lawmummy

So here’s my morning in a nutshell…

Me: Eat your breakfast.
Charlie (2): I don’t want it.
Me: Why not? You asked for cereal.
Charlie: I want cereal, not Cheerios.
Me: Cheerios is cereal.
Charlie: No, I don’t want Cheerios. I want cereal.
Me (getting irritated): Charlie, this IS cereal.
Charlie: I don’t want Cheerios, I want Life.
Me: We don’t have Life.
Charlie: I want Life.
Me: Then you’re up a creek because we don’t have Life.
Charlie: I don’t want to be up a creek.
Me: Tough.

-

Amy (4): Mom, can I have more cereal and milk?
Me: Here, eat your brother’s, he doesn’t want his.
Amy: I can’t eat his, he has germs.
Me: He doesn’t have germs. And he didn’t touch his cereal. So eat it.
(She does)
Amy: Now, can I have more cereal and milk? In my own bowl? And not Charlie’s?

*Sigh*

Me: Yes.

–

Charlie (2): I don’t want cereal, I want milk.
Me: Fine. (I go and get the milk)
Charlie: The milk is too cold.
Me: You’re kidding me.
Charlie: Too cold.
Me: Then you’ll just have to wait.

–

Ahh, those kiddos. So much fun in the morning - especially when I have all three on my own…

For weeks now, we’ve had nonstop whining about dinner. Even when the kids like what we’re having for dinner, they don’t like what we’re having for dinner (if you’re a parent, that will make sense).

But tonight, I finally managed to make something that they both ate.

It’s based on a recipe from foodtv.com courtesy of Padma Lakshmi. I made some kid-friendly adjustments for the sake of my sanity. It’s yummy for parents, too.

I hope you like it.

Chicken Tagine

3 T olive oil
1 1/2 pounds skinless chicken breast, diced
1 1/2 cups sliced onions
1 medium potato, diced
1 1/2 cups thickly sliced carrots
1 cup chopped mushrooms
3 T minced garlic
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 teaspoons ground cumin
3 bay leaves
1 14.5 oz. can chopped tomatoes
2 cups broccoli florets
6 cups chicken stock
2 cups couscous
1/8 tsp Harissa paste

Brown chicken in 1 T olive oil. With a slotted spoon transfer to a plate.

Add the remaining oil and the onions, potato, carrots, mushrooms, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin and bay leaves. Cook over medium heat, covered, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and broccoli, stirring, 3 minutes more. Add the stock, bring to a boil, and simmer, covered, 5 minutes, or until vegetables are just tender.

Add the chicken and couscous, and cook over moderate heat, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the Harissa paste and salt to taste, stir to combine and let stand, covered, off the heat 5 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaves before serving.

Years ago, my friend’s mother used to make these amazing treats that she called “Mexican egg rolls.” It was basically a mixture of meat and beans in a spicy sauce wrapped in homemade dough.

Anybody know what I’m talking about? I loved them and I think my kids would, too. I’ve never been able to recreate the recipe.

I discover this every day.

And for those people who say that kids just “can’t resist” the taste of fast food, they’re wrong.

You see, today I took Charlie for his shots.  He had three.  He was not in a good mood.  None of us were in a great mood, having stayed up far too late with coughing, hacking and various ailments.

Just before we got to the store (a side trip after the doctor), Amy and Charlie were on the fringe of sleeping.  Aha, I thought.  Maybe if I drove them around a bit, they’d fall asleep.  Amy doesn’t nap on her own anymore so I thought this would be good for all of us.

We had not eaten lunch yet and Charlie’s eyes were almost closing.  I saw the golden M down the street and thought “Perfect, we’ll splurge on McDonald’s - we don’t even have to get out of the car - and then I’ll drive around, thus putting the kids to sleep.”  Foolproof.

The last time that I went to a McDonald’s drive through, I ended up with six drinks because I had an order panic.  I don’t like the myriad of choices and 15 second time limit.

This time, I came prepared.  I asked the girls before we got to the menu what they wanted:  Katie wanted fish and Amy wanted chicken.  Well, there is no fish happy meal.  This wouldn’t have been such a big deal except that the happy meals come in these cute little boxes (Halloween houses, according to my girls) and the result would be that Amy had one and Katie wouldn’t.  So, at the last minute, I switched to two happy meals with chicken McNuggets, one with fries and one with apples (thinking that they would share).  Amy got milk.  Katie got water.  Apparently, you don’t get water with your happy meal as a choice which resulted in a confusing bottle versus tap issue and one fewer straw than we needed.

But I digress.

In the car, Madeline tried to sort out who got what.  It was not an easy task.  It turns out that nobody wanted the nuggets.  Katie tried them and hated them and attempted to pass them off to her brother - he cried and threw them on the floor.  Amy told me that she ate hers but I found them in the seat.  Most of the fries landed on the floor.  What was eaten?  The apples (which, by the way, in keeping with the marketing oversaturation of Shrek included Shrek packaging on the apples).  Katie drank most of her water, which she later declared to be her favorite part of lunch.  Philadelphia tap water, go figure.

So I paid far too much to have a big pile of food and wrappers all over the floor of my car.  Next time, I stick with my gut and I don’t stop at McDonald’s for lunch.  I really don’t get the attraction.

I’m off shortly with my friend, Kristin, to pretend to be a member of high society.

Historically, I have worn black to this function (sometimes with a feathered hat, sometimes not).  This year?  Bright pink with squiggles.  What does this say about where I am right now?

It was nice enough last night that Chris and I sat down and had a cup of tea while watching Top Chef (which, btw, was quite shocking - anybody watch?).  You can’t drink hot tea while it’s hot out, it just doesn’t feel right (coffee is another story).  But last night, with some cool air circulating, I had a nice cup of tea.  Ahh.  Another sign that fall is on its way, possibly?

When lawdaddy reports on beer inspired by Larry the Cable Guy?

You’ll recall that I posted an article a fews weeks ago critical of China’s failure to control the quality of their exports, especially as it relates to food, drink and child-related products.

China has responded to the criticism lobbed at them from world sources by… killing someone. That’s right, this week China executed its former State Food and Drug Administration director Zheng Xiaoyu for taking bribes. The bribes, valued at over $800,000 were in exchange for rubber-stamping allegedly hazardous medicines.

Zheng’s underling, Cao Wenzhuang, was also sentenced to death for accepting bribes but was granted a two-year reprieve.

Last week, China reported that almost 20% of products made for consumption in China were found to be substandard.  Check those labels, folks.

More scary recall stuff!

It’s Veggie Booty, the spinach and kale cousin of the yummy Pirate Booty.

More than 50 cases of salmonella poisoning in 17 states have been reported after eating Veggie Booty.  As a precaution, all lots and sizes of Veggie Booty are being recalled.

I happen to know from experience that salmonella is not fun - and in some instances, can be really serious.  Symptoms include fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

So, if you have any Veggie Booty in your house, throw it out.  And if you want reimbursement, contact the company.  You can get the official scoop from Robert’s here.

(hat tip:  Sally via text message - she’s so cool)

Ever since Katie went to a party at Chuck E. Cheese last year, she’s been itching to go back.  It doesn’t help that PBS Kids is sponsored by Chuck E. Cheese - a constant reminder.

That’s why I found this conversation funny this morning:

Katie:  You know what, Mom?  I like Chuck E. Cheese but I don’t like the food.

Me:  Okay.

Katie:  I’ve got a good idea.

Me:  What is it?

Katie:  Maybe we could get food from our house and take it to Chuck E. Cheese and have a picnic!

Me:  Hmm.  I’ll talk to your dad about it (Translation:  No way, Jose.)