The licorice poll

I haven’t had a poll for a while. An unfortunate encounter this evening inspired this one…

Today’s homeschool stories

Today, I arrived home to a meal prepared in the style of the Plymouth pilgrims by Oldest Daughter. As the father, I had been moved to the head of the table, which was a bit jarring, since I’m a creature of habit. Ordinary Spouse sat beside me, and the children had to sit “below the salt”. So we were all in the “proper” order.

Oldest Daughter prepared a menu and small rule book so that we’d know what to expect. The meal consisted of:

• Succotash stew
• Bannock cakes
• Whole, baked squash stuffed with apples
• Bearberry jelly
• Hot nuts (walnuts and almonds)
• Flat bread “plates”

And our rules included:

• Do use a clean knife to get salt.
• Do use your hand instead of a fork.

• Don’t scratch itches.
• Don’t dip your food in the salt.
• Don’t get your own food. (This is for children.)

There was a little verse to help the children remember the rules:

Put not thy fingers in the dish,
Neither in flesh, neither in fish.
Put not thy meat into the salt,
Into the cellar, that is a fault.
But lay it fairly thee before,
Upon thy trencher, that is good lore.

- The Little Children’s Little Book

We had the hot nuts for dessert. I found a Valentine nut…

Valentine Walnut says, “I love you.”

And now that supper is finished Middle Daughter and Ordinary Spouse are reading about Babylon, Hammurabi, and his code – not because MD didn’t finish her schoolwork today, but because she wanted to do some more.

That’s the news from the Rainbow House of Learning for today. Now I have to go clean up the succotash stew. I wonder if the Pilgrim fathers would have done that…?

Sweetness

Youngest Daughter likes Sugar Plum Spice tea, and she received a box of it for Christmas. At supper time, she was ready to make a cup. As it was steeping, I asked if she wanted milk and sugar with it. She responded…

Yes. I like sweetness. Sweetness is what I love.

Sugar Plum Spice

And now as I type…

I love Sugar Plum tea!

Cambodia, part 7 – The road to Siem Reap

After acclimating to a new climate and time zone for two days in Phnom Penh, our family (extended family – ten of us!) was up early on Sunday, November 20th, for a four-day excursion to Siem Reap.

Ten years ago when Ordinary Spouse and I visited Cambodia, there were essentially two ways of going between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap in a timely fashion: airplane or boat on the Tonlé Sap. We had the “privilege” of experiencing both of them.

How times have changed!

Now there is a good road (National Highway 6) that connects the two cities. Granted, it may still be slower than either boat or plane. However, it is a significantly faster land route than it was a decade ago, requiring only a portion of a day, rather than multiple days.

So – by 9 a.m. we had piled into our van and had set out on the 323 km journey.

Here are some pictures and a video of the countryside, taken as we were driving. Nothing special – just examples of the scenery on Highway 6…

Mid-morning, we stopped at a rest area, and the girls had their first experience with “squatty potties”. It wasn’t altogether positive, although it should be noted that things improved (“Attitudes, not facilities,” says Ordinary Spouse!) over the course of our vacation. The Guest Complacent also visited some vendors to purchase an assortment of snack food for us, while my daughters struck up conversations with some local girls (who spoke English quite well, thanks to their interactions with tourists). According to Oldest Daughter,

They ask where you come from if they can tell that you aren’t Cambodian. They were commentiong on how tall I was for being 9 years old. They said I was pretty, too. They wanted the grownups to buy their products, too. They were asking who was my aunt and who was my mother and who were my sisters.

Food vendors at the rest area

What constitutes snack food in Cambodia? Well, there was pineapple, sticky rice, sugar cane, and this fried delicacy that Ordinary Spouse is trying…

“That picture is a bit too fuzzy,” you say. “What is it that she’s eating?”

I’m sorry for the blurriness. Let me see if I can find a better one. Ah, yes – here’s one…

Fried bugs. Mostly crickets. Some grasshoppers. Maybe some other random things.

Yes – I did try them. I started out with the biggest grasshopper that I could find. I’m ashamed to say that I gagged on it, but only because some wings caught me off guard. The second one – a cricket – went down much better. It tasted ok. Really, there wasn’t anything disagreeable about it. They mostly just taste fried. But they’re high in protein.

And for the record, here is the sticky rice…

We stopped in at the Arunras Hotel and Restaurant in Kampong Thom for lunch.

I don’t have much to say about lunch. The Guests Complacent chose a nice selection of Khmer food for us, as they often did. However, there is one significant thing that sticks in my mind…

One of the dishes that we ate was Morning Glory. In my opinioin, it was ok – not bad, not outstanding. We ate it frequently throughout the trip. But it was new; and it was a cooked, leafy vegetable; and that made it a potentially challenging food for my daughters. However, Oldest Daughter put on a brave face and tried it. And apparently she liked it. And this seemed to set the stage for the entire trip. There weren’t any foods that she didn’t try. There weren’t any activities that she shied away from. She got nervous about some things, but she didn’t let her nervousness stop her.

The week after we returned from Cambodia, Oldest Daughter turned ten-years-old. When I look back at the trip – and perhaps in the future when I look back at her life – that lunch will stick in my mind as a symbol of her maturity – a coming of age moment. I was really proud of her. What a great way to end her first decade and start her next one!

Oldest Daughter has Morning Glory for lunch. She doesn’t look excited, but she’s still jet-lagged.

From Kampong Thom, we had a few more uneventful hours of travel to get to Siem Reap. And my next story will pick up there…

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Coming up: Central Boutique Angkor Hotel

Cambodia, part 5 – The Russian Market

I’d like to spend most of this post talking about our visit to the Russian Market during our second day in Cambodia. It’s an eye-opener for someone just arriving from North America. But first, I’ll share some other tidbits, picking up the story from where I left off before.

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So… the ordinary and extremely jet-lagged family got home from the Royal Palace. Middle Daughter was napping and Youngest Daughter was pretty much asleep for the night – all of this by late afternoon. I don’t recall if they woke up for supper – I think they probably did – but they weren’t happy campers.

Speaking of supper… there is an amazing cook who prepares meals for the Guests Complacent during the week…

The cook (left) and nanny (right) for the Guests Complacent. For those who were wondering, yes – you cook on the floor.

Our family enjoyed her wonderful Khmer food while we were in Phnom Penh. At the beginning of our time in Cambodia, I tried to write down all of the new foods that we were tasting, but alas – by the end of our trip I was pretty much reduced to taking pictures of everything. Here are some of her dishes…

After dinner on Friday, all of our family pretty much crashed. We were just too tired.

Alas – our second full day in Cambodia started way too early.

At midnight, I was wide awake again. (In Illinois, it was 11 a.m.) After about an hour of staring at the ceiling, I got up to walk around and promptly heard whispering from the girls’ bedroom. All of them were awake. Who could blame them? Since it seemed unlikely that they’d get back to sleep without some intervention, I doled out melatonin, took Youngest Daughter downstairs to my bed (next to Ordinary Spouse), and tried to get comfortable in YD’s spot. Sometime between 2 and 3 a.m., we all got back to sleep.

About 5 a.m. we were awakened by a Tokay gecko:

(audio: Richard Ling)

So much for sleep.

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Saturday was our shopping day, with stops planned for the Russian market, Rajana, and Tabitha. Our motos arrived early and we were off to the market.

The Russian Market is an experience. It’s hot and humid. It’s dusty and stuffy. The aisles are narrow. It can be crowded. You may encounter beggars. It’s a cacophony of sights and sounds and smells. There are all kinds of things for sale, many of them counterfeit.

For some reason, I really love it.

Ordinary Spouse and I were reflecting on our visit to the market during this trip compared to ten years ago. For whatever reason, it seemed much less strange this time. It didn’t feel claustrophobic to me. I would have spent a few hours there if there had been more time – not to buy much of anything. Just to look and watch.

As it was, there were two things that I wanted to get at the market. The first was a krama, which is basically a scarf or bandanna. I already had two from our visit ten years ago, so I’m not exactly sure why I needed more. However, they’re reminders of the entire trip and emblematic of Cambodia. And since they’re cheap and functional souvenirs. I purchased a few more.

My krama collection

Mr. Guest Complacent entertains the children of the krama vendor

When you buy a krama at one shop, you can get the edges hemmed at the shop next door. It’s all very efficient.

The second thing that I wanted at the market was an iced coffee. There is a story about me from our first visit to Cambodia that is frequently told in my wife’s family. It involves a sun burn, two iced coffees (not from the Russian Market), and intestinal distress. (Mr. Guest Complacent alluded to it in a comment that he wrote a few weeks ago.) If you heard the story, you’d think that I wouldn’t be eager to get more iced coffee. However, you’d be wrong.

I am no coffee connoisseur. I always drink it with more milk, sugar, and/or cocoa than actual coffee. Nevertheless, it seems to me that Khmer coffee has a rich flavor, without being too bitter or acidic. Or maybe I’m just spewing nonsense. Anyway, to make Khmer iced coffee*, you fill a glass with ice, pour in a slug of sweetened condensed milk**, and then fill the rest of the glass with this coffee. Awesome stuff.

* This is a distinctly Khmer drink, or at least the tourists think that it is. Everywhere we traveled around Cambodia, you could find “Khmer iced coffee”, and you’d know what you were getting.

** Sweetened condensed “milk” might be a better way of describing it. I’m not exactly sure how much actual milk was present.

Anyway, while we were waiting for the rest of the family to finish their shopping, Mr. Guest Complacent led the way to Shop 548. I wasn’t entirely sure that I wanted to get a drink there – tourists are told all sorts of horror stories about consuming ice in Cambodia without knowing the source – but anyway…

The baristas at Shop 548

They even gave me a business card after I asked to take a picture.

It turns out that they do serve the best Khmer coffee (in my humble opinion). I tried four different iced coffees during our vacation. In addition to the Russian Market, there was one at a Blue Pumpkin in Siem Reap, and two in Sihanoukville. The Blue Pumpkin variety was above average – the kind of quality that you’d expect from a Starbucks – but maybe not an experience you could tell your grandchildren about some day. In Sihanoukville, I had the distinct impression that they were trying to pass off Folgers or Maxwell House as being authentic. But in the Russian Market, the coffee was good, they brought me an extra shot of coffee when I finished the first glass, and I had a good story to tell. I may have been flirting with more intestinal distress, but I was going to have fun doing it.

Anyway, the non-shoppers among us hung out drinking our coffee (or pomegranate juice or lime-ade) while the others completed their purchases: sandals, soup spoons, purses, clothing, place mats…

…and of course, FABRIC!

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Up next:  Rajana, Tabitha, and the conclusion of our second day

We buy foods while they’re fresh

Ordinary Spouse was shopping with the girls in Caputo’s yesterday. (She generally shops there when she wants fresh fruits and veggies; Aldi when she wants staples; and Meijer when she needs household supplies.)

They walked past the snacks, and Youngest Daughter peered down the aisle intently. Then she saw the cheese puffs…

Look! There are those crunchy, orange worm things! I think they’re in season now.

And of course, you should always buy food in season. It just tastes better.

 

(by Annulla)

Five for Friday… belated Halloween things

I’m a bit late for Halloween, but now I have an excuse for a “Five for Friday”. Without further ado, here are five Halloween tidbits.

1) Our Jack O’ Lantern!

This guy got a nasty cold at just the wrong time. Scary.

2) A memory of Halloweens gone by…

When I was young, Dad and I rigged up lights and a sound system in the bushes outside our front door. When trick-or-treaters would venture up the walk toward our house, we’d flash the lights and make spooky noises. It was always gratifying when they turned around and ran off.

3) This year’s costumes

Here are three of us before we went trick-or-treating this year:

Oldest Daughter was a cat; Youngest Daughter was a fairy (you can’t see her wings); and I was a mad scientist (I actually performed acid-base reactions). Middle Daughter (on the steps in the background) was a blue jay.

4) Favorite candy

If you really want to give me a treat, get me a bar of Organic Panama Extra Dark Chocolate. Fair trade, 80% cocoa, 100% yumminess.

5) A hilarious clip from “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!”

“I got a rock.”

Random blogging, part 6 – appleratings

The Rainbow House of Learning has undertaken a new project: taste testing apples! Then we write down our thoughts on the apples and as many apple-related things as possible. Maybe you’d like to join in the apple conversation!

appleratings.wordpress.com

Random blogging, part 1 – Pizza!

Drool.

You can have your New York-style pies and your Chicago-style deep dish. Pizza doesn’t get any better than the stuff that Ordinary Spouse makes. Just sayin’.

That’s all.

Review: Chick-fil-A oatmeal

It’s been over a year and a half since I reviewed Starbucks oatmeal. Doing that review got me thinking: as a self-appointed oatmeal expert, I should review other oatmeal, as well. This was about the time that McDonald’s came out with their own version, so I wanted to try some of that. Well – I still haven’t gotten around to sampling McOatmeal. However, about a week ago I received an email from Chick-fil-A inviting me to try one of their breakfast entrées for free.* Behold! One of the choices was multigrain oatmeal. I decided it was time to don** my food critic’s hat.

* If you hurry, you may also be able to get a free breakfast at Chick-fil-A. As far as I can tell, the promotion lasts through the rest of this week. Quantities are limited.

** Every time I hear that word, I feel like decking some halls for whatever reason.

There isn’t a Chick-fil-A that is conveniently located close to my house, so this morning I took a little detour on the way to work and picked up my oatmeal.  Here are my thoughts…

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What you get:

(Glass bowl not included.)

Here’s what Chick-fil-A has to say about its oatmeal…

Warm & wholesome, our multigrain, steel-cut oatmeal is first slow-cooked in kettles the old-fashioned way. Anything but dry and instant, our hearty oatmeal has flax, whole wheat and buckwheat. Tasty toppings include cinnamon brown sugar, roasted mixed nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts) and dried fruit blend (cranberries, blueberries, golden raisins, cherries).

I received one cup of “Multigrain Oatmeal” in a disposable plastic container that was sturdy enough that I might save it and re-use it. Do I give bonus points to Chick-fil-A for a container that I’ll use again, or dock points for using excessive packaging that nearly everyone will just throw away? I’m not sure. Anyway… in addition to the oatmeal, I received little packets of nuts, fruit, and cinnamon and sugar.

The oatmeal:

Ok – here is something that I find interesting: the online description of this oatmeal is that it’s “slow-cooked”. Indeed, I had to wait for my oatmeal (perhaps seven minutes?) even though I was the only person in line this morning. (This is not a problem for me. I have to wait at home when I prepare my own. I’m certainly willing to wait for a good bowl of oats.) The friendly (though not entertaining) employees even said that it was being prepared fresh for me. However, being a skeptical person, I tend to believe that the slow-cooking step occurred before I arrived at the store. Nevertheless, it seemed to me that the oats were a little bit more substantial than standard quick oats (which you’ll get at Starbucks). Perhaps the preparation involved more than a simple addition of hot water.

However, I do have a complaint. I was drawn in by the claim of multigrain oatmeal and was eager to see Chick-fil-A do something creative. Alas, my hopes have been dashed. When I removed the lid from the dish, I couldn’t find anything other than oats, and a careful perusal of the ingredient list reveals the following:

… contains 2% or less of flaxseed, buckwheat flour, whole wheat flour…

Please. What they’re saying is that even if I look closely through my cup of oatmeal, I won’t be able to find  more than a teaspoon of flaxseed. That won’t get you extra points in this review. I’ll chastise you for getting my hopes up and then not meeting expectations.

The nuts:

Chick-fil-A provides a nice mix of walnuts, almonds, and pecans. Interestingly, the walnuts and pecans are glazed. When I noticed this on the package, I was sure to test them out individually (which was hard since I had already mixed everything together). Indeed, they are glazed. Alas, you probably won’t notice this unless you eat them separate from the rest of the oatmeal.

The fruits:

A slightly creative mix of cranberries, golden raisins, dried blueberries, and cherries. In the end, I’m afraid that most of the benefit is from increased diversity in texture, rather than flavor. But I was pleased with what they provided.

The sugar:

Hurrah! The sugar also includes cinnamon! Good for them. It distinguishes this oatmeal from the Starbucks variety. Now, would someone please give me a little clove, or maybe some ginger or cardamom?

Intangibles:

The intangibles seem to be somewhat intangible.

The take home message:

The oatmeal was fine; it made for a decent breakfast. The slightly above-average oats and the addition of the cinnamon make it better than the oatmeal that Starbucks serves. The “multigrain” claim turned out to be a disappointment. However, if you’re eating breakfast at Chick-fil-A, this is clearly what you want to get (since most of your other choices are fried).

To be honest, though, I’m not likely to be eating this oatmeal again. It wasn’t good enough to go out of my way to get it; there aren’t Chick-fil-A restaurants in places where I eat fast food (mostly travel plazas on interstate roads); they only serve oatmeal at breakfast (not all day); and Ordinary Spouse and I tend to avoid places with that much fried food on the menu.