mahnseh!

Granola

2012-01-07T14:11:00.003-06:00

I have never made homemade granola before, so I thought it was about time to try it out. I started out with Alton Brown's granola recipe and tweaked it a bit to what I had available in my pantry.

3 cups old fashioned oats

1 cup chopped raw almonds

1/2 cup hazelnuts

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup ground flax seed

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 tsp salt

mix first six ingredients in a large bowl and mix

mix last 3 ingredients in a measuring cup and mix

add wet ingredients into the dry and stir to coat completely

finished mix before going into oven on baking sheets

lay out the mixture into 2 lined sheet in a 250 preheated oven for 1 hour 15 minutes stirring every 15 minutes to brown evenly

ready for the oven

When it comes out of the oven mix in 1/2 cup of dried fruit, I used dried cherries

After it comes out of the oven

Great over plain greek yogurt with fresh fruit for a healthy breakfast parfait.

Enjoy!

NYE 2011

2012-01-03T08:13:00.000-06:00

xmas 2011 holiday card shoot

2012-01-02T18:07:00.002-06:00

baking

2011-12-27T18:33:00.003-06:00

First batch of gougeres for the season

First bread of the season

France Trip November 2011

2011-12-18T11:09:00.002-06:00

Allard

View from Paris hotel balcony

View down from Hotel Lumen

Chanson

2011-12-18T11:02:00.001-06:00

Madeleine time

Orlando 2011

2011-11-03T16:22:00.000-05:00

Funny boys

2011-11-03T08:56:00.003-05:00

Fun in the bath, the boys like to make crazy hair while shampooing. They are funny boys.

visits

2011-11-03T08:53:00.001-05:00

Nana and Grandpa came for a lovely visit that the children adored. Did not want to see them go, but the promise of seeing them over Christmas this year gave them a bit more satisfaction.

School

2011-11-03T08:47:00.000-05:00

All three in school. Wow.
Baby A is half day, but not a baby anymore.

Ramblings of a 3 year old

2011-08-18T10:36:00.003-05:00

My 5 year old asks as I am dressing my 3 year old for the day, "Mommy, Where is A [3 year old] going? No-where?"

3 year old's response, "I'm going yes-where. Yeah, I'm going yes-where!"

Huh.

July trips

2011-08-18T10:34:00.001-05:00

Sunrise on the first day

Ludington is an 18 hour sail for Manseh from Montrose harbor, and we left the day we returned from Our Norhavn Open house in Rhode Island on the 16th of July. It turned out we were sailing along with the sail boats who were in the Race to Mackinac for most of the 18 hour journey. As the sun rose on the next day we were able to actually see the sailboats that we only saw on our radar during the night crossing.

the bright spinnakers were easier to spot as the sun started to rise

We got caught in a storm a some hours before pulling into Ludington, and in the first time in the race's 103 years, there were 2 losses. We arrived safely into Ludington in just about 18 hours after departing Montrose Harbor, in heavy rain.

We spent a few days in Ludington including Daddy's birthday. The Harbor View Marina we stayed in has a new pool where we spent many hours playing and a great view of the S.S. Badger.

Ludington boasts the the home of the only coal fired steam ship in the USA, the 410' S.S. Badger crosses Lake Michigan from Ludington, Michigan to Manitowoc, Wisconsin in just 3 hours.

SS Badger also ferries cars and trucks

Ludington light house

We left Ludington to nearby Pentwater, a quaint little town with a great childrens' bookstore. We stayed at the Snug Harbor Marina just for one night before heading to our next destination.

story time at the book store

Our next port was White Lake Yacht Club in White Lake.

White Lake didn't have a town nearby but the Yacht Club was really lovely, rustic and had a pool, and there was a power outage due to the extreme high temperatures and everything had to close, so we made the decision to leave the lovely Yacht Club onto our next port, Muskegon. This was a strange town with a feel of an town lost to the recession. There were many empty storefronts and closed businesses. The town did not amount to much, but the marina had a small pool where we spent most of the day and we fished at sunset.

The best fisherboy

To end the week long trip to the Michigan's west coast we headed to an old favorite, Saugatauk the next morning. This was a longer day trip of about a four hour sail from Muskegon. The morning started out nicely enough with not much of a current and low wind speed.

After about an hour into the trip, the winds and currents and waves picked up to about 4' swells. The kids do not handle these waves too well, and our 5 year old got sick overboard. Then all 4 children (including my niece) fell asleep while underway.

sleeping off the "high seas"

We spent the last few days of our trip in Saugatauk with lots of ice cream, swimming in the pool at the Ship N Shore and eating out at the local restaurants. Fun was had by all!

Nordhavn Northeast's Open House

2011-08-17T10:41:00.000-05:00

July was a month of trips, for the 4th we took a boat trip across the lake to Michigan city, then we took a short overnight trip without the kids to Rhode Island to visit the Norhavn Northeast Open House to take a look at other Nordhavns.

view from the plane flying out over Chicago

a 64 Nordhavn

We took a break from the open house to have lunch at a lovely little spot nearby and ran into other open house goers from Canada who joined us for lunch.

I love east coast lunches

We came away clearly admiring the 64 Nordhavn. I guess we are still dreamers.

4th July weekend

2011-07-05T14:37:00.002-05:00

We crossed the lake for the first time this boating season this past weekend on our boat, Manseh.

Since we had a 3 day weekend for Independence day, we left Saturday morning and trolled on the way to Michigan City. We have a new policy on fishing now; We catch one big fish then pack it up. We don't want to be too greedy and catch more than we can eat.

Steelhead Salmon

After an hour of trolling, we caught a steelhead salmon weighing 5.6 lbs. We took the salmon to the Kadens' who live not far from where we were docked; it was enough for 8 adults grilled with just salt, pepper, lemon and olive oil.

Steelhead Salmon before getting filleted

After catching the salmon, we hastened (at 7.3 kts) to Michigan City.

Once safely docked in Washington Park Marina, we got picked up by our friends back to their place for snacks, beach and dinner.

Loads of rocks on the private beach

Kids played in the lake

Kids playing on the beach

Uncle dipped his feet

A played in the sand

A played with Uncle

Kids played until sunset

Daddy built a bonfire for the kids

everyone helped by fueling the fire with kindle and sticks

A beautiful sunset Sunday night

A holding court with the adults on the 4th

We had a lovely 4th of July with friends then headed back across the lake to Montrose Harbor. We trolled again on the way back and this time after an hour of trolling we caught a 8.6 lbs. Chinook (King) Salmon.

After our policy of one fish and go, we headed into the setting sun. We had the Chicago skyline, the setting sun and the waxing crescent moon. A beautiful evening.

Fireworks along the whole coast

After the sun had set, we saw fireworks all along the coastline as we approached Chicago. We got to see the Navy Pier fireworks from about a mile out. We did let the children stay up to see the fireworks this year. What a treat. Happy Independence Day.

I met a dinosaur

2011-07-05T11:13:00.000-05:00

Our youngest, who is now 3 years old, says, "Mommy, I don't like dinosaurs because they have sharp teeth... and sharp eyes."

I respond, "Really? They have sharp eyes?"

3 year old, "Yes, their eyes are pointy and sharp."

Me, "I didn't know that."

3 year old while pointing at his eyes and touching them, "YES, they have pointy eyes."

Me, "Ok, I see."

It turns out he was absolutely right, I met that dinosaur. I was at a restaurant a few nights ago with some girlfriends and ran into a male friend who happened to be on a first or second date with a woman. I said hello to my friend and gave him a hug, he introduced me to his date... she had darts and lasers coming out of her eyes aimed directly at me.

Who knew dinosaurs are still around, and have sharp pointy eyes.

Mommy, I know this song...

2011-06-29T16:02:00.000-05:00

Katy Curry...
Katy Carrot...
Katy Red?

My 3 year old trying to remember Katy Perry as one of her songs comes on the radio.

Fishing

2011-06-28T15:49:00.000-05:00

A weekend of fishing

4 pound salmon

Friday night: 9 Lake perch

Saturday: 1 4 lb coho salmon and 1 3 lb lake trout

Sunday: 2 little gobi

dinner on the dock

smooth lake on Saturday

Splash Day

2011-05-23T09:50:00.000-05:00

We put Manseh in the water on April 22 this year. Nana gave us a ride to Holland, Michigan where Manseh spent the winter getting loads of work done, while the kids spent the weekend with Emo and the cousins.

Cute cousins

Manseh going from land to water on a travelift

Made it safely into the water

Under way out of Eldean shipyard

Holland lighthouse

Clouds looking a bit ominous

We started our journey across the lake just after 5:00 in the afternoon to head to Montrose harbor. We did hug the coast until we got to Benton Harbor because of the thunderstorms we got caught in. We kept constant contact with Emo by text to keep her updated on our location and the multiple storms we were trying to avoid, not alway successfully. From just south of Benton Harbor we were able to head west toward Montrose harbor. After weathering through a few thunderstorms and nearly 12 hours later we arrived safely at Montrose harbor just before 5:00 am.

On N Dock at Montrose harbor

We were picked up by Nana, who also spent the night with the children while we were crossing, and went home to have a brief nap before heading back to the harbor with the children.

playing in the pilothouse

boys will be boys

Manseh looked great with a newly painted bottom, 2 new tv's and bluray DVDs, a new stereo and speakers for pilot house and flybridge, new head for the master stateroom, buff and wax, new bimini top (which got ripped when we got caught in a thunderstorm toward the end of last season) and all covers for dingy and flybridge chairs and bench seat, a slew of other room upgrades, and now outfitted with fishing equipment.

Now we just have to hope for weather as good as we had last boating season!

2011-05-23T09:12:00.001-05:00

This year we fitted out the boat (Manseh) with down riggers to try our hand at fishing, Manseh is a trawler after all. So our first time out fishing on Saturday was not fruitful, but on our second time out trawling on Sunday after talking to the Angler on our dock, we were successful!

Daddy with the first Coho Salmon of the season

It was a beautiful day Sunday made better by catching a 1 lb. 14 oz Coho Salmon.

Getting a gutting lesson from the Captain of Angler

The filet of the salmon prepared to go on the grill

Our first good boating weather of the season, and what a glorious day it was, we even caught our lunch. We officially have the fishing bug now and looking forward to the next opportunity to catch our dinner.

Conversations with a 3 year old

2011-04-13T16:52:00.000-05:00

3 year old, "Mommy, you're cheeky."
Me, "I am?"
3 year old, "Yes, you are cheeky... and I'm eye-sy," as he points to his eyes.

Some cute 3 year old terms:

piss-a-deer = disappear
merriote = remote
stopsticks = chopsticks
Jake Pond = James Bond

Homemade vanilla ice cream

2011-04-12T10:14:00.001-05:00

Kids have been asking for ice cream, so I obliged by making some vanilla ice cream the other day. Used the Gourmet cooking for Dummies recipe but reduced the amount of sugar:

1 3/4 cups heavy cream
1 1/4 cups milk
6 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla pod split

1. Combine the heavy cream, milk and vanilla pod in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.

2. Whisk the yolks and sugar together in a medium bowl. Temper the egg yolks by slowly adding the hot cream while whisking constantly. Return the egg yolk and cream mixture to the saucepan.

3. Cook over medium-low heat for 2-10 minutes stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve.

4. Immediately cool over an ice bath and then freeze in an ice cream machine.

Jamaica February 2011

2011-04-05T15:10:00.003-05:00

Our annual trip out of the cold into the warm.

Las Palmas Villa, Runaway Bay, Jamaica.

The back garden leading to the beach

Playing in the garden

First dip in the pool

Shaw Botanical Garden

National bird of Jamaica Red-billed Streamertail

We caught crabs

We caught starfish

dinner

napping

napping again

and again

Playing on the beach

Pier near our Villa

S learned to dive!

Celebrating 3rd birthday!

Fruit truck that comes to the Villa every few days

Snowmegeddon

2011-02-03T16:16:00.000-06:00

We are definitely enjoying our snow days! Those sleds I bought before the thunder snow came in handy for our sledging yesterday and today. We have 2 two person sledges, but of course our youngest has a problem with sharing so wanted only to go down the hill at oz park on his own today... Will need to get another sled.

On Wednesday morning we woke to about 17 inches of snow, but the snow had not finished falling, it was still coming down as I shoveled the snow. Daddy went off to work at his usual time, walking down the streets since the sidewalks had not been shoveled yet at 7:15 am. The neighbors came out with the snow blower as I had finished, so invited Princess' friend over for a playdate. We had some more neighbors and girls over (totaling 3 mums and 6 kiddos) for lunch and went to the hill at Oz Park armed with our sleds.

We picked up another neighbor girls on the way to the hill, andwe all had a blast sledging down the hill for over an hour.

It was a lovely time.

While I was out sledging with the children, someone came up with the idea that this weather is perfect for some mulled wine. So as soon as I got home I put some wine, brandy, madeira, cloves, cinnamon sticks, allspice, peppercorns, sugar and vanilla bean simmering on the stove as I made a spinach salad to take over to the neighbors for dinner. Day 1 of snow day was hugely successful.

Today, Day 2 of snow day, we woke up to a sunny but cold day. I had to shovel out the alley so that we could get the car out if we needed to. While I shoveled out the alley, there was some excavating going on.

We went sledging again after lunch and naptime to the hill at Oz Park. Day 2 of snow day is already packed with snow fun. Can't hardly wait to see what Day 3 of snow day brings.

Boat shows in Chicago

2011-02-02T11:16:00.000-06:00

There were two boat shows in Chicago in January, so we hit both of them!
The first one was at the McCormick Place. That place is REALLY BIG.

The kiddos had a lot of fun going on the boats.

This past weekend we went to the Strictly Sail boat show at the Navy Pier. After seeing the pretty sail boats we had a lovely lunch at Riva overlooking the frozen Lake.

There was snow sculpture exhibit at Navy Pier that same day so we enjoyed walking and viewing the snow sculptures.

Look Mommy...

2011-01-11T09:23:00.000-06:00

"I'm a hammerhead shark!"
"Me too!"

Out of the mouth of babes.

"Daddy, can we watch Jake's Pond tonight?" (They have been allowed by Daddy to watch the James Bond series starring Roger Moore)

"Jaws is my favorite baddie, he doesn't talk really."

Xmas 2010-New year 2011

2011-01-11T09:15:00.000-06:00

Christmas 2010 was spent in Chicago this year.
We had some family over, gifts opening for the children,

dinner: standing rib roast

with sides including a white potato and sweet potato pave first baked then fried, mmmm

the boys getting chummy

Good food and family always a great recipe for a happy Xmas.

Boxing day was spend outdoors at the zoo then the Lincoln Park Conservatory (which our youngest calls the "rain forest").

New year's day was also spent out at the Lincoln Park Zoo followed by the "rain forest"

Princess is showing off her new pierced ears with a headband to keep the hair away from her ears.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo

2010-12-23T15:29:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we walked to the Lincoln Park Zoo then the Lincoln Park Conservatory for a little family outing. We spent most of the time at the Pritzker Children's Zoo section of the zoo where the wolves were out and the kids played in the climbing maze... all four children.

The Conservatory has a beautiful tree all decorated for the holidays.

And they have 3 different areas with model trains going through miniature towns.

Easy Salmon

2010-12-21T18:13:00.000-06:00

Making my paternal grandfather's favourite salmon preparation.

It is so simple that I end up buying fresh wild caught Alaskan Salmon when it is available and freeze them in single portions in freezer bags and defrosting when I fun out of ideas for dinners.

Here it is:

1 Salmon fillet
kosher salt to taste
fresh cracked black pepper to taste
korean chili flakes (ok, this is the difficult part if you don't have a korean market near by)2
2 green onions sliced into thin rounds (white and green)

in a fry pan with lid that fits tightly, pour 2 tablespoons of water (or enough to fill the bottom of the pan with water) and salmon fillet.

Generously salt and pepper the salmon, then the chili flakes to taste and finally the green onion.

Close the lid and put on medium low heat for 5-6 minutes.

Serve with rice and your favourite vegetables. So easy, so delicious

Visitor

2010-12-17T19:49:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago our almost 5 year old looked outside while having breakfast at the kitchen table when he noticed a really "big bird" outside in the back garden. We all looked in amazement at what we saw. It was a coopers hawk.

It stared at the koi pond for a while while we watched whilst eating our breakfast and me taking photos. We did keep a sharp eye out to make sure it did not grab one of our koi.

Eventually after a few minutes it flew to the ornamental pear tree in our garden then away.

It was an exciting start to our Saturday.

Sunny Orlando

2010-12-15T07:19:00.001-06:00

I took my first trip alone with the children in late October. The older 2 kiddos had a mid term break from school for a week so we decided to join some friends to Orlando. We arrived midday after a decent flight from O"Hare to Orlando. The kids were so excited that they were really well behaved which made me so proud. Most people thought I was mad to take 3 children all under the age of 6.5 on a trip on my own for a week, but we fared really well and had an amazing time.

We arrived and got the rental van easily enough, then drove to the Waldorf Astoria Orlando. I love it when I choose a hotel that is well run and new and beautiful. We got settled into our room which did not have a balcony, so I called the front desk to request a room with one. To my surprise they moved us to a one bedroom suite with kitchen, a subzero wine fridge, crystal glassware, and of course a balcony that overlooked the golf course... complimentarily. Apparently Costco travel has some pull with them and are considered a VIP travel agent for them so they upgraded us to this beautiful spacious room. We felt so lucky!

We had the afternoon to set settled into Orlando before venturing out to the parks, so we headed to the pool for some fun in the sun.

After a swim we went back to the room to get ready for dinner.

We walked the grounds to explore the hotel/resort.

My princess taking pictures of the boys and me.

We headed to Disney's Magic Kingdom on the second day.

We found rides that all of us could go on together then went on all of them multiple times.

Day 3 was spent at the Islands of Adventure featuring the Harry Potter area with a few families from Chicago who were in Orlando together with us.

but one one of the kids' favourite rides was a ride on the golf cart from our hotel to the sister hotel nearby for dinner.

Day 4 was exploring Universal Studios.

The children enjoyed having dinner at restaurants and did not miss my cooking too much, we all needed a break from my cooking I guess... And after dinner after the children were asleep after long days, I got to spend some time on the balcony with an ebook on my iPhone and a glass (or two... sometimes three) of wine.

Day 5 was back at the Islands of Adventure on our own. Then day 6, our last day, was spent in Downtown Disney.

Since our last day was also Halloween, we stopped at a shopping mall on the way to the airport so that the children could go Trick-or-Treating before getting on the plane headed back home. We arrived in Chicago late and Daddy had just gotten back from Bulgaria just a few hours before we did, so he was able to pick us up at the airport. That was a nice end to a wonderful holiday.

Quote of the day

2010-12-01T17:49:00.000-06:00

Princess says at the dinner table today while talking to her younger brother, "Mommy is in charge of the family, you know. Only when we are out with Daddy and Mommy is not there, then Daddy is in charge of the kids, other than that Mommy is in charge."

Cassoulet night 2010

2010-11-28T19:21:00.000-06:00

Another cassoulet night this year with dear new friends.

This year we added escargot to the appetiser menu, and of course there were gougeres to start the evening off with a bottle (actually 2) of bubbly.

Finished off the evening again with vanilla creme brulee and green tea flavoured creme brulee.

I like the addition of escargot to the menu and I believe that it will be a staple in our household as long as our supplier (yes, my favourite place) Costco keeps a stock of them. Altogether a wonderful evening.

Holiday card photo

2010-11-28T18:59:00.000-06:00

Can't hardly believe that winter is near and I have not posted much of summer and autumn.

December means holiday cards and I had a little photo session a little while back with the children for this year's cards.

Holiday card production will need to be finished soon to be mailed out. These cuties will be the main subject of the cards again, this year no family photo but just the children.

2010-10-30T18:38:00.001-05:00

According to our 4.5 year old, the waiter (server) is the servant.

Surf n Turf

2010-10-18T20:35:00.000-05:00

I am always trying to expand the palates of my children, I want them to be exposed to all the foods that I enjoy so that I can prepare meals for the whole family that the adults enjoy and the children enjoy equally. The children have had seafood and enjoy an array of different foods, and I have not prepared lobster in quite some time at home. Well, I was craving lobster so I thought I would make lobster and grilled ribeye for dinner last weekend. I know from past experience that when we have any seafood that has shell on that I spend most of the meal shelling the food for the family (I do include the hubby on this one) and once everyone is satiated then I get a few morsels of my own. This time was no exception, though, hubby actually did fine on his own with his lobster. I boiled 3 lobsters; one for hubby, one for me and one for the children. I started by giving one claw to each child to let them have a go at cracking the claws themselves to get at the morsels. The older two did just fine and got some claw meat out and tasted the claw meat with the clarified butter and lemon. They liked it ok, but I was hard at work with the tail to divvy up the goods to the 3 children. Mistake... They LOVED the tail meat. I had to relinquish all the tail meat of both lobster to the children. At least I got to eat all the green tamale from the body of both lobsters and the claw meat too.

I did not have the time to take pictures before the food was finished and children had clean hands and mouths. I only had time to snap a photo after the shells were deposited into the shell bowl destined for the stockpot for a future lobster bisque... mmmm

Autumn fun

2010-10-18T10:03:00.000-05:00

Summer has gone by so quickly this year.

We had a wonderful summer and now we are in the throws of Autumn with beautiful weather to boot.

We had such beautiful weather that we went to the Chicago Botanical Gardens for the day on Sunday.

A nice day out in the beautiful gardens in the fantastic weather, then dinner at our favourite local sushi restaurant, Sai Cafe. The children tried all the food put in front of them starting with octopus, seaweed and cucumber salad, then miso soup followed by crunchy white tuna maki, white fish tempura sushi, hamachi sashimi and finally shrimp tempura. The restaurant took such good care of us since we had been patronising the restaurant for so many years (I have been going for 21 years and I have been taking my hubby for the past 10 years) and it was their first time meeting the children. The children got lollipops in the shape of sushi for dessert, so cute. The childrens' first time at Sai Cafe was a tremendous success!

look what we saw on our walk

2010-09-16T10:48:00.000-05:00

Caught on my iPhone 4 camera, pretty good quality for a camera phone and the butt-fly (Baby A ism for butterfly) actually let me get close enough.

Wine dinner

2010-09-14T17:18:00.000-05:00

It's nice when we have the in-laws, one of the reasons I like their visits...

Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 1986

We get to have nice wines.

frist day of school

2010-09-12T09:00:00.001-05:00

It is already 2 weeks since the two older children have started school, boy the time flies. They are both full day now so I do not have to make 3 trips to the school every day.

Princess got a really warm welcome from her friends, it was a perfect start to a fresh new year as a first grader.

S did not miss a beat and fell right back into step with playing with his schoolmates, and of course Baby A fit right in as well. A good start to a new school year, even Nana and Grandpa were still here to escort them to school on their first day. What a treat!

2010-09-09T07:26:00.000-05:00

Ou Princess noticed the fountain in the pond has been cleaned this morning and asks "who fixed the fountain?" My reply was, "Daddy, because that's his job." She comes back with, "So Daddy has two jobs?!" To that I ask her, "so how many jobs does Mommy have?"
"like a hundred?"

So that is my Princess.

dinner in the garden

2010-08-08T10:31:00.000-05:00

Summer is a lovely time to spend dinnertime in the garden.

shirmp with avocado salsa

2010-08-08T10:24:00.000-05:00

It has been a long time since I actually looked through a cook book from my library of cook books. I was looking for an hors dourve to serve on the boat, so I was looking for a fresh recipe with a seafood. I settled on the French Laundry (Chef Thomas Keller) cookbook. My favorite gougère recipe comes from this book, so I thought it was the perfect place to find my inspiration for a good canape. I found a shrimp recipe that I put my own twist on.

I used large U12 (meaning under 12 shrimp to a pound, so they are large) with the shell on and deveined. The basic idea is to make a stock and steep the shrimp in the stock

1 carrot coarsely chopped
1 celery (I did not have fennel that day so I used celery, I think either would work) coarsely chopped
1 small onion coarsely chopped
1 leek (actually I only had green onion so I used one bunch, but I think the leek would taste better)
1 inch of ginger
1 clove garlic
few sprigs of parsley
few sprigs of cilantro
6 peppercorns
1 bay leave
couple shakes of red pepper flakes
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
juice of1 lemon (or lime) and 2 strips of zest

take the shell off the shrimp leaving the tail intact, sautee the shrimp shells on medium heat in a medium stock pot with a tablespoon of oil (olive or canola) until the shells turn pink and have a nice aroma without burning.
add first 6 ingredients and saute for 3-5 minutes, then add a quart of water and the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. simmer for 15 minutes.
add the shrimp (thawed if previous frozen) and simmer for 2 minutes then take off the heat into a heatproof dish to cool for an hour at room temperature then cover and put in the refrigerator up to 2 days.

For the avocado salsa
1/2 sweet red bell pepper finely diced
1/2 cup english cucumber finely diced
1/2 small red onion finely diced
1 avocado finely diced (it is easier to dice if the avocado is firm and just ripened)
1 lime
1tsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
optionally cayenne pepper to taste

combine red bell pepper, cucumber and onion in a bowl and mix with juice of 1 small lime, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, then add the avocado and gently fold into the mixture. To serve place shrimp in a shallow bowl and put salsa over the shrimp and spoon a small amount of the cold soup just to cover the bottom of plate.

Enjoy!

skirt steak chimmichurri

2010-08-07T14:27:00.000-05:00

A few years ago my hubby and I were having a lazy morning watching the Food Network and were watching a show with multiple chefs doing multiple recipes, the theme seemed to be various different chimmichurri recipes. Hubby got really excited about the chimmichurri and made a recipe which was a culmination of 3 different recipes on the show. For the past 2 summers we have been loving the chimmichurri made with skirt steak grilled and eaten outside in the back garden. This summer hubby has been really busy and not had time to make the chimmichurri sauce, since the kids really enjoy it as well I decided to take the reins and have a go at making my own sauce. It seems to be popular with the kids and hubby thinks it is better than his, though he may be saying that so that I continue making and and he does not have to.

I use a mini blender from Korea called the Kiss mixer, which is very similar to the magic bullet, but it can be made in a regular blender or food processor:

1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch parsley
1 small onion or 1/2 large onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp red pepper flakes
jui of 1 small lime
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp oil (olive, canola, sunflower or grapeseed)
1 tsp sesame oil (if you don't have any just substitute with any other oil or skip)
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp ground black pepper
salt to taste

blend all the above ingredients until a paste is formed, if it is too dry add more oil to moisten the mixture.

Salt and pepper the skirt steak and brush on half the chimmichurri sauce on the steaks and let marinate up to 2 days. Serve the remaining sauce as dipping sauce. Grill the steaks 3 mintues on each side on the grill.

Enjoy!

germinated brown rice

2010-08-07T13:45:00.000-05:00

A few years ago my mother told me there were many health benefits of germinated brown rice (also called GABA) and brought me a batch she had made; ever since then when we have GABA rice at home. I mix the germinated brown rice with some white rice, barley, sweet wild rice and black rice. The rice when cooked is purple in color and has a beautiful nutty flavor. Every 3-4 weeks I make a large batch and keep it in the freezer.

Here is the method I use to germinate the brown rice:

5 lbs. medium grain brown rice soaked in a large bowl overnight.

drain the rice in a sieve

place a clean wet dish towel over the soaked drained rice in room temperature and water them every few hours and check for sprouting. Depending on the weather this may take a day in the summer, but up to 2 days in the winter.

when you see tiny sprouts coming out the the germ, the process is finished. I put the GABA rice into 1 quart freezer bags and place in the freezer what I cannot use in the next 3 days.

Cooking the GABA rice takes less water then cooking white rice, closer to 1:1 ratio, and cooking time is same as white rice.

I like to mix 1 cup white rice, 1.5 cups GABA rice, 1/4 cup mixture of equal parts barley, sweet wild rice and black rice with 2 cups water and 1 cup stock in the rice cooker.

Day 3 in Brussels, Belgium

2010-07-13T10:11:00.000-05:00

We had all day to ourselves on day 3, and it being our wedding anniversary and first time away together from all 3 children, it was quite a moments event for us.

We started with breakfast at a boulangerie in St Catherine with a coffee and some croissants.We then did some walking around and site-seeing.

Had to stop by the Manneken Pis, especially since I had visited the Jeanneke Pis on the previous Friday.

For lunch we went to Chez Leon, for me for the second time on this trip.

Beer at lunch is nearly mandatory on holiday, is it not?

After lunch we walked around the Grand Place again, can never get enough of the Grand Place.

The weather was not great when we were there, mostly cloudy and rain and in the low 60s.
Walking around in the afternoon and looking for Hubby's old haunts and stopping, we had to have a brew at A la Bécasse

and some sausage with spicy mustard to go with it.

All the touristy activities tired us out so we headed back to the hotel for some rest before heading out to dinner. On the way to dinner we had to stop at the Nordzee seafood stand

so that Hubby could experience firsthand the quaint little stand where we had fresh herring and escargot in spicy soup.

Then more beers at a new pub we found, then to a latin music festival at St Catherine where there was a dance contest on stage (very amusing), then off to a seafood dinner at the Rugbyman. This place was a new venture for us, it was recommended by a staff member at the hotel we stayed in, Le Dominican, as a good seafood restaurant. We walked into a quiet restaurant with only one other table of diners eating quietly. They did not seem to be ready for a dinning crowd, as other tables came in they were running around trying to get drink orders and bread on the table. The grumpy chef was called out to help and all she did not crack even a smile as she paced the restaurant. When we asked for some music to be put on, they turned on the radio to some talk station... strange place, the food better be good...

We eagerly awaited our lobsters adorned with bibs after slurping down our yummy oysters.

It was worth the wait, I chose to go with the natural lobster with butter and lemon and Hubby chose the garlic option then swapped plates after going through half each. I savoured each scrumptious morsel of butter drenched lobster mmmmmmm.

Can't remember much after that meal, I think we just headed to the airport and home the next morning. What a wonderful trip that we still are reminiscing about daily.

Day 2 in Brussels, Belgium

2010-07-06T14:40:00.000-05:00

I woke up early in the morning awakened by a phone call from my hubby who was on his way to meet me. I went back to sleep after I realized it was just after 7:00 am. I woke a little later to do some more sight seeing and shopping before meeting hubby back at hotel to head out for lunch.

I found a supermarket where I bought a little chocolate.

After I met my hubby at the hotel we went out for lunch, since I had just been to the chez Leon for dinner the night before, I wanted to go to Aux Armes de Bruxelles. We started with my FIL's favorite oysters on the half shell, then had viande frites followed by the crepes suzettes.

the remnants of the crepes

After lunch we went back to the hotel after a bit of walking around where hubby experienced the "greeters" trying to coax us into their restaurants, whom all seemed to know me by now.

The reason for this visit to Brussels is for the British School of Brussels 40th Anniversary part taking place that Saturday evening 19th June. We had a quick drink at the hotel bar while we waited for our taxi to arrive to take us to Tevuren for the party.

The bar at the hotel had these lovely horseradish nuts that were really yummy.

We went to the anniversary party which was really lovely and hubby got to see some old friends.

Still we were mostly with each other and enjoyed seeing his old friends, we even went across the road to the bar they used to go to for lunch while he attended BSB. A nice walk down memory lane for hubby.

Day 1 in Brussels, Belgium

2010-07-06T14:05:00.003-05:00

My first trip overseas without the children... ever.

I had one day in Brussels on my own so I did some exploring to see if I could find all the places I went to the first time I went, which was before I was married. I found all the places I wanted to find.

My first stop was for a gaufre, mmmmmm. Then off to the Grand Place.

I was able to just stumble upon it after window shopping in the Galerie St Hubert while eating my gaufre. I know it is gauche to eat while walking, but if it is a gaufre it does not matter what you are doing while eating one.

Last time I was in Brussels with my then fiancee, now my hubby, we had a wonderful meal at Le Maison de Cygne. This time I only just have the picture of the building.

Being in the Grand Place and all the red geraniums, it dawns on me why my hubby, who grew up in Belgium, loves to plant red geraniums in our garden every year. I'm only sorry that I did not realize this and planted only white and pink ones this year since he was too busy to do any gardening. Now that I realize this I will plant the red ones from this point forward.

After a morning of sight seeing I got wrangled into a restaurant by one of the "greeters" in petite rue de bouchers. He offered me a free glass of champagne, how could a girl refuse. Little did I know that all the not-so-great restaurants in the rue have these greeters to get people to eat in their restaurant. Unfortunately the food was inedible and was the most expensive meal of my trip! I now know not to fall for a free glass of champagne from a stranger. After lunch I realized this as I walked all around the rue de bouchers, all of the "greeters" offered me champagne and tried to talk me into going into their restaurant.

To make up for the worst meal in Brussels, I went to St Catherine in search of good food... and I was in the mood for seafood, and I remembered having a wonderful seafood meal in a restaurant in St Catherine where the fish market is. I found it easily enough.

Then I found my favorite little seafood stand in St Catherine

and had the best spicy escargot soup with a glass of rose, which was served by the sweetest little man.

In the afternoon I took a little nap before heading out for drinks before dinner, then dinner and some after dinner drinks and more sight seeing. Because of my lunch experience, I went back to a place I know and is an institution...

I started with Stella Artois and the crevette gris followed by the moules frites. Getting to dinner I was hassled by all the "greeters" again, by dinner everyone knew who I was, I had walked through the petite rue de boucher which was just adjacent to my hotel and I walked through it to get to most places from my hotel. They use the term "princess" quite a bit to refer to women, they also used "beautiful lady from Chicago" often. I was not to be hoodwinked into another bad meal, I fended off all the offers of free champagne for a fantastic meal at chez Leon.

Did a little drinking and more sight seeing after dinner, oh and more drinks after that. Had to have a drink in the different establishments that my hubby took me to the first time he took me to Brussels, I did leave a few places for us to go to together as well, I was getting giddy from all the drinking.

First day and night in Brussels on my own was a success. I only called home three times to check on my mother and the children. Thoroughly enjoyed my first trip alone in Europe, I'm a big girl now!

Update on travels

2010-06-12T17:53:00.000-05:00

S just got to Mongolia "the land of my ancestors" as he put it. Our family ancestory actually can be followed back to Mongolia. Our first ancestor in Korea migrated from Mongolia. I wish I was able to see it too. S has been gone for just over and week, and he has another week and a few days until he returns home. What a trip!

musings of a six year old

2010-06-12T08:55:00.001-05:00

Princess was having a conversation with her 4 year old brother and asking him if he wanted to be a "mom or dad" when he grew up to which our 4 year old answers appropriately, "I want to be a dad."

Princess: "Are you sure you want to be a dad, because moms can do anything they want but dads only get to decide where to go on trips and stuff like that."

Interesting.

Beach day!

2010-06-01T16:01:00.001-05:00

Kids have the week off for mid term break and it was a beautiful day so we headed out to North Avenue beach this morning. The kids had so much fun in the sand and sun... and even the lake!

Our 2 year old took this picture with only a little help from me.

And this one as well.

And this one of our 4 year old pretending to eat sand. Not bad for a 2 year old with a DSLR camera bigger than his head, though I did help hold the camera.

So Princess had to have a go with taking pictures...

We may have some budding photographers here!

patterns

2010-05-31T19:50:00.002-05:00

I like the pattern of clouds and rings that raindrops make on the lake.

Growing up

2010-05-27T18:35:00.002-05:00

Our 2 year old is growing up so fast:

he doesn't say "bonkey" anymore, it's "monkey" now,
he says our daughter's name with a spanish accent; the [j]j is pronounced as a [y],
he climbs the stairs one at a time without holding on,
he can manipulate small legos,
can blow bubbles,
can jump off small ledges (this one scares me a bit),
can put on his own shoes and take them off (the non lace up kind),
he can count in 3 languages,
he recognizes some numbers and letters,
and there are "so many dum[p] frucks [trucks, he does not pronounce the t in truck just like his older brother did not] Mommy!"

Oh how the time flies when you see little ones grow, or is it just because the time goes by faster the older you get because of the percentage of time to how much time I've been around...

cuties in the garden

2010-05-10T10:23:00.000-05:00

The garden is looking much greener these days and the children love to spend time putsing around the garden.

and their favorite thing to play with...

a cardboard box

crepe mornings

2010-05-09T10:25:00.000-05:00

One of the Kiddos' (and Daddy's) favorite breakfast is crepes. They wait stoveside as each crepe comes out of the pan. I do not get a chance to fill up the plate at all as it takes longer to make one crepe than for the children to eat them.

Silent ride

2010-05-07T19:00:00.000-05:00

This is what happened on the way home after a nice day on the boat last weekend...

How nice.

She's riding!

2010-05-07T18:53:00.001-05:00

Princess has successfully learned how to ride her bike!

Nana and Cousin A were here to witness the big accomplishment.

First trip to the golden arches

2010-04-25T14:57:00.000-05:00

It was inevitable... the children will hear about it from classmates at school. It finally happened. McDonald's apparently had a happy meal promotion of the dragon from the movie "How To Train Your Dragon" and the students in 6 year old's class (the Dashing Dragons) were talking about it. Princess has been talking about this for the past 2 weeks so I finally had to take them today.

I was a bit overwhelmed actually, I took them to the Rock 'n Roll McDonald's downtown and had to go around a few times in the one way street to find the entrance to the parking lot. Once we finally got inside we find out that they are all sold out of the dragon from the movie. Do I leave or do we stay anyway and eat some cold processed food... the latter of course. The children would not have let us leave without getting something out of it. We got our food and went upstairs and sat at a glass table with black chairs (if I was going to eat at McD, I was going to do it in style at least). I have not had a big mac in nearly 10 years, it was cold, as were my fries and the fries were not even as good as I remembered them. What has happened to me?As a child, then teenager, then young adult, I remember enjoying the fries and even the big mac.

The kiddos were fine with the whole experience, Princess even asked to come back again. My response, not anytime soon.

no knead bread take 4

2010-04-16T14:46:00.000-05:00

I have tried several different combination of flour for this no knead bread and this one was pretty good. I used 100% unbleached bread flour and it came out lighter than the unbleached ultragrain flour.

We finished the loaf that same afternoon just standing in the kitchen around the counter where the bread was stationed. The crust was nice and crunchy and chewy and the center had nice light but elastic and soft. We schmeared (spelling intended) lots of softened organic salted butter.

I like this no knead bread, not a lot of work and makes nice crusty outside soft inside chewy bread. We even took some to our neighbor who just had their third boy a few weeks ago. I think I need to share this recipe with my father in law who likes to make bread, but what will he do with the no knead part??? I think throwing around the dough is his favorite part of making bread.

baguettes

2010-04-12T19:21:00.000-05:00

On the bread kick and made some baguettes.

baguettes proofing

Not too bad. We ate 2 of the loaves once they cooled with just some butter. Crust was crusty and chewy and the inside was soft. Will make another attempt this weekend I think.

spicy dungeness crab

2010-04-12T15:29:00.000-05:00

Last weekend Costco had dungeness crab and I had a hankering for a recipe my younger brother introduced to me on one of his visits. I used 2 whole dungeness crab and separated the legs and pre-cracked it for easier eating. I made this in a wok and this is what I used:

2 whole dungeness crab cracked

4 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp canola oil
4 large cloves garlic
1Tbsp ginger
1 small onion or 1/2 large onion
1 diced chili peppers (if you like spicy add more, since children were eating, I omitted the chili)

Saute all above ingredients in wok or large pan on medium heat until onion is cooked, about 5-8 minutes.

Then add to the wok:
4 seeded and chopped tomatoes
1/2 bunch cilantro
4 Tbsp hot garlic sauce (or more if you like spicy)
1/3 cup stock (whatever stock you have, I had chicken, but you can use white wine or any sort of fish stock as well. If you don't have any stock on hand, just add water)

Turn heat up to medium high for 3-5 minutes until tomatoes are cooked, then add the crab and stir through to coat with the sauce. Put the lid on the wok/pan for 3-5 minutes until the crab is warmed through. Serve with white rice.

Now my mouth is watering...

Enjoy.

bread

2010-04-11T18:33:00.000-05:00

A friend from the children's school turned me onto a no knead bread. I finally tried it last weekend. And of course it has created another round of obsessive bread making (the first round sent me into labor with my first child.)

With my first attempt at the no knead bread I did not have instant yeast, only instant active dry yeast, of which I have 2 lbs. of, so I modified the recipe a bit and used 2 tsp. of active dry yeast and added warm water with some sugar, 3 cups of bread flour, 1 1/2 tsp salt then fermented the dough in the oven (used as my proof box overnight) for 18 hours. The second proof took longer than the 2 hours the recipe called for, just over 3 hours actually.

We took the finished product to friends' house whom invited us over for a late lunch. This is what it looked like:

It was crusty on the outside and chewy and moist in the middle.

On that same day I actually made a second bread to take along to our friends'. For some reason I like making challah on easter. We are not easter celebraters, but the idea of making challah on easter appealed to me some years ago, so I now make challah on some easters. This was one year that I wanted to again. The braid was the most difficult for me in the past but I think I have now understood the braid.

Oh, did I mention that I made 2 challahs, one for us and one to take to our friends'. This one was our first and I did not knead it long enough, so the braid broke while proofing, so of course I had to make another one that looked better. The children enjoyed the challah, with all the butter and sugar and softness how can the children NOT like it.

So all because my friend introduced me to the no knead bread, almost every day I have been making bread every other day... I need 2 days to make the bread so it works out. The house smells really good these days.

toolbelt

2010-04-11T11:23:00.000-05:00

Here is a testament to who wears the tool belt in the family.

Daddy was getting out the drill one day to do something, when our now 4 year old sees Daddy taking out the drill case he asks, "Daddy, what are you doing with Mommy's drill? What are you going to do with it?"

So Daddy went out and bought a bigger tool set... so that we can have it on the boat.

Birthdays

2010-04-06T20:30:00.000-05:00

All the kiddos turned a year in the past few weeks so there were some celebrations.

First birthday party was for our youngest with the family.

Our 2 year old loved being sung to and the clapping then figured out he really enjoyed blowing out the candles, so we relit them and blew them out again and again and again and again.... until the candle was practically no more.

Our 4 year old had his birthday party at PumpItUp with his classmates, that was easy.

She already looks so grown up

Then there was our eldest who had an all girls birthday party at a jewelry store making necklaces and bracelets, but had a home celebration as well.

with some of her good friends from school

making her necklace

She is definitely looking mature beyond her years

Another year... another set of birthdays.. how fast the time flies.

Easter performance and egg hunt

2010-03-28T13:53:00.000-05:00

Our 4 year old put on a performance at the end of term and there was an Easter egg hunt after the singing. The children wore bunny ears they made and sang bunny songs, so cute.

Our 2 year old enjoyed the performance and wanted to get into the act. He wants to do everything his siblings do, and say (sometimes unfortunately he repeats naughty words).

Concert at school

2010-03-28T13:40:00.000-05:00

Our 6 year old had a concert at school a few weeks ago for the entire key stage. She did a beautiful job.

The songs were many from the sound of music: 'so long farewell', 'edelweiss', 'et's go fly a kite' among others.
All the children did a wonderful job.

Day 6 and 7

2010-03-28T09:11:00.000-05:00

Day 6 was our last full day at Grand Velas. It was such a shame it was so overcast and windy. Nobody was at the beach since it was so windy. But the war ships were out patrolling the sea and beach for the 32 Latin American and Caribbean presidents, their foreign secretaries and dignitaries who were present at the resort. The helicopters and fighters jets were flying overhead as well.

We had a last swim in the pool before heading to the airport. What an amazing trip.

We thoroughly enjoyed our vacation and the kids were worn out and asleep within minutes of getting on the road.

Riviera Maya Day 5

2010-03-04T14:29:00.000-06:00

Day 5
Finally a full day of sun! We spent most of the morning at the beach, came back to the pool to grab lunch and a little rest, then played in the pool.

we all were happy to see the sun for a change!

there was lots of digging and building in the sand

my serious youngster

a much needed nap after a morning at the beach

We even got a family photo poolside

What a lovely day we had. I got too much sun and burned. The children were diligently reapplied with sunscreen but apparently I didn't do enough reapplying on myself. Just happy to see the sun at last!

Riviera Maya Day 4

2010-02-23T20:56:00.001-06:00

Day 4 was another cloudy, windy and rainy day, but again that did not deter us from going to the beach.

After we went to the beach we headed for the pool. That became a pattern for us on this trip. It started raining soon after we got to the beach so the older twoheaded for kids club and our youngest took a nap.

As you can see there were not too many people at the pool that day.

Riviera Maya Day 3

2010-02-23T20:15:00.003-06:00

Day 3 started out bleak. There was no sun in sight and there was none to be had. It rained for part of the day. That did not put a damper on the day for the kiddos. They still went to the beach and pool and swam. What troopers they were.

after a swim they had to get all cozy and dry in a cocoon of towels on the double canopy lounge

After a day of play we got the kiddos room service and a sitter at the resort's kids club so that the adults could have a dinner alone. That was a nice evening.

he almost finished his whole burger

our little buddies with their first room service

Riviera Maya Day 2

2010-02-23T19:56:00.002-06:00

Day 2 started bleak with clouds in the sky, but the sun did come out for a little while to grace us with its presence. We went to the beach which was at the Ambassador building of the resort, there are two main buildings, we were at the Master and had to take a short resort shuttle van to get to the other. Sounds like more hassle than it actually was. There was never more than a couple minutes to get an awaiting van called by the valet. The only waiting was when the Cumbre crowd showed up the last couple of days and acted very important pushed us "commoners" aside to take precedence over us. More about Cumbre later...

we were one of the first people on the beach

there was lots of digging in the sand

and waling on the beach

and more walking

finding baby sea urchin in the sea

soft sand beach

some action shots poolside, no stunt double

cutie poolside

snuggling with my boys

After a nap for the youngest and a trip to kids club for the older 2 for some arts and crafts ,we went to the pool in our building in the afternoon. It is a beautiful pool and not very populated since the Ambassador has the pool and beach. The pools had multiple depths ranging from 2 feet to 6, all infinity and leading into the next pool. Really picturesque. The decks had very comfy cushion lined lounge chairs and canopies.

all the suites have large balconies lined with bougainvillea

the suite had a big jacuzzi tub that the kiddos had load of fun playing in after a day of playing in the sea and pool!

The resort is an all suite resort with large rooms and balconies and 24 hour concierge/butler service. Since the resort is just a year old, everything was clean, new and in great condition. There were staff everywhere tending to the gardens and everywhere we looked. They all wore earpieces and communicated with each other like the secret service. Whenever we went to eat at a restaurant and gave our suite number, they made an effort to refer to us by our surname as well. Very impressive.

Riviera Maya Day 1

2010-02-23T18:53:00.003-06:00

We just got back from Mexico last night where we shared the same resort with 33 Caribbean and Latin American presidents, their foreign secretaries and dignitaries. I have never stay anywhere with tighter security. There were metal detectors at every entrance, security guards at every turn, three war ships cruising the water, soldiers in full gear with machine guns on the beach and helicopters and fighter jets zooming overhead. Quite an interesting stay, good thing we only overlapped for 3 days.

Day 1 had us getting to the resort and into a beautiful lobby where we were greeted by a resort staff member with cold towels to freshen up, iced hibiscus tea and water while the checking in process occurred while sat in a chair with drinks and the staff members ran back and forth. This is the way a check in process should happen.

The first thing that my almost 4 year old say when we walk into the room is, "Mommy, there is no kitchen here, how are you going to cook with no kitchen?"
Me, "That's because Mommy is not going to cook at all on this vacation."
Almost 4 year old, "Then how are we going to eat?"
Me, "There are restaurants here."
Almost 4 year old, "We can't eat at restaurant all day!"
Me, "Oh yes we can, and we are."
Almost 4 year old, "Awwwwwwww."
OK, that was unexpected.

After we had a discussion about my not cooking, we changed and headed for a late buffet snack by the pool restaurant.

Then we headed straight to the pool to get in the holiday mood by taking a quick dip.

It was a bit chilly so the kiddos wrapped themselves up in towels and lay down on the deck canopies.

After a nice dinner at the Frida restaurant the gang got into matching pajamas and posed for a cute picture on the bed.

crepes

2010-02-23T12:56:00.000-06:00

One of the kiddos' favorite breakfasts is crepes, we had called them rolly pancakes in the past, but now that my almost 6 year old is more technical now she likes to call things by their actual name.

For Valentines day they asked for crepes and I had to oblige. I use Julia Child's recipe and double it to feed my crew. I have to keep the crew busy until I can actually get enough made for each to have one, or there is a lot of tears and whining. After the first one, I cannot get more than one or 2 accumulate on the plate because it is usually Daddy standing next to the stove top getting them as they come out of the pan to put sugar and lemon immediately so he can have them while they are still hot.

crepes:
2 cups flour
1 1/3 cup each water and milk
6 large eggs
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tbsp vanilla
6 Tbsp melted butter

Put flour in a bowl then whisk in by dribbles the milk and water to make a smooth blend.
Whisk in eggs, salt and butter. Let rest 10 minutes - 1 hour or more in the refrigerator.

Preheat pan on low-medium low heat for 3-5 minutes to become nonstick, then raise the heat to medium-medium high. Using a ladle pour batter into pan on one side then tilt the pan so the batter spreads evenly in the pan. When the edges turn golden brown, slide a silicone spatula all around the edge to lift off the pan then either flip the crepe or slide the spatula to the middle of the crepe then flip it and cook for another 15 seconds.

The kiddos used to just eat them plain, but Daddy has introduced them to sugar and lemon, so that is what we do now. 1/2 tsp sugar and squeezed lemon juice on a hot crepe as it comes out of the pan.

Enjoy!

February flashed by

2010-02-23T12:34:00.000-06:00

February has flashed by for me. I started taking an online Seamanship course in January which I wanted to have finished before going on our February trip to Mexico, and mission accomplished. Since I was spending most of my free time studying, taking quizzes and finally the final exam I did not have too much time devoted to blogging. But now I have successfully completed my seamanship course and will go on with the next course in becoming a seaworthy first mate.

Valentines Day was a hit with the children, anything that involves me letting them have as much candy as they desire is a good thing for them, a big sticky mess for me. I made cookies in different heart and flower shapes, with a cookie press I received one christmas, for the children to put in their valentines for their classmates in cute polka dotted cellophane bags tied with red ribbon.

Daddy went to Bangladesh for week at the end of January and came back with enough time to recuperate before heading to Riviera Maya with us for the kids' mid term break holiday.

random thoughts

2010-02-23T10:30:00.003-06:00

My almost 6 year old Princess says to me the other day, "Mommy, do people have one hundred thousand hairs on their heads?"
Me, "I am not sure how many hairs people have on their heads, I have never counted them."
Princess, "I think that people DO have one hundred thousand hairs on their heads... except Daddy. He only has one hundred hairs on his head."
Me, "Why do you think he has only one hundred hairs on his head?"
Princess, "Because he doesn't have very much hair on top of his head."

I asked my almost 4 year old what he wanted for his birthday and this was the answer I got:
"Mommy I want a car that I can drive myself, can you get me a real big car so that I can drive it on my own?"
Me: "But you don't know how to drive."
Almost 4 year old: "But Mommy, I can drive a car like this (making a driving motion with his arms out while holding an imaginary steering wheel with his hands while sitting in his car seat)."
Me: "Sweetie, you're not old enough to drive yet."
Almost 4 year old: "But on my birthday I'll be old enough! PLEASE, can I have a car I can drive on my own for my birthday?!"
Me: ... at a loss for words...

Some cute things my almost 2 year old says:
mine: WINE (this is disconcerting when we have company in the evenings when there is wine involved or when we are at a restaurant)
ma ma ma mine: MINE
ahkka: OUR DAUGHTER'S NAME
sashun: OUR SON'S NAME
ahtr: HIS OWN NAME
you be nice
he's not sharing
Hi: said with the breathy cute voice
baby pryying: BABY CRYING
tank ewe, a welcon: THANK YOU YOU'RE WELCOME

pineapple lady

2010-02-23T10:25:00.000-06:00

This is just one of my ramblings of why people should just be nice and not yell at random people...

I was at costco a few weeks ago I was getting in line to check out when a lady (I use that term loosely, for she was no lady) careened her cart into get ahead of me. I gave her a look; the sort of confused "what are you doing" sort of look. She looks at me and starts yelling at me, all while having a sour look on her face. I told her if she really wanted to go ahead of me she was welcome to do so, but she gets into another line and keeps yelling at me.
I was so flabbergasted that and confused that all I could say to her was, "Wow, you must be really unhappy."
She had nothing to say, apparently, so she just say back to me, "YOU must be really unhappy."
To that I say, "No, I am not the one yelling at a mom at the checkout line at costco" (I was with my youngest)

The man behind me comments as he is putting groceries on the table, "Drama at the costco." That made me laugh.

A woman waited for me to finish at the check out and catches my eye and puts an arm around me and tells me, "You should have seen her with the pineapples, she was just throwing pineapples everywhere to just get one. I knew to stay away from that one, I knew she was trouble, and I steered clear of her! I'm glad you stood up for yourself though."

So the other day I'm at Saks looking for a dress for an upcoming event. A woman comes up to me and asks if I would like to start a room. I look at her and recognize her as someone I don't like, but do not know exactly why so I agree and give her the clothes. She tells me she likes everything I picked out and that I have very good taste... Ok. As I am trying on clothes and put on a very expensive dress she comes by to tell me that I have to have this dress I ask her to get me some heels to try on with the dress. While she is gone the light bulb goes off.... SHE IS THE PINEAPPLE LADY!

When she gets back I try on the shoes with the dress and the dress is very lovely. I now have a dilemma. I do not want to give this woman the commission for the sale. I give her the clothes I want to buy but ask her to put it on hold until I go to Neiman's. This is when the attitude comes in and I realize that I was not mistaken about who she is. She gives me the attitude and says she can only hold it for 2 hours and she has to take it downstairs (the high end designer section, since I was browsing in the sale section of the designer section she was letting me know she was better than that?) Well, I so wanted to say something to her but I kept my peace and went to the other store and found a really great dress sold to me by a person who never yelled at me at costco. Ha.

So just goes to say you should just be nice.

Garlic shrimp and asian salad

2010-01-27T13:26:00.001-06:00

I had some school friends over for a lunch playdate after school for my nursery schooler. The children had cheese quesadillas with fruit and carrots and for the adults I made garlic shrimp and asian salad. The meal was a success and quick to make.

For the salad I thinly sliced red cabbage, napa cabbage, shredded carrots, and green onion and cilantro to top.

The dressing recipe:
1 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp vinegar
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp sesame oil
3 Tbsp Olive Oil or Canola oil
ground black pepper to taste

the picture looks a bit messy, but you get the idea

The shrimp is a quick recipe since I always have frozen shrimp, this recipe is very similar to my quick garlic shrimp with pasta if not the same:

In a medium sautee pan melt 1 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat with crushed red peppers and 2-3 cloves of minced garlic for about 2-3 minutes making sure the garlic does not burn or it will be bitter. Add the shrimp in a single layer for 2-3 minutes on each side.

Enjoy!

korean bbq pork

2010-01-15T18:50:00.001-06:00

When I was little I remember my mother used to grill pork chops with a bbq sauce that she made with a distinctly korean flavor. I have come up with my version of that marinade.

For the marinade if I have time I will cook the marinade first in a big batch and freeze some for another time.
If I don't have too much time, I put the marinade together without cooking it at all.

1/4 cup korean chili paste
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup mirin (or white wine)
2 Tbsp vinegar
1 Tbsp sesame oil
3 large garlic cloves minced
3 green onion chopped (white and green parts)
black pepper

Put all ingredients into a a saucepan and simmer for 20-30 minutes or just in a gallon freezer bag and mix up. Marinade the pork chops at room temperature for an hour or in the refrigerator overnight.
Grill the chops 5 minutes on each side or broil in the oven 5 min on each side
Tent the chops with foil for 5 minutes before serving

New year

2010-01-14T17:11:00.001-06:00

I cannot believe how fast the time is passing. This will be my first post of the year. There has been a lot of snow this past month and the children have been having fun in the snow despite the below freezing temperatures.

Many new developments to report. Princess has lost her 5th tooth which has left her with no front teeth. She has 2 big girl bottom teeth, one empty spot and yet another loose bottom tooth. She is doing well in school and has even come out of her shell enough to make friends and speak up to answer questions in class.

S has been doing just fine in school socially; he is still working on his letters, numbers and colors. Even in the below freezing temperatures that we have been having he prefers not to wear his trousers around the house. We are still working on this one.

The boys are now playing well together, I think it is mostly due to little A being able to play.

A is had such huge developmental leaps. He has so many new words and phrases and can put together sentences. He has been referring to himself (pointing to his chest and saying his version of his name "Ater") by name for 2 months now. His version of his big brother's name is discernible only to family (Shashun), as is his version of his big sister's name (Ahkka). He will call his mum and dad by name sometimes. He can name almost all members of our extended family as well. The holidays have been good for seeing family and getting him to recognize everyone. Especially the trip to UK for xmas to see the side of the family we don't often get to see. A started jumping with both feet leaving the ground and not falling over a month ago while proclaiming "I'm jjjumping!"

How fast the time seems to be passing... I see it every time I look at the kiddos and how much they grow every day.

Family photos

2009-12-16T10:04:00.000-06:00

It has been a long time since we have had a family photo taken so I got us all in coordinating outfits and attempted as much recently.

First snow of the season

2009-12-16T09:49:00.000-06:00

Jessica had her school performance a few weeks back and was a clownfish. Lots of singing and dancing and being silly.

She's the one farthest on the left

We had a really warm November this year so we had lots of outdoor time at the park.

Then last week we got our first snow of the season. The kids enjoyed playing in the snow on the way to school.

What Fun!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-27T10:13:00.000-06:00

The family (sans the OR clan) came over for the Thanksgiving dinner. Even though I planned a simple menu it took two day of preparation and all day on Thursday cooking, but it was all worth it to spend a nice evening with family.

The kids' table

The adult table

We also had a birthday cake after dessert for Uncle which happen to coincide on the day.

Moules mariniere

2009-11-27T09:59:00.003-06:00

My good friend had told me she had been cooking mussels the other week with not a whole lot of success in liking the recipes, so of course I got it in my head and had to cook some mussels last weekend. This recipe is just a culmination of some of the recipes I've tried and trying to match the recipe from the famed Chez Leon in Brussels,Belgium. It has been so long that I've been there that I cannot quite remember what they are like anymore, but here goes:

3-4 lbs mussels
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup thinly sliced onion
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1 cup white wine
3 Tbsp chopped parsley

clean mussels in cold water taking out the beard and scrubbing the shells (I get them from costco and they are already cleaned, I just have to rinse them a few times) discard any that are open and do not close when you close them
In a large pot melt 2 Tbsp butter on medium high heat then fry the onion and celery until soft about 5 minutes then pour in the wine and mussels
keep a tight lid on the pot and shake every minute or so for about 4-6 minutes
discard any that do not open, sprinkle in the parsley and ladle the mussels into a large bowl, there may be some grit on the bottom of the pot so be cautious when ladling the jus into the bowl

Enjoy!

a two martini day

2009-11-27T09:41:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we kicked off the weekend with dirty martini with Roquefort cheese stuffed olives.

It was a nice way the unwind after getting all the kiddos off to bed.

sesame spinach

2009-11-21T08:08:00.002-06:00

I grew up eating spinach and liking it. This is the way my mom makes it and I always to get it just like she does it. Sometimes I'm successful.

bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and blanch the spinach (about 3-4 bunches) by putting the spinach into the boiling water and stirring for about 30 seconds maximum until wilted. Have a large bowl of ice water ready and shock the spinach immediately into the ice water to stop the cooking
drain the spinach in a colander and squeeze as much water out of the spinach and place into a medium bowl (if the spinach leaves are large, chop the spinach a few time to make the pieces smaller bite size pieces)
add to the spinach finely choped 2 stalks of green onions, including the green parts, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 Tbsp of sesame oil, 1 tsp salt and sesame seeds if you have it. Mix it all up breaking up the spinach to make sure the seasoning is gets all throughout the spinach
put on a plate and top with sesame seeds and/or green onion slices

Enjoy!

roasted butterflied chicken

2009-11-21T07:38:00.002-06:00

In the winter I love to use the oven to cook. One of our favorites is a roasted chicken. I started butterflying the chicken in order to get all the skin crispy and the bird to cook more evenly. This is my method:

Get a whole chicken and ask the butcher to take the back out and open it up (keep the back for your chicken stock) or do it yourself. Generously salt and pepper the whole chicken. If you like a little spice (as I do) make a dry rub with powdered garlic, powdered onion, paprika, cumin and whatever other spice you like, and sprinkle on the chicken to taste.

cut a1 large onion or 2 medium onion into wedges, carrot into 2 inch pieces, optionally potatoes and/or celery can be added. I did not have either this day, so they did not make it into the pan.

put the chicken back and neck and wing tips into a pan with onion, carrots, celery and garlic to make some stock. I like making use of all the parts!

put the chicken into a preheated 425 degree oven for 30 minutes, then add a cup of white wine into the pan and roast for an additional 30 minutes. when finished let rest 5-10 minutes before cutting into the chicken.

There should be a nice jus from the wine and the veggies to serve with the chicken.

Enjoy!

a ...ful endng

2009-11-21T07:23:00.002-06:00

The other day the two older kiddos got into an argument about something, I cannot remember what. The argument ended with Princess saying, "you are disrespectful."

Then Little S countered with, "I am beautiful!"

illness abounds

2009-11-19T14:37:00.000-06:00

I realize that I have not posted in over a month. Bad blogger!

The children possibly had H1N1 and had been ill for about 2 weeks, then when they were just better, I got ill. Probably H1N1 and a sinus infection just to make sure I was really going to be red ridden (which I was for a week on and off). I don't remember being that ill since I had the chicken pox in my late 20s. I am back on my feet again and feeling lighter on my feet. I actually finally lost almost all of my baby weight, yes it took 21 months after giving birth to my last child... better late than never.

I have started a new blog just for the new boat called Manseh

We cannot wait until boating season starts!

my last terrible twos...

2009-11-19T14:09:00.000-06:00

Baby A has grown up so much in the past two month. His language has exploded, as much as his temper...
Yes I am going through the terrible twos for the last time. I guess I should be more nostalgic, but I can't really think through all the screaming and crying.

It must be the frustration of having more ability to communicate, but not completely effectively. He can now repeat most sounds and words and is putting multiple words together to form sentences.

He loves to spend time in his older brother's classroom. the other day as I was saying my 'bye' to S, Baby A proceeds to say, "bye, Mommy!" So ready to go to school already.

break in the cloud

2009-10-06T17:31:00.000-05:00

After what seemed like weeks (only a few days) of rain and cloud, the sun finally made an appearance this evening. With the kiddos all having colds in addition to the bleak weather and Daddy being gone this week it seem as if we were under a heavier cloud, so the sun breaking through was a welcome brightening to the week.

We have been getting updates from the delivery captains of Manseh!

soy dijon lamb chops

2009-10-02T18:59:00.001-05:00

I love lamb chops, but we stopped having them in an effort to cut down on red meat this year. Nevertheless, I cannot go too long without my soy dijon lamb chops inspired by Ming Tsai. And I have to apologize for the lack of pictures, since in the haste of making and so excited to eat them... I did not have a chance to stop to take the photos. So here it is..

2 racks of lamb chops trimmed and cut into single ribs
marinate in a gallon freezer bag in the marinade: 1/4 cup soy, 1/4 cup dijon mustard, 1/4 cup red wine, lots of cracked black pepper corn, lots of garlic 4-8 cloves, 1/4 cup canola oil, salt (optional fresh thyme)
grill on high heat 3-4 minutes each side

I give it to the kids whole with a napkin wrapped on the bone and they go to town. What a treat! Sorry for the lack of photos though.

Enjoy!

manseh! is on her way

2009-09-26T12:27:00.000-05:00

We named our new boat Manseh! spelling slightly different than my blog. She set sail for her new home on Wednesday and should arrive in a month's time. We asked for the delivery captain to keep us updated via photo of the journey to keep us apprised of her location. Currently she is in Manhattan! some pictures taken from Mahnseh!

We are all very excited.

Steam-poached Salmon

2009-09-21T19:04:00.001-05:00

My paternal grandfather really enjoyed his salmon. I remember growing up in korea the specific way my grandfather liked to have his salmon, and this is that recipe as close as I can get to it with a little twist of me.

Salmon (I only get fresh caught salmon, never farmed) steaks or fillet cut into individual portions, top generously with salt, pepper, korean red chili pepper flakes, and diced green onion
put salmon into a pan with sides that has a lid which fits all the salmon with 2 tbsp of water per portion close the lid on the pan and put on low medium heat for 6 minutes.

I don't put any chili peppers for the children and take it easy on the black pepper too, but they like the saltiness. I serve it with rice and vegetables, spinach is a favorite of Daddy's, I'll post that recipe one day soon.

Enjoy!

another beach day

2009-09-21T18:24:00.000-05:00

To catch up on our summer fun before it is over, we went to beach closer by on the 12th. First we headed to Montrose harbor (to check out another possible home for our boat) and got some information from the local ice cream vendor on the harbor. Of course the children got to have some popsicles on a warm summer weekend. Then we headed to Foster beach.

All my boys looking out onto the lake

thank yous

2009-09-21T10:41:00.000-05:00

Finally sent out thank yous from my birthday just a few weeks ago, this time I made the card with photographs I had taken through the years of flowers.

Parkways Foundation garden party

2009-09-21T10:35:00.001-05:00

I went to the Parkways Foundation garden party fundraising luncheon this year with my chapeaued friends. One of my friends is on the board and made us all matching hats to adorn our pretty little heads and of course to follow suit I had to make some matching bracelets.

We were all to wear ivory or tiffany blue, so I made both colors, indonesian turquoise for the blue and I can't quite remember the ivory ones. They were pretty anyway.

They did a beautiful joy with the new tiffany rose garden near the Buckingham fountain.

My friend C (on the far left) who made all the wonderful hats for us

We had cocktails by the gardens, then moved to lunch under a tiffany blue marquis.

The lucky lady who got to take the centerpiece home.

After lunch we took a turn around the gardens and the Buckingham fountain.

What a lovely afternoon for a good cause.

quick garlic shrimp

2009-09-21T10:13:00.001-05:00

Most of my meals are prepared on the quick. I always have frozen shrimp in the freezer, so one night we had a quick garlic shrimp with pasta:

put water to boil in a large pot for pasta
heat 2 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in a medium pan, add red pepper flakes to taste and 1 or 2 sliced garlic cloves until golden brown
add 1 pound shrimp until just pink then turn until just cooked through
boil pasta until just al dente and toss with the shrimp

Enjoy!

quick egg tortilla

2009-09-21T10:05:00.001-05:00

A quick breakfast recipe: Egg tortilla
I actually used 2 pans for this to speed things up for a quick breakfast tortilla

in one pan I scrambled 4 eggs and put cheese on top
in the other pan I heated up some tortillas
put the eggs in the tortilla, fold opposite sides, then roll

quick and easy, if you're stumped and happen to have tortillas and eggs.

Enjoy!

finally feels like summer

2009-09-21T09:56:00.000-05:00

We have just finished the second week of school and so far so good! Not a tear shed by any little people, I on the other hand had a bit of a difficult time (welling up) after dropping off my secondborn for his first day.

We celebrated the end of the first week of school by going out to picnics every day for the long three day weekend. On Saturday (5th Sept) we went to a park nearby with a lake.

Then sunday (6th Sept) we made it all the way to winthrop harbor (where our new boat may be moored) to check out the beach and marina

The children unanimously voted that they liked it.

Then monday (7th Sept Labor Day) we went to buy fishing rods and then to Glencoe beach. What a fun filled long weekend.

sweet and sour halibut with noodles

2009-09-01T19:54:00.002-05:00

Went to my favorite place to day (Costo) and they had fresh wild caught halibut, and since we are trying to eat less red meat and more fish, it is a perfect day to have fish. This recipe is inspired by a Charlie Trotter recipe. The halibut is glazed with a hot and sour glaze then broiled in the oven. Since my children are not fantastic with chilis, I left those out and added garlic and ginger instead. Here is the recipe:

boil water in large pot for the somen noodles
n a small sauce pan simmer 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 2 Tbsp sugar, 3 Tbsp vinegar, 1 Tbsp ginger in strips, and 1 large or 2 smaller sliced garlic. simmer until reduced and thickened
cut up bok choy (today I had no bok choy, I used green beans and orange peppers) and sautee them with salt and pepper until just cooked. meanwhile cook the noodles (make sure to have a cup of cold water nearby, it will overflow when it boils, put a little water into pot when it starts to boil over, after 3 times of this the noodles should be finished, about 5 minutes) when noodles are finished, drain and rinse in cold water
cut halibut into individual portions (in our family we have 2 larger and 3 smaller pieces) salt and pepper the fish and put glaze all over fish. broil the fish for about 5 minutes until just cooked
while fish is cooking, cut up green onion put into the sautee pan the veggies were done it, add 1-2 Tbsp sesame oil and the noodles to warm through.

If there is any glaze left I like to put it on top of the fish and on the noodles.

Enjoy!