Return to Blogging After a Hiatus

Hi.

I'm back.

While I think I haven't changed since my last blog post, Blogger certainly has.  I shall be brief, in the interest of time.  I am overnight call this evening, and hope to get some things done around the house before taking a nap in anticipation of staying up all night.

Actually a lot of things have changed in our life.  As we grow older, we have shifted from getting invitations to weddings for friends.  This Spring, all we are getting are invitations for weddings for our friends' children.  It makes us feel soooo old.....

Another big change around here is that we have FINALLY gotten into the backyard chicken craze.  For starters, we built another shed to house the critters; here Nathaniel stands next to the shed which Augustine and he built with just a little help from me.  It still needs a lot of modifications, such as ventilation ports and a chicken-sized door, but we have time.

What really got us motivated to get this project going was our latest shopping trip to Costco.  They did not have any of those huge boxes of eggs, and so we had to buy smaller containers of eggs.  The children with me just lost it, and insisted that I order chickens that day.

I couldn't go and just purchase eggs right away, but I did do a bit of research instead.  I posted a question on a mailing list which included several families who raise chickens in their back yards in Irving, Texas.  Irving is one of the cities located between Dallas and Fort Worth, and is rather built up.  Despite all the trappings of civilization, they still allow for folks to have small chicken coops in their back yards.  These folks were a wealth of information for us.

Of course, we had to get chest X-rays before we started raising chickens, just to make sure we did not have any lung disease which could be exacerbated by close proximity to chickens.  Here is my film.  

That is the last time I let one of the children in to see how X-rays are made.......

So I looked online at Ideal Poultry, a recommended site where one can purchase chicks.  I assumed that there would be just a few types of chicken to choose from.  Boy, was I wrong.  After spending minutes trying to find out which ones would be the best for us, I came across something called an 'Assortment of Standard Chickens,' which is kind of like grabbing a handful of Cracker Jack and taking whatever comes out.  Basically, it seemed like a good way to get a variety of chickens.

I ordered 25 of them, after picking up some of the basic supplies from our local Tractor Supply Company Store.

The chicks are sent via the U.S. Mail shortly after hatching; apparently they have enough reserve to go without food and water for up to 72 hours.  I called our local Post Office to let them know that we were expecting a delivery, and they told me that they would call us to pick them up when they arrived.  When Carolyn picked them up from the Post Office, she could hear them as soon as she walked in the front door.

So here is a video of the chicks in their first temporary home.  After looking at them, I can see that they will probably need some sort of transitional home before putting them in the coop outside.

I really think it is neat that they all look so unique:


I shall post more information on our chicken endeavor.  For now I have to sign off and get on with life here in North Texas.  God bless!

We Try Indian Food

I have wanted to take Carolyn out to an Indian restaurant for a while.  I have only been once before, but I found the food to be excellent.

It was while I was visiting my brother the Priest at his parish in Alexandria, Virginia.  Nathaniel, my then-16 year old son was on this trip with me, and for dinner we joined my brother and some of his brother priests at The Bombay Curry Company.  We told the waiter that we had never eaten Indian food before, and so the good folks there picked the menu for us that night.

The food was great, the company was excellent; it made a lasting impression on Nathaniel and me.  The food was spectacular, and we discovered something called Na'an bread, which is like a thick tortilla shell for all the people reading this back home in northern Mexico.  Each entree was delicious, and we used the generous supply of Na'an bread to clean our plates.

In addition to the food, we had the pleasure of hanging out with a bunch of good priests who spent the time talking of theology, the challenges of running a parish, and basically the nuts and bolts of being a Catholic priest.  It was neat to hear priests 'talking shop' as they related some of the mundane tasks which they have to conduct while still being an alter christus for their parishioners.

So, almost two years after that trip, I finally decided that if I could not get to an Indian restaurant, I would at least try to bring the food home for all of my family to try.  I went to the best place I could think of in order to purchase the most authentic Indian cuisine we could make at home.  I went to Target. 

That is not pronounced, Tar-get, as in 'road tar' and 'get out of my way.'  No, the 'g' is softer, sounding more like the 'j' in the word 'Jaguar' as in 'I'll take the silver Jaguar for my birthday, love.'

Say it with me: Tar-jay.

So there, nestled in with the Mexican foods section were some boxes of containing a side dish, a sauce, some basmati rice, and chutney. 

Tikka Masala: "a creamy tomato sauce, basmati rice with spiced potato curry and mango chutney:" 

Red Garlic Curry: "tomato-garlic curry sauce, basmati rice, with tender green lentil stew and mango chutney."  The lentils were really tender; whenever I make lentils, they are either still hard or have turned to mush.

Vindaloo: "spicy onion-ginger curry sauce, basmati rice with spicy potato, peas saute and - you guessed it - mango chutney:"

I knew that some of the children would not try much of this foreign food, so I made the food up with some chicken to go along as the main dish.  I made the rice which came in the boxes, adding a little butter and some Chicken/tomato bullion for flavoring.  Genevieve, my oldest daughter at home, cooked the chicken.  She put curry powder on some of it, and I put a sweet pepper glaze on the rest of it. 

To cover our gastronomical backs even more, we purchased some Na'an bread from that other source of Indian food in our neighborhood - Costco.  One of my sons saw it in the store last week, and so we checked to make sure they still had it.  Thankfully they still had enough for our family. It appeared as if we would have enough food to satisfy my little army, and let them try something new and different.

After looking over the directions, and finding there were no ugly surprises (such as, "soak beans in goat milk for 24 hours before cooking"), I noticed that most of the sauces, curries, and side dishes needed only a little time in the microwave to prepare them.  So while the chicken cooked and the water and rice started to heat up, I poured each part of the meal into a separate bowl and covered them with saran wrap. 

Sauces were in green bowls, and side dishes were in blue bowls.  The diet Coke was mine and I don't know why the apple sauce insisted on getting into the picture.  The Na'an bread is in the background, waiting to hop into the oven for a little warming up.

I used both microwave ovens to heat the bowls up really quickly, and then had it all set on the sideboard.  Here, Nathaniel makes a plate.  He approved of the meal.

Even Bernard liked it, even though my iPhone camera did not focus on him for some reason.

As I expected, there were some children who did not like it.  Some children preferred one dish over another, while a few like Nathaniel and I like everything.  The good thing is that they all tried a little bit, and they all got enough chicken and rice to leave the table satisfied.

Of course, everyone loved the Na'an bread.

Christmas Eve 2009 Video

Here it is. Facebook's new privacy regulations made it impossible to embed in the sidebar, so we uploaded it to YouTube instead. Enjoy:

St. Andrew Christmas Novena, A Chick, and a Video

Tomorrow, St. Andrew's Feast Day, begins the St. Andrews Christmas Novena.

The following prayer is repeated 15 times per day up until Christmas:

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His Blessed Mother. Amen.

(It is piously believed that whoever recites the above prayer fifteen times a day from the feast of St. Andrew (30th November) until Christmas will obtain what is asked.)

Imprimatur
+MICHAEL AUGUSTINE, Archbishop of New York
New York, February 6, 1897

Just to show we have been doing something other than looking for prayers on the internet, I show you this video of Bernard at Brazos De Dios, a community of homesteaders near Waco, Texas. Every weekend after Thanksgiving they have a huge craft fair. Here we are tempted with buying chicks to start raising our own poultry.

Last year, I tried to put up a video for every day of advent. I shall do something like that this year, but more of the 'home grown' variety. There are only so many times one can see Jon Anderson in tights. So here is one of the children playing Greensleeves:



That would be Genevieve, Noisykid #7, in December 2007.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are busy preparing for our Thanksgiving feast tomorrow. Rather than Tur-Duc-Hen, we thought we'd try this delicious bird. Note that Cookie Monster religiously follows his diet.

Dangerous Trend at Magnum Opus

We have been monitoring the activities of a blog, one 'Magnum Opus' based in Michigan, for some time now. We are alarmed at the projected growth of a collection of chicks that were acquired by the author of this blog. The purpose for chickens was to to raise them to lay eggs, but we suspect something else is going on here.

By the way, magnum opus is Latin for 'big penguin,' in reference to the penguin 'Opus' in the old comic 'Bloom County.'

Note the first picture, when the chicks were very young - and cute.

Notice how they have grown over the past few weeks. The photograph below has not been doctored as far as our lab can tell.

Using the statistical tool of EXTRAPOLATION, where one makes accurate predictions based on the trend of information, or data points, leading up to where you have no idea what happens next(people do this all the time when they double all the ingredients in a recipe), we are terrified of what we project will be the end result of these chickens when they reach maturity.

The photograph below suggests that the end-stage of the growth curve of these chickens will put them in the 'greater than 99%' range for height and weight.

Chickens in this size classification are not very good for eating, lay fewer eggs, and tend to eat women in mini skirts.

I have personally attempted to contact the blogger at Magnum Opus, but they have been strangely quiet over the past few days.

I am surprised that this blog has not reported this as another incident of genetic engineering gone terribly wrong.

Time to get serious about Lent

On Palm Sunday, after Mass and spending a Holy 2-Hour or so in church after lunch, my eldest son, Histor the Wise, drove us home. It was an hour full of fun and excitement. Wifeofdadwithnoisykids spent all of the time praying, with short breaks to tell me that she loves me and to loosen her grip on my shoulders. We made it home fine; Histor even got a great opportunity to deal with couches which were blocking the center two lanes of I-20. I didn't get that kind of experience until I was a lot older. I am jealous....

Somehow this prayer, on a holy card on my desk, seemed to be an appropriate one to think of at this time:

Offering of Holy Communion As Viaticum

MY GOD!

If I am to die today, or suddenly at any time,

I wish to receive this Communion as my Viaticum.

I desire that my last food may be the Body and Blood

of my Saviour and Redeemer;

my last words, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph;

my last affection, an act of pure love of God and

of perfect contrition for my sins;

my last consolation,

to die in Thy holy grace and

in Thy holy love. Amen.

This issue has been on my mind, starting with this rather prophetic post in February, and in several posts during the month of February. I am beginning to see what a tremendous grace, blessing I received by spending some time as a patient. I have not given adequate thought to preparing for the day I die.

FYI:

New stuff happening behind the scenes at Scorpion Stalking Duck will be announced after Easter.

Stuffed Poblano Pepper Alert:

On Saturday night, I got some takeout Mexican food for my wife and I. She had wanted to go on a 'date' before Holy Week began, and I was too busy to take her out last week. Anyways, I ordered Chili Rellenos, also known as 'Stuffed Poblano Peppers.' It was great, with ground beef inside and an allegedly 'hot' green sauce on the outside(I must be adapting finally to hot sauces), but it made me wonder something. Any time I mention 'stuffed poblano peppers' I get at least one hit from someone who is 'Googling' that term. Why? They are so easy to make; just hollow out a pepper, stuff it and cook it - or more likely just warm it up.

So why the need to look up a recipe for stuffed poblano peppers?

From Preparation for Total Consecration

The Seventh Day(The Imitation of Christ, Book 1, Chapter 18):

Oh how great was the fervor of all religious in the beginning of their holy institute! Oh how great was their devotion in prayer, how great was their zeal for virtue! How vigorous the discipline that was kept up, what reverence and obedience, under the rule of the superior, flourished in all! [snip] Now, he is thought great who is not a transgressor; and who can, with patience, endure what he has undertaken.

That last line sums up the world so well, where someone who just obeys the law is seen as a pillar of virtue. God calls us to do so much more than just drive a large van between the lines on the freeway. Sometimes we have to look out for stumbling blocks(or couches) and get away from them. Sometimes we need to apply the brakes before we collide with a yacht or go literally overboard.

Noisykid Kitchen - BBQ and Tex-Mex

What better way for a family of Irish/French/Italian/Hungarian Catholics living in Texas to celebrate the Feast of St. Nicholas! After singing Veni Veni Emanuel and praying the grace before meals, we had BARBEQUE AND TEX-MEX!!

Chefs:

16 year old boyNoisykid, 15 year old girl Noisykid.

Meat:

Grilled chicken breast fajitas, seasoned with Greek seasoning, garlic powder, minced onions, fajita seasoning, and olive oil. Served on flour tortilla shells.

Vegetable:

Fresh garden salad

Beverage:

Gevalia Royal Vintner coffee, Diet Dr. Pepper, water

Optional items:

Guacamole(recipe below)

Chili con queso

Shredded cheddar cheese

Sour cream

Shredded lettuce

Tortilla chips

Refried beans

Salsa

Fresh tomatoes

Guacamole Recipe

12 Avocados

6 small tomatoes, diced

1 small onion, diced

Juice of 1 small lime

4 cloves fresh garlic(more or less to taste), minced

Salt

1. Remove avocado skins and pits

2. Smash avocados in large bowl

3. Add remainder of ingredients

4. Add salt to taste

5. Mix thoroughly, chill and serve.

Salsa con queso:

Chili con queso

Guacamole

Ground beef with taco seasoning

Tomatoes or salsa

1. Pour chili con queso into small bowl.

2. Place equal amounts of beef, guacamole, and tomato(or salsa) on top of queso

3. Use as a dip with tortilla chips

Noisykid Kitchen - January 8, 2007

Anonymous Moose looks ready to dig in!

The Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord

Meat: Grilled chicken breasts

Starch: Roasted miniature potatoes, sliced

Vegetable: Snap frozen peas

Beverage: Water, bottled water.

Dessert: Christmas cookies(frozen last year)

Cook: 16-year old boy Noisykid

Bottled water in honor of the waters of Baptism on the day we celebrate the Baptism of Our Lord!

Noisykid Kitchen - Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Chile rellenos?

No!

Poblano rellenos!

Being adventurous and liking the flavor and texture of the poblano pepper, I choose it over the more mundane green pepper.

1. Start by cutting or coring out the stem and the veins as well as the seeds.
2. Stuff with whatever you wish. In the case above, one was stuffed with seasoned ground beef and cheese, and the other two were stuffed with seasoned grilled chicken and cheese.

3. Put them over the grill until the skin started to pucker and blacken, then roll them over to continue the cooking.

4. Serve hot, along with all the fixings for fajitas.

A visiting friend said she remembered her mother making her these when she was a child. She loved them.

Noisykid Kitchen - Sunday Dinner after Mass

The key is portable but acceptable for the main meal on Sunday, since we bring it with us to Mass and eat it before Holy Hour and Confession.

Today it is one of dadwithnoisykids' favorites:

Grilled T-Bone Steak
Grilled Boneless Chicken Breast

Baked Potatoes in foil with sea salt and olive oil.

Garden Salad

Bread from Albertsons' bakery

Water or sparkling water or soda

Prepared by the whole family