Go-Go Mommy

It's National Popcorn Day!

I don't think there is a person son this planet who loves popcorn as much as my father in law. So in honor of today, January 19th - National Popcorn Day, I am dedicating this post to him. (Let me just add that it is with the most loving respect that I'm sharing this information with you.)

All I can say is that if you happen to have my father in law over to visit and he happens to ask if you would like a snack and then just happens to offer to make some popcorn since its no trouble and is very easy - let me just say that I would not be exaggerating if I told you to have your bowl ready and to score some as soon as the microwave beeps. If not, let's just say that you better be happy with a polite first helping and the rest will be history in just a few quick minutes.

Apparently, no one is sure of the exact origin of national popcorn day - which makes this topic very interesting on many levels for this historian/popcorn lover. While January 19th is cited as the official day, some information ties the celebration to the Superbowl, for obvious reasons. Another interesting wrinkle is that National Popcorn Month is October.

So in honor of today, open your cupboards, find that popcorn, and turn on that machine or microwave and treat yourself and your loved ones to some instant love! Here are some additional ways to celebrate the day:

- Get the little ones involved in making a "popcorn craft" like popcorn pictures;
- Share your favorite popcorn stories;
- Attend a Popcorn Day Event;
- Try a new popcorn recipe like one of these, or this;
- Send a loved one a National Popcorn Day ecard!

Any other ideas to share? And by the way, if you decide to pay homage to the "dancing popcorn (and hotdog)" we all know and love from our "drive-in" days, I'd love to hear about it!

Happy poppin'!

Photo Friday! 01.04.08

Starting off the New Year right - with a good helping of Smoked Salmon Chowder.
Cheers everyone and best wishes for a spectacular 2008!

A Procrastinator's Holiday Shopping Tip

I know I'm not the only one out there that promises each year to begin shopping for the holidays earlier. Here in California you'd think it would be a piece of cake. After all, with each city holding multiple art/wine/something-or-other festivals throughout the year, I should be finished with my shopping long before the holiday season even begins in October (and don't get me started on that subject). Needless to say, it is now December 16 and I still have about 1/3 of my shopping to finish.

I have just, however, come up with the perfect solution which will start me on the right track for "Happy Holidays in 2008." I found my gift idea while I was on PhotoWorks website as I finally designed and ordered our family's 2007 holiday photo cards: I'm going to create a 2008 family recipe book!

Okay, so a recipe book may not sound very exciting but just take a look and you'll see it's not your everyday cookbook. I've put photobooks together on other websites but I never thougth of doing this until I saw how beautifully it could be done on PhotoWorks. They already have a template for the cookbook so all I have to do is collect a few favorite recipies from everyone in the family, try them out throughout the year, take photos of my yummy creations to upload to the photo cookbook, and enjoy my homemade creations. Then, at the end of my year in the "Go-Go Mommy Test Kitchen" I can simply print and ship the books to my family/contributors. I heart PhotoWorks!

I'm already so psyched to get started that I'm sending out the "call for recipies" after I finish this post. Wish me luck with my 2008 gift resolution! I'll definitely keep you all posted on the progress and I'd love to hear about your own gift ideas!

Foodie-Licious

CALLING ALL FOODIES! You know who you are...

You may be a Food Network Foodie, characterized by the following:
- a viewer of "how to entertain" shows like Barefoot Contessa, Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello
- a fan of pop culture and food history: Good Eats with Alto Brown, or Unwrapped
- a reality junkie like The Next Food Network Star or the ever-popular Iron Chef.

You may be a Snail Mail Foodie and subscribe to magazines such as Gourmet, Food & Wine, Cook's Illustrated, or The Art of Eating (look here for a top 10 list.)

Or you might be a Tech Foodie and follow great food blogs such as Gluten-Free Girl, Orangette, or Aapplemint.

Whatever your calling, in honor of the upcoming food feasting holidays, it's time to share the love and send your favorites. What makes you a foodie? Do you have a new "Foodie" category? What are your favorite food magazines, blogs, cookbooks (now there's another Foodie Category) or favorite recipes?

Thanks for sharing - can't wait to broaden my horizons!

"Women with Good Taste"

Back in 2004, a friend of mine and I had our first daughters around the same time - hers was born about 7 weeks before mine. The great thing was that as new mothers, we always compared notes. Notes about feeding and sleeping schedules, motor development, toys, and when the time was right, foods. That's when I first really thought about "partially hydrogenated oils." Funny how I'd never really been concerned for my own health but now that I was responsible for the growth and development of my little one, it was time to pay attention to what I'd been eating all these years. As our daughters were ready for "finger-foods" she warned me to look at the labels and not choose anything with "partially hydrogenated" in the list of ingrediants - and avoid them like the plague.

Since that time about 3 years ago, I have gotten a bit lax. Now that my second daughter is at the "finger-food" stage, another reminder has been sent my way. Eric Armstrong has written a great article about "What's Wrong with Partially Hydrongenated Oils." It was a great wake-up call for me (literally read it at 5:15am since Sweet Pea has been awake since 4:20am today - but that's another blog), not only for my concern for my little ones, but myself and my husband as well.

And what did I discover? I little history and what what I hope will be a tasty find. Welcome to the world of Laura Scudder. Not only was she Ukiah, California's first female attorney, Laura Scudder moved to Monterey Park, California in 1926 and was the first chip manufacturer to pioneer packing chips in bags to seal in freshness rather than use the standard barrel or tin packaging. And to top it all off, Scudders chips are one of two on the market today that are free of hydrogenation! (Click to find a retailer near you.)

I was also reminded by Armstrong that products may contain partially hydrogenated oils but still state they have 0% trans fats. As always, the key is the label. Since the food labels are based on a "standard" portion size, a portion could contain up to 2 grams partially hydrogenated oils (2.2 grams is the highest amount of trans fat permitted per serving) so it can still say "0% trans fat." Who knew?! I'm probably the only mom on the planet who has been looking at the calories/fat ratio but totally missing this important point.

Here's my question for those of us looking for tasty snack foods without partially hydrogenated oils: do they exist or are they merely an oxymoron?

Cross-posted at Silicon Valley Moms Blog.