Word Around Town

This site contains Rachael’s explorations of a variety of topics, from renovation and green building to recipes to parenting.

Have a great day.

On the Somerville Moms email list, there was a lot of talk about floor refinishers and water-based products.

I did a bunch of research, and found an excellent article on oil-based vs. water-based floor finishing products at hardwoodinstaller.com. Their message boards were very helpful in sorting out what products to use. For my floor finishing project, I decided on Bona Seal and Bona Traffic, a high-quality water-based sealer and finish that are apparently much less noxious than oil-based products as well as quicker-drying and equally if not more durable than oil-based products. Bona also has a low-voc finish called Eon 70.

This is a list of resources that I’ve found to be useful as the mother of a young child. (My son, Mohan, turned 3 in August 2007.) It is in no way comprehensive, and links to more comprehensive lists are below. Enjoy!

Support and Play Groups

• New Mothers’ Group at Somerville Family Network Call 617.625.6600 (the main number for Somerville and ask for the Somerville Family Network and ask about the new mother’s group. You can also usually get information on the Somerville Mom’s Group (see below). Somerville Family Network is a notoriously low-tech organization, but the groups are worth the calls.
• Somerville Family Network Play Groups Call 617.625.6600 (as above).
• Somerville Moms Email List (on Yahoo Groups): This moderated group originated with the new mother’s group and is currently a large and very active list and a tremendous resource for all sorts of parenting and parenting-related topics.
• Arlington Parents’ Email List (not part of Yahoo! Groups). This list is harder to read but more entertaining, somewhat more active than Somerville Moms, and more inclusive in its reach.

Activities (indoor, T accessible)

• Science Museum — Located on the Green Line or a short drive from Somerville, a truly amazing museum, more than you could ever see, with a special area for the under-5 set. Passes available at the library.
• Boston Children’s Museum — Located near South Station (plus short walk). Four floors of fun for kids. I personally prefer the Science Museum, but some families feel the reverse. Passes available through the library (call

Activities (mostly outdoor, within 25 minute drive from West Somerville)

• Somerville Parks
• Sandy Beach (13 minutes from West Somerville) — Serene beach along the Upper Mystic Lake. Also walking trails, ample grassy areas for picnicing, and a very short drive from Somerville. Free, ample parking any time of day.
• Walden Pond (25 minutes) — Historic pond with walking trail. Limited beach space, but if you walk a bit you can find a spot. Get there early in the day for parking, which is $5.00.
• DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park (25 minutes) — Unique and gorgeous outdoor sculpture park and (indoor) museum. Admission is $9.00 per person unless you arrive before 10:00 a.m., in which case you can hang out in the sculpture park for free. Ample parking.
• Codman Farm (25 minutes) — Stop and see the animals (cows, sheep, a donkey, lots of poultry) and have a picnic. Suggested admission $1 each. Farm stand also sells fresh eggs on the honor system. Large and clean bathroom facilities in the barn.
• Verrill Farm (25 minutes) — Great market, and many pick-your-own events throughout the year. Deli with a variety of prepared foods and excellent, reasonable, made-to-order sandwiches. Tents outside make for good informal picnicing. Nice restroom inside the shop. You can get on their email list to be notified of pick-your-own and other events.

Other Activities

• Boston Central lists a great number of activities and other parenting resources by type and by geography.
• Pick-Your-Own Listings (by County) from the Mass Department of Agriculture.

Childcare Resources

• Childcare Resources Center–A Cambridge-based resource center, also has a database of area childcare providers that you can search online.

Made a new bread recipe that Hitesh cut out for me from November’s NYT. The bread rises for a long long time, uses almost no yeast, has no oil, and is cooked in a covered cast iron pot. It was delicious. We had some for dinner (with our quiche) and it really tasted like France (for me, it brough me back to the convent at Pradines, the last time I lived in France). With a little over-aged Brie (courtesy of Alex’s Christmas visit) we really felt we were back there. Here’s a summary:

3 cups flour (I used one quarter whole wheat, three quarters white, per my custom, and this worked just fine).
1 5/8 c. water (yes, this is a wet, shaggy dough).
1 1/4 t. salt (the bread’s a bit saltier than usual, but nice)
1/4 t. instant yeast (I used regular dry active yeast, and had no problem).

Mix flour, salt, and yeast together. Add water and stir. Cover with saran and let set aside for 18 hour (or so) until bubbly on top. This is a very wet dough.

Place dough on a floured surface and turn it over on itself once or twice (use just enough flour to keep your hands from sticking). Let sit for 15 minutes.

Shape into a ball and lie dough on a cotton (non terry-cloth) towel covered with flour, cornmeal or wheat bran (I used cornmeal). Cover with flour/cornmeal/wheat bran and lie another towel on top of it. Let it rise another 2 hours (approximately) until double in size.

1/2 hour before baking, pre-heat oven to 450 degrees with a dutch oven inside it (they say to use a 6 quart but I used a 5 quart and this was plenty big). Then dump the dough (seam-side up) into the pan (jiggle if it sticks) and bake covered for 30 minutes, then another 15-30 minutes until top is brown. Let cool on a rack (my cooking time was closer to 35 minutes in total–the bread was pretty brown when I took the top off). Delicious!

In the early nineties, fresh back from Zimbabwe and living on my own in the North End, I spend a lot of time in the Boston Public Library researching jobs and keeping warm in the winter. Until sometime last year, I seem to have forgotten that the library even exists. But here are the great things about the (Somerville) library, especially in its 21st-century, internet-enabled form:

1. The catalog is searchable online
2. Any books that aren’t available in your local library, can be “requested” through the Minuteman Library Network (usual order time is 1-2 weeks) and picked up at the location of your choosing.
3. Books that aren’t on the Minuteman Library Network can be ordered through the “Virtual Catalog”, encompassing many more libraries (usual lead time, a bit longer), such that I, at least, have been able to get almost every book I’ve needed.
4. And all this for FREE with a library card.
5. In addition, you can check the status of check-out books (and requested books) online, renew online (up to three times) etc.
6. All of the above also applies to children’s books and CDs. Hooray!

Verrill Farm: Though not strictly organic (this farm practices IPM, or integrated pest management), this farm in Concord, MA, at the corner of route 116 (Great Road) and Sudbury Rd. has a small market with delicious fresh produce (home-grown and from elsewhere), including, in season, over a dozen varieties of heirloom tomatoes, peaches, six kinds of peppers, corn, kale, chard, yellow and purple carrots, rhubarb, spinach, and asparagus. All are delicious and fresh. It’s fun to just go and see what’s available and cook from there. Reasonable prices as well. Verrill also has a deli with the best vegetable wrap my husband has ever tasted, as well as seasonal special events and pick-your-own events. You can add yourself to their email list to get notified of special events. I discovered the band Southern Rail at the 2006 corn and potato festival.

Amy Daczyn (the author) is a New England mother, graphic artist, and military wife who published a popular newsletter in the ’90s called “The Tightwad Gazette”. She’s creative, smart, and calls herself “the frugal zealot.” Rather than “doing without” for its own sake, Amy’s focus is on reducing debt, and, when possible, in “doing with less” in order to spend where we feel it’s important–thrift in the service of financial freedom. The Complete Tightwad Gazette is an 800-page compelation of newsletters which includes letters from readers and additional content. Beware–this book is addictive and definitely thrift-inducing. Also beware that her food prices are painfully out-of-date . . .

On Amazon, or better yet, check out an earmarked copy from your local library.

Photo: Rainbowl, by Splat Worldwide

I make a lot of this green soup in the late summer, when greens are plentiful. It freezes extremely well, is nutritious and delicious (even for those who don’t claim to be lovers of dark green veggies) and can be enjoyed all year.

1-2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 – 2 teaspoons salt, to taste
1 – 2 onions, coarsely chopped
2 cubes stock (I use Vegetable Bouillon by Organic Gourmet, available at Whole Foods–a good stock is really important)
2 bunches Kale or Collard or Chard or other miscellaneous greens, de-veined
4-6 potatoes (as desired), coarsely chopped
3-4 sticks celery (very important for flavor)
3-4 carrots (optional)
1 yam (optional)
orange zest of about 1 orange and/or orange juice, to taste (optional)
8-12 cups water (as desired)

Sautee onions in olive oil or other preferred cooking oil with some salt added. Add water, 8 – 12 cups or so, depending on the amount of ingredients used and desired thickness. There should be enough water to cover all your ingredients when cooked. Add stock (note that I use much less stock per cup of water than recommended on the package), potatoes, carrots (if used) and celery. Bring soup to a rolling boil.

When potato is starting to get cooked (after 10 minutes of boiling or so) add greens. Cook all until potatoes are soft and greens are thoroughly wilted but not yellow. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and (if desired) basil, parsley, thyme, other spices that you enjoy. These herbs are not necessary, just optional.

Let the soup cool. Puree soup in blender and add orange zest if needed. (I tend to add orange when the soup has a very “dark”, almost swampy smell (due to the greens used). The orange lightens up the soup.

on freezing
For freezing, I use old 16 oz. yogurt containers. One container makes 2 large or 3-4 smaller servings. Make sure soup is cool before putting into plastic containers.Fill about 1 1/2 inches from the top of container because soup will expand when freezing. I use blue painter’s tape and permanent black market to make a label indicating the soup type and the date. (Blue tape is attractive, and it comes off easier than regular masking tape when you’re ready to re-use your container). If you’re very organized, you can make a log with any special notes about a particular soup. (I find it a bit disconcerting to eat soup and have no specific memory of making it, especially when guests ask me what’s in a soup or how I made it, but have yet to make a log).

cooking/flavor note
If desired, roasting the carrots and yam gives the soup a nice carmelized/smoky flavor. To do this, pre-heat oven to 400 degrees, clean, chop, and coat yams and carrot (or other root vegetables, like parsnip, that you might want to use) and roast them until browned in the oven. (I roast them in a glass pie dish or other glass dish because these are easier to clean than anything metal, and the roasting tends to create brown spots on the dishware.