We're one week into our road trip holiday. I'm happy to report that my itinerary has been livable for everyone involved. We took a week to drive to the Sunshine Coast in BC, traveling with my parents and their camper trailer for the first few days, then staying with my sister and other friends in the Okanagan, before making the rest of the way here.
Before having kids, I was famous for over-scheduling a holiday, meaning that we would return from our 'getaway' completely exhausted. It's a bad idea to do that with kids, to say the least, and so I did my best to plan in some rest time, but I didn't know until we actually got on the road whether my estimations for optimal travel times were accurate. Turns out 4-5 hours of driving for a couple days in a row is not unreasonable, so everyone was more or less a happy camper.
I am having to learn to let go a little when it comes to food. It's a big challenge to convince D that it is time to eat whenever any of the following events are competing for his attention:
• prairie dogs to chase in the picnic site we're stopped at
• rocks to throw in the mountain river
• there's a swimming pool to swim in
• a playground is in sight
• a beach is in sight
• a toy is in sight
• kids to play with are in sight
Not to mention that we have to hit that tiny window of opportunity where we stop to eat before he has snacked too much in the car or gotten too tired to focus. He doesn't appear to have eaten much besides goldfish crackers in the last week. Plus a meal of fried fish that Grandpa cooked for us, and a catch-up meal of a whole bbq chicken breast, all the rice he could find, all the carrots he could find, one coconut milk frozen juice pop and half a peach, on a day where we actually hit the hunger window bang-on. Still, I'm not too worried. We kept the snacks as healthy as possible. Although the whole grain rice and peanut butter balls were popular when D got to help me make them, he rejected the idea of actually eating them while on the road, which was the whole point of me making them...
Tonight's experience was a good example of how the trip has been going. We were hiking in the morning, and at the beach in the early afternoon. Our lunch consisted of 7 layer dip, nachos, hummous, baby cucumbers, cheese, smoked salmon bites, and blueberries, cherries and raspberries. D grazed a bit, but was mostly interested in playing soccer, chasing kids on bikes, sliding on the slide, and building sand castles. We snacked on everything again before we left the park, around 3:00. The second we got in the car, he fell fast asleep, and slept right until 5PM. I had plans to make a spot prawn stir-fry at our little cottage, and he came upstairs saying, "I'm really hungry!" He loves noodles, loves shrimp, so I figured a noodle stir-fry with prawns and veggies would hit the spot. He tasted the noodles and looked at the shrimp, and announced he was full. What can you do? Well, we fed him a frozen coconut pop, some cereal and yogurt for an evening snack and called it a day.
I learned a painful lesson about my own digestive limits on this trip as well. One morning in Kelowna I planned to go wine touring. While I waited for my mom and sister to meet me, I drank three cups of coffee. Then our hosts brought home caramel macchiatos for everyone. Then we headed to Mission Hill winery for lunch. There was a wait. So we did some wine tasting instead. We didn't have lunch until 3:30, by which time we were starving, and perhaps a little tipsy. We shared a delicious charcuterie plate, I ordered a steamed seafood platter, and then we shared a lavender creme brulee. Then we had more wine. I went back to our friends' house and agreed that we would skip the regular supper meal and instead order Indian food after the kids were in bed. So at 10PM, I sat down to more wine, and some super hot curry. The next morning, I woke up feeling awful. My stomach rebelled. It wanted no coffee, just plain toast and nothing else. So there is a limit to what I can consume—I've often wondered, and now I know. Intense coffee and wine consumption followed by late night hot curry is not a combo I will try again.
Tomorrow we're going to try to fit in fish and chips for supper, and we're invited for lunch to a long-lost friend's house in Robert's Creek, just up the road from our cottage. Then on Sunday, we're continuing on to our final destination: three nights with more good friends on Hernando Island.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
An Offal Snack!
Yesterday I saved the hearts and livers from the three chickens I fried for supper. I just sauteed them with oyster sauce and water for a quick pre-dinner snack...and my boys inhaled them! Am I the only person who considers chicken innards a potential kid snack?
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Grandpa's Birthday Dinner
My father-in-law plays a big part in our lives, since he watches the boys three mornings a week while I work. I can never thank my in-laws enough for all their help, so I give what thanks I can in the form of cooking. Today was his birthday, so we invited uncles and cousins over to share in a meal that Grandpa would enjoy:
Deep-fried chicken(s)
Boiled new potatoes with farm butter and fresh dill
French-cut green beans from the Farmers' Market (I bought a new bean Frencher, and D loved helping me cut the beans!)
Corn on the cob
Birthday cake!
...and not just any birthday cake, but mixed-berry chiffon cake with almond cream cheese frosting. When I asked him what kind of cake he wanted, he said, "anything sweet and gooey and not good for me." Not only does this cake fit the bill; it is also perfectly seasonal, since it calls for a huge mound of fresh berries.
I made the cake once before, but not since I got an awesome new kitchen, equipped with a Kitchenaid mixer. The recipe is painfully complicated—in particular, it calls for almond paste, which I have learned from experience is hard to find outside of the Christmas season. So I made my own. On top of that, you make a white chocolate cream custard filling, and the cake instructions direct you to put different amounts of batter into two cake pans so that one cake can be cut in half and the other left whole, to create three layers. I think the last time I made this cake, I just made three cakes. This time, I tried to follow the instructions to the letter, only to find that the recipe was assuming I had eight cups of batter, and I did not. It also assumes that the filling, when chilled for several hours, is quite stiff. My filling was not. So when I tried to 'fill' the cake, it just ran over the sides and the layers slid all over the place.
It didn't really matter in the end, because the cream cheese frosting is supposed to be laid on thick enough to create a bowl for the berries on top of the cake. The final product wowed the crowd in spite of the multiple moments of self-doubt I experienced along the way.
We had one minor technical malfunction on the day of the party, because the propane tank had to be moved to the turkey fryer, and I thought we had another one I could use on the bbq at the same time, so we could boil the potatoes and grill the corn outside. I discovered late in the game that the second propane tank was both empty and expired, so the potatoes and the corn ended up being boiled in the house. Thank God for air conditioning.
Grandpa felt appropriately pampered, which is what mattered, and D was super excited to present Grandpa with the first piece of cake. D got the second piece. And ate the entire piece, quite a feat after having filched a large portion of one of the chickens while I was cutting it into pieces.
Much of our focus for the rest of the week will be on planning and packing for a fairly major road trip to the Sunshine Coast (over a series of days, with several stops along the way). I'm sitting in front of a list of potential snack ideas that will be easy to hand to kids in the backseat:
Mini-Babybels/cheese sticks
hummus
mini-pitas
fruit: berries, peaches, bananas, apples
trail mix (D's favourite)
veggie sticks: carrots, snap peas
chickpeas
squish'ems (apple sauce or baby food in resealable squeeze-packs)—discovered these first while traveling in Australia; rediscovered them at WalMart. May be the only thing I ever buy at WalMart. I'll be making a 'squish'em' run this week to stock up. Mostly these would be for G—relatively mess-free instant snacks—but I can guarantee that D won't let them pass him by.
I may give in and buy some yogurt tubes. I don't usually go for the sugar-packed yogurt, but depending on the mood I'm in when I reread the label, I might still get them for their novelty value.
Sardines (what?! you say? Yes, you heard me—protein-dense foods that are easy to serve are my goal, and while I wouldn't just hand a sardine over to my kids in their carseats, they do make a nice quick sandwich or snack at a picnic site. And my dad is traveling with us for the first three days (we've begged them to come along and bring their camper), and sardines are one of his favourite things. An unlikely treat for everyone.)
I'm open to other suggestions for travel snacks, too. Anyone?
Deep-fried chicken(s)
Boiled new potatoes with farm butter and fresh dill
French-cut green beans from the Farmers' Market (I bought a new bean Frencher, and D loved helping me cut the beans!)
Corn on the cob
Birthday cake!
...and not just any birthday cake, but mixed-berry chiffon cake with almond cream cheese frosting. When I asked him what kind of cake he wanted, he said, "anything sweet and gooey and not good for me." Not only does this cake fit the bill; it is also perfectly seasonal, since it calls for a huge mound of fresh berries.
I made the cake once before, but not since I got an awesome new kitchen, equipped with a Kitchenaid mixer. The recipe is painfully complicated—in particular, it calls for almond paste, which I have learned from experience is hard to find outside of the Christmas season. So I made my own. On top of that, you make a white chocolate cream custard filling, and the cake instructions direct you to put different amounts of batter into two cake pans so that one cake can be cut in half and the other left whole, to create three layers. I think the last time I made this cake, I just made three cakes. This time, I tried to follow the instructions to the letter, only to find that the recipe was assuming I had eight cups of batter, and I did not. It also assumes that the filling, when chilled for several hours, is quite stiff. My filling was not. So when I tried to 'fill' the cake, it just ran over the sides and the layers slid all over the place.
It didn't really matter in the end, because the cream cheese frosting is supposed to be laid on thick enough to create a bowl for the berries on top of the cake. The final product wowed the crowd in spite of the multiple moments of self-doubt I experienced along the way.
We had one minor technical malfunction on the day of the party, because the propane tank had to be moved to the turkey fryer, and I thought we had another one I could use on the bbq at the same time, so we could boil the potatoes and grill the corn outside. I discovered late in the game that the second propane tank was both empty and expired, so the potatoes and the corn ended up being boiled in the house. Thank God for air conditioning.
Grandpa felt appropriately pampered, which is what mattered, and D was super excited to present Grandpa with the first piece of cake. D got the second piece. And ate the entire piece, quite a feat after having filched a large portion of one of the chickens while I was cutting it into pieces.
Much of our focus for the rest of the week will be on planning and packing for a fairly major road trip to the Sunshine Coast (over a series of days, with several stops along the way). I'm sitting in front of a list of potential snack ideas that will be easy to hand to kids in the backseat:
Mini-Babybels/cheese sticks
hummus
mini-pitas
fruit: berries, peaches, bananas, apples
trail mix (D's favourite)
veggie sticks: carrots, snap peas
chickpeas
squish'ems (apple sauce or baby food in resealable squeeze-packs)—discovered these first while traveling in Australia; rediscovered them at WalMart. May be the only thing I ever buy at WalMart. I'll be making a 'squish'em' run this week to stock up. Mostly these would be for G—relatively mess-free instant snacks—but I can guarantee that D won't let them pass him by.
I may give in and buy some yogurt tubes. I don't usually go for the sugar-packed yogurt, but depending on the mood I'm in when I reread the label, I might still get them for their novelty value.
Sardines (what?! you say? Yes, you heard me—protein-dense foods that are easy to serve are my goal, and while I wouldn't just hand a sardine over to my kids in their carseats, they do make a nice quick sandwich or snack at a picnic site. And my dad is traveling with us for the first three days (we've begged them to come along and bring their camper), and sardines are one of his favourite things. An unlikely treat for everyone.)
I'm open to other suggestions for travel snacks, too. Anyone?
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Sushiro...So Good
I had a fantastic evening last night, sampling amazing food at Sushiro (the beef tataki is so delicious! I'm not sure how beef comes out tasting creamy, but they did it! While everything tasted good, the beef tataki was what made me stop, set down my chopsticks, sit still and let the waves of bliss wash over me. The tako yaki and spicy octopus salad were both excellent as well) and connecting with a group of amazing women. We're all mothers, mostly with two kids, as well as having too much education and interesting careers. Getting some kid-free downtime with and moral support from my peers is exactly what I need to stay sane. And getting all of that over an amazing meal and some delicious drinks makes it that much better.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Cool Lunch
I'm having leftover ziti with grilled gazpacho sauce and sausages for lunch, and just like real gazpacho, it's even better served cold! Delicious! And Baby G is hoovering it up. D, on the other hand, appears to lose his entire appetite when it gets hot. He reserves the right to eat only frozen juice pops and fruit. Can't blame him, really.
Grilling in the Heat
I decided to spare my house last night and cooked dinner outside. I forgot that that meant I would be standing in front of a hot grill in 30+ degrees in 70+ humidity for the duration of the cooking. It did make the rosé taste particularly good.
I have a women's night out this evening at Sushiro (YAY!), so my meal plan this week includes ample leftovers so I don't have to cook for the boys tonight. Last night I made Ziti with Grilled Gazpacho Sauce and Sausage, using kamut spaghetti instead of ziti, since that's what I had. It's an amazing dish—with one small word of warning. It says it serves 4, and our family of four usually manages to eat an entire recipe that states it makes four servings, because we eat a lot. We barely ate half of what this recipe produced. Which suits my purposes, so I'm not complaining. But whatever you do, don't double the recipe if you have six guests. There will be more than enough.
To feed my long lost friends tomorrow, I've decided to do a nice hot weather dish of Kujolpan, a make it yourself dish of pancakes and eight fillings. I have the plate for it, and it's fun to use. I'm also going to serve Miang Kam, Thai lettuce wraps with fresh fillings. I'll save the heavy stuff for dessert when I make my favourite Thai sticky rice pudding with fruit.
I said I wasn't going to cook today, but it may be wise for me to get started on some of the fillings today. They're very simple, but do require some chopping and prepping, so it would be good to get them out of the way so that there's more time for visiting tomorrow.
I have a women's night out this evening at Sushiro (YAY!), so my meal plan this week includes ample leftovers so I don't have to cook for the boys tonight. Last night I made Ziti with Grilled Gazpacho Sauce and Sausage, using kamut spaghetti instead of ziti, since that's what I had. It's an amazing dish—with one small word of warning. It says it serves 4, and our family of four usually manages to eat an entire recipe that states it makes four servings, because we eat a lot. We barely ate half of what this recipe produced. Which suits my purposes, so I'm not complaining. But whatever you do, don't double the recipe if you have six guests. There will be more than enough.
To feed my long lost friends tomorrow, I've decided to do a nice hot weather dish of Kujolpan, a make it yourself dish of pancakes and eight fillings. I have the plate for it, and it's fun to use. I'm also going to serve Miang Kam, Thai lettuce wraps with fresh fillings. I'll save the heavy stuff for dessert when I make my favourite Thai sticky rice pudding with fruit.
I said I wasn't going to cook today, but it may be wise for me to get started on some of the fillings today. They're very simple, but do require some chopping and prepping, so it would be good to get them out of the way so that there's more time for visiting tomorrow.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Returned from Cowpersonland
Just spent the weekend 'on the range' on our annual "Wyse Womyn's Trail Ride." It has also been known as the "Wyld Womyn's Trail Ride." I joke that whether it's "Wyse" or "Wyld" depends on the amount of gin consumed around the campfire. It is always a wonderful weekend, and always involves cooking over an open fire.
My mom and I are on supper duty, in spite of her efforts to shift to breakfast and lunch. I think we manage suppers a little too well, so we'll never get out of it. I really don't mind, though. No matter how tired I am after a day of horseback riding in the hot/wet/windy weather, I always have enough energy to pour myself a cold beer and sip it while marinating steaks and cutting up fresh veggies to feed everyone. The favourite meal this year was grilled corn in the husk, grilled steak, grilled zucchini (are you sensing a theme?) and steamed baby beets and greens. The fire was a bit cool, and so those people who really wanted their meat well done had to put it back on the grill after I thought I was done cooking; but anyone who likes their meat rare-ish thought it was perfect.
I made a popular salad recipe the next night, which is when we invite men and kids to come for a weiner roast (otherwise there are no men allowed). I was asked to post this recipe for Southwestern black bean salad:
1 19 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 14 oz can corn, drained
1/2 sweet red pepper, finely chopped
1/4 c. red onion, chopped
1/2 seedless cucumber, cut in small cubes
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
Dressing
2 cloves minced garlic
1 t. seasoned salt
1/2 t. seasoned pepper
1 t. cumin
Juice of half a lime (about a tablespoon)
3 T. olive oil
Combine salad ingredients and toss gently. Pour dressing over and toss well. Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes to allow flavours to blend. Best served at room temperature.
I made the dressing ahead of time and brought the cans and veggies along with me. Pretty easy to throw together and very popular.
More to come this week--a summer supper for friends visiting from New Zealand (they've been overfed and over-holidayed till now, so I'm going to cook up something lighter and refreshing). But now I have to run out to the Eastern Market to pick up groceries for said supper. Later!
My mom and I are on supper duty, in spite of her efforts to shift to breakfast and lunch. I think we manage suppers a little too well, so we'll never get out of it. I really don't mind, though. No matter how tired I am after a day of horseback riding in the hot/wet/windy weather, I always have enough energy to pour myself a cold beer and sip it while marinating steaks and cutting up fresh veggies to feed everyone. The favourite meal this year was grilled corn in the husk, grilled steak, grilled zucchini (are you sensing a theme?) and steamed baby beets and greens. The fire was a bit cool, and so those people who really wanted their meat well done had to put it back on the grill after I thought I was done cooking; but anyone who likes their meat rare-ish thought it was perfect.
I made a popular salad recipe the next night, which is when we invite men and kids to come for a weiner roast (otherwise there are no men allowed). I was asked to post this recipe for Southwestern black bean salad:
1 19 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 14 oz can corn, drained
1/2 sweet red pepper, finely chopped
1/4 c. red onion, chopped
1/2 seedless cucumber, cut in small cubes
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
Dressing
2 cloves minced garlic
1 t. seasoned salt
1/2 t. seasoned pepper
1 t. cumin
Juice of half a lime (about a tablespoon)
3 T. olive oil
Combine salad ingredients and toss gently. Pour dressing over and toss well. Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes to allow flavours to blend. Best served at room temperature.
I made the dressing ahead of time and brought the cans and veggies along with me. Pretty easy to throw together and very popular.
More to come this week--a summer supper for friends visiting from New Zealand (they've been overfed and over-holidayed till now, so I'm going to cook up something lighter and refreshing). But now I have to run out to the Eastern Market to pick up groceries for said supper. Later!
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