Welcome back, my funny little blog! I never believed I would attempt blogging again, until we entered this endless pandemic. I kept reading advice on how to weather the ups and downs, the changing situations our society is undergoing and one suggestion stood out to me: start a journal.
Since the month of March it all began (for us) I have failed to write down a single word, and now those days where we remained completely at home, struggling to get the boys through remote school, being incredibly PAINFULLY distant from the rest of our family, feels like a foggy memory. We're in such a different world now; a place where we take a test before going to a Thanksgiving gathering and friends alert us when they've had contact with someone infected so we can watch our symptoms and act accordingly.
So this Christmas when we were making our wishlists I had a big request: I wanted a tablet and keyboard so that I may get back to sharing my thoughts and experiences on here. With three years in Luxembourg in our future, I'm hoping to get away from Instabragging and Facegarbling, and get more into sharing helpful travel hints and experiences.
But back to the present.
Our family has since relocated to Northern Virginia, right in the middle of the pandemic, and has settled in despite all the challenges. We found a great place to live, right on the cusp of horse country, great schools and activities for the boys, and a wonderful group of friends for ourselves. Myles the diplodog is still limping around, and doesn't realize he's in his elder years at all yet. In fact, with a daily stream of anti-inflammatories and CBD treats, he's living his best life.
One of the things I love the most about living here are the incredible Thai and Vietnamese restaurants that are plentiful out in the burbs. Its also fantastic to live in a diverse community, and we are just 10-15 minutes away from two international food markets. I really like to explore with food, and my current fave flavors are garam masala and anything sweet yet spicy. Its easy to cook healthier meals without becoming bored when you can change the recipe with a few special ingredients, and I'm always keeping in mind that my husband prefers things spicy/hot, whereas I favor spicy/flavorful.
Which brings me to shakshouka, which I've read is a Tunisian and Isreali dish that is absolutely delicious. The base of this stew-like meal is a simple combination of simmered tomatoes, peppers and onion with flavorful spices and eggs dropped in to poach lightly. My husband had it once over the summer and I've been obesssed with recreating it ever since. The best part is that the base is simple and delicious already- all you have left to do is season or tweak it the way you like. So Mr. Spicy/Hot can get exactly what he likes, and I do too!
I don't have an exact recipe that I follow anymore, but you can find a great version here:
Now that I have my trusty skillet, I have a few ideas for creating some delicious twists on this that will help us eat healthy and fresh:
- This morning I seasoned the tomatoes with garam masala, salt, chili pepper, cumin and garlic. When it reached a boil I turned down the heat and added diced potato and chopped fresh kale. After the eggs were finished, I topped the dish with a tiny bit of crumbled bacon, chopped cilantro and some avocado.
- Sriracha and green peppers with a side of steamed bok choy?
- Season with Sofrito soup base, cumin and chili powder and top the finished dish with a crumble of cotijo cheese
- Add fresh spinach, zuchini noodles or top with microgreens for crunch
With a side of toasted whole-grain bread to soak up the juices, this meal is always satisfying and filled with nutrition. I'm just hoping this will help us recover from all our holiday indulgences. With New Years Eve just a few days away, I thought we'd focus on some healthier habits so we're all in high spirits for 2022!
