Be careful what you wish for… the adage goes.  Well, I was wishing for school to start so that I could get back into a routine and also get some “things” done.  But with the new school year comes new requests to join committees and volunteer for this and that.  Now I have two schools asking.  But silly me, I keep saying yes to some of these calls to duty plus a big event at the town library and favors for friends.  I haven’t gotten much done of my own work, projects I want to start around the house nor any blogging posts; forget laundry, that always gets put back at the bottom of the list.   I need to remember to say no.  But I have such an innate propensity to help that I just can’t help it.  Not that everything isn’t without benefits like a new wonderful dress for helping the friend out, but I don’t have enough hours in the day!  And, I enjoy it.  I really do like helping.

And where is the schedule/routine I was craving?  The first two weeks consisted of one son having three days of school, one with two days on but starting a day later and the third with 2 days with one off in between.  The next week started with a day off then two on then one off and one on.  Except the youngest only goes three days a week, so it was just two last week.  Confused yet?

That is nothing compared to the bus schedule for the middle son.  The bus company changed the times to 25 minutes earlier in the morning but the school didn’t give them our name (let alone my sons!) that we didn’t get informed.  And don’t they realize 25 minutes in the morning is huge!  I try to write at night, but I have to get to bed to get up in time to get everyone going.   My husband is great, he often gets lunches and snacks together as well as his clothes.  But often the kids need help getting dressed (the eldest actually needs help getting moving without getting distracted and sometimes it turns into me dressing him), feeding breakfast, making sure all the proper papers and homework is in backpacks, brushing teeth and hair and then driving one to a bus stop 6 minutes away and youngest to preschool 40 minutes later. (Yes, I do intend to pack the backpacks the night before, but good intentions sometimes go awry.) Oh yeah, I need to dress myself too.  Make up and hair are not always attended to.  

All the after school activities are just starting now too.  I really think I forgot how wonderful the less scheduled summer days are!  Because I wish I could take back that wish of school beginning. 

Well, here’s the recipe I have been trying to post.  I didn’t make this, my husband created it and it was amazing.  We all loved it even though my middle son rolled out the backdoor crying because there was spinach in the dish.  He ate it and loved it, spinach and all. I will try a version of this in the slow cooker.  

Ginger-Garlic Roast Pork with Vegetables and Asian Spices Part One

This is a two step meal that takes a few hours total.  Hands on for at least 30 minutes. Its measurements are approximate so I’d be careful unless you are confident in the kitchen.

Used approximately 6.5 lb pork butt and cut out the bone and trimmed into 6 pieces.  Of that only 1/3-1/2 of the pork was used that night.  By cutting the large butt into smaller pieces and removing the bone, it was faster and more of the meat was exposed to the spices.   Preheat oven to 350F.

Pork Rub Mixture

Puree in small food processor:

• 6 cloves garlic, cut into quarters
• 1 knob of ginger, peeled and cut into small pieces
• 1 Tbsp dry or 1 Tbsp fresh lemongrass
• 2 shallots, cut into halves or quarters
• 1-2 Tbsp neutral oil (sunflower, canola)
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• Fresh ground pepper
• optional cayenne or other hot pepper

Put pork in a large bowl (a piece or two at a time) and rub the mixture all over until well coated.  Place pork on a rack inside roasting pan.  Put a cup of water in the bottom of pan and cover entire pan/pork with foil.  Cook for about 2 1/2 hours until tender. 

Transfer to a cutting board removing some larger fatty pieces and pour the liquid from the pan into a separate container separating the fat from juices.   You can stop here and serve a delicious meat with some veggies.  My sons tried many pieces and kept coming back for more.   But my husband continued with his recipe. 

To be continued tomorrow.  Need some sleep.