Vietnamese Caramel Chicken

Last week I tried a new recipe and though it had lots of mincing and chopping, it was quick to put together.  Very tasty, too!  People here are big fans of Asian food so it was a hit - I served it with rice and some sauteed zucchini.  No oven required.  Win!

Vietnamese Caramel Chicken
8 bone in chicken thighs
salt and pepper
canola oil
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/2 cup fish sauce (room temp)
1 serrano pepper, seeded and minced
2 T minced lemongrass
1 T minced garlic
1 T minced ginger
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks green onion, minced

Heat a dutch oven on medium heat and add brown sugar.  When it melts, stir in the fish sauce til it's all melted and bubbly and dissolved.  Set it aside and wipe out the pan.  Heat about 2 T canola oil and cook the minced lemongrass, onion, and ginger over medium heat two minutes.  Add the garlic and cook one minute more.  Scrape into a bowl and set aside.  Season the chicken thighs lightly with salt and pepper and brown on both sides.  (I pulled the skin off and let the thighs get nice and brown).  Pour off any extra fat.  Pour the caramel sauce over the chicken and add the minced serrano.  Cover and let simmer 25 minutes while you make rice.  Stir in the reserved onion mixture about halfway through.  Then uncover, top with chopped green onion, and serve over rice.

The leftover chicken was even better the next day!

Gina

5 thing Friday - plants, cross stitch, fig jam, shopping, hardware

Faux plants are fine by me.  They never die.  Unlike the aloe I have replaced three times this summer.  Apparently I cannot grow aloe.  And my other succulents aren't doing so hot either.

 IKEA has cute little faux plant - planters, too.

 I bought a fun cross stitch designs book and have already started on one.  Super easy to follow instructions and hilarious designs.  I'm going to come up with one for my Floss Munching Cat, too.  And I would love to do a cross stitch pillow for Mabel, like "Camper, Sweet Camper".

You would be fairly envious of the fig jam making abilities of my friend, Deb.  I would be, too, but she was nice enough to share it with me, so I forgive her for being better at it. Her jam is incredible on toast with almond butter.  The perfect breakfast!

Shopping at Trader Joe's is my new favorite thing.  I end up buying better quality food, but less of it.  I still get some items from HEB, but you can't beat TJ for fresh veggies and wine.  And they're prepared frozen foods are inexpensive and really good.  Plus, you aren't punished for forgetting your bags. 

One of these days I'll blog about my pretty new blinds.  Until then, enjoy this photo of completely inadequate hardware.  Thank goodness for a handy Hubby who can problem solve and jerry-rig.

Gina

Sugar's string problem

It's been a rough few days at Camp Rustown, hence the lack of posts.  The mayhem started last Thursday morning with a loud crash that none of us could figure out the source of until Hubby went to get his shower.

Broken soap bowl in tub.  Minutes later, The Girl reported that the cat ran into her room, acting crazy, running into furniture.  And not long after that, Sugar vomited bile and about a foot long length of black embroidery floss in the front room.  I gave it a little tug, but not all of it would come out of her mouth.  Unfortunately, the piece of floss was much longer than 12 inches.  And she had swallowed the rest. 

The resulting odyssey, which included surgery and an overnight stay in a critical care facility for animals, cost us about $2200.  Money I really didn't need to spend right now with school cranking back up and car repairs on the Escape.  But it was either that, or euthanize my kitty, and I just couldn't do it.  So, on Friday evening we finally got to bring her home, made a cozy place for her to live in the bathroom, loaded her up with pain meds, and moved on to the weekend.

What else you gonna do?  

Embroidery floss must stay in a sealed container.  I really never thought she would have gotten into it, but I was expensively wrong.  I've been diligent about keeping curling ribbon out of her clutches, I just never thought my old lady cat would seek out the embroidery floss.  Moments before she got into it, she was curled up on my bed snoozing.

The vet noticed Sugar has lost a lot of weight, was dehydrated, and her white blood cell count is high.  Plus, she has a funky liver.  We will get lab results soon to find out whether all that is from an infection and we are giving her the right antibiotic.  Meanwhile, I am trying to get her to eat, so she's getting canned cat food, which she loves.  Her appetite seems to be good.

Eventually all of her fur will grow in from where she was shaved for the IV and the surgery.  And all will heal.  And I just have to hope that this was a one-time event, and we can get her back to healthy. 

(If you have a cat, hide all string!)

Gina

Southern Ham Salad

Browsing through an old issue of Southern Living I came across this recipe for an old-fashioned ham salad.  The kind you eat on white bread with pickles and potato chips.  I think I may have had this as a child, probably at a church luncheon or a family reunion.  But I have never made it until now.  And I don't know why not - it was perfect for supper on a hot day.

Ham Salad (adapted from Southern Living magazine)
2 lb cooked ham, cut into chunks
1/2 jar of bread and butter pickles
1 cup (or more) mayo
1 T celery seeds
1 t. horseradish sauce
1/2 fresh lemon, squeezed
1/2 freshly ground pepper
4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
sandwich rolls, chips, etc.

Process ham, half at a time, in a food processor until coarsely ground.  Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Combine the rest of the ingredients, except for the eggs, in the food processor and pulse a few times to make a chunky dressing.  Stir into the ham.  Fold in the chopped eggs.  Sprinkle a little parsley on, if desired.  Chill.  Serve as a sandwich filler, or with crackers.

Gina

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Tweak it Tuesday on

Cozy Little House

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Inspire Me Monday 

on Domestically Speaking

5 thing Friday - mulching, medicating, munching, music, wine

On my days off last week I worked on the landscaping: cleaning out leaves and debris, planting a couple of new things, trimming and raking.  I made a couple of trips to Home Depot for plants, mulch.  I thought I was being smart to spread it out over three days.

However,  I may overdid it with my poor knee.  After a week of Motrin and Tylenol, ice, and my knee brace I finally admitted defeat and went to my doc.  The hell of that is, I was just thinking to myself how great it was that it felt stronger and pain free.  She put me on an oral steroid and gave me pain meds for bedtime.

 I have only myself to blame.  But I'm on the road to feeling better, so there's that.

 The Girl went with me to Chuy's for margaritas and nachos. She drank water, as she was my designated driver.  But she still won't let me take her picture.  It was nice to sit under the trees outside.  Up 'til this week it hasn't been intolerable, heat-wise.

Hubby and I went to Sip and Stroll at Central Market.  On the way out we saw a Jazz trio playing on the deck, so we hung out for an hour or so.  It was a pleasant evening out there with cool breezes and good wine.

 This wine was our favorite, so we bought it and opened it with our complimentary corkscrew and used our complimentary wineglasses.  How convenient!  Summers are different now with our kids almost grown - fun, but different. 

Gina

Gettin' figgy with it

I spied, with my little eye, some ripe figs ready to pick.  It's been YEARS since I planted this tree in the backyard.  The drought happened and she never really cared to produce.  Mother Nature gave her a nudge this spring in the form of torrential rain.  Turns out, fig trees love that.

I pulled all of the figs that were ready to go.  I estimate maybe a pounds worth?  This was the most exciting part of my day last Friday.  I'm not even kidding!

Then I re-covered her in the mesh Hubby draped over her.  This has kept the birds and nosy squirrels at bay.  I don't remember my mother having the same issue.  Our fig tree in Galveston was always loaded with figs.  And her fig jam is still my all-time favorite.  She uses Sure-Gel, but I didn't have any of that, so my jam is completely scratch made.

 I used a very simple recipe: Stem and partially peel one pound of figs.  Cut them into 1/2 inch pieces. (I also thinly sliced a lemon)

 Cover them with 1/2 c. sugar and let stand in a non-reactive pot for about twenty minutes.

 Add the juice of one lemon and 1/4 c. water and stir well. 

 Bring to a boil, then simmer over moderate heat for about 20 minutes.

 I let mine simmer a little longer so the jam would turn out thicker.  Maybe thirty minutes.  But I could have let it go even longer.  Next time I will leave out the lemon juice - it was lemony enough without it.

Pour into a large jam jar, let cool, then store in refrigerator.  

Gina

Dental misery

Of my four kids, Bubbie has had the most done to his mouth.  Palate expander, braces times two, a gum graft, and now wisdom teeth removal.  In the summer.  Between scout camp and band camp, and smack in the middle of driver's ed.

Is there ever a good time to schedule in misery?  I don't think so.

I'm hoping his recovery goes as expected and his summer perks up.

Gina