just a spoonful of nutella helps the mexican food go down

What are you in the mood for - Mexican? Thai? Ethiopian? I can't wait until I can ask myself that question without having it prompt a moan. Have you ever tried diversifying your palette with little more than pinto beans and a few pesticide-laden veggies on hand?

Of course, it isn't all bad - I did find this lone jar of Nutella at a local store, which I proceeded to devour like a famished dog. Chocolate is hard to come by. We have, on rare occasion, found a bag of unmarked chocolate chips hiding amongst the tortilla chips. Taking this to be a good sign, we began to ask for chocolate chips when we couldn't find them on the shelves. They had NO clue what we were talking about. The woman at the register actually showed us chicken bouillon and said, "Si, es chocolate." Umm ... okay, so she was crazy. Whatever. The chocolate chips had a vague taste of "been sitting around a Mexican grocery store for 10 years so start to taste like the grocery store" thing about them, anyway.

Most of the time I try to make the best of the situation, but come winter, the prospects get considerable worse if you are a Moosewood snob at heart, like myself. You mean the only vegetables available are carrots, an occasional tomato, and iceberg lettuce? Going grocery shopping can be pretty depressing, let me tell you! Especially when all of you lovely bloggers are constantly raving about a newfound wonder-recipe using all organic ingredients, or posting saliva-producing photos of your latest baking pursuits. Am I the only one who got totally envious when I downloaded Amy's recipe cheat-sheet? Gosh. I'm pretty sure this means that I am due to gain about 278 pounds once I move back to the US and sign up at a local organic co-op.

Just a quick update - I have been receiving so many sign-ups for the Holiday Traditions Exchange that I can no longer respond to each one! Just look for an email from me sometime before Nov. 14th, which will contain your swap partner's information. If you don't hear from me by the 15th, then go ahead shoot me off an email.

P.S. Watch this for a good laugh. It's also perfect for inducing cheese ball lust.

fine art and food art

Gushing gratitude for my blogging friend, Jo, from Japan! Jo put together some art card PDF files and sent them off to me to share with y'all. I've uploaded them to Box.net for easy downloading. Just click on the blue "Box View My Files" button in the side bar. The files are located in the "Art Cards" folder.

Another fabulous resource for art appreciation is the Child-Size Masterpiece series, available here at Montessori Services. I also recommend this book that tells you how to use the series in the home or classroom.

While we're on the topic of art, let me throw in another artsy idea - bento boxes! This is creativity extended to food. Jo first turned me on to the possibilities of Bento for children. Here's one of her creations:
Bento boxes are common in Japanese cuisine. They first made their appearance during the mid-1500's, and were eaten during a hanami, or tea party. Their portability made them popular among travelers, and their use later extended to teachers and school children, who brought their bentos for along for lunch.

The potential of bento boxes for children seems astronomical - a delighful, fun presentation of fresh, healthy, unprocessed food! I imagine that it would also be a fun way for the adult and child to corroborate in meal preparation. Here are some links to other bento box resources:

Bento Corner English blog on creating bentos, specifically for children
Bento In Japanese and English
Cooking Cute - A Bento Site Links to lots of resources, including bento making supplies
Vegan Lunch Box Bento book for vegetarians and vegans, geared toward children
Bento Boxes - Japanese Meals on the Go
e-obento Japanese language blog with great pics