An entire semester has passed, and I haven't blogged at all. So sorry. I have cooked a lot too, I need to be better about posting. New Years is just around the corner and we are having bit of a party. We are going to be making gyros for dinner that night. I love gyros. There is a place in Moscow, Mykies Gyros, that is great. So I have bought a 30 lb roast of Blamb (Beef-Lamb) and we will be cooking it up Friday night!
Gyros:
Blamb roast (needs to be cooked on a spit or sliced and fried)
pita bread
lettuce
tomato
feta cheese
pepperoncini peppers
tzatziki sauce
grill your pita, stuff with thin slices of gyro meat, lettuce, sliced tomato, feta cheese, pepperoncinis and tzatziki. Eat and enjoy!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Elimination Diet
In my last post I mentioned that ViviAnne and I were doing an elimination diet. We cut out red meat, pork, dairy, eggs, corn, white rice, wheat, all sugars, and caffeine. We could have any fruit or veggie including potatoes, fish and birds, brown rice, and beans. So far I have dropped from 226 to 213 in weight and I need to buy a new belt because there aren't any holes left to buckle into on it. We did this for three weeks and now have started introducing foods back into our diet. So far I have added back in wheat (had a tortilla), dairy (had cheese and whole milk). This was all so we could have pizza last night for dinner. Next on my list is eggs, tomorrow morning for breakfast.
Roasted potatoes and mushrooms and fried eggs over the top. Then off to the fair. So far, none of the introduced foods have reacted badly with my body, and overall I feel great.
Roasted potatoes and mushrooms and fried eggs over the top. Then off to the fair. So far, none of the introduced foods have reacted badly with my body, and overall I feel great.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
End of August
Well, three months have gone by and nothing to write about. Just kidding, we have done plenty, perhaps that is why I haven't been able to blog, to busy with life. School is starting up again, so I have some time in front of the computer to write. Sounds good to me. But where should I start, maybe with a recap of the summer...
Darius has for the most part recovered from his surgery in May. He still is not allowed to eat things that are really hard or sharp. Like apples, crackers, chips, stuff like that. He doesn't miss it though, so that is good. In the next couple of months he will have no restrictions at all, so I look forward to eating some chips and guacamole with him. There is still a small hole at the surgery site, but it may close, or it may not. We have to wait, in the mean time, he will do some speech therapy to see if that helps. Fingers crossed.
We spent much of the summer at home during the week and off on adventures during the weekends. Bahai Summer Camp, Cabin, Silverwood, Cabin, Seattle, Friend Visits, Cabin. There is a wedding coming up too, so, in a word, we have been busy!
ViviAnne and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary this Aug 4. Had a wonderful time at Schweitzer Mt. and I feel more in love than ever. This past week we committed ourselves to a three week elimination diet, cutting out sugar, dairy, wheat, eggs and several other things, like coffee. I have lost almost 6 pounds in one week, and I think ViviAnne has lost 4 or 5. I haven't felt hungry at all, just had cravings for all of my favorite things, like cookies and cheese and bread and coffee. Well, two weeks to go, then I can start adding foods in one at a time and seeing how it affects my body. Should be an interesting experiment, and I will write more on it here.
There is still a little bit of summer left, and I plan on using it up. I would like to head back to Lake Wallowa for a weekend with the kids and some fishing. We are also going up to Schweitzer again for Labor Day weekend, the kids and I will fish on the boat in the lake. Speaking of the boat, I need to convince my dad to bring it down home in the winter, so we can fish on the river for steelhead.
Darius has for the most part recovered from his surgery in May. He still is not allowed to eat things that are really hard or sharp. Like apples, crackers, chips, stuff like that. He doesn't miss it though, so that is good. In the next couple of months he will have no restrictions at all, so I look forward to eating some chips and guacamole with him. There is still a small hole at the surgery site, but it may close, or it may not. We have to wait, in the mean time, he will do some speech therapy to see if that helps. Fingers crossed.
We spent much of the summer at home during the week and off on adventures during the weekends. Bahai Summer Camp, Cabin, Silverwood, Cabin, Seattle, Friend Visits, Cabin. There is a wedding coming up too, so, in a word, we have been busy!
ViviAnne and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary this Aug 4. Had a wonderful time at Schweitzer Mt. and I feel more in love than ever. This past week we committed ourselves to a three week elimination diet, cutting out sugar, dairy, wheat, eggs and several other things, like coffee. I have lost almost 6 pounds in one week, and I think ViviAnne has lost 4 or 5. I haven't felt hungry at all, just had cravings for all of my favorite things, like cookies and cheese and bread and coffee. Well, two weeks to go, then I can start adding foods in one at a time and seeing how it affects my body. Should be an interesting experiment, and I will write more on it here.
There is still a little bit of summer left, and I plan on using it up. I would like to head back to Lake Wallowa for a weekend with the kids and some fishing. We are also going up to Schweitzer again for Labor Day weekend, the kids and I will fish on the boat in the lake. Speaking of the boat, I need to convince my dad to bring it down home in the winter, so we can fish on the river for steelhead.
Friday, May 28, 2010
End of May
Well this will be a general update on the last couple of weeks.
Darius continues to recover. He has a small hole in the repair, but ViviAnne was looking in his mouth yesterday and commented that it looked better than it had earlier in the week, so maybe it is zipping up as the doctor suggested it might do. Still I have been worried about needing to do a repeat surgery next summer.
Speaking of Darius, he has been such a trooper. We have been blending up food for him and thank God, he is eating it. I was telling Liam the other day that if it was him that was on a liquid diet, he would be starved because he is such a picky eater. It always seems like the one kid that has to cope with a disability is the one that is able to do so. Honestly, when we blended up the lasagna for dinner last night, it looked like vomit. But he ate it, I am amazed still!
We have done a fair amount of home improvement over the last couple of weeks. First we covered the driveway with 5/8 inch rock, so it is nice and smooth. We also added some parking off the driveway. This will later turn into one of our planned out buildings, but that is a way down the road. The same people that did our driveway also leveled out a 100 by 60 foot field in back of the house. We had hoped to put grass seed down before this big rain hit, but didn't quite make it. So now we are waiting to get it dried out enough to spread seed and then roller it out so it is nice and smooth. We will also have to keep the dog off it somehow until the grass get up. I have been tiling the basement shower over the last two weeks. It is almost done. An other day of tiling and then grouting and sealing, so if I stay diligent about another week and we will have a 3/4 bath in the basement! After that is all done, I will move into the bonus room and begin a slight remodel of the ceiling rafters and electrical wiring. After that is finished we will insulate and sheet rock the walls. Our hope is to get the bonus room turned into a pseudo-master bedroom by winter.
Chickens are out in the yard now. I installed the fence two weeks ago and it is working nicely. I have a little shoring up to do and I would like to also put fencing across the top, but so far it has been unnecessary.
With the three day week starting tomorrow I am sure I will get some more done on each of these projects.
Darius continues to recover. He has a small hole in the repair, but ViviAnne was looking in his mouth yesterday and commented that it looked better than it had earlier in the week, so maybe it is zipping up as the doctor suggested it might do. Still I have been worried about needing to do a repeat surgery next summer.
Speaking of Darius, he has been such a trooper. We have been blending up food for him and thank God, he is eating it. I was telling Liam the other day that if it was him that was on a liquid diet, he would be starved because he is such a picky eater. It always seems like the one kid that has to cope with a disability is the one that is able to do so. Honestly, when we blended up the lasagna for dinner last night, it looked like vomit. But he ate it, I am amazed still!
We have done a fair amount of home improvement over the last couple of weeks. First we covered the driveway with 5/8 inch rock, so it is nice and smooth. We also added some parking off the driveway. This will later turn into one of our planned out buildings, but that is a way down the road. The same people that did our driveway also leveled out a 100 by 60 foot field in back of the house. We had hoped to put grass seed down before this big rain hit, but didn't quite make it. So now we are waiting to get it dried out enough to spread seed and then roller it out so it is nice and smooth. We will also have to keep the dog off it somehow until the grass get up. I have been tiling the basement shower over the last two weeks. It is almost done. An other day of tiling and then grouting and sealing, so if I stay diligent about another week and we will have a 3/4 bath in the basement! After that is all done, I will move into the bonus room and begin a slight remodel of the ceiling rafters and electrical wiring. After that is finished we will insulate and sheet rock the walls. Our hope is to get the bonus room turned into a pseudo-master bedroom by winter.
Chickens are out in the yard now. I installed the fence two weeks ago and it is working nicely. I have a little shoring up to do and I would like to also put fencing across the top, but so far it has been unnecessary.
With the three day week starting tomorrow I am sure I will get some more done on each of these projects.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Frustrated
I am pretty frustrated right now about Darius's recovery from his surgery two weeks ago. He is back to his usual self, but he repair has a hole in it. The doctor say there is still a good chance that it will heal back together, but she also said to prepare yourself for it not coming back together fully.
So there is now a real possibility that we will be going through all this next summer. What really makes me sad is that Darius will have to endure it all again as well. Plus, his recovery out of OR was fairly intense, so I am not looking forward to having to endure all of the what-ifs that will pop into my mind if he goes under again.
Till next time...
So there is now a real possibility that we will be going through all this next summer. What really makes me sad is that Darius will have to endure it all again as well. Plus, his recovery out of OR was fairly intense, so I am not looking forward to having to endure all of the what-ifs that will pop into my mind if he goes under again.
Till next time...
Friday, May 7, 2010
Darius Surgery Part Two
We woke up at 4AM this morning. Darius had a Cleft Palate Repair scheduled at 8AM at Sacred Heart Medical Center (SHMC). I made breakfast and packed up the car. We woke Darius up at 4:40 and wrapped him up in blankets and drove the 70 miles to Spokane from Pullman.
Our pre-surgery meetings with all the doctors went well, they asked the same questions to use three time and then let Darius play in the waiting room for a bit until 8AM. He drove around in a little car for a while and ended up playing bumper cars with another little girl, who must have been waiting for her own surgery.
Time to go in at 8AM, he leaves us on a bed, dressed in jammies with little tigers on them. He looks nervous, but doesn't complain or cry. He is calm and I kiss him good by and let him know that I will see him soon and that I love him.
We head down to the dining area to get some more breakfast. Second breakfast if you will. First Update: Darius went back and was happy and calm the whole time, no problems what so ever and they have started the surgery. Second Update: It is going very well and they are making good progress. Third Update (at 3:30 hours time): Still going very well. Fourth Update: Almost done and should be out soon... Hour passes. Dr. Peterson comes to get us. The surgery went very well, she was able to do the least invasive cleft palate repair, which was what we had hoped for. However, after they took him off ventilation in recovery he was not breathing well. The decision was made to put him back on ventilation and sedation for the rest of the day. This would give him time to reduce swelling.
We are lead back to him room and get to see him for the first time. He is asleep (from the sedation) and has a ventilation tub, IV, and leads. He looks like he was in a bit of a fist fight. The doctor tells us that she is going to put a tube into his stomach to relieve excess gas in his tummy from the intubation (second ventilation) that they did post op. We are gently told that this might not be something we want to witness. We get it and go put our backpacks and excess stuff in the car and then head back to his room.
We are greeted by a scene out of ER or Grey's Anatomy. No less than 8 nurses/doctors are surrounding Darius. Dr. Peterson tells us, that in the process of removing the stomach tube, the intubation tube also got dislodged. It was removed and he was breathing on his own, but not well. They where trying to see if he could make it on his own, so three nurses where swapping positions between doing a jaw lift to improve his air way, holding the mask over his mouth and suctioning blood and what not out of his mouth. There are two additional respiratory therapists and a respiratory doctor, plus Dr. Peterson. There was also our room nurse and a student respiratory therapist as well. Full Room. Come on in they say.
By the thinnest of threads I was able to pull it together and go in and say something encouraging to Darius, who is fighting to come out of sedation. For the next hour or so we all keep doing what we are doing. Every so often, his heart rate will start to fall and a nurse will call out the heart rate. As a parent it is extremely difficult to hear your child's heart rate getting lower. And lower.
Darius turns the corner. You knew he would, you can not stop "The Tornado". Over the next 3 hours he improves his heart rate, reparations and O-two intake with the help of all the amazing nurses and respiratory therapists. At about 4:30 in the afternoon he finally comes out of sedation and mumbles one word...
"Bma"
We immediately call Bma and she talks to Darius over the phone for about 2 minutes and he replies to her with a gravelly, high pitched "Ya, ... Ya, ... Ya", obviously answering in the positive to some question Bma was asking. We are told we can take him off the O-two mask and he does well with this.
Darius is up in bed and then in ViviAnne lap to watch "My Little Pony", not my first choice, but it was his, so we went with it. After about an hour awake, he had a little sip of water and then asked to go to bed. He is currently sleeping, and has been for about 2 hours. He has the IV still in and the leads, but no other assistance. Great job Darius! We had hoped to be transferred to the medium level ICU, but request denied, looks like ViviAnne will sleep on the chair in the room tonight. She has gracefully told me to go sleep in a hotel room (which my parents arranged for us earlier today).
Long Day.
Our pre-surgery meetings with all the doctors went well, they asked the same questions to use three time and then let Darius play in the waiting room for a bit until 8AM. He drove around in a little car for a while and ended up playing bumper cars with another little girl, who must have been waiting for her own surgery.
Time to go in at 8AM, he leaves us on a bed, dressed in jammies with little tigers on them. He looks nervous, but doesn't complain or cry. He is calm and I kiss him good by and let him know that I will see him soon and that I love him.
We head down to the dining area to get some more breakfast. Second breakfast if you will. First Update: Darius went back and was happy and calm the whole time, no problems what so ever and they have started the surgery. Second Update: It is going very well and they are making good progress. Third Update (at 3:30 hours time): Still going very well. Fourth Update: Almost done and should be out soon... Hour passes. Dr. Peterson comes to get us. The surgery went very well, she was able to do the least invasive cleft palate repair, which was what we had hoped for. However, after they took him off ventilation in recovery he was not breathing well. The decision was made to put him back on ventilation and sedation for the rest of the day. This would give him time to reduce swelling.
We are lead back to him room and get to see him for the first time. He is asleep (from the sedation) and has a ventilation tub, IV, and leads. He looks like he was in a bit of a fist fight. The doctor tells us that she is going to put a tube into his stomach to relieve excess gas in his tummy from the intubation (second ventilation) that they did post op. We are gently told that this might not be something we want to witness. We get it and go put our backpacks and excess stuff in the car and then head back to his room.
We are greeted by a scene out of ER or Grey's Anatomy. No less than 8 nurses/doctors are surrounding Darius. Dr. Peterson tells us, that in the process of removing the stomach tube, the intubation tube also got dislodged. It was removed and he was breathing on his own, but not well. They where trying to see if he could make it on his own, so three nurses where swapping positions between doing a jaw lift to improve his air way, holding the mask over his mouth and suctioning blood and what not out of his mouth. There are two additional respiratory therapists and a respiratory doctor, plus Dr. Peterson. There was also our room nurse and a student respiratory therapist as well. Full Room. Come on in they say.
By the thinnest of threads I was able to pull it together and go in and say something encouraging to Darius, who is fighting to come out of sedation. For the next hour or so we all keep doing what we are doing. Every so often, his heart rate will start to fall and a nurse will call out the heart rate. As a parent it is extremely difficult to hear your child's heart rate getting lower. And lower.
Darius turns the corner. You knew he would, you can not stop "The Tornado". Over the next 3 hours he improves his heart rate, reparations and O-two intake with the help of all the amazing nurses and respiratory therapists. At about 4:30 in the afternoon he finally comes out of sedation and mumbles one word...
"Bma"
We immediately call Bma and she talks to Darius over the phone for about 2 minutes and he replies to her with a gravelly, high pitched "Ya, ... Ya, ... Ya", obviously answering in the positive to some question Bma was asking. We are told we can take him off the O-two mask and he does well with this.
Darius is up in bed and then in ViviAnne lap to watch "My Little Pony", not my first choice, but it was his, so we went with it. After about an hour awake, he had a little sip of water and then asked to go to bed. He is currently sleeping, and has been for about 2 hours. He has the IV still in and the leads, but no other assistance. Great job Darius! We had hoped to be transferred to the medium level ICU, but request denied, looks like ViviAnne will sleep on the chair in the room tonight. She has gracefully told me to go sleep in a hotel room (which my parents arranged for us earlier today).
Long Day.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Spring Trip to Schweitzer
We are heading up to the cabin this coming weekend. We haven't been up in ages and I think that ViviAnne and I are ready to get out of town for a long weekend. We are taking the kids up and our friends are going to join us and stay through Monday.
This will be a nice relaxing trip and some good family/friend time. Which we need, Darius has his surgery scheduled for May 7th. I have been thinking more about it lately and just hoping that his recovery is as smooth as it was for his first surgery. The little guy has been through a lot and shouldn't have to endure this, but it is necessary if he wants to talk normally. The most frustrating part is that there is no guarantee that this will be his last surgery. I think that is what has started bothering me the most. Even though we are doing all of this we may have to do it all again, which would make this surgery an unnecessary hardship that he had to endure. Sucks.
On the bright side, he gets to drink milk shakes for the next two months.
This will be a nice relaxing trip and some good family/friend time. Which we need, Darius has his surgery scheduled for May 7th. I have been thinking more about it lately and just hoping that his recovery is as smooth as it was for his first surgery. The little guy has been through a lot and shouldn't have to endure this, but it is necessary if he wants to talk normally. The most frustrating part is that there is no guarantee that this will be his last surgery. I think that is what has started bothering me the most. Even though we are doing all of this we may have to do it all again, which would make this surgery an unnecessary hardship that he had to endure. Sucks.
On the bright side, he gets to drink milk shakes for the next two months.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Make Your Own Caramel
So, my friend Clif is a bad ass cook. Hi Clif, I love you. We went to his house a while back and he made an amazing meal, in fact it was the best elk I have ever eaten. He also had some homemade caramel for dessert. It is easy to do, so I will post it here for you to enjoy as well. In fact, as I type this, I am making some.
Cans of Sweetened Condensed Milk
Big pot of water.
Peal the label off the cans, and put them into the pot of water. You must make sure that the water completely covers the cans. Bring water to a boil, cover and reduce to simmer. Simmer for 4 hours. Check fairly often to make sure the cans are covered with water. Cool and serve. You can store in in the fridge too.
So you may be wondering, what happens if I let the water boil down so the can isn't covered. Well, let me tell you, my advance knowledge in physical chemistry tells me that the cans will explode. So heed my advice and save yourself from a giant sticky mess by checking the water level every half hour.
Cans of Sweetened Condensed Milk
Big pot of water.
Peal the label off the cans, and put them into the pot of water. You must make sure that the water completely covers the cans. Bring water to a boil, cover and reduce to simmer. Simmer for 4 hours. Check fairly often to make sure the cans are covered with water. Cool and serve. You can store in in the fridge too.
So you may be wondering, what happens if I let the water boil down so the can isn't covered. Well, let me tell you, my advance knowledge in physical chemistry tells me that the cans will explode. So heed my advice and save yourself from a giant sticky mess by checking the water level every half hour.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Spring Improvements
Our chickens are getting really big. In fact, I think they may be ready to put out in the yard at the end of the month. I still need to finish off the chicken yard. I have the posts in place, but need to put up the fencing and make the door. I am also going to hang a soft fence over the top to keep out hawks and owls. It is crazy, but they will attack chickens.
I finished up the din-shield for our basement bathroom shower. Over the next couple of weeks I am going to tile it, and then we will have an official 3/4 bath in the basement. This will be great because, as of right now, we only have the one bath tub upstairs, so when people come to visit, it gets a little crowded in the morning.
The big project for the summer will be to finish up the bonus room and convert it into our bedroom. This will be great for the boys, as we will be able to separate Liam from Darius and Asa and give them all a little more room upstairs. To finish it, I will need to do some slight reframing. We decided to put in a vaulted ceiling to accommodate a fan and give the room a little more volume. After that, I will need to do a little rewiring, put in insulation and then sheet rock the walls. Paint, put in flooring and we are done. It seems like a lot, but I don't think it will take to long and hope to be moving our bedroom furniture into our new room by Sept. 1.
I finished up the din-shield for our basement bathroom shower. Over the next couple of weeks I am going to tile it, and then we will have an official 3/4 bath in the basement. This will be great because, as of right now, we only have the one bath tub upstairs, so when people come to visit, it gets a little crowded in the morning.
The big project for the summer will be to finish up the bonus room and convert it into our bedroom. This will be great for the boys, as we will be able to separate Liam from Darius and Asa and give them all a little more room upstairs. To finish it, I will need to do some slight reframing. We decided to put in a vaulted ceiling to accommodate a fan and give the room a little more volume. After that, I will need to do a little rewiring, put in insulation and then sheet rock the walls. Paint, put in flooring and we are done. It seems like a lot, but I don't think it will take to long and hope to be moving our bedroom furniture into our new room by Sept. 1.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Spring Planting Time Again
Ah, spring is here again. I have already started working in my garden and for see a very productive garden this year. My friend Mike talked to me a couple of weeks ago about gardening with us, so I am looking forward to the help early on and then later in the summer.
I roto tilled the three garden plots last weekend, and now need to add in some manure and humus. I have been slowly building up the plots so that next spring I can put some boards around them an call them a raised bed.
First thing to go into the ground this year was onions, Liam and I planted them Sunday evening after dinner. I have baby bok choy, lettuce, spinach, potatoes and carrots that I hope to plant tomorrow and Thursday night. I will plant lettuce and spinach again in the middle of May and maybe once more in late June. In late August I will plant the bok choy again for a fall harvest.
Check back soon for pictures!
I roto tilled the three garden plots last weekend, and now need to add in some manure and humus. I have been slowly building up the plots so that next spring I can put some boards around them an call them a raised bed.
First thing to go into the ground this year was onions, Liam and I planted them Sunday evening after dinner. I have baby bok choy, lettuce, spinach, potatoes and carrots that I hope to plant tomorrow and Thursday night. I will plant lettuce and spinach again in the middle of May and maybe once more in late June. In late August I will plant the bok choy again for a fall harvest.
Check back soon for pictures!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Happy Friday
Lots of stuff going on right now. Today is my dad's birthday. Happy birthday Dad! Hopefully we will be able to see you tomorrow after you get home from your trip and have some cake.
Our chickens are getting bigger. They can just about fly out of the box we have them in. So, this weekend I will be building a temporary chicken yard for them to hang out in up in the bonus room above the garage. They are eating so much that I have to reload their food can every night. I need to remember to do that tonight for sure.
ViviAnne is off at a birth right now. This one is a long one and I hope that she is getting enough rest and food while working her doula magic. It is pretty amazing that she is able to attend these incredible intimate moments on a regular basis. It seems inspiring to me.
I would like to roto tiller the garden this weekend. Maybe if I build the temporary chicken box tonight, that will free me up some time tomorrow. That way, I can work up the garden and plant some of the early season stuff. Mainly: lettuce, potatoes, spinach and bok choy. I will plant the greens again in May and then maybe one more time in June.
I also need to finish up the outdoor chicken yard. All of my posts are in the ground and in concrete. I just need to add the fencing and make my door.
Our chickens are getting bigger. They can just about fly out of the box we have them in. So, this weekend I will be building a temporary chicken yard for them to hang out in up in the bonus room above the garage. They are eating so much that I have to reload their food can every night. I need to remember to do that tonight for sure.
ViviAnne is off at a birth right now. This one is a long one and I hope that she is getting enough rest and food while working her doula magic. It is pretty amazing that she is able to attend these incredible intimate moments on a regular basis. It seems inspiring to me.
I would like to roto tiller the garden this weekend. Maybe if I build the temporary chicken box tonight, that will free me up some time tomorrow. That way, I can work up the garden and plant some of the early season stuff. Mainly: lettuce, potatoes, spinach and bok choy. I will plant the greens again in May and then maybe one more time in June.
I also need to finish up the outdoor chicken yard. All of my posts are in the ground and in concrete. I just need to add the fencing and make my door.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
New Years
Happy Naw-Ruz everybody! In celebration of the new year, I will be cooking several dishes tonight for dinner as we have a couple of guests comping over to enjoy the evening with us. On the menu tonight is: Thai Pulled Pork, Thai Spiced Pork Loin, Asparagus and Mushroom Stir fry and Fried Rice. For desert, my favorite, Chocolate Icebox Cake. "Never had it", you say. I am not surprised as it is an old Fischer family recipe passed down generation to generation. It is wicked good and so, so decadent. Your new years treat:
12 oz Semi Sweet German Chocolate
3 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp water
4 eggs (separated into whites and yolks)
1 c hvy cream
1/2 tsp rum or almond extract
1 angle food cake
In double boiler, melt chocolate, sugar, water and vanilla until smooth. Remove from heat. Add 1 - 2 tsp of chocolate to yolks, stir constantly, you don't want to scramble your yolks. Continue to add chocolate a bit at a time to yolk until combined. Whip egg whites until stiff then fold into chocolate/yolk mixture. Whip cream with rum or almond extract and a little bit of sugar. Fold into chocolate/egg mixture. Break apart your angle food cake into bite size pieces and put into 9x13 glass dish. One angle food cake should be enough to fill up the dish. Poor chocolate moose over top of angle food cake and place in fridge for hour or so to chill. Serve with whipped cream over top.
12 oz Semi Sweet German Chocolate
3 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp water
4 eggs (separated into whites and yolks)
1 c hvy cream
1/2 tsp rum or almond extract
1 angle food cake
In double boiler, melt chocolate, sugar, water and vanilla until smooth. Remove from heat. Add 1 - 2 tsp of chocolate to yolks, stir constantly, you don't want to scramble your yolks. Continue to add chocolate a bit at a time to yolk until combined. Whip egg whites until stiff then fold into chocolate/yolk mixture. Whip cream with rum or almond extract and a little bit of sugar. Fold into chocolate/egg mixture. Break apart your angle food cake into bite size pieces and put into 9x13 glass dish. One angle food cake should be enough to fill up the dish. Poor chocolate moose over top of angle food cake and place in fridge for hour or so to chill. Serve with whipped cream over top.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Spring Time?
I spent the last two days (in the afternoon) working out in the yard. I raked up most of the dead weeds on our back slope between our house and garden area. The kids then helped me carry them to my fire pit where we burned them. They really like to play with fire, most kids do, I know I did. I remember during scouts that once you put a stick into the fire it had to stay there. If you disobeyed, you ended up having extra chores, like dishes or building a latrine or something like that. I do the same thing with the kids, so they ended up having to sweep the steps or sidewalk for a couple minutes instead of putting weeds into the fire.
My plan this week is to do some weed spraying out by the road and then get the garden prepared for spring planting. I also want to finish up my compost bins and build my chicken yard. It seems like a lot, but I don't think it will take to long. The chicken yard should be great, I am going to use some 8 foot logs that I got two years ago as posts and dig them 2 feet into the ground. I have some chicken wire fencing that I will put around the whole thing and tie to the logs. I will need to build a gate for the fence as well. I am a bit nervous about how the whole thing will hold up against coyotes and raccoons. I will try to bury a bit of fence into the ground as well and spread it out over the ground so they can't dig under the fence. It is going to get into the 60's this weekend, so it should be great for working in the yard. Wish me luck!
My plan this week is to do some weed spraying out by the road and then get the garden prepared for spring planting. I also want to finish up my compost bins and build my chicken yard. It seems like a lot, but I don't think it will take to long. The chicken yard should be great, I am going to use some 8 foot logs that I got two years ago as posts and dig them 2 feet into the ground. I have some chicken wire fencing that I will put around the whole thing and tie to the logs. I will need to build a gate for the fence as well. I am a bit nervous about how the whole thing will hold up against coyotes and raccoons. I will try to bury a bit of fence into the ground as well and spread it out over the ground so they can't dig under the fence. It is going to get into the 60's this weekend, so it should be great for working in the yard. Wish me luck!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Thai Pulled Pork
A couple of days ago I put together a pork shoulder that was fantastic. Slow roasted in the oven smothered in slightly spicy, very sweet and delicious coconut milk marinade.
5 lb pork shoulder roast (with fat on and bone in)
1 c coconut milk
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 c honey
1/4 c garlic (chopped)
sea salt, black pepper, dried red pepper and sesame seed oil (to rub on the roast)
Preheat oven to 400. Cut 1 inch deep cross-grain slits into the non-fat side of the pork roast, about an inch or inch and a half apart. Rub salt, black pepper, red pepper and sesame seed oil all over roast. put into roasting pan with rack, fat side down. Combine coconut milk, honey, garlic and soy sauce and pour over roast. Make sure to get inside the slits in the roast with your marinade.
Put into oven for 20 minutes. Take it out and reduce heat to 300, flip the roast so the fat side is up and cover with lid. Put back into oven and cover for 3 hours. Check every 30-40 minutes and re-bast roast with the juices in the bottom of the pan. If the juice is starting to dry, you can add a bit of water to it. Uncover roast and cook an additional 20-30 minutes. Meat should be pulling away from the bone and practically falling apart. Use a fork and knife to break up and pull apart the meat. Use the sauce in the bottom over the meat and with rice or noodles. Yum!
5 lb pork shoulder roast (with fat on and bone in)
1 c coconut milk
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 c honey
1/4 c garlic (chopped)
sea salt, black pepper, dried red pepper and sesame seed oil (to rub on the roast)
Preheat oven to 400. Cut 1 inch deep cross-grain slits into the non-fat side of the pork roast, about an inch or inch and a half apart. Rub salt, black pepper, red pepper and sesame seed oil all over roast. put into roasting pan with rack, fat side down. Combine coconut milk, honey, garlic and soy sauce and pour over roast. Make sure to get inside the slits in the roast with your marinade.
Put into oven for 20 minutes. Take it out and reduce heat to 300, flip the roast so the fat side is up and cover with lid. Put back into oven and cover for 3 hours. Check every 30-40 minutes and re-bast roast with the juices in the bottom of the pan. If the juice is starting to dry, you can add a bit of water to it. Uncover roast and cook an additional 20-30 minutes. Meat should be pulling away from the bone and practically falling apart. Use a fork and knife to break up and pull apart the meat. Use the sauce in the bottom over the meat and with rice or noodles. Yum!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Cheap, cheap, cheap
We got our chickens. We had been wanting fresh (and not store bought eggs) for some time, and broke down this last month and ordered 9 chickens. I built a chicken coop (kids helped me paint it red) and plan on building a fence over the next couple of weeks to keep the predators out and our chickens safe.
ViviAnne and I had set the alarm for 5:15 this morning, but had drifted back to sleep, when we got a call on the home phone from the post office that our baby chicks had arrived. We quickly went down stairs and had breakfast before sun up and I drove into town to pick them up. ViviAnne set up the brooder box in the basement bathroom while I was getting them. At the post office I was presented with a chirping box, which I needed to sign for and then headed back home.
Once home we all opened up the box and scooped our chicks into our brooder box and turned on our heat light. They are really cute and after 15 minutes or so they started to warm up and look around for food and water (which they found). I am pretty excited to go home tonight and play with them a little.
Can't wait to have a real egg and not the store bought variety.
ViviAnne and I had set the alarm for 5:15 this morning, but had drifted back to sleep, when we got a call on the home phone from the post office that our baby chicks had arrived. We quickly went down stairs and had breakfast before sun up and I drove into town to pick them up. ViviAnne set up the brooder box in the basement bathroom while I was getting them. At the post office I was presented with a chirping box, which I needed to sign for and then headed back home.
Once home we all opened up the box and scooped our chicks into our brooder box and turned on our heat light. They are really cute and after 15 minutes or so they started to warm up and look around for food and water (which they found). I am pretty excited to go home tonight and play with them a little.
Can't wait to have a real egg and not the store bought variety.
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