On roles and responsibilities

Earlier this week, I had a flat tyre. I first noticed it when I was dropping Ellie and Jimmy at daycare. I was in a rush as I had a meeting to get to, so I didn't have time to fix it right then. My short term plan of attack was to drive it slowly to the nearest bus way, park so I could get to work and then let the problem belong to after-work Lisa. My longer plan solution was that I would call my roadside assist centre and have them help me change the tyre after work.

After leaving work, I decided that roadside assist would take far too long to arrive during peak hour, and so I called Mr Fork to come and help me change the tyre on the side of the road as I didn't feel safe driving to a service station to inflate it and getting it home to change it.

Anyway, while Mr Fork was changing the tyre by the side of the road, and I was entertaining the kids who were in the back seat of his car, a man walked by. I should preface this story by also mentioning that this man did not offer to help at all. Instead, he took in the situation, and then said, and I quote "you need to give him something nice to say thank you ". I looked at this man, walking his dog with nary an offer of assistance, and in my sweetest tones, I responded "what, more than the knowledge that his wife will arrive home safely?" That should have been it, but he clearly wanted to get his point across and waggled his eyebrows at me saying "yes, he deserves something nice  for helping you out". I was sweaty, hot, and rather short tempered from waiting on the roadside and having attempted to lift a spare tyre while wearing a pencil skirt and unsuitable blouse and heels. I glared at his back.

But it got me thinking. Is this a normal point of view in society?

I had a work conference recently where I had to be away from home for several nights. Mr Fork's mother had gladly offered to take both children on their non-childcare days, and happily cooked dinner for both them and Mr Fork while I was away. She even offered to have the kids overnight if he needed help. When he goes away for work, they just ask me how long he'll be away and mention they'll see us all when he gets back. I am just expected to cope. And I do. As did he while I was away (I'm also proud to report that he didn't take up the overnight babysitting offer).

He is a father, not a babysitter. Just as he is my husband, not a mechanic. He does things for our family, and for me, for the love of it, and because that is his role. Just as I do the same things. However, somehow when he does these things, it's seen as something extraordinary. When I do them, well, I'm just doing my job.

Does this happen to anyone else?

Cranberrylicious

    Brought to you by Nuffnang and Ocean Spray

 

It's February already. How did it get to be February already? I feel like the year just started. I feel like I'm still making resolutions and figuring out where I want this year to go. Already the holiday season is far behind us. We are in the middle of Chinese New Year celebrations, and Valentine's Day is just around the corner. In our house, those last two things mean lots of delicious food and plenty of sweet treats. Bring it, I say!

Of course, my metabolism isn't what it used to be. I used to be able to eat all the things with no consequences, but those days are gone. I do try to work in some incidental movement where I can but it's tough. Rushing to do day care drop off and pick ups mean I can't just get off the bus a few stops earlier at a whim. Having two boisterous children in tow means I can't dash off and do a quick few laps around the block... it's more likely to be a slow meandering stroll while stopping to look at every ant and flower! I sometimes try to use the playground play equipment as a free style gym but it's hard to exercise and make sure that I'm always keeping my eye on the kids. That's ok, they're worth it.

I've never been one to 'diet' or 'exercise' in the traditional sense... I'd rather eat all the yummy things and do something fun like cycling or touch football. My idea of yummy varies from quite a few people's though I'd say. I naturally gravitate toward brown rice instead of white. I'd choose my homemade sourdough over shop white bread any day. My home grown vegetables are superior to anything I can buy in the shops. If I'm going to have a treat I'd rather indulge in home baking full of good quality chocolate, good fats and whole ingredients rather than something with lots of chemicals, numbers and ingredients I can't even pronounce. In fact, given a choice between supermarket chocolate and some fruit, I'd probably choose the fruit (quality, rich, dark chocolate however is a whole 'nother story!). What I'm trying to say here, is that I try to do everything in moderation, and make food choices that are smart without sacrificing taste or satisfaction.

I've recently discovered the Low Sugar Cranberry Fruit Drink by Ocean Spray. It's become a bit of an everyday treat for me, and I'm trying to convince Mr Fork to give up his daily fizzy soft drink habits and swap over to cranberry juice. I'm even willing to mix it with soda water for him so it's fizzy.

 

At only 10 calories a serve, I think it's a great alternative to other 'unhealthy' beverage choices. I'm still feeding Jimmy, so I drink a daily minimum 3-4 litres, and I love that I can switch it up to something a bit different and know that I'm not adding unnecessary sugar into my diet. The cranberry Ocean Spray drink is sweetened with stevia, but it's not sickly like some drinks can be and it doesn't lose that great cranberry taste. I like to have it straight out of the bottle, or even mixed with a bit of soda water to make it fizz.

 

I'm trying to set a healthy example for my children, so I'm making it a point to swap in healthy foods and get rid of some of the unhealthier options. Ocean Spray low sugar cranberry drink ticks that box!

Toddler art work

Ellie came home from day care and proudly pulled a wrinkled piece of paper from her bag to present to me.

I know I'm a nerd because my first thought was to admire the paper and fondly recall the days when reams of the stuff spooled from dot matrix printers everywhere... ahem.

Then I focused on her drawing and asked her to tell me about it.



E: Mama, I made you a picture! The blue one is you mummy. See, that's your legs and your hair and you're smiling mama! And that's a sun, see how it's shining. And daddy is a banana. And the green one {under the 'banana'} is baby Jimmy mama.

M: But Ellie, where are you?

E: I didn't feel like being in my drawing mama. It's for you! Put it on the fridge please.

Oh I love the whole thing, picture, conversation and interaction! And I was not about to argue with daddy being a banana because for once, I am the tall one in the family and just look at my gloriously long legs!

Recipe: Roast vegetable pasta sauce

Reading back through some of my draft posts, I realise I never posted this one. And quite frankly, it's a keeper because it's simple, adaptable and tastes amazing. I mean, I don't mean to toot my own horn, but it is. Even Jimmy and Ellie will gobble this stuff down, so it's kid friendly as well.

I use it as a pasta sauce, but really, you could use it for a whole range of things - a base for lasagna, or the beginnings of a truly delicious soup come to mind.

Roast vegetable pasta sauce
printable link

Ingredients

• assorted vegetables to roast - in this version I've used tomatoes, eggplant, carrot, celery and the sad looking mushroom and capsicum pieces left in the crisper drawer
• olive oil 
• balsamic vinegar
• garlic cloves

Method

1. Cut all of the vegetables to a uniform size and put into a baking pan. Drizzle over the olive oil and some balsamic vinegar to taste, then roast until everything is collapsed.
2. Put your pasta on to cook, and while it's cooking away;
3. Heat up a fry pan and add a bit of olive oil and some minced up garlic. While that's getting nice and fragrant, process the roast vegetable mixture until it's at your desired consistency.
4. Add the roasted vegetable mix into the garlic and heat it up. Check for seasoning and when the pasta is cooked, add it to the pan so it gets lovely and coated. You may need to add a little bit of the pasta water if your sauce is too thick.

Notes

• This is a very forgiving recipe. I use it to avoid wasting vegetables that have seen better days - whatever I have in the fridge really, as long as there are some tomatoes in there to tie it all together. It's also handy for using up loads of home grown veggies in a tasty way.
• Because it's so easy to make, I often make up the tray of vegetables and roast it while I have the oven on cooking something else. I then let it sit and marinate in the fridge overnight (because I find it develops better flavours) and then whizz it up and finish the sauce the next night for a speedy dinner.
• I leave it a bit chunky but you could always process it more if you'd like a smoother sauce. Sometimes I add olives or capers before serving instead of using any salt. I like to tear fresh basil leaves and add just at the end too.
• This recipe freezes beautifully too and makes for speedy dinner preparation when required!

How do you make your favourite pasta sauce?

What's in my kitchen, January 2016

When I went to type the title of this post, my fingers immediately typed 2015. Then I backspaced, and typed 2015 again. Probably by the time it gets to about June I'll be well in the habit of using that 6! Happy new year! Mr Fork and I had a quiet new year's celebration with out little family. We had a nice dinner at home, tucked the kids into bed and then... slightly later, put ourselves into bed too! Haha, yes, this is what it has come to. We couldn't even muster the energy to go to our nearby lookout and watch the children's fireworks at 8pm this year. Since they also weren't showing on TV, we decided that we didn't need to see them badly enough to keep the kids up late and so, early nights all around it was! Having said that, this year has started off fabulously. We have continued with the food fest started at Christmas and it's been just lovely having everyone home from work/daycare and being able to have unscheduled days and plenty of time catching up with family and friends. And food, always lots of food... hurrah for home cooking, stone fruit and sugary festive treats!

In my kitchen is...

a Kikki.k "For the love of good food and paper" book, given to me by our family secret santa. With a large family Christmas lunch, often in excess of 30 attendees, we have (thankfully) moved to buying just for one person instead of for all present. This means that gifts are often perfectly chosen for the receiver instead of just a gesture as inevitably happens when you have to buy for so many people. This book is full of little food related paper items, such as recipe cards, cupcake wrappers, pretty food related printed paper, and even pre-cut tags and boxes for packaging food gifts. It's such a 'me' present, I'm so pleased with it.

In my kitchen is...

Another well chosen Christmas present of nested measuring cups. Each hen splits in half so that the bottom and top half are different sized cup measures, and reveal another egg or hen inside. I love them, particularly for all the puns I get to make (both out loud and in my head) about them.

You know, which came first, the chicken or the egg? Or when I get to 'crack' the egg. Every one needs a helping hen.

In my kitchen is...

The annual Christmas 'picky eater' loaf. I've mentioned that Christmas lunch is a big family affair to often morphs into dinner. It's a traditional meal too, with a turkey, chicken and ham with roast vegetables. As long as I've been attending, it's been my job to bring along a contribution for the vegan and 'picky eater' group. In my family, that's anyone that doesn't eat the roast meats, so I usually make my loaf vegan and gluten free to cater for everyone else. I also brought along my own jug of mushroom gravy so I was well fed.

Here's my plate, with the loaf and gravy, assorted roast vegetables and a felafel on the side in case I felt the need of it too. Surrounded by family, food and presents, it really was a great day.

In my kitchen is...

A bit of a cheat as it's not technically in my kitchen, but I did snap the pictures while shopping for things to go in the kitchen... so that sort of counts right? My local Woolworths (and Coles too, but I don't have a picture of that) have put up a display stand with free fruit for the kids to eat as they go through the store. Healthy food distraction for the win! I was able to get them both through most of the supermarket minus any demands for sugary snacks and was even asked to buy a few extra pieces of fruit as they looked so tasty (but weren't in the free fruit box) so we had to get some for eating later.

As can be seen here, Jimmy is an enormous fan. He loves his fruit and even finished off the remainder of Ellie's pear once she'd eaten all the tasty bits!

In my kitchen is...

The memory of Christmas supper. We had some dear friends over on Christmas eve for nibbles and drinks. Mr Fork and I even cracked open a bottle of Moet that we were given when Jimmy was born (and let me tell you, with the heat on Christmas eve, it went down very well!). We served plenty of dips and crackers, some cheese, lots of fresh fruit and there was even some homemade felafel balls and turkey sausage rolls as well. It was a lovely relaxed way to usher in Christmas, and for me, that was when it started to kick in that we were on holidays and things were starting to feel festive... just sitting down and sharing some drinks and food with great people. It helped that the children were on their best behaviour in anticipation of Santa visiting, and were very excited (and cute) putting out some carrots for the reindeer and a cherry ripe for Santa before turning in with their Santa sacks.

 In my kitchen is...

Another Christmas gift, a crumble dish. Notable for several reasons. It's pink! A pink baking dish, how delightful! It's for crumble. I love crumble and should I ever forget the recipe, it's printed right there - in the dish. Finally, the brand is Suzy Home Baker. I do so love a good pun! And a useful pink dish is a winner too.

Happy 2016 to you. I hope that it's off to a glorious and delicious start.

I am linking this post in with Maureen of Orgasmic Chef who is hosting the monthly In My Kitchen event for the first time. Thanks Maureen! Head on over to have a peek through many other kitchens!

What's in your kitchen this month?

Christmas lunch and 2015 starts to wind down

Christmas has come and gone. To be honest, our house didn't feel very festive this year as we didn't have a tree set up. With Jimmy being a mobile destructor, it was much safer and less frustrating for me to avoid having to redecorate the tree every time he'd walk past and pull it down/everything off it. So we just didn't. It was bad enough having to do that at every low hanging tree we walked past while shopping! However, Christmas with children is always a joy, especially now Ellie is really starting to understand it. Both of the kids were utterly spoilt with gifts, and Mr Fork and I also had a few small packages to open - as it should be really.

For me, Christmas is all about the food anyway. I've eaten my body weight in stone fruit and I intend to continue while I can get them! Christmas lunch (which morphed into dinner too) was spent with family. Despite the heat there was a proper feast - plenty of turkey, chicken, ham and roast veggies. I brought along a vegan mushroom and lentil loaf, and my own jug of mushroom gravy, so I was well fed as by now everyone is kind enough to cook the vegetable separately. Here's my plate, with a felafel on the side in case I felt the need of it too. Surrounded by family, food and presents, it was a great day.

I thought with the holidays, I'd be able to write a bit more frequently but, life is busy! I find lately that I have been blogging much less than I would like... not through lack of content, but more through lack of time. I have decided that this is not necessarily a bad thing, as when I write now, it's because I want to, it's something I wanted to share so badly that I consciously made the time to sit down and publish it. I'm still out there blog stalking and reading but my own content may be a bit sporadic!

2015 has really been a great year. Sure, a year of sleep deprivation, but a year of watching my children grow and really start developing their own individuality. Jimmy has learned to walk and discovered solid food with a vengeance. Ellie is learning logic, and having conversations with her is a real delight as I'm never really sure just how she is going to respond.

I'm on holidays from work and it's been great to have uninterrupted time at home. We haven't done anything all that strenuous, but just being able to have a quick middle of the day nap while Mr Fork watches the children, or catch up on the pile of books and magazines I've been setting aside for later all through the year is a good thing.

With that in mind, I hope your 2015 ends with a bang (hopefully a lovely firework-y one for those who can stay up that late!!) and 2016 brings lots of good things. If I don't post again before year end, I'll see you all in the new year!

Mornings

Mornings are like...

Sweet milky breaths

Small arms with hidden strength

Homemade sourdough, slathered with nuttelex and vegemite

Coffee, brewed fresh and hot, steaming nicely

Triumphant hens clucking to herald fresh eggs

Early morning light

All before 6:30am!

****

What do your mornings look like?