Another Thai Stirfry

I don't really expect everyone who reads this blog to go out and make the things I post-- I like to post winning recipes here so I can remember what was good and what it looked like. This is kinda like my recipe book, I guess. So, here's another Thai dish that is super good. It's got the same peppers-onions-chicken/pork that the other Thai stirfry has, but it tastes very different. The other one is very basil-y, and this one is hotter. There are other differences, too, but it's hard to describe them. If you really do want to know, then you should make both dishes and see for yourself how they're different. I love making the other one for people, and I will also love making this one for people. Just to shake things up a bit I will serve this one with noodles (I serve the other with rice).

This recipe was adapted from a recipe in that Thai cookbook I got Phil for his birthday.

Thai Stirfry II

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

5 anchovy fillets, finely chopped

1 lb sliced pork tenderloin or chicken breast

2 lg. bell peppers, sliced

1 lg. red onion, sliced

1-2 seeded jalapenos, chopped

1 1/2 t. red chili flakes

2 T sugar

4 T fish sauce

4 T soy sauce

1/2 c. lime juice

1 T cornstarch

2 T water

5-6 T peanut or veg. oil

First off, make the sauce and set aside: combine lime juice, soy and fish sauces, sugar, and red chili flakes. Also make the thickening agent and set aside: combine cornstarch and water.

Put the skillet/wok over med-high to high heat, add a couple T of oil, throw in the diced anchovy and garlic. Stir around about 30 seconds then add the meat. Coat meat with oil and anchovy/garlic, stirfry a few minutes until mostly done. Remove from pan. Add another one or two T oil, add veggies. Stirfry a few minutes, until almost done. Add meat back in, add sauce, stir to coat. Bring to a boil, add thickening agent, let boil a minute or two. Serve over Asian noodles or rice.

Quick FW Trip

Look at how much my sister loves margaritas! Hee hee! Perhaps the after-Cebolla pics from Matty's apartment will make it onto his blog. Anyway, we had a great dinner after spending the afternoon at Mom's house with a bunch of little kids.

Laura and Phil each have a kid on their back, there's another little boy on the ladder, and behind him is their big sis Alannah. Lots of kids at Mom's last week.

Luckily Steve kept Mom and me satiated with garden jalapeno poppers and cold Chimay. These baked poppers were really good-- maybe mom will link the recipe here for us.

Then Henry and Izzy had crazy cousin time. Look, it's like they're holding hands!

Bleh

It's been a tough past week or two at work. It is not easy to be kind and caring to the public for 40 hours a week. I don't care what's wrong with everyone, and what hurts and how it got hurt and what their doctors think. Also, I don't care if my radiologists think we coulda got better pictures on that one guy's knee, or we need to add a contrast injection to that lady's scan. The blanket warmer's empty? The laundry baskets are full? Someone needs a copy of his scan burned onto a CD right away? Don't care.

It's been too hot out for too long, I'm sick of having a long-distance relationship and I need a vacation. Luckily, I have one coming up.

The Best Thai Food You'll Ever Make

Seriously, this is incredible. Ask anyone who's ever had it. It's simple and fresh and so so so yummy.

Thai Basil Chicken

1 medium green bell pepper

1/2 onion, sliced

1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
16 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast halves, sliced 1/4-inch thick or one pork tenderloin, sliced
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/3 cup shredded basil
peanut oil, for stir-fying

Sauce 1
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Sauce 2
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
4 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon chili paste

Sauce 3
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

(I usually make an extra batch of Sauce 3, just in case the sauce is a bit thin)


Heat oil in wok. Stir-fry onions and peppers until crisp tender. Remove and keep warm.

Add a bit more oil to wok if needed and stir-fry chicken, garlic, and pepper flakes until chicken is done. Add sauces in order, stirring between each addition to coat. Add cooked vegetables back and stir to
coat.

Add basil, stirring just until hot and beginning to wilt. Serve over rice.

Mini-vacation '10

We got a four day weekend last week, so Phil, Hen and I went to Fort Wayne to see a Tin Caps game. I guess I took this picture as soon as we got there, because for most of our time at the ballpark it was cloudy and sprinkling. Then there was a bit of thunder and lightening. We made it to about the 5th inning, I think. It seems they played the whole game, 'cause while sitting over at a bar on Wayne Street we heard the fireworks. Maybe next year we'll get in an entire game...

After a fun day in Fort Wayne we went up to the Lauer's lake. This is a good lake because there aren't tons of boats all around and the cabin is really cute. It was so so so awesome to fall asleep under an open window, all cozied up with blankets. And Henry, oh my gosh. He loves going to the lake... he just tears up and down the hill from the cabin to the shore. He's so cute.

I brought back a bunch of corn from lake country and boiled it all up to freeze. These are cobs waiting to be de-kerneled. Once the kernels were removed, I spread them in a single layer on several cookie sheets, froze them, then packed the kernels in quart sized freezer bags. Kinda time-intensive, but fun. It'll be neat to have delicious farm-fresh corn this fall and winter.

Summertime Remix

A ton of fun stuff has been happening this summer, and here are some of the highlights...

On July 3rd members of my family and I attended Symphony on the Prairie, where the Indianapolis Symphony plays outside at Conner Prairie. It was so great. There were thousands and thousands of people there, enjoying one of the few non-humid evenings of the summer. After a wonderful performance of American-type songs there was a great fireworks display. This is a great event that everyone should go see.

After the July 4th fireworks we conducted an official IPA- off. Contenders: Bell's Two Hearted Ale and New Belgium's Ranger. At the taste-off Crystal, Chad and I all sided with the Bell's, and Phil preferred the Ranger. But tonight, when I drank one of each again, I think I might be shifting to a Ranger preference. It just took me about 10 tries to spell 'preference' correctly.

A few weeks ago Crystal, Chad, Phil, and I were sitting on the back porch. Crystal mentioned having recently read about a taco truck in a parking lot in Broad Ripple, so we took off in search of said tacos. They were good and beefy and spicy, and got us out to Broad Ripple on a Saturday night! It was pretty fun, really-- not the jerk-fest I'd always thought it would be. Well, there were certainly lots of jerks around, but we had fun walking about and drinking at a dive bar where they played Punk Rock Girl by the Dead Milkmen.

This is my favorite pie to eat and make. It's peach-blueberry with cayenne and brandy. It's not a pie for wimps. We had this just before going to Broad Ripple for tacos.

And this is right now. Chad and Crystal are in Fort Wayne for the night, so I have both dogs here with me. They are doing their best to constantly keep tabs on one another while seeming non chalant about it. This is a skill upon which they could improve. What I love most about this picture is that their little paws are touching. How cute!

An Essay

Why I Love the Show Mad Men

by Erin Anderson

From the first episode of the first season of Mad Men, I was head over heels. I was hesitant to watch Mad Men because it gets too much praise, but it turns out it's totally worthy. I've been trying to determine why I like this show so much, and it seems there are four reasons I'm so into Mad Men.

1. It's aesthetically pleasing. The actors are perfect. The main guy, Don, and his wife Betty are as attractive as people come. Who doesn't like to look at pretty people? The people in the office are perfect, from the squirrely young guy with questionable morals to the Marilyn-esque office manager. And the clothes they all wear are gorge. I've always loved 50s/60s style, and this show takes authenticity very seriously (it seems to this person born in the 70s). Also, the sets are great. I love the Drapers' home, with it's plaid kitchen wallpaper and padded headboard.

2. I think one thing that makes this show so different is it's understated nature. Things nowdays are so loud and bright and quick; I hate that stuff. I just looked up 'understated' on thesaurus.com and I'm seeing words like 'simple,' 'classic,' 'elegant,' 'restrained,' 'low key,' and 'subtle.' Those are all words I love, and all words that describe the quite demeanor of Mad Men.

3. Mad Men is a very adult television show. In every scene someone's drinking, smoking, or cheating on a spouse. Often all three. The great thing about all this debauchery is that understatedness. Also, it's adult in a way that I think would bore a younger audience. The issues faced in the Draper home or in the offices of Sterling Cooper are mature issues-- social change, family problems, workplace politics.

4. I love the mindset of this era, the need to keep up appearances. Private life is private, and it's nobody's business. That's all I need to say about that.

So, go rent seasons 1-3. Season 4 begins at the end of July on AMC. I need to work out a deal with my aunt so she'll let me come over to watch it, since I don't have cable.