My Animals: Fish House Punch

We're lucky enough to live really close to a bunch of different animal habitats.  Zoos, aquariums, and of course, the Safari Park.

We are really good at taking advantage of this fact.  In truth, I'm a little jealous of my kids growing up in such an environment.  I used to love going to the zoo as a child, and we never never lived especially close, so it was a rare treat to go.

Meanwhile, in one month my children went to three different zoos!

It started when my inlaws all came to visit.  They'd never been to the Safari Park and wanted to visit.  We were more than happy to oblige. 

Thatkid loves spending time with his cousins.  And they are so good with him.  We all got a little up close and personal with one of the tigers.

And my guys lemur-ed it up while the older kids went and visited the actual lemurs.

We also got a very close encounter with some rhinos.  They were sleepy guys.

Shortly thereafter we went to Palm Desert, which always means a trip to the Living Desert.  Feeding the giraffes at the Safari Park costs $110.  At the Living Desert it costs $5.  So when Thatkid asked if he could feed the giraffes, we had no problem saying yes.

When we got back to San Diego, we met up with the LOs at the zoo.

Thatkid is going through a "take my picture" phase.  I felt like his own personal paparazzi as he posed beside every statue at the zoo and asked me to capture it on film.

He also roped Little LO into the act.

The two of them cracked me up.  Thatkid was less interested in the real animals than he was in the animal statues, and Little LO was happy to join him.

But please take my word that we did see real animals.

Fish House sounds like an animal habitat, but in reality it's the nickname for the oldest men's club in America. And while San Diego may be known for their animals, Fish House is known for their highly potent punch.

This drink is not for the weak-livered.  Given the name, I like to imagine it as something pirates would drink to fight off scurvy.  And because water was a commodity on the high seas, with rum being much more common to transport.  Add in some cognac and brandy and you'll have your own sea legs!

Fish House Punch (From The Fannie Farmer Cookbook)

1/8 cup sugar

1/4 cup lemon or lime juice

3/8 cup dark rum

1/8 cup cognac

splash of peach brandy

1. Dissolve the sugar in the lemon/lime juice and 1/8 cup water.
2. Mix in the rest of the ingredients and "brew" by letting it sit 2 hours.
3.  Pour over ice and serve.

Crave Wednesday: Lamb and Turkey Pita Burgers

I think this was our most laid back Valentine's Day to date.  In part, because it was on a Sunday.  And really, all holidays should be on a weekend. 

Which didn't mean we got to sleep in.  Because sleeping in on the weekends went out the door sometime in 2012.  Instead, I got up early and made pancakes with Thatkid.

He specifically requested heart-shaped pancakes for Valentine's Day.  I added the sprinkles for a little fun.  Just in case heart pancakes weren't fun enough.

We spent the rest of the day at home, just hanging out and playing the backyard.  Picking oranges and spending time as a family.

For dinner, we brought in sushi, so Thatbaby had his first taste of sushi!

We followed that with a special Valentine's Day treat Thatboy had brought home for us.

After the boys went to bed, Thatboy and I headed back to the backyard, but this time with a bottle of wine.  We sat and drank and watched the stars as we talked about our past and our future.

There were no grand romantic gestures.  No ditching the kids for a night out.  We spent it together, as a family.  But a family with good food.  Because food is a great way to show how much you love someone.

Like these lamb and turkey pita burgers.  Lamb is Thatboy's favorite meats.  Whenever I make it, I make it for him. The boys don't seem to mind it either.  This is a first for me, combining the lamb and turkey.  But it won't be the last.  I loved the way they interacted.  The lamb can be a little rich, bit not cut with the turkey.  And turkey can get a little dry, but not mixed with lamb.  They complement each other perfectly.

Lamb and Turkey Pita Burgers  (From Cooking Light)

1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/8 tsp ground red pepper

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground ginger

8oz lean ground lamb

8oz ground turkey breast

cooking spray

12 small lettuce leaves

6 pitas, cut in half

1. Prepare sauce by combining first 4 ingredients; cover and chill.
2. To prepare burgers, combine the onion and next 6 ingredients in a large bowl.  Divide mixture into 12 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2 inch thick patty.
3. Heat a large grill pan over medium high heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray.  Add patties to pan; cook 5 minutes on eahc side or until well marked and done.
4. Arrange 1 lettuce leaf, 1 patty, and about 1 1/2 tsps sauce in each pita half.

Mommy Mondays: 8 months

Weight: 16lbs 14 oz (+8lbs 10oz) (from 6 months)

 Height: 27.75 inches (+7.5 inches)  (from 6 months)
 Head: 17 inches (from 6 months)

 

Sleep:  He's pretty much settled into a routine these days - one or two wakes.  But when he wakes more than once, Thatboy usually takes care of one of them.  Which usually involves a quick cuddle and back to bed he goes.

Eating: Thatbaby now eats 3 meals a day, even at daycare.  His nursing hasn't decreased at all, and he's still eating about every 3 hours.  Even at daycare, he's still drinking 16 oz over the 10 hours he's there.  And he eats with abandon.  Boy loves food.  He also voices his opinion, he fusses until he gets what he wants.  And after months of being fine with tomato, it looks like he's developed a sensitivity/allergy.  So we're steering clear of the raw stuff for the time being.

Best Moment: The crawling!  The first time he did it I was speechless, and another attorney walked into my office so I couldn't even fully appreciate it.  But he's been on the move ever since.  Which is both exciting and terrifying.

Monthly Wisdom: I feel like a first time mom right now since this early movement is so early for me.  That and Thatbaby's sense of curiosity.  Babyproofing is a high priority here, whereas Thatkid we barely did anything.  I feel like I'm constantly trying to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing. 

Goals for the Upcoming Month:
- More baby signs.  I think he understands them, because he goes crazy when I sign "milk" but he isn't signing back yet.
- Troubleshooting how keep Thatbaby out of the dog's food and water. 


Things Thatbaby is doing:
-crawling
- waving
- babbling.  He has 3 main "phrases" - mamamamama, babababababa, and doodoodoodoodoo
- causing trouble.  He likes to chew on cords, touch light sockets, play in the dog's water, eat the dog's food, hit the television, suck on the remote control
- getting very upset when anyone takes something away from him
- he's in the convertible car seat!
- sitting in the shopping cart

Sunday Runday: Sweetheart 5k

The second race in my holiday series was yesterday, the Sweetheart 5k.  A Valentine's Day race with a very fitting charity, the San Diego American Heart Association.

One of the reasons this race intrigued me was that I've never run this course before.  The race was held in Kit Carson Park, in Escondido.  They described it as "cross country."  It ran through sidewalks in the park and back out onto trails.  Even though it was an open course, we didn't run into too many people clogging it up.  And it was wide open, making passing easy.  I actually really liked the course, but it was hard.  More on that in a minute.  Let me back up first.

This is the second year of the race, and it was exceedingly well run.  The shirts were couples shirts - one said "sweet" and the other said "heart."

Since I ran this solo, I just went with Sweet.  I thought "heart" on its own would be strange.  Parking was easy and plentiful, and close to the startline!  (A plus since it was 39 degrees at 7am!)

And unlike almost every other race I've ever run, this one started right on time! 

The course was pretty and I started out so strong!

The first mile was nice and flat and I finished in just under 9 minutes.  Which was probably too fast to start out, but I figured it would buy me some time if I slowed down...which I did.

The second mile was a little slower for me, right after the first mile was a small hill, and based on my speed, I thought I should slow it down a bit.  We crossed back down to the start area and over to the back side of the park.

Mile 3 was where things got ugly.  It was the mile of hills.  They had warned us about it before the start - "You're going to go up that hill and run along the ridge."  But after the hill at mile 2, I wasn't too concerned.  I should have been, that hill was killer.  And followed by another!  This is where I stopped being the pass-er and started being the pass-ee.

We ran past the Queen Califia Sculpture Garden.

And a grove of orange trees, and down to the finish.

So it wasn't my fastest race ever, but I know I can do better next year, now that I know what the race has in store.  And I do think there will be a next year!

A Walk in the Woods: Champagne Punch

Ever since I went running in Los Penasquitos I've been dying to take the boys back.  We haven't been hiking since the week Thatbaby was born and this is a nice easy path for us.  Plus, waterfall!

Finally we got there, and they were not disappointed.

Thatkid has become much easier to hike with.  He used to ask to be picked up all the time, and now he walks/runs the whole way.  Thatbaby loved looking around and taking it all in.

We didn't make it all the way to the waterfall.  It was getting late and we didn't really want to be on the trail in the dark so we headed back.  But now we have incentive to return.

We're gearing up for Valentine's Day around here.  It's definitely not going to be romantic, as round these parts its a family holiday.  So we'll do a family breakfast and family dinner.  Thatkid has already requested heart shaped pancakes.  Thatboy and I are trying to figure out special ways to celebrate the day, like splitting a special bottle of wine beside the firepit after the kids go to sleep.  Or adding a special drink to our morning pancakes.

Mimosas are a popular breakfast beverage.  The addition of orange juice suddenly makes alcohol in the morning an acceptable choice.  (Although I'm not sure this works for a Tequila Sunrise).  I love the idea, because champagne seems like such a Valentine's Day drink.  It's romantic, right?  I mean it's what you use to toast at weddings, celebrate engagements, and serve with chocolate dipped strawberries.

This punch is a twist on the mimosa.  Because not only does it have orange juice, but also apricot, apple and pineapple juice.  So super breakfast-y.  It's a great way to start your Valentine's Day!

Champagne Punch

1/3 cup sugar

3 Tbsp lemon juice

1/3 cup apricot nectar

1 oz frozen orange juice conentrate

1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice

1/3 cup pineapple juice

1 1/3 cup ginger ale

1 cup champagne

1. Boil sugar with 1/3 cup water for 1 minute.  Cool.
2. Add the lemon juice, apricot nectar, orange, apple, and pineapple juices to the sugar syrup. Chill.
3. Pour over ice.  Add the ginger ale and champagne.

Crave Wednesday: Chicken Burgers

I'm not sure where he got the idea, but sometime in early December That kid announced, matter of factly, that you're supposed to go ice skating on Christmas Eve.

Contributing to my confusion regarding this statement is the fact that Thatkid has never been ice skating before. Every year we venture down to the Hotel Del Coronado, but he's always been too little, so the tradition involves drinking hot chocolate and watching the ice skaters.

Given his interest, I talked to Thatboy about doing our annual Hotel Del venture on Christmas Eve, and letting Thatboy have a go on the ice.  He agreed, so the boys and I headed down to Thatboy's office and picked him up on our way to Coronado.

Thatkid had a fantastic time on the ice.  It took him a bit to get around all the way, and he took frequent breaks to come sit with Thatbaby and I, but he did so much better than we expected.  He didn't give up, he listened, and he didn't even fall all that much!

 

Afterwards we all grabbed some hot chocolate.  (Well almost all, Thatbaby has to wait till next year).

And checked out the gorgeous tree in the lobby.



And then we headed home so I could prep our Christmas dinner.  Thatboy really wanted to spend the holiday with family, and since his family didn't want to come down for Christmas, he invited my family instead.  So Thatmom, her boyfriend, and my great aunt all came down to share our Christmas dinner.  There was prime rib, mashed potatoes, and maple glazed brussels sprouts.

It was so nice spending the holiday with them!  Thatboy and I stayed up late getting everything ready for the next morning.  So we were exhausted, but it was totally worth it when Thatkid excitedly informed us that Santa had come.

 For me, it was heavenly waking up in my own bed and doing Christmas on our schedule. 
The boys emptied their stockings.

And opened their gifts.

And spent the rest of the morning playing with them while we watched Christmas movies.  We had an amazing Christmas breakfast of creme brulee french toast.  I sat and basked in the glow of my family, feeling so warm and happy watching my boys play.  There's a special feeling knowing that this is the first Christmas our complete family got to celebrate together.

Then we all took a family nap together.  After nap we went for a walk.  I fixed us dinner, and despite the nap, the events of the day wore out the oldest and youngest member of our family.  I found them like this when I went to tell them dinner was ready.

Since we did our big dinner on Christmas Eve, we went with something a little lighter and simpler on Christmas Day. I got some comments about ground chicken last week, and I guess I take it for granted that it's easy to find.  If it's not, it's pretty easy to make it yourself with a food processor.  Just make sure you pulse and keep an eye on it, it can get gummy if overworked.

When the chicken is ground with capers and shallots, it needs very little else.  No fancy sauces, no crazy toppings.  The flavor is already there - a little sour, a little sweet.  But a hit of mustard never hurt anyone.

Chicken Burgers (From Cooking Light)

1 Tbsp capers, drained

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 shallots, trimmed and peeled

1 lb skinless, boneless, chicken breasts

cooking spray

8 slices sourdough bread, toasted

1/4 cup canola mayonnaise

4 green leaf lettuce leaves

8 slices plum tomato

4 slices red onion

2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1. Place first 4 ingredients in a food processor; process until finely ground.  Divide chicken mixture into 4 equal portions; shape each into a 1/2 inch thick patty.  Press thumb in the center of each patty, leaving a nickel sized indentation.
2. Heat a large grill pan over medium high heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray.  Add patties to pan, cook 5 minutes on each side. 
3. Place 1 slice of toast on each of 4 plates.
4. Spread 1 Tbsp mayonnaise over each.
5. Top each slice with 1 lettuce leaf,  1 patty, 2 tomato slices, and 1 onion slice.
6. Spread 1 1/2 tsp mustard over each of remaining toast slices, and place on burgers.