Northern Thai BBQ

Last night I went out for northern Thai food. It was delicious. We ordered spicy BBQ, some spicy pork patties and a sour salad with shrimp. Everything had great flavor from the herbs (cilantro, mint, basil) and spices. It comes with sticky rice but I chose not to partake in that.
I really loved the pork patties. They are made of ground pork mixed with herbs and spices. They have great flavor! They are served with fried mint leaves and garlic. MMmmm.

Have you tasted northern Thai food before? If not, try it!

Happy Monday!

Harissa

Last night I blended up some harissa paste to eat with my fish dinner. Harissa is super easy and you can really use any type of dried pepper you want. I had ancho peppers on hand so that is what I used. Anchos have a little bit of a sweet flavor which I like. I combined them with chile de arbol which are pretty spicy. You can also use guajillo or new mexico chiles. Anything you like!Most recipes have the addition of coriander seeds but i didn't have any so I made it without. Sorry the pics look kinda gross but it was amazingly tasty after fasting all day.

Harissa

2 Ancho peppers
4 Chile de Arbol peppers
2 Garlic cloves
1 Teaspoon Sea Salt
Olive Oil to make a paste

Soak dried chiles in hot water until softened. (chile de arbol won't soften tho) Toss in blender or food processor. Blend. Eat. Yummy!

By the way, harissa is great with any kind of meats or veggies. In addition, I love to add it to nuts or olives to make them spicy. It makes a great party snack. Try it- you can't stop eating it!

Doner Kebab

Have you had doner kebab before? According to the amazing wikipedia it is a "Turkish dish made of lamb meat cooked on a vertical spit and sliced off to order. Two similar dishes are called schwarma in Arabic and gyros in Greek, although ingredients and sauces differ."

My dad and I went to a doner kebab place last night for dinner. I guess it is typically eaten in a wrap or sandwich form but we had salads. It looks like it has a lot of feta and yogurt but it was really just on top.

It was ok. I like gyro meat better.

Fasting today until dinner. What shall I make tonight? Maybe I'll make up some harissa? What do you think? :)

Steak dinner

Hi everyone! Finally got around to cooking something so I thought I'd post it. I had some leftover broiled eggplant, yellow squash and red peppers. Bought an organic flank steak and cooked it up in a pan with some salt and some chopped shallots.
Yes, it looks like a lot of food! It was! But don't worry, I only ate half and saved the rest for lunch today. I'm going out to dinner tonight with my Pops. Hmm, where shall we go?

I hope you all are having a great week!

Leftovers

Lunch today was some food we had in the refrigerator at work. I had some leftover gyro meat and I threw it over some spinach, eggplant and squash. I tossed in some pickled jalapenos for some tang and spice. Delish!
Have a great day!

Just saying hi

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July with lots of good food!

I didn't cook anything or even eat much because I had sort of a rough emotional weekend. But hopefully things will be looking up from here! :)

Enjoy your day!

Thai Coconut Curry

Red curry last night with shrimp, eggplant, yellow squash, and basil. Super simple and sooo tasty. I made extra for lunch today as well but I really wanted to just eat the whole thing last night.
What are you all doing for the 4th of July? Anything exciting?

Random fruit question

OK- I have a random question today.

Those of you who eat fruits besides tiny berries - do you usually eat it out of hand or cut it up? I'm just curious.

I never really ate a lot of fruit growing up. I think it was because I was eating grocery store fruit which just tastes like CRAP in my opinion. Once I discovered seasonal, farmer's market fruits - well, I ate more! Once I started eating fruits more often, I realized that I preferred to eat them cut up into pieces, rather than whole and just taking a bite. Is this weird? Many of my friends do this too. Is it because biting through the skin is unpleasant? I don't know.

I'm curious - how do you eat apples, peaches, nectarines, pears, plums, avocados(just kidding)? Do you slice and dice or just take a big bite?

Quick Easy Lunch

Rabbit Rabbit everyone!

Lunch at work today:

Mixed lettuce from the farmers market
Leftover chicken bits
Pickled peppers
French feta cheese
Torn up basil leaves
A few olives




Normally I bring leftovers to work for lunch. Today, no leftovers. So I scrounged in the work kitchen for what I might have in the refrig and freezer. Luckily I found some random chicken bits that I had frozen in a little container. Cool. I added some veggies from this morning's trip to the farmer's market and viola! Lunch!

For those of you who eat dairy - I found a new tasty cheese! I will have to go back to the store to check it out in more detail because I bought it in the bulk section, but I believe it is "French Feta". WOW it is so good. I am not the biggest fan of feta as it is a little too salty for me. But this is creamier and not as salty. Woo- I love it!! Just what I need - a new cheese to eat. Hmmph.

Tonight- I think I will make thai curry. What do you think- red or green? Hmmmmmm.

Photo of the Day

Went out to dinner last night at a tapas bar in Santa Monica. It's the cutest place, looks just like a tiny tapas bar in Spain. Um, not that I have been to Spain yet but...well, it's cute! A great place for a hot date! Ate some primal-ish tapas - shrimp, lamb chops, olives, cheese. A glass of Albarino.

Anyway, since I didn't cook last night here are two photos of the day for you. I like to take pictures of old-looking, shipwreck-looking boats.

Here is one in Belize off Ambergris Caye. (or maybe Caye Caulker?) Have you been there? Amazing diving. Not that I dive (yet) but we snorkeled like maniacs. Belize is awesome!Here is one in Point Reyes in Northern California. Have you been there? Amazing hiking! :)
I was going through old pictures last weekend. Maybe I'll keep posting some - mostly for my own enjoyment - sorry if they are boring! I gotta liven up my work day somehow by looking at photos of past adventures.

Have a great day!!