"Everybody didn't get a letter."

During the end of the school year and there are many recitals and programs and end of year celebrations going on.  There was the orchestra recital, the “smart people party”, and the orchestra year end field trip.  B comes home with her letter inviting all of the parents to the awards ceremony at the high school.  I tell B that this is great that they are moving the ceremonies to the high school to accommodate all of the award recipients and families.  Plus, the kids will get to see their future high school!

B: “Well everybody didn’t get a letter.”

Me: “What do you mean?”

B: “Well, this is not elementary school Ma.  You don’t get an award for just showing up. You get rewarded for hard work.” 

My kid has NEVER been a fan of receiving ‘I Showed Up’ awards.  When she first started playing sports we placed her in a league that wasn’t competitive so she could learn the rules of the game, learn how to play on a team, etc.  That did not last long AT ALL!  When she found out they didn’t keep score she was done!  She did not see the point! When we finally placed her in competitive sports she had a bunch of little sayings about winning and being first place:  “Only winners win”, “If you’re not first you’re last” “Second place doesn’t count. It just means you didn’t work hard enough for first place.”  She was so serious y’all!

To that end she has always cared about her grades and always works really hard at school.  Remind me to tell y’all about the time in 3^rd grade she got a B on her report card, cried all weekend and then petitioned the teacher (I am sure I still have the letter) to make it right.  While she knows that getting good grades is her job and doesn’t warrant a reward, we like to show her how proud we are of her with a special end of school year gift and dinner.  We always offer dinner out but it never fails that she’d rather I cook for her.

Her latest favorite is Mongolian Pork, or rather any Asian inspired meal.   This is a recipe that is fairly easy to put together and packs really great flavor.  The most time consuming part is slicing and frying the pork pieces!

Mongolian Pork (or Beef or Chicken!)

What you need:

• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 Tablespoon garlic, finely chopped
• ¾ cup soy sauce
• ½-¾ cup water
• ½-¾ cup dark brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• Vegetable oil for frying, you want enough to fry but not deep fry your pork
• 1 lb. sliced pork (I used sliced pork steak)
• ½-¾ cup cornstarch
• Chopped green onions for garnish

What to do:

Make the sauce:

• In a medium sauce pan over medium heat add the vegetable oil
• Add the garlic, soy sauce and water. Let this warm up for about a minute
• Add the brown sugar and the ginger, whisking to dissolve the sugar
• Bring the sauce to a boil for 3-5 minutes, sauce should slightly thicken
• Remove from the heat until ready to fry pork

Fry the pork:

• Lightly coat the pork with the cornstarch. Allow the pork to rest for a few minutes to allow the cornstarch to stick 
• While the pork is resting turn the sauce back on under low heat
• Heat the oil for the pork in a skillet over medium heat. You want the skillet hot but not smoking
• Add the pork to the oil and cook until browned on both sides, 5-7 minutes.  Use a large slotted spoon to take the meat out and drain onto paper towels
• Add the crispy pork to the simmering sauce. Stir to make sure you get an even coating of sauce on the meat.
• Serve over rice or Asian noodles, top with green onions