Had a crazy weekend; 5th birthday party for my middle boy. Super busy and fun.
this post was submitted on 03 Dec 2023
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5 is a milestone! Are they starting school next year?
We will start him when he is ready; he isn't there yet. Just has to be enrolled by next December, so we have a while yet.
Sounds like my weekend. My gson got a trampoline for his 2nd bday and he's been begging me to play on it with him. Thankfully my daughter has no close neighbours to see this portly older person's body parts bouncing in unnatural ways!
Great work, I'm sure he loved it.
Christmas is way too close. I have a huge (for me) list of stuff to try to get done.
Everyone is saying they don't know what they want as a present. :-(
They want socks:
- Cheap things you want you've already bought, expensive things you want cost too much for a gift
- Everyone needs them, so a dollar spent on socks is a dollar they don't have to spend themselves
- Socks come in many paterns and styles, so you can indiviualise them
- Socks can be found for a wide range of budgets
- Socks are a minimalist/anticonsumerism option, they can be ecofriendly, and are small for easy transport
- If they don't like the pattern you picked then no problem, they will be inside shoes anyway
This is true. Anecdotally.
I've asked for (specifically wool) socks for the last few years.
The runners up is a bottle of wine, or a six pack of beer.
They're all around the same price point $20-ish. All trivial to acquire.
Perfect presents.
Bonus option: anything hand knitted by the giver.
I want socks. I rely on xmas for socks. Unfortunately no one else does. One person wants chocolates and likes getting a t shirt though, so that's good.
One of the people I most like to buy for is whoever's on the receiving end of mission/women's refuge christmas presents. This year we got them a mermaid barbie.
Same! Got some family coming over to stay with us, and because we've only recently moved in, theres a whole bunch of stuff to get sorted before then!
Good luck with it all!! Ugh do you still have lots of boxes to unpack? Why is packing so much easier than unpacking?
Haha, just a few large plastic boxes, which we've been stashing away downstairs, but they'll be staying downstairs so gotta get rid of em somehow lol.
The thing is, those were those "too hard to do, so we'll leave them for now" boxes..... Gotta think about it.
I decided this year we are no longer buying Christmas presents for adults. There are more kids now in the extended family and they're getting older and asking for more expensive presents each year. The stress of trying to figure out what to get everyone is also very annoying as we're all grown up and can get the things we really want anyway (usually too expensive for gifts).
Not to complain about generosity, but we always get stuff we don't particularly want or need and it just feels wasteful. So I told my side of the family our plan and to only get gifts for the kids.
Low key envious right now. I tried to do that a few years ago but then I found out all the adults were still going to get each other and me proper presents so I had to scramble.
So now I've gone back to trying to get things people like and being stressed.
Honestly, I've been wanting to do it for years and decided I need to be the change I wanted to see in the world :)
Some people really enjoy gift giving, so if they sent something I wouldn't complain. But I'm not expecting anything and have made it clear that I won't be getting adults anything.
Good on you!
Anyone got any recommendations for some BBQ Chicken recipes? Any advice is also welcomed :)
Honestly I don't bother making my own now that there are SO many rubs and seasonings/sauces available. Even in the supermarket or from BBQ places like Low 'N Slow: https://lownslowbbq.co.nz/
Lots of other shops too even Bunnings/M10 usually have some in stock. Pro tip if you're getting a NZ brand like Rum and Que, they usually sell direct on their own websites and have specials or bundles that can be cheaper
That's sort of my line of thinking. Had some good results with a off-the-shelf rub for some lamb shanks last week, and will probably be looking at some sort of Peri-peri marinade/sauce/rub type thing.
Any advice on how to cook on the BBQ?
Don't underestimate brining your chicken a few hours or overnight beforehand. It can keep it very juicy and prevent the meat drying out. I'm too lazy for this step + cooking it using a probe thermometer means you can pull it out at the right point without overcooking.
If you haven't got one, an instant read thermometer or multiprobe thermometer you can leave in, is probably the best tool for cooking any meat that isn't thinly cut.
Not sure if it's possible on a gas, but on the kettle I have a vortex (like a mini charcoal chimney) to go inside that gets it super hot and can get you nice crispy skin on chicken. Making sure the skin is dry before putting your rub on, helps with crisping it up.
And if you like spending money, getting a rotisserie kit (if they make one for your BBQ) can be fun too.
I once had brined chicken and it was the most delicious thing ever, so much so I was determined to try it myself. This was several years ago and I've only just remembered because of your comment so I'll have to grab a chicken and give it a go.
It works pretty well on anything lean like pork or chicken breast. You can also dry brine instead of having it in brine solution. I can’t remember if you’re meant to leave it longer when dry brining or not though, definitely give it a try!
Do you get the same juiciness dry brining or just the flavour?
It's been awhile since I've done it, but I think more juiciness from wet brining. Dry might be more appropriate for fattier cuts.
Brining seems interesting! Will do some research into it. Thank you for brining it to my attention :)
Does the brining make it "saltier"?
i.e., if you have a recipe for the seasoning, would you need to adjust due to brining?
I'd say yes if you are comparing to not brining.
If you're using a correct ratio of salt to water (I always have to google the ratio, can never remember it) you shouldn't need to adjust too much. Obviously it can depend on your tastes, so you might need to do it a few times to find what ratio works for you
Could possibly be more salty if you leave it in the brine too long maybe? or try doing it for less time.
I find you get more salt/flavour throughout the whole piece of chicken versus it just being salty on the surface.
Cool thank you for that, learned a useful tip today :)
Do you mean for chicken cooked on a bbq or bbq sauce/seasoning flavoured chicken?
More around "cooked on a bbq"