Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Ode to a Wonderful Woman!


Last night I was able to partake in a very special event.

Dr. Lori Wenzel had a birthday.

And she also happens to be the lady who brought my son into the world.



Lori is an INCREDIBLE woman of God, who has blessed many families (and their offspring) by being an incredible doctor and friend.  My sis-in-law had a brilliant idea, why not celebrate this woman's life and work by having a surprise party?!  We all thought it was a fabulous plan.  So we set out to get the job done.

And boy was Lori shocked!


Here are just a FEW of the woman who have had Lori as their OB, and the children she has helped bring into the world:


Nearly all my friends have her as their doc, including close friends Kelsey Washburn and Jen Witthoft
(and my sis-in-law Jamie)


In fact, Lori has brought many Kampman kiddos into the world (as seen below!):


I can't thank her enough for taking me from this somewhat unpleasant state:


To this:

 
And all the spaces in between




Thank you, Lori, for helping bring this incredible blessing into my life!  


Love, Curt, Abbie, & Will

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

My little ham.

Lately Will has been working on feeding himself and using a sippy cup.

By George, I think he's got it.

However, he tends to add his little vivacious personality in the process...

What a goof.
































Oh my, I love this kid.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Splish Splash!

I was giving Will a bath this morning and realized how crazy it is that he could, in a few short months go from this:














To THIS: 











Amazing.  That's all I have to say!



Sunday, January 3, 2010

New Blog!

Hey y'all.

Still not sure how many people read this thing (though my hit-counter climbs steadily each day, odd), because many of you, ahem, don't leave comments (FYI: blog writers love blog comments, it helps them know how many people are reading and whether what is being written is actually read. So if you are a blog-stalker, but not a blog-commenter, think about changing your ways).

Anyway.

So I've started a new FOOD BLOG. Feel free to peruse at your own convenience. However, if you do, comments are appreciated, and suggestions are welcomed (but be nice!).

Thanks for reading!
Abbie

Friday, January 1, 2010

Jamie Oliver--the bearer of my thoughts, exactly.



Jamie Oliver isn't known for being particularly humble.

Or quiet.

Or even relatively modest, for crying out loud.
However much of what he says and does--is for the greater good in food-dom.

In the most recent Cooking Light issue, Jamie puts my thoughts into words,
exactly. 100%. Wholeheartedly. I nod-my-head-convulsively. He is asked:

What kind of change [in the eating habits of Britain/America] are you hoping for?
Look: I'm not a nutritionist--I love food, including burgers, and pizza, and stuff like that. I'm not yelling, "Hey you, lose weight!" That's not what it's about. It's about empowering people with the skills they need to nourish themselves an their families, to feel that sense of pride, which is really as basic as making a panini or poached egg, and getting people reconnected with the simplicity of knocking a few ingredients together and making proper food.

This is where I begin to say a big, "Amen, brother!":

You use that term a lot, "proper food." How do you define it?
Food from scratch, really. We know most of the problems with the health in both of our countries in largely due to huge amounts of soda, sugar, fat deep-frying, and a load of additives. If you could at least half of the time buy, or do yourself, something that was remotely scratch-based, you probably could fix 98% of the [nutrition] problems in America. It's so much more than just "eat less." We need to arm the public with basic cooking skills! They don't need equations or graphs or nutritional science. Just arm them with the ability to turn a bunch of seasonal ingredients, whether they're fresh or frozen--because frozen stuff can be great--into meals.

The two items in bold are what I preach to anyone who asks me anything about why or how I eat the way I do, or how I maintain a healthy lifestyle. I cannot stress enough the importance of learning just a few cooking basics and preparing homemade meals for your family. I hear a lot of moms say "well I just don't have time" or "I don't have the energy to do it." I find this hard to believe, nor do I think it's a valid argument. This is your family, your whole life--why wouldn't you seek every effort to enable them to be healthy? When I hear these excuses I immediately think of women a hundred years ago, or even 50 years ago, or even missionary families in Africa or women in third world nations. All of these women have (or have had) children, often far more than the average women today, and they were/are able to put a full, home-cooked meal on the table every evening--regardless of all the day's tasks.

It amazes me.

Also, many believe that if they just "eat less" they will solve all their problems, lose weight, and be happy. Eating smaller portions is huge, helpful, and necessary, but if you are eating less of the same types of foods, you aren't really helping your body regain health, only minimizing the amount of bad foods and not adding the good, natural, healthier ones that are so necessary to cell regeneration and growth. It could be likened to running half a race, but failing to finish it.

The second thing Oliver mentions is the use of additives and steering clear of them. It amazes me how many foods have additives, foods I never realized (I continue to be made aware of all the things I consume with artificial colors or flavors). I read somewhere recently that if the cereal you eat every morning changes the color of your milk you shouldn't be eating it! I never really thought about that, though it makes perfect sense. Or even canned veggies (sometimes even frozen veggies) contain various preservatives and colorings.

Another major item is lunch meat. We all eat it, along with bacon and even spiral-cut ham that most have on Christmas. All of these have nitrites, a preservative that has caused cancer in mice. You aren't supposed to eat processed meats while you are pregnant due to a bacteria that can reside within the meat. While I was pregs I took note of this and asked myself, "Well if I can't eat it now, why would I eat it when I'm not pregnant?" Thus began the road to awareness of this issue. Another milestone came when my son began eating solid food. I was in shock of buying baby food in jars that have been on the shelf, packed in a plant in some city, somewhere far from me. How do I know what processing practices they use? How do I know everything that has gone into the canning of the product? I had horrible visions of meat-packing plants circa 1900, very a la Upton Sinclair's The Jungle; it cause many-a-shudder. Then I went on to ask myself, "Well, if I can't fathom putting baby food made by someone else in my son's body, why would I put food from an unknown source in my own body? Or my husband's?

It's like a huge curtain was lifted.

I realize most of America would tend to disagree with me. To be frank, we are a lazy nation. We turn our eyes and ears to issues like this because they take effort and energy and research. We want to run to the store for our frozen, packaged, premade goods and not think of how far they traveled to get there or how many hands have touched that piece of fruit or head of broccoli.

We don't want to know. We don't want to care. We just want to live our lives and not be bothered by the details.

I can only say this because I tend to lean this way myself. I've observed this in most people I come in contact with. I can't say I buy everything "organic" or don't partake in the occasional boxed brownie mix or hunk of Velveeta (come on, there are just some recipes that NEED the ooey-gooey goodness of processed cheese, these are the recipes in which I shut my eyes and ears and just plain EAT--I'm only human, not a saint!) but I am making progressively greater leaps in the right direction.

Today I searched online for grass-fed beef in my area. I sought CSA's and community coops to purchase free range chicken & eggs. I peruse my local farmer's market when-in-season. I shop at the local organic foods store. I make meals for my family using fresh veggies/fruits, sometimes organic (but not always), organic chicken, all-natural/organic dairy, whole grains, and bake my own bread.

I'm getting there, but I'm not THERE.

My husband and I talked today about significantly lowering our monthly eating-out budget. In truth, we really don't eat out at all so our budget it's now virtually non-existent. We made this decision so that I can make all our meals at home, and so that I might have more money to buy healthier food for my family (because, shamefully, healthy food costs more). Eating out is expensive, and often, quite unhealthy (and I, again, don't know what's going into my food exactly--which is somewhat disturbing). It's a sacrifice, but it's one I'm willing to make.

My family means that much to me.

Some may think I'm being extreme, and that's fine--you're free to have your opinion. Christians might say, "It doesn't matter what I put into my body, it's the state of my heart." This too, is true. However, God also commands us to treat our bodies as temples--pure and pleasing to Him. If we aren't treating our bodies well, we aren't exercising what we've been given to it's best use. We are damaging what He has entrusted to us. We do this more acutely when we gorge or starve ourselves, but we also do it when we don't take significant aims to treat our bodies well.

Anyway, let me tip-toe down from my soapbox.

Har har.

Sorry, folks, didn't mean for this to be as long as it is! However, as you can see, it's something I feel very strongly about. I hope it has helped you think more deeply about yourself and what you are feeding your family.

And in light of this new year, or perhaps, new decade, consider Jamie's words. I know I have.

Here's to health [raising glass], peace, and joy for you and yours!

Happy New Year :)

Monday, December 28, 2009

In which I've found, yet another, kindred spirit

I think I've just found another kindred spirit (I have a few). Her name is Molly Wizenberg. Here she is:



Doesn't she just look like someone you'd want to have coffee with? Or cook alongside? I think so.

I've just finished Molly's BOOK.

LOVED it.

It's one of those reads that you simply can't--and don't want to--put down. Ever. I could read her stories for hours; her writing reads like fiction and her words are clear and airy--yet verbose enough to give her the "great writer" mark.

I applaud her. And her fabulous little BLOG. Of which, if you haven't tapped into, please do. Seriously, it isn't just for foodies--but rather simple little anecdotes about life, cooking, and the pursuit of fresh, uninhibited happiness.

Anyway.

As I was reading her book I kept coming across sections that were eerily familiar. As in, Molly is basically ME in a different body. Except for the small little detail: she's been to France multiple times. Ahem, Ahem (that was for my husband). Ignore. Okay, back on track. Some of the paragraphs were as follows:

On loving to "cook for herself":

[I love to cook for one]. I know not everyone feels this way, but here's how I see it: it's my chance, my inviolable opportunity, to eat whatever I want to. It is one of the few moments when I can be perfectly selfish without feeling guilty. No one is going to tell me that blanched green beans, three slices of fresh mozzarella doused in olive oil, and two pieces of chocolate cake are not an acceptable dinner. (They are, I promise.) What's more, if I want to, I can just sit an stare out the window. Just tra la la, stare out the window. I don't have to say a word. I can sink in my seat and zone out. Or really focus. I can pay attention to my plate. Even now that I am married I feel this way sometimes...I need an evening alone at the table now and then. Food is, of course, a social thing, one of the most positive, primal ways of spending time with people, but eating alone is also an affirmation. It's a way of enjoying me. (pg. 120-21)

I adore the above paragraph because this is 100% me, in a nutshell. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy eating with others, especially when those others include close friends (you know who you are!). But, truly, my favorite meal of the day is lunch at home, by myself. I can concoct whatever I want from whatever is in my fridge, and I don't have to worry about whether my husband will like it. I can sit at the table, enjoy my meal, and focus on the flavors--or watch the snow falling outside. It's my most peaceful moment of the day, enjoyed and coveted.

On creating simplicity:

Some nights, it's so easy. There's already soup in the refridgerator, and all it needs is warming. There's leftover chicken and a bag of green beans, and ba daaa!, dinner is served. I love those nights. I try to live my whole life that way. Except for the nights when I'm making the soup, or roasting the chicken. That does have to happen sometime.
It helps, though, that I like to mishmash meals, the kind where you reach in the fridge and pull out a few things that need attention--a neglected block of cheddar, let's say, and the end of a salami, and some cornichons and olives and a grapefruit--and that's dinner. I am a very lazy person, really, and I am also easily pleased. For as much as I love to cook, I love even more when cooking is unnecessary, and when all I have to do is eat.
(pg. 293)

I also enjoy this paragraph, for many reasons. I DO tend to live in such a way that there is always something in the freezer or fridge, leftover for a quick meal. Things such as soups, stews, and casseroles are easily reheated and ta-da, meal in a flash! I love this. And I too--am easily pleased, however I am picky in my "easy-pleasing". Though this may sound like an oxymoron, it really isn't. I am easily pleased with leftovers, if they are made from fresh, quality ingredients. I am not a "canned" person, and don't enjoy "meals-in-a-flash" if they are from a box or can. It just isn't kosher. However if they are leftovers from a homemade, quality meal--bring 'em on! Love it.

Anyway--just wanted to share a few tidbits from Molly's book. She and her hub also recently opened a pizza place called Delancey. It's a lovely little joint owned and operated by the couple themselves. It featured yummy pies like the one below all fired in a fabulous hearth (see below):





I am bugging my husband to take me there someday.

I've always wanted to bum around Seattle, hit up Pike Place Fish Market, and stroll around in search of artisan bakeries and quality coffee. Ahhh, it would be nice. Maybe I could also purchase a really fun umbrella or go see the set of Frasier. Or hit up Cascadia and get a Douglas Fir Snowball martini and some $1 miniburgers. Or have a picnic in Kerry Park. Or see the first Starbucks. Or...

Okay, I'm done.

I know, I have high culinary aspirations.

My poor husband :)

PS--Did I mention that I am leaving for NY next Tuesday? I hope to talk my grandpa into taking me to East Hampton to go grocery shopping in Ina's neighborhood. Or to Brooklyn to eat at Di Fara's, and stop at Balthazar's in Manhattan for some amazing pain au chocolat an a great boule miche. Why is it that all of my vacations revolve around good eateries? Oh right, because I love it all :)

Monday, December 21, 2009

Dream a little dream...

I know the holidays are about being thankful for our many blessings, spending time with family, and eating monstrous amounts of enticing treats & savory dishes but often I am left in a funk.

As I was this last week.

Oh, dearest friends, was I ever in a FUNK. I think it all culminated from the overwhelming desire to please everyone by being at all family events and baking/cooking to my wit's end (and I don't often make it to that point--especially when doing something I love). Last Thursday I just sat down and refused to move. I cried, I complained, I cooked some more (because I flock to my pans when I'm stressed) and I dreamed.

I dreamed my famous "when I'm overwhelmed I picture myself in France" dream.

Yes, I have one of those. Don't you?

Come on, you know you do.

My utmost dream-of-all-dreams is simply this: I want to live in France for a time, Paris to be precise. I would like to attend Le Cordon Bleu (for all the non-chefs out there, it's one of the most pretigious culinary schools in the world), and I want to eat breakfast at a different bistro every morning, savoring crepes, pain au chocolat, fine wine, and other scrumptious Francophile treats.

I picture myself sharpening my knives with my white apron and blue "cordon bleu seal" on my breast pocket, donning my chef's hat.

Oh, how I long to learn how to fillet a fish, or de-bone a duck. I want to make sauces and go shopping at the open-air markets where farmers bring in the morning's best goods from their acreages.

This is my dream.

And since I have no way of obtaining it (at the moment, or ever, really). I live my life through others, such as Julia Child, Ina Garten, and Molly Wizenberg.

Wait, who??!

Yes, Molly. For those who don't know her, please, PLEASE I TELL YOU, discover her blog, Orangette.

She also wrote this lovely little book, which I am eating up (no pun intended) right now.

Anyway.

No idea where I'm going with this post except to say, dream on, and let me know if you bake anything fabulous today.

Or if you go to France.

Actually, don't tell me--I'd get jealous.

Happy Monday... and please share your ultimate dream with me.