how I spent spring break

Written By Jackie Frens

$ spent: the wild abandon of vacation in your hometown (aka staycation)

  • portabella pizza: “crustless” mini pizza 2 large portobello caps leaned out and basted with olive oil, garlic, sea salt and black pepper. Lined with secret pizza sauce. 3 toppings of your choice (sausage, artichoke hearts and peppers)

  • mexi avocado toast: avocado mash, mexi grilled corn, queso fresco, micro cilantro, tajin, multigrain toasted. With potatoes

  • blueberry streusel french toast: fresh blueberries, blueberry compote, streusel, cream cheese icing

  • root vegetable hash: sweet potato, beet, parsnip, crispy broccoli, red onion, garlic, dijonaise, [easy over] eggs, green onion. choice of toast.

  • pistachio and almond milk tea with coconut jelly: array of flavors: tropical fruits, classic, tea-based novel blends including matcha, chocolate, nutty variations.

  • mushroom melt: gouda, roasted mushrooms, grilled asparagus, house-made goat and artichoke boursin cheese on grilled sourdough bread.

  • sticky kawicky chicken: hand-breaded fried chicken breast, smothered in soy ginger sauce, piled with housemade sesame pickles and carrot onion-slaw; on a grilled challah rolled. served mild or hot.

  • chicken tinga tostadas: shredded chicken with chipotle adobo, eggs, black beans and avocado

  • lemon chicken parmesan: crispy, hand-breaded chicken breast topped with a zesty lemon garlic parmesan sauce. served with garlic mashed potatoes and seasoned broccoli

  • truffle bulgogi: refined design of Korean comfort, restaurant inspired soupless noodles that bring bold Western and Korean fusion into a sophisticated easy meal

  • thred up Lulus cocktail dress: magenta dress for summer wedding selected by my niece. <$7

  • blink and snappy dressers: games for literacy class

  • everything I learned, I learned in a Chinese Restaurant by Curtis Chin: memoir of a Michigander who grew up in a Chinese family who owned a restaurant in Detroit

  • arirang fabric bag pre-order: cancelled due to shipping cost more than the price of the bag.

time spent: the absolute luscious freedom of making your own schedule

  • breakfast, brunch and lunch gatherings on a weekday: 5 times.

  • hosted lunch, dinner and movie night: 3 times

    • stuffed mushrooms

    • chicken salad

    • steak fajita bowls

  • participated in holy week events: 2 times

  • grocery store visits: daily

  • walks: daily

  • furnace inspection: furnace tune up with combustion analysis.

  • doctor appointment: annual ophthalmologist visit with 4-6 hours of blurry vision to follow

  • console table repair: super glue and a Phillips screwdriver

  • author visit: met other Asian Americans at Kent District Library to hear from Curtis Chin about the significance of almond boneless chicken (ABC, aka American Born Chinese) which was famously first conceived by his ancestor, inspired by Black southern cooking and fused with Chinese flavor

  • kdrama binge: finished “law school 루스클”

  • song of the lark by Willa Cather: audiobook listen. returned to a childhood favorite author to see how the work holds up. intriguing and problematic in both directions (intriguing because of the problematic portrayal of underrepresented groups; and problematic because of the intriguing portrayal of the emerging of genius from humble roots)

  • language app: Korean practice in Mango, 3 hours

  • spring cleaning: 10 hours

  • lesson planning: 10 hours

Jackie Frens
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