Today

Today is a very special day. Today marks the 3rd anniversary of our family. Some call it "gotcha day" but we have started calling it "Kaneu's Day". After all, it's all about him and how we were led to him, and how he made us a family. It seems like it was yesterday that we were meeting him for the first time in Seoul, but then again it feels like we've been together forever. Our little guy, who we love so much, is the brightest star in our skies. We are constantly reminded of how blessed we are to have been chosen to be his parents. We are thankful beyond belief that he welcomed us into his heart and fit us into his world after being plucked from the only family that he knew in Korea. He is braver than I could ever hope to be. Here we are from the beginning - not really knowing what was around the corner, and then discovering that "it" was so much more than we ever could have imagined. Thank you all for loving us, and for loving Kaneu.

"the" recipe

Here is the recipe from Thomasina. I cannot wait to make it and if you do let me know how it goes!

Toasted vermicelli with a rich tomato sauce and crab chilli salsa
This dish is warm, comforting and can be thrown together in less than half an hour, although the tomato sauce will be as good as the length of time you give it to simmer away and release all its flavour. I first had a simplified version of this dish in a Veracruzan restaurant in Mexico City with my great girlfriend, Alex. She adores it and eats it whenever she spies it on a restaurant menu. It is the ultimate in comfort food. If you are wanting just a cosy supper, leave out the crab and grate lots of Gran Padano, or Pecorino over the dish at the end.

400g vermicelli (or angel-hair pasta)
100ml olive oil

For the tomato sauce
4 baby shallots, finely chopped
6 ripe, plum tomatoes, halved
4 serrano or other green chillies, finely chopped
A good pinch of allspice
2 bay leaves
500ml chicken or fish stock
2 tbsp baby capers

For the salsa
2 cloves garlic
5 chipotle chillies en adobo (use 3 tbsp of hot, smoked pimenton if you can’t get hold of chipotles)
2 tsp Demerara sugar (raw cane sugar, normally brown in color)
Juice and zest of a lime
2 tsp fish sauce
450g dressed crab ( Dorset crab is delicious in the summer)

To serve
A handful of chopped coriander leaves (cilantro), sour cream.

In a heavy–based frying-pan or paella dish, fry the vermicelli in the oil, stirring from time to time, until it turns a rich golden colour, a few minutes. Scoop out the vermicelli with a slotted spoon and place on a plate with kitchen towel to soak up any excess oil. On a medium heat, sweat the shallots and chillies in the same pan until they are translucent and then grate in the tomatoes cut face down onto a coarse grater, leaving the skin behind (which is indigestible). Add the rest of the ingredients, season with salt, pepper and a good pinch of sugar and simmer for 15-20 minutes whilst you make the salsa and lay the table. Simmering the sauce will concentrate the flavours giving you a lovely, rich tomato sauce.

To make the salsa, bash the cloves with the chipotles and sugar until they are a paste. Add the lime and fish sauce, stir in half the crab and check for seasoning. The salsa should be spicy and slightly sweet, salty and fresh and zesty.

Fifteen minutes before you are ready to eat stir the rest of the crab into the sauce, add the vermicelli and simmer until tender and all the stock has been absorbed. If the noodles look too dry loosen them with a little boiling water. If they are too wet, turn the heat up and simmer off any excess liquid. You are looking for a dish a little like a risotto in texture.

Serve on in shallow bowls plates with a good spoonful of the salsa on top, a dollop of sour cream and lots of fresh coriander.

and the fun continues

Kaneu received a package this week. You can see how excited he gets especially when the contents involve popcorn. The boy LOVES popcorn so much and it's really tough to find good popcorn in London. They sell it here but it's not the good old classic salt and butter. Instead, the options are cheddar cheese, barbecue or other savory flavors that you'd likely see offered with potato chips. Our friends, Gina and Jeff (who were visiting in May), also included a Skippyjon Jones book - Kaneu's favorite little kitty character. If you haven't checked these books out you must. He LOVES them ... though, I think that they may be causing some mischievous behavior. After reading his new book, which involves Skippyjon being put in timeout for coloring on the walls, I found some little scribbles on our own walls. Coincidence? I think not.

Yesterday we went to the Taste of London, an annual food festival in Regent's Park. London's top restaurants are there which is a great way to get a little sampling before going and splurging on a night out. It's a food lover's paradise - plus, there are celebrity chefs on site, book signings, and live cooking demonstrations. We caught Thomasina Miers, of Wahaca (one of London's few Mexican restaurants) cooking up a really interesting Mexian dish. I didn't catch the name of it but it looked and smelled absolutely delicious. During the Q&A I asked her for the recipe - she said to email her and she's send it. Once I get I'll post it because it really was something special!

Ok, so it gets better. As we're getting ready to leave I am standing outside of the British Airways VIP tent, enjoying the Jamie Cullum CD that the DJ is playing - but then it stops and I hear talking. As I turn around to see inside the tent I see a bigass piano and a bunch of people crowded around it. Yes, Jamie Cullum was actually playing! Well, we hightailed it over to the tent and Brian flashed his BA gold status card and there we were standing 20 feet from Jamie. It was so cool and Brian was in heaven, as you can see below.

Brian was SO tickled!

Today actually felt summer-like. I could really get used to this. It's hard to believe I was wearing a scarf lastnight!

good times

I cannot believe it's Friday! I have been spending the week getting over jetlag and dealing with hayfever, which is a new experience for me, so forgive me for being so behind!

We spent last week in the US (again!). It was a very quick trip and somehow we managed to squeeze in a few days on the beach. We had a fantastic time crashing our dear friends family vacation. Thankfully they were happy to have us!

beach boys

how many Godbrothers can you fit in a cupboard?!

Watching the guys playing basketball was a riot. I watched the movie Semi-Pro on the flight and was cracking up during this "game". I think you had to be there but it was pure humor. Check out my man!

birthday boys - check out that cake!

And finally, pics of a very crazy night out involving too much liquor and karaoke. View at your own discression! For some reason Brian didn't make it into the pics - I guess he was the one snapping them. Thankfully the children were at home (asleep) with Diana's parents, phew! Any guess on who the guy in the bottom right is? He was way too "Hollywood" to be hanging out in Duck, NC plus his voice was really good. He sang "Don't know why" by one of those boybands ... and it got me thinking that I don't know why he decided that hairstyle AND the frosted tips were a good combo!

We had so much fun on that crazy outing, though the next day was really, really brutal. 4 very hungover adults watching after 4 children - actually that would really be 3 adults because yours truly spent the day in bed. It was baaaad! Diana and I are still cracking ourselves up over all of the insanity. A very fun trip indeed!

walk for life

On Sunday we participated in the Walk for Life - Europe's largest fundraising walk for HIV and AIDS. We put together a little team, Expats for a Cause, and spent the afternoon walking the streets of London. We had a lot of fun and the best part was that it was family friendly, so the little ones were able to join in on the fun.

Rosie was a big hit and the girl got so much lovin'. The walk was a 10k which proved to be a little much for her little legs. Thankfully she was more than happy to catch a lift in the stroller while Kaneu and Ava scooted. Spoiled girl.

so close

Ahh, I'm dying here!! Nam Mee told me she saw Gwenneth on Fri - right around the corner from my house at the park/leisure center where Kaneu swims, takes soccer, gymnastics, plays in the fountains. It's basically our back yard. She was w/the kids and the fountains were on and supposedly she looked like every other mother up there. I can't believe I missed her. I am up there ALL THE TIME!! As you can tell I'm a little upset - but also excited to know that celebs hang out in regular places too. Our clock is ticking and I'm so anxious to see her and Madge I could just die. Sigh.

football, friends and fun

It's been a busy week. Kaneu was out of school and we had tons going on with play dates and such. Here are the highlights of our week:

Brian and Kaneu braved the (pouring) rain to go swim. Thankfully our leisure center is not too far from us.

We had a little playtime with Paul and Abraham while Nam Mee taught us how to make mandu. Kaneu loved helping out and it's definitely something we'll be making again. We also learned some new Korean phrases. We are going to miss them when they move back to the US (in July).

Thursday night we went to Wembley arena to see our first football match - how appropriate that it was against the US. Unfortunately we lost, but it was nice to see Becks (#7 in white).

Hannah and I took the kids to Kew. Could these two be any cuter?

Brian and I enjoyed cocktails before going to see Sex and the City. OMG, loved it! It seemed like it's "the" thing to do this week - we saw tons of groups of girlfriends out in their Saturday best. Brian swears there were dudes out too.

Today we had so much fun participating in the Walk for Life - I have tons of photos and will post about that tomorrow. Until then have a great Sunday!
dana