Canada in May

Finally spring has arrived!  And I have never seen so many dandelions before in my life!  I walk by a field of dandelions quite often, and I have to say that it is kind of beautiful.  These dandelions just came in full force along with ants...   Unlike BYU, University of Waterloo just doesn't care that the campus has beautifully manicured grass and covered with pretty flowers, so I just get to see a more natural beauty around here.  

View of my backyard with all of the dandelions, and our trusty A/C window unit.  Stay strong window unit.  

I wanted to add this picture in as a reminder of how far we've come since our hardcore winter!  This is pretty much what my backyard looked like in February.

Since it has been so nice out I've taken the opportunity to go on some really lovely walks around my house.  I discovered this cool nature trail along Laurel Creek and I've also found some trails around Columbia Lake.  

Someone made a cute little 'thinking' bench along Laurel Creek. 

Laurel Creek--along the marshes.  So beautiful!

A number of little ponds surround CLV, and I found a huge nest of geese with their cute little goslings in one of the ponds!  Aww!  

Columbia Lake

On Victoria day, (go here for more info on Victoria day) Greg and I went to the Mitchell's house for a bonfire and fireworks.  They have chickens, sheep, and a pony, and I went to feed them along with the kids at one point in the evening.  I just had to take a picture of this sheep.  I guess the grass is really greener on the other side for sheep!

Last night we had dinner with our friends.  We originally set up a dinner party with our friend, Phyo, who is the lovely lady on the right in the picture above, and we thought it would be nice to have dinner with the sisters in case they got transferred next week.  We've been hanging out with the sister missionaries quite a bit since Greg hasn't had to study for classes this summer.  The gal standing on the left side of me is Sister Christenson from Utah and the gal on the right side is Sister Fragapane most recently from Germany (she is from Argentina originally).  Our friend Phyo is a year ahead of Greg in the accounting program, and because I told her I like Korean food, she brought a couple of delicious Korean dishes.  She is a fabulous cook, and I'm excited for when her comprehensive exams are over in June so that we can make kimchi together.

Anyway, that is what has been going on here in Canada for us.  What about you?  Exciting news or plans coming up?   

  

Theodore Janke Jr.

I am pretty familiar with military life since a large number of my family has served in the military.  I am very grateful for them, and for their service because I know being in the military is demanding on them and their families.  I can easily list that I know a number of my ancestors and my immediate family have served in the military or been in the military during times of war, but boasting about something like that makes you kind of depressed since being in the military obviously means fighting and possibly dying.  

This Memorial day, I just wanted to remember one person from my mother's mother's side of the family who served and, unfortunately, died during the Vietnam War.  His name is Theodore Janke, Jr.  He's one of my grandmother's cousins. You can find him on the Vietnam Memorial in Washingon D.C. or here.  (Honestly, finding someone you know on this wall is a downer.)  I, of course, never knew him, but I am grateful he served, and sad that he died.

Here's to you, Theodore Janke Jr.

"Bubble gum" reads

Not too long ago, I came across several pins on Pinterest about how terrible the series Twilight is.  (Guys this isn't hipster any more.)  I think the world understands now that Twilight isn't the most well-written book out there.  But hey, it still made a lot of money and people liked it which is something we can't say about Moby Dick when it first was published.

But I would like to remind people that we have different genres of literature--some are well-written classics while others are 'bubble gum' books.  I define bubble gum books as the books that are easy to pick up and don't take long to get through while keeping you entertained for a while.  I would say that most people, including myself, were entertained by this series and hoped that Bella chose Edward over what's-his-name.  I  mean, I am glad that Twilight was around so I could definitely get the five-hour unnecessary break I needed from studying to read through it and then proceed to take another two-hour break to go see it with Greg.

I would also like to add that Bella may have ONLY just cared about having a boyfriend and falling in love, but she wasn't the only one who thought about love at her age, right?  I will be the first to admit that falling in love was on the list of things to do while a teenager.  Yes, Bella did cry excessively, but didn't we all cry a bit when things didn't work out?  Sure, Bella may not have started a wide-spread revolution like Katniss (vampires and werewolves unite!), but she still succeeded in getting her man (which is something most of us hope for!).  See!  We can all learn something from Bella, and then never read about her again.

 Anyway, enjoy your bubble gum literature this summer while you get a tan or go on a trip to get a tan.

Recipe: Fried Rice

 I wanted to share my fried rice recipe with y'all today.  I really love making this because it is a one pot dish for dinner, and I always have plenty of leftovers for lunch the following day.  I originally got this recipe from a class I took at BYU, and it's actual name is "Pineapple and Ham Fried Rice", however; I don't use ham very often, but I generally add pineapple to the pan.  Another reason I like this recipe is that it's so versatile: you can use whatever meat you'd like (although I prefer using chicken most often) and whatever vegetables you like (while mandarin oranges aren't a vegetable I don't recommend substituting them for pineapple as they will most likely fall apart while cooking).  The amount for each of the vegetables I add to this recipe is estimated.

Ingredients:

2 cups short-grain rice
4-5 eggs, beaten
garlic to taste
butter
Soy sauce (I use a gluten-free, properly fermented soy sauce like this brand.)
coconut oil
garlic, salt, and ginger to taste
chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/4 cup water or chicken broth
Sesame seed oil
1 medium onion, diced OR 1 bunch of green onions, chopped
2-3 carrots, chopped
1/3 cup of peas, fresh or frozen
1/3 cup mushrooms
1 can pineapple chunks, drained  
1 cup chopped cabbage

Directions:

Cook the rice according to package direction on stove top or in a rice cooker.  Heat butter in a large pan.  Add beaten eggs and garlic to taste.  You don't want to scramble the eggs, however; but allow the eggs to cook until the bottom has set.  Cook the eggs until they are done, but not dry.  When eggs are finished, cut them into pieces.

For the chicken, I prepare a little sauce by combining water or chicken broth and 2 tbsp soy sauce in a small bowl to pour over after the chicken has been cooked on the outside. Using the same pan, add butter or coconut oil and melt it over medium-high heat.  Add chicken, and sprinkle garlic and ginger over it, and then add the sauce.  Remove chicken from heat once the chicken is cooked thoroughly, and cover.

Add more coconut oil to the same pan and melt it over medium-high heat.  Add vegetables one by one. I generally throw in the carrots first because they take longer to cook.  When the rest of the vegetables have become softer, I add in pineapple and frozen peas.  I season the vegetables with garlic, salt, and soy sauce to the vegetables.

(When I cook with carrots, I don't care about peeling them.)

Above: of the vegetables and pineapple. For this batch, I added mushrooms, pineapple, carrots, peas, green onions, and cabbage.

 Once vegetables are done, turn the heat down low and add rice, eggs, and chicken to vegetables.  Combine all of the ingredients, but be careful to not over stir.

Roasted Vegetables

One of my favorite ways to consume vegetables is to roast them in the oven.  Often times I will roast potatoes and carrots together, asparagus, and broccoli with lots of garlic.  For easy clean up I will place aluminum foil on a cookie sheet and then put the vegetables on the pan.  However, I've found that some vegetables  (broccoli, potatoes, and even carrots) tend to stick when they are roasted, so I've had to kind of play around with fats and oils that'll help the vegetables not stick so much.  I've also added chicken broth that I've made in huge batches because I really like the flavoring the chicken broth gives to the fries and I also think that it helps the vegetables not stick so much.
Last night I made the most heavenly "French fries" by roasting them in the oven.  Here's my recipe.

5 medium potatoes, cut into wedges
3 tbsp butter, melted
1 1/2-2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder

Combine the melted butter, olive oil, and chicken broth together in a small bowl.  Pour butter mixture over potatoes and add spices with your hands.  Combine the potatoes and the butter mixture with your hands.  Cook at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or so until the potatoes are soft.  Serve with ketchup or eat plain.  Now these french fries were a bit greasier than your average roasted vegetables, but I'm sure you can adjust the butter mixture recipe so that the vegetables become crispier.

Yum!  And removes from the foil so easily!

Side note: As a girl from Idaho, I just want to say don't pass on the potato.  Sure the potato has carbohydrates, but comparing it to other items with lots of carbohydrates (rice, wheat, etc.), the potato looks good.  Potatoes also has a lot of potassium--a little bit more than a banana, Vitamin C, and other necessary vitamins.  And the Incas lived on these bad boys.

Observations

  

Today, Greg greeted me when I got home from work (which I thought was very nice of him).  One of his first questions was "Why do you have an umbrella?"  I told him that it was raining earlier. I guess he didn't look out the window much.  Later on, I saw that he was wearing actual pants and not pajama pants like he generally wears when he's home.  I asked him, "Why are you wearing pants?  Did you go somewhere?"  He answered that he hadn't gone anywhere.  This wearing pants business while at home has bothered me a bit because it's unlike Greg...and I feel under dressed since I'm in pajamas right now... C:

Oh sugar.

   Part of the reason I haven't said anything about how my low white, refined sugar diet did in February is because I'm kind of depressed it didn't go better.  This week, I kept forgetting to make my own bread on my days off, so I kind of busted that part of my goal by eating store bread.  Ugh.  Goals are hard to keep!

  The biggest thing I didn't do well at last month is that I exceeded my sugar allowance a few times, however; I am able to recognize my weak points now.  First of all, being apart of gatherings where sugary items are in view is incredibly difficult place for me to be.  For instance, at one of the gatherings I attended, I had the hardest time because I saw so many different kinds of sweets!  I ended up grabbing a small cookie even though I exceeded my sugar allowance by doing so.  I don't grab a sweet right away, but I end up grabbing something towards the end of an event after I've argued with myself for the longest time about whether I should have that sweet or not.  I have to remind myself of some advice I received from a nutritionist I saw last year about buffets or gatherings which is (1)scan, (2) plan, and (3) scram.  Scan the food available to see what you really want, then plan or think about what you are really hungry for, and then leave the area with the food.  I think the last part is the hardest for me!  

  I was very good about making my own breads as well as eat plenty of fruits last months.  I'm excited for spring to get here so I can enjoy lots of berries and such.

I think I'll just remove the allowance for sugary things.  I think I had it so that I could enjoy food still and get used to having sugar on rare occasions, but honestly having this allowance just sets me up for a really bad time these past couple of months.  I had this in place originally so that I could have an easier time really giving up sugar, but honestly, it was kind of an excuse.  I think I will try to see how far I can go without white, refined sugar, and reward myself with $.50 a week.  Hopefully, I can get quality chocolate chips (which are like $5 a bag) or cocoa butter (kind of pricey, too) to make chocolate chips at home... C: