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Hey hey, it’s Earth Day!

And I couldn’t choose a better day to share some images of one of the most beautiful places on Earth – the Dominican Republic.

We were eager to head down to the Dominican this year – the first time we’ve taken the kids to a Club Med. Some of my fondest memories from my youth are from our vacations to Club Med. I used to love all of the activities – archery, sailing, circus trapeze, and of course, the shows.

While Rodney and I relaxed with some beach reads and Pina Coladas, we passed the activities baton to the kids who were more than happy to play in the pool and check out all of the fun sports on offer at the Mini Club.

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Property Collage-2

DCIM100GOPRO

And what a place to spend a birthday:

birthday

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Last year I had what amounted to a pre-mid life crisis. It was late March and I was struggling with indecision – my career felt like it had stagnated and I lacked a creative outlet. My insomnia was incurable as I pondered the existential question: what do I want to be when I grow up?

I told my husband that I needed a break. A real escape.  I’d travel somewhere far, far away. Maybe even Europe. Just a weekend escape, but preferably a place where I didn’t know the language and could focus on the basics: eat, sleep, wander, think.

Fortunately I’m married to the kind of person who can sense an impending meltdown. “Do what you have to do” is all he said.

I opened my laptop and started to search for last-minute travel deals.

No dice.

It’s been a few years since I’ve traveled overseas, but has airfare really doubled? Yes, sports cars are expensive, but a $2,000 decompression trip to Europe was well out of my mid-life crisis price range.

With my European fantasy on hold, I settled for a juice cleanse and a solo trip to the lake. My dog, of course, would join.

I loaded the trunk of our car with my meals for the weekend – beet, carrot & ginger; swiss chard, pear, and lemon; almond milk; coconut milk; turmeric tonic….The world was starting to brighten.

The value of rest can’t be overstated. Parents have a tough job, and scheduling time away isn’t always easy. But it needs to be done. 

My weekend away did more for me than I though possible. I unwound, I read, I slept. I planned to start the blog, and quit my job by summer if things didn’t improve.

With a few coats of paint and some freshly-cut flowers, I’d restored my temple to its former self, and was ready to resume life with a renewed sense of purpose.

Now a year later, I look back to that weekend and realize how much I’ve grown. I’m happier now that I’ve made the tough but important decision to fulfill myself creatively, and not settle for career mediocrity.

The concept of Spring cleaning longer feels cliché. It has meaning beyond vacuuming under the beds, and rotating the mattresses. It’s a time of year to mentally, physically, and spiritually take stock.

And food can play an important role in that process.

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Spinach salad with raspberries, persimmon, and almonds

Next week Rodney and I are starting our 3-day juice cleanse. We’ll follow it up with a healthy dose of cleansing foods to keep us moving towards the summer months. Raw vegetables, healthy fats, good proteins (sustainably farmed or caught). It’s less about losing weight, more about being mindful of the foods that we eat, and how we feel.

Watermelon Radish Salad
Sliced watermelon radishes with lemon, sour cream and herbs

And I’m making good on my promise to keep my personal spark alive. A few weeks ago I started an evening watercolor class. And I’m thrilled to have received a yearlong membership to Skillshare for my birthday.  It’s not always easy to carve out the time, but it’s important to find some escape in the everyday, to continue to learn, and grow.

Spring Panzanella
Spring panzanella with asparagus and green beans

So best of luck with your spring cleaning efforts, whether it’s mental, physical, spiritual, or all of the above. Make every day count.

 

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Grapefruit

I eat a lot of grapefruit – sectioned with a dollop of honey-sweetened yogurt or sliced into salads. I figured that the flavor might be  too intense for the kids, but they’ve surprised me before. Grapefruit didn’t have a chance though – too sour for their little palates.

 ME: Ok guys, what is this called?

SAM: Tomato sauce?

ME: No.  Smell it.  Can you tell what it is?

LAUREN: Stuffing.

EMMA: Watermelon.

ME: It’s not a watermelon.

LAUREN: Grapefruit?

ME: Lauren thinks it’s grapefruit.  What do you think Sam?

EMMA: I want to eat it.

ME: Emma wants to eat it.  Here you go.

SAM: Is it grapefruit?

ME: Yeah.  Here, I’ll cut it in half for you. Do you want to eat it with a fork?

LAUREN:  I guessed it right…, I guessed it right… I guessed it right… [singing].

LAUREN: Is it any kind of grapefruit?

ME: It’s a red grapefruit, actually. And that’s a really smart question because there are many different types of grapefruit.

EMMA: I don’t like it. It’s spicy.

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court

A Sunday or two ago we faced a big wet blanket of a day. Soggy weather that alternated between pelting rain and damp cold. Not the kind of weather that makes you spring to your feet, sweep your arm around your troops and yell “let’s all get outside for some fresh air!”

But the flip side of an ugly day is something so wonderful, you might just wish for bad weather every weekend. What is this thing, you ask?

That would be leisure sports.

It’s a family specialty. So much so that my brother-in-law started and soon-after folded a side business selling Leisure Ball, a lawn game where you drink beer with one hand, and toss balls at a ladder-type contraption with the other.

With no lawn, no leisure ball, and of course, no balmy July weather, we were forced to consider our next option: bowling.

This was my husband’s idea of course, he being the one who took an actual bowling class in college. That counted for course credit. Yes, it’s a real school with Gothic architecture and the works. If you’re confused, join the club.

Before we could get moving, I was forced into my new role as chief executive hairstylist. Anyone recognize the Elsa braid? Elsa being the She nymph from the movie Frozen, sung by the beautiful Idina Menzel, aka Adele Dazim? Aha, bells are ringing!

braid

Emma hopped on her scooter in 4-sizes-too-big cowboy boots, which made the absence of wipeouts some kind of modern day miracle.

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Speaking of footwear, can we talk about these shoes? When I’m sitting on Santa’s knee in December and he asks what the kids would like for Christmas, I may whisper “bowling shoes”.

shoes

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I have a serious question: why are all of the jam and jelly canning classes left until August? Do the preservation experts of the world not realize that strawberry season will be upon us in the blink of an eye? And that perhaps some of us would be interested in learning to properly preserve them at the peak of freshness?

I’ve bought a few books on preserving, and I’m ready to take the plunge, but for some reason, oh I don’t know why, I’m a little scared of botulism. That was one of the reassuring things about making beer – despite the long list of ingredients, and the multi-staged sanitizing efforts, our teacher swore to us that if we messed up, our beer would not make us physically ill. The worst thing that could happen is that we’d brew a batch of horrible tasting but perfectly healthy beer.

That, I cannot say for jam. One wrong move and you’re done, correct? Maybe I’ve read one person’s horror story and am making sweeping generalizations. But one person or many, I’ve been scarred. Jamming can wait until I have a professional tell me the same thing as our beer instructor: relax, you’ll be fine, your jam won’t kill you. Reader, if you’re that jamming professional from whom I seek validation, please speak up. And if anyone knows of a jam/canning class in NYC before the summer starts, I will pay you back with Bitcoins and praise.

But pickles…I’ll blow through a batch of pickles in a few days so there’s never any need to worry about long storage times. And it’s just about the easiest thing you can do in a jar. Water, salt, sugar, vinegar, that’s it. Throw some spices into the mix and you can take the flavor profile in any direction you’d like – classic with dill and coriander, or exotic, like I did last week with some beets, using cinnamon and star anise.

A few weeks ago I tried out some Vietnamese Do Chua – carrot and daikon radish thinly-sliced and left to marinate for a few days in a simple bath of water, white sugar, salt and vinegar.

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Let me tell you, there is nothing like homemade Do Chua when you’re craving Banh Mi. Not craving Banh Mi yet? Get yourself over to your nearest Vietnamese takeout spot where you can sample the real deal. And if you’re up for it, Banh Mi is pretty easy to make at home – it took 20 minutes to make this bad boy and my stomach was singing all afternoon.

Banh Mi

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