drink tea.

Did you know that tea contains minerals and is rich in antioxidants? Do you know that is it safe to say that tea is good for you and has cancer fighting properties? One of my pleasant habits is to brew fresh loose leaf tea every morning. I mix a blend of berry black tea with some berry white tea , which is berry-good. hee. (I like some caffeine but black tea has about half the caffeine as a cup of coffee.) I recommend using filtered water and organic loose leaf tea for the best experience.

Tea is the most commonly consumed beverage in the world after water. Black, green, white and oolong derive their leaves from a warm weather tree known as Camellia Sinensis. These leaves have magic powers when it relates to health benefits because they contain polyphenols. It is these antioxidant polyphenols that are all the rage in studies for fighting cancer and heart disease.

And besides all of this, another Mother Rabbit served chamomile tea to her son Peter after he had a rough day with Mr. McGregor. It must be a good idea.

the 12 noon rule.

Mother Rabbit has a little rule for anyone who decides to miss school or work for an illness. I am all in favor of staying home from work or school when one is truly sick, both to help your body to recover and to protect the world around you from your germs.
But here is the rule: If you stay home, you must stay in bed until at least 12 noon. This means in bed in a horizontal position without a DVD player, phone or computer. If you are truly sick, what your body needs and craves is sleep. This little rule helps provide that need, and sometimes helps the bunnies know if they really want to stay home.

respect the mommy meter.

In my 25+ years of being a mother, I have learned the importance of respecting my mommy meter. A mommy meter is an internal barometer of the heart that alerts you when things are awry or danger is pending. You might call it a still, small voice of a mother's heart. You might call it a mother's intuition. Mother Rabbit calls it The Mommy Meter.

Mother Rabbit has learned to respect the workings of this marvelous internal meter. More often than not, the mommy meter is spot on. It is not uncommon for a daughter to get a call or text when mommy's meter goes off just to check in and make sure things are OK. It is not uncommon for Mother Rabbit to withhold permission for an activity based on a mommy meter reading.

My encouragement to mothers everywhere: Learn to listen to and heed your motherly intuition. Fine tune your meter reading skills. And never, never hesitate to act on a gut feeling when something just does not feel right.

My encouragement to children everywhere: Listen to your mother. When she birthed you, she was equipped with a unique set of skills to care for you. Mothers come equipped with a honing system and protective instincts. A Mother Rabbit could kill something with her bare hands that was trying to hurt a baby rabbit. A mother's heart knows more and cares more about you than you will ever understand... until you are a mother. Heed her voice.

send hand-written thank you notes.

Little Rabbits, always remember the power and sweetness of a hand-written note. Everybody loves getting fun mail and it is becoming a rare commodity. When you start thinking you will just send an email to express your thanks to someone, think again. Think about how much you love receiving a hand-written note. Think about the power of handwriting. (Did you know that Sunday, January 23rd is National Handwriting Day?)

Mother Rabbit suggests having a collection of darling notes at your fingertips. It makes it more fun to write them if the notes themselves make you happy. And the task is easier when you keep a collection of notes for all occasions in a handy spot. Mother Rabbit also always buys pretty stamps and keeps a good supply. Make someone's day. Write a note and send it by snail mail.

always take the stairs.

When given the option of escalator or stairs, always take the stairs. This is a simple path is a little healthier lifestyle. I learned reading "French Women Don't Get Fat" by Mirelle Guilano that French women always take the stairs too.

collect favorite recipes.

Cooking is a way of handing down the history of your family. I recommend that you respect the power of favorite recipes in your life, and in the lives of your family. Memories are made over food lovingly prepared. Family recipes have the power to nourish the body and the soul.

Mother Rabbit's bunnies have been begging for a cookbook filled with the recipes that they have grown up on. For Christmas 2010, the bunnies received "Mother Rabbit Cooks Volume 1". It contains recipes that they beg for, recipes that we know by name, and that we would even call "friends". The most fun part was adding the story of where the recipe came from and photos of us enjoying the food. If you would like to take a peek at the pages, use the link below. (Just sign in with your email address and a password to view.)

http://www.cmphotocenter.com/photos/share.php?code=xuqpipyJIJ2qwSaU-dJ8lFtGN_mGoZ4Z&share_type=storybook

I realized this fall, looking at my overstuffed three-ring binder of recipes, that in the event of a house fire I would need to grab this 20 year collection of recipes as well as all of the photo albums. I was also growing tired of fielding calls from the girls for the ingredient lists for favorite recipes. This is fine and dandy when you are standing in your kitchen, but not as handy if you are hiking in Ireland or working out at the YMCA. I couldn't get all the recipes with accompanying stories & memories in one volume, but Mother Rabbit Cooks Volume 2 is already started.

Respect the power of your recipes and the memories that they provide.

savor your history.

Preparing recipes that have been in your family for a long time will bring you in touch with your ethnic roots in a very tangible way. Christmas a great time to ask your mother or your grandmother what they remember eating that formed food traditions in your family. It doesn't take long for a holiday food ritual to take hold so that "it wouldn't be Christmas without..."

Mother Rabbit is a purebred 100% Swede, and she is proud of it. Both parents are Swedish, all the grandparents are Swedish. You get the picture. It was actually a Bucket List item to make Ostakaka all by myself, and in December 2010 I did it. My Grandma Eunice Wallerstedt made it every Christmas and it was one of my favorite taste treats. For those non-Swedes out there who are wondering what it is, I would describe it as a yummy custard dessert that has an amazing and unique texture. It is made by curding raw milk with a rennet tablet and separating the whey (very similar to making cheese) then adding eggs and sugar before baking it. It is tradition to top it with ligonberries. I was always scared to make it because the process seemed foreign, but it was remarkably easy! My first Ostakaka was good, but I already think I know how I can make it even better. Similar to making bread or pie crust and needing to get the feel for the dough, I need to get a feel for the curds and whey. (I sound like Little Miss Muppet instead of Mother Rabbit.) Anyway, I was very proud of myself for making it, and felt like I honored my grandmothers by carrying on the tradition.

I am also proud to say that I baked Lutefisk and served it in a pepper cream sauce for Christmas Eve dinner. (Lutefisk is a fish that has been dried and reconstituted, and has gotten a very bad rap for its fishy taste and smell - which was not as bad as all the talk.) My grandmother would not have thought of having a Christmas dinner without lutefisk, maybe not because everybody loved it but because it was the Swedish thing to do.

Jag är glad att jag gjorde det.