happy house husband

Comfort food, well sort of

2010-12-16T12:16:00.000-08:00

In my previous post I wrote about all my changes, all that having been said, onward and forward, a guy still has to eat, and perhaps still make 'grub' for others.
So I've been thinking more about the food question and one thing is that I'm not really motivated by is big preparation time these days so I'm finding that raw stuff is quick and easy and eggs are easy too.
One thing that has kept me going is the combination of apples and old cheddar slices, I particularly like Gala apples. It is so simple, quarter the apple, core the pieces, cut them so that you have 16 slices from the whole apple that you can lay out on a plate and add cheese slices and there you go good and easy and healthy.
Another thing that I really like is spinach salad, that being an excuse to eat bacon in the evening too.
The salad is also fairly easy,
fry up some bacon and boil 4 eggs (two are for some time later).
While bacon is frying and eggs are boiling you can prep the spinach and the dressing.

For the dressing,
put 3 tablespoons of Mayonaise into a cup,
add Juice of half a lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Wash the spinach, put in a bowl and add fresh sliced mushrooms
then top with sliced egg, crumbled bacon and the lemon dressing.
That's it, that's all.
(oh and the other two eggs are for egg salad sandwiches or just to snack on)

Cheers,
Andreas

Oh the changes...

2010-12-07T08:31:00.000-08:00

It has been 10 months since my last post here, and this posting is a confirmation that a life can change, dramatically.
Sometimes things just don't work well...
My relationship has ended from the strains presented by a series of circumstances, and I have now moved out of province and am slowly rebuilding what I can out of what morsels that I have salvaged from the debris.
This post is about me sharing my truths with myself and my world around me, there is sadness wrapped in these truths and some judgement surrounding work definition and valuation through income, and such like...
I have been shown and told that my head should hang low and that I could have and should have done a better job of things...perhaps... but then, what if I believed that I had been ...
what then?...
Like sand in your fist, the tighter that you try to hold on the more steadily it slips through your fingers... the 'life' that I've tried to build has slipped away in the same manner.
A second image that comes to mind is of two hands together open, cupped, as in holding water, either in receiving or offering... this suggests 'two working in concert'...

So where does this leave this 'happy House Husband' ?
First, I have been hiding and licking my wounds, and wondering how did all this come to be?
I own that I have left 'me' with very few options and little to work with, still unemployed, owning a business or two that are still in the building stages and not sustaining me,
and finally, quietly and delicately shut out from where I do not wish to be shut out from.

This is a possibility that I hadn't imagined. I imagined fearlessly pulling through, together with my partner and making it through the hard times.

So... this 'happy house husband' has been shown by the universe that it can indeed get worse before it gets better...but the trick is, as in the words of singer/songwriter Michael Franti, ''...You don't stop, you never give up''...
that having been said,
If you are in this same boat, you are not alone. I imagine that there are a few of us these days... and that we can help each other through, until we come out on the other side. a
This blog is my little part.

Finally contrary to what dudes do, I send this out for reflection and inspiration, with solid heartfelt 'man hugs'
to you, wherever your corner of the world is,

Jasper Friendly Bear says,
''Stay calm, be brave, and , wait for the signs''

Stay well,
Andreas

The Zen of Chores

2010-02-24T06:43:00.000-08:00

I think that nobody likes chores, but since they need doing, how do you make them manageable? Well I have worked at changing my perspective towards chores, it’s almost a Zen thing, or perhaps like prayer or quiet time. In fact years ago I wrote about it and called it ‘the Zen of taking out the garbage’ which now I would call,’ the zen of chores’. It sounds odd, I know, but consider this, at home we are in a job of service, and accepting that without resistance will allow the parts of that job to go smoother and not need to be qualified as either ‘fun’ or ‘unpleasant’. They just are what they are we are just doing them as a service to ourselves and the people that we care about, our family. From another perspective, don’t we say ‘cleanliness is next to Godliness’, So for me, I actually enjoy vacuuming, cleaning and folding the laundry, even doing the dishes (we are dishwasherless here). These are the activities when I can work on automatic pilot and use the time for thinking, and at the end I have a sense of accomplishment pride. All this is easy to write about and it works for me for most things... I have to admit though, that I’m still working on tranforming the way that I feel about the cleaning of the Bathroom...

The best French Fries ever

2010-02-23T12:12:00.000-08:00

Honkin’ good homemade french fries are easier to make than we think. I learned this trick in Quebec. There is no deep frying or hot pot of oil that you have to deal with later. And this is so easy... you simply need;

6-8 med potatoes
3 table spoons of real Mayonaise
1 tea spoon of our garlic mix(if you wish)

..and that’s all. Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, then peel and cut the potatoes into french fry strips. put them in a big bowl and mix in the mayo and garlic, being sure to completely coat the potatoe strips. put them like pickup sticks onto a cookie sheet, we use a pizza tray, and bake them at 375 for about 35-45 minutes until they get golden brown and crispy. After about 20 minutes stir to flip them over a bit.
Of course this gives you about 30 minuted to prepare the homemade Hamburgers that will go so well with the fries. You even have time to cut all the toppings, pickles, onions, tomatoes... Quick and easy homemade 'takout' supper and, the kids will love you for it...

Ends and Crumbs

2010-02-19T13:37:00.000-08:00

All in the name of saving in the grocery budget we do food ‘repurposing’ too... one thing this family loves is Nacho’s and salsa, we get them when they’re on special so that they are on hand most of the time for good, wholesome snacking. What is a shame though is the crumbly half cup worth of nachos that are way too tiny to even consider dipping, that are left at the bottom of the bag. What I do is save them in a Jar in the pantry(remember the usefull jar posting). I also do this with the dried out bread loaf ends to make bread crumbs later with the blender or moulinex... these crumbs get used for things like pork chops, kentucky style baked chicken or Mexican Lasagna...All three of these are easy and delicious recipes which I will poste in the next few days...

Double tasking

2010-02-18T06:09:00.000-08:00

Double tasking at the best of times is not easy for a fellow, but, I have discovered that there are ways of double tasking that are very manageable. One way is by taking advantage of stuff that does itself, for example, a laundry cycle takes about one hour the same as baking a casserole or a chicken for dinner so if you fill and set up the machine and prepare the casserole and get them both started early then they will be busy doing themselves giving you an hour to do a third thing that requires more hands on like tidying up a bit or passing the vacuum. Now after an hour with three things completed, you can put laundry in the dryer (another ‘does itself’ hour)while you make some lunch for yourself and the kids (if they come home for lunch). Then after lunch you are free to fold the laundry while watching a show... oh one last thought , put on the oven timer for the supper, I do this because I get so involved that I forget the stuff that’s baking...like anything we do, we get better at it the more we do it...

Family Bulletin Board

2010-02-10T08:04:00.000-08:00

Voluntary simplicity is an idea that few people payed much heed to, but now in this time of economic challenges it makes alot of sense. Basicaly it is all about consuming less, wasting less and the best part, spending less. Keeping the gang occupied and ad finding no cost or low cost activities is one way to cut the budget way down. You can check out the local community events calendar or the community center, YMCA, Church Groups or even the local Lions club or Optimists for good family events year round... Keeping all this organized is important, so fellas go out there and get a calendar and a bulletin board to tack it onto. We keep ours in the kitchen and it is large enough to pin on mail, grocery coupons, kids school notices, bus tickets, postage stamps... it functions well and helps keep things running smoother...

If you don't already have this, you can turn it into a family event, setting up your information central together...

Good luck have fun with this :0)

Growing pains

2010-02-07T13:12:00.000-08:00

Transitions are seldom easy, they pften require us having to learn alot of stuff really fast and sometimes that means circuitry overload and that could be a challenge for the people around us...not just ourselves. So what do we do? Well a wise friend of mine, Brian, pointed out to me that since I had stopped working I have been trying to be super man and super mom (tough for one guy to do)... and his wise suggestion was simply, 'don't take on too much'. Simple, wise... He also reminded me to start by staying focused on the necessities and priorities...Which is exactly how we need to think while caring for and managing the homefront...
This week I figured out how I can post here more regularly and effectively, I got a good lesson in organizing myself also...so remember,
be patient with and kind to yourself within the process,
bye for now...

2009-03-17T09:56:00.000-07:00

Hey, it's Saint Patricks day so a good reminder for taday is ... make sure you all get enough Greens... :)

Tomato Rice Soup

2009-03-17T07:26:00.000-07:00

Soup, there is a beauty about soup because it is easy and efficient and you can use almost anything that is leftover or just laying around. It does not have to be fancy it just has to taste good to your family.

When you make a soup, use the big pot (ours is 8 pints/4 litres) , that way you can save some in the freezer for quick lunches. We reuse the 750 ml yogurt containers for freezing soup, they are just big enough to get four small bowls, that with a sandwich or crackers makes a wholesome quick meal.
One of my favourites is tomato and rice with meatballs. For this you need:

-1cup of grated and or chopped vegetable,check the fridge for some vegetable scraps you may have saved like, zucchini, celery, the last two limp carrots, broccoli stems
-2 Tbl sp garlic mix
-1 finely chopped onion
-2 Tbl sp dried parsley
-3 Tbl sp cooking oil
-1/2 tsp salt or spike
- tsp yellow mustard seedlarge can or jar of tomato sauce
-small can of tomato paste
-2 cups rice

Ok, here we go,
first, put the pot on medium heat, add the oil then the onion, mustard seed, garlic mix, and the chopped grated vegetable fry/saute that in the pot for about 5-10 minutes stirring occasionaly.
then add the tomato sauce and the paste and 2 cups of water ( you can use the water to rince out the last of the tomato from the cans. Put on the lid and let it simmer while you make the meatballs.

-1lb ground beef
-1 egg
- 1/4 cup of bread crumbs
-1/2 tsp salt
-pinch of pepper

Mix the beef, egg, bread crumbs, salt and pepper in a bowl, then make the meatballs by rolling small amounts in the palm of your hand. Small spoon sized ones are the best, I make them the size of a large marble.
put them onto a cookie sheet and bake them for 15 minutes at 350°F.

Step three add the rice and the meatballs and the drippings to the simmerring soup and fill the pot 1inch below the rim with more water .
Let this simmer on low heat for about 1/2 an hour and it's done.

Enjoy and have a good day,
And...

Jars are FREE

2009-03-13T05:27:00.000-07:00

I have a thing about jars.

They are to my mind one of the most practical things. I put stuff in them, sounds obvious but, no matter where you live bugs love food and so do bigger critters, and we don't want them around... also we don't want to have to throw away food that they got into or wonder if they have...solution, Jars.

I like to use jars that are the same.

We use a lot of honey instead of just sugar, good jars....pickle jars are good too or whatever you buy in a jar that can be reused.

This is good for a couple of reasons, first, the thing I said earlier about critters. Second, its all alot easier to keep in the cupboard or the pantry,with the bonus of being able to see whats in them.

And third, some less obvious reasons are budget and environment, environment because this means that the jars arent going to the dump and you are not buying jars or containers that someone has to make and will eventually end up at the dump.

Finally budget, back to the last sentence you arent buying containers you are recycling free stuff.

Besides reusing stuff has become pretty respectable these days, anyway.

In fact if you look carefully at the grocery store you will find companies package food in jars made as drinking glasses when they are empty and alot of sauces are in reusable mason jars .(which eventually you would have to pay for also).

So get Jar creative, there's alot more here than meets the eye...

Ok I'm off and running to the grocery store ,

bye for now,

have a good day

And

Fuelling the Machine

2009-03-12T07:51:00.000-07:00

This morning I was thinking about the stuff that needs to happen in the household... and i realized that a bunch of us do not know the first thing about it...

Here is a rough list of what needs to be done in one week:
-grocery shopping
-laundry
-feeding (daily)**
-folding the laundry
-help the kids with homework
-plan your menu
-keep the house clean

**I wrote daily above because, well, sometimes the obvious, isn't obvious. Its kind of cool (if you can cook) to take over and prepare a meal once in a while.. but after feeding the gang at the trough for the third time of the day you may have realized two very important things. One is that they expect to be fed and don't give thanks, and secondly there are three more meals to do tomorrow,...and again the next day...and the next...and the next...you get the idea.
What this means is that the two or ten things that you know how to cook, are not enough, you're going to run out of recipes really fast.

So the goal here is 'fuelling the machine', if the household is your new machine in order for your family to function well in it they must be well 'fuelled' (fed).

...and on a tighter budget to boot

so this morning I made an omelet and a video clip, the omelette was good the clip... not so much...I'll need to practice, but I attached it for fun anyway...

Making the omelette, for two takes two eggs and for four takes...four eggs
- 1 table spoon some sort of finely chopped onion
-1/4 cup chopped ham or bacon or salami or whatever bit of sandwich meat you have around
-1/2 cup grated cheese whatever you've got, the stronger the cheese, the less you use
-1/4 cup of milk
-4 eggs

first put about two table spoons of oil in a pan on medium heat, add the onion and the chopped up sandwich meat and fry that up a bit...

second, while that is happening, crack the eggs into a bowl, make sure no shell bits fall in, then mix in the milk and beat or whip or mix up the eggs and milk so that its smooth...

thirdly, pour the egg milk mixture on top of the fried (sautéed) stuff, put a lid over the pan and let the egg mix cook a few minutes (5-10) , still on medium heat.

lift the lid see if the egg is not liquid any more , sprinkle the chees on top, and with the spatula fold the omelette in half...

if everything went fine you have a half circle of omellette that can be cut into 1/8 size pie slices and served with toast and fruit on the side...

enjoy,

bye for now,
have a good morning,

And

Garlic mix preparation

2009-03-11T13:54:00.000-07:00

Garlic...I love garlic and it is so versatile. I prepare a mix in advance that I keep in a jar in the fridge. It goes something like this....

-first, peel 2 cups worth of cloves
-second, either use a crusher or a blender-chopper thingy, or if you are good with a knife you could mince the garlic 'old school'

-pre first, start by squeezing half a cup of fresh lemon juice , that way its ready before the garlic

-Oh and before that when you are buying the garlic and lemons, pick up some BRAGG's naturally brewed soya ( it is really tasty and you will find yourself using it alot). I'll write more about that later.

So, now that I've got my thoughts a bit more organized, mix the minced garlic with the half cup of lemon juice and about 1/4 of a cup of braggs then put it in a jar (with a lid or it will stink up the fridge) and you're done...
This mix stays fresh and potent forever, when you need garlic just use a tea spoon of this stuff. What is nice is that it is ready to use whenever you cook without the fuss of peeling and mincing.

It just saves a bit of time...
I'm working on getting some video clips on here and a few more photos, and next i'll write about a 'Quickie Caesar salad dressing'

Bye for now and have a good day,

And

Not so easy changes

2009-02-25T08:37:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning at 5:00 and had a couple of thoughts about being out of work, and how many men out in the world find themselves with time on their hands suddenly, millions actually. One of the most difficult things for me, finding myself out of work, is managing my sense of well being and self worth and facing the question, "what do I do now?". It may seem obvious but it is huge, sometimes there are these strong feelings of failure, which can at certain moments be paralizing. So I know that the first thing that I need to do is re-define the importance of what I do now versus what I did before.

To qualify, this is not the first time I am in this situation, I have had practice and it is still difficult. It sort of makes me think of 'public speaking' you may always have butterflies but you learn how to manage them.

So, the big picture idea here is about exploring the obvious and less obvious aspects of managing the household and what guys need to know in order for that to happen. I intend to have a bit of fun with this and help find the less serious side of things also.

Make no mistake, I know that for alot of families or couples a recently unemployed bread winner poses some giant challenges mostly revolving around the finances of running a household and the psychology of the resulting role reversal.

Fundamental differences aside, where do we go to get information about the 'housekeeping' that we are now responsible for? I will put as much as I can think of and find onto this blog and I would encourage you to make comments and share your ideas too.

Can we be a happy, successful, productive community of men at home taking care of our families and our loved ones?...

Yup, I do believe so... All conditioned male tendancies aside, we need this place, so...

Let's see what happens...

First thoughts

2009-02-20T13:22:00.000-08:00

Once apon a time necessity was the mother of invention, and while all that was going on, father was off somewhere working or fighting with things or bringing home the bacon. Well, the more things change it seems the more of us are staying home... I suppose that in this man's case necessity has become the father of invention.
So stay tuned as I share my thoughts on being home and how to cope if you're the guy who is now staying at home. Whether you are the husband, boyfriend or even roommate and someone else is bringing home the bacon or off somewhere working or fighting with things...one thing seems certain, it is not easy for us to ask for or find information on how to fold laundry 'just so', or cook something besides Kraft Dinner, or keep up with the requirements of the household...
so hang on to your boot straps or 'buckle up' because there are a whole lot of things we don't know about and how to do them...