Bath Time.

Well its bubble bath tonight so I have a quick second to get a blog off. The Mrs. made some nimono magic this evening and accompanied it with a caesar salad. Delish.

Last night we went and saw this show. It was decent but the real story is the son on the way home. He was way over tired and after the kids got to meet the magician and get his autograph and a hand shake, I pulled them away and we headed out the door for the car. It was 9:30 on a school night. When we got to the car we had a fifteen minute stand off. Apparently I had pulled the son away before he got to ask his question (note: he couldn't come up with his question when asked) There was no way he was getting in the car without going back to ask. I tried my best but no amount of bluffing or logic made any difference. He was not coming home. So finally I just went around and got in the drivers side, sat down and closed the door. I was just looking for somewhere warm to wait. However, this wasn't how the son interpreted my action. In a really pathetic and dejected voice he walked back towards the building in front of the car and said, "I would come in the car if you asked me." He thought I was leaving him behind. It nearly broke my heart. I jumped out of the seat and said of course I wanted him to come with us. I spent the better part of the ride home and a couple of minutes after getting home explaining how important he is to me. Even now I feel a bit misty just writing about it. So I guess I just chalk another black mark up against my name.

I now have an answer to the question, "Where does our children's innocence go?"

We steal it from them one day at a time.

Last Supper

Well with the school year starting tomorrow we whipped up a farewell to summer feast to be proud of. The Mrs. made a fish nimono. The critters in question were little white fish of some description. Frozen on the counter they definitely left something to be desired. However, after the wife worked her magic they were transformed into the lovely protein portion of this evenings meal. Her magic soup has fresh ginger, soy sauce, sake and sugar. The bok choy and fish were then simmered until totally immersed in the flavour.
I was in charge of the vegetable portion of this evenings meal and went with a stuffed zucchini ala net. Mushrooms, onions, eggplant, and garlic were sauteed with salt, pepper and thyme. The big zuccs were boiled for ten, sliced in half and then had their guts scooped out. The guts were mashed and strained for water content and then they were fried where the other ingredients had been. The sauteed goods were returned after a bit and then it was all transferred to a bowl to add in some grated cheese. This was then spooned into the empty shells, some more cheese was sprinkled over the top and it was baked at about 450 for 15 minutes, grilled for about two and then it was served. It must be Armageddon because the daughter had three helpings. Of zucchini, can you believe it.

Well the party is over now. But on the bright side I will start getting paid again.

Just in time for Lunch

Well I didn't manage to get a picture of dinner pre-feast so instead I got a picture of the lunches for people going to school tomorrow. We had nimono or boiled veggies and chicken. We also had the wife's amazing coleslaw. As I said after dinner, "if we ever open the bakery we will serve sandwiches for lunch and your coleslaw will be the side of choice." I mean I love this coleslaw. The nimono was also good as we haven't had it for a long time. Good warm food for a cold almost spring day.
Here is a picture of one chubby baby. He is feeding a lot and really piling on the weight. He was so fussy today while the wife ate dinner. I just couldn't do anything to calm him down. We think he has realised what is going on when people are eating. He wants some of the action. I can understand that feeling.

Ice is Nice

Barely having the will to live it is a miracle this blog is being written. The four toughest most grindingest days of the school year begin tomorrow. I have a stack of marking that would choke a horse waiting for me at the dinner table. And I am here, feeding the muse. Or is she feeding me. I never quite knew how that one went.
Anyways we started the day going to the annual Santa movie, co-sponsored by my local union and the guy from the north pole. This years movie was Madagascar II and I have to say, for a kids movie I loved it. Lots of great adult humour not so buried in the story. Great use of scenes and concepts from other movies also kept me chortling in my seat. Can't for the life of me think of the correct turn of phrase to describe that scene stealing like they had in Shrek 2, but I know it is out there. Moving on to the actual topic this blog purports to be about we had dinner this evening. For dinner we had Ni-mono. The wife threw this together and we all enjoyed it. However, there were no accompaniements. Neither of the adults in this house had any motivation to get creative or even get something out of the freezer. The end of year blues is getting us down
So we just had ni-mono, and bowls of mint chocolate chip ice cream. The next set of photos is of us out and about on our backyard ice rink. It is down in the minus 7 to 15 range these days so the rink is starting to shape up. I have put on three layers today. I have also made some classic blunders.
Slow and steady is really the only choice in a situation like this. As my good buddy with the lovely back yard rink put it so succintly "1/8th of an inch". That is all you can do at any one time.

Colourific

This evenings meal was made that much better by the amazing use of colour. The salad had so many different vibrant colours. The purple cabbage, orange carrots, yellow tomatoes, light green lettuce and dark green spring onions. Set next to this was the stewed squash which was covered in adzuki beans. They start red and then head towards purple as they are cooked. These are the very beans out of which anko is made. This is the filling that fills the toasted bun head of An-Pan man.　Anyways enough links, back to dinner. The fish and koya-dofu were simmered in a sweet ginger and soy sauce mixture and then served over rice. The soup on the side was a freezer find from from a couple of months ago. It was just as good as when we first had it.

We also had our parent teacher interview today with the Grade one teachers. There was a major scheduling kerfuffle (I just checked the spelling) and we had to go back a second time but in the end all was good. The daughter is doing as should be expected. Both teachers noted her above average oral ability. I need to stop pushing on going up to a new level in basic reader. That was about the extent of it. They say by the end of grade one she will be reading and writing on her own. It seems impossible where we are now but I guess that is why they are the professionals and we are the parents. I leave it up to them.

Well that is all for tonight. Oh the response from the hotel lady was, and I quote, "thatissuchabummer..." C'est la vie.

Fall has fallen

So with the cookout done and the garden mostly finished I woke to the sound of rain this morning. It has not rained in the last three weeks and has felt like August the whole time. Today it feels like September. I carried an umbrella when I went to work. I wore a jacket (still wearing shorts however). A chill was in the air. And what better way to take on that chill then to stew up some chicken and potatoes and make a corn chowder. The wife started off heading towards a teriyaki style chicken but with a little prodding ended up here.Kind of a sweet base but for me it was perfect. The chicken tasted like chicken. I mean it was cooked through and through, moist, falling off the bone chicken and was just very lightly flavoured. The potatoes were lovely even though they just tasted like potato. I mean the stewing juice definitely added something but it was almost intangible. The soup was made with an assortment of vegetables and then a creamed corn base. It was also a little sweet and the warmth of it filling up my stomach turned aside the chill of the day. The hijiki had some of our home grown beet in it for a little flare. The rice was unbleached and just soaked up the sweet stew juice. A great meal to usher in the fall. The peppers are all hanging outside and the not quite ripe tomatoes are down in the cellar. Gotta get back to work.

I think it happened on a Monday

So I am not sure what we had for dinner on Monday night. I sit here wednesday morning wracking my brain but nothing seems to come. Was it leftovers from the shepherds pie? I think that might have been it. Was there something else added in. There must have been. It was after the big run... Well if I had the picture I could take a look but that is still at home on the computer. Man! Just not feeilng brainful. Wait there was Nimono which I didn't end up having any of. But that played in lunch yesterday. Maybe that was it. Nimono, left over shep's pie, and a salad. Yes a green salad which the daughter just went right through. Okay I sticking with that. If there was something else amazing added then it has just slipped through my mind and I apologize. I promise to add the pictures when I have a moment.
okay I missed the rice. but otherwise just as stated.and here is the nimono. Yosh.

A working stiff (Monday August, 25th)

So it was back to the factory again for me on Monday, and I enjoyed it. So nice to see familiar faces and get back into my comfortable digs. The anticipation of a new year and all that lies ahead. The awe at the amount of work that needs to get done. Well lets not worry about that right now. Lets talk about dinner.
Once again I was treated to a feast. I managed to borrow the Matrix trilogy (having not seen most of the second and all of the third) and we sat down to watch them yesterday afternoon. Dinner was served during the first movie and between mouthfuls I did my best to explain what is actually quite a confusing plot. Not really a six year old movie thought she did seem to enjoy it. Dinner consisted of some lovely ni-mono along with ebi-furai and some potato salad. Living la vida loca is the best way I can describe it. By the way not being at all fluent in Spanish my fingers are crossed that that saying is a positive one describing the good life. The ni-mono had daikon, kelp knots, shitake mushrooms and tofu. So so good. The ebi furai were accompanied by battered and deep fried yams. I only had one (and a half) helping of dinner and was quite proud of my ability to keep the gluttony away. That said I didn't go for a run yesterday and the lethargy of life here in lotus land is sinking its hooks into me. Today, today will be the day. But maybe after a nap.

The picture here is the one we toted back from Japan. It wasn't that big of a pain but in the process we managed to crack part of the frame so now I have to remember to ask the wood shop guy about borrowing some clamps and the best gluing techniques. Everything is bubbling here and lets just hope nothing boils over.

Don't know who took this shot of the son but he always seems to be playing with camera. Maybe it is a self portrait. I still think there is some genius at work.

Ebi furai.

Or deep fried shrimp for those playing in Canada. This dish is made with Japanese panko (translation: bread crumb). I am willing to concede that there is a distinct difference between the Japanese and the North American version. It is noticeable in the wonderful way my wife makes this dish. There was pasta salad teaming with vegetables, lightly bathed in salt, pepper, vinegar and oil. The chives came from our garden. These hearty chives are getting big and green despite winters best effort to stick around. In the bowl you see nimono with some shitake mushrooms and tofu. It sure looks delicious doesn't it.

Unfortunately for me, this evening I was also shut out on eating with the troops as I had another late night Professional Development meeting at school. Don't get me wrong there are perks to being a teacher. They are just a little hard to see when you are right up against it.

All hail the King.

Tonight was apparently Chicken A la King. I was unfortu -nately subjected to Panago for the third time in the last two weeks. Oh the misery. Anyways I will have to let my wife do the describing for this evenings dinner. (Wife) I put broccoli, chicken, onion, white sauce, mushrooms, and green peas in the sauce. The kids didn't like the mushrooms. We saw that one coming. I also made Daikon (japanese radish) and carrot salad. It was kind of like a sweet pickle. There was also some of yesterday's leftover nimono. But the kids didn't have any. They did like the salad. Anything with vinegar and they love it. Makes their old man proud. (Me again) Looking at the photograph I am so disappointed by the meeting meal I ate at school. I mean I am appreciative that there is food provided but when I see what I am was missing it really sticks the knife in and gives it a turn. Enough with the whining. Here is a picture that one of the kids took of the other. I think there is genius in the air.

Tomorrows Dinner: Pork Chops with mashed potatoes. Mmmmm Pork.

Tofu, the other white meat

Well the vaunted tofu steaks were skillfully seared this evening. Lots of garlic slices in the pan and just a little oil. After a few minutes the soy, garlic, honey sauce was added into the mix. Not an overpowering flavour but it really brings out what is great about tofu. The nimono was served cold tonight, which unfortunately was not the liking of child one or child two, although I think child one's immediate dislike cannot be discounted as a major factor in child two's behaviour. The rice was served plain and the garlic was pan fried with the bean sprouts in the tofu after math. Miso soup had big chunks of yam and small chunks of carrot. A thoroughly satisfying second night of vegetarian in a row.

Now back to that kids not eating their veggies thing. Did everyone know that Jerry Seinfeld's wife one Jessica Seinfeld has written a book. I believe it is called "Deceptively Delicious" and is all about how you can get pureed vegetables into almost and dish without your kids realising. Then the don't complain because they are eating the mac and cheese they love and only you know there is a bunch of wholesome cauliflower in there. I pooh poohed the book when my wife first brought it home because usually our kids do pretty good with the veggies. However, this evening I was wishing we had done some pre-planning and had made a rice dish with hidden squash in it. They did gobble up the tofu and rice but there was not a lot of vegetable action going on. I loved it all.

Tomorrow: I have a meeting to attend but apparently there is some chicken a la king (we don't have Easter turkey leftovers because we had ham instead) coming in for a wee stay. Looking forward to the nine o'clock second dinner. Yes!!

Paper Fish

This evenings recipe was a blatant sales ploy by overwaitea. It worked. We saw the add for buy one get one free fish fillets (sole perchance) and beside it was a recipe for pesto baked fish. We we had the pesto we bought two weeks ago for the pasta so instead of making our pesto from scratch we opened the jar and pesto, there it was. Tonight's nimono was squash, yam and spinach. Fabulous as usual. The cauliflower and broccoli were lightly steamed and then the wife made a vinegar based dressing for them. The miso soup was teaming with tofu and dried Japanese radish (daikon). There was also rice of course. I was stuffed. I had a sister point out that the previous five plate dinner we attempted was insanity seeing as we don't have a dish washer. I hope she notices that we only used three dishes this evening even though it could have fit on five. Up tomorrow. Parent teacher interviews. So I will not be eating with the crew. It sounds like a toss up between home made chicken nuggets and yaki soba (fried noddles). I am looking forward to finding out which it is almost as much as you.