Happy Hour Hack: How to stop looking at your phone, a meal, and a show
The Roseli Ilano edition
Welcome to Happy Hour Hack! Each Friday, I share a tip from my interviewee of the week, along with any ideas or inspiration I receive from readers, plus some things that are piquing my own interest.
Hack
This week’s tip comes from Eventbrite’s head of community, Roseli Ilano:
“Get a wristwatch! I noticed when I grabbed my phone to check the time, I was always getting distracted and pulled in other directions by reading text messages, scrolling on apps, and checking my email. It was a major time drain. Now when I need to know what time it is, I look at my watch and stay focused.”
So simple, so smart. I’m finding that as my kids get older and more aware, it’s becoming increasingly challenging to explain why it’s okay for me to always be looking at a phone/screen but not for them. This is a great way not to get sucked back into work in the evening and to feel a wee bit less hypocritical of the house rules.
If you missed it, read the rest of Roseli’s wisdom on embracing a lack of balance and turning everyday actions into art here.
The Forum
I made the first TCF-funded donation to No Kid Hungry this week! And it felt amazing. Thank you to everyone who chose to pay for a subscription. It’ll help me keep this thing going, and it will do some good in the world as well.
Dinner
Are you still working on your resolutions to be healthy and get in shape? Or are you eating less meat on weekdays? Or are you trying to find ways to sneak new foods into your kids’ diet? Like any good grain bowl, this dish is endlessly adaptable, checks all those boxes, and can please every palette. The original recipe is from Melissa Clark on the NYT Cooking site. While a wonderful recipe, I like to tweak a few things so it doesn’t take so much time and so many dishes.
Quinoa Bowl with Kimchi and Egg
Makes 4 bowls
Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa or whatever grain that people in your house will eat (Melissa says to mix brown rice and quinoa, but that’s too many pots for me…)
Veggies: Whatever people will eat. Steam some kale or broccoli, chop up some cucumbers and radish and cherry tomatoes, throw in some leftover Brussels sprouts or sweat potatoes
Avocado, sliced (everyone likes avocado, right?)
Kimchi (omit if kids aren’t into it)
4 eggs
Bonus garnishes: toasted sesame seeds, sliced scallions, crumbled up seaweed sheets
Bonus, bonus toppers: I like to go to the seafood section and see if there’s anything fun: seaweed salad, fish roe, smoked salmon, sushi-grade tuna if you want to go crazy
Dressing:
4 tsp grated ginger
2 T soy sauce
1 T rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup peanut oil
*I more or less double the dressing recipe because I like a lot of sauce. But I don’t stress about perfectly doubling the ginger, and I don’t quite double the oil because it’s just too much oil for my taste. (And leftover dressing is always a good thing.)
Directions:
Whisk the sauce ingredients together and let them hang out for a bit.
Boil the eggs for 6-7 minutes and then transfer them to an ice bath. When cool, peel and cut in half. (I always boil a bunch of extra eggs because they make a great breakfast. Just chop one up, drizzle it with olive oil and sprinkle it with Maldon salt, and done.)
Use the same pot to make your grain.
Steam your veggies if need be.
Assemble the bowls to your liking and top with the dressing. You could even make it a build-your-own-bowl situation, which can make it fun for kids.
Let us know if you have any brilliant grain bowl moves.
Watch
Lego Masters! Is there anyone out there who doesn’t hear the distinctive death rattle of Lego pieces every time they vacuum? It’s my favorite toy, and I say that as someone who kind of hates toys (Kids don’t need them! Mine don’t play with them! They just take up space…) and plastic. But Lego is different. The kids can be so creative, and they’ll play with them for years and years, and when they’re done, you can pass them on to another family.
Now, as much as I enjoy the fact that my kids play with Lego, I did not think I would enjoy watching a reality TV competition about Lego. But if you’re the kind of person who loves The Great British Bake Off, then you’ll probably love this too. Teams of two (often siblings or parent/child pairs) are given weekly challenges to build something creative and beautiful and strong—and always something with a good story behind it. I love that. It’s sweet and impressive and has a funny host (Will Arnett!). And it’s super fun to watch as a family.
Does your family have any shows that everyone likes to watch together?