Egg rolls turn to Thai wraps following mishap on the stairs
By Jennifer Harr Herald-Standard
When attributes were being handed out at birth, I apparently forgot to get into the lines for grace and coordination.
My entire life has been one of walking into walls and spilling stuff on myself. To put it bluntly, I’ve never met a wall I didn’t like to walk into, and I’ve never come across spaghetti that wasn’t innately attracted to my clean clothes.
So while my older brother made quite a name for himself playing basketball, running and being generally athletic, I concentrated on writing and playing the piano. And I always got a laugh when I got the inevitable query about my involvement in sports.
I still laugh a lot, although it’s more so at my lack of coordination nowadays.
I’m just thankful I have a boo-boo kisser in my son, Gabe, who has taken to healing my “Ouch’s and “Ow’s with a kiss to the hurt area.
But even a kiss from 2-year-old Gabe couldn’t heal my latest accident, the occurrence of which forced me to modify my well-laid dinner plans.
Last weekend, as I carried Gabe down the flight of stairs from our second floor to our dining room area, I slipped. I felt myself falling, so I did what any parent carrying a child would do – took steps to make sure he didn’t get hurt because of my goof.
I stuck out my arm to catch us, and braced to bang my knee into the banister to stop us from falling. The swelling and bruising to my knee was almost immediate, and Gabe came through completely unscathed.
As a matter of fact, I think he thought our wild jaunt down the steps was fun … until he noticed I was crying.
Sweetheart that he is, he immediately saw a chance to heal me with a kiss and moved my hands from my kneecap to kiss it.
He must have thought I didn’t realize he kissed my knee, for when he noticed that I was still crying, Gabe put his hands on my cheeks and told me, “I kiss you. Mommy ok now.”
And so I was for that moment – at least in my heart.
My knee (and my dinner plans) were another story. Unable to stand on my left leg, I couldn’t make the egg rolls I planned on. So I compromised.
Since I had almost everything chopped up for the egg rolls, I made a quick spicy peanut sauce and we had Thai Chicken Wraps, assembled by my husband. Luckily, I made a pasta salad earlier that doubled as a nice side dish.
I suppose it just goes to show that what I lack in physical prowess, I picked up in my ability to adapt … at least that’s what I’m going with to make myself feel like less of a klutz.
Here’s my modified meal. Enjoy it knowing that no kitchen catastrophe is unfixable.
THAI CHICKEN WRAPS
2 chicken breasts, cooked and finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped bok choy (Chinese cabbage)
1/2 cup raw snow peas, chopped
1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
1 carrot, julienned
1/2 cup bean sprouts
1 jalapeno, seeded and julienned
1 red pepper, seeded and julienned
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
6-8 flour tortillas or pitas
SPICY PEANUT SAUCE
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 clove garlic, minced
Crushed red pepper flakes to taste
Salt and pepper both sides of chicken breasts and cook in skillet until done. When cool enough to handle, chop finely and combine with remaining vegetables.
To make Spicy Peanut Sauce, combine all ingredients in a small saucepot over medium-low heat until peanut butter is dissolved. Add pepper flakes to taste.
If the mixture is too thin, add additional peanut butter 1 teaspoon at a time. If it’s too thick, add additional water until sauce thins.
The sauce should be thick enough to spread onto a tortilla or pita.
Once the sauce is spread, add in chicken-vegetable mixture and enjoy!
Jennifer Harr is the court reporter for the Herald-Standard.
You may e-mail comments, recipes to her at jharr@heraldstandard.com or write to Jennifer Harr, Herald-Standard, 8-18 E. Church St., Uniontown, Pa. 15401.