May 2011
12 posts
Week 2
This week was mostly about eating.
Monday
Kian cooked nachos for dinner, including making guacamole from scratch! Yummy.
Tuesday
Dad made shepherd’s pie again. Also yummy. I snuck some mushrooms in, which the children didn’t seem to notice. Until I told them about it the following day, when they claimed they knew all along.
Wednesday
Or Whacked Out Wednesday, as we like to...
Weekend #2
Kian had another great game of basketball. They were playing the other Apollo team, but were obviously better drilled and kept an easy 10 point margin for most of the game.
In the afternoon I dropped Kian at his friend’s sleep-over party, so it was just Temma and me for the night. I offered to take her to the movies, but there was nothing on she wanted to see so she rented some Disney...
1 tag
5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake
This shouldn’t work, but it does. The original “cup” cake!
4 tablespoons self raising flour
4 tablespoons sugar (I use less)
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
chocolate buds (optional)
Add dry ingredients to a large mug and mix well.
Crack the egg and add it to the mug. Be sure to mix well to avoid any pockets of flour in the corners.
...
The school week
A mostly uneventful week at work and school.
Natalie came over on Tuesday to use the oven and ended up making dinner for us. Yum! Temma had spent most of the day home from school “feeling sick” (which feeling mostly evaporated as soon as she was home) so it was nice for her to have someone else to talk atto.
I had chickened out of riding on Monday (still fighting off this damn...
Monday 9/5
We found Kian’s toothbrush… at the back of the sofa, of course. Thanks Dal!
The weekend
The storm of Saturday morning actually wasn’t so bad in the end. Everyone got up in time to be ready (notwithstanding Temma remembering breakfast at 8:50) and we got to basketball in good time. Kian had a great game. In fact the whole team did, with lots of tight, fast set plays that they pulled off. They won easily, 10-31, and it would have been even more except they let the other team get...
Friday 6/5
Friday morning, my first getting the kids to school and myself to work, went surprisingly smoothly. We left home a bit later than my target of 8:30, but not too much. I walked (with my bike) most of the way to school with them, then rode to work. I left work in time to be home when the kids got home from school (love half days! Until I see how little I get paid…). We all pottered around for...
Jo and Dal's Big Adventure—the home front
Thursday 5/5
I’m going to try to post occasional updates from the home front while Jo and Dal are away travelling the world.
The big day. We were up early and rushing about to take Jo and Dal to the airport. Temma was ready very early, because we told her she had to get dressed and ready for school if she wanted to come to the airport. Such achieved this goal, although 4:30am was...
Missing Dal
I think Harry misses Dal at least as much as anyone. He keeps hopefully sniffing the floor around the kitchen table, but there’s nothing there.
April 2011
2 posts
December 2010
1 post
November 2010
1 post
1 tag
Kezzie's Chicken Jalfrezi
2 cloves garlic, chopped
750g skinless chicken thigh fillets, cut in half
3 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 onion, finely grated.
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
500g can chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons oil
3 teaspoons ground cumin
3 teaspoons ground coriander
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
30g fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped
oil, for cooking
Heat about 2...
August 2010
1 post
July 2010
1 post
June 2010
1 post
May 2010
4 posts
Reorganised photo gallery
I’ve reorganised the photo gallery a little bit. All our family photos are now available, including the latest of Dalwyn. You can even subscribe to the RSS feed to get automatic updates!
Dalwyn Jeremy Rowe
4th May 2010 4:40am
8 lb 1 oz (3.65 kg)
Born peacefully at home, surrounded by a very proud family.
Photo gallery
April 2010
1 post
1 tag
Kezzie's Pumpkin Dahl
This recipe is so good and easy. I added fried mushrooms but some people might not like that. I made it with rice and a salad on the side, served with lemon and yoghurt.
YUM!
2 cups vegetable stock (carton)
½ butternut pumpkin – cubed
Cream, spinach leaves, garlic
¾ teaspoon tumeric, cumin, ground coriander
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 can chickpeas (rinsed)
Boil pumpkin in vegetable...
March 2010
1 post
November 2009
1 post
1 tag
Kezzie's Rocky Road
1 tin of sweetened condensed milk
Packet of chocolate melting buds
50 g butter
Melt and combine ingredients, then add marsh mellows, macadamia nuts, raspberry jubes, etc. to suit your taste. Refrigerate and cut in to pieces.
(Michael’s Rocky Road recipe: go straight to Haig’s and buy theirs, it’s the best in the world. ;) )
September 2009
7 posts
1 tag
MUNG BEAN DAHL
1 cup mung beans
6 cups water
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger
1 large fresh sliced tomato
2-3 tablespoons Oil/Butter or Gee
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cumin seed
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste if you dont like hot)
Wash beans and put into a saucepan with water and boil until soft. In a frypan fry oil garlic, ginger,...
A strange phenomenon
This whole thing feels a more like being pregnant for the first time than the second or third. We suddenly have to rethink all our assumptions about life goals and priorities.
Despite the “sensible and practical” disadvantages, we all secretly wanted to have another child, for various. Temma loves babies. Kian wants a little brother (he’s placed his order for a boy). Jo gets clucky being around so many pregnant women.
It will shake up the dynamics of the family a bit, but that can be a good thing. And I like the idea of a slightly larger family....
1 tag
Neiman-Marcus Cookies
Recipe may be halved as this makes heaps.
2 (500 ml) cups butter
680 g chocolate chips
4 (1000 ml) cups flour
2 (500 ml) cups brown sugar
2 tsp. (10 ml) Bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp. (5 ml) salt
2 (500 ml) cups sugar
500 g Grated Cadbury chocolate
5 (1250 ml) cups blended oatmeal
4 eggs
2 tsp. (10 ml) baking powder
2 tsp. (10 ml) vanilla
3 cups (375 ml) chopped nuts (optional)
Measure...
Kids' reaction
Kids not very impressed of what the foetus looks like at 5 weeks. Not sure they think I am having a baby. But all in all they are extremely excited. Just need to be aware of how long 9 months is for them.
You know, against all sensible and practical reason, I’m on top of the moon about this!
Exciting news
Some exciting news today: We’re having another! This is something we’ve talked about over the last few years, and pretty much decided we weren’t going to have any more kids. Two is a nice number. And six (the youngest) is a nice age. They’re both at school, they can both dress themselves, mum and dad finally start getting some independence back. Plus we just designed a nice...
March 2009
1 post
Family Blog Bankruptcy
Ok, I give up. After another 18 month hiatus, it’s clear I’m never going to regularly update this “family blog”. Anyway, the whole idea of a family blog is so early 21st century. :)
So I hereby declare family blog bankruptcy. Don’t expect any more updates here, and you won’t be disappointed!
If you’d like to know what’s going on with us, I...
January 2008
1 post
1 tag
Spinach Timbales
2x 250g packet frozen spinach
4x eggs lightly beaten
1x 500g tub ricotta cheese
2x cups grated Parmesan cheese or other cheeses
2x onions chopped
4tbs chives or other herbs
Squeeze spinach to remove excess water
Combine all ingredients in bowl
Spoon into greased muffin tin
Cook in Moderate oven for about 20min or until firm
Serve upside down with a tomato/onion based sauce or any other to your...
August 2007
1 post
New photos!
Wow, two updates in the last six months… there goes that new year’s resolution!
Anyhow, I’ve uploaded some new photos. There’s a few from our sight-seeing trip to the snow, and a handful of Kian playing basketball. He’s playing in the local Apollo Rockets under 9s team, and having a great time. He’s not super tall for his age, but seems to have the athleticism...
July 2007
2 posts
2 tags
Chicken Satay Noodle Salad
Salt
1 pound whole wheat pasta
1/3 cup peanut butter, softened
2 tablespoons honey
¼ cup tamari (dark soy sauce) or regular soy sauce
Juice of 2 lines
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (or more to taste)
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups skinned and sliced rotisserie chicken (or any cooked chicken)
1 cup packed fresh spinach, thinly sliced
1/3 cup shredded carrots (a generous...
2 tags
Blueberry Streusel Muffins
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoons salt
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind (I use the rind from one lemon)
1 large egg
¾ cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed and drained *
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ cup sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ½ tablespoons butter
Combine first 5 ingredients in...
May 2007
1 post
Kian's 7th Birthday
Belatedly, I’ve uploaded some pics from Kian’s 7th birthday last month. He got a basketball hoop, which he was very pleased about. In the evening, we had a few of his friends over for a movie and the usual party food and cake.
January 2007
7 posts
1 tag
Yorkshire Pudding
1/4 Pint Milk
2 Eggs
4 TBS Flour (plain)
1 tag
Sweet Tomato Curry
1/4 Cup Oil
1 Onion
1 Clove of Garlic - crushed
1 tsp Grated ginger
1/2kg Diced chicken or sliced cooked sausage or any leftover meat
2 tbs Curry powder
1 lge potato - chopped
2 med carrots - chopped
1 tsp sugar
1 can diced tomato
1/4 cup Chutney
2 tbs tomato paste
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup frozen peas
Heat oil in large pan or wok, add onion, garlic & ginger, stir-fry until onion...
1 tag
Easy Banana Cake
125g softened butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas
few drops of pure vanilla
1 3/4 cups plain flour (250gm)
1tsp bicarb
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup milk with a dash lemon juice
Preheat oven to 180C
Butter and flour 20cm tin
Cream butter and sugar
Beat eggs, banana and vanilla lightly with fork
Add sifted dry ingredients alternating with milk
Spoon...
2 tags
Pasta Salad
1 lb uncooked bow tie pasta
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (or more)
1 1/2 tsp dry Italian seasoning
2 tsp salt (may be more for taste)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2-3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/3 cup diced red onion
1 (4oz) jar chopped pimentos, drained
1 (2 1/4oz) can sliced olives, drained
Cook...
2 tags
Potato Casserole
2 lb bag frozen hash brown potatoes
1/2 cup chopped green onions
8oz sour cream
1 can cream chicken soup
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup melted butter or marg
2 cups corn flakes, crushed
Thaw potatoes
Add all ingredients except butter and corn flakes
Mix well
Add butter, mix well
Put in a casserole dish
Top with crushed corn flakes
Bake @ 350*F for 45-60...
2 tags
Crunchy toffee chocolate bars
Layer cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Then layer with Saltine crackers or any plain savory biscuits.
Melt
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
for about 3 mins
Pour over crackers
Bake at 400*F for 7 mins
Remove from oven and spread 1 16oz back of chocolate chips over. Will spread easier as the heat melts the chocolate.
Allow to cool and then set in the fridge.
Break into pieces when set
2 tags
Ground Beef Casserole (Kids love it)
1 lb ground beef, browned and drained
1 cup cooked rice (instant rice works well)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can mixed vegetables & juices
1 sm can peas & juices
1 cups shredded cheddar cheese
plus 1/2 cup cheese on top
Mix all ingredients together
Bake at 350*F for 1 hour then top with cheese and cook for 10 mins longer.
Great to freeze. Just cook...
December 2006
4 posts
Our trip to Disney World
The day after I joined Jo and the kids in the US, we left for Florida—and Disney World!
Check out all the snapshots in the gallery.
I was still a bit jet lagged after arriving in Atlanta the previous evening, so Jo drove the first leg. We stopped at a Waffle House about an hour south of Atlanta for brunch. The rest of the drive down I-75 and then the Florida Turnpike was pretty quick and...
Relaunched website
Welcome to our new look website!
There’s a whole new look, and completely reorganised photo gallery. Have a look around, especially the photos. I haven’t finished importing all the old pictures of the kids, and some of the older articles haven’t been updated to use the new photo gallery. But everything else should be there.
Some of the highlights of the changes are:
...
My Sister's world wind Wine Dine and Rock visit
With some delay I am finally writing up about my sister’s visit to Australia in October. It was a pretty world wind kinda time of year as no sooner were we in chaos with getting our floors and lawn done than I was away in South Africa for a week and then back for two days before my she arrived.
She was not here all that long, but we had a blast.
The main event was the INXS concert on the...
1 tag
Spicy Satay Sauce
Here’s a yummy satay sauce that’s great with chicken (e.g. on a skewer on the bbq).
1 tbs oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp sambal oelek
1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 small chicken stock cube
2/3 cup water
150g can coconut milk
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp light soy sauce