Busily knitting

And aren't these cute? These are wool soakers, which function as mostly-waterproof diaper covers.

Just had to show off. Please ignore the rumpled bedsheet beneath them.

Sardicado!

I have been wanting to eat more fish, for the health of the baby. Baby brains are built entirely of fats, and DHA is the best of those fats for that development. DHA is almost exclusively found in fish. Problems? I'm scared of methylmercury, PCBs, and un-sustainable fishing of declining species. Other problems? I'm from a family of fishophobes, for whom trout and tuna fish is about the limit. (Well, Mom likes halibut. But still.)

Enter the heroic sardine. Sadly, America's last canneries just closed their doors, but they are still available fresh and as imports. They are sustainable, not at all threatened, live low on the food chain (they eat plankton), and low in methylmercury and PCBs. So I bought a couple tins when I found them on sale. Then I cowered for three weeks while morning sickness made trying fishy new things inadvisable. I recalled that Grandma Red used to like sardines: I saw her mashing them with heavy cream, minced green apple, and red onion, and eating them on crackers once. I declined to taste, and she concurred, "you probably wouldn't care for them." Fish and apples? I thought not, too.

I put out requests to two favorite food bloggers to help me find recipes. This morning I got my first reply from Drew at How to Cook Like Your Grandmother (minus the fish & apples, maybe.) He pointed me toward an excellent website which provided numerous exciting preparation options and recipes, and a lot of reassurance regarding methylmercury levels in fish. So encouraging! So delicious looking!

Since as of yesterday I am feeling less queasy, I thought, sure, I'll make some fish for lunch.

But there weren't a lot of recipes for tinned sardines. But then I remembered that Alton Brown made a big deal about the sardine/avocado sandwiches he enjoyed so much during his weight loss, and I thought, yes, even though those look kinda fucking disgusting, I am going to forge ahead and try the Sardicado.

First of all, it is an UGLY sandwich... shades of grays and browns and shredlets of green on top of olive-drabby avocado and brown toast. Yikes. I didn't dare taste the fish mixture until it was safely ensconced on a layer of smashed avocado on my whole wheat toast. And then... and then...

Yes, they're fishy. But also smokey. With the native oiliness of the fish cut by key lime juice (didn't have lemon), zest, and black pepper, it put Pat and I in mind of chicharrones de pescado, a favorite Peruvian treat for us (deep fried fish cubes, dipped in fresh key lime juice with hot chilies sliced in). The avocado multiplied the smokiness and softened the flavors, adding just that oomph of umami.

Yum. Yummm.

And I no longer fear the sardine.

So the punchline is, now I want to try them Grandma's way. And lots of ways. They are neither slimy nor as fishy as I feared, and they have a delicious depth of flavor.

If you've known all this for years, feel free to laugh at me.

Superpowers

So it seems that if we are doing good deeds, we become more powerful. If we are contemplating evil deeds, we become even more powerful. But don't worry, the good guys will win in the end.

You hear me, Micah? THE GOOD GUYS WILL WIN. ;)

Another food guide link for you

Drew at How to Cook Like Your Grandmother has a wonderful article up today. If you're interested in food labeling and guides, this one will grab you.

Bitterness

Bah. I went to school for years and all I got was this lousy t-shirt. And a Master's degree, which does not help me much in the job market. And ... that may actually be the dimensions of the con.

What would I advise my baby to do? Join the military? Maybe. Go to a vocational school, or shorter-term training for a profession? Hell yes. Grad school? Not right now. Ask me again in a few MORE years. Maybe after I've STARTED being able to repay my massive, crushing student loan debt.

Group guest post at Perfume Smellin' Things - top 10 of Spring and a gift drawing

Go see. If you're quick enough, and leave a comment, you may win 10 samples of springtimey fragrances from Marina's collection.

A few of my favorite things

Okay, good stuff comin' your way.

Today our good friends at Don Gusano games announced the official release of their new game, Quack in the Box. We play-tested and adored this game back when it was a stack of hand-cut, typed or handwritten cards. I cannot recommend it enough: I think it's more fun than Chez Geek or Munchkin (which I happen to think are a lot of fun too).

I promised April this link to the Food Politics blog, but I think that others who read this blog might like it too. Marion Nestle is a guru of sorts for me, politically and as an intellectual. She's a trenchant researcher of the processes that determine labeling, nutritional guidelines, and institutional feeding (e.g. of children) in our country and elsewhere.

Also, I promised the Organic Consumers Association that I would pass along a shout-out. They're one of my favorite causes, as they stand opposed to the relatively more evil forces acting upon our food chain. With Monsanto and other industrial agricultural complexes mounting $50,000,000+ campaigns to place their people in key positions in our government (and that does not include the lobbying already in place) with intent to undermine the standards separating natural farming from agro-industrial practices, "the resistance" is one of the best causes out there.

Speaking of good food, particularly food like our grandparents used to eat, I have to mention Drew's wonderful blog, How To Cook Like Your Grandmother. He is funny, his recipes are both well-tested and delicious, and (as I happened to win a drawing for his review copy of Nina Planck's interesting and liberating book Real Food For Mother and Baby, which got here yesterday and has been in my hand almost constantly since) I feel so connected to him today. (Ms. Planck sent another copy directly, which arrived this morning; stay tuned, as either Drew or I will have to have a drawing to pay it forward.)

If you find that any of these things resonate with you, please do pass them along.

Love you folks.