I’m sitting here, curled up on our couch next to our borrowed artificial Christmas tree that’s peppered with cheap baubles from IKEA, and a few handmade ornaments made by the kids with their grandparents when they came to visit in the fall. The tree is looped with a string of borrowed lights, and topped with a gold star that the girls took home after the Christmas Fayre we attended a couple weeks ago at Chawton House Library. We have our stockings hung on the window latches, and in our closet upstairs is a pile of poorly wrapped gifts (I’m a terrible gift wrapper) that are taped up with packing tape because we ran out of Scotch tape but we’ve got plenty of packing tape.
Across from me in the living room is a big stack of boxes, 14 in total, also sealed up with packing tape, ready to make the trip back to America. We won’t be joining our boxes until mid-summer, but we are moving out of this rental house in just a couple of weeks. We’re moving into my friend Jo’s house near Hampton Court Palace to live for a while – we house sat for her once before, back in the spring, and cared for Bette, her then kitten. From her house we’ll take off on our travels which will consist of three months in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and France, and then another six weeks in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and then we’ll come back here before we move back to America.
When viewed through the lens of missing family and friends it feels like our time here has gone so slowly, but then of course through the lens of passport stamps and adventures and time as gone by quickly. We feel ready to head home this summer, ready for family and friends, ready for Mexican food, ready for hugs, ready for time with our cat who has been so well cared for by friends why we’ve been away, ready to be back in our community.
When we moved here the homesickness was so intense, we sort of had to stop thinking about “home” so much. We had to put both our feet down here and be here. But now, with the end of our time abroad in sight, we’ve begun to let ourselves thing about home again, and what that really means.
So that’s our future, and for now I’m sitting here among the boxes and the borrowed tree getting ready for Roux’s 2nd birthday this weekend, a quiet Christmas with just us, and then Gigi’s 8th birthday – and then we move out and on. Once we’re settled at Jo’s house I will post more often, sharing photos from the last couple of seasons, and plans for things to come.
Today I have a recipe for you: Sweet and Sour Tofu and Mushrooms. This has become a regular lunch for me in these past winter weeks. It’s simple to make and so satisfying this time of year. Best enjoyed with a steady rain and a good book – which for me are mostly travel guides these days.
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PINPINCRISPY SWEET AND SOUR TOFU and MUSHROOMS
Ingredients.
1/2 cup Chinese vinegar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
10-12 medium crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
14 oz firm tofu, cubed to about the size of dice
1 cup corn starch
vegetable oil
toasted sesame seeds
thinly sliced scallions
4 cups cooked Jasmine rice
Sriracha (optional)
Directions.
In a liquid measuring cup, combine the Chinese vinegar, brown sugar, and soy sauce. Stirring until it’s combined and the sugar has mostly dissolved. Set it aside.
In a large non-stick skillet, heat a couple tablespoons of oil over medium high heat. Sauté the mushrooms until they are golden brown. Reduce the heat and add in the garlic and ginger and sauté until fragrant – about one minute. Don’t let the garlic or ginger brown or burn. Set aside in a medium bowl.
Place the corn starch in a separate large bowl, toss the cubed tofu in the corn starch to coat.
Heat about three tablespoons of oil in the skillet over high heat. Working with about half of the tofu at a time, shake the excess corn starch from the cubes and add them to the hot skillet. Fry until all the sides are light-medium brown and crispy. Using tongs transfer the tofu to the same bowl with the mushrooms. Cook the second batch of tofu the same way. Carefully drain any remaining liquid from the skillet and wipe clean.
Replace the skillet over medium high heat, add back in the mushrooms and tofu along with the vinegar, sugar, soy sauce mixture. Sauté, stirring pretty constantly until the mixture reduces and the mushrooms and tofu are coated with a thick, caramel-like sauce.
Pour the tofu over rice, sprinkle with lots of toasted sesame seeds, scallions, and a bit of hot sauce. Enjoy while piping hot.
Serves 2.
PRINTABLE RECIPE:
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