CurrentMom

Nostalgic for a Tuscan Vacation? Figs with Parmesan and Truffle Honey Bring it all Back

Meal Monday

Several years ago, my mother and I took a one-day cooking class in Florence, Italy. It was predictably glorious and we made pasta, panna cotta and other classic Italian dishes after shopping in the open air markets.

I have never replicated the homemade pasta for a variety of reasons, including the fact that we -- and everyone else -- are trying to cut down on carbs. But mostly because I'm lazy and I live where I can buy really good fresh pasta, and really good dried pasta whenever I like.

The panna cotta was unbelievably delicious and I still have the printed out recipe somewhere, but I've never made that again either. I always know I can, but I hesitate to cook with heavy cream, which panna cotta is by (translated) definition, (there's that health consciousness again) and usually I just make something else for dessert.

The one thing I do make over and over again is something I serve as either an appetizer or dessert (great with a Muscatel or other dessert wine or aperitif) and is simply an unusual and extraordinary combination of flavors.

Sometimes, You Just Gotta Unplug

Tech Tuesday

It goes without saying that it would be a large adjustment for me to continually get through my daily life without technology. The fact that the family business involves electronics means I really wouldn't have the same daily life. I appreciate all that these advances have done for me - 

• The apps that track my to-dos/appointments
• The fun games that give me a small break
• The TV/DVD that allows authors creations to come to life before me

For all that I enjoy about technology, there are certain things that make it bloody annoying. And for those reasons we've all experienced, sometimes I just want a break. 

A weekend; maybe a week, tops. That's not too much to ask, right? After all, it's not as if I have to leave all my electronic leashes at home. I just can exert a bit more control over when I allow them to control me. Like checking for voicemail at the end of a day, instead of answering my cell every time it rings, or screening right then and calling "important" people back right away. 

I don't need a laptop to have fun. I don't need to be doing work 24/7, either. If I can't check my email on my phone, that's another gadget I can look at only when I decide I want to. If I decide I don't want to until I get back - so be it.

You might be thinking at this point either A) This is impossible or B) One would need to book a vacation at some exclusive resort and spa far away from daily life in order to accomplish this.

Not really. 

It's a decision you make. You could vacation in your own home just as easily as somewhere else! Sure, you'd still have to do some cleanup unless you hired a maid for the weekend, but treating yourself doesn't have to mean breaking the bank. You know those commercials where the kids are camping-out in the backyard? Why can't you do that?! You don't have to pay the campground fees, you're guaranteed electricity and if you forgot to pack something really important you aren't that far from home. 

Personally, I love camping. Ironically, I also love the idea of living in a world devoid of technology. When I feel the need to escape life, I camp-out with my fellow members of The Society for Creative Anachronism. There's nothing like putting on clothing from the middle ages and learning crafts that are in danger of dying-out that makes you forget all about answering your phone or constantly updating your Facebook status. (Psst - they'll also come in handy after the Zombie Apocalypse.)

That's just me, of course. You can just pitch a regular tent, in regular clothes, and enjoy the wilderness. If you just aren't an outdoorsy person, well, hotels work too. Just remember to turn-off your cellphone or leave it in the room when you go out. 

After all, relaxation may have a different meaning to many of us, but I haven't found anyone yet that finds the constant ringing/binging or general noise of their world puts them in a state of Zen.

Photo by Me (ZafraD) from my flickr

Nook Books, and Other Travails of Modern Life

Truth Thursday

It took me quite a while to even consider taking the plunge into purchasing an e-reader. I spent at least a year allowing the very term to wrangle its way into my brain, pondering the world-shattering question of whether I would consider using one, so traitorous it seemed. It took an impending long work trip, and several months leading up to that flight to actually sit down and contemplate which reader I might want and when I should purchase it. 

After weighing the relative benefits of the Kindle Fire and the Nook Tablet (giving also great consideration to the iPad), I wound up purchasing a Nook for my trip. The reasons for this particular choice were clear – while I do love my Apple products, and the iPad looks like a fun gadget to add to my arsenal, it seemed a little large and unwieldy to substitute for a book on a plane. 

Plus, I wanted to be able to say “Nook book.”

And there you have it.

I bought my Nook at a bricks and mortar Barnes & Noble, thinking that there was some noble merit in patronizing a real life store. Perhaps it would allow B&N to stay viable for a little longer. I brought it home and really enjoyed its feel and the novelty of it. I decided that I would wait for my trip to dig into a book, but I spent several weeks deciding which books I would download and bring on my trip.

The downloading was where it began to lose me.

Packing ... and Unpacking

Truth Thursday

The most embarrassing moment of my recent business/pleasure trip to Israel and Paris? Having to buy another suitcase in order to bring home the gifts and clothing I had purchased on my way. Had I packed my suitcase in a more suitable and manageable fashion, this additional purchase may not have been necessary.

But no. 

For weeks leading up to my departure, I was already packing in my head – making lists of what I would need, and thinking about how I would like to emulate a colleague who makes two-week trips like this on a regular basis and who merely packs one of those small carry-ons on wheels along with her purse. I thought that perhaps I could do the same. 

But I was going to be at a board meeting. I was going to be traveling with donors. I was going to be in two countries with different weather. I was going to be working out every day (hah.) I was going to be going to nice dinners several times. And I was going to be doing a lot of walking. 

So of course, I needed clothing to suit all these various contingencies. On top of that, a relic of being a mom all these years is that for me, travel means something grown up and adult, and a chance to get dressed in more than yoga pants. 

So, on the morning of my departure, as I sat on the top of my big (definitively not carry-on) suitcase in order to cram the zipper shut, realizing that one additional item would make it burst, I wasn’t really thinking about the fact that I had a lot of presents to buy, let alone personal shopping to do.

In Israel it was manageable. I had the great fun of shopping for clothing for the first time there, and was able to figure how to distribute the various pieces in my huge checked bag and my two carry-ons (and while my purse looked more like an enormous canvas bag that was bringing home groceries, it still counted as a purse.)

But when I got to Paris, it was all over. Ooh la la. So much walking to do. And, as I explained to my tween daughter, with walking in Paris comes shopping. You can’t help yourself. Paris is nothing but shops, cafes and brasseries with a few museums scattered about. So that after you’ve scored the perfect set of gray suede platform pumps (and conversed with the saleswoman in French, I might add) you can sit and sip a chocolate chaud and pat yourself on the back. And then get ready to go next door to the bag store. Or the chocolate store. Or the coat shop.

You get the picture.

On the Road Again

Truth Thursday

I am preparing for a particularly long work trip –15 days away – and will be leaving in less than a week. And before I get any heckling about enjoying what should be a wonderful trip – after all, I will be in Israel and then am taking two days in Paris by myself on the way back (and I don’t have to cook dinner or wash dishes or clothes for that same period of time) – I want reassure you all that I will, indeed, be working while I am away.

And even though I will be working thousands of miles away from home, I still have to be the puppeteer for my family’s active lives while I am gone. Or at least spend the better part of two weeks preparing for my absence.

There is no question that it is easier to be away with older children. There are no real worries about child care – at the ages of 16, 12 and 10, they can be alone in the house by themselves after school for a couple of hours every day. I don’t have to worry about the babysitter not making it, or childcare falling through. And I know that there are many neighbors up and down our block who will be available in the event of an emergency.

And for the most part, my children’s lives revolve around their schools and school friends, all of which are reachable by foot or school bus. Only one carpool to worry about, to Hebrew school ten minutes away, and that one is already covered. Basketball practice will be easily managed, despite having two practices on the same night at the same time … at different gyms. That is the beauty of being on local teams with neighbors and friends.

So why am I feeling such stress?