QUEBEC SUPPER CLUB

Ethnic Supper Club toured Quebec this month, with assistance from Sophie, a Lac St. Jean native!

Our first dish was Poutine, hot from the fryer. Sandy fried the potatoes twice (the depth of her commitment to creating winning dishes for Ethnic Supper Club led her to the tip that Canadian's fry their potatoes once at 325, then again at 375 to get them darker), then topped them with homemade cheddar cheese curds  and gravy. I was very leery of this dish (in fact, I was skeptical about almost everything on our Quebec menu), but it was amazing!

Assembling the Poutine before we were seated. (Look Jean, we used our new table runner!)

Poutine is actually a bar food, often found served by street carts for folks leaving the bar to consume before heading home to bed. Apparently it works wonders for preventing hangovers! (Jay had been moved to Time Out in this shot, and I don't remember why. Probably said something he shouldn't have...)

In our own show of commitment to trying new dishes, Jay and I made French Onion Soup (well, technically, we used a beer and onion soup recipe, because we heart beer). We don't eat onions in our house. Ever. And Jay is generally not a soup fan. But when in Quebec... And dang it if that soup wasn't awesome!

While we dined on our starters, the kids toasted their own plates of fries and French bread...

 Our main course was Tourtiere, a holiday staple in the Munger household, which is sort of like a cross between meatloaf and pot pie, usually made with wild game. Sophie made hers with venison, boar, and beef. You even serve it with ketchup, which is exactly how my dad likes his meatloaf! Jay and I thought it was really good, and actually even better second day as leftovers. Sophie also basted a pork loin (again, wild boar) in blueberries and red wine, which was heavenly. Blueberries are a big thing in Quebec, especially the region that Sophie is from, where the people are nicknamed "Bleuets". Along with the entrees, we had pickled beets (another holiday must-have) and salad a la creme. As Sophie was eating her meal she said "Aw, it takes like Christmas!" You really can't ask for a better Ethnic Supper Club outcome than that! 

 Of course, we still had dessert to tend to...

 Jay borrowed Sandy's little fryer to cook the Beignets we'd made earlier that morning (using Sophie's grandmother's recipe), and we heartily enjoyed them (especially the kids) out on the deck, where errant powdered sugar was a non-issue.

 "Mmmm, delicious!"

 Did I mention that we had some French beer (la Goudale - yummy!) and wine (not French or Canadian, but good none-the-less)? All that food, and sugar, and cocktails, led to some sleepy adults. James took the opportunity to record Sandy's relaxation via her iPhone camera...

 Along with the beignets (as if we needed more sugar - wait, yes we did!), we had Pouding Chomeur (Poor Man's Pudding), which was seriously one of the best desserts I've ever had. SO GOOD! It's like a cake, but baked with lots of maple syrup that bubbles up from underneath. It's commonly served at Sugar Shacks, and I now know that it is my destiny to visit Quebec and try everything on the menu at a Sugar Shack. 

O Canada!

MOTHER'S DAY 2013

My babies are getting big...

MUDDY BUTTS...

Next weekend is Hells Hills! And since we didn't get rained out today as expected (the rain stopped yesterday afternoon and never started up again), we headed back to Buddy Butts park for another 6 miles or so of muddy trail running. It sure is fun to run wildly through the woods with your buddies... and I was lucky enough to get to run WITH Jay today (which usually only happens if we have family visiting), so that was a major bonus (and we thank Sophie and Al greatly for watching the kids for us while we were out there, getting lost).

Jay, Christina, and I took the first round today. 6.64 miles of hills and puddle splashing. Wheeeee!

 Meanwhile, the kids played in the mud in their own way. With trucks and buckets.

Why does Jay look all clean and shiny, and there I stand with boob sweat? Classy.

(And yes, I dyed my hair. I'm a summer blonde now. Though it's darker due to sweat in this photo. And it's short. Barely fits in a ponytail. Though you obviously can't tell that due to the ponytail...)

While Al and Sophie ran (much faster than we did...), we continued to let the kids play in the mud for a while, then took them on a biking adventure on the technical trails. They did awesome!

Which way should we go kids?

Muddy Butts...

Watch out for that giant hole. (Cora!)

Climbing a steep section of the trail (Jay and I carried their bikes up for them on this one).

Strider ad (Showing me their muscles. Kinda.)

Chasing daddy/Mr. Jay back to the trail head.

Once home, we decided to wash the cars and transfer the car seats (yet again) to the van (since we're going camping next weekend and will need the space, and because Jean is coming to visit and it's much nicer when we all fit in one car). Since the kids' bikes and trucks were caked in mud, we figured they should have their own car wash. Sure kept them occupied while we took care of business!

FRIDAY PARK FUN

Since it was suppose to rain Thursday night through Saturday night, Jay took the kids to the park on Thursday afternoon. And then since it barely rained at all on Friday, he took them again. Lucky kids.

AFTER DINNER PAJAMA STROLL

CORA'S BIRD

This was Cora's very first drawing (other than letters) and we are very proud of her! Jay asked her to draw a bird, and she just went ahead and did it. We didn't even know she could!

TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK

"Using our 'tulips' to thank you for being an 'amazon'ing teacher!"

"BIGGER CASE"

James is getting really good at writing his name! Though I admit I already miss the way he used to make his "bigger case" A's (they started out like an H, then he connected the top). He gets so excited to show us his seat work when he gets stickers and "Great Job!" written on it. He told us he got a sticker for his hand too, but that it washed off...

 And I really love that he calls capital letters "bigger case" and lower case letters "little case". 4-year-old cuteness!

BUDDY BUTTS PARK ADVENTURE

This morning we slept in (it was a late night following Big Brew day!), then headed out to Clinton to spend the morning at Buddy Butts park - trail running, bike riding, and playing in the dirt!

Sophie and Jay were ready to hit the trails! I think Alex was ready for them to go too...

Christina arrived shortly thereafter and the three of them headed out for 6.5 miles on the wet, muddy trials

Lauren had just woken from a car nap and wasn't too sure what was going on. I got lots of smiles until she realized her mommy had gone off without her, poor baby.

This was after I'd calmed her and made her happy, but before Alex requested a turn to hold the baby. She was keeping my lap so snuggly warm and he was jealous. Lauren was not impressed with the switch though and stayed mad until her mommy came back from her run. Poor Alex, got his heart broken by a 9-month-old...

The kids were in heaven with all that dirt, their trucks, and their bikes (and Leo's lawnmower). It may have been cold (upper 40s for most of the morning), but they didn't care. They were super good the whole time we were there too (3.5 hours), so that was especially nice.

The 3 Amigos were pretty proud of their muddy shoes

 After a quick break, Sophie headed back out with me so I could get a 10K in on the trails too. She ended up running 12.7 miles (she's SO READY for her trail half in 2 weeks!) and I had a great time getting to lead (normally I trudge after her trying to keep up, but my "fresh legs" earned me the front runner spot today). Alex took the big kids out biking on the trails while we were out, while Jay and Christina watched Leo and Lauren. By the time we got back, it was WAY past lunch (1:30pm!) and we were starving. And tired. Leo and Lauren passed out as soon as they got into the car...

 We managed to find the only Mexican restaurant around that wasn't serving alcohol on Cinco de Mayo, so no celebratory margaritas or beers for us. Plenty of food calories though.

 After lunch, Team Lindsay went to Bass Pro for some shopping, and it was the kids' first time there. They were super impressed with the aquarium and waterfall. And all the stuffed animals perched around the store. And the shooting range. And all the boats and ATVs. Basically, they loved it.

We even happened upon a staff member walking around with a parrot, so Jay and James got a chance to hold him and get their picture taken (Cora wanted absolutely nothing to do with the bird, so I kept my distance with her).

By the time we left Bass and went on a mission to try out some trail running shoes, the kids finally passed out, so we finished our shopping quickly and headed back to the 'Burg. Hopefully we'll get another trail run in next weekend, then it's over to Louisiana for the Hells Hills trail race and some awesome camping!

BIG BREW 2013

Today was a Big Brew day for Delta Brews (to celebrate AHA National Homebrew Day) and they got together to brew two AHA recipes, totalling 15 gallons of beer. And while they brewed (an all day event), they cooked up some wild game, which included alligator, wild boar, African sheep, redfish, venison, squirrel, sparrow, and duck. Jay was exhausted by the time we came back to pick him up, but he had a great day, and the kids loved getting to play on the Beane Farm for a while and meet the chickens (whose eggs we purchase weekly) and wild pigs.

Heather and Nathan, hosting the Delta Brews gang. Also pictured here are Martin, Michael, and Harry and his family. James and Cora made good friends with Harry Jr.

The kids steered clear of the wild game for the most part, but they did eat some of Aunt Sandy's delicious redfish. And chips and dip, of course. And dessert...

Swinging high with her mud boots on. Wild pigs like a lot of mud...

James just outside the wild pig pen. This picture was taken seconds before that rooster turned around and attacked James, kicking him twice in the shins as he tried to run away. Poor boy was so scared! (But totally unharmed, other than his ego.) We'd been warned about the ornery rooster, we just weren't sure which one he was (the Beanes have quite the flock of hens and roosters).

15 gallons loaded up and heading home in Sandy's Pokey Red Pickup for fermentation.

Learning about tailgating with Aunt Sandy. She's always surrounded by adoring fans!

AN OWIE WORTHY OF HER YEARBOOK...

Cora the Climber got herself injured for the first time tonight. After learning that James' boat shelf (which hangs above his blue bookshelf) contained a treasure chest, Cora decided she needed to investigate. She climbed the blue bookshelf (which is securely attached to the wall, thank goodness) and reached up to pull on the boat shelf, which came tumbling down, it's contents in tow. Luckily, she seemed fine within 3 minutes (the screaming/crying and bleeding stopped - we think she was more scared than hurt) and it's a very small puncture wound (it was just a lot of blood, as head wounds tend to produce). James' treasure chest, pirate piggy bank, and boat shelf were less fortunate though... And I'm pretty sure Jay and I grew some new gray hairs tonight!

After a wound cleaning by daddy (while mommy helped hold the ice pack) we were able to see that it's really just a small cut (and not too deep), the bruising wasn't too bad, and there was almost no swelling. It could have been so much worse. Thank goodness it didn't hit her eye (and we're pretty sure it was the treasure chest that hit her head and not the heavier boat shelf).

A LITTLE MORE SOCCER

His face cracks me up! So crazy on the field!!

Cora led the teams through the victory tunnel. She's so dang cute! Love Manu celebrating with hands held high in the background too, and Mason's shy little smile. We sure had a good season!

SCHOOL PORTRAITS, SPRING 2013

WARRIOR BOY

James ran 2 laps around the track and when he came back the second time he was covered in mud. I asked him why he was muddy and he said he jumped in a mud puddle. I said "James! Why would you DO that?!" and he answered me "Because I was running the Warrior Dash race!" Guess that's what we get for taking him there...

NOT QUITE BACKWARDS...

...but more like upside down...

(Apparently Cora had a wardrobe malfunction at school today that the director found funny enough to send me a picture...)