Bringing Our Food from Afar

Yesterday I asked Hubby, "What's one thing I could do that would be a blessing to you?" After a moment's reflection, he replied, "Do more dishes." Hmm . . . maybe not quite the response I expected, but certainly a reasonable request. Since I work all day as a nanny and do mountains of dishes at someone else's house :-), I had been getting a bit lax about doing dishes at home.

My goal is to not let dishes pile up in our kitchen anymore. I plan to do this by unloading the dishwasher as soon as the dishes are clean, and by either hand-washing dishes or loading them into the dishwasher as soon as I use them.

Today I planned our dinner menu for the week and shopped at two stores for groceries. I felt like the Proverbs 31 woman bringing her food from afar. :-) The two stores I went to really aren't that far from our house, but they seem farther when you bike. Tonight I am soaking some beans so that we can have 13-bean soup (a childhood favorite of mine) tomorrow. I plan to put it in the crock-pot on low all day, so that it will be ready by the time I come home from a long day of taking care of two little girls. I hope to have time, either tonight or tomorrow, to bake some cornbread to go along with it. On Tuesday, we are having Jamaican Pork. I made it tonight and stuck it in the fridge, so all we have to do is heat it and serve over hot cooked rice. The recipe is below:

Jamaican Pork

2 1/2 cups cubed pork
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup water
1 can pineapple chunks
1 medium green bell pepper, cut in strips

Brown pork and onions in oil. Stir in cornstarch, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Add vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup, water, and pineapple syrup (reserve chunks). Stir until slightly thickened. Add pineapple chunks and green pepper. Serve over hot cooked rice.