Review: Hot & Sour Soup Recipe

Hot & Sour Soup along with General Tso's Chicken are the two recipes that I judge all Chinese restaurants by. Yes, I understand that the General's chicken is not true Chinese food, but when I want deep-fried chicken pieces in a savory sauce over rice, all of which I try not to eat, this is my go-to dish. Hot & Sour Soup on the other hand, isn't that bad, just don't look at the milligrams of salt. Luckily at this point in my life, the only reason I watch my salt intake is so I don't feel puffy the next day.

I ran across this recipe from Wegman's for Hot & Sour Soup, and thought I'd give it a whirl. If it's easy AND good, I could skip the restaurant version and simply whip it up at home. I cooked it yesterday and it is YUMMY, but took a bit more prep time and dirty dishes than I had hoped. I'll share some time cutting tips below, keep in mind I'm just too cheap sometimes to buy pre-minced, diced and cut products. In this case, it worked out well, my son wanted to help, so I put him to work. My counters and stove top were messier than usual, I really need to work with him on his stirring and measuring skills, but it was quality time spent with him. He even said it smelled great, but wouldn't try it because of the mushrooms. I told him that someday, he'll like them, lol.

Ingredients:

1 tbs Vegetable Oil (I actually used flavorless coconut oil) 
1 lb Ground Pork 
2 tbs minced Garlic (time saver = purchase a jar of pre-minced garlic)
2 tbs peeled, minced fresh ginger (time saver = purchase pre-minced ginger)
2 pkgs (5 oz each) Sliced Shiitake Mushrooms (I used baby 'Bellas)
64 oz Chicken Broth (time saver = purchase pre-made)
3 tbs Cornstarch 
4 tbs water 
1/2 cup  Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce 
2 tsp ground white pepper 
1 tsp salt 
1/2 cup Rice Vinegar 
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil 
1 Large Egg, beaten 
3-4  green onions, thinly sliced on bias, for garnish

Directions:

Prep first - got out everything needed ingredients, knife, mincer, grater, cutting board, large spoon, stockpot, 2 small bowls, measuring cups and spoons.

Cleaned and minced the garlic. Cleaning is the most time consuming part. First I smash the clove a bit to crack the outside, then I peel, then mince. Peeled the ginger (BIG pain), then minced. If you've ever minced ginger, it's a stringy root that takes a bit of muscle. Plus it gets juicy, making it hard to hold. I managed to snag my fingertips a couple times. In the famous words of Monty Python's the Black Knight, "It's just a flesh wound." 

Beating the egg (easiest part of the whole prep).

1. Heat oil in stockpot on MED-HIGH. Add pork; cook, stirring to break up large pieces, 2-3 min, until browned. Add garlic, ginger, and mushrooms. Cook, stirring, 3-4 min.

2. Add broth; bring to simmer. Cook 10 min. Add cornstarch and water to small bowl; stir to combine. Set aside.

3. Add soy sauce, pepper, salt, rice vinegar, and sesame oil to pot; stir to combine. Add cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly. Drizzle egg into soup, stirring constantly. Garnish soup with green onions before serving.

I ended up letting it simmer for about 15 min while I cleaned up. Once the prep is done, the cooking is really easy. Ladled the soup into the bowl then sat down to watch some Hawaii 5-0. The soup has great flavor, I'm going to add a bit more pepper next time to increase the heat a tad and the baby 'Bellas didn't change the flavor. I would have liked a bit more pork, so I'll probably bump the quantity up to 1.5 lbs. Also, if you don't want pork, tofu could be added, bits of chicken or other protein, just as easily. As you can tell from the recipe, it makes a lot of soup. I'm planning on freezing part for future eating.

Bottom line, I'll be making this again. Nothing beats a good cup of soup, especially on a cold winter's day. Enjoy!

Snap, Crackle & Pop in the Morning

Old TV Commercial

For those of you in your 40s and older, I'm sure you remember these guys from Saturday morning cartoons and the commercials companies played aimed directly at us. Yes, at one point cartoons were only on Saturdays and right after school. Now I enjoy these sounds every morning walking down the stairs for the first time and throughout the day, as I traverse the many stairwells at work. Many of you know what I'm talking about and if you don't yet, it's coming. It's the sounds your various joints make when being used the first time that day. For me, it's my knees that ring out in alarm saying, "Lady, what the heck are you thinking moving us like that? Are you an idiot? We're not warmed up yet!" And as the years pass, my knees become more and more vocal AND they like to get their friends, my hips, ankles and elbows, to sing along. While it may be music to them, anyone that has the pleasure of walking along side me when they start their chorus always asks, "What was that?! Are you ok?" I just chuckle and keep moving, they pipe down shortly anyway.

So anyone who has joints that Snap, Crackle & Pop...welcome to the Backside of Forty!

Is Cam Newton an A$$ or Just Young?

Folks, I'm not a sports enthusiast, although I do like a good game regardless of the sport, nor am I a football aficionado, but I'm a mother raising a son and know good and bad behavior when I see it. And no I don't consider farting and fart noises bad behavior, annoying...yes, in church...embarrassing. Cam Newton's recent behavior after the Super Bowl and all the hype from the harpies that call themselves reporters, has me thinking about this topic. It's actually not just Cam we should be talking about, it's all childish behavior displayed by purported adults, especially those who are public figures and role models. But that topic would go on endlessly.

My immediate reaction to Cam's behavior was, "What a childish a-hole he is, how embarrassing for the Panthers." It was a knee-jerk reaction that many of us felt. The reaction he had to losing the Super Bowl is along the same lines as my son losing at a game of Life or Monopoly. And no, I don't let my son win anymore just to let him, if he beats me it's fair and square. Then I stopped to think about things. Cam Newton is 26 years old and a QB for an NFL team, that's the top of the heap, the elite, the best football has to offer (we won't get into the college versus pro debate). At 26, I was working and going out drinking and partying every night. He's only been in the NFL since 2011 (I believe, don't quote me), five teeny, tiny years. I've been working in the IT industry for over 15 years and I'm still learning to be a leader and a manager, plus I'm in my late 40's, I've had more life experience than he has. As much as I try, I still get passionate from time to time, my humanness gets the best of me. With all that said, is Cam really the a$$hole he's made out to be?

Honestly after looking at my life, where I was at that age and the fact he just lost the Super Bowl, the BIGGEST game of the year for football, I think I'd be upset too and I sure as heck wouldn't want to talk about the details of how I lost ad nauseum to news vultures, asking the same question a different way, over and over. I did see that he went over to Peyton Manning and congratulated him I also saw a grown man cry from the Panthers. Winning or losing is a big deal to these guys, it's their job to be passionate about their work. With that being said though...when my son pouts and acts like a sore loser after a game, I work on correcting his behavior, because no one likes being around someone who can't lose gracefully and for that matter, I don't let him be a gloating jerk when he wins. For some it takes years to master the art of winning and losing with grace. Cam Newton isn't there yet. I'm not sure if he's close to his mom, but I would hope she would tell him not to display that kind of behavior, he's better than that. Explain to him how to be a leader to his team, and leading by example when losing, will be something that he'll have to learn.

Cam is definitely a talented ball player, he couldn't have gotten where he is at age 26 if he wasn't. And in professional sports, there's nothing wrong with confidence in yourself and your team, you have to have that. If I was part of the Panther's organization, I'd hire a coach to help teach Cam leadership, how to put on a "game face" even after you lost the big game, how to answer the myriad of questions being fired at you to elicit a reaction, to teach him to be a graceful winner and loser. If the Panther's won't do it for him, he should consider doing it for himself. He's a public figure and role model to many aspiring athletes. They will be looking to him at critical points in his career and want to emulate his behavior on and off the field. Do the right thing Cam and let this be an exception and not a rule. We are human and make mistakes, let it be a one-time thing and move on. Be everything you can be...and more.