Category — Jan's Thoughts

Imported used to mean something, she says in her most curmudgeonly tone of voice…

“Imported” was rare, or unusual, or special in some way. At this time in history, due to our global economy or world market forces or whatever, many of the produces we see in stores are imported. Our fresh vegetables come from Peru or Mexico, our fish from Bangladesh or Viet Nam, housewares from China or Taiwan. Some of the formerly imported cars are mostly or completely manufactured in the US. We are used to labels or signs that tell us our purchases have traveled greater distances than most of us will in our lifetimes. None of this is surprising anymore.

Kenya Simba Lion Coffee

Nonetheless, I was surprised and delighted when someone I love (our daughter) brought something we love (coffee) from her recent trip to Kenya all the way back home to Michigan. She bought it in a store using local currency. She made room in her luggage for it and carried it through customs and inspections. She gave it to us with her own hands. That kind of importing is utterly amazing!

To be very upfront: our Egg Foo Young is probably not a very authentic recipe. Then again, I don’t know that Egg Foo Young really counts as an authentic Chinese dish.

All that aside, Egg Foo Young, as we’ve come to make it, is a delicious, handy, easy and healthy meal. We like it best without the gravy or sauce that sometimes accompanies it.

Our Egg Foo Young starts with a jar full of homegrown mung bean sprouts. When the jar is filled, it’s time to make Egg Foo Young.

Slice and saute a large onion until soft and golden.

Wash and chop your sprouts into 2 or 3 inch lengths.

In a bowl, combine 1 cup egg whites with 3 whole eggs.

Add the cooked onions and the chopped bean sprouts to the bowl and stir well to combine.

If you are making vegetarian Egg Foo Young, ignore the lovely shrimp in the picture and skip the next step.

We don’t skip it usually. We like a bit of meat with our meals so we add leftover cooked chicken, pork, or beef.

Or, if it’s your lucky day, you could add 1/2 of raw peeled shrimp. Shrimp are great in this dish because they have about the same cooking time as the rest of the dish — most notably the egg– so they come out just perfect. These were simply frozen shell-on shrimp from the big grocery store bought on sale. They aren’t fancy but they contribute a festive touch to this dish.

Once all your ingredients are combined, get your non-stick pan nice and hot over a medium-high heat. This is another spot where we part company with some Chinese restaurants; we pan fry the patties in minimum oil so they come out light and not greasy. We use a little cooking spray and a touch of oil in the pan.

Stir your egg mixture and, using a ladle, scoop out 1/3 cup and add to your hot pan. I use a rubber heat-tolerant spatula to “tame” the egg and keep the structure patty-like as it cooks.

Watch for the egg to cook and, in this case, for the shrimp to turn slightly pink. Then it’s time to flip, for which I use the other kind of spatula, AKA the pancake turner.

Let the patties cook just a couple minutes more, until the egg is set and the shrimp are cooked. The plate up and enjoy!

Variations on Egg Foo Young ingredients are limited only by your imagination and the content of your refrigerator. From the vegetable realm, you could add celery, peppers, peas, finely chopped or shredded carrots, spinach, or green onions. If you have them on hand, water chestnuts or bamboo shoots would work. Tofu would also be great addition.

Egg Foo Young doesn’t have to be delivered to your door or be a fried gravy-covered health hazard. Minimal effort results in a delicious and not-bad-for-you meal. Leftover patties are great for satisfying snacks or are a portable surprise in a packed lunch. It’s an easy dish that can help you both use up some leftovers and get dinner on the table in a hurry.

It’s coming up on five months since my mom-in-law passed away; the loss still feels new. Jim and I have been a couple for 30 years now, so the relationship between Mom and I was long enough to be parent-child like, but mostly ours was a dear, long-time friendship. She liked to tell people that we were unique among mothers and daughters-in-law because we got along so well and so peacefully! Mom was someone who was always interested in the details of life– what my day had been like, who I had spoken to, what was dinner, what the children were up to, whatever cute thing the granddaughter had said or done, what was happening in the garden. Her fascination with daily events was extraordinary. She cultivated relationships through that love of news and that caring connection.

Just this week, I wrapped up the difficult task of writing thank you notes to friends and relatives who sent cards or meals or attended the memorial services. This writing project took me longer than I wanted it to, but, like grief itself, there were some stages in the process. At first, writing notes just made me too sad so I put it off. Next, I tried to find periods of time to get organized; I didn’t want to miss anyone or to send duplicates to same recipient. Finally, the conclusion that I came to was that I wanted to Do It Right.

For me, Doing It Right meant writing a note to each friend or relative along with the little form card. I wanted them to know that their gestures meant a lot to us– and they certainly did. Being surrounded by friends and family members– in person or by mail– is a wonderful, sustaining feeling in the midst of sadness. Knowing that you are not alone helps you carry on.

I also wanted to make sure people knew how much Mom appreciated them too. Towards the end of her life, she wasn’t able to keep up with correspondence or contact the way she had at one time. Cards went unanswered and calls un-returned. She still loved getting calls and cards, however; I am rather certain she saved every card she ever received! Often I opened and read her mail to her, and she was simply delighted– there is no other word– to get cards and notes.

Some sympathy cards we received came from our friends, but there were many from Mom’s friends, people we know only through her– college friends, old neighbors, committee members from her previous church. When I wrote notes to them, I was conscious too that I was saying a series of small goodbyes along with my thank you’s. The link between those people and me was Mom; we won’t necessarily have occasion to talk again ever. Mom maintained those relationships. It’s because of her that I know of them at all, that they reached out to comfort us, and that I have the chance to share our gratitude while we still grieve.

Jim sent me this link from Lifehacker, which was a post from the Instructables site on how it’s possible and easy to grow onions from old onion bottoms.

Sounds like a dare, doesn’t it? Sure, I’m game. Since it will be a couple months still before our soil is ready for digging around in, we’ll try growing some onions inside using the method suggested.

Rather than fishing for said discarded onion bottoms in the compost bin, I decided to play sous chef and chop up 6 or 7 onions at one go in order to have the bottoms to plant. I rarely prep that way in the kitchen, but when I was shopping at the big grocery store last week, I came across quart-sized pre-chopped onions in the produce section. Hey, thought I, that container of onions costs waaay too much money for the convenience, but I bet it would be handy to have some onions always ready to roll. So far, it has been easy to toss a handful of onions into the pan when making eggs or Jim’s savory oats– a step we’d likely skip in those cases, if the onions hadn’t been all ready ahead of time.

We had a planter of soil in the house from a previously unsuccessful winter-time growing experiment, so I only needed to add a little more soil and work some water into the dry dirt. Once the pot was dampened, I pushed the onion tops into the dirt and covered them up.

Now I’ll wait and see what happens. To be continued…

Jim recently reset his computer desktop to a picture from last summer’s garden.

The colors and textures are so stunning that I’m surprised and delighted every time I sit down at the computer and see the picture. On the big computer screen, the tomatoes are slightly larger than life-size; our 3 year old granddaughter insisted they were pumpkins! It’s an inspiring reminder: yes, spring will come; yes, edible things will grow in our garden; and yes, it will happen soon.