Recipe: Sweet Potato Chili With Polenta

Chocolate-Covered Katie's yummy-looking version

Warning! I have served this dish twice to my boys, and both times they gobbled it up!

(The following is a riff on "Chocolate-Covered Katie"'s recipe and Rose Reisman's from her vegetarian cookbook which seems to be out of print.)

Chili
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-2 med. zucchini, diced
- 2-3 sweet potatoes, cubed
- half a fennel (anise) bulb, finely chopped

- 1-2 cans kidney beans
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- appx. 1 cup corn kernels, frozen or fresh (optional)
- 1 1/2 cups stock, chicken or veggie

- 1 tbs chili powder, or to taste
- 1 tbs ground cumin, or to taste (myself, I usually use a lot)
- salt, if desired

1. To prep the fennel, cut the bulb in half lengthwise and remove the feathery fronds. Then, remove the solid core of the bulb, cutting an upside-down "V"and prying it out. Thinly slice the de-cored half bulb, and finely chop.

2. Prep the other veggies.

3. Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil, and simmer until potatoes are soft. Chili often tastes even better when the flavours marry a bit --so make a big batch and eat it more than once!

Polenta
Chili over polenta was a big hit, but I have also served it over brown rice. (Toast is a great alternative when time is short.)

- 3 cups stock, chicken or veggie
- 1 cup polenta
- salt, if desired

1. Bring stock to a boil. Add polenta, and simmer gently for appx. 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let stand a few minutes before serving.

What's your favourite vegetarian chili recipe?

5 Realistic Ways to Go "Greener": #2 Gift Wrap Alternatives

Turns out, gift wrap is not so environmentally-friendly. The paper kind, though recyclable, is usually virgin paper (i.e. no recycled content). The same for gift bags; plus, these also typically have a laminated surface, which often render them non-recyclable.

Hmmm. So what's a Realistic Mummy trying to be "greener" to do?

Here are my favourite gift wrap alternatives:

1. Fabric
I'll use this when I'm giving to relatives ('cuz then I can ask for it back!). As versatile as wrapping paper, and very long-lived. I have bought new fabric for wrapping purposes, but more "eco" would be to repurpose an old sheet or whatnot.

2. Newspapers and Plain Recycled Newsprint/Kraft Paper
A time-tested favourite! Give your newspaper a second job before heading to the recycling bin. Or, pick up a bulk roll of already recycled paper. (The recycled content is key here, with "post-consumer recycled" content more important than "pre-consumer recycled"). And who says they have to stay plain? Paint, markers, crayon all pretty-up these recycled paper options.

3. Kids' Artwork
Most parents seem to have more artwork than any household can keep. Why not use some of it to wrap gifts? It's like giving two presents at once!

4. Scarves
I mean the "silk" type ones, though I imagine a wool one would work too, in the right circumstance. Again, this idea did not originate with me. A millennia ago, we were given a wedding gift wrapped in a scarf. Lovely! And polyester scarves are easy to find and inexpensive at thrift shops.

The additional challenge is then to wrap the gift in question without tape! (Tape is just strips of sticky plastic, after all.) Reusable fabric ribbon and raffia are my preferences. For a mature gift recipient, safety pins --maybe diaper pins?-- could also work.

Tying fabric/scarves around objects in the Japanese style of furoshiki is a great option. Check out Japan's Ministry of the Environment pdf on tying techniques!

How about you? What gift wrap alternatives have you tried?

(And in case anyone is keeping track, the numbering for the "green" tips is indeed now ascending. I realized that doing it the other way was dumb...)

Dining on Table Scraps

This evening, for dinner, one of my boys ate the end of a cucumber and an apple core, both intended for the compost bin. That's all. Yes, really.

The context? Well, first I must share that I have a firm policy on eating at dinnertime. If my kids do not want to eat dinner, that's okay; but once dinner is over, the kitchen is closed until breakfast. With four young boys, I do not wish to open myself to becoming their personal short-order cook, on-call at any time.

Tonight, one of my three-year-olds was not interested in dinner. Fine. After our bedtime routine, and as I was carrying one boy to bed, the three-year-old in question announced he'd wanted to eat dinner.

He ran downstairs while I was bedding the others. When I followed him into the kitchen, he pointed at his empty plate (I'd put the leftovers away already). I explained that dinner was done and that he must wait for breakfast.

Upon registering this news, he --screeching all the while-- grabbed the only edible morsels still on the counter: the butt-end of a cucumber and an apple core.

I felt a strange mix of emotions as I watched him gnaw at the cucumber remnant and nibble at the apple remains. On the one hand, I was horrified that my stalwartness was causing one of my darlings to consume table scraps in lieu of a meal. On the other hand, I admired his resourcefulness and was thankful that he had landed on a solution that allowed us both to "win."

He did accept going to bed relatively quietly after that. And, he probably won't try for dinner after-the-fact again... Or at least not for a long while...

The Grinch Who Saved Birthdays

Now, don't tell me you haven't heard of the Birthday Grinch? Like her more famous cousin --you know, the one that "stole" Christmas-- this Grinch also makes gifts disappear... birthday gifts. Unlike her waffling cousin, however, the Birthday Grinch is resolute: no last-minute change of heart here. Nope. Birthday presents are --poof!-- all gone.

image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The Dr. Seuss references aside, I honestly do specify "no gifts" on the party invitations to our boys' friends. Gifts from relatives we allow. But politely declining gifts from friends stems the seemingly unavoidable rising tide of kids' toys, and it helps our sons look forward to having fun with their friends versus getting, getting, getting.

In reality there are two main differences between me (aka the Birthday Grinch) and the green grouchy guy who lives at the top of a mountain. First, I don't take away gifts that are already given. If a friend brings a gift, we say "thank you,"and then we open it after the party.

And second, my reason for banning birthday presents is not because the little rug-rats irritate me with their joyfulness. On the contrary, I do it with their long-term happiness as an end goal. I figure guiding our kids to consume in a less rabid fashion is ultimately better.

How about you? How do you keep toy levels in check?

Aren't We All "Mom Enough"?

Even if you don't read Time Magazine, I'm sure you've heard of the sensationalistic cover story on attachment parenting (May 21, 2012 issue). Ah yes, the boob shot that sent shockwaves around the world.

The Time's article joined the larger discussion on attachment parenting recently set off by the marketing of French feminist and writer Elisabeth Badinter's book, The Conflict: How Modern Motherhood Undermines the Status of Women. Just in case you've managed to avoid getting bogged-down in this controversy, simply put, Badinter argues that attachment parenting is bad and anti-feminist because it requires mothers to focus their time and energy on their child(ren) to such a degree that the other aspects of these women's lives suffer (work, other relationships, self-image, etc.).

Now, whether you describe your parenting style as "attachment parenting" or not, I think is beside the point. What really bothered me, was that these two hugely-publicized writings have seemed to portray parenting in rather black-and-white hues: you're this or you're that, you're for or against, you're successful or you're a failure...

Whoa! When has parenting ever been able to be described in such stark, opposing terms? I know I take what I think is a good idea or theory, try it out to a greater or lesser extent, evaluate and modify as needed. As needed by what? As needed by my particular situation.

Take one of the main issues of controversy, co-sleeping, as an example. For some parents, this works great: baby sleeps well, you sleep well, baby feeds well, you enjoy the proximity to your child... For others, it doesn't: baby doesn't sleep well, baby doesn't feed well, you don't sleep well, you need some time without someone pawing at you...

For many of us, we end up doing some variation on co-sleeping: just when the baby is very young, just when the child is ill, just when the other parent is away...

What is best? Whichever set-up keeps us sane and feeling overall positive towards our children. Why? Because then we can lovingly parent our youngsters in our conscious hours. And that's what being "mom enough" really means.

Thankfully, all this hyperbolic, polarizing stuff has brought out some moderates and qualifiers as well. For a few balanced, "expert" insights check out the Globe and Mail's continuing discussion and the NYT's blog, Motherlode.