My husband attended a conference last week. As you might have deduced from last week's lack of blog post, things kind of fall apart around here when that happens. As I lay in bed exhausted each night, I thought to myself, "What would happen if I were a single mom? Or if I worked full time, and not just this measly part-time job?" My exhausted self answered, "Well, for one thing, you wouldn't be doing the blog. And you'd either be eating crap every night or have to find the wherewithal to become much more organized." Honestly, I don't know if I could do it, though I know people do do it. Maybe I'd rise to the occasion if I were forced to.
I want to be honest about such things, because nothing is more discouraging than reading someone's blog and imagining that their life is so much happier, healthier, more productive, etc. than your own. The sad truth is that we live in a society that doesn't value happiness, healthiness, or productivity (real productivity) very much, and so if we want these things in our lives, it's a struggle. I will leave it for you to come to your own conclusions about why this is the case.
That said, I truly enjoy cooking, and it makes me happy to feed my family. So I will keep on struggling. Here's an easy recipe for a coconut-cashew sauce I concocted last week. (This sauce was wonderful, but the rest of the week was something of a bust, foodwise.) I served it on Asian rice noodles, and threw some cilantro, and assorted lightly steamed/raw vegetables on top. I also threw some tofu under the broiler for about 15 minutes, and had that with the sauce as well. The sauce is pure white, which along with the white rice noodles, creates a snowy background against which your brightly colored vegetables can shine. Appropriate for the month of March, I think. (At least if you live further north than I do.)
I didn't take any pictures. Sorry. Photography also fell by the wayside last week. Instead I included pictures of the Brussels sprouts and Brussels sprouts greens I rescued (with permission!) from an abandoned plot at my community garden last week. I felt sorry the plot's owner hadn't been able to keep it going. But I totally understood.
Snowy White Coconut Cashew Sauce
1½ cups raw cashews
1 can coconut milk
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
½-inch piece of ginger, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
Puree all ingredients except for salt and sesame oil in a blender until smooth. Pour into a bowl and stir in salt and sesame oil. Serve with cooked rice noodles, steamed/raw vegetables, and broiled tofu. Add a dash of soy sauce if you wish, and a squeeze of Sri Racha if you like it spicy.
*Did you catch the song reference in the post title? Check out the great Barrington Levy.
1 can coconut milk
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
½-inch piece of ginger, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
Puree all ingredients except for salt and sesame oil in a blender until smooth. Pour into a bowl and stir in salt and sesame oil. Serve with cooked rice noodles, steamed/raw vegetables, and broiled tofu. Add a dash of soy sauce if you wish, and a squeeze of Sri Racha if you like it spicy.
*Did you catch the song reference in the post title? Check out the great Barrington Levy.
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7 comments:
The sauce sounds lovely and in reference to other bloggers sharing the happy/healthy bits with their readers, I am sure the old adage is true 'the grass (or brussels sprouts) is always greener on the other side'
How true that is. Unfortunately that line of thinking is a particularly bad habit of mine.
But I was just thinking about the brussels sprouts some more, how they managed to thrive despite being surrounded by weeds, and ignored the entire winter. Maybe the lesson could be, let things go -- the world will keep on living. I know a lot of gardeners have trouble with brussels sprouts, so maybe sometimes less work accomplishes more.
I know what you mean about the "curatedness" of blogs. To some degree I think that's an inescapable aspect of the form, but I like best (and return to, and make things from) blogs that keep things a bit real. Speaking of which, that photograph of the green brussels sprout leaves and the pink doll is genius--both for its aesthetics and verisimilitude.
The cashew sauce sounds great too!
I love the simplicity of this cashew sauce - perfect for work days
And I think it is so easy to look at those around us and think I couldn't do that but it is amazing what we can adjust to - and I think that working full time doesn't mean you can't feed your family well but it is all about your priorities.
I agree it is always interesting to see how other bloggers manage (or struggle through) as it sometimes seems so effortless that I wonder why I am huffing and puffing all day
The sauce recipe sounds great (will go in my to-make-soon-pile), the brussel sprouts leaves are lovely, and any food blogger knows the process is far from effortless. My own blog is suffering from neglect - hoping to write more often, but it's hard to find time!
Heavenly! Have to try this!!
Great blog; happy I found you!
I work 50+ hr weeks at a pretty soul-sucking type of job, so I find I'm always struggling to fit things into my life that make me feel happy and healthy. I think that's actually why I started a blog - to keep track of the food I was cooking, the places I was seeing, etc. during the odd hours when I wasn't working! Anyway, I was looking for an easy recipe for dinner tonight and I think your simple white sauce might be kind of perfect. Thank you!
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