Weekly Wrap

This week has kind of blown by!  I guess I should mention what I've been up to.  I've had such a lovely week.
 
This past Saturday I got to spent the day with my lovely future sister-in-law!  I took the day off to play in the city with her.  It was such a blast.  I picked her up from the Broadway show she is working with (Anything Goes) and she showed me the backstage area - think dressing rooms with door plates, fancy wigs, a room full of washing machines, golden costumes. It was incredible.  What was even cooler though was returning that night to pick up her overnight bag during the show!  Eek!  How fun to hear the intercom calling places and see the scurry of actors in their finery.  Wow.  And they were all so nice, even! 

Rachel and I did lots of shopping on Saturday - we thrifted, went to some vintage stores, and even popped into Anthropologie and Madewell.  But the main event was going for high tea at the Russian Tea Room, something that has been on my New York list for forever.  We had so much fun.  Rachel had her first taste of escargot (she was not pleased) and we feasted on tea cakes, chamomile and oolong tea.  I think my favorite thing was the scones.  The food wasn't exquisite or anything, but the scones were very tasty and soft.  (I loathe hard scones.)  The best part of the Tea Room is by far the ambiance.  It was gorgeous.  And so very strange!  We loved the cushy red leather booths and gold gilded everything.  And they also let us see the upstairs private room with the giant bear-shaped aquarium (bizarre) with the orange fish and the huge golden tree with the lit-up Faberge eggs.  And did I mention that Madonna once-upon-a-time worked the coat check here?!?  Click on the pictures below to see them larger - there is a lot of detail! 

The next day, Andy and Rachel babysat the boys so we could go out after I got off work.  We'd planned on going to see the Hunger Games because we both loved the books so much.  Mr. T also told me to dress up a bit because he was going to take me to a fancy restaurant.  Yippee!  We never get to go out so I was thrilled just to get to see the movie with him, but imagine my surprise when he took me to Red Rooster!!!  Red Rooster is Chef Marcus Samuelsson's restaurant in Harlem.  Being the Top Chef fan, this restaurant has been on my touristy list for a long time as well.  Tim spent 3 weeks of calling to get reservations here.  Three weeks.  And he only got a spot because someone canceled.  Crazy.  And yes, the food IS THAT GOOD.

We had an appetizer of cornbread with honey butter and tomato jam (so good... I think it had lingonberries in the tomato jam to make it sweet).  And for entrees, Mr. T ordered a "fried yard bird" which was quite tasty and I had the "mac and greens" which ended up being the BEST mac and cheese I have ever had, with gouda, comte, and NY cheddar cheeses.  Oh lordy.  And the "greens" was a tasty little salad with pearl onions.  Now, I freaking HATE onions, but I ate one of these thinking it was some type of melon or tomato or something Japanese.  I quite liked the taste, even AFTER I found out what I had eaten!  Anyone who can get me to eat an onion and enjoy it must be a culinary genius.  And dessert was a malted chocolate tart with red velvet ice cream, peanut brittle, and a sorrel reduction.  It was good, but we got the sweet potato doughnuts to go for breakfast the next morning and those were AMAZING.  What a treat.  (And Hunger Games was pretty awesome, too.)

As for the rest of the week, the boys have been pretty good.  We've been taking them outdoors to air them (and us) out after being cooped up all winter long.  It's been hard with just the one vehicle... this momma has been trapped in a birdcage apartment with two wiggly boys all winter.  I'm so thankful for sunny days.  Anyway, Oscar has been cracking us up with his daily vehicle talk - today he was a "brown limousine car with a shiny grill" and Charlie has been putting us in stitches when he pouts.  He does the "downward facing dog" yoga pose when he knows he has done something naughty or when he doesn't get his way.  It is absolutely hilarious.

This is Charlie angry about the safari hat not staying on his head.  Oh, to be one again.  I wish my problems were so easily fixed!

And finally (shew! this is a long stinking post, eh?), I want to leave you with a picture of my latest book club snack.  I did Jack Plank Tells Tales by Babbit and found this cute cookie idea on Pinterest.  They turned out pretty good.  It's a tricorne pirate hat chocolate shortbread kind of cookie with a mini Reese's PB cup baked inside.  Yum. 

My Book Groups

I host two book groups once a month at my library. I have a 3rd grade group and a 4th grade one too. I have to admit, I get kinda attached to my kids even though I pretty much only see them once a month. I can't help it! It's just that I invest a lot of time and energy into the groups and I think the kids really respond to that. I'd do anything for my kiddos.

Anyway, it's a new year and a new group (at least the 3rd graders are newbies). We started this year with a combined 3rd and 4th grade group and started with The Spiderwick Chronicles by DiTerlizzi. It's a great little book, full of fantastic creatures and family issues - definitely made for a lively discussion! Turns out that some of my 3rd graders didn't know what divorce was. Yes, you read that right. I got to explain to a group of 25 kids what divorce is. (The parents' divorce happens prior to the book, but it provides the catalyst to the character and behavior of the central protagonist.) I absolutely wasn't expecting to have to explain divorce to a group of 7, 8, and 9 year olds! That kind of took me by surprise. But it turned out to be a good thing though. We had a great talk about how to be supportive of a friend if they ever have to go through something like that and how it's never the kid's fault in the situation and all that. It was intense. But I feel that reading fiction is one of the best (and safest!) ways to learn about rough stuff like that, especially within the safety net of a supportive book group. It was neat to see the kids share with each other what they know about divorce and how it has affected some of their lives.

I also had a pretty cute snack for them. I think that may be my favorite creative aspect of the group - coming up with something themed that they can look forward to. Some of my kiddos actually read the book of the month with my snack in mind! I always keep it hidden until the very end of the meeting, then see what their guesses are as to what I baked for them. They always come up with C.R.A.Z.Y. things. Well, I made "bogart brownies" for them this time. In the story, there is this creature called a bogart, which is a "brownie" turned bad. (A brownie is like a helpful little house elf.) I covered the brownies in powdered sugar and left little footprints all over them. (That is how you catch a bogart - by spreading flour or powdered sugar across the floor and tracking their footprints.) Here is what my "bogart brownies" looked like! Not an amazing picture of the chocolaty goodness, but it was a nasty rainy day and that is all I got that's worth showing.

I met with my 3rd graders this past Monday for their second book group (I'm so far behind in posting) and this time we read How to Be a Perfect Person In Just Three Days by Manes. This is an oldie but a goodie! If you've never read it, it is worth a few hours and some chuckles. The main character in this story finds a book that promises him perfection if he follows the directions in the book for three days straight. He has three different tasks, one a day, and once he completes them the author promises he will become perfect. I think if I had read this book back in the day, it would have rivaled one of my other favorites - Freckle Juice. Anyway, the first task is wearing a stalk of broccoli around his neck for the whole day. You'll have to read the book if you want to know why he had to do this. But broccoli inspired my snack. Here is what I served them.

Hilarious, right? The broccoli stem is a green tootsie roll cut lengthwise halfway down. I put a bit of green frosting at the two tips and dipped them in green nerds (for the florets). They tasted great! I got the idea for the broccoli from the incredible book What's New, Cupcake! by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson. The kids were completely enthralled!

A Recipe Rarity!

I know that I NEVER post recipes. It's because I seldom find myself in the kitchen. It's the truth. I loathe cooking. It always seems like such a waste of time to me. It's like, "Gee thanks - I've spent all day slaving away, cooking this dinner for you, and you've just wolfed it down and already forgotten about it." So discouraging. Baking, on the other hand, is something that I will do. I will actually take the time to bake something memorable. (The key word here is "memorable.") If it isn't something worth stopping and saying "Whoa!" then it isn't worth the time to me. I know this is a terrible attitude to take with food, but I have always been the type to eat for survival and not necessarily enjoyment. I honestly could live off of instant mashed potatoes and cold cereal, with an occasional frozen pizza. (Don't worry Mom - Oscar eats better and healthier than I do. Don't send the authorities out on me.)

That being said, I do really enjoy fixing spectacular treats for my kids in my two book groups. It is kind of an ego boost when the kids run in and try to speculate on what I've brought in for the night. I usually try to theme the snack to the book we've completed, which makes it even more special for the kids as they try to guess what it is. Some of the kids tell me that while they are reading the book, they make notes of any food references in the story just so that they have some clues. Now that is wild, right?!? I love these kids.

Well, in one of my latest group meetings, we read the book From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg. And in it there are not many food references, other than at one point, a character named Jamie finds a chocolate bar. Not much to go on. I did happen to have this recipe that my mother-in-law gave me for toffee bars that ended up being PERFECT! It has melted Hershey chocolate bars on top (which you are supposed to smooth out while they melt, but I wanted the kids to know it was covered in chocolate bars, so I left it aux naturale). Anyway, here is the recipe! I gotta say it was a HUGE hit with the kids. One of my little fellas looked up at me with his big brown eyes and said "Mrs. Suzy, are you a cook?" Oh man. Really, I love these kids.

Super Easy Toffee Bars

Ingredients: graham crackers, 2 sticks of butter, 9 Hershey bars, 1 cup of brown sugar, and 1 cup of chopped pecans

Take a 9x13 pan and butter it (oh yeah). Then put a layer of graham crackers all along the bottom of the pan. In a double boiler, melt the sugar and butter. Stir until melted and add the pecans to the mix. Boil until "soft ball" stage. Then pour the mix evenly over the crackers and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. (While you're waiting, unwrap your chocolate bars for easy access.) Pull out and place the chocolate bars on top. Let them melt and spread evenly.

Easy peesy. Then cut them up and wait for the applause.

Castle in the Attic

Well, I haven't posted anything in a while about my little reading groups, and that is a shame. I had one last night - my third graders - and we had such a nice time! I have to admit, I was somewhat worried about last night because some of the older and "wiser" librarians suggested that my book choice was off and that The Castle in the Attic is really better suited for fourth graders. But you know, honestly, I don't know why I even bother to listen to them. It seems like the books that they frown upon always seem to make for the best discussions! And really, my book groups are flourishing. I even had to split my one group up to make two. (So why do I let people who think they know better have so much power over me?!? I digress...)

The book we talked about last night is a classic - The Castle in the Attic. This was one of my husbands favorite books growing up. It has the same feel as Indian in the Cupboard but with a whole medieval vibe. It also has more of a "believe in yourself" kind of theme to it, too (which is kind of funny, considering how I let myself be bullied last night). The basic summary is something like a young boy is given a toy castle, as a parting gift from his nanny. The castle is unique in that it is made of stone and has all sorts of moving parts. He is also given a lead knight who comes to life when the boy touches him. There is an evil magician, a quest, a lady, a dragon, and a whole bunch of chivalry that follows. There are even some worthwhile quotes, like this one: "The weapons that you need to fight the battle are inside your own heart." and "You must find your own way through the forest, William... in this world and our old one." Nice, huh? Definitely worth a read.

Here are some pics of the cupcakes I brought the kids, too, just to make you wish you were in third grade. They were chocolate marble cupcakes (the light and dark to symbolize the good vs. evil) topped with a few plastic knights. They were a big hit.

Ragweed

I'd like to start blogging more frequently. It's just when I sit down to do it, I think of all the way cool things I've just read on my RSS feed (Google Reader is either a wonder or it is my bane...). Anyway, I sit down to post and I feel like I really have nothing to add. So I've been thinking about something that is unique to me, something that I do that you probably wouldn't read on any of the cool crafty-mom network of blogs, something that I could contribute. And I think I've come up with a solution. I'm gonna do a by-weekly post on my little book clubs and the funky themed snacks I bring! (As long as the book and snack is worthy of writing about and as long as I have the drive to keep at it, that is.) It's something that I have a fabulous time doing, plus I always put a lot of research into it, so who knows? It may be helpful to someone else doing a book club. Hope you think it is a fun as I do!

So, I host two book groups at a local library - a third grade club and a fourth grade one, too. (They used to be combined, but it just got too big - like 28 kids at a time, big. SCARY.) I do one every two weeks, so that I don't lose my mind.

My last group was this past Monday, the fourth graders, and the book we read was Ragweed by Avi. It's the prequel to the famous Poppy series and is a cute little story about a country mouse who leaves the nest and goes to the city. (I can identify with him!) This story starts off a bit slow, but eventually you get introduced to a funky green-haired skateboarding chick mouse named Clutch, and the party begins. The evil villain is a fat white cat who wants things to "return to the good ole days" and has plans to exterminate the rodent problem in her city. Well, la dee-da! This is a decent read for fourth graders; they all seemed to enjoy it once they got into it. Who doesn't enjoy skateboarding mice that play in a rock band?!?

Onto the snack... This is a big part of the fun. I always try to made something wonky for them as a special reward for reading the book and for coming. It's kinda a big deal and it seems to make their day, too. At my last group, we read The Chocolate Touch and I made some chocolate-covered bananas and some fudge. One boy was biting into his banana and he gasped and looked at me and said, "Amazing." I think I almost cried. Let's get one thing straight about me, NOBODY ever says that about my cooking. This is why I go overboard for these kids. They make me feel like a million bucks.

And so, without further ado, here is what I served my fourth graders. They went nuts. I didn't have any leftovers. Not even cheese. The mice are peanut butter cookies with M&M ears, tiny semi-sweet morsel eyes, and candy sprinkle noses with licorice tails. I got the recipe here and if I was to make them again, I'd want to think of ways to maybe make them somehow creamier. (To any of you seasoned cooks out there, any suggestions?) Otherwise, they turned out pretty decent. Here's to another success.