Time to retire?

The boys volunteered to cook us dinner tonight.  They worked hard together slaving away for a meal.

Ryan made the shrimps.  All from scratch except for the shrimps.

Julian cut the chicken, yes, he cut the purchased rotisserie chicken but quite a presentation.

And the result.  Very good dinner.  Oh, Julian made the mashed potato too.

Last but not least, Ryan's coconut custard pie with his initial.  Yummy.

It's a physical game

Julian's team won big today, 56 - 16.  Julian had 6 pts and 2 assists.  But my blog today is not about their victory.  I have a question for everyone, are you allow to cry in a basketball game?  Julian took someone out of the game today at beginning of the second half.  They were on offense and Julian was down low, got the ball just under the basket.  This boy who is a bit taller than Julian came up behind him to stick him.  So Julian, remember what Ryan and I taught him thinking to himself that this guy is as big as I am so I better bump him a little harder, dribble the ball once, use his shoulder to bump this guy to make room for himself and lay up, the ball went it.  Perfect play in the paint, that's how it's done.  While he's was going up for the lay up, he heard the boy fell behind him, ug oh, I'm going to fall on him.  I don't want to step on him so I'm going to lift my leg but I'm going to fall on him.  Their big bodies tangled and Julian got up and the other boy remain on the ground, hurt and crying.  It took him like 10 minutes to get up and the crowd clapped but he was out the rest of the game.  The coach gave him a bandage.  Personally, an injury that a bandage can fix should not keep you out of the game.  On the way out after the game, one of the dad from the other team was behind Julian and me.  I heard him saying things like 'he's probably 6'2", 200 lbs' and I thought he was talking about how rough Julian was so I said to Julian 'he's a sore loser'.  Came to find out he was talking about the boy who was crying.  I didn't hear the last part of his sentence which was 'on the floor crying'.  He was saying, 'he's probably 6'2", 200 lbs, on the floor crying like a baby'  and he said it like 5 times.  Now it make sense, thinking back in the game, after the incident, his daughter fell and immediately, he yelled to his daughter 'GET UP'.  Funny, but really, can you cry in a basketball game?

First game this Saturday

Can't wait but Julian is a bit broken.  He's hurting here and there.  Hopefully he can perform well.  Their team is tie with another team for number one.  That's who they are playing Saturday so it's a tie breaker game.  They just had a scrimmage tonight.  Julian's team can definitely beat the other team if they play well.  It's going to be a good game.  Go Rockets.......

Only Julian

What is this, you ask?  It's a sandwich bag.  And what is that in the sandwich bag, you ask?  It's a spider.  Julian found a little spider and decided to catch it and put it in a sandwich bag.  Didn't want to let it go but didn't want to kill it too because that's inhumane.  So let's keep it alive in a clear bag so it thinks it can get away but how hard it tries, it now lives in a flat world that has limited oxygen supply.  Only when someone decided to either open the bag and let in more oxygen or kill it, it's going to be living in a stage of torture for the rest of its life.  It's not like Julian wants it as a pet or something.  He's watching TV now probably forgot all about this spider.  What are the chances of this little spider get to go free?  Hmmm.......poor thing!!

Innovation

No, I have not taken a new job as Home Depot spokesperson.  I went to Home Depot today to by a new faucet for my basement sink.  I didn't buy anything else.  I was walking toward the cashiers and a female Home Depot personnel asked me if I was ready to pay.  I said I was and ready to walk with her to her cashier station.  Instead of turn and walk, she whipped out her scanner right there and scan my product and my gift certificate.  Next she whipped another device on her waste around to the front and there it was, my receipt, printed out ready for me.  I was so very impressed.  Imagine when you go to a supermarket to buy a gallon of milk and have to wait in line and someone comes up and offer to check you out immediately.  Very cool.  One thing she was missing though - bags.  She didn't have any bag with her so we had to walk to a cashier station to get a back.  If she had bags with her, it would have been a completely mobile cashier.  I was still very impressed.  Nice...........

Don Tot Recipe

Upon popular demand, below is the recipe for the Don Tot that Ryan made.

Ingredients :
NO E Yield: 2 doz.
TART PASTRY
1/4	cup	Butter
1/4	cup	Lard
1	x	Egg
6	tbl	Sugar
2	cup	All purpose flour, sifted
FILLING
2	x	Extra large eggs, whole
3	x	Extra large egg yolks
1	cup	Whole milk
1/2	cup	Half and half
1	cup	Sugar

How to cook :

TO MAKE PASTRY: Cream butter with lard.
Add egg and sugar. Beat well. Add flour, 1 cup at a time.
The dough will be mealy.
Work quickly with your hands to gather dough into a ball.
Knead lightly so the mixture adheres.
You may chill it at this point while making the filling.
TOMAKE FILLING: Be sure all ingredients are at room temperature.
Beat whole eggs with egg yolks well.
Beat at low speed. (Do not over beat.) Add sugar, the milk, half and half.
Let mixture rest for 10-15 minutes Skim off all the foam from mixture.
ASSEMBLING: Separate dough into 24 balls.
Press each into a 2 1/2 inch (measured across top) tart shell to an even layer across the bottom and all the way up the side.
Fill tart shell with filling almost to the top.
BAKING: Preheat oven at 300 degrees.
Place tarts on cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes.
Cool for 10-15 minutes.
Loosen slightly by inserting a toothpick along the sides.
The tart shell will unmold easily.
DO AHEAD NOTES: Custards can be made no more than 1/2 day ahead.
COMMENTS: It is important that theingredients for the filling be at room temperature and beaten over a warm bowl ofwater.
Cold ingredients will cause filling to separate during baking.
By skimming off the foam from the custard filling after beating, the custard will have a golden, creamy appearance with a velvety smooth texture, a most unique and delightful gastronomic treat! Do not bake on high heat; this would cause the custard to bubble up like a balloon and later collapse.
Each oven is different, so you'll have to try a batch to find out what works for you.
The crust should be a light beige to golden on the side and slightly more tan on the bottom side.
There should be no browning at all of the custard.

Couple of modifications though:

• Use between 1/4 to 3/4 cup of butter but no lard
• 4 to 5 large eggs but no extra yolks

According to Ryan and his partners in crime, they will attempt to add some apple sauce in the recipe to make the crust softer.  We will report back of the result.