Say the word birthday and one invariable thinks of cake. In fact the celebration of a birthday may seem incomplete with out cake. For my birthday, despite tradition, I asked that there NOT be any cake.
I will explain.
Every week during the month of November, there is a birthday in my family. That's one cake every week which translates to a slice of cake almost everyday if it is not to go to waste. By the time my own birthday rolls around in mid December I am pretty much sick of cake! Yes! It absolutely can happen that you can have too much of a good thing.
So instead of cake this year, I wished for a family dinner. I decided that it would be nice if for a change we could all sit down to eat together. I applaud all of you for whom that is a normal occurrence. In hour home it seems like at least one person is always standing, doing something or other while some are eating.
Also I must confess that we let the kids look at television while they eat. We are going to parent hell, I know. In our defense it's a welcome distraction for the younger ones. If its a school night we usually use this time to pack the kids lunches for the following day while they eat and look at their favourite shows. Hey don't judge me. Hire me a maid and I'll focus on Ettiqutte 101. Until then Sponge Bob you are my #1 man in square pants. I so heart you.
So in the interest of being less like cave people, my one wish for my birthday was for us all to sit in a civilized manner and have dinner together. In my mind's eye, I envisaged a perfect evening, sharing a delicious and lovingly prepared meal with the people I love most in this world.
Here is how it actually went down.
The baby screamed loudly and a lot. He screamed as we attempted to guide his spoon to his mouth. He is learning to self feed and wants to do it all on his own. He screamed with frustration when we did not help and food was unintentionally catapulted out of his bowl. He screamed with joy when he finally got it right and into his mouth instead of my hair. Cheers all around.
My eldest eldest doesn't like pak choi (bok choi), so lots of grumbling on her part with threats on ours in order to get her to eat it. A ban on Nitentedo DSi can be a pwerful tool in getting a child to eat their veggies:-)
The four year old whined. He was upset that the TV was off, therefore no Sponge Bob.
At first I was distressed that my little soirée seemed to be a disaster. My darling husband tried his best to help me rally our mutinous troops by pouring us both, very generous glasses of wine. We needed fortification. My son Marley took this as a cue to stop whining about cartoons. He raised his juice cup. "Hey mummy let's ching ching." Glasses were raised and a toast was made. Happy Birthday was sung.
After, the usual reminders to use the cutlery provided and not eat with his hands, Marley then picked up his knife and fork asked "So mummy how was your day?" My husband's eyes smiled at me across the table I lifted my glass to him and beamed at my 4 year old son's gentlemanly attempt to make conversation. " My day was perfect sweetheart. Just perfect." and then I picked some potato out of my hair.
Roasted Potato With Rosemary
Serves 6
Par boiling the potatoes before baking them in the oven results in a better textures roasted potatoes that is crisp on the outside wither soft innards. Very much like my favourite jumbo fries.
Ingredients
2 1/2 lbs of potatoes
4 - 5 Sprigs Rosemary
1/4 cup olive oil3 Tbsp Olive Oil
Salt to taste
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Method
Boil the potatoes with 1 tsp of salt until just tender. (5-8mins) Drain and cut the potatoes into halved or leave whole if smaller.Then drain off the water (reserving some for the gravy). Place the lid back on the saucepan then, holding the lid firmly, and protecting your hand with a cloth or oven glove, shake the saucepan vigorously up and down.
Arrange the potatoes in a baking tray with Herbes de Provence, Italian seasoning etc rosemary and thyme. Then drizzle the olive oil and sprinkle some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Bake the potatoes for about 40 to 50 minutes or until the potatoes turn crispy and the flesh are tender.
braised Pak Choi Recipe
INGREDIENTS
2 pounds pak choy
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large onioins sliced
4 cloves of garlic (slice in slivers)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1. Trim the base of the bok choy, then chop off the leaves. Cut the base in half lengthwise, then cut the halves crosswise on a diagonal into 1/4-inch-thick strips. Cut the leaves crosswise on a diagonal into 1 1/2-inch-wide strips.
2. Place a large wok or a pot large enough to hold all the pak choy over high heat. Add the oil and rotate the wok or pot a bit to coat it evenly. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and stir-fry until browned. Then add the onions. Cook , 2 to 3 minutes. Add the bok choy and season with the salt and pepper. Cover and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
Serves 4 to 6.
Read more at Suite101: Braised Bok Choy: Bok Choy Recipes Don't Get Much Easier Than This One | Suite101.com http://healthycooking.suite101.com/article.cfm/braised_bok_choy#ixzz0aIdPsrM4
Pot Roast in the Pressure Cooker
I have never done a pot roast in the pressure cooker before so I followed the recipe from Cook's illustrated as closely as I could. It was good but I feel it can be made more to my taste with a few adjustments. For one thing the The cooking time of 1 hour needs to be shortened as the beef was falling apart tender. Great for sandwiches. Not so great for slicing and serving.
By the time my b'day rolls around I am usually sick of cake and ice-cream
