At our house, we’ve been going a mile a minute. It seems that events and obligations came roaring back to life after lying dormant for over a year, and I’m not keeping up. My pandemic school day is a STRUGGLE, like walking under water all the time. Everything is just so much harder than it once was. I come home exhausted, with a zillion things still left on my to-do list. When I use the world’s yard stick to measure my daily accomplishments, I fall short every time. My epiphany this month was that I need a new yard stick.
From now on, what counts is being present. When I am teaching, I must begin by being truly present in the moment – listening, connecting, encouraging, engaging, correcting, and responding. What good is “covering the curriculum” if I steam roll through the day, squashing the bambinos in my path?
Though teaching is harder than ever, the truth is that I love my class. They are fun and engaging. They work hard. Sometimes, for no particular reason, they clap when I walk in the room – like a good 50% of the time. I mean, seriously, who does that? Who wouldn’t want to be all in with a crew like that?
At home, I am trying to apply the same principle of being present. Ben is the best teacher I can imagine for living in the moment and being truly present. Though he now understands delayed gratification, it’s best if you don’t test him on that. The present is still his specialty. Sometimes, all he needs for a win is to bask in the presence of someone he loves.
Recently, we went to a football game, and the family sitting in front of us included a child with Down syndrome. He sat in the bleachers, criss-cross applesauce, and ate his cheesy fries the same way Ben ate his. When his older brother came over from the pep band to join the family, the kid with DS didn’t look up. He just put out his hand and patted his brother on the knee. The older brother, without hesitation, patted his hand right back. Everything about this gesture was instantly familiar to me. Ben does exactly the same thing to us! Often, he’ll plop down beside us on the couch when we’re working, reach out, and just pat us on the shoulder or the knee. He doesn’t want to interrupt us. He just wants us to know he’s there. He’s present. That is the Zen of Ben.
This week, we made Vietnamese steak sandwiches. Often, we make a pork meatball Bahn mi that is one of Ben’s favorite meals, but he was hankering for steak, so this easy adaptation was the perfect meal to make together. We created a sauce to try to infuse more Vietnamese flavor into the sandwich. It packs a pungent, funky punch, so apply in small doses!
Vietnamese Steak Sandwiches
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 pound carrots, grated or cut into matchsticks
1 sirloin steak, patted dry
1-2 baguettes, cut into fourths, and split horizontally
Sriracha mayonnaise (or mayo mixed with sriracha in your own proprietary blend)
1 English cucumber, sliced into 1/8 inch disks
Cilantro, basil, and/or mint leaves
Jalepeño, cut into thin rings (Ben always thinks he wants these, but backs out at the last minute, so I don’t bother with them anymore)
Uptown Funk Sauce
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
1 pinch of red chili pepper flakes
Season steak with salt and pepper, and let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.
In a medium bowl, stir together rice vinegar, 1/4 cup sugar, and salt to taste. Stir in carrots and set aside.
Make Uptown Funk Sauce by combining lime juice, brown sugar, fish sauce, garlic, and red chili pepper flakes in a small jar with a lid. Shake vigorously while jamming out to Uptown Funk.
Grill steak until internal temperature reaches 125ºF for medium-rare. Tent with foil.
While steak is resting, warm baguette pieces on the grill.
To assemble sandwiches, spread cut sides of baguette pieces with sriracha mayonnaise. Cut steak against the grain into thin slices, and place on bottom half of bread. Drizzle steak with a little Uptown Funk Sauce, and then add cucumber slices. Use a slotted spoon to remove carrots from liquid, and place on top of cucumbers. Add herbs and the top piece of bread.
If you find that you have leftover ingredients, we recommend slicing the baguette pieces horizontally into 3 pieces and then toasting them under the broiler. Put all the other ingredients on cold, and eat it with your pinky in the air, like you regularly have appetizers on a week day.
We have been cooking together on Sunday, so we took advantage of some afternoon down time to make dessert. This couldn’t happen on a weekday, so apple cake was a real treat! If you are thinking to yourself, “I sure wish I could have a slab of autumn on my plate,” look no further! I always make this just when the weather and leaves start to turn.
Apple Cake
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
4 cups raw apples, peeled and diced
2 cups flour, divided
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease a 9 X 13 inch pan. Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and beat until fluffy. Dust the apples with 1/4 cup flour. In a separate bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients. Mix the dry ingredients into the egg mixture until a stiff batter forms. Fold in the apples. Put the batter in the greased pan and bake 40-45 minutes. Serve warm or cold with whipped cream or Cool Whip. Refrigerate leftovers (if you have any!)
