Things I Never Thought I Would Say: Chinese Edition

At Hot Yoga

Kendra: I have never been this hot in my entire life.

Me: I have.

Kendra: What! Where?

Me: Hong Kong.

About my favorite food

Me: Who would have though my favorite food would be a tofu dish? I love tofu.

(Disclaimer: My favorite food is Ma Po Dau Fu, which has pork and tofu in it.)

Discussing dinner parties

Me: Who can we have over for hot pot?

Andrew: The Georges? McIntoshes? Martins?

Both together: Who is brave enough to eat our Chinese food?

Both together: The missionaries!

Concerning pregnancy cravings

Me: If I could only eat one food, it would be curry.

Post-Mother's Day meal

Me: Curry, I love you; curry I do. 

    Father in Heaven as sent you to meee! 

    When I am near you, I love to hear you 

    Singing so softly that you love me, too.

    Curry, I love you. I love you, I do.

On reasons why I love Andrew

Me: You introduced me to curry. And to Ma Po Dau Fu.

Texting Andrew

Me: The red bean paste is done! (homemade)

Andrew: How is it?

Me: Yummy. I would even put it in ice cream.

Emergency preparedness discussions

Andrew: We go through at least 75 pounds of rice per year.

Sarah: I think we should switch the recommendations of wheat and rice.

At our Chinese New Year feast with a Hong Konger

Me: I've  never cooked for a real Chinese person.

Alex: Well it's good! I haven't had anything this good in the US.

Conclusion

Something is wrong with me.

I'm obsessed with food.

I'm obsessed with curry.

If you are brave, come eat with us.

Our Little Foodie

We have a foodie-in-the-making on our hands---and we couldn't be happier!

We made some congee for breakfast. Congee is overboiled rice with chicken and ginger and it is absolutely delicious. It is a Chinese food.

We gave Rachel some.



She loved it. Absolutely could not get enough of it.

But we didn't take the ginger out when we put it in the fridge, and it kept exuding delicious ginger flavor. When I gave it to Rachel the next day, she threw it all up.

So we decided we should get her some rice cereal that doesn't have ginger in it.



And she seemed very disappointed about it. Bland. Blah. No ginger to spice things up.

The past two nights we have given her rice cereal mixed with homemade applesauce, which she adores almost as much as the congee.

I think next we will try some butternut squash and then some avocados. We bought the rice cereal so she has to eat it. We'll just find out some ways to spice it up. I'm thinking that in a few weeks, I will sprinkle some curry on it.

To those of you appalled that we feed our baby congee and curry, don't be alarmed. When I was pregnant, curry was the thing that settled my stomach. And she drinks curry-of-flame milkshakes all the time. I will just put a little bit on and see how she likes it.

Blessings

What a great, blessing-filled Thanksgiving weekend!

Here are some of my blessings in life.

A loving family (both sides!) who drove up from Utah to spend the holiday with us.


A hardworking brother on a mission.

A delicious feast.

Rocking normal jeans and being pleasantly surprised by the size.

Our new smartphones so I can read scriptures while nursing Rachel.


A beautiful baby girl.


A husband who is great and a also worthy priesthood holder.


Once again, family. :)

Homemade Pizza Sauce

This was so delicious and I just had to share it. Also, I'm no food blogger so there are no pictures. I also didn't measure anything, just threw things in to taste, so you will have to do so too!

Heat up some olive oil and add chopped garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes but don't allow the garlic to brown.

Add chopped tomatoes, chopped onions, a hot pepper if desired, fresh basil, and fresh oregano (or their dried counterparts, but the fresh is what makes this so freaking amazing!) to the pot and bring to a boil. You don't have to take of the tomato skins. Once it is boiling, reduce the heat and simmer until most of the liquid cooks out.

Blend with a hand blender or put it in your blender and blend until smooth (or chunky--you are the chef!). Add some salt or other herbs to taste.

Try not to eat all the pizza sauce because it is so dang good. Spread on your pizza dough and make the rest of the pizza. We had mozzarella and cheddar cheese with italian sausage and spinach pizza. Amazing. Cook in the oven. Eat.

Now go make some pizza sauce!

I am making more today with my leftover tomatoes. I am going to freeze it in 1 cup blobs and then put them all in the bag so we can enjoy "fresh" pizza sauce all winter.

U-Picked HOW Many Raspberries?

Two weeks ago, when went to a U-Pick raspberry farm in Arlington, called Biringer Farms. The farmer wished us luck and told us where to go to get the most raspberries. It was, after all, the end of the season.



We picked for about two hours. Up and down the rows. I decided that raspberry farming is a very time- and labor-intensive industry. No wonder those wimpy things of raspberries at the store cost so much money!





But we are good berry pickers.

Probably too good.

We returned to the barn and the farmer said, "Holy!" We found a lot more than he thought we would.

He weighed our boxes. The grand total came to...

17 pounds.

Andrew and I were surprised. It cost us $50. But that $50 bought us delicious berries, which made delicious jam, which we canned in our kitchen without air conditioning on the hottest day of the year.



And it was worth it.

Happy Birthday to Me!

My birthday was last Sunday on April 1. It was a great day. My family and Andrew's family had a party. I love parties. We ate yummy raclette, opened presents, played Just Dance 3, and then ate birthday pie. :) It was a great great party, probably the most fun party I've had in recent years.

Even though we filmed the Just Dance party, no one really wants to watch it. If you do, let me know and I'll show you. So you can just look at some pictures.

Leslie, Daniel, Glenn, Bryanna dancing to "California Girls"

Maren, Hannah, Wesley, Elise dancing to "Hit Me Baby One More Time"

Dad, Accountant Dan, Me, and Clara dancing to something.

Leslie, Daniel, Wesley, and Elise dancing.

Andrew, Hannah, Bryanna, and Glenn dancing.

 

Wesley, Accountant Dan, Maren, and Clara dancing.

Mom, Dad, Glenn, Heidi dancing.

Elise, Clara, Hannah, Bryanna dancing

Leslie, Elise, Maren, Me dancing

Daniel, Hannah, Elise, and Me dancing

Time for some birthday pie!

Yay! What a good day. Now I am 24, and it is good to be olderish.

From Now To December 16

I have a lot to do. I'm a grad student. But last night I took a minute to write down everything I have to do before the end of the semester.

• Read eight books.
• Spend time researching in the archives at the University of Utah and here at Utah State University.
• Write a comparative book review (five books).
• Write a normal book review for a journal.
• Apply for a scholarship.
• Finish writing an essay for a contest.
• Finish writing a thesis chapter.
• Finish writing the thesis introduction.

You might not hear from me for a few weeks.

Also, I love vegetables. They are the best thing ever.

Marshmallows!

Marshmallows are so good.

Andrew is a bird whisperer. Scooter (who only likes Leslie) loved him.

Matt holding baby Emma at the marshmallow roast.


Little Andrew and Big Andrew eating their marshmallows. I love this picture. :D