Congee

Congee is such a lovely dish, it's also very versatile.  Oh, did I mention that it's quite the frugal dish as well.  It's a traditional dish from China, dating back thousands of years, but served in many Asian countries. 

Chicken is the one I tend to make the most since it's easiest for me and the twinadoes like it, but you can use whatever protein you want or you can leave it out completely.  The condiments that you serve along side are what make the congee over the top delicious.

For the Recipe:

1 chicken breast, but into small pieces **see note for chicken

1 tsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. fish sauce

1 c. rice (jasmine or long are typically what I use)

1/2 of an onion, diced

4 c. chicken stock (or you could substitute just water)
1 inch knob of ginger, grated

1/4 tsp. ground white pepper

2 tbsp. fish sauce

1 tsp. sesame oil

salt, depending on how salty your chicken stock is will determine amount

water, amount will depend on how watery you like your congee

Condiments, listed below

Place the chicken in a bowl, add the soy sauce and 1 tsp. fish sauce.  Stir and let marinate while you cook the congee.  In a pot add the rice, diced onion, chicken stock, grated ginger, white pepper, and fish sauce.  Cook over medium heat, whisking regularly to break up the rice grains as they cook.  When the grains start breaking up the congee will thicken, about 20 minutes, add 1 cup of water.  Stir in well, taste for salt and add as needed.  Add  your chicken that has been marinating, stir well.  The chicken will not take long to cook if you cut into small pieces, just a few minutes.  If the congee is too thick for you, add in a bit more water.  I tend to like mine a little thicker, but I have had it more soupy and it was good as well.

Serve in bowls, let everyone choose their condiments.  As for the condiments, I normally choose one type of egg from the list below, fried shallots, green onions and the ginger.  You will quickly find what combination works best for you.

**I love using chicken thighs in congee, since they are more forgiving than chicken breasts you can add them in earlier. 

Condiments:

Hard Boiled Eggs

Preserved Eggs

Fried Eggs

Fried Shallots

Green Onions

Julienned Ginger

Korean Short Ribs

Thing 1 loves short ribs, he asks for them anytime we go to the Korean restaurant or the local teriyaki place.  I honestly don't know why I don't make them more often, it's not like they are difficult, I think that is going to have to change....

A few years ago when we were still in Snohomish we had a pot luck barbeque, one of the guests brought some short ribs.  Those were gone in mere minutes, and she had brought a lot.... they were that delicious.  Of course I had to ask for the recipe, and luckily she shared.  Like most recipes (not baking) when you cook you can customize to suit your tastes. 

For the Recipe:

1 c. soy sauce (I use low sodium)
1 c. sugar (you can use half brown half white if you want to change it up a bit)
3-4 garlic cloves, grated
2 tbsp. ginger, grated
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
2 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds (use the Asian sesame seeds)
2 tsp. sesame oil

Mix all the ingredients, add the short ribs and marinate overnight.  You can get away with marinating for six hours and serve some sauce on the side (must bring sauce to a boil then reduce to thicken, never use straight from the marinating due to bacteria).

This would also be good with chicken.  For a little extra sweetness add 1-2 tbsp. honey.

Cook the short ribs on a barbeque or indoor grill so you get those nice grill marks.  Be careful though, this has a lot of sugar in it so it will burn very easily. 

Serve with rice and if you really want a taste treat make some Hawaiian noodle salad as well, you won't regret it.

It's Been a Decade

Tomorrow is my ten year anniversary with Mr. Housewife.  Ten years.  Ten years and a set of twins later we are still here.  Am I surprised?  I would be lying if I said no, marriage is tough and it's not always full of glitter and rainbows.

When two very stubborn and head strong people come together there is bound to be friction, heck, even if you put two calm submissive people together there will be friction.  It's how you deal with it that tells the real story.  And speaking of stories, I'm just not buying the fiction some people spout about never fighting with their partner or saying they always get along.... uh sure.

Let's just state right here and now, I am no marriage expert, not even close, but I've been to a few.  What is the reoccurring statement they all say?  Communication is key, and they are correct.  When that breaks down failure is sure to follow if the proper steps to fix it isn't taken.  Sometimes it really is easier to say "I'm outtie" and move on.  Of course there are reasons that divorce is better, when there is abuse, or other act that is unacceptable, I don't want anyone to think I'm promoting staying in an unsafe situation.

Mr. Housewife and I were outside and he says to me "next week we have a big day".  I'm thinking we have an appointment I forgot or something along those lines.  Clearly my puzzled look gave away my confusion, so he reminded me of our anniversary.  Yes, I'm the one in our relationship that forgets when we got married, I do know the month it's just the day that escapes me sometimes.  I purposefully kept some matches from our wedding that have the date on them.  Sure, it would be easier to jut put it on my calendar so it pops up (note to self to do that).  He asked if I wanted to get away without the kids or what, and it's stuff like this that I try to remember when I'm furious, times when the guy really does try. 

Every day I make sure I remind myself that I am a lucky woman because it's easy to get in a routine where you want more and more and forget what you already have.  To get busy with kids and forget that you wouldn't have those kids if it wasn't for your partner.  Making time gets tougher and tougher, but it's important. 

I may forget the date on the calendar but I haven't forgotten the actual day.  There have been some bumps, heck some major potholes, in the road over the past ten years but we are still all here driving along.  With work and COMMUNICATION we will still be here driving along this curvy bumpy road ten years from now, hopefully we've learned a thing or two over the past ten that will help.

As for this year's anniversary, well, we've decided to spend it at The Salish Lodge, a whopping ten minutes from our house.  And we are bringing the kids!!  That's how we roll and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Going Back to Work...

Last week I went on my first interview in a million years (yes being dramatic).  It was so strange, I wasn't nervous it was more like a hesitancy, kind of hard to explain.  Why did I go on an interview?  The twinadoes are starting all day kindergarten in little over a month which means I'll have all day without them.  Yes, I could sit around and lounge, watch tv, play with chickens, etc.... however, there is an opportunity that *might* be presenting itself to add on to Purple Pastures.  If I went back to work I would be contributing to this new adventure, and I like that idea especially since it's pretty much me spearheading it.

Unfortunately, I did not get this particular job, they gave it to a person that already had it but left for a bit and wanted to return.  Am I bummed?  Maybe a little, but I'm one of those people that believes everything happens for a reason.  I'm not meant to have that job.  There will be another one that is better for me or maybe it's just not my time to head back to the workplace, I really don't know at this point.

What I do know is my twinadoes are going to start school soon and everything will be changing.  I also know that I want to do more than sit around waiting for them to come home.  This opportunity that might happen is something I'm super excited about, and of course I'll share more if it becomes a reality.

For now I'll keep my eye out for jobs that interest me and work for my situation.  I think when I find the right one I won't feel so on the fence and I'll be more on the side of feeling more confident that it's the right time to head back to work. 

Other mothers will surely tell me I'm not alone in feeling guilty for wanting to head back, I had a little breakdown myself.  I was so conflicted that if I was excited to be working did that mean I was slighting my children.  Was I not doing my full mom job, cheating my children?  Of course I'm not, but when you've been home with them their entire lives and it's what they are used to it's hard to not feel like I'm being a bit selfish.  Thing 1 asked me what will happen if they need me during the day, will he be left at the school with nobody to come for him.  Insert crying....

How do moms make the important decision to go back to work?  How do you deal with the guilt?  Please enlighten me, someone!!!

Garden Pictures

This morning I decided to snap a few pictures in the garden after I let the ladies out.  There was a lot of growth in the time we were away at the beach......

Not only did the flowers grow, but so did Nina's baby.....

I love this path, was never meant to be one but it just evolved and we really like it.

 

I don't know how well they work anymore, but I still keep all the owls out because they add character.  Originally they were meant to scare flying predator from the hens.

 

I just can't stop adding flowers and plants to this area.... each time I think I'm done I add "just one more".

 

The one area that I've left pretty much untouched is around the little pond, I think it looks nice all green and natural.

 

As usual, Louie flew out of the chicken run to walk with me in the morning.  I just love this guy!

 

My beans are finally growing!!!  Had to start them three times!!!

 

I planted this watering can with kenilworth ivy a few weeks ago, look how nicely it's grown in.

 

 

How are your gardens coming along?  Picking any vegetables or flowers?

Eating On Vacation

The past four days the family and I were at the ocean staying in this really cute little cabin.  Of course I brought snacks, but I figured we would eat out most of the time since we were on vacation.  Well.... the first night there we pick a restaurant that got pretty good reviews on Yelp and had a full parking lot.  Uh, not sure if we just got an off night or what but it was horrible.  Most of the food was left uneaten and when the waitress asked if there was a problem I decided to speak up.  Normally I would just say "oh we are full" or some other random excuse, but not tonight.  She did feel bad and ended up taking the appetizer off the bill, but the rest we paid for.  When we got back to the cabin I told Mr. Housewife we were not eating out again, that I would be heading to the little local grocery store to pick up food for the next few days to cook in the cabin.

Not only did we have meals we liked but we saved money as well.  Yes, that's a no brainer, cook for yourself, make what you like and not pay the extra money to have someone else cook it for you. 

For breakfast I made egg, cheese and ham sandwiches.  They were really easy and tasted wonderful, it helps that I had packed eggs from home.

One of our dinners was pork loin, mashed potatoes, zucchini (brought from my garden) and a side salad.

I did some improvisation and made chicken parmesan using mozzarella cheese sticks, yes, it was a tad odd, but not bad.

I made a few other meals that were on the same page as these, fairly basic and quick.  Next time I will definitely plan ahead and bring groceries and not run to the local store that doesn't have the normal food we eat.  But overall it was so much better than eating out and wasting $150 each time we ate only to not like the food.  I spent less than one meal's worth on all the groceries I purchased. 

Not only did we save money and have food we liked but the kids were so much happier not having to go out every time we wanted to eat.  We could go to the beach and not worry about getting all cleaned up and hunting for a place we thought looked good. Brilliant I tell ya!!!

Pickled Eggs, and then some....

Oh my goodness, I think I have found my new favorite snack.  It's been over a year since I made pickled eggs and clearly I had forgotten how amazing they are.  Of course I had to look up a recipe, and found hundreds, so in usual Real Housewife fashion I did a combo of a few to get the results I wanted. 

For one, there are no beets in this recipe, but I did use beet powder to get the red color, totally optional of course.  Also, most recipes either called for white or apple cider vinegar, well I used both.  I only did one dozen to make sure it was going to be something I liked, and it was.

For the Recipe:
12 boiled eggs
1 red onion, cut into rings
12 radishes, cut into slices (not too thin)
1 1/2 c. white vinegar
1 1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
1 c. sugar
2 tbsp. kosher salt
1 tbsp. beet powder (optional)
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1 heaping tbsp. coriander seeds
1 heaping tbsp. peppercorns (I used the rainbow mix, but you could use plain black)
1 tbsp. fennel seeds
1-3 hot peppers, depending on how spicy you like it (jalepeno, cayenne, serrano, whatever you have)

I used a quart jar for these and it fit great. 

Put a four eggs in the jar, then 1/3 of the onion rings, and lastly 1/3 of the radishes.  Repeat two more times and set in the fridge.  In a saucepan heat the remaining ingredients (except for the 1 cup of ice water) until they come to a simmer.  Take off the heat and let steep for 10 minutes.  Cool the mixture with 1 cup of ice water. 

When cool, pour over the eggs, onions and radishes, put back in the fridge.  Let sit for at least 6 hours, overnight is definitely best.  I totally get how people can't stop eating these, I had to try them a couple hours after I made them, they were good but really taste better after sitting overnight.

Enjoy!