Go read—Cora talks about growing up with a working mom, being a working mom, making her way in a male-dominated field, meeting Julia Child, coming out, and creating her family through shared egg donation and IVF with Jennifer (similar to what Helen and I did, though we stopped after one child).

Kudos to Working Mother for a great profile of a lesbian mom. Not every mainstream publication can do it in such an informative and balanced way, neither shying away from her orientation nor making it seem like the primary focus of her life.

Cat and her partner Jennifer welcomed their fourth son last July, with Cat giving birth to him not long after Jennifer gave birth to their third son last April.

In the past two years, Cat has also opened CCQ barbeque restaurant in Costa Mesa, CA and Kouzzina at Walt Disney World, and helped raise funds for Haitian relief through Chefs for Humanity, a charitable organization she founded. She also continues on Iron Chef America and as executive chef of Bon Appétit magazine.

I want to know if she ever sleeps.

Congratulations, Cat!

Mix 1/4 cup plain, dry oatmeal (regular or instant) with about 1/2 tsp each red and green decorative sugar crystals.

My son’s room parent added this note to the bag:

On Christmas Eve,
Sprinkle this magic reindeer food
On your lawn.
The magic glitter
Sparkling in the moonlight
And the smell of oats
Will help guide
Rudolph to your house!

Anyone have any other traditions for feeding Santa and his team? (Me? I’d go multi-culti and leave him some latkes.)

What are you cooking and/or looking forward to eating for the holiday?

Cranbanero Sauce

• Buy a 16-ounce bag of fresh cranberries.
• Put cranberries, sugar, and water into a medium saucepan according to directions on bag. (Personally, I usually reduce the amount of sugar by a few tablespoons, but it’s up to you.)
• Halve four habanero (or scotch bonnet) peppers. Remove stem, seeds, and veins. It’s important to halve them, not chop them, or you won’t be able to remove them easily. The sauce will go beyond pleasantly searing and become truly blistering. Wear rubber or latex gloves while handling the habaneros. Leave them on when you wash your knife and cutting board. Trust me on this.
• Put peppers into pot with rest of ingredients and simmer till sauce thickens. Stir a few times to keep from sticking.
• Remove habanero halves. Make sure you get all eight halves.
• Cool. Strain if you like, or leave the cranberries whole for more texture.
• Apply biohazard label to bowl. Serve.
• You can try using orange juice instead of plain water. Habaneros complement fruity flavors well.

Orange-Ginger Cranberry Sauce

This one is tamer, but still zestier than the standard. It’s a good one to make with a child who’s old enough not to choke on a cranberry, but too young to help with anything more complex. She or he can help put the ingredients into the pot before you put it on the stove.

• Buy a 16-ounce bag of fresh cranberries.
• Put cranberries in pot along with 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 cup of orange juice. (I use brown sugar, but it’s up to you.)
• Add 1/4 cup minced fresh or candied ginger. (If you use fresh, peel it. You may also want to add an extra tablespoon of sugar to the fresh.)
• Simmer till sauce thickens. Stir a few times to keep from sticking.

Go read the interview for her answer. I will, however, quote her response to Karman’s question about how to teach kids good eating habits:

My theory is that you have to start with the parents and kids TOGETHER. The parents are the ones who shop for food, cook the food and feed the kids. They are the ones who decide whether or not to drive through that drive thru for fast food. So, educating them along with teaching the kids is key.

Hear, hear.

We’ve been blessed with a non-picky eater, but I admit it’s hard at times, especially when traveling, to stick with healthy food. I commend any restaurant that takes the audacious step of putting vegetables on a kids’ menu. And don’t even get me started on our local school cafeteria. Endless cycles of chicken nuggets, hamburgers, and Domino’s pizza, with an occasional “breakfast for lunch” of French toast. Our son gets lunch there once in a while, but I usually pack his food. (Not that we don’t have some of the above at home every so often, too; we just don’t do perpetual loops of it.)

Where/when do you find it hardest to eat healthy with your kids?

The ice cream maker has partnered with Freedom to Marry in order to raise awareness of the importance of marriage equality and to show its support. They will serve “Hubby Hubby” sundaes in Vermont Scoop Shops throughout the month of September.

From the press release:

“At the core of Ben & Jerry’s values, we believe that social justice can and should be something that every human being is entitled to,” said Walt Freese, Chief Executive Officer of Ben & Jerry’s. “From the very beginning of our 30 year history, we have supported equal rights for all people. The legalization of marriage for gay and lesbian couples in Vermont is certainly a step in the right direction and something worth celebrating with peace, love and plenty of ice cream.”

To kick off the celebration, Ben & Jerry’s and Freedom to Marry will be publicly supporting the first marriages of gay and lesbian couples in Vermont and raising awareness for marriage equality and how to take action by driving consumers to freedomtomarry.org. By logging onto the site, people can show their support, sign a Marriage Resolution Petition, have conversations about why marriage matters and learn more about how they can support the cause.

On the Ben and Jerry’s homepage, there is now a button that takes visitors directly to the special Hubby Hubby marriage equality page.

Kudos to Ben and Jerry’s for being a company that supports equality for all citizens of its home state as well as ice cream lovers everywhere. Let’s hope they direct some of their profits to maintaining marriage equality in nearby Maine as well as the other states (including Iowa and Washington) where marriage equality and domestic partnerships, respectively, are under fire from the ultra-right.

A further suggestion: Create and serve special “Rainbow Sorbet” around the country in October in honor of National Coming Out Day.

I had a similar idea when Vermont first approved marriage equality, but clearly I wasn’t the only one.

No details yet about what form this renaming will take—if we’ll see actual package changes (get your collectible edition now!) or if they’ll just change the flavor-name signs in their shops in the Green Mountain State or around the country. Any Vermonters out there with the inside scoop?

Ben and Jerry’s has long been a supporter of LGBT rights, and it’s nice to see them marking the occasion, however they do it. I might just have to celebrate and buy myself a pint.

I haven’t read the whole article myself (not all of it is online), but After Ellen reports that they discuss the ups and downs of dual pregnancy hormones, food cravings, and sharing maternity clothes.

Now if only mainstream magazines would stop using the phrase “longtime partner.” Or start using the phrases “longtime husband” and “longtime wife” when referring to opposite-sex couples. Oh, wait. Life & Style is an entertainment magazine. There aren’t that many longtime opposite-sex couples in the entertainment industry. Sigh.

I did indeed make a maple cornbread to celebrate the two great states of Vermont and Iowa. (Click link for recipe.)

And it was delicious.