I found this little Grace bottoms up in the wagon full of muddy water....she was trying to take a drink! I have no idea what could be so appealing about drinking mud, but then again...I'm not the one with the radiant smile!
She is so into everything....very slowly learning the words "no touch".....she enjoys playing in the toilet water, climbing up on the dining room table, turning on and off the computer, chasing her brother around the couch (redeemingly cute), and escaping out which ever door she's not allowed to....so far my trying child.....but then she leans in for a kiss, puckering up her little lips, and saying, mmmmaaaaaa....and her charms reduce my frustrations to little smirks....
Look at those teeth...going on 7 so far....
Brent is a meat and potatoes man....born and raised....I always seem to get more compliments on the food when it surrounds this genre. When we went to Argentina together (when Josiah was 5 months old...to work at an orphanage...and travel) he was delighted to find the local restaurants serving up large and inexpensive portions of Argentine beef...taters, empanadas, and homemade pasta. =) Some of the familiar Spanish words he grew fond of were bife de chorizo, bife de lomo, and milanesa...words describing various cuts of meat that were mouthwateringly delicious (if you like beef, that is...which...we do.)
Since the chances of us being able to eat Argentine beef at home are slim, I did learn one form of preparing beef to take home with us....the supremely flat, breaded and fried Milanesa.
The orphanage where we stayed served this quite frequently, though we were never sure which days it would be a steak, and which days it was liver. =) (which wasn't so bad served this way!)
Making milanesa is simple....you can even buy cheap cuts of meat because you're slicing it so thin it's always tender...even liver!
1. While partially frozen (easiest this way) slice your meat as thinly as you can.(for 2 lbs of meat...)
2. Pound out the thin slices so they're even thinner....meat mallet between wax paper works great....fun for kids to do this part!
3. Beat several eggs (I'm so not a precise chef...sorry) (...you my need 4...)
4. Make superfine breadcrumbs...or buy them if you like (I suppose maybe 2 cups ...ish?...)
5. Add spices to the breadcrumbs....sea salt, a bit of pepper, Italian seasoning, parsley, garlic powder...you can even add Parmesan cheese if you want....(how much?...ha...I guess generous dustings of all but the pepper)
6. Dip meat in egg, then in breadcrumbs, then fry in a pan of oil over medium high heat.
It will cook super fast because it's so thin.....you could also make a whole bunch, bread them (not yet fried), and then freeze them in between wax paper so that it's a really quick meal. That's what they did at the orphanage...
To make it a bit more healthy, we used sprouted grain bread crumbs (which we thought tasted better than the white bread), and fried them in unrefined coconut oil. Also, I had a small cut of meat so our pieces are much smaller than normal, but because it was sliced thinly, we had enough for dinner, three sandwiches (liberally piled), and a kiddos lunch. Economical and yummy!
We served it with a red potato/sweet potato garlic mash, and buttered fresh asparagus (we always butter vegetables because it aids in the absorption of vitamins)...YUM!
Here's a fun blog called ASADO ARGENTINA
it tells you how to make bife de chorizo....and other fun stuff!
Here's a few photos of our first family of four camping trip....that ended early! =)
Highlights would be....cooking t-bone steaks over an open flame....lots of walks...dipping our feet in the lake on the hot hot day....kids sleeping through the night..(while mama lies awake listening to the bats eat the bugs off the tent)...picking wild strawberries...watching the kids get super dirty and just enjoy being outside.
This little munchkin was all over the place...in the fire pit, on top of the table, escaping towards the road (has some imaginary magnetic pull, apparently), putting all sorts of unknown items in her mouth...there was a whole new world to explore that kept us on our toes!
Josiah had so much fun....when asked his favorite part of camping he replied that it was "playing in my tree house".....which I'm still not sure where that was....a vivid creation of the imagination...=)
(notice the girl up on the table....again...that's a tortilla that she found and decided to carry with her on our next walk. =)...also notice the cup on the ground...which was on the table....and found by the girl...)
"Are we having fun yet"?....Caught off guard by the camera man....while wiping some fingers....and soooo ready for bed!
This patient, patient man....."let's go for a walk!" was the quickest route to sanity...strap that baby in the carrier!
And here we are....Gracie with the tortilla, Josiah with his sword "to protect his family", he says...
