- We still had cherry tomatoes growing in our garden in November!
2. I found farro at Bulk Barn and it made such a nice dish cooked with tomatoes and onions and topped with parsley and parmesan. I plan to use it again. (Con: it’s more expensive than rice or barley.)
3. Before we went to the Santa Claus parade I thought the kids wouldn’t get any candy, but turns out they got plenty… it’s just handed out instead of tossed these days.
4. Red River Cereal was invented in 1924, discontinued in 2020, but it’s back!
5. Food allergies are on the rise, with over 10% of Americans affected. However, new treatments in the works include oral immunotherapy, biologics, and a vaccine for peanut allergies. I’ll be interested to read more about these.
6. Kaiseki is a traditional Japanese multi-course meal using fresh, seasonal ingredients. (I learned about it in the picture book Niki Nakayama: A Chef’s Tale in 13 Bites… I hope I’ll have more to share soon.)
7. We taught our 9- and 8-year-olds to play Sushi Go! and it went well. Always nice to add another game to the family repertoire. (Also, Andrew and I have been playing Bohnanza after a hiatus of a few years and he hasn’t beat me yet!)
8. John McCrae, who wrote “In Flanders Fields,” was also a physician, teacher, writer, artist, and soldier.
9. Ralph Vaughan Williams (1874-1958) used English folk music in his pieces after a couple of centuries of German composers being more prominent in England. (I recently bought a composer study guide from Tillberry Table and I’m excited to keep learning along with my kids.)
10. Having my kids do some of their school narrations in writing instead of orally is very helpful the more students I have.
Beavers use stones as well as sticks and logs to make their lodges. Just saw some fascinating underwater footage of a Beaver carefully adding a large rock to his foundation.
After watching the most recent Downton Abbey movie, I had to research pernicious anemia. It sounds obsolete, but it still exists. Thankfully, it’s now fairly treatable.