Sunday, April 26, 2009

really? today?

that's what i said to dh when he reminded me of our tee time yesterday. it was cold. and windy. and still snow on the course.

we made it 5 holes before we called it quits.

at least it was free - there was no one else on the course, and the manager said if we were avid enough golfers to be out in the cold, what we played was on the house.

and 5 holes was enough.

more pics and videos will follow later - gotta get out the door...

Thursday, April 23, 2009

kapusta calling...

so i have this very cute little grandma, and she has always made wonderful "peasant" food - lots of cabbage, potatoes, and sausage. and when we were hit over night with a lovely spring storm, the snow and chilly weather made me feel a longing for some kapusta. (spoken as ka - poo - sta) i remember sitting in my grandma's kitchen when i was little, and eating lots of kapusta with fresh brown bread and butter with my grandpa. its good with lots of things, like smoked pork hocks and mustard, perogies, sausage, mashed potatoes, ham. (note all the porky things! LOL)

what is kapusta? well, its basically saurkraut, but with the addition of fresh cabbage, bacon, and onion.

so i called my grandma after picking up the requisite cabbage and onions (the rest was in the fridge and freezer) and asked her for some directions. which were somewhat fuzzy in description.

(you must also imagine a fairly heavy eastern european accent here)

"first you slice up the cabbage. put it in the water. but don't cook it too long. you don't want mushy saurkraut."

ok. done.



"and then you cook the onion and the bacon. make sure there is lots of bacon. cut it up in dices. don't cook it too long, you don't want the bacon too done."

ok. done.



"drain the cabbage in that thing. you know the one. the thing with the holes."

- a colander, grandma?

"yes, that's the thing. drain it. then add the saurkraut from the jar. then cook it a bit more. but not too long, you don't want it mushy." (mushy = moooshie *giggle*)



"cook it some more. i put in a bay leaf. or maybe more. and some pepper. maybe some salt. add some shookar if you think you need it if its too sour" (shookar = sugar)

got it.



yum.

its what's for dinner. with some farmer's sausage and perogies.

recipe:

1 small green cabbage - sliced fine (like a really small cabbage - mine was the size of an oversized softball, the smallest i could find)

1 jar more or less of saurkraut

3/4 lb bacon, diced

1 large onion, diced

pepper & salt to taste

2 bay leaves

a spoonful or 2 of brown sugar

slice up the cabbage (i used the food processor - goes lickety-split) and put it in a large pot. cover with water and bring to a simmer for about 10 minutes. drain. put it back in the same pot, add the jarred saurkraut. bring to a simmer, cook another 10 minutes or so. meanwhile, start the onion and bacon in another fry pan, saute until the onion is translucent and the bacon is just starting to turn crisp. add to pot with the cabbage mixture. (don't drain the bacon/onion - you need it for the flavor) add a generous amount of pepper, a some salt, and some brown sugar to cut the vinegar as you like. add a couple of whole bay leaves and let simmer for another 1/2 hour or so.

this keeps well, and will fill your home with lovely stinky cabbage-y goodness.

enjoy!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

easter away

long weekend... gotta love it!

we headed down to great falls, montana, for this easter weekend with the boys in tow! we had a great time away, some much needed r&r, and best of all, some shopping and hanging out with my sister, brother in law, and their 2 older ones (the little one stayed behind at nana's).

not too many pics, but we did take some time out from the shopping spree to go to an easter egg hunt (apparently over in less than 5 minutes) for the little ones, and then off to the fish hatchery and park.

great photo ops here, and the weather was nothing short of spectacular.

the four of us...




the "men" hanging out...


the kids, up the hill...


doesn't this just melt your heart??




another photo that just makes me go "awwwwwwwwww" - they were walking over the concrete bridge that divides the "world's shortest river" from the missouri river.



feeding the fish - there were some HUGE ones here!



smile for the camera - no! the other camera! LOL


waiting for dh to come out of the washroom...


and the grand finale - easter chocolate in bed on easter morning!


so that's it in a nutshell... did i ever tell anyone that i *heart* ROSS? that is the best store for deals on clothes. picked up a bunch of new spring stuff for myself, and some new golf clothing (since what i have is just too darn big now!). some great work clothes, even though i'm in dire need of t-shirts to just hang around in. the boys (all 3 of them) found some good stuff there too. jeans, shorts, t-shirts.

target would have to be my second best choice for some fun, cheap clothes. there were a few things i found there that made me happy, and it actually fit me now.

it was for sure my weekend to score on some good buys!

there's far too much good shopping down there that can easily drain my bank account! it was a great weekend though, and we're looking forward to our next trip down that way.

oh, and as for house stuff, when we arrived home this afternoon, our sheathing is all up on the roof, the framing has been started for the fire place and we're quite happy with how things are coming along. will take some pics tomorrow to show the progress!

Friday, April 03, 2009

progress comes in baby steps

sometimes you wonder why things can take so long to actually come about. this is how things looked after tuesday....



and this is how things look after today.



and really, that's all the "time" it took.

two not-even-full days. that's because our contractor only showed up those two days this week. well... at least its something, i suppose.

hopefully by the end of next week the sheathing will be on the remaining bit on the walls, and the roof. looking at the very top picture, that is the west wall of the house, and we'll be putting in a fireplace (middle of the bottom of the wall) and 2 smaller windows up high. our current front window will be moving up to the very front, as well as the front door we have now. there will be one more window adjacent to the front door that is new. i'm just happy its finally starting to look like something other than a mess!! (well, excusing the mud, the giant construction bin and the ever present recycling bin)

cross your fingers for me - its not as much of a ghetto around here now!! LOL