Tonight’s supper was Irish White Bean and Cabbage soup. K will be following with the recipe. Mmmmm. Soup.
A new soup.
Reply
sweet potato pasta
Harry has decided that he will no longer willing eat a meal if it doesn’t contain pasta.* I didn’t want to force feed him again, but I had some sweet potatoes in the cupboard that had to get used up. How to solve this epic problem? Turn to Google, of course 
A quick search for sweet potato pasta will net you plenty of recipes, but most looked a little to thick and gelatinous for my tastes. I didn’t want something creamy and thick, I wanted something light — Spring-like but with an Autumn-flare, if that makes any sense to anyone but me.
Somewhere in my search I ran across this gem. The pictures sold me. Definitely check them out. My pictures look… edible. Her shots make me want to lick my computer screen.
I’m not going to re-post the recipe here. I never do that unless I change a recipe pretty much beyond recognition. Here are the changes I made:
- the original recipe calls for 1/2 cup of oil, although Sara says they use just enough to coat the bottom of the pan. I didn’t use any, as we are a no-oil household. Instead, I sautéed the onion in a bit of broth.
- I used half the amount of onion and ginger. Actually, I doubled the recipe, but didn’t double the onion and ginger. I have young palates to please. I think I would have loved the extra ginger, personally.
And that’s it! Definitely give it a go! Click here to go to the recipe
*Little man is in for a bit of a shock, because we’re getting ready to do some gluten-free experimenting for the next few weeks.
3 months
October, eh? That’s only…. three months ago. Not so bad Expect to see more posting over here. I’m seriously contemplating letting my personal blog die and just moving it all over here. In the mean time, here are a few pictures to help you catch up.
-
- Liam learns to make pitas.
-
- first day of swimming lessons – Liam’s done and Harry’s up
-
- sunrise down our side street
-
- Harry goofing off for the camera
-
- the inside of the car window
-
- practicing our square lips :)
-
- a man of solutions – even if those solutions have purple butterflies all over them
-
- we planted two new apple trees in the yard
-
- two of these, they will eventually be beautiful lilac bushes
-
- Harry did some painting
-
- New Year’s Day!
he’s a smooth criminal
I came in from doing the laundry to find a lone marker cap on the table. That, and this:
Very suspicious. I glanced around the room, and found this incriminating image:
building my case:
like all criminals, he tries the hand in front of the face to protect his identity:
knowing he’s been caught, he throws his hands up over his head in a gesture of defiance submission.
Is it just me, or does he not look terribly recalcitrant?
Note: he also covered the bottom of his foot.
Another note: I probably wouldn’t have found this so humorous and taken the time to snap photos and write a blog post if I’d found the drawing not the wall first.
the great pumpkin
There was a Fête de Potiron at school for the maternelle classes. Harry had a wonderful time! And came home absolutely knackered.
A close of of the face painting. This is FORESHADOWING, people!
Ahh, so sweet. So…. innocent? Don’t buy it
new glasses
Harry got new glasses this last week, a slightly stronger prescription. He loves his new glasses! The inside, the part he sees when putting them on, is green. Which, of course, is the best color ever.
We are all extremely excited about the green-ness, as you can tell.
a day on the canal
Ahhh, ’twas to be a magical day. Liam had requested, as an end of school year celebration, a trip to one of the boatlifts on one of the many canals in our region. But every time we would arrive, there would be something standing in our way. The first time, the boat had been cancelled and we’d have to stand around for a couple hours waiting for the next one. With two kids with attention spans of…. two kids? Not likely. The next time,the boat was running but all places had been sold. Again, we could wait around for a couple hours. I think not.
We should have taken this as a sign.
But no, I wanted to give Liam what he had requested. They have special events on the canals, about once a month, in which you can travel by boat up and down the canal for a special, all-afternoon excursion. Up some locks, down others. Beautiful scenery, interesting architecture and mechanics – it was supposed to be a fantastic day out!
Except that it rained. And five hours, sitting inside a barge whose windows are too high for the kids to see out of? Just didn’t have the same magical appeal. Within 30 minutes Harry was asking to go home. Liam spent most of the time sighing and/or playing Angry Birds on Jesse’s phone.
Liam at the beginning of our trip
Harry in the beginning
15 minutes in
Jesse looking earnest... and grey
I think this photo sums up how we were ALL feeling after about an hour
after about an hour, Dad came through and made the day bearable
It was an interesting thing to do. I would do it again, if I could be guaranteed good weather so I could sit out and enjoy the weather and the scenery, and really see what was happening when we went through the locks. I would also hire a sitter
it stopped raining about fifteen minutes before the end of the tour
Archeosite
As per my usual, I’ve fallen behind on updating the blog. Expect a few rapid-fire posts to hit the internets today.
On August 7th we went to Archeosite, an open-air, living museum that aims to recreate prehistoric, proto-historic, and Gallo-Roman life in this region. I should have had my camera out taking far more pictures. Instead I was too busy enjoying myself, chasing after kids, and trying to read signs when the kids were standing still. Next year I think we’ll get a membership to this site and go often – it was really informative and fun, and just a nice day out in nature with the family.
the approach to the Gallo-Roman villa
Harry spent every free minute discoursing with the fishies
grape vines surrounding the gardens at the villa
inside the villa
Jesse was enthralled with these shoes on one of the period-actors
J explaining one of the artisans crafts to Liam
Like I said, not nearly enough photos to do the day or the site justice. There was a nice walk through the woods around a small lake, a small village setup, farms, authentic early houses… I can’t wait to go back!
Scientastic!
Today the kids and I ventured out to Bruxelles on our own to take in a children’s science museum named Scientastic. I tend to avoid big outings like this during the week – not because I can’t do it alone, but because it’s so much easier to take on the city when you’ve got a second adult on hand. But the kids are getting older, I’m feeling more and more confident in my train/metro skills, and I have an iPhone, whose mapping skills completely make up for my total lack of direction. Also, after spending last weekend in London, Bruxelles seems small town!
The museum is underground, in a wing of a metro station. It’s small but well laid out, and the kids had a blast. Lots of optical illusion type things, everything very hands on, and great for all ages. I wish I had more pictures to show you, but I was too busy chasing after Harry and helping him try things out to haul out the camera.
my one shot inside the museum
candy shop as we walked from the museum toward the Grand Place. thankfully the boys were oblivious.
street opening up on the Grand Place
Bruxelles Grand Place
another view
and another
Harry being camera shy
trip to London
Cheerio! I’ve never actually heard anyone say that, but thought I’d throw it in all the same. We spent the last four days traveling to/in/around/back from London. It was a good trip, we saw some sites, and we had a good time as a family. That said, if we had it to do again, we’d stay home and do something local. It was insanely expensive, insanely crowded, and just too…. frantic for our tastes. Jesse and I have vowed to do day trips for the foreseeable future.
DAY ONE – TRAVELING TO LONDON
- looking jaunty on the train to Bruxelles
- killing time in Bruxelles, waiting for the Eurostar
DAY TWO – LEGOLAND
On the train to Legoland, Liam saw a sign that said “Help Station”, but the “P” was nearly faded out. “Dad,” he said, “are we in Hell?” Not yet, but soon Jesse would be. Amusement parks are, shall we say, not his happy place. But he held up well for the sake of his kids, and lasted hours before his eye started to twitch. We did four or five rides that day, saw Miniland – which truly was impressive, and waited in queues for what seemed like hours. I’ve been here once before, years ago, with my brother and his daughters. Not much has changed – I remember playing on the same playground with my nieces as I just did this weekend with my boys.
- Harry driving at Legoland
- Liam making friends with the locals
- going up in a *balloon*
- St. Paul’s Cathedral made out of Legos
- the royal wedding party at Buckingham Palace in Legos
- Blast off!
When we got back to London we relaxed in our hotel room for a while (read: until the kids started getting antsy and driving us nuts) and then ventured out for a walk along the riverfront. We then found an incredibly expensive place to eat our evening meal.
- view across the Thames on an evening walk.
DAY THREE – THE LONDON EYE AND A BUS TOUR
The bus tour was, to be frank, a bit of a dud. It was long and drawn out, Harry had to pee, and both kids were bored after about fifteen minutes. We gave up on it after about two hours. The London Eye was a more enjoyable experience. Grossly overpriced, but what in the touristy part of any major city isn’t? We had some stunning views over the Thames.
- going up in the London Eye.
- Big Ben and Parliament as seen from the top of the London Eye.
And now we are home. I went out this morning to see how my garden had done in my absence. My swiss chard is reaching prehistoric proportions, the tomatoes are ripening quickly, and the summer squash and pumpkins are getting ready to take over the world. Seriously. I couldn’t find my pepper plants because in four days the squash and pumpkin had swallowed them up. When we left the squash were about 8 inches long. Now?
- the squash are taking over.
That’s a huge knife. Too bad I’m the only person in the house really keen on squash and zucchini!