Thursday, May 30, 2013

Curried Stirfry

I love curry!  Chicken curry salad, curried stews and this new adaptation of classic stirfry. 
I tend to play around with recipes and add ingredients as needed, as I go.  That's what I did with this creation as well.   Since my methods are typically, a dash of this and a glug of that, I did my best to estimate numbers for this recipe.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
 Don't forget to make a Mango Lassi to go with your meal and cool your mouth down!


Curried Stirfry

Saute in coconut oil or other:

Onion
Red Pepper

Saute until tendercrisp, add water as needed

Carrots
Broccoli/Cauliflower
Asparagus

Grate in:

Fresh ginger to taste

Mince and add:

2 cloves garlic

Cut into bit sized pieces and add:

 BBQ'D Chicken breast

Add the following at end of cooking veggies:

1/3 cup tomato juice/puree
2 Tablespoons (or to taste) curry powder*
1/2 can full fat coconut milk
1 Tablespoon (or to taste)honey
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Serve over rice.


*I used a curry spice blend with the brand name MDH (meat cuury masala-spice blend for mutton)


Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Chronicles Of May

Want a view from here??  Today is cold, cloudy and totally unmotivating, but this month has been pretty great for getting some projects started and finally getting some springy weather!  Here's a smattering of what we're up to:

I have been working on the hallway most of this month.  Patching drywall, scraping stucco ceiling and sanding, washing, scraping.....  I was SOOOO excited to finally paint!






 I was so excited to show the difference between the peachy beige undercoat and the clean white paint that I took the picture while it was still wet...


Then I was even more excited to paint the walls.  We picked out Benjamin Moore's Nimbus Grey for the hall, but it looked really blue, so I took it back and had them tinker with it a little.  The result is really blue.  So now I'm looking at paint chips again, feeling discouraged and disappointed. It's ok.  It's just not perfect.  Although with the white trim and doors, maybe???  What's your vote?  Keep it or try again?



I am also learning how to make a slipcover for the new PB couch I got on our girl's weekend.  When I was at my inlaws new house, I was inspired by the paint drop cloths on the floor and thought that the fabric (canvass 100% cotton) might make a linen looking slipcover, so I bought some and am giving it a try.  I found a tutorial on missmustardseed.com that actually uses drop cloths for slipcovering!  I am using her general guidelines and finding it pretty fantastic.


In other news:  Abbie lost her first top tooth, baseball season is underway, the kids are preparing for their final student concert in a few days, we've had our first dip in the frigid waters of Lake Huron (we does not actually include ME), track and field day at the school included both the thrill of victory and the tragedy of defeat, and Mom & Dad's roof is officially reshingled.  














I've also been working hard in the garden these past few weeks, but the frost warnings continue, so there are only cool weather crops in there.  The tomatoes, peppers, etc. are still being hauled inside at night & I'm almost ready to just risk it and plant them!  This spring has sure been cool for us!

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Life Isn't A Photo Shoot (or how David didn't want a birthday picture)


So, fourteen years has gone by since I took an ambulance ride to the hospital and this little spitfire burst onto the scene.  He arrived in a hurry and hasn't slowed his pace yet.  This boy has always wanted independence and adventure, right from a little baby.  He walked by 10 months and leaped from furniture by 1 year.  He rode a two wheeler at 3.  Bought his own dirt-bike by the time he turned 12.  Raising David has compelled me to stock my bookshelf with an arsenal of parenting books over the years.  He has challenged us as parents beyond anything else I have encountered.  He glows with happiness one minute and clouds over with anger & frustration the next.  He has taken us on a wild  ride for 14 years and I would imagine that, truth be told, we have only been on the "kiddie ride" so far.  I have a feeling that the real challenges are still to come. 



 David, Thomas and Cameron posed for me to get a few birthday shots, but David refused out-right to have one on his own, then he quickly blew out all of his birthday candles before we could get a picture (we were still in the middle of singing "happy birthday" in fact) and ...


when he climbed to the top of the maple tree and I tried to take a picture he yelled "life's not a photo shoot Mom!"


So there!

Buckle up everyone....

Friday, May 3, 2013

The Mountains & The Trees


We went to "The Mountains & The Trees" concert last week at the old town hall.  I really liked this song and was impressed with Jon's use of the violin bow!  Check it out, I hope you don't find the wildlife in the background too distracting.  If you enjoy this song, another one to listen to is "more and more and more".

http://www.youtube.com/embed/aXEz5ILNoEo

It's great that our Mayor and others in our community are interested in supporting musical artists.  It sounds like we will have other musicians coming to our island giving performances through out the spring and summer.  It brings a vibrant energy, and is inspiring to children like mine, who are in music lessons, to see others play and love what they are doing.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Will Turns 34!

 Gifts of art work, balloon animals and hats, and a package of lighters for camp fires from the children.

                                     


 
A snowball fight with the warm sun shining was fun for all the boys. 
 


Will had two cakes this year.  First his favourite, chocolate with caramal icing.  I made one of his favourite suppers, chicken curry salad on lettuce with pitas. Then at my parents house we celebrated my Dad's birthday as well, with a barbeque and sponge cake with berries. 

I am grateful to be married to such a wonderful man.  He makes daily life fun for our whole family. 

He knows how to enjoy life and reminds me to stop working and relax.  He is a loving father.  He is understanding (today, for instance, he drove 90 min round trip with two kids because I had given him the wrong day for Heidi's denitist appointment, he didn't react as most would-annoyed, in fact he didn't place any blame on me at all )

He has an incredibly good and pure heart. 

Here's to another great year for the birthday boy!