Almost lunch time - the dilemma of pleasing my two picky eaters begins again! You'd think if they're twins that they'd like the same foods. I don't mind making different lunches for my boys, but it does get tiresome. Hmm... Maybe I'll try something new today. Something that both of them will like.
Let's see, Claus refuses to eat any meal that doesn't contain meat. Hmm, Butch dropped off some fresh chicken from his farm today, so chicken will do nicely. And Lucas loves breakfast foods, especially scrambled eggs and omelets. Eggs and chicken... and leftover rice from last night's dinner... Chicken fried rice? No, the eggs are only an afterthought in that dish - they need to be front-and-center to grab Lucas' attention.
Well, let's see. I think I have something interesting in mind...
Okay, six ounces of chicken should be enough for the two of them. Chop that up and season with salt and pepper. Yikes, I need to sharpen the knife soon. All right, done.
Now, I need some flavorful vegetables to keep this interesting. These onions I bought from Abbey this morning will be perfect. I'll grab a clove of garlic, too. A quarter of this big onion should be good enough. Chop the onion, mince the garlic... perfect. The boys like mushrooms, so I'll chop up four of the little button mushrooms they picked yesterday. And I'll sneak some fresh peas in there as well!
Okay, heat the pan, add a bit of oil, then the garlic. Stir...
Mmm, the garlic is starting to smell nice. In go the onions! Stir... Those are cooking up nicely.
Time for the chicken. Wow, this is already smelling wonderful. I hope the smell doesn't drift outside! I want to keep this a surprise.
Stir in the mushrooms now. Hmm, it's a bit dry. I traded some cucumbers for Abbot's tomatoes yesterday; I'll cut up some of those. Well, that looks nice, but it needs something more... Ah! The twins' favorite condiment - a bit of ketchup. Ulp! It's too thick now. Okay, just a little bit of chicken stock to thin it out. There, much better. Stir, stir, stir! Don't want it to scorch. Add the peas, stir, stir, stir.
How does it taste? ... Needs a bit more salt. ... That's better.
Mix in the rice... Stir, stir, stir. Wow, so colorful! A little on the red side, but those green peas jump out like lights on a festive tree.
Okay, this ketchupy chicken-and-rice concoction can sit on some plates for now. Time for the eggs to take the spotlight.
Two eggs in a bowl, scramble them up. Splash of milk, salt and pepper. Stir, stir. Good.
Warm pan, swirl in some oil. Add the eggs, stir and swirl. I'll let them sit for about a minute. Okay, that looks fine. Now for the tricky part.
Put the chicken-and-rice back inside the pan on top of the egg, gently loosen the egg from the sides of the pan, put a plate on top of the pan and... flip! Woo, I caught it! Okay, the perfect omelet is now covering the chicken-and-rice like a little blanket. I'll just quickly push it into an attractive shape... There we go.
Second omelet, let's see if I can do this again. Swirl the oil, add the eggs, stir and swirl, wait a bit... Add the chicken-and-rice, loosen the egg, put the plate on... flip! Oops! I broke part of the omelet. Hmm. If I cover that with ketchup, they'll never notice! Draw a little swirly shape for Claus... and a happy face for Lucas. Perfect!
They look a little lonely on the plates all by themselves. Hmm... Ah! I forgot Nana brought me some fresh baby greens this morning. Let's add a few of those...
Oh, that looks absolutely wonderful. The cool yellow of the omelet contrasted with the bold red of the ketchup, which itself contrasts nicely with the baby greens on the side. Yes! Hopefully this will thrill them both.
"Lucas! Claus! Time for lunch!"