Fad Pie. Er something.

Yes. It was decided last night that their dinner was going to be called Fad Thai after repeated attempts to tell the boys it was "Paaaaaad Thai, not Fad Pie." Another battle lost.

This is the second time I've cooked this recipe from scratch and it continues to improve. Pad Thai is one of the most recognized Thai dishes in the US, and I happen to love it. If you ever find yourself ordering it when dining in an Asian bistro, it's just as worth it to make it at home.

My recipe is based on a few different variations I've found. Two months ago our family jumped on the vegetarian band wagon and admittedly LOVE it. This spin off is obviously as such, but any meat could easily be substituted for the tofu.

Pad Thai

Serves: 2-4

8 oz. Pad Thai noodles [rice stick]

1/4 c. vegetable oil [or peanut]
4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
3-4 scallions, sliced [divided]
12-16 oz. extra firm tofu [drained & pressed]
2 T. fish sauce [vegetarian or splurge for regular]
1/4 c. hot water
1 T. tamarind paste
1 t. brown sugar [packed]
1 t. crushed chili pepper sauce
1/8 c. tamari
1/8 c. lime juice
1 t. peanut butter
1 c. fresh bean sprouts
1 c. steamed vegetable [snow peas, broccoli, etc.]
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped

To begin with, place uncooked noodles in large pot and cover them with cold water. Let them sit for at least 30 minutes. As they sit, I occasionally swish [very technical I know] them through the water to separate the noodles. Drain pasta when complete and return to the pot.

While noodles soak, take your drained & pressed tofu and cube into desired size. I usually opt for a 1/2" cube myself but whatever floats your boat. Season the tofu with salt & pepper. Heat a large skillet with 1-2 teaspoons of oil and when hot add the tofu and cook until golden on all sides.

As the tofu cooks, in a small bowl combine the hot water with the tamarind paste. Once it dissolves, push it through a sieve and add the brown sugar, peanut butter, lime juice, tamari, fish sauce and remaining oil. Stir to combine and set aside.

When the tofu is just about finished, add 1/3 of the scallions to the pan and all of the garlic. Saute for another minute or two and remove from the heat. Place the pot containing the drained noodles back onto the stove top at medium high heat. Add the sauce to the noodles and the tofu mixture, and cook for another two minutes. Add bean sprouts and steamed vegetables, the crushed chili peppers and remaining scallions to the pot, and toss to combine. Remove noodles from the heat and place into a serving dish. Garnish with chopped cilantro and chopped peanuts if desired.

***

I know there are a ridiculous amount of ingredients, but I'm finding the more often I make it the easier it becomes. And the big payoff is the amazing flavor of this dish. I honestly could eat it three days a week indefinitely and not get sick of it. There are many "instant" Pad Thai boxed up meals in the grocery stores, but there are so many added preservatives that I find the stuff made from scratch cannot be beat.

Crazy guacamole cravings

While I realize some people don't appreciate the delicious addictive spread of guacamole, I have become increasingly hooked on it since my brother and sister-in-law have become residents of the most delectable Texas town: Austin.

They've lived there for four years now, although with my mushy mom of a brain I could certainly be way off base. Regardless, the foods of Austin are awesome, and as it nears the ten o' clock hour and I head off to bed, I normally tend to fantasize of wonderful snacks I know I will not eat right upon going to bed [and getting up for the gym at five am-- those late night snacks earn you every last one of those five pounds that refuse melt away].

So with that in mind, I'd like to pass on a recipe for some serious kick-ass guacamole if I do say so myself... to eat -ya know- in the normal dining hours of the day. It's mostly inspired in part by my bro, but I have read up on a couple of guacamole recipes and adopted a tip to add chilled cerveza to the mix and I must say it makes a delish difference.

Without any further adieu:

2 large or 3-4 small hass avocados, pitted [obviously. did i need to write that?]
1 small onion, grated or minced
1-2 cloves garlic, grated or minced
1 plum tomato, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 lime, juiced
Cilantro, large handful finely chopped
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 T beer [optional]
Hot sauce [optional]

Mash the avocados in a large bowl. Don't be afraid to "git in there and git messy" as Josh would say in his nearly southern Texan drawl. Oy. Next, I like to use a microplane to grate the onion and garlic so you have the taste without the chunks. Add the tomato, jalapeno, cilantro, lime juice and remaining optional ingredients. Season with S&P to taste.

Serve this up with tortilla chips to your heart's content. I never met a bowl of guacamole that I didn't like and didn't disappear in a long weekend.

Keep those mints handy post-guacamole as the gah-lic and onions will keep away most humans.

In which case, you have all the more reason to eat UP on this goodness if you want your children to leave you alone long enough to indulge on the fruits of your labor and then some.

Ole!

Roasted Winter Salad

Roasted Squash Salad with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette Salad [serves 6]
Salad
1 [3lb.] butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1" dice
1 small red onion, cut into 1/2" slices
EVOO
Salt & Pepper
6 oz. package of baby spinach [8 c]
½ c. pecans, toasted and roughly chopped
1/3 c dried cranberries
Vinaigrette [yields ½ c.]
3 T Blue Cheese
1 T White Wine Vinegar
1 ½ T EVOO
2 T water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Dash of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While your oven is preheating, throw pecans into a roasting pan to allow them to toast and bring out flavors. In about 10-15 minutes you will smell their fragrance which is when you'll want to remove them to cool. Transfer and reserve pecans for later. Place diced squash into roasting pan, and liberally drizzle with EVOO and season with S&P in a single layer. Stir to coat and combine. Place onion on same sheet and season in same manner with EVOO and S&P but keep separate from squash since the onions will finish first.

While the onions and squash roast, add all dressing ingredients in the bottom of a large salad bowl and whisk. Add spinach and toss to combine. Set aside.

In about 15 minutes your onions will be complete when they begin to look translucent. Remove onions and transfer to a medium bowl to cool. Continue to roast squash for another 15-20 minutes. Place squash together with onions in the bowl, lightly mix, and allow the flavors to combine while they cool. I prefer to cool the mixture so the salad does not wilt.

When the squash mixture is cooled, lay it over the dressed baby spinach. Add pecans and cranberries over top for a gorgeous presentation. Admittedly this recipe is my version of my boss' salad [Riverdale Manor]]they serve and it's awesome. She recently told me it was their own version of a recipe found on Southern Living which is where I retrieved the vinaigrette recipe which I could not decipher on my own. I would eat it any day of the week over any cut of cow. Well maybe not over a filet, but it is just that good.

Enjoy!

Savory Spreads

I had great intentions to indulge all of the fabulous findings of my recent trip to visit my bro and sister-in-law in Austin, TX with my hubby but quite honestly my mind cannot escape food right now. Nor do I have the time.

I will further detail the 18,745 things I loved about the city at a later time but at the present moment Mason is exercising his lungs for his brother to wake up, and testing my willpower not to exercise my own lungs for his insistence to pound Elmo's plastic eyeballs off of the headboard of his crib. He's only two. He's only two.

So for the time being I want to share a great personal hummus recipe I have become addicted to since Christmas. [Number one thing I loved about Austin was the degree of amazing FRESH, unique foods, so this is in lieu of my travel entry.]

This is my own lil' diddy to a black bean spread.

Smoky Black Bean Hummus
2 15oz. cans of black beans
1/4 c. tahini paste
1 lime, juiced
1/2 t. cayenne pepper, ground
1 t. cumin, ground
1/2 t. chipotle pepper, ground [hard to find, but I use McCormick's Gourmet version] or use one chipotle in adobo sauce
1/2 roasted red pepper
2-3 T juice from jar of red pepper
Fresh cilantro, to taste [I use a handful or two, but use more or less to liking]
Salt & pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a food processor, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Allow to stand for a few hours if you can resist, but this is some great stuff. I've made this similarly with garbanzo beans [with hulls removed] and it was equally as amazing. Add more juice [another lime perhaps, more pepper liquid, or perhaps water] to thin if the consistency doesn't suit your likings. You really cannot screw it up. I've frozen this in smaller portions and works great. I love hummus but I can't ingest the amount this makes before it spoils.

Jason, however, would have no qualms with the challenge.

My oldest son, Mason, will eat the hummus alongside tortilla roll ups [with cheese melted inside] or just about any vegetable. It's great with pita, and is just as delish as a condiment alternative to improve the dull turkey sandwich.

All that said, I can still hear Elmo getting a beating upstairs so perhaps that's my cue.

When in doubt, and it's cold: roast!

Ok. So not a pot roast. No no. Although the meat lovers out there would salivate over a juicy pot roast done to perfection, my idea of a fabulous roast includes vegetables.

Slide over carnivores, and feast your taste buds on this not so traditional method of roasting, but in my opinion offers a far greater taste than a hunk of meat. No offense.

Charred Tomato Soup [adapted from Rachael Ray]
6 ripe plum tomatoes, halved
1 small red onion
2T EVOO, and extra for drizzling
1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 quart chicken stock or broth
1 cup heavy cream (or half-and-half, regular or fat-free)
20 fresh basil leaves, shredded or torn

Preheat the broiler to high.
Arrange the plum tomato halves skin side down with the onions on a rimmed cookie sheet. Drizzle EVOO on the vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Broil for about 4 minutes, flip and continue to broil for 3 minutes or until the tomatoes and onions are slightly charred.
Place the tomatoes and onions in a blender or food processor, and puree until somewhat smooth.
Preheat a soup pot over medium high heat. Add the 2T of EVOO, garlic and the 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes. Saute the garlic for a minute, then add the pureed veggies and the chicken stock. When the soup comes to a bubble, add the cream, then season with salt and pepper. Simmer the soup for 8 to 10 minutes.
When ready to serve, turn off the soup and stir in the basil. Adjust the salt and pepper.

This soup is amazing. It actually calls to be served with pesto-prosciutto stromboli's, which I admit are equally delicious. However, posting a recipe with meat would defeat the purpose of my intent for this to be vegetarian-minded. But really. This soup is awesome and perfect this time of year. It also freezes really well. I often double or triple the recipe and freeze several containers.

Enjoy. No filet but just as delish!