Out with the old, in with the new

As it is still 2011, let me start by saying:  Happy Old Year. It ain't over yet, you know.

In the spirit of New Year's Resolutions I've been thinking what I should change this coming year.  

I've also been thinking about the Mayan calendar that predicts the end of the world on 23 December 2012.  Should I then plan beyond this date?? (Ridiculous I know, a whole 8 days without a plan!!)

Luckily New Year's resolutions don't last long in my mind either, and one can then quickly get on with trying to live mindfully and enjoying what we have now, while still endeavouring to effect change in our lives.  

I suppose I should rather list the things that I am grateful for in 2011:

• We had healthy and wonderful Son#3
• Son#1 turned 6 and started becoming human again
• Son#2 turned 3 (he can be quite nice inbetween his toddler tantrums)
• We are all semi-healthy (Son#2 and myself on the not-so-healthy part of the scale)
• The husband and I have jobs and can afford to pay for the things we need
• We sold our house within 11 days
• The husband and I truly love each other
• Our parents are alive and well-ish, and, ultimately,
• We have prospects and choices that a helluvalot of people in this world don't have

Taking the number of hours we managed to sleep last night into account, I suspect that I'll be fast asleep with the boys tonight at 8 and quite possibly miss the New Year. 

It was a difficult yet joyful year.  It all depends on how we choose to approach things, isn't it?


Will let my mind ponder throughout the day what the changes are that I'd like to make this coming year.  
Up to 23 December of course.



 

I nicked this recipe from Yvette van Boven's beautiful cookery book: Homemade.  Glorious and easy.

Simple Sorbet

Ingredients:

500 g frozen raspberries/fruits of the forest/strawberries etc.

100ml water

150 ml sugar

Optional:  whipped cream

Method:

Blend the frozen berries with a hand blender.

Heat the 100ml of water in a saucepan and add the sugar.

Stir until dissolved.

Remove from the stove and mix with the berries.

You can try to squish it through a sieve to remove the pips 

but we actually prefer the pips.

Pour into a freezer container.

Every hour, take out the sorbet and stir it around a bit.

Do this 4 times.

After the fourth time, you will have sorbet.

We eat it with some whipped cream – makes an easy ice cream.

Also delicious on its own!

 .

Perhaps the kids are allright...

Kids can be so honest. Sooo honest.  Especially to people whom you would rather not that they know too much about you. 

Son#1 explained in detail to Son#2's teacher that Daddy is now sleeping on a mattress in Son#2's room (because then at least we all get some sleep) and how Son#1 and Son#2 had a sleep-over when Son#1 slept on Daddy's mattress.
(Afterthought:  not a bad idea as they BOTH slept until 6h15 which is not too shabby at all). 

Son#2's teacher looked at me questioningly.  I had to start explaining why the mattress was there in the first place, and no, there isn't any marital strife in the picture at all. 

After that the conversation went downhill. 

Everything I seemed to say after this just confirmed that we were a family in crisis and headed towards a quickie-divorce with traumatised kids and cat.

The whole conversation and teacher's looks got me thinking though.  Perhaps the kids are not the problem, perhaps they don't need the Melatonin and Focus Vitamins and Valerian and Rescue Remedy etc etc.  Perhaps the problem just might be us.

This is of course quite confrontational.  Me?  A bad mother?  Poor parenting skills?  Lack of insight?  Could it be true?

Certainly this might be a possibility.  The only way to test it is to make subtle changes perhaps and watch to see what the effect of that might be, knowing that I am incapable of changing myself completely overnight.

We could take a Kaizen-approach: miniature steps towards our goal (our goal being calm & peaceful sleeping kids, calm & peaceful, organized and non-screaming parents).  Perhaps we should put away that mattress and just do it differently tonight.  

Honesty:  Honestly, sometimes you wish it didn't exist.

.

Arab Travellers in the Far North

Somehow the Vikings and their way of life have always appealed to me.  Their rawness, longing for Death and Valhalla: it must be the Viking Version of Mindfulness.  

I'm reading the most fantastic book:  Ibn Fadlan & The Land of Darkness.  
It was written in 922 AD; the first account of Arab travel writing. 
Ibn Fadlan chronicled everyday practices of peoples that have long disappeared.  Can't believe my luck in finding this fascinating book.

To now find a day to read the whole book in one go.  

 One can dream, one can dream...  





.

Boy meets Boat

And falls in love

Am a butter-making genius

I know it's not a good thing to boast about one's skills, but I am so proud of myself right now it's not even funny. 

I just took some left-over full fat cream straight from the fridge, whizzed it with my trusty hand-held blender until it magically started to separate and turn into butter.  BUTTER!  Butter one can actually EAT!  Feel like Martha Stewart/Betty Crocker/Pioneer Woman all rolled into one!

This is how I did it:

Take some Full fat cream and blend it with a blender until it turns into whipped cream. 
Keep whipping.
Pretty soon, a milky substance starts forming (this is the buttermilk).  You can drain this off and use it for something, not sure what yet, but I will investigate.  
Keep blending it until your blender stops working (butter gets stuck to blades).
You can now press out the remaining buttermilk with a spoon.  
Apparently, pressing out the buttermilk preserves the butter for longer, but I don't plan on keeping it for very long as I'm going to scoff it all tonight.
Now you can add some salt or spices or herbs.


BUTTER!!

Have yourself a Merry little Christmas

Wishing you a love-filled Festive Season!

Lemon & Biscuit layered dessert

This is the dessert we will be making for Xmas dinner on Sunday.  It can be prepared in the morning and kept covered in the fridge until dinner.  Deeeeelicious!

Gorgeous Yet easy:

layered lemon dessert

Ingredients:

2 large tubs of Greek Yoghurt

2-3 lemons

Bastogne biscuits (any spiced ginger-type biscuit will do)

Lemon Curd

Raspberries (optional)

6 see-through tumblers

Method:

Chuck the box of biscuits in a plastic bag (one you can preferably seal).

With a rolling pin, crush the biscuits into crumbs.

Zest the two lemons.

Mix the zest with the yoghurt and add the juice of half a lemon.

(Give it a good squeeze).

Stir in about 4 tablespoons of the Lemon Curd.

Fill the tumblers:

Start with a layer of biscuit crumbs and then add a layer of the yoghurt.

Alternate layers until you’ve filled the tumbler about two-thirds.

Add a teaspoon of lemon curd on top and a few crumbs of the biscuits.

You could add a raspberry if you want more colour,

This makes about 6 portions. 

It’s quite rich and rewarding. 

Unfortunately we scoffed the lot before we could take a picture… 

It looked and tasted so well that the husband couldn’t quite believe

that I had made it!

We do the foxtrot

We do the cha cha cha

Pregnant woman (nearly) mauled by vicious dogs

I could see the headlines already:  Pregnant woman attacked and killed by pack of dogs.  But then in French, as this took place in France, you see.

We were on holiday in the South of France in a tiny hamlet called Cazo (but I'll tell you more about that at a later stage), pregnant with Son#3. The husband took Thing 1 and Thing 2 for a walk in the vineyards (doesn't that just sound too idyllic?), and I stayed at the holiday home (more about that later too). 

After a while I thought I might go look for them.  Lots of deep wells dotted all over the Languedoc, not really the kind of countryside where you can let the kids run and roam freely as you never know if they do a drop & disappear down some old, deep well.  Same goes for the husband.

Just after I left the house, a pack of Collies stormed down the dusty road all barking and frenzied.  In a panic, I picked up a rock.  But then the thought entered my mind that there were about 10 dogs, and my athletic history proves that I probably wouldn't take out all 10 dogs with just one rock.  Other measures were needed.    


All I could think of was the Supernanny, Jo Frost, and her Voice of Authority that you are supposed to use with your kids to get them to do what you want (easier said than done).


WIth a swift 'Arret!' (because you have to speak French to French dogs, they also refuse to speak English), calm was magically restored and I even went for a walk down the dusty road with all 10 dogs happily following their new leader (that would be me).  It was a modern-day miracle. I might just alert the Catholic Church:  Saint Yo, herder of dogs.

Just goes to show what a bit of confidence (and a deep voice) can do.


Now to apply this to my kids...

Moo

 

to you too.

Just another Thursday

Today I have to navigate my way around the Dutch medical services, and believe you me, this is no mean feat.  
Apparently us mere mortals (i.e. anyone NOT a doctor or doctor's receptionist) are too bloody stupid to make decisions regarding our own health.  
Sigh.  
I'll just let the matter rest or I'll get worked up all over again.

Then I have to make meatballs (am a vegetarian...) without egg and milk and bread made with milk for Son#1's Christmas dinner at school.  

This is all because one girl cannot eat egg, milk or bread made with milk.
 
I'm only mentioning this to reiterate the fact that I'm a whimp:  Why I didn't just tell the mother of this girl that hell, I was planning to buy the meatballs at IKEA and definitely not planning to make it myself (I mean, really) just proves the fact that I have no backbone whatsoever.

Luckily in this case, my good deed will be punished, as I don't envy the poor kid who will eat my milkless-eggless meatballs.  Haha.  Revenge is mine after all.

I also have to do Christmas shopping for Saturday and I-don't-want-to.

All of the above depends on whether I survive the doctor's visit:  He's burning a hole in my nail (I hear the screeches of horror echoing from across the globe) to relieve the pressure and pain of my poor injured index finger.

Wish me luck.

Have legs, will run

As fast as I can

The pitter-patter of tiny feet (not)

Somehow I thought that the boys would turn out to be nerds.  Book-loving, geological fact-finding, bird-watching, eager-to-sit-down-and-lap-up-my-every-word nerds.  

Well, things never really turn out exactly as you think they might.  
Why this is so, I don't know.  
I've stopped looking for a reason behind the odd and extraordinary.

Instead, our boys turned out to be feisty confrontation-seeking devices with loud voices and the inability to tread softly on wooden floors in a small house.  

Quite the mismatch with Mummy and Daddy's energy levels.  

Not quite the sleep-until-we're-woken, speak-until-we're-spoken-to-kind of kiddies.


I know one day we'll look back at this energy-sucking-experience as a time of passion and great joy. 

I know this for sure. 

I just don't feel it yet.

Lessons in Self-mutilation

Let me shortly summarise my appearance today:

On my left hand, I have managed to cut off the tip of my thumb with a cheese shaver.  I don't own any other plasters, so I've had to resort to children's plasters from the Ikea.  Effective but humiliating.

My right hand has a black index fingernail and very swollen and painful index finger, because I managed to slam my hand in the car door last night after I came back from trying to donate blood.  It is a pulsating pain and all-encompassing.

Paracetomol and Ibuprofen are running a relay race:  Every three hours another painkiller takes over to manage the (considerable) discomfort.

My mother's words, 'No good deed goes unpunished' reverberates in my ears... (and it turned out I'm not even allowed to donate blood as I've had blood transfusions myself).  

Good deed in vain.


Furthermore, I have two red eyes after 
a) crying like a baby last night after slamming aforementioned hand in car door, and 
b) a double  eye infection - possibly conjunctivitis - which I have been unable to shake off.


During a class today, my nose started bleeding for no good reason.

I can't wash my hair as I have the possible-broken-finger-thing and I have bags under my eyes from not sleeping (again) the size of which that can cause a lunar eclipse of some magnitude.

Note to reader: Wearing black doesn't enhance one's appearance when your face is already grey and ashen with under-eye bags and fatigue.  


A normally friendly and courteous colleague walked past me today and asked me why I looked like a bag of old potatoes.   


Sigh.


Will go to bed early and try and wear light colours tomorrow to hopefully reflect light off my under-eye-bags and make me look more cheerful. 

And although it has nothing to do with my outward appearance, I feel that I should mention that a dentist appointment awaits me to fix the two root canals gone wrong in each of my cheeks.  This discomfort and fear might reflect in my crazed red eyes by now though.


Some days you need to sit in the dark and just wait for the day to pass.


Mmmmm.

The scary part is that I have a feeling that I should rename this entry as 
'Lessons in Self-mutilation Chapter 1' as clumsiness has been with me now for a while...



Let's hope for a good ending to the horror story of today.






 

And then one fine day...

... a plane flies through your living room.

It's nearly Christmas

Almost Christmas.  Nearly Christmas holiday.  I cannot wait.  Two weeks of no early morning school rush, no driving through traffic to get to work, two thirds of my kiddies off to kindergarten.  In short:  Bliss.  Pure bliss.

Our menu for this week doesn't include Xmas dinner.  As yet, I haven't got a cooking clue what we'll be cooking up...   

Menu for the week

Monday                         Risotto with Feta, Butternut & Bacon for the Carnivores

Tuesday                         Grilled Salmon with leftover risotto, haricots verts, and 
                                          gingered carrots

Wednesday                     Courgette & Mascarpone tart with vegetarian schnitzels

Thursday                          Homemade Tomato soup & bread

Friday                                Homemade pizzas

Saturday                           Spaghetti with tomato sauce & vegetarian meatballs

Sunday                             XMAS dinner.... still to be decided...

Have a good week! 

 

Winter...

... can be beautiful.

Sleepless in Breda

I can unhappily report back that Melatonin doesn't help a nearly 4 year old to kick his nighttime wanderings in the butt and sleep through. 

Pity.  

It's the greatest tragedy of my life at the moment.  

We've now passed the 4,5 year-mark of no sleep:  I guess we can survive anything now.  That is positive.


As I write, Son#1 and Son#2 are lying in front of the TV (our babysitter, remember??), in their pajamas, waiting for their dose of Melatonin to help them fall asleep easier.  At least, this makes it easier for Mummy.  Note that it is 17h30.  By 6 tonight, two little buggers will be fast asleep.  


I plan on being kind to myself tonight:  The husband has gone off to a birthday dinner, Mummy has her best friend by her side:  A fantastic bottle of Norton Syrah to keep me company.  

I will ponder questions like: 
Is the glass half full?  And if the answer is yes, I will refill it again.  

Later, when Son#3 is also asleep, I plan on watching a catastrophic movie, something that wipes out life as we know it.  Judging by my level of exhaustion today, this sounds like an attractive option to me.  

Have a good weekend

:)

C'est Le Weekend: That GREY time of year again...

Actually, December and Christmas and New Year's is an awful time. 

Awful.  

Season to be jolly, my foot.  More like the Season of Lack.

Many a single friend hates it because it reinforces the fact that they are still single:  yet another year on your own.  

Family is far far away.

You tally up the bills and it leaves you with that gnawing feeling that you could have done it better.

Grey skies and rain and snow and jackets and scarves.

A time of year when the Haves and the Have Nots in this world are only accentuated.   

Makes you think about your life and what value it adds.

And every year I ask myself how long I will still survive here.  

What can I say?  I'm from the East Coast of Africa.

It's nice and warm there.

Sigh.

Come on, Summer.

Teaching an old dog some new tricks

New project:  Teach self (with help of a book) how to crochet.  Will start with little animals for the boys, then move on to larger projects like scarves, bags and lo and behold, I might even crochet a blanket.  

Have book, will crochet.  

 

Now just to find time to buy the gear.  

Dear reader, you must know:  I have started millions of projects (most never finished).  Does it all matter in the grand scheme of things? Guess not.

I'm just answering the Call of the [Wild] Creativity, and Crochet I Shall.

Budget-Friendly & Yummy Cauliflower & Pesto soup

Feeding a family of 2 boys, 1 baby and 2 hungry parents on a budget can be tricky.  
Boys eat a lot. 
A LOT. 
(And so do their parents but that's another matter).

For a few months now I've been trying to feed us the healthiest food for the least amount of money.  With soup, this is easily achieved.  

This cauliflower soup is flavoured with Pesto and delicious.  Even fussy boys like it!

Cauliflower & Pesto soup

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower, washed and chopped

some butter

some flour

Pesto (2-3 tablespoons)

About 1 litre of vegetable stock

Soy cream (150-200ml)

Salt & pepper

Method:

First of all, make a base to bind the soup.

Melt the butter.

As soon as it has melted, stir in the flour until a paste forms.

Stir in some soy cream (about 150-200ml) and heat.

Add the hot vegetable stock.

Tip in the cauliflower florets.

Cook until the cauliflower is cooked (about 10-15 minutes).

Using a hand blender, blend the soup to a fairly smooth consistency.
It should be rather thick.

Stir in the pesto:  about 2-3 tablespoons will flavour it well.

Season to taste.

Delicious with garlic bread. 

This meal is as cheap as chips!

Survival meets Consumerism

I came across this on Facebook:

This time of year is terrible.  Being bombarded with advertisements that encourage you to buy, possess, own, have, purchase.  Here and there a lost advertisement for charity and poverty and need.

Don't get me wrong:  I live in this world.  This consumerist world.  I buy my kids lavish gifts, purchase books and stuff all year long.  I own an expensive house, my own car, luxuries. 
I consider my status in this world in my job as a university lecturer and my ego puffs up a bit more whenever I drive in our (even more) luxurious Volvo. 

In my own small way, the only time I really think about poverty and people suffering, is when I chuck away food that has spoiled in my fridge.  Then I always think of some mother somewhere who would give her limbs if her child could only have what I'm chucking out. 

I can't help thinking that the way I'm living is wrong:  With all this need in the world, what am I doing or contributing that will make others' lives better?  What have I done today to help a child go to bed with a full tummy? 

This Christmas will be different in our house, I promise.

You know you're living with boys when...

 

...you find a tank in the Christmas tree. 

Menu for this week

Son#1 has declared that I'm allowed to make Bobotie ONE more time and then NEVER again.  I guess he's not a fan.  Won't include it in the weekly menu but rather spring it as a surprise on my poor 6-year-old honey when he least expects it (and because I really like it!).


More and more each day, I'm coming around to the idea of voluntary simplicity:  Choosing to live a simple life.  Not poor and poverty stricken, just simple.  Without all the stuff.

It's difficult.  Walking through supermarkets and turning away from the good stuff that is on display, but not on your shopping list.  Trying to keep myself convinced that I don't want that iPhone after all.  Just being happy with what one has.  My old phone still works.  No Apps possible but who cares.  Because that's it, really:  Stuff won't make me happy, but people will.  My people will.  My peeps rule.

And because my peeps rule, here is a menu for our week, without the dreaded Bobotie.

Menu for the week

Monday                         Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie with roasted butternut

Tuesday                         Vegetarian 'meat' balls, broccoli, potatoes & cream sauce,
                                           Lingonberry jam

Wednesday                     Kale with mashed potatoes, smoked (vegetarian) sausage 

                                  (Dutch dish) with mustard & vinegar
Thursday                          Cauliflower soup & bread

Friday                                Vegetarian Schnitzels, baked potatoes, gingered carrots 
                                           & peas

Saturday                           Home alone again:  Homemade Pizza with the boys

Sunday                             Vegetarian lasagne

Have a good week :) 

C'est Le Weekend: Home alone (with the kids)

The husband has gone and left me to go to a party up north.  Gmf.  

This means that I'm home alone with 3 kids.  

Questions like:  'Will we survive' or better yet:  'Will the kids survive' arise. 

What will we do with our time?  Will I be able to keep my voice soft and loving?  What happens if we don't sleep (again) tonight and I have to Keep Calm and Mother On?

Watch this space.  (And call the cops if nothing appears).

 

Today!

This says it all about my attitude for today!

We're making Christmas decorations for our tacky tree (Xmas trees should be tacky!!!) and trying to stay warm on a cold and windy day here in the Netherlands!

Tonight some leftover soup & bread, make a fire and melt some marshmallows.  Haven't done that in years.

:)

Lately I have been buying veggies in bulk.  This week our table is graced with a huge bunch of fat leeks, dying to be turned into SOMETHING nice.  

I have a neverending love affair with soup, so soup it will be for our dinner.  Hopefully I can hide the 'veggie' part of the soup so Son#2 won't pull up his nose.  Three and three-quarter year olds...  I ask you.

Potato & LEEK SOUP!

Ingredients:

About 500g of peeled potatoes, chopped

A small onion, roughly chopped

About 500g sliced leeks, mainly the white part

800ml of vegetable stock
1 tablespoon of wholegrain mustard

small carton of (soy) cream (around 200ml)

butter
2 bay leaves

salt & pepper

fried bits of bacon (optional for the non-vegetarians!)

1 baguette

grated cheese

Method:

In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter and then add the leeks, onion and potatoes.

Fry for a few minutes until all the veggies have been covered with butter.

Add the stock and bring to the boil.

Add the bay leaves, salt & pepper.

Cover partially and let it simmer for 15 minutes. 
Fish out the bay leaves. 
Stir in the mustard.

Using a hand-blender, blend in batches to a chunky consistency.

Add the cream.

You could add some stock/water if the soup is too thick.

In the meantime, slice the baguette thinly.

Preheat the grill.

Cover the slices of baguette with grated cheese and place under the grill until the cheese has melted and starts to brown.

Serve together with soup while hot!

Bon appetit! 

Rather late than never!

Amidst lots of stress, pain and a lack of sleep & rest this week, I still plan on eating relatively well and having the boys eat well too!

Menu for the week

Monday                         Convenience above all else:  Chips from the chip shop!

Tuesday                         Left-over chips, vegetarian meatballs, peas, Lingonberry jam

                                          & cream sauce

Wednesday                     Potato & leek soup, garlic bread

Thursday                          Bobotie & raisin rice

Friday                                Lentil & sweet potato soup, homemade bread

Saturday                           Sweet & sour stir-fry with tofu & rice

Sunday                             Homemade pizza!

Have a great week!