The Slow Lazy Adventurer -

How to Scramble Eggs Like a Pro (for the Lazy Chef ;-)

January 30, 2023

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I am a mediocre cook at best, but the one thing I randomly became proficient or, dare I say, GREAT at cooking, is the humble scrambled egg. That said, scrambling eggs can be deceptively tricky to make. Nobody likes the slimy texture of undercooked eggs, but they burn so damn fast, too! If you follow the steps below, you’ll find it much easier to make fantastically scrambled eggs, whether to eat on their own or in some kind of sandwich.

In the meantime, I highly recommend checking out egg alternatives like Just Egg, which retails now for $3 on Amazon. I was honestly shocked when I saw the price; I paid 99 yuan, or the equivalent of $14 the first time I ordered it here in China. Never again! But $3-4 in the US? #yesplease. (If you are vegan, this post on livekindly.com lists some other great options, but I have only tried the Just Egg myself.) If you’re going easy on the dairy, nutritional yeast is a classic that I started to buy when Parmesan went bad too many times (*ahem* #myADHDisshowing).

If you are one of the lucky elite who are still springing for eggs, then here’s how to make the purchase worth your while!

! Do NOT preheat your pan! That almost guarantees your eggs will burn. Instead…

1. Put a pat of butter in the pan, and for now, leave it there.

2. I scramble one egg for use on English muffins, two for breakfast bagels, and 2-3 for scrambled eggs to be eaten on their own. Crack the needed amount on the side of a bowl or of a thin-sided mug, and immediately throw away the shells.

3. Whisk in your desired amount of garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, etc. to the raw eggs using a fork. I used to use garlic salt, and now I use garlic powder and salt! BIG difference 😉 (not really; I’m just a cheap bastard and already had salt and garlic powder on hand, so there ya go).

! Do NOT use milk. This makes scrambled eggs runny.

4. Get out any toppings and have them ready to go, along with a plate on which to put your scrambled eggs as soon as they’re done! You should scramble eggs last out of all the meal preparation steps, because they cool sooo fast.

5. Get out your spatula and set the cup next to the stove. It’s finally time to turn on the heat!

6. Turn on the heat to medium-low heat or 80-100 degrees Celsius and wait a few seconds for the butter to melt halfway. Once it’s halfway melted, get ready! It’s go time!

7. Pour the eggs into the skillet, wait a moment for the contents to settle equally, and then start moving! With the edge of your spatula, push the butter around so it melts and mixes into the eggs that you just dropped in.

8. Wait a moment (~1 second), and then flip the spatula and use the edge upside down to sweep the eggs in one direction. Wait another second for everything you just moved to have a moment to heat up evenly, and then sweep the spatula back in the opposite direction. Wait a beat.

Next, push the eggs in a new direction (like north-south/east-west), and then start to scrape in any pieces left behind. At this point, you want to consistently move ALL the eggs around with a brief pause in between of maybe half a second. It hasn’t been long enough for anything to burn, so don’t be afraid to sweep in pieces that seem stuck to the bottom of the pan.

! The key is not to let the eggs sit still for any extended period of time, and to keep the heat LOW–but to allow brief pauses for them to actually cook.

! Never leave the eggs once you start scrambling them in the pan. They will, inevitably, burn OR cook unevenly.

8. After 15-30 seconds, when eggs are 70-80% cooked, switch gears. Lower the heat to the lowest level possible or turn it off completely if you have a cook top that runs hot (like a gas stove).

9. Stop moving the eggs around with the edge of your spatula. Instead, now, push them all together, and then slide the entire spatula face under the bulk of the eggs and flip them over section by section, almost like pancakes. Look for any runny spots left (white, slimy-looking), and press the spatula on top of the eggs with the runny parts of that chunk of scrambled eggs facing down.

10. Once you’ve pressed most parts down by sections to thoroughly cook the eggs and remove any slimy portions, either:

A. To eat the scrambled eggs on their own:

– Use the edge of the spatula to loosely separate the eggs into scrambled pieces again.

– Add toppings and put the lid over the plate or a bowl flipped over to help them heat up, or to help cheese to melt.

– Wait one minute, and then add sides, and enjoy!

B. To eat the scrambled eggs in a sandwich:

– Do NOT separate the eggs once you have cooked them in step 9. Leave them together so they don’t fall out of the sandwich.

– Put any toppings like slices of cheese on top of the eggs in the pan and put the lid over the top to let it melt more efficiently.

– One to two minutes later, slide the spatula under the eggs and lift them like a slice of egg meat with cheese on top onto your bagel, English muffin, or toasted bread. Voila! Ready to go.

I hope this has helped! Scrambling eggs is a great tool to have in one’s arsenal, so whether you scrambled the real thing or a vegan alternative, I hope you enjoy your meal!

7 Life Hacks for Lazy Adventurers (& Peeps with ADHD)

January 14, 2023

Throughout my life, I’ve put together a few tricks and tools to help people who may be prone to distraction, find it hard to complete tasks with a lot of steps, or tend to forget things out of sight. Read on to discover 7 hacks for people with ADHD!

* If you buy goods via the links in bold, I get a commission! But I won’t know that it’s you… that’s your business ;-).

1. Buy canned goods to prepare as sides and additives for your favorite foods.

Extra points if the contents inside can be microwaved to prepare!

This will encourage you to cook more often and reduce unused goods piling up in the pantry while you order take-out. No shame! I’m guilty of the same thing, far too often.

My favorite thing to stock up on here in China is Heinz Baked Beans (which are vegan! If that matters to you) and canned tomatoes. I can get two servings out of a single can of beans, and it adds fiber and flavor to my fave Beyond Burger treats, which I often order along with sweet potato fries from a local burger joint.

As for the canned tomatoes, I usually buy them diced, and I use them in everything: pasta sauce, as a topping in pasta, in scrambled eggs or omelets, and on sandwiches, among others.

*Meituan, the app that tempts millions daily to ignore the food in their pantries.*

FUN FACT

In England, it’s referred to as “takeaway” instead of “take-out.” In China, it’s called “da-bao” (打包, pronounced “dah-bow,” like “ow!”), a word that refers to packaged foods, or “waimai” (外卖, pronounced “why-my”).

2. Store leftovers in clear containers so that you can easily remember what’s inside.

I don’t know how many times I’ve forgotten what’s inside a restaurant takeout box. It was only when I started using glass or clear plastic containers that I would remember–and want to eat!–leftover food. Don’t let your dabao go to waste!

I know that glass is better for the environment, but even reusable plastic is better than ordering and then wasting one-use paper and plastic containers from restaurants.

I can guess which of those containers is most likely to get eaten…

As a bonus, to be extra honest, you can also see when food starts to go bad or even (*ahem*) get moldy. Not that I am speaking from experience (cough cough), but it eliminates that dread that can emerge from cardboard containers at the back of the fridge, when you know that opening them will reveal something oozing, stinky, or downright gross.

**3. If you are cooking for one, get out the plate you want to heat the food up on and a microwave-safe storage container before you begin.**

When you open those cans to prepare food, put the first half, which contains extra liquid, into the storage container. Then, you have the more “chunky” food left over to eat right away, while the liquid keeps the unused serving fresh and moisturized.

Put the extra serving away while the food you want to eat now heats up, and you’re halfway cleaned up before dinner!

4. Before mixing ingredients into any hot beverage or food, put the dry or lesser ingredients in first, and then pour in the hot liquid. Voila! No need for a spoon!

I used the trick most often when I would add cream to my coffee, but I take it black these days. If you prefer it a little softer, just pour in the cream, and add any flavorings that you like into your coffee mug before adding the coffee. As you pour the coffee, it will mix everything together! It’s useful when adding sugar or honey to tea, and even when making ramen that comes with the little packets of seasoning and freeze-dried veggies.

This might just be me, but I hate having a dirty spoon to deal with after just a few seconds of stirring. It seems like a hassle to have an extra utensil to clean, and I used to just leave it out rather than clean it. Ew!

Now, I don’t need to bother. No wet, dirty spoon left out on the counter; things mix automatically; and I’m good to go!

5. Keep things you use every day in plain sight, close to where they’re used, and give these items an official place to “live” so that you’re not constantly looking for them.

We’ve all heard of the “put your keys in the same place every time you get home” trick, but it’s a great idea for any items that are a part of your routine every day. Toothpaste should go near the toothbrush; clothes should go by where you get dressed; toilet paper rolls should be placed near the toilet; and in the kitchen, put the coffee filters, coffee and grinder (if you use one) all in the same area.

It might sound obvious, but sometimes, spaces aren’t designed as logically as they should be. You may need to buy containers or create places to store ingredients that go together, but the time saved is huge. (Researching, I found this adorable rose gold makeup brush holder on Amazon and am now fighting the urge to look it up on Taobao, China’s Amazon/eBay combo, where you can search for stuff via photos. Oops! But isn’t it so pretty?!)

Rose gold beauties aside, as basic as it might seem, when I started putting my coats, scarf, boots and earmuffs by the door, it suddenly felt much easier to get ready for work!

Flawless? Nah, but the key is FUNCTIONAL!

6. Buy reusable items to reduce the need to restock them…

Coffee made in Kuwait with cumin sprinkled in, with the Melitta filters I love so much for pour-over.

Honestly, I prefer coffee via the pour-over method, using unbleached cone filters like these. That said, I ran out of filters this morning before my next batch arrived, bought new ones to use locally, and realized later today that I already had a reusable filter that I could have used! It came with my current coffee maker. D’oh! I forgot #5, which matters because it’s common for people with ADHD to forget what they own or have bought in the past.

I personally don’t like the taste of coffee with this kind of filter, but I did find these, which look promising, on Amazon. I think they’ll deliver something similar to what I’m used to with the Melitta filters I like, so now I’m off to Taobao to look for them in my world!

On a less niche note, much was made of the bidet during the pandemic, when toilet paper became scarce in the U.S. It’s common in parts of Asia and the Middle East, and if you’re adventurous, worth a try. You can find out more about it here.

If that’s not your “cup of tea,” there’s another option!

7. … Or stock up on one or two items you use up a lot with every paycheck.

I struggle with managing money, and one of the worst experiences I had was nearly running out of toilet paper–repeatedly–when I lived in Kuwait. I was in a part of town far from grocery stores and kept refusing to simply stock up each month when I would get paid. Something in me found it difficult to plunk down the cash, but it took COVID in China to break the bad habit.

Running out of essentials like contact lenses, medications and TP is more common for people who get paid once a month, which is an unfortunate side effect of teaching abroad (in my experience). In the spring of 2022, China’s COVID policy led people in Shanghai to get stuck for days or weeks without easy access to essentials (as well as friends in the city where I used to live in Zhejiang Province). As a result, when we went online here in Beijing in April 2022, my desire for security finally overcame my cheapness. I stocked up on toilet paper, contact lenses, birth control, water, paper towels, and canned and dry goods. What followed was pure BLISS! I went months without needing to worry about things whose scarcity had plagued me for years–and never even got locked down in my neighborhood.

Now that China has ended its restrictive policies, I no longer have to worry about being locked down. As a result, I’ve found an easier system than “buy everything at once and live like a hermit.” A more balanced approach is to buy extras of a couple of essential goods each month. For example, I buy multiple packs of TP and paper towels one month, and then the next, buy extra contact lenses and coffee filters. Slowly, an excess builds up, and when rent is due where I live in China–which is every three months, all at once–I don’t have to worry about needing basic goods.

If you aren’t a fan of the bidet, I highly recommend Cottonelle’s flushable wipes. Pre-COVID, I’d import them or bring them in my suitcase on flights back from the US–then, a few months ago, I was overjoyed to find a similar product by Kleenex here in Beijing. Woohoo! #itsthelittlethings.

None of these tips will massively improve your life overnight, but they can ease some of the little stressors that add up over time. It’s helpful to employ tools to make life easier where you can! I hope these little hacks can improve your life, whether or not you have ADHD.

Choices, Money, and Fear: How I Ended Up a Teacher in Las Vegas

January 13, 2023

Links are indicated by bold print.

Right now, it is utterly silent in my little hutong home, save for the neighbor’s mother singing next door and the wind I hear whirling outside. For months, I have been teaching online, each day a cacophony of voices, my own occasionally strident and perhaps a bit inauthentically perky. I cannot wait to stop teaching. For nearly 15 years, since June of 2008, I have been in a job I deplore, a position that fits as poorly as an itchy wool sweater.

The woman’s voice has stopped, a phenomenon I feel neutral about, and the wind is slightly louder now. Her singing reminded me of my older sister, a gifted choral performer who became a choir teacher and a passionate pastor’s wife, but could also have traveled the world, singing, and I think about choices. My sister’s were deliberate, and she has crafted a life that she loves, but mine were not quite so certain.

I have learned that I have a little minion inside me, a kind of willful id that definitely pushes me forward, but can also hold me back by propelling me forward into lives that may not have been the best choice. Teaching, as well as a spontaneous marriage at 23, are two such occasions.

In my interview with Teach for America in 2008, I felt ambivalent about the entire process until the last phase of the third step of the process. Up until that point, I had felt awkward, like I was doing something because it had appeared in front of me, rather than because I really wanted it or knew what to do. This was tied to a crisis of faith happening at the same time and not truly resolved until a few years ago; when you’re used to making every choice based on what God told you to do, it’s hard to make any when you’re not really sure that He’s there!

The day consisted of a demo lesson, a written exam and an in-person interview that stretched out for long hours. By my interview in the afternoon, I was exhausted, my brain trying to cohere around this possible angle. Being a teacher felt as foreign to me as becoming a football player, and I had never been athletic. But during that interview, I felt the spark of ambition light, and as it progressed, the conviction grew that I was good enough for this, that I could be great at it. (I never considered asking myself if this path were good or great for me.) I have always been a good interviewee, while I “fail” at online personality screenings, and this day was no exception.

Near the end of the interview, the man–only a few years older than me; TFA lovessss to promote young leaders from within–put down his pen and looked at me intensely. “I like you, and I think you’d be good for this, but you don’t have enough extracurriculars,” he said, meaning in college. He was right; I did all the things in high school, and then sank into the bliss of three years of literature with every bit of my being, eschewing extra commitments, save for one.

“Our recruitment works on a points system,” the interviewer continued, “and you just don’t have enough. Can you give me something? Any reason for not having being more involved on campus?”

I thought about it, and realized that while I loved focusing on school for once, I had also had to work–a lot. My father was covering my rent–a massive privilege–but I never had enough money for food, gas or other amenities, so I worked all through college except for my first semester, and subsisted on a mix of work study, summer gigs and–my last year of school–25-30 hours a week at a Borders Cafe in town. “I had to work,” I told him, in a rush of relief. “That’s why I wasn’t more involved. Apart from when I studied abroad, I worked all through college–my last year, almost full-time.”

He nodded, satisfied. “That’ll give me enough.”

And so, a teacher was born.

Ah, life. A story of the doors we do–and don’t–go in.

As early as I can remember, money has driven my choices–well, money, and this prideful id I mentioned earlier. I wanted to be a journalist at 15, but was dissuaded due to the “liberal” nature of the field, and silenced voices of doubt by telling myself that “I want to be the kind of person having the adventures, not reporting on others‘.” The power of simply sharing stories from other places to people less familiar had not yet occurred to me.

Then, during my crisis of faith, I had about $8,000 of credit card debt and was making $19,000 a year as a Borders employee; I also worked as a live-in nanny for the aforementioned sister, which covered rent. I had wanted to live in China since I was young; my first strange feeling of being “pulled” towards the country came at 10, when I discovered an article about the country’s One Child Policy in an issue of Reader’s Digest. The innate foreign-ness of the concept and culture presented triggered some macabre fascination in me. The interest deepened to a genuine respect in AP World History as a teen, when I saw beyond the current system to the truly ancient history of the nation…but I was worried about earning only $1500-2000 a month as an EFL teacher abroad. This was the only path I saw as a way for me to reach China, and I still carried debt and knew rent wouldn’t be covered like when I was a nanny.

Really, becoming a teacher was the best way to get a well-paying job in the country I’d wanted to explore since adolescence, but that didn’t make it a good fit. After pushing myself to graduate college early, I hit that first crisis of faith and felt directionless, adrift with the main identifying feature of my core self up in the air.

I had studied in Argentina and knew that Spanish would be an asset as a flight attendant, so I applied to Delta with far more enthusiasm than to Teach for America. I felt lit up inside when I considered the job, and I got pretty far in the interview process, too–but then I realized that I’d have to travel to Atlanta for the final job interview on the same day as the TFA interview in Athens, GA, and I faced a choice.

By then, the downsides of becoming a flight attendant had also occurred to me, and again, my willful id intervened, saying, “That could be uncomfortable. You’ll have to deal with cranky passengers,” and most damning of all, “You want to be the person going places, not the one helping others reach their destinations.” Ah, the arrogance of youth.

There is an established difficulty for people with ADHD minds to grasp the full implications of our decisions. Perhaps conceptually similar to time blindness, there is a patented inability to see “down the road” accurately, and so I have repeatedly chosen “the path of least resistance” when pressed up against the wall. I knew the training for flight attendants was not well-compensated, and that it might be years before I could build up to a good income. While the novelty of the job would have been scintillating, and appealed to a part of me I would put on the side of ADHD, the lack of control over my schedule in the early years was less enticing. Thus, I went with Teach for America, knowing that they would “take care of everything”–which really meant that they’d allow a lot of recent college grads to depend on their family members or credit cards and meager grants to survive a summer with no income that included, for many of us, a cross-country move.

Two roads diverged at Las Vegas Blvd. and E Flamingo… 😉

Ironically, I ended up far more deeply in debt by the time I got my first paycheck as a new teacher in September 2008, and by then, I would have probably been through training with Delta and well on my way to earning just as much; but, such is life.

The conundrum of my experience since has been that even though I am ill-suited teaching, choosing TFA–and that gracious, “creative” interviewer’s intervention, which led them to choose me–has delivered on a lot of things that matter to me a great deal. While I would have enjoyed flying all over the world, I do love slow travel. I had a taste of that already from how I stayed in Buenos Aires for months while my peers flitted around the country. While I was partially constrained by my finances, I also felt like I wanted to drink in the life of the porteños with every bit of my senses–like I had far more to explore to know the city fully before embarking on a trip elsewhere. While we’re all beautifully complex creatures with unique facets, I attribute this appreciation for place to my introverted side, the side of me that likes to “take it slow.” For all I know, it could also relate to the tendency for those with ADHD to eschew things that seem too complicated, but I don’t think so. When the time is right, I love to travel; I just tend to do it less frequently than others in my sphere. I also, as I’ll write about later, like to travel to places with people who have been there before, or–even better–to go to places where I have friends or family living who can show me around.

Thus, moving to Las Vegas with Teach for America allowed me to experience life in the Western U.S. in a full, rich way that flying through never would have. Just as working for weeks on Native American reservations in South Dakota as a teen did far more to show me the consequences of my country’s treatment of indigenous people than a tour or brief trek would have done, living in Vegas introduced me to the realities of the immigrants who helped to build our country and have contributed to its largest population growth in the 21st century. Vegas, of course, is a particularly striking example; I had never felt the desire to go there as a tourist, yet living there immersed me in an exciting world of opportunity and growth. I don’t regret it for a second.

To this day, I love Vegas…even if their palm trees are imported.

Neither do I regret my six years in China or my year in Kuwait. Each has been integral to a deeper understanding of the cultures than could ever be gleaned from a weeklong visit, so while I am thrilled to finally be facing the exit, and the start of a new adventure, somewhere else, I suppose I can’t be too angry at my “id” or ADHD.

After all, they have led me to many adventures, and most of them have done me no harm ;-).