Monday, Jul 4, 2011 | Holidays |
Camping with class: two rooms, bay windows, cereal buffet. (We buy cereal only in the summertime, as a treat, and it’s a good strategy for gaining an extra half hour of parental dozing).
Notice CJ’s eye? We like to make it a tradition to have at least one child with a mystery ailment on our Canada Day camping trip. This time it was CJ and a well-placed bug bite that made him look like a miniature boxer, post-bout. CJ also starred in a classic first-aid moment of panic while Kevin was in Tim Horton’s getting coffee (about an hour after this photo was taken). The kids and I were waiting in the car. CJ started yelling about something up his nose. “Did he say ‘rock’?” I asked (not at all calmly). Yup, a little fossil he’d found on the farm and decided to put up his nose (“Why?” the others wondered, but there are no answers to questions like these). In short order, the rock was removed. By lollipop stem. As grabbed from one of the car’s compartments (what? no first aid kit?). Quick thinking, Mama. AppleApple thought it might cheer CJ up to get to suck on said lollipop post-op. But we saved it for later. Because you never know.
This is the fifth summer of camping on Chach and B’s lawn, under the apple tree. Is it an apple tree? Lots of birds singing in the dawn.
Next on the day’s agenda: the beach. But first, a detour for some coffee. Lord have mercy.
Monday, Jul 4, 2011 | Holidays |
Albus saves his schoolwork all year long in anticipation of this wonderful moment. This year, his sisters joined in, too, and CJ spent the evening racing around, searching the grass for things to burn. Thanks to my brother and sister-in-law for providing the bonfire. And the land for pitching a tent. And the indoor plumbing (not pictured).
Monday, May 16, 2011 | Holidays, Spring |
This is the time of week when I usually write my “Week in Suppers” blog. But this week my photo-taking fell off the map. Still, I enjoy summing up a week, so here goes. Photos to be added later, if there are photos to be had. (On our cottage weekend, not one of us brought a camera, which was probably a mercy). [note: photos were discovered! Kevin took some on his camera when I was away.]
Monday supper. Black beans in the crockpot with sides of rice, tortillas, and spicy asparagus salsa (locally made, but not by me). I swam and ran early. It was a writing day and I did not get much done. The kids had swim lessons after school, and CJ accepted his teacher’s hand and walked down the pool deck without a backward glance. I went to the bleachers feeling bittersweet. Texted Kevin who reminded me that CJ would be climbing on me momentarily, which turned out to be true. Treats all around afterward. I skipped a planned yoga class because the food and company looked too good, and Kevin had a soccer game. I put the kids to bed by myself.
Tuesday supper. Pasta with pesto. I made a double batch of pesto and froze half for later. With oodles of freshly grated parmesan, this meal cannot be beaten. I had a friend over for lunch, and the little kids and I baked banana bread to share — but when it came out of the oven, it was shrunken and odd-looking. Oh, and it tasted bitter. What could it be? We were theorizing when I checked the recipe and went: DUH! NO SUGAR! How could I have forgotten THREE CUPS of sugar? (it was a triple batch; three times the failure). Maybe it was the fuzzy brain due to the early morning bike ride. Kevin left for work early. There were playdates after school. AppleApple thankfully got a ride to soccer practice (I had been planning to bike with the little kids, too), but even so, there was no way to squeeze in a yoga class in the evening. Kevin and Albus headed out to a chilly first soccer practice (Kevin is coaching). I put the little kids to bed on my own.
Wednesday supper. Tortilla wraps in the oven with leftover beans, rice, grated cheese, red pepper, and grated carrots. Kevin assembled them because I was at my one yoga class managed this week; but they were just coming out of the oven when I got home, so we called the kids in from playing outside and at together. I started the day with a run. It was supposed to have been a writing day, but CJ’s nursery school had invited all the mothers to come early and share cookies (which CJ helped bake; so how could I not? Though as I looked around the room, I wondered: would they do this for father’s day and expect the fathers to come in the middle of a work day?). I tried hard not to resent the interruption. Wrote furiously all afternoon to compensate. Kevin picked up the kids for music class while I went to yoga. No complaints there. Albus had piano and we had the loveliest walk to and from, and then to and from again (I’d forgotten my phone and had to go back; Albus volunteered to go back with me. He even held my hand. To say I treasure these moments sounds cheesy and could not be more true). For date night, Kev and I met on the couch, drank tea, and watched two episodes of Parks and Rec. Kevin hitched up the bike stroller around midnight–at last!
Thursday supper. Pasta with fresh-made red sauce, broccoli, and marinated tofu on the bbq. AppleApple and I had to rush to gobble a serving before leaving for her soccer game in a nearby city. Kevin got up early for yoga, and went directly to work. I got the kids off to school, and I started making sticky buns for my weekend getaway (a two-day process) while the little kids played educational games on the computer; really, I should have been reading to them, but there is only so much multi-tasking I can manage. With the dough on its first rise, the little kids and I packed up the bike stroller for errands. We started with a chiro appt, then headed to the grocery store. The stroller was so loaded at that point that we decided to bike home, drop off groceries, and head directly back out again. The bike/stroller combo was wonderful: fun, easy, quick. The kids just have a blast riding behind me. They make a wall of giggling singing gleefully shouting sound that turns people’s heads as we pass. We headed uptown to the bookstore to buy two birthday gifts for weekend parties, and then next door to the Eating Well for more food. And then home to punch down the dough and set it to rise (again!) in the fridge. At this point, I made the pasta sauce and the sugary/nutty/candy stuff for the sticky buns; I also received an email from my editor that, though I couldn’t stop to savour, filled me with joyous energy. Kids arrived home from school with friends. AppleApple got herself ready, as did I (soccer gear for her, running gear for me). I hurriedly punched down and rolled out the sticky buns, sprinkling with more butter and sugar, and arranging in the pans, then returning them to the fridge for a slow overnight rise. We picked up another child on AppleApple’s team, drove forty-five minutes (my mother arrived to look after the two little ones, since Kevin and Albus had their first soccer game, too), and I went for a run while the girls warmed up with their team. The game was exciting, and the girls won: 7-0. Two glowing girls were delivered home–hungry, too. The weather could not have been more beautiful.
Friday supper. I wasn’t here, but suggested that Kevin serve leftover pasta and sauce. I got up early for an hour-long swim, arrived home and popped the sticky buns into the oven. Kevin went to work early, so I biked the little kids to nursery school as soon as I’d waved goodbye to the big ones. At home: took a quick nap, started packing for a weekend away. The little kids stayed for “lunch bunch” at school, so I got an extra half hour on the other end. The weather was ridiculous: steaming hot and unsettled. We left for the cottage around suppertime, and arrived before dark. No official “supper” for me, but plenty of cheese, crackers, homemade tapenade, and other goodies. Oh, and wine. Can I go back there this weekend, please?
Saturday supper. At home, Kevin made hamburgers and french fries, and the kids had friends over for a “weekend party!” (Kevin says “weekend party” actually boiled down to one can of soda and one small bag of chips per child, plus friends being over, but the kids needed nothing more to have a blast). At the cottage, we started the morning with sticky buns and fresh-cut fruit. I attempted a brutally cold lake swim (in the borrowed wetsuit), then made lunch with my friend and cooking-partner: I made a veggie paella and she made an egg-tortilla bake, and fresh salsa and guacomole, and we mixed up two pitchers of margaritas. That was a two-hour lunch. For supper, we were served an enormous perfectly-bbqued piece of salmon rubbed with something salty and sugary, with bitter greens and fiddleheads on the side, and a starter of asparagus and cheese on puff pastry (recipes, please!).
Sunday supper. At home, Kevin baked mac and cheese. At the cottage (and let’s start with brunch), we enjoyed a spread based around bagels: smoked salmon and tuna, a dip made with something creamy plus capers and smoked salmon; there were carmelized onions; cream cheese and jam; an enormous fruit salad with granola and yogurt on the side; and caesars to start. Before leaving to come home, we ate an early supper: a “Buddha bowl,” which I plan to make this week for my own family. It starts with brown rice, on top of which you can pile a bunch of different ingredients, and top with a tahini dressing. Toppings included: tofu, almonds, spinach, grated beets and carrots, and seaweed. Heaven in a bowl. Happy, happy week.
Monday, Apr 25, 2011 | Holidays, Kids |
Monday supper. Bailey’s food pick-up! Hurray! And thumbs up all around. Buns, cheese, ham, salad greens, a sheep’s milk cheese spread. Lemon loaf for dessert. This was a good end to a day that included standing by, dripping wet in my swimsuit, whilst my youngest wept his dear heart out in the pool. When we got to the showers, 15 minutes later, there was no water. None. Lovely to get home to a non-grumpy husband. He had decided to change his attitude about the Bailey’s pick-up, to “think like Carrie” and check for every item on the list, and not to be in a hurry. He did not have to go back to pick up even one forgotten item. Yay!
Tuesday supper. Coconut sweet potato soup. Very very gingery and spicy and delicious. Recipe on the blog, here. I skipped out on supper and went to yoga instead. I was surprised, on returning home, to discover that the soup had been popular with almost everyone. It had a good bite to it. Of course, there was bread on the side, just in case. We attempted to carpool to soccer, and AppleApple was ferried there by another parent, but when I went to pick the girls up, it turned out that the other child had left already with her dad. (Maybe I should have arrived early, too??). It was so cold that AppleApple was quite literally frozen. She had to cry as her toes thawed out on the drive home. I held them in one hand while I drove, and that seemed to help. And of course, we stopped for a hot chocolate, just for her. None of the other kids complained. They understood. It was 2 degrees and raining. I kid you not. Those soccer kids are tough. When I asked, “Are you crying because it’s just too hard?” She said, “No, I’m crying because my toes hurt.” And awhile later, she mused that though she loves soccer, she would draw the line at losing her toes for soccer. Kev ended the day with his last hockey game of the season. Now he will add a second night of soccer to compensate.
Wednesday supper. This is not a photo of Wednesday’s supper. This is a photo of the little kids playing and reading while the noodles boil for Wednesday’s supper. Beef stew with potatoes and yams, in the crockpot. The flavours were exotic and, frankly, delicious, but not one of the kids ate more than a small, token bowl. The spices included: cloves, cinnamon stick, whole pepper corns, and fennel seed. Kevin and I enjoyed the leftovers for a few days. It was a full writing day for me, and I worked hard on a new project, which I plan to announce tomorrow, if all goes well. I left the writing cone of silence to head directly to music lessons with a load of children, and then Kevin had a soccer coaching clinic from 6-9. That meant supper alone with the kids, and bedtime too. My brother Karl came over after supper for guitar and drum lessons, and he kindly drove Albus to his piano lessons, and then Albus walked home (it was still light out at 8pm). That eased my evening a great deal. I was in my pajamas as soon as the kids were, though. Four early mornings in a row this week.
Thursday supper. More pasta. Leftover exotic beef dish. Leftover soup. Green salad. Yum. Oh, and also super-easy. The kids loved it too. I had such a sweet morning. I swam early, I napped early, I took the kids to a friend’s house to play, I got a massage on my painful shoulder (one of my friends is a massage therapist!!), I went straight from the blissed-out massage (in the middle of the living-room floor, surrounded by curious children) to a chiro appointment, and the shoulder pain eased significantly following that one-two punch. Then the kids and I nipped into the grocery store, but we were running late by that point, and did not make it home in time to meet with the a potential porch contractor. Oh well. The afternoon went from there: playdates and happy home-walkers and relaxed supper prep and mealtime, and then Kevin and I went to our last kundalini class of the session together. I am sad that it’s our last, but alas, soccer season has its demands. The class celebrated with champagne and brownies and fruit. I will miss it!
Friday supper. This is not a photo of Friday’s supper. Or even of Friday (I forgot; I spent a large portion of the day writing, with Kevin home for the holiday, then I dashed to yoga, then the kids went for a sleepover at their grandma’s, all except the littlest, whom we picked up before bedtime). So this is a photo of the next morning, when it was just two parents and one giddy-at-his-fortune three-year-old. For supper on Friday night, Kevin and I went to Ye’s all by ourselves, and super-early, because we were soooooo hungry and that’s what we felt like doing. Ye’s = all-you-can-eat sushi. Then we caught up on tv shows. Happy day. (But we didn’t tell the kids where we’d eaten because we knew they’d be jealous; luckily they do not read this blog; to my knowledge, that is).
Saturday supper. This is not a photo of Saturday’s supper (striking out again!). This is photo of the paska that I started on Saturday, then let rise when we went to pick up the kids from grandma’s, then let rise again when we went to our first Easter meal of the weekend: ham, scalloped potatoes, corn, etc., and none of it cooked by me. Perfect. I stuffed the oven with loaves of paska and baked them all upon getting home. The recipe made rather more than I’d anticipated. Yum. Dessert and school lunches taken care of for weeks to come.
Sunday supper. This is not exactly a photo of Sunday’s supper; but it stands in as a good representation. This is one of my finished loaves of paska, frosted with sprinkles, whoopee! My first attempt at paska was several years ago, and it was a big-time refuse-to-rise hard-as-a-puck fail. My second attempt, this weekend, was far better: a doughy, sweet, citrus-flavoured bready cakey treat. I took a round loaf to our second Easter gathering, which was more of a lunch meal: paella, scallops, steak, salmon, potato salad, and none of it cooked by me. Perfect. We were still stuffed at suppertime, so we made a batch of popcorn, cut up some apples, and served paska for dessert. And ate everything in the living-room in front of a movie. And thus ended our Easter. (Though the kids are still working hard on the candy; and we plan to have devilled eggs, perhaps for supper tomorrow night).
