The Trent Report / How's the Weather

As I am writing this up, we are on our second day of cancelled school for snow and mainly ice. The temperature is finally high enough that the rain is melting the ice on the driveway. The tree branches and bushes are still iced over though they are melting as well. A couple of weeks ago, we woke up to a 56 degree house. The weather report said it was 3 degrees outside. When our home teacher called to check on us, I learned that heat pumps stop working at around 20 degrees. Boy did that explain a lot (like why the house fell to 56 degrees overnight). Thank goodness for the propane fireplace. It heats the living room up quickly and well.

You get the idea. It is winter. Therefore, it is cold. Our highs are going to be in the upper 40s for the rest of the week. We might see the 50s on Sunday.

Trent has been able to call us every Sunday he has been gone so far. They are short calls, but it is always great to hear from him. It means he is working late, but I guess that is o.k. He is currently working at Camp Victory rather than in the Embassy and has been doing some operational law work. He is doing well overall. We got a package off to him this week, so I guess we will see where it falls in the 1 to 3 weeks time frame.

Why do I bring up our cold weather? It is because Trent noted that it is still "cool" there. He says he has to wear his fleece in the mornings and evenings but takes it off otherwise. I looked at the 10 day forecast for Baghdad. They have forecast highs in the 70s and lows in the 40s. Cool indeed. This last Saturday, it was a warm (50s) and sunny afternoon. I felt like a cat or a reptile in my attempt to bask in any ray of warm sunshine I could.

The funny thing is that when these things happen, it seems that Trent is out of town. In California summer of '06, we had a few days of over 100 degree weather. Our house didn't have an air conditioner, because with a few exceptions, we didn't really need one. It got so hot in the house that I slept all the kids downstairs with a window open and fan blowing on them. Our great friends, the Perrys, took pity on us and entertained and fed us all Sunday one day so that we could be somewhere where there was air conditioning. Trent was at scout camp that week where the temperatures were pleasant. It is somewhat ironic that for the super cold spell, he is in a more moderate climate.

Happy (Chinese) New Year

We had lots of fun celebrating Chinese New Year last night. Ashley tells me that Gung Hey Fat Choy is Happy New Year. I hope I got that right. Now it is the year of the ox, and the 15 day celebration is ongoing. When we lived in the San Francisco Bay area, Chinese New Year was a really big deal. They have a big parade in San Francisco, which is locally televised, and the kids always celebrated it at school. Ashley was so glad her class is doing a unit on China right now, and she helped us make fans and paper lanterns.

Of course, for dinner we ate something vaguely Chinese-ish. It has a nice flavor but is very mild. The great thing about it here is that all the picky people could easily pick out what they wanted to eat or what they didn't. Ashley, who only likes pineapple fresh, picked that out. Jon ate the chicken and a couple of carrots under duress. I think he might have had some noodles as well. Sami ate all her noodles and a bit of chicken. She also had one carrot piece also under duress. Here is the recipe if you want to give it a try.

Pineapple Chicken Lo Mein

1 can (20 ounces) unsweetened pineapple chunks

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

2 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger or 1 Tablespoon minced fresh ginger root (I used the fresh and really prefer it in recipes like this. I am sure the ground would work fine though)

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

2 medium carrots, julienned ( I just used baby carrots and cut until I thought it looked like a good amount)

1 medium green bell pepper, julienned

4 ounces spaghetti, cooked and drained (when I was working at Camp Cherry Valley, and we had some Chinese scouts come in on a weekend, we made a soup with lots of optional additions. One of them was spaghetti. When the scouts came to the window to get more, they referred to it as lo mein, so it can't be THAT bad to use spaghetti right?)

3 green onions, sliced

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1/3 cup soy sauce

1. Drain pineapple, reserving 1/3 cup juice (discard remaining juice or save for another use); set the pineapple aside.

2. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the chicken, garlic and ginger in 2 Tablespoons oil for 6 minutes. Add the carrots, green pepper and pineapple. cover and cook for 2-3 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender and chicken juices run clear. Stir in spaghetti and onions.

3. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch, soy sauce, reserved pineapple juice and remaining oil until smooth. Stir into chicken mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

If you want to spice it up, I suggest adding more ginger, pepper flakes, or chili oil to taste. We added mandarin oranges (for a sweet life. The noodles are for a long life) and fortune cookies of course, which was a lot of fun.

Happy year of the Ox to you all!

Cookie Time

I thought it only fair to post the following two pieces of information regarding girl scout cookies for any of you that are 1. interested, 2. soon to be contacted by Ashley or 3. interested in contacting Ashley about Girl Scout Cookies.

The first is that due to the rising cost of ingredients, the boxes are 1 centimeter shorter and that resulted in a few types of cookies having fewer in a box or being smaller in size. It literally amounts to 2 cookies fewer, so it really isn't a big difference, but in the interest of full disclosure, I guess people should know. Click here for an article on which cookies are affected.

The second is that the girl scout bakers (Ashley's troop gets their cookies through ABC Bakers) don't get their peanut butter from the source involved in a lot of the recalls. Furthermore, they test all of their peanut butter before using it. Therefore, the peanut butter cookies are still available and not subject to recall for salmonella.

That is a lot for an 8 year old to remember, but she is doing pretty well with it.

Grown-up Food

Trent's been gone for 3 weeks now, and I am getting around to eating better. It was just hard at first to cook dinner like I did before when I am the only grown up present to eat it. Ashley is a great eater, but Jon and Sammy are various degrees of picky. It was just so much easier to make them dinners I knew they would eat. I, however, was often less than enthused at the idea of chicken nuggets or hot dogs or whatever and would just eat the veggies or wouldn't eat. I was being terrible and feeling less than great, and the kids deserve a better effort as well. Therefore, I have been digging out a few recipes that fit the occasion. I have chosen things that I will gladly eat with the kids and feel good about them eating that they like as well and also things that freeze well so that I have repeated access to some grown up food encouraging me to eat properly and not feel gross. The first two that came to mind were pot stickers and chicken sate. The pot sticker recipe I originally got from my friend Kathy. It makes a ton, but they freeze well, and we all like them. It is very easy to pull a few out, cook them and eat them with or without some brown rice and some veggies or a great salad. I am not posting this recipe, because most of you that would be interested have it already. If you do not and want it, I will gladly oblige. The second is Chicken Sate. It comes from the book One Bite Won't Kill You, which is hilarious reading as well as a source for some good recipes. It is easy to make, and my kids LOVE it. They insist on eating it on the skewers. Somehow, adding a stick makes it so much better. However, you can cook it without the skewers. I like the peanut sauce and dip both my chicken and raw vegetables in it. My kids don't like the peanut dipping sauce, which is surprising since they love peanut butter. Though I do like it, I think there are better peanut sauces out there. Have a good recipe? I'd love it. Anyhow, here is the Chicken Sate recipe:

Chicken and Marinade:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken cut into 1 inch pieces

Sate Sauce
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 Tablespoon soy sauce, or to taste (my to taste involves closer to 2 Tablespoons)
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/4 smooth peanut butter
2 scallions, chopped (this is marked optional for kids who won't eat bits of green. Mine don't like the sauce, so I now feel free to add the scallions. I don't think it would be the same without them)

For the chicken and marinade: Whisk all the marinade ingredients together in a medium bowl. Add the cut up chicken, turn to coat, cover and marinade in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 24. (Personally, I put this part together in the morning, and I think it is great by dinner time).
Preheat oven to 500 degrees (I think these would grill fantastically though I haven't tried it.)
Thread the chicken onto skewers, if you're using them, or just put the pieces on a foil-lined pan. If you plan to use bamboo skewers, be sure to soak them in water for an hour before hand. Bake for 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Meanwhile, for the sauce: Whisk together the broth, orange juice, soy sauce, garlic, and sugar in a small saucepan until the sugar has dissolved. Over low heat, whisk in the peanut butter (it will be messy at first) until smooth. Whisking constantly, heat the sauce until it's thickened - about 10 minutes. Add the optional scallions. Serve the sauce as a dip for the chicken and any vegetables you want to dip as well.

This week, I am going to try a homemade soup and some chili. Both freeze well allowing me to pull out some to eat on nights when I give into the desire for some kid food.

Hooray for good T.V.

So, I watched a bit here and there of the Golden Globes. It has long been repeatedly acknowledged by critics and people who write about t.v., that Battlestar Gallactica is continuously shamefully overlooked. With good shows being cancelled or rapidly becoming a subpar shell of their former great selves, I am very excited that the final half of the final season of Battlestar Gallactica will start back up on Friday night. It is too bad Trent won't be here as he loved this show long before I ever got into it. He will have to catch it on DVD when it comes out I guess. Want to look at a preview? So great.

For any who actually watch the show and haven't already seen this..........Spoiler alert.....................The final Cylon is NOT in the picture above.

The Trent Report / Safe Arrival

I thought I would post quickly and let those interested know that Trent made it safely in country. He was able to call us along the way at his various stops and let us know how he was doing. He called early this afternoon, nighttime for him, as a "morale call" to let us know he made it and was safe. He has had a bit of a cold, but he is starting to feel better, and having to be up all night to catch his final connecting flight helped A LOT with the jet lag, so he should be good to go for work tomorrow morning, which will start about the time I go to bed.

Buttermilk Brownies

I got this recipe out of a magazine that Trent's Aunt Dee gave me a couple Christmases or so ago. It is the Better Homes and Garden 100 Best Cookies edition. I know there are other amazing more decadent etc. etc. brownie recipes out there. I absolutely love this one though, because it is simple, it keeps well (I like them better completely cooled and on the second day in fact), and my kids and other kids I have made them for LOVE them. Furthermore, they are as the recipe claims, virtually foolproof. We made them for movie night on Friday and have shared them with some friends, and now I will post the recipe for anyone who might want it.

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup water
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Chocolate-Buttermilk Frosting

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 15x10x1 or 13x9x2 baking pan; set aside. (I use the 15x10x1 because I have one and because I like them not to be as tall, but I am sure they would work out just fine the other way as well) Combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan combine butter, cocoa powder, and water. Bring mixture just to boiling, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add the chocolate mixture to the flour mixture; beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Add the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat for 1 minute (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pan.

3. Bake in preheated oven 25 minutes for the 15x10 pan and 35 minutes for the 13x9x2 pan, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

4. Pour warm Chocolate-Buttermilk Frosting over the warm brownies, spreading evenly. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.

Chocolate-Buttermilk Frosting:

In a medium saucepan, combine:
1/4 cup butter
3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 Tablespoons buttermilk

Bring to boiling. Remove from heat and add:
2 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Beat until smooth. If desired, stir in 3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts (I have NEVER done this. Jon won't eat anything in his chocolate. If you like nuts, you can give it a shot)

That Is One Way to Do It

Samantha has a favorite and unique way to get into bed these days. She is perfectly capable of just climbing into bed normally, but she much prefers the method demonstrated in the video below.

I guess as long as she doesn't miss and get hurt that this is one way to do it.

The Trent Report / Another Uniform

Trent's deployment means we add yet another uniform (well uniforms I guess given that he has more than one desert uniform). I was sewing the insignia on the other night and talked to a Coast Guard acquaintance about re striping his bravo jacket and tux with his new rank the other day. This got me thinking about how many uniforms he has. There is the uniform he wears most days here at the JAG School, the ODUs (Operational Duty Uniform). It also has an impressive parka for the winter.

There are the trops, which he wore most every day in California. It also has a sweater to wear in cool weather and it's own jacket.

His Bravos for Court and other occasions

His dress whites

and a tux that he has most of the pieces but not all of yet and hasn't had to wear yet but will to the next formal event of any kind now that he is a Lt. Commander.

Now, I am sure this really isn't that many uniforms if I compare it to suits and shirts and ties and all of that that he would wear otherwise. It just feels like it. I also don't want to sound ungrateful, because the Coast Guard outfitted him with his desert uniforms for which I am very grateful. It is just kind of fun and funny to catalog them all.

Oh, I almost forgot, each uniform has required shoes and cover (hat). Therefore, he has 4 different pair of shoes and 6 different covers.

I guess we should consider this menagerie of uniforms the first Trent report. I will try and keep an update every now and again of how he is doing for those interested.

We Made It!!!

2008 is now over, and we have officially made it through the entire year with NO trips to the emergency room. Well, Trent did have to take his mom to the ER when she was visiting in November and broke her arm. That is extremely sad, and we feel so badly that she got so hurt while visiting. I still feel like the goal was met though, because we didn't have to take any of our children to the Emergency Room this year. Yesterday was cutting it close. The kids were playing out in the driveway area with the sidewalk chalk and riding bikes. Ashley came in and told me Jon had fallen and was crying. I thought that was it. We do have a few sad scrapes but nothing major. Hooray!