Daily Archives: February 10, 2010
Answered Prayers (aka: What would you do for a little pampering?)
Our daughter was born with a heart defect. Those two words — heart defect — can terrify the most stable parent, yet in our case it has always been a non-issue. This week, however, I claimed my maternal right to freak out.
Ellie was diagnosed with a “murmur” at three months. Then around five months her doctors gave the murmur a very official and kinda scary-sounding name: coronary artery fissure (or fistula, depending on which cardiologist spoke). They explained it as an extra loop in her heart, then assured us it was no cause for alarm; it was just something we should keep tabs on with regular visits. It might even heal itself before her fifth birthday.
So, every six months for three years I’d take her to get an EKG and a sonogram of her heart. Around her third birthday, they changed our appointment schedule to once a year. At every visit they told us it was nothing to worry about — keep watching, let us know if anything changes.
Nothing ever changed. Including the defect. It didn’t show any signs of “healing”, but it also didn’t cause any problems. Ellie kept growing at exponential rates; she was supremely healthy in pretty much every way. I pushed those two scary words to the back of my mind, basically forgetting they ever applied to our family.
Then Monday reminded me. Ellie came home from school and complained of “splinters” inside her heart. She pointed to just the right spot, and my mind started spinning. Read the rest of this entry
WFMW: The Perfect Pans
We have been married for eleven years. In that time, I’ve gone through three — count ‘em: one, two, THREE — sets of pots and pans.
The reason? Well, first of all, I love to cook. I work my pans hard. However, since I always follow the care instructions, “frustrated” doesn’t begin to describe how I felt when starting yet another search for new pans last month.
Reason #2: Teflon. It simply doesn’t last. I don’t care how gentle you are with it; you will likely need to replace it within five years, if it lasts that long. The surface is fine … as long as you don’t heat it. When it gets hot, the composition of oils, plastics and whatever else they put in there causes the surface to bubble. Once it bubbles, it inevitably scratches and begins to flake off in your food. Not exactly the added “nutrients” I desire.
This time, I did a lot of research. I’d done Calphalon, T-Fal and a no-name brand. (I have to say I liked the Calphalon the best, but still ran into the issue of bubble-and-flake within three years.) I read reviews, talked to friends, learned about leaching and health benefits of all different kinds of cookware. Once I had narrowed down my choices, I bought two fry pans of different construction to test.
And the winner is … Cuisinart GreenGourmet Hard Anodized!
Don’t confuse these with Cuisinart’s Greenware pots and pans. They’re not the same. You want Green Gourmet.
Here are the basic features:
- Ceramic-based nonstick interior: This is completely PTFE/PFOA and petroleum-free, which was very important to me because of the health benefits. These components found in Teflon and other nonstick surfaces have been known to aggravate allergies Read the rest of this entry
