Salad Days: Part II Thai Basil Salad

What I've been up to (that's kept me from sharing recipes:)

-Driving

-Travelling

-Honeymooning

-Beach combing

-Relaxing

-Reveling

-New Car-getting

-Eating

-Bonding

-Cooking

-Singing

-Shooting

-Loving

-Grieving

-Resting

-Nurturing

-Reminiscing

-Returning

-Connecting

...and infinite other gerunds...

As I mentioned in the last post, Prof. hubs and I have been feasting on the most delicious and filling of Summer Salads... This one is inspired by a salad that I ate after an exhausting day trekking through San Francisco with a friend in 2004... I have been craving it ever since. It's the perfect combination of flavors and textures-so refreshing, so toothsome, a bit spicy... Perfection.

And now, the second installment of my soon-to-be famous Salad posts:

THAI BASIL SALAD

(makes 2 huge portions or 4 regular...)

1/2 package asian rice noodles (pad thai noodles, vermicelli, etc.) cooked per package directions (use one handful or the whole amount-it's up to you and it's all good.)

2 head romaine lettuce, chopped

2 large handful of shredded cabbage (I just use the bag of pre shredded cole slaw mix)

5 thinly sliced red radishes

1 small handful shredded carrot (I just use the kind that's already in the bag of shredded cole slaw mix...)

1 peeled and cubed cucumber

1 mango, diced

8 grape tomatoes, halved

small handful chopped peanuts

small handful of each of the following herbs, chopped:

scallions, basil, mint, cilantro

Protein of your choice (I like grilled steak but sauteed tofu is lovely for a vegan choice as is chicken or shrimp as a steak alternative...)

Combine all ingredients and toss with dressing. Enjoy!!!

SALAD DRESSING

Juice of 4 limes

2 tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp Thai fish sauce

2 Tbsp water

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp Shriracha sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

4 Tbsp canola oil (or other light, flavorless vegetable oil)

Wisk to combine well.

The House Special

Early on in our relationship I took Prof. Hubs through the labyrinthine side streets of NYC's china town to one of my favorite Vietnamese restaurants. It's called, iconically, PHO. (That was a joke-they're almost all called PHO, named after the hearty oxtail soup served for breakfast throughout Vietnam.) I think it's on Mulberry near Bayard, but I'm not even sure... I can only find it intuitively using my uncanny New York sense of inner North.

Before even opening the menu Prof. Hubs told me he was ordering 'the House Special.' I was not aware the restaurant even had a house special-nor was I aware that Prof. Hubs was a pro at ordering in Vietnamese restaurants. Surprisingly, Prof. Hubs was correct-they DID have a house special. According to him, every Vietnamese restaurant worldwide (or at least the ones he's patronized) offer it and it's always basically the same thing. Even more suprising was that it was, ironically, NOT Pho. It was, I have since learned, Bún, one of Prof. Hubs favorite dishes in the universe.

Though not actually a bread product at all, Bún is a deliciously refreshing rice vermicelli noodle dish. It's noodles, served room temperature, covered with a green mixture of shredded lettuce, carrot, basil, mint, cilantro, peanuts, lemongrass-marinated grilled meat, and a sweet dressing called Nuoc Cham, which is poured over all... It's sooooo good. It's a wonderful light dinner. Probably more suited for warm weather we balked at convention and made it tonight...and it was amazing. I was a bit intimidated by the long ingredient list and the amount of fish sauce involved (icky smell, no?) but it turned out to be a really simple meal to put together, with very little cooking involved, all coming together in under an hour. With a bit of practice one could probably make it in 30 minutes, which is always a bonus any time of year.

THE HOUSE SPECIAL (Vietnamese Bún)

NUOC CHAM DRESSING

1 large clove garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp sriracha or other chili sauce

2/3 cup hot water

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup fish sauce

juice of 1 lime

1 TBSP shredded carrot

Combine all ingredients, allow to cool.

VIETNAMESE LEMONGRASS-STYLE MARINATED CHICKEN

3 chicken breasts cut into strips

zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1 lemon

4 garlic cloves chopped

2 scallions, chopped

3 tsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp fish sauce

juice of 1 lime

squirt o sriracha sauce

Combine all ingredients and allow chicken to marinate as the rest of the Bún recipe is assembled.

ASSEMBLING BÚN

1 package rice vermicelli (or if you live in Midwestia like i do-Pad Thai noodles)

1/2 cup julienned carrots

1 romaine lettuce heart, shredded

4 Tbsp bean sprouts

4 Tbsp fresh mint, chopped

4 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped

1/4 cup chopped peanut

Nuoc Cham dressing

Lemongrass marinated Chicken

Cook noodles according to package directions, allow to cool as the rest of the recipe is assembled.

Shred/chop all veggie ingredients.

Cook chicken in grill pan or wok until cooked through. Allow to cool a bit, then chop into bite sized pieces.

Assembling salad: Noodles on plate topped with lettuce, carrots, beansprouts herbs, then chicken pieces, then peanuts, then dressing. mmmmm.....

It takes a village: Bibimbap

Prof. Hubs and I love Korean food. We especially love Kimchee (pickled cabbage,) Kalbi (beef shortribs,) and Bibimbap (rice and vegetables.) Since our move to Midwestia I have chronicled the lack of feasible ethnic food eateries in our area. And though this fact in itself is really, really inconvenient it actually has forced us to become more adventurous in our own kitchen so that we needn't go without our favorite dishes from around the world-we just have to cook them ourselves. Which is how I came to prepare bibimbap... Let me state that this recipe is the product of a collaborative effort-I must thank several of my Korean friends for their guidance in the production of this dish... Thanks to their tips plus some desperate housediva ingenuity the final product tasted just like my favorite bibimbap from K-town in NYC!!!

DESPERATE HOUSEDIVA BIBIMBAP (for 2)

1 cup short grain brown rice (note: traditional bibimbap uses white rice)

half a bag of washed baby spinach

10 mushrooms (preferably shitake, but white will do in a pinch) cut into slices

10 baby carrots cut into matchsticks or 3/4 cup shredded carrot

1 small zucchini cut into matchsticks or 3/4 cup shredded zucchini

handful of korean bean sprouts (I can't find these in midwestia so don't stress if you can't either)

2 eggs

Sriraicha sauce (or, if you can find it, Gochujang, Korean chili paste)

BULGOGI BEEF (optional..,and soooo delicious)

1 ribeye steak trimmed of fat and cut into little thin bites

3/4 cup soy sauce

3 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp honey

1 onion, diced

5 garlic cloves, diced

splash of sesame oil

splash of rice wine vinegar

About 40 minutes before serving begin to cook the brown rice...it takes about that long.

When rice is close to being done, or IS done it's time to cook the individual components of the dish. Blanche the spinach in boiling water for a minute or two, until wilted. Remove from boiling water, rinse in cold water and squeeze out excess. In a wok or sautée pan heat a bit of sesame oil and cook the carrots until just softened.

Remove carrots from pan, add a dash of sesame oil to pan and cook mushrooms (with a dash of salt) until soft and thin.

Remove mushrooms from pan and add a dash of oil and cook zucchini with a dash of salt until translucent.

Keep the cooked vegetables separate from one another on a plate.

If cooking bulgogi beef, now is the time to heat up a wok on high and add the beef, I just throw the whole thing in there (with marinade) and stir it around for a two minutes until the beef is cooked. In the pan you used to cook the veggies, heat a bit of oil (canola, peanut, etc.) and cook 2 eggs, over easy.

Assemble the plate: One cup of rice, covered with beef, veggies (separate, but next to each other) and fried egg. I like to top with a dollop of sriraicha sauce (because we can't get the special Korean bibimbap sauce here in Midwestia...) and then mix it ALL together and enjoy!!!

Desperate Measures

One of the most difficult parts of this move to this part of Midwestia has been the lack of viable ethnic food options.  Incidentally, our first restaurant meal in this town was at a so-called Greek restaurant.  As we approached the establishment I felt sure that this old-school looking place wasn't going to let us down-we would find a few small town ethnic restaurant gems and this would be the first of them!  

Now, when I think of Greek food I think of simple, fresh ingredients with bold mediterranean flavors:  Tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh oregano, dill, grilled seafood, wonderful cheeses and fresh, creamy yogurt...  As we sat down in this "Greek" restaurant I saw of a few of my Greek food standbys- Moussaka, Greek Salad, Spanakopita, etc...  Prof. Hubs and I felt confident that we made the right choice patronizing this local spot instead of Applebee's or a similar chain in the Northern part of town...

WRONG!!!  The Greek salad was drenched with a think, packaged dressing, the moussaka was inedible-literally a brick of beefy (note:not lamby, as I was expecing) heaviness, and instead of Tzatziki, that deliciously cooling cucumber condiment, they literally served us KRAFT RANCH DRESSING!!!!  Needless to say, after trying to put away a few bites we let quite hungry...  Since that meal we've heard from every single person we've met here to stay away from that place.  Apparently our meal there was representative of the kind of food they produce.

This was our first and last attempt at ethnic eating in town...not that we have much choice.  I've heard that there's a Chinese place but I've yet to see it and I suspect this mythical place may be the only other 'ethnic' restaurant besides the "Greek" disaster...  

Desperate times call for desperate measures and Desperate Housediva is up to the challenge! Last night I was CRAVING pad thai so I decided it was time to bite the bullet and just cook some up!

DESPERATE HOUSEDIVA'S PAD THAI

Vegetable oil

3 cloves chopped garlic

1 package pad thai rice noodles, softened (prepared according to package directions; i.e. soaked or cooked)

Protein of your choice (tofu, chicken, shrimp, etc)

Veggies of your choice (I use red peppers. broccoli and pea pods)

2 eggs

1/2 cup to 1 cup Pad thai sauce (recipe to follow)

Garnish:

3 green onions, chopped

4 Tbsp chopped roasted peanuts

1 cup rinsed and drained beansprouts

1 lime, cut into wedges

Pad Thai Sauce

1 heaping Tbsp tamarind paste, disolved in 1 cup hot water

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup fish sauce

juice of 1 lime

dash of salt

First, mix up your sauce.  Set aside.

Then, heat about 3 Tbsp oil in a wok on High heat.  Add your protein of choice.  When just cooked through, set aside and cover to keep warm.  Go back to your wok.  If you need to add a tad more oil now is the time to do so.  Add veggies to walk and stirfry until bright and tendercrisp.  Remove from pan, set aside and cover to keep warm.  

Now, this next part happens quickly:

Add a drop more oil to the wok.  Add garlic and cook until lightly browned (this happens FAST.)  Add noodles to pan and a splash of water, stirfry the noodles around the wok a few times, until they begin to soften up.  Add 1/2 cup of the sauce (you may need more if you like a stronger flavor, but that may be enough...I usually end up using about 3/4 cup) and keep stirring.  Then, push noodles to outside rim of wok.  Add drop of oil and break eggs into the middle of the wok.  In their little 'zone' inside of the noodles, scramble them until almost cooked, then toss with the noodles.  Add the other stuff (protein, veggies) and perhaps a bit more sauce  if you like.  keep on the heat until well mixed, then remove from heat and toss in the garnishes.  Et Voila!

I really do believe that this Pad Thai will rival your favorite take out joint and Prof. Hubs and I scarfed it down with relish last night and I'm already planning a repeat Pad Thai celebration...

goodbye, goodbye, and new beginnings

Hubs and I are currently staying in the house I grew up in, unchaperoned, for the next couple of days until we make our way up to the wedding site.  To be honest, I have never before stayed, unchaperoned, in my parent's house and I have DEFINITELY never stayed, unchaperoned in my parent's house with a MAN.  Yes, yes, I know that he and I will soon be forever joined by holy matrimony (six days, to be exact) but I still feel a bit, well, naughty.

I have some health things to take care of while here (a cortisone injection for a rogue hip joint-an injury I incurred a few years ago when I seemed to be in training for some marathon-ian type adventure or other for no reason) and as I write this I am sitting at my parent's kitchen table smarting from this afternoon's wounds.  Oddly enough, for the first time in my adult life I believe the doctor 'operating' on me was YOUNGER than I.  Literally, he looked about 20.  I had Doogie Howser injecting my hip joint with a giant, radioactive needle.  And this Doogie had no sense of humor:

"Have you had an injection like this before?"-dr. childface

"Well, yes.  I had one in January.  I'm actually a pro by now. "-desperate housediva

"Well, I don't think so-your previous injection was with a contrast agent, and this is different."-dr. childface

"Uh, yeah.  Okay.  (so why did you ask?)"-desperate housediva

When being impaled by giant hypodermic needles I find humor to be a good coping mechanism for avoiding fainting spells.  Apparently, dr. childface disagrees with my methods.  Let's just hope his methods of injection were more effective than my attempts at humor and I am  footloose and pain-free on my wedding day.

When I stay at my parents house I usually like to eat one of 4 meals for dinner.  Last night, in preparation for today's medical ordeal, we prepared one of my mom's most wonderful and comforting dishes:  Chinese Chicken.  Yes, descriptive, I know.  It really is a FANTASTICALLY delicious stirfry and you can use just about any veggies you like in addition to the green peppers (last night we added broccoli and mushrooms)  In honor of family secrets, I am going to give you a slightly different version of this recipe.  It's AMAZING and you should all make it (with some short grain brown rice) tomorrow.

SUE'S CHINESE CHICKEN

chicken

3 Tbsp Soy sauce

2 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp grated ginger

2 green peppers, cut into squares

2 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken breasts (cut into thin strips)

1/3 cup walnut halves

cooking sauce

1/2 tsp. cornstarch

dash of tabasco (or some red chili flakes)

2.5 tsp sugar or honey

3 tsp rice wine vinegar

3 tsp dry sherry or water

3 Tbsp soy sauce

combine these to make cooking sauce, set aside, then:

In a bowl combine chicken with soy sauce and cornstarch, set aside.  Heat oil in wok over high heat add chicken and cook, stirring until opaque (about 2 minutes)  Remove from pan.  

Add pepper, and ginger to pan, stirring until pepper is bright green (tendercrisp.)  

Add chicken back in to pan and cook until no longer pink.  Add cooking sauce, stir until thick, add walnuts, serve.

Enjoy!!!