of games and families

As some of you know, the Eldest loves games. Board games, card games, sports, puzzles. An especial favorite of his is Monopoly.

Some of you may also know that my family is Australian. We came to the US of A when I was a little tyke, leaving behind a small tribe - no, check that, a large, teeming horde - of family. The Eldest has been to visit this horde (it's a friendly horde) twice now, the Man only once.

These two bits of information fit together here: Hasbro is creating an Australian Monopoly, and is letting people vote for which state should be in the navy blue slots (Boardwalk, Park). Hint: my family is from Melbourne...now, go vote!
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On the subject of Australia, I'm enjoying a fellow Aussie's blog. Jason Graham-Nye is the co-founder, together with his wife, of gDiapers. I've added a link to his blog to my list of things I read. It's a nice mix of entrepeneurism, daddy blog, environmentalism and okay, possibly a wee bit of PR for his product. Which I'm unabashedly happy with. You should see the Toddles' tush in the hawaiian print!

The gDiapers are working out beautifully with us. At home, we switch off between g-flushable inserts and cloth ones, depending on how the laundry's going. Easy, peasy. And yes, when we're out and about we commit the eco-sin of disposable diapers, but what the hey. Taken all together, it works, and it works in style...literally! Happy, happy am I.
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Today, we did some more NAET testing and treatment. The Eldest is not reactive to the egg mix, vit C, vit B or calcium mixes, but was reactive to the sugar mix. Huh. Well, the stuff does affect him, though I wouldn't call it an allergic reaction! Having been treated, NAET-style, for sugar sensitivity, he is now off sugar for 25 hours. So, no fruit, no honey, no sugars of any kind (there goes cereals), no sweetened soy milk (he won't touch the other kind), etc, etc, etc. Oy.

The Toddles sailed through the egg mixture, having already been treated for it, and was negative to the calcium and vit C mixes. He was, however, sensitive to the vitamin B mix - something that shows up in a lot of whole grains. So, no whole grains for him for 25 hours, no fruits, no veggies (except cauliflower), no dairy....oy. Again.

Given my rule of everybody eats one dinner, this was a challenge. So, then, here's what we had for dinner:

Pasta Alla Prima
serves 6

1 lb soybean/rice pasta
1 bunch spinach
4 large cloves garlic
olive oil
1 can tuna (avoiding those in vegetable broth, thanks to a tip from W)
Greek black olives
1/5 English cucumber, sliced.

sauce:
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
2 sprigs fresh dill
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
Blend in food processor until frothy.

meanwhile, cook pasta in lots of water. Do not overcook! No matter what the package says, gluten free pastas are ruthless about their cooking times.

When pasta is done, saute garlic and tuna in pan with olive oil. When garlic is browned a bit, toss in spinach leaves, turn off heat and stir until spinach is just barely wilted and bright green. Immediately, toss all together (pasta, sauce, tuna mixture, olives, cucumber) and serve. Watch small people go back for enthusiastic thirds.