This was a lovely surprise for me when I returned from a long day at a craft show!

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Elizabeth was at the Milford craft fair yesterday.  The rest of us were “enjoying” the rain.  After a morning of home repair, it was time to think about dinner.  Normally I would make nachos and miso soup, a delectable combination.  But with the rain we had the time for something more adventurous.  The silver lining is that now the bathroom sink runs freely, the kitchen cabinet door is back on, the piano bench is repaired, the hall light fixture is ½ fixed, and I finally got the picture printed that Elizabeth asked for about 2 months ago.

Pad Thai

This recipe is based on that posted by the MY-Thai Oriental Grocery.

 Sauce – Prepare first so that it can sit in the fridge for an hour.

 ½ cup Palm Sugar

¼ cup tamarind concentrate

¼ cup fish sauce

½ cup water

½ teaspoon salt

Mix the above in a saucepan, heat covered on low for 45 minutes.  Uncover and turn off the heat while you go back to the grocery for overlooked ingredients.  Heat on medium uncovered for about 15 minutes until viscosity is noticeably increased, but thinner than maple syrup.  Put in the fridge. 

Pad Thai Ingredients

 200 g of thin Thai Rice Noodles, soaked in water for at least 1 hour, then drain in a colander

2 tbsp sliced green onion stalk

2 tbsp sliced green onion

2 eggs - our kids asked for extra egg

Slices of bean curd – I used 5 oz of inarizushi-no-moto (seasoned fried bean curd) from a Japanese grocery. 

2 tbsp chopped garlic

2 cups bean sprouts  (I went to 5 stores before I found bean sprouts.  Unreal.  How can an Asian grocery call itself Asian and not have bean sprouts?) 

3 tbsp smashed-by-a-4-year-old peanuts.  If you don’t have a 4 year old and a mortar and pestle, crush peanuts will suffice. 

3 tbsp canola oil

lime, used as a toy for about 20 minutes, then washed and sliced.

Heat a big skillet on medium heat

Saute the garlic in the oil for about 2 minutes till it is golden

Add the eggs, sauté

Add the rice noodles and the sauce.  Stir until the noodles absorb the sauce.

Add the green onion, bean sprouts, bean curd, and some of the crushed peanuts.  stir, stir, stir. 

Serve garnished with bean sprouts, bean curd, crushed peanuts and lime.

 I served this with raw string beans on the side. 

My dish only remotely resembled this:

(written and photographed by my husband)

Elizabeth was out of the house for an entire hour today, and our son was hungry.  He requested a grilled cheese with tuna.  I was relieved that his request was within my extensive repertoire, which includes toast, cheese toast, and grilled cheese with tuna. 

To make grilled cheese with tuna, first mix tuna from a one serving foil pouch with a scoop of mayonnaise. 

Next, butter a slice o bread, place it butter side down on a fry pan, place 3 slices of fine store-brand pre-sliced American cheese on the bread, add a layer tuna, then top off with a second slice of buttered bread, butter side up.

To help the process, place a flat lid on the stack, and add heat.

Note, as evidenced in the below picture, smoke emanating from the assembly is a bad sign.  Skilled readers may also note the red hot surface under the pan, suggesting the heat may have been too high.

Examination of the sandwich confirms that the heat was, in fact, too high, as shown in the picture below.  A proper grilled cheese with tuna is not black.

 But not to worry. 

First, place the sandwich on a board and turn off the heat on the stove.  Next, pop two new pieces of bread in the toaster.

Using a spatula, deftly remove the burned bread and discard.  Butter the toast.

Lay the toast, butter side out, on the tuna and cheese assembly.  Then place the newly breaded tuna and cheese in the fry pan.  Put the lid on and let it stand for about ten seconds.  Magically it looks perfect, as shown in the picture below.

Now ensure the cremated bread is adequately hidden, open a window for good measure, and call the hungry kid. 

They’ll never know.