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Ok, when did it become August? I can't believe that Lori has been here like 3 weeks already. It's going too fast! I told her yesterday that I might have to handcuff myself to her at the airport so she can't leave. I don't even want to think about it. It's been so nice to have her here. She posted photos of our trip to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, so click on the link to Lori's blog on my right sidebar to see them. We fed kangas, saw a huge croc, adorable koalas, etc. By the way, I tried to upload all of my Byron Bay pictures to my smugmug account but it wasn't working. If any of you have Macs, what uploader do you use? Please let me know b/c maybe I am using the wrong one. I will try again.
Today we went to Surfer's Paradise, the heart of the Gold Coast. So many people have asked me, "Did you take Lori to Surfer's yet?" that I assumed it was a MUST SEE kind of place. I hadn't been there myself. We drove down to the coast, parked, and found ourselves in the middle of a Japanese tourist's heaven (sorry but it's true). All we saw was tacky souvenir shops, Condom Kingdom, a wax museum, and other not-so-tempting shops. Among all of this you will find Louis Vuitton, Versace, Prada, and other high- end shops. Go figure. Since we are definitely middle-of-the-range shoppers, we were left with nothing but a few beach shops like Roxy and Billabong. We had lunch and sort of walked aimlessly for a while lamenting the fact that we wasted an Olivia-free day on this! That's just wrong! There was really no way to salvage the day. We went to the Billabong factory outlet where we unfortunately didn't find much either. What could we do to pull ourselves out of the rut? Make some delicious food, of course.
We had some incredible Lettuce Wraps tonight. Lori and I both enjoyed them immensely. Olivia seemed to have fun scooping different veggies and nuts from the bowls onto her Ramen noodles too. Austin told us how he doesn't like chicken or Ramen noodles and "wants brown hair" ??? Random. Anyway, I thought they were pretty good. I love the Lettuce Wraps at Chili's- these are a good substitute. The other great part of the night was that Olivia came back from preschool in a fantastic, almost giddy mood! We may have to add another day of preschool to our schedule. It was so nice to have an evening without fighting and whining! Below is the recipe for Lettuce Wraps.
Tonight I went out about 8 pm b/c I wanted to get today's newspaper from the gas station. I ended up getting some ice creams for me, kids, and Lori. I have to share what was on the "Ultra Magnum toffee nut crunch" bar that I got. On the back of the wrapper it says, "Tip No.1 Streets Ultra Magnum is an indulgent adult treat & to be enjoyed occasionally as part of a balanced diet. If you overindulge we recommend some brisk walks or an intimate romp with your partner." Seriously. Does anyone else think this is odd? I got a good laugh out of it.
LETTUCE WRAPS
2 c. chopped, cooked chicken
2 pkg. chicken flavor Ramen noodles
1 red pepper
3 stalks green onions, chopped
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic
1/4 t. red pepper
1 inch piece of ginger root
2 t. sugar
1 medium cucumber, seeded and sliced thinly
2 medium carrots, peeled and julienned (or grated)
1/2 c. peanuts, chopped
24 Boston or butter lettuce leaves
sweet and sour sauce (optional)
1. Mix 1/4 c. soy sauce, 1/4 c. veg. oil, 1 clove garlic and 1 tsp grated ginger. Marinate chicken 10 min.
Bake and shred when cooled.
2. Boil ramen noodles with seasoning packets, drain
3. Chop red peppper. Divide in two. Place half in bowl with noodles, chicken, 1/2 of the green onions.
4. In small bowl, mix 1/4 c. soy sauce, 1/4 c. vegetable oil, 3-4 T. white vinegar (to taste), 1 clove garlic, 2 tsp. sugar and 2 tsp. grated ginger. Add 1/4 t. red pepper (opt). Pour half over noodle mix and stir. Save other half in small bowl for dipping/pouring on wraps and garnish with diced green onion. (I made this sauce up so play with the amounts, I am just guessing since I don't measure)
5. Place noodle mix in medium bowl.
6. In small bowls, place carrots, peppers, green onion, peanuts, cucumber, sweet and sour sauce (opt)
7. To serve, place large lettuce leaf on your plate then add desired noodles, veggies, and sauces. Roll lettuce around mix.
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4 comments:
I am so impressed with how you try different recipes all the time. I wish I did this more often, but I have too many picky eaters. I have to really want to try something in order to get me to sacrifice time to make it.
I am so glad you are enjoying time with Lori. I know what you mean she is the best to have around. I always just love hanging out with her and talking. Are you flying back with her?
I can't believe it's August either! Landon turns 8 next Thursday and gets baptized on September 2nd...apparently that's right around the corner. I'm pretty much freaking out. I've known about this since January but since I have no concept of time it still seemed far away. Crazy.
I'm sorry your Olivia-free day was kind of a bust. I feel panicked like that when I have a kid-free day and don't accomplish as much as I'd like. At least she came home happy, I'd definitely be looking to add another day of preschool if she loves it so much and if you need it so much. It's a win/win.
Robyn, I use the drag & drop uploader with my mac. It always works fine, but just takes forever with my crappy dial-up connection.
I love Magnum bars, but I have never seen a warning like that in France! Hilarious. Thanks for the lettuce wrap recipe!
Love hearing about your adventures down under! Too bad about the poor choices of shopping at Surfer's Paradise. I'd be asking Olivia's kindy (? sp) teacher why she was in such a good mood or what they gave her for snack! It warmed my heart to hear about her finally being so happy. The lettuce wraps sound so good, even to me (!) with all the ginger, etc. I need to come up with something new for Amy Ernest's shower here on the 19th. Any other ideas?
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