so after his bath last night, i pounced. he hated every nanosecond of it. steven had to hold him in all sorts of contorted ways as i chopped away. thank whatever dieties oversee head cover, d-man’s curls are quite forgiving, and i know the only reason he doesn’t look like a dickens waif or a cast member of papillon, is because of them.

d-man did lighten up when we brought out the magical tape roller. he took over all clean up detail.

then there is the morning after … would we still be friends? would there be any awkwardness? any hard feelings? the answers: yes, yes, and … yes. the “big d” is pretty certain he does not like his hair messed with by his mommy.

]]> http://didionville.com/2009/08/02/no-exit-d-man-gets-a-haircut-from-his-mommy/feed/ 6 didionsmommy bye-bye_curls 1st_mommy_cut still_a_wee-bit_damp cleaning_up1 cleaning_up2 cleaning_up3 day_after1 day_after2 day_after3 day_after4 day_after5 day_after6 http://didionville.com/2009/08/02/d-man-gets-a-new-crib/ http://didionville.com/2009/08/02/d-man-gets-a-new-crib/#comments Sun, 02 Aug 2009 14:22:01 +0000 didionsmommy http://didionville.com/?p=1748 ]]> on tuesday, last week, d-man and i hauled our cookies down to paramus, new jersey, to the nearest (67 mi!!!) ikea. over the weekend, i decided i wanted my son to have a real kid’s room, instead of a guest room (replete with sofa bed) that happened to have a crib in it.

preparation for the room re-do was wrought with adventure as on monday, deciding i could easily move a three-ton sofa bed all by myself (barefoot and in my pj’s), i conveniently trapped myself in the bathroom, behind the sofa, which was wedged on its end, blocking all of the doorway, except for a tiny sliver of space, through which i could summon my child from downstairs and convince him to retrieve my cell phone so that i could call his daddy at work and ask him to kindly come home to … well, rescue me. i also had to hang out the bathroom window to communicate with my next door neighbor — who by that time had taken d-man to her house for safekeeping — and the electrician who arrived just before steven and thought all he would have to do is fix the outdoor outlet that shorted out and caught fire a week prior … silly man … it could NEVER be THAT easy at our house.

but i digress … here is the new room!

here is something auntie buffy will dig mucho:

beatles and frogs! what more does a little guy need?! here are more shots:

the flaming lips (with stardeath and white dwarfs — wayne coyne’s nephew dennis’s band) cover madonna’s “borderline”. of course, it rocks. it’s been out for awhile, but how am i supposed to know? if it ain’t on pbs kids, then i don’t see it. thankfully, my friend tom ford posted it to facebook, and now i do not have to live a life of denial and want!

didion LOVES this video and song. he was totally hypnotized while eating his cereal this morning.

(and steven drozd looks great in the video, which is a comfort not just because it means more flaming lips but also because it means recovery and redemption and rebirth are real. who else looks great in the video: wayne coyne. duh! momma loves her some wayne coyne all. the. time.)

• 2 medium artichokes (trim the end of the stem; remove the layers of the toughest outer leaves; trim the thorny tops of remaining leaves; cut into quarters; scoop out fuzzy choke just above the heart with a small spoon, but be careful not to destroy the structure of the veggie)
• 2-3 cups of green cabbage (rough chopped)
• 1 medium (white or yellow) onion cut into thin-to-medium slices
• juice of two lemons (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tbsp each kosher salt and fresh-ground pepper

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. combine lemon juice, olive oil, and water in a bowl. put artichokes, onion, and cabbage in medium-to-large dutch oven. pour juice/oil/water mixture over ‘chokes, etc. toss. add salt and pepper. toss again.
3. cover dutch oven with aluminum foil. put lid on top of foil. (we are super-sealing the pot.)
4. put pot in oven and leave it alone for 45 minutes or so.
5. serve four easily as a side, or two as a green-veg entree. make sure to add some cooking liquid to each plate, and check salt/pepper levels. you might want to add a little more of each after cooking.

YUM!

BUT there is a cure!

slow roasting tomatoes has long been a secret weapon against mealiness. (tomatoes are another fruit that, while lacking pits, are often heartbreakingly tasteless — all year round — from the grocery store.)

yesterday, we had to move it or lose it on tomatoes and fruit i had bought earlier in the week. i had white peaches, a mango, and a couple of tomatoes that needed immediate attention. to be fair, i got lucky on the peaches and the mango. they were pretty tasty, but i figured i could maximize taste if i roasted them with the tomatoes. the result was fan-freaking-tastic.

here’s a quickie (if you ignore the 3-1/2 hours of oven time) way to make mega-yummy fruit to spread onto sandwiches or serve chilled as a delicate side …

slow-roasted fruit

• 2-3 medium tomatoes (who cares what variety?! use a whole container of cherry tomatoes, cut in half, if you want), sliced fairly thick
• 3 peaches (that aren’t rock hard), pitted and sliced into 6-8 wedges
• 1 mango (the riper the fruit, the greater the yield versus pit size. i used a pretty ripe mango.) similarly sliced into relatively thick wedges/strips
• 4-5 garlic cloves (unpeeled)
• kosher salt & fresh ground pepper (and other dried herbs, if you wish: thyme, tarragon, rosemary) to taste
• olive oil for drizzling
• remember: you can use whatever combination of stone fruits you want

1. on a parchment-lined (very important for easy removal of all yumminess) jelly-roll or cookie sheet, scatter the tomatoes, garlic, and other fruit. make sure to mix it up, so that tomatoes are next to mangos are next to peaches, and make sure the garlic cloves are evenly distributed. also, make sure to dump whatever juices are left over from cutting everything up onto the pan.
2. season the slices with the salt, pepper, etc., but remember: slow roasting is going to evaporate the water in the fruit, highly condensing the sugars (flavors) … so a little salt, etc. goes a long way.
3. lightly drizzle the slices with olive oil. (again, a little goes a long way. go easy!)
4. stick the sheet in a preheated oven (225-degrees … if necessary, you can go to 250, but watch the slices after 2-1/2 hours).
5. leave the whole thing alone for 3-1/2 to 4 hours. you are looking for shriveling and carmelization. there should be no liquid bubbling on the parchment.

so what to do with all of the deliciousness that abounds?

yesterday, we made a gourmet play on BLTs:

1. after removing the fruit from the oven, crank up the temperature to 425 degrees. transfer the fruit to a plate and let sit. (make sure you get all of the carmelized pieces of juice, etc. off the parchment.) line the jelly-roll pan (gotta have something with edges all around) with foil and place a cooling rack on it. lay bacon strips (1 lb) on rack in pan. put the whole thing in oven and cook bacon to desired doneness. (personally, i have to have mega-crispy bacon. it’s in the oven for at least 20 minutes.) the benefits to doing bacon in the oven include (1) no grease splattering, and (2) no shriveling.
2. cut open a couple of sandwich rolls (we have really tasty rosemary focaccia rolls.) and drizzle open sides with olive oil. in the last 10 minutes of bacon-cook time, put rolls in the oven to toast.
3. remove rolls and bacon from oven. cut open an avocado and spread on toasted rolls. evenly distribute the fruit and bacon on the bread. squeeze the garlic cloves evenly on same. add thin slices of fresh mozzarella or thin layers of fromage blanc.

you can serve these open faced for four, or close them up as single sandwiches for two. you can also cut the rolls up in large-canape-size pieces before toasting and serve them as appetizers.

you can also forgo the bacon entirely. use grilled chicken instead. or go entirely meatless. add roasted cashews or almonds. (if you have unroasted nuts, throw some on the pan with the fruit.)

OR do bacon, chicken, AND nuts … who cares?!

you will NOT be disappointed no matter what variation!

(eventually, i am going to have to get d-man a real haircut. he is destined to look like sideshow bob.)

i make a really yummy dressing with the honey cream. here’s the recipe:

• a couple of heaping tablespoons of honey cream
• whip the cream in a bowl (with a fork — keep it simple) to make it easier to incorporate with the vinegar …
• slowly add an equal amount of balsamic vinegar to the cream. the honey is so beautiful, it will actually become pearlescent in the balsamic … once that is incorporated, taste it … if you want more balsamic flavor, add more … more honey flavor? add more honey … this is a super-chill “recipe” …
• add kosher salt (it won’t dissolve; it doesn’t dissolve in cold stuff, but don’t worry — use table salt if this bugs you) and fresh-ground pepper to taste. you can also throw in pinches of dry herbs — thyme or tarragon, for instance. you can also add fresh lemon juice and a little lemon pulp, but if you do that, cut down on the balsamic so you don’t get too runny …

i have used this dressing on all sorts of salads. it is especially good on arugula, which — when good — is so peppery and strong that is stands up tastily to the sweet of the honey. the dressing is also a really nice glaze for chicken breasts. (cook chicken breasts on the stovetop and pour dressing on top in the last minutes of cooking to make a nice mahogany-colored glaze.)

i have also slowly added sour cream to the dressing to boost creamy consistency for coleslaw.

here are a salad and coleslaw recipe we’ve been munching on this summer:

*** *** *** *** ***

arugula/strawberry salad (about 4 servings)

• one nice-sized bunch of arugula — if the arugula is too potent for you, use a mix of arugula and romaine — roungh chopped
• one dozen or so medium-sized strawberries … the darker the berry, the better … sliced lengthwise … you should get about four or five slices per strawberry.
• 1/2 cup or so of jicama … peeled and cut into a large julienne
• 2 medium-large green onions … fine chop … use all of them (green and white)
• 1/4 cup or so of sliced almonds

i’ve also thrown in blueberries, dried apricots, cucumber … whatever’s around. it’s a salad. it’s summer. relax.

*** *** *** *** ***

coleslaw (8-10 servings)

• 2 cups each of green and red cabbage — chopped, shredded, or however you like it cut up …
• 4 medium-large green onions (chop the whole things)
• 1 medium yellow summer squash, julienned
• 3 large carrots, shredded
• 1/2 cup or so of rough-chopped cashews
• sour cream version of the dressing (see above)

yum!

*** *** *** *** ***

so we blew through the bee natural honey cream lickety-split, BUT i found a honey i like EVEN BETTER. remsburger maple farm & apiary cold-extracted native wildflower honey ROCKS MY WORLD! for hudson valley locals, you can get it at adams … everyone else: go here or call 845.635.9168.