Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene

If you live in the US, you know that the eastern seaboard was hit by a hurricane last week. By the time it reached us here in Southeastern Massachusetts it had been downgraded to a tropical storm, but we still had lots of wind damage. We were without power, running water, or cell phone signals for 5 days, which explains my blogging absence. (I had scheduled a Wordless Wednesday post in advance which is why that appeared).

Despite the inconvenience of the storm, we were just fine here. Lots of people in New York and Vermont suffered far worse conditions than us.  And let's not forget the millions of people around the world who work much harder  than we do in the US to get their basic necessities. Sure, it was an inconvenience to have to go out for water every day. But I was able to drive my car 1/2 mile up the street to a friend's house and use her hose to fill my 5 gallon jug. People all over the world walk miles to get water and have to carry it home on their heads. I feel exceptionally lucky to have this basic necessity delivered to me through pipes in my home.

So, here I am ready to get back to blogging regularly. Next week, I'll begin a new weekly series called Travel Tuesdays. I'll also continue with Wordless Wednesdays. For now, at least, I plan to make Friday a "catch-all" day. I'll blog about whatever catches my fancy that week that fits with my blog's mission.

What kinds of posts would you like to see? Please leave a comment or email me at michelle(at)michellecusolito(dot)com. I welcome your input. I want this blog to be useful and to create a virtual community here at Polliwog. 

Wordless Wednesday: Osprey

Wordless Wednesday: Seal Cove-Mount Desert Island, ME

Wordless Wednesday: Hummingbirds

I've noticed many bloggers posting only photos on Wednesdays. I enjoy them, so I decided to start 'Wordless Wednesdays' here on Polliwog.

I may occasionally place a caption, if necessary, but I intend to keep these posts wordless to highlight photos I've taken. (That may be a hard task for this writer...) I may decide to crop a photo occasionally but I will not alter them in any other way. I hope you enjoy them.

(Double click to make photos larger).

Related Post:

Hummingbirds

Otha Day: Drumming Circle

The theme of this summer's reading program here in Massachusetts was 'One World, Many Stories.' In addition to the usual logging of hours read, weekly drawings, and crafts at our library, there were also enrichment programs for enrolled participants and a culminating celebration. Our librarian, Miss Lisa, did and wonderful job of planning the many, many events and activities for the readers in our town from children to senior citizens.

I'm sure the library in your town had some great programs, too. Did you participate?

Our program culminated with a drumming circle lead by Otha Day. I'm sure you won't be surprised to learn this wasn't my first drumming circle and West African poly rhythms are a particular interest of mine. I own an authentic kelengu (talking drum) from Niger, West Africa and attended dancing and drumming sessions in Niger. (My sister studied traditional West African Dance in Niger). I even tried my hand at teaching poly rhythms to my grade four students. The thing is, I wasn't very good at teaching poly rhythms. If only I had met Otha sooner! Thank you Miss Lisa for bringing him to Plumb Library.

From the beginning, I could tell we were in the hands of a master drummer and master teacher. Otha provided drums so he could get everyone involved. He was kind and patient. He helped everyone find success and made sure we had fun.

His unique approach to helping us remember the rhythms stood out to me the most. He would teach us to sing a song or a phrase, then sing and drum the phrase, then sing the phrase in our heads but continue drumming the rhythm. I was amazed by how quickly we found success. (Let's face it, I'm not a very good drummer!) There were lots of smiles in the room, that's for sure. We learned rhythms from many places, including Japan, Brazil, and West Africa (Liberia, and if my memory is correct, Mali).

So my point is two-fold:

1. If you live relatively nearby, please consider hiring Otha to come to your school, library, or homeschooling group. (He also works with corporations and wellness groups). Full disclosure: I never met Otha before our library event. He did not ask me to post this nor do I receive any compensation for doing so.
2. Find out what your local library has to offer. This program was a win-win for my family: it connected learning about other cultures, music, and reading. Furthermore, it was FREE. Public libraries and librarians are some of the best resources our towns have to offer.  Our librarians know everyone in my family by name. They also know our taste in books and will recommend books they encounter that might appeal to us. Make use of public libraries. Support them.

Have you participated in a drumming circle with Otha? What programs have you attended at your library?

From the Archives: A Passion for Pesto

This post, which orginally appeared last September, will be my final re-post while on vacation. From now until mid-September is the perfect time to make pesto because basil is readily available this time of year.

As summer winds down, my family typically harvests the bulk of the basil from our garden and makes pesto. What does this have to do with "mucking about" you might ask. Well, it starts with my kids and I cutting nearly all of the basil in our garden. They get right into the beds and use their own scissors to cut the stems. Then we work together to make the pesto, a delicious green sauce that tastes great on pasta and pizza, among other uses.

Even if you think your kids won't like pesto, give it a try. It may take a few attempts, but many kids come around. Exposing your kids to a variety of flavors while they are young will open their palates to a variety of foods and may even help them be healthier eaters. Exposing them to different flavors also fits into my other passion- and one of the goals of this blog- learning about other cultures. Food is central to culture and to people's daily lives.

We started this tradition when my son was just 3 years old and have continued every year since.

Making pesto from scratch serves several wonderful purposes for my kids.

1. They help grow the basil, so they learn about life cycles of plants.
2. They harvest the basil, so they see the fruits of their labors. And, as with all gardening, they know where their food came from.
3. They work in the kitchen with me, so they learn about cooking. They also they learn some math as we work with fractions and measurement.
4. They eat healthy, homemade meals that are not too difficult to prepare.

Even if you do not have basil in your own garden, you can buy it at a farmers' market or grocery store and still accomplish numbers 3 and 4.

Here's what to do:

1. Pick or purchase a bunch of basil. For my recipe, you'll need two generous handfuls of leaves.
2. Remove the leaves from the stems. Discard any damaged or brown leaves. My kids always do this job. They each learned how at about the age of three.
3. Wash the leaves in plenty of cold water. Spin them dry in a salad spinner or pat them dry with a tea towel or paper towels. This is another job for the kids!
4. Follow the recipe below.

Ingredients:
2 generous handfuls of basil leaves
2-3 plump cloves of fresh garlic
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts *
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
about 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Start with 1/3 and add more as needed).
About 1/2 Tablespoon lemon juice
Generous pinch of salt (I prefer coarse sea salt).

Directions:

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender or food processor. Process/blend until smooth.
2. Mix with cooked whole wheat pasta and sprinkle with grated cheese for a delicious meal.

* To toast the pine nuts, heat them in a dry skillet over low to medium heat until they turn a golden brown. Keep the nuts moving around by shaking the pan or stirring with a spoon. You must watch them carefully because they go from raw to burned very quickly if the heat is too high or they are in the pan for too long. In the case of allergies, simply omit the pine nuts.

Tip:
If you make a big/double batch, you can freeze it for use in the winter. Pour the pesto into ice cube trays, cover the trays with plastic wrap and place them in the freezer. Once they're frozen, transfer the cubes to a freezer bag. I tend to leave the pine nuts and cheese out if I plan to freeze the pesto because it takes less space. When you use the pesto you can add those ingredients.

During the winter, you can drop a cube or two into soup, make pesto pizza, or pesto pasta. I've found 7 cubes is about right for one pound of pasta.

Do you have any end of summer traditions with your family? What are they? Do they involve "mucking about" or "meeting the locals?" Tell us about them.

From the Archives: Cora Cooks Pancit

While I'm on vacation, I'm re-posting some favorites from last year. This was originally published in May of 2010. I made pancit again yesterday, which inspired me to repost.

We live in a rural town in Southeastern Massachusetts. One drawback to living here is that it isn't particularly diverse. That is, most residents are caucasian, middle class, Christians. For a parent who is dedicated to raising children who are comfortable with people of different races, religions, and cultures, this is a challenge. We have a variety of friends, but the reality is that in our day-to-day lives of work, school, and home, our world can be very white. For many of you, this may be the case, too. Or maybe you are a person of color and nearly everyone in your neighborhood looks like you.

So, what is a parent to do? There are many ways to introduce different cultures and religions to your children. Of course, nothing is better than interacting with real live people (as I promote in this blog), but there are other steps you can take. Today, I'll give an example of how I used a particular book for that purpose.

While reading Shen's blog, I learned about Cora Cooks Pancit, a picture book about a young girl who "longs to be a cook" like the big kids in her family and cook pancit (a Filipino noodle dish) with her mom. After I picked it up from my library, I left it laying on the coffee table as I often do to spark my kid's interest in a book. As usual, my four year old daughter saw it and asked me to read it to her.

My daughter enjoyed reading a story about a girl who is like her- the youngest in the family who wants to be like the big kids. The great thing about this book is that the last page includes a recipe for pancit with clear instructions for how to cook it. So, what do you think my daughter asked to do upon finishing the book? You guessed it- she wanted to make pancit. So we did. She had to wait a couple of weeks until we were able to get the correct noodles from Kam Man in Quincy, MA, but it was worth the wait. We planned the meal for a leisurely Friday night and the whole family got involved. My son opened the cans of bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, and baby corn while my daughter soaked the noodles like Cora did in the book. Then both kids and Daddy shredded the chicken, just like Cora, while I chopped the vegetables. It was time consuming, but we worked as a family to get the job done, and enjoyed each other's company. The results...delicious!

The strange thing is, I lived in the Philippines as a teenager and loved pancit. Yet, I have never cooked it until now. What was I waiting for? What are you waiting for? Get this book and have a go! I hope you enjoy the opportunity for family bonding, learning about another culture, and good eating.

If you want to know more about Filipino cuisine, check out Burnt Lumpia. To learn more about Filipino culture and to learn some Tagalog words with your child, read Filipino Friends.

What do you think? Would you try this with your family or students? Do you have a favorite book about another culture that includes a recipe? Please tell us about it.