Ginger Chicken Salad (or Tacos)

When I was working in Hillsboro several years ago, the big to-do was an outdoor mall that was being built right near my house, with high(ish) end stores and eateries galore. One of the restaurants was P.F. Chang's, and people were excited. After trying to eat there a few times, I was not super impressed because the food was so salty. However, there was one appetizer that I always liked, minus about 5000 mg of sodium (actual sodium count is only 650/serving, but it tasted like much more the few times I tried eating there).

The last few times I've eaten at a chain restaurant (never our first choice, but sometimes those are the options) All I can think is 'Man, I've become a really good cook!' The dishes I used to be perfectly satisfied with when I ordered them are now just, meh, and the price tag makes them taste worse. 

So, when my friend posted a recipe on her facebook page that was similar to the Chang's Chicken Lettuce Cups and said that her kids liked them as 'Chinese Tacos' I knew I'd add it to my rotation for the week. I generally do some version of Taco Tuesday, but I'm not jazzed about eating plain jane beef simmered in taco seasoning every single week so I've tried to put a twist on it every week. Taco inspired meat loaf, taco soup and now Chinese Chicken Tacos.  I was planning to sub in ground turkey, but on my last shopping trip, I found that Safeway is now carrying an all natural ground chicken so I picked up two packages. The recipe calls for a pound, but the pacakages were 13.5 ounces each, so I used two and bulked up the ginger and garlic, but left the proportions of the sauce the same. I used about a teaspoon of salt with the chicken and onion while they browned, and a good inch and a half of fresh ginger. 

I served the meat in a tortilla for the kids, but mine was served over a bed of romaine and spinach, and the beauty of this dish is that it requires no extra dressing to make a super flavorful salad because of the sauce. The big boys ate two tacos each, and Jack gobbled up a bowl of the filling. Being freshly prepared, and with minimal salt, (I used low sodium soy sauce) the ginger really had a chance to shine and the chopped cashews added another dimension of texture and flavor. At under twenty minutes from heating the pan to 'dinner's ready!', this recipe is a keeper that will stay in my meal rotation.

Ginger Chicken Tacos/Salad

1 lb ground chicken (can substitute ground beef, turkey or pork)
1/2 minced onion
salt and pepper
2 minced garlic cloves (I used 4)
1″ knob ginger, peeled and minced (I used 1.5-2 inches)
2 1/2 tbsps. tamari (or soy sauce) (I used low sodium soy sauce)
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp almond butter
1/2 tbsp water
1/2 tbsp honey
2 tsps. sriracha sauce
dash of pepper
3 chopped green onions (I omitted because I didn't have them on-hand...well, I did but they were no longer edible ;))
small can of water chestnuts, drained and chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup chopped cashews
lettuce leaves
1. Heat a large pan on high and add ground chicken, onion, salt and pepper. Cook until the meat is nearly done. Add garlic and ginger, then continue cooking until meat is no longer pink.
2. In a bowl combine, tamari, vinegar, oil, almond butter, water, honey, sriracha and pepper. Microwave for 20 seconds, then stir until smooth. Add to the meat.
3. Add green onions, water chestnuts and cook for another minute or two.
4. Sprinkle with cashews and serve over lettuce leaves or on top of a salad. (Or in tortillas for kids who would likely cry if I made them eat salad for dinner.)

iText

Living in 2014, it's not news to anyone that texting while driving is no bueno. Would it surprise you to know that it is just a dangerous as driving while intoxicated? Likely not if you've read a newspaper or listened to a newscast, or even seen a Facebook forward about the latest tragedy caused by a driver who was distracted by their phone. (Coincidentally, I saw this article on Facebook today)

But, I know that there are many, many people still glued to the screen, when they should be glued to the road. I know this because I see them every day, but also because I've been guilty of it myself. With a full schedule and too many commitments, driving down the road something will pop into my head and 'if I don't do it right now. I'll forget about it!'  Rolling up to a stop sign and sitting there that second longer than necessary so I can tap out a quick note to myself, glancing over to see what x had to say in the text that just popped up because 'What if they need something from me right now?!', any task that just takes a few seconds so it wouldn't really be a distraction because I'd be able to look back at the road in a jiff...it's not as if I did it flying down the freeway, or while negotiating heavy traffic, or with a Keystone cracked open in my lap (although one could argue that drinking Keystone is a crime, driving or not), so that makes it all better, right? Right?

Believe me, I know how it sounds. 'Hi. My name is Sara, and I'm an iAholic.' 

One of the awesome parts of having a tendency to be anxious is that you get to spend chunks of your day letting worst case scenarios play out in your head...what if I got into an accident while I was texting? What if somebody died because I was so self-important that I thought anyone would need something from me so urgently that I couldn't wait to look at a text until I got home in about three miles? 

Then, my mind went a step further...forget all of the horrible guilt and damage, what would actually happen to me (legally) in a worst case scenario? What would my kids and husband do if I had to go to prison because I answered a text? Just so's you know, the sentencing guideline for vehicular homicide in the state of Washington (RCW 56.61.520) for a first-time offender driving recklessly is 51-68 months, and for driving with disregard is 21-27 months. The thought of missing that much of my kids' lives alone turns my stomach. It has to stop. Immediately. As in, cold turkey.

It's not something that people talk about a lots because we all know that it's completely irresponsible. Just writing this post was hard because I'm sure people will judge me for being careless, but being a (kind of) good Catholic girl, I find relief in confession. And gratitude that I'm writing this post as a 'what if' and not a cautionary tale. Anyone else care to 'fess up and commit to quit?

Julia Gulia

Alas, I'm only to the arm increases on the back of my Hitch sweater, because I'm really good at gauging how much time I'll have to knit half of a sweater in tiny yarn on small needles. Having it completed for my week one project was not realistic.

However, Pepperberry Knits posted a knitalong for their Julia boot cuff pattern, which I've had in my queue for some time, and I have more pepperberry cashmere than I care to admit. Actually, strike that, I love my PBK stash but hoarding it in my bonus room instead of knitting it up into projects is not doing it justice. I chose Tangerine Twist, because I love the meld of cream, tan and orange for a bright pop of color on a winter day. With a sweet double ruffle and tiny buttons for a bit of detail, these will look really cute peeking over the top of your favorite boots, but won't add bulk at your ankles like full-on boot socks would. Made from 100% cashmere they're luxury, warmth, style and function all rolled into one. Without further ado, meet Julia.

Attaching the ruffles one at a time with a three needle stitch.

I love the extra detail of the slipped stitch in the ribbing.

tiny buttons, also from my stash

Holidaze

With a husband whose job requires shift work, I'm often left to fly solo on the holidays. Thanksgiving I woke up early and literally didn't leave the kitchen until I put 'dinner' on the table at 11:30am, so we could eat together.  The meal lasted approximately ten minutes, during which I heard a lot of 'this is gross' and 'I don't like like my (fill in the blank) like this.'

I roasted my first turkey, including the overnight brine, made the smitten kitchen green bean casserole which had amazing thin-sliced (home-fried) crispy onions atop a bed of blanched green beans in a from-scratch mushroom sauce. It was delicious. Or disgusting. Which depended on whether or not you were in the over or under 8-years-old set. Jack ate everything, like the gracious baby he is, and the big kids were excused from the table. After clearing the table and glumly accepting my husband's praise and gratitude for the meal, I did what any strong-willed, self-respecting grown-up does. I went into my bedroom and cried. Seriously, I didn't even take any photos of my food that day-that's saying something! Next year I'll be sticking to my original idea to have Thanksgiving brunch. Although the layered Pumpkin Pie Toffee Cheesecake was ahhh-mazing. But you can totally eat cheesecake for brunch.

Christmas was spent at our house with my mother and father-in-law and I made my first prime rib, which turned out fabulously (we'll be doing that every year!) with all the trimmings of a steak dinner; horseradish and jus, twice baked sweet potatoes, green beans and salad. The kids all loved their deliveries from the jolly guy (including the KidKraft play kitchen that took a certain elf until 3:30 in the morning to build...) Sweet baby, Jesus, maybe next year she should start before 11:30 on Christmas Eve, but there were a lotta pieces! We had friends over for dessert a few hours after dinner, and it was the perfect meld of food and fellowship. Thanksgiving's sadness was erased.

Any day spent playing blocks with Grandma is a good day.

Tiny Pliny in the kitchen

Fast forward to New Year's, where J worked the afternoon shift which ends shortly before midnight, so I decided to host a small New York New Year's Eve with friends (read: we shuttle the littles to bed when the ball drops in Times Square...at 9pm.). Living on the left coast definitely has its perks. After a search of pinterest for ideas, I knew I wanted to keep it simple, so I put together little bags of dollar store finds for random times throughout the evening. The first was mini tubs of play-doh to occupy kids that were feeling left out, or tired of playing with legos, while the adults ate dinner. The second was about an hour later, a bundle of bead necklaces to wear while watching a movie. The third was blowers (not noise makers) to 'get your second wind' at about 8:15, then it was mini bottles of bubbles to 'break out the bubbles' at 8:45. For the New Year's toast, I did Shirley Temples with a cotton candy float. All of the supplies (including the cotton candy, but excluding the drink fixin's) were purchased at the dollar store for less than $10. I just put them in brown paper lunch bags I already had, and labeled them with labels printed in shades of the same tone and attached with washi tape. Simple, but fun. Just like our evening. I hope you had a great night and that 2014 is treating you well!

Nothing says party boy like skinny jeans and a sweatervest

Luckily J got home in time for an actual kiss at midnight. But this would have been a close second.

52 Weeks of Stash-Busting

Christmas is over and New Year's Day is looming on the horizon. I'm not really a big resolutions gal because I just break it in a month with the rest of the nation and then feel like a loser. So, this year, I'm setting some goals.

Like this gorgeous attic craft room...

With visions from pinterest dancing in my head, I've begun to formulate a plan to transform our bonus room from cavern of crap to sweet WOman cave/crafting haven with a guest space. Aside from a wall of books, the majority of which I'd love to transfer to nice bookcases downstairs, there are DVD's, CD and then a whooooole lotta random items purchased for crafts that never came to pass...but that doesn't mean I don't want them to.

I have found that my etsy shop is a great way for me to create something beautiful and then have a good venue to pass the finished product to somebody else. However, I have learned the hard way that I need to be realistic with the amount of time I have to devote to it, and also to guard my passion. It's wonderful to make a pair of socks that I hand-knit from beautiful yarn and relax, and watch the stitches glide off the end of the needles row by row. When I get to try a new technique or pattern at the same time, it's so satisfying! Making three pairs of basic stockinette socks right in a row to fill an order as quickly as possible? Not so much. It's what turns a hobby into a chore, and it was completely my fault for letting it get to that point. Plus, inevitably, the one color I don't have is what's requested, so in addition an opportunity to cull from my stash is lost.

It was in looking through a small bag of embellishments I'd purchased with the intent of making notecards to list in the shop, but never had time for, that the idea for the year of stash-busting came to me. Sure, I've seen lots of people commit to not buying yarn for a year, but my supply hoard goes a little deeper. From chalkboards to fabric for maxi-skirts and everything in between, I've probably got it. Not massive amounts for each thing, but enough to complete one. From works in progress, to those never begun, I've got plenty to keep me busy for the year, and my goal will be to bring any one of them to completion each week. I will create, photograph and blog about the project and then list on my etsy shop if it wasn't purchased specifically for someone...and cross my fingers that it sells so that I don't end up with the new problem of hoarding said completed items. 

Idea firmly planted, where to begin? I thought a good place would be with the sweater I started for the Summer Sweater Knit Along, which I paused in knitting so I could test-knit the Antrorse Sweater for Shannon Cook. That test-knit was exactly the kind of project that makes me giddy with creative happiness. The front of my sweater is complete and I cast on the hem stitches for the back yesterday, so that I can complete it by next Sunday, enabling me to actually wear the sweater while it's still cold enough to do so. 

Here's to a year of stash-busting, please look for a new post each Sunday night! I'll work on creating a badge, and will post when it's ready, who else has a stash that they'd like to bust along with me?