A Poem by Nolan

Daydreams

I have 100 pets
All the ones that I want
Golden medals,
Well, I have 110
All the homework I had
Is destroyed and gone
"Get back to work!
You are daydreaming again!"

Salad, slaw, taco stuff.... Whatever you call it, it's DELICIOUS!

When I make fish tacos or pork tacos, I like to use a slaw-ish mixture for the toppings instead of lettuce.  My kids all love it as just a "salad" and we always run out of it.  I'm always happily amazed when they are begging for more of something healthy like this. 

Approx.  1/2 bag shredded carrots
1 bag shredded cabbage
1 bunch fresh cilantro chopped
onions OR green onions chopped (to taste, depends how onion-y you like things)
fresh tomatoes, chopped.  I prefer to use cherry tomatoes, but any tomato works
Avocado
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Lime Juice
chili powder (just a teeny dash)
salt & pepper to taste
fresh jalepeno pepper (optional)

When I had Miss Baby Ella, someone brought me a meal that included some spicy slaw that was similar to this.  It had a little bit of creaminess though.  I seriously need to get that recipe.  Writing this post just reminded me of that.... 

My Favorite Sandwich at Home, Fresh & Yummy!

One of my favorite "easy" meals is this sandwich, the Caprese. 

Fresh yummy bread of your choice.  I usually buy some type of bagette. 
Fresh sliced red, ripe tomatoes
Fresh basil
Buffalo Mozzerella, sliced
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Balsalmic Vinegar (must be a good one! I'm picky!)  ((discovered a good one at Trader Joe's))
Salt & Pepper

Assemble.  Serve.  Eat.  Yum. 

Where the H... is your cup?????

Ok, so around this house things get lost.  TOO often.  and cups drive me crazy... C-R-A-Z-Y!   someone recently gave me a brilliant idea.  and it's working, somewhat....  I painted over an old small chalkboard (a cutting board would work too).  I put our names on it.  I have it in a central location by the fridge.  The kids are supposed to put their cups on their names when they are not using it.  they are pretty good about it.  Not perfect, but hey, bad habits have developed over years... they aren't going to change instantly.  Anyway, here is the picture of it (sans cups)

Hollandaise Sauce.... You Ain't So Tough....

I admit it.  I was intimidated. 

I found this recipe on Pinterest for California Style Eggs Benedict with a Sirracha Hollandaise Sauce.  Sounded simple.  I had never made Eggs Benedict.  I started reading about poaching & hollandaise & was suddenly a little frightened.  I will admit, the poaching didn't turn out so perfectly.  However, this post is about the awesomeness of hollandaise sauce... not the eggs. 

Here's what frightened me:  words like emulsify and double-boiler and do-not-overcook and be careful.  Oh boy!  All for a sauce that I wasn't even sure if my kids would eat. 

I think that these chefs want us to be scared because seriously, it was not hard.  Here are the ingredients and here is what I did... and, oh yeah, my kids LOVED it. 

16T butter (yes, 2 sticks o' butter... when you start something with that much butter, well, you can't really go wrong)
9 egg yolks ( next time I will plan ahead & use the whites to make a meringue or something... i hate wasting)
2/3 cup hot water
1T lemon juic
2t sirracha sauce
salt & pepper

My first concern was that I do not have a double boiler.  What I did instead was used my steamer pan with my small saucepan on top of the strainer/steamer piece.  So I brought the water to a simmer, not a boil.  Then I melted the butter.  As the butter was melting, I whisked the egg yolks in another bowl.  When the butter was nearly melted, I slowly poured the eggs in the butter, whisking the entire time.  Once it was nice & smooth, I slowly added the hot water.  Again, still whisking the entire time.  Cook until thickened to the consistency that you like.  Shouldn't take more than a couple minutes.  Pull from stove, then, as you whisk, add the lemon juice, sirracha, salt & pepper.  Voila!!!!!  It was amazing!!!!!! 

It complemented the tomatoes, avocado, &  english muffin beautifully.  Next time, I will have fresh cilantro with it. 

the only tip I have is if you have leftovers, be careful how you heat it back up.  I let it get too hot and the eggs clumped up, like scrambled.  So lesson learned for leftovers. 

Here is a link to the recipe that started my interest in hollandaise sauce.... I will be forever grateful because my kids and I now are deeply in love with hollandaise....

http://www.thecurvycarrot.com/2012/03/26/california-eggs-benedict/

mmmmm.... pork

Just had to post about a yummy pork I made in the crockpot over the weekend.  I bought a half pork loin at Aldi.  It was boneless.  Honestly, I don't have much experience buying pork, so I don't know, maybe it is always boneless????  Yep, I'm clueless.  I have mostly purchased those small pork tenderloins in the past.  Oh this was far, far superior!!! 

 

All I did was slow cook it in the crockpot on low for probably, oh, 8-10 hours.  I seasoned it with the following:  brown sugar, cumin, chili powder, paprika, salt, and pepper.  It was AMAZING!!!!!  Sorry I do not have measurements... Basically, I put a little brown sugar over the entire loin.  and probably, approx 1T of each of the other seasonings (except salt & pepper). 

 

I will do this again & next time I pay attention to measurements. 

 

I served it first with pork tacos which is one of my favorite things!  And the next night, I added some bbq sauce to make sandwiches.  Yummy!!!!

I know people everywhere I go, yet I feel like I belong nowhere

Do other people feel like this?  Seriously, everyone else seems to belong SOMEWHERE... church, school, homeschooling group, high school friends, college friends, work, extended family, neighborhood.

 

I'm lonely.  Period.  End of story.  Ok, not end of story I guess because, well, I don't like to be lonely.  I don't want to be lonely.  I have always been an extremely social being.  Too social probably.  I loved, loved, loved school my entire childhood.  Not only did I excel at school, but it was a time to see my friends!  Then came college where my social life kind of messed up what I was there for.  I loved to have fun & hang with my friends & there was always someone who wanted to do something fun with me.  Next, after graduation came work.  I always made friends where I worked.  Always hung out with friends outside of work.  It did start getting a little tougher though.  I moved to Chicago & had a wonderful job & wonderful friends at my job.  However, I did feel, even then, at times, out of place.  Mostly because I was a transplant & everyone I was friends with had family around there.  Next, marriage & children.  This is when it became really, really tough.  After a year of being home with my firstborn, I finally found a moms' group.  Made some nice friends.  However, still often felt out of place.  Due to things just not working out the way they should have, we have a small house & less money than everyone we seem to be friends with... It's hard.  I was an ambitious girl & young woman.  I had a great job.  I had potential.  yet, here we are living in a small house that is impossible to maintain.  I know that hinders my abilities to connect because I never feel like I can invite people over here. 

 

Then came homeschooling.... and that is when things became, well, almost impossible.   I'm involved.  We have activities.  But man... I am SOOOO lonely.   And I don't belong ANYWHERE.... I belonged to a co-op & then people put their kids in school or became involved in a different group & the co-op was no more.  I joined one homeschool group & everyone lived close to each other & we never were invited to things.  I joined another homeschool group & everyone else already was friends & didn't seem interested in forming any new friendships.   I joined another homeschool group and everyone was way, way, way too liberal and cliquish to boot.  I joined a co-op, met some nice folks, then they stopped doing the co-op, moved, and lived too far away to see anymore.  Same co-op 2 years later, I now feel out of place because probably more than half of the members belong to the same church & they all seem to be really good friends & I am the outsider.  I take my kids to soccer & meet some nice moms there who are very welcoming & kind.  However, they all are active in their schools and well, that just puts up a little boundary.  I go to a church where there is NOTHING social & it takes years to get to know people. 

 

I make friends, but the friendships never seem to grow into that special friendship that is like sisterhood.    I don't have friends that I can just drop in on a moment's notice just to have coffee.  or just to cry.  I remember one time when I was a child my mom & dad getting into an argument & my mom being upset.  She took me & we drove over to Dixie's house so my mom could have a good cry on her best friend's shoulder.  That's what I want. 

 

I've just een really down lately about this.  I could go on & on & whine & whine bcause well, that is wha tthis is... an "I feel sorry for me" kind of blogpost....  next post will be about some delicious food, I promise