Tag: Family

  • Starting Things Off Right

    You know, the first thing I have to do when I start writing at the beginning of the year is create a new folder to save my documents in. Hello file, 2024.

    This is also my last day of Winter Vacation. The kid goes back to school tomorrow, and though the wife started back at work today, we didn’t have to get up at the crack of dawn, so it felt like we got to sleep in a little. Wednesday, we will all hit the road running; Making breakfast for the family, making the kid’s lunch, getting everyone dressed and out the door. Back to the grind.

    Speaking of grind; I gotta figure out what I want to do for this year. I have the standard stuff like cutting down on alcohol, working out more, more sleep, more reading, getting published in two journals this year. I do have some around the home projects that I need to take care of, and I would like to get better at the family budget and get our collective ass out of the final bit of our debt. (HA! We’ll never be out of debt…)

    I can say that I need to work on taking more time for the things I want to accomplish. I got a bit frustrated in the last three months of the year as I stopped working on my stuff. My writing production fell off sharply, and I know that I was to blame for it. But, I’m starting a new year, and it’s a new chance to correct old problems.

    Optimism can be a nice thing to have around.

  • The Year End Marathon

    I can’t believe that Halloween is next week. We have all of our costumes ready to go, as this will be our first year of doing a family theme. We sort of tried that a few years ago when the kid went as Dee Snider from Twisted Sister. The kid had a teased-out blond wig, make up, and spandex – she looked awesome. The wife and I went as “roadies” but to be honest, we just looked like our normal selves, so it wasn’t the theme we were going for. This year, we are all locked in with clear characters, so there won’t be any mistaking, and I won’t tell you what it is. I don’t want to ruin the surprise.

    I don’t know if this is the same for you, but in our house, once we hit Halloween, the marathon to the end of the year starts. Halloween leads to Thanksgiving, which leads to Christmas, then New Years. Four big holidays in a row, with the kid being off from school, and shopping, cooking, and family traditions, so when we get to January, we just want to recover.

    I’m not complaining about it. This is the time of year when we have fun together, and as the kid gets older, the holidays take on a new meaning, not only to her, but us as well. One thing that will be different for this year is that the kid wants to cook a dish for Thanksgiving – like have one dish that is her responsibility for her to prepare. She wants to be actively a part of the meal, and not just passively eat. Though, if I could go back to passively eating and drinking on Thanksgiving, I bet I would have an even better time.

    Because everything changes and nothing stays the same. What worked last year might not work this year. And that’s okay. Just taking each year as it comes.

  • Soup Season

    (I’m going to sound like a very old man, and I don’t care.)

    Autumn for some people means sweaters. Others, it’s Halloween. For the annoying, it’s pumpkin spice in everything. Cooler weather, leaves changing, sports on a weekend afternoon – all that stuff – you know, Fall. And for me, it is the start of soup season; I’m talking homemade soups. The cooler the weather, and the cloudier the day, all the better.

    First is just making the stock, which most of the time coincides with the leftover bones from a roasted chicken. If I have time, I’ll do the stock pot on the stove, but most of the time I have to use the Instant Pot. In about 2 hours, or less, I can have 10 cups of deep golden broth, but the best part is the warm, homey smell that fills my home as it’s cooking.

    Actually, I take that back. The best part is that my kid gets in on the action of making stock. We have done it enough times, that she’s got the recipe down and, with some guidance using a knife, can throw the whole thing together all by herself. That’s pretty cool, as a parent.

    This year, I chose to kick off soup season with a simple and hearty recipe – Potato Leek. I go with this recipe from Robert Irvine, as it is pretty simple and fool proof. I can say that there are more flavorful recipes out there, but they are rather involved, and some nights you just want to eat sooner than later.

    Besides, in my theory of soup making, soup should be simple.

    I do cook often for my family now, and I have some pretty good go-to recipes that I can now make off the top of my head. But there is something about making a good soup, or stew, for my family on a cold evening that is deeply satisfying. More so than any other meal I prepare. It does feel a little like kitchen magic; putting the ingredients in a pot, letting it boil to create something new. Then more ingredients, and simmering, and more time. Maybe it’s the amount of effort that goes into it – maybe. It could be that the meal is basic, and simple. A simple act that takes a long time. Maybe.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Feeding My Family, North London Derby, and David Brooks Didn’t Want to Catch His Flight

    (So remember… How amazingly unlikely is your birth;)

    I’m a stay at home dad; a primary care giver to my daughter and wife. It was a job that I was asking for, but now that I have accepted it, I do enjoy it. There is one aspect of this position that I am still surprised by, and that is the amount of time I now spend thinking about meals for my family. I have enjoyed cooking since back in my college days. My roommate and best friend got me a wok for a birthday gift one year, and that honestly was one of the best gifts I ever received. Not only did I enjoy cooking with that wok, but it also started me on a food journey. Furthermore, I was very lucky that my wife is a trained chef and pastry chef as well – which is like winning the lottery, if you’re wondering. She has been a great inspiration and guide for me as I discover and try new foods and preparations. Though I do the majority of cooking, she can still drop in the kitchen and knock it out of the park when she feels inspired. Anyway… Most days I do triple duty by making breakfast, lunch and dinner, and as such I try hard not to repeat flavors and textures in a day, or even following days. Most of the time it feels like a Tetris puzzle that I have to fit tightly together, appeasing all pallets. It can be challenging, but the reward of keeping the people I love feed is deeply satisfying.

    You better believe that I am going to write about Tottenham Hotspur! This Sunday is the North London Derby – Arsenal vs Tottenham. Yup, Arsenal will be the first true test for Tottenham’s manager, Ange Postecoglou, to prove he has turned this team around. In Spurs first six matches, they have only played one team that is in the top half of the table. Also, they are giving up an average of one goal a game, so this is a team that, on paper, hasn’t played stellar football. That’s where Arsenal comes in, as this will be a game on the road for Tottenham in the very unfriendly Emirates Stadium. If you wanted to have a statement match, this is it. I do like what Postecoglou has done by making this team more aggressive, and controlling the ball. Madison has been a great addition in the midfield creating many great passing opportunities for Son, Solomon and Kulusevski. Also, Richarlison finally scored a goal last week, which hopefully was his coming out, and will get him more chances up front. But the defense is what makes me worried. Arsenal doesn’t let up, and they clearly are gunning to dominate the League and give City a run for the title. Lots is a the line, which will probably make the match a chippy one!

    Did you catch David Brooks Tweet the day before? It’s more silly and tone deaf than anything – but the gist of it is that he was trying to make a correlation between his “expensive” $78 lunch at Newark Airport and America’s inflation issues. But if you look closely at the picture, you can see that there is a glass of scotch/whiskey/bourbon(?) which is the main reason why his $78 lunch was $78. Some internet sleuths were able to find out that the burger and fries was a combo meal costing $17, and that a top shelf drink was close to $25, which logically would mean that David had two drinks. Two drinks in the afternoon before a flight? See, my question here isn’t about Brook’s fake outrage over his costly lunch, but what’s on the other end of that flight that he isn’t eager to deal with?

  • Breakfast Habit

    The kid has been going to her new school for a month now. There have been growing pains, but on the whole, it has gone well. The kid has taken to her new teachers, made friends, and we can tell that she has been improving when it comes to her school work.

    The one aspect that we are all struggling with is waking up. The kid’s school day starts an hour earlier as compared to last year, which means we are all starting our day an hour earlier. I mean we do it, but there is a lot of grumbling from everyone, and it is a tortured process. The results are beneficial, though. We are all getting more done in the day, and going to bed earlier and getting more sleep is never a bad thing.

    One of the new habits I am trying to establish for my family is eating breakfast together around the kitchen table; No more eating in front of the TV. Everyone was for the idea, but we couldn’t agree on what to eat.

    Then one morning the kid saw this segment on CBS MORNINGS about gyeran bap, a Korean breakfast staple. Just so happened that we have all the ingredients in our home, so I was willing to give it a shot. Man, howdy! Not only is it simple to make, but it is exceptionally satisfying for a breakfast.

    Though I am getting a little ambitious now, as I think I might add miso soup, and some avocados to this breakfast to round it out.

    And we are getting to have a better morning together, as well. We are all starting off the day talking to each other, listening to music and connecting.