Just YOU.

I LOVE the Huffington post.  It always has articles that make you think.  I like that.  I like to think about stuff.

I read this article last weekend and it really had me hooked.

Have a read of it here & then skip on back here if you would like to hear what I think about it.

I LOVE it and here is why........

• we have begun to overthink EVERYTHING we do.  This in my opinion is a recipe for stress, self doubt & disaster.  Not just for us as parents but for our children too.
• by overthinking our parenting methods we lessen the quality time we give our children.  We stop having GENUINE interactions with our kids and stop every time we go to speak with them for fear of saying the wrong thing.
• Isn't it a good thing that our kids DO see us get it wrong? - by doing that we make it ok for them to have trouble with stuff, we give them permission to find it tricky to get through situations, to make mistakes but still keep plugging away to try better next time.  Life isn't easy & I am not an advocate for making it so hard it is unpleasant but I am by no means an advocate for the 'everyone is a winner every time' method either.  Learning resilience is one of life's best but hardest lessons. Our kids deserve to understand this.
• Laughing at ourselves is one of the best things we can do- no-one wins by being serious all the time. Laughing with my kids at my own (many) mistakes & shortcomings is one of my favourite things to do. We laugh a LOT in our house. What does that tell you.......
• I think we worry so much about everything we are missing the important conversations we desperately need to be able to have with our children.  The ones that are not about achievements or success but about nothing at all- yet about everything at the very same time.  Just talking for talkings sake. 
• DO we really need to be finding yet ANOTHER thing to compare ourselves against other parents or children with? Of what benefit is this to anyone?

Imagine being able to just KNOW that in fact you were doing your best.

GIVING your child the best YOU.

And that was indeed enough.

MORE than enough.

No charts.

No numbers.

No alphabet.

No after school activity or tutoring.

Just YOU.

A very calm YOU.

CTFD.

xx

GOURMET GIRLFRIEND'S SILKEN FISH SOUP:
This is one of those Chinese dishes that leaves your body feeling like it has breathed a DEEP sigh of relief.  A kind of 'Thankyou for nourishing me' type feeling.
Mr Girlfriend and the kids LOVED this and all asked for seconds.
It uses a chicken stock as a base- not unusual in Chinese cuisine.  The quality of the stock you use will of course determine the flavour of your soup.  I cannot recommend making your own stock more.  I think it is absolutely necessary in dishes like this.
It is NOT hard so please give it a try. 
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN STOCK:

• 2 chicken frames
• 2 teaspoons peppercorns
• 1 unpeeled onion
• 2 carrots (washed but unpeeled)
• 5 cloves garlic
• 2 teaspoons salt
• water

METHOD:
Pop all ingredients into a large pot.

Put enough water into pot to JUST cover the frames.

Bring to a boil and skim off brown froth.

Reduce heat to a simmer and leave with lid off for about an hour.

That's IT!
WHAT YOU WILL NEED for the SILKEN FISH SOUP:

• 250g firm fish fillets (if you are unsure ask your Fishmonger for advice), cut into large chunks
• 2 egg whites (save the yolks for making mayonnaise)
• 1 teaspoon ShaoXing Rice wine (available at your Asian grocer)
• 2 teaspoons corn flour
• 1 litre of good quality chicken stock
• 6 slices ginger
• 4 bok choy plants sliced in half through the stem
• 1 tablespoon Light Soy sauce
• 1/2 bunch fresh coriander, chopped roughly

In a large pot add the chicken stock and slices of ginger and bring to a boil.

Reduce to a simmer & cook for 10 minutes to let ginger infuse through stock.

Now add the bok choy & cook for 2 minutes, then remove and set aside.

Meanwhile in a large bowl add the eggwhites, cornflour and ShaoXing rice wine & mix to a paste.

Add fish to the paste and coat all pieces well.

Add the coated fish one by one to the stock, bring back to a simmer for a minute.

Add the bok choy back to the pot and add the Light Soy and the roughly chopped fresh Coriander.

Check seasoning & serve.

We are playing this a lot at our place at the moment.  I took my big two to see them live a few months ago. SOOOO great. If you get the chance to see them live I highly recommend it. My 12yo is teaching himself the mandolin part for this track. Soooo cool.