<unrelated> “What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?” – High Fidelity
You should listen to Grace Potter & The Nocturnals while reading the remainder of this post. Why? Because it’s so very good.</unrelated>
I’ve hated birthday cards pretty much my entire life. The mushy ones aren’t mushy the way I want them to be. The funny ones aren’t funny. And the ones in between have no personality at all. I tend to write birthday notes instead, but I feel lame using plain stationary for such a momentous occasion. … so when dearest, loveliest Elizabeth’s birthday rolled around, I got her a card with style. So what if it didn’t say happy birthday?
For those of you who don’t know me, this is exactly my sense of humor. And although few people really understand my humor, Elizabeth has always been a kindred in this way. Naturally, then, when Nate pointed me to his friend’s blog, I enjoyed it immensely. In particular, her stir-fry recipe caught my eye.
I’ve been feeling pretty overwhelmed by life lately, and by Thursday of this past week, I had begun canceling plans. After 6 days of non-stop “fun”, I couldn’t take it anymore, and the thought of getting drinks with friends that night was more than I could handle. So I just didn’t. Saturday rolled around, and I didn’t go canoeing with coworkers but opted for a quiet lunch with my mom and sister instead. I spent the rest of the day napping, watching Monarch of the Glen, reading The Catcher in the Rye, and cooking. The day was rainy, and it reminded me of the snowy weekend we enjoyed this past winter, where everything was necessarily canceled, and I watched tv and cooked all weekend.
Maybe the time indoors made me want stir fry. Maybe it was the stay-at-home babe. I don’t know. … but I was hesitant to make her recipe when I’ve had such good reviews on my own. So I stuck to the classic. “You know, it sounds boring, but it wasn’t. It wasn’t spectacular either. It was just good. But really good.*”
Photo by Nathan Clendenin
My recipe goes something like this…
- 1-2 lbs. chicken (I used drumsticks because they were on sale)
- Broccoli crowns
- Mushrooms, sliced
- Bell pepper, sliced
- Carrots, sliced
- Onion, cut in half and sliced
- 1/2 c. soy sauce
- 1/2 c. sugar
- 1 Tablespoon corn starch
- 1 Tablespoon sesame oil (optional, but encouraged)
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
- dash of red pepper flakes
- minced garlic (or I use garlic powder far too often)
Brown the chicken in a couple tablespoons of oil. Bake at 350 until cooked through (varies based on cut of chicken). Throw the veggies in the frying pan with the leftover oil. Saute. Whisk together remaining ingredients. Pour over veggies. Add cooked chicken. Serve with noodles or rice. We did rice the first time, noodles with the leftovers. Delish!
* High Fidelity, which was on hulu awhile back, thus the multiple quotes. Interestingly, hulu also has a bunch of Grace Potter & The Nocturnals clips which you should check out as well. Only slightly related is the fact that this band always makes me think of Courtney Potter, which makes me smile for multiple reasons.
P.S. I feel like a name-dropped a lot in this post. For that, I apologize. Except not really. Because all of the names that were dropped were so totally deserving.
Wow! Thanks for the name drop!! I’m so excited that you were inspired to make your own stir fry when you were feeling so down. Next time, remember that Catcher in the Rye will never, ever, ever help get you out of a funk!
It just makes you feel a.) like a social deviant or b.) a phony. Neither of those are any good.