a midday realization

week ten.
i could hardly believe it when i logged in to complete an assignment today. time is flying by. it's hard to believe i've been living in this apartment for almost two years. it's hard to believe i'll be moving out at the end of the semester.

funny how attached you can get to places and phases of life, when the whole time you're in it, you've been dreaming and working to make it to the next phase, the next place. the next phase, the next place, is approaching a whole lot quicker than i thought. this phase, this place, is becoming much dearer than i've ever thought.

like today. the middle of the afternoon in the middle of the week. i'm sitting in my quiet apartment, listening to music, eating my lunch. quite enjoying myself. and it hit me. in this next phase, next place, also known as the working, grown-up, adulting world, i may never get moments like this for a very long time. how sad.

there's been a lot of little realizations lately that i've been getting hit by, of how many wonderful moments there really are in this phase of life that is running out all to quick. so i've been savoring these moments all the more. it has been good for the soul. no so good for the motivation or productivity.

but, going back to my lunch, because this after all this is meant to be a blog on food...not a blog on hannah's midday reflections.

i have been lovin' this new creation of a tomato, pesto, mozzarella pita melt. ha! okay, so tomato, pesto, and mozzarella is a far cry from an original creation, but placed inside pita bread and melted...wow, amazing! if you haven't tried a pita melt, do it, do it, do it. and if you have the little bit of extra time like i had today, make it with sweet potato fries.

Tomato, Pesto, Mozzarella Pita Melt
Ingredients:
Olive oil
Pita bread cut in half
1 Tablespoon Pesto
1/2 tomato sliced
Shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in a skillet on medium heat.
2. Spread pesto on inside of Pita bread. Stuff with tomatoes and cheese.
3. Melt the stuffed pita on the heated skillet, about 2-3 minutes on a side.


Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 sweet potato
seasonings to taste (salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika)

Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in skillet.
2. Cut sweet potato into thin strips with crinkle cutter.
3. Place sweet potato pieces into hot oil. Cook about 15 minutes or until tender, turning fries occasionally.

my produce, about to go, bad savior

hey there, it's been awhile.
to be honest, i have attempted to come back several times. there are several drafts archived on here, a large album of food pictures on my phone, but every time i never could quite hit publish.

everyone likes a good come back, and i didn't have one.

i don't even have an nice little excuse list packaged up with a neat little bow of justification on top. so i never hit publish. tonight, as i was cooking, i realized i am being ridiculous. ridiculousness is something i have been trying to keep out of my reasoning.

so that is that, enough of ridiculousness.

exciting news: i got a mini-rice cooker for Christmas. no more gross stove top rice. i grew up on the good stuff. once you've had the good stuff, your ruined. i have once again been lovin' stir fry for my produce about to go bad savior. i found this simple sweet soy sauce recipe from Natashas Kitchen. i have made it a lot over these past months. it's just that good. one of those recipes you crave to make again and again. that and i may run into the need for a produce savior all too often.

Stir Fry

Yields: 6 Servings

Ingredients:  

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 3/4" pieces

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup of chicken stock

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 Tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated

2 medium garlic cloves, grated

2 teaspoons sesame oil

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion sliced

Vegetables of choice sliced (I used 1 head of broccoli, 1/2 red pepper, 1 cup carrots, and some mushrooms)

Hot cooked rice

Directions:

1. Toss chicken breast in a bowl with flour until evenly coated.

2. Heat a large skillet on medium high heat. Add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil. Add chicken pieces to hot oil and spread out evenly. Let chicken sit for a minute before stirring, then stir fry 5 minutes or until browned. Remove chicken from the pan and set aside.

3. While chicken is cooking, add chicken stock, honey, soy sauce, ginger, cloves, and sesame oil to remaining flour in bowl. Stir until smooth.

4. Add another 1 Tablespoon of oil to the skillet. Once oil is hot add onion and vegetables. Stir fry 4 minutes, or until vegetables crisp-tender.

5. Stir the sauce again then pour into skillet with vegetables. Bring sauce to a boil over medium heart, stirring constantly. Simmer 2 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Add chicken and cook another 30 seconds or until hearted through. Serve over hot cooked rice.