M+B=E2O2

Tikka Masala

Several weeks ago I decided I wanted to try to make one of my favorite Indian dishes- Chicken Tikka Masala.  Only problem was that I decided to make this on the first Friday of Lent.   So I thought I would take this dish that I'd never made and change the main ingredient-instead of chicken I used shrimp.  I've made it twice since, once again on a Lenten Friday with shrimp then I made it again but finally  with chicken. 

The first go around I used a recipe on http://allrecipes.com.  Since I'd never made anything like it and I was going to use shrimp instead of chicken I followed the rest of the recipe exactly as written.  We were having friends over (Nice of me to test never before tried recipes out on friends huh?) so I doubled the recipe as well.  All and all it was pretty good, especially if you were congested and needed to clear you sinuses! The original recipe called for 2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper.  I have never used cayenne pepper so I doubled it.  whoa nellie! It was so hot! Both Ben and our friend G loved it.  G took the leftover sauce home with him as a matter of fact.   I was able to eat it, but not really enjoy it.  I love hot, but not that hot!

A couple weeks later I tried again.  This go around was for another dinner party and added another two  guinea pigs friends to try my second attempt.  This time I added a spice or two and I cut the cayenne waaaaaay down.    Ben, G & new guest M added the cayenne to their own plates to up the heat, I think the rest of us agreed that it was darn near perfect with out it though.  There was enough of a kick to taste it, but I didn't have to blow my nose throughout the meal. 

I was really excited to finally get it together and use chicken.  I love shrimp, but I hate peeling and de-veining those suckers.  This time I was making it for my mom, two of her two sisters & my cousin who were in town for the weekend.  Those gals are Polish through and through and not really into the heat, so for this round I only gave the cayenne jar a shake  or two in the sauce.  I also tripled the recipe and portioned out a bit for my cousin who is vegetarian.  For her bit I had bought extra firm tofu to use. 
The general consensus was that it was quite yummy- Yay!   I absolutely love it and am so excited to make it again.

Here is the recipe I came up with- mostly as found on the allrecipes.com site.  I doubled & tripled this though.  I cook for 6 minimum around here and more often than not I have a few extras around the table. 

Ingredients:

marinade:

• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (only if you love it HOT!) 1/4 teaspoon is what I used the 2nd time
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 4 teaspoons salt (or to taste- I used kosher)
• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces OR 2 lbs of shrimp, peeled, de-veined and tails removed OR extra firm tofu

sauce:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno pepper finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 3 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
• 1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. In a large bowl combine yogurt, lemon juice, and all the spices from the marinade list-cumin, cinnamon cayenne, black pepper, turmeric, salt  & ginger.  Stir in your meat- chicken, shrimp or tofu.  Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour- I had my stuff marinating all day.
2. If you are making chicken or tofu- you can use your grill to cook it.  If you want you can skewer the  chicken, I just threw it on some veggie grill sheets that I have to keep the meat from falling through.  You want to cook th chicken until the juices run clear- 10-15 minutes or so.
3. Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat.  Saute garlic and jalapeno for 1 minute. season with the sauce spices -cumin, paprika, turmeric and salt.  Stir in tomato sauce and cream.  Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes.  Add grilled chicken/tofu and simmer for 10 minutes.  Transfer to a serving plater and add fresh cilantro on top

For shrimp:

Instead of grilling the shrimp I just dumped the entire bowl of marinade and shrimp into the sauce once it had thickened.  I then cooked the shrimp in the sauce (a little less than 10 min I think- the shrimp should be pink).

All this was served with brown rice that had been seasoned with onions, garlic and turmeric and I added frozen peas once the rice had finished cooking (the hot rice will defrost and cook the peas in a few minutes).  Add some warm Naan bread and you've got yourself a delish meal!

Grilled marinated chicken

Simmering in the sauce

The finished plate :-)

It Starts With a Sprinkle

 When you are young, life tends to be sprinkled with death. Up until my 20's I had a light sprinkle. The deaths of 3 grandparents & the death of my dog stand out. I also remember my neighbors friend was hit by a car while riding his bike in the fog, I didn't know him but I can tell you that I have never gone by the bridge over Blackburn Road with out thinking of that boy and his dad. (Who was the police officer called to the accident unknowingly!!) In my 20's I experienced my first death of a friend & fellow lifeguard. He was driving home from Santa Barbara to east Ventura in the wee morning hours and just blocks from home he fell asleep. There's another haunted place for me for sure.  Ben's grandfather died when I was 28, I had only briefly met him, he waited to meet Emma before leaving us. Two years prior I also lost an uncle.

It would seem that it was my 30's where the sprinkles got a little heavier, more like a light rain.  In the first half of my 30's my last remaining grandparent passed away. I lost three more uncles as well. I lost my beloved Bungee, a dog who saw me all the way through college, marriage and the births of all 4 kids. I never knew I'd feel such pain over losing him. 

Recently I had the honor of doing one of the readings for my friends mom's funeral Mass.  It was quite likely one of the most difficult things I have done in recent memory. Once back in my seat I saw her daughter, my friend, give a most beautiful eulogy with strength, with her heart and with so much poise I could not help but admire her.  When I asked her later just *how* did she do it? Was it all that time in the theater department? Her answer was that her mom was right there with her- by her side, giving her that strength.  This is what I hope and pray for others as I hear of tragic losses.  That their loved ones stand beside and give them strength.  I've seen it happen, I know they can.

  I always thought that my peers, my friends, my classmates from high school would live on for  many many years.  I guess that is the expectation and hope for everyone really.   In the last few months, two young men that I used to know, that I used to see in classes, swim on the swim team with or just hang out and chat with at lunch have died.   It just seems so wrong.

Esau died first.  Cancer took him.  I haven't seen him since graduation.  What I remember about him is that he smiled more than he frowned, he laughed often and was always kind.  He was a gentle giant of sorts.  I can't imagine anyone  who met him, not  liking him. 

Just this last Saturday Greg died.  He was surfing- something I would bet he did more days than he didn't.  I swam with Greg through high school. I did stats for the water polo team that he played on as well.  What I remember about Greg was that he had a general shyness about him- until he was with all the guys.  There he was goofy and funny and laughed a lot. He sure was not shy with them.  My sophomore year there was a group of us who went to prom together.

Seven swimmers and one runner. :-)  I went with Greg.  Poor guy had to wear a white tux!  You'd think I could have found a dress that didn't require white! (and that wasn't straight out of Cinderella!!) I think he pulled it off just fine though.

 

Don't we look so young! 

Anyway the fact that I have not seen or talked to these two guys  in 20 years did not take away the impact  their deaths had on me.  There is still a terrific sense of loss felt.

  I think of their families~ moms, dads, brothers, sisters, kids (oh my gosh the kids) and their spouses.  I think of the friends who have stayed in touch and been a part of their lives over the years.   It is pretty painful to think of this, whether you know the person or not, you imagine you know how any one of those people are feeling, but I know I don't. There is still a sense of personal loss however. A pain felt that  floats in and out of my thoughts. 

I have 4 years of high school memories.  Those have now become precious moments in time that have taken on a new meaning.  Knowing that there will be no chance meeting around town, no new friend requests or new messages on facebook, no chance of seeing them at the 20 year reunion.  No chance to hear them brag about their kids, no chance to tell them about mine, no chance for any new memories.  Yes, there is definitely a loss felt.

Death is a part of life.  Something we all have to figure out somehow.  As painful as each death is, it is not the kind of thing you ever hope to get used to.  It is going to happen more often now, it just does.  Those sprinkels have already turned into a bit of a light rain.

Can I get a Sick Sick?

Both boys are officially sick. One with a sinus infection the other bronchitis. Yippee!

Big Bear Birthday Fun

We spent another 4 days in Big Bear.  This was our second trip up there, last year we went mid April.  There wasn't much snow that trip, but it was a peaceful & fun-filled and had us eager to return.  This time we really wanted to go when the mountains were snow filled so that the kids could really have a chance to *know* snow.  It ended up working out that we were able to go the weekend before my birthday- not a bad present!  We were able to leave Friday afternoon, however it was not quite early enough to miss LA traffic.  It got dark before we got to the bottom of the mountain, so we opted to just spend the night in San Bernadino, there were a few sections of 18 that had snow showers, and being non snow drivers it just seemed like a good idea.  The kids are always up for a hotel sleep over so they were happy to stop. We had dinner at Denny's and were seated next to two nuns.  My kids love to eat, so restaurants are not much of a chore for us.  They are well behaved more often than not which is nice.  As we were leaving the nuns stopped me and complemented our family.  It really just made my day.  (After 4 hours of driving in LA traffic with them- well- sometimes it is nice to see them through the eyes of others!) 

Saturday morning we hit up IHOP for breakfast then hit the road.  Olivia tends to get a little green after a while if the road is too curvy.

She asked for some sunglasses as we got further up the mountain.  I couldn't resist taking a picture of her.  Not too long after this shot we put the headphones on her and she fell asleep, thereby skipping out on motion sickness. (FYI if you didn't know, listing to music on headphones can help out). 

We had the privilege and honor of using my friend's family cabin for our stay, it was home away from home without a doubt.  More on that in a bit.  We got our stuff in the house, shoveled the icy snow off the driveway and had some lunch.  After lunch we went on a mission to find someplace to do some sledding.  We found a little spot with some little hills and had some fun.  The snow was soft enough to make some snowballs (if you look close at the photo in the top right corner of the collage you can see Owen throwing a snowball- Daddy and boys had a grand time having snowball fights!) 

Evan 's primary objective was trying to fall or crash, he is such a ham!  Olivia loved the sledding, as evident by the look on her face.  Emma made friends with a mom on the same little hill as us. She is the owner of the green and yellow inflatable Evan was using and the snowball makers that Emma is using.  She spent quite a bit of time making the snowballs, but she didn't throw any of them, she just wanted to make them! All and all the kids had a blast and could hardly wait to go to the "big" hills for some snow tubing!  Saturday night we ordered some pizza to be delivered and just had a quiet night in.

Sunday we had breakfast at the house then went to Church.  It was a beautiful, beautiful church, really lovely.  The service, however, left us missing our home parish!  By the time Mass was over it was lunch time and my parents had arrived for the day.  We had some lunch with them then Ben & I went and got some stuff we needed from the store while the kids hung out with Gramma & Poppa.  My Mom had also brought a dinner for us all so we got to enjoy another nice evening in. 

Monday we took the kids to "Snow Play".  It was next to empty which was awesome!  The kids had an absolute blast on the hills.  Evan and Olivia were required to ride with Ben or me, but they were ok with that and were just fearless.  We were there for 2-3 hours I'd say.  Even though they have that "magic carpet" lift it was still a lot of work!  The kids were hoping to go back Tuesday, but that was our departure day so it was just not in the cards for them.  I can't wait to have them try skiing or snow boarding! It has been years since I have done either and I look forward to getting a chance to go again.

I put squirrel food out the very first day we arrived, but it took the squirrels a couple of days to figure it out.  The blue jay's found the peanuts right off though!  This little squirrel cracked me up, he finished off the seed in the other feeder first, one that didn't require him to put his head all the way in.  The kids got a real kick out of him sticking his head inside the bird feeder to pilfer food.  It was too cute and so much fun to watch.

The Home.  There is just not enough that I can say about the home we stayed at.  A few years ago my friend had mentioned that her family had a cabin in Big Bear and that should we ever want to use it to let her know.  I knew that a few other friends had used it and just raved, so when we had decided to use Ben's days off to go play in the snow I contacted my friend and as luck would have it the cabin was available.  The family does not rent the cabin out, it is just for family and friends of the family.  I can not tell you how honored I am to be included in her circle of friends.  When we arrived the kids were thrilled to find a few sleds in the garage and a small  pile of snow on the side of the driveway to slide down.   Let me just tell you about my favorite things.  First I have to say, it felt like we left our home only to come home.   There are knick knacks and photos, personal touches that clearly let you know you are in a loved place.  In the above photos are some of my very favorite things.  Cross stitch samplers done by my friend's mom.  The village that overlooks the kitchen, and of that my very favorite were the nuns coming out of the photography studio! The picture that was above the TV (bottom right corner). That picture just made me smile every time I looked at it.  I also just loved the arrangement of crosses that greeted you as you came up the stairs into the family room/dining room.  My favorite cross is the one singled out above.  I loved lighting all the candles each night, I don't do it enough at home and I now want to figure out just where I can put lots of candles to enjoy.  There were so many little details in the decor that just made the house so special, such a home.  Best of all, rather than take any payment to offset any costs to the family, they ask that if you have enjoyed your time that perhaps you'd like to like to make a donation to Habitat for Humanity.  We had the opportunity to spend time together in this amazing home and we get to help others achieve the dream of owning a home.  Nothing short of inspiring.  We have dreams of owning a cabin in Big Bear someday and I am more inspired now than ever.  What they have done, what they are doing is exactly what I would love to be able to do as well.

And finally my birthday.  We left Big Bear on my birthday.  Kind of sad in a way, but it was nice to come home to family.  I'm not really a cake fan, however I do love angel food cake with strawberries.  So that is what Ben got for me.  The gift of spending 3 days with my family in such an inspiring and beautiful place was the very best gift I could have received.  I am blessed with 4 beautiful children who inspire me to be a better person every day.  My husband is my best friend, I don't know  how I got so lucky.  I have a circle of friends that grows continuously. One thing Facebook has shown me is that good friends are always there- even if nearly 20 years has gone by since we last connected.  I love that. 

Getting Better

Emma is finally on the mend.  She still has a wicked cough though.  When we have left the house and gone public have have gotten a few "looks".  I'm confident she's not contagious, but the cough sounds so bad I understand the looks really.  Owen tried going to TKD today, but he only lasted 30 minutes or so.  He seems so much better, but I had a feeling he would have a tough time doing such hard work.  We've been keeping busy around the house though.  Below are a few pictures of our projects.

Emma working on her  "book".  This was taken 4 days into 6 days of the flu.  She lost 6 pounds, 7% of her total body weight during this bout. 

Olivia decides to get in on the book making.

"See right here mommy, I made this for you."

We got some acrylic paint on Saturday and did something with one of our collections.

Here's the crowd painting some rocks.

Olivia was quite serious about it.

I LOVE this one that Evan made for us! He was so careful with the placement of each dot.

Here is one of Emma's

another of Emma's

Here's a long shot of the group.  The polka dot one in front is Emma's - she liked Evan's idea.

Guess which one is mine...

Collections

 

Way back in the day (last week), we went to the beach in search of rocks for a project. (Which has not come to completion yet, thanks flu).  The kids love to collect things.  I haven't' quite figured out what to do with all of them yet.

We have

                                         our stick collection

                            our pine cone collection

                                our rock collection

                              more rocks in our collection

and shells, rocks and sticks recently collected at the beach.

As long as they don't want to collect spiders, I think I will be ok.

BeastyCar Clean Garage

I had to move Ben's beast of a car out of the garage today.  The spinner in our washer decided to stop spinning which makes getting laundry done a little tough.  We've talked about a new set  for a while, but honestly, there are so many other things I'd rather buy than a washer and dryer (the timer on the dryer stopped timing quite a while ago).

Not that I haven't wanted  something new and pretty and front loady and all.But dang I would much rather win them on The Price is Right or something. However I've never been on any game show, so I had to move Ben's car today in order to unhook the old and broken so that the new front loady ones can fit  Friday morning.  I am proud to say that I- all by my very self- unhooked and moved both washer and dryer without anything exploding or shooting water everywhere or anything.  Yep, just me. 

I then proceeded to clean out and organize most of the garage- even the very overwhelming crazy corner that I bypassed a couple years ago when I last cleaned the garage (and even won 3rd place in a online organization contest!) I still have a small section to go- mostly kids stuff and art stuff.  I took before and after pictures of course.  The before is a bit embarrassing- the garage really gets the brunt of miscellaneous clutter.  The after feels great though.   Plus I got to drive Ben's car (a whole 15 feet or so).  Boy I tell ya, nothing like a beasty muscle car to make you feel like The Most Powerful Being ever.  

So here again I will put it out there for all to see.  The mess & clutter of before and the we-still-have-too-much-crap-but-it-is-all-in-its-own-place after photos along with some shots of the car. I did load the back of my beast (suburban) with a bunch of stuff to give away. I'm sure once I go through the kids stuff and art stuff out there I will have a bit more. 

Before

After!  I have no idea why there is no wall in that back corner- we sloved that poblem in the past by putting a washer and dryer there.  That is the current plan as well.  All that wide open space will have a beasty car in it soon, but boy is it nice to dance through now!

This is the corner I avoided back in'07.  I hate this corner.  I have wanted it to be an extra pantry type space since we moved in- but it somehow never got there.  Mostly it became a place to put everything.

Yay! look at it now!  Next in our plan is to rip out the white cabinet and the shelf and get proper pantry type cabinets.  I can not wait!!! Though I do love this and feel really good about it.  

And now some beautiful beasty car pictures.  The car first belonged to Ben's grandfather, then was passed down.  We feel so fortunate to have it now! We want to keep it as stock as possible.

    We've kept all of the bits of charm left behind by Grandpa Antonio

 

It's New

Gammy got Emma & Olivia these little hula outfits while they were in Hawaii.  The girls were so excited!  They love the annual labor day luau at the yacht club and are now so excited to have their own "hul-au" costumes.

Olivia and Emma dancing the night away at Gammy & Gampys.

Getting ready to move our boat to the new slip at the yacht  club.

Garrett is so excited.

Here we are in our new slip!

I'm looking forward to more rain this week- I actually like the rain and the cold.  The kids are a little tired of it, though not completely.  We joined the local Y last week so that has been a great option for something to do.  Evan is not as thrilled with it because he is not allowed in the "big kid" area- for two more months.  He pitched a huge fit today over it.  We ended up sitting in the car for 5 minutes while the other kids were happily playing inside.  He got over himself though and I got to work out and he got to play.  I'm planning on taking them swimming tomorrow- after my workout. 

homecoming

After 30 days Gammy & Gampy finally came home.  The kids missed them terribly! 
(Dawn, I didn't use Picnik for this collage, I realized I could use Picasa and do this-very cool way to get lots of pictures in one space. )

In a homecoming of another sort, Buka came home today after having his, um, family jewels put in the bank permanently.  Poor guy.  Though it appears that he is just as spunky as ever- no post anesthesia sluggishness from him!

Here's Buka with his intertube.  It's a little bit easier to maneuver than the party hat that the vet usually gives!

A few of my favorite things

Olivia's toes...

My boys happily looking at a book together....

Quiet study....

Emma building with her favorite blocks.... (it is a boat in the making)

The little pink bike....