18 June 2011

Bapping Woman

Picture this: Anya and Callum are settled in for another viewing of Justice League.  This is probably their fourth or fifth episode so they've become familiar with the roster of heroes.  (Also, David reads comic books, so they know some characters because of that.)

As the show opens, they call out each hero's name as they appear: "Superman!"  "Green Lantern!"  "Wonderwoman!"  "Green guy!"  (some other guy in green... I don't know who he is either... David says he's John Jones?)  "The Flash!"  "Bapping Woman!  I don't know her name, but I call her Bapping Woman, because she's always bapping people with her stick!"

When I relayed this story to David, he told me that Anya meant Hawkgirl (after he stopped laughing uncontrollably).  We both watched with interest last night as we screened another Justice League episode.  When the opening scenes got up to Hawkgirl, Anya remained silent, but Callum yelled out, "Porkgirl!"

13 June 2011

David's Birthday Duck

David's favorite meal being duck, I bought two duck breasts on impulse last week and stashed them in the freezer without an actual meal plan.

Some research found me the following recipe: http://allrecipes.com.au/recipe/12162/spiced-duck-breasts.aspx which I liked for being spicy and NOT sweet.  It is tedious how many duck recipes involve fruit sauce.  Not that I dislike duck with fruit sauce, but other options are very welcome.

I didn't quite follow the recipe, so here is my version:
(1) For baharat spice rub, I substituted a mixture of Cajun spice mix and ras-el-hanout (because I already had some of each made, and didn't want to make another spice mix), plus I added some Chinese five spice.
(2) Rather than cut slits in the duck skin, I loosened it over each duck breast while keeping it attached on the side.  I rubbed the spice into this cavity and all over the outside as well.
(3) As per the recipe, I cooked it over medium heat, skin side down first, until the fat had rendered, then on the other side.  I didn't really time it and was worried that it would be overcooked, but the spice rub protected it and it actually came out perfectly.
(4) Rather than the sweet potato mash in the recipe I made Tunisian carrot salad and served it warm, as well as garlic mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli.  I kind of modified the carrot salad recipe as well, by using coriander paste (rather than fresh chopped) and lemon juice (rather than vinegar).  The carrots went really well with the duck.  So did the Riesling!

11 June 2011

Photo Roundup

Just catching up on uploading some photos from the last few months.  This is from April when we lucked into a local fair while we were staying up the coast.
Green Heart Fair Green Heart Fair

This is from a day when my old rollerblades disintegrated, so I walked up Kedron Brook (in the water, wearing thongs) while David took the kids for a bike ride:
Kedron Brook

Kedron Brook

This is from a few weeks ago when we were out for a walk in the neighborhood, and found a tree in full autumn glory.  My heart filled with pure gladness to see it.  Most plants around here stay green year round or simply become brown or bare branched instantly, so it was a rare and wonderful sight.
Autumn

Last of all, here is a photo of my current knitting project in progress. I'm making a baby blanket and this is one side of it, half finished. I also intend to knit a strip of a different pattern (maybe cables) to go in the center.
Autumn

06 June 2011

Pose in Boots

Anya's birthday boots got their first outing today.  I decided to take a photo to show Helen, who has nominated herself "the Shoe Auntie" and gives Anya shoes every year.  (This year she even gave Anya two pairs, as she couldn't decide which ones to get.  Anya loves them both.)

This is the first photo:
Best Buddies, Today

Then I asked Callum to let me take one of Anya by herself.  She thought this a worthy pose:
Hey There!

Callum wanted to pose too.  This is his idea of a scary pose (imagine him growling):
Wolverine Takes No Prisoners, Grr!

Last, I asked Anya to twirl for me, and I think this is the best shot:
Anya 20110605 002_crop

01 June 2011

Dinnertime Challenges

Anya and Callum sometimes get very restless sitting and eating dinner.  Rather than enforce a "bottoms on seats" rule, we help them finish dinner by setting physical challenges.  In between the challenges they have to come back and eat some more.

Originally the challenges were fairly easy, such as "run over to Grandma and give her a kiss."  Next was "run as fast as you can down the hall."  More recently it's evolved to much more advanced challenges.  This week Anya and Callum ran down the stairs and up again, repeating it several times trying to beat their previous times (I used an egg timer). Tonight there were bunny hops, walking backwards, hopping on one leg backwards, and running around Grandma's chair.  Raema loved the challenges as she usually got lots of kisses as they rounded her chair.

Last, I asked Anya what the next challenge should be.  She cocked her head, put her hand on her hip, and said, "Hmmm... I think it should be to eat all the vegetables on my plate!" and proceeded to eat as fast as she could while I timed her.