Pad Kra Pao Ga - My Thai Basil Chicken Adventures

Here are the steps involved to get this deliciousness on the table.

Step 1.  Have an urge to combine the 2 pounds of chicken in the fridge with the abundant spicy Thai basil thriving on the deck.

Step 2.  Find a good looking recipe and realize you need oyster sauce and Thai chilies to make this happen.

Step 3.  After work, drive to a non-existent Asian Food Store.

Step 4.  Curse Google.

Step 5.  So, find another.  Get turned around a few times on the bazillion exit/on ramps involved in getting there, taking about an hour to even begin what you thought would be a 15 minute adventure.

Step 6.  Read the recipe in the store and wonder if the giant bag of chili de arbol could substitute for Thai chilies and if your Thai basil is holy enough.  (I mean they spend a whole paragraph discussing the need for holy basil.)

Step 7.  Go down a rabbit hole of thoughts about the holiness of basil.

Step 8.  Leave store with miraculously only one impulse purchase of mochi ice cream red bean balls.

Step 9. Get home and crank up music and start some brown rice.  Because.

Step 10.  Reread recipe.  Modify it.

• By throwing in a few giant handfuls of spinach.  Because.  
• Using only one kind of soy sauce.  Because.  
• Cook all the chicken at once, not a serving at a time.  Because. 
• Using 1 T of oil for the 2 packages of chicken.  Not 2 T of oil for one serving.  Because.  
• And I don't want an egg on the side.  Because.    

Consensus?  I probably could have gotten my two ingredients from Giant.  I could have ordered Thai takeout faster.  But - now I know where to get my international groceries.  And holy basil, it was delicious!  This WILL happen again.  (And not just because of my giant bottle of oyster sauce I only used 1 tablespoon of and my giant bag of dried red peppers of which I only needed about 7.)  Because it was noms and I know what's in it.

Kitchen Sink Crustless Quiche

That sigh when you've cleaned the kitchen after playing in it and you sit on the couch with your feet-up.  I love that feeling. It's like winning.  A combination of being well-nourished and de-stressed.  That just happened and I just heard myself sigh.

Tonight, I fetched veggies, rushed to Pilate's, came home and cranked up a sappy Joni Mitchell Pandora station and got into veggie prep mode.  

Inspired by being overrun with CSA eggs and veggies, a veggie quiche came to mind... I was mildly following this recipe... for time, temp, and a rough idea of ingredients.

After some stressful days at work, it was a nice mind and body reset to exercise and cook with tunes cranked.  My therapy.

Ingredients:
6 farm fresh eggs.  One of them had 2 yolks.  Because, you know, that's how the CSA do.  So not sure if that's 7 eggs?  But, I cracked 6 shells, so...
A 2 cup package mexican cheese, 2% that has been in the freezer for awhile.
1 zucchini leftover from beach weekend.

2 bunches of CSA spinach.
2 green/purpley scallions from the CSA.
Healthy drizzle of canola oil.
2 tsp garlic diced.

Directions:
Saute chopped zucchini, onion, and garlic in canola oil until cooked with salt and pepper.

Beat eggs in a bowl.  Add 2 C package of 2% Mexican cheese. Add cooked veggies and dump in casserole pan.  (I couldn't find my pie pans.  Probably in my trunk, knowing me.)

Cook at 350 for half hour.  Let rest for 10 minutes.

Portion out. Freeze half a dozen portions, so you don't feel overwhelmed by a quiche.  (Food shouldn't overwhelm.)  Save 3 portions for now, or meals later in the week.

Spinach - Microwaved

In the vein of, Sarah, what are you eating today?

Effort to clean out the fridge before vacay has commenced.  And the bagged spinach I brought to work looked wilty and unappetizing.  So I decided to microwave it to wilt it some more.

Pick out the culprits, add a spash of water and microwave for 40 seconds.  Add ham deli meat, avocado, hot sauce, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Serve with a side of yogurt, cherries, a lingering headache, and listening to a senate approps markup.
 

CSA Breakfast Skillet

This was more photogenic in parts before they met the skillet.  But I hadn't had coffee, so I didn't think to take pics.  Use your imagination.  Super delicious start to this long day.

Ingredients:
1 tsp canola oil
1 small potato shredded - I leave the peel on (yukon gold)
1 scallion chopped
1 C spinach, stems removed
1 egg and 1 egg white beaten
1 oz cabot sharp reduced cheddar shredded
garlic powder, salt, hot sauce

Directions:
Heat iron skillet.  Add oil.  Add scallion, spinach, and potato.  Cook.  Add a splash of water if it starts sticking.  Add beaten eggs and cheese and garlic powder and salt.  Flip and cook.  Don't scramble.  Flip.  Done when eggs aren't runny.  Voila.  Put in bowl and top with hot sauce of choice.  Though Crystal is the best.

Second Attempt:  Same recipe as above but no eggs and I added 2 small diced tomatoes. 

My Spinach is Better than Yours

Spinach is delicious.  But sometimes it's kind of boring.  Here is how I make it delectable.  I buy a bag and forget about it for several days, and then decide I need to eat it.  Here's how:

Ingredients: 

2 tsp canola oil 

1 bag spinach

2 T walnuts (kept in the freezer for freshness)

2 T raisins
garlic powder, salt, pepper, to taste 

Directions

Heat oil in skillet.  Put all the other things in the pan.  Stir around til spinach has wilted.  Eat half for dinner.  Eat half for lunch the next day cold.  Voila.  Bag of spinach consumed.