Doll Party Memories

New book by Michael Pollen

Here's an article about it.

Recipes

Bass in Artichoke and Tomato Broth (From Epicurious)

**I haven't tried making the bass yet, but I had it at a friends and it was simply wonderful.

(photo by: Romulo Yanes)

Provençal-inspired, this light, brothy seafood dish will have you wondering how something so delicious could be so easy to make.

Yield: Makes 4 servings

1 small onion, quartered and thinly sliced
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 (9-oz) package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and drained
1 (15-oz) can stewed tomatoes
1/3 cup pitted brine-cured black olives such as Kalamata, chopped
2/3 cup water
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 (6- to 7-oz) black sea bass fillets (1/2 inch thick) with skin
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into bits
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh orangezest

Cook onion in 2 tablespoons oil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add wine and boil 1 minute. Add artichoke hearts, tomatoes (including juice), olives, water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and bring to a simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, pat fish dry and sprinkle with remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Transfer sauce to a 13- by 9- by 2-inch (3-quart) glass or ceramic baking dish and arrange fish (without crowding) over sauce. Dot fish with butter and cover dish tightly with foil. Roast until fish is just opaque and cooked through, 12 to 14 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir together zest and remaining 2 tablespoons oil.

Transfer fish with vegetables and broth to shallow bowls and serve drizzled with orange oil.

Maple-Roasted Acorn Squash (cleanse)

• 2 acorn squash
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 3 tsp minced ginger
• 3 TB olive oil
• 2 TB maple syrup
• 4 TB chopped pecans

Heat oven to 400°. Slice a thin piece off both ends of the squash, then cut the squash in half. Scoop out the seeds. Smear the flesh with olive oil, then sprinkle salt, drizzle maple syrup and sprinkle with the ginger. Roast until nicely brown and tender, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Add the pecans for the last 10 minutes. Do not undercook!

Winter Grain Bowl (cleanse)

*This recipe is excessively healthy and while the strange combination doesn't look very appetizing, all together it was quite good. Still, not for every palate.

• Roasted squash and root vegetables
• Barley (the barley groat is more nutritious than pearl barley)
  
• Sauteed kale
• Adzuki Beans
• Ginger Miso Lime Sauce

Ginger Miso Lime Sauce (cleanse)

• 3 TB olive oil
• ¼ c water
• 1 TB ginger, grated
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 3 TB light miso
• 1 clove crushed garlic or minced
• ¼ c fresh lime juice
• ½ tsp crushed red pepper

Salmon with Miso Sesame Glaze (cleanse)

**One of Chris's favorites...I was feeling nauseous at the time so I'm not the best judge.

• 12 oz Salmon fillet
• 3 TB pickle juice
• 1 TB olive oil
• ½ tsp ginger juice
• 2 TB miso
• 1 TB sesame seeds
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Blend together all ingredients except salmon. Cover salmon with sauce about an hour before cooking, refrigerate. In a skillet over medium heat add 1 TB olive oil and put salmon in, skin side down. Cook slowly, with the lid on. There will be no need to turn the fish. Cooking time is approximately 10-12 minutes.

Sesame Miso Maple Sauce (cleanse)

• 2 TB sesame oil
• 4 TB tahini
• 5 TB water
• 1 tsp grated orange zest
• 2 TB olive oil
• 4 TB miso
• 2 TB maple syrup

Blend everything together. (We used this on the rice and salmon whenever we made this meal.)

In case you were curious, here is some more info on the Cleanse...

CLEANSE RULES

Forbidden List

1. Rule #1 is Do Not Go Hungry

2. No Dairy

3. No Processed Grains (this includes any product which contains flour as well as any other product containing a processed grain )

4. No Processed/Refined Sugar

5. No Meat (however, if you are working out regularly you can eat organic eggs and fish)

Things to do Every Day

1. Drink AT LEAST half your body weight in ounces of water

2. Drink AT LEAST 8 oz. of fresh vegetable juice (this can also contain fruit)

3. Eat AT LEAST one food item containing live bacteria (ie. some pickles, sauerkraut, some soy products, some olives, some types of soy sauce, anything with miso, etc.)

4. Eat AT LEAST one food item rich in minerals (ie. celtic sea salt, some type of seaweed)

5. Perform AT LEAST one of the 7 daily cellular cleansing activities (see below)

6. Live Organic (eat organic whenever possible, use organic/natural personal products)

7 Cellular Daily Cleansing Activities

1. Skin Brushing

2. Cardiac Sweat

3. Sauna Treatment

4. Massage

5. Colon Cleanse

6. Mineral/Salt Bath

7. I can't remember #7 right now

Ever heard Scott H.'s theory on middle-aged women?

I thought of you Mom when I read this article:

“'bump up against people and ideas' that are different"

"get out of the comfort zone to push and nourish your brain"

"anything from learning a foreign language to taking a different route to work"

"adults learn best if presented with what he calls a 'disorienting dilemma'”

The food may kill you but at least your brain will be better for your little disorienting dilemma in the Mother Land.

Times Article on Parenting

Helicopter Parents: The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting

Our latest weapon in the battle against sinus infection

The Neti Pot

Three Books

I've been bouncing around between the three of these. I like each of them so far.

A Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Reflections on the Gentle Art of Learning
by Karen Andreola

This lady is a Charlotte Mason guru, and the book goes through many different aspects of CM home education and tells what she has studied from Ms. Mason's writings and ides on how to implement.

Strong-willed Child Or Dreamer?
by Ron Braund and Dana Spears

For those of us with strong willed, yet very sensitive children. This book discusses a cognitive style that is a blend of strong-willed and sensitive/emotional. It describes different aspects of this style, and has a "how to parent a dreamer" section as well. Interestingly, I have seen myself in many aspects of this book (and so has Scott). Claire and I both score very high on the "is your child a dreamer?" quiz. Perhaps Claire takes after me a little more than I thought...

CLEAN: The Revolutionary Program to Restore the Body's Natural Ability to Heal Itself
by Alajandro Junger

The "program" outlined in this book is a recommended annual cleanse where you consume very easy to digest/highly nutritious foods for three weeks, allowing your digestive system to rest from its usual labors and clear out toxic buildup from your body. The author is a cardiologist in NYC who has spent time practicing medicine in India as well, and takes a "whole body" approach to medicine, blending healing of Eastern and Western cultures. The first half of the book discusses clean living and the effects of toxic buildup. The later half of the book discusses the how-tos of the cleanse.

Let me know what you think if you decide to pick any of these up.