How I medicate

Now that I am SEVEN years into my 30's, interesting things are starting to happen to my body. One thing is the insomnia I experience before my period. It always shows up, and it looks like this; I go to sleep and wake up a couple of hours later and lay in bed for a good 1-2 hours. As soon as I get my period, insomnia goes away. So, I take a Calms Forte pill before bed for the week before my period, and I usually skip the insomnia for the most part. Depending on other miscellaneous factors, I also take a chelated calcium and magnesium pill before bed which works really, really well too. My Calms Forte bottle comes with me whenever I travel to help with resetting my sleep clock, unfamilar beds and the flu-ish feelings I get with jet lag. Oh yes, and I take it before bed on the nights I drink a glass of wine so I do not experience alcohol induced anxiety and insomnia. This week I am experiencing PMS, jet lag, new bed and wine, so I am loving my bottle. When I take a pill, I do not notice much of anything. Perhaps a little tired, but that is it. But, I ended up falling asleep faster and staying asleep. And when I take it with my Cal/Mag pill I really sleep well.
Now what is Calms Forte' you ask? It is a non-addictive homeopathic pill. I also only take one pill; two can make me feel groggy in the morning. But, my body is super sensitive so you might take two and notice no difference.
I love this company so much, I buy the kids Calms Forte' and give to M. for traveling and any kind of restlessness she may get before bed.
Writing about this makes me excited to share all my goodies in my medicine cabinet. I am especially excited to write about tonsil stones, but may loose some of my very short list of readers due to the grossness.

Tuscan stew

Made this stew last night. Very yummy, very healthy. M. ate it also and like it. It is cooked in a pressure cooker, which is one of my favorite, most used tools in my kitchen. My wonderful mother-in-law introduced me to the world of pressure cooking about 5 years ago. I can make from scratch soup in 1 hour instead of simmering soup on the stove for 3 hours.
We made cornbread to accompany this stew, but crusty bread would be great. Ask your meat counter if they have lamb shanks because they may be in the back room, not in the display case. It is really easy and took about 1 hour to make!

Makes 4 servings

2 lamb shanks
1 cup dried cannellini beans soaked overnight in 3 cups water
1 onion chopped
2 stalks celery chopped
2 carrots chopped
2 stalks rosemary chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 can chopped tomatoes
2 cups water
chopped parsley to garnish
high quality olive oil to drizzle on top
3 Tbls. olive oil to sautee lamb and veggies
salt and pepper
6-8 quart pressure cooker

Brown lamb shanks in pressure cooker with olive oil (about 8 min). Remove from pot and set aside on plate. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic to pressure cooker and sautee for 10 min. Add tomatoes along with liquid in can, rosemary, drained beans, water and lamb shanks to pressure cooker with salt and pepper and bring to boil. Put cover on pressure cooker and cook on high pressure for 30 min. Place pressure cooker in sink, and run cold water over lid relieve pressure. Open and remove lamb shanks and remove meat and chop. Take potato masher and mash beans slightly to thicken sauce.
In bowls ladel 2 scoops of bean stew and top with handful of lamb, sprinkle of parsely and drizzle of olive oil.
This recipe is adapted from Gourmet magazine.

It might make you jealous

For God's sake, Gweneth Paltrow has a blog. And she is talking about cool things I like; fasting, traveling, shopping, decorating, eating. I am so annoyed. The popular girl at school has something interesting to say. I read a lot of it just now, and I want to be her friend.
The only thing I could think while reading it (besides how I am going to try all the recipes she listed) is how does she have time to type so much? Her assistant must do it.
It is a little over the top with kabbalah, zen and jewish mystics answering questions like how to handle a pessimistic friend. But, I hand it to her for doing it. Go Gweneth.
if you want to see for yourself: http://goop.com/

Eating Well

How this country eats has always interested me. How I eat has always interested me. Cooking is a something I think about and dream about. Last summer I did a colon cleanse and Master Cleanse for 6 days. I drank lemon juice, maple syrup, water and cayenne for those days and nothing else except the colon herbs. For six days I thought about food, menus and recipes. It was torture. I made homemade pasta for my family during that cleanse because I missed cooking so much. I could not disconnect from mixing flavors and textures together. My friend was fasting with me and we talked daily. He seemed relieved that he could disconnect from food while fasting. It has made me wonder if I have unhealthy attachments to food. This is worrisome thought for me because I practiced nutrition for 5 years and taught people how to eat. I would take many of my clients to the grocery stores and show them how to shop by reading labels and understanding ingredients. I would create diets and recipes for these people who were trying to change things in their bodies or lose weight or feel better. And yet I have struggled with weight, going up and down depending on how I am choosing to eat.
Michael Polan's The Omnivore's Dilemma really dived into food politics. How far our country has moved from the dining room table, locally grown food and eating well. Because eating well has become a cloudy area. And I ask myself that question every day, every meal "am I eating well"? When I travel, I ask that question to whatever city I am in. Do these people eat well? Do these people have resources to eat well? Is there any inspiration to eat well? Does the community support them to eat well? In California the answers are all yes, and then some. I feel like I moved to food heaven coming to California!
Fat Flush is a diet I go on when I need to drop weight. It works really well. My body responds well to it. It eliminates all starchy carbohydrates, fats and sugars. It can be very rigid if you don't get creative. I will be diving right into my creativity. I am spending my nights falling asleep creating the best fat flush dishes my mind can muster. Grilled radicchio and pear salad. Free range meatballs with puttanesca sauce. Red peppers stuffed with cumin chicken. Grilled salmon with tofu lemon rosemary sauce. Because food never leaves my life and I am determined to make peace with it.

20/20

Photo of me in labor, about half way through.


Anyone watch 20/20 on friday night? Usually 20/20 is not on my tv radar, but I had two emails reminding me to tune it to the show all about birthing, nursing and surrogate mothers. Having giving birth at home I am always game to check out other women who are doing the same and sympathize. My birth according to my midwife was "normal". 29 hours after my first contraction I pushed M. out. That included 3 1/2 hours of pushing. Not all of my birth experience is clear in my memory, but one part is; the part right after I pushed out M. and said really loudly "I am never doing that again, ever." I prepared for my birthing moment by regular bikram yoga 2-3 times a week and becoming a hypnobirthing student. Everyday I did my rainbow relaxation, teaching my body to become relaxed so I could deal with childbirth, perhaps even enjoy labor. I chuckle writing that last sentence. I should have known that very early on in labor when my sister walked me to the outhouse to pee in the dark and I told her "I just want this to be over" while most likely only 2 cm. dialated I was in trouble. I did not have a pain free, magical birth. Hypnotherapy did not work, and it is the closest to death I have ever been. So when I saw the segment on 20/20 of women having orgasmic births I sat on the couch and stared in disbelief at the tv screen. With my mouth hanging open. Trying not to think mean thoughts about them. But I did.

Hand Sanitizer

I thought it would be interesting to post some photos peeking into our household. Things I look at a lot. The bulletin board at my kitchen desk. I made it from a piece of foam board and fabric I love. The colors, faces, artwork all mixed together represent our friends, family and my current state of mind. The pictures of D. working from his home office. I must go in while he is working at least 10 times a day. Sitting, staring at his laptop is one of the most familiar scenes in my life.
Anyway, I heard a big piece of news today. I love NPR, and although M. complains it gives her a stomachache, I listen to Fresh Air and Science Friday whenever I can. Today on Science Friday, Ira was interviewing two doctors about the cold and flu season. I should have turned it off, knowing my mind already has enough information about sickness, probably too much, but, I did not. I figured there was nothing they would say that would be news to me, so what the heck. Long story short, the expert doctor said that alcohol in hand sanitizer gels do not kill the cold virus. DOES NOT KILL THE COLD VIRUS. Isn't that the reason I use hand sanitizer? So I don't get a cold and then a 2 month long sinus infection? I gasped so loud hearing the news little M. in the back seat asked what happened.

Now, if are with me for longer than 5 minutes, you know I don't really go out in the world without my bottle of organic lavender hand sanitizer. I keep a giant bottle of it at home in my closet for refills (the most wonderful mother's day present from my mother in law!) a bottle under my kitchen sink for chicken juice (bacteria which I know alcohol kills!) and generic extras in my bathroom drawer just in case. My dear husband gave up about 4 years ago trying to convince me I just don't need to be so freaky about germs. He refuses to use hand sanitizer, period. M. has pitched fits on numerous occasions when I make her hold out her hands to get a squeeze of gel after being almost anywhere. My girlfriends just go with it, because everyone has their vice, I think they find it mildly funny, and it has come in handy on occasions for them too. Yes, I admit my trusty blue bottle is my security blanket. A funny story about me and germs that just sums up how the universe is supporting my spiritual growth. M was about 2, and we were in an airport between flights. I had just gotten done telling her the "do not touch anything" speech that I say every time we go into a public bathroom stall. But she was two, and it is hard enough to get a kid not to touch anything or crawl under the bathroom door for that matter. While I was going to the bathroom she turned around and LICKED the bathroom stall wall. That was a very hard day for me.


I have actually had an argument with D. on a plane because he would not promise to use a seat cover in the airplane bathroom with M. Airplane bathrooms I consider my own personal hell.
So, I am going to need a new security blanket now. And as my next plane ride on monday fast approaches, I will have to be quick about it.

Food and Wine

M riding on Daddy's shoulders
Golden Gate Park Carousel
Bodega Bay in the vanagon
Birthday at Japanese Gardens in Golden Gate Park
Birthday Dinner at Mamacita


I love California. Even the nightmarish I-80 corridor drive to the bay area makes me happy. This week has been filled with one great adventure after another. We drove down to SF the day after Christmas. We were stir crazy. On our way down we stopped at In-N-Out Burger. Minus the crazy crowds, In-N-Out is fabulous. It is my humble opinion that they could put McDonalds and Burger King out of business if they spread out of CA. within 6 months. In the book Fast Food Nation I learned about the wonderful workings of this family owned "fast food" burger place that in California is like a national treasure.
In San Francisco, there was shopping and restaurants. I finally went to SPQR. Honestly though, it did not live up to the hype. Although the deep fried brussel sprouts with caper and lemon did impress, I might not go back. D and I went to Bar Tartine for my pre-birthday celebration, and although they were not on top of their game, I am loyal for life until something crazy happens and I cannot justify French bistro food in an amazing atmosphere any longer. I am on a Pinot Noir kick right now. I like the lower alcohol content than other wines, so I can drink a glass and not be ready for bed. I have spent the last 9 years dedicated to Oregon Pinot Noirs, but this year I broke out of that funk and am now liking California Pinot Noirs. A bit more fruity and jammy than Oregon style pinots I have been drinking. So, I drank California Pinot Noir at Bar Tartine and it went great with the Liberty Farms duck breast I had as an entree.
Camping was really fun. I love fog and cold weather, so was right at home. Our little hotel on wheels, the vanagon is superb. With the solar panel on the popup we never have to worry about electricity or running down the battery. Our second night we ate at a new restaurant in Bodega Bay called Terrapin Creek. A slow food style place that a young couple from SF opened 6 months ago. Seared scallops on parsnip puree with a warm bacon vinaigrette was my favorite. Two days into camping I am pretty dirty, and opted not to use the showers at the campground due to the potential grossness factor, so I looked a little worse for wear eating at this very sweet place!
Last night we went to our friend's house back at home for New Year's dinner. They are organic farmers who we buy our CSA subscription from, and had all their "foodie" friends from Santa Cruz up for the holiday. It was the last night of glutton and boy was it worth it. Homemade Pinot Noir from their vineyards, smoked salmon with cream fraiche roasted beets, dill and lemon zest. Hand harvested porcini mushrooms baked on puff pastry. The stand out was one dish I was floored by. Burrata cheese with artisinal olive oil, coarse salt, rosemary, and lemon zest. Crusty sourdough bread to smear the cheese on. I had never eaten Burrata cheese, and likened it to a creamier version of fresh mozzarella. These folks cook and grow food for a living. There was homemade limoncello and quince paste that blew me away. Very inspiring food night to end the week of eating. Ok! Enough! Back to work! I have a house to clean, a tree to take down and a big trip to the east coast to prepare for. Oh Joy.