bake to save

I have never been much of a baker and I’ve never claimed to be. My son’s first birthday for instance: the cake looked like it had a stroke and then threw up frosting and sprinkles on itself. *good thing he tore into it and destroyed it before too many pictures were taken! My son recently decided he does not like bananas anymore. He used to love them.  So, a few days ago, I found an AMAZING recipe for banana muffins. In fact, I actually messed it up and they still turned out amazing! So… I am sharing this recipe with you.

Ingredients

•  
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 -3 very ripe bananas
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 eggs
  • 1/2 cup oil
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • butter, for pan
  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Butter pan.
3. Peel bananas and mash with fork in a small bowl.
4. In a different bowl mix the sugar, oil, and egg until creamy yellow.
5. Blend in the mashed bananas and add nuts if wanted.
6. Add flour, baking soda, and salt.
7. Destroy any lumps.
8. Put the batter into a loaf pan and bake for 1 hour or until tooth pick comes out clean.
9. Enjoy!

Here is the link :http://www.food.com/recipe/banana-bread-30075

Thank you Marzalicious!!!

romanceless and pantless…………

so i love my android phone. LOVE loll. i recently got the kindle app on it and all hell broke loose. i finally read Twilight and was immediately, to my independent-girl-power dismay, captivated. with that read in about 24 hrs, i plowed through the whole entire series in less than a week. it was soooo good. it appealed to every facet of myself that i apparently had tried to convince myself i didnt need, with being a super woman and all. it was my guilty pleasure. then, literally, just now, it struck me. WHERE”S THE ROMANCE (besides my kindle app on my phone). of course you’ve heard me rant and rave about how oversexed the media is and blah blah blah. i think we made a trade off- romance for sex. i think that the more advanced we become as a society through civil equalities, technological advances, science break throughs, the hunt for the concise and efficient has compressed life into a pretty salty bullion cube.

after today i realized how THIRSTY i am for romance. utterly parched lol. but my life is so UNromantic. working 40 hrs as a bookkeeper (the math alone all day leaves u feeling quite dry), coming home, cooking, cleaning, bathing da bubbies, bottles, bedtime. i mean an altogether snoozer if you ask me.

i can see, however, in the US our way of life. (maybe it’s bc im in nyc). the hustle the bustle, everything moving so fast. the competition the ambition, the drive, the need to win. earn more, save more, spend more. scratch, claw, bite your way through to the top. our passions seem so misplaced.

when i was in high school i dreamed of my life in quite a romantic way. finding love, raising a family, or being a dancer in a ballet company, or moving to nyc,  whatever it was (ugh i’m so old it’s hard to remember). but then once you go to college its’ like this swift monsoon that sweeps you off your feet and suddenly you’re worried about your career and the rest of your life and MONEY. no more romantic daydreaming. the rat race had commenced. from a small town romantic idealistic girl to a nyc career girl with a kid and no time to daydream!! Dammit! *shaking fist angrily.

i’m also noticing it’s not just about career and money. i read an article the other day about girls who are going through puberty earlier and earlier. getting their periods at 7!!!!! SEVEN!!! (i wiped my brown relieved my first was a boy). and watching all the tyra episodes with teens with multiple sex partners and sexting and all this other craziness. (of course there were a few girls in high school like that but it was never considered the NORM). the songs on the radio are no longer about “before i let you go away, can i get a kiss good night” (ahh blackstreet how i miss thee) now it’s lil wayne talking about how he’s “single for the night”. or usher’s “making love in this club” or trey songz “take you home” (along with the dozens of other songs on the top 20 about post-clubbing-one-night-stands). and all the sorrowful women singing about their men cheating. we’ve replaced romance with emotionless, meaningless sex. (not to mention money, careers, and everyday life).

as women (as i always say) we try to be super women. doing everything. working, taking care of our families. not that im knocking women’s liberation. or saying suffrage was a mistake. but perhaps we’ve moved too far from where we came from. the word WOMEN now has such a strong connotation as opposed to Shakespeare women who were whimsical and feminine. (of course silly and mindless a little). of course im not saying i wish i wore a burka either. i jus wish that as women we were regarded with  a little more reverence. a little more romance.

i’m not sure exactly what it is that i want from my everday life. and how to achieve a ‘little more romance’ will then be my next step. but this (sigh, like most things) is up to ourselves. adding more romance to our lives. perhaps seeing life differently. enjoying small pleasures again. you know, half full instead of half empty. life is sooo stressful and it blinds us. we live our everday lives again and again, each day passing into the next, same routine. perhaps i need to find something to break that routine and find a little romance in it.

i’ll keep you posted as to how that goes lol…….

i mean life doesnt have to be THAT far off from fiction does it? (well minus the whole vampire, werewolf thing).

//

age ain’t nuthin but a number….

so recently i have come into a bit of drama and would like to take this moment for a little rant. at what age can we start acting like adults, ladies? i have come to the conclusion that age has nothing to do with maturity. as women, as mothers, we have the obligation to present ourselves in a manner that reflects where we are in life. of course reflect who YOU are, but can we please stay classy??? obviously if you were classless to begin with, we can’t expect much from you post-baby. but i would really hope that somewhere from the time of pregnancy to raising your child, you may have learned a thing or two about adulthood.

of course, women will be women:caddy, gossipy, two-faced. but you do run into those women that really have nothing better to do with their time (including trying to raise their children) than to try to stir up drama. these are the women to steer clear of. of course we all have tendencies to enjoy a bit of gossip or drama ourselves, but to create it in order to ‘better’ ones image of ones own life…. really not cute.

So this woman that i thought was a close friend of mine and my family showed her true colors in the face of desperation. of course i do not believe that she would have done this unless she truly felt her life and her family was at risk, but i would have hoped she would have left me and my family alone, rather than trying to bring us down with her. i guess they do say that the ‘grass is always greener’ and ‘misery loves company’, but to ruin a friendship and potentially my own family (thank goodness im confident in my own life to smell a flat out lie , no matter how much she tried to convince me and everyone it was the truth).

looking back at the relationship, the behaviors, the person i can honestly say, the writing was on the wall. i suppose i am the eternal optimist, trying to see the good in everyone, believing that people are inherantly good rather than bad. trusting before taking it away. however in light of this recent situation i am re -thinking this. ‘friends’ come and go and i realize that maybe this needs some further reflection. i mean, is it me? does my optimist nurturing personality draw these type of people? do i choose to see the good (no matter how slight) and ignore the bad? i’m sure all of of these are true, but now that it’s not jus my own life, it’s my whole family that was effected by this woman, i really need to get it together and be careful about who i let into my and my family’s lives.

so i have compiled a list of characteristics to be wary of when letting people get close to you (or your family). or maybe it’s YOU that has these characteristics. ask yourself these questions:

~does this person often seem a pile of extreme emotions (anger, joy, sadness)?

~do you often find yourself being the counselor or advice giver or ear or shoulder to lean on?

~have you given more of your time, energy, money doing things for this person than you have received from them?

~does this person seem to tell you EVERYTHING about EVERYONE, and seem to know intimate details? (aka gossip)

~does this person spin the truth about small things to benefit themselves?

~does this person constantly talk about how awful their life is?

~would you take this person to a fancy restaurant or event?

~do you feel drained and tired during or after spending time with this person?

~does this person often ‘warn’ you about other people?

(the list of questions could go on and on, but these are just a few) if you find yourself being able to relate to these questions or imagine one particular person when you’re reading this…..RUN!!!! lollll. i’m not saying that someone who holds these characteristics is a bad person or has ill intent, but eventually it will bite you in the ass in some way or another. i’ve learned this lesson SO MANY times in my life (you’d think id get it together by now).

it doesn’t matter how old you are, if you act like a child. age ain’t nothin but a number…..

ok so on a lighter note:

so my son is 15 mths old and is starting to have this thing about food. he’s not big on textures, so he now spits out chicken, pork, beef, any veggie that is not over cooked lol. so i decided to share his favorite meal with all of you. it’s a ground beef recipe (which is the only meat he will actually eat).

Thai Ground Beef:

-1 thinly sliced onion

-1 cup of frozen peas

-1 teaspoon minced garlic

-1 lb of ground beef

-1 teaspoon of red curry paste

-1 small can of tomato sauce

-1/2 cup of coconut milk

-1 tablespoon of brown sugar

-grated rind and juice of 1 lime

-1 tbs of fish or oyster sauce

1) in a large skillet drop a small teaspoon of oil

2) saute onion, garlic until onion translucent

3) add ground beef, cook until brown

4)add peas cook until well done

5)stir in curry paste and tomato sauce cook until starts to simmer

6)add coconut milk, brown sugar, lime, and fish sauce

7) cook until slightly thickened

8) serve over rice

Thai green beans:

-green beans trimmed

-1 tbs of soy sauce

-1 tbs of oyster sauce

-1 tbs of creamy peanut butter

-1 tsp of grated ginger root

-1 tsp of lime juice (i use the leftover from the ground beef)

1)in a seperate bowl combine the soy sauce, oyster sauce and peanut butter

2) in a pan steam the green beans until tender

3) add ginger

4) add peanut sauce

5) mix well over low heat until the sauce coats beans

6) serve

**This is my son’s absolute favorite meal. he will eat about 2-3 bowls of this in one sitting!!**

~random i know but *shrug*~ lollll

i feel like chicken tonight

there are a few things i really suck at baking is one and roasting a chicken is the other. however, i have recently found an awesome roast chicken recipe that takes about an hr. i couldnt believe it. a whole chicken, in the oven, 1 hr (depending on your oven) that’s it.  you need whole chicken ( you can season it over night if you so wish) and a covered pan such as this:

preheat the oven to 500 (yes i said 500). cut the chicken in half like so:

season the chicken, i usually add a little water or some other liquid to the bottom to baste.

cover and bake for about a half hr. after a half hr lower the heat to 400 and you can start basting every few minutes or so. until the juices run clear. that’s it!!  yummy roasted chicken only after about an hr.

here is also a really simple oven fried chicken recipe that i use:

~about 1 lb or so of chicken pieces

~2 cups of bread crumbs (use according to how much chicken you have if less, use less, if more use more)

~1 tbs of garlic powder

~1 tbs of adobo

~1/2 packet of sazon

-preheat oven to 400

-marinate chicken pieces in whatever seasonings you like. (i usually do some green seasoning, sometimes i do garlic powder, adobo, and hot sauce)

-slather the chicken pieces with  cooking oil ( you can also use egg, something that will make the crumbs stick)

-in a seperate bowl combine dry ingredients dunk chicken in bread crumbs and generously cover until you don’t see skin

-place in pan about an inch apart

-bake for 40 min (or until juices run clear)

*so tonight’s meal, roasted chicken and macaroni pie. yayy!

homesick………

being homesick means a lot of things to different people depending on who you ask. for some, it’s the comfort of your old bed, in your old house. for others it’s the smell of home. for me…… it’s food. food has always been this central theme of my life. perhaps it’s because the olfactory bulb is part of the limbic system, the part of the brain associated with memory, or perhaps it’s because i’m a fatty….either way some of my best memories come from food, in one way or another. So…I’m sharing with you my “i wish i was here” places lol.

    

Ok well this is pretty obvious lol . Anchor Bar is the most heavenly spot in buffalo. it is the original wing spot that originated buffalo wings. this place has such amazing food. and when i lived i buffalo, it had live jazz on friday and sat nights. so….you sit there with a huge vat of hot wings, a pitcher of honey brown beer and an order of pizza logs, while listening to some pretty banging jazz= HEAVEN. this place was such a haven for me and my best friend, and really anyone else that was bored and hungry lol.

*sigh…………there’s no pizza like western NY pizza i tell ya. (of course everyone says that about their region) but, Pontillo’s carries with it some amazing memories from my childhood. pizza and wings on the weekend at my house, or pizza parties in elementary school, or really anytime at all. on mother’s day they had a pretty great buffet that my nana absolutely loved haha. and let’s not forget pizza frita. *fried pizza dough with powdered sugar, i have a recipe that’s a pretty close copycat*

catfish and grits……need i say more?? this was mine and my best friend’s breakfast spot. catfish, cheese grits, scrambled eggs, homefries, and PLENTY of hot sauce. after a night out, when you finally mosey out of bed at noon, this was the must. the best part about buffalo was that it was so relaxed, you literally could wear pajamas and nobody would care haha.

niagara cafe-the west side of buffalo. THE most amazing rotisserie chicken i’ve ever had. hands down. this little hole in the wall also holds some pretty fabulous memories. coming here on an afternoon with friends pigging out. lol. lots of great conversation. they people that worked there always speaking spanish to me ….yea i definitely don’t speak spanish.

Panos was the spot for late night studying or taking a break from late night studying during finals. it was amazing gourmet food at a student budget in the artsy area of buffalo. they were also opened until 3am lol. amazing lemon chicken rice soup and gyro breakfast yummmm.

Shanghai Reds in buffalo- this is an awesome place when you feel a little fancy. drinks and seafood during the day with an amazing view of the harbor, or drinks, seafood, and a pit fire at night. lots of girl talk and jokes were had here.

this was an awesome spot for late night drinks. pseudo fancy atmosphere pseudo gourmet food. this was a spot that i made my own and turned lots of friends onto.

This is my #1 offender=KOREAN EXPRESS in the UB commons. Dak bulgogi and curry fried rice, bimbimbap, kimbap, japchae, tonkatsu *Sigh…..when i was pregnant i was almost in tears i craved this so much. for this, i def would’ve fedexed it.

#2 offender (i couldnt find any pics)-LUCKY HOUSE in my hometown of LeRoy. absolutely the most amazing chinese food i’ve ever had even in nyc. i can’t say enough great things about them.

Another place from my childhood. this is in rochester and has the sweetest and spiciest chicken and best mac salad EVER. i actually have a copy cat recipe that i use for chicken wings. *dinner idea!!!

another rochester MUST- nick tahoes garbage plate. it looks gross and u’ll feel like crap after eating it…but a definate staple in the rochester world!!!

Neon Thai the best thai food i’ve EVER HAD ever. even in nyc. i started coming here when they had first opened. from then ANYONE and everyone that i could bring here, i brought. the owner saw me there allll the time. for my gf’s bday as a thanks, he gave us a few bottles of some thai liquor. love that place and the family that owns it is simply adorable.

And finally- my biggest late night memory that i miss. going out on chippewa street in buffalo in my college days. $20 will buy you a full night of drinks, dancing, bar hopping and just all around good times. La luna’s, 3rd room, level=my old stomping ground. GREAT memories!!!

Well thank you for letting me share my homesick cravings with you. what homesick cravings do you have?

if ur happy and u kno it clap ur hands…..

hap·py

ADJECTIVE:
hap·pi·er, hap·pi·est

1. Characterized by good luck; fortunate.
2. Enjoying, showing, or marked by pleasure, satisfaction, or joy.
3. Being especially well-adapted; felicitous: a happy turn of phrase.
4. Cheerful; willing: happy to help.
5. 1. Characterized by a spontaneous or obsessive inclination to use something. Often used in combination: trigger-happy.
   2. Enthusiastic about or involved with to a disproportionate degree. Often used in combination: money-happy; clothes-happy.

Ok so what is happiness exactly? Happiness is such a subjective, term, yet so powerful. We are all in the lifelong pursuit to be happy. But what IS IT? I mean we all know when we’re happy. And we all know when we’re UNhappy. *if you say happy enough times, it starts to sound weird HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY haha*. I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately.

My goal, like so many others, is to be happy. So next question: What will make me happy?

Ok well…. making more money (check), providing for my son (check). After that….it starts to get a little fuzzy. I mean obviously in the grand scheme of things winning the lottery, starting my own business, buying a big house, having a nice car, giving my son everything he needs equates sublime happiness for me. Does that mean happiness=money? (I am starting to be convinced it may be for me) Not having money has been one of the most stressful things in my life. And I mean STRESSSS – rip my hair out, jump out a window, bang my head against the wall stress.

That stress led me to push myself ridiculously hard to make more money. Then I did. So now the next step is to be buying everything my family needs, (working on it).

So then what happens then? Next step: Buy a house. Ok well…i recently took a big girl pill and looked at my credit report. Not as bad as I had anticipated. So now it’s time to build my credit. Got a spankin new credit card and am paying off old bills. Ok so….we’re on our way to buying a house (possibly a new car in the future as well).

Then yesterday I realized: I’m not happy. So… time for a personality make over. Reaching out to old friends, trying to mend bridges. Trying to be a better friend. Trying to be a better person.

So my question is…..when am I going to be happy?? Getting all of these things on my list does not guarantee happiness. I keep setting goals and achieving them and still…nothing. I do things that I enjoy, spending time with my family, taking care of them, cooking. Ok I do enjoy that. But then my sister showed me something. Maybe in my fight to push to be happy…i realy AM happy…but i’m to focused on BEING happy pushing for it, i don’t see it.

Was I happy all along and just didn’t see it? Wouldn’t I know it if I was happy? Was I wrong all along about what would make me happy? What WILL make me happy? What is happiness????? *notice how we’re back to the original question?….yea. *sigh.

At this point. I think my sister is right. When you are in a crisis mode, you automatically go into survival mode. You scratch and claw and fight until your knuckles are bloody to survive. You push and push and push harder, harder, harder to get to a better place. So …now that I’m IN that better place….I need to stop pushing. Take a look around me and BREATHE. Give myself a chance to BE happy. To enjoy the things I enjoy. I’m working to be happy. We all are. But that doesnt mean we can’t stop and smell the roses on the way there, and who knows….maybe that IS happiness.

I’m hungry….and broke…..and tired….

So in the life of a busy mother in this great economy I’ve found it EXTREMELY important to find meals that are tasty, pseudo healthy, quick and CHEAP! *cheap being the key word* I’ve made a few substitutions. My partner does not like white chicken, and I don’t like drum sticks so I mostly make thighs, which are cheaper than breasts anyways. We like Pork Shoulder, which is cheaper than a roast. We also like a nice roasted whole chicken a few times a mth, which is cheaper than Boston Market! 🙂

Ok ok so Recipe #1:

LO MEIN

1 package of lo mein noodles or linguine or spaghetti (lo mein noodles take a lot more oil)

1/2 onion sliced thin

1 tbs of minced garlic

2 tbs of oil

3 tbs of soy sauce

2 tbs of sugar (or however sweet you like)

1 maggi chicken bullion ( i use maggi bc its’ easier to disintegrate)

2 cups of frozen veggies ( i usually do the mix)

1/2 head of cabbage

1-2 carrots shredded

1 red bell pepper cut in thin strips

1 celery stalk cut in thin strips

2 tbs of chopped cilantro

any other veggies you want!!

1) cook the pasta or lo mein noodles according to directions

2) in a wok or big pot, put oil to heat over medium or low, onion, garlic and bullion, stir until onions are almost transparent

3)add the rest of the veggies cover and cook until done

4) in a separate bowl or cup add the soy sauce and sugar mix until dissolved

5) add the soy sauce mixture to the veggies stir

6) add the noodles to the veggie stir and mix ( add more soy sauce, oil, or sugar to taste)

7) add cilantro and mix together

8) serve

Crock pot pork shoulder (I LOVE anything in the crock pot I can just put together in the morning and have it being done when I get home)

-1 Pork Shoulder

-1 can of coconut milk

-2 cups of pepsi or coke

-2 tbs of brown sugar

-1 cup of water

-2 tbs of adobo seasoning

-1 tbs of garlic salt

-1 tbs of black pepper

1) Put everything in the crock put, close put on high for at least 6 hrs.

2) serve (I usually serve this with rice, with adobo and golden raisins)

Kung Pao Chicken (minus the Pao) ~my son is too little for peanuts

-3 tbs of oil

-chicken breast cut into 1 inch pieces (i usually use 4 breasts, halved and then cut, makes twice as much meat)

-flour (enough to coat each piece of chicken)

-2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

-2 tablespoons soy sauce

-2 teaspoons light sesame oil

-2 teaspoons sugar

-minced garlic (however much you like)

-Any green veggie (my son likes peas)

1) heat the oil in a wok

2) coat the chicken in the flour

3) add floured chicken to the wok a few at a time, or else they stick together

4)in a separate bowl mix the sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil until the sugar is dissolved

5) after the chicken is golden brown on all sides, remove and place on paper towel to drain

6) drain the oil from wok

7) heat the vinegar mix on wok

8) add your green veggie until sauce gets thicker

9) add chicken mix together

10) serve

SUPER SUPER easy baby back ribs

Literally all you do is season them overnight if you want with whatever spices, put them in a covered dish or foil wrapped tightly together covered in BBQ sauce and bake at 300 for 3 hrs. You can finish them off on the grill, but I don’t have one so it was just in the oven. They were perfect. The meat fell right off the bone as soon as I sliced them.

~ well that’s all for now….stay tuned for more recipes!

….. in a world of ordinary mortals, you are a Wonder Woman

So I’ve been struggling with somethings for a little while now. And I wonder if any other women are going through the same things? My Identity, or rather, my secret identity. (which seems to be more and more secret everyday) So, we all know the basics: I’m under 30, I’m a mom, I’m a fake Korean, I’m a ‘wife’, the list could go on and on about the things I am. The problem seems to be however, WHO I am right now.

 The list can also go on and on about who I used to be: I used to be fun, I used to be the life of the party, I used to be popular, I used to be lively. Pre-kids, pre-adulthood, pre-Queens me was pretty cool. I used to be the music guru. My collection was massive and I could name an awesome song that was going to blow up about a year before it actually did. I had dreams of being this fast moving executive of some type in the industry somehow. I used to dance, and be good! I used to seriously be care-free.

Life hits hard and when it does, it beats the sh*t out of you, maybe even the life out of you. All of a sudden in the last few years my life came crashing down around me. People that I thought were so important suddenly fell off. I fell off the face of the earth and went into hiding. And then something happened, out emerged a new me, the ‘Wonder woman’ me.

I took all of the things that life threw at me and I rose above it and managed to thrive. I took $5 and made a gourmet 6 course meal with it. I became this multi-tasking- head of the household-mommy-wife wonder woman. Starting at 6am until everyone is relaxed and in bed, I don’t stop. Keep going, going, going. Push harder. Make more money, make more food, just make MORE. Be better. Be healthier. Be skinnier. Be sexier. Cook better. Be a better example. Be more loving. Be more considerate. Be more self-sacrificing. MORE MORE MORE!! IT’S STILL NOT DONE YET?? MOREEEE!!!

And at the end of the day, when Wonder Woman can finally retire for the evening, my lowly secret identity looks up to me, smiles and lays her head back down. She seems to be fading smaller and smaller because Wonder Woman has taken over. And Wonder Woman is a mouse on a wheel. I keep pushing harder and faster, and seem to be going nowhere.

Of course, we can all see the fruits of my labor when you see my son. But I can’t help but feel a little empty. Maybe this is because I am a fairly new mother. I’m just getting over the shell shock of having an infant. But I frantically work and work and work, when I come home from work, I work and work and work. Then I start the whole process all over again.  The storm has waned a little, the dust has settled and I can finally see what I’m left with. Where is ME? Hopefully I can combine the wonder woman and my secret identity one day. Maybe I just need to adjust to my new roles. I”m not sure. And I apologize if this is too blunt for anyone. But as a woman and a mother, I’m pretty sure a lot of others would feel the same.

Well…that’s it for now…stay tuned for some recipes from the other night: SUPER SUPER easy baby back ribs and cabbage noodles, and a super easy beer batter. 🙂

Something in the air….

Ok so it’s been a few days. And I havent been super into cooking lately. It’s too hot to have the oven and stove on all crazy…and to be honest I’m just exhausted. My son’s new thing is waking up at 4am…..AWESOME. So basically by the time going home rolls around…I’m BEAT!

So yesterday was the first day of summer. I dunno what it is about summertime and relationships. It’s like people’s subconscious says,’It’s summer…..time to be single’. I’ve noticed a lot of relationships either ending or not doing to well in the last few days. I’m not sure what it is but it def is puzzling. I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that my family will make it haha!!

Ok so back to my ‘culinary journey’. Last night I managed to muster up some gusto and actually cook. Good ole’ faithful Pelau. The boys love it and it’s jus something that’s easy and quick. Surprisingly. Sooo…this is my recipe for Pelau.

-1 lb of chicken

-2 tbs of green seasoning

-1tbs of Worcestershire sauce

-1tbs of soy sauce

-2tbs of ketchup

-1tbs of garlic salt

-1tbs of oil

-2tbs of sugar

-2 cups of rice (or however much you want) washed

-1/2 can of pigeon peas

-3/4 can of coconut milk

-1 chicken buillion (i like to use the maggi)

1) First step is to marinate the chicken (at least a 1/2 hr) Put the chicken with the green seasoning, garlic salt, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce. Stir together

2) ‘Burn the sugar’- put the oil in a pot (preferably with a cover so it doesnt get too splashy with the hot oil)

3)add the sugar and leave it until it turns dark brown and beings to bubble-The color at that point should almost look like a deep deep red

4) add the chicken to cover the bottom of the pot. cover immediately the hot oil will splash. Leave for about 15 min or until the chicken is cooked on the bottom, then flip it to cook the other side

5)remove the chicken

6) add rice (free of water)  and pigeon peas and fry them in the liquid until it sticks together

7)add coconut milk, buillion and enough water to cover rice about 1-2 in

8)put the chicken back in the pot and cover

9) stir through out to evenly distribute the buillion cube and make sure no rice sticks to the pot

10) I usually turn off the heat and let my rice steam once there is only a small amount of liquid left in the pot.

11) once the rice is done to desired consistency, serve with cole slaw or whatever other side dish you like

This is the cole slaw recipe that my family likes to go with the pelau

-1/2 head of cabbage shredded or chopped

-1 shredded carrot

(you can also use the cole slaw from a bag. I like to use that because I use the leftovers to put in my lo-mein)

-1/2 cup of golden raisins

-1-2 tbs of mayo

-1-2 tbs of mustard (honey mustard also saves a fraction of a second too)

-1 tsp of vinegar

1-tsp of sugar

1) mix everything together! And serve.

Well hope this recipe works out for anyone that tries it. My family loves it. Hope yours does too!

I just don’t get it……….

Ok ok ok…so I didn’t make it to the grocery store and I didn’t make the cabbage rolls. lol Sometimes ya just don’t feel like it. Last night was one of those nights. I would rather have cooked something simple and chilled. The baby is teething like CRAZY~ crazy being the key word…driving me and his father CRAZY. lol. He woke up about 1am ready to play. It was ADORABLE….but waking up late for work this morning….NOT so cute lolll.

This morning I’m going to take this opportunity to vent a little…about MEN. or rather DOGS. What is going on with dudes these days. It seems as though all over the place its acceptable for men to behave like dogs. All the songs on the radio are about cheating and one night stands. The media is absolutely over sexed. And the good women…what are WE supposed to do? The women that take care of our men and our families and households. That stick by our men through thick and thin. Go above and beyond. We don’t stand a chance against the excitement of cheating.

I have two friends going through similar situations and it just dumbfounds me. You give and give and give and then he’s giving to someone else…. It’s the ultimate betrayal. And it just seems so acceptable these days. And it feels like women are supposed to just shut up or ship out. Either you accept it or you leave. What about accountability? What about MORALS? What about LOVE?? So we are the ones that have to suffer and then what…they move on and find someone else to take care of them? Or we stay without our dignity or pride because WE love them? I just don’t get it at ALLL. And I guess the sick part is that women have been putting up with it for a very long time. But lately it just seems so socially accepted. We are getting desensitized. Nobody is shocked anymore.

Of course, women do it too, I understand that. But right now that’s not what I’m talking about. It just seems like a sick trend. Or maybe this is what we go through when we hit a certain age. I just don’t know. All that I know is that it seems to be EVERYWHERE. Music, Media, TV, Movies, etc. And it’s probably happening right under your own nose in your own house hold and you have no idea. I’m just mystified.

How do you have someone who loves you SO much and then totally disrespect them? How do you have such disregard for your own family? How are you willing to throw EVERYTHING away and hurt your children like that? Because either way, if the woman stays or if she leaves, the children are the ones that suffer. If a woman stays that resentment is nothing to mess around with. And you don’t think that effects your kids? And if she leaves, the children’s lives are never the same after that. That is something that seems worth it?

As a women in today’s society I feel sooooooo much pressure. We have to work 40 hrs, come home, cook , clean, take care of our families, and then try to be a sex kitten………and what if we fall short………that’s an excuse to cheat? Because  we are not taking care of OUR MEN? Who takes care of us? What about what WE need? My Sister said it “es it is yet it is what is happening, if they are bored then we are responsible, men are raised to never be held accountable from what I can see, it is so different than how we raise our daughters,the girls are supposed to be self sufficient and the men are to be taken care of”…..so true. But not only are we supposed to be self sufficient but also self LESS and take care of everyone around us.

We’re not supposed to sleep we’re supposed to be porn stars. And it’s not making love anymore, we’re expected to be creative and exciting. Sex is not enough anymore. And then wake up and do the whole thing all over again. And God forbid we’re tired. So when we fall short of being super woman…..then that gives a man every right to betray us and destroy our lives. That is what seems to be happening these days and I just think it’s absolutely disgusting. NO woman is super woman. We all fall short eventually. But it would be nice to feel secure not scared that the next day some woman is going to message you saying she was with your man, or you’ll see his texts and dirty pictures sent to some unknown number. Everyday is literally a fight for your life and it’s unfair.

OK OK enough venting. I’m really just dumbfounded though. I”m not trying to preach or judge. I’m just saying…I do NOT get it. *sigh. My heart goes out to any woman that has ever thought the same things. SMH.