The Remains of the (snow) DAY!

Everyone kept themselves occupied all day outside due to the first (and maybe ONLY) snow of the season! Foodie Dad outdid himself and added lights just in time for the neighbors annual party. . .where he was received as quite the celebrity for his handywork! How old is he again!?

The KING and the SHEEP

Soy Boy very excited about being a KING this year. . .a right of passage. . .someone important. . .the sheep. . .not so much! Can you even find Chunky Monkey in the top pic?

Tis the Season!

We made our 2nd annual treck up to the mountains in search of our perfect Christmas Tree(s)~! When we left, it was pouring down rain and was calling for a 'wintry mix'! As we got closer and closer to the tree farm & further up the mountain, the rain turned into snow! The kids were super-excited & it was a very pretty winter wonderland while searching for the trees! It was a really fun day! And. . .goes without saying. . .we found the prettiest tree on the mountain!

Finally, Some PROGRESS!!

All along I was worried that we were going through all this trouble and I was going to end up feeling like it was too small! Well. . .I don't feel like that anymore...here's the latest and greatest!

VERY Happy Turkey Day!

Thanksgiving Addition

Here are some new pics of the kitchen (although a mess) and the framing of the addition.

GREAT NEW RECIPE

Well, our new kitchen isn't complete, but it's usable at this point. The day that the backsplash was finished and the workers moved out, I came down with the flu and had to wait yet another week before I could 'christen' it! To my dismay, Foodie Dad got in there and tried it all out before I did!! Yesterday was the first day that I felt the ambition to do something and I decided to cook dinner. . .And I mean a REAL dinner! Luckily, one of Soy Boy's friends came by and I got the usual "Mom can he stay for dinner" routine & he did. . .it was a mini dinner party & I had a blast cooking (& eating it!). Love my new kitchen and can't wait until the addition is done and we're all put back together.

I found this recipe in the Williams Sonoma Thanksgiving catalog. It's a great kicked up version of scalloped potatoes. I made it with a big roasted chicken (put my new convection oven to the test) along with roasted Brussels sprouts coated in olive oil and some fresh thyme. I wish I really WAS having a dinner party cause it was a meal fit for a king! Very casual & rustic, but delicious!

POTATO-LEEK GRATIN

5 Tbs. unsalted butter
4 lb. leeks, white and light green portions, rinsed well, cut into 1/4-inch rings
1 1/2 Tbs. kosher salt
1 tsp. minced fresh thyme
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 cup heavy cream
6 oz. Gruyère cheese, grated
3 oz. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
3 lb. russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/4-inch slices
3 Tbs. minced fresh chives

Directions:
In a 12-inch nonstick fry pan over medium heat, melt 4 Tbs. of the butter. Add the leeks and salt, stirring to coat the leeks with the butter. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are tender, about 20 minutes. Add the thyme, nutmeg, pepper and cream and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool. Wipe out the pan and grease with the remaining 1 Tbs. butter.

Preheat an oven to 400ºF.

In a bowl, combine the Gruyère and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheeses. Layer one-third of the potatoes in the fry pan and spread one-third of the leek mixture on top. Sprinkle with one-third of the cheeses, then 1 Tbs. of the chives. Repeat the layering 2 more times, reserving 1 Tbs. of the chives.

Cover the pan, transfer to the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the lid and continue baking until the potatoes are tender and the crust is golden brown, about 30 minutes more. Sprinkle the remaining 1 Tbs. chives on top. Let the gratin stand for 15 minutes before serving. Serves 8 to 10

HALLOWEEN

This year seemed a little different than other Halloweens. . .the kids really didn't make much fuss about it. . .we bought Soy Boy's costume in Target about a month ago & didn't pull it out of the bag in his closet until Halloween night! (Luckily, it fit)

Chunky Monkey was just a little tougher. . .went to take her to a SPIRIT store that comes into town each year, only to find out that it wasn't there! We traveled across a town or two to find one and spent about 2 hours trying on different BLACK outfits. . .has to be BLACK!! No pink to be found! Ended up geting the first one we tried on and we were on our way. . .that was about it!

Soy Boy even said that he didn't really even want to go trick or treating this year. . .I told him he's only 9 AND HE'S GOING. . .LIKE IT OR NOT! At the end of the night I asked him please to not grow up so fast!!

Halloween sure isn't what it used to be. . .the days of walking your butt off all over town to get as much candy as possible and homemade costumes has been replaced with $60 exact replica costumes complete with sound effects and lights. . .trunk candy. . .and carnivals with bouncy castles and 'take as much as you want' candy stands! The excitement of 'the hunt' is a thing of the past. . .I even had trick or treaters show up at my door last night with NO COSTUME AT ALL!! What is this world coming to??

OUR BIG AMAZING RENOVATION

(Disclaimer: Beehive5, keep these to yourself!! I know you follow, but want to surprise a certain other friend of ours. . .don't want her to see these pics!!)

Ok, I know that's the name of a show & actually, our reno is not that big. . .or even amazing. . .but it sure feels good to actually be doing it ~ FINALLY! We went through 8 months of having the house on the market. . .lots of lookers, but no takers. . .

A funny story. . .my prior post was us on a jet ski tour in Myrtle Beach. . .well on the way home from that vacation, literally, we were in the car on our way back. . .our realtor called and said that she needed to show the house immediately. She had a 'serious' buyer who's offer on a different house had fallen through & they had already sold theirs and needed to buy immediately & ours was on the top of the list! We should have been excited, but instead we panicked & got really nervous. We both felt scared that they would actually want to buy it & we decided right then and there that we would take it off the market & start doing the work on it that we had always envisioned doing. . .

A little twist that makes this store 'funny' is that our builder told us he had a friend who is also a builder in town working with him for a few months because business was slow for him. The first time he came, we all looked at each other like we had seen each other before. . .we finally figured out that he worked at the place where we rented the jet skis!!! He was one of our tour guides just 2 months prior to him now standing in the middle of our kitchen. . .coincidence? FATE~!!! We were meant to stay here. . .that's our story, anyway, and we are sticking to it!!

The plan. . .remodel the kitchen & add on 630 sq ft to the back of the house for a new family room & a play room for the kiddies.

So far. . .

installed granite

installed tile backsplash

new exhaust hood

new gas cook top

new oven

new dishwasher

Just waiting on the cabinets & having a hard time deciding on a paint color!

For the addition, the foundation is complete and we should start framing next week. . .the plan. . .to be in it by Christmas!!

Here are some pics of the progress. . .

The kids thought that the foundation going in was a sporting event. . .

Here comes the granite!!! A REALLY fun day!

Our builder installing the tile backsplash. . .& doing a wonderful job, I might add!

Our new gas, 5 burner cooktop! Thanksgiving HERE WE COME!

Rewind to Summer Vacation. . .AHHHHHHH!

We've made many trips to the beach. . .but this takes the cake hands down! We took a dolphin-watching jet ski tour. Had to show up at the dock by 7:30 am. . .signed a million waivers holding them harmless in case of our sudden deaths & took about 15 minutes of instruction on how to drive the jet ski.

After having a mild panic attack & almost backing out, it was one of the most exhilarating and amazing things we've ever done with the kids (or ourselves for that matter)! They go fast. . .really really fast. . .AND yes, we were out in the middle of the open ocean following dolphins around. A sting ray jumped up no more than 5 feet in front of Soy Boy & myself and did a belly flop. . .it was a highlight for Soy Boy. . .he's still talking about it!

Chunky Money and Foodie Dad actually drove straight through a wave. . .Chunky Monkey was not amused. . .but kept on going! The dolphins were amazing. . .& so was the ride.

During that morning, I heard "Mom, your the greatest Mom ever!" & "This is the best day of my life". . .thank God I didn't wimp out!

SCHOOL DAZE

Can't believe my 'babies' are growing up so fast!! (yes, those ARE cute, pink-bow-wearing-SKULLS on her backpack!) Chunky Monkey has started Kindergarten and Soy Boy, 4th grade! I've realized that this year & next are the only 2 years that they will be in the same school! Poor Chunky Monkey will be on her own for the majority of her school years & Soy Boy is 'off the hook' for protecting his little sister!

We couldn't be more proud of both of them. Soy Boy started AIG (academically & intellectually gifted) math & reading this year & is very amused that his dad and I are not able to solve the brain teasers he's been bringing home. Chunky Monkey has started a very challenging but incredible Spanish Immersion program. This means that she will be taught K-5 in Spanish only (standard English classes will come in 2nd grade). I've been told that a couple of the children had a little problem adapting, maybe to the Spanish or maybe to kindergarten itself, but Chunky Monkey has taken it all in stride and is perplexed as to why anyone would have a problem with it! Her teachers, pictured above, are from Uruguay and Columbia.

We were sitting at lunch last weekend & Chunky Monkey was going down a laundry list of Spanish words that she has learned and telling us what they meant. . .with our limited knowledge of Spanish, we took her Spanish word for backpack, mochila, and started thinking of Spanish words that we could put INTO our mochila. . .so this is what Foodie Dad came up with. . .agua, lunchero and mucho blanco pollo. . .many -- white -- chickens!

AINT NO THING BUT A CHICKEN WING. . .I MEAN SHRIMP

Hello All. . .been awhile since my last post. Summer is quickly slipping by & I feel like I'm missing it! Days are going by so fast & we really haven't DONE anything or GONE anywhere. . .yet it's going by so fast! Had friends over recently for 4th of July & had a great time. Cooked mostly Korean food but this easy appetizer was a huge success. There was not 1 shrimp left! One of soyboy's friends that was here for his annual 4th of July sleepover asked if I could 'just go make some more'! Got this recipe from Epicurious.com.

Ingredients
1 cup orange juice
1 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup ketchup
1/3 cup vodka
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 pounds cooked peeled large shrimp
1 small red onion, thinly sliced (about 1 3/4 cups)
1 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation
Combine juices, ketchup, vodka and hot pepper sauce in large bowl. Whisk in oil. Add shrimp, onion and cilantro and mix well. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours and up to 6 hours. Drain before serving. add your own note

SUMMER HAS OFICIALLY ARRIVED!!

Wow, the boat took over the lake for the first time this season & what a wonderful way to ring in the Memorial Day weekend!! We also had some great recipes we packed and cooked on shore that I will share in a later blog. . .the pics were more fun! It was a special day we shared on the water in honor of a friend's birthday! We were due for some fun!!! And I think the pics show that fun was what we had!! Happy Summer!

Ki Sun Yi

Halmony passed away Saturday, May 10, 2009. Foodie Dad flew up to be with family & for the service yesterday. It's been a tough week. . .my mom fell last week and broke her hip. I just arrived home Sunday. Keep us in your thoughts. We love you & we'll miss you Halmony.

BLACK IN DEFINATELY IN!

After 4 years and 2 1/2 hours. . .

Proud. . .Proud. . .Proud! Those are MY boys!

That about covers it.