February is a short month, but it’s a leap year so there’s an extra day. The Pink book that I refer to often has a great list of “to dos” at the end of each chapter (each month), but it’s always bothered me that I have to read all the way to the end to get ideas of things to do during the month. I am going to try some ideas for myself as goals or inspirations at the beginning of the month. Here are some I thought of for February.

• Give Valentine’s to your kids
• Be sure to let the ones you love know it this month. More than just saying it.
• Hug your kid every day this month — no matter how old he/she is
• Do something just for you
• Read a book that’s just for fun. Something light, something that may not even have a lot of merit, but something fun to get your mind off of all that ails you.
• Send Valentine’s cards to your child’s Grandparents.
• For Valentine’s Day draw hearts on your driveway with sidewalk chalk. It will make your mailperson smile
• Stay in on Valentine’s Day. Order a pizza even. Skip all the hoopla surrounding fancy dinners and enjoy being together, no matter what you are doing.
• Make Rachel Ray’s “You Won’t Be Single For Long Vodka Cream Pasta” one night this month. It’s “Yumm-o”
• Stop by the Godiva store and buy just one piece of chocolate. Eat it on the spot.
• Buy yourself a new robe, PJs or slippers (or, hey, all three!) — anything that is new, and comfortable for an evening at home.
• Sit by a fire at least once this month. If you don’t have a fireplace, visit a local hotel or restaurant lobby that has one. Order a glass of wine or specialty coffee and think about life without interruption, just letting the crackle of the fire shift your thoughts. You’ll be amazed at how much clarity comes when sitting so still.

I stumbled upon an inspiring mom blog the other day: “my toddler’s lunchbox,” where a working mom chronicles what’s inside her son’s (he’s two) lunchbox. This is no ordinary lunchbox — I doubt most adult lunches are this healthy.

Every week day there is a close-up photo along with a detailed description of each food item (usually four items) as well as a rundown of what is eaten and what is left behind.

Here’s a sampling of food items:

• smoked salmon
• boiled and mashed broccoli with olive oil and raw pressed garlic
• sliced cucumbers
• sundried apricots
• fresh papaya swirls
• whole wheat pasta with spinach sauce

Most of the food that “mamajon” puts in her son’s lunchbox are things regular moms don’t even attempt to feed our kids at home, let alone prepare an exquisite meal the night before.

Here’s how “mamajon” explains her site:

This blog is about refusing to settle a junkfood lunchbox. it is about taking the time to create something healthy and interesting. it is a daily challenge, but our priority is to have a healthy and energetic toddler and we try our best to stay away from the following:

• sugar
• pre-packaged foods or canned goods
• foods containing colourings, E-numbers or additives”

Quite ambitious, and it looks like, so far, this mom is finding a way to make healthy eating a priority in her family. We should all be inspired.

My son loves bananas. Every morning starts with a big yellow “nana” and a sippy of ice cold milk. I’m not a big banana eater myself, but I do love the flavor of the monkey-loving fruit so I’ve been looking for a way to use up the bananas that get too ripe. I have a thing about eating bananas that are too brown, well, any brown at all. I tried putting them in the freezer, but they just turned to a gross liquid when I thawed them.

I started looking for a good banana bread recipe that I can use when I get too many overly ripe ‘nanas. Last night my son helped me with this recipe and it turned out great. I got the recipe from allrecipes.com — submitted by somebody with the user name Shelley. I made a few modifications based on the feedback and was welcomed with a delicious loaf of banana bread for breakfast this morning.

Here’s the recipe (from allrecipes.com, with my additions):

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas (about 5-8 bananas)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon (and or/ 1/2 t. nutmeg, 1/2 t. all spice)
nuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle top with mixture of brown and white sugar (be generous).
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Get the original recipe at allrecipes.com
Read what people say about this recipe in the allrecipes reviews.

It’s time to make cookies! Yesterday I got my first installment of The Food Network’s 12 Days of Cookies email. Now I know it’s Christmastime.

Each year the chefs and editors at the Food Network find 12 cookie recipes they like best and email them, one at a time, for 12 days. The recipes are an inspiring way to get in the mood for the holidays.

Way to go Food Network. I already love you — I’ve learned so much from you over the years. I think it’s the way many Americans are learning to cook: From Emeril, Paula, Giada and all the others. You remind us that it’s OK if we don’t know how to boil water; just watch, listen and try it out.

Food TV’s Web site is a favorite stop for me. If I like a recipe on one of its shows, I immediately go to the Web and save a copy. Make note of this — you must get the recipe within a certain time period. I don’t know how long they keep recipes up, but I’m still searching for a Paula Deen recipe that uses ice cream sandwiches for an amazing frozen dessert pie.

• Sign up for the email.
• View recipes from past years.

For my son’s second birthday I struggled with whether or not to make the cake myself. Last year it was an easy decision: You need something special for the first birthday. I need to make the cake, I thought. Months before the event, I took a cake decorating class. Not knowing that I had to bake and frost a cake every week for a month, I endured the class and learned the basics of how to frost a decorative cake.

The night before my son’s first birthday I was up past midnight, with yellow icing up to my elbows. It was worth it. (The wine helped.) The cake turned out so cute and I was very proud.

This year, I wanted to do that same thing. We matured from a duck cake to a car cake. He loves cars so how could I not make a cake in the shape of a car? If you’ve never made a specialty cake before, it takes a lot of work. And I mean a lot of work. And, it’s not that it’s cheaper than a store-bought cake. Even though I had all the supplies and I’d already purchased the cake mold a few months ago, I was still dreading the baking and icing of the cake. Shouldn’t I just call Publix and order the Disney Cars cake?

I was about to make the call, but finally decided that I wasn’t going to let myself fail. I want to make this cake and have him point to it and say his favorite word, “car.” So, I forged ahead; made a plan, baked and frosted that cake. Even as I was making it, I made mental notes to think twice about doing it for birthday number three.

Finally, it is complete. The little blue car cake is sitting on the table in all it’s splendor. It is adorable. The kids love it, the adults are impressed and Mommy feels great for doing something special for her son’s second birthday.

Tips:

• Take a class at your nearby craft store. It really helps to learn the techniques to make the perfect cake.
• Make all your frosting several days before you are ready to decorate. Store in air tight containers.
• Make extra, white frosting. You might need to dye it for a color you didn’t plan on needing.
• Buy the specialty gel coloring dyes; regular food dyes only make pastel icing.
• Bake the cake a day before you want to frost it.
• Keep a bowl of water on the table to clean the icing tips and to use on your frosting spatula to smooth the surface of the cake.
• Frost a layer of “flat” icing before you pipe the star shapes.
• Leave plenty of time to frost the cake. Do it the night before or early, early in the morning, depending on the time of your party.

Related:

• Learn about cake decorating at Wilton.com.
• 3-D Cruiser car cake pan.
• View an amazing Wiggles car cake.