It’s been a
few weeks. I owe you something big.
I owe you
something lofty.
I owe you
something majestic.
It was the
longest time I’ve spent away from my little one in all of the 2 ½ years of his
life. 4 days was good, a week may have
been a bit too long, but the escape was perfect.
I have never
seen the mountains before, so to experience the almost haunting drive into
Banff contemplating what those immense grey shadows in the sky off in
the distance were was perplexing to say the least. The enormity and sheer alien nature of them
as we got closer and closer was overwhelming.
Have you
ever been on a road trip, taking in the scenery and in a moment of silence the
music floating through the car speakers fits your experience so perfectly it’s
as if you’re watching a movie that you are in?
This was the case when my friend slipped in the Mumford and Sons cd
“Sigh No More” on our journey through the rocks, for lack of a better
term.
Road trip +
friend + silence + breathtaking view + this…= perfection
It was certainly
unnatural to be away on my own without the kids in tow. I kept imagining Carter was in the backseat
incessantly asking me to help him put his little sunglasses on and when I turn
him down because I have a road to focus on he turns to the dog and asks him to
help. I often wonder if the dog actually
spoke the words “sure”, and then lifted his fingerless paws to help Carter put
on his sunglasses, would Carter be shocked or just say, “thank you Hogie.”?
I’m home
sweet home now. Back to work, back to
home renos, back to kids, dogs and the misguided allure of Saturday night as it
turns into an opportunity to catch up on sleep instead of life.
I think I’m
just about caught up on sleep for the moment so I thought I’d better get caught
up on this blog.
Here goes.
Ready…Set…Evolve…
Bambino Chicken Cacciatore
Age – 8 months +
·
1
tbsp. of butter
·
1
boneless skinless chicken breast
·
½
cup tiny pasta such as alphabet
·
2
tomatoes
·
½
cup diced onion
·
½
cup diced zucchini
·
½
cup diced carrots
·
1
cup low sodium chicken broth or homemade chicken stock
·
½
tsp. dried basil or 3 fresh basil leaves chopped
Baby Steps
1. Peel and seed tomatoes using the boiling water method and set aside.
2. Peel and chop carrots, onions and zucchini
and set aside.
3. Cut chicken into small cubes and set
aside.
4. Heat butter in large saucepan over
medium/high heat and add chicken and cook until no longer pink inside, approx.
8 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and
set aside.
5. Reduce heat to medium and add all veggies
to pan except the tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes until onions begin to soften.
6. Add tomatoes, basil and chicken stock
to pan and stir well.
7. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to
medium/low, cover and continue to cook for approx. 25 minutes until carrots are
tender.
8. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to
package directions but leave out the salt.
Once done, drain water and set aside.
9. Use a hand held blender to puree the
cooked chicken to a crumbly texture. If
baby is older than 10 months you can use a knife and fork to cut the chicken
into tiny pieces baby can handle instead of pureeing.
10. Once the cooking time on the veggie
mixture is complete, remove from heat and transfer to a blender, food processor
or bowl to use hand held blender to puree into a sauce.
11. Return sauce to pan along with cooked
chicken and pasta. Stir well and cook
for a few minutes until warmed through, approx. 5 minutes on medium/low heat.
12. Remove from heat and let cool for a
few minutes. Transfer to freezing trays
in the freezer to be used within 3 months or into a food storage container in the
fridge to be used within 48 hrs.
Makes – 10 Servings (1 serving = 2
tbsps.)
One of my favourite
books is Dr. Suess’ “Oh, the Places You’ll Go.” I’ve read it to myself a
million times and of course to my kids. “Kid,
you’ll move mountains.” Now I understand
just how majestic a statement that is.
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