this week with creamy, perfect results, I am feeling pretty good about the little rice dish. Unfortunately I have also learned that I am not that fond of it – I like cleaner flavors then you get with a risotto. C’est la vie! Everyone else enjoyed it. I’ll be posting my recipe for Lobster Risotto in a day or two, but in the meantime here are some ideas on how to make a flawless risotto.

DO have 6 cups of broth/stock at the ready for each 2 cups of risotto rice. You might not use it all, but in my experience the majority of the 6 cups is needed for a creamy end result.

DO heat your broth/stock in a separate pan on low for about 10 minutes before you start making the risotto. It will absorb faster since it doesn’t have to warm up and absorb at the same time.

DON’T walk away while making risotto – be sure that you have a solid block of at least 30 minutes to dedicate to stirring and adding more liquid.

DON’T forget the ancillary seasonings like salt, pepper and fresh parsley.

DO have all of the ingredients out before you start cooking.

DO know your broths: beef broth may overpower other flavors. Chicken is generally the preferred choice. Vegetable broth (or a homemade stock) can add an extra depth of flavor.

DON’T be afraid to experiment with flavors and ingredients. Just keep the liquid to rice ratio the same and things will be okay.

Sometimes fate just likes to have a laugh at your expense. I mean, it must have been fate that I recalled The Terrible Chocolate Yogurt Incident this morning during the course of thinking on my way to work. And then I repeated the Incident with applesauce this afternoon down to the details. Surely I am not just a pregnant klutzy woman (much like I was a klutzy, awkward teenager).

So, I suppose you are wanting to know about The Terrible Chocolate Yogurt Incident now, eh? Well, I will tell you . . . but I never want to hear about it again. The very thought sends shivers through my every nerve.

There I was, a medium height, relatively thin 16-year-old in my journalism class junior year at Pawling Jr./Sr. High School. I didn’t have a lunch period, so I munched in that class everyday while working on stories and copy edits. I was, after all, the big self-important copy editor (which is somewhat of a laugh if you know my track record with spelling and punctuation . . . but I could put a hell of a sentence together). Anyway, I was wearing my puffy, ruffled shirt (actually it was a bodysuit shirt — it was the 90s after all). And when I opened my nonfat chocolate yogurt for lunch SPLAT! It came flying out at me. In disbelief, I looked down at my dark chocolate stained ruffles. And, no, a little water DIDN’T help get it out. I was, in a word, mortified. It was even more mortifying that I had to wear that stupid shirt for the remainder of the school day (3-4 class periods) and to work that night, since I couldn’t just run home and change – no car, no license.

Needless to say, that was the last time I took chocolate yogurt for lunch. Or any yogurt for that matter.

And that brings me back to today when I peeled back the foil on a little unsweetened applesauce cup. What happened? I wore it. Right down the front of my brown dress . . . wonderful!

Really, I think fate just needed a laugh today.