Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs
My husband knows when I’ve had a bad day at work. When he walks in the door to find me watching Cash Cab on television while making tater-tot casserole, he knows to stand back. And to pour a glass of wine.
Whether it’s a bad day at work, a cranky client or a pissed off family member, I can count on comfort food to make me feel better. I just dig through my mom’s recipe box to find some good, old fashioned Midwestern food. Green bean casserole, hashbrown potato casserole, broccoli casserole, and (my personal favorite) tater tot casserole are bound to make me feel better.
And what is the common ingredient in all these foods?! You got it, Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup. I always keep a can of the creamy goodness in my pantry. You can’t make a good casserole without the soup!
I love talking about my personal comfort food, so i jumped at the chance to read and talk about the new book from Kate Jacobs called “Comfort Food.” The author says this about the book: “Comfort Food is about the power of food to bring people together and the joys of savoring every bite of life.” How great is that?
This book also gives you a behind-the-scenes look at network cooking shows. If you are a fan of cooking shows, like my personal favorites Top Chef and Chopped, you will enjoy reading about the trials and tribulations of a celebrity chef! (Oh, if I could only have job — and looks — of Padma Lakshmi. I’d be in heaven!)
Food is such a part of my life, and this Iowa transplant always bonds over Midwestern food with other Midwesterners-turned-Californians. Just this weekend, I met a woman from Ohio and we bonded over fried chicken, mashed potatoes and greens beans with bacon. Sigh, I get hungry (and happy) just thinking about the food my mom made!
No matter where you grew your roots, there is always a special recipe of comfort food to calm your fears, fill your belly and warm your soul. What is your favorite comfort food?
– LTV Mom
This post was inspired by Silicon Valley Moms Blog book club selection Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs. USA Today calls the book, “The kind of book you rush home to finish.”
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Katie Couric
News about the recession is everywhere. We watch it on TV, and read about it online and in print. Journalists spend hours trying to explain how we got here, what’s next, and how to fit the massive economic problems we face as a country. All the doom-and-gloom has me worried about my family, my job, my house, my retirement fund, and my future. Well, it took a journalist, the one-and-only Katie Couric, to make me stop thinking about my world and start thinking about the innocent people who truly suffer during the recession: our children.
We all know Katie Couric as the anchor of CBS Evening News, but you might not know she also has a YouTube channel, keeps a Twitter handle, and writes for NYC Moms Blog. Katie’s recent blog post and upcoming series on “Children of the Recession” made me stop and take a breath, and then inspired me to want to raise awareness of how kids are being affected by this very grown-up crisis. Here are staggering statistics Katie reported in her blog post and in her upcoming series:
- Since this recession began sixteen months ago, one million children have lost their health insurance as their parents lose their jobs. [LTV Mom: What are the long-term affects of these one million children skipping wellness exams and dentist appointments year after year?]
- A CBS poll found that 56% of parents surveyed have discussed the economy with their kids, and half of all the parents have discussed their own family’s financial situation. [LTV Mom: I come from a very tight-lipped family, but this seems so important and obvious. I need advice to teach the basics of "economics" to my four-year-old.]
- The poll found that 21% of parents said they are now buying generic brands and less expensive food items for their children. [LTV Mom: Is it safe to assume these kids are now eating over-processed, super-fatty and unhealthy foods? Now see bullet one about no healthcare.]
You can learn more about how American kids are affected by the recession as the Early Show and the CBS Evening News feature stories all this week. Please watch and encourage others to watch. Let’s talk about what we learn, and then explore how we can help.
I also can confirm that Katie Couric is passionate about this topic. In fact, she invited writers from the Silicon Valley Moms Group to join her and her team to discuss the upcoming series and to explore how she can keep the series going throughout the upcoming months. During our hour-long call, Katie wanted to hear what is happening in our hometowns, learn about our experiences, listen to our frustrations, and praise those who are helping children through this time.
I happily shared information about a San Francisco Bay Area organization called Shelter Network that provides housing and support services that create opportunities for homeless families and individuals to re-establish self-sufficiency and to return to permanent homes of their own. Shelter Network is more than “a cot and a hot” — they teach life skills, they do the leg-work to get families back in homes, and they keep children with their parents as the families get back on their feet.
I have been inspired to get off the couch — and perhaps turn off the laptop AND the television — to help the children in the San Francisco Bay Area and across the country. Please join me.
– LTV Mom
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Calif. First Lady Maria Shriver
Maria Shriver calls it “an unprecedented television event” and “television at its best.” As a mom who spends hours writing about unimportant television, it is my honor to raise awareness of the new documentary called “The Alzheimer’s Project” which begins on HBO starting May 10, 2009.
Last week, writers from the Silicon Valley Moms Blog network were invited to join a private conference call with California First Lady Maria Shriver, who is raising awareness of the disease and the impact on patients and dedicated caregivers. Ms. Shriver appears in the four-part HBO documentary to help parents explain the effects of the disease to their children.
Maria Shriver is no stranger to the issue; in fact, she wrote the book called “What’s happening to Grandpa?” when her father, Sargent Shriver, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s six years ago. She speaks with conviction, passion and reality. Not only was I moved by her, but also by the story she shares:
- Alzheimer’s claims a new victim every 70 seconds.
- 70 percent of patients are living at home.
- 76 percent of caregivers are (uncompensated) women, many of whom also have small children in the home.
- Caring for an Alzheimer’s patient is overwhelming — financially, personally and spiritually.
- Alzheimer’s could bankrupt the American healthcare system as we know it.
- This is a family disease, and there are no survivors.
The part of Ms. Shriver’s story that struck me the most — and has stayed with me for days — is this: Alzheimer’s is an old person’s disease, but a young person’s burden. I never thought of it that way. As our parents are getting older, many will become ill. It will become our challenge to take care of them both physically and financially, regardless of healthcare aid that is available or not available. Equally important, we need to solve the health and financial issues of Alzheimer’s before my generation goes from caregivers to patients. As Ms. Shriver said, “we don’t want our children to spend their lives — or their life savings — taking care of us.”
The documentary will appear on HBO or on-demand for everyone to see. For more information, click HERE.
To learn more about Alzheimer’s, visit the Alzheimer’s Association web site or call 1-800-272-3900 (24 hours a day).
– LTV Mom
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Much to Your Chagrin by Suzanne Guillette
“People who don’t have embarrassing stories are untrustworthy. Or at the very least, they aren’t telling the truth.” These words of wisdom come from author Suzanne Guillette, whose first book “Much to Your Chagrin” takes a fresh look at the moments in life — big and small — that are simply embarrassing but make you who you are!
I’d like to add a third category for people with embarrassing stories: people (like me) who are actually private and only tell their closest friends their most embarrassing tales. Of course, many embarrassing moments are a direct result of being socially awkward or from over-consumption. Yep, PR speak for too much wine, beer, cosmos, or whatever potion I was enjoying at the time. My loud laugh and inability to keep my opinion to myself have certainly caused more than one embarrassing moment. Let’s just leave it at that.
Reading this book brought back great memories of my dear friend Kristin, who has been an important part of my life since third grade. Kristin is the Queen of being goofy to the point of wrong. Nine times out of 10, she will pull a stunt to get a laugh from her friends, and usually ends up with an “OMG moment” that lives in infamy. Her spirit and energy are contagious, and even her goofs and spoofs are endearing and down-right hilarious.
With that, I am going to present my copy of “Much to Your Chagrin” to Kristin, the woman who could write her own memoir of embarrassment that I would love to read almost as much I loved witnessing.
– LTV Mom
This post was inspired by the Silicon Valley Moms Blog book club selection, Much to Your Chagrin by Suzanne Guillette. The book is an honest memoir of embarrassing, laugh-out-loud, and oh-no-you-didn’t moments. The book is available at Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.
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Dad and Daughter at Disneyland
My family just returned from a wonderful vacation that included a trip to Disneyland and California Adventures. We spend two days riding the tea cups, eating Cotton Candy, and meeting Princesses! It was special to spend so much time together, even if our four-year-old was completely spoiled at the end of the trip.
Regardless, our trip was another reminder of how much I love watching a daddy and his daughter! My two favorite people melt my heart!
I recently wrote a post about “Dads with Daughters” over at the Silicon Valley Moms Blog — click HERE to take a read.
– LTV Mom
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Wordle Graphic for LTV Mom
I recently found this great Web site called Wordle that turns Web site context (or plain text) into a cool graphic.
I went to Wordle, plugged in my URL, and with one click, received this graphic. I think that’s a pretty cool representation of my blog! What does your Wordle look like?
– LTV Mom
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Ksara Winery
I like to write about good wine, but I usually stick to California reds, with an occasional Chardonnay. (Okay, and I’ll uncork a Willamette Valley Pinot or a Tuscan Chianti every now and then!) But when I launched my WINOS Pick of the Week segment, I never imagined I would taste and enjoy a delicious red from Lebanon.
My husband and I recently made new friends through our daughter’s school, and we invited the couple (and their darling daughters) over for a dinner party. Our new-found friends, one of whom moved to the United States from Lebanon when she was 16, brought this wonderful Lebanese wine from Chateau Ksara for us to try. We were excited to sample this wine, totally new territory for us, and we openly acknowledged that California reds are our comfort-zone. That said, we were pleasantly surprised by the wonderful drinkability of this wine. I served it with a goat-cheese appetizer (read HERE for more information), and the flavors of the wine nicely complemented the flavors of the food. It certainly left us wanting more.
About the Chateau 2003: It was a tasty red wine from the first sip. I liked the berry flavors and the smooth texture. The Web site says the wine is good with red meat, and I agree. We followed the appetizers with healthy-sized Filet Mignons and a Tuscan white-bean dish. Click HERE to order the wine and have it shipped to the U.S.
About Ksara wine: Ksara wine is known as “the wine of Lebanon” and the winery is located in Beqaa, Lebanon. The official Web site can be found HERE.
All I can say is this… great wine, delicious food and new friends. What a wonderful evening!
- LTV Mom
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Leapfrog
Even though I blog about mindless television and working too much, I truly love and cherish reading. I read magazines and newspapers daily, devour books when I can, and read to my four-year-old daughter daily. Equally important, I am the proud sister of a public high-school teacher and her principal husband. Therefore, I jumped at the chance to work with LeapFrog to promote reading across the country.
The good folks at LeapFrog are working with the National Education Association (NEA) to promote National Reading Month which is held in March. LeapFrog and the NEA created the Leapfrog 1 Million Reading Hours campaign to encourage families to spend more time reading together, with the national goal of reading for 1 million hours this month. Here’s how you can help us reach our goal.
If your family is like ours, you already spend time reading to your child daily. This month, we want everyone to pledge reading at least 10 minutes every day to help achieve our goal of reaching 1 million reading hours, all to underscore the importance of shared reading time with your family. You can pledge to read to your child for 10, 20 or 30 minutes each day, and you’ll receive a printable certificate, reading calendar and coupons good for discounts on LeapFrog products at your favorite retailer or online at Amazon.
Leapfrog, showing dedication to the cause, is offering one lucky LTV Mom reader a LeapFrog TAG Reading System with 5 amazing TAG books along with an expanded-memory LeapFrog TAG Reading System with 10 books to donate to your local library. My family has a TAG Reading System, and we love it. It would be an honor to share this gift with you. Here’s how you can enter:
- Visit the 1 Million Reading Hours site and pledge to read at least 10 minutes a day to your child.
- Return to LTV Mom and leave a comment below telling me how much time you pledged to read each day.
- I will randomly select from everyone who left a comment, and Leapfrog will send one winner the LeapFrog Prize pack, along with the donation for your local library.
If you want to increase your chances to win, you also can enter the following ways:
- Blog about the LTV Mom giveaway and leave a comment with the link to your post on this site.
- Follow me on Twitter (@StacyLibby) and leave a comment on LTV Mom with your Twitter handle.
- Add LTV Mom to your blogroll and leave a comment with the URL of your blog.
Leave a separate comment for each entry and make sure at least one of your entries contains a valid e-mail address so I can find you. This giveaway will be live until March 31, 2009. I will randomly select the winner from all the comments on April 1.
I admire and respect LeapFrog’s efforts to work with its community to promote reading. And I really can’t believe the generosity toward LTV Mom readers. Happy reading!
– LTV Mom
Taste This! by Gina von Esmarch
I had the pleasure of testing a new cookbook written by San Francisco-based chef (and mom blogger) Gina von Esmarch. Gina comes from a foodie family; in fact, her grandparents founded, and her family still runs, the famous Aliotos on Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco.
Gina’s new cookbook called Taste This! is perfectly suited for this working-mom who would love to be on Top Chef, but is content cooking for her family and friends. Gina’s collection of recipes for appetizers, entrees, salads, drinks and (amazing) desserts are both flavorful and (hallelujah!) easy to prepare.
Let me just say this: when it comes to a dinner party, I am an appetizer girl because I believe the appetizer sets the tone for the evening. We always open our best bottle of wine first, so it’s important to serve good food from the moment a dinner party begins. Gina provides some great ideas, here are my favorites:
- Red Grapes & Red Onions – roasted grapes and onion, served on goat cheese, with crackers or bread. This dish is super-easy to prepare, with delicious flavors and perfect texture. Rave reviews at my last dinner party! (Recipe is on page 11of the book.)
- Cucumber Pillows — cucumbers, bread, spices (think funky finger sandwiches). Light, refreshing and beyond easy to make. (Recipe is on page 15 of the book.)
- Parmesan Crisps — bread, cheese, garlic, olive oil. This recipe makes little slices of cheesy-Heaven. (Recipe is on page 21 of the book.)
If you are intrigued, check out posts from other foodies:
Author Gina says: “The goal of Taste This! is simple, bring good food and good flavors back to the table. Whether you are a working parent or a career individual that wants to bring people together at the table, you will find ideas to inspire your inner cook.”
Thank you, Gina. I am inspired!
Click HERE to purchase Taste This! for $30 (includes S&H).
- LTV Mom
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Best Picture 2009
It’s no secret I am a huge fan of Slumdog Millionaire. After I saw the movie, I shouted: Bring on the Oscars! Needless to say, I loved this year’s Oscars show, and here an overview of LTV Mom’s highlights and lowlights:
Highlights:
- Two words: Hugh Jackman. I though he was great! Loved the opening number, loved the song-and-dance routine (even if my lame brother-in-law disagreed!)
- Loved Ben Stiller’s spoof on Joaquin Phoenix. Instant cult-classic.
- Loved Tina Fey and Steve Martin’s presentation. It was smart and witty. (And Tina Fey looked beautiful.)
- Best dressed: Anne Hathaway, Natalie Portman and Alicia Keyes.
- Loved the personal touch when they “big awards” were nominated. Especially loved Robert DiNero’s tribute to Sean Penn.
- Watching the Oscars with dear friends and my family. We always have a feast, some wine, lots of laughs, and a fierce competition to see who can get the most picks right! (Um, I did not win.)
- My four-year-old daughter, who could clearly “get” that mommy loves Slumdog Millionaire, asked if she was old enough to see “Slum-aire Million-dog.” How cute is that?!
Lowlights:
- No Bruce?
- Mickey Rourke’s career is back, but his fashion sense is not.
- Four words: Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s outfit.
- Sorry, I did not like Marisa Tomei’s dress. I agree with Randolph Duke who said it looked like 100 napkins folded into a dress.
- I hated Miley Cyrus’s dress. Young or old, I don’t care… it was ugly.
- I wish the production for Best Picture included clips of each movie that was nominated.
Anyone else have highlights (or lowlights) to share?
In the meantime, I am a working mom with few babysitters… back to watching movies on-demand or on TBS.
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