CurrentMom

Fishing for a Winner: Parmesan Salmon Sticks Recipe

Meal Monday

When I began chronicling my cooking adventures/ kids' feeding misadventures, I had high hopes. And I had reason to. We started strong. My 15-month-old triplets liked salmon patties that were made from scratch!

But as they have grown older, I seem to have more misses than hits.  There's the blackballed black bean burgers, the rejected risotto, and the far-flung chicken. Still, I don’t give up. I cling to the delusion that three kids will surprise me with new eating habits and expanded palates yet. So each new recipe is a fishing expedition. I cast a line with the hope of getting a nibble.

This all brings me to my decision to try Parmesan Salmon Sticks. A while ago I saw a very chipper Giada De Laurentiis (is she ever not chipper?) touting how much kids love this crunchy, healthy snack. The recipe comes from the same episode as the dip I use in my Quesa-dip-a-dillas, which my kids do enjoy. And we can't forget the successful salmon patties. Holding on to hope, I took the plunge.

Chore Chart

Sharing Saturday

I have been struggling with a family chore chart since my oldest was old enough to push a vacuum cleaner. I have never quite succeeded. I believe that it is important for kids to have chores, and possibly even regular chores, but having grown up in a lackadaisical family without chores, I have had a difficult time wrapping my brain around how to make it stick.

Add to this quandary the fact that when I was 12 years old, I got my own bedroom, and I loved that bedroom like nobody's business. No one had to tell me to keep it clean – it was my sanctuary against the storms of adolescence and my parents' looming divorce, and I needed it to be beautiful and welcoming.

I chose all the decorations myself. I had a groovy kelly green and yellow bedspread, which set the tone for the whole theme. The walls were the same kelly green, and the floor was painted yellow, with a bright green shag rug in the middle (was this the 70s or what?)  I had yellow plastic furniture which housed my books and my record player, and a yellow princess phone – with my own line!

I spent every Sunday morning cleaning and dusting (dusting!) every square inch of my incredible room. I blasted Janis Ian and the Beatles on the record player and happily cleaned and cleaned until it was shiny. My space was the one place in my world at that time where I could read, cry, listen to music and generally angst out, writing maudlin poetry, mourning my lost youth and preparing for my great escape. I wanted it to be clean.

The Grass May be Greener But the Back is Blue

Fatherhood Friday

We purchased our home in the suburbs last summer. One of the biggest surprises was just how much yard work there was to do. We owned a home before, so we should have been prepared. But we vastly underestimated the leaf production of our trees (prodigious) and the overall size of our garden beds (misleadingly vast).

Nonetheless, because I had previously discovered an unanticipated affinity for yard work I took it upon myself to handle all fall yard work activities by myself. Big mistake. I ended up spending almost every sunny autumn weekend hour laboring away - very little time with the family and triggering some lingering back problems.

Now that winter is almost over and we can almost taste spring, we can think about spending time outside again. Having learned from my autumn labors I was psychologically (if not physically) prepared to do my spring clean-up. 

My wife, also, was psychologically prepared for the spring and she had other plans in mind. A few weeks ago she started dropping hints that she wanted to hire someone to do some of the clean-up work. At first, I was opposed. I wanted to take care of my property, I enjoy it (sort of) and I really didn't want to pay someone to do work for me that I felt I could handle. Of course, all that really is outweighed by wanting to spend time with family and preventing my back from acting up.

After indicating I was receptive to it, my wife went and got some bids to do a series of clean-up activities. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but what I received was sticker shock. Nearly $1500 for all sorts of spring stuff, with a little bit of summer maintenance built in. 

That's a pretty penny for us, and while we might be able to make some adjustments and bring it down somewhat, its still quite a few shekels. I suppose if I just price it out as the cost of services it'll feel really high. But if I put a price on my time, activities with family and avoidance of back pain I guess its worth it. Instead of spending time doing yard work, we'll just have to spend our time entertaining in our well-kept backyard!

(photo credit: thisoldhouse.com)