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Mauricio and I went to Michael's parent teacher conference yesterday. For a special education student, which Michael is, it's actually referred to as an IEP.
First, the bad news. Michael, as we've begun to suspect, is dyslexic. His teacher and the school's special ed. director confirmed this yesterday. This is incredibly difficult news to swallow as he's already been diagnosed and is being treated for APD (auditory processing disorder) and ADD (attention deficit disorder). To add another learning disability to the laundry list is both crushing and daunting.
Now for the good news. Michael's made amazing strides academically and is testing at or above average in almost every area and in the areas that he is deficient, he is just barely so. It surprised us to learn that his teacher actually considers him a math wiz. It has and will continue to take an enormous amount of effort on his and our part for him to perform on par with his regular ed. peers but it looks as though he's slated to be mainstreamed very soon, YAY!!!!
His teacher also added that he is an absolute joy to have in her classroom and is obviously extremely bright and talented in many areas. This meant the world to us. We have come along way with Michael and for those of you who have been along for the ride, you know this represents a spectacular turn around.
Along with putting in long hours working on reading and other areas of academic weakness, we made the decision a few months ago to hire U.C. Berkeley graduate, Dr. Leda Ciraolo, Ph.D. who's background includes working with and tutoring children with special needs. Leda is an amazingly gifted author, scholar and of course, tutor. She continues to work with Michael three times a week and they have formed a very special bond. We owe a serious debt of gratitude to Leda for Michael's academic progress which she's seriously helped facilitate.
My battle with the squirrels...
We have a magnificent old Black Mulberry Tree in the upper most corner of our yard. It's a very pretty tree with great branch structure and large fan like leaves that offer cool shade in the summer. Outside of its' beauty, what makes it particularly endearing is its' prolific production of delicious black mulberries which brings me to the title of this entry. I am at war with the squirrels who seem to have a voracious appetite for these sweet tart fruits.
Every morning I hear the dogs bark at the same time which signifies that the squirrel mob had descended in to the mulberry's branches. In most cases I have a very tolerant view of the natural fauna, a live and let live mentality if you will but these squirrels are literally squandering the fruit. I see the half ripened and newly formed berries dropped to the ground by the dozens with just the tinniest nibble taken from each one!!! It is heinous blasphemy! What's more, is that they have far easier access to a kumquat, plum and apple tree mere yards away but they insist on nibbling the unripened berries of my prized Mulberry.
This morning as I heard the dogs bark, I ran out and aimed my hose at the little vermin, giving them a thorough soaking. Ya see, my dogs sit at the base of the tree eagerly waiting for one to have the slightest misstep which means there is no exit down the trunk. In order to escape the hose, they had to scramble to the furthest tips of the mulberry's branches and make a death defying leap to the next closest tree, the kumquat. I felt a little bad because it was kinda cold this morning but also a bit smug. I'd like to think that I've made it that much harder for them to overlook the lower hanging fruits from the plum and kumquat trees, mere feet away.
By the way, in case you've never had the pleasure of tasting a black mulberry, the fruits are dark red, almost black, and resemble a very large raspberry, or a loganberry, with a delicious, but rather sharp flavor that is totally unique. I you leave them to become very ripe on the branch,
the flavor begins to ferment and seemingly turns in to a berry filled with a delicious wine. They make the most amazing preserves, desserts and drinks.
Some pictures of the back garden bed
I thought I would add some commentary to this entry although little is actually needed. We went and picked up some free used stepping stones which we found on craigslist. This bed is 18' long x12' wide and 24" deep, double dug and amended with earthworm castings, bat guano, compost from my bin, crab meal, kelp meal and steer manure.
In it I've planted corn, tomatoes, squash, snap peas, basil, melons, peppers, cucumber and loads of lettuce.
The sugar snap peas are just now sprouting. I've planted them along the entire length of the deer fence so that the pea vines can climb it.
Phew!
After dinner last night, I cooked and prepped then took a break to do homework with the kids, give them a bath and read a few bedtime stories. Once they were tucked in, I went right back to cooking and prepping. My efforts produced 4+ pounds of sweet Italian sausage containing free range pork ground fresh, fennel, green garlic, herbs and other vegetables plucked directly from my garden. I stuffed the links fat so that they were positively bursting from their casings. I like my sausage to have some girth. I'll freeze most of the links using my food saver and the rest will be sliced in to coins, fried golden brown and sandwiched in between the delicate sheets of spinach pasta which I will roll out tonight for the lasagna. The tiramisu I made last is setting up nicely. I made a full 9"x13" sheet pan of it. It's rich stuff so that quantity will go a long way.
Why, you ask have I gone to all this trouble? The answer is simple, this type of effort is not anything unusual for me and I certainly do not consider it to be a bother. I love to cook for friends and family. Furthermore, growing and then cooking much of what we eat gives the boys respect for the fact that food is grown in the dirt, harvested fresh brought in to the kitchen and used to nourish their bodies. It is an idea that has sadly been lost on many in our quick gratification culture. Most kids will point to the local supermarket when asked where their food comes from.
The fruits of my garden are the inspiration for many of my culinary creations. Growing delicious, wholesome, organic ingredients and incorporating them in to my cooking is an ultimate form of self expression for me. The spinach to make the lasagna pasta sheets will come from my cool weather vegetable bed which currently contains spinach, swiss chard, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, garlic, onions and cauliflower. My relationship with the food I grow in my garden is made more intimate by the fact that I created the compost which nourishes the soil. From beginning to end I have helped craft the results.
Why, you ask have I gone to all this trouble? The answer is simple, this type of effort is not anything unusual for me and I certainly do not consider it to be a bother. I love to cook for friends and family. Furthermore, growing and then cooking much of what we eat gives the boys respect for the fact that food is grown in the dirt, harvested fresh brought in to the kitchen and used to nourish their bodies. It is an idea that has sadly been lost on many in our quick gratification culture. Most kids will point to the local supermarket when asked where their food comes from.
The fruits of my garden are the inspiration for many of my culinary creations. Growing delicious, wholesome, organic ingredients and incorporating them in to my cooking is an ultimate form of self expression for me. The spinach to make the lasagna pasta sheets will come from my cool weather vegetable bed which currently contains spinach, swiss chard, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, garlic, onions and cauliflower. My relationship with the food I grow in my garden is made more intimate by the fact that I created the compost which nourishes the soil. From beginning to end I have helped craft the results.
Tiramisu & Italian Sausages
Mmmmmm... I am making both this weekend. Mauricio looooooves tiramisu and well, so do I. To prod me, he brought home all the ingredients which I usually don't make from scratch such as marscapone and Kahlua. I will be making the other major components such as lady fingers and zabligone from scratch.
Wait a minute, here I am talking about Dolci and I haven't even mentioned Il Secondo! I'm planning to make a massive lasagna or two and will be making freshly rolled sheets of spinach pasta to use in the lasagna as opposed to that no-boil boxed crap - ugh! The kitchen will be brimming with creamy bechamel, herbs from my garden and a steaming kettle of home made tomato sauce using tomatoes I canned from last Summer. I will be using home made spicy Italian sausage, as mentioned above in the title. Perhaps I will even find the time to make some mozzarella fresca to melt over the top.
Tonight I have my work cut out. I'll grind the fresh pork roast, season, stuff and link the sausages. Fresh as in not smoked or cured sausage always tastes better after a resting period which allows the flavors to meld.
After I am finished linking the sausages I will proceed to make the tiramisu. It too will benefit from a nice day or two of resting time which will allow the lady fingers to soak up the coffee liquor and creamy zabligone. If I am not passed out after all that, maybe I'll get around to making some fresh mozzarella cheese. I don't have any raw cow milk right now so I'll just have to limp along with some cream-line.
Wait a minute, here I am talking about Dolci and I haven't even mentioned Il Secondo! I'm planning to make a massive lasagna or two and will be making freshly rolled sheets of spinach pasta to use in the lasagna as opposed to that no-boil boxed crap - ugh! The kitchen will be brimming with creamy bechamel, herbs from my garden and a steaming kettle of home made tomato sauce using tomatoes I canned from last Summer. I will be using home made spicy Italian sausage, as mentioned above in the title. Perhaps I will even find the time to make some mozzarella fresca to melt over the top.
Tonight I have my work cut out. I'll grind the fresh pork roast, season, stuff and link the sausages. Fresh as in not smoked or cured sausage always tastes better after a resting period which allows the flavors to meld.
After I am finished linking the sausages I will proceed to make the tiramisu. It too will benefit from a nice day or two of resting time which will allow the lady fingers to soak up the coffee liquor and creamy zabligone. If I am not passed out after all that, maybe I'll get around to making some fresh mozzarella cheese. I don't have any raw cow milk right now so I'll just have to limp along with some cream-line.
Lavender Lady Lilac
I forgot to add this picture. I am so excited!!! I planted this lilac over a year ago and this is the first time that it has bloomed. It is so fragrant I can smell it when I stand on the porch about 20 ft. away.
Some pictures of my front garden
From top to bottom are a volunteer painted sunflower, key lime baby lettuce which I direct seeded about a week and a half ago, flowering sage, and a 
Thompson Seedless grape vine.
The soup was good but I'm still sick!
Heh, but definitely on the road to recovery.
An interesting thing happened yesterday. We were at Jason's baseball practice and the same boy that assaulted Michael and threw rocks at his head came up to Michael and offered what I perceived to be a very sincere apology. He said, "please forgive me, I'm sorry I hurt you". He could barely make eye contact with me but stood solidly in front of Michael and seemed to really be looking for Michael to respond in kind with an olive branch. It dropped my jaw. I mean, I had this kid pegged as a future serial killer based on the physically and psychologically vicious nature of his attack but this unsolicited apology over a week after the incident made me look a little closer. Michael must be the most forgiving soul on Earth because he flung his arms around the kid who just stood there, looking embarrassed.
I explained to the boy, who is 13, six years Michael's senior, that Michael has a hard time with communication because of an auditory processing disorder. I told him that it sometimes affects his social behavior. This was not offered up as an excuse but rather to demystify Michael's sometimes awkward behavior. No point in beating around the bush as it would do no service to either of them. They played together a bit and there were no further altercations.
An interesting thing happened yesterday. We were at Jason's baseball practice and the same boy that assaulted Michael and threw rocks at his head came up to Michael and offered what I perceived to be a very sincere apology. He said, "please forgive me, I'm sorry I hurt you". He could barely make eye contact with me but stood solidly in front of Michael and seemed to really be looking for Michael to respond in kind with an olive branch. It dropped my jaw. I mean, I had this kid pegged as a future serial killer based on the physically and psychologically vicious nature of his attack but this unsolicited apology over a week after the incident made me look a little closer. Michael must be the most forgiving soul on Earth because he flung his arms around the kid who just stood there, looking embarrassed.
I explained to the boy, who is 13, six years Michael's senior, that Michael has a hard time with communication because of an auditory processing disorder. I told him that it sometimes affects his social behavior. This was not offered up as an excuse but rather to demystify Michael's sometimes awkward behavior. No point in beating around the bush as it would do no service to either of them. They played together a bit and there were no further altercations.