Is Homemade Pizza Company as good as homemade?

Plain pizza for the kids

If you're wondering if Chicago's own Homemade Pizza Company's pizzas are as good as homemade, the answer is that it depends on what your standard of homemade is.

If "homemade" means a Trader Joe's pizza crust, jarred sauce, shredded mozzarella and a half-hearted attempt at toppings, than yes. Emphatically yes.

If you're talking homemade by my foodie husband, who cultivates his own dough the day before, uses a pizza stone in an ultra-hot oven and has a collection of cookbooks expressly dedicated to the craft of pizza-making, then no. Not really.

That said, my two girls, 3 and 6, wolfed down the entire plain cheese pizza pictured here by themselves. I've never seen them put away so much food.

But most busy moms don't have a stay at home dad/gourmet chef at their disposal (although believe it or not I am close friends with one other girl in my lucky position), and for them Homemade Pizza Company is a terrific option. Miles better than delivery. Or DiGiorno.

Disclosure: Homemade Pizza Company invited me to review their pizza and provided me with a $40 gift card. 

The Vienna Beef Factory Tour: How hot dogs are made

If you think that an intimate look inside a Chicago hot dog factory would make me think twice about eating one, you'd be wrong. Surprised?

Today Josh and I took the Vienna Beef factory tour. After removing our watches and jewelry and donning hair nets and white butcher coats, we stepped onto the factory floor for a no-holds-barred view of how hot dogs are made. This was no Jungle. We saw men speedily debone beef briskets; we peered into giant mixers as they blended ground brisket fat with bright red bull meat; and we viewed bucket after giant bucket of the pale paste formed when the two beef products are pureed with corn syrup, salt and seasonings. I watched as vats full of hot dog paste were fed into casings and wheeled into a vast smoke room to be cooked.

We learned about the differences between natural and uncased sausages and found out the demand for the former comes from hot dog stands and the latter from grocery stores and small children. Did you know natural casings are sheep guts? They import them from New Zealand. Another fun fact: when the plant moved to its current location in the 1970s, the taste of the meat changed slightly. The remedy? Bringing in the old smoky bricks from the old South Side factory.

I also discovered Vienna Beef has a special recipe just for Portillo's that contains more nitrates and water for a longer dog with a juicier, snappier bite. (I still refuse to eat there.)

Our guide, the former production manager, answered all of our questions without hesitation. When asked how the recession had affected sales, he said demand stayed flat. Vienna Beef hot dogs are mostly sold in the Chicago area and their products are more expensive than the competition (but worth it, according to him as they use higher quality ingredients). He freely admitted hot dogs were unhealthy ("Me, if I want fast food, I usually go to Chipotle"), and concurred that the standard dogs were a lot tastier than the natural, nitrate-free versions.

The factory was immaculately clean and smelled pretty good--especially the area near the smoke room and in the soup room, where 3 giant kettles were cooking chili. You won't find Vienna Beef's soups on your grocery store shelves--they're sold in giant containers to restaurants and food service outlets. Their chili, for example, is served at Culver's.

After circling the entire factory floor, our guide led us upstairs to the quality control room. There we joined a group of employees sampling all of the items that had been made that day, from pastrami and corned beef to cased and uncased hot dogs, Polish sausages and soup. Our appetite whetted, we headed to the factory cafeteria (which is open to the public) for a free lunch of hot dog, fries and a soft drink.

Vienna Beef only started offering factory tours in May, and according to the marketing representative we talked to, demand has been overwhelming. There are a lot of hot dog lovers out there, and while no one is going to convince anyone hot dogs are health food, it's a brilliant PR move to show that Vienna Beef hot dogs have nothing to hide. There's no "mystery meat," no unsanitary conditions, no ill-treated workers.

And the tour? It's free.

Happy heart, happy belly: My weekend in Portland

My 48 hours in Portland were not wasted. We largely left Franny's children at home with Dave as we shopped, walked and ate our way across the city, sharing food from restaurants, diners, food carts, hole in the wall doughnut shops and the Farmers' Market.

I ate...

Tomato soup, grilled cheese and a butterscotch milkshake at Blueplate

Everything bagel with scallion cream cheese from Kettleman's

Marionberry scone and cookies from the Farmers' Market

A glazed doughnut and Stumptown coffee from Voodoo Doughnut

Assorted Japanese bar snacks and udon noodle soup at Biwa

Spinach, sundried tomato and feta pizza from Oasis Cafe

Lettuce with green goddess dressing and a soft boiled egg followed by a very rare cheeseburger at The Country Cat

Egg, sausage patty and cheese biscuit sandwich from Pine State Biscuits

And a coconut and wicked chocolate ice cream cone from Cool Moon Ice Cream (and since we're not completely heartless, we took the kids there)

I bought...

Dansko sandals from Clogs N More, a pair of earrings and an earring organizer from vendors at the Saturday market, a miniature box of Alma Chocolates, 2 pounds of Stumptown coffee, a folk songs book from Powell's Books for Home & Garden and a half dozen secondhand cloth napkins from SCRAP, a shop that rescues potential landfill and resells it as crafting supplies.

And because we eventually did get shopped out, we also visited...

The Oregon History Museum and the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden, where we had fun taking pictures.

You can see more here.

Top 100 Finger Foods: Or twice the work for half the appreciation

I'm going to go ahead and admit I did not try any of the recipes in Annabel Karmel's Top 100 Finger Foods, one of the two cookbooks that are the focus of this month's Silicon Valley Moms Group book club. My excuse is that I don't need a specialty cookbook to whip up some pancakes (mine are quite splendid, thank you), muffins or brownies.

Her savory recipes are appealingly photographed and full of wholesome ingredients, but I'd rather teach my kids to eat my (and Josh's) favorite recipes than special kid food. We try to be a "you're eating what's for dinner or making do with bread and peas" kind of family so that we don't get caught in the trap of having our girls expecting separately prepared kid food.

And once in a while, when Mom and Dad are going out to eat, we'll rather feed the kids something we can prepare quickly, like fish sticks, scrambled eggs or black beans and tortillas, than slave over a stove only to have them turn up their noses at our lovingly-prepared Shrimp Dumplings or Minty Lamb Koftas. Which, unfortunately, I can guarantee they will.

Disclosure: As a part of the Silicon Valley Moms Group (owner of Chicago Moms Blog), I received my copy of the cookbook free.

Dr. Ornish offers personal advice for my picky eater

Last month Parent Bloggers Network invited its members to submit a question about healthy eating to Dr. Dean Ornish. He selected a few to answer on video and mine was among those chosen! Here is my question:

My 5 year old has been a picky eater since toddlerhood, but her food aversions are getting worse, not better, as she ages. She refuses to eat any fresh fruit save bananas and any vegetables except for peas and cooked tomatoes (in sauce). Dried and dehydrated fruits are acceptable. She used to eat beef, chicken, salmon and shrimp, but now she'll only nibble on chicken--and only sometimes. I feel like she survives on lactose-free milk, Grape-Nuts, cheese sandwiches, mac and cheese and pizza. She's a skinny kid, but she grew a few inches over the summer. She's physically very active and extremely bright, doing second grade reading and math at her Montessori preschool.

What should I do to encourage a broader palate without starting a food fight? We've stopped preparing separate dinners and she'd rather eat a piece of bread or a bowl of peas than try most of our meals. She's a stubborn kid.

While I wait for her to embrace a wider range of healthy foods, is there anything else I can do aside from giving her a daily kids multivitamin to ensure she gets enough nutrients?

And here is his answer:

Many of Dr. Ornish's ideas make sense--so much so that we're already doing them-- things like cooking with Z, taking the girls to farmers markets and not pressuring them to eat at meals. I was, however, intrigued by his suggestion to supplement her diet with omega-3s like fish oil. Josh and I both take flaxseed oil, but I hadn't considered offering to the kids since I wasn't sure what a kid's dose would look like. I add ground flaxseed to homemade pancakes and bread, but perhaps I'll look for liquid fish oil and figure out a way to mix it into her food. Does anyone have any experience with that?

Disclosure: Since my question was selected, I'm supposed to receive a copy of Dr. Ornish's latest book, some products from Mars and a $50 Spafinder gift card.

New York: I kind of miss my Grape-Nuts

Josh and I love to eat and NYC is home to much of the best food in the country, so the last few days have been organized around restaurants, cafes, coffee shops and ice cream parlors. Everything has been delicious, but I'm not exactly enjoying the balanced diet I've grown accustomed to and my body is starting to beg for a bowl of Grape-Nuts with berries and a nice glass of OJ.

Instead of lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grain cereal, I'm eating lots of sushi, pizza and pastries. Yesterday we spent the day with old friends from college and their better halves, including the entire original line-up of Josh's band Dingle (eventually renamed Aden). We breakfasted at Le Pain Quotidien before heading to Brooklyn, where we visited the New York Transit Museum, which is underground in a now-closed subway station. The museum was followed by Vietnamese sandwiches, local, organic, cruelty-free but definitely not fat-free ice cream and stops at friends' apartments. We concluded the evening with very good sushi, including a "Brooklyn roll."

Today's entertainment consisted of a shopping spree for me at the Japanese retailer Uniqlo (kind of a cross between Old Navy and H&M, but with more of an emphasis on basics and high technology) and a visit to the Jewish Museum. We got our food fixes at Lombardi's pizza, one of the last of the coal-fired pizzerias, Two Little Red Hens bakery (cupcakes) and Matsugen, where we enjoyed a fabulous 6 course prix fixe Japanese dinner for $35 each.



We head home to Chicago tomorrow afternoon. I'm looking forward to seeing my girls (and rescuing my in-laws from 5 days on non-stop babysitting).

Food and my 19 month old

A only wants big pieces of fruit. Do not cut her fruit! She is undaunted by the size of this apple, but she will not finish it. It is, after all, approximately the circumference of her head. Instead, she will gnaw on it until it looks ravaged by a rabid squirrel and summarily hand it to me for disposal.

She demands "snack" 20 times a day. She has a snack in mind, perhaps, but any suggestions Josh or I make will be met with an angry "No!" Unless its a cookie. The girl also loves her "milk," "juicz" and "wa-wa" and demands them only slightly less often than "snack." She prefers her beverages served in an open-topped cup.

A has a pretty broad palate and many of her 75+ words are dedicated to foodstuffs, including: Cheerios, crackers, cookie, apple, peach, banana, peanut butter, bread, cheese, peas, apple sauce, beans, ice cream, hot dog and fries. She'll spoon up a bowl of Grape-Nuts or Cheerios and eat a PB&J with some measure of daintiness, but she prefers to feed herself oatmeal and spaghetti with meat sauce with her bare hands.

She does, however, punctuate every meal with a request for "nap-kin." She wipes her hands, face and the food-splattered tabletop in front of her, slides down off her chair and places the soiled napkin in the "tash." And yes, she quit using a booster seat at 18 months of age. To my eternal dismay.

Just for my Oak Park readers: my favorite new places

I'm keeping my dollars in the neighborhood with these great businesses that I've been dying to plug.

Shoplifting with Permission beat me to the punch with her review of Oh Joy!, the new kids' consignment shop on Oak Park Avenue, just north of the expressway. A couple of months ago I hauled three wagonloads of clothes, toys and baby gear to the former cigar store (and yes, it still smells a little stale). With my store credit now over $60, I finally spent a little of it on two adorable long-sleeve knit dresses for Z. I'd asked her during Old Navy's $7 denim sale last weekend if she'd wear jeans this year and she said "no, only soft pants and dresses." So dresses from the consignment shop (and grandparents) it shall be.

Sushi's an expensive option for a family dinner (since we all know how taking kids to restaurants is no fun), but I've enjoyed the sushi, sashimi and maki at Sushi House, which opened on Lake Street this spring. Z still asks when we can go back and get the "sushi chicken" (actually teriyaki chicken) in the kids' bento box.

The Marion Street Cheese Market moved one block south from its original location on the Marion Street Court to a much larger space. Now, in addition to fancy cheeses, the market boasts locally grown fruits and vegetables, a meats counter, a wine bar and a full cafe. I've sampled the expensive cheeses and treated myself to some gourmet peanut butter, but I'm waiting for a date night to eat in the cafe. Again, so not worth it with kids.

Fine dining fans of the shuttered La Piazza will find a lot to like on the menu at Chef Gaetano's new eatery, Gaetano's. It's a little farther west on Madison Avenue in Forest Park, and the location is smaller and louder than the first, but the food is still amazing.

We're regulars at Hole in the Wall and the expanded Brown Cow ice cream parlor in Forest Park, but we've introduced gelato and Italian ice into our frozen treat repertoire with handscooped pints from Freddy's in Cicero and the brand-new gelateria Paciugo in Forest Park. A small seems a little pricey at over $3, but you get up to three flavors and unlimited tastes before you decide. I had sea salt caramel and dark chocolate, but the tantalizing olive oil and black pepper almost made it into my bowl.

Finally, we'll be first in line at Trader Joe's when their new location opens at Harlem & Ontario this fall. All the doubters can relax now; I saw Oak Park listed under "coming soon" on my latest email from Trader Joe's.

Cosi salad or Chipotle burrito: which is worse?

The battle of my two favorite chain restaurant fast food dishes. In one corner, the Cosi Signature Salad with Shallot Sherry Vinaigrette. In the other corner: Chipotle's Barbacoa Burrito Bol with cheese and sour cream. Which is worse for me? Using Cosi's Nutritional Information and Chipotle Fan's nutrition calculator, I tallied up the results.

Turns out I should pack my lunch more often.

Cosi Signature salad with dressing packs 683 calories, 51 grams of fat, 15 grams of protein and 749 mg of sodium inro one delicious take-out bowl (when in stock). The whole grain flatbread costs an additional 270 calories and 4g of fat for a grand total of 953 calories and 55 grams of fat.

The Barbacoa Burrito Bol with rice, black beans, tomatillo salsa, cheese and sour cream weighs "only" 710 calories, but it has 31 grams of fat, a generous 46 grams of protein and 13 grams of fiber, and a heart-attack worthy 1575mg of sodium, 66% of my daily allowance of salt.

So not only does the Signature Salad turn out to be a bigger diet no-no than Chipotle's Burrito Bol, but it is less filling. I always finish my salad and flatbread, but I've never finished a burrito bol.

It's not just the icky she's picky about

My daughter does not eat fruit.

She'll eat dried fruit, dehydrated fruit, fruit jams, fruit muffins and fruit juice, but she won't touch an apple, orange or peach in its original format. Is there another kid alive who doesn't like strawberries? The only fresh fruit she deems acceptable is the banana.

Now I know plenty of kids (I was one of them) who turn their noses up at green vegetables, but Z will happily eat baby trees (broccoli) and peas. Corn, black beans, sweet potatoes and chick peas (in hummus form) are among her favorite foods, right behind the standard kid faves of quesadillas, macaroni and cheese, pizza, tacos and spaghetti.

And then there are her favorite foods that catch others by surprise. Every day she asks for African Peanut Soup and Weetabix with peanut butter. Not only has she inherited my addiction to peanut butter, she shares my love for the kitty-litter of cereals, Grape-Nuts. But can she blame her distrust of fruit on mommy dearest? No way.

This entry is part of a Parent Bloggers Network blog blast about children's food fetishes. It's sponsored by Deceptively Delicious, which I reviewed here.

The perks and perils of outsourcing

Last Saturday I hosted a Yom Kippur Break Fast for about 20 people, and this Saturday I'll be having 30 guests over as we give our daughters their Hebrew names in a shared Brit Bat ceremony. As part of my ongoing and largely unsuccessful effort to do a little less (this maternity leave has been jam-packed with activity), I decided I'm not going to cook or bake. With my mom, my in-laws and my best friend in town for the event, the last thing I need is more shopping, coordination of cook times and dishes to do.

So I called our local Cosi and ordered a mess of sandwiches, chips, salad and cookies for delivery around noon on Saturday. Imagine my surprise when they showed up today with the food delivery. Fortunately they acknowledged the error was theirs and promised they would still come as promised on Saturday.

With the cooking taken care of and my house cleaner scheduled to come on Thursday, all I needed to do was buy a bottle of Manischewitz. Right? Wrong. Isabel called to say she can't come this week, which means Josh and I are on deck to give the place a top-to-bottom scouring before folks start arriving on Friday.

Restaurant review: Kitsch'n

It is absolutely gorgeous today in Chicago. The sun is shining, the air is clear and the temperature is about 72 degrees. The perfect day for lunch alfresco with Josh. We picked Kitsch'n for the outdoor seating and cheap validated parking.

The service was friendly, if a little absent-minded, but the food...not so great. My macaroni and cheese was a Velveeta-eque gloppy orange goo with cold cheddar shredded on top. A little too retro, if you ask me. Josh was unimpressed with his hamburger, but he did clean his plate.

But one thing blew me away (literally). The hand dryers in the bathrooms are too cool. They are Dyson Airblades, and look like this.


Dried my hands in seconds without hot air and with no shake-shake-wipe-on-pants finale.

Restaurant review: La Cocina

Dear La Cocina,

I'm torn. I love seeing how successful you've become, but today's wait for a burrito positively turned my legs to jelly. I've told countless coworkers about the "little Mexican place across the street from Chipotle," because your staff is sweet, the basket of fresh tortilla chips (eat-in only) is addictive, and the imported sodas come in glass bottles (and they're made with real sugar instead of HFCS).

But today I stood in the back of your un-airconditioned storefront, the fans whipping stray napkins around my legs and the stereo blaring club beats (perhaps you should name your place Disco Taco?) as you called numbers 84-93. Then you called 99, 98 and 96. My number was 94. Hello, customer service? I'm not expecting special treatment because it is hot and I am pregnant, but throwing my order to the bottom of the priority list is making me reconsider my love for you.

You're lucky that the burrito really hit the spot. Figuratively and literally, as I am now sporting an orange grease stain on my belly.

La Cocina
45 N. Wells St.
Chicago, IL
312-346-1638

Eating out in Oak Park

Food is one of my favorite things, and while I'm blessed with both a mother who gave me confidence in the kitchen and a husband who can cook circles around most people (and he only started dinner duty about a year or so ago), I still love to eat out.

Occasionally I'm asked for restaurant recommendations in and around my home base of Oak Park, Illinois, so here are my most-loved places.

Bar Louie
1122 Lake St., Oak Park
The most recent outpost of this Chicago chain, Bar Louie's only first on my list because of its placement in the alphabet. But it is a go-to place for gluttonous portions of well-prepared bar food, and it's right down the block from the Lake Theatre. I particularly love their fries and anything with wing sauce on it. And my daughter put away most of a trough of gooey, delicious macaroni and cheese.

Buzz Cafe
905 S. Lombard Ave, Oak Park
There probably isn't a more kid-friendly restaurant around. In addition to stocking toys in the back lounge, the Buzz offers healthy, yummy-if-not-gourmet fare and familiar kiddie foods like organic PB&J and Annie's mac & cheese. Live music on Friday evenings and political debates make this coffeehouse a community gathering place.

Blue Max
26 Lathrop Ave., Forest Park
Cute as can button, Blue Max is easy to miss. It looks like a regular house in a residential neighborhood, but this B&B without the bed scores big points for house-roasted coffee, homemade bakery goods and casual meals featuring local and organic ingredients whereever possible. The management is super-nice and Z appreciates the children's corner, which is well-stocked with toys (but closed during the lunch rush).

The Depot American Diner
5840 W. Roosevelt Ave.
A brand-new restaurant, this throwback diner brings back the good old days when menus stated the names of the dishes without any description. I got the BLT. Turns out it was one of the best BLTs of my life, which isn't surprising since everything they serve is house made. The turkey on Josh's open faced sandwich was from a real honest-to-goodness bird, not a smooth, preprepared deli slice. We've got to go there for breakfast next since LTH Forum is abuzz over their homemade doughnuts. The prices are pretty old-fashioned too: dinner for three cost us $21.

Freddy's Pizza
1600 S. 61st Ave., Cicero
It doesn't look like much from the outside, but this tiny Italian deli in Cicero serves up the area's best fresh-baked bread, pizza and gelato, as well as a large assortment of entrees and appetizers that change daily. Much of their business is take-out, but you can grab your meal and eat it in the spartan dining area just next door. Family-run, their hours are not for your convenience, so don't go after 7pm or any time on Sunday.

Jimmy's Place
7411 Madison St., Forest Park
I've been kicking myself for taking so long to discover Jimmy's Place, which I ignored for years as it is surrounded by other good Italian restaurants. But it deserves recognition for fabulous pasta dishes and for being a great value (entrees include a soup or salad). We found the service to be super-friendly and happy to see kids. Jimmy's has a true neighborhood feel; don't be surprised if the owner, Jimmy, shows you to your seat between chatting up the regulars.

La Piazza
If Jimmy's is the Italian place to take your family, La Piazza (just down the Madison strip) is the place to bring a date. Chef Gaetano Di Benedetto serves inventive Sicilian cuisine in a cozy three room restaurant painted with trompe l'oeil murals. I've never been disappointed by their pastas, risottos or desserts. Although they'll accommodate you with a high chair, La Piazza's not the best place to bring little kids. If you can't get a sitter, get take-out.

Papaspiros
733 Lake St., Oak Park
Stop here for Greek food as good (or better) than anything you'll find in Greektown. I find some of the dinner entrees a little too heavy, but that could be because I've filled myself up on their delicious mezedes.

Pompei
7215 West Lake St., River Forest
Another local chain, Pompei keeps us happy with good-quality Italian-American fare in a cafeteria-style setting. Check out their salads, deep dish pizzas and stromboli-style pizza rolls, but don't miss my favorite dish, the 8-finger cavatelli. Z and I can work together to polish off an enormous bowl of the dumpling-noodles. It probably doesn't bear mentioning, but this place was built for families: short wait times, familiar foods and free balloons.

Khyber Pass
1031 Lake St., Oak Park
The only Indian restaurant in the area, but at least it's really good. Live music and dancing (usually by aging Peace Corps types) lends a nice atmosphere to this restaurant were seemingly everyone is getting the buffet.

Sagano Sushi
731 Lake St., Oak Park
It's not the absolute best sushi I've ever had, but it's fresh and it's local (the restaurant, not the fish). A tiny storefront, sleekly decorated in blond woods.

Wishbone
6611 W. Roosevelt Rd, Berwyn
Can I tell you how overjoyed I am that one of my (and Oprah's) favorite restaurants opened a location at FitzGerald's, just 5 minutes from my house? Serving "Southern Reconstruction" foods, Wishbone is rightly renowned for its breakfasts. Get the Red Eggs, two eggs served on top of corn tortillas and covered with black beans, cheese, chili ancho sauce, scallions, sour cream and salsa.

I promise I'll dedicate a future post to my favorite ice cream parlors, but until then, get your fix at Brown Cow, Hole in the Wall Custard and Oberweis.

About to leave Portland

I've had a wonderful time visiting with Franny in one of my favorite cities, but I miss Josh and Z something terrible. I didn't realize how torturous it would be to see mothers and toddlers in every direction. And every place we visited I wished I could share with one of them.

We got pampered at Zanana Spa and went to the OMSI, sort of a small, more kid-oriented version of the Museum of Science and Industry, and I saw so much I knew Z would get a kick out of. Personally, I thought it was neat to see a thermal scan of my body and visual proof that my hands are hotter than Franny's (always have been). Z would have also loved romping through the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden, where I took 90 percent of my photos.

Restaurants and coffee shops made me wish I'd brought along my foodie husband. We had takeout from the Delta Cafe (including some raw BBQ chicken), coffeecake and muffins from Arleta Library Cafe, decent neuvo latino at OBA and an enormous breakfast of Grand Marnier french toast at Everett Street Bistro. One evening I cooked for Franny and Dave, demonstrating how ridiculously easy it is to roast a chicken and make your own vinaigrette.

I also got in more (tax free!) shopping than I've done in months, scoring gifts for my much-missed family and some goodies for myself, including a crocheted hat from the Saturday Market, robin's egg blue mary jane-style Crocs, two headbands and a new pair of sunglasses that Josh is going to hate (they're fashionably BIG). And I helped Franny shop for a pair of jeans to show off her new skinny self.

Anyway, big shout-outs to both of the husbands for letting us have four days of virtually uninterrupted girl time.

My cluttered bookshelf

I've just finished reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, which solidified my commitment to be more conscious about our food choices--particularly in the meat department. We joined a CSA with our next-door neighbors (vegetable deliveries are scheduled to begin in mid-May) and we're only purchasing naturally-raised meat and cage-free eggs. I still don't stress organic fruits and vegetables since Michael Pollan emphasizes that large-scale organic agriculture is still industrial monoculture with its own problems and sustainable, local agriculture is the model we should be supporting. There is a Wisconsin farm that sells pasture-raised beef, pork and chicken, and we're going to fill our basement freezer with an order from them soon.

To keep my marketing brain fresh, I plowed through Trillion Dollar Moms and Chocolates on the Pillow are Not Enough. The former dispels many widely-held myths about how to market to moms and the latter uses a hospitality industry model to illustrate innovative ways to connect with consumers and build lasting relationships. The most interesting take-away from Trillion Dollar Moms is the obvious-in-retrospect insight that moms connect with each other and with products based on their children's ages. Meaning that two mothers of 4-year-old boys will have plenty in common even if one mom is 28 and the other is 40. Mom demographics take a back seat to kid demographics. Which makes sense if you think about how the interests and concerns of a new mom differ from those of a mom with a preschooler or school-aged children.

On my boss Renee's recommendation, I skimmed through The Five Faces of Genius, a guide to creative thinking. I scored pretty well in the power to image, notice details, celebrate weakness and simplify, but I need to work on my Alchemist skills--the ability to make connections.

And since Josh is trying to read The Omnivore's Dilemma before it comes due at the library, I've stolen the book I gave him for his birthday: Alternadad. Funny stuff, and it really hits home (except for the excessive pot use).

Whole Foods crosses the pond

My expat sister-in-law Bethany sent me this article from The Guardian on Whole Foods' arrival in Britain. Apparently the golden aisles, mini cafes and abundant fruit displays are seducing the English as well as they have affluent Americans. Much of the article is dedicated to the company's now familiar back story, but it touches on the current backlash and the impact the store has had on more mainstream grocery store offerings. Nothing new, but it is interesting to hear it from an outsider's point of view.

Speaking of backlash, a copy of Michael Pollan's expose of Big Organic, The Omnivore's Dilemma, is on hold for me at the library. I'll report back soon.

Taco triumph

Last night we watched Z build, wrap and eat an entire taco. First she spooned the taco meat from a small bowl onto her soft corn tortilla. Then she sprinkled on some shredded cheddar. Finally, she folded it into a shape not entirely unlike a burrito, crammed it securely in her tiny fist, and ate the entire thing. Not a speck of meat fell out. I was couldn't take my eyes off of her. And needless to say, everything fell out of my tortilla.

Dinner in the nude

I considered not posting this story since it is more than a little embarrassing, but I just can't help myself. Why blog if not to expose myself and my family to national ridicule?

You see, Z was a bit of a pistol last night. From the minute I walked in the door, she was all over the place, showing me her Cinderella underpants...then insisting I change her into a diaper in the middle of the kitchen floor...while Daddy was cooking. And then heading upstairs unsupervised while I was washing vegetables so that she could fetch a clean diaper for her doll.

In any case, when she found out we were having salmon and potatoes for dinner, she pitched a royal fit for macaroni and cheese. It went on and on, but I wasn't budging. I told her she could try the fish and mashed potatoes, and if she didn't like them, she could have cereal. Under no circumstances would there be mac and cheese tonight!

She cried in the corner. She cried in my arms. She snuffled tears and snot onto my shoulder as I sat down to my dinner. And then, realizing that her crocodile tears weren't moving us, the crying stopped. She said, "I need to get down. My pants are wrong. I need to take them off."

Z slid off my lap and proceeded to remove her pants. And her socks. And her shirt. And her diaper.

"Why are you getting undressed?" Josh asked.
"Because I want to to take my clothes off," she replied.
"Why do you want to take your clothes off?"
"Because...I want to be naked!"

And then she climbed, naked as a jaybird, back onto my lap. Now I'm no prude and I'm glad my daughter is comfortable with her own body, but there is something just a little disturbing about eating a green salad while a 2 year old girl walks her hands over herself and says, "Look, my 'gina, my legs. I got all kinds of parts of my body!"

The good news is that Josh and I were able to suppress our giggles as we shot looks across the table at one another. And the table dance ended as quickly as it began. Yes, she did spend the rest of the evening in the nude, but I'm happy to report she ended up in her own chair. She tried 3 bites of mashed potatoes, declared she didn't like it, and polished off a bowl of Grape-Nuts instead.

I know the naked toddler is a cliche, but I'm not sure how other parents deal with it. Is any inside nudity okay, but outside nudity discouraged? Am I a complete freak for letting my daughter eat dinner in her birthday suit?

Baking with and for toddlers

Z and I have made mini muffins together nearly every weekend for quite some time. It's a great project to do with a 2-year-old since there are lots of opportunities for her to "help" and the results come quickly (and deliciously). By making mini muffins instead of the standard size, we not only cut down on the baking time, we end up with a perfectly sized snack for small hands and tiny appetites.

Typically, we make blueberry, banana or bran-apricot muffins (made with Fiber One), but I was in the mood for something a little different this morning. So I decided to make apple muffins and improvised this recipe around the Basic Muffins recipe in How To Cook Everything, which has recently joined the Joy of Cooking and America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook as a go-to reference in our kitchen.

Marketing Mommy's Apple Mini Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch cake spice (optional)
3 tbsp canola oil
1 egg
1 1/4 cup lowfat plain yogurt
2 small apples, peeled and chopped


Mix together the dry ingredients in one bowl. Beat together the egg, milk and oil in another bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and fold to combine. Fold in chopped apples. If the batter is too thick, add a splash of milk. Spoon batter into mini muffin pan and bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes. Standard muffins will take 20-25 minutes.