October Fun (and lots of it!) With Roast Chicken, Avgolemono, Shakshuka, and Brazilian Cheese Bread!!

On the plate: Roast chicken with tarragon and vegetables, Avgolemono (Greek chicken and egg lemon rice soup), shakshuka with feta and Brazilian cheese bread (y'know, those delicious little rolls from Fogo de Chao that you try to steal at the end of the meal)

Soundtrack to cook to: Guardians of the Galaxy Soundtrack.  I said classic rock, right?  It's also filled with some really fun pop and funk hits as well.  You HAVE to check it out.  I swear, I was born in the wrong era (although 80s music is pretty darn awesome, too).

And nowwww for the October photo dump!  Here's a big post of all the fun things that we did in October with some incredibly delicious recipes scattered amongst the moments of cuteness.  Enjoy!

Woot woooot!  This is me after just having run 10 miles
in preparation for my first half marathon the following weekend.
I couldn't believe I did it!

In November 2013, I decided to challenge myself and do something
that I had never done before - exercise regularly and become a runner.
A little less than a year later (October 2014), I dropped a whole pants size, ran a 5K
and a 10K, and got myself back down to a 9 minute mile (after some
injuries that set me back).  I was feeling great and ready to conquer
the elusive 13.1 miles that was set for the day after my birthday.
I was very excited to complete the B.A.A. Distance Medley program.

Our silly William Billiam.

He insisted on wearing the hooded towel while we
read books after bath that evening.

I had to capture this moment because it doesn't happen often.
William's not much of a snuggler, and he asked to do
so.  Love these moments.

Happiness.

On October 5, 2014, my sister Kristen and I took the boys to Salem, MA for our annual visit to the Witch's Cottage and to check out all of the fun things going on.  Salem is so beautiful during this time of year and it's so rich in history. 

As soon as we got to the Witch's Cottage, Alex was greeted
by this delightful lady who gave Alex a magic ring
and said he was now a wizard.

William got one as well.

Our little wizards, ready for Professor Wunder's School of Magic!

Kristen and the boys on a beautiful October day.

Me and our little wizards.

Me and Alex, ready for the show.

Kristen making a squishy face, as William refused to
smile for the camera.

"Dramatic entrance!!"  BAHAHAHA!  That's exactly
what he said as he opened the doors and I guffawed
heartily...which was slightly embarrassing because I
was the only one who thought it was funny.

Alex got called up on stage to perform a magic trick.

The boys were captivated by the show.

William and Alex with Professor Wunder.  It's a really
fun kid's show that is only on Sundays during the month of
October.  If you have young children, I highly suggest you check it out!
It's a lot of fun.

Kristen giving a "High Five" to a zombie picture.
There's a lot of interesting art in Salem.

The mirror said, "Vampire Test"....we failed.

We normally eat at the same place when we visit, so
we wanted to try something new.  I remembered that
Guy Fieri went to "The Lobster Shanty" for Diners, Drive-ins, and
Dives, so I thought we should try this place out.
It definitely did not disappoint.  It's a small place, so
you have to get there early because it fills up fast.

Me and Alex waiting for the restaurant to open.

William sporting some fresh shades courtesy of Kristen.

Kristen ordered a Lobstertini!  It was served with a full lobster claw
and was quite briny.

Kristen powered through it though, despite her druthers.

Oh heavens me, waffle fries poutine!  Delish!
Needless to say, I ordered a salad after eating some of this.

Alex enjoying his delicious lobster roll.  The lobster
was so sweet and meaty.

William who was very excited to dig into his lobster grilled cheese.

He wasn't feeling the sweet potato fries, though.

"Cheeeeeeeese!"

Watch out!  Alex witch!

Me and Alex, ghouling around.

As we were walking around, and enjoying our delicious apple pie cobbler from a local vendor, we saw a memorial to all of the people who were victims of the Salem Witch Trials.

"Rebecca Nurse - Hanged, July 19, 1692"

"Giles Corey - Pressed to death, September 19, 1692"
How brutal, eh?  What a scary time...

"I am wholly innocent of such wickedness."
Pleas of people accused during the Salem Witch Trials

Alex, hanging out with some pirates.

My sister and I were fooling around and told Alex to
climb the ladder that the pirate was climbing....

...he quickly realized that it was painted onto the brick wall.
:-p

One of the wax figures from a museum we visited.

Uh-oh, Alex got caught!

William was a little too happy to be caught.  :-p

Fun in the house!

One of my favorite moments of the day:  When I wake up
before the kids and am able to shower and have my cup
of coffee before they wake up.  It's much more pleasant
to start my day like this.  :-)

William wanting to share.

"Eeh you doe, Mommy!"  (Here you go, Mommy)

On October 7, 2014, I took the boys to Lookout Farm for one more round of apple picking before the end of the season.  Plus, it was time to get our pumpkins, too!  Since it was a beautiful day, we decided to pick some apples and pumpkins for the boys to bring to school as well.

William loooooved the Asian pears.

Our sweet boys, happily chomping at the apples that they picked.

Silly guys

They love going apple picking.

The boys amongst pumpkins at Lookout Farm.

Happy October, y'all!

After we picked fruit, we played at the play area.
It was drizzling a little bit, so we went indoors and
played with some Legos.

William was hard at work.

So was Alex.

Our handsome boy on the train.

William had a lot of apple drool on his shirt, so
he got a wardrobe change.  :-)

Mommy and William snuggle time while Alex was at school.

Recipe break!!  Want to prepare an amazing meal that will wow your friends and family??  Try this dish!!  The prep work takes about 10 minutes and the result looks like you slaved for hours.  Ladies and gents, may I present to you:  Roast chicken with tarragon and roasted root vegetables.

Ingredients:

• 1, 3-5 pound Chicken 
• 1/2 head Garlic, peeled
• 1 small Yellow Onion, quartered
• 1 small bunch Thyme
• 1 small bunch Tarragon
• 2 Parsnips, peeled; cut in large chunks
• 8 Spring Carrots (or 2 large carrots; cut in large chunks)
• 5 stalks Celery, cut into 3 inch long pieces 
• 2 medium Turnips, peeled; cut in large chunks
• Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
• Olive Oil
• 1 Lemon (zest and juice)

Put half of the garlic cloves, all of the parsnips, carrots, celery, and turnips
into a large casserole dish.  Coat lightly with Extra Virgin Olive Oil,
salt, and pepper.  Toss to coat all of the vegetables evenly.

Take the rest of the garlic and onion and place it inside the cavity of the
chicken along with half of the tarragon and all of the thyme.

Pat the chicken dry and season the outside of the skin with salt and pepper.

Truss the chicken's leg with butcher's twine and place on top of the root vegetables.

Super easy, huh??  That's it!  Your work is done!

Drizzle a little bit of Extra virgin olive oil over the chicken's skin and place
it in a 500 degree F oven for an hour (or until the chicken reads 160 degrees F
on a meat thermometer).

Look at this beauty!!  What presentation, huh?

Chop up the rest of the tarragon and sprinkle the zest
and lemon juice on top of the root vegetables to finish.

A perfect dish that will have your guests singing a symphony of,
"Mmmmmmmm!!"  :-)

Pick the chicken clean, shred the remaining meat, store it overnight, and you can make an incredible Avgolemono (Greek lemon and egg, chicken and rice soup) for the next night's dinner!  The prep work takes no time whatsoever, and I even cut some corners to make the soup even faster (should you have a hungry crew).

Ingredients:

•  Leftover, shredded chicken from the night before (About 2 cups)
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 carrots, chopped into little coins
• 5 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 cups cooked brown rice (or you can put 2/3 cup uncooked brown rice in the soup and cook it that way, but this is how I cut the time it takes to cook this dish)
• 32 oz. chicken stock
• 2 large eggs
• Zest and juice of 3 lemons (we like ours really lemony)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Drizzle some Extra virgin olive oil (~2 tbsp) into a Dutch oven over medium/high heat.  Toss in the onion, carrots, and celery and cook for 8-10 minutes.
2. While you're waiting for the vegetables to cook, put two cups of rice into a rice cooker so that the rice can be cooking while you're doing the rest of the steps.  (Or you could use old rice that you have leftover from another meal.)
3. Once the vegetables have cooked for about 10 minutes, pour in the broth, and put in the bay leaves, salt, pepper, and shredded chicken into the pot.  Turn the heat down to medium/low.
4. Once the rice is ready, place the rice into the Dutch oven and stir.
5. In a separate small bowl, put the zest and juice of the lemons and whisk in 2 large eggs.
6. Once the soup is boiling, take a ladle and pour a small portion of the broth into the lemon/egg mixture and whisk while pouring.  Keep doing this until the lemon/egg mixture is slightly warmed (about 2-3 ladles worth of broth should do it).
7. Then, slowly pour the lemon/egg/broth mixture into the Dutch oven and whisk briskly so as not to have chunks of egg in your soup.  Instead, it should be velvety smooth.

I had a cute, young sous chef to do my stirring.
Maybe that's why this soup turned out so well?

He loves to help me cook and I love to have him help.

On October 9, 2014, I packed the boys in the car and we ventured to Topsfield Fair located in Topsfield, MA.  It's a big 4H fair with lots of carnival rides, games, and AMAZING food!  It was worth the schlep.

Alex on a carnival ride.  This kid is fearless.  He loves
ANY kind of ride.

William's not much of an adventure seeker, but after
he saw Alex having so much fun, he was much more
willing to try out some of the rides.

Our adorable big boy on a tractor.

Train ride time!

Weewum!

The boys thoroughly enjoyed looking at all of the animals, as well!

This animal looked like he could eat William for breakfast.

The boys checking out the rabbits.

Llama llama!

William saying, "Hi!" to the sheep.

An albino miniature horse!

The boys were very sweet with the animals.

We all chuckled at this chicken's funny "hairdo".

Fair food time!!

The boys and their corn dogs.

Lovin' it!

Mmmmm!  I finally got a good gyro!  Deeeeeelish!

William enjoyed his cotton candy for dessert.

Alex chose a root beer float.

I looooove soft serve.  It's one of my guilty pleasures.
However, eating soft serve while walking through the
livestock tents was not a good idea....very hard to enjoy it
when all I smelled was poo.

An amazing sand sculpture!

Alex, geared up and ready to ride the roller coaster!

Woo hoo!  Since William got to ride with his brother,
he was finally, no longer afraid of riding rides!  Yaaaay!

They both had beautiful smiles on their faces.

Brudders :-)

Let's go on another ride!

All ready to go!

"Whoooaa!"

The boys enjoying a carnival ride.

One more round on the tractors!

There they go!

After dropping Alex off at school, William and I went to Super 88, an Asian grocery store, to stock up on supplies.

My cute little shopper

"Weeeeee!"

Daddy and William snuggle time.

Joseph's cousin, Ilias, recently moved from Greece to Cambridge, MA to attend MIT for graduate school.  We've been very happy to welcome him to the states and the boys always have so much fun with their "Uncle Ilias".  He's really great with the kids.  :-)

Uncle Ilias dancing with William...

...and now it's Alex's turn!

Uncle Ilias dancing with the boys! :-)

We dropped off the boys at school one afternoon, and Joseph took me to an incredible pre-birthday lunch at the amazing L'Espalier.  We indulged in the chef's tasting menu and it was absolutely divine....every single bite was a work of art.  Thanks so much, Jojo, for an amazing birthday lunch!

I only like my butter served to me on a stone...how about you?  :-p

Mmmmm!  An incredible oyster with a small dollop of caviar
and delicious foam.  A perfect way to begin a meal.

A yummy quail egg with foam served on an onion
pancake with a dollop of caviar.

A creamy (but not heavy) lobster bisque with a garlic flan.

Pate mousse with truffles and a sweet date toast.

Don't you just love this presentation??  Crab apple sorbet
as a palette cleanser.

Sea bass, deliciously buttery and light.

A perfectly cooked steak with chanterelles and a quail egg.

Another palette cleanser ice cream, because...why not?

Apple tarte tatin with a dulce de leche sauce.
Quite possibly one of the best desserts I've had in my life.

And a little chocolate cake because it's my birthday!
How thoughtful.  :-)

When one is riding in an elevator after a delicious meal,
one must sit in a chair.  :-p

The boys playing around.

Fun with costumes

The boys got their Halloween costumes a little early and wanted to try them on.  Why not?

Batman and a puppy dog!

Joseph fell asleep on the puppy dog.  One might say
he was "dog tired"...eh??  :-p

Our big boy, toolin' around on his bike!

William playing on a scooter.

Dessert from my birthday celebration at a local
Tepanyaki restaurant.

After dinner, we got back home and Kristen and Pete had gotten me a birthday cake!  Alex helped me blow out the candles.

Me, thinking about my wish...

...deep breath...

I love Alex's look on his face in this picture.  It warms my heart.

...and blow!  Hopefully my wish comes true! :-)

"Happy Larry Bird Year!"  from Kristen and Pete
Lol!  Thanks for the delicious cake, guys!!  :-)

And now for the moment that I had been training for, for an entire year....but really a challenge of a lifetime for me.  On October 12, 2014, I went to the Franklin Park Zoo with Joseph very early in the morning to run the B.A.A. (Boston Athletic Association) Half Marathon.  It was a cool and crisp day, but it was perfect running weather.  I loaded up my phone with the best pump-up tunes, gave my hubby a kiss, left the kiddos with a babysitter, and went for it!
I was averaging a 9 minute mile for the first 6 miles and was feeling great.  However, this course was very hilly and convoluted (which did a number on my knees).  Right at mile 6, there was a huge hill.  As soon as I started running up it, my left knee gave out from under me and I had to run to the side of the course and stretch my leg out.  I remember my physical therapist telling me to just take time to stretch out any sort of injury while running and continue to keep good posture while running.
I panicked for a second, but I knew that I had to just keep pushing on.  I had to stop a few more times to stretch my leg out, but I did it!!  I finished!!  That was my goal...not to get a certain time, but to finish, and I did it!
As soon as I crossed the finish line, I started bawling my eyes out.  It felt amazing to complete something that I NEVER thought that I would be able to do.  A huge CHECK off of the ol' bucket list, for sure! :-)

Me, right after crossing the finish line with my first
"Half Marathon" medal!

Since I completed the Distance Medley (5K, 10K, and
half marathon in one year), I got another medal commemorating it.

Here I am with my medals and enjoying my post race burger
that the race had ready for every finisher.

My finishing stats for my first half marathon!
I completed the 13.1 miles in 2 hours and 13 seconds!
BOO YAH, BABY!!

That next day, my sister came over and we took the boys to Wilson Farm in Lexington, MA (just a few miles away from our house).  I was soooooo sore from the race, but we just had to stop by because they were doing their haunted hay ride!  We did a little bit of shopping at the farm stand, and then got in line to enjoy this year's hay ride.

Me and the boys getting ready to go on the hay ride.

Me, Kristen, and the boys, totally psyched!

Whoa!  The boys called this a "scary caterpillar".

After the ride, they gave each child a choice of either
a free apple or candy corn.  I was so proud of our boys
when they both chose an apple.  Good kids! ;-)

The boys looooove to splash in puddles!

Puddle splashing fun on our morning walk.

I found a fun haunted house gingerbread kit for Alex to work on while William was napping one afternoon.  He loves doing little things like this.  He worked on this house with Kristen while I was cooking dinner one night.

Alex is very detail oriented.

My sister placed the frosting and he did the decorations.
Team work!

Beautiful!!

Here's some bath time fun with our little Shark, or as William would say, "Sark!"

He loves his hooded towels.

A fierce little shark, eh?

Mommy and William the Shark

Cutie patootie!

Our little minions

Knowing full well that cooler weather was coming, I tried my best to take the boys to as many outdoor adventures as possible while the weather was nice.  This adventure brought us to Drumlin Farm.

The boys walking together getting ready to see the
sheep and goats.

The boys checking out the sheep.

Yee haw!!

Alex having some fun with leaves while we
wait for the hay ride.

It was a gorgeous day.

William's turn to have fun with the leaves!

The boys getting ready for the hay ride.

Me and our little Ninja Turtles

Hay ride fun!

Hay ride fun part 2

What a perfect day!

That following weekend, Joseph contacted a few of our friends and we went out as a belated celebration for my birthday!  The night started out at Papagayo near the waterfront...and the rest is very, very hazy after that.  It was a fun night of celebrating.

Joseph and our friend Peter

Me and the beautiful Liz Kwo

Time to blow out the candles!

Me and my Sissy Long Stocking!

Sid and Akshita managed to carve some time out of
their crazy busy schedules to celebrate!

Me and Peter

I caught this beautifully organic moment of Peter,
Joseph, and Sid in a three-way hug.  It was a touching moment.

What a bunch of hams! :-p  Can you believe these guys are doctors??

Me with Pete and Kristen...Pete has totally mastered
the art of creepy eye.  :-P

Bahahaha!  See what I mean??!

Me and the beautiful Roshni who came with her
charming husband (not pictured).  We had a blast!

Little William on a walk

Oscar, Joseph, and Alex strolling amongst some beautiful leaves.

His hair is so fuzzy.  I love it.

Weewum passssssed out!

Morning snuggle time for the boys :-p

More fun in the leaves!

Action shot!  He's getting even better!

What a ham!

Oscar looooooves him a nice, warm fireplace.

Nightly snuggles with Oscar and Joseph.  Whenever Joseph
gets Oscar like this, he always asks, "Does he look like
he wants to get away?  Or does he like it?"

I told him a little of both.

Sir Fuzzy Head, chillin' in the basement with me
because he got up earlier than Alex and we didn't want
to make any noise.

I seriously love his hair.  It really has a mind of its own
in the mornings.

The boys enjoying a lovely walk in the fall.

On days that Alex has school and William doesn't, we'll sometimes head to the library and hang out for a bit.

William checking out some books.

So cute!

Alex was very proud of himself for spreading the pumpkin
butter on his English muffin that morning.

"Mommy, look!  Batman and Robin are calling their
Grandpas on the telephone."

Oh my gosh....so cute!

William the littlest Triceratops.  He's just as ferocious, I promise you.

Our cheeky little panda

If you're like me, then you are a big fan of breakfast.  I love breakfast food and on the weekends, I like to make a big breakfast for our crew.  This morning, I found a recipe that someone had posted and wanted to make it right away.  You probably have all of the ingredients at home already!  Here's a very simple, quick, and delicious recipe to spice up your breakfast routine.  It's tasty, healthy, and can feed quite a few people.  Shakshuka is on the menu for brekky!

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne, or to taste (You can omit if you have people who don't like spicy food)
• 1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes with juices, coarsely chopped
• ¾ teaspoon salt, more as needed
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper, more as needed
• 5 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 1 1/4 cups)
• 6 large eggs (You can use less or more depending on how many mouths you have to feed)
• Chopped fresh basil, for serving

Heat your oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat oil in a large pan and cook onions, garlic, and peppers for about 8-10 minutes.

Pour the crushed tomatoes into the pan and stir in cumin, paprika,
salt, pepper, and feta cheese.  Stir for about 5-6 minutes, until the sauce
thickens slightly.

Crack the eggs gently and delicately into the sauce so that the yolks
don't break.

Place the entire pan into the oven and cook for 7-10 minutes, or until
the eggs are set.

Sprinkle the chopped basil over the top and serve this alongside some
fluffy, toasted pita bread or whole wheat toast.

It's filling, soul-satisfying, delicious and healthy!  It'll get you right out
of your breakfast rut and has a beautiful WOW factor that makes everyone
think you're much fancier than you actually are.  (Shhhh!  Don't tell anyone.)

Magazine cover worthy, right?  Sooooo delicious, too!

Time to carve some pumpkins!

The handsome Franses men, ready to dig in!

William was not enthusiastic at all when it came to get the seeds and pulp out.

Alex wasn't either, but then he powered through it and helped out quite a bit!

Our beautiful boys, excited to carve the pumpkins.

SUPER excited! :-)

Our finished products!  Franses family pumpkins 2014!
I carved the two on the left, and Joseph carved the two on the right.
I was HIGHLY impressed with his Bat signal.

Sometimes...our dog sleeps with his little tongue hanging out.

William walking Oscar :-)

He was very proud of himself.  :-)

Our guys, goofing around.

Whoa!  Hold up....wait a minute.  You are going to freak out with this next recipe.  Have you ever been to the restaurant, Fogo de Chao?  It's a Brazilian steak restaurant and it's incredible.  But what's REALLY wonderful about this place is that they give you these rolls, and they're not just any rolls.  No, no, no...they're like miniature cheese souffles.  They're soft and fluffy and super cheesy.  We always ask if we can take some home with us, and they always say, "No!"  :-(
No matter....you can make these bad boys at home now!!  If you have five minutes, then you can whip these bad boys up in no time!  Plus, it's gluten free, if you're into that sort of thing.  ;-)

Ingredients:

• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups tapioca flour (you can find at Asian grocery stores or Whole Foods)
• 1/2 cup packed grated cheese (I used a combination of parmesan and asiago)
• 1 heaping tsp salt

Put all of the ingredients into the blender.

Blend everything until it's well combined.

It should look like this and pour out like pancake batter.

Place the batter into greased mini muffin tins.

Put the tin into a preheated 400 degree F oven.

After 18 minutes (no more, no less), you have these amazingly
fluffy and cheesy rolls.  The perfect accompaniment to any meal...
or you can make these a meal themselves...I promise I won't judge.

Awwww yeeaahhhhh!

Alex, our handsome little snuggler.  I hope he never
tires of snuggling.

Books at bed time sometimes looks like this.  :-)

Adorable!

Since it was a little cold and rainy one day, I decided to take the boys to the Natick mall because they were advertising that they had a huge exhibit throughout the mall.  The exhibit was highlighting the national monuments made completely out of Legos.  The boys love Legos, and I love the mall, so we hopped in the car and made our way over!

Alex with the Washington monument

The detail was incredible on the Lincoln Memorial

Alex and a mini Lego city

Statue of Liberty!

Alex with the front of the White House

And the back of it

William goofing around at Michael's

Our silly little guy!

The boys on one of our morning walks.

Holding hands and being adorable together.

Love these guys to the moon and back!

It was so cute that they held hands and walked so nicely
that morning.

Time to put on costumes!

Happy Halloween 2014!

Trick or treat!  From our Batman, Triceridawg, and puppy!

Oscar was NOT amused with his costume this year.

The boys wore their costumes the whole day.

I felt like this sign suited our household quite well.

Love those cheeks!

"Weewum, puppy dodd!" (William, puppy dog!)

We mixed up the candy and got it ready to hand out to the trick-or-treaters.

Kristen and Pete came over that night to go trick-or-treating
with us.  Unfortunately Joseph couldn't be there
and he got back pretty late.

Despite William's face, we all had a lot of fun
that evening and the kids got a ton of candy!

A little bit of brotherly fun :-)

Oscar was wearing his costume from last year while playing
tug-of-war with William.

*Phew!*  Another month down, and two more to go until I'm at the current day.  No worries, I'll get there, but they're just going to be big posts.
This month was a super awesome month filled with personal goals completed, plenty of adventures, and lots of celebrating.  Feeling so blessed and thankful for all that we have.  Until next time...

Love and kisses,
Nikki