That’s why they call it Windows — because it breaks so much, like glass.
— Alpha, age 10
Category: Family
Pork Chops and Rice
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups of rice
- 3 cups of water
- half a spoonful of minced/chopped garlic
- half a spoonful of chicken bullion
Place all above ingredients in a rice cooker, and kick it off. It should be done in about 25 minutes
- 1/2 inch thick Pork chops
- 1 Tbsp butter for each chop
- Italian breadcrumbs (about a cup)
- Parmesan cheese (enough to add some yellow to the bread crumbs)
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Heat a large, oven safe skillet on the stove over about low-medium heat.
- On a plate, mix the Parmesan and the bread crumbs.
- On another, microwave-safe, plate melt the butter
- Dip the pork chops in the butter on both sides, and then dredge through the breadcrumbs. Place them on the nice, hot skillet.
- Once they are all on the skillet, give them a couple of minutes, and then flip them all over. Cook them for another 3 or 4 minutes.
- Place the whole skillet in the oven for 15 minutes (for 1″ chops, 25 minutes).
Serve with the rice, applesauce, and some green veggies. Makes as many chops as you need.
Pasta Twists with Broccoli Sauce
From http://www.momswhothink.com/quick-and-easy-dinner-recipes/pasta-twists-with-broccoli-sauce.html
Ingredients
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 medium onion
- 2 medium stalks broccoli
- 1 large red bell pepper
- ¾ pound pasta twists (about 4½ cups)
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- ¾ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- black pepper to taste
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Finely chop the garlic and onion.
- Separate the broccoli tops from the stems, cut the stems and tops into bite-size pieces. Coarsely chop the red bell pepper.
- Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente, 10 to 12 minutes, or according to package directions.
- While pasta is cooking, in a large skillet, warm of 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking.
- Add the garlic onion mixture and stir-fry until browned, about 5 minutes.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, the broccoli tops and stems, the bell pepper, oregano, salt, and black pepper.
- Stir fry until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add the heavy cream and Parmesan and bring the mixture to a gentle boil over medium heat.
- Cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens slightly, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Drain the pasta and toss with the vegetables and sauce. Serve with warm Italian bread.
Buttermilk Pancakes
From http://allrecipes.com/recipe/buttermilk-pancakes-ii/
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons white sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups buttermilk
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup butter, melted
Directions
- In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together buttermilk, milk, eggs and melted butter. Keep the two mixtures separate until you are ready to cook.
- Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. You can flick water across the surface and if it beads up and sizzles, it’s ready!
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, using a wooden spoon or fork to blend. Stir until it’s just blended together. Do not over stir! Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/2 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.
A Billion Baked Fish Recipes
Baked Fish — More than a Billion Recipes (5x12x3x12x11x12x5x12x12x6 = 1,231,718,400)
From http://www.reddit.com/r/AskCulinary/comments/19x3ak/should_modern_recipes_be_consultative_or/c8s3gqz (Ken-G)
I call this a recipe template. It is a spreadsheet but shown below in text outline format.
Container (choose 1 of 5)
- Au Gratin Pan
- Baking Dish
- Foil
- Parchment
- Single Serve
Fish (choose 1 of 12), guideline 1 pound
- Bass/Branzino
- Cod
- Dorado/Mahi Mahi
- Grouper
- Halibut
- Roughy
- Salmon
- Scallops
- Shrimp
- Snapper
- Sole/Flounder
- Tuna
Fat (choose 1-2 of 3), guideline 2-4 Tbsp
- Butter
- Olive Oil
- Mayo
Liquid (choose 2-3 of 12), guideline 1/2 Cup
- Lemon Juice
- Lime Juice
- White Wine
- Sherry
- Balsamic Vin
- Milk/Cream
- Soy Sauce
- Fish Sauce
- Rice Vinegar
- Mirin
- Sesame Oil
- Teriyaki Sauce
Extras (choose 0-3 0f 11), guideline <1/4 Cup
- Onion
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Green Onion
- Bacon Bits
- Capers
- Jalapeño
- Olives
- Marmalade
- Shallots
- Sugar/Honey
Fruit/Veg (choose 0-2 of 12), guideline – not too much
- Tomato
- Mushrooms
- Bell Pepper
- Mango
- Pineapple
- Cajun Trinity
- Creole Mix
- Parsley/Cilantro
- Pesto
- Salsa(Red/Green)
- Sambal
- Tabasco
Cheese (choose 0-1 of 5), guideline 1/4-1/2 Cup
- Parmesan
- Romano
- Jack
- Cheddar
- Feta
Spices/Herbs (choose 2-3 of 12), guideline 1/2 tsp each
- Salt & Pepper
- Basil
- Cayenne
- Cilantro/Coriander
- Cumin
- Garlic Powder
- Mustard(Dry/Wet)
- Oregano
- Paprika
- Red Chile Flakes
- Thyme
- Wasabi
Crust (choose 0-1 of 12), guideline <1 Cup
- Coconut
- Corn Flakes
- Cornmeal
- Flour/Egg Batter
- Panko/Bread Cr
- Almonds
- Cashews
- Macadamia
- Pine Nuts
- Pistachios
- Sesame Seeds
- Walnuts
Oven Setting (choose 1 of 6), guideline Hotter=Crispier
- 325° 30-40 min
- 350° 20-30 min
- 375° 15-20 min
- 400° 10-15 min
- 450° 8-10 min
- 500° 5-8 min
Meatballs
This is just classic meatballs.
This is one of alpha child’s favorite recipes to make with me. Honestly, I appreciate letting someone else mix the meats, my hands get really cold doing that.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Combine beef, sausage, garlic, onion, eggs, cheese, breadcrumbs, and pepper in a bowl and mix thoroughly.The mix should be very moist, but able to be rolled into a meatball shape and hold it. You might need to dd a little water (up to a cup is sometimes needed) until it's moist enough.
- Shape into meatballs.I generally aim for 1-2 inches across, or the size when you curl your index finger and touch your thumb. Larger meatballs will need a longer time to finish in the oven.
- Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat.
- Fry meatballs in batches in skillet until browned on all sides.Add oil as needed between batches.
- Transfer meatballs to pan, and finish in oven for 15-20 minutes.
Husk’s Day At Work
The school year is almost over, and Beta thought she might be able to bring her old stuffed husky, imaginatively named Husk, into school. (This is a very old stuffed friend).
We said, “you may not.” Beta still thought she could get away with some shenanigans by sneaking Husk to school. Alas, she didn’t even make it as far as the bus stop out front of our house.
To ensure that he could not lead Beta into bad behavior, we determined that Husk would need to come to work with me. It was quite an adventure, and luckily I brought a camera with me to document it!
Husk enjoyed the car ride into work. He even got up on the dash! 
Here we are climbing the stairs. It’s a long climb – three floors – but we got to the top in good time. I take the stairs every day and Husk — well, huskies are known for their endurance. The elevator is for sissies.
Husk was so excited he tried to open the door for me before I could unlock it. The red light next to the door means I haven’t swiped my key-card yet.
We got right down to work. Husk typed up emails while I chatted with a co-worker about a problem we’re working on together.
He also took some phone calls. Husk is very friendly on the phone!
When I had to go to a meeting, Husk asked if he could come. “Well, sure you can!” I said. “I bet you can help us work through some of these tough problems.” Everyone was glad that Husk came.
We work hard and play harder. Husk decided to try some of the games in our common room. We have all kinds of video games.
We also have ping pong.
Husk made some new friends. These guys live in the office. Husk thought that was a little weird, at first, but they were friendly folk and Husk took a liking to them right away.
We also have a resident penguin. It got to go out for a Mardi Gras party because it’s so well dressed. I guess the best-dressed people get beads at Mardi Gras?
Even after an exciting day like this, Husk started to miss home. The skies that started out so beautiful turned dark – rain was coming. He worried that we might be caught in a storm. The building in the distance is being demolished, and I think Husk worried that they were coming for us next.
Not to worry! Traffic was light and the rain held off. We made it home, safe and sound and into the arms of a very happy little girl.
Grade Five School Concert
Alpha played a significant part in her school concert, singing the opening of a song with a small group of students. She sang well – she may have a future in chorus.
The rest of the concert was well done, too. The usual mix of kids that sing with the group and kids that stand there and look around. Alpha was in the former group. (I was almost always in the latter group.)
Memorial Day
Kids love parades. My kids love parades so much they could think of nothing better than to march in a parade, and the opportunity presented itself when their karate dojo announced that it was going to be in the Wilmington Memorial Day parade.
This was our first time with the Wilmington parade. Last year we went back to Connecticut for Memorial Day.
I solo-parented (Megh was working at the LEGO store) and stationed myself near the end of the route. I waited for the kids to pass, then waited for them to finish so I could pick them up. It was a long parade: somehow we wound up with the Boston Shriners (and their silly go-carts) in addition to our local Masonic chapter, so the parade took a half hour to arrive and three quarters of an hour after that to finish passing by.
Frederick, MD
My sister-in-law, Kelly, earned her Masters in Environmental Education from Hood College in Frederick, MD. Road trip!
Day 0:
We rolled into town on Friday morning, 1 AM. (I would have stopped earlier and finished the drive in the morning but arrangements had been made.) Delaware was the worst, as usual — expensive tolls and traffic problems, even at midnight. I hate Delaware.
Day 1: Laying Low
After a late start, breakfast, and a quick dip in the motel pool, we visited Kelly at work – the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historic Park.
An excellent lunch in town at the Desert Rose Café, then a visit to Antietam (a quick hop skip and jump down the road).
I, unfortunately, took a nap in our car while the rest of the group did the self-driven tour in Joan’s car, but I did capture a great photo from the visitor’s center.
Day 2: Graduation Ceremony
We laid low in the morning, except for an egg and sausage casserole that Kelly made which couldn’t be beat.
Hood college has a beautiful campus. The ceremony was appropriately timed and the weather was beautiful.
Dinner was at a local brew pub, Barley and Hops. Their porter was delicious.
Day 3: Hiking and Gettysburg
We went to Cunningham Falls with a huge crew: Tim, Kelly and Damien; Joan; Jerry and Karol (Kelly’s parents); Max, Manmeet, Uma, and Simon (cousins and their children). Plus ourselves.
We split two ways and took two different trails – the easy and hard ways. They meet at the falls (pictured).
Afterwards, since we were so close, we headed over to Gettysburg and walked to the “bloody wall” from the museum. The kids kept going like troopers.
