The Yummies returneth!  And, they came to make a magical noodle soup.

When Mira was six months old, I went over to visit my sister-in-law who lived on the Upper East Side with a very picky little guy, my nephew, who wouldn’t eat anything hardly.  One thing he did love was chicken soup, and my sister-in-law leaned in as he was eating it and gave me this tip: Put the parsley in a cheesecloth sack, and lift it out when the soup is done cooking.  You see, my nephew would not, would NOT eat anything that was the color green.  As long as he did not see green, he would slurp up that soup.

Now, I do not hide things from the yummies.  What we learn, again and again, is the magic of how cooking and putting certain things together can transform something you might find yucky on its own into something totally delish.

Taking my sister-in-law’s technique to the extreme, we prepped the vegetable ingredients for this noodle soup and made a gigantic bag tied with a little kitchen twine.  When the soup was done simmering, we just lifted the whole business out of the pot leaving the broth free of anything but tastiness and noodles.

Several slurps later, the mini-chefs were full.  One girl commented to her friend, “This is reallllly good for you when your mom is sick!”  Ha!  See, now they will be trying it all out on us.

Noodle Soup with a Magic Bag

• 4 medium carrots
• 3 ribs celery
• 2 parsnips
• 1 bunch parsley
• 3 large swiss chard or kale leaves
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 large onion, chopped coarsely
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 T. olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• Optional: a beer or 3/4 c. dry white wine
• a 4-lb organic whole chicken
• One package of rice noodles
• Optional: scallions, chopped to float on top

1. Prep the veggies with a lettuce knife: Cut the carrots, celery and parsnips into large chunks.  Peel the garlic, and cut each clove into three pieces.  Tear or chop the parsley and the swiss chard or kale.  Big Person should cut the onion into large chunks.
2. In a large piece of cheesecloth, place all the veggies in the middle.  Gather the edges to make a big bag, wrap with a length of kitchen twine, and tie a bow.
3. Big Person: Heat the olive oil over low in a wide, heavy-bottomed pot and add the magic bag.
4. Cook, stirring the bag around for about 5-10 minutes.
5. Add the beer or white wine if using and cook for another couple of minutes, allowing the alcohol to burn off.
6. Place the whole chicken into the pan, and add water so that it covers everything by at least an inch.
7. Add salt.
8. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.  Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook another hour, or until the chicken is cooked all the way through.
9. Remove the chicken to a glass or stainless steel bowl, shred, and use for something else.
10. Remove the magic bag.  Compost.
11. Add the rice noodles and stir.  Cook another 3 minutes.
12. Serve.  Top with scallions if you like.  Enjoy!

Each Saturday morning, with Gazelles and shinguards and her team jersey, Mira and I make our way up the West Side Highway for Mira’s winter soccer league.

Yesterday, we stepped out of our apartment into the first real snow blanket of the winter.  Mira began whooping with joy, and honestly I might have, too, if not for all that gear we had to schlep.  It does take your breath away, the first real snow; it still does.

Away we went, and often ours were the first tracks.  At various points we would see dog footprints, a lone bike, and once, to Mira’s delight, a very, very large sneaker footprint.  Mostly though, it was just us plugging away with the gray Hudson, barely bobbing, calm and quiet, beside us.

About three quarters of the way through our trek, with the icy wind blowing us backwards at times, Mira said, “I wish that it was summer, Mama.”  She had made dozens of snowballs, angels, and big swoops through the snow by then and was getting cold.

We talked, then, about commitment, about devoting yourself to something worth working hard for.  She listened and held on to my mitten.  She nodded, but who can ever tell what is going to sink in?

Once we were at the field and Mira had joined her teammates (indoors, of course), I chatted with some of the parents for a while and got lost in the small talk.  When I looked up, there was Mira.  Utter joy radiated from her face.  Utter concentration radiated from her little body.  She has found something to love and something worth, yes, walking miles through the snow for.

On the way back home, through town this time, we met a happy veggie snow man, and Mira whispered hopefully, “Do you think it will snow again tomorrow?”

Happy New Year!  I have been savoring these last few moments of not teaching before the chaos ensues come February.  Wait, what am I saying?  Before the cooking class chaos ensues, I should say.  We have plenty of every day chaos around here as always.

Happiest Weekend, too!  We’re joining in with Soule Mama for her weekly ritual.

One of my greatest joys comes from teaching.  Since I decided to take the semester off to give Genevieve a little more Mama time, I had been missing my cooking students.  Luckily, Liev’s preschool class came over and gave me a little taste of the mess, the chaos, and the fun of teaching children about food and how to cook.

We made our TYM heirloom recipe, Sweet Potato Casserole with Caramelized Pecans and Crunchy Marshmallows.  It is definitely a fun recipe to make again and again, and the children, even if they want nothing to do with the other ingredients, generally get interested in the marshmallows.

I just love how children say what they think, whether that is “YUM!” or “YUCK!”.  I love how they get completely absorbed in the making of things.  I don’t always love when they fight, but it makes the conflict resolution moments so much sweeter.  And, when I see a kid who has come to my cooking classes as a two or three-year-old out and about in Tribeca and they tell me what they are up to and add in details about what they have been cooking with their family, it makes my day.

As we move toward January and the class season that lies ahead, I am beginning to feel a lot of excitement, a lot of ideas swirling around, and a real joy about being able to teach again.

And you?  What gives you JOY today?

My Corner Views have been few and far between these past months, but I hope the other CV’ers don’t mind me jumping in whenever I have a moment.  To check out other JOYful offerings, check out Francesca’s blog and these, too:

jane - ian - joyce - francesca - kasia -isabelle - janis - kari - jgy - lise - cate -otli - dorte- ali- sunnymama- daan-ibb- kelleyn- ninja- theresa - cherry b - cole - lucylaine - skywriting- anna- rosamaría - tikjewit - juniper-valerie - mlle paradis- wander chow-don -flowtops - susanna- tania -kristin

Genevieve and Mira both got to wear Oliver + S’s Apple Picking Dresses for Thanksgiving.  Since M was still at school the day that I posted a sneak peek at G’s (check it out here), we had to do a separate post about the big girl version.

Recently, Mira has passed out of the ALL-pink-ALL-the-time phase and is more open to colors like red and black.  When choosing the fabric for her dress, I went into the deep dark corners of my fabric stash and pulled out this Japanese gingham.  It has been sitting around for about three years now, just waiting till the day that Mira could wear it with respect.

Not only does Mira have respect for the red now, she has a really great eye for accessorizing and wanted to share her ideas for what you should wear with this outfit.  Unfortunately, her red tights were in the wash.  You’ll just have to visualize.  The rest, though is right there.  She made that necklace herself by the way, and it totally pulls together the colors of the dress and sweater.   Accessorizing does not have to be expensive.  But, it does require some imagination.

Mira also wanted to demonstrate a twirl.

Any questions?  I promise to ask our resident stylist and twirl master and get back to you.

Thanksgiving, being a time to take a breath and really enjoy the bloom of the moment, was extra special for me this year.  The past few months have been colored by so much love: welcoming Genevieve into our little family, watching Mira enter the first grade and just become the most caring, articulate, active six year old, getting reports back from Liev’s school that he is a leader in his class, that he is intolerant of bullying and is becoming quite the musician, and feeling the daily support of my husband.  Without Sean, I could not do a 10th of what I get to do.  It has also been a very hard and exhausting time spending so many sleepless nights up with G, narrowly surviving the hurricane during what was our only vacation of the year and having to return to New York early, having to handle, with compassion and firmness, a kleptomaniac teenage babysitter, a baby who does not nap at all, often not being able to get a single thing done, including writing in this space, and the general growing pains that come with adding a new sibling into a family.

It has been, all through this, my intention to remain in touch with the moment, to be grateful at each turn, good or bad, with all the love that permeates my life.  Daily, it seems, I must make the choice to live in that place.  Sometimes it is the easiest thing ever.  Other days, my friends, not so much.  (Have you, too, gone five days on about ten hours of sleep?)

There are moments when I get a glimpse into how all the love that Sean and I pour into our home and our family is affecting our children.  On Wednesday and yesterday, Mira and Liev and even little Genevieve gave us one of those glimpses.

Darling Sous-Chefs, Amazing Children who know already how very loved you are, my children, thank you.  I am so grateful.

Oh my!  It seems like every dress sewn in little sizes looks ridiculously cute.

Gigi is modeling the Apple Picking Dress (pattern by my fave, Oliver + S, of course) here.  It is her special Thanksgiving dress, and her big sis will have a much bigger one made up in a different fabric to wear to Thursday’s feast.  Genevieve wanted to give you a little sneak peek and demonstrate some yoga moves for good digestion.  Her mama does want to throw in that maybe you’d want to work in bare feet, though.  Just sayin’.

This Moment is a super happy one this week.  Congrats, Uncle Adam!  We are all so proud of you.

And, you, Yummies?  My family has been pulling me away from my writing lately, but our kitchen has been full of activity.  Thanksgiving has been on my mind, and I hope to share some new recipes next week.  Until then, have a wonderful weekend!

Last Weekend our dear friends invited us to visit them in their beautiful house upstate.  From the moment we pulled into the drive way, they made us feel so happy and at home.  Our kids have been friends along time, for the older ones since 6 or 7 months old, for the younger ones since birth, and I would say that they are like cousins except for one thing.  Mira would like to marry Ben and open a restaurant with him where they trade off running the kitchen and the front of the house.  Maybe it is best to say that our children have an ease that usually comes with best friends.

Next door to our friends lives a neighbor, a solitary woman with an extraordinary barn and animal friends that she was kind enough to share with us one morning.

We tromped over to her place unannounced but with the promise of a horse who plays the piano and, especially wonderful for Liev, of a sweet, old dog.  We were not at all disappointed.  M. came out to greet us and had the horse play the piano right off.  The kids, well some of them, fed the horses carrots, too, and Liev and the dog became fast friends.  Genevieve got to touch her first caterpillar, whom she, of course, wanted to put in her mouth.  It’s a good thing that the daddies kept a keen eye on her.

M. told us that one of the horses braided the other horse’s hair.  She leaned into them and patted each one, so very much in love with her horses, so at ease in her life.  She took Ben up the hill to the pumpkin patch to cut from the vine.  M. described how she had planted the seeds of a white pumpkin hoping that she would have a whole family of  white pumpkins this year.  Each and every one grew orange-colored.

As we went back down the road, leaving the extraordinary dome-shaped barn behind, we left with four of the little pumpkins, bright orange and beautiful against the blue, blue sky.