Besides the incredible nick-of-time arrival of spring--birdsong, twilit dinners, crocuses, bare-legged children, heaven--lots of other stuff has been happening around here.
Birdy, for example, is heading off to college.
Have fun, sweetie! Use the generic brand of Monistat! Text me!("I know what kind of cake I want this year!" she announced months ago. "A frog pond with lily pads!" 2 boxes of lime Jell-o, 1 bag of gummy frogs, and 1 flower candy mold later: voila. "You should totally pitch this to the magazine!" she said, and I just might.)
Craney, too, is growing--though he doesn't seem to realize.
And Ben! His hands have gotten so big, he keeps--yowch!--poking his thumb through his ear.
Meanwhile (natch) I've been cooking up a storm.
There is a super-spring recipe for asparagus that is almost literally irresistible. The smell of the butter browning will make everyone in your whole zip code salivate.
And that yummy, yummy coconut chicken soup you order at the Thai restaurant you like? You can make it yourself and it's delicious.
But are you here for the next give-away? Of course. I understand. To recap: when I recommend books here, and you click the links and go to amazon, they give me a small percentage of the money you spend on that visit, regardless of what you buy. It comes in the form of store credit--so let's use it! But first, a few questions.
Who bought Footloose the 25th Anniversary Edition?
Who bought the Holy Bible on Kindle?
Who bought the Blind Melon album?
Who is going to Europe and bought all those travel guides?
I love, love, love that they show me all that! Don't worry, though. I don't know who you are. (Except you, with all the exercise bands: they told me your name. Just kidding!)
This is a simple give-away: leave the name of the one book you most want in the comments (comment only once, please). I am going to pick three winners at random and send them the books they picked. I'll post the winners next Friday. If there's still money left after that, we'll do it again.
Have a wonderful weekend, dear ones. xoxo
The petit appetit cookbook / Barnes, Lisa - my 22-month-old son won't eat vegetables and I'm desperate.
ReplyDeleteYou *should* pitch that cake to the magazine!
ReplyDeleteI have The Taste of Country Kitchen on my wish list, thanks to you!
The Calico Palace...... it's the best book about the year before the 1849 gold rush in San Fransisco. My favorite, but I lent it to my mother and now we don't know where it wound up. I'd love it again. :)
ReplyDeleteI love your cakes!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to get Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantel. Or anything else that won the Man Booker prize.
i've been wanting this for a while, forgot about it and then found it again on yoru last post.
ReplyDeletefood for thoughtful parenting: 12 must-have lists for new parents & young families
This is too fun, because now I get fun ideas for my reading list.
ReplyDeleteI have this checked out from the library right now:
The Complete Stories of Evelyn Waugh.
And I'm realizing I need to BUY it. But, lordie, is it ever pricey. Should I win, feel free to buy it out of the used section. :)
What a wonderful cake, and what a wonderful giveaway! You rock! I would be thrilled to get my own copy of In the Woods by Tana French. I borrowed the last one from the library and I'm still thinking about it months later.
ReplyDeleteI really want Alexa Stevenson's (of Flotsam blog fame) new book Half-Baked as soon as it comes out. But that won't be until August. Does that matter?
ReplyDeletewhat a cool cake! love the lily pads...
ReplyDeletei'm dying to try baking my own bread. i printed out your instructions a while ago and was pleased that i didn't need a dutch oven! of course i may not get to it til it's too hot to bake.
i would love a copy of Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day - J. Hertzberg, Zoe Francois.
thanks!
I would like the Pioneer Woman Cookbook.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Kristin
Happy birthday Birdy, and that cake looks fantastic.
ReplyDeleteI'm all a-twitter, because I just bought Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, on your suggestion, and it is fantastic. I LURRRVE it. I even bought it from Amazon. So what I'm saying...I don't know what book is on my wish list. I'm just so full of bread my brain is broken.
We're really wanting Alice in Wonderland for our nighttime chapter reading!
ReplyDeleteThat's a beautiful pond cake!! :-)
ReplyDeleteJumpa Lahiri's The Namesake.
I love that cake! I would love a "how-to" for making that cake, it would be great for both boys and girls!
ReplyDeleteI forgot the most important part:
ReplyDeleteWilliam Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience [Facsimile] (Hardcover)
Actually, I want two. Selfish, huh? I keep thinking that it would be cool to cut one up and frame a few of the facsimile's to hang in my children's bedroom.
I can't help it, I'm a show off.
I always have a ginormous list of books I want to read, and of course, the only one that comes to mind is The Dead-Tossed Waves, which I'm buying this afternoon anyway.
ReplyDeleteSo I just went to amazon to check my buy-later shopping list, and the first one is "The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo."
Beautiful pictures, like always. Love Ben's long hair!
Hi Catherine, I can't believe Birdy is 7 - where have the years gone??? Surely we were only just pregnant with those enormous grade-schoolers?
ReplyDeleteIs the lily-pad cake actually cake at all - or is it jelly under the icing? It looks lovely.
As for the book giveaway, I'm not sure if you send to Australia, but if you do I'd like a copy of your favourite book, whatever it is.
Oh my! So many to choose from! My latest library find that I've decided I need to purchase is The Book of New Family Rituals by Meg Cox. Lots of fun ideas! Thanks for the chance to win-
ReplyDeleteSusannah
So many are on my wish list, but the most add is "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest", the last in the Steig Larssen series. It's only available for preorder right now but that's good enough for me!
ReplyDeleteLet's see, how about "Olive Kitteridge"? It is the next book on my book club list, and I have yet to purchase it!
ReplyDeletealso... great cake! I can't believe she's 7- I've been following your blog since you were pregnant with her.
First of all, the book I most covet is Making More Plants: the science, art and joy of propagation by Kenneth Druse (except they only have used ones available, so feel free to count me out of the drawing). So glad you still have your Amazon Affiliate account; they suspended all accounts for people living in Colorado to punish us for laws our legislators made.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I am heading over right now for that Thai soup recipe. I love that stuff and am thrilled to learn how to make it.
And finally, if Birdy had a darker sense of humor, she might appreciate this cake... http://wisdomofthemoon.blogspot.com/2009/06/gumpaste-frogs-tutorial-by-kam.html (complete with a step by step tutorial of my nephew explaining how to sculpt frogs out of gumpaste.)
Cheers, Darlin.
ooh, I have been pouring over the Family Fun Birthday Cake book you recommended a while back for my baby girl's second birthday. I'm thinking the train cake, but frosted with bright citrus colors lest is seem to "boyish" (although why do I care? She's 2, she doesn't care what color it is!)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I would love to have the artisan bread in 5 minutes a day that you recommended. I make your no-knead bread constantly (as a matter of fact, there's some rising in the kitchen right now!) But I'd love some variety; I've tried to make actual sourdough starter, but haven't faired too well.
Oh, Birdy. My own girls recently turned 7 too, and how is that possible? That our little pink-cheeked babes are SEVEN????
ReplyDelete(Happy Birthday, Birdy!) (Your cake is AWESOME.)
Funny you should ask about books, as I just placed an order on Amazon yesterday for the three I've been wanting. I'm a fan of the library, but I'm also a fan of owning books.
So I guess, if I had to pick one now, it would be one of the other DK Children Just like me books. (We have that one, but now there are a few more! Celebrations, Our Favorite Stories, A School Like Mine, A Life Like Mine... maybe more). I don't know how to pick one, so it'd be great to win and have you pick one for me! =)
Catherine,
ReplyDeleteI'm a long time reader (since ParentCenter) and huge fan of your work (own your book and subscribe and Family Fun because of you!) but this is my first time leaving a comment. I just want to thank you for helping me along on this crazy, emotional, heart-bursting, patience-testing adventure we call parenting!
As so many people have said before, “I swear I’m not a stalker, but...” I do refer to you by name with my husband, I’m oddly happy/proud when I see your articles in other magazines, and I have moments with my kids when I think, “this is exactly what Catherine wrote about” even if the piece was weeks, months or years ago.
I try everyday to remember that I’m holding their hearts in my hands and to be patient and in the moment, despite my frustration with the exact same argument every day, or my annoyance with certain parts of each day. (For once can we all put on our shoes and get in the car in less than 10 minutes??)
I guess what I’m trying to say is thank you for still writing so that I can continue to learn and grow with you as I strive to be the best mother I can be—they are so little and so lovely that I think I will explode with love—they deserve the best I have to offer them and you help me to be my very best. Thanks!
P.S. I’ve made many of your recipes—tamale pie and the 5 minute bread are two of my favorites!
P.P.S. I wrote all of the comments above earlier then came over here to post it and realized you are having a contest! Let's see...books, books, books--not to be a suck up but I think I would love the Family Fun Birthday Cake book. Thanks again!
1. I love that cake!
ReplyDelete2. The Quotable Atheist: Ammunition for Non-Believers, Political Junkies, Gadflies, and Those Generally Hell-Bound
Hello!
ReplyDeletehope all is well!
Coyote Blue (christopher moore)
I think you may like Lamb, the gospel according to Biff Christ's childhood pal. by the same author.
can i enter twice????
ab
Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day was on my Christmas wish list, and Santa didn't deliver. I'm still wishing for it!
ReplyDeleteI love when your "blogamists" leave book recommendations! Whoopee!
ReplyDeleteBeen pining for an Alice Waters cookbook / inspiration book, but can't decide which one :-)
I'd like "Parenting Gifted Kids" by James Delisle, because my friend Christine recommended it. Our kids are in the "Target" class together, though Finn is what's called "Twice Exceptional" here because he's also in Special Ed. Ah, the joys of AD/HD! Anyway, I'm glad to see Birdy enjoyed what looks like a marvelous cake. I made Finn a donut "cake" for his party because that's what he wanted. Isn't it amazing that it could be 70 in both Boston and Atlanta today?!
ReplyDeletethe new anne lamott book! its release date is on my calendar!
ReplyDeleteI would love to have "The Alabama Stitch Book". The libraries here never carried it at all, and I'm too cheap to buy it myself.
ReplyDeleteFolk Shawls by Cheryl Oberle, because someday I'm going to knit something other than baby hats and little boy mittens. And because someday I'll need something beautiful to wrap myself in as I sit by the window and long for the days when all I had time to knit were baby hats and little boy mittens!
ReplyDeleteI'd like the Weekend Sewing book that I first read about a few months ago on soulemama's blog. My library doesn't have it.
ReplyDeleteCutting for Stone-- Abraham Verghese
ReplyDeleteand here i thought i'd seen every use for green jello! (ps thank you for this giveaway)
ReplyDeleteprinting by hand by lena corwin. because i need new napkins and i want to get my hands dirty
I would love a copy of Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.
ReplyDeleteI love that cake! My daughter's second birthday was a few weeks ago and I made an 11 layer cake just to try something new. The lily pad jello idea is inspired though, and I'll have to keep that in mind for the future.
ReplyDeleteAs for a book I'm interested in, I'd have to go with Sublime Stitching: Hundreds of Hip Embroidery Patterns and How-To. Most embroidery patterns are a little stuffy and not very fun, and this looks like an interesting book. I've been eyeing it at my local "fiber arts" store.
And mostly I'd like my mother to have a dishtowel with a pin up girl or a garden gnome on it in her kitchen, if I'm being completely honest.
Oh I've been lusting after Healthy Breads in 5 Minutes a Day, but can't justify it at the moment!
ReplyDeleteOh, my to-get book list is long, indeed. But, next I would definitely like to get The Creative Family by Amanda Blake Soule.
ReplyDeleteYour cake (Birdie's cake) is very cute. I'm not up to such a challenge. This year, we made cupcakes and frosting and then had the kids (and, um, the adults) decorate their own cupcakes. It was fun and not as messy as I had anticipated.
P.S. I spelled Birdy's name wrong. Oops. My own name ends in -ie so it's my default. My apologies Birdy.
ReplyDelete[Please, of course, disregard this comment for the give-away.]
Birdy! Happy belated birthday beautiful girl.
ReplyDeleteMy oldest turns 1o in June. Eek!
Umm...I bought a Blind Melon album. Does that mean you also know about the Spin Doctors I ordered last week? How embarrassing. ;P
Happy Spring Catherine!
Birdy, dear Birdy! Happy Birthday you big lovely girl! I just bought another t-shirt for baby A, that says some, "Some Birdy loves me" and it always make me think of you!
ReplyDeleteCatherine I feel like it was yesterday when I found on Baby Center and would read your posts over and over and eagerly await the next update. I was pregnant, and you had just started your blog. Sigh.
I cannot believe we have these big, school aged kids. You would laugh, but I still have the binder I started when I was printing out each post and keeping them to reread (I used to read them at work on my lunch) there are several I pretty much know word for word.
I would love the birthday cake book or any other cookbook you recommend. I have a pretty small collection of cookbooks and none that you talk about.
Take care and that lily pad cake is totally adorable.
I would really really love the The Principles of Uncertainty by Maira Kalman...I have renewed it from the library the maximum number of times and now someone who has it on hold wants to check it out.It's so sad. And I am willing to pay the 5 cents a day to keep it forever, but that would be selfish and rude. - megan lemay
ReplyDeleteI still dont have your book. Bringing up Ben and Birdy I think is its name. I would love that book! or Naptime is the new Happy Hour
ReplyDeleteNo, no, not to college. Not with perfect, juicy cheeks like those. And how cute is her friend next to her as well? Cuteness all around.
ReplyDeleteI've had my eye on a cookbook called "Simpy in Season"...reading its recipes makes me drool a little...my friend has it and I'm jealous.
I love Birdy's cake . . . we just had our own birthday adventure and a first time with fondant. Never again!
ReplyDeleteAs far as books . . . there are two that I've been continually renewing from the library (I know, it's not fair, somebody else probably wants them - I promise to take them back when they're due this time). A is for Apron is so wonderful, with such cute little aprons and I want to add every one to my collection!! But the book I MOST want in my whole life? "Home Cheese Making" by Ricki Carroll. Our (goat) herd share is about to start producing milk, and I want to be ready!!
On my Amazon wishlist: "The Spice Merchant's Daughter" by Christina Arokiasamy
ReplyDeleteA delightful, authentic, fragrant Southeast Asian cookbook.
Best regards.
I would love La's Orchestra Saves the World by Alexander McCall Smith.
ReplyDeleteI love the frogs-the Spring Peepers are just now out and singing here...so lovely.
Happy B-day Birdy!
Oh my, where is Craney's head?! He is just so puffy-wuffy, isn't he?
ReplyDeleteThe kids look happy and healthy- Happy belated b-day to Birdy!
I cannot wait to start cooking with fresh local produce again!
here is my book pick:
Hudson Valley Mediterranean: The Gigi Good Food Cookbook by Laura Pensiero
It was written by a local restauranteur :^)
I bought the exercise bands - too much of that Thai Coconut Chicken Soup! OMG, Catherine, it is to die for. It felt like a lot of work when I was preparing it - probably just my grumpy mood because I was hungry - but oh, so worth it!
ReplyDeleteI nominate Claudia for Folk Shawls because her post made me tear up.
And if Swistle's request, The Quotable Atheist: Ammunition for Non-Believers, Political Junkies, Gadflies, and Those Generally Hell-Bound, is a real book, I could probably use one of those too. ;-)
(BTW - my word verification is evill)
But what I'd really love is Waiting for Birdy. There is always someone I know who is expecting that needs a good gift - and this is a good gift.
I would love to have The Places We Live by Jonas Bendiksen. I went to Washington DC this fall and visited the Museum of Housing. There was a touring exhibit of the world's slums where you stand in a room made out of video screens and see the actual homes that people live in within the slums while you hear them talking about their lives. I will never forget the woman who had a bench for a home outside a row of shacks and was so thankful and felt blessed because her adopted relatives ran the water pump, so she didn't have to pay for clean drinking water. Her ten month old son sat on her lap as I held my own infant in the video-screen room and swore that I would never be ungrateful for my own imperfect home ever again. This book contains the photographs and text of the video presentation and it is shocking, heart-wrenching, and utterly real to millions of people. I would like this on my shelf so that I never forget.
ReplyDelete1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up - would like this to see what books I have forgotten about and would like to read with my two boys.
ReplyDeleteIt is so much fun reading everyone's book wish lists, and I've gotten many ideas from it! I would love Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.
ReplyDeleteMy oldest just turned 7 this week. It just seems crazy impossible, doesn't it? The froggy cake is great!
ReplyDeleteI would love "1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up." I've checked it out of the library a gazillion times and I would love to own it!
The 4-Hour Work Week (Expanded and Updated Version) by Timothy Ferriss.
ReplyDeleteLiving more and working less!! And how to get a personal chef for $8 a meal? Brilliant!
PS I love your cat pic. That's how I end up on the couch at the end of a very long week too. ;)
What a great cake! I'm trying to figure out the lily pads--are they just thin slices of lime jello? I also did a double-take when I saw the candle. Is that a 7? Of course it is since Birdy is a few months older than my son, but really? Seven?
ReplyDeleteI love how you get a zillion comments when it is free book giveaway time! I'm out in Italy so don't know if I qualify but I'd love any of your favorite chapter books for kids aged, well, seven. I do love to browse the Amazon UK site but there is something to thumbing through the real thing that I miss so much here.
Oh and since I have made your lemon bars three times my son has apparently been bragging about them so much that another mother asked me for "my" recipe! I'd direct her to your site but I can't begin to translate your humor into Italian!
Thanks! Stacey
I would love to buy Robert Frost: a Collection of Poems complete and unabridged. It's just the kind of book I would never splurge on for myself, but would dearly love to own.
ReplyDeleteemckinney@charter.net
hi there! i'm wishing for mark bittman's "how to cook everything". love your writing!!!
ReplyDeleteGluten Free Every Day. I resisted wheat free baking for my 4 year old girl for too long. My first few loaves of bread have turned out great though and I'm ready for some more recipies.
ReplyDeleteI love reading all of the recommendations!
ReplyDeleteI would like "All Cakes Considered" by Melissa Gray, a producer on All Things Considered. It's supposed to be good for cake newbies, like me.
And to Heather, the maker of the 11 layer cake, I can only dream of achieving your level of cake greatness!
You forgot to tell people to comment over at Disney! (Even though it's wicked hard.) I can't think of a book I want to get for myself (I've been borrowing a lot lately), but I'd love to own one of the Brambly Hedge books for the kids. The pictures are so beautiful. --Cathy K
ReplyDeleteI was going to say I most want your book, but I already have it!!
ReplyDeleteSo instead I would choose Around the World with Mouk by Marc Boutavant.
What a great giveaway -- thank you!!
My first comment ever on a blog....Of course, yours is my first. If you're still picking names, I'd love to read The Middle Place! xoxJ
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to Birdy! We're getting ready for my oldest's 7th birthday, too (thankfully, she just wants cupcakes). And she has requested Migas for her birthday dinner! So easy!!
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about the book
In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World by Virginia Hamilton and would love to have a copy :)
That pile of cat you have! Wow. What a belly.
ReplyDeleteIf I could pick any book, I'd choose The Wind's Twelve Quarters by Ursula K. LeGuin. Mmm, short stories.
I'd like the The Classic Italian Cook Book: The Art of Italian Cooking and the Italian Art of Eating (1973) by Marcella Hazan!
ReplyDeleteI really really want Good Eats-The Early Years by Alton Brown.
ReplyDeleteI could never be so creative with cake and jello. Cute idea really.
Modern Spice (due back at the library tomorrow). I found it on Heidi Swanson's blog and I found out about Heidi and SNC from you!
ReplyDeleteHi Catherine!
ReplyDeleteIt's been a while since I've visited you, but we've been busy traveling, cleaning up soggy basements from last week's storm, and life in general.
That cake looks *awesome* - Green Jello is the best. But tell Birdy to use the brand-name Monistat because you can't be too careful with what you put in your oonie.
Have you read the Stieg Larsson books? I devoured the first one, 'Girl with a Dragon Tattoo' on a recent plane ride but am way too cheap to buy the second one, 'Girl Who Played with Fire' in hardback. Cheers and big smooches!
How to Cook Everything - Mark Bittman. Need some fresh inspiration!
ReplyDeleteOh, I would love my own copy of Wondrous Words by Katie Wood Ray (whose name I can only say altogether like that!). I've lent out my copy to various teacher friends in various places several times and then I never get it back and I was just looking for it the other day!
ReplyDeleteLove the cake!
I'd love to have a copy of The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett. One of my all-time favorites, but I never seem to get around to buying it!
ReplyDeleteYou're so kind to share your points!
I LOVE the asparagus with brown butter sauce! We made it this weekend and thought we'd eat the leftovers today. No leftovers. :) Thank you for fabulous recipes and writing!
ReplyDeleteI would love "The Sense of Wonder" by Rachel Carson.
How fun! I would love a copy of Anne Lamott's new book due out this month: Imperfect Birds.
ReplyDeleteHello Catherine! You slay me with your jokey-jokes. Love the generic Monistat one. ;)
ReplyDeleteI would love the final book in Suzanne Collins's trilogy, Mockingjay. (Really, I need all three! But I'm not being (too) greedy.) It comes out in July, and I am so psyched.
Our wish list book is Puff, the Magic Dragon by Peter Yarrow and Lenny Lipton - hardcover with the CD :) My little birdy sings us the song at least 15 times a day.
ReplyDeleteI've also been pining for Food For Thoughtful Parenting ever since you mentioned it, Catherine. I even found two ways to bring it up in conversation this week, having read nothing more than the sneak peek available online!
ReplyDeleteWe're moving to Chicago this summer and I just had to bring down and pack my copy of Waiting For Birdy. Birdy who I met via your Babycenter journal when she was not even hatched yet. While I bounced my always-screaming firstborn on my lap and laughed big, wet, sloppy, laughing tears over Ben's antics.
Seven years. Impossible. And isn't she more wonderful than you, or we, ever imagined?
Thanks for the giveaway! My book selection is All the World by Elizabeth Garton Scanlon. Do you have any black-eye pea recipes?
ReplyDeleteI would love your highly-recommended "Children Just Like Me" book for my little ones.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
runstandstill
sks1124AThotmailDOTcom
The Help by Kathryn Stockett.
ReplyDeleteI would like The book of new family traditions: how to create great rituals for holidays and everyday by Meg Cox.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all of the smiles your blog brings.
I am dying to read "Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to College." I am getting ready to head back to the classroom after 8 years at home with the kids. It was the subject of a really fascinating article in the NY Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/magazine/07Teachers-t.html?scp=3&sq=teacher&st=cse) and I want to see if it is great or useless or what! The article alone is food for thought, though, if anyone has the time.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful cake! I always thought I'd make birthday cakes like that, but I've put my Martha Stewart aspirations aside in the last few years and have actually been buying them at the bakery! Maybe now that my kids are all getting so independent I'll have more time to devote to the beauty of pastries.
ReplyDeleteI've just had the book The One Year Book of Hope by Nancy Guthrie recommended to me, so that's my pick.
Alabama Studio Style! I've been a fan since you posted about the first book and the adorable skirts you made.
ReplyDeleteAnother longtime reader here. Love your writing!
ReplyDeleteI've got How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman on my wish list.
Yay, sweet Birdie! Happy birthday! Seven! Wowza!
ReplyDeleteIf I were to pick something from my amazon wishlist, I'm thinking I'd go for One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way by Robert Maurer. HOWEVER. I kinda like Pundelina's idea. Would love to read your favorite book.
Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce. It's a cookbook about baking w/ whole grains.
ReplyDeleteI just have to tell you that we made the coconut chicken soup for dinner this weekend. Swooning and drooling all over the place. For the first time ever in my house, it wasn't takeout.
ReplyDeleteI also cannot believe that my youngest just celebrated his 7th birthday- it's really quite ridiculous how fast they grow!
ReplyDeleteThe book I am currently "wishing" for is called "Receiving the Day" by Dorothy Bass. It's about our relationship with time, something I explore daily. :) Thanks!
Oh my God, Catherine, I made your Thai coconut soup this week and I am in love! It's the best soup I have ever made--actually, I think it's the best soup I have ever eaten. I used tofu and the lime rind instead of the leaves, and I used one can of full fat and one can of lowfat coconut milk, but it was still amazing! My son was all NO WAY I AM EATING THIS. To which I usually respond, "You must try some [because if you want to survive in this family you have to learn to love spice]; there will be nothing else for dinner." But this soup was so yummy that I said, "Great, more for me! How about some chicken nuggets?" In his defense, he did try it and it was very spicy [in that wonderful 'everything is better with a little Thai red curry paste' sort of way :) ].
ReplyDeleteI was really just coming here to gush about the soup, but who doesn't love a free book? I've also been making your fantastic (and so easy to prepare!) bread, so I'll jump on the bandwagon and admit Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day would be lovely!
I really really really want The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. Because a lot of women seem to be reading it, and loving it, and benefiting from it, and making the book sound like my own personal holy grail after the long gritty Minnesota winter.
ReplyDeleteThe Daylight and the Dust by Janet Frame: a favorite friend recommended I read everything by her but I think I want to start with this one.
ReplyDeleteThanks!!
"Tuesdays with Morrie"... I've worn out my original copy... Its such a fabulous book to read when you get in a pity pot... It makes you rethink how bad your life really is!
ReplyDeleteI bought the family fun cookbook on your recommendation.
ReplyDeleteAnimal Factory
I keep checking out YOLELE! Recipes From the Heart of Senegal from the library to try the different recipes and would love to have my own copy to splatter freely and guilt-free.
ReplyDeleteI keep checking out YOLELE! Recipes From the Heart of Senegal from the library to try the different recipes and would love to have my own copy to splatter freely and guilt-free.
ReplyDeleteWow, what a great list of books! I would love that Family Fun Birthday Cake book. Though, my husband has taken over all cake making in our house because I get too stressed out about it. Maybe that book would help me!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to have The Bishop's Man by Linden MacIntyre.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Birdy, I'll have a seven year old in my house next month.
Marcy
Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking."
ReplyDeleteI just read her "My Life In France" and now I really want the cookbook:-)
A collection of Han Christian Andersen stories
ReplyDeleteHAPPY BIRTHDAY BIRDY!!
Just wanted to say how much I LOVE your blog - I'm a fan from your Baby Center days. I know you've heard it a million times (what's one more, right?) but your writing really captures what it means to be mom! Not sure how you do it, but keep doing it . . . .
ReplyDeleteHappy Spring!
Oh, now that I finished showering you with compliments, my book request - Children Just Like Me. I think you recommended it in an earlier post. Our library never seems to have it in and I think my six year old would love it! Oh and I want to read it too:)
I have recently been reading a couple of fascinating books by Atul Gawande; both "Complications" and "The Checklist Manifesto" would be awesome to own. Thanks for doing this!
ReplyDeleteMy wishlist is mostly made up of cookbooks. The one I really want is Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients by Zoe Francois, Jeff Hertzberg.
ReplyDeleteLove the cake, btw!
It was you blue kangaroo.
ReplyDeleteI know, I should shoot for something loftier, but my 3-year-old (yes with the curls and puppy dog eyes) keeps requesting the "Goo, goo, boo gangaloo" book, and when has a mother's wish ever come first?
Happy Birthday to Birdy!
ReplyDeleteMy book wish is: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
And since I'm here I have to mention two things:
1) I tried to make chocolate pudding with your recipe and failed miserably! 45 minutes of whisking and nothing! Could it have to do with the fact that I used 1/2 lowfat milk and 1/2 heavy whipping cream? You suggested cream, and I bought whipping cream by mistake. Could that have made the difference?
2)I made the soy braised chicken for the first time last night and it was a hit with the whole family.
Thank you Catherine!
~Kiki
You are my I Love You, by Maryann K. Cusimano.
ReplyDeleteIt touched my heart. I was sitting in a conference room at the publishing company where I worked at the time. The book was presented for consideration. The words were read outloud. And there, in the middle of the a room full of business people, I immediately got very choked up. I own the book, and read it to my children, ages 5 and 7, since they were born. The way it lyrically demonstrates how the parent is the grounding for the child, and the child is the light-heartedness for the parent.... unbelievable. I have never once reached the end that my voice was not choked in tears. Happy tears.
I continue to love you tons, our dear amazing friend Catherine. Happy Spring to you and your gorgeous clan.
i would like the book you have an essay in about bringing up boys I believe. I haven't looked up the name in a while. Thanks so much.
ReplyDeleteShari B. from NC
I still want Pioneer Woman's cookbook. I suppose I could also just buy it myself if I don't win...
ReplyDelete:)
Kristin