Gotta Love Martha

Thought I would share one of my favorite recipes courtesy of Martha. We had it for dinner tonight and its always delish! One of the things I like most about this recipe is you can get all the ingredients in Grenada....now that doesn't happen all that often. Plus its Martha's take on General Tso's Chicken and one thing we don't have is good chinese on this island.

Happy Eating!

General Tso's Chicken

Save some calories and a little cash with this DIY makeover of a popular Chinese takeout meal. Skinless chicken breasts, a light batter, and just a bit of oil for pan-frying yield the right texture with less fat.

Prep: 45 minutes
Total: 45 minutes

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1 1/4 cups long-grain brown rice
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 pound snow peas, trimmed and halved crosswise
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated and peeled
• 3 tablespoons light-brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
• 2 large egg whites
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, such as safflower

Directions

1. Cook rice according to package instructions. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1/2 cup cold water until smooth. Add snow peas, garlic, ginger, sugar, soy sauce, and red-pepper flakes; toss to combine, and set aside.
2. In another bowl, whisk together egg whites, remaining 3 tablespoons cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add chicken, and toss to coat.
3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Lift half the chicken from egg-white mixture (shaking off excess), and add to skillet. Cook, turning occasionally, until golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate; repeat with remaining oil and chicken, and set aside (reserve skillet).
4. Add snow-pea mixture to skillet. Cover; cook until snow peas are tender and sauce has thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Return chicken to skillet (with any juices); toss to coat. Serve with rice.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Lighter General Tso's Chicken Recipe - MarthaStewart.com

The men I love

The other day when  John came home after spending the morning with his arm up the backside of a cow my first impulse was to hose him off rather than hug him, an impulse I am having to fight more and more often the deeper we get into veterinary medicine. Which made me think about how often women tend to try and pull out the fire hose and blast away anything we don't like about men. While I think scrubbing away the manure is perfectly acceptable dousing their enthusiasm and excitement is not.

John at work. Pre-hose down.

You receive a lot of advice when you are pregnant some welcome and worthwhile and some off the wall and all together terrifying, but I have noticed that women tend to tell you a lot about how their husbands/partners are useless.  Now, I don't live in the land of make believe and I know marriage can be hard (see my celebrity marriage post) and I imagine adding a child into the mix makes it at times even harder, but I also know my husband and I'm just not willing to get on board with the belief men are useless...different yes, but useless no.

The Harris boys.

Growing up with two brothers provided me with a first hand account of the difference between the sexes and it also taught me a few important lessons. For instances if you can't beat them join them. A lesson I learned when my middle brother Caleb popped the heads of my barbies to use as ammo for his sling shot. Turns out shooting the neighbors dog from our "fort" was a lot more fun than dressing up barbie anyway. Plus, if you give in a little you'll usually get your way...instead of dressing up barbie I ended up stuffing Caleb into my swim suit and making him a real life model...Now if only I had that picture to post!

Despite the differences I've had and have some amazing men and boys in my life who've enriched it in countless ways and since I could soon be living with another boy...I thought I would mention the men in my life who make it special, crazy, at times hair pulling frustrating but always fun and interesting.

The hyena laugh...

My husband, Johno, tops the list and while his affinity for paint splattered tops, ripped shorts and blue socks sometimes drive me crazy his big hyena laugh never fails to put a smile on my face. As for being useless he's read more than I have about this baby and he's held my hand through every appointment. He keeps me sane and keeps me laughing and he's the reason I seriously contemplated delivering a baby on this crazy island because I couldn't be without him for a minute. At times manure covered yes, useless not for a second.

Making me laugh then cry...

My brothers, Caleb and James, while very different have one thing in common. A bossy older sister who they indulge, spoil and humor. Thank you both for being your amazing selves and for making growing up with boys a pleasure...well most days.

Brothers really can be sweet

Now for the man who taught me the finer points of SEC football ( a skill which is totally lost on my husband, as he thinks soccer is football) but who also gave up Saturdays to take me shopping at the mall on dad/daughter dates. My dad has been there for all life's big occasions and made our wedding day sweeter when he performed the ceremony. Dad's are special and make you feel special and mine never fails to support me sometimes in the most surprising ways. The time he told the wedding dress consultant that we weren't interested in anything that looked like "drapes" is one of my favorites. Every girl needs a man in her corner. I'm glad I've got one with some fashion sense...

Special moments

My father-in-law who embraces his yank daughter- in-law in all ways, but lately through his fashion statements. He is the best story teller I have ever come across, can drink more red wine than anyone I know and gave my husband his trademark laugh and grin.If there is soon to be another Clark man in the world I hope he takes after Charlie and if its a little Clark girl I hope she does as well.

I see where John gets his fashion sense...

My little nephew Grady Shake who taught me a lot about being three years old this summer. Mainly that its fine to pee on tires and the only cool t-shirt is one without any sleeves. Invaluable lessons that I guarantee won't be in any child rearing books.

We wore this shirt for a week solid

I've had countless friends, bosses and teachers through the years who have added to my life in very special ways and have to thank them as well. When working in Zambia my friend George, who was the chef at one of our camps, taught me about hard work and selflessness. He also kept a watchful eye on me one night when I was down with Malaria and made me brownies to fatten me up when I started feeling better. He kept me sane when I caught one of our staff smoking the "tree of knowledge" while cleaning the guest rooms, and made me smile when I sat in the kitchen teary eyed after watching a baby elephant lose his momma.

Sitting next to George and with the rest of the crew

The common denominator among these amazing men is they bring laughter into my life and I don't know what could be more useful than that. Thank you for the laughs and reminding me that even though I may sometimes think you are from Mars....your laughter, humor and love is a very welcome addition to my universe.

Why I love my husband.

World's most expensive piece of tin...and hands in unmentionable places....

I vowed earlier this year to become more interesting and stop writing about our car troubles. I also have been trying to stay positive and not sweat the little things, but two things changed that. The flat tire at 6:30 am this morning, and the fact that my husband just came home covered in manure after having his hand up the backside of a cow for the better part of the morning.

At the moment I am teetering on the brink...the car's broken down more times than I can count in the last few weeks and it seems the sole purpose of my paycheck is to pay the bar tabs of the mechanics on this island. We've gone through at least six or seven and I know all of them by name. I often see them at Garfields which is how I know I am paying their bar tabs. To date six out of the seven are incompetent and only one seems to be abel to fix our car without breaking something else. After a very hefty bill last week he let us know we needed new brakes , of course we do, but instead of paying him we found out just how long we could go before they gave out...approximately two weeks to a month. So new brakes are penciled in the week I have my next prenatal exam....Safe no, but I just couldn't fork over anymore money into the worlds most expensive piece of tin.


Now as for my husband smelling like manure wouldn't be so bad except we have no hot water at the moment and the recently repaired washing machine is now averaging a 3 hour wash time per load. At the moment I am worn out with the trials and tribulations of island life that seem to be reigning down on us this month. Its hot, nothing works and and I am six and a half months pregnant and the drivers side door to my car now won't open since the mechanic "fixed" it and I sometimes have to crawl across the passenger side to get in and out. That is a site no one needs to see.

I know I'll laugh about this one day. It may even be tomorrow, but at the moment I work to pay incompetent mechanics and I don't want to hold my husbands hand....Here's to a better tomorrow and a well deserved glass of wine come late December!

Who knew you don't need a license for this...

Seriously, Someone is giving these two a child?

Initially John and I were shocked when we found out that we are going to become parents in December. It took a few days to get used to the idea, as we couldn't quite believe anyone was going to let us have a baby....Shouldn't there be license for this? I had visions of some cosmic baby handing out board realizing their mistake and saying "you sent a baby to the Clarks??? the Clarks??? They are irresponsible winos who drive the most unsafe car on the planet and can't keep plants alive. What were you thinking? Take that baby back and give it to someone who has a 401K." But, so far no one's figured out their mistake, and in about 15 weeks we'll be parents to a little boy or girl who hopefully won't know what a 401K is either.

Looks like they did!

We have no delusions that we know the first thing about being parents, despite all the books and internet research, but surprisingly we both seem to be settling into the idea of being responsible for another being relatively well. Our child may have a different view on this, and I fully expect him or her to one day petition the cosmic baby handing out board in the sky and let them know of their error. He or she will likely asked to be transferred to the nice couple down the street who drives a car that rates high on the consumer report safety list and who have a beautiful tomato garden in their backyard.

So, in preparation for this petition we've come up with our own list to hopefully persuade this child we have some inkling of what we are doing. It's our baby wish list. We've started to write down all our hopes and thoughts for our first born. The plan is one day to show it to him/or her and convince him to shelve his grievance list and stick with us. While most of our list will remain private my father in-law sent us a great wish which was "I hope you can sit on the floor with the dog and share your biscuit with him." Very fitting we think for the child of a future vet.


Throughout the last 25 weeks we've been thinking and adding to our list and one wish that I don't mind sharing is that I hope this baby has a group of friends that are as special and supportive as the friends we've been fortunate to acquire. From childhood friends to our crew in Grenada, John and I have been blessed with a group of people who love us and lime with us despite our aforementioned shortcomings.

Good childhood friends. Fun Bobby and Johno!

This June I had the pleasure of watching my partner in crime, confident and one of the few people who makes me laugh in any situation get married to her perfect match. There was a time I think our mothers thought Katie and I might end up together in a beige pant suit commitment ceremony, but we both managed to find our perfect male mates, though without a doubt Katie is my ideal woman and best friend I've ever had.

When thinking about what I wish for Baby Clark; I hope he or she has a Katie in his or her life. Someone who makes you smile no matter how bleak things look and who you don't mind spending a very hungover day on a deserted island  in the South of France with...incidentally we were supposed to be going to St. Tropez, but as the "french speaker" I was too busy blowing chunks over the side of the ferry to listen to the announcement and we ended up not in beautiful St. Tropez, but instead on a deserted island with a bunch of frog families who who knew to pack pic-nics. Hideous day and an all time low in our Europe travels, and several years later we still think back to that day and shudder.

Not St. Tropez but thankfully not the deserted island either!

 We've held each others hands as we got one another down the the aisle to marry the amazing men who vowed they would put up with us for life, and we've held each other up as we've left the bar after one too many vinos. My wish for our baby is that he or she has a friend to share life's all time highs and lows with and everything in between. I've been so fortunate to find this and despite our lack of 401K's and consumer report rated automobiles; I think maybe the baby handing out board knew that this baby would be ok, because its got an all star team of support backing up its bumbling parents.

Katie and Mike on one of life's all time highs...!

Thanks to our wonderful friends and family who are holding our hands through the next step.

On second thought. We may be in serious trouble...

Crookes in Virginia and Tiefs in Grenada

My last post has us just leaving Grenada and heading for the rolling hills of Virginia all set to enjoy a peaceful summer in a picturesque and serene setting. After the drama off getting off the island...we were looking forward to a low key summer, and all of the conveniences of the States. Dishwashers, running hot water and central air were just within our grasp and we could almost taste the proverbial good life. Life however had other plans...mainly morning sickness and laziness which is why I am just now updating


After a two week tour of the eastern seaboard with John's parents, who had traveled over from Malawi, we headed for our rental in central Virginia. I should go ahead and mention, lest I sound ungrateful, that our summer was bookended by two amazing trips spent with family which I'll write about later, but sandwhiched in the middle of the ideal....was well lets just call it the bizarre. We moved into our picturesque location in Virginia and quickly realized something was a little off...mainly our landlord.

At the risk of sounding petty and like a disgruntled renter I'll spare you the details except to say if Norman Bates had a family I am pretty sure we rented from his offspring. Sparing most of the details... a few highlights were the weird dinner which had me hoping I was among the miniscule percentage of people who can smell arsenic, the creepy feeling that every time I exited my car I had a pair of trained binoculars on me, the utterly bizarre conversations and rules we had to follow, the transexual that cut the grass and just the creepy hair raising feeling these people gave off.

We lived in an stunning little corner of Virginia for 8 weeks and we have no pictures to show mainly because the experience is something we'd like to put behind us, and we pretty much had until we received an e-mail saying that a large portion of our security deposit would not be returned due to stains we put on their "brand new" couch.

We found it a bit strange that this wasn't mentioned in the walk through when we were leaving our apartment. We thought it even stranger that the "brand new"couch was never mentioned when we were asked to watch their friend's dog and asked if it was allowed on the furniture (it was), but imagine our surprise when looking back through photos they sent us of the rental unit we came across a picture of the "brand new" couch. The photo was dated 2000 and there were 5 dogs resting on this couch. We had our own suggestions as to where the stains in question could have come from after seeing this photo, but decided in the end if the Crookes (if you take away one letter, you'll have their surname) needed our money that badly it was a small price to pay to get out of  our Bates like living situation. We did take issue to their e-mail saying they were disappointed in the way we had treated their property. I am disappointed in the way they conduct themselves as humans, but after spending the summer with them can't say I am surprised.

The "tiefing" didn't end in Virginia, we returned to Grenada to find our scooter had been relocated. I have to say the tiefing of the $1200 scooter didn't bother me nearly as much as the bogus fine. Hopefully whoever has our scooter needs it and if they actually got it to start, well then they probably deserve it.

Lesson learned. I'll take a Grenada tief over a Virginia Crooke any day.