Afternoon coffee and biscotti, watching your kids from afar

I was the parent library volunteer for Jack's class today, and the kids are just so cute. J was wearing his madras pants, a polo, belt and "fancy" shoes, and I gotta say that seeing him come in in that outfit, behave so well, look so happy- well it just made my heart burst with love and pride. I find that often when you think you need a ginormous break from your kids, you sometimes just need to see them in a different light. Yes, sometimes you should run for the hills, but on other occasions, a new perspective makes you fall in love with them all over again.

I think that's why I go into each boy's room every night after they're asleep. Sometimes I just look at them, other times I snuggle them to pieces. In either case, I see them quiet, at peace, safe and secure, and I know that I've done and am doing my best. They are happy and, by and large, healthy, and it is a gift to be their mother.

I also recommend an afternoon off! At present, I'm enjoying a coffee am biscotti, having just done most of the shopping for Thursday's tea sandwich marathon.

Around the bend

People, stupid sibling rivalry in concert with seemingly unprecedented levels of talking and siren-sound making is driving me batty this morning. "He's touching my leg, mom," "I want that broken twig, it's MINE," "I can't put these colored pencils in the box"- cue dramatically tumbling to a heap on the ground...I tried to disassociate by making muffins- those pumpkin-plum muffins are the bomb!- and coffee. It's so interesting how much more intense and difficult things seem when you're solo-parenting. Tom left at some ungodly hour this morning and will be gone all honking week. Anyway, I have such a huge amount of respect for single parents- that's a hard effing job! Thank goodness for schools, extended families, friends and so forth.

Chutney, Burned Eggplant, Yummy New Fall Salad

This is just so darn easy and so darn good. Yum! I made this in anticipation of Thursday's afternoon tea as 1/3 of the sandwiches will be sharp cheddar, chicken and this. Delish! For dinner, I burned the fresh eggplant (right on the stove top burners) bought yesterday at the farmers market. You can really tell a difference in ones just picked- they were so good and fresh. And the pom seeds are a pretty touch and a nice textural addition. Here's how burned you want the melanzane before you peel and chop the flesh. And here's the final product.

After reviewing Yotam's recipe for the kohlrabi salad, I decided to go in a slightly different direction, and I was quite pleased. It's a wonderfully Fall salad: kohlrabi (like a radish; in the picture is a purple one in front of a green one), daikon, cherry radish, green apple, hazelnuts, dried cherries, avocado, garlic, lemon, olive oil and rice wine vinegar! All served with fresh bread from the oven. I'm stuffed but in a lovely, hearty way.