The One About Yesterday's NPR article

This morning a work colleague directed me to this article on NPR, “Creative Play Makes for Kids in Control" by Alix Spiegel. I haven’t had the chance to listen to it yet, but the article made for fascinating reading. Some of you may already know about “executive function”, but this was the first I had heard about it: it’s the ability to self-regulate one’s behavior, emotions, and impulses. The argument is made that the onslaught of videogames and the tendency of parents to overregulate their children’s schedules has caused a decrease in executive function abilities in children. Videogames don’t encourage it and overscheduled children always have adults present to regulate behaviors for them.

I appreciated that the article made the point that a lot of kids "diagnosed" with ADHD could simply have an underdeveloped executive function, which makes complete sense. They aren't actually being hyper...they only lack the skills to self-regulate. And there was also the interesting section at the end that talked about Wii's role in executive function: while it does get kids moving and may help with childhood obesity, it doesn't encourage executive function.

What I found frustrating was that, even with an innovative program like the one discussed in the article, the end result - how the kids "perform" - is still a major focus. I'm just irked in general at the mentality that kids are "products" of their parents, their upbringing, their generation, and we measure their "performance" in order to make us adults seem productive and successful. Ugh. I'm tired of the whole thing.

And reading the article made me wish I was working directly with kids again: I would love to play the "Freeze" game with them! What a fun thing to work into a program!

Quack Quack here and a Quack Quack there*

A couple weeks ago – yeah, I know I’m a little late on this – I found this recipe for braised duck legs on one of my favorite food blogs, Amateur Gourmet. I love duck with a passion, and I’m always looking for super simple new recipes. So I was intrigued by this one. It just sounded like the perfect accompaniment to the chilly winter weather: earthy, simple, and colorful.

Amateur Gourmet wasn’t lying – this really is the simplest dang recipe in the world to make. The AG says you need one onion, one stalk of celery, one carrot, and a knob of ginger. It looked like too little to me so I added another carrot and another stalk of celery. Even then, I could have added more veggies – I’m always a fan of more fresh ginger. The point is that this recipe is ideal for improvisation, which is always a plus in my mind. I didn’t have the lemongrass, which wasn’t missed at all, and I also didn’t have “five spice powder.” Instead, I used the “Thai seasoning” I had on hand and that worked brilliantly. You simmer all the vegetables, put the duck on top of them, and into the oven for 2 hours. Done. That simple, really. And WOW it tasted perfect.

The only problem was that I got my worst kitchen burn to date making this one. I used my stainless steel skillet so I could go from stovetop to oven without any problems, and I pulled the skillet out of the oven with my oven mitt and placed it on the stovetop. Then I put the oven mitt back in the drawer. But I’m so used to grabbing pans on the stove that I went to pick up the skillet with my bare hand, lifted it up, and received burning skin in return. Adam sprayed a ton of Bactine anti-burn stuff on my hand, I ran my hand under cold water, and I said every swear word in the book through clenched teeth. And I spent our entire meal with an ice pack on my hand to stop the throbbing. So not fun. But I don’t know – is it completely nuts that I sort of take pride in these moments? Like it’s a battle scar. It means I’m a serious cook because, you know, I’ve sustained injuries. See? Look, how hard-core I am! Yeah, I even got blisters. Rad, right?

And as if this amazing meal wasn’t enough, I was able to skim off all the rendered duck fat and keep it in the fridge for those roasted potatoes I had been dying to make. I roasted some Yukons up, all crispy with their duck fat-infused smokiness…and topped it off with crème fraîche, salt, pepper, and fresh thyme. Yeah, it was just as good as it sounds.

Bon appétit!

* God, I loathe coming up with titles for my blog posts. I'm going to start naming them like Friends episodes, i.e. "The One about French Milk" or the "The One about the Random House Summer 2008 preview."

Children, learn from my mistakes

I had a hideous kitchen adventure last night that completely irked me. Remember I talked about buying The French Market by Joanne Harris and Fran Warde? Well, last night I made a recipe from it: Monkfish with Chanterelles. Only there aren’t chanterelles to be had this time of year so Adam bought baby portabellas instead. And this is where I made a gargantuan mistake: I bought the monkfish from Fresh Direct. I know, I know. It was completely asinine of me. Especially when Adam works across the street from Chelsea Market and could go to the fish monger there. And there’s actually a very nice fish monger, Forest Hills Fishery, just down the street from me. I can only claim laziness in its basest form.

So I get the fish, wrapped up in paper and sitting in a Styrofoam tray, from the refrigerator. The first thing I notice is that there’s a ridiculous amount of fish for just me and Adam. Fresh Direct screwed up and gave me 2 lbs. rather than 1 lb. So the fish ended up costing me $30. No biggie – I’ll just freeze half of it. I unwrap it all and think to myself that the filets are awfully thin for monkfish; they didn't seem to have monkfish's typically firm texture or pink color. But I push the thought aside and cook it, searing it for one minute on each side, as the recipe dictates. And the fish is nearly fully cooked and just falls apart on me as I transfer it to a plate. What??? Okay, monkfish, the “poor man’s lobster”, most definitely does not behave that way. It should not have flaked apart like that. Hmmm…I don’t think this is monkfish. Needless to say, the taste and texture confirmed it. I’m all irritated with Fresh Direct but, really, it’s my own fault. This is what laziness about my food will get me: really expensive monkfish-that’s-really-more-like-cod. My only remaining issue is whether Fresh Direct knowingly jacked me (twice!) or if this was an honest mistake*.

The meal ended up not being too bad, but the flavors and textures were rather odd together. The recipe says that the fish and mushrooms can be served over rice, steamed potatoes, or shell pasta. I chose to serve the mushrooms and non-monkfish over rice, but portabellas have such a deep, earthbound flavor that they didn’t mesh well with the rice – it would have been more successful over steamed fingerlings. The non-monkfish didn’t help – it’s extremely light, flaky texture and flavor were a poor match with the portabellas. Oyster mushrooms would have been nice with the cod-like fish.

You know, as a full-time working parent, I need to take shortcuts while cooking on the weekdays. But now I know that taking a shortcut in the selection of my ingredients is not the way to go. Especially for such a fresh, simple recipe. I was left feeling like a schmuck for making such a novice mistake. Kids, don’t try this at home.


* Epilogue: Adam emailed Fresh Direct and they refunded us the full $30.00 for the non-monkfish.

Dreaming of other places

I’ve linked to Lucy’s Kitchen Notebook here before, but I have to do it again. A couple days ago, Lucy talked about the 43 outdoor markets in Lyon, France alone. That’s just in Lyon! She’ll be spending the next few months visiting each of the markets and telling her readers about each one…including gooooorgeous photos. So she went to her first market and…wow. Just wow. Are you a Francophile? Are you tired of winter? Would you love to see breathless reverence for food in the U.S.? Get thee over to Lucy’s Kitchen and behold it all…or as Lucy likes to say, “Come visit!”

I also got a comment on MySpace from a friend of mine (hi, Amy!), beckoning me to the CIA campus (Culinary Institute of America) in Napa – she told me she went there for an open house…but gave me no more information than that (that’s right, Amy, I’m calling you out)! I know I have an unrealistic, idyllic vision in my head of how that all goes…nevertheless, California is totally calling me right now. I want to go to the CIA with Amy where, in my head, we leisurely learn how to cook from gentle, passionate, earthy chefs. Drinking a glass of wine in class, of course. Then I open my own cheese shop where you can also find some locally made breads, carefully selected cookbooks, and local olive oil and wines that will complement the cheeses. Because I’m guessing there probably isn’t a shop like that in Napa, right? Right? And I’ll have a house with some property – because those are easy to come by in Napa too – and I’ll have a small herb garden and some grapevines. You know, something like that.

Don’t mind me – it’s just the 20-degree weather talking.

Random House Summer 2008 Preview*

Love was in the air at the Random House Summer 2008 preview (it was on Valentine’s Day)! Instead of the usual rows Random House has us sit in, they had us in a Golden-Globes-esque set-up where we sat at little tables with our colleagues. The tables had confetti lips scattered on them with chocolate kisses and cherry-flavored gummy lips. Fun, right?

One of the first books I got excited about was presented by the Golden House group: The Big Tidy-Up by Norah Smaridge. It was published in 1970 – this is a reissue – and I’m not familiar at all with the original. But this just looks darling. (Note: the endpapers they showed us for the book were fantastic) 5.13.08

Elissa’s Odyssey by Erica Verrillo is the sequel to Elissa’s Quest, and I’ve read neither at this point. Nevertheless, Elissa’s Quest circulates quite nicely in Queens so I’ll be sure to order the sequel. 6.24.08

This looks insanely promising, and it’s called Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go by Dale E. Basye. A colleague of mine started it and wasn’t terribly happy with it…but also claimed that she may have just been feeling grumpy that day. So the verdict is still out. Nevertheless, I think you could put it on display and it’ll fly off the shelves based on the name and cover alone. 7.22.08

The Order of Odd-Fish by James Kennedy has a cool cover and the editors described it as “Roald Dahl meets Monty Python.” Could be cool. 8.12.08

The editors also talked about the reissue of Sweet Valley High, a well-covered topic on this blog. Needless to say, lots of people cheering in the room about this one (someone even yelled "Elizabeth and Jessica forever!" when the book was announced)! 4.22.08

For you Giselle Potter fans out there, Schwartz and Wade promoted their book, Wynken, Blynken, and Nod, illustrated by…you know…Giselle Potter. The trouble is that I’ve never been a fan of her work. It’s not that I don’t like it…it’s just…meh. And her faces remind me of all those Middle Ages paintings where the babies have the faces of grown men. But that’s just me. 5.13.08

Yay! Lenore Look, author of the Ruby Lu series, has a chapter book coming out for boys: Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things. It’s next in my stack of galleys to read. Can’t wait! 7.8.08

Meghan McCarthy is doing astronauts this time in Astronaut Handbook. I received the F&Gs and my initial impression is that it’s really fantastic. Especially as we see the space program being phased out, it’s good to see a book that will capture kids’ imagination and encourage them to dream about being astronauts. A few more years and this book might seem more nostalgic and, perhaps, old-fashioned. But it’s just right for now. 6.10.08

The Penderwicks are back in Jeanne Birdsall’s The Penderwicks on Gardam Street. I feel like I’m the last librarian to not have read the first book! Nevertheless, I guessed that most of you would be happy to hear about this so here it is. 4.8.08

And, once again, my love of food and youth literature collide in the form of two books: A La Carte by Tanita Davis and High Dive by Tammar Stein. In A La Carte, an African-American, vegetarian teenager dreams of having her own cooking show. There are recipes at the end of each chapter. In High Dive, Arden travels around Europe, taking in all the culinary pleasures. Naturally, I have both books at the top of my huge galley pile – you can imagine how stoked I am. A La Carte - 6.10.08, High Dive - 6.10.08

Last, Wendelin Van Draanen was the guest, promoting her upcoming non-Sammy Keyes book, Confessions of a Serial Kisser. Wendelin was a complete treat and she table-hopped while we ate lunch…meaning that I was able to be a bit of an arse and tell her how much Sammy Keyes reminds me of my own daughter, blah, blah, blah. God, just don’t let me be anywhere near authors. There are two authors I have never been a jerk around: Peter Sís (because I had no idea who he was until 45 minutes into the conversation – which is why everyone should where name tags at the damn conferences) and Patricia MacLachlan (because she’s so down-to-earth, she wouldn’t have stood for any fussing, and my daughter fell in love with her). Except for those two, I’m an idiot. Serial Kisser - 5.13.08

And on another culinary note, marketing extraordinaire Tracy Lerner passed around really pretty iced cookies while we were talking with Wendelin. Naturally, they were heart-shaped.

* Keep in mind I'm only mentioning the books that were of interest to me. There are many, many books I didn't mention here, like Judy Blume's Cool Zone with the Pain and the Great One (5.13.08). Check out Random House's website for more info on books I didn't mention.

Note: Copyright stuff baffles me to no end. Can anyone tell me if I'm breaking copyright laws here by posting the pictures of the book covers??? God, I hope not.

I'm eleven years old again!

Just when I thought I couldn't be any geekier about my renewed obsession with Sweet Valley High, I had to sit next to Carlie at the Random House preview and she introduced me to this.

Thanks to Carlie over at A Chair, A Fireplace, & a Tea Cozy for the heads-up...and for sharing the geekdom.

Bright colors in the middle of winter

I’ve been wanting to talk for days about Educating Alice’s post about Christo and Jeanne Claude’s The Gates in Central Park. At the time, Monica took her class on a series of field trips to the gates, and she includes some magical photos in her post. They’re the perfect pictures to cheer you up when the weather is cold!

I was still living in Arizona when The Gates were here and, even on the other side of the country, I was hearing and reading stories about how jaded New Yorkers were poking fun at the art installment. Snickering at it*. All of it I gave little attention to because I was living in Arizona…and I had never even been to NYC at that point. Monica’s post let me see how much I was missing, and it reminded me of the importance of art, creativity, and beauty in children’s lives. I only wish my daughter had seen The Gates – she would have loved it.

Truly, I can’t put my finger on why I feel so inspired by Monica’s story and her photos. Perhaps it’s because I just finished ranting about the deprofessionalization of libraries. Perhaps because I’m wintered out. Perhaps it’s because I feel like my daughter’s homework consists mainly of drilling her in “math facts” and leveled reading. Perhaps because it reminded that I wasn’t looking through the eyes of a child enough.

The glorious thing, though, is that sometimes even New Yorkers – and, especially, the children growing up here – can be inspired by bright swaths of orange in the middle of a gray winter. I can hardly wait to read Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan's Christo and Jeanne Claude: Through the Gates and Beyond!

Thanks to Monica at Educating Alice!

* See this blog dedicated to The Gates.

I earned my MLS and all they gave me was this stinkin' shirt

Walter Minkel, over at The Monkey Speaks, has an alarming post up right now. Wausau, WI has demoted all of its librarians (all of the Librarian I positions, anyway). Instead of Librarian I, they will now be “customer service librarians,” which also comes with – BAM! – a $10k annual pay cut.

This, of course, is part of a reorganization to save the flailing budget of the city. The library director, Phyllis Christenson is quoted in the Wausau Daily Herald as saying, “I would rather keep people on staff at a lower pay than fire somebody.” Well, dur! Once again, this is an example of library upper management coming to a half-assed decision because they’re afraid to make the difficult choice and have the difficult conversation. Never mind that you’ll have people on your staff who are undervalued and demoted so you have to guess that the morale at the Marathon County Library System is swell, right? Right? Sheesh. Not to mention that Christenson also states this reason for the reorg: “Librarians today do less complex work, she said -- calling for pay adjustments and more technological assistance.” Whoa. That smells like a cop-out to me. A big, ol’ stinky one. I have seen nothing but evidence to the contrary in my own day-to-day job. Nevertheless, library science/information science programs nationwide should pay attention – if library directors are seeing our work as relevant, then Master’s programs will need to double-time to make sure that they’re producing librarians well-versed in all things relevant to libraries today…like how to be a manager or a director.

I can only hope that this is not going to be a trend elsewhere in the country. I can only hope that this is just the misguided attempts of some Midwest councilpeople and library directors to save their own jobs. Otherwise, that Master’s degree in Food Studies at NYU is starting to look more and more promising…

For an alternate perspective, check out the Annoyed Librarian's post about this.