If you are in New York, please join us for a special reading from the book “Carried in Our Hearts: The Gift of Adoption” by Dr. Jane Aronson, and a vast array of contributors, including yours truly. Barnes + Noble will be donating 20% of their proceeds to Dr. Aronson’s wonderful foundation Worldwide Orphans, who help make the lives of the children left behind more fulfilling.
I hope to see you there! Warning: It’s BYO Kleenex. These stories are sure to touch your heart!
Cream of tartar is a natural substance often used to stabilize egg whites and whipped cream. It is derived from tartaric acid, the white powdery substance that forms in the barrels during the wine fermentation process.
While it’s commonly known for it’s culinary uses, cream of tarter also has hidden talents when it comes to cleaning.
Make a paste of cream of tartar and water and use it to polish your stainless steel appliances and cookware.
Mix it with a little lemon juice to polish copper.
Cream of tartar and hydrogen peroxide can lift off that nasty bathtub ring. Apply it to the ring, let it dry, and wipe the solution and the ring right off!
It’s also a great way to remove mildew from grout.
Did you know that you can mix it with baking soda to make baking powder in a pinch?
photo: glasshouse images
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Tonight I had the opportunity to attend a book launch party for “Carried in Our Hearts,” by Dr. Jane Aronson, with essays by many parents and children who have experienced first hand, the joys and traumas of creating a new family through adoption.
I am honored to have my story, originally posted here, be a part of this beautiful collection.
If you are seeking for a last minute Mother’s Day gift, take a look at this book, sure to melt the heart of any Mom, regardless of how her family was formed.
There was not a dry eye in the room, as people read from the book, and recounted their international adoption experiences.
Dr.Aronson, who is not only a highly acclaimed pediatrician specializing in international medicine, but also the founder of World Wide Orphan’s Foundation, has taken on the role of mentor, fairy godmother and stork, to many families across the world. Her goal through WWO is to transform the lives of orphaned children and help them to become healthy, independent, productive members of their communities and the world.
Won’t you join me in celebrating the heartwarming stories of families who were formed not by blood, but by love this Mother’s Day?
Tonight we are celebrating “Easter-over” a hybrid of Easter, Passover and a celebration of spring. It’s an opportunity to indulge in the flavors and traditions of the holidays, and the diversity of the guests. The rules are simple: it’s my made up holiday,and it’s appropriate to serve anything I feel like making, within the confines of the season and the holidays. That could mean matzoh balls and pork chops, or gefilte fish and fried chicken, but it’s not either one of those.
This year, I have mixed it up, and for those of you who follow us on Facebook, or Instagram, you have been getting hints of things to come.
Here are a few “works in progress”, as our Easter-over feast comes together:
A beautiful mess of food scraps. What were they from?
Personally, I loathe raw, red onions, and will surgically remove them from my food if they are there. Sometimes, a recipe really needs a little jolt, and these do the job well. They look pretty, don’t they?
Nothing says spring like daffodils and asparagus!
Apples, walnuts, honey, cinnamon….what could this be?
Yum,chocolate! That’s a little almond flour you see. This one just happens to be gluten free and passover approved!
Maybe a little white chocolate bourbon cream to put on top would be nice…
Spring lamb is synonymous with the season. This one has a rosemary,garlic coating to keep it moist and flavorful. The meat is sitting on a bed of baby fingerling potatoes, which should get crisp and tender as the lamb cooks.
Did we get you hungry yet? If you’re in the neighborhood, dinner is at 7!
photos by indigo-jones.
This Sunday is Easter, a sacred Christian holiday that has somehow become synonymous with bunnies, chocolate, and colored eggs. Like Christmas, the commercialized aspects of the day have turned it into Everyman’s celebration of spring. The drugstores, grocery stores and toy stores are filled with bunnies; some stuffed, some chocolate, and some made out of a nasty colored, chemical laden marshmallow mixture. The colored eggs, when not formed from plastic and designed to hold some of the above, are made at home.
There are many ways to dye Easter eggs. Some hard-boil them; some poke a hole and blow the contents out, leaving a hollow egg to embellish. They can be painted, drawn on, covered in fabric, yarn or colorful tapes. There are decals and decorating kits, produced just for this purpose.
I prefer to create eggs that can be eaten. And I sure don’t want to eat something that has been dipped in possibly toxic dyes and vinegar.
Why not consider making naturals dyes, derived from real foods?
Here are a few ideas for creating edible dyes in beautiful hues to enhance your Easter basket:
Blue:
Boil 2 cups of chopped red cabbage in a quart of water. Add ¼ cup white vinegar. Strain before using.
Alternatively, cook blueberries in water and vinegar for a purple-blue cast.
Lavender:
Mix 1 cup of Concord grape juice with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar.
Pinks and reds:
Simmer 2 chopped beets with ¼ cup vinegar and 3 cups water. Strain before using.
Cranberries can also be used instead, to create another red hue.
Yellow:
Mix 3 cups of water and 3 tablespoons of white vinegar. Bring to a boil and add 2 teaspoons of turmeric. Allow it to steep for at least 10 minutes before using.
Green:
Mix the yellow dye and the blue dye together to create a new color.
Orange:
Mix 2 tablespoons of paprika with 3 cups of water and 3 tablespoons of vinegar and allowing it to steep before using.
Alternatively, mix the red and yellow dyes together to obtain the perfect color.
Allow the dyes to cool before using. The longer the dyes are allowed to steep, the deeper the hue will be. The dye should look darker than the desired shade before using. The longer the eggs are soaked, the deeper the color. Experiment with other colorful foods to create beautiful, edible eggs.
Happy Spring!
photos: Glasshouse Images
I pride myself in being a generally healthy eater, trying to concentrate on fresh, whole foods that are low in fat and refined carbohydrates. Not my whole household does the same.
When B was a baby, she ate everything I gave her. She loved scrambled eggs, fish, tofu, fruits and vegetables. Stir-fried broccoli from the local Chinese restaurant was greeted with smiles and kicking feet. Then, something changed.
It started innocently, with a chocolate chip cookie baked as a distraction during the days that followed 9/11. She eyed it tentatively at first, then gave it a cautious lick. As a big grin swept over her face, she realized she discovered something delicious. Still, sweets were offered in only in moderation.
Next, there was the hotdog, offered unwittingly by a parent on a play date. Little by little, she was introduced to the fried, the processed and the heavily sweetened. Little by little, she balked at the healthy foods being served to her, and morphed into an average kid, with an average palate.
Now heading into her teens, her poor habits are exacerbated by her ability to go into the kitchen and help herself. I am the enabler, making sure the cupboards and freezer are stocked with foods she likes.
Last night, when I saw the wrappers from the afternoon snacks in the trash, I offhandedly voiced my concern, stating that she was going to end up diabetic if she didn’t clean up her act.
Today after school, B asked me if she is really a candidate for illness, even though she is active and far from overweight. The sad reality is that she is headed in that direction. It was a wake-up call for both of us.
Article after article discusses how sugar, and an unbalanced diet could lead to all kinds of health risks, from diabetes to cancer. Just because those Pop tarts are organic, and the granola bars whole grain and trans fat free, doesn’t mean they are healthy.
By the time we reached home, she had outlined her new eating plan.
Scrambled eggs for breakfast tomorrow, instead of a toaster pastry. Perhaps moving onto oatmeal later in the week.
I have been instructed to stock up on pears, grapes and bananas, as well as cashews, carrots with dip, and the ingredients for an afternoon smoothie to be eaten as snacks or dessert.
Dinner will be a challenge, but if we focus on the foods she likes, it’s a start.
In essence, it’s time she starts eating outside of the box. Literally.
What can we offer up to the pickiest of eaters that comes from the earth, not a package? I intend to find out.
We have all heard of Meatless Monday. Perhaps we need to coin “Try it Tuesday”, “Whole Grain Wednesday” or “Thirsty Thursday”? Even a day called “F$2k It Friday” could exist, because sometimes you just to kick back and have some pizza after a long week.
Let’s see how we do. Can she change her eating habits? Can I avoid buying food in a box? Can I get creative with the foods she likes, in order to make her fresh, healthy dinners that she can enjoy? Time will tell, and I will of course tell it here.
Stay tuned, as we set out to eat outside the box.
How women currently spend their time may provide some clues to our growing obesity epidemic. According to a recently released study, it seems that these days, we’re sitting down on the job.
The American Heritage Time Use Studies documented how women spent their time at home. Chronicling both working and non-working woman from 1965-2010, the diaries showed remarkable differences in their activity levels as the years went by.
In the earlier diaries, women spent an average of over 26.7 hours per week doing domestic chores, such as cooking, cleaning and laundry. This number of hours were reduced radically by 2010, when women reported doing an average of 13.3 hours of housework per week.
While some of the decrease is attributed to more women working outside the home than they did 48 years ago, the invention of the computer seems to be a large factor as well. Women are spending more than 16.5 hours of leisure time in front of a screen of some kind vs. only 8 hours in 1965.
What does all this mean? The study suggests that the average woman is burning 360 calories less per day, than her predecessors.
Here’s the lowdown on what a woman might burn doing 30 minutes of housework:
It’s time to get moving ladies. Your homes and your bodies will thank you for it.
Vintage Photos: Glasshouse Images
My desk at the office, filled with snowflakes!
Yesterday marked the return to school for the Sandy Hook Elementary students. Housed in a new facility in the town of Monroe, Connecticut, the new building represents a fresh start for the children who survived the violent attack last month.
The local PTA planned to decorate the building with handmade paper snowflakes to welcome the children to their new environment.
We put out the word, and people responded. Officials stated that they had received an overwhelming amount of snowflakes from all over the world. Enough they said, to blanket the entire town of Newtown. There was love and support in each one.
Thanks to all who participated in making the day just a little bit brighter for these kids.
In January, the children of Sandy Hook Elementary School will be returning to a new facility. Please join me in easing the transition by helping to turn their new building into a winter wonderland.
The Parent Teacher Association of Connecticut is planning on filling the building with homemade snowflakes to welcome them to their new school, and assuage some of the anxiety of returning to school.
It is a small but heartfelt and meaningful gesture that truly embodies the meaning of the season.
If you would like to take a moment to make a paper snowflake, (or 10), please send them to me by January 7, and I will make sure that they get there in time.
Happy Holidays!
Indigo Jones
161 West 15th Street #1C
New York, New York 10011
photo: Glasshouse Images
Sometimes, words are not enough.
In the wake of the horrendous events in Newtown, Connecticut last week, a team of comfort dogs was dispatched from Chicago to try to help the residents come to terms with the tragedy.
Lutheran Church Charities deployed 10 golden retrievers to provide comfort to those struggling to make sense of the circumstances. The dogs are available to just sit and be petted, while residents deal with their grief.
Says Tim Hetzner, President of the organization:
“Dogs are non-judgmental. They are loving. They are accepting of anyone. It creates the atmosphere for people to share.”
The dogs come with a business card containing its name, Facebook page, Twitter handle, and email address, so that those that they meet can keep in touch.
We hope that these dogs can help bring some respite to this community ravaged by an unthinkable act of violence.
photo: Glasshouse Images
For general inquiries about Indigo Jones or if you'd like to be considered for a feature, please email indigojonesnyc@gmail.com.
In partnership with Glasshouse Images.
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