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 probably overkill.

Despite leaving (predictably) later than intended we got to the airport at about the right time. Traffic on the ring road was much better than I remembered from my days of commuting to Footscray. There was a long and slow-moving queue at check in, so we pretty much had to go straight to the international doors (after a last minute nappy change for Dal). A hug and a kiss and off they went.

The kids and I came back home before school because Kian wanted to change into shorts and I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss the Coles guy. I left a “back in 5” note on the door while I ran the kids to school, which was just as well because he was waiting for me when I got back. He didn’t seem to mind at all, and was very cheery as he unloaded the boxes.

In between catching up on a few admin chores and squeezing in a few hours of actual work, I put the lamb shanks and some veggies in the big pot to make soup for dinner, following roughly along with Stephanie’s “middle eastern” lamb shank soup recipe. The kids seemed to think it was ok, which is lucky since there’s tons left over.

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.

Jan Juc
Kian’s new bike

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
  1. Heat about 2 tablespoons oil in a deep frying pan and fry the onion and garlic for 2 minutes over high heat.

  2. Add the chicken, turmeric, chili powder and salt. Fry gently for 5-10 minutes, or until golden brown, scraping the base of the pan frequently and turning the chicken.

  3. Add the tomato, cover and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes. Uncover and simmer for 10 minutes to let all the excess liquid evaporate and the sauce thicken.

  4. Add the oil, cumin, ground coriander, ginger and fresh coriander and simmer for 5-7 minutes, or until the fat separates out from the thick sauce.

  5. Serve the chicken pieces with the sauce spooned on top.

  6. This dish could be served with Pulao rice, chapattis or naan bread.

Enjoying his new baby gym

Enjoying his new baby gym

New hat and blanket that mummy made.

New hat and blanket that mummy made.

Napping in daddy’s arms.

Napping in daddy’s arms.

Kicking back in his brand new rocker.

Kicking back in his brand new rocker.