8 Jun

Sunday Dinner: Beer-Simmered Bratwurst with Onions and Red Cabbage Sauerkraut

Posted by jaysaint in Alden wouldn't eat it, Sunday Dinner. Tagged: , .

Back out of my comfort zone this week with a seriously meaty dish. Bratwurst was a good choice for a few reasons. It’s a very Cincinnati dish, by way of Cincinnati being a very German town. I love my hometown so much I might even make goetta some day. Also, our local Earth Fare makes their own sausages, which somehow makes it more palatable to me. And finally, Damon loves it. Loves it loves it.


I love sauerkraut. I love spicy, pickled things. This recipe, though, make my cabbage taste like a mouthful of vinegar. I added two liberal fistfulls of sugar and that brought it back to where I needed it to be.

Not to self: Don’t marinate bratwurst in expensive beer.



That’s not Bobby Flay’s fault. I just asked Damon to grab dark beer. Of course he bought Guiness. I don’t think the beer flavor particularly came through. We could certainly have gotten there more cheaply.

Also in the pot were these onions, which came out delish.

We served the whole mess with some pickled veggies.

My biggest miss was the lack of potatoes. The meal needs something starchy. I found out too late, though, that our bag of potatoes had sprouted enough arms and legs to fight for its life.

Recipe #4: Beer-Simmered Bratwurst with Onions and Red Cabbage Sauerkraut from FoodNetwork.com.

Another one this week, not from Dad’s file:

Recipe #5: Meatless Muffaletta from ThreeManyCooks.com

Pretty good, although potent even for me. I might have preferred fresh tomato over sun-dried. I did take the olive mix, fresh tomatoes and romano cheese and pour it all over pasta the next day. Amazing!

30 May

One Soldier

Posted by jaysaint in Uncategorized.

Today I’m thinking more than usual about my grandpa, Charles St. Charles (no joke).

Born Casimiro Cianciolo, his family came to America from Termini Imerese, near Palermo in Sicily. He married Carmela Rini, had two kids, supported an extended family as a matter of course, and earned a Purple Heart fighting for America on foreign soil during WWII. He very rarely spoke of his time in the service, so most of his stories went with him when he died. I do know he was shot while arresting his ordered retreat to return for an injured soldier, which is how he got his commendation.

Charles St. Charles
Christmas, 2003

He did not go to college. He worked. He paid for my college. He gave me a house. He spent most of his career at the Cincinnati Enquirer, and was so proud and pleased that were in the same field. It’s a comfort to me that I think he knew before he died that he didn’t need to worry about me anymore.

I try to work hard. And I try not to complain. Several important people taught me the value of that, but he taught it to me first.

25 May

A New Developmental Phase

Posted by jaysaint in Elliot, speech. Tagged: .

A few weeks ago I reported that Elliot broke new and important ground.

“Mama” rode in on a wave of words. We’ve left behind parsing every syllable: “Was that ‘mmm’ for moo? I think he’s trying to say moo! We just drove past some cows. Seriously, I think he’s trying to say ‘Moo’!.” Now it’s more like: “Did I tell you he’s saying hippo? Well, hubbo anyway. He started a few days ago. Show him a Sandra Boynton book and he’ll do it. Super cute.”

Less, exciting, but still a relief.

I suppose I expected that when I told his therapist about this change she would proclaim him “normal.” I even fretted a little bit that he wouldn’t continue to qualify for services.

You parents who have been there may be thinking, “Oh dude, you are so kidding yourself.” Or maybe just, “I remember that.”

It’s a new phase, not for Elliot but for me. Denial and unrealistic expectations. I was hoping, perhaps all along, to be rewarded for my ready acceptance and can-do attitude by a complete reprieve within just months of our first diagnostic appointment.

I burbled out all my news about Elliot’s progress. After just a moment of happy response his therapist moved right into how quickly we could get him up to two appointments a week. Have you ever blurted out, “I think we should get married!” right as your beloved said, “We need to spend some time apart.” I have not (Thank you Baby Jesus.) but that’s about how far apart we were. I was disoriented, and it took a few minutes for my brain to catch up with my mouth.

I understand now (or rather I admit the possibility to myself) that Elliot isn’t going to progess in a linear way until he rings a bell and gets his pass to Normal Talker Town. Or maybe he will. I guess I can continue to admit that possibility too. I might also suffer some reversals, mis-perceive the process, throw out my gratitude for all our excellent help and instead stamp my feet about how we never wanted it in the first place

14 May

Disney World: Suitable for Framing Edition

Posted by jaysaint in family travel. Tagged: .

I led with the photos that made me laugh, but we also captured some adorable.

Elliot is READY!

Old Friends

Damon is also pretty cute.

Beat

This is me wearing what I thought was a Cincinnati Reds t-shirt. I spent a whole day looking behind me while people shouted “Go Bears!”

You can also see that Elliot is mid stroller escape. Multiply that times a million and that was our trip.

12 May

Required Reading for a 3-Year-Old

Posted by jaysaint in Alden. Tagged: .

I need some new books for Alden.

He’s never been a big fan of reading, much preferring his cars, swords, and “punch whacking” to anything stationary. Before I had him I’d have told you that would break my heart. Now, though, I enjoy his go-go energy and I get a lot of joy from whatever it is that pleases him. Although I really could do with less punch whacking.

I now know I can enjoy my little ruffian with no sense of loss for the nerdy reader. So maybe we’re demonstrating that if you “just relax” you’ll get what you want (Holla fellow infertiles!). Whatever it is, things have shifted lately. In addition to our nightly bedtime-stalling books Alden has started, occasionally, pulling out his little library at other times. You better believe I’ll let that spaghetti overcook if he wants another round of Goodnight Gorilla. So maybe I still care a little bit.

Since this is new to us I don’t have a great sense of what kid lit gems are out there.

His favorites right now are the aforementioned Goodnight Gorilla, When a Monster Is Born, Courderoy, Thomas and the Something Something Mine, Monster Night at Grandma’s House, and 101 Dalmations. For the Thomas book I skip as much as he’ll let me get away with, because it is B-O-R-I-N-G. For the last two I make up the story and we just look at the pictures.

Which leads me to an important point: Nothing scary. Alden got the real 101 Dalmations once and was HORRIFIED at Cruella’s puppy coat scheme. He does not like anything that threatens or even implies real harm. Not even to bad guys. I am happy to protect his tender version of reality for as long as he prefers it that way. Heck, I prefer it that way.

Fake harm, though, is our sweet spot. Slapstick. Characters falling into swimming pools, bushes, mud puddles or any other mischief are fantastic. Clifford broke the barn? Awesome! In general, animals (and monsters) are more interesting than people. Isn’t that the truth?

Winnie the Pooh is a no-brainer, and he’s already in my Amazon cart. So is Where the Wild Things Are. The Disney oeuvre in general is too scary. Alden is, after all, still asking “Why that mommy would put her baby in a tree?” after they learned some simple songs one day in preschool.

What else? What are the best books for a 3-year-old?

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