What's Cookin'

When I got married, I was a decent cook. I didn't enjoy cooking because I HATE making messes, but I 've come to terms with it. I used to make lots of food I had grown up with (Mexican) and recipes Rich's mom gave me when we got married (casseroles), and they were good...so good that each of us has gained about 60 pounds. So since I am in charge of the food around here and I can't stand for my menus to be boring and our bodies can't stand for them to be unhealthy, I have been on a year-long quest to improve our eating, especially by tripling the amount of vegetables & fruits we consume.

The quest for F&V led us to lots more Asian-inspired foods and vegetarian recipes. Of course we have always been smoothie fans and our girls are, too. Addie comes up with the best smoothie recipes! We try to keep a big tub of vanilla yogurt on hand as well as lots of frozen fruit (we got lots last September marked down, cut it up and froze it)--we LOVE the triple berries from Costco and their blueberries, and of course summer brings so many strawberries and peaches--yay! Rich made smoothies last week that were just peaches, blueberries, and apple juice and we loved it.

I discovered this great recipe for Kahlua Pork cooked in the crock pot. Costco has great little pork roasts, sold in three-packs for around $10--they're so great and usually make 2 meals each. Anyway, you can cook them overnight with just three ingredients: a splash of olive oil, 2-3 tablspoons of liquid smoke (hickory or applewood), and a few shakes of salt. Keep moist by adding a bit of water as needed and in about 8 hours, you've got a luau!

I made up a great recipe for the leftover pork: egg rolls a la Sister Gunn!

I know it's blurry, but the filling is just shredded pork, 1/2 head of cabbage chopped, and 2 carrots grated. Then I put in about a tablespoon of crushed ginger root, a tablespoon of crushed garlic, and 1/4 cup of Shoyu sauce (recipe below).
Then we wrapped them up in won tons and fried them in a little canola oil. YUM! We had the rest of the cabbage with mushrooms and broccoli steamed with Shoyu sauce on the side.

And it was DELISH.

My friend Megan gave us the recipe for Shoyu chicken and I love it because (a) it's tasty (b) I can buy dirt-cheap chicken legs and make a good dinner out of them and (c) I can freeze the sauce and use it in TONS of other recipes.

So here's how you make it:

1 cup soy sauce
1 cup pineapple juice
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 piece crushed ginger
2 cloves of garlic mashed
4 whole green onions
3 pounds of chicken thighs or legs, bone in

Mix ingredients in large saucepan, bring to boil, add chicken, simmer til chicken is tender (falling off bone--about 30 minutes). Then remove chicken with tongs. Allow sauce to cool then strain with collander and pour into ziploc bags to freeze for future use.
(The snack size ziplocs are the perfect amount of sauce for micowaving veggies--just put the veggies in a covered casserole dish with the frozen sauce and microwave for 3-5 minutes [or until tender--microwaves vary], stirring half way through. Carrots are so good if you cook them like this, and then drizzle with a mixture of honey and a little crushed ginger).

Here are some MUST HAVES (hot sauce & cruched ginger from Christpher Ranch--I love the CR garlic, too). We love them!(we have found that if food is flavorful, it's more satisfying--kimchi is a great example: lots of flavor, very satifying, but it's really just cabbage!)

Apron Day

I recently learned that there are indeed other people under the age of 65 in this world who wear and even collect aprons.
I started my collection about 12 years ago and haven't added to it much lately, except for the fabulous set of bright matching handmade aprons my MIL made for me and my girls this past Christmas (see photo). Cjane declared this "Apron Week" on her blog and has been sharing apron memories all week. You should check them out (I LOVE the one about her mom wearing an apron everywhere and keeping a checkbook in the pocket--hilarious! It totally reminde me of Gramareee--whose aprons I inherited--wearing those snapping housecoats with a slip, knee-hi's, and Keds! AWESOME!).


Celeste Arnett Hall & Me cookin' back in 1999
Liz Kersey Dorathy servin' up buns-n-love, 1999

Dinner Club, 3/14/99: [clockwise] Miki Ogao, Liz, Matt McRae, Celeste & Ryan Hall,

Tom Hapgood, Nic Taylor, & Adriane Parry Hapgood

When I hosted dinner club, I used to make my freinds wear my aprons. These photos show some of my favorite people sporting some of my favorite aprons. The brownish one that Grandma Lyn gave me is still the one I use the most. I have another one from World Market made from the same fabric as my kitchen curtains (which are really World Market dish towels) that I use a lot but don't have a photo of.

So...now you all know that I collect aprons. I also collect postcards and stationery, so if you're ever wondering what to get me, or if you ever see a fabulous apron or postcard, bring it on, y'all! I'd be a grateful recipient.

Got any apron memories? What do you collect?

I love you people, I swear...

...it's just that life has required a lot more LIVING this week than OBSERVING. I will post again soon, but for now, here's an excerpt from an email I shot off to a girlfriend while I was in the throes of The Weekend. How are all of you? Comments will be appreciated, and Michelle, if you read this, I promise to answer your email TONIGHT! Part of it (the part about wood floors) could be answered here (I love my wood laminate, but if I could have real hardwood--like walnut or something, I totally would. And a maid to clean it, while we're dreaming).

GRRRRL....so awesome to hear from you! I have had the day from HECK, and it's almost 10pm and I am still sitting here in the sweat pants and torn T-shirt I did yard work and wood hauling in this morning, if that tells you anything.

Heidi turns three tomorrow, and HOLY HANNAH, I hope the threes aren't as terrible as the two's! We have all kinds of stuff to do for church tomorrow, but I am excited to have cake and presents tomorrow after naps and watch the new Charlotte's Web with her (the DVD is one of her gifts and it is one of my all-time fave kid books). She'll have a small party/BBQ with fam & friends Monday night. I'll have to send pix of the skirts and headbands I made for the girls--they are wearing them to church tomorrow, even though they are "play skirts" (can be worn to school).

About cleaning windows--yes, I clean them every year. I usually use newspaper and windex in the inside, and then I use that Windex hose stuff on the outside. It does a pretty good job except if you have windows where your sprinklers spray and leave hard water spots. I usually go back over any bad residue with the newsaper and windex outside, too, and I even had to use a green scrubby on one basement window.

I actually have wood laminate floors, but I used to have wood and I swear by Murphy's Oil Soap and the Vileda mop that folds in half with the washable pad. I love it and I love the smell. I still use it on all my wood furniture because it works and the smell gives me happy childhood memories (I can still sing the song from the commercial if you care to hear it..."I've
been using Murphy's Oil Soap on this wood floor of mine, now the dirt is finished but the finish is fine...").

I have to get to the tub and to the bed ASAP, but I will just tell you that all the sibs are doing great, some better than ever. My sister (who was also my best pal) went to detox, rehab, and just graduate with her 90-day chip from NarcAnon. She is totally of pain killers and has fully recovered from a hysterectomy she had in January and I am really excited to see her again and have her be truly present AND pain- free for the first time in years! My crafty friend Jenn is coming with me to Utah--MORMON MECCA-- because she has never been to SLC (WTF? And she calls herself LDS!) I am excited to show her around because, frankly, Salt lake is tons-o-fun.

Keep in touch and let me know how the housekeeping goes. ...Jamie