Jessica

15 Minute Lo Mein

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So I’ve been really into Asian food lately.

It seems like I go through ethnic spurts every few months. This time last year it was all things German (evidenced here, here, and here). Over the summer it was Mediterranean food (note here, here, here, and here), then Indian food (this is the only one that made it to the blog, I have a lot to learn with Indian spices).

So lately I have been learning how to make homemade wonton soup, ramen, and sticky chicken. Some things may be showing up here in the near future, be prepared.

Today I want to talk about easy lo mein. This is one of those recipes that have been my go to lately since Chuck has been away for work for whole weeks at a time. I like it because I can add, chicken, shrimp, beef or whatever else I feel like and have a totally different flavor profile. I usually make the lo mein and serve it to myself with a side of steamed veggies. This way I can get to meals out of this recipe, who doesn’t want an awesome hot lunch the next day?

So the cooking time on this is actually way less than 15 minutes, however I’m calling it 15 minutes because I’m counting the time it takes to cut the vegetables. If you wanted to make this entire thing in say, 5-10 minutes you could opt for frozen stir fry mix. I’ve totally done this, more than once.

15 minute Lo Mein (Serves 1)

1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1 clove of garlic, crushed

½ tsp ground ginger

Pinch of sugar

½ tbsp canola oil

½ cup shredded cabbage

½ cup bean sprouts

1 small carrot, julienned

½ a small red pepper, julienned

½ cup sliced mushrooms

½ cup snow peas

1 scallion. Julienned

3 oz lo mein noodles

1 cup broth

Toasted sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

In a small bowl whisk together soy sauce, sesame oil, crushed garlic, ginger, and sugar. Set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add in all vegetables, except the dark green parts of the scallion, and the snow peas. Turn the heat to high and cook for one minute while tossing the vegetables. Stir in the broth and noodles then cover and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the snow peas. Stir in sauce mixture and toss. Cook until the liquid has evaporated and all of the veggies and noodles are coated, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and top with dark green parts of scallion, sesame seeds and serve.

PS: Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and around here things are busy, what with the NaNoWriMo Challange and all, so I have opted to take the next few days off. I will be back on Dec. 1 with the usual Recently Post. Have a good weekend!

Phrase Canvas DIY

By Jessica

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I stated before that I want to put more effort into
decorating our little apartment and this is the first project that I am sharing
here on the blog for it.

It’s a pretty simple DIY. All you need is a canvas, some
letter stickers and the paint colors of your choice.

The phrase I had in mind is from a song that is very special
to both me and Chuck, and will be our first dance song when we get married in
10 months. Woah! 10 months seems like it’s so close I mean we got engaged over
a year ago already!

Anyway I really wanted to make something that was meaningful
to us and this just felt right. Here is the song FYI.

I started by painting the canvas my favorite green color and
letting it dry completely, overnight. Then I placed the letters and painted my
second color over it. I went back and added a bit more green to blend it a
little better, and give it a more abstract look.

Overall I’m pretty happy with how it came out. I love that
it gives me something new to look at every day also.

Some of you may have seen the same canvas before when I had
hand lettered a C.S. Lewis quote on it. Sometimes you just need a change.

Have you done anything to freshen up your home lately?

Music to Write by

By Jessica

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Just in case you need some really kick ass music to listen to while you work on your dystopian fiction, here is a playlist of what I am listening to while writing this book.

Jimmy Eat World – Pain

Rise against – Entertainment

Lindsey Stirling – Elements

Spineshank- New Disease

Lindsey Stirling – radioactive

Lodre – Yellow Flicker Beat

Rise Against – collapse, the dirt whispered

Lindsey Stirling – Crystalize

Anberlin- The Feel Good Drag

Dropkick Murphy – Shipping up to Boston

Fort Minor – remember the name

Rise against – Whereabouts unknown

Skillet – Monster

And and amazing video, because I seem to be obsessed.

In case you are wondering yes this is a total reflection of the type of book I am writing.

Maple Chipotle Turkey Chili

By Jessica

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Thanksgiving is on its way and of course I’m already thinking about what I can do with the leftovers. My priorities are on point.

Lately I have been in a love triangle with chipotle and maple.

What is it about maple in the fall? We typically make this stuff by the gallons in the spring, but I’m all jazzed up to use it in the fall. I don’t know what the deal is with that, but the combination of maple and chipotle is seriously holding the reins around here.

I’m putting it in everything, even my tea. Ok that was a lie, but you see where my obsession is going here. It’s an awesome combination that I think you should try soon and preferably with this recipe or this one. There may be more similar recipes coming soon, I know you’re as excited as I am.

This recipe is a pretty simple recipe you can make for a different twist on leftover turkey. Don’t get me wrong I love a good, hot turkey sandwich, pot pie or soup, but sometimes you just need a little something different.

…

Part Time Vegetarian – 6 months In

By Jessica

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I have been doing this part time vegetarian thing for 6
months now (you can find out why here). I can’t believe it’s already been so long. As I kind of predicted
the whole thing has gone pretty easily for me, and I think it’s a lifestyle
change that I am going to stick with for the long hall.

There are a few things of note however that I want to
mention about this change. It’s been hard to organize my thoughts on anything
but writing lately so I’m just going to use bullet points right now.

Weekends are the worst, especially while travelling, or
visiting friends. I mean bacon with breakfast is so hard, and not always
doable.

When traveling most rest stops are not equipped for anyone
with any kind of dietary restrictions. Everyone must be better at planning for
car trips than me.

Everyone is suddenly worried about my protein intake, even
after I tell them all I’m still getting more than I need.

Chuck never seems to be full if I cook a vegan meal. I think it’s
his mentality, or maybe because veggies are not as calorie dense I should cook
more than I would if we were eating meat? We are working on that.

Almond milk. I always knew it was good, but oh my, it’s so
good. All in my granola, and oatmeal. Phew! So good.

I’m forcing myself to eat an actual breakfast. It has
not been easy. This is something I have struggled with since I was a teen.
Breakfast first thing in the am is not my thing, but we are getting there.

Skipping milk in my tea (unless its almond milk, again
yum). I’ve also successfully cut out sugar, except for the occasional afternoon
treat.

I am going vegan more often, and craving more
vegetarian and vegan meals.

Eating more raw food. I mentioned before that I
started just grabbing random odds and ends from the fridge to comprise my
lunch, well now that’s a habbit, and I’m eating a lot more raw veggies because
of it, and our fridge is not piled high with all kinds of random food that goes
bad (bonus).

I feel lighter, and my digestion much more pleasurable.

My past cravings for mounds of cheesy pasta have
subsided. Now I crave soup and rice. Odd right?

With the holidays approaching I’m wondering if anyone else is changing their diet in preparation? Are you packing in a few more vegetables before you overload on sweets?

Jessica

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