My Other Blog - New: Bilingualism

Wanted to post a quick note about Eve's new blog on bilingualism. Discussions for parents and others interested in encouraging bilingualism in kids. See bloggingonbilingualism.com. Thanks for your support!

Chocolat Rôti

Axel and Luka received new stuff animals / teddies (no, not that kind!) / nounours / doudous at Easter.

Axel received a bunny he named Chocolat rôti. So, in his little head, does that mean roasted chocolate (sounds kind of good), or just chocolate - roasted, or chocolate followed by thoughts of roast pork or chicken (ick). Axel is an imp, so I vote for the last one.

He also had a darling little curly sheep from Easter Bunny (that would be Nat) that he named Mouton Volant (flying sheep). Maybe he is trying to count sheep at night? With Axel, I don['t think so ("No, not tired!") Don't know where he comes up with this stuff.

Luka's first bunny: Fraise (we were eating strawberries at the time). His second one--from Easter Bunny Nat (cuter than the old one I dug out of the closet, I must say), he is still thinking about. Ah, what a thoughtful little man.

Easter and Skiing

We had a very fun Easter weekend with our friends Nat, Jeff and Max. We had raclette on Sunday night at our pad in Leadville, and then yummy crepes at theirs Sunday morning.

The boys had lots of excitement discovering what the Easter Bunny had brought them. (Now that we have curtains installed at the condo, Eve had to wake them up at 8:30 a.m. and tell them we'd had a "vistor." Previous weekends [sans curtains] Axel was happily waking us up at 5 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings - argh!)

They also had tons of fun with the egg hunt that Easter Bunny (that would be Nat and her mother-in-law) hid for them outside in the snow. Max (our 8-month old buddy) waited patiently inside for his pals while they located their loot.

Good skiing at Copper Mountain. Luka did five (count 'em!) black runs with Reynald, Nat and Jeff. Axel did awesome right and left turns and snow plow on the bunny hill (look Ma, no teather!) with Eve. He chased Mommy while she ran down the hill - go, Ax!

Recipe: Quick Bibimbap

Quick Bibimbap

3/4 cup soy sauce
6 TBS toasted sesame oil
4 TBS light brown sugar
1 lb. ground turkey, beef or pork
2 TBS vegetable oil
4 large eggs
2 cups cooked rice
Assorted veggies (shredded carrot, canned baby corn, spinach, bean sprouts, red onion, etc.) steamed or raw
Toasted sesame seeds

Mix together the first three ingredients; set aside.
In a pan, brown teh meat in half the vegetable oil, about 5 minutes. Add half the soy-sauce mixture and continue cooking until the liquid is absorbed, 3 - 4 minutes. Remove from heat a cover.

In another pan, fry the eggs in the remaining vegetable oil, 4 - 5 minutes.
Divide the rice among 4 bowls. Arrange some veggies, some meat and an egg in each. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, then drizzle the remaining soy-sauce over the top.

Recipe: Tomato Fish Stew

Tomato Fish Stew

Onion, chopped
Garlic, minced
fresh thyme
white wine - 1/2 cup
8 oz chicken broth or clam juice
28 oz of diced tomatoes
white fish filet with skin removed (approx 1 lb) such as cod, tilapia, hake, haddock, halibut or sea bass (estimate at 1/2 lb for each adult and 1/4 lb for each kid)
optional: shrimp, mussles, clams, mini-scallops

In large soup pot, sauté a chopped onion in 3 TBS of butter over medium heat.

Add minced garlic to taste and chopped fresh thyme.

Sauté until onion is golden, about 5 minutes.

Add 1/2 cup dry white wine. Cook for 2 minutes.

Stir in 8 oz. of chicken broth (or clam juice) and a 28-oz. can of diced tomatoes.

Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Cut the fish tino 2-inch chunks. Add them to the broth; cook for 3 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cook until the fish is cooked through, about 5 minutes. You can also add up to a pound of assorted shelffish (like shrimp, mussels, clams, etc.) in which case cook until the shrimp are opaque and any shells have opened.

Try serving with garlic bread. Yum!