John and I were talking last night about loyalty -- the kind of loyalty Americans love to have to our sports teams, our favorite store, our favorite car, our favorite brand of soda. It's funny, because all of these loyalties are basically meaningless. We might love Pepsi and hate Coke, but the fact is that they're almost identical. So why the strong feelings?
Perhaps we just want to have labels that will tell us who we are. I'm a Pepsi person, or a Sprite person, or a Fresca person ("It's not for everyone. It's for you"). That way I don't feel like just one of a crowd.
When I was a kid, I absorbed my family's loyalties: I preferred Fords to Chevys, Pepsi to Coke, baseball to football, the Huskies to the Cougars, the Republicans to the Democrats. I had no more reason for my political views than I had for my sports views. I simply absorbed them. My elders discoursed about politics, so I did too: "Bush has a nicer name than Clinton. How could anyone be a Democrat when their animal is a donkey?" Yeah. Deep opinions there.
Nowadays I can't really bring myself to announce a party affiliation. Even the old way I used to do, saying, "I am not a Republican, but I find that Republican candidates more often agree with my views," doesn't really seem to work. Republicans never give my views more than lip service, and I find them just as bad as the Democrats in most things, and worse in some things.
These days I have a grab bag of political opinions. I am pro-life, anti-death-penalty, pro-environment, and anti-war (for the most part). I care very much about poverty but am not quite sure what the best strategy is for ending it. I care very much about education, but my solutions are not supported by anyone within the government. I would like to see more of our decisions being made at a more local level (this is called subsidiarity). I would like to see less government, overall. I think we need to be more concerned about our national debt, and maybe do the unthinkable and actually start paying some of it down.
As you can imagine, neither of the two parties have been able to convince me they will serve my interests.
I would say my most important political opinion is my opposition of abortion. I feel very strongly about it, to the point of sometimes becoming a single-issue voter. This seems to me the only logical conclusion to my belief that an embryo is a human person. If it is, nothing is more important than making sure kids are not being killed. No-brainer.
And yet, my number two is the reduction of war. I think we are at war with way too many countries, way too much of the time. I didn't want to vote for McCain last time around, because I felt he would surely increase our military involvement around the world. I think it's ironic that Obama did just that.
In 2004, the first time I ever voted, I picked Bush because I thought he would do something for the pro-life cause. But he didn't do much. I was pretty disappointed. I shouldn't have been surprised -- the pro-life "plank" is not an important one to the Republican party. They mostly included it because they knew they could get people like me to vote for them with no additional effort, since, after all, the Democrats weren't even going to give me lip service.
In 2008, I was even more conflicted. I was pretty sure McCain wouldn't do any more about abortion than Bush did. But I knew he would increase our military involvement abroad. But Obama was so pro-abortion there was no way I was voting for him. I seriously considered voting third-party, but knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that whoever I chose wouldn't win. I would just be making a statement and gratifying myself. But why should I bother voting for someone that I didn't actually want running the country?
In the end, I think my subconscious decided everything for me. The very idea of voting got me so distressed that I would put it from my mind whenever it cropped up. And the next thing I knew, the deadline for registering had passed. Oops. So I didn't vote.
But that's kind of where I am right now: stuck with a rather unpopular amalgamation of opinions, each of which I actually researched and considered thoroughly, only to find that there isn't any room for my points of view in a world ruled by blind loyalty to a dichotomy of political parties. In this country, we are forced to choose one of two options, neither of which actually represents us, and both of which have a vested interest in remaining in power and increasing the power they wield.
As the years go by, their positions seem more and more similar. They vote more and more spending, but quibble on what, exactly, to spend it on. They are aware we need to cut, but no one is willing to cut their own pet programs. More and more I'm hearing the powers that be make veiled references to the stupidity of the American people, how they shouldn't have to explain things to us because we wouldn't understand, how they know better than us how things should be done.
This is just not what I was led to believe our government was like, back in ninth grade civics. Our form of government sounded much more democratic on paper.
I really don't know what I'll do in the next election. All the candidates I see being fielded so far seem every bit as execrable, or more, as the people currently in power. I refuse to vote for someone simply to vote against someone else. I want to at least be okay with my chosen candidate actually taking office. But so far I haven't seen someone put forward who I would like to see as president.
I don't really have a conclusion or closing point here (do I ever?), but surely I'm not the only one frustrated with the way our government works, am I?
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
How does your fall garden grow?
When we moved here, I knew I wouldn't have time to plant much in the spring. So I put my hopes in the fall. The plan was to plant green beans, peas, lettuce, and spinach in the fall, and then to achieve my "full" garden dreams (though, you know, I'm sure to add to those) next spring.
So how is that going?
Beans are doing great. I should have planted them earlier, like right when my first planting of them failed, but I was caught up in things and didn't have much time to break ground. Then I made the mistake of breaking ground at midday on midsummer, and that wasn't so smart. But they're doing fine, and have begun to bloom. That means beans are right around the corner, right?
Next to them, I have a plot for the peas I just planted. I was waiting and waiting for the right time to plant peas, and then someone told me I should have planted them already. So I decided to stop agonizing and put them in already. I only got a little bit planted, but at least we'll see if that was the right date.
As soon as I can finish killing the grass in the rest of this bed, I'll plant more. They might not give me anything, but they'll enrich the soil anyway. This is how I kill grass: I cover it with newspaper, and then weigh down the newspaper with wood chips, cut grass, planters, tree branches -- really whatever I can find. When I pull it away, the ground is SO much easier to dig than it is with live grass. Our grass is knotted together under the surface with tons of runners and is just impossible to get out.
Last weekend I planted a little lettuce and spinach. I'm not sure if it's too early or too late, but the weather has turned and is less hot, so I thought I might as well try. Their bed gets shade after about two p.m. I planted a little of each kind, and will plant more each week for awhile. This way, either I'll have a long harvest, or at least something will survive and I'll know when the right date to plant might have been.
My tomatoes are pretty much done. I've saved my seeds for next year, and everything else I get is gravy. The beefsteak tomatoes have succumbed to their disease, and it's time to take them out.
The Cherokee Purples are doing better, but they're a bit droopy, especially since they outgrew their cages a long time ago. They still have some fruit, though it is much smaller than the first fruit that grew there. It's probably because they've exhausted the phosphorus in the soil (or something like that). Keep in mind this is unamended, plain soil here -- these plants have had no fertilizer (save one application of "Marko-nure" water), no compost, no nothing. Next year I plan to enrich the soil with a lot more organic matter, and perhaps keep some seaweed emulsion on hand if they start to look peaked.
My cilantro has gone to seed. I decided to let it, so that I could find out what coriander tastes like and save some for the winter. I think I'll also take some seeds and plant them indoors in pots during the cold weather, so that I can have delicious tacos all year long.
The basil is still producing away, albeit somewhat smothered by drooping tomato branches. And here is a mint that my dear friend Dr. Thursday brought all the way from Pennsylvania. It's survived great -- in fact, I think it's ready for me to harvest a few leaves for my iced tea!
Anyone else have a fall garden? Or are you fully in harvest mode now?
So how is that going?
Beans are doing great. I should have planted them earlier, like right when my first planting of them failed, but I was caught up in things and didn't have much time to break ground. Then I made the mistake of breaking ground at midday on midsummer, and that wasn't so smart. But they're doing fine, and have begun to bloom. That means beans are right around the corner, right?
Next to them, I have a plot for the peas I just planted. I was waiting and waiting for the right time to plant peas, and then someone told me I should have planted them already. So I decided to stop agonizing and put them in already. I only got a little bit planted, but at least we'll see if that was the right date.
As soon as I can finish killing the grass in the rest of this bed, I'll plant more. They might not give me anything, but they'll enrich the soil anyway. This is how I kill grass: I cover it with newspaper, and then weigh down the newspaper with wood chips, cut grass, planters, tree branches -- really whatever I can find. When I pull it away, the ground is SO much easier to dig than it is with live grass. Our grass is knotted together under the surface with tons of runners and is just impossible to get out.
Last weekend I planted a little lettuce and spinach. I'm not sure if it's too early or too late, but the weather has turned and is less hot, so I thought I might as well try. Their bed gets shade after about two p.m. I planted a little of each kind, and will plant more each week for awhile. This way, either I'll have a long harvest, or at least something will survive and I'll know when the right date to plant might have been.
My tomatoes are pretty much done. I've saved my seeds for next year, and everything else I get is gravy. The beefsteak tomatoes have succumbed to their disease, and it's time to take them out.
The Cherokee Purples are doing better, but they're a bit droopy, especially since they outgrew their cages a long time ago. They still have some fruit, though it is much smaller than the first fruit that grew there. It's probably because they've exhausted the phosphorus in the soil (or something like that). Keep in mind this is unamended, plain soil here -- these plants have had no fertilizer (save one application of "Marko-nure" water), no compost, no nothing. Next year I plan to enrich the soil with a lot more organic matter, and perhaps keep some seaweed emulsion on hand if they start to look peaked.
My cilantro has gone to seed. I decided to let it, so that I could find out what coriander tastes like and save some for the winter. I think I'll also take some seeds and plant them indoors in pots during the cold weather, so that I can have delicious tacos all year long.
The basil is still producing away, albeit somewhat smothered by drooping tomato branches. And here is a mint that my dear friend Dr. Thursday brought all the way from Pennsylvania. It's survived great -- in fact, I think it's ready for me to harvest a few leaves for my iced tea!
Anyone else have a fall garden? Or are you fully in harvest mode now?
Monday, August 8, 2011
Companion plants in my lawn
Some people might say I have weeds in my lawn. My opinion is that I have companion plants. That is to say, rather than having a monoculture of just grass, I have a biodiverse lawn with a variety of different plants .... which leads to a nice-looking, healthy, green lawn.
Besides grass, here are several other plants that live in my lawn and keep it interesting:
Clover: Clover is the ideal companion plant for lawns. It harbors nitrogen-fixing bacteria, keeping the yard rich in nitrogen so that fertilizer is unnecessary. It also is soft on feet, doesn't need mowing, and stays green in all but the most severe drought.
Dandelion: I actually had to hunt all over the yard for a dandelion -- I guess they are being crowded out by all the other plants! Dandelion breaks up hard subsoil with its long, tough taproots. This helps make nutrients deeper down in the soil available to the shallower-rooted grasses.
Plantain: Plantain is invaluable in our climate. We have a big problem with bare patches here in Virginia. Once the soft clay soil is denuded of grass -- say, because of high traffic or erosion -- it bakes into a compacted, bricky pavement, which won't let anything sprout. I've seen a lot of attempted solutions, from just seeding it and leaving it to piling it all with straw mulch and seeding it, and nothing really works all that well. Grass just won't put a root through that compacted stuff. You know what will, though? Plantain. It easily sprouts in compacted soil, loosening and shading the soil to make it hospitable to other plants. The bare patches that covered half our front and side lawn when we bought the house are almost completely gone now, mostly thanks to plantain.
Purslane: Like dandelion, it brings up water and nutrients from below the soil. Its succulence makes it extremely drought-tolerant, and it makes a humid microclimate for the plants around it. In other words, it's happy to share its water stores with others!
A lawn of plain grass easily browns, requiring fertilizer, frequent watering, and weeding. But a diverse lawn full of "companion plants" (that is to say, weeds) stays healthy longer. Don't believe me? We're still mowing our lawn, despite intense heat and drought!
Besides grass, here are several other plants that live in my lawn and keep it interesting:
Clover: Clover is the ideal companion plant for lawns. It harbors nitrogen-fixing bacteria, keeping the yard rich in nitrogen so that fertilizer is unnecessary. It also is soft on feet, doesn't need mowing, and stays green in all but the most severe drought.
Dandelion: I actually had to hunt all over the yard for a dandelion -- I guess they are being crowded out by all the other plants! Dandelion breaks up hard subsoil with its long, tough taproots. This helps make nutrients deeper down in the soil available to the shallower-rooted grasses.
Plantain: Plantain is invaluable in our climate. We have a big problem with bare patches here in Virginia. Once the soft clay soil is denuded of grass -- say, because of high traffic or erosion -- it bakes into a compacted, bricky pavement, which won't let anything sprout. I've seen a lot of attempted solutions, from just seeding it and leaving it to piling it all with straw mulch and seeding it, and nothing really works all that well. Grass just won't put a root through that compacted stuff. You know what will, though? Plantain. It easily sprouts in compacted soil, loosening and shading the soil to make it hospitable to other plants. The bare patches that covered half our front and side lawn when we bought the house are almost completely gone now, mostly thanks to plantain.
Purslane: Like dandelion, it brings up water and nutrients from below the soil. Its succulence makes it extremely drought-tolerant, and it makes a humid microclimate for the plants around it. In other words, it's happy to share its water stores with others!
A lawn of plain grass easily browns, requiring fertilizer, frequent watering, and weeding. But a diverse lawn full of "companion plants" (that is to say, weeds) stays healthy longer. Don't believe me? We're still mowing our lawn, despite intense heat and drought!
Tons of tomatoes
When I started growing tomatoes, I hoped to save a little money. I knew what I spent on tomatoes: $2.69 every two weeks for a plastic clamshell of six Romas at Aldi. So I should save about $5 a month for 1-2 months while we were harvesting. Perhaps a couple of bucks more for a few jars of salsa or pasta sauce. Since the plants themselves cost about that much, it wasn't going to be a big saving. But it was also a learning experience, of course.
This is how many tomatoes have been ripening on our table for the past several weeks. As we eat some, we pick more. It turns out to be more than three per week.
I had forgotten my Rule Number One of Food Buying: Whenever you don't eat one thing, you're going to be eating something else. This rule gets invoked all the time when I cut something out of my grocery budget -- say, ice cream, pretzels, or white bread -- and find that I don't have enough to eat that week because I forgot to replace those calories with something else. It turns out the inverse is also true: when you're constantly eating tomatoes, you may find you eat fewer bananas, peanut butter sandwiches, and lettuce. With such an easy (and free) food to snack on all the time, you end up eating them all the time and saving money elsewhere.
Use #1 for tomatoes is as a baby snack. Usually an outdoor snack, because he tends to spit out whatever part he doesn't like (mostly peels).
Use #2 is caprese salad: tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, oil, vinegar. Can't beat that.
Use #3 is sandwiches. Today's was tomato, cucumber, mozzarella, basil, and a teeny bit of onion on bread spread very lightly with mayo. (Pesto is better, but I had none made.)
Use #4 is in this pasta dish:
Cold cooked pasta, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, olive oil, torn-up basil. So yummy and summery.
Use #6 is salsa and spaghetti sauce. I haven't really had any success with spaghetti sauce -- it tastes fine, but just isn't the texture I'm used to -- but the salsa is excellent.
Marko approves. I have no idea how much money we are actually saving, but it's more than $5. My garden has officially paid for itself! Plus, we're eating a good bit healthier thanks to the displacement of other snacks.
Later I'll show you how the plants look now (which is kind of dreadful), but keep in mind, I've gotten at least 50 tomatoes off these plants. My only costs were four seedlings and one seed packet. Some tomato cages I found in the shed supplemented. I did not amend the soil at all beyond breaking it up. In fact, I spent very little effort on these little guys at all -- and they still rewarded me! Next year I'll do more, having learned more, but for now, it's nice to know that you can do everything "wrong" and still get some tomatoes.
This is how many tomatoes have been ripening on our table for the past several weeks. As we eat some, we pick more. It turns out to be more than three per week.
I had forgotten my Rule Number One of Food Buying: Whenever you don't eat one thing, you're going to be eating something else. This rule gets invoked all the time when I cut something out of my grocery budget -- say, ice cream, pretzels, or white bread -- and find that I don't have enough to eat that week because I forgot to replace those calories with something else. It turns out the inverse is also true: when you're constantly eating tomatoes, you may find you eat fewer bananas, peanut butter sandwiches, and lettuce. With such an easy (and free) food to snack on all the time, you end up eating them all the time and saving money elsewhere.
Use #1 for tomatoes is as a baby snack. Usually an outdoor snack, because he tends to spit out whatever part he doesn't like (mostly peels).
Use #2 is caprese salad: tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, oil, vinegar. Can't beat that.
Use #3 is sandwiches. Today's was tomato, cucumber, mozzarella, basil, and a teeny bit of onion on bread spread very lightly with mayo. (Pesto is better, but I had none made.)
Use #4 is in this pasta dish:
Cold cooked pasta, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, olive oil, torn-up basil. So yummy and summery.
Use #6 is salsa and spaghetti sauce. I haven't really had any success with spaghetti sauce -- it tastes fine, but just isn't the texture I'm used to -- but the salsa is excellent.
Marko approves. I have no idea how much money we are actually saving, but it's more than $5. My garden has officially paid for itself! Plus, we're eating a good bit healthier thanks to the displacement of other snacks.
Later I'll show you how the plants look now (which is kind of dreadful), but keep in mind, I've gotten at least 50 tomatoes off these plants. My only costs were four seedlings and one seed packet. Some tomato cages I found in the shed supplemented. I did not amend the soil at all beyond breaking it up. In fact, I spent very little effort on these little guys at all -- and they still rewarded me! Next year I'll do more, having learned more, but for now, it's nice to know that you can do everything "wrong" and still get some tomatoes.
Friday, August 5, 2011
My confidence is shattered
I have a confession to make: in the past, I've fallen prey to pride. I actually thought I was a good mother. I was pretty sure I knew what I was doing. I got a lot of compliments on how well I seemed to understand my baby, and I ate them right up. I knew how to cheer him up when he was down and how to make him smile when he met someone new (discreetly tickle him while I introduced him ... because some people will not leave till they've coaxed a smile out of a baby). I didn't really care if people questioned my parenting or gave me a ton of advice, because I knew I was doing the right thing. I'd researched every option and picked the best -- and it was working. When someone criticized, I would simply say "This is working for us" and be on my way.
I am not nearly so sure of myself now that Marko is a toddler. How do I know I'm doing things right? How do I know I'm not creating a monster? I know babies can't be spoiled ... but can toddlers?
I got all frustrated the other day, reading blogs. Someone happened to list the things they thought a child could be taught to do at each age: "A child as young as one (younger actually) is perfectly capable of obeying simple commands (come here, don’t touch, no noise, sit on your bottom)." She has eight kids, so it seems like she would know. But my child does not obey simple commands at all. He might sometimes come when I call him, or bring me a toy when I ask him, but he certainly does not listen to "don't touch" and I think "no noise" is waaaaaay out of his comprehension.
So I asked this experienced mother what she does. Her answer? "No secret. By just attempting to consistently apply the child training principles taught in Scripture and we’ve found that all of our children have precisely understood the meaning of the word ‘no’ by the time of their first birthday."
That is just not specific enough for me. I've read most of the Bible and never ever saw a passage where it says, "This is how you discipline a one-year-old." I know I ought to be "consistent," but consistent doing what?
Normally I just distract him, redirect him, remove the temptation (like take him inside if he's grabbing my tomatoes, or take him outside if he's messing with the cat box), or give him something else to play with. I do say "no" but he just laughs. I've tried swatting his hand or bottom, but he thinks that's just hilarious. So long as he's getting an interesting reaction, he'll keep doing whatever it is. But if I ignore him, I could lose a lot of tomatoes before he gets bored.
I'm just afraid that by avoiding battles with him, I'm going to create a monster who has no notion of limits. So the other day I did make a battle out of something. I wanted him to sit on the potty, so I told him he couldn't have any milk until he did. It was EPIC. He screamed and cried and begged for his milk cup and thrashed around. I took him, as gently as I could, set him on the potty, and gave him his milk. He flung the milk, screamed, carried on, and eventually I just put the milk in the fridge and let him go play again. But he was still angry at me for over an hour.
I just don't think that's the right way to go. He's a stubborn little guy, for one thing. I did feel he understood the deal I was making him, but he did not want to make a deal. I felt awful for making a battle out of something (the potty) that maybe he's just not ready for.
I don't intend to do that again. What I have been doing works better, for all its flaws. I know he's at a very willful stage (the "Knee-High Neanderthal") and he will probably be more cooperative in six months or so.
And yet ... when I hear people say their toddlers do what they are told, or give me the stink-eye for not having more control over my kid, I don't feel the confidence that I used to. I honestly don't know what I'm doing. I've read the books; I've researched on blogs; but I still don't know which of the many methods is best. Some people say you should never spank; others say you should start spanking at four months old. Some people are all for counting to three or putting kids in the corner. When I was a nanny and big sister, I knew all about disciplining toddlers. I just don't have that kind of certainty anymore.
For now, I guess I'm just going to keep on keepin' on, dragging him away from dangerous things, distracting him, and waiting for him to be rational enough to understand some basic consequences. It's funny, because what I'm doing doesn't at all fit what I had intended to do before he was born. But that method just plain doesn't make sense with my particular child at his particular age. The times I've tried, it's been an abysmal failure.
What can I do but watch my child and try to learn as he grows?
I am not nearly so sure of myself now that Marko is a toddler. How do I know I'm doing things right? How do I know I'm not creating a monster? I know babies can't be spoiled ... but can toddlers?
I got all frustrated the other day, reading blogs. Someone happened to list the things they thought a child could be taught to do at each age: "A child as young as one (younger actually) is perfectly capable of obeying simple commands (come here, don’t touch, no noise, sit on your bottom)." She has eight kids, so it seems like she would know. But my child does not obey simple commands at all. He might sometimes come when I call him, or bring me a toy when I ask him, but he certainly does not listen to "don't touch" and I think "no noise" is waaaaaay out of his comprehension.
So I asked this experienced mother what she does. Her answer? "No secret. By just attempting to consistently apply the child training principles taught in Scripture and we’ve found that all of our children have precisely understood the meaning of the word ‘no’ by the time of their first birthday."
That is just not specific enough for me. I've read most of the Bible and never ever saw a passage where it says, "This is how you discipline a one-year-old." I know I ought to be "consistent," but consistent doing what?
Normally I just distract him, redirect him, remove the temptation (like take him inside if he's grabbing my tomatoes, or take him outside if he's messing with the cat box), or give him something else to play with. I do say "no" but he just laughs. I've tried swatting his hand or bottom, but he thinks that's just hilarious. So long as he's getting an interesting reaction, he'll keep doing whatever it is. But if I ignore him, I could lose a lot of tomatoes before he gets bored.
I'm just afraid that by avoiding battles with him, I'm going to create a monster who has no notion of limits. So the other day I did make a battle out of something. I wanted him to sit on the potty, so I told him he couldn't have any milk until he did. It was EPIC. He screamed and cried and begged for his milk cup and thrashed around. I took him, as gently as I could, set him on the potty, and gave him his milk. He flung the milk, screamed, carried on, and eventually I just put the milk in the fridge and let him go play again. But he was still angry at me for over an hour.
I just don't think that's the right way to go. He's a stubborn little guy, for one thing. I did feel he understood the deal I was making him, but he did not want to make a deal. I felt awful for making a battle out of something (the potty) that maybe he's just not ready for.
I don't intend to do that again. What I have been doing works better, for all its flaws. I know he's at a very willful stage (the "Knee-High Neanderthal") and he will probably be more cooperative in six months or so.
And yet ... when I hear people say their toddlers do what they are told, or give me the stink-eye for not having more control over my kid, I don't feel the confidence that I used to. I honestly don't know what I'm doing. I've read the books; I've researched on blogs; but I still don't know which of the many methods is best. Some people say you should never spank; others say you should start spanking at four months old. Some people are all for counting to three or putting kids in the corner. When I was a nanny and big sister, I knew all about disciplining toddlers. I just don't have that kind of certainty anymore.
For now, I guess I'm just going to keep on keepin' on, dragging him away from dangerous things, distracting him, and waiting for him to be rational enough to understand some basic consequences. It's funny, because what I'm doing doesn't at all fit what I had intended to do before he was born. But that method just plain doesn't make sense with my particular child at his particular age. The times I've tried, it's been an abysmal failure.
What can I do but watch my child and try to learn as he grows?
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Cool cucumber recipes
Yesterday I received a windfall of cucumbers, if one could call it that: a friend was drowning in the excesses produced by her plants and gave me a big bagful. Normally I just chop the cucumbers, add some chopped tomatoes and basil, and dress the salad with oil and vinegar, but I can't have that every day of the week. Even if I did (and I might after all -- it's so delicious), I wouldn't finish up all these cukes!
John puts them in baloney sandwiches, which is good. And I've tried them in my BLT's -- definitely a nice touch. (I also use pesto instead of mayo -- seriously, try it.) But even that is not enough. I am wallowing in cucumber riches, and I want to mix it up a bit.
So I'm turning to a few other favorites. The first one is from my mom, who told me it was a favorite dish in Iran. It's terribly simple.
Peel and chop cucumbers into chunks. Mix with plain yogurt -- thick Greek yogurt is best, but any is fine. Add salt and dill to taste.
I don't know what you call it, but it's definitely a staple all around the Mediterranean.
The other one is a recipe I pulled out of The Joy of Cooking when, as a pre-teen, I hosted a Valentine's Day tea party. What's a traditional tea party without cucumber sandwiches?
Peel cucumbers and grate them. Put in a strainer, in a cheesecloth bag, or between paper towels and squeeze as much water out as you easily can. Move the grated cucumber to a bowl and add cream cheese until it's a thick, but spreadable consistency. Add grated onion -- say 1/4 onion for each cucumber. Season with a teeny dash of red pepper sauce (like Tabasco), salt, and white (or black) pepper. Spread on white bread and cut into triangles (or, as I did, hearts).
The Joy of Cooking has several cooked cucumber recipes, but I never tried them. What's the point of cooking something that is so fresh, delicious, and summery raw? I am going to rustle up a recipe for chilled cucumber soup, though. That sounds perfect.
John puts them in baloney sandwiches, which is good. And I've tried them in my BLT's -- definitely a nice touch. (I also use pesto instead of mayo -- seriously, try it.) But even that is not enough. I am wallowing in cucumber riches, and I want to mix it up a bit.
So I'm turning to a few other favorites. The first one is from my mom, who told me it was a favorite dish in Iran. It's terribly simple.
Peel and chop cucumbers into chunks. Mix with plain yogurt -- thick Greek yogurt is best, but any is fine. Add salt and dill to taste.
I don't know what you call it, but it's definitely a staple all around the Mediterranean.
The other one is a recipe I pulled out of The Joy of Cooking when, as a pre-teen, I hosted a Valentine's Day tea party. What's a traditional tea party without cucumber sandwiches?
Peel cucumbers and grate them. Put in a strainer, in a cheesecloth bag, or between paper towels and squeeze as much water out as you easily can. Move the grated cucumber to a bowl and add cream cheese until it's a thick, but spreadable consistency. Add grated onion -- say 1/4 onion for each cucumber. Season with a teeny dash of red pepper sauce (like Tabasco), salt, and white (or black) pepper. Spread on white bread and cut into triangles (or, as I did, hearts).
The Joy of Cooking has several cooked cucumber recipes, but I never tried them. What's the point of cooking something that is so fresh, delicious, and summery raw? I am going to rustle up a recipe for chilled cucumber soup, though. That sounds perfect.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Weaning checklist
I keep meaning to do a post on weaning. I had one all planned out four months ago when Marko suddenly went from nursing every two hours to nursing three or four times a day. But then he went back to his old ways and I've begun to realize he just likes faking me out. He'll go a whole day with nursing only twice, and I think weaning is just around the corner. I obsess over what this means: He's not a baby anymore! I will miss nursing! On the other hand, should I be helping this process along to wean him sooner? Or should I try and encourage him to nurse more so he doesn't wean too soon?
Meanwhile, Marko's just moseying along, doing his own thing, going two steps forward and one step back. I'm finally going to admit I have no idea when he will be done. Lately his thing has been to demand "neenee," signing "milk" furiously with both hands, and then when I pick him up, he jerks away and says, "No! Cheese! Meat! Water! Juice!" or whatever. But he still does nurse several times a day. First thing in the morning, usually; before nap (until the past two days, when he fell asleep watching peaceful music videos with me); after nap; and whenever he happens to be feeling particularly clingy or cranky. He doesn't nurse to sleep at night anymore. (Sniff, sniff: that one was my favorite.)
I'm starting to feel more ready, myself. That is to say, I'm starting to feel really fed up with his antics, acrobatics, hair pulling, and so forth. The fact is, he's never been that into nursing. But he is really into pulling my hair. If I don't let him pull my hair, he generally won't nurse at all. This morning he was really cranky and insisted on "neenee," but the whole time he kept trying to plant his foot on my throat. No, thanks. And it didn't even make him less cranky at all. What he really wanted was my undivided attention. Nursing while reading blogs is no good. (Which was the main benefit of nursing before: guilt-free computer time!)
And then there's a little part of me that wonders if I will be able to get pregnant before he is completely weaned. I'm willing to wait awhile, but if he hits two and is still nursing, and I'm still not pregnant ... I think I'll be a bit more eager to be done. I don't want to push him into something he's not ready for just for the sake of a baby that doesn't exist yet -- but if he seems ready, I don't mind nudging him in that direction either. My plan was always to nurse him as long as he wanted, and then encourage weaning if I got pregnant ... but I don't really want to wait three years or more before having another baby. Of course, maybe nursing has nothing to do with it. I just don't know. But the concern is there.
As I think about whether or not to encourage weaning (by, say, offering a cup of milk or a snuggle or a book when he asks to nurse -- offers that he generally is happy to accept), I've been working out a checklist. It's a list of things I'd like him to be doing before he is completely weaned. Because if he hasn't reached all of these milestones, he isn't really ready. My fear is to wean him too soon, and then find out he still needs it later, when it's too late to go back.
*He has to be able to go to sleep reliably without nursing. This is mostly the case. His "no nursing" way to go to sleep at night is to take a walk in the stroller. Twice around the block usually does it, and he's easy to move into his bed. The only problem is that this won't work when fall comes and it gets rainy and cold. We're going to need a new "backup" strategy when nursing is no longer available as a fallback. Perhaps more praise-and-worship music videos... but I'd rather not make TV a habit, either. Hm.
*He has to be able to go to sleep again after he wakes up at night without nursing. He's sleeping through the night at least half the time now, but when he does wake up, nursing is the best thing to get him back to sleep. Sometimes rocking works ... but sometimes not. Before I let him stop nursing in the daytime, I'd have to try night-weaning and see if I can get him back to sleep reliably without nursing.
*He has to be able to snuggle without nursing. This is actually a new breakthrough that he seems to be reaching lately -- the ability to sit still in my arms without grabbing, pinching, fighting to get down and then screaming to get back up, or requiring me to bounce and walk around the house the whole time. Books help with that. He's just a really wiggly, active kid who has to be doing something or he can't sit still. But he's learned to pat my shoulder or stroke my arm, and he's also more interested in looking at pictures, so he is able to get snuggles without nursing ... in fact, maybe a little better without nursing. Seeing as nursing often leaves me with a toe in my eye.
*I'd prefer him to have all his teeth. So far, every time he seems like he's about to wean, he starts cutting a new tooth and suddenly wants to nurse all the time. It's a big source of comfort to him, and I'd hate for him to have sore gums and not be able to nurse when that's one of the main things that makes him feel better.
*This is a long shot, but I'd kind of like him to be potty-trained, or at least closer to potty training. Why? Well, kids often get constipated when they're training ... and mother's milk is the best remedy for constipation I know of. Still, I know it may be a long time before he's potty trained.
So, for now I'll focus on waiting for him to reach the milestones on this list. I'm not really into pushing him to achieve any of those, but as they happen naturally, I'll check them off. When he's reached them all, he may just wean on his own ... but if not, I may try a gentle nudge in that direction.
One thing I won't do is set down an ultimatum. If he really wants to nurse, he gets to nurse. I believe children have strong desires about nursing when they still need it ... that's why they feel that way about it! I don't want to feel that I have taken away something from him that he still wanted and needed -- that's like cutting up his pacifier and security blanket all in one day. (Metaphorically speaking -- he has no pacifier and has never taken to a lovey.) Whether his need is physical or emotional, I'm willing to let him have what he needs.
Moms who have been through this, I'd love to hear any advice or just plain comfort that you have. Somewhere inside me there's a sniffling mess curled up in a ball wailing "Why doesn't my baby need me anymore?" It may be that weaning me is going to be a lot more difficult than weaning him.
Meanwhile, Marko's just moseying along, doing his own thing, going two steps forward and one step back. I'm finally going to admit I have no idea when he will be done. Lately his thing has been to demand "neenee," signing "milk" furiously with both hands, and then when I pick him up, he jerks away and says, "No! Cheese! Meat! Water! Juice!" or whatever. But he still does nurse several times a day. First thing in the morning, usually; before nap (until the past two days, when he fell asleep watching peaceful music videos with me); after nap; and whenever he happens to be feeling particularly clingy or cranky. He doesn't nurse to sleep at night anymore. (Sniff, sniff: that one was my favorite.)
I'm starting to feel more ready, myself. That is to say, I'm starting to feel really fed up with his antics, acrobatics, hair pulling, and so forth. The fact is, he's never been that into nursing. But he is really into pulling my hair. If I don't let him pull my hair, he generally won't nurse at all. This morning he was really cranky and insisted on "neenee," but the whole time he kept trying to plant his foot on my throat. No, thanks. And it didn't even make him less cranky at all. What he really wanted was my undivided attention. Nursing while reading blogs is no good. (Which was the main benefit of nursing before: guilt-free computer time!)
And then there's a little part of me that wonders if I will be able to get pregnant before he is completely weaned. I'm willing to wait awhile, but if he hits two and is still nursing, and I'm still not pregnant ... I think I'll be a bit more eager to be done. I don't want to push him into something he's not ready for just for the sake of a baby that doesn't exist yet -- but if he seems ready, I don't mind nudging him in that direction either. My plan was always to nurse him as long as he wanted, and then encourage weaning if I got pregnant ... but I don't really want to wait three years or more before having another baby. Of course, maybe nursing has nothing to do with it. I just don't know. But the concern is there.
As I think about whether or not to encourage weaning (by, say, offering a cup of milk or a snuggle or a book when he asks to nurse -- offers that he generally is happy to accept), I've been working out a checklist. It's a list of things I'd like him to be doing before he is completely weaned. Because if he hasn't reached all of these milestones, he isn't really ready. My fear is to wean him too soon, and then find out he still needs it later, when it's too late to go back.
*He has to be able to go to sleep reliably without nursing. This is mostly the case. His "no nursing" way to go to sleep at night is to take a walk in the stroller. Twice around the block usually does it, and he's easy to move into his bed. The only problem is that this won't work when fall comes and it gets rainy and cold. We're going to need a new "backup" strategy when nursing is no longer available as a fallback. Perhaps more praise-and-worship music videos... but I'd rather not make TV a habit, either. Hm.
*He has to be able to go to sleep again after he wakes up at night without nursing. He's sleeping through the night at least half the time now, but when he does wake up, nursing is the best thing to get him back to sleep. Sometimes rocking works ... but sometimes not. Before I let him stop nursing in the daytime, I'd have to try night-weaning and see if I can get him back to sleep reliably without nursing.
*He has to be able to snuggle without nursing. This is actually a new breakthrough that he seems to be reaching lately -- the ability to sit still in my arms without grabbing, pinching, fighting to get down and then screaming to get back up, or requiring me to bounce and walk around the house the whole time. Books help with that. He's just a really wiggly, active kid who has to be doing something or he can't sit still. But he's learned to pat my shoulder or stroke my arm, and he's also more interested in looking at pictures, so he is able to get snuggles without nursing ... in fact, maybe a little better without nursing. Seeing as nursing often leaves me with a toe in my eye.
*I'd prefer him to have all his teeth. So far, every time he seems like he's about to wean, he starts cutting a new tooth and suddenly wants to nurse all the time. It's a big source of comfort to him, and I'd hate for him to have sore gums and not be able to nurse when that's one of the main things that makes him feel better.
*This is a long shot, but I'd kind of like him to be potty-trained, or at least closer to potty training. Why? Well, kids often get constipated when they're training ... and mother's milk is the best remedy for constipation I know of. Still, I know it may be a long time before he's potty trained.
So, for now I'll focus on waiting for him to reach the milestones on this list. I'm not really into pushing him to achieve any of those, but as they happen naturally, I'll check them off. When he's reached them all, he may just wean on his own ... but if not, I may try a gentle nudge in that direction.
One thing I won't do is set down an ultimatum. If he really wants to nurse, he gets to nurse. I believe children have strong desires about nursing when they still need it ... that's why they feel that way about it! I don't want to feel that I have taken away something from him that he still wanted and needed -- that's like cutting up his pacifier and security blanket all in one day. (Metaphorically speaking -- he has no pacifier and has never taken to a lovey.) Whether his need is physical or emotional, I'm willing to let him have what he needs.
Moms who have been through this, I'd love to hear any advice or just plain comfort that you have. Somewhere inside me there's a sniffling mess curled up in a ball wailing "Why doesn't my baby need me anymore?" It may be that weaning me is going to be a lot more difficult than weaning him.
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