Desert Lights: Japanese Curry Chili

Thatboy has been complaining for months that we never get out to Palm Springs anymore.  We used to go several times a year but it has been a while.  So for his birthday, I booked us a weekend in Rancho Mirage - right between Palm Springs and Palm Desert.

We've been having a fair amount of rain lately, but the skies were clear last weekend.  And that rain, meant the mountaintops were dusted with snow.

Our hotel had its own fun surprises.  The boys took advantage of the hotel pool and water slide.  There were also tortoises and giant...desert hares?  Big big rabbits.

We didn't have any big plans for the weekend, we really just spent the time walking around and hanging out.

I love traveling during the holidays and seeing towns all "dressed up."   There were even photo ops on the street.

We missed our town's annual tree lighting, but we were in town for the Palm Springs Festival of Light parade.  We got to the parade route early enough to stake a claim on some prime curb real estate, and ate our dinner al fresco.

Once the sun set, the parade began.

Garfield was the Grand Marshall for the parade, and Thatbaby got a big kick out of waving and screaming to him.

The parade is a Festival of Light parade, so there are lights.  Lots of lights.  Even the marching bands had lights on their instruments.

And the dancers had lights on their clothes.

But the main draw were the floats and vehicles that were just covered in lights.

Like all the best parades, there were also giant balloons.

And fire engines, both old and new.

Along with other interesting vehicles wrapped in lights.

The parade ended with a visit from the big guy himself - Santa!

The kids had a great vacation.  Thatkid even asked if he could get something to remember it by.  Which is about the cutest way to ask for things there is.  And he was really serious.  We ended up in a spice store where he picked out special sugar for making cookies, and a new spice mix for his "house famous" taquitos that end up on our menu week after week.

Kid takes after me.  I also get a little giddy over spices.  Like when Raw Spice Bar sent me these two spices to try out.

I'm already quite familiar with Garam Masala, and I used it to create an Indian cashew chicken.

But the Japanese curry powder was new to me.  And intriguing.  The only recipes I could find which used it were all Japanese curry - a sweet stew style dish served over rice.  The sweet, stew-y nature seemed like it would lend itself pretty readily to a chili.  A warm, thick, fall chili with sweet apples, sirloin, and potatoes.  The addition of tomatoes and kidney bean is not the traditional way of serving Japanese curry, but made for a really nice hybrid.

Japanese Curry Chili

 1/2 lb sirloin, cut into bite sized pieces

1 onion, chopped

1 large yukon gold potato, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup carrot, chopped

2 cloves garlic

1 Tbsp Japanese curry powder

1 qt beef stock

28 oz canned diced tomatoes, drained

1 can kidney beans

1/4 cup grated apples

1 Tbsp honey

1.  Brown the sirloin in a dutch oven over medium heat.  Remove meat and set aside.
2.  Place onions in the now empty dutch oven and sweat for 5 minutes.
3. Add the potato and carrot.  Cook for another 5 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and curry powder and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
5. Add the stock and bring to a simmer for an hour.
6. Stir in the tomatoes and beef and simmer for another 30 minutes.
7. Add in the beans, apples, and honey and cook for another 30 minutes before serving.

Just a Quick Weekend Getaway:Chicken Noodle Soup

I mentioned yesterday that we were anxious to get our decorations up because we were out of town last weekend.  It was just a quick trip, we left on Friday night and came back Sunday afternoon.  We didn't catch up on any sleep, and our Sunday was a whirlwind getting ready for the week, but sometimes you just need that break from the everyday.

We got to spend some great family time.  We spent Saturday morning at the Living Desert, one of our favorite parts of Palm Desert.  It was a great morning to be there, we happened in our feeding time, so we got very close and personal with some of the animals.  Like the giraffes.

Thatbaby had a request, he really wanted to ride on an animal at the zoo.  Seemed like an easy enough wish to grant.

But riding on a statue of a warthog wasn't good enough.  So we found him something a little more...mobile.

Riding a camel was the highlight of Thatbaby's day.  He loved every moment of it.  It makes me smile, because he is so like me in that regard.  Fearless when it comes to real animals, but terrified of costumed characters like Mickey Mouse. 

We spent the afternoon at the pool.  In December.  Completely spoiled, right?  Then in the evening we kind of attended the Palm Springs Parade of Lights.  It was completely coincidental and I would have avoided the crowds if I'd known better.  But I didn't.  And so we ended up eating at a restaurant a block away from the parade while Thatbaby and Thatboy ran up to look at the passing floats every 5 minutes.

It's hard to vacation in December.  You come home, still in vacation mode, knowing the holidays are right around the corner.  It's very demotivating.  All I want to do is, nothing.  I'm ready to just curl up on the couch with a blanket and movies.  Dinners here are going to get lazy my friends.  Soup lazy.  Soup lazy is the best kind of lazy, because you can even be lazy eating it.  Curled up on the couch with a blanket and movies. 

Chicken Noodle Soup

1/2 bag of egg noodles

1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded
1 onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 carrots, diced

1 cup mushrooms, sliced
28 oz chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp oregano

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp basil

1. Cook noodles according to package directions.
2. While noodles are cooking, place the chicken, onions, celery, carrots and mushroom in a crockpot.
3. Stir in the broth, cream, oregano, thyme, and basil.
4. Season with salt and pepper.  Cook on low for 8 hours.
5. Stir in egg noodles and serve.

Toddlers in the Desert

At the end of last year I was talking to L&O about our recent Palm Desert trip and she complained that she never gets to go to the outlets because Mr. L&O is not a fan.  So I suggested we plan a joint vacation so that the boys could hang out by the pool while the girls hit up the stores.

Last month we all headed out to the desert for a little R&R.  Less R&R for us since we were mid-move, but it was still nice to get away from it all.  It was even nicer to watch our boys enjoying each others company.  Both of them, as soon as they got up in the morning, asked where the other was.  They wanted to spend every minute with each other. 

We took them back to the Palm Springs Air Museum.

Although between you and I, I think the dads were more interested in the museum than the kiddos.

L&O told me that their trips to the desert involved lots and lots of pool time.  And so we spent lots and lots of time at the pool.  Which made the boys very happy.

I brought noodles for the little guys to go crazy with.  They both wanted green.

L&O brought the boys squirty guns.  Which they also really enjoyed.  Little LO took great pleasure in nailing us with his water.

There was also lots of throwing in the air.  Which is great fun for everyone.

And it's always nice to have an extra set of hands around toddlers and a pool.

One of the highlights for both the boys were nightly ice cream cones on the patio.  Not so much a highlight for the laundry, but clothes are replaceable.

We introduced the L&O family to Norma's. Thatbaby had a great time showing Little LO around the grounds.

This may have been Thatbaby's favorite vacation ever.  He loved having a partner in crime.  Although I'm sure they also taught each other new and different ways to drive us all crazy.

Oh How We've Changed: Almond Crescents

Prior to Thatbaby, Thatboy and I had our Palm Springs weekends down to a science.  Lots of pool time, shopping, and dining out at nice restaurants.

This trip, catered to Thatbaby, meant we didn't stick with our usual food choices (with one notable exception).  Since we were going to be out at zoos and museums during the day, we decided to pack lunches, so we wouldn't have to worry about overpriced crap.  Which meant our first stop of the weekend was Trader Joes.  (This was also good so I could load up on cereal bars - which is the second thing out of Thatbaby's mouth when he wakes up- and fruit for snacking.)  I figured there would be a restaurant in the same shopping center, and I was right!  So we found our first breakfast at The Palms Cafe.

The great thing about most breakfast places is that we don't have to order Thatbaby his own breakfast.  Portions are always so large he can share ours.  My omelet came with a side of pancakes and fruit, and those sides became Thatbaby's breakfast.  We don't do pancakes very often, so they're a definite favorite when we eat out. 

For dinner, Thatboy and I were debating between a couple of easy sounding, toddler friendly options and decided to give La Perlita a shot.  

This small, unassuming, family run restaurant is located in a strip mall, which was deserted on a Saturday night.  But don't let that dissuade you.  It really is a "little pearl" in the desert.  The food was wonderful.  Thatboy had a relleno and enchilada he raved about.  I had my typical fajitas, and Thatbaby had a quesadilla - which he had been talking about all evening in anticipation.  It wasn't just the food that impressed us, but also the atmosphere.  The man in the background is the owner, and he personally spent a great deal of time ensuring Thatbaby's happiness and providing entertainment in the form of "magic tricks" and masks.   He spoke with us about our meals, what brought us in, and a little about the restaurant itself. 

The one restaurant we knew we would continue to return to, regardless of Thatbaby's preferences, was Norma's.  

This is one of Thatboy's favorite restaurants, so it stays on schedule.  Thatbaby is a big fan for a couple of reasons.  Firstly, because as soon as you're seated they greet you with a smoothie shot.  Thatbaby is a huge fan of smoothies.  So much so that we ended up getting him a full size one to work on.  Thatbaby also loved sharing Thatboy's chocolate and peanut butter waffles.  But I think the highlight of breakfast at Norma's for Thatbaby was being able to run around and explore the grounds.

With hammocks, chairs, swings and fountains, he found plenty to keep him entertained while Thatboy enjoyed his coffee.

We saved the "most fun" restaurant for our last night.  And it lived up to all our expectations.  Jackalope Ranch is more like Disneyland than a restaurant.

To be fair, the atmosphere almost reminds me of a restaurant IN Disneyland - like the Blue Bayou.

There is something in every corner of the space to look at and distract young diners.  

Thatbaby was so happy munching on his quesadilla and looking around, that Thatboy and I were able to have a full, uninterrupted conversation at dinner.  Which hasn't happened since we started dining with Thatbaby at 6 months.

So our dining experiences may not be what they once were, but we're finding new and different ways to enjoy ourselves when going out.  One is definitely to manage expectations by catering a bit to our youngest dining companion.

In truth, we often opt for the path of least resistance when it comes to Thatbaby.  It's not so much a matter of spoiling him, but setting him up for success.  Like instead of fighting him when I'm in the kitchen, I find ways to have him help me.  Lately he's been helping with cookies.  Which means I'm usually making easy recipes with few steps and ingredients.  He has become the master of turning on and off the Kitchen Aid.  And there is nothing he likes better than "dump[ing] it out" with the ingredients.

These almond crescent cookies are one of those few steps/ingredient type recipes.  Almond paste is one of those ingredients that needs very little else.  Adding more almonds only heightens the great flavor.  I made a little glaze by mixing confectioner's sugar and water, but they are just as tasty without.

Almond Crescents

1/2 lb almond paste

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

1 egg white

1/2 cup blanched, slivered almonds, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 300.  Place almond paste in an electric mixer and mix until the paste is soft and pliable.
2. Add the confectioner's sugar and egg white and beat until combined.
3. Place the mixture in a ziplock bag and snip off the end.  Use this makeshift pastry bag to pipe out tubes, bending the ends to create a crescent on a parchment or silpat lined cookie sheet.
4. Sprinkle the almonds over these crescents.  Let stand for 20 minutes.
5. Bake for 20 minutes.  Cool, then remove from pan.