Category Archives: mistakes

Double chocolate and banana tart: putting the pieces back together

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

For once, I thought I’d easily conquered not only the tart dough on round one, but also the entire multi-step process without incident, aggravation, mistake, or calamity. Surprisingly, despite the fact that I had to make an appetizer and the … Continue reading →

Posted in children, family, food, mistakes, motherhood | Tagged , , , , , | 22 Comments

Hey, Veruca, find any lost notecards down there?

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

My students are busily engaged in writing research papers.  For 7th graders, this is a new process, one that requires a significant amount of time, effort and energy.  This year, I have been impressed by their dedication to searching for … Continue reading →

Posted in education, family, mistakes, motherhood, writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Stinky cheese: gorgonzola-apple quiche

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

When I was in France with KDM, she tried to get me to eat stinky cheese.  I gave it my best shot, but each stinky cheese, with its bluish veined ripples of bacterial and mold infection, and its pungent aroma, … Continue reading →

Posted in cheese, family meals, food, lessons, mistakes, paris | Tagged , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Quatre-quarts: four by four mistakes

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

When I read the directions for Dorie’s quatre-quarts, this week’s French Fridays recipe, I thought, “Oh, how simple, I’ll double the recipe and make two!”  Dorie notes that the recipe is simplicity itself — four parts each eggs, flour, butter, … Continue reading →

Posted in family, food, mistakes | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

The perfect mistake

Posted on April 6, 2011 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

A week ago, one of my 7th grade classes sent me into a rant about mistakes. First, TS interrupted his classmate, CM, who was providing a fairly accurate comment about the impact of Eli Whitney’s cotton gin on the demand … Continue reading →

Posted in education, expectations, identity, lessons, mistakes, teaching, teen stress | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment