Peasreads: Goodnight Night Sweats A Parody for the Menopausal (and their Perimenopausal Friends)

 What a hilarious parody this is! For those of you who have been following Give Peas a Chance since my first lunch post in 2007 . For my oldest child who is now a full-on (young) adult by the way, yikes! Some of you were young mothers like I was and I loved learning from you all. Sharing lunches, recipes, and crafts, mostly on my Facebook page. We used to pack lunches in the morning and tuck our kids in at night and recite (because by the fifth time it was requested I know you memorized it) Goodnight Moon before kissing those babies. Now here we are. If you're anything like me your body is a vile betrayer and doing all sorts of wrong things, at the wrong times, for no reason at all. Well, to you all I raise a glass in solidarity and present to you:

Goodnight Night Sweats

A Parody for the Menopausal (and their Perimenopausal Friends)

by Haut Flasch and Mina Pauze (Brenda Bowen and Jessie Hartland)

I laughed. I groaned. I may have had a hot flash in between. Who among us was fully prepared for this stage in our lives? Not I! I heard of night sweats... did you know that they also come DURING THE DAY!? Why am I constantly sweating? Who turned the heat on in here!? Are you SURE I'm not premenopausal, doc? Surely there is SOMETHING you can do for me? I hope you ladies have a tribe that you can grumble to about all the trials of menopause AND celebrate all the freedoms that come with it together!

Grab a copy of this for all of your girlfriends and let's celebrate our hard-won battle scars (after this hot flash passes!), toss our silver manes of wisdom, and walk proudly into this new season of life together.

2017 School Lunches 201-211

You can tell it's the end of the school year where lunches are just getting thrown together, by either the kids or me. But we're going to get through this guys! Hang in there.

I only go one picture though I packed two of the lunches pictured above.
Taquitos

Cabbage

Guacamole

When I grow up, I wanna be a Roti...

 I've posted these before, here.If you haven't tried them, you should. They are my mom's shortcut Roti. I haven't changed much of anything. These are so simple. They aren't good for you, but they taste so good. These still remind me of my mom and special treats. We didn't have these often but I certainly remember them.
You can fill them like crepes also, but they are thicker.

Sweet nectar of the gods...

Magical coffee indeed. (Plus variations on ice cubes) I'm not a big coffee drinker, I don't drink a cup a day. I don't even drink a cup a week. We don't own a coffee maker, we do have an espresso maker- but I don't use it. I do love coffee when I'm out and about though. Then I love coffee. I'm a social drinker, LOL.

I do love iced coffee though. Vietnamese iced coffee especially. I think because when I was growing up my mom always ordered it when we went out for a nice big bowl of Pho. So I associate it with that comfort food. She would also make it at home, that and the Limeade I love so much. On hot summer days, I still remember the sound of the spoon hitting the sides of her big tall glasses. She would most likely be working out in the garden. She didn't let us drink coffee though as kids. My cousins and I would make coffee when our parents were gone though! With that one sentence I just threw everybody under the bus.

Larb/Laab Gai

My mom is in town. I'm now the sous chef, with the 4x6 cards in the background frantically trying to eyeball just how much of what she put in where. She's never used measuring utensils, I think that's why it is hard for me to cook with them also. I'm cool with that. Just keep cooking mom.

This is the ONE dish that will make my Pixie girl (who will be two soon)eat lettuce, she likes it wrapped in lettuce and goes to town.

Kaffir leaves. So fragrant and fresh. My mom brought these from home, she grows just about everything. I didn't get that gene. I can't grow mint, basil, nothing.
5/11/207 update= I have made this withOUT the rice powder for a Whole30 compliant salad and it's still yummy! I'll be making it for more Whole 30 meals for sure.

Khai Pa Lo- Soy Sauce Braised Pork

When I was a little girl my mom would make this dish and I would love the egg mashed up in rice with the gravy/sauce poured over it. I didn't have pork belly available this time but my mom didn't always use pork belly, she would use other cuts of pork also. The belly is nice because the fat, there, I said it, pork fat truly does rule. Especially since you braise this, it gets nice and tender and still moist. Some leaner cuts will dry out, you can cook them longer to make them tender though. I saw on Nasi Lemak Lover, when she made this she added tofu. What a wonderful addition, my mom didn't ever use tofu so I didn't add any. Not that I make this the exact way my mom does, because I don't.  I add peppercorns, Szechuan peppercorns and cinnamon. My mom also didn't use cinnamon, she's just isn't a fan. I am not sure my mom used ginger in her Khai Pa Low either- but it is a wonderful addition. I like the addition of peppercorns, especially Szechuan even though it's not an actual peppercorn. They are fragrant, spicy fragrant- like ginger, cloves etc and have a numbing effect on the tongue- though the numbing is not noticeable in this dish, I use it when making Five Spice Powder also.

Khao Piek Sen Noodles with mom...

I love these noodles. They are so simple as far as ingredients. Fairly easy to make as far as pasta/noodles go. You don't need a pasta machine because you don't need to roll out thin sheets. They have a chewy bite to them, much like udon noodles but they have no wheat flour and they aren't as thick. My mom and I made these when the girls and I visited this summer. I am not sure what you call them in English. Khao Piek Sen, is what we call them. Which translates to "rice, wet, strands"
They aren't a true rice noodle because they have tapioca flour. Whatever they are called they are good.

Larb Gai

Tonight we made Larb Gai for dinner, I have TON of pictures, but I have so much to do! There is so many ways of making this spicy chicken salad. There are Lao versions, Thai versions, some have a more saucy dressing some are lightly coated with dressing. It can be made with different meats. The fresh herbs are a must and freshly toasted rice powder is also a must. The DH and kiddos LOVE this dish... did I mention how much I love having my mom around?