Soccer, Spanish and Stir Fry

So, I passed.  I PASSED!  In fact, I did really well. It’s funny how excited I am, considering that, in the grand scheme of things, there is nothing riding on this test.  I have officially moved from Intermediate 3 to Pre-Advanced, whatever that means.  I hardly think I’ve mastered Intermediate 3, so I am thinking of hiring one of the teachers for a couple of hours a week to grill me and give me homework in order to lock it in before I head back to class.  Which brings me to a crazy coincidence.  One day, as I was walking from the train at Plaza Catalunya to the language school, lost in my own little thought world, I heard someone calling my name.  I looked up and saw a woman I vaguely recognized.  It turns out she is my neighbor, Francesca—the one with whom I share clotheslines.  Why was she walking the same way as me at the same time?  Because she is a Spanish teacher at the school!  We live on the same floor of the same building.  So she seems like the natural choice to tutor me, although she doesn’t know it yet.

The Spanish class was pretty consuming, so was not up for any complex cooking projects.  It seemed like a good week to dip into the Minimalist archives, so I checked out Bittman’s list of his 25 all-time favorite Minimalist recipes and made… Chicken Stir Fried with Ketchup.  Suprisingly delicious, very easy, and you almost definitely have everything you need in your kitchen right now, except maybe the chicken.  I threw in some cashews near the end of the cooking, which added a nice crunch.

STIR-FRIED CHICKEN WITH KETCHUP

Time: 20 minutes

1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken, preferably dark meat, in 1/2- to 1-inch chunks

1/2 cup flour, more as needed

4 tablespoons neutral oil, like corn or canola

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons slivered garlic

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

1 cup ketchup.

1. Toss chicken with flour so that it is lightly dusted. Put 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet, preferably nonstick, and turn heat to high. When oil smokes, add chicken in one layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

2. When chicken browns on one side, toss it and cook until just about done: smaller pieces will take 5 minutes total, larger pieces about 10. Remove to a plate. Turn off heat and let pan cool for a moment.

3. Add remaining oil to pan and turn heat to medium high. Add garlic and cayenne pepper and cook, stirring, about 2 minutes. Add ketchup and stir; cook until ketchup bubbles, then darkens slightly. Return chicken to pan and stir to coat with sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning, then serve.

Yield: 4 servings.

Milo had a Friday evening soccer game—they are usually Saturday mornings, and his coach—a very young guy—generally shows up looking rather hung over.  In fact, I’d be willing to guess that when he arrives for the Saturday morning game, he has not gone to bed yet.  “Coach” is also a generous word.  The kids run around in a little clump for the whole game, surrounding the ball, leaving no one to receive a pass.  I kind of wonder what they’ve been doing for five months.   But on Wednesday, a new coach suddenly appeared, and the kids actually played much better, even though they lost.  Again.  What’s cool is that at Milo’s age—6—he doesn’t care a whit.  Soccer is fun, and games are funner.

The game was at 6, and C.C. went home from school with her friend Emma for a play date, so Alec brought Milo and his two best friends and team mates, Jonas and Peter, home after school to hang out until the game.  Jonas and Peter are both Norwegian, and often speak Norwegian to each other even when Milo is around.  Milo has started saying “Iska” (pronounced “Eye-ska”) for “I” as in “Iska want to go swimming.”  This seems to be some kind of language adaptation that he has picked up from Jonas and Peter, neither of whom speaks English very well. 

After the game we picked C.C. up in Sant Cugat and then took the kids out to for pizza to celebrate their terrific report cards and my Spanish test success.   But Milo was so exhausted he could barely eat; we put him into bed still dressed in his soccer uniform.  Alec and I stayed up late, reading about the unbelievable situation in Egypt, where he has done a lot of work, and planning our summer travels.  Croatia anyone?