One thing I really, really liked about the Dutch supermarket as I mentioned last week is the pre-cut, pre-cleaned, pre-cooked (or uncooked) vegetables in their supermarkets. Not only that, they are mostly fresh produce and come with a wide variety of selection to choose from. They are also not too expensive.
Imagine the time you’d save from the peeling, cutting and rinsing. It’s brilliant!
Here’s this week’s feature of simple stir-fry vegetable made easy by pre-everything from the supermarket.
Vegetable Medley of Fresh Dutch Vegetables
2016-06-10 06:19:39
Serves 4
An easy recipe using a mixture of pre-everything from the supermarket! That's that.
Half a pack pre-spiced and semi-cooked Dutch taters
1 cup capsicum
Instructions
Heat up oil in pan
Fry pressed garlic and onions till translucent
Add in chicken stock cube and mix well
Fry up the taters till golden
Put in the beans and capsicum and mix well
Cover up for 5 minutes
Still well and turn off the fire
Serve!
Notes
You can always add on other herbs like spring onions, rosemary or parsley to enhance the taste.
By Ann Grubbs 'n Critters
Grubbs n Critters https://grubbsncritters.com/
Disclaimer: Using pre-everything vegetables from the supermarket is not lazy. It’s just convenient! For busy moms, this is god-sent and the best part is, nothing about this is unhealthy.
Last night, amidst the dark and very clear sky, I chanced upon a shooting star from our back yard. It was almost 1 a.m and everyone was already fast asleep. What a magnificent sight!
The sky was clear and seemed low. It was a canvassed with a lot of bright stars of different hues and the occasional planes flying across the sky. Looking up at the night sky has always been one of my favourite things to do and it’s a habit I’ve cultivated since I was a kid.
On a clear night, it’s always a beautiful sight. I just love figuring out the distant stars and the feeling that comes with it. I could stare at it for ages and completely immersed myself in the moment; filled with fascination and a deep sense of wonderment. It’s a nice feeling.
Oh! If only I have a telescope!
The whole nano-second shooting star gamut caught me by surprise. I wasn’t expecting one when I looked up at the sky yesterday. It had happened in a moment and it even took me a few seconds before I realised that it was indeed a shooting star I saw!
I can’t remember the last time when I saw one; it must have been a long while ago. Funny how I forget the last time I had witnessed such an occurrence, but when it happened, I had remembered to make a wish!
Triggers are funny little things, arent’ they?
I lingered in our backyard for a few minutes longer and was wondering if I would catch another. In fact, I was almost wishing for a mini meteor shower to happen because that would have been really cool and I get to brag about it.
Naturally, nothing else happened within that few minutes. I had to go back inside as it was getting a little too cold. Besides, I need to catch up with some sleep debt I owed. The kids would be excited when I tell them about it.
The sight was nothing like the picture below. Still, I went to bed with the image of one of the brightest and clearest shooting star I have ever recalled seeing in my life.
It made me smile and with it, hoping the wish I had softly whispered into the wind comes true.
It’s almost the end of spring and summer is round the corner.
While the Dutch weather has been nothing but unpredictable with the typical rain and clouds on some days, the weather here has otherwise been mostly great since we arrived. We must have brought a portion of the Bangkok weather with us!
The sun has been out on most days; cueing to the restless young souls to come out and play. This has been a pleasant change from the usual soaring Bangkok heat of 35 – 40 degree Celsius almost the whole year round.
Now that our front door opens up to a front yard mere meters away from the neighbourhood playground and wide open spaces with lots of room for kids to run around, it has been harder for us to keep the kids indoors.
There are no suicidal motorists or crazy traffic to worry about. There are no potholed sidewalks or footpath filled with street vendors hogging the sidewalk with open fires to navigate. Only well-paved path and green, green grass of home.
We have our own backyard for us to hang out when the sun’s out and the cats to wander about. We have the kids within our sight when we look out of the windows from the comfort of our home and step outside intermittently to check on them. Otherwise, there would be the neighbours who would take turns to watch out for the kids while they sip their wines from their front porches.
Our little critters, without a doubt are happy to be able to play outside. They insist on it. In fact, they would not even mind if the weather is slightly chilly and/or rainy, insisting and nagging us to allow them to play outside. What’s the big deal, they’d say. They’ll put on their jackets and off they go!
Unless of course they misbehaved in which they would lose their outdoor playtime, there is just no reason to keep the kids in when there is nothing else going on. Even when the weather is a little crappy (Read: rainy and cold), we would still see other kids hanging out outdoors.
Now, THAT has inevitably make our job harder to reason out with the little monkeys on why they should not be out when they see other (older) kids outside. Why can’t we go out, Mama? It’s OK Mama. Only water. Can we play outside? Please, please Mama! See! Those kids are still playing in the rain. Their mamas let them play outside, Mama. Let us go outside please. We promise we’ll behave.
Urgggh. Try reasoning with that! My ears have gone deaf from all their relentless nagging and my patience running thin from their incessant whining. Not to mention that on some days, I’m just too lazy to stay outside and keep watch even intermittently!
The days in this part of the world are looooong and at 10.45 pm, it is still fairly light with dusk about only setting in. It doesn’t get pitch dark till after 11 pm. And some kids do play longer outside and in my books, way past our kids’ bedtime.
The Dutch Sky at 10 pm
The kids have had to get used to going to bed while it is still light, and they have not put up such a big fuss. My guess is that they would have been tired out after all the time they spent outdoors. Long days or not, the kids still have to go to bed by 7 pm. Sometimes, a little later but not beyond 7.30 pm and by my preference, best to be in bed by 6.30 pm! I don’t care if they are not sleeping till later, at least they are in bed and they will stay IN bed.
Because, after 6.30 pm, I am done with them. Call me cruel, but I am DONE. Because, I’m telling you, after all the hoolabaloos that had happened during the day with them, it’s all bliss and quiet when they both are fast asleep. THEIR play-time is over. Not that I don’t enjoy being with them; I do! but Mama can do other things now in peace. Best.feeling.in.the.world.
We have been lucky with the kids as so far, no matter where we have traveled to and whatever strange and new places we made our beds in, they seem to be able to sleep pretty well. Sure sometimes, it would take a while before they doze off, but unless they are sick, there has not been a case where they would fuss all night from not being able to sleep in unfamiliar beds.
Perhaps all the travelling from such a young age and had flew even before they could even crawl may have played a part to give them that little edge. Or perhaps, they just have my genes of being able to sleep anywhere and in new strange places without much of a fuss. You gotta sleep when you gotta sleep, no!
Whatever it is, I ain’t complaining. They got themselves the right gene pool when it comes to sleep location. When they are asleep, they are asleep. Time to unwind. Best time of the day!
What about you my dear bloggily friends? When (or what) would you define as the best pocket of time in your day?
