... A post on our wonderful Zions camping trip is forthcoming, but in the meantime, here are a couple recipes I promised my sister I would post a week ago.
One advantage of living on a budget and not being able to go out to eat whenever I want is that if I want some delicious ethnic foods, I have to make them myself. This is quickly expanding my cooking repertoire. A lot of dishes that I thought would be quite complicated are actually quite simple, as long as you have the necessary, sometimes hard to find, ingredients. But after a few trips to the local Asian market or other specialty food stores, you'll be ready to go!
I've also noticed that if I go out to eat to an ethnic restaurant, I crave that type of food for at least the next week, but usually much longer. We recently went out for Thai food, and I've been wanting a heaping plate of Pad Thai noodles with a side of curry ever since. After searching various Asian food blogs, I came up with some recipes that I thought I could handle.
They were both delicious, easy, and took less than 30 minutes to make! Definitely give these a try if you're a fan of Thai food. You'll be impressed at how good a cook you are.
Pad Thai
Serves 4-6
adapted from Chez Pim
(her long explanation of how to make Pad Thai was extremely helpful. I've paired the recipe down, but if you need further instruction, look at her site)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup fish sauce
1/2 cup tamarind pulp
1/2 cup palm sugar (you can substitute white or brown sugar, but use 1/3 cup instead)
2-4 tsp. chili powder (depending on how spicy you want the sauce)
1 lb. Rice Noodles - Fresh if possible, but dried will work too
The measurements for the ingredients below are pretty fluid, depending on how much you want of each in each serving of Pad Thai
Chicken, cut into thin, bite-size pieces
Shrimp - optional
Green ends of one bunch of green onions, cut in 1-inch slices
Peanuts, chopped finely or crushed
Eggs
Beansprouts
4-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
Cilantro
Lime
Vegetable or Canola oil
Directions:
First, it is important that you only cook Pad Thai in serving sizes. Do not try to cook the whole pound of noodles at once, or it will get gummy and you'll end up with a sloppy mess. Follow the directions below, and you won't go wrong.
Soak rice noodles in warm water until al dente. Do not soak them to the point that they're soft.
In a small saucepan over low heat, mix together tamarind, sugar and fish sauce. When sugar is melted and sauce is heated through, add chili powder by teaspoons, tasting frequently, until desired level of spiciness is reached. Set sauce aside.
- Heat wok or large frying pan until very hot. Add 3-4 tablespoons of oil and let heat.
- Add chicken and stir fry until halfway done, about 1-2 minutes if chicken is sliced thinly. Then add 1-2 tablespoons of sauce and 1-2 garlic cloves. Let cook for a minute longer.
- Add 1-2 cups of loosely packed noodles, depending on how large you want your portions to be. Add 1/4 cup of sauce.
- Stir noodles, sauce and chicken together quickly, keeping everything moving, until noodles are soft. Break up noodles if they stick together. You can add more oil if the noodles continue to stick together, but I didn't find it necessary.
- Push the noodles to the side, and crack an egg in the middle of the pan. Let sit for 10-15 seconds, then push noodles on top of egg and mix everything together until egg is cooked through.
- Add shrimp, peanuts and beansprouts. Continue stirring until shrimp are pink, another 1-2 minutes. You can add more sauce at this point if you think it looks to dry, but, again, I didn't need to.
- Throw in the green onion ends and the cilantro. Turn off heat, stir a few more times.
- Plate the finished Pad Thai, squeeze a quarter of a lime over the top, and serve.
- Rinse and wipe out pan, and start over!
Thai Red Curry
Adapted from Rasa Malaysian
Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small cubes
1/2 lb green beans, cut into 2-inch lengths and parboiled
2-3 kaffir lime leaves, cut into fine thin strips, or 1-2 tsp. of lime zest
2 tablespoon oil
3 tablespoons red curry paste
1/4 cup palm sugar, or 3 tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
2/3 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup water
Directions:
- Heat up a wok or deep fryin pan with the cooking oil.
- Saute the red curry paste until aromatic.
- Add the chicken into the pot and stir well with the curry paste.
- Add coconut milk, water, green beans, kaffir lime leaves, and bring the curry to boil.
- Add fish sauce, palm sugar, and stir-continuously until sugar is melted.
- Dish out and serve immediately with steamed jasmine rice.
... Alma and I are going camping this weekend at Zion National Park. This is the first time either of us have been camping on our own. Hopefully we'll survive it and it will become a wonderful, fond memory.
We seem to have all the essentials - tent, lantern, dutch oven and cast-iron frying pan, air mattress, coolers. This is the first time trying out the new tent, so hopefully we'll be able to figure out how to put it up!
We definitely don't want to end up lost, starving, or without shelter, so for those of you who are more experienced campers, or who have been to Zion's, is there any advice, tips, or words of warning you can offer us?
... I've been baking quite a bit of bread lately. Alma loves it, and I enjoy making it. And I think it's cheaper than buying bread from the grocery store. The thing about making bread is that it's time intensive. It doesn't take a lot of work, it just takes a lot of time to rise. I usually make it on Saturday or Sunday when I have plenty of time and stuff to do around the house while the dough rises.
I find that a lot of people have baking bread fears, but truthfully, it's quite simple. Just mix, knead, and let rise. That's it. A few tips on making great bread can be found here. They're really very helpful. Also, if you don't have a bread machine or a KitchenAid, never fear. I don't have either. I just mix my bread dough with a wooden spoon. Also, don't be afraid of kneading. You can't really do it wrong.
I've tried a couple different recipes - maple white bread, which was yummy, especially served warm with sour cream and brown sugar on top (I know it sounds weird, but it was soooo good), and light wheat bread, but I think that I like the old-fashioned, nothing-special, bread recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook the best. Plus, it makes two loaves from the recipe, while the other ones only make one.
I know I've definitely been slacking on posting recipes, but I haven't been slacking on the cooking. Below are some links to recipes I've made lately that are particularly enjoyable.
Soft Pretzels
Pasta Alla Carbonara
Almost Summer Rice Noodle Salad
Icebox Cake
Fettuccine with Creamy Tomato Sausage
White Bread
From Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook
Makes 2 loaves
5 ¾ to 6 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 package, or 2 ¼ teaspoons, active dry yeast
2 ¼ cups milk or buttermilk
2 tablespoons suga
1 tablespoon butter, margarine, or shortening
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1. In a large mixing bowl combine 2 ½ cups of flour and the yeast; set aside. In a medium saucepan heat and stir milk, sugar, butter, and salt just until warm and butter almost melts. Add milk mixture to flour mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.
2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6-8 minutes total). Shape dough into a ball. Place in lightly greased bowl (I just spray mine with Pam), turning once to grease surface of dough. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double in size (45-60 minutes).
3. Punch dough down. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Cover; let rest 10 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly grease two bread pans.
4. Shape dough halves into loaves by patting or rolling. To shape by putting, gently pat and pinch, tucking edges underneath. To shape by rolling, on a lightly floured surface roll each dough half into a 12x8 inch rectangle. Roll up each rectangle, starting from a short side. Seal seams with your fingertips.
5. Place shaped dough halves in prepared pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly double in size (30-40 minutes).
6. Bake in a 375 degree oven about 40 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when lightly tapped (if necessary, cover loosely with foil the last 10 minutes of baking to prevent overbrowning). Immediately remove bread from pans. Cool on wire racks.
... Don't worry, it's just snowing again here in Provo, Utah. It's April 15th, and it's snowing heavily.
This is why, even though Alma wants to go to BYU's law school, I wouldn't be heartbroken if we ended up going somewhere else. Only if it were somewhere warmer, that is.
... Some people, when they're bored or can't sleep, look at clothes online and make a wish list of all the beautiful clothes they'd buy if they could.
When I'm bored, I look at food blogs, cooking equipment, and cookbooks and dream about having a gourmet kitchen and being able to buy and make whatever I want.
I could easily spend over $3000 on Amazon right now. Just give me fifteen minutes and it'd be gone.
These are only a few of the cookbooks I'm coveting at the moment. If you have the extra cash, go out and buy one. I'm sure you won't regret it.
Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics
The New Best Recipe
Joy of Cooking
... This is Ji-Hye, my lovely, wonderful sister-in-law. As you can probably guess from the picture, she graduated from BYU-Idaho with a bachelors in psychology on Friday. She'll be heading to Gonzaga University this fall to get her masters in community counseling.
The first time I met Ji-Hye, I was scared spitless, for multiple reasons, but mostly because she's Alma's only sister and the first member of the family I met. But fortunately for me, Ji-Hye is one of the friendliest, kindest girls I know. I don't know what I would do without her and the much needed sanity she brings to the Jean family.
Congratulations Ji-Hye! We're so proud of you and we love you!
... These JCrew sandals have been sitting in my closet for about a month, taunting me. They set me back $49.50, plus tax. Which, in my opinion, is too much to spend for a pair of flip-flops, however cute and gold they may be.
I never intended to buy them. But the sales lady was so friendly, and she raved about how cute they looked with my outfit, and I was afraid to say no. So I bought them, fully intending to return them the next day.
I haven't gotten back to the store yet. And every morning, they whisper to me, "Wear us. We would be adorable with that outfit you've got on. You need a new pair of leather flip-flops. We'd last forever. We're totally with 50 bucks."
So far, I've held strong. But they've almost convinced me. I get weaker daily. Can I get a little help out there?
Speaking of taunting, this ad keeps popping up everywhere on the internet, and I'm starting to really want that dress. Wouldn't it look cute with those sandals?
... Once, I was a pretty stylish dresser (or so I like to think). I went shopping more than once a month, and spent more than I should on clothes. I did my research, I watched for the latest trends, and I adapted my style accordingly.
Then I got engaged. And then I got married. My fashion has been going downhill ever since.
It's not because I don't care anymore. I still do my research. I still check out the trends. It's just that you have to update your wardrobe to stay fashionably current. And right now, there are more important things to spend my hard-earned pennies on.
Or at least that's what Alma tells me.
But I just thought ya'll should know that someday, I'll be stylish again. It'll probably be three or four years down the road, but it'll happen.
At least, that's what I tell myself.
... We're waiting for some important letters right now.
Everyday after work I check the mailbox. Everyday, my hopes are raised.
Everyday, my mailbox is empty. Everyday, my hopes are dashed.
Waiting is a hard thing to do.
