Archive for the ‘food’ Category

Food: Pad Thai

August 28th, 2012
3 Comments

I have a leather fashion DIY on its way, but it’s taking a bit longer than expected, so instead I’ll share my easy Pad Thai recipe. A few of you on instagram requested a recipe, so here it is.

No decent pictures were taken of the finished dish, it disappeared too fast.

I learned how to make Thai food at a church function several years back, ordered a recipe book (as suggested by my friend who has lived several years in Thailand and makes the best Thai food) and started going through those recipes. Thai food isn’t particularly hard to make. It’s mostly throwing things together, which is definitely my MO when it comes to dinner. I stopped making it regularly when we moved away from my favorite oriental market, but every now and then I’ll do something like this for dinner.

The great thing about Thai food is it’s tasty and uses a lot of different fruits and vegetables. Penelope didn’t want to touch the stuff last night, but Felix had his way with the noodle dish. Broccoli, peppers, tomatoes and all! Below is my adulterated version of the tasty dish.

Pad Thai

Serves 4

  • broccoli (half to a full head)
  • 1/4 red onion, shallots are best
  • garlic
  • red pepper
  • 2-4 eggs
  • 2 chicken breasts
  • carrots, shredded
  • tomatoes
  • cilantro
  • peanuts, finely chopped
  • lime or lemon juice
  • bean sprouts
  • 2 packets of ramen noodles
  • sweet Thai chili sauce
  • peanut sauce, find this and the chili sauce in the oriental aisle

Cut all of the vegetables and chicken into bite-sized pieces. Separate vegetables into the raw and cooked piles. You will saute broccoli, onion, pepper for a few minutes on high. I typically preheat the pan on high, add the veggies so they blacken a bit. Once the onions have gone transparent, add about 1/4 cup-1/2 cup water and cover until the veggies are cooked all the way through. Set aside in a serving dish. Crack eggs in the sauce pan and scramble. Add a little olive oil to the pan and cook the cubes of chicken. While chicken is cooking, prepare the ramen by boiling water and cooking them all the way through. Do NOT add flavoring. Rinse. Add ramen, chicken and eggs to the serving bowl, then toss in a few tablespoons of chili sauce (THE SWEET STUFF!) and 1/2-1/3 cup of peanut sauce, or until it’s coated. Add raw ingredients and serve with a little wedge of lime or lemon.

I don’t always have bean sprouts on hand, so I usually go without. No big.

Pad Thai is really great, it takes a lot less oil than most dishes, you’re using a whole load of veggies for the recipe and it really is a matter of throwing ingredients together. Hope you enjoy!

Food: Our New Toy

August 7th, 2012
4 Comments

First off, I’m totally giddy about tomorrow. I have a babysitter lined up to come 3 days a week for the next two weeks! I’ve been going crazy trying to get the house in order, keep up on crafty projects and pay attention to Penelope and Felix. They’re needing more attention than ever, too.

Second, we bought a little toy that’s been a joy to use. We’ve been so tired of over-sugared soda and flat club soda, we decided to buy a soda siphon for making our own club soda. It’s always fizzy, never dull and we can add anything our little hearts desire! Yesterday I experimented with peach and mint. Mmm! So good.

So far we love our siphon. We just mix whatever into our fizzy water and enjoy. It’s been particularly wonderful with the little heat wave we’ve had. It gets to about 85 degrees up here in the mountains, so it’s not bad, but it’s definitely hot enough for a refreshing drink. See the recipe below for yesterday’s tasty cocktail.

Mint Peach Italian Lemonade

  • 1 peach
  • a few sprigs mint
  • simple syrup
  • lemon juice

combine peach, a handful of mint leaves 1-2 tablespoons simple syrup and 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice in a blender. Let sit and macerate for about 15-20 minutes. Pour a few tablespoons mixture over crushed ice. Add club soda and cream. All measurements are approximate. I usually add a little here and a little there until I get it to my desired taste. MMM!

Sweet Basil Ice Cream

July 12th, 2012
12 Comments

It looks like Chris will be taking the kids to a family reunion this weekend, leaving me alone to work on setting up the house. I’m bummed to be missing out on the reunion because I would like to get to know Chris’s extended family better, but I can’t hide my excitement to get serious junk done without any distractions. I’m hoping to get some painting, sewing and photography done this weekend. I have a bunch of tutorials I’d like to share with you once everything is all set up.

I did take the time yesterday to make something fun: Sweet Basil Ice Cream. Last year some time, I went to Vinto (you must go there if you’re in SLC) and ordered a gelato sampler plate. On it was a sweet basil gelato that I’ve not been able to get over, it was that good. I used the first recipe that came up on Epicurious. I always look there first for recipes. Pinterest second. Where do you usually find your favorite recipes?

Unfortunately I hadn’t frozen the bowl, so I had to wait for what seemed like an eternity for the bowl to freeze.

This recipe is delicious. I may have used more basil than it called for, but it’s so good. The strong flavor makes it so you really don’t need to eat a whole lot before you’re satisfied. See the recipe with my notes below.

Sweet Basil Ice Cream

Gourmet 2004, via Epicurious

  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (coursely chopped)
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 4 large egg yolks
  • 1/2 cup well-chilled heavy cream (I would use 3/4 cup cream)

In a 2-quart heavy saucepan bring milk, basil, 1/4 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt to a boil, stirring, then remove from heat and let steep 30 minutes. Transfer to a blender (reserve saucepan) and blend until basil is finely ground, about 1 minute. It’ll be frothy!

Beat together yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until thick and pale, about 1 minute. Add milk mixture in a stream, beating until combined well. Pour mixture into reserved saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture coats back of spoon and registers 175°F on thermometer (do not let boil). Immediately remove from heat and pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a metal bowl. Set bowl in a larger bowl of ice water and stir until cold, 10 to 15 minutes. Be sure to use only a wooden spoon and to watch the mixture carefully. If you have a frothy mixture, you could have boiling below and not see it until it’s too late.

Stir in cream and freeze in ice cream maker. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least 2 hours. It’s fantastic fresh, but letting the ice cream mature is good, too. Especially if you plan on having leftovers. 

I”ll be making this recipe again, but I’ll definitely be adding more cream to smooth out the basil flavor a bit more. I think I’ll also add some lemon extract for a Lemon Basil surprise. This would be so good with graham crackers and a salted chocolate sauce!

Read More 

Tangy Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

May 29th, 2012
5 Comments

I’ve made this a few times in the last few weeks and I just can’t seem to get enough.

I’m the kind of gal that LOVES and is obsessed with the combination of strawberry and lemon. I had a surplus of greek yogurt in the house, so I sort of made up this concoction using Jane’s Fraiche recipe as a base. I’ve posted pictures of my concoction a few times on instagram, and a few of you were requesting the recipe, so I thought I’d post it here for future reference.

Tangy Strawberry Lemon Frozen Yogurt

adapted from Jane’s recipe

  • 2 cups greek yogurt (I used Zoi honey yogurt)
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup cream or milk
  • 8-10 strawberries
  • 1/2 fresh lemon

Mash up your strawberries. I put mine in the microwave for a couple of seconds to soften. Mash and add sugar. Allow to mascerate for a few minutes. In a separate bowl, mix cream and yogurt. Add strawberries and fold. Once encorporated, add the juice and zest of half a lemon. Fold and add to your ice cream maker. Freeze. Serve immediately.

If there is any left over, you can freeze in the refrigerator, but allow a few minutes to thaw before serving.

Celeste: Easy Gift & Baguette Recipe

May 10th, 2012
5 Comments

I won’t be able to attend Utah’s Breathing Space Retreat this year, so I’m sending Celeste in my place. Celeste is my uber-extraordinary intern who helps out behind the scenes with ads and sponsorships. Contact her at info@melissaesplin.com if you’re interested in advertising in this space.

I’m back from Stepford. I mean, Daybreak. Seriously, what a fun weekend! I learned lots at Breathing Space about hair and makeup, interior design, sewing and, my favorite, cooking.

But before I get to that, I wanted to share with you the simple gift I made for my roommate (roommate gifts are standard at most overnight blogging events).

Since I was strapped on time, I mostly used what I had on-hand, and I was really lucky with what we had. Thursday, my man Branden baked his favorite ginger snaps. The Amish friendship bread starter Melissa gave me was ready to bake, so I made that as well.

I ran over to Target and found this cute box in the $1 section at the front of the store. It was the perfect size for the bread. I also picked up some tissue paper to line the box.

Once home it was a simple matter of arranging the baked goods and tissue paper into the box and using some ribbon I had on-hand to tie it up. I wrote the tag using a pointed pen and calligraphy ink. Not as pretty as Melissa’s, but it’s a good start. I can’t wait for her class to launch (we’re SO close!)! Janet loved the homemade goods, too.
Speaking of homemade: you guys, the Food Nanny might have changed my life. She is so smart! I love her approach to eating whole foods. Basically, plan your dinner schedule and stick to it. She has a cuisine associated with every day, so she always has some structure from which to start when making her plan.Her recipes seem to be simple, too. She shared this fabulous French baguette recipe that only takes an hour to make. Seriously, who can’t do that? I think I’m going to give her cookbook to my mom for Mother’s Day with a loaf of this bread.

French Baguettes

by the Food Nanny

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 1/2 T. active dry yeast, (2 packets)
2 tsp sugar
3 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp salt
melted butter

In a small bowl combine 1/2 cup of the warm water, the yeast and 1 tsp of the sugar.  Stir to combine and let mixture stand for about 5 minutes or until foamy.

In a large mixing bowl blend the flour, salt, the remaining teaspoon of sugar and the yeast mixture.  Gradually add remaining water and mix until the dough forms a smooth ball that is not too sticky to handle (if it is too sticky add a little more flour). Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead briefly until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Cut the dough in half and shape the halves into baguettes. Grease a baguette pan (or a cookie sheet) and place the loaves in the pan. Score the loaves down the middle, cover with a dish towel and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and place a shallow pan of water in the bottom of the oven to create steam. Bake the baguettes for 15 minutes. If desired, brush the tops with melted butter halfway through the baking. For a softer crust, brush with butter when they have finished baking.

Click here to download the printable 4×6 recipe card.

For photos of the event, check out this Flickr stream from Jenny K Photography.

mobile site