The Pits

We lost our parenting license temporarily tonight.

This weekend we bought one of those urban fire pits that allow you to easily have a fire in your backyard. We thought a lot about this, because we have very young children who are as excited by fire as we are. Having surveyed some friends with young kids and fire pits of their own, and based on our own experiences camping with young kids, we decided that if it was tucked away out of the play area that it would be manageable.

Here is our fire pit's brief history:
Sat 5PM: fire pit purchased at Menards w/help of 3 kids. They like the one w/trees on the side. Sold.
Sun 9AM: fire pit assembled in backyard with help of kids before leaving for church. Hopes run high for a marshmallow roast later in the day.
Sun 6PM: fire pit has inaugural lighting. Kids go a little bonkers wanting to toss sticks in. Parents eye each other warily.
Sun 6:20PM: 3-year-old places hand squarely on fire pit screen, getting enough of a burn to leave screen-impressions on his palm. No blistering, no tears, but big eyes. Parents horrified. Child comments that the screen marks look kind of interesting.

Future of the fire pit? Undecided. Maybe reserved for late nights when kids are in bed. I just hope the poor kid doesn't have a screen pattern scarred on his hand for the rest of his days! Childhood survival stories w/friends in the future: "Oh yeah, this grid pattern is from my idiotic parents when they let us have a fire pit in the yard and I was THREE!"

Chicken Cheese

We made chicken fingers for dinner tonight (chicken strips, dip in melted butter, dip in panko mixed w/Ital seasoning and salt; cook 425 for 12 mins turning halfway through).

My 3-year-old ate one, which was noteworthy since meat rarely crosses his palette in any form. He said, "Could I have another cheese stick, please?" I said sure, telling him it was actually chicken. He ate a couple more each time asking for more "cheese sticks."

Finally, he asked, "What kind of cheese is this?" I said, "Chicken cheese." He laughed, saying he thought it was "Chicken sand cheese."

Call it what you want, my boy. Just nice to have a meal eaten.

Week 89—Meaty-Meatless

Mon – Burgers

Tues –  Spanish chorizo and rice

Weds – Dinner out

Thurs – Rigatoni Isabella Pasta (TOH)

Fri – Tomato white bean soup

Alts – pizza

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Late in the week, but here's what's been going on in our kitchen. Happy cooking.

Baking Soda Volcano

This "recipe" resulted in a very successful volcanic eruption in our sandbox today. Give it a try if you're in the mood for a backyard natural disaster.

Baking Soda Volcano
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1. Find a cup or soda bottle for your crater (we buried ours in sand to look volcano-ish).
2. Fill your cup or bottle most of the way full with warm water. Add a bit of food color if desired.
3. Add 6 drops of detergent to the bottle contents. The detergent helps trap the bubbles produced by the reaction so you get better lava.
4. Add 2 tablespoons baking soda to the liquid.
5. Slowly pour vinegar into the bottle. Watch out - eruption time!

online in the kitchen

A colleague of mine just wrote a great review about using the iPad for following recipes (focused on a review of epicurious vs. big oven).

I don't have an iPad. Yet. But I constantly cook with my laptop in the kitchen in horribly dangerous scenarios akin to using a hairdryer in the bathtub. When my husband and I were first married we talked about "dream kitchens," complete with computer screens built into the front of your fridge. We're there, and fortunately, reality is better than the dream.

What types of devices will our kids read recipes from? I love my grandmother's hand-written recipes, but they are almost as quaint as hand-written letters at this point. Maybe cooking for yourself will be widely quaint too in 50 years.