Permanent Slumber Party

This last week the boys decided they wanted to share a room. Actually, they have been asking for this for some time, but we finally decided they were old enough to do it with no problems. We instigated a trial period. Davis slept on Sam's trundle and they loved it and did really well, going right to sleep and sleeping soundly through the night. Yesterday, we decided to take the plunge and make the move permanent. We disassembled Davis' bed and moved it into Sam's room. Now they are roommates. They are so happy and slept well last night. This is good news for Mommy and Daddy as well, because now we can have a guest room! Well, for now the extra room is a playroom, but we have grand ideas. Enjoy the pictures.

There are awful days too.

Just in case that last post was a wee bit too saccharine, I wanted to let you know that things are also yucky around here sometimes too. The holiday crafts project I did with the kids one day was a disaster and a major test of my patience, half of my holiday cookies failed and the boys are bickering like crazy. I invoke the name of Santa far too often to regain control. We have disappointments and frustrations all the time both with ourselves and our kids. An excerpt from an email I wrote to my dear friend Cheris the other day, "I am having an awful day. Sam had THREE pee accidents today. And has had one every day this week. After being perfect for over a month. And Ellie peed on my parents rug. And Sam has been yelling at me about every tiny thing all day. I have no idea what is going on with him. I hate the age of three. I’m actually hoping there’s a medical explanation and it’s not just a phase, because I could fix a medical thing and the phase I have to suffer through. Michael is working late and I refuse to cook dinner. Just one of those days…"
And it was just one of those days. Sam has had no accidents since, and his behavior got marginally better. We have easier days and harder days. In general though, it is MUCH easier now than it was when we had wee ones and I just choose to focus on the positive here rather than the negative. So there you go.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

We are well into the swing of the Christmas holidays around here. I am such a planner and I love Christmas, so you will probably not be surprised to hear that we are ready. Christmas cards were made and sent out, gifts were created and purchased and wrapped and put under the tree. Holiday cookies were baked and consumed. The tree was set up and decorated long ago. The children have made ornaments and paper chains and we hosted a holiday party for my book group.
Now I'm planning my dishes for Christmas breakfast and lunch and looking forward to just coasting through the next couple of weeks.
Davis and Sam had their open house at school last Friday and were so cute. I loved watching them show us their school and take pride and ownership of the work they do each day. Davis got to show us how he can count into the thousands using units and then pulled out a basket with a variety of objects and used lower case wooden letters to spell out the name of each object. Sam's work was the color box. This work involved taking out colored slides and matching them to each other and then going to find objects in the room that matched those colors. Then they each offered us snacks and hot cocoa that they themselves had helped prepare during their school day. And then Sam proceeded to put on his own jacket! Needless to say, we were very proud.
Saturday we enjoyed a family lunch with my grandfather's family and later had a playdate with Cheris and Rob and Violet and Graham. We ate good food and drank eggnog and made cookies and gifted each other. My parents came over and joined the party. It was good fun.
Sunday we drove up to Houston to a really awesome Christmas party. The REAL Santa was there and the kids got to sit in his lap and converse with him. The party was held on a beautiful estate and included, bbq and mexican food, a carnival, a petting zoo, a real train on real tracks, hot cocoa and churro stands, tons of jumpy houses, a craft station, karaoke, pony rides, a balloon man (the kids favorite), wandering jugglers, a ferris wheel, coffee stations, and a fabulous concert by Bon Jovi. We had a fabulous, though very chilly time. The kids were in heaven.
Christmas is so much fun with kids who get it. Davis is four and a half and is totally into it. And Sam at three is also really starting to understand and enjoy the season. Looking at it all through their eyes is like reliving childhood. It's a blast. Enjoy the pictures.

Country Captain

I made this recipe in the crock pot last night for dinner and it was awesome. I've been wanting to try it for ever, but Michael doesn't care for raisins or yellow curry so I've held off. This time I tried it and it was a success. Totally delicious, creamy, full of flavor and filling. And Michael loved it!
Country Captain is a tomato-based chicken curry that is especially popular in the Deep South. Basic curry powder turns bitter after six hours in a slow cooker, so stick with Madras curry powder. By tradition, this dish can be garnished with any or all of the following: sliced toasted almonds, shredded coconut, diced Granny Smith apples, and diced banana. Steamed long-grain rice is a traditional base, but I use grated cauliflower, skillet fried with butter, salt and onion to make a low carb type of “rice”.


Country Captain Chicken

• 8 boneless skin-off chicken thighs, excess fat trimmed (about 4 pounds)
• 1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper seeded and chopped
• 1 tablespoon Madras-style curry powder
• 2 teaspoons sweet paprika (I used Hungarian)
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• ¾ cup chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 pinch of dried thyme
• ½ cup dark raisins or dried cranberries
• 1 firm, ripe fresh mango, peeled, pitted, and diced
• ½ cup slivered almonds
• Serve over “Caulifried Rice”
Directions
1. Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add chicken and brown on both sides, about 5-7 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to slow cooker. Remove all but a spoonful of drippings from the pan and return pan to medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper and cook until vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Add the curry powder, paprika and cayenne and cook, stirring, just until fragrant, no more than 1 minute. Add broth, tomatoes and their juices, and tomato sauce and, using wooden spoon, scrape up browned bits from pan bottom. Bring to a boil. Stir in the bay leaf, thyme, and raisins/cranberries.
2. Pour tomato mixture over the chicken. Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 to 2 ½ hours.
3. Stir in the mango, cover, and continue to cook on HIGH until the chicken is tender and cooked through, another 2 ½ hours.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the almonds on a baking sheet and toast until golden brown, about 7 minutes.
5. To serve, place some hot cauliflower “rice” on a plate, top with some chicken and sauce, then sprinkle each serving with a few of the almonds.

Thoughts on Cooking

I've been cooking out of my new cookbook and thinking about the process. I have a few things I wanted to say and didn't have a place for in the cookbook. I'm not a professional chef, by any means. Just a proficient home cook. But I love food and I cook a lot. So here's my few cents worth on cooking. I'll say them here.
There is freedom in cooking. That's why I love it. It's also why I am a TERRIBLE baker. To me, a recipe is a guideline. When you cook enough and follow enough recipes you kind of get an idea of what goes together. Trust yourself. If the recipe calls for an ingredient you don't have, go google it and see what a good substitution for that ingredient is. If you don't have chicken stock, use beef. If you only have two cans of beans and the chili recipe calls for three, that's okay. Just use two and add a can of something else. Or not. Add more vegetables. Or different vegetables. I almost never follow recipes exactly. I adapt them to what I have in the house or what I think would taste better.
What else?
Taste as you go.
Add salt at the end rather than in the beginning.
You can adapt most soups and stews for the crockpot.
Fresh garlic tastes better than the kind in the jar, but the kind in the jar is easier. Same sentiment is true for stock. And ginger. Okay fresh is better pretty much all of the time. Then frozen. After that canned.
Try roasting your vegetables. They taste better that way. Even vegetables you think you don't like.
Making your own low sugar ketchup and salad dressing is easy and worth.
Get thee an immersion blender and a toaster oven. I use both every day.
Sharp knives make a big difference.
Cumin is good in so many different things. Spike seasoning is also a secret ingredient.
The book by Michael Ruhlman, The Elements of Cooking is awesome. It's so good. Get it.
And that's what I have to say about that. For now. I've got to back to the stove. I'm making chili.

Thanksgiving '09

We had a pretty mellow Thanksgiving holiday.
On Tuesday evening, I sprained my ankle. Technically, it's a pulled tendon, but I think that it's all the same.
Wednesday, Michael worked from home and took some time out to hang out with the kids and me at the Jumpy Place at Kyle and take us to lunch at the Texas Pie Company. We went with Alicia and her kids and had a great time. That evening we built a fire and I cuddled on the couch with the Moreland books my friend Stacey has loaned to me and my foot encased in ice while Michael finished up his work.
Thursday morning we drove up to Bedford to spend time with Michael's mother's family. We watched the parade on TV and ate a nice lunch and then visited for several hours until it was time to take the kids to the hotel for bed and bath and for me to go put my foot up with ice. It was a really good day and it was especially nice to spend time with that side of the family that we don't see often. We all had a really good time. It was only disappointing in that most of Michael's cousins and brother didn't come. We're hoping that if we set this gathering every other year maybe we can all be there at the same time. We shall see.
After a lengthy breakfast at the hotel on Friday, we drove home. The drive was very long, but the kids worshiped the DVD player while we listened to Eclipse and I wrote Christmas cards. When we got home we set up the Christmas tree and put lights on it. It's so pretty. I love the Christmas season and could not wait to blast the Christmas carols and get into the Christmas spirit.
On Saturday we picked up Ellie and drove to Stonewall. We brought our things inside and drove into Fredericksburg for some shopping. I wanted to get some canned goods for presents. Then we had lunch at a great place called Rathskellars. Really delicious food and reasonably priced. Then we went back to the house and met Rob and Cheris and their kids there. The kids were thrilled and immediately began playing while I put my aching ankle up and chatted with our wonderful friends. It was a fantastic day. We all ate dinner and then sat outside and watched the sunset and then the bats emerge. After the kids were in bed we played games and sat cozied up next to the wood burning stove. Michael and I really are blessed to have such good friends.
Sunday Cheris made pancakes and bacon and we all feasted mightily. Then we shooed the kids out to play (they get along so. well. It blows my mind how rarely they fight) tidied up and got ready to go check out the Sauer-Beckman Living Farm. We love this place and it is so close to the Stonewall house and FREE!. After the living farm we headed back into Fredericksburg for lunch at Hondos in the courtyard.
The burgers there are tremendous. Yum. It was time to go home so we all packed up the Stonewall house and said goodbye. We drove the beautiful drive home and spent the rest of the afternoon puttering around the house and trying not to hurt my ankle anymore.
Monday morning, Michael headed out of town and I headed for the doctor. A new brace and a promise of light at the end up the tunnel improved my mood a great deal. My parents came over and helped build a fire and took care of Sam while I was at the doctor. I'm so lucky to have family so close by. It looks like my ankle will be all better in a couple of weeks. Just in time for me to be rockin' by Christmas.
XO, Amber

Max and Ruby Birthday Party

Sam chose to celebrate his third birthday with a Max and Ruby birthday party. Max and Ruby are two little bunnies created and drawn by Rosemary Wells. There is a show based on these characters and books as well and Sam LOVES them.
We kept the party small and only had a handful of children. The weather was cold and drizzly, but we had a great time in our warm cozy house.
I think he absolutely adored his party. I'm so glad because we found out today he has a horrible ear infection in both ears which I know caused him some distress this weekend. Still, he loved his birthday and that is all that matters. Enjoy the pictures.