A is for Acid Reflux

Trying to teach Hadassah her alphabet has alerted me to the importance of early childhood education. I am dedicating my next two blogs to the two greatest early childhood educators the world has ever known.

At Eric's request -A list of some of the foods we have eaten thus far. (When Priscilla gets home tonight with the camera I'll download some pictures).

A is for Apple -The most prestigious place that we have been to is a Chinese restaurant just a mile down the road. It's a favorite of the Bush's. Along with their world famous Peking Duck we got an order of their toffee apples. They dip apple slices in a special caramel mixture then, at your table, drop the slices into a bowl of ice water causing them to instantly crystallize into a desert that is crisp and sweet on the outside and warm and soft on the inside.

B is for Berries -Being a little further south, we've been able to access a greater variety of fresh produce for Hadassah and Bobby to grind into our white carpeting. In the pass week I've been able to distinguish the following stains: blueberry (both fresh and frozen), strawberry, raspberry (both red and golden), blackberry, cranberry, cherry, chocolate, tooth paste, yucca, feces and icing.

C is for Crab -Freshly fished from the Potomac, these are the Great-great grandchildren of the steamed crabs George Washington would have eaten.

D is for Deli -One of my favorite meals so far has been the corned beef special I got at a deli in the Reading Terminal Market. They bring out a corned beef roast, cut off a few pounds of fat, drizzle it with coleslaw and Russian dressing, then slap it between two slices of rye bread.

E is for Eight year-old gouda -The woman selling this cheese told me, shame-facedly, that she could not guarantee that the cheese is eight-years old. She could, however, confirm that the sign in front of the gouda that they had been getting from the European cheese distributor had been there for over 12 years.

F is for Fish -We were able to go to two different sushi shops. I was especially impressed with the one in DC -a Japanese/Chinese hybrid in China town, just a few blocks from the National Spy Museum where Steve Carell works during the summer while on vacation from Dunder-Mifflin. We also picked up some fresh Mackerel on a trip to Philly that we grilled out on our deck (number 50 for the year).

G is for Genacotti-A genacotti is a deep-fried calzone. We get them from Julios -a pizzeria down the road from my parents place.

H is for Hotdog -The best hotdog in the world, of course, is the Philly dogs that you would get at the vet. (Best when eaten in the top of the third while the Phillies are leading 2-1). The second best hotdog I ever had I got just the other day at Five Guys. If there is a Five Guys nearby, go. It is without doubt the best buy in takeout.

I is for Ice cream -A pint of Ben and Jerry's Strawberry Cheese Cake, two pints of Ben and Jerry's Dublin Mudslide, a pint of Ben and Jerry's One Cheese Cake Brownie, three pints of Ben and Jerry's Oatmeal Cookie Chunk, a pint of Ben and Jerry's Mint Chocolate Cookie, a pint of Ben and Jerry's Cinnamon Bun, two visits to the Haagen Dazs scoop shop, two trips to Ben and Jerry scoop shop and a DQ ice-cream cake for Hadassah's Birthday. My favorite? The free scoop of Imagine Whirled Peace that Ben and Jerry gave me during the election, despite voting libertarian.

J is for Jamaican ginger beer -Our grocery store stocks several varieties both by the bottle and liter, but the most potent stuff I found was the homemade version at an Asian heath food store in the RTM.

K is for Kreme Puff -Sandwiched between two hallel butcheries is a middle-eastern pastry shop. Sure the coffee is weak, but at least it kills the taste of their kreme puffs. (We found a pretty cool French pastry a few blocks away that makes a great fruit crème tart.)

L is for Lebanese -Our local sports cafe is a middle eastern hookah bar that serves Lebanese cuisine and has only eastern-European waiters. They have no sound on their televisions and, of course, prefer to show futbol.

M is for Mexican -We went to an authentic Mexican restaurant that we found by "the mall" in DC. The best entree was a seared scallop dish in a pumpkin sauce. For desert I got a spiced Mexican coffee with this star of anise ice cream kaluha gelatin tart thingy. Priscilla has been experimenting with the local grocery store's Mexican waters. Apparently "cashew" is Spanish for "pepper."

N is for Nothing -This is what I've been having for lunch most days as my children are vultures. (I'll make myself a dish and Hadassah will eat all the vegetables, Bobby will eat all the meat and the carpet and children's clothes will end up soaking up all the sauce.)

O is for Olive oil - We are currently on our third bottle of olive oil. Priscilla bought the cheaper stuff to cook with, while the expensive olive oil we've been using to spread liberally on our carpet.

P is for Peruvian chicken -Right outside our door is a Peruvian chicken place. (In our community Peruvian chicken places are like KFC's.) Sometimes on the way home from church I'll pick up a fresh coal roasted bird to eat during the 'Skins game.

Q is for Quail -At one of our Thai restaurants we ordered the kids a couple of quails. Here's some advice -when you order quail for a 2 year old its a good idea not to have you back up plan to be lychee dumplings.

R is for Reading Terminal Market -It started as a place for the Amish merchants to trade their wares. Today its home to the freshest food and ingredients the city has to offer. My favorite is the cannolis at the Italian bakery.

S is for Shwarma -The best shwarma I've had outside of Israel I found at a greasy hookah bar a few blocks from our apartment. They also have great Turkish coffee and pretty good shisha. The owner also lives on our floor.

T is for Thia -I usually don't go for Thai, but I've been dogging a cold for the past few weeks and have been taking green curry medicinally.

U is for Urchin -Wok and Roll, probably the best Sushi I've ever had. The guy took about fifteen minutes just to arrange my pickled ginger.

V is for Vegetables/fruit -Although the kids would be happy eating nothing but crackers and cereal, I've been trying to incorporate a variety of fruit and vegetables into our diet. (Is peanut-butter a fruit or a vegetable?)

W is for Water-Ice -Rita's Italian Water-Ice came out with a seasonal pumpkin-spice cream ice, so if you live in any of the eight states where Rita's is available . . .

X is for Xedrin -Despite my healthy diet and rigorous exercise routine, I've been having a lot of headaches and difficulty sleeping. Possible causes: lack of stress, unseasonable warmth, change in altitude, respiratory reaction to mold withdraw.

Y is for Yuengling -Yuengling, a Philadelphia company and the oldest brewery in the US, came out with an amazing bottled "Black and Tan." I've also really enjoyed the Samuel Adams Holiday Collection.

Z is for Zycam -Because green curry can't do everything.