Seitan Kebabs

I had a go at making seitan the other day (well, technically I made it once before as a roast for Christmas) and turned into Kebabs (1000 Vegan recipes).
I made the marinade and left the veges and seitan in for a while to soak up the flavour. Turned out really nice, but YM was not a big fan. We used the peach chutney on the side (that chutney was soo good!)

It was such a lovely night we decided to eat it outside. The tent was up in our usual eating spot so we had to set up further down the back of the yard. Unfortunately, it was just far enough back to keep getting massive wafts of car wash wax which was spoiling my dinner (I have a car wash on one side of me - can get quite annoying at 3 in the morning on a Friday/Saturday night when pissed people want to wash their cars- noisily! Who the fuck washes their car at 3 in the morning, I ask you??!!)

Anyways, the salad was a couscous salad which was actually called Golden Couscous Salad (1000 Vegan Recipes, Pg. 86) and used all things yellow-ish only I didn't have any yellow capsicum. So I put in red capsicum and we called it sunset salad - which we think is a far better name!

Today we went for a bit of a play at the park, as we do a few times a week. It was heaps of fun (it always is) but we often compromise our dinner meal. Or we have it REALLY late. But I had a brain wave tonight (and I am sure lots of other people do this - but as usual I am only just getting it now!)

Previous to this thought, I decided that I want to get up earlier and do heaps of stuff rather than stay up really late, do nothing but watch the box, and struggle in the morning. On that really hot day I was awake at 4am and up at 5am. I pottered really slowly around the house, cleaning up and generally having some time to myself - but productive time. So this is what I am slowly going to aim for when I get back from Bali. By that time, Popeye will be back at work and commuting back and forth from Cerberus every second day or so and will have to leave VERY early in the mornings to get back to work so it will work quite well I hope.

Anyway, the thought. Usually after late arvo exercise no one really wants to eat a huge meal, let alone cook one. So I am hoping to change our meals around (from the way I have been brought up - we tend to follow that example, don't we??). So, I will (hopefully) get up early, make a BIG breakfast, have a MEDIUM sized lunch (stuff we would usually have for dinner), and after the kids do some homework, we can go out for some fun and exercise and come home, shower the kids and have a LIGHT dinner such as a smoothie in summer and a thin soup in winter. I hope it works.

I get my hair-brained schemes from my mum! She is always coming up with something, reading something, or trying something. Not all things stick, though! Some things are just great thoughts!

We'll see how we go! It sounds good in theory...

Tahn

Fruit Salad Yum Yummy (for Popeye)

Today I made up a fruit salad to use up some fruit (gee, that's inventive I hear you groan)

And after dinner Tweenie made some custard to go with it...yum!

Isn't it crazy that fruit can sit there all week, but cut it up, put it in a bowl and call it fruit salad and it is gone in 2 seconds flat!

For dinner YM decided he wanted spaghetti, so I told he if he wanted it he had to make it. So he did, with a little help from Baby. Some say I am a lazy parent, I say I am training them up to be independent!

I wish I had taken a photo of it, but it was scoffed down real fast! He boiled the pasta, and made a sauce with mushrooms, onions and mixed veges. (Remember he is only 8!) And it wasn't bad, either!! Kitchen was a bit of a mess afterwards...gotta work on that!

Last night, while laying in bed, alone (only 85 days to go...), I kept hearing a banging noise. Finally I got up and went outside to see what the noise was, and it was fireworks!!!

From my bedroom window I have a direct line of vision to the city's skyscrapers and I managed to snap this, albeit crappy & unprofessional, photo. The next door neighbour had come out a few seconds after me to investigate and I was caught in my PJ's! So I quickly ran inside after only this one shot. I'm wondering if the fireworks was from Fed Square celebrating Geelong's Grand Final win?? Anyone know??

And now for something a little different.....

Time for a little offloading.
My B-I-L rang today and asked if I would watch my nephew for a few days, which I happily agreed to. He said they were going to come about 4 ish. So a while later I phoned back and asked if they wanted to stay for dinner while they were here. He hummed and harred a bit then asked 'What are you going to make? Vegetables?" Then he declined the offer. He's a big meat eater, and that's his choice, but I felt...Gee I don't know what I felt. A bit pissed off, I suppose, that he was being so condescending. Anyway, feel a little better for getting it off my chest.

I've found a recipe for Asparagus Soup that I am going to make tomorrow. Look forward to posting about that!

Tahn