Fifth times a charm?!?!

Friday was a scramble in the afternoon.  J and I were scheduled to go get our fifth COVID Booster and that was at 1600 or before.  I pick up Kiddo 15:05 and by the time we got home, J was on our heels and it was go time.  So, we packed the iPad and some nibbles and headed out to get another COVID shot.  For something that was supposed to be gone by Easter… 2020.  It’s now 2023!  I have a whole rant on that, but that’s in my personal archives.  If you’d like a copy, just email.

Kiddo was good and rolled with the modified schedule and needing to get to the hospital for shots and all.  She even came with J and myself as we got our shots because she liked seeing the process.  The backend of that, however, is that she’s wondering why she didn’t get a COVID Booster.  Needless to say, the friends have been seeing a lot of Dr FixItUp and there have been flu shots and COVID shots for one and all.  

She was adorable at the clinic, however.  After the shot, we needed to sit for 20 minutes to make sure nothing happened and that we didn’t react or anything.  Kiddo sat and munched on some pretzels and watched some My Lil Pony.  It’s rough being 5!  :)

Saturday was the day that she proved her ability to roll with it.  J and I react to the shots.  Flu like symptoms the following day.  The good news is that she (Kiddo) slept in until 0800.  Both J and I felt run down and low on energy.  So, it was a subdued day.  The morning was just sitting with Kiddo and playing.  She did most of the playing and we did most of the sitting.  After lunch and rest time J and I still had nothing in us.  So, we asked Kiddo if she wanted to just be lazy and watch a movie.  She’s on a Kung Fu kick right now, so Kung Fu Panda 3 was the choice.  

**** I’d missed the Kung Fu Panda movies.  My age, the release dates, what I had going on in life, etc etc.  I just missed them.  They are cute.  Fun.  Well done films.  Also, some really good voice talent.  We are excited that a fourth should be coming next year.  

For dinner, we ordered from a Katsu place that we’d been told about.  It was less than stellar, but it was easy.  I’d say quick, but due to mistakes and problems with the restaurant we ordered from and the delivery service, our 1700-17:15 ordered arrived 18:03.  Also, we’ve had been katsu that is closer and quicker.  Oh well.  No one starved and we lived to tell the tale of sub-par katsu.  

Sunday was a busy day.  We (J and I) woke up feeling much better.  J needed the afternoon to work and catch up with some things, we needed to get to Tops for groceries, we promised Kiddo a treat for being so good Friday at the hospital for shots and for the lazy and icky mumma and dada Saturday, so we did a McDonalds lunch.  In the morning, we all got to the pool to swim and hang out a bit.  We had the pool to ourselves all morning, so that was a blast.  It also bought us a good night sleep from some five year old who shall remain nameless.  :)

In the afternoon, it was Kiddo and Dada.  I was trying a new recipe, so Kiddo and I did some doctoring before I needed to do my prep.  The doctoring was intense.  Ratchet needed a surgery because of talking and throat problems.  Not only did Ratchet talk in a raspy voice, but he was having throw up problems without any curl-upitous.  Turns out, we needed to do eye, arm, AND throat surgery to fix up Ratchet.  He’s still on bed rest as of this morning and can’t Galactic Ranger for a whole week.  Lucky, all things considered.  The last time we did eye surgery it was on Poley and it was a laser eye surgery to help Poley see better in school and he was on bed rest for 3 weeks.  For eye, arm, throat surgery only needing a week of bedrest….. Whew!  

For dinner, I found a recipe for a pork and saparot stir fry.  We can get saparot pretty easily and Kiddo has been into saparot these days, so I figured… Should be a pleaser.  It called for a lot more heat and spice, but I toned that down for Kiddo, going with a savory and fresh taste to play off the sweet, instead of a heat and sweet.  

For those playing along at home-

Cut saparot (pineapple) into bite size (small) pieces.  Sprinkle with salt and leave (covered) at room temp for an hour or two.  Pour off juice into container that will hold pork.

Cube pork into bite size (medium) pieces and add to container with saparot juice.  1 teaspoon corn starch.  2 teaspoon brown sugar.  4 tablespoon soy sauce (the darker the better).  Pinch of salt and some black pepper.  Add water to cover or about 4-6 oz.  Mix and toss.  Marinate for 2 hours at room temp and then hold in fridge for up to 12 hours.  The saparot juice will tenderize the meat, but also start to “cook” due to acid, so it can only stand so long.  I gave two hours and then about 45 min in fridge before back out to room temp about 15 minutes prior to cooking.

I added green beans (cut bite sized) and bok choy (ribbons).  Next time, I’d swap the bok choy for bell peppers.

Confit garlic until crispy.  Drain and keep oil.

Add garlic oil to pan (spoonful) and let get HOT.  

Use a slotted spoon to remove pork and save the pork liquid.  Add pork to hot pan and stir fry until done.  I like to get some caramelization, especially with the yummy sauce, so I cooked it hard on one side to get some browning and that Maillard reaction.

Remove pork onto a plate with a paper towel to soak up excess oil.

More garlic oil to pan (one spoonful) and again, get ripping hot.  Remove saparot onto paper towel and pat to remove moisture.  Toss into hot pan.  Again, get some of that lovely Maillard going down.

I added a bit of diced onion after the saparot was cooked to liking.  Then, once that was cooked to soft (90ish seconds) I reintroduced the pork.  Adding the pork liquid, I then tossed in the green beans and bok choy.  Stir fried for about 2 minutes.  Added crispy garlic.  Toss.  Served over rice.

We all liked it, but we all thought it could use tweaking.  Noted above, bell peppers.  The pork, as it was marinated, can work in a lot of ways as well, so that was a cool tool to put in my kitchen belt.

Here’s the finished product.

It was a fun weekend.  Slow and sickly at times.  Busy at others.  Fun all the way through.

Let’s go, Kiddo… It’s Monday and school, but that just means you get to learn a ton more and then come home and teach me and the friends all about it.  Mumma and I love your curiosity and want to learn and see things; Especially medical things.  You are the bravest, boldest, and most beautiful thing in our lives.  Nova is right… You will always be our brightest star.