All Thai'd Up

Busy day at work today! Probably will be busy all week, so posts may get scarce.

Well, for starters, I went camping this weekend and had a bomb ass time. We went down to Temecula, yes, beloved wine country and camped RIGHT. Tent, food on a charcoal grill, boiling water for dishes. Did some drinking around the fire, smoked some cigars AND did some wine tasting.

This is now my second time wine tasting, and I think I like it too much for someone that is supposed to be cutting back on the alcohol. Wine is definitely my spirit of choice and going tasting just gives me TOO MANY CHOICES.

We visited: Weins, Palumbo, Danza del Sol and Thorton’s. Weins was decent; they had a champagne and a port that I really liked, but overall there was nothing spectacular. Palumbo was one of my favorites from last time, sheerly out of the atmosphere. I have been getting more into red wines lately though, and I think I appreciated their wines more this time around. Danza we’d been to last time as well; they have so many good white wines, including three different kinds of moscato. As much as I love the sweet wines, I knew I couldn’t be getting anything with that much sugar, so I passed. We ate at Thorton’s our last trip and got a flight of wines, but didn’t visit their tasting room. With some time to kill before being seated for dinner we found ourselves in the back of the gift shop in a tasting room that reminded me of my high school with wine barrels in it. That being said, the list had a very nice selection and the guy behind the counter was extremely helpful. I ended up getting a bottle of champagne here: Cuvee Rouge. Darker than a blush, rich like a red but still sweet and bubbly. I want a glass just thinking about it…

For dinner I went with grilled salmon which came with some peppers and a risotto sauce type thing. It was good; the fish was flaky and the sauce had a really nice flavor.

Other camping meals this weekend included: egg sandwiches, grilled shrimp salad, protein bars and apples.

Yesterday on the way home we stopped by Pitfire for some lunch. I’d been once before around Christmas time and LOVED the farmer’s market plate. This time, I wasn’t starving so we shared the white sausage pizza. SO. FREAKING. GOOD. Perfect crust, fresh mozzarella and dollops of ricotta, sausage and fennel bubbly and hot. I highly recommend it. The boy wanted to try the lemon chicken soup so we got some to go; I wasn’t particularly thrilled with it. I definitely prefer their squash soup, but hey, it’s a pizza place. And a damn good one at that.

For dinner I made some pad thai. The recipe I use is partly based on the restaurant in NH I used to work at, and one I found when I did raw vegan for about a week last year. The result is a tasty, low-oil version that may have you questioning the consistency, but not the flavor.

Sam’s Pad Thai (serves 4-5ish)

• 1 heaping T peanut butter
• 1 T soy sauce
• 1/2 T Rice Vinegar
• 1 T sesame oil
• 1 T hot chili oil
• 1 T soyaki (trader joe’s)
• onion powder
• garlic powder
• ginger
• 1lb chicken
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 bunch green onion, finely chopped
• 2 handfuls chopped peanuts
• 2 handfuls bean sprouts
• rice noodles OR zucchini noodles OR shirataki noodles

Melt peanut butter until smooth enough to mix other stuff into it. Whisk in soy sauce, vinegar, oils, soyaki and spices. Set aside. Heat up some sesame oil and olive oil in a wok over medium heat. Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and add them to your hot pan. Follow directions for whatever noodles you’re using and have them on standby. Once chicken is cooked through, scramble in your eggs. After the eggs are cooked, add your noodles to the wok as well as the sauce. Throw in the green onions, peanuts and bean sprouts. Toss until everything is coated.

I know the ingredient list is long, but don’t be scared of it! This could easily be made vegan by subbing in some cubed tofu or gardein for the chicken (I’ve done it; it’s phenomenal)

I need to figure out a menu for this week. Probably less meat and more vegetables, although I’m supposed to be upping my protein AGAIN… We’re going to try and go to the farmer’s market this weekend though, so maybe NEXT week will be exciting vegetables week.

Had my bike seat stolen this morning so I walked to work today. Going to have to go buy a new seat later. Trying to recalculate my finances to see if I can get a gym membership. Thinking about training for a tri and will need access to a pool. And a bike seat for that matter…

Starting an acting class tonight, which is pretty exciting. Hopefully it doesn’t suck. I know I’ve spent the past four years and 6 figures on acting classes, but I need something to keep me sharp; it’s been a while and I’m getting restless. The teacher seems to like Meisner and late Stanislavski which is definitely my cup of tea so I have high hopes.

Starting a new supplement today that’s supposed to help elevate my blood pressure so I don’t get fatigued and depressed. Side effect may include increased libido.

I’ve heard of worse side effects.