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Showing posts from January, 2017

Xiu Mai (Chinese/Vietnamese meat balls)

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My mom stayed with us for a whole month after John was born.  To say we were pampered is the least of it.  She made this for us while I was wallowing in self-pity about my peri-partum Bells Palsy (facial nerve paralysis) and Reid was fighting a flu-like cold.  And she helped with baby John.  The kitchen smelt so good.  I asked her to write down her recipe for me (a very hard task for someone who cooks as well as she does).  We ate it in baguettes with French mayonnaise and cucumbers and shredded and pickled carrots for banh mi xiu mai  (though I couldn't chew the crusty delicious outer crust so I ate mine with lettuce). Xui mai, or su mai , or whatever other crazy spelling we've come up for translating Chinese/Vietnamese words into English phonetics are basically Asian meatballs.  They are savory from fish sauce and soy sauce and have a bit of a chewy/crunchy bits sprinkled throughout from the waterchestnuts or jicama root.  So like instead of onions in Italian-style meatball

I had a baby

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I had a baby.  John.  On November 26,2016 at 3:01am weighing 6lbs 6 oz and 21" long. So there was a break from the blogging.  My next few posts are going to be back logged from when I started them or super late.  I may not have a post consistently again.  Or one that makes any sense. Sleep deprivation is tough... Almost as hard as quiting cheese and dairy because John may have a milk intolerance. My baby burrito

Cold Buster Orange Smoothie

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I don't know about you, but allergy and cold and flu season has been kicking my butt. Maybe it's the lack of sleep while waking up so frequently to breastfeed the baby, the Bells Palsy, or just being post-partum, but my immune system just hasn't been working great.  So this is a great way to quickly get some vitamin C in that's easy to gulp down.   I love the taste of cardamom  and cinnamon and the turmeric adds anti-inflammatory benefits. Raw honey is supposed to help with allergies.  Flax seed adds omega 3.  I have a Blendtec blender so it's super easy to throw everything in (can be prepped night before) and blend in the morning while I'm toting the baby around in the morning.   Then it goes in my shaker cup! 2 c. Unsweetened vanilla almond milk 1 large Fuji apple 2 carrots 2 mandarin oranges 2 tbs ground flax seed 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp Indian turmeric  2 tsp ground cardamom  Directions: combine all ingredients in a blender.