More Easy Dinners
More easy dinners that the whole family will enjoy.
Percy Jackson Meets Celtic Time Traveler (The Dark is Rising series)
A reader commented earlier to check out The Dark is Rising Series by Susan Cooper for my Reluctant Boy Reader list, and it’s taken me a while to track it down, but she was right! This is a fantastic series, with two Newbury awards; The Dark is Risingis a Newbury Honor book and The Grey Kingis a Newbury Medal Winner.I’d describe the series as a mix of Tolkein/Lloyd Alexander with difficulty level between the two series. Also, I’d describe it as mix of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, again with difficulty level between the two series. It’s an epic series pitting good versus evil and light against dark with the epicenter around an 11-year-old boy named Will Stanton who is the last of the six “The Old One,” time-travelers and protectors of the universe. The time traveling aspect is great because it introduces English history amid a backdrop Celtic lore.
What is different about this series as compared to Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, I realize, is that it’s a little darker (no pun on the dark versus light theme) because Will Stanton doesn’t have a posse of peers to take along for the adventure. He does has other Old Ones that periodically come to his aid, but there is pathos in that he must go through much of this adventure on his own. This loneliness aspect may make the series more difficult to relate to than Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, but it is an exciting, beautifully written series that may also be the anecdote to Percy Jackson lovers who are tired of re-reading the series and need another epic series to end out their school year.
As always, if you want to purchase any of these books, just click on the image of the book or buy from The PragmaticMom store on the right side. This will be under Book Reviews.
Mar 10, 2010 | 0 comments View Post
More Easy Dinners
My Riff on The Silver Palate’sChicken Marbella
The Silver Palate is one of those classic cookbooks that everyone should have in their kitchen library. I think the first one is still the best. My riff of their Chicken Marbella evolved because my kids think prunes and dried apricots are “gross.” And my pepper mill has been broken for a few weeks and I keep forgetting to get a new one. This tip is for busy parents: buy 2 cut up chickens and marinate each chicken in a gallon size zip lock bag. Do this over the weekend when you have more time. Then, eat the first chicken during the week, say on Monday or Tuesday. Freeze the second chicken for next week. AND…use the leftover cooked chicken for a fabulous chicken salad recipe that even my kids love for packing lunches. (or save it for your own lunch!)
2 chickens, cut up into pieces or just into halves (whatever is easier for you)
1/2 head of garlic, peeled and minced fine
Lay out the chickens on a baking tray and sprinkle both sides generously with:
1) salt
2) freshly ground pepper OR Aleppo pepper (I buy from Middle Eastern store)
3) 3 tablespoons of dried oregano (or 1 1/2 tablespoons per bag)
4) 1/2 cup brown sugar (or 1/4 cup brown sugar per bag)
5) 2 or 3 bay leaves crumbled, in each bag
Then place 1 chicken each into zip lock bags and pour over:
1) half the minced garlic into each bag
2) 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or a fancy vinegar if you have it (I use raspberry vinegar)
3) 1/2 cup white wine (or whatever wine is leftover in your fridge)
4) a glug of olive oil (about 2 tablespoons per bag)
Marinade chicken overnight in the fridge, turning occasionally. Bake in 350 degree oven. Cover baking tray with foil. Place a rack on the baking tray (I use cookie tray). Place chicken on top. Put legs on the outside because they need more time to cook and they’ll get more heat on the perimeter of the tray. It takes about an hour but it depends on your oven; remove when juices run clear and skin is nicely bronzed. Check after 45 minutes.
Amazing Chicken Salad from The New Best Recipe by the Editors of Cook’s Illustrated
Take leftover chicken and shred with your fingers into bite size pieces
2 medium celery ribs, cut into small dice
2 medium scallions, white and green parts, minced OR 1 small shallot, minced
1/2 cup mayonnaise (we like Hellman’s)
2 tablespoons lemon juice, fresh squeezed
salt to taste and freshly ground pepper if the kids will tolerate that.
Mix together and enjoy!
And I wanted to give a plug to this cookbook; it’s from the editors of Cook’s Illustrated magazine. VERY TYPE A cooks who test the recipe a million different ways until they find the easiest and tastiest recipes which they then share. They tell you about all the variations that they tried so when you follow their recipes, you KNOW it’s going to work AND that it’s the best recipe EVER for that particular dish! My husband likes to follow a recipe precisely; I’m a little more free form. But his cooking is always consistently delicious and mine is hit-or-miss! This is his favorite cookbook!
Tomato Sauce for Pasta or to Dip Bread Into
This easy but delicious recipe is from my good friend Capability:Mom, check out her blog at http://capabilitymom.wordpress.com/recipes-tried-and-true/
My favorite tomato sauce ever. I found this at www.smittenkitchen.com
best sauce ever1 can whole tomatoes – preferably San Marzano – I have tried others and find this the best.
1/2 of one onion, peeled.
5 ounces of unsalted butter.
Seriously, that is it. Put it all in a pan at the same time. I double it because it is so easy to do and so good. Great on fresh pasta, dried pasta, with breaded chicken cutlets, plain bread dipped in to it. Yum.
Heat over medium heat to a simmer, lower the heat. simmer for 45 minutes. crush tomatoes against pan with wooden spoon. Remove onion.
Another variation: remove casings from sweet Italian sausage and saute in pan. Then add sauce and serve over pasta.
With meatballs from Barefoot Contessa Family Style:
1/2 pound ground veal, 1/2 pound ground pork, and 1 pound ground beef OR get 2 pounds of “meatball” mixture at your grocery store (my husband’s new find which is basically the same mixture)
1 cup fresh white bread crumbs (grate 4 slices of white bread on the large holes of a box grater)
1/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons minced flat leaf parsley
2 teaspoons kosher salt; or 1 1/4 teaspoons of regular salt or fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmet
1 large egg, beaten
Mix altogether. You can double this recipe and freeze half of the mixture here to make an easy meal for the future. Form small meatbals about a one inch diameter and saute in a pan with a little olive oil. Add tomato sauce and simmer until cooked through; about 15 minutes on medium-low heat. Serve with pasta.
Rigatoni (or Penne) with Salami, Mozzarella and Arugula from Williams Sonoma Pasta
This is a fast dinner because it’s more of an exercise in shopping and then some furious chopping and you are done.
Step 1: Boil water and add salt. Put in a package of pasta when the water is boiling and cook until al dente following package directions.
Step 2: While the water is boiling and the pasta is cooking, chop:
about 14 Roma (Plum) tomatos into a dice
1/4 pound of salami into a dice
1/2 pound of mozzarella (one ball) into a dice
4 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
Clean: one bunch of arugula (we like baby arugula for this)
Step 3: Heat a large saute pan with about 1/4 cup of olive oil on medium heat. Add the garlic when hot, and then the tomatoes. Cook for about 4-5 minutes or until the tomotos release their juice. Add the salami. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
Step 4: Add the drained pasta to the pan. Add the mozzarella and a drizzle of olive oil. Grate about a cup of pecorino or parmesano reggiano cheese and then gently mix in the arugula. Serve immediately! It’s good left over, warmed slightly.
Now that spring is here, or almost here, this is a great salad cookbook: Raising the Salad Bar.
To be honest, I enjoy reading this cookbook and dreaming of making these amazing salads, but never seem to actually execute it. It does inspire me at night when I’m whipping up a salad for dinner with whatever is in my fridge. I’ll actually start making some of these salads and will report back!
To purchase any of the cookbooks shown, simply click on the image of the book
or go to the PragmaticMom store on the right hand side and buy under “Easy Dinners”
Mar 09, 2010 | 0 comments View Post
Welcome to Pragmatic Mom!
I’m a mom with three kids, ages 10, 7 and 5 and I live in a suburb outside of Boston. I’ve been a full-time bread-winner (with my first child — my husband stayed home with her), a stay-at-home mom (with my second child because my husband said that if he had to stay home with two kids he’d be forced to leave us), and a part-time, outside-the- home wage earner/stay-at-home mom (just recently and coinciding with my third child’s 4 hour day at preschool).
Over the years, I’ve found that I wished I’ve saved all the mom advice I have either learned from mom friends or learned the hard way. Now, I’m documenting it in hopes that it will be useful to you. Topics include: Best Investment Toys, Favorite Picture Books You’ve Never Heard Of, Favorite Books for Reluctant Boy Readers, Easy Dinners, Getting Rid of Lice, Short List of Baby Equipment, Supplemental Education Tools for Phonics and Math, Birthday Presents for Around $20, and How to Set up a Book Club for your kids.
I blog everyday, more or less. My blog is a virtual scrapbook for the all clippings and pieces of information that I used to save or try to remember. My house is much cleaner as is my email box now that I can transfer and organize my “stuff.” The topics I cover range from parenting to supplemental home education workbooks to learning foreign languages to cooking. This clearing of paper is good feng shui for my house!
I am especially interested in children’s literature. This is a return to my childhood when I was a professional geek and read every fiction and biography book in my elementary school library. True story: I got called out of class one day because the school librarian said that I had checked out thirty books and my limit was two. Well…I did read them all and sadly, not all of them were good. It’s been a real pleasure for me to read children’s literature now, 30 years later than my elementary school experience. What a lot of amazing books have been written since then! I am eager to share these plus old favorites as well as other topics that I grapple with or catch my attention. I usually read every book that I list and it sometimes takes me a day or two to read each book so if you are interested in the book lists, I do frequently add as I discover new books. My opinion of what age the book is appropriate for, is just that, my humble opinion, but I also do consult book lists from libraries both to find new books and to place the books into age slots. It’s especially tricky to place 4 & 5th grade versus middle school because it is a content call.
To buy any of the books or items listed, please click on image of book or item
OR (New!) buy from PragmaticMom Store on the right column of my blog. Thank You!!
Please let me know if there are other topics of interest to you and please share your advice! You can email me at pragmaticmom.com@gmail.com.
Together, we can get through the ups and downs of parenting. Thank you for visiting my blog!
Mar 08, 2010 | 6 comments View Post
Percy Jackson: Add on Books Get Rave Reviews
An addendum to Percy Jackson: The Movie and Edith Hamilton’s Mythology.
It’s always sad when a really great series ends, so there are always “add-on” books to prolong the experience but are not really the same as the book series. My daughter LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the Percy Jackson series so much that she also got really into Edith Hamilton’s Mythology. She’s been begging for the “add-on” books. I got her The Ultimate Guide through Scholastic at school and she told me that it helps her to understand the series better. Now she wants the other two. Will I buy them? Of course! It is really sad when a great series ends so why not?!
———————
We just saw The Lightening Thief movie, my 4th grader and I, after both of us had raced through the 5 book series. It was a nice bonding experience because we both loved the series and were sad when it ended although we are hopeful that the last prophecy has set up a new series with six new half-bloods?… [note to self to email author Rick Riordan and beg him to write more books]. My 4th grader is 10-years-old so we are beginning to get those first offshoots of teenage temperament: stomping off, slamming of doors, rolling of eyes, etc. But at this movie, we both thoroughly enjoyed it though we both agreed that the book was much better than the movie which is always music to my ears. While the movie needed to strip down the plot into a more streamlined and film-able version losing many characters along the way, there were also elements of special effects that brought the book to life: Poseidon emerging from the sea and turning into a mortal, Percy controlling the water from the water towers, and Hades emerging from the campfire.
My daughter was also disappointed that Annabeth didn’t look like the character in the book with grey eyes. Still, Percy Jackson looked like a young Zac Efron and that’s never a bad thing. But the biggest surprise to me was my daughter’s deepened interest in Greek and Roman mythology. After trying to construct a list of the gods by trolling the internet, I finally remembered the mythology books from my childhood that I loved and gave it to her, not exactly knowing if the books were too advanced for her. I think because the stories are all short, it hold her interest and is appropriate for 4th graders on up to adults.
I have included a link about Edith Hamilton , (12 August 1867–31 May 1963) was an American educator and author who was “recognized as the greatest woman Classicist.” I’m not sure why they had to say greatest “woman” Classicist… but she really is great and her work has stood the test of time.
Link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Hamilton
To buy any of the books listed, please click on image of book
OR (New!) buy from PragmaticMom Store to the right column of my blog
(under Book Reviews and Middle School and Grade 3-5). Thank You!!
Mar 08, 2010 | 0 comments View Post
Preschoolers Learn Spanish through CDs
A reader had asked for Spanish CD suggestions for children. I happened to be at Lakeshore Learning, a teachers’ supply store, where I bought a really good one a long time ago and it was still there!
I can’t find it on Amazon but it’s called:
Ole! Ole! Ole! by Dr. Jean in Espanol. I like it because, while one of the singers has a slightly annoying voice, the music is really vocabulary drills disguised as songs. Hence titles include: The Days of the Week, The Months of the Year, and my personal favorite, Opposites. The CD is pricey at $19.99 but it is a great way to learn Spanish vocabulary.
The second CD I saw at Lakeshore that looks great, but I haven’t tested it out, is called:
Bilingual Barnyard: Granjera Bilingue, Spanish and English Songs for Early Listeners. The CD is discontinued and no longer sold at Amazon but you can buy MP3 Downloads from Amazon or iTunes or buy the CD from Lakeshore Learning (www.lakeshorelearning.com). The songs are American nursery rhymes set to music in English and Spanish.
Mar 08, 2010 | 0 comments View Post
2 Do-It-Yourself Math Games Invented by Kids (2nd-5th grade)
I was talking to the Solostream founder; they are the makers of my blog template (I use WP-Sublime) and he was telling me about this game his 8-year-old son made up that is simple to assemble and great for stretching the mind. It’s actually a number theory game and gets the kids rolling numbers around in their brains by using dice to create little math puzzles. They give this game to their teachers as an end-of-the-year gift. It’s wonderful in that it combines adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing and exponents into a fun and easily portable game. It would be perfect to carry around and break out while you wait for your meal to arrive at a restaurant! His son carries the 5 dice in his pocket at all times!
You need 5 dice: 2 twelve-sided dice and 3 six-sided dice. I bought mine at Lakeshore Learning; a teachers’ supply store and it’s also online.
Roll the two twelve-sided dice and multiply the two number together. Remember this number; you will try to hit this number by manipulating the other 3 dice.
Roll the 3 six-sided dice.
Now, use the 3 numbers on the six-dice in any combination of adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing or exponentially to get the first number.
Example:
I roll 3 and 5 with the twelve-sided dice. 3 x 5 = 15. I need to get 15 out the other 3 dice.
I roll the 3 six-sided dice and get: 2, 5 and 5.
I can get 15 by: 2 x 5 + 5 = 15. Yay! Your turn next!
My oldest invented the second game and strangely, she was also 8-years-old at the time. It’s a variation of Go Fish to practice adding or subtracting math facts. You take two or more decks of cards and remove all the face cards and we also remove the 10 cards. This is the adding game:
Shuffle and pass out 7 cards to each player.
The person will the most cards of the same number goes first.
This person calls out a number that their cards make. (say 15 because they have a 9 and a 6 card).
I check my cards to see if I can make 15 out of ANY COMBINATION OF CARDS IN MY HAND. I have two 4 cards and a 7 card so I must give these cards up and my opponent gets to remove her 9 and 6 card and take my 4, 4, and 7 card into her “winnings” pile.
If I can’t make 15 out of any combination of my cards, my opponent gets to take a card from the pile.
If anyone uses up all their cards, they take 7 more cards from the pile.
We do this until all the cards in the draw stack are gone. We usually play with 4 decks.
The winner with the most cards in their “winnings” pile wins, BUT you have to count your cards by skip counting: 3’s, 4’s, 6’s, 7’s etc.
You do the same game with subtraction. It’s surprising more challenging though!
Mar 08, 2010 | 0 comments View Post
Top 10: Korean American Children’s Books (ages 2-16)
My husband is Korean and I joke that the Koreans are nickenamed “The Irish of Asia.” Like the Irish, they have a strong culture despite a long history of invasion and occupation. Like the Irish, they have a penchant for drinking and fighting. And like the Irish, there is a vein of melancholy than runs through their DNA. Or at least, this is my take on it.
When my 4th grader did a unit on immigration, they covered many nationalities (she did Japan), but not Korea. I think it’s because the Korean immigration story to the United States is a fairly new one that began in earnest after the Korean War [think M.A.S.H.!]. And the Korean immigrants, more so than other Asian nationalities, have made it to the United States in pursuit of higher education, and thus, when they stayed, they were able to land squarely in the middle class.
The Korean-America authors have a unique stories to tell. Their collective memories of the old country are still fresh, as is their immigrant experience. And if you use food to tell the story of a culture as I do, Korean cuisine is becoming the Next Big Thing. Or at least in New York City that seems to mark the beginning of every big food trend. My husband and I found it amusing when we visited NYC a few years ago that the big trend was upscale, fancy Korean restaurants. We lived near Korea Town in Los Angeles for many years so we equate good Korean food with small, but clean “dive.”
In any case, ride the trend and enjoy these 10 Korean American children’s books with your children.
To buy any of the books listed, please click on image of book
OR from PragmaticMom Store on the right column of my blog. Thank You!!
10. Sumi’s First Day of School Everby Soyung Pak.
Sumi doesn’t speak English and today is her very first day of school ever. Will it go well? [picture book for ages 4-7]
9. Bee-bim Bop! by Linda Sue Park.
A light-hearted rhyming picture book on a favorite Korean national dish. It’s popular in restaurants but it evolved as a way to use up all the leftovers. In this book, a family spends all day preparing this little girl’s favorite meal. With a recipe at the end! [picture book for ages 3-5]
8. Where on Earth is My Bagel? by Frances and Ginger Park.
A whimsical story about a little Korean boy who dreams of a New York bagel and, with the help of his friends, is able to make one. [picture book for ages 4-7]
7. Halmoni and the Picnicby Sook Nyul Choi.
An advanced picture book about a girl and her Korean grandmother and how they both learn to bridge the cultural gap with food. [picture book for ages 5-8]
6. Yunmi and Halmoni’s Tripby Sook Nyul Choi.
Halmoni takes her granddaughter on a trip back to Korea to meet the family, but Yunmi worries that her grandmother might not want to come back. [picture book for ages 5-8]
5. Kimchi and Calamari by Rose Kent.
An adopted Korean baby lands in an Italian-American family and now, at 14-year s-old, has to write an essay on his ancestors for social studies which brings up a can of worms as he struggles to find his identity. [chapter book for middle schoolers]
4. The Year of Impossible Goodbyesby Sook Nyul Choi.
A haunting but ultimately uplifting story of author Sook Nyul Choi’s experience living in war-torn North Korea. [chapter book for middle schoolers]
3. The Kite Fighters by Linda Sue Park.
Set in 15th century Korea, Korea’s Golden Age, two brothers — one skilled in kite making and the other skilled in kite flying — combine their skills to compete in a kite flying contest on behalf of the king. [ages 7-12]
2. Seesaw Girl by Linda Sue Park.
A glimpse into the lives of the nobility during the Golden Age of Korea and the restrictions placed on women. [chapter book for ages 8-12]
1. A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park.
Newbery award winning book about a famous potter during the Golden Age of Korea. [chapter book for ages 8-12]
Mar 07, 2010 | 0 comments View Post
Cricket In Times Square: Book Club Activities for 2nd-4th Grade
I hosted my middle daughter’s book club this past week. She chose her all-time favorite book by which she judges all other books, Newbery Honor Book, The Cricket in Times Squareby George Selden. As a second grader, this book was a little hard for her although she won’t admit it, so I gave extra time to her book club friends to read the book. Most of the kids finished the book and loved it. Her book club is an active group of little girls, so I had planned two activities, but the winter has been so dreary and long, and the book club day was the nicest day we had in a long time, so the kids ate a snack and did the first activity (both of which took all of 30 minutes) and spent the rest of the time racing around outside.
Activity 1: Create a Cricket Habitat with Actual Crickets to Bring Home
We purchased small, plastic cages from the local pet shop and I collected a bag full of empty paper towel rolls, toilet paper rolls, and recycled paper egg cartons. The kids used these plus sticks from outside to create a cricket habitat. The crickets needs a water source, so we used just a damp paper towel folded up into a small square but a sponge would also be great. Pet shop number 1 said to feed the crickets Cheerios and they went to town on plain ones. Pet Shop number 2 said to give the crickets a slice of raw potato. A final caution, the live crickets from the pet shop have a high mortality rate. Buy them on they you are hosting the book club, and buy extra!
Another idea: if you don’t want to spring for a bunch of small plastic cages, large white ”take-out” boxes would also work. You can buy these from a party store or just ask your favorite, local restaurant. I would probably pre-cut a window on one side, and then let the kids cut out saran wrap and duct tape it over the window. I think duct tape would be best; you really don’t want the window to fail. You might also want to punch small holes on the top once the box is closed up for air holes.
Activity 2: Create a game together based on The Cricket in Times Square book.
We’ll probably try the game idea for the next time we host. It’s a good, generic idea that will help your group learn group dynamics and it’s great when all the kids did not read the book.
Idea #3: My mom friends laughed when we chose this book. “What a great idea to take our kids to NYC to Times Square!,” they said. What a bunch of jokers! This book club does tend to think in terms of field trips which is great. If I were really good, which I am not, I would have included a commuter rail (near us) or subway (also near us) trip to Boston which is pretty close by and take the kids to the newstand inside the subway/commuter stop to buy candy and magazines. But then I would have made another mom help out!
Mar 07, 2010 | 0 comments View Post
Tips on Promoting Two or More Languages at Home
Here are some tips for those able to introduce more than one foreign language to your kids at home. It’s from Cantarima, makers of foreign languages DVDs.
Tips on Promoting Two or More Languages at Home from Cantarima
http://www.cantarima.com/LanguageatHomewithChildren.html
In today’s increasingly multicultural world, many children hear two or more languages being spoken on a daily basis. Studies have shown that children that grow up with more than one language outperform their peers in verbal and non-verbal skills, and perform better on standardized tests. Plus as they become adults, they will have competitive advantages in the workplace. So how should parents encourage language development of two or more languages?
Here are tips for parents to promote multi-language learning in children:
- Make sure the children hear all languages as often as possible inside and outside the home.
- Parents should use the language they know best (usually their native language), and should find as many opportunities as possible to use the language with the children. Parents may have a different common language with each other. If one parent chooses to speak more than one language to the children, the languages should be differentiated by specific and consistent usages (for example, one language in the house and the second in public).
- Consistency is important; if one parent is going to speak a second language at home, for example, that parent should speak that language in all situations. Switching to another language to reprimand, for instance, would cause negative associations.
- Mixing of languages by children is common as they acquire vocabulary; parents should not criticize, but help them learn the appropriate words to complete sentences in one language.
- Language development varies amongst children, and learning multiple languages may slow verbal development; however follow your intuition about your child’s progress and talk to your doctor if you feel your child is not progressing as he/she should, to eliminate hearing loss or other developmental issues.
- A supportive and varied language-learning environment, including books, music, videos, etc. will help children develop their language skills more fully.
- Developing a social environment outside of home that supports the language, such a playgroup with other children that speak the same languages, will provide additional language reinforcement as well as invaluable interpersonal communication skills.
- Caregivers and grandparents can successfully introduce language to children, when given ample time to develop their language relationship with them.
- Understanding the native language of one’s parents and caregivers is an important part of children’s cultural heritage and sense of community. Parents should look for ways to reinforce the cultural aspects of their heritage, which will in turn enrich their language development, for example by going to an ethnic music and dance festival.
Mar 06, 2010 | 0 comments View Post
Teach Kids Months of the Year with Easy Rhyme
I volunteered in my 2nd grader’s class today for “writer’s workshop” and typed up lovely poems for a half hour but I was a little early and found this winner posted on the her classroom wall. I used the days of the week song to teach my kids as preschoolers the days of the week, which isn’t much of a song but goes…
There are 7 days, there are 7 days, there are 7 days in a week:
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday.
And the rhyme I learned as a child to remember the number of days in certain months:
30 days has September,
April, June and November.
All the rest have 31,
Except for February which has 28 days
and 29 on a leap-year.
And now here’s a great rhyme for the Months of the Year:
January, February, March, April, May
June, July, Hooray, Hooray!
September, October, November, December,
These are the months that I CAN REMEMBER!
Mar 06, 2010 | 0 comments View Post