Where Does the Time Go?

Strawberry picking!

Wow! I'm not too sure what happened. I thought I would take a couple weeks off blogging, and suddenly it's the middle of August. The summer is flying by this year. It started busy with a glorious family trip to Nova Scotia to visit Dave's parents and I kind of thought that we would just mellow out after that with slow, lazy days but, I discovered that I could be out at the lake with the girls during the week while Dave was at work and it just kind of snowballed into a back and forth, never really knowing what you're going to eat or with whom, kind of few weeks. I'm not complaining, it was really good and the busier (and by busy I mean swimming, going for walks, canoe rides etc...) I was, the less I dwelled on the fact that Hannah was going to be in full time school, and although I know it will all be fine, I'm a little concerned that Harper and I are going to be lonely and missing her. I know, here she goes again - kids grow up, get over it. I'll try.

Building Sandcastles.

I'm very curious and nervous about Harper starting pre-school two mornings a week. She's never been left without Hannah with anyone other than my mom and dad. I have a feeling that she won't look back and I'll be sad, until I realize that I am alone for the morning on a weekday and then I may skip all the way home...I'm hoping this is what happens anyway.

I am ready to start back into some sort of routine and I thought why not start with a proper menu plan and a little blogging. I hope that you all have been having a glorious summer!

Exploring the beach!

Monday: Pasta with Tomato Sauce and Salad
Tuesday: Tortillas and Homemade Refried Beans
Wednesday: Dal Makhani with Brown Rice and Cucumber and Tomato
Thursday: Shrimp Burgers
Friday: Whole Bowls
Saturday: Pizza and Salad
Sunday: Sea Bass, Smashed Potatoes, Yellow Beans, Corn on the Cob, Salad and Fresh Berries over Ice Cream

Riding the mini trains with cousins!

Pasta with Tomato Sauce and Salad
I took the girls school supply shopping this morning. I know, it's early! I feel like the last couple weeks are going to be busy and so I wanted to get this done and out of the way. Still, I couldn't get everything! Can you believe that? I started three weeks early and still they were sold out of pencil boxes in two different stores. I have to say, it's not doing a lot for my procrastination problem when things like this occur. I did buy the 64 box of crayons because it was on sale, but mostly because I always wanted it when I was a kid, you know the one with the sharpener in the back. There was always a couple kids in the class that had one and I always wanted all that colour choice...Dave tells me that now he thinks there's some 124 box or something and honestly I think it's only fitting.

While we were shopping Hannah was so excited about school supplies she ran into three people, knocked over a whole display of those large Mom calendars and fell and tripped and hurt her toe...she is so my kid!

Recipe
It feels really good to have a meal plan this week, it grounds me or something. Tonight we just had a really simple pasta and a salad. I thought I bought artichoke hearts, but when I got home it was hearts of palm which I had never tried. When I mentioned this, my mom's friend told me that they were really delicious on their own, in salads and so we tried them. I loved them, no one else really cared for them (I hate it when that happens).

Basic tomato sauce.

large glugg of olive oil
5 cloves of garlic, squashed and roughly chopped
2 -3 large handfuls of fresh basil (divided)
pinch of sea salt
1 28oz tin of whole tomatoes
a splash of red wine vinegar
Brown rice pasta

Heat the olive oil over low heat and add the garlic, one handful of chopped basil and salt until fragrant. Add the tin of tomatoes (keeping the tomatoes whole) and increase heat to bring to a boil and then simmer for half an hour. Once the sauce it ready use kitchen scissors (or whatever you like) to cut up the tomatoes in the pot and stir in a splash of red wine vinegar.

Cook pasta according to pasta directions, I always take it off a little under cooked and then rinse it under cold water. Then when I toss it in the hot sauce it doesn't over cook.

Add the pasta to the sauce and toss together. Serve with a generous topping of chopped basil and a little grated Parmesan cheese.

I made the salad about an hour before supper. I chopped tomatoes, cucumber (that I grew in my garden!), red onion, green olives and hearts of palm, sprinkled it all with a little feta, salt and pepper. I tossed it all together and then let it sit at room temperature.

Tortillas and Homemade Refried Beans
I'm not sure how other families work, but we seem to slide into the same old routine. We go along and things are good, we're all positive and making an effort (I'm mostly talking about parenting here) and then slowly things start to slide a bit and we catch them, and then a bit more and we catch a little less and then eventually I find myself laying on the bed telling Dave that I wish I could keep the kids up for another hour tonight so that I could have a shot at not being grumpy with them for a whole entire hour, but that I don't actually trust myself to pull this off so we better just put them to bed at regular time...

This becomes the holy shit moment, how did we slide so far? When did the carefree, unstructured days of summer become total chaos? It feels like we're never going to get back, like we've slid so far down that hill that I may not be able to make the climb this time, especially since I need to lead it, and right now I just want to continue whining about it instead (mmmm, don't tell my kids about the whining part). The carefree, unstructured was fun, but I suppose it's all fun and games until mommy looses her mind (and then it's a sport? No, no)...So not only are we going to inject some routine in our eating, but I am going to get off my ass and inject some routine back into our life.

Recipe
There is something so incredibly good about onions and cumin. We had homemade refried beans, with lime slaw and guacamole on corn tortillas, mmmm - it was delicious.

The refried bean recipe is from Moosewood Cookbook. They are easy and far better than any canned refried beans you buy in the store. The only thing is you need to remember to soak the pinto beans at least 4 hours ahead (I did mine overnight).

2 cups dry pinto beans, soaked
2 to 3 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups minced onion
5 to 6 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp salt
black pepper

Cook presoaked beans in plenty of boiling water until very soft (about 1 1/4 hours). Drain and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add onion, half the garlic, cumin, and salt. Saute over medium heat about 10 minutes, or until the onions are soft. Add remaining garlic, season with black pepper.

Turn the heat to low, add beans, and mix well. Mash with a fork or a potato masher, and cook for just a few minutes more. Serve right away or store in the fridge or freezer until time to reheat.

For the slaw I mixed together about 8 oz of shredded cabbage mix with 2 Tbsp mayonnaise, 4 Tbsp sour cream, the juice of a lime and a little salt.

For the guacamole I mashed two avocados with 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 large clove of garlic minced, a chopped deseeded tomato and the juice of 1/2 lime (to taste).

We piled it high on homemade corn tortillas (Masa flour and water) that Dave and the girls made, and it was delicious!

Dal Makhani with Brown Rice and Cucumber and Tomato
I love listening to the girls play house, especially when they are being nice moms. I don't like it quite as much when they are being mean moms and all my faults as a parent are laid out in front of me, then it feels more like a bad therapy session or something. But, when they are carrying their babies around in slings, nursing them and kissing Their booboos better, I love it. I did leave out the part where Harper first throws her baby down the stairs to get the booboo, before she can kiss it better - this part I just block out, it's easier that way. Today they were getting their babies ready to go to school, buying school supplies and new clothes. Hannah was explaining to her baby that, "She may feel a little afraid about school and that's OK, she did too the first time, but it turns out it's really fun. Really fun, like more fun than being home with mom all the time." So maybe, I didn't like that last part quite so much, but we are all looking forward to school starting again soon!

Recipe
Here's the thing, I love Indian food. I don't cook it very often (because I don't know how), half the time I don't really know exactly the names of the dishes that I love so much when we eat out, but I know that I love pretty much all of it. I was inspired by a cooking lesson on naan bread that I received (actually, Dave received the lesson and told me all about it) from my parent's friend, Ramesh, to try and cook a few different Indian dishes. Dave got this cookbook from the library for me, From Mom with Love, from which I made the Dhal Makhani that we had tonight. I have to say, it was fabulous - one of those dishes that as you're eating it, you're thinking I can't believe I made this. So I recommend it, but it is time consuming because you first have to make the precooked masala. The good news is that you end up with three more portions of masala in the freezer for the next time you cook it, which will be handy.

Precooked Masala

2 medium onions, peeled and sliced
1 large or 2 medium green chilies
2 cloves garlic
2 small pieces of ginger
1/2 cup oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
4 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
4 black cardamons
28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp tumeric powder
1/2 tsp red chili powder
4 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp paprika

Grind onion, green chilies, garlic and ginger in food processor to a fine paste. Heat oil in saucepan over medium-high heat. Add cumin seeds, bay leaves, cinnamon stick and black cardamons. When cumin seeds start to pop, add onion paste. Lower heat to medium-low and stir occasionally until onions turn golden brown (about 20 minutes).

Add the rest of the spices and tomatoes to onions. Stir. Turn heat to low. Cover and let cook for 40 -45 minutes, stirring occasionally. When oil separates from rest of the sauce, the masala is done.

Dal Makhani

1 cup whole urad (also called black lentils)

4 cups water
3/4 tsp salt
1/4tsp tumeric powder
1 Tbsp oil
8 oz sour cream
1/4 stick butter
3/4 cup precooked masala
1 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
2 Tbsp coriander, chopped

Wash and soak dal for 30 minutes in warm water. Rinse and drain. Put dal in pressure cooker, adding water, salt, turmeric powder and oil on medium-high heat. Close lid and put weight on. After pressure builds up, turn heat to medium-low and cook for 15 minutes or until dal gets soft but not mushy. Turn off heat and leave it covered for 5 minutes. Put pressure cooker under cold running water to reduce pressure and open lid.

Put pressure cooker back on stove on medium-low heat. Add sour cream, butter and stir. Cook half covered for 30 minutes.

Add precooked masala and stir. Add red chili powder and cook for about 30 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally. Add garam masala, stir and turn heat off. Garnish with chopped coriander.

We had ours with rice and sliced tomatoes and cucumber on the side.

Shrimp Burgers
This is what the 2012 Summer Olympics has brought to our house:

Hannah is now asking for me to find and play her music by The Spice Girls, Dave and I have responded with The Beatles, The Who and The Rolling Stones.

She has also spent her entire day in the backyard practicing her Gymnastics.

Both girls try to use the living room couch as a hurtle and balance beam (perhaps this isn't a result of the Olympics).

They both have a strange obsession with Micheal Phelps, oh, and flags.

Recipe
I got this recipe from The Galley Gourmet. They were fantastic, the right juiciness and tastiness, we will have these again for sure. It makes six very generous burgers and I think I will make them into eight next time. I bought buns from St. Leon, they are Vin Rouge and Shallots (from Le Croissant) and toasted them a little on the grill.

2 slices of quality sandwich bread, torn into 1-inch pieces
2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 Tablespoons mayonnaise
1 extra large egg, beaten
4 scallions, finely chopped
1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 Tablespoon dry Sherry
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper or more to taste (optional)

For the tartar sauce I mixed together a chopped dill pickle, red onion, mayonnaise, a few capers and a squirt of lemon juice, this is all to taste.

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the bread crumbs to fine crumbs and transfer to a bowl ( you should have about 1 1/2 cups crumbs). Wipe the food processor clean and pulse the shrimp until there is an even mix of finely minced and coarsely chopped pieces, about 7 pulses. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and pulse once more to break up any large pieces stuck on the side.

In a large bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, beaten egg, scallions, parsley, lemon zest, sherry, salt, pepper, and cayenne (if using) until combined. Gently fold in the processed shrimp and bread crumbs and mix until combined.

Shape the mixture into 6 equal portions about one inch thick. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

I brushed the skillet with a little oil and cooked them over medium high heat for about 6 minutes a side, until they were nice and brown and cooked through.

We put a thick slice of tomato, the burger, some lettuce and tartar sauce on the grilled bun.

Whole Bowls

Harper is...well, she's is as difficult as she is cute these days. Which I suppose is a balance of some sort. Man, I keep reminding myself that these stubborn, non complaisant qualities are the ones that are going to serve her well as a teenager (hopefully) and adult. These are the qualities that make her strong. I don't wish for her to change, even though every single thing from brushing her teeth, to getting dressed, to picking up, to choosing something to eat involves her throwing herself on the floor. There's no, simple task that doesn't seem to involve some sort of battle. I just hope I'm still sane to see these qualities being used for good!

Testing some muffins in their fort!

Recipe

Tonight we had whole bowls from this post here.

Pizza and Salad

Have I mentioned our reno lately? It is happening slowly but surely. Mostly we are just making decisions and pulling together all the plans. We haven't actually done much actual work, we are waiting for the permit to go through for the wall and have the contractors come and take it out. Today, Dave and my dad cut out the kitchen floor in the eating area and laid new plywood to ready it for the hardwoods, the same will be done to the rest once the wall and cupboards come out. Harper, loves the new floor and I can't seem to convince her that it is not the actual floor that we will see in the end.

Recipe

We had dinner at my Mom and Dad's tonight for my aunt's birthday. Homemade pizza and salad with chocolate cake and ice cream.

Sea Bass, Smashed Potatoes, Yellow Beans, Corn on the Cob, Salad and Fresh Berries over Ice Cream

This morning I came out from the laundry room to this...

The girls had made homemade lemonade, toast and set the table - they are so adorable!

Recipe

Dinner was at Mom and Dad's again tonight, I know what leeches we are!

I hope the sun shines down on you this week!