Silicon Valley Moms Blog

My cooking "show" with KTEH

I love to cook and avidly tear out recipes from Sunset and Real Simple magazines which (then lay in dusty folders hoping one day to get made.) The reality is that cooking usually is what I can get on the table in 15 minutes or less.

So when KTEH, the local Silicon Valley/San Jose public TV station, approached me to make a video for their series and fundraiser, "Cooks With Garlic", I wanted to show a dish that reflects the reality of cooking in a busy a household.

Below is a video of me and my kids making "Pasta Mashup", which I typically make now in 10 minutes flat. (The recipe itself is available on my personal site, Midnight Musings.)

I'd love to know how other SVMoms approach cooking -- what are your favorite shortcuts and cheats? And if you have any favorite garlic recipes, submit them to be included in KTEH's new cookbook! But you'll have to hurry - deadline is Saturday, November 15th!

My pre- post-racial birth certificate

On the eve of this historic election, I was reminded in a very personal way how far we have come as a country and as a society. I was copying my Michigan birth certificate (more on why below) when I noticed some of the boxes on the form.

I was born in 1966 and my parents had to fill out the field "Color or Race". And while my father had an "Occupation" box to fill out, my mother didn't have that.

This is a stark reminder that we are barely a generation into being a "post-racial" society. It's sometimes hard to remember that the Bay Area is an anomaly, a racial melting pot with half of the population being non-white. Being a highly transient region also means that we are much more open to new people coming from different communities and cultures.

Road Trip: Silicon Valley Style

This summer my family decided to head out to Yellowstone  I figured that seething hot springs and exploding geysers would have more appeal to an 8 and 9 year old than touring museums in major metropolis. And in a time of tightening budgets and the astronomical plane ticket costs, we decided to DRIVE to Yellowstone. And while we're at it, we figured we might at well camp to really get "close to nature".

I'm always up for a challenge, so after a dry-run weekend camping trip (where we figured out among other things that our gas stove didn't work) we were ready - at least on the camping end. There was this little problem of a 20 hour drive standing between us and American Western nirvana.

We all packed the various things we thought we'd need to entertain ourselves for the drive (and for the two week long trip). What I didn't anticipate was just how many electronics we ended up taking with us. And we were going camping for a week. In a tent, Where the only electrical source would be our car battery, Oh, the irony!

Moms, daughters, and friendships

It was one of those morning this week -- my two kids heading off to two completely different camps, swimming bags missing, lunches unmade...you know the drill. And on top of that, I had a really hectic , stressful day at work -- a panel presentation, video taping, and Churchill Club event. I must have gone back and forth between the car and house a half dozen times, each time grimacing at my watch as the minutes ticked away.
 

As I was driving my daughter to her camp, I suddenly realized that I had gotten dressed, put on make-up, packed my briefcase, remembered my business cards -- and forgotten to put on my contact lenses, which I usually wear for public appearances.

Gripping the steering wheel, I sighed loudly, resigned to my fate -- it was far too late to turn back home to retrieve my lenses.

"What's wrong, Mom?", piped up a little voice.

Reunion Non-angst

It just dawned on me last week that I'm heading off to my 15th Harvard Business School reunion this coming weekend. I've been so focused on work and end-of-year school activities that it kinda snuck up on me.

So I had two choices: panic or just make do. I simply don't have enough energy to panic, so I'm making do.

There's the 10 pounds (Ok, maybe it's a bit more) that I should have lost, but realistically, I've got less than a week, so why stress about it? I am what I am, and there's lots of me to love!

I am going through the pre-requisites and got a hair cut (I was overdo any way since it's been 2+ months since my last cut). I have ambitions of getting a brow wax and pedicure before I fly out Wednesday night, but time is getting short.

My first seder at home

This weekend, I hosted my first seder. This wouldn't be a big deal except for the fact that I'm not Jewish -- and no one in my family is! But I love seders and have been to about a dozen of them over the years -- thanks to opportunities at school, invitations to friends' houses, and once, during a work offsite that occurred over Passover. I love the traditions, the symbolism, the discussions, and of course, the food! And I wanted to share all of this with my family, and especially my children.

So I found a good book on how to run a seder, tapped the deep knowledge of close Jewish friends, and borrowed the haggadahs of a friend who was going to be out of town. The best advice I received -- keep the seder SHORT!

Friday evening saw me dashing around my local Safeway, picking up the staples. But alas, no matzah was to be found anywhere! The helpful store manager dissuaded me from trying other stores -- everything was sold out up and down the Peninsula. His suggestion was to substitute the matzah with gourmet flatbread. Saturday afternoon was spent assembling some great dishes -- a hit with the kids was the Passover "Mac & Cheese". Matzah ball soup was easy and delicious with the help of pre-made, jarred matzah balls and boxed organic broth. But alas, my kugel was absolutely inedible.

Taking a child on a business trip - a survival guide

I recently took my son (age 9) on a business trip for the first time and plan to do more with both of my kids (daughter is almost 8). The reasons: I'm embarking on a book tour and will be on the road quite a bit over the next few months and this is a way for me to see more of my kids. But more importantly, I wanted my kids to see me "at work" and a lot of what I do is public speaking. When I travel, I usually am with a client all day, and it wouldn't work to bring a child along. But if I'm giving a 45 minute speech, I figure it's a good learning and bonding opportunity.

So my recent trip San Diego was a trial run with my son. I was set to give a speech on a Monday morning, so we left SFO early on Sunday to squeeze in a day at Legoland. That was "the bribe", along with missing a day of school. In the morning, we checked into the conference at registration (they made up a badge for my son, which was a nice way to include him) and got set up. He saw the backstage and then I found him a seat in the second row, sitting next to a friend he already had met before.

And this is our key survival tip - Nintendo DS. The night before, we made a trip to Best Buy and got him a new game. It kept him happy and busy for most of the boring waiting around, although I did make him promise to watch me for at least the first part of my speech. Frankly, he fit in with most of the other techie guys (and they were mostly guys) in the audience huddled over their laptops taking notes (or checking their emails).

Happy 42nd Birthday To Me

There. I've done it - made it a matter of record how old I am. There's this long-standing tradition that people -- and women in particular -- don't discuss their age.

It feels great to come clean.

For a while, there was a good reason why I didn't discuss my age -- but it was because I was too young. As a businesswoman trying to establish a career in my 20's, it didn't do to tell clients that I was a 20-something, and on the nearer side to 20 than 30. Even throughout my 30's, I was still deemed "young" by my colleagues -- when asked my age, it was usually followed by a comment like, "But you're so young!"

And then I hit 40 and finally, I felt comfortable discussing my age because it connotes a sense of maturity and experience. . Silly, isn't it. At a time when I've become obsessed with wrinkles around my eyes and white hairs seemingly sprouting in every direction (which I diligently dye), I want to let people know how old I am.

Rinsing out the peanut butter

In the mornings, I usually stand at our kitchen counter pulling breakfast stuff together and serving it to my kids. Out come the milk, bread, eggs, peanut butter, apples,plates, glasses -- your normal morning paraphernalia.

Like in many of your households, I'm trying to do four things at once and was feeling pretty good about having things under control for a change. I made toast, spread peanut butter on them, turned to get the milk and grabbed a glass.

I then promptly poured the milk into the the open peanut butter jar.

Happy Birthyday LEGO!

Today is the 50th anniversary of the creation of the ubiquitous LEGO brick. Here's a link to a timeline and interesting facts about the Lego break. The most interesting fact: that three eight-stud bricks can be combined in 1,060 ways. That is the crux of what makes LEGO so wonderful -- they don't require instructions, just imagination.

Legos are a staple in our household -- our son (age 9) just repurposed them this weekend to remod a remote control car of his. We're on the second generation of Mindstorm robotics, and I have to admit, my geeky side has played with the set long after the kids are tucked into bed. We even invested in a stack of pink bricks for our daughters years ago so that she could build houses and cars with them. I find pieces them in purses, stuffed between car seats, and wedged into the fibers of my carpets.