Pork Stir-Fry with Asparagus and Sugar Snap Peas...thanks to The Kitchn.

I love to try new recipes.   Well, last night I had 2 pork chops and some asparagus, so I decided to search through Pinterest (one of my obsessions!) for something different to cook.   I was able to find a recipe that had all of the criteria I was looking for...(1) I had to have the ingredients (or at least most of them), and (2) - and most important - it had to look yummy!   I stumbled across a recipe for Pork Stir-Fry with Asparagus and Sugar Snap Peas from the Kitchn.   The link below will take you to the actual recipe.

 Recipe: Pork Stir-Fry with Asparagus and Sugar Snap Peas Recipes from The Kitchn 

Doesn't it look yummy!  I love read blogs where they have tried and given reviews of the recipes.  So, I thought that I would give it a try.    This recipe was very easy to prepare (which is always great on a weeknight after work).  I didn't have all of the ingredients in my pantry (but I had all but a couple), and as I tend to do, I added my own flair.    REMEMBER:  This is not my recipe, I found it on Pinterest and the people at www.thekitchn.com get all the credit!   

Pork Stir-Fry with Asparagus and Sugar Snap Peas

Serves 4

1 12-16 ounce pork tenderloin
1 cup rice
1/4 cup soy sauce     (I used low sodium)
2 tablespoons sherry          (I replaced this with Chicken Broth)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon rice vinegar                         (I also used about 1 Tbsp of Garlic Chili Paste - for heat)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon corn starch                  
2 shallots, sliced thin                        (I added one small bell pepper, sliced thin)
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and sliced into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups sugar snap peas, tips trimmed      (I didn't have sugar snap peas)
1/4 cup water                                     (I added Straw mushrooms from a canned, drained)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch piece ginger, peeled and minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper

Place the pork in the freezer for 20 minutes while you prep the rest of the ingredients. This helps make it easier to slice. When ready, slice the pork into medallions about 1/2-inch thick. Then slice each medallion into 2 or 3 strips. Season the strips with salt and pepper.

Bring two cups of water to a boil. Add a half teaspoon of salt and the rice, and return to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook the rice for 20 minutes (or follow package instructions). When done, remove from heat, fluff with a spoon, and leave partially covered until ready to serve.

While the rice is cooking, prepare the stir-fry. Whisk together the soy sauce, sherry, brown sugar, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and corn starch. Set near the stove.

Heat 1 teaspoon of the canola or other vegetable oil in a large (14-inch) sauté pan over high heat. Add the pork and cook, stirring and turning strips once or twice, until edges begin to brown and they are just cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add the other teaspoon of oil to the pan, and cook the shallots until they have softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the asparagus, cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute, and then add the sugar snap peas. Pour half of the water into the pan, and scrape the bottom of the pan to pick up browned bits. You may need to add all of the water, depending on how high the heat and how brown your pan.

Sauté the vegetable mixture for another 4 to 6 minutes, until asparagus and peas are bright green but still crunchy. Add the garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes and cook for another 30 seconds. Stir in the sauce and the cooked pork. Continue stirring until the sauce has thickened and the meat and vegetables look glazed.

Serve immediately with rice. Leftovers will keep for a week.

Jeremy thought that the recipe was good, but since he isn't a fan of asparagus, he would have preferred that I left it out.  BUT...he ate it and didn't complain, so it must have been pretty good.   I tinker with Weight Watchers at Home, so if you are doing Weight Watchers, 1/4 of this recipe = 10 points plus per serving, which isn't great...but it was very filling.   

ENJOY!

Looking back on the Septembers of my past.

First of all let me tell you that this post may not make sense to anyone but me, and that is OK.   This blog is more for me to see the blessings through my feelings and experiences than for anyone else. I hope that people find something useful in my ramblings, but that isn't always going to happen. So, I apologize in advance for my ramblings.  

I found myself sitting at home today (9/11/2014), before my Uncle Johnny's funeral thinking about life through the years.   He was 80+ and had lived a good life, and I know it wasn't always easy.  He had a stroke a couple of years ago. I see older people and I think to myself, "I've experienced so much love, happiness, heartache, and pain in my 42 years".   I wonder what their heart story would be.    I think that everyone had a "heart story".   A heart story is something that lives inside of you. It's the story of your life that can't be hidden behind a smile, a laugh,or a tear.  Everyone's heart story is different.  Some have lost children, spouses or parents.   Others have dealt with pain from family or friend due to rejections or abuse.   Many have felt great love or loss.  Today I sat and thought about my heart story.  Over the years, what was I experiencing the first week or so of September.   I've never thought to think about my life in such a short period of time every year, but today is the day.

Today is September 11, 2014.  I remember where I was 12 years ago...but I can also remember in general overviews, the feelings and events that I have experienced in the first part of September over several years.    It's kind of interesting to think about high school, young adult life and now (middle age - yep no matter how much I fight it...I'm middle aged) while only thinking of the first couple of weeks of September each year.  

I can remember early September 1989.  I was dating my high school boyfriend, the one that would end up being my husband (but not my last husband - and certainly NOT my best husband).  This time was filled with happiness and love (but also dread because I knew he would be leaving in November for Korea for a year).  This was also a time of happiness because I was a Senior in High School.   I always liked school, but I was "grown" and ready to start the rest of my life.  

Early September 1990, I was working and going to college at night.   This September wasn't as fun as I thought it would be.  College and being employed at the Daycare was a lot of work.    I'm sure I was stressed because of the extra load, but I was also anxious and happy.  That same boyfriend (now fiancé) that left for Korea in 1989 was going to be home around Thanksgiving and we were getting married in January.   I was excited for his return and for the wedding.

September 1993,  I was pregnant.  This time brought about much anticipation and happiness, along with some fear.   I was living across the country from my family and friends and about to have a baby - THAT IS SCARY, but still so exciting.   

I was getting a divorce in 1997,  the man that I loved in 1989 turned out to be a loser.   He was my son's "father" but never his dad. I was scared!   How was I going to support myself and my son with no help from this man.  BUT...I was determined, and I made it work with the help of my parents.  

In 1998, I was so very happy.  I was working at a decent job and going back to college at night.  I had my son and a new husband (This one was the good one).   After only dating Mark for 6 months, we married.  (WHAT?!?  I do not make quick decisions about things.  I think that God allowed us to marry quickly knowing that we wouldn't have a very long life together.)  My life had finally fallen into place.   Mark wanted to fill the role of Jeremy's dad...and he did a great job of it.   Everything seemed right with the world.  

September 11, 2001.  The only emotion I can remember was fear and uncertainty.   The World Trade Centers had been hit by airplanes.   Many, many people had died.   The firefighters and police officers were there to help and many of them died.     Planes had crashed.   Our nation was under attack.   I remember feeling very patriotic and praying for peace.   

September 2010 brought many tears. This was the time when Mark was going for a routine biopsy, nothing to worry about.   September 9, 2010 was when the doctor called and told me over the phone that my husband had cancer.  Complete and utter terror ran through my veins.    No one should ever have to look their loved one in the face and tell them that they have cancer.   Fear, confusion, and love were the emotions of the day as Mark and I sat on the couch together to process this.   I remember praying that God would help me through this time because I wasn't strong enough to handle this.   I had always heard about a peace that surpasses all understanding.   WELL, if you haven't experienced that peace, it is wonderful.   A calmness fell over Mark and myself.   There were still fears and tears, but nothing like the first couple of days.   Mark's attitude was that there was nothing to fear, he wasn't going to give in to cancer.  He said "I'll just do what they tell me to and we will live happily ever after".  Oh how I wished that was true!!!

September 2011 brought along happiness, exhaustion, and fear. We learned during 2011 to just enjoy being together whether it was sitting on the couch talking or hanging out in a hospital room.  We enjoyed being together as a family. Mark had spent over 30 nights in the hospital that year.  The oncologist was planning to start radiation in early September, BUT the scan showed a new tumor.  So, we started chemo instead.  Mark's attitude (and mine) was that we were still going to win this battle.   We loved every minute that we were together.  Jeremy, Mark and I did a lot of hanging out at our house, just enjoying being together.  

Jeremy was a senior in High School in 2012.  So, I was very excited about that and wondering where his life would lead him. The feeling that was stronger than the excitement was the heartbreak I was experiencing.   The oncologist had told us in July that the cancer had spread to his bones, and Mark probably had 6 months to live.   He didn't make it that long.   He told me that he was giving up, which I understood - he was tired.  I was a complete emotional wreck the evening that Mark and I sat down and planned out his Memorial Service, but I was relieved when it was all planned and didn't have to be addressed again for several months.  I was worried about facing a future without him in it, but I was sure that I could handle it on my own.  I knew that God was going to carry me and Jeremy through the difficult times, and he has.  

Jeremy and I went to Panama City in September of 2013.   We decided to take a "family vacation".   Mark was cremated and wanted his ashes scattered in various locations, which Jeremy and I (along with different friends) have fulfilled those wishes.   We still have a part of him with us, but he is in camping spots, beaches, and waterfalls.  Jeremy and I headed off on vacation and made it about 50 miles from home when it hit us.   We left Mark at home.  So what do we do? We turned around and went home to get him. The vacation to PCB was lots of fun. Jeremy and I laughed and had a great time.   One night at sunset, we went out and scattered Mark's ashes in the waves and buried him in the sand. I knew that day as we laughed about burying Mark in the sand, that Jeremy and I were on our way to being ok, and we were happy. 

This year was no different. We buried Uncle Johnny today, but I know that he is well and in a much better place. I like to think that Mark and Uncle Johnny are hanging out up there having a good time.  I'm not perfect, I'm not always strong, but I am always blessed.   This year, I've had some sad times thinking about the past.  I've shed more than a few tears and smiled more than a few times while writing this post.  I laughed while remembering that we buried him in the sand (along with all the other crazy things that Mark did to keep us laughing while he was alive)!   Through our lives, there are going to be hard times, happy times, and some times when we just feel like "it's not fair", but no matter what there will always be blessed times.  You just have to look for them.  

I remember what I was doing 4 years ago today...

Do you ever have dates that stick out so distinctly in your mind?  September 1 is one of those dates for me.   It was September 1, 2010.   I have always been a positive person and a "good" Christian person.  However, Sept 1 was going to be the date that would forever change the rest of my life.   It was a day that would draw me closer to God, my friends, and family.   It would also be that day that would bring Jeremy, Mark, and myself closer together with a bond that would hold like cement.   I'm sorry if I am rambling, but my mind if running a thousand miles a minute, thinking about the last 4 years.   Wow!  So much has change...my family has changed, my relationship with God has changed (So Thankful for this Change!).   Those of you that know me, know that I try to be a positive and encouraging person.  Well on September 1, 2010, I was no different.   Mark (my husband) had a pre-op appointment for a biopsy.  He had a spot that the doctor said " I'm sure this is probably nothing more than a freckle, but I want to biopsy it to be sure. ".   So being my encouraging self, I was the cheerleader that was telling Mark that it was going to be nothing and we would just get the biopsy and figure out from there what the doctor wanted to do with this little spot.    I took off work that afternoon for the appointment.  I sat in the waiting room talking and laughing with my husband (he was always entertaining).   We came home and  cooked dinner and ate as a family with Jeremy.   This was no big deal...just a precaution.   I had no worries.

The next day (9/2/10), we got up and went to UAB Highlands for his simple outpatient surgery.  My parents were out of town,  Jeremy was as at school,  Jenny was at work,  Sally was at home working in Florida.   All of these people were stressed out about the fact that I was in the waiting room alone.   I wasn't worried.  I had this, I wasn't alone.   There were a lot of other people in the waiting room.   I sat and chatted with others sitting around me.   No worries...I had this!   The biopsy took a little longer thank expected, but that was ok...I'm a pretty patient person too.   Once the doctor called me back for the report about how the surgery went.   He said that he was able to biopsy the spot.  He had found a complication, and had a lot of trouble feeding the catheter into his bladder because of the narrowing.  They were going to send us home with a Urinary catheter and stitches and we would return in one week to have the catheter removed.   I was then sent back out to the waiting room to wait for Mark to make it recovery and they would call me back.   I was still chatting with the people around me, but my mind was kind of swirling.    How was Mark going to handle having this catheter for a week.  I figured that it wouldn't go well.   Little did I know that within a year later that catheter would become his permanent friend!   Yes...that is what Mark called his catheter during his cancer fight...his friend.  He would say "I've got my friend, let's go!"