Household Management

Cat Cora’s Banana Yogurt Split with Berries and Coconut

May 10, 2013 • No comments

Here’s the last of three recipes that Iron Chef and lesbian mom Cat Cora has created for Residence Inn by Marriott (as I explained Tuesday)—a dessert, appropriately: Banana Yogurt Split with Berries and Coconut.

In Kitchen and Food, Travel

Cat Cora’s Spicy Chicken, Tangerine and Shiitake Stir Fry

May 9, 2013 • No comments

As I mentioned yesterday, Iron Chef and lesbian mom Cat Cora has been named “Resident Mom Of The Year 2013” by Residence Inn, and has developed three unique recipes that parents can easily create while staying at a Residence Inn (or at home). Here’s the second one: a Spicy Chicken, Tangerine and Shiitake Stir Fry. (I’m guessing it works well with tofu instead of chicken, too.)

In Kitchen and Food, Travel

Give OUT to LGBTQ Nonprofits Today!

May 9, 2013 • No comments

Today is the first national Give OUT Day, an event to encourage people to make charitable donations on a single day in support of the LGBTQ community. Any day is a good day to give, of course, but doing so en masse like this helps show the power of our community and allies.

In Money and Finance

Iron Chef (and Lesbian Mom) Cat Cora Is Residence Inn’s “Resident Mom Of The Year 2013″

May 8, 2013 • No comments

Last fall, I wrote about my night at the Residence Inn, courtesy of Residence Inn by Marriott, which was reaching out to blogging parents for feedback and ideas. I mentioned the company’s LGBT friendliness—a friendliness they’ve reinforced by naming chef and lifestyle entrepreneur Cat Cora their “Resident Mom Of The Year 2013,” and by mentioning “She resides in Santa Barbara, CA, with her wife and four sons” in their press release about it. There’s more, plus a recipe by Cora, after the jump.

Good News or Bad News for Children of Same-Sex Parents Applying for Financial Aid?

April 30, 2013 • 4 comments

There was good news and bad news yesterday for same-sex parents of children in or soon-to-be in college: Starting with the 2014-2015 federal student aid form, the U.S. Department of Education will ask for information about a dependent student’s legal parents regardless of the parents’ marital status or gender, as long as the parents live together. That’s good news, in that it will be the first time the form reflects the actualities of same-sex parents’ families (and those of unmarried, opposite-sex parents). It’s bad news, in that some students may receive less aid now that both parents’ contributions will be recognized—or will they?

In Education, Money and Finance

Give OUT to LGBTQ Organizations on May 9

April 12, 2013 • 1 comment

May 9 is the first national Give OUT Day, an event to encourage people to make charitable donations on a single day in support of the LGBTQ community.

In Money and Finance

Mombian Cooks: Chocolate Cherry Fudge Cake

February 25, 2013 • 1 comment

There’s nothing particularly lesbian-momish about chocolate cake—unless you make it for your lesbian sweetie and son for Valentine’s Day, as I did last week. A follower of the Mombian Facebook page asked for the recipe when I posted a photo there, so here it is: Chocolate Cherry Fudge Cake, a dark chocolate cake with a poured fudge frosting and jammy center.

In Kitchen and Food

Wanda Sykes Gives $15K to LGBTQ Youth Center

September 24, 2012 • No comments

Comedian and lesbian mom Wanda Sykes surprised her audience last Thursday by announcing a $15,000 donation to the Ruth Ellis Center in Detroit. The Center provides short- and long-term residential safe space and support services for runaway, homeless, and at-risk LGBTQ youth.

In Money and Finance

The Ultimate New England Muffins

March 19, 2012 • 1 comment

I haven’t posted a recipe in a while, so here’s one I made this past weekend for the Massachusetts State Muffin (corn). It’s enhanced by the Massachusetts State Fruit (cranberries), and sweetened by that most New England of sweeteners, maple syrup. If I were to put any more New England in it, I’d have to add clams—but don’t worry, I won’t.

In Kitchen and Food

History Tidbit: A 19th-Century Tomboy and Inventor

February 27, 2012 • No comments

You’ve heard of Thomas Edison—but have you heard of Margaret Knight? She was a contemporary of Edison and the holder of at least two dozen U.S. patents. (Some sources say nearly 90, but the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office says 26, and I take them for the authority.) She created her first invention, a safety mechanism for mechanical looms, when she was only 12.

In Books for Kids, Workshop and Tools

Discrimination Means Children with LGBT Parents May Face Extra Economic Hardships

January 27, 2012 • 1 comment

There’s a myth that LGBT parents are all affluent—a myth perpetuated by many in the media, who tend to focus on upper-middle and upper class families when they do LGBT family stories. The reality is much different. Children being raised by same-sex couples are in fact twice as likely to live in poverty as those being [...]

In Money and Finance, Politics and Law

How to Apply for Financial Aid if You Have Same-Sex Parents: New York Times

October 14, 2011 • 3 comments

The federal Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form asks applicants to list their “mother/stepmother” and “father/stepfather.” But applying for aid, if you have same-sex parents, isn’t just a matter of crossing one of those out and writing in the correct term, says Tara Siegel Bernard of the New York Times in her piece, “How to File for Financial Aid if Your Parents Are Gay.”

February 2, 2011 • 1 comment

Here’s a topic ripe for discussion: A recent study by Ohio State University researchers found that couples who share childcare duties equally are more likely to experience conflict than those in which the mother does more. The study only looked at opposite-sex couples, however.

Family Finance with a Lesbian Twist: The Boston Globe Gets It Right

November 22, 2010 • No comments

The Boston Globe this Sunday published an article titled, “Learning to adjust,” with a sub-heading explaining, “For millions of middle-class Americans, the recession has forever changed spending habits and forced a reconsideration of basic expectations–like retirement.” It’s a nice article about personal finance in our times. What makes it noteworthy, however, is that the two spouses profiled in the article are lesbian moms Liz Page and Marianne Stravinskas. The fact that they are a same-sex couple is incidental to the main thrust of the article, which is not about “gay” finance per se.

In Money and Finance

Cat Cora on Cover of Working Mother

September 8, 2010 • 1 comment

Funny how things happen. Just days after my family and I ate at Cat Cora’s new restaurant in Disney World, I find out (thanks, Debbie!) that she’s on the cover of the current issue of Working Mother. While it’s just her and one of her sons on the cover, there’s a nice picture of her, [...]

Which 529 to Choose?

April 27, 2010 • 1 comment

Ready to open a 529 college savings account for your child? My spouse Helen has been looking into options for ours. Truth is, he already has 529′s in two states, but as we’ve both moved and learned more about 529′s, the options we’ve preferred have changed. (For the uninitiated: you are not required to open [...]

In Education, Money and Finance

Scholarships for LGBTQ and Allied Students

April 7, 2010 • No comments

Here’s a great resource for those of you with kids nearing college age. HRC has created a database of scholarships for LGBT and allied students. (Even though many straight children of LGBT parents consider themselves straight members of the LGBT community rather than “allies” per se, I assume they are eligible for many of these [...]

In Education, Money and Finance

Cat Cora to Receive Alumna of the Year Award at CIA

March 18, 2010 • No comments

Cat Cora, the Food Network’s “Iron Chef,” will be honored tonight as “Alumna of the Year” by her alma mater, the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at the CIA Leadership Awards (“Augie Awards”) in New York City. Cat and her partner Jennifer welcomed their fourth son last July, with Cat giving birth to him not [...]

In Kitchen and Food, Working

Can Same-Sex Parents Get a Break on College Financial Aid?

March 9, 2010 • No comments

Same-sex parents are used to the routine of crossing out “Mother” or “Father” on various forms and writing in whatever applies to our family. What happens, however, when this is asked on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, used by most colleges and universities to determine a student’s contribution towards the cost [...]

“She Got Me Pregnant”: Episode 98

February 11, 2010 • 2 comments

Helen and I tackle financial literacy for kids and the origin of piggy banks. We then explain why indie rock band They Might Be Giants is becoming the Schoolhouse Rock for a new generation—and why the band has a special connection to LGBT families. On a somber note, we mourn the death of Brendan Burke, [...]

1 of 10