As an elementary school girl, I had a fetish for the paper fortune teller game. Remember the one that was folded like origami and involved numbers, favorite colors, and ended with predictions on which boy you would marry? Or, what you would be when you grew up? Or, horrors, how you would die?

I can still remember how it felt to move the paper “fish mouth” up and down and back and forth with my thumbs and pointer fingers counting out the required number of movements. I played this little game with any willing being and quite often, I subjected my parents to my mystic ways of prediction.

As part of the game it was necessary to state your favorite color. When asked, my Dad always answered, “Red.” This seemed reasonable. I accepted it as life-long fact, and still purchase him clothing in shades of red. When my mother was asked her favorite color, she replied, “Green.” This always stumped me. Green?? Why not purple, or pink, or even, blue? Green…for a girl?? For years it perplexed me. I couldn’t get past it.

And then, I grew up.

And then, I began painting my own home shades of green.

And declaring that “green is good” in the garden – planting boxwood hedges, and Japanese maples with green leaves only, and letting the moss grow.

And insisting that half my plate at mealtime be covered with green.

And posting recipes for green smoothies. And watercress/arugula salads.

And then, it occurred to me that I love green as much as my beautiful mother does. I find it soothing, and calming, and nourishing. All things that I crave during the chaos of parenthood.

And I realized that there is so much we can’t understand about our mothers when we’re young, but when we grow up and become mothers ourselves, we have a newfound admiration for just how wise and wonderful they are.

 “Happy Mother’s Day! I love you so much!! My wise and wonderful and beautiful mother!! xoxo”

Recently, I realized that my love for green has carried over to my work for 1859 Oregon’s Magazine. And I wanted to point out that good, greenness to all of you lovely people. I know I’ve been rather quiet here on La Pomme (blame Lacrosse season with 3 kids playing,) but I have been dutifully, writing little bits up for the magazine that I think you would enjoy.

• Make Way for Spring Greens – some musings on my spring garden and my favorite way to dress up those greens.
• Cheesy Potatoes (i.e. fingerling Potatoes with Kale and Gruyere Cheese) – Because I can’t stop tucking green bits into everything. But trust me, these are dang good. Although, if you make the recipe, please note that a mistake was made when it was printed/posted. The CORRECT amount of nutmeg should be 1/8 teaspoon.
• Strawberry Parfaits with Balsamic Vinegar and Mint – You see even something as simple as a parfait must have green in it. The story that accompanies this article was inspired by my mother’s brilliance.
• And in the latest issue of 1859, I am sporting a recipe for Roasted Asparagus Vol-au Vents. Basically, asparagus sautéed with mushrooms, shallots and white wine – all wrapped up in buttery puff pastry.

Here’s the live version:

We have some exciting changes happening at the Minns’ household in the next couple of weeks. Not sure if I’m having a momentary lapse of sanity, or what, but will share soon.

Cheers,
Carrie

PS: If you are interested in receiving the latest issue of 1859 Oregon’s Magazine, I have 2 extra copies. Leave me a comment below by Friday, May 17 at midnight, PST and let me know you’d like one . I’ll have the 8-year-old draw the winning names from a hat.

Sometimes when the world around me feels frightening and uncertain, I want to gather up my chickens and my hubby and pile us all on a great big cozy bed. And I want to eat ice cream and watch movies and snuggle with my children – without them knowing that we’re snuggling.  And when the movie is over and they’ve fallen asleep, I want to gaze at their faces, and watch them sleep like I did when they were babies. When I waited with anticipation for every rise and fall of their chests.

Never mind that my two oldest are 13 and 15 now, and they would probably be “creeped out” to know I was watching them sleep.

But, just a few weeks ago during their spring vacation, I did just that.

We holed up together – the 5 of us – at our favorite little getaway in Old Town Scottsdale: FireSky Resort. A little desert oasis. Intimate. Bougainvillea everywhere.

I spent the mornings sipping coffee in the sun. Reading. While the kids slept.

Under umbrellas on the patio, I ordered and promptly devoured their Fennel and Watercress Salad with grilled shrimp for lunch. Like “spring for my body” after a long, heavy winter.

In the afternoon, the boys swam and pestered each other. My daughter and I soaked up some much-needed Vitamin D and the hubby came and went from the pool to SportsCenter depending on the March Madness schedule.

And in the late evening, when the in-room movie was over and my children were sound asleep, I gazed over at them. And watched them softly breathing. Comforted by knowing, in that moment, they were safe in our little makeshift nest.

I am deeply saddened by what happened in Boston on Monday. My heart goes out to those families who lost a loved one. Words to try to make sense of why it happened escape me.

Hug your hubby, your wife, your partner, your kiddos, your mom, your dad, your sister, your brother, your best friend, your cousin, your aunt, your uncle, your nana, your papa, your neighbor, random strangers on the street.

xo
Carrie

I’m in the thick of “spring cleaning.” My “cleaning” is different than the one you may be envisioning. No, I’m not beating my rugs with a broom, or dusting my refrigerator coils. What I’m doing is giving the insides of this ole body some TLC now that the hibernating months are over.

Each spring, I like to consider some of my “consumption” habits and try to make some minor improvements that will allow my body to feel better and more energized.

Now, I’m not talking about dieting. Diet-schmiet. I’m not a big fan. Although, yes, back in the day when I was aerobicizing to Jane Fonda, I did partake in the grapefruit diet, the chicken broth diet, and the cucumber diet. My sister claims there was a hot dog diet at one point too, which I can’t imagine since I looooathe hot dogs.

No, what I like to do is make itsy-bitsy manageable changes, and I do not do it through restriction. That method always backfires. For instance, if I said to myself, “You need to cut back on the amount of wine you are “enjoying” each evening and can only have one glass of wine a week.” – a restriction goal – then, I would be guzzling a whole bottle every night.

Instead, I make it a goal to increase the food or beverage I want to eat or drink more of and leave my guilty pleasures alone. They naturally take care of themselves.

About 10 years ago, when I first started this annual ritual, I wanted to kick my “3 cans of Diet Coke a day” habit. Instead of telling myself I couldn’t have it, my goal was, “Drink more iced tea and sparkling water.” And I stocked my house with those beverages. When eating out, I encouraged myself to order iced tea or sparkling water and slowly, over time, my tastes and cravings changed. Iced tea and sparkling water became my go-to cold beverages. Every now and again, I long for a Diet Coke  - either in a glass with ice or cold in a can but never from a plastic bottle – and I let myself have one, but I’ve found that I’ve lost my taste for it.

This year, I want to drink less caffeine with less dairy. My body already reves too high so the caffeine does a number on my adrenals…much like pouring gasoline on a blazing fire…and the acid wreaks havoc on my stomach. As for the dairy, I’ve often joked that I’ll take my coffee “half and half” – half coffee, half Half & Half – even though dairy and I are not friends. We have no business hanging out together, especially in small confined spaces with other people around.

So, I’ve given myself 2 goals:

1. Drink more Americanos (espresso usually has less caffeine than drip coffee) with the tiniest smidge of cream – just enough to soften it ever so slightly.
2. Drink more green smoothies in the morning. My hope is that the green smoothie will fill me up and naturally limit my consumption of Americanos to one instead of two or three.

We’ll see how it goes. What I’ve learned from the past is that with patience it usually works itself out without much thought from me. Below you’ll find the green smoothie I’m currently enjoying. If the green is too much for you, I posted a purple “green smoothie” over here on 1859.

I’m always curious how you manage the minefield of our current food landscape. Do you do anything like this? What do you do when you want to change a “consumption” habit? I’d love to know and I’m sure others reading La Pomme would as well.

As always, thank you for spending a bit of your precious time here,

xo
Carrie

PS: For the record, wine and chocolate have never made it into the “spring cleaning” ritual.

PPS: Many of you kind-hearted souls have inquired about how my son is doing with his new, but limited, eating routine. It’s hard to know for sure, but he seems to be feeling much better. Instead of his usual vampire look, he actually has rosy color in his cheeks. Makes me smile to see it.