Beef and Bok Choy Soup with Udon Noodles

We ate an embarrassing amount of this last night.  The bebe (who is not quite one) ate about a cup himself.  It is that good.

2 inches knob of ginger (peeled, sliced thickly and crushed with the edge of a heavy knife)
2 tablespoons oil
1.5 yellow onions (cut in half and then thinly sliced)
2 inches of lemongrass (cut into half inch pieces and crushed)
1 cinnamon stick (if you don't have a stick, don't substitute ground cinnamon, I think that would make it funky tasting)
1 star anise (if you have it, if not no worries.  It is dinner not a criminal trial.  Don't stress.)
7 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chili garlic paste
4 cups stock (make your own if possible)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1.5 pounds steak (thinly sliced; it is easier to slice beef if it is partially frozen)
1 large head of bok choy (bottom cut off), chopped into 1 - 2 inch pieces  (or 4 baby bok choy)
1 or 2 packages (depending upon how much you like noodles in your soup) of fresh udon noodles (they are in the refrigerated section at Whole Foods near the hummus.  Not sure if that helps you but I do what I can)

NOTE:  You are going to dig out the ginger, lemongrass, anise and the cinnamon stick before serving.  Hence, why I had you leave it in larger pieces.  I made the mistake of slicing the garlic and cutting the ginger and lemongrass in small pieces last night.  Differentiating between ginger and garlic was not a fun use of my time.  Learn from my mistake.

In a large pot, saute the onion in the oil until softened.  Add in the cinnamon, lemongrass and star anise (stir constantly for 45 seconds until they release their fragrance.  Smells SO YUMMY).  Add in the garlic, ginger and chili paste (stir for another minute or so).  Add stock, 4 cups of water and soy sauce.

Raise the heat and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, drop in the sliced beef and return to a boil.  Reduce the heat, cover the pot and simmer until the beef is tender (this is totally dependent upon what kind of beef you bought.  The tougher the cut, the longer it should cook -- up to an hour and a half).

Meanwhile, have some wine, play with the baby, update your Facebook status, whatever.

Once the meat is tender, dig out the lemongrass, anise, cinnamon and ginger.  Don't burn yourself like I did.

Bring soup back to a boil and toss in the thicker ends of the bok choy.  Let them boil for 2 - 3 minutes and toss in the green tops.  After two minutes, toss in your noodles (mine said to boil for 2 minutes but read your own directions).

We like this so much, it is going in our regular repertoire which is great praise indeed since I am the self-appointed "Soup Queen."

Bebe Food

The most surprising thing about having a baby has been the barrage of people who, clearly, know more about my baby and our lifestyle than I do.  They are also, no doubt, more dedicated to the health and happiness of said child that his parents who are, obviously, morons.

Before I start my rant, let me clarify a couple of things.  My husband and I both have multiple graduate degrees (granted, not in nutrition or child development but we are not categorical morons.  Contrary to what my mother says).  Neither of us have eating disorders.  And my husband is known as Captain Safety.  He always knows the nearest exits, where fire extinguishers are located and sizes up everyone in a room for potential threats.  Twenty plus years in the military will do that to you.  I, on the other hand, rely on good karma.

That being said, the High Anxiety Moms (HAMs) that I blogged about earlier seem to think that I have a death wish for my child.  Apparently, the fact that I don't assume everyone is a child molester or kidnapper makes me a "bad mommy."  I was at a Sri Lankan curry house (The Curry Leaf in Colorado Springs -- yummy!) the other day and the 80 year old cook (I assume) came out to dote on sweet bebe (who was wolfing down curried dahl and green beans like nobody's business.  Even I was a bit embarrassed at the gluttony).  She rubbed his belly, picked him up, swirled him around and kissed him non-stop.  Clearly, it was torturous for my uber-affectionate, belly-laughing bebe.  I thought it was cute and no instinctive (maternal or otherwise) alarms went off.  I took it as an opportunity to feed myself rather than the baby.  This is what I call a bonanza moment.  Curried chicken and potatoes for everyone.

My girlfriend was hysterical on my behalf "What if she tries to kidnap him?  What will you do then?"  I honestly could not answer.  Not because I was speechless (I assure you that has NEVER happened to me.  I heart talking), but because I am supposed to panic about an elderly Sri Lankan woman making a run for it while I watch?  Seriously?  This is what I am supposed to add to my list of worries?  Global warming?  Check.  An unhealthy food supply?  Check.  An ancient Sri Lankan stealing my child and selling him off to the white slave market?  Check.

She further added that I feed the baby "too much weird food."  Well, as long as you are criticizing my parenting skills, please feel free to tack on more to the list.  Go on, I'll wait.

I have had total strangers come up to me at restaurants and say "babies don't eat guacamole/spinach/beets/halibut.  He should be eating Pop Tarts or Cheerios."  Seriously?  You want me to trade in steamed spinach (one of bebe's favorites) for Pop Tarts?  Are you joking or just stupid?

I am shocked at what American parents DON'T feed their children.  I was at Garbanzo's recently (without bebe) chatting with another mom.  She was from Lebanon and her 1 year old was inhaling hummus, one of my baby's favorite foods EVER.  She made me laugh when she said "My mom is always harping that the baby does not eat enough hummus.  How is he supposed to grow without chickpeas?"

The irony of this amused me because I get criticized all the time for feeding bebe boy hummus.  And sushi.  And udon.  And fish.  And Chinese dumplings.  And brisket.  And crab legs.  And pico de gallo.  The lady at our sushi place loves the fact that we feed bebe sushi so she always brings him out extra miso (how he loves that!) and "special sushi that Japanese babies eat."  In exchange for free food, he gives her his best pterodactyl grin and lets her rub his belly unimpeded.  It is a win-win for all concerned.


The only thing that makes this better are the few people {whom I absolutely respect} who agree that no bebe ever was scarred for life from bok choy and udon noodle soup (recipe to follow, it was AMAZING).  


I am further consoled by the fact that somehow somewhere I just know that a Nepalese grandmother is screaming at her daughter "I can't believe you are feeding the baby Cheerios.  Are you trying to kill him?"

Travel Gratitude

So I am off to India today.  I assume I will have some wi-fi access but you never know.

My gratitude for today is travel.  I LOVE travel.  I know, I know, there are parts of it that bite but, seriously, think about the beauty of it.  You get in a plane and in a matter of hours you are in a WHOLE NEW PLACE.  I will fly from Denver to DC and then DC to Kuwait, Kuwait to New Delhi.  Seriously, a cocktail and a nap later and I wake up in the Middle East or India!

All while sitting in a chair and reading a novel.  I mean, HOW COOL IS THAT?  It took pioneers months to get across the US and I am going to India in a matter of hours.  So, let's not harp too much people.  Not that I like being frisked by the angry TSA lady (I would be pissed too if I had to wear that man-belt with my uniform) but it is a means to an end.

Thanksgiving the Sequel

So, I know it has been a while (and, even thought I don't see you, I have really missed you guys) but sweet bebe has had an ear infection, I have been getting ready for my trip to India and Hubby Darling has been under the weather and frantic with work.  Oh yeah, and Thanksgiving and company and trying to get my life together for next quarter and, and, and.

However, I decided that I liked the gratitude thing way too much to give it up.  So, I have decided to keep it up (for the most part,  If I skip a day I am thankful that the world will not end) for the next year.  I was chatting about this to a girlfriend (LOVE my girlfriends, they keep me sane.  Well, partially sane) and she swears a consistent focus on gratitude will change my life.  Which I am kind of opposed to since my life is pert near perfect as it is.  So, as a warning, if my life takes a turn for the worse, I will drop the gratitude thing and practice my curmudgeon-ness.  : )

Today I am crazy grateful for my son's belly laughs.  No one has a more infectious laugh than him.  And I mean NO ONE.  Seriously, he was laughing the other day at a restaurant (yes, we take him out to restaurants and, no, he does not cry but he does eat and laugh like no other baby) and he had the four tables around us laughing also.  It was fabulous.

And the oddest things can set him off.  The usual stuff makes him laugh (Daddy makes a jake brake sound, please don't ask me what a jake brake is, I just know the sound it makes; his ticklish thighs; dancing to "We Like to Move It, Move It") but the thing that makes him laugh the most is our English Bulldog, Delilah.  The mere sight of her sends him into peals of laughter. 

This was taken yesterday when The Divine Miss D walked into the room.  Honestly, how can you resist that face?

Personally, I love the following photo because he looks so angelic. 

How can you not be filled with gratitude when you see that little mug in the morning?