I have the purrrrrrfect thing for you Rella I cooked it for Aussie on the weekend ... however I don't do cleaning ... I mean why else have all these daughters and adopted daughters here?? <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I'm working on how to keep them here and run their lives ... I'll have to ask my mum on that <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> of course you don't have to ever tell her that <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

Ok serious stuff with food ...this works with prawns and chicken ... I tried it with both when I realised I had run out of prawns one day. <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />
You have to make the savoury wine and then the prawn dish .. well I do it that way
so you need for the Savoury Wine Rice....
90g butter
1 clove garlic
1 onion
2 cups rice
2 1/2 chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine (or brandy)
6 shallots (chopped)
2 sprigs parsley (chopped)
Salt and pepper to taste


and for the Green Butterfly Prawns with Ginger and Mango Sauce you need .....
1kg green prawns ... butterfly them works great
100g butter
2tbs oil
1knob ginger - grated or buy it crushed in the bottle if in a hurry
2tbs rice flour
2tbs sugar
2cups chicken stock - buy this as well
2cups lemon juice
2tsp soy
2tsp white wine or sherry .... this can be hard work to drink all that wine until you are left 2 tsp <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> ...
Salt and pepper to taste
1 mango diced ... I have trouble cleanly dicing mango but there you go even trying all those tricks they show on TV cooking shows <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Ok so now what you do for the rice ...
Heat butter in pan
Add crushed garlic and chopped onion and fry until onion is tender
Add rice and stir for 2 mins
Add 1 cup of chicken stock.. stir uncovered until nearly all the liquid is gone
Add remaining stock.. wine .. salt and pepper then bring to the boil and reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes
Turn off heat and place lid on pan.
Stir every 4 mins to loosen rice until soft
Add shallots and mix into rice
Add fresh parsley before serving if you feel like it

For the prawns ...
Peel and wash prawns and cut down the back to 'butterfly' them ... tail or not if you want but Aussie doesn't like "Sh*t ends like" that I quote <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />
Heat pan, add butter and oil
Add chopped ginger and sauté
Add prawns, cook until a little coloured then remove and then put aside
Place pan back on heat and add rice flour and a little sugar gradually
Add a little chicken stock and lemon juice and stir in pan
Add wine or sherry and mango and stir
Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes
Add prawns and a dash of soy

serve the prawns on the rice ..... yum yum yum except if you cannot stand shellfish like me ... it smells ok though <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> .. and at least it wasn't wabbit or roo. He makes us all eat those <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" /> Big Mac sounds SO much better <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

I've eaten roo as an adult. I've tasted o'possum as an adult. I probably tasted rabbit as a child. Goat makes good barbeque. I no longer eat veal or lamb though I like both of them. I do chicken, seafood/fish, pork, and beef. I am not into game animals.

The recipe sounds delicious. I just may have to give this a try. Green prawns.....don't know where to get them. May ask at Whole Foods. Otherwise I'll have to try fresh shrimp as a substitute.

Oh dear!!!! I ran them off. <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/teary.gif" alt="" />

My goodness you guys are making me glad to be a vegetarian!

t&l

T&L shellfish is quite ok if you like it ...... I give mine to Aussie which is probably why he likes going to seafood restaurants <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

Rella large shrimp would work very well... much the same as prawns as far as I have ever worked out. They both taste slimy sea salty to me .... <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

T&L I am sure they have replacement shrimp flavoured vege bits available to try it .... its got Mango in it!!! <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

A friend once said our veggie scallops tasted like shrimp. It's worth a try, since it's got mango...

Mr. C is trying to learn to speak French. The temperature has been rising bit by bit, today they may have a high all the way up to 10F, a substantial improvement over the high of -9 yesterday.

Quite a change for 2 tropical Californians.

<img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/eek.gif" alt="" /><img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/eek.gif" alt="" /><img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/eek.gif" alt="" /><img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/eek.gif" alt="" /><img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/eek.gif" alt="" /><img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/eek.gif" alt="" /><img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/eek.gif" alt="" /><img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/eek.gif" alt="" /><img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/eek.gif" alt="" /><img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/eek.gif" alt="" /> Do they have imitation sea-salt/slimy flavor too? <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />

t&l

I think you have to add that.

I absolutely refuse to believe it! <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

t&l

tofu is a good thing!

I HATED tofu as a kid. All they did was flop the chunks out on a plate and it was GROSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now there's all kinds of ways to fix it up and some of it is really great.

t&l

I can't understand how the rest of my mob eat cockroaches of the sea. yuck
sand whiting fillets are ok as are most fish fillets ..... but those slimy other things are not for me. <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

try the recipe with chicken replacement nut meat or do they do that in tofu? we dont get much variety here ... well not unless you pay for it.
we used to eat lots of tofu ... oh .... Liz tells me that was toffee <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

I made steamed veges in Oyster Sauce for dinner which Aussie loves .... then I had to cook the boys a hamburger super size, side order of chips in the fryer..... twice <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

So Gramps comes out tonight wearing his suit pants.

Neak: (squinting) Which pants are you wearing, Grandpa?

GP: My good ones.

Neak: We aren't going to church till tomorrow.

GP: (indignantly) I know!

Neak: (sighing) Well, I guess you can start getting ready early....


Neaksis said it wouldn't be ~so~ bad if I had him get dressed Friday nights and sleep in his clothes.

Tonight the Dervish got sent to bed early. No shock; he's been sent to bed early every single night this week. The Princess and I then sat down to study a Bible lesson, at her request. Every couple of seconds, Dervish would be back, interrupting, bugging, asking questions, begging for second chances, etc. etc.

As he reached a peak of interruptiveness, I read this part of the lesson to the Princess. "The devil hates the Bible, and will do almost anything to prevent people from reading it. He knows that its prophecies expose his plans to deceive the human race. So don't be surprised if Satan attempts to distract you from studying, or tries to get you preoccupied with other things. God will make a way for those who seek to know the truth to find it."

Young Princess snickered louder and louder as I went on, and horrified understanding dawned in the Dervish's eyes. "No, no" he protested, "Satan is not trying to get me to interrupt you. I am getting all these thoughts from inside my own head!"

I looked skeptically at him, but didn't say anything. I pretended not to notice when he scuttled out and got a book. Whether he believed his own protests or not, he didn't interrupt again, and the house was very quiet.

That bad Princess took to snickering again shortly after, when Grandpa sat down by us, looked at a puzzle of a famous Indian chief that Mom had put together and framed for AJ several years ago, and started to argue that it had once belonged to his mother. When he finally saw he couldn't win, he announced, "Well then, she had one just like it!" And happily got the last word, since there was no way I could contradict that one.

That's my evening in a nutshell, emphasis on 'nut'.

Well, I'm totally bummed...where did you say we can buy the happiness?

Son didn't get into his first choice school.

Bummer. Cleanup on Aisle 7, 1 bottle of happiness broken...hope #2 is do-able for you.

Well my boys are having some trip!

While visiting BIL in MT, Mr. C got sick. As in riotously stomachly sick. He raced for the bathroom with no time to spare, and sadly, did not succeed in getting the toilet lid up before it was too late. Have I mentioned their bathroom is carpeted?

Then they got to the Canadian border and were denied. They said AJ needed a work permit, and was not likely to be able to get one. After numerous hassles, the next day they determined that he was exempt, and allowed him through, but not before Mr. C had sat and talked their ears off for an hour or two.

Then when they got to Winnipeg, it was the coldest they had ever been. Lsat Tues nite, wind chill factor included, the thermometer showed -57. AJ walked into the store and back out, got in the truck, smiled, and his lips cracked open.

After all they went through, the tour had been delayed arriving, so they had to park at the truckstop in that horrible weather, for TWO DAYS!

At last they all got together Thursday, when AJ was finally able to take his truck down underneath the venue, where he was sheltered from the elements. There are showers, bathrooms, and the whole works.

Well today he took Mr. C out into the sunshine, since it was a balmy 22F, which they thoroughly enjoyed. But when it came time to go back to the truck, security wouldn't let him in. He told them he was driving the show, but because he had a kid with him, they thought he was trying to sneak in. After a half hour or so, they finally figured out they could let him in.

Tomorrow he loads out, I think for London, ON, but I'd have to look it up to be sure.

Well, it's getting windy, so I'm going to batten a few hatches. <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

WOW! That's a story! How is MR C keeping up w/ school work?

- - - - - -
Regarding school for next year:

Choice #2 is not at all supported by xh and his wife. The more I think about it, the more I think it might not be a good choice.

I'm thinking seriously about looking long and hard at our zoned public school. He wouldn't be trying to fit into an already established culture. He would have more friend options. It might be a good place for him, all things considered.

When Newsweek ranks the top 500 public high schools in the nation, the zoned school comes in around 200th in the nation. The top rated non-magnet school in the state.

Sounds like that might be a viable option. I doubt any of CA's public schools are on the top 500 list, but probably most of them are on the bottom 500.

Mr. C was fortunate enough to have alllllll his schoolbooks with him. And he has plenty of time to work on it.

Now they're on their way to Ontario.

Last year, Newsweek ranked my daughter's HS as the 25th best in the nation. Now, I know statisticians can concoct any sort of ranking. This was based, in part, on number of honors and Advanced Placement tests taken and past - stuff like that. Our zoned HS came in 442 of the 1300 or so that were ranked. There were a number of California schools.

Newsweek's list

I will have an update on my wayfaring strangers, once my right hand wakes up again. It is like typing with a loaf of bread in one hand.

The omens are not good for Grandpa's visit to the ear doctor.

The Dervish woke me up at 4:30 am to tell me that Poppa was still up. The good thing is he was reading his Bible, the bad thing, well that's pretty obvious. So it's time to get him up now, and he's not going to be happy.

My boys are doing pretty good in their chilly-but-above-zerio temperatures. They have internet and a plug-in heater, and their boss came down to visit yesterday so Mr. C got to ride in the Hummer again. (Sound of glorious swelling trumpets.)

Mr. C also spent quite a while chatting with Mom, and said we should watch "super nany".

Well, time to face the music, it was nice knowing all of you. I'm glad Grandpa doesn't have a gun, so here goes.........