Short Cuts

I Am BEAT!

I met my new boss this week, my 4^th boss this year!  Fighting a bug and/or just plain RUN DOWN.   Peter's been working quite a bit (hooray!) which leaves me tired tending to Monkeys, morning, afternoon and night and lately without my partner-in-crime.  So this is a meal full of short cuts, I am beat down and it’s 90 degrees in Los Angeles.  The thought of cooking in this weather simultaneous to the way I feel  right now makes no sense.  Thank Jesus (!) Bean decided she would rather have pot stickers for dinner her first option was Teriyaki salmon, which would have required me to turn the oven on and cook the house as well as our meal.

Short cut:  store bought dumplings.

A potpourri of pot stickers: shumai, gyoza and dumplings served with spinach and shiitake mushroom salad, garnish with green onions.  For the dipping sauce I mix soy sauce, rice vinegar, and mirin for a touch of sweetness.

Food Rookie Note:  They don’t call them ‘pot stickers’ for nothing.  In my various attempts to not have a scorched pan that requires a brillo pad to scrape the metal off while I scrub the pot clean, I find copper pans work best for even heat distribution and it’s easy to clean.  Isn’t that what it's all about when you’re Married with Monkeys and work a full-time job?