I love food! And other interesting tales...

I've been COOKING so much lately, I need to share it with you all.

My lovely roommate and friend, Laura Bertram, happens to own a fabulous cookbook, which I have previously gushed about, Betty Crocker Cooking Basics. In the last two weeks I have made THREE...(count them... 1, 2, 3) recipes from the book. First, I made Chicken-Tortilla Soup, which was so easy and fabulous. THEN I made Pad Thai - something I bragged about on facebook and got many recipe requests for, so I will share, below. Today, I made Vegetarian Chili. Delicious.

I am so beyond proud of myself for these seemingly mundane feats. This is why:

1) I love food. So much. And it's nice to be able to make delicious food cheaply and easily for oneself.

2) Someday I will probably have to help provide meals for more than just myself. Developing this skill now will help me not panic when that time comes.

3) My dad is a phenomenal cook, and I want to be like him. :D

4) Last year I had many things planned in my head that I was going to accomplish this year if I succeeded in getting into a professional dance company. Which I totally did. *self props*

These things were going to occupy my time at night, after a full day of rehearsal, during which I would not have to do homework or write papers. *victory dance* Seeing as I took an average (average!) of 18 credits a semester, you can understand that I had been daydreaming since about sophomore year of the moment when homework would not occupy even a minute corner of my mind.

One of the things I vowed to accomplish in my projected free time was to learn to play the guitar better, and especially learning how to play bar chords so that I can play more Beatles songs.

FAIL.

One of the other things I planned on doing was learning how to cook. REALLY cook. Not just, "hey look, I made a pancake!" cook.

SO - the fact that I am successfully accomplishing this goal is exceptionally satisfying.

Now if I could only learn how to play the stupid guitar I've had for 10 years...

AS PROMISED, here is the recipe for Pad Thai:

Pad Thai

Ingredients:

1/3 cup Lime Juice (2-4 medium limes, squeezed)

3 cloves garlic

1 medium shallot

4 medium green onions with tops

3 cups fresh bean sprouts or 2 cans (14.5 oz each) bean sprouts

1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts

2 large eggs

4 cups water

1 package (7-8 oz) linguine-style stir-fry rice noodles (rice stick noodles)

1/3 cup water

3 tablespoons packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons fish sauce or soy sauce

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice vinegar or white vinegar

3/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/4 cup firmly packed fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

STEPS:

1. Peel and finely chop garlic and shallot (you can use an onion instead, but why? shallot has such a nice ring to it!) Peel and thinly slice the green onions to measure 1/4 cup. Rinse the fresh bean sprouts with cool water, then drain in a strainer - or drain and rinse the canned bean sprouts in a strainer. Finely chop the peanuts. In a small bowl, beat the eggs (until they say "OUCH").

2. In a 3-quart saucepan, heat 4 cups water to boiling. Remove saucepan from heat and add the noodles, push noodles into water so they are covered completely in water, and soak them 3-5 minutes until noodles are soft, yet firm. OOO baby!

3. While noodles are soaking, in a small bowl mix lime juice , 1/3 cup water, brown sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, red pepper, and 1 tablespoon of the oil; set aside. Place strainer in sink and strain noodles, rinsing with cold water.

4. In a nonstick wok or 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat. Add garlic and shallot; cook about 30 seconds until they begin to brown, stirring constantly. Stir in beaten eggs, cooking and stirring gently about 2 minutes until scrambled but still moist. Gross. Moist.

5. Stir in noodles and lime juice mixture. Increase heat to high; cook about 1 minute, tossing constantly with 2 wooden spoons, until sauce begins to thicken. Add green onions, some of the cilantro (I like it to be cooked in a bit, because I am obsessed with cilantro, but the original didn't call for it in the actual wok.) bean sprouts and peanuts (or if you're like me, and you forgot to buy peanuts, toss in some peanut butter...yummy). Cook 1-2 minutes, tossing with spoons. Serve with cilantro on top.

DELICIOUS!

So...get to work! Tell me if you like it!