Argle Bargle.

We went for a walk today in clothes that are allowed to get dirty.

And bonus destroyed hands picture.

I flat ironed my hair today (which I actually like doing, but tend not to very often) and realized just how grey my hair is getting. I must be turning 36 on Sunday or something. I desperately need a haircut, but the only day I have open to do that is Thursday and I have babies to sit on that day. Anyway, here’s what I look like now:

Clothes these days: low rise jeans that have to be cuffed (at least 20 pairs), baggy grey or green cargo pants, striped shirts of all styles, bright t shirts ( I love the colours these days!), undershirts, tank tops, runners, Blundstone boots, dresses overtop everything, shorts in the summer, bunny slippers, bead necklaces, pony tails, hoody jackets, turtleneck sweaters, Chuck Taylors, crocheted hats, hand made scarves, furry hats, pj bottoms (but not outside, ew), ancient Paul Frank belts, purse big enough to hold all my crap…

I’ve been crawling my way through this entire meme and loving most of it. A lot of them are very similar, I guess because there is a common interest (comics or anime) and age group. I am way older than almost all of them, and my style of drawing is rustic at best.

This is a picture of me in grade 9. I’m 15 years old. It’s 1987.

When grade 8 ended, my mom thought it was a great idea for me to get a job, so I worked at Wendy’s. I was hired as a hostess and got to wear a uniform that was totally different from all the other employees, a navy blue polyester dress with a blue and white striped, puffy sleeved blouse, navy tights and black flats. My starting wage there was $3.15/hr and when I got a raise to $3.50/hr, I thought I was rolling in dough. When I started I’d just missed the exciting work trip, but by the end of grade 9, I got to go to Canada’s Wonderland with my co-workers. I spent the day with Dave, who was 18 and my first gay friend. He was so fun and funny and weird. We’d make out in the bathroom at work and some people thought that we were siblings. The day of our trip Siouxie and the Banshees were playing and the park was full of wild looking people, dyed hair, mohawks, black clothes, jewelry, nothing I’d really seen (at least the sheer volume of them) in my small home town. It was so exciting, and a couple times Dave and I were also mistaken for concert goers and were photographed by strangers. We felt so chic.

On the trip back to reality, a couple sitting behind us were fooling around under his jacket and I can remember smelling sex and feeling quite ill.

Further high school clothing abominations: cut off Cotton Ginny track pants, cut off jeans, plaid pants tapered ridiculously, dad’s Levi’s corduroy pants and jacket, Batman t shirt, Cavern Clothing Co checkered skirt, black tights, various pointy shoes, golf shirts, XL t shirts, Warren Knit cardigans, turtle necks, overalls, 3 button men’s sport coats, monkey boots (couldn’t afford Docs), hi-cut runners, fishtail parka, Jam Gibson shoes, FX Super Glide belt buckle…

I laughed at this earlier and had the song stuck in my head for a while. I shared it with Roo, who laughed too. Now it’s your turn.

Fetal Scooby Doo…I wish I thought up things like this.

Thanks to GM.

Not related to World’s Littlest Snoopy.

You’re right. His mouth IS the funniest part. Plus he is a bobble head, in theory.

Soup:

Risotto:

Clafoutis:

Bellies:

Full.

Usually on Thursday I head out and help with the tiddlers, but I have a sore throat, swollen glands and my sinuses are jam packed so I opted out. It’s weird because I never get sick (Shannon can’t remember ever, in our 15 year relationship, me being sick), so I have turned into a bit of a sucky poo. Plus I can’t imagine having 7 month old twins 24 hours a day and I really can’t imagine twins who are sick on top of it.

So I decided to make supper for the two of us. Because 5 is not here tonight, I get to make stuff that she probably wouldn’t eat. Here is my menu: roasted tomato and garlic soup, mushroom and pea risotto and mixed berry clafoutis for dessert. The soup is awesome, omg, so good, and I never made tomato soup before, figuring Campbell’s does it fine, but holy Mackinaw, this is good. I was missing several ingredients (see below) and added half a head of roasted garlic while I was whizzing it up with my outboard motor. Risotto is one of my favourite things in the world, I’d eat it weekly if I could, but don’t. And I have never made clafoutis before, but it sounds good (a berry pancake cooked in the oven sprinkled with icing sugar). It’s in the oven right now, and my fingers are crossed that it sets up right.

Making a nice supper for the man I love. Romance is not dead!

Recipes:

Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup

1 28 oz can of whole tomatoes
3 tbsp olive oil, divided
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp dried basil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Strain tomatoes from juice, reserving juice for later. Spray cooking spray over a tinfoil lined baking sheet. Add tomatoes, drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the top along with the dried basil and the salt and pepper to taste. Place in oven and roast for approximately 30 minutes.

1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
1 1/2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 cloves of garlic, diced or minced
2 cups of vegetable broth or chicken broth (I use chicken)
1 bay leaf (I didn’t have one, oops)
1/4 tsp white sugar
1 tsp balsamic vinegar (also didn’t have this, double oops)
2-3 tbsp fresh chopped basil (3X oops. Well, dang.)
1/2 cup of non fat milk (optional)
Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a dutch oven or large soup pan over medium heat. Add onion, carrot and celery and cook until tender. Add garlic and stir for 30-45 seconds before adding chicken (or vegetable broth), reserved tomato juice (from canned tomatoes), bay leaf, sugar, balsamic vinegar and roasted tomatoes. Cook over medium low heat for 2-3 hours. In a separate bowl add milk. Slowly spoon a little bit of soup mixture into milk to warm (don’t pour cold milk into the soup because it will curdle). Once the bowl of milk is warm add it to the soup along with the fresh basil. Remove the bay leaf and use an immersion blender to blend until smooth. I then pour soup through a strainer to remove any chunks (optional). Serve and enjoy.

Blackberry Lemon Clafouti
Serves 8.
one 10-oz bag frozen organic blackberries (I used frozen mixed berries, but I picked out the giant strawberries)
1/4 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon lemon juice (half a lemon)
1 teaspoon lemon zest (from half a lemon)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 or 10-inch pie pan.
Empty the bag of frozen berries into the pie pan, arranging them in a single layer. I didn’t even bother defrosting the berries.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs together until they begin to foam. Gradually mix in the sugar. Combine the milk and cream, then slowly add them to the egg/sugar mixture in a thin stream while the mixer is running. Reduce the mixer speed to low, and gradually add the salt and flour. Increase the speed and beat until well combined. Mix in the lemon juice and lemon zest.
Pour the batter over the blackberries. Bake for 20 minutes, then cover with foil and continue to bake until set, another 20-30 minutes. I took the foil off towards the end to try to get a little light browning on mine — and took it out of the oven when it was completely set.
Cut into wedges, dust with powdered sugar (if you like), and serve.

Risotto with mushroom and peas

2 cans (14.5oz each) reduced sodium chicken broth
4 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, minced
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine (didn’t have any, haha, just used broth)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan.
1lb mushrooms, sliced and sauteed
1 cup frozen peas
In a small saucepan, combine broth with 1 cup water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and keep at a bare simmer.
In a large saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook stirring occasionally until tender, about 5 minutes. Add rice; cook, stirring frequently, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine; cook, stirring until absorbed, about 1 - 2 minutes.
Add 2 cups of broth. Simmer over medium-low stirring occasionally,until absorbed. Continue adding broth, 1 cup at a time, stirring until most of the liquid has been absorbed,** about 25 minutes total. The rice should be tender (but not mushy) and suspended in liquid with the consistency of heavy cream. (I didn’t need all the broth - I added the first 2 cups and then 1 cup more and that was fine)
Saute the mushrooms in some butter while all of this is going on (I did it way before hand) and then add them to the risotto after you have added the last cup of broth. Add the frozen peas at this time also. After stirring for about 1 minute, the risotto should be almost ready.
Remove pan from heat. Stir in Parmesan and butter, serve.

So, every Thursday I head East to Babyville and help out with the twins. They are totally rad and I love them both so much it’s crazy. Plus I don’t have to clean up poop.

They’ve started on solid food. They just aren’t terribly good with it yet. YET.

The second to last is Bea giving Gabe the old gas pedal. And he threw up she gave it so good. Aww!

Mega-number-deth-is-one!

No, not the one at my house or the two at Em’s. These guys live on Pape. I think there might be something wrong with the little boy’s head, it’s sort of lumpy.

His sister is cute. I think they are on their way to communion or something religey like that.