Courtesy of Wendy Johnson, chef and culinary instructor; our friend Zip; and yesterday’s FOODday………

“North African spices are a great way to perk up winter vegetables. In fact, seasonings are the main event in this Moroccan Vegetable Stew, laced with chiles, saffron, ginger, cumin and cinnamon, and served over hot couscous. Eggplant and fennel are nice additions, but if you don’t have all the vegetables called for, you can make a fine stew just from carrots, potatoes and tomatoes, plus the nutty-flavored garbanzo beans (S&W brand has good flavor).

Harissa, a paste of chiles and garlic used in North African food, gives this dish an extra punch. Any leftover harissa keeps well as a spicy condiment for soups, stir fries or tofu and plain brown rice.

Serve this stew with naan, a type of Indian flatbread available at New Seasons, Trader Joe’s, Indian grocery stores, and supermarkets well-stocked with international foods. Check the bakery aisle as well as the freezer section (look for heat-and-eat versions), and bring it to the table hot from the oven.”

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“A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.”

–Ingrid Bergman

A word to the wise: When you make Mexican Wedding Cakes with margarine (because it’s all you have in the fridge) instead of butter and substitute half whole wheat flour for the white flour… Well. While they are vegan made this way, they just are not as yummy. Which is a good thing, now that I think of it. Those little cakes have ninety calories apiece! just thought I’d share that baking/dieting tip with you.

Looking for some real cooky recipes? Go check out Jenn’s Virtual Cookie Exchange. (Thanks, Amalah, for the tip.) Also an excellent way to check out a bunch of new blogs, if you’re in the market.

Now, gimme a cooky. We’ve baked chocolate chip cookies so far, the aforementioned Mexican Wedding Cakes, Peanut Butter Blossoms, and will make some fudge this weekend. And that is it. I mean it, Internet. I’m not putting on more pounds this season — I’ve lost twenty and they’ve been staying off, in spite of cookies. (Trick is to give them all away as soon as they’ve cooled, and not accept any from friends. Cookies, I mean. Not pounds. Damn, I wish there was a way to do that with pounds…)

Love,

WM

We’ve had some issues with homework lately. Delays, stalls, kvetching, rinse and repeat.

Yesterday I came up with the brilliant idea of letting the kids watch “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” on tape — but only after Wacky Girl had finished all of her homework. (Wacky Boy does not have homework until kindergarten, thank God.)

Ha! So this meant having her younger, pesky brother parked at the table with her, drawing self-portraits with markers (his “homework”) and asking her approximately every minute and a half, “Are you done with your homework yet?”

Hey, why should I be the only bad cop around here?

Really Nekkid, as in Newborn. The Wacky Nekkid Neighbors had their tiny (ha!) baby girl (nine pounds, two ounces; ed. to say make that THREE ounces) a little after two this afternoon, Monday, Dec. 11th, Two Thousand and Six. She was born Butt-Nekkid. She is born under the sign of Sagittarius, in the Year of the Dog. They named her Little Miss Patootie-Butt, Princess of Nekkidville, which I think is a grand name.

Wacky Girl plans to buy her a cowgirl suit. Wacky Boy will teach her to play marbles as soon as she is old enough.

Congratulations, and good job, mama.

If you’re trying to remember the planet names, you’ll remember them if you can remember this:

My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nachos.

M: Mercury

V: Venus

E: Earth

M: Mars

J: Jupiter

S: Saturn

U: Uranus

N: Neptune

That’s it! Oh, and my friend P is very mad that Pluto is no longer a planet. He is mad at the scientists. Our teacher told us that they call Pluto a “dwarf planet” because it’s so small. P thinks that it should still be a planet. I think it’s OK.

WG

From George Bernard Shaw:

“This is the true joy of life: the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clot of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.”

Yeah, that’s me alright — a regular force of nature. And this may be all you’re getting from me this week…

Book of the week: I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being A Woman by Nora Ephron. She is a funny, funny, funny lady. Sorry, I could never hope to be even one-tenth as funny as she is, so I will not try.

Christmas pageants are a lot of work, it turns out. If I was into pharmaceuticals I’d be taking a Valium right now.

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I can’t wait to get into bed with my husband at night. No, really. I cannot wait.

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This one is from my mother-in-law. So Christmas-y!

RED, WHITE & GREEN SALAD

For the salad:
One avocado (diced)
Ricotta salata, feta or queso fresco
Butter or Boston lettuce
12 cherry tomatoes
Small handful cilantro leaves
Four scallions (white parts only)

For the vinaigrette:
Cilantro (1/4 cup, loosely packed)
4 scallions (dark green tops only)
1-2 jalapenos (seeded and chopped)
1/2 cup olive oil
Juice of one lime
Large pinch kosher salt

Combine all vinaigrette ingredients, pulse in food processor.

To assemble:
Mix half of vinaigrette with avocado to prevent browning. Layer lettuce leaves, then tomatoes, avocado and then cheese, drizzle dressing on top.

Bon appetit!

WM

“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” — Anais Nin

How I see it: Dedicated, hardworking, stay-at-home mom who occasionally snatches a few minutes to write. Who sometimes sneaks in a phone call to a friend, or finds a half-hour block to make a series of business calls.

The way my kids see it: There’s the back of her head again. She’s always on the computer. She never pays attention to us. She never hangs up the phone. Here, I’ll scream and tip over the dog’s water bowl — that should get her attention.

I’d like to say that the truth lies somewhere in-between, but that’s not true. Their version is the “real” version. Anais Nin was right. So here I am, stalled out on another manuscript, trying to ignore the fact that Christmas is three weeks from today. New Year’s Day is four weeks from today. My husband and I will have been together ten years this May. Shouldn’t we do something fun? I mean — should we have a party? Take a trip? Get a babysitter for the weekend and go to the beach? The dishes are still undone. The laundry is never done. The house is a mess.

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