on answering some questions in the comments sections, especially in the beet post. I wish blogger would let you post an answer right where the question is. Sigh.
Yes, except that no one dies overnight from lack of insulin. That part bugged me but otherwise, loved this book. Rules of Civility is one I'm recommending all over the place these days.
Hey, will you do another books list? Maybe even like a category- Best Nonfiction, Best Fluffy, Best Cookbook, etc? I always get great ideas from your readers (and you!)
I've been reading Catherine for years (since BabyCenter days) and I rarely comment but I read every week, and even read all the comments (sorry if that's creepy). I write a blog simply to keep track of all the books I read (a lot) and I weigh in with my own personal response to the book and opinion of how it was written. If you wonder about my credentials to do so, I really don't have any, but I teach writing classes at our local community college and university. Plus, I've been reading almost my whole life :)
Hi! Since you've been answering readers' questions, I thought I might put one out there: How much time would you say your spend per week on cooking/grocery shopping? I am inspired by your healthy meals for your family, but, without being too nosy, would like to know how you handle the rest of "life." I know you've mentioned Ben playing the piano and Birdy taking karate, but do your kids run to after-school activities every day? Do you work full-time on your writing assignments or mainly do that while they're in school? As someone who struggles with these things, it would be nice to get a sort of breakdown from you, without it being, "At 8am, I have a cup of tea and then pee." Do you know what I mean?
Hi NL. I'm really not sure. I tend to work from 8:45 to 2:45, solid, until I get the kids. Then often from 3:15 until 5 or so, depending on what everyone else is doing and how swamped I am (I used to work after they went to bed too, but now Ben goes to bed after me). Then I drink beer and cook. Ben just has piano; Birdy just has karate. I cook for anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour on an average day, but it might be longer if we have people coming over and/or it's the weekend. Ben cooks dinner once a week or so. Shopping: we get milk delivered; I pick up the farm share every other week; I probably shop Trader Joe's/Whole Foods on average once or twice a week. Does that help?
Hi NL - that was a great question! - and not that you asked me at all but I wanted to share something that totally changed the dinner chaos of our lives - for the better - even though I fought it tooth and nail at first. (personal stats= 2 elementary-school age kids, cub scouts, tues-sat - get home from work @6)
In my kitchen I have a dry erase calendar with big enough squares that we can fill in events and then at some point on Sunday or Monday (my days off)we fill out the week's dinner plan - it was a little hard to get into the habit but now if for some reason we don't have it written down is like getting into the car w/o a seat-belt - I feel like I'm floating - we don't even always stick to the plan and we usually end up switching some days around, but something about having it written down for all to see in the first place makes all the difference. AND this leads into my second 18 inch square blank dry erase board that is next to the calendar. On this one I have headings for our regular stores: TJ's, WF, Ralphs, Nigia (local Japanese market), Costco, Target - and I keep running lists - its so easy to erase and add as needed - make the grocery list while we do the week, adding Clorox wipes as I use the last one on the cat puke - and then I just snap a photo of the whole board with my phone when we go to the store. I love these two items and I am most definitely NOT one of those type-A super list-ladies. It gives us a framework to work off of and something to fall back on.
I plan my meals, too! I do not know how I would function if I did not do this. Or at least, I do not know how we would eat anything other than sandwiches. I shop for pretty much everything once per week. Costco is once per month or so, Trader Joe's is as neeeded.
My strategy for cooking is to cook during the day, while my two-year-old naps. Most meals are fine if cooked a couple hours ahead. Then I can take my kids to their activities or whatever when they get home from school.
Fancier, more time-sensitive dinners are saved for the weekend.
Don't really know why I felt the urge to share this ... but we do eat *fairly* healthy, varied meals, though I have yet to reach Catherine Level.
Catching up here on the past few posts and there is so much to love. Tiny heart-shaped pickled beets! You and your marriage expetise! Daikon that dwarfs a whale’s dildo! Perhaps my favorite thing, though, is that you also say that things (beans, for example) are 'tinned' instead of 'canned' - my mother is British too, and I sometimes find myself asking my husband if such-and-such is a phrase that Americans know, to which the answer is usually no and comes with an amused shaking of his head because I AM AMERICAN. But there's a certain kind of bilingual-ness that happens when the second language is actually English also, just with vastly different slang. Makes it hard to remember which is which sometimes. Though that might just be me.
To javajennifer above, I say not creepy at all. Catherine's readers are good and smart people, it really does always seem, doesn't it? And thanks to Erin K for the excellent grocery organizing inspiration. I need to get a system going in our house...
Catherine I just started a blog on here (I'm not fishing for a read promise lol) and I don't know why it won't let me have anonymous comments. My choices end at OpenID. Any clue as to what I can do to enable it??
I also would love to buy your cookbook- but it must remain in your trademark style of familiar rambling (meant in a nice way) stories, tidbits and photos as well as your very endearing way of editorializing the logistics and the method of the recipe. Do you have a publisher that would agree to such a format? : )I love everything you post even after I cook it and must leave out something important I cannot find because alas, no TJ's or Whole Foods in any driveable radius.
Blogger does allow you to create nested comments now. Not sure how, but I'll be looking into it one of these days.
ReplyDeleteOh-ho, Wendy!!! You mean LIKE THIS??? Thanks for the tip. It was easy.
DeleteI can even reply to myself. V. Sybil!
DeleteThat is indeed nifty, thanks Wendy!! Who knew! Do we have to do anything special to have this? wow...
DeleteToo funny Catherine! BTW I loved Bel Canto...even survived the ending.
ReplyDeleteWasn't it so good? I know.
DeleteYes, except that no one dies overnight from lack of insulin. That part bugged me but otherwise, loved this book. Rules of Civility is one I'm recommending all over the place these days.
DeleteSeconding Rules of Civility. Be prepared to crave gin.
DeleteHey, will you do another books list? Maybe even like a category- Best Nonfiction, Best Fluffy, Best Cookbook, etc? I always get great ideas from your readers (and you!)
ReplyDeleteI will!
DeleteI've been reading Catherine for years (since BabyCenter days) and I rarely comment but I read every week, and even read all the comments (sorry if that's creepy). I write a blog simply to keep track of all the books I read (a lot) and I weigh in with my own personal response to the book and opinion of how it was written. If you wonder about my credentials to do so, I really don't have any, but I teach writing classes at our local community college and university. Plus, I've been reading almost my whole life :)
Deletewww.spotofink.com
I read Bel Canto too. Really great. Crazy ending! It made me look up the real event that inspired the novel.
ReplyDeleteHi! Since you've been answering readers' questions, I thought I might put one out there: How much time would you say your spend per week on cooking/grocery shopping? I am inspired by your healthy meals for your family, but, without being too nosy, would like to know how you handle the rest of "life." I know you've mentioned Ben playing the piano and Birdy taking karate, but do your kids run to after-school activities every day? Do you work full-time on your writing assignments or mainly do that while they're in school? As someone who struggles with these things, it would be nice to get a sort of breakdown from you, without it being, "At 8am, I have a cup of tea and then pee." Do you know what I mean?
ReplyDeleteHi NL. I'm really not sure. I tend to work from 8:45 to 2:45, solid, until I get the kids. Then often from 3:15 until 5 or so, depending on what everyone else is doing and how swamped I am (I used to work after they went to bed too, but now Ben goes to bed after me). Then I drink beer and cook. Ben just has piano; Birdy just has karate. I cook for anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour on an average day, but it might be longer if we have people coming over and/or it's the weekend. Ben cooks dinner once a week or so. Shopping: we get milk delivered; I pick up the farm share every other week; I probably shop Trader Joe's/Whole Foods on average once or twice a week. Does that help?
DeleteHi NL - that was a great question! - and not that you asked me at all but I wanted to share something that totally changed the dinner chaos of our lives - for the better - even though I fought it tooth and nail at first. (personal stats= 2 elementary-school age kids, cub scouts, tues-sat - get home from work @6)
DeleteIn my kitchen I have a dry erase calendar with big enough squares that we can fill in events and then at some point on Sunday or Monday (my days off)we fill out the week's dinner plan - it was a little hard to get into the habit but now if for some reason we don't have it written down is like getting into the car w/o a seat-belt - I feel like I'm floating - we don't even always stick to the plan and we usually end up switching some days around, but something about having it written down for all to see in the first place makes all the difference. AND this leads into my second 18 inch square blank dry erase board that is next to the calendar. On this one I have headings for our regular stores: TJ's, WF, Ralphs, Nigia (local Japanese market), Costco, Target - and I keep running lists - its so easy to erase and add as needed - make the grocery list while we do the week, adding Clorox wipes as I use the last one on the cat puke - and then I just snap a photo of the whole board with my phone when we go to the store. I love these two items and I am most definitely NOT one of those type-A super list-ladies. It gives us a framework to work off of and something to fall back on.
I plan my meals, too! I do not know how I would function if I did not do this. Or at least, I do not know how we would eat anything other than sandwiches. I shop for pretty much everything once per week. Costco is once per month or so, Trader Joe's is as neeeded.
DeleteMy strategy for cooking is to cook during the day, while my two-year-old naps. Most meals are fine if cooked a couple hours ahead. Then I can take my kids to their activities or whatever when they get home from school.
Fancier, more time-sensitive dinners are saved for the weekend.
Don't really know why I felt the urge to share this ... but we do eat *fairly* healthy, varied meals, though I have yet to reach Catherine Level.
Catching up here on the past few posts and there is so much to love. Tiny heart-shaped pickled beets! You and your marriage expetise! Daikon that dwarfs a whale’s dildo! Perhaps my favorite thing, though, is that you also say that things (beans, for example) are 'tinned' instead of 'canned' - my mother is British too, and I sometimes find myself asking my husband if such-and-such is a phrase that Americans know, to which the answer is usually no and comes with an amused shaking of his head because I AM AMERICAN. But there's a certain kind of bilingual-ness that happens when the second language is actually English also, just with vastly different slang. Makes it hard to remember which is which sometimes. Though that might just be me.
ReplyDeleteTo javajennifer above, I say not creepy at all. Catherine's readers are good and smart people, it really does always seem, doesn't it? And thanks to Erin K for the excellent grocery organizing inspiration. I need to get a system going in our house...
Catherine I just started a blog on here (I'm not fishing for a read promise lol) and I don't know why it won't let me have anonymous comments. My choices end at OpenID. Any clue as to what I can do to enable it??
ReplyDeleteCatherine, I love you immoderately. Will you please or are you already writing a cookbook?
ReplyDeleteI also would love to buy your cookbook- but it must remain in your trademark style of familiar rambling (meant in a nice way) stories, tidbits and photos as well as your very endearing way of editorializing the logistics and the method of the recipe. Do you have a publisher that would agree to such a format? : )I love everything you post even after I cook it and must leave out something important I cannot find because alas, no TJ's or Whole Foods in any driveable radius.
ReplyDelete