- Start your rice.
- Place brown sugar, lime juice, red curry paste, and coconut milk in a large skillet (use a skillet that has a lid), stirring to combine. Add fish to pan; bring to a simmer over medium-hith heat. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 9 minutes or until desired degree of doneness, turning once after 5 minutes. (My fish kind of fell apart a little when I tried turning it over. Don't worry if yours does too--it will still taste great!) Place fish on a plate; sprinkle with salt.
- Bring remaining sauce to a boil in skillet; boil vigorously 6 minutes or until reduced to about half.
- While your sauce is reducing, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat; add 2 teaspoons dark sesame oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add snow peas; sauté 3 minutes. Stir in rice vinegar and sesame seeds.
- Serve fish over the rice with snow peas on the side. Drizzle sauce over the fish; garnish with cilantro.
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Recipe Review | Coconut-Curry Salmon + Snow Peas
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Thursday, September 18, 2014
Things I Love Thursday // 9.18.14
- My new bike ~ I enjoyed my first Electra cruiser for over 16 years. Now that the girls can ride faster and longer… I needed to update my wheels. I couldn't give up the cruiser style and after riding several, decided on the Electra Townie. I got a lighter frame + 7 gears without losing my super-comfortable saddle and super-handy baskets!
- The song Stolen Dance by Milky Chance ~ With those amazing eyebrows, I can almost forgive him for the awful mustache. ;)
- Kakor Havreflarn cookies from Ikea ~ I made the happy "mistake" of picking these up last time I was in Ikea. They are incredibly light and crispy. Unfortunately, I can't eat fewer than 6 at a time!
- Our big planters that flank the back porch ~ They have more than doubled in size since I planted them in early August. Sadly, we lost a few limbs the other day in a heavy rainstorm. More sadly, I'm told that these will die with the first frost… However, I've made up my mind to set aside the sadness so that I can absolutely enjoy them for as long as they last.
- The Summit Room ~ A new restaurant that opened down the way from our house. It's more of a bar scene than a restaurant--but the food is terrific, the signature drinks are delicious, and the atmosphere is very fun. ON TOP OF THAT, they serve Rombauer Chardonnay by the glass! They even have a chalkboard at the bar that keeps track of when customers buy future drinks for their friends. I'd highly recommend the Braised Brussels Sprouts, Deviled Eggs, Farro Risotto, and Tomato Stack--pretty much, all the things I've had an opportunity to taste.
- How much the girls are enjoying their music lessons ~ I know it's just the beginning and things will likely change… but for now, Geneva loves practicing on her flute and Piper strums her guitar every day. :)
- The Italian Salad from True Crafted Pizza ~ Wow! This salad has everything I love. Sprinkle the house made pesto on top and you'll really knock it out of the park. I would love to eat this everyday. Good thing, the restaurant is 20 minutes away from my house.
- The neighborhood "Naked Runner" ~ I'm even giggling a little while I type this. There is a phenomenal athlete who regularly runs on some of the busier streets around here. Sometimes she runs in a flesh-colored tank top. It's so great. It's great because I always do a double-take and I always smile. I've mentioned this particular runner (in this particular outfit) to a couple other neighbors. It turns out, I'm not the only one who has been delightfully entertained.
- Being the "Mystery Reader" in Piper's class this week ~ The Mystery Reader gets to surprise the children. They know someone is coming--but they don't know who. I always feel like a rockstar when I go to the girls' school because (so far) they are over-the-moon to see me and almost tackle me with their enthusiasm. It was a special treat to follow that up this week with a few of my favorite stories for Piper and all of her friends. I chose Bread and Jam for Francis, Alice the Fairy, and my all-time favorite, The Seven Silly Eaters. Good times.
This post may contain affiliate links and I may make a HUGE commission (j/k it's literally pennies) when you click on the links at no additional cost to you. You should know (and I'm legally required to tell you) that as an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Feel free to make me RICH. lol ;)
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Home Transformation | The Girls' Room Update
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Sunday, September 14, 2014
Recipe Review | Asian Cabbage Salad with Grilled Chicken
- Marinade your chicken in the dressing, in the refrigerator, for at least 15 minutes. Grill until done. (*I'm very vague here regarding the grilling instructions because Mr. Jones does 99.9% of the grilling around here.) Let rest while you prepare the salad.
- Combine cabbage, green onions, mint, and cilantro in a large bowl.
- Using a dry nonstick pan, toast almonds over medium heat, stirring often until they begin to turn golden and become fragrant. Pay attention and don't let your nuts burn! Set aside to cool.
- Wipe your nonstick pan with a dry paper towel and use it to next toast the sesame seeds. Because of the dark color, it will be harder to know when these are toasted. They should take about 1-2 minutes to become fragrant. Add these to your almonds.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the dressing. Drizzle about half over the salad. Add the almonds and sesame seeds. Toss well. Depending on how "wet" you like your salad, add more dressing, if desired.
- Dice or slice your chicken and serve atop your salad. If you have left-over dressing, you could drizzle some over the chicken at this point.
This post may contain affiliate links and I may make a HUGE commission (j/k it's literally pennies) when you click on the links at no additional cost to you. You should know (and I'm legally required to tell you) that as an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Feel free to make me RICH. lol ;)
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Things I Love Thursday // 9.4.14
- Finally getting around to writing this long-overdue post
- When my girls spontaneously demonstrate their affection for one another
- Making progress in the girls' bedroom (done and posted here) ~ The girls went to sleep-away camp for the first time this year and I busied myself in their absence by undertaking 3 big projects that had been looming over me for FAR too long: 1) Organizing/decorating their room, 2) Finishing the wall of family photos upstairs, and 3) Planting the huge pots that have been sitting empty on the back porch (pics coming).
- Finishing the gallery wall of black and white photos in our upper landing/hallway ~ This "chore" has been on my list since we moved in 18 months ago! I knew what I wanted but I had a hard time finding just the right frames and then narrowing the photos down to just 10. Once that was done, I stalled on the actual nail-pounding because I was so intimidated by the task of lining everything up just right. (Our walls are plaster and unforgiving!) I have a few more "touches" to finish the landing before I show you the whole space.
- The HGTV show, Fixer Upper ~ Husband and wife team, Chip and Joanna, are so fun to watch. I love their banter, humor, and obvious love for one another. On top of all of that, they are quite talented! I always look forward to seeing what they create--especially because I LOVE "Jojo's" style.
- The new Facebook trend of "Gratitude Status Updates" ~ These are fantastic. I really enjoy reading about all of things that people are grateful for. They are usually simple, heartfelt, and so honest. They're like daily mini-TILTs!
- Shopping with my husband (he is really quite good at it!) ~ While the girls were with friends last weekend, we hit the new outlet mall in town for some Labor Day savin' and had much success. This Ann Taylor dress was a particularly lovely find (It is SO cozy!) and I can't wait to pair it with boots this fall. I also found this to giddy-up in once the weather turns cooler.
- Rose on a hot day (or any other day for that matter)
- The tiny porch garden we planted a few weeks ago ~ The girls and I each have a 6" x 24" planter. We visited the hardware store and carefully chose our seeds. It took no time at all to get them into the soil. My planter has 2 kinds of basil and some micro greens; G choose three types of flowers; P picked one kind of flower and a packet of "lettuces." It was so fun to watch all the shoots come up. We have already enjoyed some of my micro greens (on crackers with soft cheese). The basil is coming along nicely. Unfortunately, the squirrels climbed up our table and feasted on P's lettuces before we had a chance to harvest any. In any event, the other stuff is still going strong and it was a quick and fun project to do with the kids.
- My Pilates class ~ Not only is it GREAT to be back on the reformer regularly, I couldn't love spending time with this group of women any more. We laugh, chat, sweat, and encourage one another through the entire hour. AND our fabulous instructor always ends our time with an indulgent little shoulder massage! Talk about the cherry on top!
- Having the first two weeks of a great new school year under our belts
- Sampling Brook's famous burgers "All the Way" for the first time ~ There really is no justice in trying to describe this unique outing. Let me just say that I am already planning my return.
- Grapefruit La Croix ~ Clean, refreshing, and guilt-free. I cannot get enough of this beverage!
- Piper getting into the Harry Potter series ~ She turned a corner and picked up The Sorcerer's Stone a few weeks ago (at Greg's suggestion) and she has plowed through that and half of The Chamber of Secrets so far. Yahoo! It's a houseful of avid readers (and so quiet around here sometimes).
This post may contain affiliate links and I may make a HUGE commission (j/k it's literally pennies) when you click on the links at no additional cost to you. You should know (and I'm legally required to tell you) that as an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Feel free to make me RICH. lol ;)
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Oregon Odyssey (2014) | Cave Junction
Cheers to nature!
This post may contain affiliate links and I may make a HUGE commission (j/k it's literally pennies) when you click on the links at no additional cost to you. You should know (and I'm legally required to tell you) that as an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Feel free to make me RICH. lol ;)