The Happy Domestic

Today, finally, my house is clean, Clean, CLEAN! I am flabbergasted by the sheer productivity of my time this morning, that and the fact that the girlies slept for 3 whole hours, allowing me to get it all done. The usual stacks of dishes all got washed, pots and pans scrubbed and sparkling, counters made spotless, and even my sinks and faucets were scoured until they shone. Floors were vacuumed, baby clothes were sorted and put away! and laundry was gathered up from all over the house. Bathrooms were cleaned. Garbages were emptied, and beds were made. Windows were opened and rooms aired out. And this was all by lunchtime! My bedroom is unrecognizeable. This carpet... this dingy, stained, disgusting old carpet, that we meant to replace when we first moved in but never got the time or money together... is such an eyesore now. Now that you can really see it, I mean. But the rest of the bedroom looks pristine. It makes me want to paint the walls, like I intended to do over a year ago. A...

Last night we went out on a date to the Brighton Speedway. Now, I'm not normally into the whole stock car subculture, but this weekend we had a good friend racing and a few of us went out to cheer him on. The noise was, as I remembered from the one previous time I'd gone, painful and deafening. The air was a miasma of exhaust fumes, flying dust, and cigarette smoke. But the races were awesome . The skill of these drivers really hit me while watching these pure stock cars skidding and sliding through curves, then screaming and bumping their way down the straightaway. Serious skills are required. The sheer adrenaline that drives these races is contagious, and although at another time I would probably say it's just a bunch of dirty, smelly, polluting machines going in circles a gazillion times, up close I could not help being in awe and cheering at the top of my lungs for a favourite car. While I can't understand people wanting to poison their lungs, damage their eardrum...

Get out of your meat and potatoes rut with this delicious Thai stew. Despite the name, this does not contain curry - Thai curries are actually based around a chili spice paste. It is not too hot, about equivalent to mild chicken wings at Kelsey's. It is also bursting with sweet, sour, and salty flavours! What's not to love? Thai Red Curry 1/2 pkg Asian Home Gourmet "Thai Red Curry" spice paste 5 tbsp sunflower oil 1/2 can coconut milk 4 medium raw potatoes, diced 1 medium yellow or red bell pepper, diced 1 1/2 cups zucchini, diced 1 pkg button mushrooms, coarsely chopped 1/2 can diced tomatoes 3/4 cup pineapple tidbits, with juice 4 tbsp fish sauce 1 1/2 cups baby spinach, washed a handful of chopped cilantro Heat oil to medium-high in a large and deep skillet. Add spice paste and stir well. Add half of the coconut milk, followed by potatoes, bell pepper, zucchini and mushrooms, and stir well. Let cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoe...

My girls. Don't ask me why Boo wanted to wear a diaper on her head - she has a thing with hats right now.  And Cutes saw the photo op as another kind of opportunity altogether... as her expression clearly shows.

It has been a good week. Sunday we took the kids to the Stirling quarry with some friends, and enjoyed some swimming and sunning on a gorgeous day. Monday we visited a veteran parent therapy home (for foster kids) and were impressed with what a rewarding opportunity we have, and how well suited to us. Yesterday I bowled badly (Tuesday night bowling league started the beginning of this month), but that was offset by a kind and anonymous giver who left a generous portion of veggies on our front porch - zucchini, squash, cabbage, potatoes... yum! The veggies came at a great time, because I had already gone grocery shopping but had not bought much produce this week. Now I'm baking zucchini bread - several loaves - to freeze for later. Then I'll make some Asian Cabbage Salad (a new family favourite!) and maybe some sauerkraut, and probably a delicious batch of curry for later in the week. Wow, what a blessing! We finally have a few relief days booked, meaning we will be getting...

Lately some conversations have brought me back to thinking about roles in marriage, and gender roles in general. A child development and crisis book I'm reading (from the early 90's) talks a lot about sexism issues and gender bias, but the more I read, the more I'm convinced they're missing the big picture. It seems that in our push to swing the pendulum away from the fiercely patriarchal and misogynistic culture of times past, feminists and other liberators have teetered over the brink of delusion toward uniformity. Let me illustrate this logical fallacy. We believe women are equally as valuable as men. Therefore we feel that women should have the same opportunities as men. Since we want to ensure women have the same opportunities as men, we insist that women are the same as men - and we skew job standards to gender, to support this assertion. So female candidates for a police officer position have one set of criteria they must fulfil, and male candidates have anothe...

In the absence of a productive garden of my own, I have been thriving off the clearance produce at No Frills - a fact I may have mentioned a few times already. Whether you have a garden abundantly producing, or produce abundantly available, all these ripe pickin's require fast use before they spoil. I previously blogged about an episode of peach chutney brought on by this very dilemma, and on a later day this week I was faced with a similar situation in home-grown veggies (or fruit, if you want to get technical). A few much loved friends and family members bestowed on us some very welcome garden goodies - tomatoes and cucumbers. We have been enjoying them freshly sliced with a sprinkle of salt, but as fast as we could eat them, they were heading toward spoilage. So, what could I do? The plump and juicy tomatoes, just starting to discolour in small spots, were the inspiration for a spur-of-the-moment experiment in a " salsa fresca " for pasta, which turned out fantasti...

This is a very quick and easy dinner, about 15 minutes from shelf to table. It's also very kid-friendly. Even if you don't know how to boil an egg, you can manage this one! Pasta Con Salsa Fresca 1/2 pkg (or 450 g) rotini pasta 3 medium-large tomatoes, washed & cored 1 large green pepper 2 large cloves of garlic, crushed 3 tbsp red wine (or balsamic) vinegar 1/2 cup shredded cheese (marble cheddar or fresh parmesan) salt to taste Boil pasta according to directions. In a food processor or large blender, combine remaining ingredients. Chop until sauce is desired texture. Drain pasta and toss with fresh sauce, serve immediately. Serves 4.

These may be a bit too hot for some people's liking, so feel free to adjust down the amount of chili flakes, or omit completely. Also let me warn you, from experience, not to use cucumbers that are too old or already getting soft, as they tend to develop a slightly bitter aftertaste. Freshest is bestest! Spicy Garlic Dills 6 - 8 baby cucumbers (average 5" long) 4 cups (1 litre) cold water 1/2 cup white vinegar 3 tbsp salt 2 large cloves of garlic, lightly crushed 1/2 tsp curry powder 1 tbsp dried dill weed 1/2 tsp dried chili flakes Wash cucumbers thoroughly and slice lengthwise into wedges (4 to 6 wedges each). Fill a large jar or Tupperware container with water, vinegar, salt and spices, and stir well. (Adjust to taste, should be rather briny.) Fill with cucumbers, making sure all wedges are able to soak in pickling liquid. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before eating, or follow normal canning directions to preserve for later use.

I love, absolutely love, getting ripe fruit and veggies off the clearance rack (49c to 99c) at our local No Frills for next to nothing. I also love their doorcrasher sales - like a fantastic basket of peaches I picked up this week for a couple of dollars. Of course, peaches don't keep very well once they're ripe, so I had to find something to do with them. We've been eating them like crazy, and I have had a good chuckle at my husband peeling the fuzzy skin off his peaches before eating them. It reminds me of my little brother, who used to say "it gives me shiver-ies!" Last night I saw that some of them were starting to rot, so today I set to making peach chutney. I read online that if you dip a peach in boiling water for 30 seconds, the skin slips off easily. So, I blanched, skinned, sliced and chopped peaches this morning, sprinkling them with lemon juice and salt. Then I boiled vinegar and brown sugar with finely chopped onion, cumin, coriander, and a pinch mo...