mexican soup tea

well winter's apparently not over yet, because we're all getting sick over here. after waking up with a sore throat and stuffy head, i decided to make this mexican soup tea (that's what i call it; i'm sure it's not very official) that one of my friends whose husband is mexican introduced us to a while ago.

last year when everyone around me was getting the flu, i ate a few cloves of garlic (and also made this tea), and i was surprised to discover that my co-workers had never heard of such a thing! every single ingredient in this tea has healing properties, and it really works wonders. even though onion and garlic steeped in water sounds a little like soup, it's actually yummy as a tea.

Here's what you need:

1 onion, sliced
1 head of garlic, crushed
1 bunch of fresh mint (15-20 leaves)
1 tsp. dried oregano
lemon, sliced + juice
honey, preferably raw
tequila (optional--i prefer it without)

Put onion, garlic, mint, and oregano in a pot and cover with water (about 4-6 cups). Bring to a boil. Turn off heat, cover, and let steep for 10-15 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh strainer. Squeeze/pour an inch of lemon juice into your mug. Add the strained infusion and a shot of tequila if you so desire. Stir in honey to taste, top with a slice of lemon, and enjoy!

wilder in 2014, week 9

my little bear. he's actually started sucking on the pacifier lately instead of chomping on it. bedtime reading with papa is definitely on my list of moments i want to take mental photos of and keep forever. you should see how serious he gets about turning the pages, it's pretty wonderful. 

the last of the snow

it's almost time to put away all our winter clothes, but before we do, i had to post these photos from our second week of snow, even though they're abominably snowman late.

i just can't get enough of this snow bunny:

Sunday Best {A Dinner Story}

i have a dream of having a bunch of kids and always having a house full of people, particularly on a sunday afternoon, around the dinner table (that's sunday lunch here in the south). so, to bring this dream to life, i am here and now inaugurating a sunday dinner feature story. this consists mainly of me taking photos of the delicious food we will hopefully be eating every sunday from now till the end of time (totally reasonable, right?).

this sunday we had guests over for memphis-style (so i'm told) pulled pork tacos with a zesty slaw, mexican rice and black beans. normally i'm not a huge fan of pork, but when we had these at our friends' house last week, i knew they were destined to be part of our sunday dinner menu. they are so, so good. and i say that as someone who has taken a while to come around to the southernization of all my favorite tex-mexican foods.



a recipe, if you so desire to recreate this sunday dinner for yourself:

Pulled Pork Tacos
adapted from Real Simple Magazine

7-9 lb. pork shoulder (bone-in is fine)
8 tsp. salt
3 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
8 tsp. cumin
1 jar apricot preserves
1 red onion, roughly chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded and cut into rings

Mix together salt, pepper and cumin. Place pork in crockpot and rub all over with the dry mix and the preserves until well coated. Scatter jalapenos and onion around the pork. Cover and turn to low for 7-11 hours (I cooked an 8.5lb. pork for 9 hrs). When it's done, remove the pork to a serving dish and shred with two forks (discarding bone). Poor juices, jalapenos, and onions back over the pork and toss.

Serve with tortillas, zesty slaw, cilantro, lime, cheese, avocado, tomato, rice and beans. Or whatever toppings your little heart desires!

Zesty Slaw
adapted from Food Network

4 Tbsp. rice vinegar
2 Tbsp. lime juice
1 Tbsp. oil
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 head purple cabbage, shredded
1/4 c. cilantro leaves
4 Tbsp. sliced green onion
1 carrot, peeled and shredded
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Whisk the vinegar, lime, oil and sugar together. Combine cabbage, cilantro, green onion and carrot. Drizzle dressing over it and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

Wilder in 2014, week 8

this little love muffin is not feeling so good today, so we are planning a low-key day of snuggling and reading (i love this cute new book) and extra kisses.

wilder in 2014, week 7

10 things about this 10-month-old baby shark:

1. his top 4 teeth are coming in at the same time right now.
2. he thinks it's funny when i say "bless you!"
3. he bends his wrists and holds his arms out straight and screams like a little teapot (who has too much energy), a lot.
4. he goes around the house touching all the things he's not allowed to, one right after the other, as if daring me to get annoyed.
5. he doesn't sleep with his butt in the air anymore. i'm so sad about that.
6. you've never seen anyone crawl so fast until you leave a closet door open in this house.
7. he gasps every time he feels a stream of air from the air vents hit his face.
8. the blender scares him.
9. he's sleeping through the night. (except last night).
10. i've never met more munchable cheeks.

what can i say for myself

two of my friends posted lists about themselves on their blogs recently, and it's another icepocalypse wednesday in atlanta, so i thought it only necessary to copy them stat. 

nicole, this list is for you. :)

1. i can't whistle. 

2. i once (twice, sort of) went blonde. it wasn't pretty. especially the nearly 3 years it took for it to get healthy again!

3. i didn't have dolls growing up; i had an imaginary pet wolf. named vicious, naturally. 

4. in college i had 4 different majors. afterwards, i started 2 others and applied to 3 different graduate programs. 

5. i have traveled to 5 continents. 

6. i first wanted to be an actress, then a gymnast, then a pilot. now i'm none of them—or all three, depending on how you look at it. 

7. i have a talent for ordering the right food at restaurants. i know, my skills are hard to come by.

8. grocery stores and airports are two of my favorite places. 

9. i have perfect vision in my right eye. 

10. i learned to drive on a stick shift, and i prefer it. 

11. i often don't know what i feel until i write it down.

12. i have to stop myself from obsessively tidying up. 

13. we had a TV the size of an envelope growing up, and i only remember watching two things on it: the 1992 presidential elections and the winter olympics. i wish i could still say that.

14. i had a natural (drug-free) childbirth. i'm (really) not sure i'll do it again. 

15. i can't sleep if my feet are hot. 

16. i used to have a phobia of wearing green. 

17. i don't have a middle name, which i always thought was really unfair. 

18. i'm woefully ignorant about pop culture, music, and politics. (see #13)

19. the second year of Bible school was the happiest year of my life. 

20. i've wanted to write a novel for the past 8 years. i'm, er, still working on that.

and a bonus one: 

21. i don't think i applied myself seriously to anything in my life until i became a mother. 

domesticity

this granola bar recipe is so good, it's worthy of your departing this blog post posthaste and making it as soon as possible.

but on to more serious things.

i'm sort of falling in love with domesticity. is that a thing? i think so.

lately, i'm finding myself becoming addicted to being in the kitchen. it's just so satisfying to enjoy the fruits of my labors. (haha). but also, it helps knowing that we are eating more healthily (not to mention frugally), instead of relying as unrestrainedly as we had been on snacks, premade store-bought food, and eating out. for awhile, i felt that i was doing good to heat something frozen up in the microwave. i mean, that is just how much mothering and moving and houseprojects what have you had bamboozled my capacity. but now that things are relatively sane around the homestead (speaking of homesteads, have you watched this show? we started watching last fall and are addicted.), i'm getting reacquainted with my inner Betty Crocker.

i've really always adored food. i think i can pinpoint it's inception to key childhood experiences such as my mom's crepes with fresh strawberries and whipped cream, olive-oil drizzled hummus at my grandparent's house, that little plastic tea set that my friend's American Girl doll had (i swear those dolls have better cooking utensils than i do!), and the big, red communal cup the family drank from (no floaties! and, um, not as gross as you're thinking???).

anyways, living on one income has it's restrictions, and so we are endeavoring to be wiser, more thrifty and less commercially minded than our former selves. in that vein, i made these granola bars twice in the past week. and okay, maybe they aren't really that healthy (especially not when you blaze through the first batch faster than three people should—i make sure and feed myself the baby's portion;), but goshdarnit, they're good!

i'm thinking about eventually expanding my newfound domesticity to other areas of the house. a friend of mine even makes her own laundry detergent and dish soap! have you heard of that? i'm itching to try.

in the meantime, if you're looking for me, i'll be in the kitchen. ;)

xx,
domestic-goddess-in-training B.

wilder in 2014, week 6

this little hamster. he is a bouncing, teething, drooling, squealing, clapping loon. i love him.