Mmmm. . . last summer Carrie and I tried a recipe that was in my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. It was good, but too long and complicated to ever make again.

Then I saw this recipe being made on “America’s Test Kitchen” -or something like that. Looked it up, tried it (actually, conned Carrie into making it) – easy peasy, we even made it again later that week! You should try it too! It’s delish.

Warm Chocolate Melting Cake

8 ounces semisweet chocolate
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
7 eggs, divided use
6 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup flour
Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt chocolate and butter; cool 10 minutes.

In separate bowl, mix 4 eggs with sugar. Whisk. Add flour and whisk. Add remaining 3 eggs. Add egg mixture to chocolate mixture. Pour in individual baking cups or ramekins.

Bake until just done, about 15-20 minutes (interior will be melting, not set).

Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Makes 8 servings. Approximate nutritional values per serving: 460 calories (64.7 percent calories from fat), 8 g protein, 35 g carbohydrate, 27 g sugar, 2 g dietary fiber, 35 g fat, 250 mg cholesterol, 60 mg sodium.

We made hamburgers and home-made fries and had Limeade and Tabbouleh and ate it all in the backyard.

Simply Limeade & Simply Lemonade are our “splurge” in our groceries. We always have it on hand.

The home-made fries were yummy, but a lot of work. Oh well.

Jason and Leslee joined us for our evening

After dinner Wyatt and Jason moved the couches from the living room into the basement.

Last week my sisters’ FHE brother, Hudson, came over to give us all a cooking class. He served his mission in Thailand, and now works in a Thai resturaunt. Thai is one of my FAVORITE FOODS! Right up there with Indian, Mexican, Greek, Russian . . . okay, I just like ethnic food. I was SUPER EXCITED for him to come. My only sorrow is that he couldn’t teach us more, although I’ll admit, after just making these three dishes, I was wiped out!

One thing I learned was that Thai cooking, like American, is not precise. You season to taste, add ingredients to taste, substitute ingredients as neccessary, etc. So I’ll share my recipe and notes with this caveat: make it a few times to figure out how to make it how you like it!

Gaeng Kiaw Waan (Green Curry)
This is the first food we made. I LOVE Curry, especially when I’m pregnant. I have a secret theory that it helps stave off my nausea.
Chicken cut to bite size peices
Zuchini cut to small bite size pieces (or eggplant as alternative)
Bamboo shoots
A little bell pepper
(of the above ingredients, think of stir fry porportions to each other)

We’re also going to need:
Fish sauce (the clearer the better apparently (less fishy))
salt
sugar
coconut milk
green curry paste – May Ploy is brand recommended.
vegitable oil
water
*Thai sweet basil
*Lime leaves (cafir leaves)
*These are optional

To start out, heat pan on medium low heat. Put in about a 1 to 1 of oil to green curry (maybe a little less green curry). We used about 1/4 C vegitable oil, and it made LOTS.
Stir in curry to oil, making a sludgy paste. Don’t let the curry burn. Stir until it makes you sneeze. Add coconut milk (1/2 cup-ish . . . we will add more as needed). Add chicken and lime leaves. While chicken is cooking, add a little water to thin sauce out. When chicken is almost done, add bamboo shoots (1/2 – 3/4 of a large can) & green peppers and about 2 teaspoons fish oil, salt to taste (fish oil is salty, so taste first). Add some sugar (~2 teaspoons) to curb bite of curry – to taste. Add zuchini & basil right at the end so it doesn’t get soggy. During this whole time, add coconut milk and water to make sauce consistency desired (soupy). Taste! Taste! Taste! to make sure spices are coming together right. Serve over rice. YUM

Nam Thok – Waterfall Salad
This is the second dish we made. I remember eating it in Thailand at all the street vendors . . . it was SOOOOOO SOOOOO YUMMY. MMM.

Ingredients: Again, all are approximate!
London Broil Round Steak
2t fish sauce
salt
1/4 C shallots cut to strips
2 T green onion
1 T mint
2 T cilantro
1 t ground chili powder from Asian Market-unfortunately I don’t know what this actually is. Hudson brought it to me in an unmarked container strait from the market. I will have to be sure and save some so I can take it with me and have someone help me find it when I need more. But it’s basically a mix of chili powders.
1/3 C fresh squeezed lime juice
Water to maintain sauce
sugar & salt to taste
2 T “Cow Coo Uh” – Phonetic spelling Ground up uncooked sticky rice.

Pat down the steak with a good crust of salt. The steak should be moderately thick and able to handle a lot of salt. BBQ it to medium rare, then cut into thin strips. (Again, think stir fry).

In a pot start with lime juice, fish sauce, water and salt. Add meat to finish cooking (from medium rare to medium well/well) add other ingredients making a soupy stir fry. Serve over sticky rice. By the way, be careful with the chili powder as it will add heat!

Mango Rice
This dish wakes me up from dreams and sends me off to Thai resturaunts. It’s also easy!

1/2 can of coconut milk
water (make 2 1/2 C liquid when combined with coconut milk)
4 C sticky rice, cooked
1 C sugar
1 t salt (1 1/2 maybe)
sliced mango

Heat coconut milk and water, add rice, sugar, salt until it thickens to a pudding consistency. Serve warm with sliced Mango on top.

Thanks Hudson for coming to share your skills. We had so much fun, and are so excited to actually know a little Thai cooking!