Pad Thai & Cucumber Salad
1/2 pound rice noodles
1/2 cup canola oil
3 cloves garlic, minced)
2 teaspoons red chili paste
1 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
1/2 cup water
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
1/2 cup snow peas, strings removed and julienned (I add mine whole)
1 1/2 cups fresh bean sprouts
1/4 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes
1 tablespoon lime juice
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1/4 cup finely chopped dry roasted peanuts (I leave these out)
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the noodles, and cook just until the water returns to a boil. Remove the noodles immediately and drain them. Rinse in cold water to stop the noodles from cooking.
Heat the canola oil in a wok or large saute pan. Add the garlic, chili paste, fish sauce and water. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until slightly thickened. Add the beaten eggs, stirring constantly, until the eggs are soft set.
Add the noodles to the pan with the chili paste mixture, toss and saute for 3 to 4 minutes over medium-high heat. Add the scallions, snow peas, bean sprouts, red chili flakes and lime juice. Toss to mix well and heath through.
Serve with a sprinkle of cilantro and peanuts.
Cucumber Salad
3-4 Baby Cucumbers
1/2 medium Red Onion
3 Tablespoons grapefruit vinegar (bought at Trader Joe’s)
1 Tablespoon sugar
Slice the cucumbers and red onion and mix in a bowl. Whisk together the vinegar and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Toss the dressing with the veggies and cover. Let the salad rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to blend.
This Week's Menu
The kids are all still sleeping so I’m trying to get this week’s menu planned before they get up.
I am completely embarrassed that I walked into my kitchen this morning and it is a DISASTER. Nothing was picked up or put away last night except for the lasagna that I put in the fridge before taking Monkey to bed.
Ugh...
Anyway, I got this notepad at one of the little boutique’s downtown and it is so handy!
I highly recommend it if you’re like me and are obsessed with office supplies and organization. Or also like me in that you just post your menu on your blog/computer and then can’t remember what you picked to make on a certain night so you have to grab the laptop and go to your own blog to find out what you’re having for dinner. 
So, on to this week’s menu!
Sunday: Birthday Celebration for Mom at SIL’s house
Monday: Pad Thai & Cucumber Salad (pad thai from Whole Foods Market cookbook, pg. 204)
Tuesday: Election Night Party (friends are coming over to watch coverage and drink lots of wine)
I’ll be making a lot of the recipes from Rachael Ray’s Election Night Bash party plan in her November magazine including campaign trail mix, bipartisan salad, Uncle Sammies,Elephant Ears & Donkey Tails for dessert)
Wednesday: Turkey Thyme Meatloaf Patties w/ Mashed Potatoes & Spinach
Thursday: Whole Wheat Pasta w/ Sweet Basil Pesto & Garlic Bread
Friday: Pizza Night (make your own)
Saturday: Lentil, Sausage & Rice Soup
Back in the Saddle
As a reward for his hard work, I ordered him this:
He loves pirates and already has most of the other pirate books from the catalog so I thought we would round out his collection. He must have sold See Inside Pirate Ships to a dozen different people.
I’m so proud of him!! He asked me on the way home if he could come with me next year.
Kitchen of the Week
I’m very excited to be the guest blogger for Kitchen of the Week over at Happy to Be at Home!
Hi, my name is Erin. My blog, Life in a Blender, is my attempt at bringing people into the life of a blended family.
My husband, John, and I celebrated three years of marriage at the end of July. It has been an interesting road for us as we each came into our marriage with kids of our own. On July 9th of this year, we added one of our own. All together, we have four kids living in our little Cape Cod. Life can be interesting with three special needs kids, a husband whose job calls on him at all hours and a baby demanding center stage. But we love our crazy life, most of the time.
Our kitchen is the nerve center of our house. My laptop is there 80% of the time and it is where all papers/forms/notes end up. Someday I hope we get to make it big enough to handle all of us at once!
Because of the issues of our kids, along with our own health, we try to stay away from processed foods and eat natural/organic foods. Lots of fresh produce and whole foods in our kitchen. We also have some picky eaters including one with Sensory Processing Disorder who only eats a select few foods. I love to cook, though, so the challenge of making something we will all eat is fun.
I hope you enjoy this week in my kitchen. I’m looking forward to actually thinking about all I do in the kitchen. It should be…uhm…interesting.