A Bad Case of June

I think I have a bad case of JUNE.

You know what I'm talking about.

June!!

The month where I've had enough of everything.


I've had enough of waking the boys up for school.

I've had enough of school.

I've had enough of sending food to school only to see it returned home again.

I've had enough of sending the kids to school where they are doing REALLY important things like.....um, hmm, yeah, there don't seem to be a lot of really important things at school in June.  Oh, my dear teacher friends, I'm sure there are important things at school in June, it just seems like the fun factor increases a bit. And I'm all for fun.  But it's my turn.  I want to have fun with my kids now.

I've had enough work.

I've had enough volunteering.

I've gone to enough board meetings.

I've had enough scheduled activities.

I've had enough extra curricular....everything.

I'm just done.



I want:

• no alarm clocks
• nothing to do but read
• the freedom to go to the lake for the day
• an unlimited supply of Spitz, slushes and ice cream
• to watch the stars from my backyard
• to sleep
• to sit around a fire
• to wear nice light summery outfits and flip-flops
• to watch the boys sleep in and wake up groggy yet refreshed.....at NOON
• to sleep in and wake up groggy yet refreshed....at ?  10:00!!!

I do have to change gears a little bit, though, to get into summer mode.  Oddly enough, a big challenge for me is cooking.  I guess I do better with soups and stews and hot meals and slow cookers and roasters.  Summer cooking challenges me.  I tire of BBQ pretty quickly and salads aren't viewed as a full meal deal by half of the household, so I started looking for new ideas.

I found the following recipe on Pinterest and we loved it. 

*Disclaimer*:  Andrew did NOT love it. 

But the rest of us did.  I'd definitely make again.

Singapore Noodles

8 ounces dried rice vermicelli 

4 ounces small shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used ONLY shrimp this time; pork would be great in it, but using one meat kept the prep time simpler.   I doubled the shrimp portion in lieu of pork)

4 ounces pork, cut into strips

2 teaspoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine

1 teaspoon corn starch

1 tablespoon curry powder

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon oyster sauce (I substituted hoisin sauce with good results.  Not sure if there is any relation at all to those 2 sauces, but there is an Asian element to both?  Yes?)

3/4 cup chicken stock

 2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1/2 medium onion, sliced

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

4 ounces bean sprouts (2-3-4 generous handfuls)

3 green onions, sliced thin

oil for stir-frying

Soak the dried rice noodles in very hot tap water (about 140 degrees Fahrenheit) for 3 minutes. Be careful not to over-soak them or they will start sticking together and get mushy when you cook them. Start pulling the noodles apart as soon as they start softening. Rinse in cold water several times to prevent the noodles from absorbing too much water and to wash off excess starch.

Add the shrimp and pork to a bowl and season with the soy sauce, rice wine and corn starch. The cornstarch will keep the meat moist and the shrimp firm.

Measure out the curry powder into a small bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the fish sauce, oyster sauce and chicken stock. Because everything cooks very quickly it’s important to have all your prep done ahead of time.

Heat a wok over high heat until very hot.  Add 2 tablespoons of oil, then add the garlic and ginger, and then fry until fragrant. Add the shrimp and pork, holding aside the marinade and fry until the pork just loses its pink color (it doesn’t have to be all the way cooked.

Add the onion, red and green bell peppers, bamboo, and bean sprouts. Fry while stirring vigorously. Until the vegetables are a bright color. Add the curry powder and stir-fry until fragrant, then pour in the chicken stock and fish sauce mixture. Stir, to combine, then add the noodles and return the egg to the pan. Use chopsticks or tongs to evenly coat the noodles with sauce. If the noodles start sticking, add some water.

Top with scallions, then serve your Singapore Noodles immediately.

The original recipe asked for more curry powder but I used less as we are moderately fond of curry.  This dish was delicious.  While the steps and preparation look lengthy, once you actually start cooking, it comes together ridiculously quick.  Leftovers on Day 2 were not nearly as flavorful as freshly prepared on Day 1.