Recipe - Thai Red Curry with Veggies and Tofu

Ryan and I have been trying to eat healthier, and for some reason, I find during the fall we do (not that it's fall but with these cooler days, I've been making more comforting foods).  I made this recipe tonight and fell in love with it.  I was concerned because Baby D does not do well with curries (darn!) but he seems to be okay with this recipe.  I made it very mild.

Here it is:

Thai Red Curry

Curry Paste:

2 tbsp of red curry paste (add more or add less, depending on your tolerance)
Zest of 2 limes
juice of one lime (I used 2 and found it a bit sour - still good though)
1/2 tsp hot chili flakes (again, add more or less depending on your tolerance)

*Combine all ingredients and put aside

Sauce:

1 Can light coconut milk
2 tbsp soy sauce (use light to reduce the sodium if needed)
1 tbsp sugar (add more or less depending on the sweetness you desire)
1/2 tsp salt
Handful of basil, chopped

*Whisk ingredients together and set aside

Main Ingredients

I block of Tofu, drained, pressed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4 cups chopped veggies of your choice (I used what was in my fridge - zucchini, mushrooms, green beans, potatoes, carrot and celery)
Olive oil for sautéing


Method:

Heat oil in wok.  Add tofu and stir fry until golden on both sides.  HINT: Make sure your pan is VERY hot so the tofu doesn't stick to the sides.  Also make sure your tofu is very dry and pressed as much as possible to avoid splattering of the oil.  (to press, place tofu between clean dish towels, and a pan on top. Add more weight by placing bricks or heavy pots on top of the already situated pan.  Press for 20 minutes or more).

Add your vegetables and stir fry until they become very bright in colour.

Meanwhile, heat the paste in a separate pot, and stir until fragrant (about 2 minutes).  Take care not to burn the paste.  Add the coconut mixture and stir  well to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 2 minutes to thicken the sauce.

Once veggies are cooked to your liking (they should have a bit of crunch to them), add the sauce, and stir to combine everything.  Cook for about 4-5 minutes then serve over rice.  (We used basmati rice).

Enjoy :)

**note** if using potatoes, be sure to chop and steam them beforehand otherwise they will not cook through.

Project - PeePee TeePee's!

I went to the States yesterday and at Motherhood Maternity they had these little teepee's to catch little boy's peepee lol.  I knew I had to make them!  They do not take a lot of time and I think they will make changing a bit more pleasant for Ryan and I :) The pictures are not great considering I used my Blackberry to take the pictures - sorry I was lazy!

Here they are:






1.  Cut out a template (circle) for your peepee teepee.  I used a 7" round plate and traced it on a piece of paper.  Place your template on a piece of felt (I was able to stack 3 at a time) and pin it in place.  If you are using more than one piece of material, you will need to make sure the template is pinned securely and there is no ripples in the material.  To help with that, make sure you iron your material very flat before you start.

2.  Fold your material right sides together and sew along the edge with about a 1/4" seam.  Make sure you leave a gap in order to turn your material right side out.  I did mine in the mid part of the seam but you can do it at the very end as well.

3.  This part can be skipped if desired, but I like to add a few triangle cuts at the turn to make it a bit easier.

4. Turn right side out and slide a chopstick (or anything that will do the trick) along the seam in order to make the sewn side as flat as possible.  Iron your turned out sides flat, ensuring you tuck in the opening in to create a smooth arc.

5. Choose whatever type of stitch you like.  I did a triple stitch zig zag.  Choose your colors to match your material if desired.  Note, I only did the color on the side that is going to show.  The inside was done in white.  Fold your material in half, right sides together in order to prepare sewing the seam.  

6. Sew your seam to along the unsewn side to create the cone shape.  You may find it easier to pin the side first before sewing it so your material doesn't slip.  Be sure to seal the top corner so you don't get a surprise through the top of your teepee when you put it on your little boy!

7.  Turn your teepee's right side out and shape into a cone.  There you have it!  

Soap Nuts

So I have to do another post today and product review that I am totally in love with!  They are called Soap Nuts.  These nuts are actually berries that grow on trees in Asia and India.  Apparently they have been used for thousands of years and are 100% pure and natural.  They contain something called Saponin that is the substance that washes your clothes.  They can also be boiled down and used to clean veggies, yourself, and numerous other things.  I think I'll stick to laundry.  They can be used 4-8 times, depending on your load and how hot your water is.  I use the lukewarm setting so we will see.  I guess you will know if you need to change your soap nuts when the foaming doesn't happen in the washing machine.

They smell a little funny, earthy I guess.  But they do not make your clothes smell like anything.  You can add essential oils to the laundry water if you'd like but really you don't have to.  The musty smell in some of my towels have gone away and the best part is that you don't even need to use a fabric softener - my clothes and towels came out so soft and fluffy.   They are highly recommended for cloth diapers and wipes because of the odour eliminating power of them (yay for me!!).  They are also healthy for baby when washing baby clothes and linens....and of course for us as well!

And another thing - they are CHEAP!  For 150-300 loads, I pay $20.  (It depends on how many washes I can get out of them).  I am currently ordering from Bare Organics.  They are located in Thunder Bay, which is awesome - still in Ontario.  They have a flat rate shipping of $8.95 no matter what you order.  So stock up!  I'm sure someone sells them here, I just have not come across anybody who sells them.  If anybody see's them around locally let me know!

Renovations and Baby Kicks (and hiccups!)

Our renovations are coming along nicely.  With the help of Grandma & Grandpa Dufour, our hallway is now painted.  I just love the colour - "Light Avocado".  I just have to say, that was a verrrrry long day for me.  Our bedroom is also near completion.  Just waiting for the trim around the window to go up and the bar for the sheers to go up and it's done!  We are putting a television on the wall as well but that can wait :)

The crib is also ordered.  It's the Graco Charleston.  I love it.  It should be in by next week.  Once the nursery is complete, the furniture will be set up and room cleaned so I can start prepping the nursery with the super cute things I already have for our baby boy.

This has been a long week.  I did a stretch of 3 midnights (yes, that's long), and I am exhausted.  I find that it is very hard to sleep during the day.  I'm sure if we had black out blinds it would be easier, but I just find that I am very uncomfortable and feel dehydrated by the time I wake up.  I am going to have to think and reconsider working any more nights.  I  may work one more set and then get a note.  By my next midnight shift, I will be 7 months pregnant (where does the time fly!).  So I may just stick it out for that one and then go off.....

Ryan FINALLY felt the baby move more than one time yesterday for the first time.  He came up while I was waking up (from midnights) at about 2pm and Baby D was waking up as well.  It was funny to see his expression!  Baby D is also starting with his hiccups now.  Last night he had them for about 10 minutes at 1am.... just when I was about to fall asleep.... so  I was up a bit longer than anticipated.  It's hard to get back into a routine after midnights....but since I have 3 day shifts coming up I'm going to have to try very hard to do so!

And now it's time to make some awesome Sicilian white zucchini soup!  (that's not the real name, I don't even know if we have a real name for this soup but it's darn good!)

Project! Homemade baby wipes

So if you know me, you know that I'm a bit crafty.  And since I am going with the cloth diapers, I thought, why not make some baby wipes to go with them....I mean it only makes sense.  I'll be doing laundry every day anyway, so why not add a few more items in the machine :)  Actually, I am making them because if you read up on it, (another thing I like doing - research!), baby wipes are not very good for your babies bottom.

So, onto the project:

First, you need to get some terry cloth towels (old or new), and some flannel (receiving blankets are awesome to use and cheap and cute too!)

Next, you have to cut a template out - I used an 8" square, because that is what will fit in the baby wipes warmer (yup, Baby D is going to be a little spoiled in that department !)

Cut out the flannel and the towel with the template....note my love note from Ryan this morning :)   Make sure you cut out an even number of squares from each material.  From one 30" x 30" flannel sheet, I got 9 squares.  I also bought a package of 8 washcloths and cut a middle square out of each of those.

 Next, pin your fabrics wrong sides together (one of flannel and one of towel).

Once you have your stack of baby wipes pinned together, you are ready to sew them together!

If you have a serger, it's a good idea to use that.  Since I do not have one, I have a similar stitch on my sewing machine, and I often use this in place of a serger - I just have to do some extra trimming.  Whatever stitch you use, make sure you have enough space covered so there is no room for little holes or for the wipes to fall apart.

Once the wipe is sewn, trim your edge (if needed) and voila!

There are many different homemade solutions you can make to soak the wipes in.  Just google search natural baby wipe solutions and you will see what suits your needs best for your baby.

Happy wiping :D

Baby Deal's Websites

Ok, so I'm addicted to these websites but they are fun to look at and if you have 20 minutes to pass, check them out.  Each website features a "deal of the day" and most shipping costs to Canada are not bad at all.  I've only ordered off of BabyHalfOff.com but I really just found these not too long ago.....

Baby Half Off

Baby Steals

Baby Heist

Eco Baby Buys

Green Baby Bargains

Mama's Retreat (based in Canada !!)

Mini Bargainz

Olivia's Place

Happy Shopping !

22 Weeks...almost

Tomorrow I am 22 weeks.  I can't believe how fast time has flew by.

I had my prenatal appointment today - I tell ya, it's nice for once, that when you GAIN wait, the doctor is happy :)  I gained 5 pounds since my last appointment and thought that maybe that was too much, but apparently it is not.

He also went through the finding in the ultrasound, and all they found was a healthy baby boy :D Everything measures out perfectly.....the tech already told us all was good, but it's nice to get the official report.

Now that all of our vegetable garden produce is ripening, we have been focusing on eating much healthier and fresh.  It's so nice, but with this beautiful weather we have today, and for the rest of the week, I cannot wait for fall and eating warm, comforting, (healthy!) dishes.

That's all I really have to say today - I feel great, nothing to complain about and my mood has been good (according to Ryan - and that's all that matters!)

Things are getting in order!

So I have completed the registry's.  We've decided to register at Bump Maternity + Baby and Babies R Us. I am really happy that I found everything at those two stores, makes life easier!  I also ordered the shower invitations off of Etsy.com (awesome place to shop!!).

Other than that, there hasn't been much going on.  The rest of the nursery has to be painted.  I was going to do an accent wall of either blue or pink wall paper, we decided to paint it white as well and decorate the walls with decals (from Etsy.com as well!).  I found the bedding for the nursery and when I went to look at decals, someone has the exact same bedding up with matching decals - so that totally made our day!

I am feeling fine, starting to feel movement outside the belly now, so it should only be a matter of time that Ryan can feel him moving too.  There seems to be lots of movement going on so it's pretty cool (and sometimes weird!) to feel.  I am loving every second of it though.

I have my next prenatal appointment on Wednesday so I can get the results from the ultrasound.  The tech said everything looks good and he is right on schedule for weight and height, so I guess the doctor is just going to confirm that :D

Above is a picture of what we are planning on doing with the nursery - I love it!