Tuesday 27 September 2011

Filthy Little Beasties


Weekend fun at the end of the summer (despite other people's assertions that summer is, in fact, over -- you know who you are! -- and also perhaps the calendar... but it was 27 today, so maybe I'm not crazy after all) (maybe) is all about spending as much time as possible outside.





Getting SUPER dirty.







This is the first batch of carrots and the last batch of beans: after a light steaming, with a bit of butter, they were absolutely delicious - incredibly moreso than the ones you buy at the grocery store.



I also picked up two little polka-dot plants for the kidlets: thought I'd start the idea of taking care of living things early, not to mention adding a bit of air purification in their bedrooms. Step one: transplanting into cute pots!



Oops. My mistake. Step one: mucking about with dirt, rubbing it on face and clothing, and filling various pots with rocks, dirt and water, in no particular order.





Step one could also be taking a break and watching the world go by.





Or watering an unrelated plant. That's ok. It's still free help, I guess!






The finished products, above. These photos were taken 2 weeks ago, and as of this writing, both are still alive. Huzzah!







Hey, isn't that the same plant? Vaughn's watering did it some good! This was taken on Saturday morning, on the way to the playground for good sandy fun.


Vaughn built roads with his dump truck and digger.


The Playground Three pose for their new album cover.


Ailsa goes down the "wheee".




Thank you! Come again!


Sunday 25 September 2011

DG Soups it Up

In an effort to re-create the best soup I've ever tasted, I bought a can of coconut milk.



Lettuce back up: we went out for Date Night about a week ago... the first date we've had since the martini party (woo), and boy, were we overdue.



We chose Fraser Cafe for location (staggering distance of our house...well, it's a 15-minute stagger, but it counts...) and reputation. We decided to invest saved cab fare into extra awesomeness, and it didn't disappoint.



The kick-off was a silky smooth sweet potato soup - unbelievable texture and flavour. SO good.



Now, far be it from me to think I could ever cook like these guys. Their resumes include Domus, Beckta, and Café Boulud in NY. Mine includes an embarrassing 6-month stint at Tim Hortons, during which time I decided to quit before I got fired, because really, who can mess up Tim Hortons coffee?




Me. I can. And I did, repeatedly. And people who haven't had their coffee yet aren't very kind or understanding.



But I digress. And I present, for your consideration:









Faux Fraser Soup, à la Domestic Goddess



1 Tbs butter

1/2 onion, diced

3 small sweet potatoes, diced

2-3 cups chicken stock

1 can coconut milk

1 1/2 tsp red curry paste (or to taste)

2 kaffir lime leaves

salt




I melted the tablespoon (ish/give or take) of butter till it was bubbly, added the onion and sweet potatoes and let it all golden-ize (actual culinary term, or something) for about 5 minutes. Then I poured in chicken stock (not homemade this time, alas - forgot to take it out of the freezer to defrost) to cover, and let it simmer for about 8 more minutes. I pureed it with my handy blender, added a can of lite (not light, for some reason) coconut milk, the red curry paste, pureed it again, then threw in two kaffir lime leaves that I had lying about (thanks to TP#2). And a pinch of salt.



And voilà. Smooth. Silky. Flavourful, but not too spicy. Divine? Well, it's close.



I rock.







(but don't ask me to make coffee)



Monday 5 September 2011

Cheese-eating grins





My, what big teeth you Hufflings have!



(note, that is Daddy's beer in the picture)




The better to maniacally grin at you with, my dear!

Sunday 4 September 2011

The Domestic Goddess gets a reality check

Saturday morning, 8 am.

The kidlets have been fed and are playing nicely (so far), so the DG decides to make herself some toast for breakfast.

The ultra-sensitive smoke alarm goes off, of course.

Vaughn looks up from his trucks and says, "Dinner's ready."

Sigh.

Friday 2 September 2011

Liff as I know it

It was a good morning, despite 1) a hooker being picked up in front of my house last night and the same hooker being on my street this morning (though I do have to admire her work ethic, I'd rather she stayed up on Montreal Road to ply her wares) and 2) someone walking away with my planter (I had a lovely little urn on my front path, full of bright red geraniums, and it disappeared at some point during the day yesterday). Who does that?

Ah, fabulous las Vanier.

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