Well, we made it through snowmageddon and for the first time in 13 years my work was closed. Woo hooo! Well, not really. I thought I would enjoy snow days more, but instead of relaxing I spent it shoveling for 5 hours so I could get my car out just in case I had work the next day. My brother and I (with my husband supervising since he cant move his back still) shoveled the sideway, our cars, and our part of the alley out. Then we realized no one else was shoveling so we shoveled 4 more houses to the left. On the right was a 10 ft hill that a bulldozer created early in the morning cutting off one side of the alley. Once we shoveled 4 houses down, we realized that there were around 4 more houses to go. By this time two other guys from other houses had come out and suggested we take on the hill instead. So we did the hill and every part of me still aches... plus I was really angry with our neighbors who live under us. When we first came out, they came by (from a friends house) and laughed. When we asked for help, they said they had a snow blower and we asked that they bring it. They left and didn't came back until we finished everything. We even texted them while shoveling and no help. The next snow day I spent the whole day working on an IEP and I would like to complain about that too, but you never know who reads things on the Internet, so all I have to say is that I find some people's work ethic disgusting.
The day before the snow I went shopping and wanted something that tasted fresh. I had looked at a lettuce wrap recipe from This Week For Dinner and kept it in mind when shopping. My husband hates tofu (I have no idea why, it is so bland and sucks up any sauce that it is) so I had to make a vegetarian and a meat option.
2 Types of Lettuce Wraps
Adapted from This Week For Dinner
Ingredients
1 pound of pork chops (sliced up into small bits) or ground chicken, pork, turkey, etc
1 container of tofu, cubed
1 onion, chopped into small cubes
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbs of fresh ginger, minced
1 can of water chestnuts, chopped
1 container of fresh shiitake mushrooms, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped into small cubes
1 Tbs of soy sauce
1/4 cups of hoisin
1 Tbs of sherry
1 Tbs of Asian chili pepper sauce
1/2 cup toasted cashews, chopped
1 bunch of green onions
2 tsp of sesame oil
1 - 2 heads of butter or bibb lettuce
1 Tbs of hoisin sauce
3 Tbs of plum sauce
If Making Both Types
Add a Tbs of oil in a large skillet and saute garlic, onions and ginger over medium heat until soft. Add mushrooms and bell peppers and saute for a minute or two. Then add soy sauce, hoisin, sherry and chili pepper sauce and simmer for a few more minutes. Stir in chopped water chestnuts and then remove from heat. Put into two bowls. Cook the pork by sprinkling with salt and pepper sauteing for a few minutes until no longer pink. Mix in with ingredients in one bowl. Put a Tbs of oil in pan for tofu and wait till hot. Put in tofu and cook until it is as browned as you like. Put tofu in other bowl and mix with other ingredients. Add 1 tsp of sesame oil, half of the cashews, and half of the green onions in each bowl. Serve with lettuce leaves and dipping sauce.
If Making Just Pork
Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add pork (seasoned with salt and pepper to taste), onions and garlic and cook until pork is cooked through. Then add mushrooms and bell peppers and saute for a minute or two. Add soy sauce, hoisin, sherry and chili pepper sauce and simmer for a few more minutes. Stir in chopped water chestnuts and then remove from heat. Add 1 tsp of sesame oil, cashews, and green onions and mix in a bowl. Serve with lettuce leaves and dipping sauce.
If Making Just Tofu
Add a Tbs of oil in a large skillet and saute garlic, onions and ginger over medium heat until soft. Add mushrooms and bell peppers and saute for a minute or two. Then add soy sauce, hoisin, sherry and chili pepper sauce and tofu and simmer for a few more minutes. Stir in chopped water chestnuts and then remove from heat. Add 1 tsp of sesame oil and green onions and mix in a bowl. Serve with lettuce leaves and dipping sauce.
Dipping Sauce
Mix together hoisin and plum sauce and serve!
Asian Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
1 large seedless cucumber, peeled, sliced in half then cut in 1/2 inch slices
2 Tbs of chopped onion
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup rice vinegar (unseasoned)
Toasted sesame seeds
Put the cucumber in a bowl and mix with onion. Heat the vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan on low heat until sugar is dissovled. Pour on top of cucumber mixture. Cool in refrigerator for an hour or more. Tastes great the next day. Sprinkle on toasted sesame seeds.
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