Tag Archives: hoisin

There’s An App For That

Did you know there’s an app for making really good friends?

Yes, it’s called Instagram!

Just by posting pictures and sharing fun little tidbits of your daily life on IG, you can {meet} some wonderful friends. And if you’re really lucky and live close enough, you can even eventually meet them in person. It’s crazy how you can feel like you’ve known someone for years just by making little comments on their photos or texting from time to time.

Several months ago I started following a friend of a friend because she has an eye for vintage, five beautiful daughters, and a weenie dog named Rodeo! Us wiener dog lovers need to stick together, right? She followed me back and we would comment on pictures of our hounds and make weenie jokes. After getting to know her, we discovered that we’re both Libras and I am 11 days older than she is ~ we won’t go into what year! {wink, wink}

Anywhoo, I went and stayed with Richelle in May while down in Mission Viejo for a fabulous Pioneer Woman Potluck hosted by my blogosphere friend turned real life friend, Julie. I met Julie last September at Blog Sugar. Joy’s Hope was one of the very first blogs I read and religiously followed. Julie makes it so easy to want to open up and share the happy things in life which is precisely why I wanted to start blogging myself. I am honored and thrilled to be able to have met her in real life. And because of Julie I was able to know Richelle, too! Social media really is so great.

This weekend Richelle and her two youngest {Kallihan & Kapri} came up to visit us for some pool time and concert in the park action. My kids were so excited to meet some new friends…we had some matching pajamas for the girls all ready and waiting on our guest bed with gift tags created by Elliott…

Friday afternoon’s weather was weird, so we went to see Brave.

We went for a night swim on Friday evening…

{captured by Richelle}

Saturday morning veg-fest…

New Cool Lime Refresher run before hitting the pool again Saturday morning….

{add 2 pumps coconut syrup to make it a tropical treat}

We packed up a picnic and headed to the concert in the park…Led Zepagain!

We sat around the table, sipped coffee and chatted on Sunday morning then had lunch at Souplantation before saying our sad good-byes…

*****

And of course, I love to entertain and cook for a crowd!

We had Taco Salad Friday night.

Monte Cristos Saturday for lunch…

{photo stolen from Richelle}

Asian Ginger Slaw with Hoisin grilled chicken at the concert…

{new fave marinade/glaze for chicken ~ 2 tbsp. hoisin, 1/2 tsp. Chinese five-spice powder, 1 tsp. soy sauce and 1 tsp. vegetable oil. just coat chicken with it and grill or bake. from the July ’12 issue of Sunset, page 100}

I mixed up a little adult beverage to sip at the concert ~ vodka, Malibu, pineapple juice, blue curaçao and a splash of Sprite. {as seen in this post}

And the piece de resistance of the weekend…

Trashy Brownies

I’d not yet spotted these on Pinterest, but Richelle had, and quickly gathered the ingredients and got them in a 9X13 ASAP.

Apparently the brownie stuffed Oreos that were flying around the inter webs last year were not enough……

Just line a 9X13 pan with parchment paper. Spread packaged chocolate chip cookie dough on the bottom, followed by a layer of Oreos {preferably double stuffed} and then top off with boxed brownie mix prepared as directed. Bake at 350* for about 35 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Cool completely {even refrigerate a little} before cutting.

Needless to say they were delish, but something to make very infrequently. They would be fun using the red Oreos during the holidays, too!

*****

All in all it was a fabulous weekend despite an ant problem in our kitchen, Rascal nabbing Kapri’s Ring Pop within the first 3 minutes and me completely losing my cool at the pool with Holden.

Social media friendships are the best!

Chinese Meets Mexican {Meets Japanese}

Lean ground pork was on sale this week at Ralphs so that means double the {other white meat} recipes for you!

This past weekend we took a last minute trip to San Diego to visit our 102-year old great great cousin {3rd cousin? my grandmother’s cousin} as she is….well, 102 and had taken a little turn for the worse and placed in hospice care. I am happy to report that she was doing a bit better yesterday, but we felt we had to go down and visit {just in case}.

Anywhoo, as I was relaxing at my mom’s on Saturday, I came across this Moo Shu Pork Burger in the July 2011 issue of Family Circle. To view this recipe on their site you have to register, so to spare you, I will just provide it here because you NEED to make these. Really. I was a little concerned with the whole flour tortilla coming into play, but it TOTALLY works. These things were incredible. Jay said he liked them better than the banh mi, but he doesn’t have the connection to Story Road that I do….nonetheless, these were definitely up there and we will be making them LOTS!

6 Tbsp. mayo

2 Tbsp. hoisin sauce

1.25 pound ground pork

4 oz. crimini {aka baby portobello} mushrooms, finely chopped {I used my mini food processor}

2 scallions, trimmed and chopped {I used 4}

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 tsp. ground ginger

6 small flour tortillas {I used Tia Rosa soft taco size}

1 cup arugula

1/2 cup thinly sliced radishes

Mix mayo and 1 Tbsp of the hoisin and set aside. Mix meat and the rest of the ingredients well and form into 6 patties. Drizzle grill pan or fry pan with a little olive oil and grill on each side for about 5 minutes {until juices run clear or meat reaches 150*}. Heat tortilla on your stovetop and then spread hoisin mayo on one side along with some arugula, a burger and then some radish slices. Fold the tortilla in half and then bring the bottom up to make a little burger envelope of sorts.

I paired these up with a rice noodle salad with miso dressing. I used about a half pack of maifun rice sticks {Dynasty brand on Asian aisle}, soaked them in warm water for about 15 minutes, boiled them for about 2 minutes and then rinsed. I added, chopped carrot, sliced radish, cucumber, red pepper, cilantro and green onion. Sprinkled with a bit of rice vinegar, salt and pepper and a little of my new addiction, miso dressing.

{in refrigerated section at Ralphs}

I think these burgers beat out my other favorite.

Linking up to {What I Whipped Up Wednesday} over at Sugar and Dots and Lady Behind The Curtain!