Is Your House Messy or Just Lived In?
Plus, asparagus recipes (it's spring!) and a delicious slow cooker cookbook
Hello from my backyard office, where the plants are taking over and vines from the yard are growing through the window and up the walls. I think if we left our house for a year, we’d come back to find it completely taken over by creeping fig and bougainvillea and coyote pups sleeping in our beds.
We’re lucky to live in a neighborhood that’s an oasis in a very big city. We’re also lucky to live in a neighborhood that favors un-manicured landscaping, so we can let our yard run wild and nobody cares.
When our wild yard aesthetic gets a little too wild and starts looking overgrown and weedy, we invest some time, energy and money in yard work. But we don’t worry about how the yard looks on a day-to-day basis. It just is what it is.
I’m trying to bring this same outlook to housework. It’s mentally and emotionally exhausting to look around your house every single day and think about how much housework needs to be done and how much cleaner your house “should” be. When I look around my house and see dirty dishes and crumbs on the floor and the insane amount of random debris that kids scatter about, I’m trying not to succumb to despair.
Instead, I force a little smile and think, “Our house is lived in.”
This little mind trick is working. When I view my house as “lived in” instead of messy, the chaos almost becomes heart warming. How lucky I am to have this busy, messy life! How lucky I am to have these crazy, messy kids!
Give it a try for a week. You might be surprised by how much stress is relieved by simply changing your outlook.
Let’s Cook Asparagus!
The vegetable I most associate with spring is asparagus (even though I buy it year round at the grocery store). I like asparagus best when it’s a little bit crispy and charred. If you do too, then you can roast or grill asparagus.
First, coat it lightly in oil and season with salt. Black pepper, lemon pepper and garlic powder are also good.
Roasted: Roast in the oven at 425F for about 12 minutes (slightly less for skinny spears, and more for really fat spears). Here’s a detailed recipe for grilled asparagus. Halfway through the cooking time I give the pan a good shake so the spears roll around and turn a bit. I usually error on the side of roasting asparagus longer, so it gets crispier around the edges.
Grilled: Use a grill basket or foil to keep the spears from falling through the grates. A grill basket will give the veg a smokier, grilled flavor. Lightly oil the asparagus and grill for 6 to 10 minutes until tender and nicely browned.
For softer spears, simmer or steam asparagus.
Simmered: When I’m in a hurry to get dinner on the table I’ll simmer asparagus in lightly salted water. It’s best to simmer gently (not rapidly boil) and take out the spears when they’re still a little bit firm (not limp), 2 to 5 minutes depending on the thickness. I finish with salt and pepper and squeeze of lemon. You can also add a pat of butter for more flavor. Error on the side of undercooking slightly because the spears will continue to soften when they are out of the water but still hot.
Steamed (in your Instant Pot): In a steamer basket over 1 cup of water, you can steam asparagus for “0” or “1” minute on LOW pressure. Asparagus cooks very quickly in a pressure cooker - here’ a detailed recipe for Instant Pot asparagus with balsamic glaze.
Tips for Cooking Asparagus
Don’t use too much oil: I’m guilty of this even though I know it makes the spears heavy and limp. Drizzle just a little bit over the spears then toss the asparagus gently with your hands to spread the oil out. If the spears seem dry while cooking, then you can add a little bit more oil.
Have kids trim the ends: Snapping off the woody ends of the asparagus spears with your hands spears is a perfect job for kids.
Avoid stringy and chewy stalks: If you’re cooking fatter stalks, they can have a stringy texture. To avoid this, use a vegetable peeler to peel off the bottom inch or two of green skin.
Cookbooks
Last week when I asked about the type of dinner recipes you were interested in, quite a few people said slow cooker recipes. I haven’t shared a ton of slow cooker recipes here because honestly, there aren’t that many that I love. I tend to have better luck with my Instant Pot.
I am working on a handful of new slow cooker recipes, but in the meantime, have I got the perfect cookbook for you!
Nicki Sizemore’s Fresh Flavors for the Slow Cooker is filled with slow cooker recipes that feel fresh and interesting, like Thai vegetable and peanut curry, slow cooked cod with tomato and corn salad and turkey meatballs with marinara.
There’s also more traditional slow cooker fare, like pulled pork sandwiches, pot roast, and beef chili. Overall, you’ll find a wide variety of recipes for your slow cooker that have more flavor and texture and feel a bit more modern but still family friendly.
Nicki also has a Substack newsletter, Mind, Body, Spirit, Food.
Dinner Last Week
I’m always curious about what other families are eating. Aren’t you? Here’s what my crew ate last week.
Monday: Is there anything worse for dinner than bland fish with a mushy texture? I think the only thing worse is the fishy smell it leaves in your house for the next 24 hours. That’s all I have to say about Monday night’s dinner.
Tuesday: Things got better on Tuesday when we had crispy oven-baked chicken tacos, made with hard taco shells from your childhood. I wouldn’t make tacos like this all the time, but they satisfy a craving every so often. These tacos are like hand-held nachos - crispy, chewy and very cheesy.
Wednesday: I had such good luck with slow cooker salsa chicken last week that I thought I’d try slow cooker chicken breasts in marinara this week. This time around the recipe was okay, but not amazing.
Thursday: Fortunately/Unfortunately we still had leftover chicken marinara from Wednesday, so we ate it over pasta again. I roasted broccoli and mushrooms to go with the meal.
Friday: An easy Friday night dinner that was kind of like eating take-out but less expensive: Chicken Pad Thai from Costco and roasted Brussels sprouts.
After dinner we watched The Last Repair Shop, an Oscar winning documentary about craftspeople who repair musical instruments for public school children in LA. It’s very heartwarming and if stories about parents and kids make you teary, keep a tissue box handy.
That’s it for this week! Have a lovely weekend. We’ll be volunteering at a local cat adoption center where our assignment is to play with cats so they get used to being around kids. My 9-year-old is beside herself with excitement. She has earnestly said that volunteering is a “dream come true” and she is thrilled that it will bring her one step closer to her goal of being a cat lady.
See you next week,
Jenny