It's the Small Things

Less than a week after posting a blog entry in which I emphatically declared that Bill and I loathe shopping, I feel forced to admit to you that yesterday Bill and I went shopping. At IKEA.

You know IKEA. The store that sells everything, but everything it sells is a bit smaller than at other stores and has an unusual Swedish name. Take the wok I bought today. It seems to me that woks (or any other utensils or appliances used for cooking) should not be named Skanka. Even if it has two circles over the “a” which I’m unable to duplicate on this non-Swedish keyboard. But I digress….

We actually both love to wander around IKEA. Inevitably Bill will find something he absolutely MUST HAVE for his office, which he will then use exactly once. Similarly, I will find something for the kitchen that is beyond me to understand how I’ve gone nearly 60 years without owning that I will then use exactly once.

Here is a list of what we purchased today:

6 pant hangers
1 extra-long shoe horn
4 storage boxes
2 doors for a storage cube Bill already owns
2 drawers for that same storage cube
1 smaller-than-normal wok
1 abnormally small sauce pan

As sort of a side note, I remember when my mother started buying things in small sizes. She would buy, for example, dish soap in a container that held something like 8 ounces. I don’t know where she even found items that small. I recall that about the time she was buying things in tiny sizes, I was cooking for a family and couldn’t imagine why she would buy something that small. Now, 35 years later, she would be pleased to see just how happy I am today to have found my smaller-than-normal wok and abnormally small sauce pan. When you’re cooking and cleaning for two, you look at life a bit differently. Cheers, Mom.

But back to IKEA. I think one of the things I like most about the store is the shopping carts. You know the ones in which all of the wheels can turn 360 degrees so that you can go down the aisle sideways. Not that I would ever do that.

So, I’m off to make my smaller-than-normal stir-fry in my smaller-than-normal wok. Here is the recipe:

Beef and Broccoli

Ingredients
1 T. vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 t. ginger, minced
½ c. green onion
2 c. broccoli florets
12 oz. skirt steak, sliced
½ t. sesame oil
2 t. soy sauce
2 t. cornstarch
Juice of 1 lime

Process
Heat oil in a wok or skillet, and then add beef. Stir-fry for 5-7 minutes, until brown. Remove beef and set aside. Add garlic and ginger to pan and cook for 2-3 min. Add green onion, broccoli, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Cook 6-8 min. until broccoli softens and is bright green. (You can add a little water if necessary) Add meat back to the wok and cook until meat is again heated through.

Mix cornstarch with ½ c. water and add to pan. Bring to a boil. Add lime juice. Serve over rice.

Nana's Note: The stir fry didn't have as much flavor as I would have hoped. It needs a lot more soy sauce, and something else; maybe a little sherry. I'm open to suggestions.

One more little side note/follow-up. Remember a couple of weeks ago when I bought my sweet little third-born granddaughter a pair of pink mittens and pink ski socks to make up for the fact that she was having to wear her brother’s hand-me-down ski coat? Well, today I got this in the mail. So sweet. I particularly like the illustrations of the mittens and socks. It’s a remarkable resemblance.