Blog Challenge Day 21: A Recipe

Greetings Humble Readers!

Today's assignment is far too easy!  Share a recipe?  Me? 

Well, if you insist!

First up, just a reminder if you're new-ish to my hobbit-hole, make sure you check out the "Larder" tab up there at the top for all the links to the recipes I've shared over the last couple of years. 

Today's recipe is one that is in our regular rotation.  I originally found inspiration for this on my all-time favourite cooking website, AllRecipes.com, adapted and combined it with some flavours from my favourite Indian restaurant.

As always, keep in mind that measurements are approximate, and you are more than welcome to play around with the ingredients to make it what you want it to be.  This recipe also sizes up or down very easily, and it freezes very well.

Chicken Curry

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts & 6 thighs, cut into bite-sized chunks
1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp chili powder
olive oil
1 lg onion, coarsely chopped
minced garlic (I like a lot in this... 5 or 6 cloves)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cloves
2-3 tbsp curry powder (depending how strong you like it)
1 can coconut milk (I always use the light coconut milk)
1 28oz can diced tomatoes, partially drained
1 1/2 cup frozen peas

Combine flour and chili powder, and dredge the chicken.  In a deep skillet, heat a drizzle of olive oil, and then add the chicken.  Brown the chicken pieces.  Add the onion and garlic to the pan, and saute until the onions are transparent, stirring often so that the garlic doesn't burn.  Move chicken, onions and garlic to the outside edges of the pan and add all the spices into the center.  After a moment or two you will start to smell the spices toasting.  Stir them into the chicken and onions.  Add coconut milk and diced tomatoes.  Combine well and reduce heat.  Cover and allow to simmer slowly for 15-20 minutes, stirring occassionally.  Adjust spices at this point, if you feel the need.  Add in the frozen peas just a couple of minutes before serving. 

Serve over rice, mashed potatoes, or noodles.

This recipe can also be made with a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.  If so, skip the dredging, and saute the onions and garlic before adding shredded skinned chicken to the pan.  Sauce will be a little thinner, but not greatly. 

If you try it, please let me know what you think!

Week 37: Breathing Easier & Blog Challenge Day 20: A Hobby

Hey Humble Readers...

I was a little wiped yesterday, so I missed doing my weekly update.  I can't believe I'm officially full term now.  It seems so surreal.  In a little over two weeks, we'll have our little Halfling here with us!  Amazing!

How far along? 37w1d

Maternity clothes? I couldn't fit into a pre-pregnancy pair of pants now if I wanted to.  Some t-shirts and sweaters still fit tho.  Thankfully, we are experiencing a really nice autumn now, so it's not a big deal that my winter coat doesn't fit any more.

Body Oddities? Nothing new, except for a lack of braxton hicks.  Even the round ligament pain has eased off.  A little strange.  I'm a little concerned that they're going to come back with a vengance any time.  I have finally passed my pre-pregnancy weight, by about a pound and a half. 

Sleep? Still a hit or miss situation.  Some nights are better than others.  The time change this week really threw me for a loop.

Best moment this week?  Dinner at my MIL's place.  Got to see a couple of my BILs and their wives.  We all live within a couple of hours of each other, but rarely all get together.  The guys put up Mom C's Christmas lights, and the ladies watched that "Everybody Loves Babies" documentary.  It was really cute, and we killed ourselves laughing. 

Worst moment?  Just overdoing it on Saturday.  It really hit home how limited my physical capabilities are right now.  Honestly, it worries me about being able to handle labor... I mean, I can't even do a little shopping without being in serious pain.  How am I going to push out this Halfling?

Movement?  All the time... except when I'm hooked up to the monitors for my NST.  Then I have to drink ice water, and poke at my belly repeatedly to get him/her to wake up. 

Food cravings? Like last week, no real cravings, just obsessions.  This week, all I want is a big fat cheeseburger, with lots of pickles, sauteed onions, and some sort of secret sauce.  I want a big plate of fries... with gravy and cheese.  Terrible, huh?

Rings? Off... and I think they'll be staying off now for a while.  Hope to have them back on by Christmas.  :)

Gender? Not going to find out, but I think it's a boy.  This is the first week that it has really bothered me, not knowing.  I saw some really sweet Christmas outfits, but I don't know if I need a dress or a little boy's outfit. 

Intense Dreams?  One that stands out... I was in labour, and my nurse was the nurse who taught our prenatal classes.  It seemed like a pretty normal dream, until the nurse started wearing a huge clown mask.  She's trying to coach me through the pushing, and all I can see are her eyes behind this crazy mask. 

Medical Concerns? High blood pressure (on 50mg Trandate/Lobetalol, 3 times a day), Gestational Diabetes (actually doing really well, except for the occassional low), on prescription Zan.tac for heartburn. Being induced on November 25th. 

What I miss?  Being able to go more than an hour without having to pee, being able to cook a meal without having to get my Beloved to get the pots from down low, or ingredients from up high. 

What I look forward to?  Finishing off my to do list so that I can have a few days to relax before this little person makes his/her appearance. 

Emotional State? Frustrated with the physical limitations I'm facing, but other than that I'm doing ok.

*****
Today's blog challenge assignment is to talk about a hobby of mine.  I honestly don't really have one currently.  I have in the past been a very avid scrapbooker, cross-stitcher, writer, and I have tried my hand at crocheting (with pathetic results).  Earlier this year, I was really into looking into our geneology.  As you have probably guessed, I have a lot of unfinished projects. 

Most recently, I took up knitting again.  I learned how to knit when I was in junior high, but let it go.  You may recall back in May or June I mentioned that I was going to knit a blanket for the Halfling.  Well, considering that it was only a baby blanket, it sure took me long enough to finish it (and technically it's not finished yet, I need to weave the little loose ends in).  I finished knitting it on the weekend, and I've been very excited to show it to you. 

Now keep in mind that this is just a very simple blanket, and I know that my tension needs work.  But I'm very proud of it, nonetheless. 

Blog Challenge Day 19: A Talent of Mine

Greetings Humble Readers...

Today's been an unproductive day... my blood sugar tanked this morning because I slept through when I normally have a mid-morning snack.  When I woke up, I felt like total crap and I've spent the rest of the day doing absolutely nothing because I have felt so sluggish. 

The blog challenge assignment is to talk about a talent of mine.  Hmmm...

I have tried to think of something that I'm good at, but the only thing that comes to mind right now (other than having a memory for useless trivia) is cooking. 

I've always loved cooking. 

I started cooking for my family when I was 9 or 10 years old.  Not all the time, but regularly enough to start gaining some skills.  Mostly I would make easy stuff like pasta or Hamb.urger He.lper, but I always wanted to experiment with the basic recipes to make them my own.   By the time I was 12, I was cooking at least half the time for my bio-mom and I.  I got good at things like cooking rice, lasagna, fish and chicken. 

I was excited when, in 8th grade, I was able to start taking cooking classes in school.  I ended up being rather disappointed by the classes, though, because the majority of it was either beyond basic or so rigid that there was no opportunity to experiment. 

In the years after college, when I lived on my own, I didn't do much cooking because I don't like cooking for one.  But, when I moved back in with my parents several years later, I found my inspiration again.  And that's when I got addicted to the Food Network, cookbooks, and cooking magazines. 

I love trying new flavors, new ingredients, and new techniques.  I have my share of flops, but I don't think it's bragging to say that most of the time recipes come out the way I planned.  There are plenty of times when I think something needs to be added to, changed, or taken away... but it just makes me all the more excited to try again and make it better.  I just sometimes wish that my Beloved wasn't quite so easy to please... I would love to get some real feedback on some of my efforts. 

The one thing that I love about cooking is that there is always somewhere different to go with it, there's always something new to try.  I want to learn to cook thai food, and I want to experiment with quinoa.  I want to find a really good place for puttanesca so that I can get a good taste for it, and then copy it.  And I want to find some more interesting ways to do pork chops (a staple on our menu).  Even the dreaded GD has caused me to grow as a cook, and to think about how to adapt my palette. 

So, now that I've babbled on and on... tell me, what is the most recent new-to-you flavor or food or cooking technique you've tried?  Did you like it?  Is it something you'll have again?

Blog Challenge Day 18: Our Wedding

Good Evening Humble Readers...

Why is it that whenever we change the clock, no matter if we spring ahead or fall back, I end up exhausted?  I literally did next to nothing today, and I'm pooped. 

Anyway, today's assignment is to tell you all about our wedding.  I did a post on our second anniversary about our wedding... the theme (whimsical), the colours (red, white, with a splash of yellow), things that made our wedding unique (lollipop bouquet, candy buffet, cupcakes, and goldfish).  It was a very happy day, and even though it was stressful leading up to it, I am so very glad we decided to get married quickly... less than a year after we first met face to face. 

Because we got engaged in October and married in April, we had to hurry up the process a bit.  I had to find my dress on the rack (not easy for a plus size gal... but miraculously I found the dress that I had already fallen in love with, for far less than I was anticipating spending), a venue for the reception (actually had it booked two weeks before Beloved proposed), and a photographer who wouldn't charge us a bloody fortune. 

All while working full time, with my Beloved living 10 hours away, and taking care of my mom as she had surgery to remove two cancerous lesions from her brain (in February)... It was a bit insane. 

So, it's no surprise that a very important detail got overlooked in the run up to the wedding.  The shoes (very cute strappy sandals) that I bought were very comfy for walking around in, but I didn't think to practice just standing in them for more than a half hour at a time.  By the time I got to the church, after the prep photos, and all the pics with my parents and my sister, my feet were already aching.  Then I had to stand at the front of the church for more than 30 minutes trying to focus on what the pastor was saying and not thinking about my squished toes.  I was never so relieved as when I got to sit down to sign the licence. 

When we got to the park to do our portraits, I couldn't take it any longer... I had to take the sandals off.  Thankfully I had thought to buy a pair of platform white flip flops, just in case.  They totally saved my bacon.  I ended up wearing them for the rest of the night. 

And my poor, long-suffering Beloved ended up carrying my sandals (and my purse) all over the park as we had our pics taken.

*****
When I woke up this morning it became apparent why my hip was so very sore yesterday.  The Halfling has dropped WAY down.  I can breathe so much easier today, even though I can only waddle.  I don't look as pregnant as I did a week ago because he/she is so much lower. 

Funny moment of the day... I was standing in the kitchen this morning, and my belly was against the counter.  I wasn't leaning, but the Halfling musn't have liked the counter touching me... he/she pushed me right away from it.  It was hilarious.

Blog Challenge Day 17: A Work of Art & Some Pathetic Whining

Hey Humble Readers!  I hope you're having a great weekend!

Today's assignment for the Blog Challenge is to share a piece of artwork and what it means to you. 

Now, I don't consider myself 'artsy' but I do know what I like.  When we were in NYC last year, some of my favourite moments were in the many museums we visited.  I can't talk knowledgably about artists or their media.  I just know when something speaks to me. 

One of my absolute favourite pieces is a painting by John William Waterhouse called "The Lady of Shalott"


courtesy of Google Images

I confess that I came to love this painting through a round-about means.  When I was 11 I read "Anne of Green Gables" for the first time.  Now, if you haven't read it (or at the very least, seen the movie), there is a very integral scene where Anne and her friends act out Tennyson's poem about Lancelot and the Lady, with near tragic (but comic) results.  Reading Anne led me to reading Tennyson, which then led to discovering the many different paintings that have illustrated it over the years. 

I have a large print of this painting framed over our bed.  I love the colours and the emotion depicted.  I don't know what else to say about it, except that I really really love it. 

*****
Okay... so time for some pathetic whining.

My lower back and right hip have been extremely sore since the other day when I was doing that painting.  I was pretty lazy yesterday, and thought that I was doing better, just stiff.  Then I spent the morning at the mall, doing some much needed shopping, while Beloved was at a meeting at church.  It was only a couple of hours, but I ended up hobbling around the grocery store and ever since, I've been in a whole heck of a lot of pain.  I took a nap this afternoon, hoping that it would help me relax, but it still feels like I have a huge knot right in my big old derriere.  And it's not helping that the Halfling has dropped and it feels like he/she is wedged right where the sun don't shine. 

*sigh* 

Remind me that I really really realy really really wanted this... please?