The Getaway
Who are those people on that beach in Maui? You, girly, with your long hair, your perky…smile and your uncompromised uterus. Quit looking at my uterus. You, young man, with your shoulders yet to have given a piggy back ride, your eyes sparkling from uninterrupted sleep and your…Tommy Bahama shirt. Oh. I guess that is us. My how eight years have aged us. We’ve become grownups. (shhh…don’t argue with me.) We’ve become parents. And,... Read More
Vegan Pie in The Sky (GIVEAWAY)
I was on Math Team in seventh grade. I’m still not sure how that happened. I was a book nerd. I read books. And not books about math. Unless you count A Tale of Two Cities. See, I‘m such a book nerd I actually said that. Is it a wonder I was bullied on my seventh grade math team? Our math team, wearing matching purple t-shirts with all sorts of algebraic formulas screen-printed on them, would pile onto a big yellow school bus and... Read More
Recipeas Worth Repeating: Pickle Soup
Happy National Pickle Day! Happy I Took Nyquil At 8 pm and Slept Until 8 am Day!* Happy Pumpkin Pie For Breakfast Day!* *may not be actual holidays As shiteous as I feel, I couldn’t let the day go by without honoring pickles and everyone’s favorite pickle fiend. (I realize using the word “shiteous” costs me a dollar. It’s worth it.) So I’m revamping my post for Pickle Soup from almost exactly a year ago. Generally when I repeat... Read More
I Take (Mediocre) Photos of My Food (GIVEAWAY)
We interrupt your weekend for a fun announcement and a giveaway. But let me talk about myself first. There are few skills in this life that I was naturally gifted with. I used to be terrible at dressing myself, playing the clarinet, putting on makeup, driving, styling hair, public speaking, cooking, and unfortunately, even walking. And I bruise easily too. I learned early on that if you want to be even mediocre at things, you have to work... Read More
That’s My Girl
I’ve been thinking about getting a DNA test. Had I not spent 21 hours in labor only to see Gigi’s curly head wrapped up in a pink blanket in my arms, I would not believe she was mine. I never really questioned it until last week. She has my eyes. My flair for the dramatic. My love of spinach and cookie dough (but not together). Her first cold of the season had reached that point where I was contemplating keeping her home from school. ... Read More
Unfortunate Nicknames
Gigi and Lulu aside, our family has been cursed with some pretty unfortunate nicknames. You’re probably familiar with my nickname, “Muffin.” As if that isn’t enough in and of itself, there was my mom’s shortened version, “Muff” that she liked to yell at my basketball games. There’s nothing like standing at the free throw line and hearing your mother yell, “Thatta Muff!!!” You may also recall my grandmother, “Kinky.” ... Read More
Secrets to a Happy Marriage
They say the key to any successful relationship is communication. As new parents, Pea Daddy and I always made time to say those three little words: “It’s your turn.” So we decided to institute a daily email policy. Every single day, no matter what, we emailed each other a message containing three statements: 1. Today I feel _______. 2. I love you because ______. 3. [insert one question to ask your significant other] I kept every email... Read More
It Bears Repeating: Make My Man Eat Plants (GIVEAWAY)
I don’t speak for Pea Daddy, but I think he would say that he eats pretty well. Who am I kidding? I constantly speak for Pea Daddy. So I’ll say it, “He eats very well.” Even though you may have read the “meat” of this post before, I think it definitely bears repeating since the question I get asked almost daily is, “How do I get my boyfriend/husband/father to go along with a plant-based diet?” Before I get to that answer... Read More
How the Book Came to Be
Ever since I announced that we were writing a book, the requests came pouring in for me to explain how we got a book deal. And though I promised to write a post about it, I put it off. To be honest, I wasn’t sure the story was worth telling. An agent didn’t just stumble upon my blog, declare me a culinary genius and take me under her wing. A publishing house wasn’t scouring the internet for prospects, discovered my wacky anecdotes... Read More
Pea Sighting: Oregon Live, FOODday Interview (VIDEO)
Remember two weeks ago when The Oregonian reporter Grant Butler came over to cook with me and talk about our book? Well, he brought cameraman/videographer Thomas Boyd with him. And even though The Oregonian story won’t come out until next week, today they released our video that Tom shot and masterfully edited. (click below for video) A few disclaimers, before (or after) you press play: 1. As afraid as you might be that... Read More
Eight Hours and Seven Links
Say hello to my little friend. I spent eight hours this morning on radio interviews across the nation to talk about our new book. It was a cruel joke that we scheduled our radio tour for 4 a.m., the night after The Bachelorette finale. I admit it, it was stupid to stay up ridiculously late to watch what will surely be long-lasting love between two complete strangers. I’d do it again. Therefore, say hello to my little friend. But it was... Read More
The Street Sale
You may not have known it by all the talk about donuts, books, sprinklers and French fries around these parts, but this past week was a hard one. I’m getting pretty good at putting on a brave face. It’s a skill you instantly acquire when you become a mom and have to pretend like getting legs stuck in dining room chairs or crashing into fences with your front teeth happen every day. I guess around here they almost do. Up until seven years... Read More
My French Fry Soulmate
Pea Daddy wasn’t always the only man in my life. I should be so lucky. A little life advice: don’t date brothers, even if it isn’t simultaneously. Especially if they both still live with their mom. At the age of 30. You’re welcome. But even then, I had Pea Daddy in the back of my mind. So when “Mr. Right Now” turned into “Mr. Wrong,” as he always did, I took consolation in the fact that there was one good man still out there. ... Read More
Vegan Values: Noodle Salad with Peanut Mmmm Sauce
I have a soft spot in my heart for Chinese food. When I was Lulu’s age, my grandmother was a waitress at a local Chinese restaurant. It was literally a hole in the wall–not in the nicest part of town, only about 15 small tables, and the owners, their close relatives and my grandmother were the only employees. Thirty years later, it’s still in business. And it still has the best Chinese food in town. Present company excluded, of course. My... Read More
On Gigi’s Birthday
I’m willing to do art projects at 6 a.m. With previously banned glue, Previously hidden glitter, And really, really mediocre poetry. On Gigi’s birthday I have no choice but to turn a blind eye when she wants a donut for breakfast. And I’ll spring for mid-morning pedicures. On Gigi’s birthday, I’ll volunteer to trace silhouettes of 24 classmates, 25 if you count Lulu who now believes she will be graduating from kindergarten in two weeks. I’ll... Read More
The Cutting Room Floor
Bright and early tomorrow morning we are shooting a book trailer for Peas and Thank You. A book trailer is just like a movie trailer, but for a book. Hard to wrap your brain around, huh? I was hoping for an explosion, a Peter Travers of Rolling Stone quote or, even better, a love scene. Grrrow. Turns out, I’m making a salad with the girls and using my parents’ kitchen, which unlike my own, has room for more than two winter coats and... Read More
Muffin Pride
Poor thing. It’s not easy being a muffin in the great “tea party spread” of life. Trust me, I speak from experience. Most of my life, my family has called me “Muffin.” And as embarrassing as it was to have my mom yelling, “Go Muff!!!” at my basketball games, sitting next to the boys who needing no further discouragement from ever asking me out on a date, it kind of fit. Often dry, tough to swallow and a little too responsible for my... Read More
Monkey on My Back
Just when I thought I was over him. I’d shoved all the old photographs and letters in a box in the garage, wedged between the Christmas wrap and the Halloween decorations. I made his favorite dessert for Easter. I stopped changing the radio when our song came on. “Hollaback Girl.” I know. It’s bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S. I stopped thinking it was him, when in a crowded mall or restaurant, I got a whiff of polyester monkey. But then yesterday,... Read More
Cooking in the Living Room
There’s no question that the concept of cooking being an act of love was taught to me by my mom. She was a much better housewife than I am. Laundry was put away after it was folded, not stashed in a basket in the corner of her bedroom for two weeks so everyone could just come hunt through the basket when they needed clean underwear. She was always an incredible cook too. It seems like every night she’d have a big spread of homemade food on... Read More
Open Kitchen
Did you happen to hear that we went to Phoenix? And that we ate at a restaurant with an open kitchen called True Food Kitchen? And that my new life’s mission is to make everything we ate off of their menu? I really need a hobby. A pedicure, a toothbrush that doesn’t have Snoopy on it, and a hobby. Little travel tip for you: don’t pack clear nail polish with a faulty lid in the same travel bag as your uncovered toothbrush or you’ll wind up... Read More
How Do You Sleep At Night?
The problem with being a person who jokes around a lot is that people never quite know when to take you seriously. People like to flatter me and ask, “How in the world do you get everything done in a day?!” And I like to answer, “I don’t sleep.” And they laugh and say, “You are so funny!” But I’m dead serious. And dead tired. The truth is, I’m a lifelong insomniac. Until now. If you suffer from insomnia, I’m sure you can... Read More
Sunshine in a Bowl
We need some sunshine up in here. I’ve been in a bit of a funk since we got home from Phoenix. There is absolutely no date in the foreseeable future in which I will need sunglasses, sunscreen or a bikini wax, and frankly, I’m not okay with that. Nor is Pea Daddy. Prickly Mama Pea. How could this really have just been a week ago? In my naked-eyed, faded tan, stubbly state of depression, I haven’t left the house all week. Why... Read More
I Give Up
The winner of the Amazon giveaway is #934 Wendy! Email me your mailing address to peasandthankyou@hotmail.com and I’ll get your Pea Package in the mail! ********************************** Today is the first day of Lent. I thought long and hard about what to “give up” for the next 40 days until Easter. I’ve been on a spiritual journey this past year, and as I’m trying during Lent to be even more mindful of the sacrifice He made for... Read More
Straight Outta Philly
If you are from Philadelphia, I sincerely apologize for my ignorance. I’ve never been to your fine city. Honestly, pretty much everything I know about Philadelphia, I learned from watching Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reruns, and that show, quite obviously was set in Bel-Air. I am sorry. If it’s any consolation, I owned a Charles Barkley “Any knucklehead can score, but it takes brains to rebound…” t-shirt in the early 90s, when he still... Read More
Den of Sin
I’m not really feeling much better today, despite going to bed early, skipping any sort of physical exertion whatsoever and sneaking downstairs at 2 a.m. to take a hit off the Afrin bottle. Let’s keep that one between you and me. How about a flashback to happier times? When I was in law school, I lived with my brother and his wife in a rental house. I actually loved it. They got a little help with the rent and I got free pastries. How... Read More
Mother Goose
Dear God… something stinks. It might be Mommy. (Mommy is now wishing Pea Daddy’s friends, a few neighbors and friends of her parents would skip this post. I’ve got to keep it real, though.) I’ve led Pea Daddy to believe that I have an invisible pet goose. This goose first came to visit one evening when we were hanging out in my apartment in law school, sipping on Diet Pepsi and sitting in a completely upright position on the end of my... Read More
S’more Stories
There’s never a dull moment around here, is there? It’s okay. I like it that way. I used to see it as a curse that if anything could go wrong, it would. But now, I see it as a blessing. It wasn’t funny when the naked man appeared on our back porch in the middle of the night when I was five. And when I was eight, it didn’t immediately make for a good story when I swallowed too much helium from a balloon, blacked out and believed... Read More
Best Friends With Rings
Pea Daddy and I became best friends ten years ago. Seven years ago, we became best friends with rings. Someone had a plan, and as a result, it’s been five years since we became best friends with rings…and kids. Since Gigi came along, we have never spent the night alone in a hotel together. We went on an overnight date once when Gigi was two, but since I was seven months pregnant, technically Lulu was there and I had the bulging belly, hemorrhoids... Read More
Overlook Point
In one week, Pea Daddy and I will celebrate our seven-year wedding anniversary. If I’ve learned anything in the last seven years, it’s that a successful marriage isn’t necessarily about what you do for your spouse, but more often, what you overlook. I overlook the picture frame that got broken from “somebody” flying a remote control helicopter in the house. Don’t even tell me that’s what vaulted ceilings were intended for. He overlooks... Read More
Homebody Loves You
It should come as no surprise that we spent New Year’s Eve at home. I am an absolute homebody. I like my house. I like my books, my TV and my family’s tolerance for mediocre hygiene. I have to be a homebody–it’s in my job title. It’s not called a “drive-around-town-entertaining-your-husband-and-children’s-whims” mom. Maybe that’s just because the acronym stinks. “I’m a DATEYHACWM,” doesn’t exactly roll... Read More
Home Alone: The More You Know
And now a Pea S. A. I used to babysit every week for a family that had four boys ranging from ages 4 to 12. I loved those boys. One Friday night in December, I went over to babysit per the usual. I remember this night because I wasn’t at the Winter Formal like my brother and most of my friends, and Mrs. Ward remarked how nice it was that I was available. Nice for her, not so nice for me. Thanks for pointing that out, lady. Before they... Read More
First Date
This story is about my first date. I guess technically it wasn’t my “first date” if you count prom, or the time my mom dropped me, my brother and his best friend off at the movies. I absolutely thought of that as a date and my brother’s friend thought of it as creepy. Especially when I kept putting my hand in the popcorn tub at the same time he did. I’m counting that as the first time I held hands with a boy, too. My real true first... Read More
For Mimi
She never wanted to be a doctor. Besides the fact that she was squeamish when it came to blood, there was no way their family would be able to afford college. College was meant for her best friend, who came from a family that had money lying around for luxuries like ski trips and lunchmeat. She never wanted to be a teacher, either. Again, there wasn’t money for school, but she knew that if she was a teacher, she’d have to say hello and goodbye... Read More
A Break in the Baking
Man cannot live on Christmas cookies alone. No offense, Santa. We’ve certainly been trying to live on cookies around here. Dinner has pretty much just been something just to get through to get to dessert. I have absolutely no business having so many treats in my fridge right now: Dough balls of every flavor. Pumpkin bread pudding. Gingerbread cookie dough waiting to have life breathed into it. And three hidden Tupperware containers full... Read More
The Truth About Pea Kitty
I was asked a lot of questions at Foodbuzz this last weekend, but none was more frequent or more impassioned than the, “Do you really not like Pea Kitty?!” I assure you, it’s true. Not a day goes by that I don’t shake my fist at the sky and say, “Ghee!” Not because I have a problem with Indian clarified butter (though I guess it’s not vegan, so maybe I should). Truth is, Pea Kitty’s real name is “Ghee.” Actually, that’s... Read More
I Will Make It Up to You
Did you ever make up something about yourself to get somebody to like you? Namely a member of the opposite sex? I would NEVER do such a thing. That would be just plain wrong. I would never pretend to be a natural blond. I would never pretend to be a responsible law student who just so happens to spend weekends studying in the same section of the library as you do. I would never pretend to enjoy watching sports, using Sportscenter as my main... Read More
A Yearful of Peas? Thank You! (GIVEAWAY)
It’s Peas and Thank You‘s First Birthday! I am so relieved that we get to celebrate a birthday today that doesn’t involve me being up until 2 am making a cake in the shape of a cat, Dora’s head, a unicorn or a cow. Instead, I get to share with you a few highlights of the last year of Peas and give you a few presents! Let’s start with a recap of the last year in photos. A recap that has proven to me that children grow too fast... Read More
Our Daily Bread
I know almost every word to every song on Dr. Dre’s The Chronic album. I’m not proud. I have an older brother who used to drive me to and from school every day and he’d blast “Let Me Ride” so loudly every day that I’d wished he’d let me out. The seat would vibrate, I’d feel the pounding beats in my chest and my ears would ring. I can’t argue that the beats weren’t contagious and I’d often bob my three-inch high bangs along. ... Read More
Picking and Wishing
No matter how hard I try, I can’t always avoid the difficult things in life with a snappy one-liner, a recipe that makes saliva glands go into overdrive, or the temporary ignorance that I am the grownup around here. Since my grandma died six years ago, I’ve only been in her backyard a handful of times. I can’t walk down the back path and not be completely devastated that she’s not there. And I can’t stop wishing that she were. I... Read More
It’s Picture Day!
I was going to bake a loaf of homemade wheat sandwich bread today. It is my life’s mission to bake a big fluffy loaf of yeasty, crusty bread that I can cut into slices and build big beautiful sandwiches with. I have a recipe. I have some special ingredients. I have a vision. But I have no time. Today is cleaning day. Today is soccer practice. Today is a PTA meeting. Today is Picture Day! I’m under the impression that Picture Day has... Read More
