Saturday, November 8, 2008

Stir-fries and yogurt

Tonight I made a yummy dinner that was easy as well: good ol' stir-fries. Now I know that everybody and her brother knows how to make stir-fries, but this was a particularly good batch.
1) I heated up about a tbsp of olive oil
2) Added cut up veggies: broccoli, zuccini and carrots at first, then cabbage, green, red and white onions, garlic, yellow pepper (a great way to use up those slightly wilted peppers), then at the end so they still stay crunchy, sugar snap peas (a little pricey, granted, but if you only buy a small amount for stir-fry, they're not too bad and they do add a delicious crunch).
3) Stirred until almost done; added about a cup of cooked brown rice and half a can of black beans, and voila! dinner is served. (For those of you who might not know this little tidbit, beans and rice make a complete protein when served together.) I seasoned it with Trader Joe's Island soyaki: delicious.
I topped off the dinner with chocolate yogurt: a few squares of chocolate melted and mixed w yogurt.
I was grateful to have an easy dinner to fix as I'd spent the entire day in the basement (minus an hour's freezing walk with Dad) pulling out the old insulation (and accompanying debris), putting in new and then cleaning up the colossal mess. It looks great now, and it's nice to know that as much as possible I've closed off any snake holes (not to mention breeze holes).

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Cranberries...

I know no one checks this blog anymore now that Jonny's taken over the Block Family blog with his political satire, but I wanted to mention something food related that I've discovered that I LOVE.

I have found cranberries! Obviously, it's the season for them, etc, but I've never used them besides cranberry sauce from a can or cranberry juice. Anyway, the other day, I bought a bag of regular cranberries, followed the directions on the back (which consists of boiling and adding sugar; really easy!), and voila! I had instant cranberry sauce to add to whatever I wanted! I used it on oatmeal, mixed it with applesauce for both Caleb and Matthew, and as a side at dinner (although John refused it--big surprise--because it was too bitter). Next time, I'd probably add more sugar when I boil it to make it just a little sweeter and more palatable. I'm loooking forward to buying more, boiling them, and using them in breads and muffins.

Today, both boys have been having diarrhea and vomiting, so I went and voted early, but then canceled everything else (Caleb's school, I was supposed to pick up 2 hrs at work, and have a friend over for lunch..). We're all home today instead, and the house is airing out from that lovely smell of vomit. :) They're both FINE now....

And, one more thing--it's GORGEOUS WEATHER! So while we're home today, maybe we'll go for a bike ride or something--we've got to take advantage of this weather while we can!

love you guys...
kak