Wheat-free, Egg-free, Dairy-free Pastry

I don't want to forget this recipe, so I'm posting it here. :)

1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour
(I use 1/2 Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose Baking Flour and 1/2 rice flour)
3/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup lard
1/3 cup cold water (approx)

Blend dry ingredients. Cut in lard with pastry blender.
Add just enough cold water for the dough to hold together, stirring with a fork.
Refrigerate a couple of hours, then use as you would regular pastry.

Kids are weird

Yes, I knew that, but it's still a valid point.

Monkey-boy is a bit of a picky eater. He loves fruit and veggies (raw) but isn't that keen on meat. He'll eat a chicken strip and he'll eat hamburgers (with ketchup and pickles). That's just about it. Monkey-girl on the other hand likes fruit and some veggies (no celery mom!) and likes solid meat (not ground beef) although she does like her cheeseburgers.

Our supper rule is that they have to have a bite of everything I make for supper; I'm hoping their taste buds will learn to accept a larger variety of foods.

A week or so ago, I made "hamburger soup" - pretty simple, just saute some onions, add the veggies, browned ground beef, beef stock and simmer until done. I didn't expect either of the kids to eat more than their required one bite. When they looked skeptically at the pot and asked what it was, I said, "Um, well, I guess it's kind of a hamburger soup. And if you put cheese in it, then it would be a cheeseburger soup."

Monkey-girl had three bowls, Monkey-boy had two (although he did pick out most of the ground beef).

I was shocked. I honestly thought they would look at the soup, reluctantly eat their bite and quickly wash it down with milk.

Today, I made a slightly different version in my crock pot. Again, three bowls for Monkey-girl, two bowls for Monkey-boy.

Could getting them to eat supper really be as simple as giving it the right name?

Podcasts

Discussing how I like podcasts because I don't have time in big chunks and I like to listen to something short:

TKHubband says, "When I want to listen to something short, I just talk to you."

ba-dum-dum

Chicken/Turkey Broth

This is how I make my broth.

1. Get out my big (6L) crock pot with the removable crock
2. Turn the oven on to 375F.
3. Put poultry carcasses into the crock. (After I roast a chicken or turkey and get all the meat off, I stick the bones in a ziploc bag and throw it in the freezer. Once I have 2 or 3, I'll make a batch of stock.)
4. Add the following to the crock
- an onion or two, quartered
- a couple of carrots, cut into 2-3 inch pieces
- a couple of celery stalks, cut into 2-3 inches pieces
- a couple cloves of garlic, peeled, whole
5. Put the crock into the oven (No lid! Just the ceramic crock part.) for 45 minutes or so.
6. Take the crock out of the oven (using oven mitts of course) and stick it into the base of your crock pot. Turn the crock pot on LOW.
7. Fill up your kettle and turn it on.
8. When the water boils, carefully pour it over the stuff in the crock.
Repeat 7 and 8 until the liquid is about 1 1/2 inches from the top of the crock.
9. Put the lid on and leave it alone for 3-10 hours.

Note that I don't add any salt. I'm never sure how I will end up using the broth and I can always add salt later to whatever I'm making with the broth..

This makes the most wonderful stock. The oven roasts the bones and veggies a bit to enhance their flavour and the final colour of the stock. The crock pot cooks everything so gently that you don't get any foaming or clouding or yucky stuff happening. When you're done and the broth is strained and chilled, it will gel because of the protein.

I usually ladle the broth through a mesh strainer into a 4 cup glass measuring cup in batches, then I can take the fat off and pour the broth into appropriate containers for freezing without making a huge mess. I dump the last bit into a colander over a bowl and let it drip for a bit before straining it.

I have 2 Tupperware covered ice cube trays that I use for food only. I got these when the kids were babies for freezing baby food. Whenever I make broth, I fill them up so that I have "broth cubes". Whenever the kids have soup, I can use a broth cube to cool it down and it won't dilute the soup.

I'll try to remember to take pictures next time I make broth and add them to this post.

I'm just a crazy, updating lady!

I've uploaded some pictures to my flickr account, so you can look at those. They're all craft projects at this point.

I've also updated my projects in Ravelry. Sorry, if you aren't a member, you can't see that yet.

Next, I've got another post planned (as long as the kids play together nicely so I can get it done).

Best ever marinade for chicken

Here's my top secret super-easy, super-yummy marinade for chicken.

soy sauce
worcestershire sauce
louisiana hot sauce

That's it.

I don't measure. I kind of glug glug the soy sauce, squirt-squirt-squirt-squirt-squirt the worcestershire and squirt-squirt-squirt the hot sauce.
It has to be on the chicken at least a 1/2 hour and sometimes I've left it on overnight. I use boneless. skinless thighs or breasts.
I also use this to marinade chicken for stir-fries which is TKHubband's favorite.

No list for today

I've already managed to get both kids to school, dressed, with lunches, without yelling my head off at them. (I'm not saying I was the picture of calm, but I don't think I actually yelled today. yet)

I also washed dishes (some big things that don't fit in the dishwasher).
I went to the dentist for a cleaning.
I picked up the Indiana Jones Lego game that we had on pre-order. I got a free T-shirt with it too! I'll have to try to make it small enough to fit monkey-boy. Man's large will not fit an almost-6-year-old.
I also posted to my blog!!!! My friends are going to think aliens have taken me away and replaced me with one of them.

Even though I'd like to continue sitting here chatting (to my 1? maybe 2 readers?) I need to get off my butt and get working on those things I didn't finish yesterday.

To-Do Today ** Updated

1. Write about a bazillion e-mails to get this month sorted out (and start on the summer planning)
2. About 50 loads of laundry (well, maybe not 50...)
3. Get niece's parcel together so she'll get her birthday present on her birthday for once ...maybe.
4. Box up one box of our old books from monkey-boy's room and put it in the garage. (If I do one box a day, by the end of the week, his room will only have his stuff in it...maybe.)
5. Fill out a form for school so I can drop it off when I...
6. Pick up monkey-girl from school.
7. Make sure monkey-boy does his piano practice and monkey-girl practices for her dance recital in two weeks. (Ack!)
8. Make supper.
9. Finish mom's socks (I hope)

Oh, this looks bad. But maybe I should make it an even 10...oh! I know!

10. Plan suppers for the week so I don't have to decide what to cook when I'm tired.

Oh yeah, and I also have to

11. Take pictures of my projects and flowers and other stuff so my posts aren't as boring.

And maybe

12. Write a couple more blog posts and save them as draft so that I can post them as soon as I have pictures.


Perhaps I am over-optimistic on what I can get done in a day...


Update:
So, how did I do? Not too bad actually.

1. Check!
2. Check!
3. Ummm, nope. Didn't get this done. Planning to right after school today, though...it might still make it by Friday...maybe.
4. Nope. Bad me. That was just laziness. I guess I should force myself to do 2 boxes today, then. :P
5. Check!
6. Check!
7. I think I scored 50% on this one. Monkey-boy did 2/3 of his practice and then just had a meltdown because "There's just too many songs, Mommy! (sob, gasp, sob) There's just too many!" Monkey-girl flipped out because her room isn't big enough to practice her routine in and it's "too hard all by myself!!!" (sigh) So, monkey-boy had a snack and when he was all calm again I sat with him for the last four songs. Monkey-girl danced around in her room to her "Star Steps" CD.
8. Yup. Sauteed chorizo sausage in olive oil with fresh tomatoes and green onions over rice. MMmmmmm tasty!
9. Done!!!!!
10. Well, I planned yesterday's and today's....
11. Nope. No pictures yet!
12. Check!

So, my score is 7.5-8 out of 12. Hey, I passed! Yay!

Where was I at 8 o'clock this morning?

Why, at Wal-Mart. There are some things I don't like about Wal-Mart, but their hours are amazing. They are the only store that is open when I want to shop. They opened at 7 this morning! 7! If I had known that, I would have been there by 7:30.

What did I get?
1. A squirrel-proof feeder (because the squirrels kept eating all the seed in my old one - that deserves it's own post, with video.)
2. More sunflower seeds for the feeder.
3. Bathing suits for the kiddos.
4. Milk
5. Lego for monkey-boy's birthday present. (Yes, he has tons of lego, but he really enjoys playing with it. They had the battle packs on for $4.95 so I grabbed one of each. He almost didn't notice too - except the check-out lady was a bit too slow in getting them in the bag.)

Am I the only one

Who puts a stuffy in a Ziploc bag, so her kid can take it outside to play in the snow?

Cure for the Bah-Humbugs

I've found it. The cure for the 'Bah-Humbugs'!

Just put this in and you can't help but smile. (Whether the smile is humour or recollection, it doesn't really matter, does it?)

Especially Track 7...makes me smile just thinking about it.

:)

On the first day of Christmas...

This is great! You need to watch it a couple of times to catch everything.



PS: Yes, see, I'm still here. Just not feeling like posting much lately. Only rants or long, rambling posts about grief seem to come out right now, so I'm just being quiet instead.

I'm on Ravelry!

To non-yarny people, this will make no sense whatsoever. But to anyone who reads knitting or crochet blogs, Ravelry is the new, cool thing! It's still in Beta, so only accessible to people with accounts, but soon it will be live and viewable by everyone.

I tried to resist, but it really is the greatest resource for yarny types!!! :D

She's gone

On Thursday, Aug 16, my mother-in-law quietly passed away. She's been my "other mom" for 12 years.

It's hard to believe it's been almost a week already. For the most part, we're still in the stunned stage, with moments of reality stabbing us unexpectedly.

On Sunday, her youngest son is getting married. On Monday, we have her funeral. These two events are now entwined. The joy and the sorrow.

When I'm stressed, I create.

Okay, when I'm relaxed, I like to create too. But that has nothing to do with my point. So, whatever.

During the first half-and-a-bit of the year, I've managed to finish quite a few projects. (We won't talk about the huge number of ones I've started.) Some of them are in my project flickr set. Most, I still need to take pictures of.

4 pairs of socks

4 baby blankets

1 pair of baby booties

2 dishcloths

2 summer tops for me

1 summer dress for monkey-girl

2 flowergirl dresses

2 bridesmaid dresses

That's pretty impressive for me. There may even be a couple more things that I've forgotten.

In the queue? Well, I don't know if I should go there...

In progress (meaning I've actually worked on them in the last month or so):

* Cardigan for monkey-girl

* Socks for TKHubband

* Socks for Monkey-girl

* Socks for my Mom

* Shawl for me (I'd like to finish this by TKHubband's brother's wedding in a week and a half...I'm not sure if I'm deluded about this being possible)

* 2 felted bags

And the rest...well, we'll just pretend they don't exist right now. ;)

Oh, and why am I stressed? This is why. There isn't much time left.

Strange thing about smaller cities

Okay, here's some of that Random Rambling that I haven't done enough of lately. :)

Has anyone else noticed this?

In smaller cities, the big chain stores are nice. In bigger cities, the big chain stores aren't.

Now, I live in Canada, so when I say "bigger cities", I mean one, like mine, that has around 400,000 people. When I say smaller cities, I mean one that has around 20,000 people.

I've been to Z------- in a few smaller cities and they have been clean, tidy, well-stocked and friendly. Ours is, well, not dirty, but I just don't go there very often because I can't find what I'm looking for. What I want is either not stocked or all gone already. There are lots of items out of place or on the floor. Not what I would call a good impression.

In our larger centers, we have S----S----, in the smaller centers it's E----F----. Basically the same chain, with the same stock and sales, etc. All the E----F---- I have been to have been nice. Again, clean, tidy, well-stocked and friendly. The S----S----- are chaos.

Even W--M--- shows this disparity.

It is frustrating to go into the 'same' store in another smaller city and find all those things that I've been looking for locally and just can't find. I've said for a few years that "I have to go to small towns to go shopping. They just have better stores and better stuff."

Is it our population demographic? Do all the slobs live here?
Is it an image issue? In larger centers a job at the big chain is looked down at, whereas in the smaller centers, it is considered a good job.
Is it a trickle-down management attitude? Profit, profit, profit vs customer care.
Is it not enough staff to match the number of customers in the bigger centers?
Is it that I have a small-city mentality and I like the stuff stocked in the smaller centers that they never seem to have in the bigger ones?
Or is it that everyone else likes them too and they sell them all before I get there?
Is it just my city? Or, more accurately, the stores' locations in this city. We live in a nice, established neighbourhood that is adjacent to a less nice area. Can the store staff just not keep up?

I will have to make the effort to drive to the farther stores here to see how they are...maybe I'll find a gem or two.

Comic Timing

Monkey-boy is developing quite the sense of humour.

Example #1
There is a scene in Ice Age 2 where the sloth sings, "Hey! Hey! What's that sound, all of the mammoths are in the ground", then Manny tells the sloth he's going to sit on him until he's dead (or something like that). The sloth then says, "Somebody doesn't appreciate the classics." After watching the movie, monkey-girl repeatedly quoted the scene. Repeatedly. Over and over. It was making me crazy. I asked her to stop. She kept going. I asked her again. She kept going. I told her to stop. (I'm very patient.) She tried, but just couldn't. She kept going. I (kind of) lost it. I demanded she stop or suffer some dire consequence. She stopped.
Monkey-boy said in a quiet voice, "Somebody doesn't appreciate the classics."



Example #2
After trying to explain rust to the kids, I asked them "Does that make sense?"
They responded, "No."
Then monkey-boy says, "It doesn't make dollars either."


He's 5.

The days go flying by...

They really do.

Here we are at the end of May, and it seems we just had spring break. The kids will be done school in 4 weeks and then it will be summer. Yikes.

DMIL (dear Mother-in-law) is still in the hospital and has good and bad days. The cancer seems to be receding (Yay!) but she's still very sick. We hope she'll be able to go home in a few weeks (she's been in hospital for almost 2 months now).

I haven't been taking many pictures lately, so here's one from last summer, just for colour. :)

I feel better now

Wow. Writing that last post really made me feel better. :)

I think the word is catharsis.

Anyways, now that I got that out of my system, I am once again functioning normally.

Well, normal for me.

I have so much to post. Really, I do. Lots of craft stuff that I've finished...in the last four months. Ouch. I'd better get going on that. And the monkey-children have been their cute selves throughout: "Mom. Mom. Mom. See my cute look? See? Aren't I cu-u-u-ute?"

I have been 'hermitting' myself

Is that even a word? Hermitting? Making a hermit of oneself? Whatever. When I am stressed, I...well, hide, I guess.

My dear mother-in-law is battling cancer. This struck pretty much out of the blue. A year ago, she was fine. Now...not so much.

I feel very helpless. I do what I can, but I feel I'm failing her somehow. I want to pass on valuable information to the family, but I don't really have anything new to pass on. I want to ask intelligent questions to maybe help us understand what her 'health care team' are doing to help her, but I don't know what to ask.

I want to rant against the health care system. Surely they could be doing better. Surely if only they were doing something better, she would get better. But realistically, they are the trained ones. I am not trained in medicine, or cancer. I have to believe they know at least a little more than I do.

She's very optimistic. Very hopeful. Planning for the summer at home. I don't even know if she'll be going home. I have to believe, to have hope...but I am afraid.