Kitchen (Mis)Adventure - Marion's Kitchen Thai Basil and Chilli Stir Fry

I love cooking (when I feel like it, not when I have to) and I love cooking shows. I like watching MasterChef  Australia and I think that I only missed one episode of Season 3 which was on the night I gave birth. In fact, it was on the TV while I was being prepped for an emergency C-section. I remember trying to watch it while my epidural was being topped up. I figured that was the closest I was going to get to watching my favourite show with a glass of wine. I'm sure somewhere in the back of my mind I contemplated delaying giving birth until after the show has finished. 

I usually dislike at-home cooking kits but I am a huge fan of Marion Grasby from Season 2.  After months of walking past her Marion's Kitchen range in the supermarket aisle, curiosity and lack of cooking motivation prompted me to give it a try. I chose Thai basil & chilli stir fry.

I like how each individual packet of ingredient is numbered and comes with easy to follow instructions. However, I don't like that she instructs you to stir fry the vegies first followed by the meat. I do it the other way around to make sure my vegies are not overcooked.

The sauce was a generous amount, she recommends 300g of meat, I used 500g and there was more than enough sauce. The end product didn't look like the sample picture on the box maybe because I used chicken instead of beef and mine looked more saucy. I added cashews to mine.

I expected it to be better than your average boxed cooking kit but since most of them are just plain awful it wasn't that high an expectation. It was actually really good. It tasted just like it was from a Thai restaurant. It was wonderfully fragrant and it tasted like it was made from fresh ingredients. It was flavoursome and mildly spicy. I would definitely buy it again and I'm looking forward to trying her other kits.

Bubby's First Christmas. Bubby's First Tooth.

As you can see, Bubby was quite spoilt. This doesn't even show the high chair my parents bought for him and the toy and outfits I got for him from the end of year sales. Hubby and I spent the better part of Christmas eve buying presents for Bubby. We were like little kids let loose in a toy store. We Bubby has almost the complete stuffed toy characters of Sesame Street circa 1980's. He has Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, Big Bird, Mr Snuffleupagus, The Count, Grover and Elmo (although he's not from the 80's). We now only need Bert and Ernie. I really have my doubts if half of his toys are for him or for his parents. We also got him Scoobie Doo (Hubby and I did a divide and conquer of Toys r' Us and each of us ended up with a Scoobie). I was also going to get him the Super Mario set but had to restrain myself. I ended up letting him choose one Mario character. He smiled at most of them but King Koopa turned out to be his favourite. He squealed with so much delight when I showed it to him that I nearly bought him all of the King Koopas on the shelf. He also got heaps of toys from my in-laws. Now our house is filled with stuffed toys and lots of  "yellow plastic crap" as hubby calls them.

Christmas this year was so much fun. Everyday is so much fun.

Bubby's first tooth erupted today!. If I didn't see it I wouldn't think he was teething. He's his usual bubbly and cheeky self. I shall post a photo if he'll open his mouth for me without his hand in it.

ETA: A screenshot from a video my brother took:

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

I probably won't get a chance to update until after Christmas, so if you're still reading we wish you a very Happy Christmas. May you have a joyful and merry time with your loved ones and be showered with presents. I know we will as we already have the best present of all!

Love Affair - Stripes

I noticed that we tend to gravitate towards stripes. Bubby, especially, is almost always in stripes. Exhibits A - Z:

I miss this grow suit so much. It was my absolute favourite, sadly he's way too big for it now

Daddy wears stripes too.

My favourite matching daddy/Bubby outfits. Bubby's cardi and beanie were knitted by my mother-in-law. Bubby wore it almost every time we went out in winter. Sadly, it's now also too small. Maybe my mother-in-law will knit a bigger version...

My very own navy/white stripes.

The whole family does stripes on my birthday.

Nautical-themed birthday party.

Even our bed linen is striped/nautical.

Bubby's pram blanket is also striped.

And long before Bubby came along his parents were already having an affair with stripes. Come to think of it, we also love navy.

The Dream Feed

Photo Source: Essential Baby

The dream feed is a funny thing. It doesn't matter how deep in his sleep Bubby is bring a booby to his mouth and he'll feed. Actually, as soon as he is in the feeding position he'd open his mouth wide. On the other hand, if I bring a cheeseburger to hubby's face while he's asleep I don't think he'll dream feed on it. Or will he?

Never Trust a Quiet Baby.

A quiet baby is always up to no good. Last night I left Bubby on the floor while I folded up some clothes. He was happily watching me and I look at him every couple of minutes to make a funny noise when he calls out 'Ha!" to get my attention. He was very quiet for a while and when I looked down he had shoved a receipt in his mouth and was very enthusiastically chewing on it. There was a small bit still hanging out. I had to pry his mouth open and fish around in there with my fingers to make sure I got every bit out that I actually made him throw up a little. He seemed to think that was a game and was also looking pleased with what he'd done. Unfortunately, there was no time to grab the camera. We think we got all the bits out but it was impossible to try and put the receipt together to see. If he ingested any it would have only been a very tiny piece. I never leave paper on the floor so I think the breeze must blown the receipt off the table. I didn't give any solids as he's already had his fill.

Another time, I was having my afternoon tea and having a bit of quiet time to myself while Bubby was also having a quiet time on the floor. He had managed to move off his mat and was observing the fringe on the rug. I just let him since he didn't look like he was eating it. When I walked up to him I realised that he was practising his fine motor skills by unravelling the knots on the fringe of the very expensive silk rug. He was two-handedly, expertly pulling on it with his pudgy little fingers. I say expertly because on closer inspection there were several undone knots along the edge of the rug. He must have had plenty of practice on a number of occasions. I have since put a beach towel with fringed ends over his mat but this boy has taste as he is not as impressed with a towel as he is with a Persian rug. I think I need a play pen, or a cage.

Educating Boys

Photo source: Loretta Chin

Is mighty expensive. My husband and I have been buried in prospectuses, application forms and schedules of fees for some weeks now. (Yes, I know, Bubby is 6 and a half months now, we've left it so late. Isn't it ridiculous?) The prospect of 13 - 14 years of tuition fees is enough to make you want to rob a bank or take all your savings and place it on the roulette in the hopes of doubling it. Oh wait, that last one is on the (over)price of Sydney properties. One school we are were considering has limited intake years, The boy pretty much has to start at the school from pre-preschool for a place in prep and secondary schools. Their early childhood centre (read: glorified child care) is currently $24,000 a year for 5 days a week. Shocking. I wonder if it still qualifies the parents for childcare rebate. One school has a pre-school entry which is basically where boys are 'trained' to be cooperative and to be able to concentrate for longer periods. This appeals to us as anything that will turn Bubby from the unruly puppy that he is to a real human being can't be a bad thing.

So if it's so expensive why not just go public, you might be wondering. Some public schools are good, some have a bad reputation. You have to live in the right area to get into the good ones. The right areas are a long commute from the city, some are hideously expensive suburbs. One of the schools we're considering is close to hubby's work, the other is close to mine. Plus there's the added advantage of very cute prep school uniform. Bubby will look so good in a little blazer with a little tie and a little hat. I hope Bubby is clever enough to get into a selective public high school, then maybe we won't have to sell our kidneys.