Your speakers need to be on for this to make any sense. Grab some popcorn and enjoy a little trailer for our upcoming blogging event.
A Presidents' Blog Preview
Curried Chicken Salad with Spiced Chickpeas and Raita
Brian came up with the idea of trying something fun we have never made before. Here is our attempt at Curried Chicken Salad with Spiced Chickpeas and Raita. The website described it as an easy mid-week dinner, to which I say, do you have any kids? But for a weekend activity it was pretty fun and manageable.
I also discovered a spice section of Smith's where you can buy whatever amount of the spice you are looking for instead of spending the big money on a whole bottle you may never use again. So I spent $0.06 on the teaspoon of turmeric I needed - awesome.
So the end result was delicious and we are planning on making it again when Abby comes cause she likes this kind of food, so be prepared!
Here is the recipe in case you want to try it...It is from epicurious.com
For curried chicken salad:
1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced peeled ginger
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 medium tomatoes, chopped (1 cup)
1 cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons cilantro
1 rotisserie chicken, meat coarsely shredded (3 to 4 cups)
1 cup red grapes, halved
For chickpeas:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 (19-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed, drained, and patted dry (2 cups)
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
For raita and topping:
1 cup plain yogurt
1 seedless cucumber, peeled, cored, and chopped (2 cups)
2 tablespoon chopped mint
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
Equipment: 4 (16-ounce) wide jars or containers with lids
Preparation
Make curried chicken salad:
Cook onion, garlic, and ginger in oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add curry, cumin, and 1 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, 2 minutes.
Add tomatoes and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and stir in yogurt, cilantro, and chicken. Cool to room temperature.
Make chickpeas:
Heat oil in cleaned skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then cook chickpeas, stirring, 1 minute. Add cumin, turmeric, cayenne, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring to coat, until skillet is dry, about 2 minutes. Cool to room temperature.
Make raita:
Stir together yogurt, cucumber, mint, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Assemble jars:
Divide grapes among jars and layer curried chicken, raita, chickpeas, and almonds on top.
Cooks' notes:
•Curried chicken salad and spiced chickpeas can be made 1 day ahead and chilled separately. •Assembled jars can be chilled up to 6 hours. Serve at room temperature.
Racing Day, its Racing Day.
When Lincoln was a baby Brian would say that he could not wait until he was big enough to really play with. Now that he and Truman are finally getting about that big it is really fun to see what games Dad comes up with that are as entertaining for him as they are for them.
One of his many hidden talents is making up fun games out of nowhere. King Seats, Bridge 10 and Robot 10 are three that frequent our living room. While I was grocery shopping yesterday he entertained them with yet another fun game involving racing around the house. This one was inspired by the Olympic fanaticism that has infected our home.
Here is some of the footage shot by our apprentice camera men...
Olympic Fandom
It only seems appropriate (being all named after presidents) that we brainwash our children into loving the Olympics and team USA. One way to do this was to shave USA in the back of Lincoln's head. He loved the idea and feels pretty cool about the whole thing. He now sits and watches the Olympics and updates us on the scores every few minutes. He is genuinely distraught when they are losing and ecstatic when they win.
Below is the transcript of our Interview with him.
"Lincoln, what do you think about the USA being shaved in the back of your head"
"I don't like you guys calling me USA head. Truman called me that becuase you guys called me that."
"I am sorry, but are you happy it is there."
"Yep."
"Why do you like it so much"
"not that much...I just like it because its for like the USA team. I like 'A', its my favorite letter."
"What is your favorite sport in the Olympics?"
"Swimming"
"And who is your favorite swimmer."
"The guy who is really good."
"What is that guy's name?"
"I forgot, can you tell me?"
"Michael Phelps."
"Yes, that is it."
"What is your next favorite sport in the Olympics?"
"Diving...two people diving off the same height thing."
"Why do you like that one so much."
"Because it is cool...I don't have a third one that I like."
"Thanks for taking the time to talk to me."
"You're welcome."
As you can see, we still have some work to do.
Its Your Birthday, Shout Hooray!
Happy Happy Birthday Gramere Dear.
Happy Days will come to you all year.
If I had a wish that it could be,
A happy, happy birth day to you from me.
Happy Days will come to you all year.
If I had a wish that it could be,
A happy, happy birth day to you from me.
McKinley Profile Continued...
So...before we revealed the Truman Profile we thought we would quickly add in some pictures we took of McKinley. We thought it would be fun to dress McKinley up as a baby bride and take her up to the Bountiful Temple grounds and take some pictures. If that is where she ends up getting married we think these pictures may very well come in handy.
We (Maegan and Brian) had a great time while making Libbi and Sarah watch the crazy, crazy boys. (Thanks girls).
Here are some of them and you can see the rest by clicking on any of the pictures and scrolling through them on our web albums. We sure love our little girl.
Jefferson's Profile
Name: Jefferson Brian Duryea
Nick Name: J
Birthday: March 8th 2006
Height: 3'1''
Weight: 31 lbs
Eye Color: Greyish Bluish
Teeth Count: 18
Binky: No
Favorite Hobby: Diving and Swimming
Favorite Food: Fruit Snacks
Favorite Parent: A Tie
Secret Passion: Going Potty Outside
Most Embarrassing Moment: Naked Slip and Slide
Favorite Drink: "Chocolate Milkey"
Favorite Game: Ninjas
McKinley's Profile
Name: McKinley Marilynn Duryea
Nick Name: NiNy
Birthday: September 14th
Height: 2'2"
Weight: 15 lbs
Eye Color: Blue
Teeth Count: 2
Binky: Yes
Favorite Hobby: Walking
Favorite Food: Banana
Favorite Parent: Daddy
Secret Passion: Eating food off the floor
Most Embarrassing Moment: Pooped in pants
Favorite Drink: Boys Chocolate Milk left in their sippy cups
Favorite Game: Chasing Brothers
McKinley's Many Faces
It wasn't to many days ago that McKinley learned that she could squish her face pretty good. Brian was getting her to do mean faces and she started doing her best impersonation.
Saving their Shaving
Brian decided it would be fun to let the boys "shave" as they were all mesmerized at watching him do it the 'old fashioned' way. Luckily we had a few Popsicle sticks on hand. Each of them took it so very serious and had a great time washing their "razor" in the sink after each swipe.
Whose Looking At You?
Can you tell whose eyeballs these are? From left to right give us your best guess.