家常便饭 - 菠菜翻炒松子 (Spinach Stir-Fry With Pine Nuts)

This is my last post for 2017. The feeling of déjà vu is coming back to haunt me. I thought I just did this some time ago? What?! It’s already been a year since my last post about the Thai tea frappe recipe in 2016. I’m not sure I’m ready for 2018 yet!

So 2017 went by in a blink of an eye. I re-read the post about the Thai tea frappe and realised most of it was spent on describing my boys and his deeds. To date, he still does most of the things that I’ve decribed back then, though the number and extent of his naughty deeds have more than doubled, maybe tripled, in the duration of a year. He likes to sing aloud (and I mean VERY LOUDLY) on the train, in the bus, in the lift, which has gained him some unnecessary (and not necessarily friendly) attention from the public. He subconsciously engages in silent protests against my orders and instructions, plonking backwards and sitting down on the ground – right in the middle of public walkways and roads – whenever I refuse to grant him his naughty wishes. I’m half suspecting he actually enjoys this dramatisation because he’s still wearing his thick diaper pants so he is able to sit down really hard without feeling any pain at all. He refuses to let me into the toilet whenever I’m at home with him; if I do succeed in reaching the toilet and closing the door before he reaches, he’ll bang on the door for as long as I’m inside there. He knows to tell me  ‘mummy, its not funny‘ when I laugh uncontrollably at his blunders. He raises his voice to proclaim ‘No! I don’t like!‘ when we try to get him to brush his teeth and prepare for bed. And then of course, the list goes on and on.

Although I am constantly feeling at my wit’s end when it comes to dealing with my boy and his ups and downs, there are loving moments with the boy as well. He still loves to lie down on my tummy at times when we’re in bed together, maybe because it’s flabby and he likes his pillow soft. He will kiss me on my mouth and cheeks whenever I ask for a peck. He will run out from his classroom towards me (at his fastest speed I’m sure) when I fetch him home from school every day. And the list goes on as well.

2017 is ending on a much better note than I thought it would – so much better than the way 2016 ended. After spending a lot of time going out with my boy for an entire week during the Christmas festival, I, too, had some time to wind down and do some reflection for myself after that as well. It’s what I have been looking forward to for the entire year, especially since I haven’t had the opportunity to take some time out for myself since last year and throughout the most of this year. Hopefully, this time out will give me that little bit more energy to take on all that’s to come next year; hopefully, next year will be a simpler one with more time for me to spend on my family.

And so, it is in this same note that I have specially chosen to have this recipe posted on the last day weekend of 2017 – a simple plate of Chinese stir-fry with spinach and pine nuts. I must confess though, I have nothing much to say about this dish except that it makes for a simple side dish to serve with plain rice – my simple way to end a year gone by and to start the new year on a good and happy note.

Ingredients:

  • Pine nut: 2 tbsp
  • Oil: 2 tbsp
  • Garlic: 2 cloves, finely chopped
  • Dried shrimp: 1 tbsp
  • Spinach: 200g, leaves and stems separated

Method:

  1. Toast pine nuts in wok for a few minutes till fragrant. Remove and set aside.
  2. Heat oil in wok. Add garlic and dried shrimp. Stir-fry for a few min till fragrant.
  3. Add spinach stems and leave to cook for 1min.
  4. Add spinach leaves. Fry lightly till well-combined and just wilted.
  5. Garnish with toasted pine nuts to serve.

Serving:
2 – 3 persons as side dish

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