Potatoes in the Mist

Well, I got E some French teething biscuits at Whole Foods, and he loves them. The package features a picture of a baby gazing at a biscuit as if it contains the answer to age-old mysteries. The little blurb on the package practically suggests that you try one yourself. Maybe I will (just kidding). They look pretty hard. While we were in the store, some song by Squeeze was playing and E danced a little to it, tapping his stroller in time to the beat. A guy who was sitting on the floor, drilling or something, made friends with him. I mentioned that he was teething and the guy said, "Yeah! When my kids were teething, we took the milk we were feeding them - soy or whatever - and mixed anisette in. It works!" I explained that I was still nursing, and he said, "Then you pump and mix the anisette in! It works!" He was really enthusiastic. I'm not sure. Maybe I'll stick to Tylenol?

It is here. It is strong. For a while, after I gave birth, I looked at pregnant women and thought, "Thank God that's not me." The last month of my pregnancy was very hard for me. I had put on so much weight that it was hard to walk (though I had to, since this is NYC and we have no car, and strangers admonished me not to use the subway - I think they thought I would pop at any moment, and their fear was contagious) and I was often short of breath. I'll never forget when, a few days before giving birth, I was walking along and my hat fell off. The distance to the ground was daunting. I couldn't bend over because of my huge belly and I was staring at the hat, trying to figure out how to get to it with minimum sturm und drang. Then this tall, willowy blond creature passed me and elegantly dipped to the ground to retrieve it. I was grateful, but couldn't help feeling like a barge. Anyway, I now look at pregnant women the way I used to, with a mixture of envy and a...

Part of me wants to see the world (or at least part of it). I'd like to go to Greece, Australia, Hawaii. I've already been to France, Italy, England, Ireland, Bahamas, Canada, California, Florida, etc. I have no interest in going to China, India or Africa. This weekend I'm going to DC to see the pandas, cherry blossoms and a certain blogger mommy and baby. But I find myself discomfited because they probably don't have the yogurt I like in DC. It's called Wallaby. It's probably no accident that The Accidental Tourist is one of my favorite books. It's about a guy who writes travel books that let people believe they never left home. Update: It looks like the weather in DC this weekend will not be conducive to panda viewing or any outdoor activity...so we'll go later. Oh well. On the plus side, a beautiful baby slept for seven hours straight...

So today E and I got out and enjoyed the beautiful weather. After a vegan panini (smoked tofu, sundried tomatoes and pesto) on ciabatta bread, followed by a vegan cupcake, we headed to the Union Square Barnes & Noble. This is my favorite bookstore in the city (probably), although the Strand has its own charms (half-priced reviewers' copies, often available before they've hit the shelves in other stores). The Union Square B&N has multiple levels and the most extensive cookbook section I've seen. They have a children's floor, but the secluded bench in the cookbook section is actually better for nursing. I was a little alarmed because the woman who used the bathroom stall before me seemed to have the croup. She kept blowing her nose and it was bright red. WHY DON'T SICK PEOPLE STAY HOME? Anyway, after using the stall after her, I rolled my sleeves up and soaped my hands vigorously. A non-sick woman, after seeing me do this, did the same. Maybe she figured I kne...

Today was a nice, lazy weekend day. D and I went to our favorite diner, which has really cool art deco decor and a fun menu. I had a tofu/vegetable stir-fry (billed as "New York Meets Hong Kong"), followed by a carrot cake cupcake with cream cheese frosting from Billy's Bakery. The cupcake was tres petit and thus not guilt-inducing. Our Saturday sitter came and instead of going out and doing something productive, I thought, why not lie down and read? So I rested and read Cutting Loose by Nadine Dajani. It was fun and mindless and will pass the time until the next Adriana Trigiani book arrives at the library. What did you do today?

So lately, I've been a bottomless pit. I'm not pregnant; maybe it's the 500 calories a day burned up by breastfeeding. Or maybe I was always a bottomless pit (who are we kidding). At any rate, I walked with E to the vegan cupcake place, had one with a golden base and white icing, walked back home, peeled a mango and ate it. It was all delicious. I took a brief stop on the way home at a park, because E was sleeping. I have a favorite bench in the park; the sun falls on it in a certain way. A man we know with a small, fluffy orange dog walked by and said how he's getting older. He feels like the guy in Sanford & Son, all stiff when he wakes up. I've never actually seen the show. E slept through the whole thing. We also tried to go to a preschool in our neighborhood. It has a garden and everything. However, I was looking between the wrong 2 avenues. We're paying a formal visit in April. (Yes, I know it might seem early, but I live in NYC, where some parents wri...

So D, our friend J, and I (plus E!) spotted Malcolm Gladwell today. He had his trademark 'fro and a laptop computer. He was eating at the same place where I had lunch with the babies not long ago. They have the best cupcakes in town. I don't know if Malcolm knows that or not. There was some debate about whether it was actually Malcolm, but J was decisive. "It's him," he said. "Very distinctive." Plus, J mentioned honor wars, and I asked him what they were, and Malcolm heard me and his head swiveled. Apparently it's a concept from his books - in the past, Swiss people fought to keep their sheep or something, because their sheep were the best. Or something like that. I've never read MG, but do know what he looks like. Another distinctive-looking author was John Updike, whom I've also met (when I worked at a movie theater in Massachusetts during the summer, back in college, and John came in to see Tin Cup, a golf movie starring Renee Russo).

So we tried out a new babysitter today during lunchtime, and had a bite to eat at a place where we can't bring E. It's vegan, but a little formal. We both had the portobello ciabatta (portobello, red onion, and bell peppers with vegan cheese and vegan mayo on nice chunky ciabatta bread). Then we shared a piece of cheesecake (made with tofu, of course) drizzled with strawberry sauce with a fresh strawberry on the side. It was delicious. Caro did a post about grocery prices and I realized belatedly that our local store's costs have been creeping up. In fact, Whole Paycheck is now cheaper (as long as you get conventional instead of organic most of the time, and 365 Brand canned goods). Their produce is better, as well as cheaper, so it's a no-brainer. I'm trying to go during off-hours. And the conventional bananas are actually better than the organic - not as soft, and they don't go bad as quickly. I know - pesticides doing their work. But it has a protective peel,...

I love this: The Pink Teacup on Grove Street has the best coconut cake in the city. Made from scratch, it's a yellow cake so moist, for a moment it seems like it may not have cooked through. The batter is full of tiny pineapple chips, and the icing is butter cream whipped so light that the coconut curls sink into it. (from Lucia, Lucia by Adriana Trigiani) I am coming around on Adriana Trigiani. I resisted the whole Big Stone Gap phenomenon. But this book (from the library) is lovely. Can't you taste that coconut cake?

I just made a vegan pot pie. It's excellent. The crust has margarine in it instead of butter, but actually tastes better. It's from this cookbook by Sarah Kramer that I've been loving for a while - La Dolce Vegan. I still wouldn't "present" as a vegan (I have the occasional yogurt or macaroon, which has egg whites in it) but I feel better when I'm eating less dairy. Of course, when I was pregnant, I was the Dairy Queen. I think it's more important to have oodles of calcium when you're preggers. With E and movement, it's the calm before the storm. From sitting, he rocks forward onto all fours and he's - almost - so close! - to pushing off. You can feel his frustration and desire to move. He can also pull up to standing or almost-standing, using the side of his crib (until we lowered the mattress) or the bedrail. I'm reading Sleepwalking in Daylight by Elizabeth Flock. It's a bit darker than my usual picks, but I'm enjoying it. Sh...