Thai-m for a change....

I love Thai food. The hubs and I have a couple of Thai restaurants that we frequent but after dropping anywhere from $25 to $40 every time we go I got the idea that I could cook this stuff myself.

We found a great little Oriental store across the river...dirt cheap prices and aisles FILLED to the rim with various Thai, Vietnamese, Korean and Chinese offerings. Tofu is half the cost of the grocery store. Noodles are made from rice or wheat or whatever - NO ENRICHED anything. YAY! Our first trip there I purchased an entire bag full of goodies for less than $10.00. Jackpot!

One of my favorite Thai dishes is Mussaman Curry. I also love yellow curry (which I think tastes similar to Mussaman but what do I know). At the LOS (little Oriental store) I bought both the Mussaman and yellow curry powder/pastes. I followed the recipe, kind of, according to the directions - palm sugar (check), coconut milk (check). I did not use fish oil because I don't eat fish but I didn't think it would make that much of a difference since I ask my Thai restaurants to omit it. For whatever reason my version SUCKS. The yellow curry was SUPER HOT and SPICY but it was very bland and boring. There were no variations in flavor - it was all flatline HOT. I made it again last night and added some extra spices to both my curry and my tofu. I threw in some peanuts for additional taste and texture. Yep, still sucks. I have all this curry and now I'm all curried out. I got curried away I guess. Any ideas to make this tasty treat a tasty treat? I'm open to suggestions.

On a brighter note, tonight is the hub's turn to cook. He volunteered. I was pretty excited but then he mentioned an oven entree and I knew I was in for frozen pizza. Not quite what I had in mind especially since I'm trying to get in FIGHTING shape for this upcoming Mexico trip. I dropped a subtle hint (something like, "You are NOT making pizza for dinner") and I think he got it. He's heading to the store to get actual ingredients to cook. Much better - maybe some nice whole grain pasta with fire roasted tomatoes, mozzarella and cashews.

Speaking of fighting shape, my work-outs are going great. Sunday night I did an hour long Jackie Warner video. Monday morning I did the same video. Here it is Tuesday and I can't walk. Ah, the joy of exercise. I will push through the pain and do some type of aerobic/strength training tonight. Summer time is coming and shorts are calling my name. I'm determined to look good this summer! I can DO IT!

What A Weekend

Why does Monday come around so quickly? It seems I'm just starting to enjoy my weekend when BAM it's over!

Saturday my husband had to work so my youngest son and I sat around the house and did nothing. We had all these big plans to go and do, but we ended up going nowhere and doing nothing! It was kind of relaxing but at the same time I wish we had gotten some motivation. When you go from 60 degrees and sunshine on Friday to 3 inches of snow and 30 degrees on Saturday, it knocks the wind out of your sails and sits you on the couch again. I didn't even work out! But I did make pancakes in the morning. Priorities....

Saturday late afternoon definitely made up for the lack of anything that morning. My son went to his dad's house and when hubby got home from work we ran ran ran. We made some Goodwill and Salvation Army runs, went to Marshall's and TJ Maxx, Dick's Sporting Goods, Gander Mountain and finally Red Robin's for a nice gardenburger dinner, where we caught the tail end of Northern Iowa surprising the bejeezus out of Kansas! Our shopping mission was to find a nice backpack and water-type hiking sandals/shoes for me for our October trip to Yelapa, Mexico. We are going to go all-natural on this trip. No resort, no room service, no all you can eat buffet. Hell, there aren't even any walls, doors or windows where we are staying! We are packing 7 days and 6 nights worth of clothes and toiletries into backpacks! I'm so excited. We didn't find what I was looking for Saturday night but we did get some good bargains at the thrift stores. We decided that on Sunday we would make a quick run to our nearby outlet mall, about an hour away.

Sunday dawns, we get up and head out the door. I'm feeling optimistic about having my husband drive (at least back home) so I bring my book to read! That didn't happen but I did get a lot of reading in Sunday evening. I also got a lot of shopping done at the outlet mall--three pair of shoes, a couple of shirts for work and a new purse that I didn't need. I'm a sucker for a bargain. I must have that written across my forehead. When I hear DISCOUNT I already have my debit card out and poised to swipe!

I wish there were some discounts on travel right now. Tonight I'm booking the plane tickets and the 'condo' in Yelapa. I got my water sandals yesterday and I've narrowed down my backpack selection. We're ready to roll. But since I don't want to wish my summer away I think I'll just keep dreaming about the trip and enjoy the time until then.

I sent out two more books via paperbackswap.com. I've already sent four that I'm waiting for credits to appear and then I'll have a total of seven credits! Seven more books to find, request and then add to my ever growing tbr pile! And I recently won another book from a different blog. I love giveaways! What's the best thing you've ever won?

Tonight I'm making tofu and sticky rice. I can't wait to get home and COOK! Got any recipes to share? I'm always looking for new vegetarian ideas!