Aside from the Gourmet Cookbook, Mario Batali's Molto Italiano is the most used - in terms of recipes tried - cookbook in our collection. We must have cooked more than 20 meals using the cookbook since we acquired it last December. Some pages are already stained with grease marks. So far, except for or perhaps in spite of one outright disaster and two or three dishes we decided were "just ok", the book is a winner.
Our favorite recipes include tagliatelle with sausage, basil and sun-dried tomatoes (Tagliatelle con Salsiccia), "weeds" with sausage (Gramigne con Salsiccia), Pici with Lamb Sauce (Pici col Sugo d'Agnello), Chicken in the style of Canzano (Pollo Canzanese), the devil's chicken (Pollo al Diavolo), and T-bone Fiorentina (Bistecca alla Fiorentina). These are simply fabulous.
The total disaster I mentioned is not even a total disaster in the true sense of the word. The dish - green fettuccine with chicken livers (Fettuccine Verdi ai Fegatini) - probably tasted the way it was intended to taste. The only problem was that neither of us appreciated the sauce that was in-your-face liver. I love liver normally, but that was too much for me even. We'll never try that dish again!
I should add that the Batali could not have meant "two 28 ounche cans whole tomatoes" in his Basic Tomato Sauce, for the resulting sauce is thin and bland, even after more than an hour of simmering (the recipe calls for just about 30 minutes to reduce sauce to a consistency that is "as thick as hot cereal." In fact, it took around five tries before I finally got a sauce that befits Batali's name and I realized that the problem is one too many cans of tomatoes.
We are looking forward to trying the other recipes in the book. It's been fun - and yummy - thus far.
Friday, March 28, 2008
First Happy Hour With Zoe
Our first Happy Hour with Zoe! It was such a good idea. Dennis got home a little earlier than usual today and said, "Honey, instead of going for a walk, what do you think of us going to Del Mar for a drink? We could find some place nice to watch the sunset." Quite naturally, I agreed. We got to Del Mar Plaza in time to snag us one of the last tables to be had at the outdoors area of Il Fornaio. It was quite wonderful. The sun was hanging low on the horizon, the air was cool, and the scene was friendly. Very friendly in fact since there were quite a few parents with babies or young children about. We were not alone. It is a good life where the husband comes home to suggest going out for a nice drink, getting a nice drink (Chardonnay in my case and a beer for Dennis), a beautiful child on our lap and loving looks between us.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Amazing Weekend
It is now Sunday afternoon. Dennis and I are both in the living room, respective computers on our laps, chilling out. A rarity! It's been a great weekend, complete, full and yet not hectic. Yesterday, we took baby out to Anza Borrego Dessert State Park for our first real family hike. We choose the Borrego Palm Canyon trail because it is 1. only three miles in length roundtrip 2. right next to the visitor center and enjoys high traffic, which means it is "safe" 3. supposedly very beautiful right now as Anza Borrego is having a good wild flowers season (after the recent bouts of rain) 4. Dennis hasn't been.
The entire outing was a splendid success. The hike was beautiful and, more importantly, baby did very well. She slept on the way there - which means she got her morning nap - and she took to the backpack carrier very well. In fact, she slept on the trail too (I suppose the motion is very soothing). We did, however, stop twice during the hike up to the oasis (our destination on the Palm Canyon Trail) to feed baby and to give her a break. We also took a nice lunch break under the shade of the palms. It was really quite wonderful. I did not know this before, but Borrego Palm Canyon Trail is a very popular trail. I have never seen so many children on a trail before. I suppose they are there for the same reasons we chose the trail. Incidentally, it is quite spectacular a trail. There in the middle of the dessert is a stream, a full sized gurgling stream wide enough at places for children to go dipping in, and a colony of palms. You have to see it to appreciate it.
We stopped at Santa Ysabel at the Julian Pie Company for Apple Pie. Well, we stopped for Dennis to have his apple pie since neither Zoe and I can have any (no dairy!). Dennis is generally a very happy man. But he was an especially happy man after he had his pie.
Then, today, we took Zoe to Church for her first Easter service. Again, she did well. We did have to leave part way through for a little as she decided to babble loudly. But we returned in time for her to participate in communion. More importantly, she loved absolutely beautiful in her pink dress and hat.
So here we are, back at home. An hour or so has passed since I started writing this post. Zoe has refused to nap and so we finally took her out of her crib for her to play out in the living room. She's missing her nap time, and so will probably end up going to bed by 6 pm today. Early, but it's the weekend.
It's a warm and beautiful day with summer in the air already. I imagine this portends a scorching summer to come. But for now, we have the windows open and it's lovely to hear the birds chirping and the leaves rustling outside.
Friday, March 21, 2008
New Toy - Or Not.
Zoe was entertained by this Disney "It's a Small World" toy yesterday (a gift from our cousin Ryan). She showed great dexterity with her fingers by plugging - or banging - out the little plastic figures and then picking them up with the pincer movement. She wanted the little figures out of the boat! Every time I stuck them back into the boat, she complained very vigorously.
Unfortunately, we decided to remove this great toy from her. Dennis and I wondered this morning about the safety of the toy, which is made in China. We wondered about the paint on the little figures, which she was gnawing on happily, and decided to remove it. It's silly of course, her teethers are all made in China. What's to say those things are non-toxic too?
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Detergent is the Culprit?
Let me start off by saying that I am learning and reading more about eczema than I care to or imagine I would. Until around January, when the occasional redness became chronic and severe outbreaks, I didn't even think much about it. Thinking it was simply induced by dry skin, I bought organic baby soap to replace the Johnson and Johnson body wash and shampoo. I bought expensive organic baby lotion. I applied Aquaphor, as our pediatrician recommended, when the various emollients didn't seem to improve her skin condition. We considered getting a humidifier. Not until around mid February, when Zoe's entire face was covered with angry red bumps and the weekend where she had a bad case of "wet" eczema (where the skin broke and bled), did I begin to research in earnest the causes - and importantly the solutions - to it.
What I found, after consulting with various websites (Kellymom, babycenter, and what have you) and books, is that eczema is a common manifestation of allergy and the common triggers are dairy (specifically cow's milk protein), tree nuts (esp peanuts), shellfish, soy products, eggs and wheat. Voila! I thought. I had started taking dairy again after a hiatus of two months. Previously, I had stopped my dairy intake because baby was throwing up a lot (after around 6 weeks, after I started taking more and more dairy). We read that some babies are sensitive to cow's milk protein when young. I stopped the dairy and so did the throwing up. But I started sneaking dairy again and in greater and greater quantities (in the form of a splash or two of half and half in my coffee in the morning, ice cream, croissant...). As she seemed fine at first, I thought her digestive tract has matured and celebrated by having ice cream in the evenings.
So out went the dairy again. This time I am really strict about it too, which means I read product labels carefully. It's amazing how many food products contain some form of dairy or dairy derivative. I also started applying hydrocortizone cream (1%) to her face, as per the doctor's instructions. But the eczema, albeit in milder form and less frequently, continued to plague her. So I started avoiding the other main categories of allergenic food too. And, for good measure, I now add flaxseed oil to Zoe's solids and rub evening primrose oil onto her belly. I read it in "Boost Your Child's Immune System" that this can be very helpful.
All in all, the measures have helped, but she is still terribly sensitive to a lot of things and there are days where she would have eczema that is seemingly random and unexplainable. The latter, along with the red rashes that would make a showing a couple of times a week, bothers me a lot. For example, her face is a bit splotchy today. She woke up with rather decent skin. By this afternoon, there are spots of red all over.
So, coming back to where I begin, I discovered this website called SolveEczema (http://www.solveeczema.org) two days ago while doing further research on eczema. The main thesis of the authors of website, whose own child suffered from horrendous eczema, is that eczema, or a majority of eczema , is detergent induced. It has a lengthy explanation of how they figured out it was detergent that was causing their son's eczema, the difference between soap and detergent, and a very useful and informative section on all the known causes of eczema as well as a solutions page on eradicating detergent-induced eczema. I have to say this website is probably the best I have seen with regards to eczema (even if one's eczema is not detergent induced).
I'm thinking I would like to explore this possibility further. Zoe's face breaks out even on days where I have not done anything differently (i.e no new food). It seems random and it seems like everything and anything can set it off, which is an indication of detergent induced eczema. That said, since reading the website, and after plenty of reading about detergent and checking the labels on the products I used, I realized that most of the products we use on Zoe contains detergent (even Cetaphil). If detergent is really the cause, you would think her eczema would be worse and more spread out over her body (touchwood!).
Anyhow, I'm probably, with Dennis's agreement and help, going to do the detergent test recommended on the solveeczema website. I don't know which I prefer yet, be this a detergent induced eczema or something else (say the food induced eczema). The former means we have a solution, albeit a difficult to implement solution. Detergent, as it turns out, is pervasive and getting rid of it requires nothing short of a revolution. We would have to replace almost all the products we currently use.
The fact of the matter is that I feel an increasing urgency to find the cause of her eczema. On some days, I wish to be lazy and like to think she will just outgrow it at some point. But I have the sense that if I don't try to eliminate the cause, this can continue to plague her for the rest of her life. As the renowned pediatrician Dr. Brazelton said in "Touchpoints," early detection of the cause is important for prevention of lifelong affliction. (Which is why I feel so guilty about not being strict about my diet early on). I also came across research linking eczema to asthma. Most recently, I read on babycenter.com that, whereas babies and children used to outgrow their allergies, increasingly this is no longer the case. They are outgrowing them later in life and in few numbers.
Well, we'll see. If only, if only we can resolve this before long.
What I found, after consulting with various websites (Kellymom, babycenter, and what have you) and books, is that eczema is a common manifestation of allergy and the common triggers are dairy (specifically cow's milk protein), tree nuts (esp peanuts), shellfish, soy products, eggs and wheat. Voila! I thought. I had started taking dairy again after a hiatus of two months. Previously, I had stopped my dairy intake because baby was throwing up a lot (after around 6 weeks, after I started taking more and more dairy). We read that some babies are sensitive to cow's milk protein when young. I stopped the dairy and so did the throwing up. But I started sneaking dairy again and in greater and greater quantities (in the form of a splash or two of half and half in my coffee in the morning, ice cream, croissant...). As she seemed fine at first, I thought her digestive tract has matured and celebrated by having ice cream in the evenings.
So out went the dairy again. This time I am really strict about it too, which means I read product labels carefully. It's amazing how many food products contain some form of dairy or dairy derivative. I also started applying hydrocortizone cream (1%) to her face, as per the doctor's instructions. But the eczema, albeit in milder form and less frequently, continued to plague her. So I started avoiding the other main categories of allergenic food too. And, for good measure, I now add flaxseed oil to Zoe's solids and rub evening primrose oil onto her belly. I read it in "Boost Your Child's Immune System" that this can be very helpful.
All in all, the measures have helped, but she is still terribly sensitive to a lot of things and there are days where she would have eczema that is seemingly random and unexplainable. The latter, along with the red rashes that would make a showing a couple of times a week, bothers me a lot. For example, her face is a bit splotchy today. She woke up with rather decent skin. By this afternoon, there are spots of red all over.
So, coming back to where I begin, I discovered this website called SolveEczema (http://www.solveeczema.org) two days ago while doing further research on eczema. The main thesis of the authors of website, whose own child suffered from horrendous eczema, is that eczema, or a majority of eczema , is detergent induced. It has a lengthy explanation of how they figured out it was detergent that was causing their son's eczema, the difference between soap and detergent, and a very useful and informative section on all the known causes of eczema as well as a solutions page on eradicating detergent-induced eczema. I have to say this website is probably the best I have seen with regards to eczema (even if one's eczema is not detergent induced).
I'm thinking I would like to explore this possibility further. Zoe's face breaks out even on days where I have not done anything differently (i.e no new food). It seems random and it seems like everything and anything can set it off, which is an indication of detergent induced eczema. That said, since reading the website, and after plenty of reading about detergent and checking the labels on the products I used, I realized that most of the products we use on Zoe contains detergent (even Cetaphil). If detergent is really the cause, you would think her eczema would be worse and more spread out over her body (touchwood!).
Anyhow, I'm probably, with Dennis's agreement and help, going to do the detergent test recommended on the solveeczema website. I don't know which I prefer yet, be this a detergent induced eczema or something else (say the food induced eczema). The former means we have a solution, albeit a difficult to implement solution. Detergent, as it turns out, is pervasive and getting rid of it requires nothing short of a revolution. We would have to replace almost all the products we currently use.
The fact of the matter is that I feel an increasing urgency to find the cause of her eczema. On some days, I wish to be lazy and like to think she will just outgrow it at some point. But I have the sense that if I don't try to eliminate the cause, this can continue to plague her for the rest of her life. As the renowned pediatrician Dr. Brazelton said in "Touchpoints," early detection of the cause is important for prevention of lifelong affliction. (Which is why I feel so guilty about not being strict about my diet early on). I also came across research linking eczema to asthma. Most recently, I read on babycenter.com that, whereas babies and children used to outgrow their allergies, increasingly this is no longer the case. They are outgrowing them later in life and in few numbers.
Well, we'll see. If only, if only we can resolve this before long.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Another Picture of Baby in Baby Carrier
Following the last blog entry, I thought I should add that the carrier we bought is very comfortable and seems to fit very well. I even figured out how to adjust the straps for baby. She indicated her liking for it by smiling and by marking it with lots of drool.
We are going a hiking and backpacking!!
As the saying goes, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, the Kim family future adventures began with a backpack ride around the house this morning. After numerous familiarization practices with the backpack carrier, sometimes with more success than others, I finally got Zoe to accept being carried around in it. In fact, she liked it so much that she protested when I took her out of it. Soon, soon, perhaps we can scale peaks with her on our backs!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Eczema Woes
You wouldn't know from this video here, but our little precious has a persistent eczema. Some days are better than others. Today is not a good day. I discovered those same nasty spots that heretofore have been limited to her face on her legs. I used to console myself with "at least it is not all over her body." Well, it looks like that is changing. And unlike those on her face, which seems to bother me more than baby, the bumps on Zoe's legs seems to bother her a little more. She was scratching her legs. I applied Hydrocortisone cream on her thighs even though it is probably not what the pediatrician calls "an extreme case." I hope, hope, hope she outgrows this soon. I'm going to cut out shrimp just in case for now, since shellfish is supposedly allergenic and I had them for dinner last night. Sigh!!
Monday, March 10, 2008
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Feeding Zoe
Zoe is eating well these days (or I should say the last three days). She refused solids for a couple of days prior to this. I had given the solids a hiatus after she demonstrated a clear propensity to eczema, which is an allergic reaction. She is highly sensitive to many things, as it turns out. Anyhow, since she has reached the age where breast milk is no longer enough and that solids is necessary for a balanced diet, I reintroduced solids again a couple of days ago. The reintroduction didn't go so well. Our little one didn't want any and she made her point by clamping her jaws shut. All attempts to lure her into opening her mouth failed. Not singing, not opening my mouth wide and going "AHHHHH," not my arguments for why she should try the yellow goo - "YUMMY!!!" Nor could I pry her mouth open.
Luckily, she has since warmed to the idea and is showing good appetite.
This is a list of food she has tried:
1. Butternut Squash (her favorite right now, absolutely no adverse reaction).
2. Brown Rice Cereal (no adverse reaction).
3. Peas (no adverse reaction, but seems to make her a little constipated).
4. Avocado (hated it at first, but seems to love it now. Unfortunately, she seems a little sensitive to it. Have to try again and see if she develops a mild case of eczema again).
5. Banana (made a face; would have nothing to do with it. Seemed to have a slight sensitivity to it).
6. Prune and Oatmeal mix (Would not have much of it. Seemed to be slightly sensitive to it).
7. Carrots (no adverse reaction, but we are avoiding now because she became very constipated after we gave it to her. Apparently, according to the nurse we spoke to, carrots can be very constipating).
8. Pear (hated it; made a sour face).
9. Sweet Potato (liked it, but she developed a bad case of eczema after it. So no sweet potato for now).
10. Turkey (grounds and cooked and pureed. Recommended for iron and for babies who are easily allergic. Unfortunately, Zoe demonstrated adverse reaction to it).
11. Flaxseed oil (as a supplement for omega-3s and to help with her eczema).
12. Corn and Butternut Squash mix (lapped it up this morning. So far so good).
Luckily, she has since warmed to the idea and is showing good appetite.
This is a list of food she has tried:
1. Butternut Squash (her favorite right now, absolutely no adverse reaction).
2. Brown Rice Cereal (no adverse reaction).
3. Peas (no adverse reaction, but seems to make her a little constipated).
4. Avocado (hated it at first, but seems to love it now. Unfortunately, she seems a little sensitive to it. Have to try again and see if she develops a mild case of eczema again).
5. Banana (made a face; would have nothing to do with it. Seemed to have a slight sensitivity to it).
6. Prune and Oatmeal mix (Would not have much of it. Seemed to be slightly sensitive to it).
7. Carrots (no adverse reaction, but we are avoiding now because she became very constipated after we gave it to her. Apparently, according to the nurse we spoke to, carrots can be very constipating).
8. Pear (hated it; made a sour face).
9. Sweet Potato (liked it, but she developed a bad case of eczema after it. So no sweet potato for now).
10. Turkey (grounds and cooked and pureed. Recommended for iron and for babies who are easily allergic. Unfortunately, Zoe demonstrated adverse reaction to it).
11. Flaxseed oil (as a supplement for omega-3s and to help with her eczema).
12. Corn and Butternut Squash mix (lapped it up this morning. So far so good).
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Monterey!!
To celebrate my birthday, Dennis took Zoe and I up to Monterey for the weekend. It was a glorious weekend. Even though we did not do as much as we wanted to, we did plenty. We stopped at a winery in Santa Ynez, we ate fish and chips at Morro Bay, we visited the aquarium in Monterey, went for a long walk along the beach, saw Jeannie and Mike, and even managed to squeeze in a short hike at Big Sur.
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