1. Do not let your husband pick out your clothes for the day and then decide to take a trip to the farm. He will choose a short skirt and wedge heels. And you will feel stupid.
2. “Try Our Fresh Strawberry Donut Samples!” obviously means “Try Eight Strawberry Donut Samples and Then Sneak a Ninth When Mom Isn’t Looking.”
3. Bees are scary. And so are chickens. But not the chicken that people eat. Because in Lulu’s sweet mind, they are two very different things.
4. Swings are fun. But there’s a bee over there.
5. Not every cashier that stares at you is doing so because she reads your blog. She might just be giving you the stink eye because your kids ate nine donut samples. And you are the first person all week to voluntarily buy kohlrabi. And ask for celery out of the trash.
6. Celery makes a good snack. But if it’s out of the trash, save it for the goats. This means you, Gigi.
7. Goats are smart and will do whatever it takes to get food. Plus I heard this one ask the goat next to him, “Who’s the dumb broad wearing a short skirt and wedges in a barn?”
8. Always ask if cherries have been sprayed before eating them straight from the farm stand. And make sure you have the Spray N’ Wash handy.
9. Girls can do anything. Even drive tractors. In Princess shirts.
10. It’s easy not to eat animals when you are friends with them. Because we don’t eat our friends.
10. Life’s challenges are a lot better when you have someone with you to help break the fall.
Just don’t let him pick out your clothes.
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Past lessons:
Lessons from the Road: New York Edition
I have a soft spot in my heart for Chinese food.
When I was Lulu’s age, my grandmother was a waitress at a local Chinese restaurant. It was literally a hole in the wall–not in the nicest part of town, only about 15 small tables, and the owners, their close relatives and my grandmother were the only employees.
Thirty years later, it’s still in business. And it still has the best Chinese food in town.
Present company excluded, of course.
My mom would bring us in to visit my grandma, and the owners, Sean and Teresa, doted on my brother and me. They’d let us play with the cash register until the insistent buzzing of the error messages drove the customers crazy, and then they’d send us back to my mom with a free pack of gum each from the front counter display.
This was like winning the lottery for my brother and I, who usually had to split a piece of my mom’s highly coveted Wrigley’s gum. Whoever had the honor of tearing the piece of my mom’s gum, the other one got to choose their half, and no matter what I always seemed to wind up with the littlest chunk of rapidly flavorless Doublemint. Jerkface.
But behind the counter, I always got to choose. The whole pack. Just for me. Usually chewed immediately. All five pieces of Juicy Fruit at once.
When my mouth wasn’t full of gum, it was full of cup after cup of Chinese tea, at about a 50/50 ratio with generous pours from the tabletop sugar canister. Sweet tea syrup. My pancreas still aches thinking it.
Or almost as frequently, my mouth was full of the most delicious noodle salad that I may have ever eaten to this day.
Notice I said “to this day.”
To clarify, that means up to, but not including, “this day.”
You see, I also have a soft spot in my heart for peanut sauce.
And this sauce is so indescribably delicious, it’s worthy of the title “Mmmm.”
No offense to Sean and Teresa, but this version is much cheaper than take out and is meat-free. It’s an undeniable vegan value.
Noodle Salad with Peanut Mmmm Sauce
Serves 4
Peanut Mmmm Sauce:
- 1/2 c. light coconut milk
- 1/2 c. fire-roasted tomatoes in juice (i.e. Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Tomatoes)
- 1/4 c. natural peanut butter
- 3 T. reduced sodium soy sauce
- juice of 1 lime
- 2 t.. minced ginger
- 1 t. minced garlic
- 1 T. agave or maple syrup or 1 packet of stevia
- sriracha to taste (optional)
Noodle Salad:
- 8 oz. rice noodles
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 c. bok choy, chopped
- 2 c. edamame, frozen or fresh
- 1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
- 1/4 c. peanuts, chopped
-
For the sauce, combine coconut milk, tomatoes, peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, ginger, garlic, sweetener and sriracha, if using, in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.
This batch was for the kiddos, so I didn’t add any sriracha, but you can adjust the heat by adding more or less to taste.
Oh yes, you must taste it. Feel free to moan, but do not cut your tongue on the blender blades.
Consider yourself warned.
Meanwhile, prepare rice noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
Coat a large skillet with cooking spray or a spritz of oil and place over medium high heat. Add bell pepper, bok choy and edamame and stir fry until crisp tender, about 4-5 minutes.
Add drained noodles directly to the pan.
And then add the sauce.
Toss to coat.
Serve hot immediately or refrigerate until serving and enjoy cold.
Garnish with cilantro, if desired, and peanuts.
I love these noodles.
The crisp red pepper and bok choy, the nutty edamame and the crunchy peanuts give the dish a great texture, and the sauce…
The sauce I want to drink.
Not only is this dinner delicious, it’s cheap.
$2.14 per serving! We ate ours with some mango slices and had a well-rounded delicious meal for four for about $10.
You know what that means?
Mama can afford her own pack of gum. And I’m not sharing, Jerkface.
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The winner of the Gluten Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ball Giveaway is Jyll!
Congrats and happy birthday, Jyll!
A special thanks to the almost birthday girl, Ashley, for designing the new blog header! Maybe I won’t sneak a dough ball out of your package tonight…
And after $86 being placed in the Swear Jar, I’ve managed to revamp The Book page, complete with some pretty incredible endorsements that I’m still giddy about. Check it out!
