Often I hear
people saying they can hardly wait for school to start so they can be rid of
their kids. Sometimes it is said in a joking way, but more often than not it is
accompanied by an exasperated tone. People also like to say things like “oh
just wait until the terrible twos!” or “yea, well, she isn’t a teen-ager.” Those
comments are usually in response to their asking me how I like motherhood. When
I say Georgia is awesome and I love every minute of it, they feel the need to
chime in with some negative comment.
The
negativity about kids really isn’t something to which I can relate. I have
never for a second felt like taking care of Georgia is something I am trying to
survive or wondered why I got a degree if all I am going to do is read the same
book over and over again. If Georgia wants to read the same book 40 times in a
row, I’m glad to oblige. If she wants to run around the house screaming at the
top of her lungs for fun, I’m in.
My job is
make life fun and interesting to Georgia, to set firm limits to keep her safe,
but give her lots of room to learn and explore. As long as I am paying
attention and making sure Georgia’s needs are met – usually in terms of food or sleep – she is happy, hilarious, sweet and delightful company.
Certainly
there are the WTF?! moments, but
they stem more from my lack of understanding of how Georgia feels at
that particular moment or a certain developmental milestone that comes with
side effects. That is a shortcoming on my part, not hers, and once I realize
what is happening and adjust accordingly, it is happy days again.
For example,
usually Georgia does not like meat. Protein comes from milk, almond butter,
beans and quinoa. Every once in a while, Georgia eats shocking amounts of meat,
has a really cranky day and then wakes up taller. This week, I am pretty sure
she is growing. She scampered into the kitchen shouting “meeeeeaaaaat!” and ate
a ton of buffalo meat. The next day she had chicken fried rice and the day after
that a spicy deer stew on saffron couscous.
I expect
Georgia to be taller any day now. She will stop eating meat and I probably will be all confused about why she inhaled the deer stew yesterday but won't it eat today and will only eat fruit. If I get frustrated, that is my fault and I need to realize her need for protein is less and her body craves the fuel provided by fruit. Georgia is just listening to her body -- something us grown ups should probably do a bit more often.
On to the
stew recipe: The deer stew was based on the Spicy Lamb Stew with Apricots and
Cardamom from the “Bon Appetit Cookbook.” I had a deer roast in the freezer,
opted for prunes instead of apricots and cut back on the cayenne.
The recipe
suggested serving it with saffron-cardamom rice, but I made couscous instead,
since it takes less time. I cooked the couscous with a pinch of saffron, but
you could leave it out, and mixed the finished grain with dried cherries and
sliced almonds.
Spicy Deer Stew
½ tsp ground
cardamom
¼ tsp ground
cinnamon
sprinkle of
cayenne
½ tsp ground
coriander
½ tsp ground
ginger (2 tsp of fresh ginger would have been better and added once the meat
was browned, but I was out of fresh)
a few grinds
of black pepper
2 lbs of
deer roast cut into pieces (recipe says 3 ½ lbs lamb shoulder cut up)
2 tbsp oil
finely
chopped shallot
1 ½ c stock
– water, vegetable, beef, chicken – your choice
1 to 2 tbsp
tomato paste
10 pitted
prunes, quartered
drizzling of
cherry vinegar (can substitute balsamic or red wine vinegar)
Mix spices
in a large bowl, add lamb and toss to coat. Heat oil in a heavy pot, add
shallot and sauté. Add lamb sprinkle with salt if you wish and sauté until
brown. You may need to cook the meat in batches so it browns and does not
steam. Add the water or stock starting with 1 cup and adding more to
surrounding the meat without completely covering it. Add the tomato paste and
stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until meat is
tender. It takes about an hour.
Add prunes
and drizzle with cherry vinegar and simmer uncovered until liquid is slightly
thickened and reduced, about 10 minutes.
Serve on top
of couscous.
