Rendering myself Obsolete

My goal as a parent is to put myself pretty much out of a job within the next 10 years.

That's right. They can continue to love me (and I sure hope they do!) but I am counting on them not needing me to cook, clean, schedule or buy things for them in the next decade.

My 16 year old can now do his own laundry

My 11 year old can fry his own eggs (even crack them into the pan - I'm so proud)

Both of them are slowly acquiring the skills for proper nutrition and home care - It's part of the big picture as a parent.

For the first 12 months the primary task is to keep them alive and hopefully thriving.
The next couple years are all about socializing and communication skills (and hygiene!)
School years are about refining skills with other people, education, safety, health, emotional growth, building character, humour, love and play... big stuff!
Teens are back to the basics of respect, survival, safety, money - with the added edge of sexual stuff
And HOPEFULLY by the time they are age of majority we hope they are able and willing to leave the nest to begin productive, happy, law abiding lives of their own.

My boys may not be excelling in academics, but they will have been taught skills to shop properly, feed themselves and keep their living space clean enough.... (oh ya and be able to forrage edible wilds, mow and weedwhack the lawn, drive stick, ride motorcycles and know proper firearm handling as a bonus).

No place like home

I'm happy to say that I love my house again. The winter was long and dark which made me have doubts, but now that the sun is reaching the yard again, I love it once more.

The floorplan is great in any season and the gardens are looking spiffier after every weekend of effort. The kids and dog spend more time outside here than they did at the other place and generally even though they do more outside stuff I see more of them too (because my office is in the main part of the house perhaps?).  Its worth mentioning that I have burned less meals here too... also because of the office's proximity to the main part of the house.

I've been walking almost every day to school with Cam -even though it's no closer than the other house, the walk is nicer. And the drive is much worse, so walking is simply the more appealling choice in the morning!

So we renovated the floors, paint and  K I T C H E N last year.

This year we are:
- working on the front yard (already quite a way into that with sicky plants removed, a fresh terraced rock wall and cedars coming next week)
- improving the food garden area... (my step-dad gave us his old green house. This weekend he's coming over to help re-assemble it.)
- repairing and improving the driveways (T's bro is bringing an excavator over next month!)
- painting the exterior of the house
- wiring and winterizing the garage (T's tools suffered surface rust over this last winter!)
- painting the baseboard molding, trim and interior doors
- installing more lighting for the kitchen and dining area (dreary and impractical at the moment over the eating areas)
- installing an exhaust fan in the main bathroom (how a house can be 30 years old and not have ever had one is strange to me)

That is the wish list that I REALLY hope to get done before the dark season comes back, we put some money aside after our other house sold, so hopefully it will all come together in time. (We won't get a loan for any of it... if we can't pay for it now, then it can wait). Between my energy, the boys' young backs and T's handyman skills it shouldn't require much hiring out.... just sweat equity and materials.

*** today I shoveled a whole yard of soil by myself and flung it up into the terraced rocks in the front yard. I think my back may hate me in the morning.

I can't wait to take a bite

I'm a huge fan of food-conspiracy documentaries, and some of the books too.
"The Botany of Desire" and, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals", "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto" are favourites of mine and all by the same brilliant author that seems to really care about our relationship with what we eat...

Michael Pollan has a new book! "Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation"

 

I - M-U-S-T - F-I-N-D - I-T - !

(and in looking on line I just discovered a couple more that I haven't read! "Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual", "Second Nature: A Gardener's Education " and a few more that he has his name co-authored to.)

More Wood's Goods

When my dear friends J&J were here, I went foraging for big leaf maple blossoms. I just found out they were edible and wanted to try a recipe in my beautiful new cookbook, "PACIFIC FEAST"  (by Jennifer Hahn) that I bought last fall. I was just waiting for Spring to give me some fresh ingredients.

Got a nice, big grocery bag of the green, grape-like clusters, easy to get this time of year, they were clean, tight and bug free!

 

Then I steeped the blossoms in hot milk for a few minutes. The result was a greenish milk that smelled kind of arrowrootish. Not unpleasant at all! With that I made Creme Brullee's.

 

.I didn't have the correct dishes (ramekins), but it's not a disaster to improvise sometimes. I thought the resulting dessert was very tasty. Creamy, mildly flavoured and not too sweet. I wished there was MORE.

More or Less Resolution Update

Back in January, I posted a resolution of sorts... more or less

Here are my sucess stories!

MORE; more reading, more billable hours, more whole foods, more walks, yoga, more time outside, more time for friends,

and one that I hadn't listed: MORE FORAGED FOODS!

LESS; less fructose, less processed foods, less shopping, less food hoarding, less chaos

I haven't given up on the other things on the list, not at all. That's the great part about a more or less list, its flexible in deadline and degrees of success.

**** A BIG THANK YOU TO J&J FOR SPENDING ALL DAY WITH ME YESTERDAY. IT WAS FUN AND VERY PRODUCTIVE! ****

Look out!

Look ma, I can drive now!

 

 

(and here it is upside down too....)

Give me strength.

Wood's Goods

Yesterday T wanted to go for a good hike, and this time I was prepared to forage the natural bounty of SPRING! I made sure I had sturdy gloves, bags, and scissors.

By the time I got home several hours later (and all exhausted by the pace my husband likes to trudge through the woods), I had a sizable amount of fresh, young, tender stinging nettles! Mmmmm.

I have tried nettle foods before at the Edible Wilds Food Fair, but never had the courage to go get them myself. Those nettles really sting!

It was worth the risk, these super-greens are scrumptious! Milder than spinach, I found the flavour delicate and deliciously "green" tasting.

Following the instructions carefully, I washed in cold water for 5 minutes (with heavy gloves on):

Then blanched in salted boiling water for 1 minute:

 

Then I squeezed out the excess juice (reserving the water and juice for a very healthy stock) and proceeded to make a nettle pesto which I served on Gnocchi dumplings! OMG this was yummy!

 

 

(I got the batch pictured above and 2 more cups of Nettle Pesto saved in the freezer)

 

The positive reaction by the whole family towards this vibrant green dish prompted me to head out with my gear again this morning to pick some more!!!!!

 

I think maybe a nettle lasagna would be nice....

Family Menu

In January I did the freezer challenge, and I have to say I REALLY enjoyed it!

One of the fun parts of it was writing down what we ate for dinner. I would like to continue that trend and start posting our dinner menus (just because). :)

I know, I am too busy to do that.... but I'm going to try anyways because I liked it!

Here are some of the meals I crafted for my family lately...

February:
Lasagna
Chicken Fingers w/ Yam Fries
Turkey Tetrazini
Pad Thai (Tim's birthday)
Saurkraut presure cookered w/ porkchops and potatoes
Chicken Stirfy w/ tons of veggies on noodles
Green Ham Curry on Basmati rice w/ palaak paneer
Hot Dogs, potato salad and fresh veg plate
Fritatta and salad
Chicken Tortellini in tarragon cream sauce w/salad
Saurkraut/european weiners w/ mashed potatoes and carrots

March:
Prime Rib dinner! (my birthday)
Hamburger/ fries/ salad
Poutine / sweet kale salad
Hot dogs / potato salad / brocoslaw
Grilled chicken breast / quinoa / sweet kale salad
Butter chicken /  palaak paneer
Pork & Apple Stew
Spagetti & Meatballs
Fishsticks / fries / kale salad
Soft Beef Tacos
Tortellini with vodka sauce (chicken and bacon)
Broiled Basa & salad
Pesto Prawns on Ravioli and broccoli
Pork Gyoza & edamame
Butternut Squash Ravioli with sausage and diced tomatoes
Rouladen, Spaetzle and Brussel Sprouts (Steve's Birthday)

And so far in April.....
Frittatta
Mustard Tarragon Pork Chops w/ asparagus on Brown Rice
Feta Ravioli w sundried tomato, wilted spinach and pine nuts
Green Ham Curry on basmati rice w/peas

yum yum yum! How I loooove to cook!

Chickens did it again

Do you remember the giant egg one of my hens laid?

 

Well, one of them decided to hit the other end of the spectrum... a perfectly formed egg no bigger than a robin's egg! I wonder which one laid it? I can't tell who is doing what. A hen may sit in the nesting box for ages, but then I go see which egg she left and there is NOTHING, and other times I haven't seen anyone in there and there are 3 different sized/coloured eggs in there. Go figure!

Here it is next to a "normal" sized egg:

 

Look! There is even a tiny, little yolk! (It was very hard to crack into this one)

 

These fluffy birds are a constant source of amusement for me and my family.