Sunday, January 30, 2011

Chicken Palak

Made chicken palak tonight and it was so so good. I used half the amount of green chilles and didnt have any chilli powder so used crushed red pepper flakes (half the amount again) instead. It was really really spicey, but oh so good. I doubled everything up so that we have two for the freezer also, as Ive found it a little difficult to think of enough meals that you can start preparing and finishing eating in 30 minutes. Though I made a fantastic one Friday... sauted chicken and oven dried tomatoes from the freezer (chopped and soaked in balsamic) then added cream, reduced it a little, then added pesto and tossed in some cooked whole wheat pasta shells. We were done eating 30 minutes after I started cooking, now thats skill!

Ingredients:
• 1 kg Chicken
• 2 bunches Palak, chopped
• 2 Tomatoes, chopped
• 2 Onions, chopped
• 2 Green Chilies, chopped
• 10 Cloves Garlic
• 2 tbsp Ginger, chopped
• 1 tbsp Cumin Powder
• 1 tbsp Chili Powder
• 1 tbsp Coriander Powder
• 1 tsp Pepper Powder
• 1 tsp Garam Masala Powder
• ¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
• Salt to taste
• 4-6 tbsp Ghee/oil
• 100 gm Fresh Cream

How to make Palak Chicken:
First boil water in a pan. Once boiled, add chopped palak. Simmer for 5 minutes and then strain out the left water. Set the boiled palak aside to cool.
Once cooled, blend the palak into a smooth paste.
Separately grind onions, ginger, garlic, green chillies and tomatoes to make a fine masala paste.
Heat oil in a pan and add the masala paste. Sauté till the masala turns brown.
Now, add pepper powder, cumin seed powder, garam masala powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and salt to it. Cook the mixture for 10 minutes.
Now, add the palak paste and mix well. Cook for 10 more minutes.
Add chicken and mix well. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes by covering the vessel with a lid.
Remove from the heat when chicken pieces are fully cooked.
Garnish with fresh cream and serve hot chicken curry with steamed rice or rotis.

Recipe came from here.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Snow day pics

Better late than never eh!










Friday, January 21, 2011

Henry's 6 month stats

So Henry is a little on the small side now. When all of my friends kept saying that their kids were in the 9-12 month range of clothing at the 6 month age and H is still in his 3-6 month mostly, I figured he was small for his age; and today it was confirmed.

Height: 26 inches (28%)
Weight: 14lbs 13oz (6%)
Head circumference: 44cm (52%)

So yes, he is small for his age, but he eats lots and lots of solid food and nurses whenever he is hungry, so perhaps he is just a small person.

Achievements this week: He can sit up just fine unattended. I still leave pillows around him when I leave him on the floor alone, but thats mostly because he likes to follow me to make sure he can see me and if I am behind him he ends up falling over. He can pick up (Kashi organic) cheerios from a surface and put them in his mouth, though a large proportion of them are also deposited on the floor. He likes to scream with joy rather a lot.

Ongoing problem: He is still constantly constipated. The doctor thinks this has nothing to do with his diet (since he eats oatmeal, peaches and pears daily) but more to do with not having yet achieved the 'learned' process of pooing. So I have to give him a glycerin suppository every 48 hours until he has grasped this process. Yeay for mummy.





Thursday, January 20, 2011

How do people do it?

If you think its hard going to work, try looking after multiple children. Having done this for not even 3 hours yet today, I am going to get more serious about birth control for the time being! How does anyone have multiple children every single day!? H has my cold and is suffering from it pretty bad, combine that with the beginnings of separation anxiety and you've got a worn out mummy. Add to that the 17 month old daughter of a friend, who also has a cold and is not used to be being away from her mummy, and you have an even more tired mummy! I ate cake for breakfast, because it was convenient; holding H, chasing Sophia round the house in case she got into trouble. Im also not used to a baby that wont nap. She is obviously tired, so I put her in the pack and play with a few of her favourite things and she is just crying. I have no idea what to do! H just goes on to sleep. I guess Ill leave it my standard 10 minutes then go get her up, oh dear. Its going to be a long day! Lets hope the person Alison has gone to see doesnt have a 48 hours labour like I did, or Im going to be freakin exhausted! Glad I didnt go running this morning, I sure is heck need the energy now!

Moan moan moan, enough of that. Here are some of the pictures of Henry on his 6 month birthday...




Thursday, January 13, 2011

I hate this house sometimes

I know, I know, hate is an extremely strong word. But when we woke up this morning, our pipes were frozen and the heating is not working. This happened last year but we thought we had it covered this year by raising our overnight temperature, which has worked so far this winter. But 7F overnight was just too much for this old house I guess. I am so done with this ridiculous snow and just want to go exercise, then shower! Ive had a fire going since 7am and the space heater running in the living room with all the doors shut and Ive managed to get it to 59F in there. Ridiculous. Thankfully we have a radiator in Henry's room so its the normal temperature for him while he naps but we had to play sitting right in front of the fire this morning. Just fine with Henry as he could apparently sit and stare at the fire all day long, but now I have to go get some more wood, which means going outside in this ridiculous weather. Fantastic. Ugh, I need to get out.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Its official

I am officially done with the snow and I officially do not want to live somewhere it snows regularly or for long periods of time. I have got some serious cabin fever, as has H. The good thing is, whilst I wasnt sure if he liked our daily jogs because he was just strapped into the stroller, apparently he does because he has been in a bit of a foul mood these past few days that we havent been able to go for our hour outside. When will it go away!? The good news is, if I can finish my polishing in this next nap time, tomorrow is totally free and clear!

Henry will be 6 months old tomorrow. Just in time, here are some pictures of him and Knox, both 5 months old. We havent seen Knox in a while because they went to Texas for an extend holiday visit, but I hear he has had a growth spurt and is almost 18lbs! (No idea on H but Im guessing about 15lbs). Looking forward to getting photos of them together at 6 months old if they are that different in size!

Henry 6 month update: He now has a whole selection of things he eats... sweet potatoes, carrots, pears, apples, butternut squash, oats and pumpkin; and today he tried avocado, though Im not entirely sure he actually liked it. He sits up well but cant be left unattended yet as he occasionally falls backwards. He LOVES to be dropped onto the bed from as high as you can reach. He LOVES bath-time. He had his first milk feeding from someone other than me (his Daddy). He drinks his juice out of a bottle well, holding it himself. He loves to be held upside down. All in all, a happy young man.

Knox: "What are you doing to me, this guy is crazy!?"
Henry: "Dude, where are you going?"

Henry: "Will you ever stop taking pictures of me? Goodness gracious people, get a new hobby".
Knox: "My, this is a comfy sofa, I could lounge here all day. What do you mean Im about to get my shots? Nobody mentioned vaccinations on today's agenda."

Monday, January 10, 2011

7 inches, oh my!

Mississippi rarely gets snow, and thankfully adverse weather conditions (such as tornadoes and hurricanes) generally skip past Oxford, up on its little hill by the reservoir. But last night we got 7 inches of snow!

SNOW DAY!!!

So, with no work and a blanket of snow outside, what to do!? Henry enjoyed popping out this morning but not nearly as much as the dogs did! They were prancing around like puppies! We got some cute pictures so Ill have to get those of Danny lately. Danny has gone to the square to take photos, Henry is napping, I cleaned the skirting/base boards in the spare room and am now waiting for the little man to awake. This afternoon we are going to take the dogs to the park so they can run around some more and Henry can experience some more snow time.

Danny, of all people, decided that we needed to clean our house out, so yesterday we started on the spare room and we are (hopefully) going to make a swath through the entire house. We have a huge pile of (crap) stuff for Salvation Army and our spare room is clean and navigable once again. Next its the spare bathroom and Henrys room. Yes, I know, we started on the easy rooms first, but you need to positive outcomes to motivate you ever onward.

Oh, I hear a chirping from the other room. On to my mummy business.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Thirty

I am thirty years old today!

I have had a wonderful day so far.

Henry decided he was well enough to sleep through the night. I had a fantastic time out with my good friend Alison last night; I felt like my own person again, not just Henry's mummy. Its beautifully sunny and probably warm enough to go cycling today! I made delicious vanilla cupcakes yesterday (and managed to eat four, oh dear). Danny is making me dinner tonight. I can tell its going to be a wonderful day!