Vegetable Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce

 

A long time ago I went to college with a guy named Jeff. We were friendly and I think he might have worked with me on the school newspaper for a while. At some point, we lost touch and then a couple of years later we reconnected for a short time. I don't remember a whole lot about how long we were friends for or why we stopped hanging out. What I do remember is that one time I went to his apartment and he made me stir fry and it was amazing.

That's the weird thing about food. It's such a tie to memory and people. I remember so well Jeff pottering around his tiny kitchen in Atlanta making this dish, splashing in a bit of this and a bit of that. It was the first time I'd ever seen anyone cook with rice wine vinegar. The first time I think I saw anyone cook with snow peas. It was a really delicious meal, the sauce accents the flavor of the peppers really well and the vinegar makes it bright and tangy. The peppers have just a little extra crunch, the mushrooms are sumptuous and rich, and the snow peas are bright, green and fresh.

I made this stir fry a lot more often when I was vegetarian. I still default back to it though, when I'm craving something warm and fresh and tangy. Normally I would make my own peanut sauce, but I've found that store bought is really really good in this dish and has the perfect balance. You can find it in the Asian section in the grocery store.

Vegetable Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce

1 Red Bell Pepper, cut into strips

1 Green Bell Pepper, cut into strips

6 White Mushrooms, sliced

1/4 Cup of Snow Peas

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar

3 Tablespoons Peanut Sauce

Warm up the olive oil in a large frying pan or a wok if you have one. Make sure it gets nice and hot, then add the peppers. Add half the rice wine vinegar and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the mushrooms and stir around until the peppers are starting to get a little bit of color on them. You want them to stay a bit crispy. Add the snow peas and the rest of the rice wine vinegar and saute two more minutes. Add the peanut sauce and stir until warmed through.

Serve with rice and build a memory with an old friend. 

Makes 2 servings.

10,232

Y'all, that was awesome. Seriously.

In the last two weeks, I have traveled 10, 232 miles. I have been on four airplanes. I have seen pink sand in the Caribbean, Christmas trees in Bryant Park New York, and learned how to Snowboard in Utah.

I've caught up with old friends, hugged my family, missed a play, and gone on my first trip with my boyfriend.

I've had bad lobster, drunk champagne five days in a row, ordered room service, and eaten snow.

I've had a really really lovely vacation. I needed it, and I'm glad I went. I'm rested and ready for whatever comes next.

I have no good food pictures, because honestly I didn't have anything revelatory in the food department (except for some damn good barbecue chicken which I have no evidence of). But I've got some pretty pictures and I thought I'd share a few.

Pink sand in Barbuda. It's pink due to all the little shells. My mother did the hand modeling.

 Sunset, Mamora Beach, Antigua.

Sunset, Shirley Heights, Antigua. Overlooking English Harbor. Amazing barbecue here every Sunday.

The view from my balcony, St James Club, Antigua. Where I would curl up in the afternoon with a book and a cup of coffee.

Bryant Park, New York. A quick stopover to say hi to my friends Danny and Meredith. We walked around and drank Strawberry Hot Chocolate and then I taught Meredith how to knit.

Sunrise, Arizona (possibly Nevada). First trip away with my guy. We left Las Vegas at 6am to go to Brian Head, Utah. 

The view from the top of the mountain in Brian Head. I learned how to Snowboard. I've got a lot more learning to do, but I loved it. We stayed overnight and it was absolutely gorgeous and wonderful.

The whole two weeks have made me ridiculously happy. I'm a lucky girl in that I get to do things like this once in a while.

Did you see my Snickerdoodle recipe over at Whisks and Words? Check it out.

Away I Go

It's our December dark, meaning the Circus is shut down for two weeks. I am running away for the duration.

Have a good week or so. Eat lots of Christmas Cookies.

Hankook Taqueria

I'm well known for my deep love of Asian food. For some reason Asian flavors have always resonated with me more than most other cuisine types. The last time I was back in Atlanta, I was told about a little Korean Taco Place in a really unlikely location that was absolutely to die for. Life changing, it was called. Unforgettable. Perfect. That was some big talk there, and I was extremely skeptical. In the interest of research I figured I would try it.

It's not much to look at inside. There is a counter, and there are seats. It's in an almost shack-like building. They don't serve alcohol (though you can bring your own). My skepticism continued. Then I noticed that it had a fair few awards on the back wall. Fair enough, my interest was aroused.
I ordered Korean Tacos, one fish, one beef. My dining companion ordered the Bibim-bop. Total cost of the meal: $12.

The food arrived in a nice and speedy fashion. I was sad that I hadn't thought to go ahead and pick up a few bottles of beer, as it seemed acceptable to bring your own. Definitely something to bear in mind for next time.

The beef (bul gogi) taco was absolutely divine. The beef was perfectly seasoned and really tender. Korean barbecue really is one of the best tastes. I adored every bite.

The fish taco wasn't bad. The fish had a really nice crispy coating. The hoi sin tartar sauce though left a bit to be desired for me. I couldn't really find the hoi sin part of it. I think if I could have had a do-over, I would have gone for two of the beef tacos instead.

My companions Bibim-bop was absolutely perfect and divine. Everything was well prepared, the egg was perfect, the special sauce was tasty and delicious. It was a great plate.

This restaurant is definitely a find. The food is excellent and you can't beat the price. The location is odd, but it's actually worth the trip for the food. Definitely a great little out of the way place to try if you have a chance.

Make Ahead Spinach, Bacon and Egg Sandwiches

It's about to get really really busy up in here. Next week, I'm on the longer shifts at work so I'll be starting early most days, then the week after we have a big big PR event that I'm partially responsible for, then we go on our dark and I'm away for most of two weeks... one week in Antigua, one day in New York, then two or three days in the mountains learning to Snowboard with the new boy. I'm learning, not him. He can already Snowboard quite well,  although there was an incident with a tree last season that best not spoken of.

When I go into a period where I'm about to get busy, I try and be smart and prep ahead with food in the freezer so I'm not busy and tired AND hungry. Honestly, you don't want me to be all three. I'm awful. I'll start by getting cranky, then I'll just live on the verge of tears where any little thing can make me cry. I am not fun when I'm busy and tired and hungry.

But the promise of vacation is coming. I think the last time I went on a real holiday was when I was a teenager. Every other time I've been responsible for someone else, or visiting family, or something else where I can't relax. I'm so happy I get to just take a week on a beach with no one but my Mum and Stepdad, and unlimited food, drink, beach and sleeping.

So anyways. Make ahead stuff. I've seen a version of this knocking around Pinterest for a while. I figured I would go ahead and play around and see what I could come up with. I'm a big fan of adding bacon to things, and when I was making this, I had a really really good idea. I was cooking the bacon, and prepping the muffin cups, and I was about to reach for some cooking spray when I said Nay! Thou Shalt Not Use Cooking Spray, Thou Shalt Use Bacon Grease!! And yea verily, a bacon grease smeared muffin cup was born. For I am mighty in my use of bacon. I love my brain sometimes.

So yeah, screw the spray, use the bacon grease. I made six of these and after they had cooled, I wrapped them in foil and put them in a freezer bag. When I want one, it'll be two minutes in the microwave, add a slice of cheese and an English Muffin, and I'll be out the door on my way to make people fly through the air.

Make Ahead Spinach, Bacon and Egg Sandwiches

6 Eggs
3 Rashers of Bacon, cut in half
1 Cup Spinach
Salt
Pepper

Preheat the over to 350F. Cook the bacon in a skillet until mostly done. Use a basting brush to coat six muffin cups with bacon grease. Layer in the spinach so that it is essentially lining the muffin cup.
Lay a piece of bacon in each cup. I like to flip it over a little so it's like a little ball of bacon. Break an egg into each cup and put a few grinds of salt and pepper over each one.

 

Bake in the oven for twenty minutes. Everything will be cooked through and delicious. Allow to cool then wrap individually in foil, and place in a freezer. To use later, unwrap from the foil, pop in the microwave for two minutes or a little longer if needed. Add a slice of cheese and an English Muffin and you've got breakfast. 

Eat hurriedly whilst heading to your car. Then double back because you left your coffee on the counter. 

Makes 6.

Color Me Rad

So, I have a new blog design, courtesy of the lovely Kathleen. It's a lot less standard blogger and a lot more individual which I like. What do you think?

It's been a bit dull over here in the Valley the last week or so. I did, however, get to do something pretty cool. I got to run in the Color Me Rad 5K here in Vegas.It's a neat race... they have them all over the country. Basically, you run and you get pelted with paint powder at various intervals throughout the race, and a whole bunch at the end. It's non-competetive and it isn't timed, so it's a lot of fun.

I really like running 5K. I've gotten a lot better at them, and I really like running with a bunch of people.

Here is my before shot, with the lovely Dan and Kate. Dan wasn't running, but he was nice enough to hold the car keys. We also made sure he got a good dose of paint on him at the end. 

Here is how we looked after. Nice and messy in front of the final paint station. We'd had an adult slumber party the night before and stayed up very late drinking rum, playing Wii bowling, and chatting, so we were running on less than four hours sleep. I'm amazed at how energetic we looked!

Afterwards I heading home to shower. The amount of paint was ridiculous! I had to wash my hair twice to get it all out, and my shower looked like it had been attacked by a parade of angry smurfs. It was back to bed and then a bowl of my favorite comfort food... mashed potatoes with peas and gravy, washed down with a cup of tea.

All in all a good time was had, and I'm really glad I did it. Time to find another race to run! I'm really wanting to do a 10K next.

Healthy Scrambled Egg Wrap

I know, I know. I'm on another breakfast kick that I can't seem to shake. I'm not complaining, though, because this one is really really good.

I've mentioned a few times before that I went through a period of weight loss over the last year. It wasn't easy, and I'm still working my ass off to maintain my current level of fitness. I'm so much healthier, happier and I have more energy. These days I try and do a big run on Tuesdays.... hoping to reach my goal of being able to run a 10K (6.2 miles) in an hour by the 1st of December. I'm at 5.81 miles right now and continuing to push. I try and do at least three 20+ minute runs at other times during the week, and I'm also starting to add in some more toning and shaping.

I'm happy with how far I've come and I'm happy with where I'm going. The only problem is that I've come to realize that it's going to be very easy for me to backslide. Gone are the days when I could eat anything that I wanted. Now it's all about portion control. If I make cookies, I eat one or two and I don't eat half a cup of the dough any more.

So I'm frequently on the look out for lower calorie, flavorful food that I can put into my regular rotation. A while ago I decided that I don't eat enough veggies, so I starting going more for scrambled eggs with spinach and other vegetables, instead of my usual poached egg on toast.

I've made this combination as just a bowl of scrambled eggs, as a breakfast sandwich using Sandwich Thins, and as a wrap. Honestly, in my opinion, the wrap is the best choice. It comes together quickly and it's really delicious. It won't break the calorie bank, and it's nice and filling.

Healthy Scrambled Egg Wrap

1/2 Cup Spinach
1 Egg
1/4 Cup Egg Whites
2 Tablespoons Goat Cheese
1 Tablespoon Sundried Tomatoes (chopped small)
1 Teaspoon Butter Replacer (I use Store Brand I Can't Believe it's Not Butter)
1 Whole Wheat Flour Tortilla
Salt
Pepper

In a saucepan over a medium/low heat, melt the butter replacer. Add in the sundried tomatoes, egg and egg white, and a few grinds of salt and pepper. The key to scrambled eggs is cook over a gentle heat and to stir frequently. So, stir frequently and gently until the eggs are cooked most of the way through. Add the spinach and cook for a few more seconds, then add the goat cheese.

Warm your flour tortilla just a little by setting over the flame of a stove for 5 seconds each side. Turn out your eggs onto the tortilla, wrap up and serve.

Eat at the dining room table, staring out a window at rare fluffy clouds.

Serves 1.