Chowder

Leftovers are my saving grace.  I deliberately make double recipes for meals so that I can freeze the second half for later.  I just find it to be a small way to keep sane when things get crazy without warning.  (And let's be honest, there is rarely any warning before a storm hits!)  

There are times however, where people get sick of eating the same dish over and over again.  Especially my kids.  Unless it's hamburgers, they have a pretty low ceiling for leftover tolerance.  Here's where culinary creativity gets big points!  Alas, I do not have this creativity.

I've seen firsthand cooks who can whip up various dishes using the same leftovers in almost the blink of an eye.  These same geniuses can make dinner using ANYTHING.  Anything I tell you!  Hand them some weird combination of ingredients and they will have supper on the table in a twinkling.  And I'm not talking about trained chefs either.  I'm talking your average Joe.  It's quite depressing really.  

When I was a teenager, I used to want to be famous.  Now, all I want is to have this transforming-leftovers superpower.  (A gal can dream!)  I came kind of close today though.  We had whitefish a couple of days ago.  We love fish - drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with salt, stuffed with lemon wedges and baked in the oven until flaky.  Yum!  But this was probably the third time we'd had it this week.  The kids refused to have fish again.  I didn't want to throw it away and I didn't know how safe it was to freeze fish that'd been been cooked 4 days ago.  So I was in a conundrum. 

Luckily, I had a conversation with a friend the other day and she mentioned her success with clam chowder.  "CHOWDER!", my brain exclaimed, "That's exactly the solution I need!"  And so, this simple fish chowder was born.  And let's be honest, nothing beats hot soup on a cold day.

FISH CHOWDER (dairy-free)

5 large potatoes

1 large onion

2 carrots

1 cup frozen corn (optional)

1 1/2 cups whitefish meat, cooked, de-boned, shredded

2 Tbsp vegetable bouillon

4 cups water

1 1/2 cups organic soy (or almond) milk

1/4 cup flour

salt and pepper, to taste

2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Peel carrots and onions and chop.  Peel potatoes, wash and chop roughly.  Add vegetables to large pot and cover with water.  Add bouillon and stir well.  Let boil until veggies are fork tender.  Pour soy milk into a small pot, add flour and heat until thickened.  Add to vegetable pot and stir well.  Add shredded fish and reheat until hot.  Flavour with salt and other herbs.  Let rest for at least 15 minutes.  Serve hot with crusty french bread or those posh oyster crackers of which I have none.  

Pigtails

Today I managed to coax J's hair into pigtails.  They're more like paintbrushes than tails... but terribly  cute all the same!  My little girl is getting so big...!!!  

And this is my other constant companion.  She literally spends hours here taking things in, thumping her legs on the floor happily, or rolling around in circles.  (This convenient arrangement allows me to get quite a bit of work done in the kitchen...)

Since Monday is when we "recover" from the weekend, I usually do some light housekeeping.  Vacuuming, dusting, laundry.  That sort of thing.  Especially the laundry.  Laundry is a never-ending story in this house.  There is no day where I can triumphantly proclaim, "It is finished."  Alas.  But I digress.  So I was do a little cleaning with my girls.  I had just made the beds and was vacuuming when I looked over to see J jumping exuberantly on my bed.  My freshly-made bed.  Only it wasn't so "made" anymore.  *sigh*  What is it about cleanliness that magnetically attracts little ones?  If I wash my floors, someone is sure to spill something as soon as I put away the mop.  Is it Murphy's law, or just a kid thing?  

I am working furiously by lamplight most nights trying to finish this blanket project.  Fingers still crossed that it's done for Christmas.  D thinks I've finally gone off the deep end.  As if I'm already not getting enough sleep, I go and sign up for less.  Pssh.  Sleep is overrated, I tell him.  And he shakes his head knowingly.

Blustery day

It's been quite a blustery day today.  (That sounds suspiciously like a Winne the Pooh line?)  Last night the wind kicked up into hyper drive, and it's carried over till now.  It was pushing the little ones as we waited for the bus this morning.  In fact, it almost picked up J and carried her away!  (They each clung to my legs to anchor themselves.)  All morning we listened to it howl around the buildings and hammer furiously at our door.  Even now, sometimes I expect it to blow through right into the room.  

But it hasn't and we are warm and snug here.  My babies are sleeping and all is well.  

We had a nice weekend.  Part of the niceness is that we spend it together.  We go shopping together, we play together, we work together.  We even visit (or are visited) together.  I treasure all these moments.  They become more precious as time goes by.  I made a great

My list of yarn projects has been largely put on hold due to a huge blanket I am trying to finish for Christmas.  It is an ambitious undertaking.  And very beautiful too!  It is a project for a dear, dear friend.  Wish me luck!

Speaking of Christmas, I found this site the other day and thought it was absolutely FANTASTIC!  Now that is where I'd do my Christmas shopping if I had a big enough budget!  It's perfect for M and J.  They're forever getting into sword fights - except they use screwdriver and hammers for their swords.  Never said they weren't creative...

Unlimited potential

Just yesterday I was thinking about my little ones.  They have it good... as did we all back then.  They are like limitless potential personified.  Practically anything is possible for them.  They can do anything, be anything, learn anything.  

I know there are optimists (hats off to you!) who truly believe that we can do anything no matter what age we are.  It's different though.  I'm a mama.  I can't learn or do things the way they can.  I have responsibilities, obstacles, limitations.  It makes doing things harder, if not impossible in some cases.  But a child?  (Human sponge comes to mind!)  They'll suck up anything you throw their way.  No problemo!  

It truly is a beautiful time to watch.  I am so thankful to have my babies around me.

And here are some other beautiful things I've come across recently...

• Beeswax fun indeed!  I would love to have a pot msyelf to make these garlands and spruce up the home.
• Speaking of beeswax, these candles are GENIUS! Genius, I tell you!  Shotgun this idea for the next birthday cake!
• Not sure if I ever posted this, but these petits fours are gorgeous.  PS - I've made them and they are to die for!  I'm usually a cream girl, but the dacquoise is especially heavenly.
• These hedgehogs are precious!  More motivation to learn knitting!  
• I thought this would be a lovely treat to make during strawberry season next year...  

I promise to post a recipe for these cheese pies when I have a minute.  They're a piece of cake!  (Well, technically not, but you get the idea.)    

Happy weekending!