Day 1. I cannot tell you what a relief it is to know what you are making for dinner, and to have all the ingredients. (This usually only happens to me on Thanksgiving, and even then I always forget cranberries.) It is like knowing you have an outfit in your closet that fits, goes together, and is a good color for you (shit maybe I should be working on my closet.)
We chose Beef with Mushrooms and Snow Peas for the first dish because my middle daughter is out of town, and she is allergic to soy and shuns red meat. However by the end of the day, all my kids suddenly have playdates. Coincidence?
Considering it’s a stir-fry, this dish is shockingly easy to prepare – because the peapods don’t need to be chopped, and the mushrooms chop easily, and my husband happens to be home in time to slice the beef. It’s very yummy but a bit too fragrant – I think it needs less ginger and five spice powder. But it’s a keeper, and I think my kids would all eat it because it tastes a lot like the stuff we get in those little white containers with the wire handles. I don’t usually cook Chinese dishes because It’s too much chopping and too many ingredients and it makes my head hurt even before the msg kicks in. But this recipe has proven me wrong. And there is only one pan to clean, so I won't feel like a professional dishwasher in addition to a chef.
