Family Photos- Takes 3 & 4

I've resumed trying to get a decent family photo before church on Sundays... these last two tries have produced decent results, but I think I may keep trying.

I wish I knew what Hazel knows...

 The Frog kept making silly faces this day, so I thought maybe if I let us have a silly-face photo shoot first, we could get it out of our system.

 It definitely helped!

Kid Conversation

The Frog and Peach love taking showers with me...

The Frog: "Mom, are you going to take a shower today?"
me: "Yes, but I think I'm going to weed first."
Peach: [in an exceedingly whiney tone..] "moooOOooom!  Just take a shower, [pause] and be on your way."

Sun Oven Chronicles- Sweet Simmered Pork Chops w/ Rice Pilaf

Here's the regular recipe for Sweet Simmered Pork Chops (originally from "How to Cook Everything")

The Summary

Cooked them both an hour.

Rice was WEIRD (used jasmine and topped it off with basmati) 1 c rice and 2 c chicken broth (bouillon cube, though crushed, didn't dissolve...) it was mooshy and not quite all the water was absorbed after an hour.  some of it seemed uncooked.  weird.  

meat was fine.  had to reduce the sauce over the stove after.  cooked broccoli in microwave- forgot to add it to the pork.  maybe better to cook the pork uncovered to naturally thicken?

Sun Oven Chronicles- Chinese Beef & Broccoli w/ Rice

I make an easy and tasty Chinese Beef and Broccoli dish fairly often.  Last month, I was planning to make it for dinner one night and thought, I wonder what would happen if I cooked it in the SunOven?

This was quite a "wild" idea, (look at me.... I'm sooo wild and crazy!) since this is normally a quick meal, and everything is sautéed, but curiosity got the better of me and here's how it went down: 

I cooked the beef 1 hour and added the broccoli for a 2nd hour.

Cooked rice 1 hour- added it's pot on top when I added the broccoli. (cooked them stacked)

Th beef was great! really tender.  After looking at it when I added the broccoli, I'm sure it was done after the first hour, but it didn't burn or taste overdone or anything after a second!  (as the "SunOven people" tout...)  The broccoli was fine, but a bit softer than I typically like- maybe try only 30 minutes next time?

The sticky rice was mostly fine, but I dished mine out last and I got an occasional crunch- Jay didn't though.  Not sure why...

All in all, I'd make it in the SunOven again!  I think the meat was definitely more tender this way...

Massachusetts Trip: A Beach in Maine

We left the lake, one last time on Sunday night.  I wish I had taken more pictures (really? more?) of the kids playing at home...  They spent lots of time especially with gampie's legos and driving power wheels around the yard.  The Frog is getting really good at it!

The only thing we still needed to check off our list was to go get lobster in Maine!

Jay's parents have a particular beach they like to go to, and we spent quite a bit of time climbing on the rocks around the coast.

It was an overcast day- felt very picturesque and "Mainey" to me :)

It looked like there must have been a sailing class going on while we were there.  Aren't those little boats adorable?

The Frog's Findings

After climbing the rocks out of sight for awhile, we climbed up back to "civilization" by a hotel that had an adorable little pond.  I had to take a picture of the waterlily.

Hazel's first encounter with the ocean was apparently astonishing :)

 I thought the water was freezing, but I should have known my hose-playing kids would disagree:

After working up an appetite, we went to THE lobster place Pam found with her "lobster radar".  She always knows how to pick a great joint.  (bonus: they had a playground!!)

This is one delicacy I will never attempt to make at home- steamers **shudder**  The boys love 'em.  Seriously though, even their fries were amazing.  (and I'm really picky about my fries...)  We will never go anywhere else, because it just won't be worth the price.

lobster roll + clam roll + fries = Jay's in heaven :)

And this concludes our amazing trip!  We are so grateful Jay's family lets us keep coming back!  Can't wait 'til next summer :)