I caught up with cookbook author, broadcaster and new grandmother Marlena Spieler while she was in NYC. She divides her time between England and the US, and has written cookbooks on everything from Jewish and French cuisines, to grilled cheese and BBQ. I am happy to call her a lifelong family friend, and if you look real close you will find my name within one of her cookbook stories.

1. What's your favorite color? Green, I LOVE green.

2. What's your favorite ice cream? Ice cream? Bi-Rite Creamery's salted caramel or Eataly's dark chocolate gelato, or most anything at Paris' Berthillon. Also I like a nice cheap pink peppermint ice cream at Christmastime. 

3. What's your favorite purple? My favourite purple? 

4. What's your favorite flower? I like narcissi and antique roses, for their scent. But exotic and classic tulips for their look.

5. What is your all time favorite song? La Mer, an old 50s song that was also recorded in English, a somewhere beyond the sea...but in French it is...you know, more atmospheric. 

6. When did you move for the first and last time? First time I moved to Jerusalem. Last time I moved to the backwoods of Hampshire, UK. 

7. What is your favorite US city to visit? I don't know which my favorite US city is. San Francisco and NYC I love. But haven't been to many others. Like Taos. New Orleans. Portland. And I know there are many others I could fall in love with but haven't been. Chicago, pretty cool. 

8. What is the last book you read? Read May We Be Forgiven a little a week or two ago, then Rosemary's Baby, and just finished a book by Lisa See but don't remember the title. About China in the 50s, 60s, novel but historical and personal. 

9. Four Square or Tetherball? Four Ssquare or tetherball: tough call. i liked them both. I think I got more excited over tetherball though. 

10. Favorite childhood meal? Favourite childhood meal would have been the weekly Chinese dinner or the weekly Mexican one. 

11. OOGIAH means cookie. What is your favorite kind? The thing about oogiah is it's such a great word, and not only does it taste yummy to say it, but in plural it is even yummier: oogiot. something about saying oogiot just makes me happy! Having said that, well, iIm not a big cookie person. It's gotta be an intensely flavoured cookie whatever it is. A good choc chunk with caramelized batter sort of thing, and crisp when you bite into it. On the other hand, once I start eating cookies suddenly I remember how wonderful they can be! And when this happens, I'm all in for ginger snaps, with a lotta ginger and spice!

Notes by OOGIAH:
Ice Cream: Bi-Rite Creamery ~ Eataly ~ Berthillon ~ Peppermint Stick (there are many brands of this flavor)
Song: La Mer by Charles Trénet
Book: May We Be Forgiven by A.M. Homes ~ Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin ~ Dreams of Joy by Lisa See
Cookie: Ginger Snaps

Find out more about Marlena Spieler here. 

*The first four questions were created by a five-year-old. And the last seven were written by her mom.
Posted by Rachel Teichman

We were lucky to catch up with author, Scary Mommy community builder and mother of three, Jill Smokler, during this busy time of year. She loved our questions, and we love her answers!

1. What's your favorite color?
Pink. I just can't seem to grow out of it.

2. What's your favorite ice cream? 
During the summer, peppermint stick with chocolate sprinkles. But year round, coffee Oreo. That's hard to find, though, so I'm happy with Heath bar or butter pecan. Or pretty much anything.

3. What's your favorite purple?
Plum.
4. What's your favorite flower?
Peonies. Can't get enough of them.

5. What is your all time favorite song?
Michael Jackson's Man in the Mirror.

6. When did you move for the first and last time?
First time, out of the house at 18. Last time, to Baltimore 3 years ago. With 12 moves in between.

7. What is your favorite US city to visit?
New York. I can be there in under 3 hours, which thrills me.

8. What is the last book you read?
Karma Gone Bad, by my friend Jenny Feldon.

9. Four Square or Tetherball?
Neither. I'm a sit on the grass and watch playground sports girl.

10. Favorite childhood meal?
Thai. Still my favorite today, but I don't eat it often enough.

11. OOGIAH means cookie. What is your favorite kind?
 Black and white cookies. But only if they are fresh with soft, sickeningly sweet icing. If they've been sitting in the bakery case too long, I'll take some Oreos instead. I'm much less picky with those.

Notes by OOGIAH:
Ice Cream: Peppermint Stick (there are many brands of this flavor)
Song: "Man in the Mirror" by Michael Jackson
Book: Karma Gone Bad by Jenny Feldon
Bakery cookie: Black & White Cookies
Boxed cookie: Oreo Cookies

Find out more about Jill Smokler here. 
Read Rachel Teichman's "A Mom Car" piece on ScaryMommy. com here. 

*The first four questions were created by a five-year-old. And the last seven were written by her mom.
Posted by Rachel Teichman

We recently caught up with author and father of two, Dan Zevin, after meeting him at the Dan Gets a Minivan book reading, and emailed him our new collection of questions. This is the first in a series of question sessions with writers. 

1. What's your favorite color? Gold 

2. What's your favorite ice cream? Ben & Jerry's Dastardly Mash 

3. What's your favorite purple? Burple (second favorite is Murple)

4. What's your favorite flower? gardenia

5. What is your all time favorite song? For You (Springsteen) 

6. When did you move for the first and last time? I moved onto the couch five minutes ago. But I moved for the first time when I was in second grade from my grandmother's house in NJ to our own house in NJ. Four years ago, I moved with my family from Brooklyn NY to Westchester NY.

7. What is your favorite US city to visit? Houston.  

8. What is the last book you read? The Mysterious Benedict Society 

9. Four Square or Tetherball? Tetherball. 

10. Favorite childhood meal? Pizza with a side of pizza.

 11. OOGIAH means cookie. What is your favorite kind?
Homemade: chocolate chip 
Boxed: Petite Ecolier 
Chinese: fortune

Notes by OOGIAH:
Ice Cream: You can vote to bring back Ben & Jerry's Dastardly Mash, or make it yourself!
Song: "For You" by Bruce Springsteen
Book: The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
Boxed cookie: Petite Écolier

Find out more about award-winning author Dan Zevin here. 

*The first four questions were created by a five-year-old. And the last seven were written by her mom.
Posted by Rachel Teichman

I wanted to start a little "Chip Chat" with other writers I admire, be they bloggers, authors or musicians. And get to ask some fun questions. Some of the writers I will chat with I have had the opportunity to meet, and some may just remain virtual friends. 

I started off by chatting with my kids, my favorite writers and musicians of course! My five-and-a-half-year-old thought this was so fun, and had four more questions to add to my seven. She said a total of eleven questions would be a great thing. It is pretty obvious that her four are first! 

Here are their answers!

NLT, 5 1/2
1. What's your favorite color? Black and green and white and pink
2. What's your favorite ice cream? Mint Chocolate Chip
3. What's your favorite purple? Lavender
4. What's your favorite flower? Rose & Tulip
5. What is your all time favorite song? "Roar"
6. When did you move for the first and last time? Austin to Oakland to Houston
7. What is your favorite US city to visit? Scottsdale, 'cuz I liked the hotel
8. What is the last book you read? Page of Toy Story
9. Four Square or Tetherball? Swing ball thing (Tetherball)
10. Favorite childhood meal? Could it be ice cream? Pasta shells with butter
11. OOGIAH means cookie. What is your favorite kind? Sugar cookie with colored sugar

EJT, 3
1. What's your favorite color? Light Blue
2. What's your favorite ice cream? Mint Chocolate Chip
3. What's your favorite purple? Red Purple
4. What's your favorite flower? Dark purple, Iris
5. What is your all time favorite song? Katy Perry
6. When did you move for the first and last time? To Houston
7. What is your favorite US city to visit? Vacaville, for the train museum (Western Railway Museum)
8. What is the last book you read? Toy Story book
9. Four Square or Tetherball? Four Squirt
10. Favorite childhood meal? Dental Soup (homemade lentil soup)
11. OOGIAH means cookie. What is your favorite kind? M&M Cookies


Posted by Rachel Teichman

I have many fond memories of sharing kosher pizza and falafel with my cousins when visiting our grandparents in Brooklyn. And having falafel filled with French fries with new friends in Israel. And eating falafel everyday with old friends as a vegetarian visiting Barcelona. 

I feel like I need to have some falafel right now, with some friendly folks, after watching "Falafel," a short film by cousin David Goldberger. He calls it "an enticing meal with strangers." And it is set to "Smile," by Charlie Chaplin. In it we meet a small cast of curious characters who have all bonded over their falafel eating. Can they let another falafel fan into their group? Watch and find out!

And if you find yourself in the San Francisco Bay Area with a hankering for some filled pita sandwiches, then check out my guide to falafel joints here. 

Posted by Rachel Teichman

"It's National Cookie Day, let's make cookies!" I said. To which my three-year-old replied, "Do they have to be national?" 

Well if there was such a thing as a national cookie, it would probably involve peanut butter! So it's a good thing that @TeamRachael suggested this Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from RachaelRay.com. When asking them for a cookie suggestion, I said I didn't have any butter, but that I did have peanut butter. These cookies were easy to make, and turned out yummy and cute! Happy National Cookie Day to you!

Posted by Rachel Teichman

As big fans of "Doc McStuffins" and The Stuffed Animal Rescue Foundation, an app that could add a new element to my kids' pretend vet play was welcomed with open arms! 

The Pretendasaurus app gives kids a real medical chart to use to record their plush patients' ailments. They can name the pets, take a photo, and check off what is wrong with them. Then they can look at an xray of the particular type of animal they are examining, and check heart rates.

My kids ages 5 1/2 and 3 loved using this app to record what is already going on in their overactive imaginations. They got out some toy doctor tools, set up an exam table and really got to work. They helped a little grey kitten with a breathing issue, along with a pink poodle who had something wrong with her mouth. All in a day's pretend work. 

We were asked to review this app, but the opinions are all our own. 

Posted by Rachel Teichman

As we were all saying thanks and getting full on Thanksgiving, we were also celebrating Chanukah, on the once in a lifetime day that was Thanksgivukkah! My own family enjoyed the typical sweet potatoes and stuffing, along with fried hand pies and pumpkin sufganiyot. And don't get me started on the latkes with pumpkin pie spice sour cream. So delicious!

As we planned our own holiday mash-ups I was always curious to see what others were planning as well. I caught up with a few social media friends to see how their celebrations went. 

Amy Kritzer, of What Jew Wanna Eat, shared that she enjoyed "lots of sweet potato latkes, and drinking dreidel games!" Sounds like a real party! You can see her make sweet potato latkes here.

Ellen Zimmerman, of Jewish Holidays in a Box, shared that her daughter-in-law made "a lovely Happy Thanksgivukkah banner in harvest and flame colors of gold, red, and orange." And that "her sweet potato latkes were incredible!" You can get your own banner to color in here.

And Allison Josephs, from Jew in the City, said that she spent the day with family "cooking turkey and latkes," and "lighting candles and sharing our Thanksgivukkah CNN clip!" You can learn about Thanksgivukkah from an Orthodox perspective here. 

Thank you all for sharing!

Posted by Rachel Teichman

It's nice to have crafty friends. To create stuff with, and to teach you how to make new things. And it's so nice when they share what they make with you! I am lucky that one of my new Houston friends taught me how to make adorable hair clips, and still shares some of the ones she makes with us! We have owls, stars and turkeys. They are so sparkly, and fun for specific seasons and all year. 

As you have guessed by now my friend is Sandye, and her line is Candye by Sandye. She makes these awesome clips with crafty care. And she also makes great candy bouquets great for any theme event, including birthdays, baby showers and events like the Super Bowl. Check out her gallery here and contact her for clips and candy bouquets for any theme.

Posted by Rachel Teichman

My little cousin Leah is well into her first year as an MBA student at one of the ivy covered schools. We have a long history of sending each other fun mail. So when I learned about PijonBox I knew this was the fun mail for her! When you order you get to pick the gender of the recipient, and what year in college or grad school they are in. When Leah had tried out all of the items in the box, she sent me this email: 

I got the PijonBox, thank you so much! I loved the Revitalize Lollipops, and already painted my nails hot pink because we had a blacklight party last night - it was fun! These boxes are definitely awesome quick fixes for students' problems - deodorant and moisturizer are key!

Thanks Cousin Leah!

Full disclosure: I have been in contact with PijonBox about their products. But I purchased this box for my cousin, and the feedback is all hers.

Posted by Rachel Teichman