Just when I thought we had turned the corner on the seasons, the weather gods have proved who's in charge. Although the weekend has been bright and sunny, the temperature has barely reached positive numbers. Saturday morning we woke to snow on the rooftops, today was equally chilly but at least dry. No tennis yet!
Thankfully the few flowers that are up have survived the chilly nights and some more are trying to bloom. My one forsythia bush is close to flowering, just needs a couple of warm days. Rhubarb and asparagus have also appeared; in fact I will have to keep a close eye on the asparagus shoots as they can go from "ready to pick" to "past their before date" in what seems like a couple of hours!
Last demo team practice this afternoon - no more until September. We have one more demo this week and Keith took us through most of the dances today. It's at a Senior's residence and luckily the old dears don't usually notice if we get the steps mixed up.
A couple of months ago I got a recipe for Butter Chicken which I make frequently. But I now have another great recipe that comes, via the Internet, from Janet and Greta Podloski, the "Looney Spoons" writers. It's also Indian based and uses chicken thighs which I almost always have in the freezer.
Coconut Curry Chicken
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2 tsps. minced garlic
1 tbsp. each grated ginger root, curry powder and garam masala
1 can light coconut milk
3 tbsp. tomato paste
2 tsps. brown sugar (optional)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups peeled, diced sweet potato
1 cup green peas
Brown chicken pieces on both sides. Cook onions until softened, add ginger root, garlic, curry powder and garam masala. Mix well. Add rest of ingredients down to salt. Cook and stir until bubbling. Stir in sweet potatoes. Return chicken, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Add green peas and cook another 5 minutes.
Note: I left the chicken pieces whole and kept them in the pan while I cooked and added the other ingredients. You can also cut the chicken into small pieces. I also added a cornstarch and water slurry (1 tsp. cornstarch and 3 tsps. water) just before the peas and cooked, stirring, until the sauce thickened.
A gorgeous day today. James and I were out by 9:30, first to the Play Group until 11:00, then on the way home making a detour to the park. I could not get him to leave. He was (variously) rolling down the hill (yes, the very one where I broke my leg chasing him last fall!), riding the swings (he can now stay on by himself), scaling the climber, or coming down the slide. It was well after 12:00 when we got home so lunch was somewhat delayed.
Yesterday with the grandkids turned out well. Judy had left a dinner they all liked, crispy chicken legs baked in the oven, with steamed broccoli. They each would eat only one broccoli "tree", but filled up on raw vegetables and hummus dip. That was completely demolished! Dessert was butterscotch ice cream and cookies. They showed me where the ice cream was kept and assured me it was OK to have some. I had my doubts but forbidden treats are a grandmother's speciality!
Bath and bedtime seemed to take for ages but finally all were clean, teeth brushed (almost forgot that one), read to (a different story for each), and tucked in. No fussing or complaining so, all in all, a successful evening. However, I am glad I only do this occasionally!
No time for a proper post - it has been one of these days when I didn't need to think of something to keep me busy.
I was up at 7:30 and out the door by 8:15 to a teaching assignment. Very mild but rainy. I had a lovely MID class of just 4 students and an Educational Assistant. One on two isn't a bad ratio! I would gladly go back there. Basically all I had to do was read them a story, talk about it and take them through an activity. They knew the class routines very well and were quite independent on most things. There was one high-functioning autistic student but even he managed to cope well with a new face in the classroom. An easy morning.
Stopped in at the garden centre on the way home and picked up some pansies for my porch planter, and onion sets to get in the garden on the next nice day. A quick lunch then back on the road to the Tennis Centre for a meeting with the volunteer captain to discuss any improvements we need to make for the summer tournament. Back home by 4:00 p.m. Now I am off to the suburbs to spend the evening with the grandkids while the parents take in a show. I hope they are well behaved (the kids, not the parents). More on that tomorrow.
Thankfully the few flowers that are up have survived the chilly nights and some more are trying to bloom. My one forsythia bush is close to flowering, just needs a couple of warm days. Rhubarb and asparagus have also appeared; in fact I will have to keep a close eye on the asparagus shoots as they can go from "ready to pick" to "past their before date" in what seems like a couple of hours!
