Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Happy Veterans Day!

First of all, happy Veterans Day! Thank you to everyone who has given so much for our freedom.

 

Made a fun assortment of 1 dozen cupcakes, 1 dozen minis, and 2 dozen cake balls.




I have a habit of sneaking in one or two little bears upside down! Hehe!





 

An order of bright fall color cupcakes...




And just for fun, made these cute little marshmallow snowmen!



I love foreign foods! 
 I've been trying new recipes fairly often recently...




This week's adventure was Pad Thai. You start off by frying peanuts...


 Then cooking the onion and garlic (yum... This is when the house starts to smell really good)
 

 Fresh bean sprouts are a must!

 

Pad Thai
1 egg
4 ts. fish sauce (just don't smell it...)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 ts. ground dried chili pepper
1/2 ts. ground pepper
1 shallot, minced
2 Tb. sugar
2 Tb.. tamarind (or white vinegar)
1/2 package Thai rice noodles
2 Tb. vegetable oil
1/3 c. extra-firm tofu (or chicken/shrimp/beef, etc.)
1-1/2 c. Chinese chives-green (optional)
2 Tb. crushed peanuts
Lime wedges (add a ton of flavor!)

 1. Soak the dry noodles in lukewarm water while preparing other ingredients (5-10 minutes)
2. Rinse bean sprouts and reserve half for serving fresh. Mince shallot and garlic together.
3. Use a wok or big pot. Heat it up on high heat and pour oil in the wok. Fry the peanuts until toasted and remove them from the wok. Add shallot, garlic, and tofu and stir until they start to brown. The noodles should be flexible but not expanded at this point. Drain the noodles and add to the wok. Stir quickly to keep things from sticking.
4. Add tamarind, sugar, fish sauce, and chili pepper. Stir. The heat should remain high. If your wok is not hot enough, you will see a lot of juice in the wok at this point. Turn up the heat, if that is the case.
5. Make room for the egg by pushing all the noodles to the side of the wok. Crack the egg into the wok and scramble it until it is almost all cooked. Fold the egg into the noodles.
6. Add bean sprouts and chives. Stir a few more times. The noodles should be soft and very tangled.
7. Pour onto the serving plate and sprinkle with peanuts. Serve hot and a wedge of lime on the side and raw chives and bean sprouts on top. Condiments such as sugar, chili pepper, vinegar, fish sauce, and soy sauce can be available at the table.

Note: this takes very little time to make, so be sure to have your ingredients prepped before you begin! Enjoy!