Tag Archives: cooking

stuff swirling around in my head, none of which is enough to make a single coherent post

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We saw “Toy Story 3” on Saturday. I cried. And Dave didn’t even make fun of me that much (which means he must’ve thought it was sad too, because normally he mocks me when I cry during movies). Catie is obsessed with the first and second Toy Story movies, and she loved this one, but we had to talk about it a lot afterward. I think some parts of the movie might be upsetting for little kids. But otherwise, the three of us gave it a combined total of six thumbs up.

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I noticed a lot of people did Father’s Day posts, and I felt bad that it didn’t even occur to me. So, happy late Father’s Day to Dave. Catie and I love you to pieces.

I have to say, Sunday was a pretty great day. To celebrate Father’s Day, we went out for breakfast (IHOP, yum), then Dave went home to chill out and have some downtime while I took Catie out to run errands with me. We went to Best Buy to buy Dave’s Father’s Day gift, then we hit Toys R Us to look for a “Slinky Dog” toy from Toy Story. Catie had filled up her reward chart and she said that was the thing she wanted (actually, no, she said she “needed” a Slinky Dog). Of course, Toys R Us was sold out, and I worried she’d have a huge meltdown, so I said, “Hey, they’re out of Slinky Dog here, so let’s go see if another store has it. Come on!” And she… my child… left Toys R Us willingly and without a meltdown. I couldn’t believe it. Reward charts FTW!

Also? Thank the heavens above for Wal-Mart (something I never thought I’d say), because we got the LAST Slinky Dog on the shelf. Catie was so happy that she was an angel for the rest of the day.

We got groceries, brought them home, and then since Catie was too hyper to nap, she came back out with me again to shop for new workout clothes. She sat patiently in the dressing room and told me if she did or didn’t like the clothes I had tried on. (I was only supposed to be looking for workout clothes, but I actually thought this dress looked kind of cute on me and I was thinking about getting it for BlogHer, but Catie said, “No, Mommy. Try something else.” Thanks, kiddo! Way to keep me focused on the task at hand.) It was awesome. We wandered all over the mall and she was the best shopping buddy I could’ve asked for.

And Dave got to play video games all day and take a nap, so I think it was a pretty great Father’s Day for him too.

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In the category of exercise/fitness stuff: A little over a week ago, I ran 20 minutes without stopping for the first time in my life. And it was awesome. But since then, my workouts have been feeling progressively more difficult. On Saturday I tried to run 25 minutes without stopping (which, yeah, that’s hard, but I ran 20 minutes, right? So not THAT much harder!) and I had to stop to catch my breath around minute 15. Ok, no big deal. Then I tried to do that 25-minute run again yesterday and I had to stop to catch my breath 4 different times. WTF? Then this morning I woke up with a nasty cough. Ah, allergies, you evil b*tch. That probably explains my diminished lung capacity. I guess I should maybe pop an extra antihistamine an hour or so before my workout.

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I made these brownies (thanks, Grace!), which sound horrifying, but are actually pretty good. Only, um, the combination of ingredients does lead to some, *ahem*, digestive issues. Let’s just leave it at that, ok? But they ARE yummy and a lot healthier than regular brownies, so… ? Judge for yourself, I suppose. They really taste nothing like the ingredients would have you think.

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I signed Catie up for swimming lessons at the YMCA (our gym), and the classes start in mid-July. But every time we talk about it, she says, “Noooooo! I can’t want to go swimming!” She won’t go to the neighborhood pool with me on the weekends, she won’t wear her swimsuit to daycare on “Water Play Day” (which is basically just playing in the sprinklers, they don’t have a pool). She is terrified of all things water-related, except the bathtub, and she’s not even a big fan of that.

So, I was thinking about withdrawing her from swimming lessons this year. There’s a bunch of kids on the wait list who I know would be happy to take her place, and I haven’t paid for it yet so I won’t lose any money. I’m just not sure if it’s worth putting her through it when she’s clearly so scared and unwilling to try it. Maybe we could try it next year and it’d be easier for her. I do think that learning to swim is one of those basic survival skills that everyone needs. I’m just not sure if she needs it at 3 years old. If any of y’all have any opinions on this, I’d love to hear them. I honestly don’t know what to do.

chicken curry, British style

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I mentioned on Twitter that I was going to be making my mother-in-law’s chicken curry for dinner, and a few people asked me to share the recipe. So, here goes:

Mags’ Super Awesome Chicken Curry Recipe

Ingredients:

  • About 2 pounds of chicken (Dave likes light meat & I like dark, so I buy 1 pound each of boneless, skinless breasts & thighs, and chop/mix them up)
  • Large onion, finely diced
  • Heavy cream
  • Garlic (either fresh or the chopped kind from a jar)
  • Salt
  • Vegetable oil
  • Almond slivers, either ground up through a cuisinart (if you have one), or if you’re me, pulverized with a meat tenderizer. I buy the little 1/4 cup bags in the baking section, and I use about 1/2 of it in the recipe. So, 1/8 cup? I guess? (I can haz math skillz?)

    • Herbs:

  • 1 heaping tsp cumin
  • 2 heaping tsps coriander
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • Chili powder to taste (for me, this means basically one microscopic shake because I am a HUGE wimp about spicy food; if Dave was making it, he’d probably dump the whole jar in there)
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger

    • Instructions:
    1. Heat a few tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large pot. Once it’s hot, add your garlic (to taste; I use about 1 tbsp because I looove garlic), and lightly fry it just until it starts to really smell good. Maybe a minute or so, you don’t want it to burn & turn bitter.

    2. Mix your herbs with water (~3 or 4 tablespoons) to make a smooth paste. You want it to be “runny thick” (my MIL’s term), about the consistency of heavy cream. Add your herb/water mixture to the pot and continue to stir fry. When it goes dark & separates, add your chopped onion. Turn heat down, cook on medium until the onion is caramelized.

    3. Add chicken. Cook it through; no pink in the middle.

    4. Add about 1 cup of water. You can add a chicken stock cube if you like; I do, but it’s entirely optional. Simmer for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour (the longer it cooks, the more tender the chicken). If you’re my mother-in-law, this is the point where you take a break and fix yourself a nice gin & tonic. After all this hard work in the kitchen, you’ve surely earned it.

    5. Add about 1 cup of heavy whipping cream to your chicken curry. (Obviously this recipe has no calories at all.) Let it simmer for a while to allow some of the liquid to reduce. Salt to taste.

    Serve over basmati rice. I also buy naan bread from the bakery section of our grocery store and heat it in the oven to serve on the side.

    Enjoy!