First of all, I don’t know what to say, Well, I do know what to say, but “Thank you,” just doesn’t seem like enough. Maybe, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” I don’t know; I’ll think of something. I guess I’m here to stay, though. Or at least that’s the plan for now. I’m considering dropping the comments and going with a moderated e-mail address and Facebook page instead. No firm decisions have been made on that front, yet. I cannot tell you how much of a blessing your comments were to me, though. I don’t expect you to always agree with me, and I’m certainly not seeking your praise. But true friends…and polite acquaintances…respect other’s decisions when they line up with the Word of God. And when they don’t, quite frankly, true friends do not confront the problem in a blog comment. I’ve made many friends here, and I’m grateful for all of you. I guess I’m also supposed to be grateful for the persecution I have received from others. I’m working on it.
If God sees fit to answer my prayers for a little extra money and a couple of free days, I’m going to get away by myself (sans kids) soon and just spend some time with my Father. I’m hoping to spend some of that time journaling and blogging. I miss it. Nothing builds my faith like asking Him to speak to me and then sitting down to write.
For now, though, I have a few recipes to share. Sorry to those of you who are not interested in that sort of thing. But I promise you, all three of these are easy and goooood.
Really.
I am an official fan of Asian food. Sushi, sesame chicken, won tons, Pad Thai, anything with udon noodles…OK, now I’m just making myself hungry. I took myself out on a date last week…sushi and the most amazing seaweed salad from Song’s and the cutest little pink purse from Wal-Mart (that Tiny Dancer is drooling over)…and I decided that I’m really pretty tired of not cooking.
To be perfectly honest, we’ve eaten a lot of sandwiches since Papa Bear has been gone. I have a little less time to cook, but mostly I have a lack of desire. The kids like sandwiches and carrot sticks. They get the job done. And I’m staying pretty thin because, who wants to go back for seconds when dinner was tuna fish? But after eating real food at a real restaurant, I decided that I’m tired of being hungry.
We went to Denver as a family for Father’s Day, and we needed a quick, light dinner to shove down before spending five hours on the road. My mom gave me a big bag of raw, sliced almonds (which find their way into all three of these recipes), so I started by cooking some chicken breasts (beaten into submission and diced into cubes) in soy sauce and vegetable oil and then adding sliced mushrooms, a handful of almonds and a generous sprinkling of sesame seeds.
While the pan sizzled, I grabbed my Magic Bullet and blended my famous sauce* (to use for drizzling and dipping) and cooked up a pot of white, fluffy rice. The result was one of the best lettuce wraps I have ever had.
*equal parts teriyaki sauce and soy sauce with garlic, jalapeno and ginger
When we got back from Denver, it was time to head to the farm. I bought a share in a local farm, so most of our produce will come from here…all summer long!
We’re all pretty happy about that.
“See you next week!!”
When we got home, and I laid out my share, I suddenly became extremely hungry. It was late, though, so I put everything away and headed to bed instead of cooking. But my dreams combined freshly picked kale and my leftover sauce. When the clock struck noon the next day, I knew exactly what I wanted to make.
I defrosted, chopped and cooked more chicken (I made up a little extra this time), and after the chicken was cooked through, I added a little hot water and my special sauce. When the water boiled, I tossed in my chopped kale and chives (the chives are from my window sill). Oh, and I threw in some almonds too.
After a minute or two of sauteing, I covered the pan and reduced the heat. I let the kale steam for fifteen minutes while I made a pot of rice. I served the mixture over rice. Five out of five of my children ate it. Three out of five loved it!
This last recipe is probably my favorite. I’m obsessed with making salad dressings, and I rarely buy them anymore. I make a killer mango vinaigrette, but I’ll save that one for another day. With all of the fresh greens living in my refrigerator, it’s been a good week for salads and salad dressings.
Last night, I reheated my precooked chicken and more almonds and sesame seeds. While my chicken was warming and my seeds were toasting, I made a bed of fresh greens and radishes. Then, I blended my new favorite dressing. In the past month, I’ve used this dressing as a sauce for hot noddles and for cold salads…it’s been a hit both ways.
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1/8 cup vegetable oil
- 1 T soy sauce
- 2 T rice wine vinegar
- 1-2 teaspoons peanut butter (with sugar added)
Excuse me while I go make another salad…right now.
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