Damn Computers

So my blogging has kind of gone for a shit. There are many contributing factors but the largest is the fact that my computer no longer wishes to recognize my camera. At least most of the time. So this means I have to take the memory card out each time I want to download and get the pics directly off the card. If our camera didn't have to be taped shut because it was dropped within the first few weeks of us having it then that wouldn't be such a hassle. So yeah technology is getting in my way. That and the busy-ness of life. Our house is officially on the market today. With the possibility of people coming to see the place I should have been more motivated to get stuff done today but in the end I wasn't. We are packing books and trying to declutter. I need to find a new source of boxes. All in all I think it is going pretty well.

Here are some candid kid shots. They are pre-dinner. The daughter wasn't feeling up to much. Thus the hide behind the apron.The son was being helpful moving a chair back from his room (fort building) so that we could use it for dinner. Is it just me or does he look way older than he should.So this evenings dinner. Don't try to kid me I know that is what you're really here for. Well I don't plan to send you home disappointed. It was chirashi sushi, coleslaw and shake and bake chicken. Followed by dessert. Man my wife does a great job of looking after us. Huge props to the lady in my life.Why the big dinner you ask? Well we had a second birthday dinner for the littlest one today. Originally we planned to celebrate with some friends but they had something come up and we had some semi-sickies here so it didn't work out for having people over. Just meant more for us in the end. And in the more for us department the middle child managed a new record for chicken drumsticks. Seven. If the youngest ever develops a taste for human food we might be in trouble. Below is the second candle opportunity. The cake was a store bought angel food covered with whipped cream and blueberries. Very nice. The video is of the actual candle blowing out ceremony. Notice why flames and babies don't mix.

Well that is all to report from here. With one day of regular Olympics to go, I am sad, satisfied and kind of looking forward to spending less time in front of the computer. Hope all you Vancouverites have gotten your fix. Love ya.

Double Bill

Well fearless reader, you have are about to receive the pleasure of not one but two dinner reviews. Hold on tight.

BUTTER CHICKEN

Well after the boarder had butter chicken on Tuesday night my wife and I discussed the pros and cons of making butter chicken. We internet searched a couple of recipes and it looked rather time consuming so I thought it was all for naught. Wasn't I wrong. After arriving home on wednesday evening from my dentist appointment what was a met with but a harried wife (three kids while trying to make a dish for the first time with no real instructions) and an amazing meal. I loved it and it was even better today at school for lunch. Turns out my better half had brought home a whole chicken, parts had been separated, and she decided that it was butter time. Here is what the rest of the tribe thought.


SMOKIES AND SALAD

Then this evening I arrive home to a classic weekend starter. Smokies and spaghetti salad. The coolest part of the dinner was that the son had made his own bun at preschool today. It was pretty good bread but I was later told that there were three tablespoons of sugar in the dough. That must have been what gave it that pastry quality. After dinner it was Peanut Buster Parfaits (2 dishes for the four of us, definitely shareable) and now we are at bath time.


Not wanting to jinx myself I have to say that the first week of this semester has been amazing. I know we are still in the honey moon phase but so far are I am not just staying above water but definitely swimming with the tide and catching the occasional wave. Not wanting fate to smite me I am trying to stay humble and appreciative. But things are pretty good.

Shake it, shake it baby.

Well we shook and booked. No we shaked and baked. Well the rhyme doesn't work in the past tense but anyways there was breaded chicken drumsticks for dinner tonight. Originally it was just going to be roast chicken with vegetables but the grocery store had no "legs with back attached"so we got drum sticks and went for it.End result, success. Baked for about one hour at 400. Then I broiled it two minutes a side right at the end to brown up the potatoes and crisp up the chicken. Juicy, and tender yet crisp and cooked. Now that's how I like it. The Mrs and the oldest both ate modestly but the middle one had four drumsticks and seconds of everything. End result, pretty empty pan. When he eats, he eats. Maybe we cut down on the snacks today but he was shovelling it back. Even had seconds of the pasta salad. Leftover pasta from lunch with carrots, celery, green onions and a creamy yogurt and basil dressing (we are officially out of our home dried dill. Dang it.) This bowl was also empty by the end of dinner. With the quantities we are currently consuming I can foresee a time of great famine for the parents. I'd say when the youngest hits like 9 it will be hard to get a fork in edgewise. Something to look forward to.

Below is the son photo bombing some family pictures. He does it well.The daughter wishes me to point out the locket she got from her friend in the picture below. She tortured some photos we have an now her mother and myself are nestled nicely into the tiny inside picture frames. Time to go and read "I had trouble in getting to Solla Sollew" and "Bartholomew and the Ooblick." I have so much love for the Seuss these days. I keep thinking I haven't read them and then when I open the book it all comes rushing back. Glorious.

Santa Sunday

Well here is us hanging with Mr Claus. The kids all got scored some loot and got to watch "Cloudy with Meatballs" as part of the bargain. They had all seen the movie once or twice but still stayed in their seats enjoying it the whole time. I think they may have been giving away plot points to the patrons around them but I was at the back with the wife and baby so I can't say for sure. In any case it was a pretty special day as usual.

For dinner we had chicken strips with rice and veggies and dip. The Mrs. had to actually scold the son for not eating his chicken strips. He just wouldn't stop putting back the veggies. The Mrs. also made a version of humus only we added cilantro and probably didn't add very much salt. It was great with the veggies as well. With one week till winter vacation I am just trying to keep my nose above water. I think I can, I think I can.

Recommitment

So its sunday night. Below is a picture of Sunday dinner. Yes I am going to try and get back on the bus.
The daughter was the inspiration behind this evenings main course. With the son and I off for an afternoon jaunt to work she and the Mrs. put together the fabulous meal. The pasta dish was done in a light cream sauce notably adding her favourite feta cheese to the mix. This sauce was added to some nicely sauteed chicken, onions and carrots. The final product was then mixed with spaghetti noodles. It was very lightly seasoned and the kids both gobbled it up.

The salad was green and a veritable flavour explosion. The soup was also quite nice. Squash and turkey if I do not miss my guess. The Mrs. has already retired for the evening so I cannot verify this.

Post dinner we had a lighting fast bath time so that the kids could watch the Empire Strikes Back. Oh Luke just lost his hand. I then went for a run. With the craziness of late I just have not been able to get the exercise in. But tonight I went for a modest run and I am going to get back to it. It may snow and get crappy but I am determined to make it happen through this winter.

Winter Arrives

So we got our first taste of winter today. So of course we came home from school and started making a snow man.
Rumour has it that the man got crashed down and we now have a snow dog. I have yet to investigate but judging by how wet these kids were when they came back in there was definitely some serious snow play afoot.


Here is the littlest practicing standing. Walking can't be far away now. Then nothing will be safe.They say that when kids start crawling it has a big impact on brain development. Something about the right arm left leg coordination that brings things along. Well we have definitely noted a huge change in the littlest. When ever you change activity he totally reacts. For example if I am holding him and put him down he freaks out. However, if I sit with him and play for a bit then he gets into playing and everything is okay.
And finally we have dinner. Remember, this is a blog about dinner. The Mrs. went with finger food this evening and it worked. I shaked and baked some chicken. We got some home fries with yams. The Mrs. got brie cheese and crackers. Some kids salsa and nacho chips. A little green salad.

A lovely end to the week.

Remission.

In that I have been remiss in my blogging about dinner. First a quick strained smile. Interestingly, after downloading the pics I realised that two of the three meals I will present to you have the same guest in them, but first, more kid shots.The meal we will begin with is our almost thanksgiving dinner. This was last Monday. There was chicken roasted with assorted other stuffs. We had our local Japanese friend over. First there was a driving lesson (she passed her test on Thursday) and then there was some dinner. Good times had by all.Next up is my return dinner on Saturday night. It was yaki-soba grilled up on our teppan yaki. Big shout out for the wonderful wedding gift that keeps on giving. We grilled up a whole mess of noodles and vegetables. This was followed by some hot apple crumble with ice-cream and the jello and fruit mixture which the same guest provided. Gotta love guests.
This kid wasn't happy because all he got was breast milk and apples. Get used to it is all I can say.
So we finally make it to this evening. From conception to table there was a very short timeline on this evenings dinner. Basically at 3:30 we had no idea what we were going to have and by 5:00 everything was hot on the table. This included a shop for ingredients. The soup was a squash bisque (I saw bisque written somewhere recently and I liked the sound of it) with tomatoes and carrots. It was a little sweet for my taste but we served it with rice and the kids didn't complain for the most part. In my second bowl I added a few shots of tabasco sauce and the flavour literally exploded off the old flavo-meter. Definitely hit that nail on the head.We will see if my consistency stays spotty or if I turn things around on the old blog front. It seems my life has been a little too busy recently. I am sure it will calm down again soon. Say December 27th or there abouts. I won't hold my breath. Finally a shot of me and son. Serious, deadly serious.

Family Function

Sunday dinner. Sitting down and bringing the weekend to a close is such a nice tradition. Girding up for the week to come, yet still enjoying the last parts of rest and relaxation. We had roast chicken with potatoes, yams, carrots, onion and garlic. Fantabulous. A good use of celery seeds, not a seasoning I am familiar with but definitely on the mark tonight. The wife just mentioned that it is almost time to turn on the furnace again. Summer has drawn to a close. Sigh.

The salad is a perfect metaphor for the fullness of summer. The tomatoes and cucumbers are both drawing to a close, but what a spectacular close it is. Even the lovely organics I got for my salsa cannot compare to the varieties and flavours that we have in the backyard. Pulled in some more peppers and zucchini as well but that will have to wait for tomorrow night.

Below is the Mrs. trying to enjoy her meal. While totting the toddler she can get a lot done and the little one can even get in a nap once in a while.

Recipe Wonders

Well the Mrs. has found the true glory of recipes. Inspiration.Tonight we had a chicken and barley curry. Page 12. The curry factor was very low for the kids but the yum factor was still high. There was quite a bit of lentils in it too. In a shocking turn of events the daughter ate a salad with some raw zucchini spears in it. This fact has yet to be verified by any scientific method but we are pretty sure of our results.In other news the youngest did a pretty good job of eating solid food. More than three quarters of the bowl was in his mouth at one point or another. Of that a great majority was swallowed. Bring on the stinky poops.

It could be the floor

Well I finally got to the garage today. It has been getting to me for quite a while and I am glad to return the favour. It is so nice to walk out the back door and look down into a clean and organized carport. The best part is that now that the trailer is sold I won't have to rearrange for winter. Yosh.

Just a quick pet peeve here. So the guy who buys my trailer writes me a cheque for the money. I take that cheque to his bank where he has his account. I want to cash it. I do not have an account at the bank. They want to charge me $5. Its his freakin bank. The money I am going to get is coming from that bank. Dude is going to pay a service charge for writing the cheque. FIVE DOLLARS!! I was insensed. I did not slap anyone or draw a gun but I was real real close. Totally ludicrous. CIBC if anyone was wondering. Okay moving right along.

For dinner we did not have the nimono we were thinking of having. It was a hot day so the wife made a daikon and carrot salad and I barbecued up some chicken wings. I would give it a six. Not enough veg and still have to much barbecue anxiety about cooking chicken on the grill. This evening it was both black and a little pink. Definitely not my strong suit.
Here is the son sporting a new hair cut. He asked for it this time which was nice. He is still a little squeamish about people touching his neck. Think fifth child syndrome. I think the real reason he wanted the cut was for the lightning bolts. He thinks he is dash from the Incredibles. One above each ear and one down the back. He is definitely moving with more zip as a result.

Good to the last Drop.

So we actually got down to some painting today. For those of you keeping track I believe it may have taken two weeks from the planned start date. I just keep telling myself, "its not a race."
Of course everything else in our house is a race these days. This morning the wife gave the daughter the idea of have a yard sale with the stuffed animals we are planning to get rid of. So naturally the son had to get in on the action. They sold a total of zero stuffies and three glasses of weak, no lemon added, iced tea. I bought one of the glasses.For dinner I was lacking in motivation and so was the wife. She said we should get some take out. The daughter requested mom made food and the son wanted A & W chicken. Thus the table on display this evening. The wife made soba in a miso soup with some koya tofu mixed in. She also pan fried up some perogies. I took the son through the drive through and we got the family meal, on sale, $26.24 taxes in. Ouch.

I am now getting a lot of pressure to apply the finishing coat after dinner. Earlier the walls were cleaned and then a primer coat was applied. Not really feeling the continue painting vibe. I plan to resist and finish tomorrow. If I have the strength.

Lunch, in camera.

We had people over for lunch today and had chicken salad, egg salad and pasta salad. The first two of which were meant to be eaten in buns. We also had some veggies and dip. Then the kids played while the adults chatted. Late afternoon we went to the river for a swim and took the play friend along for the ride. It was great. Almost let the son drown. He moved a little out of the swimming hole and found a place where the water was a little over his mouth and he couldn't quite get the leverage to walk back against the slight current.

Fuck me was that ever scary. Holy shit do I have to keep my eyes on him. No life guard there. He thinks he can swim. Not a good combination. Coincidentally I have been thinking about pools recently and how they are so dangerous with little kids. My self talk went something like this, "well as long as you are vigilant and have lots of safety procedures." That shit just went out the window. Not until all our kids are strong swimmers. That has to be the starting point. And then gates that lock, not just latch but "I need an adults intervention to swim" lock.

Just one of those parenting moments that brings you up short. Kid racing towards a stop sign on their bike and you are praying they won't forget to brake. Chasing sister on the side walk and traffic is busy. Put them down to sleep and pray they don't manage roll over and suffocate or some such nonsense.

But the good times are good.

Bait and switch.

So the daughter decided she was going to make dinner again this evening. Planned it out yesterday and everything. Then 4:30 rolls around and she just isn't that into dinner. So I got the nod and was up off the bench within minutes.

Tonights dish was a red pepper and coconut chicken dish. Lots of cilantro. I rather enjoyed it. Pureed half the red pepper and onion and all of the garlic, diced the other half f the veggies. Tore three chicken breasts off the bone and into strips. The diced veggies and chicken pieces were browned on all sides in a large skillet. Then the puree was added back with salt and pepper (note to self more salt and pepper next time). This was cooked for about seven minutes. Then a can of coconut milk was added. Simmered for another 8 minutes or so then the chopped up cliantro was added into the mix. Served over a bed of nice white rice. I added paprika to mine after the fact. Everyone had to add some salt. But it was a nice meal. (okay I had already eaten a bunch before I took the picture, at least the bowl hadn't yet been licked clean)After dinnerthe two oldest and I went to see the new Ice Age movie at the theatre. They both had a good time even if I did eat most of the popcorn. (I have bigger hands and am more focussed, its not my fault.) The going out after dinner was pretty exciting even if I did just have to talk the son down. Bit of an over tired tantrum. I don't know why I partake in these. He is asleep on the couch now and I can easily move him back to his bed. Definitely the path of least resistance and thus should be first choice.

A quick visit.

Well we fired up the cue again tonight. After managing to get my mom to stay for dinner I got adventurous and made my own honey garlic glaze. To speed up the process I nuked the bowl full of sauce covered chicken on medium fir 7 minutes. The bbqing still took a while. However the mumma stuck it out and had a couple of drumsticksbefore she flew the coop. See what I did there. Huh, huh .. nice eh?
Currently the two oldest are off with mom at the park while I type one handed and try to entertain with my left. Note to sisters, it is possible but not fun.

BBq is Back

Well we whipped up some bbq chicken for this evenings dinner. It was going to be shake and bake but turning on the oven that would have been madness, 33 degrees here today, 91 for our American readers. Funnily enough we were actually baking bread so I had to go outside and use the last of the gas. Note to self. Get more propane.
The chicken was good, the bread was out of this world, hot and slathered with butter. Boiled peas and corn with some leftover coleslaw and it was real barbecue here tonight. Day four of schedule madness was not quite as tight as it could have been but we have high hopes for tomorrow. Lots of bday party planning and cake making to get done. Note to self, keep camera handy.

Here are some more bread shots. This should last us two weeks.

Homemade-ish.

Well we did eat some stuff for dinner. And some of it was really well made, home cooked goodness. I arrived home after work to a rising bubble of dough and some high aspirations. They were fulfilled with these amazing chocolate and cheese, garlic, dill buns.Unfortunately I brought absolutely nothing to the mix this evening. I guess that isn't techincally correct. I did pick up some chicken and pop. In my defense the pop was for making homemade slurpees which went over pretty well. However, I cannot defend the chicken. I just didn't have it and neither did the Mrs. That is after she baked really cool buns with the daughter.After dinner my son gave me the wink and we headed down stairs to split six Guinness. Isn't that what this picture seems to imply.

What you cannot see are the carpet bowling balls that get toted around in the old Guinness six pack holder. We are actually heading down stairs to do some carpet bowling. The daughter played too and we all won a round or two so everyone left happy. Good times.