November 2012 – Page 2 – a hippie with a minivan

Meal plan for the Week

This week is not exactly the same as most weeks so our meal plan is a bit off.

What is different about this week? Khéna is turning 6! Can you believe it?!

I usually do my grocery shopping on Saturday, but I was out yesterday so there is one meal less because of that. We are also going out for Khéna’s birthday so we will be eating out that day and Simon will be home on Friday so I haven’t planned a meal for then either.

So the plan for the week is pretty simple:

Submarine sandwiches (beef strips, pepperoni, mozzarella, grilled onions and mushrooms, lettuce and Italian style dressing)
Perogies and Salad
Stuffed Buns
Meat and Sweet Potato Pie
Roasted Veggies, Salad and Garlic Bread

Some Ideas for breakfast and lunch: Oatmeal Smoothie, Toast, English Muffin with Eggs, Family Apple Pancake, Yogourt with Granola, Leftovers etc…

I will also be making bread for the week and then Baba Ganoush, Pizza dough, Black Magic Cake with Vanilla Bean Buttercream icing and a few other things for Khéna’s party.

November 24th

It is late and I just arrived home after a long day. If it wasn’t for NaBloPoMo I would not be here writing on the blog tonight.

I left this morning early, did a bit of shopping and then headed to Melons et Clementines to give my two workshops on EC and Babywearing. I had a great turnout and met some really nice people and the afternoon went by in a flash. I then headed out to meet up with a friend to go out to supper.

As I left the workshop it was getting dark and it was snowing and as I turned onto Sainte-Catherine street (the main street in Montreal) there was just something magical about it. The snow falling, people walking and laughing in the street… It just felt like the city was alive and I felt the need to roll down my window and just soak it all in.

I met up with my friend at this amazing little place called “Le Milieu” which is a space that is made for people to be creative. A small café in the back, couch and comfy place to sit in the front and tables and chairs that you can sit around with art supplies lining the walls. It is a space that has been made for people to get together and be creative. To learn from others, to do things on their own, to talk and crochet or knit or paint or create jewelry or sew etc. It is such a warm and inviting space and would be somewhere I would love to hang out on a regular basis if I was closer. I am even giving a workshop there next month!

My friend and I headed out for supper at “Le Nil Bleu”, a great Ethiopian restaurant on St-Denis Street, and we sat and chatted about unschooling and life over amazing food and then continued our conversation over cappuccinos at a small café not far away. It felt good to be out, it felt great to talk and share, and it was just a great day altogether.

It was also a bit bittersweet. As much as there are times that I say I would never want to live in Montreal again, that I want to leave the province, there are times that is just feels like home and today, it was one of those days and I know that I will miss it when we are gone.

What if money didn't matter?

One question that often comes up when I talk about unschooling or even homeschooling is about the future. How does a homeschooled child get into university? How will they get that well-paying job down the line? I have even written of this before.

I often tell them the same response.

There are ways to get into University. If they want that job, then they will do like any other kids or young adult and will work towards it.

I always have to pretend that I care about the future in the same way that they do. That a job and money is the only important goal in life and that every path has to lead to a higher education so that you can get the job with the money. In reality though, I don’t care. What I want for my kids is to be happy and love what they do. There are too many people out there, Simon being one of them, that did the schooling and went into something that would make them money but also make them miserable everyday. There are way too many people in the same position. But, there are people out there that love their jobs and that followed their passions. Some paths did take them through higher education but others went other routes to get where they wanted to go.

This is what I want to teach my children… to be happy and to find what they love to do and to do it. I want my children to have full lives and little regret because they followed their hearts and not what others expect of them based on some idea that essentially just fuels having consumerism and depression.

It is hard to explain this to people though. It goes against everything they are led to believe is important.

When this video came up in my news feed this morning it made me smile. This is exactly what I want to teach my kids.

(Narrated by Allan Watts)

[youtube_sc url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nif01WZ9aI” color=”white” theme=”light” autohide=”1″ fs=”1″].

Now to find a clever way to explain this simply to people who ask me the question in the future.. it is so disconnected to what people view as normal.

Sad… that in a way being happy is seen as negative thing.

Beef and Udon Noodles

This is a very easy and quick meal that can be made in about 15 min which is great for a midweek meal on our house when I don’t feel like cooking that much.

You need to start with a good cut of beef that will be tender without being cooked long.. Sometimes I will use tenderloin (Filet Minion) or sirloin, but this time I asked my butcher for what was best and he gave me a great 2 pound roast that I was able to slice up when I was ready to use it and it was absolutely perfect. Talking to the butcher is always a good idea.

Ingredients:

For the Beef:

2 lbs of sliced beef
2 tsp of Tamari (or dark soy sauce)
2 cloves of garlic chopped
2 tsp of rice vinegar
1 tsp hoisin

For the rest of the meal:

2 Sweet Red Peppers sliced
3 cloves of garlic chopped
1 knob of ginger chopped
2 tbsp Hoisin
2 tbsp Oyster sauce
2 tsp Tamari
800g of Udon Noodles
bunch of green onions (roughly chopped)

Start by Marinating your beef… Just throw the ingredients together and massage it into the beef a bit. You can marinate the meat for a few hours or a few minutes, it is up to you and how much time you have…

Heat up a skillet to a high heat and add a tsp of oil and stir fry your beef. Don’t overlook it, you want it still a bit red as it will continue cook after it is out of the pan and will be added back and will cook a bit more after. You do want to get nice brownish bits on it though.

Take the meat out of the skillet and set aside.

In the same hot pan, add a bit of oil if there is none left.

Add most of the green onion to the pan (reserve some for garnish), add the garlic and the ginger and stir fry until fragrant. Add the red peppers and cook until soft but still slightly crisp.

Add the Udon noodles. I couldn’t Udon noodles before unless I went to a grocery store closer to Montreal, but now I can easily find them at most of the grocery stores around me now. They come packaged like this and are pretty cheap and are delicious. And this comes from someone who does not like pasta.

So add the noodles and then add the Hoisin, Oyster sauce and the Tamari. Stir around quickly and lower the heat and add the beef.

Let it all cook together for another minute or two and it is done.

That is all…

Doesn’t it look delicious?

it is… it really is…