Got MILF?

Bookclub, anyone?

I'm in love with a Magnificent Bastard

and I want everyone to know it.

No, it's not Mr. C. In fact, he's in love with this MB also. If you don't know Dack Ragus, aka, The Magnificent Bastard, you're missing out.

image taken from http://www.magnificentbastard.com/. hope he doesn't mind.

Well, as it turns out, this Dack fellow is a pretty interesting chap; a real one of a kind. He is the Minneapolis (actually Edina, but we don't want to embarrass him) based editor of The Magnificant Bastard and if you haven't read his stuff you need to get yourself over to his website (preferably with a big fat cocktail or three) and be prepared to stay awhile. It appears that aside from his sartorial musings for the modern man, he is all about deconstructing the "toolbag". There are only 90 postings on what it is to be a toolbag and what a criminal act of "toolbaggery" may be. If you ever thought there was even the slightest chance you might be a toolbag, you need to check with the MB.

And then there is his female alter ego, The Spectacular Bitch. The SB and the MB are the perfect compliment to one another- sassy, salty, sarcastic.

Words cannot describe...just read for yourself, toolbag.

I am Mommy, hear me roar...

No, not really. I am not one of those Moms. And luckily I don't know too many, even here in what some believe to be competitive little Edina.

I am currently reading this controversial piece of "literature", The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, and this lady is not only insane, but insecure, and in spite of all her Ivy League degrees, pretty damn ignorant. I feel bad for author Amy Chua. Really I do. Her girls seem like pretty cool kids and all she wants to do is "drill" them on violin and piano for hours on a Saturday morning depriving them of food, water, and a toilet. Too bad she missed out on the massive Nerf war our family had in our pajamas last weekend, or the dance party that broke out after dinner last Tuesday. I know we should have been at hockey practice (we skipped), and we were supposed to be memorizing multiplication tables (I hate math), but sometimes ya just gotta say, "screw it". Our kids have so much responsibility, homework, and pressure these days that a little good old fashioned fun seems to be a dying past time. Well, to quote Amy Chua,

"Not on my watch."

This excerpt from The Huffington Post seems to be a little more in sync with our parenting philosophy in the Codding household-

1. Watching a little crappy television after school is a good thing.

2. You get the kid you get. It's not you. Do your best with what you have.

3. My personal favorite- It's every parent's obligation to teach their children that no one likes an asshole.

4. Every child who enters our house is a welcome guest.

5. Terrible parents can have wonderful children. And vice versa.

6. On the truly rare occasion your child needs defending, do it. Carefully.

7. The quality of a seven-year-old's day is just as important as that of a 37-year-old. Childhood is not training for adulthood. It's childhood.

8. My children are the most extraordinary and important creatures on earth. They are beyond beautiful. I love them more than words can ever express. This is my private secret. It's also the private secret of every parent I meet.

9. Most parents are doing the very best job they can under often challenging circumstances. Be nice.

Pass It On...

It all began with the carrots. The gorgeous "Rainbow Bunch Carrots" I spotted as I was walking through Linden Hills Co-op. I wasn't exactly there to grocery shop, but to merely pick up a few oddball items (probiotics, bovine colostrum, and chlorophyll to be exact) for my kittens that have nasty colds (which is another blog post entirely) and I pass through the produce aisle on my way to the vitamin section. I was stopped dead in my tracks by this stunning array of purple, deep orange, and pale yellow carrots. Yes. Carrots. I paused and thought that they would be perfect with the chicken I was planning to prepare that night, so into the basket they went, making perfect company with the bright green serum and cow breast milk I just happened to be picking up.

Next on my agenda was a quick trip to Barnes and Noble in search of a new something something to read. Fresh out of novels, magazines, and design books after vacation I was not sure what I was searching for. Maybe a detox manual? Something about squirrely seven year old boys? Typical me...I find myself roaming about in the cookbook aisle. Immediately I spot Jamie Oliver's (The Naked Chef on the Food Network) new book- Jamie's Food Revolution. Last year Jamie did a television special about revolutionizing school lunch. I loved his idea, his conviction, and his tenacity to take on the fattest city in America and it's nasty lunch ladies, but mostly I admired his deep desire to change how our kids eat. I was so inspired that after watching his show I was ready to pull a Jamie and march right into our Principal's office and demand they overhaul our school lunch program. Well....I haven't quite gotten that far yet, but I am fighting hard for it in my own home. My children are three very different eaters. My oldest wants to be a chef himself and is experimental, adventurous, and has a great palate. My middle son wants nothing but pasta. The youngest, well, let's just say we call him "The Elf". He pretty much lives on a diet of candy canes, candy corns, syrup and chocolate. No joke. It's amazing he has grown as tall as he has. Given the circumstances, I am constantly searching for recipes that will satisfy all my little eaters.

Jamie Oliver's new book is not just full of fabulous (and super easy) recipes that you can feed your family, but it truly is about a revolution. He asks one small, simple favor of his readers- to please pass on the recipes. Remember when our grandmothers and mothers used to exchange recipe cards and store them in the funny little box that sat on the kitchen counter? You remember the ones that said, From Judy's Kitchen and had funny little pictures of a baking housewife up in the corner? Some were so frequently used in meal rotations that you almost couldn't read the neat handwriting or block type from a typewriter. Often if a neighbor or relative were making one cornflake casserole, they would pop another one in the oven and it would end up on your dinner table that evening. Food was used to connect, and often comfort. Today, it seems we are shoveling chicken nuggets, french fries, and Lunchables down our kids throats in the car on the way to some sort of lesson, practice, or play date. I can safely say I have never purchased Lunchables, and I seem to always be on the defensive side of the organic food debate, but I am also realistic in that we can't always feed our kids "perfectly".

But sensibly and reasonably is another story.

Jamie's request is that you pledge to learn one meal really WELL from each chapter. This week I chose Jamie's Asian Chicken Noodle Broth recipe. A combination soup/stir fry sort of concoction, it seems to have flavors and textures that both kids and adults can enjoy. SO...I am pledging to Pass It On. My little errand looking for kitty cold remedies and a new read turned into a renewed food commitment to myself, my family, and to Jamie.


Cook. Eat. Enjoy. And please, Pass It On.