Proof that I read into your comments

Well, due to the resounding lack of response to my last post, I'm going to assume that most of y'all aren't really into the idea of a holiday cd mix exchange. However, for the three of you that are, I'll personally send you a mix - just for playing. Jenny - if you could email me your address (contact info on my profile page) that would help.

For the rest of you - I'll get back to what you're more obviously interested in. Food. Growing up in a small town, I didn't have a wide selection of Asian cuisine available to me. We had one Chinese restaurant and one Vietnamese restaurant. But I grew up completely addicted to the Girl Talk series of books. One of my most vivid memories of the book is one of the girls in the group, Randy Zak was cool and from New York and her mother and she ate thai food takeout - straight from the container. First, I ADORE the idea of eating food out of a paper takeout carton. I'm always trying to get Thatboy to bring home cartons we can eat out of with chopsticks. But there are two problems with this. You'd be surprised how few places actually use them anymore, and it makes it hard to eat family style, which is how we usually eat. The other thing I got from the books is the exoticness of Thai food - which I always wanted to try. As soon as I was out of the house, Thai food became a staple in my diet. Luckily Thatboy is equally as interested in Thai food and the first two years of our relationship we had a semi-permanent booth at a local place near our college.

Thai food is one of those cuisines that is a little intimidating for me to make at home, so I usually go out when I have a craving. And it's just so easy because the place a block from our house is fantastic, and the waitstaff all know me. When I do make it at home, I go the easy route and usually use a premade curry which I then add meat and veggies to. But I have been looking for curry paste to attempt to make my own - and a couple weeks ago I found it. (I know, I wasn't looking very hard....I work right beside an Asian market. I just always forget to pick some up when I'm there.)

Once I had the curry paste, it wasn't very difficult to throw together the remaining ingredients. And this way I could add as much coconut milk as I wanted! Some of the Thai recipes I've attempted and featured in this blog are a little labor intensive, but this is insanely easy. Almost a cheater recipe. And while it won't ever take the place of my neighborhood haunt, if you pick up a takeout carton from Michaels you can eat it right in front of the tv!

Shrimp in Red Curry
1/2 can coconut milk
1 Tbsp red curry paste
1/2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 lb shrimp (peeled and deveined)
1/2 cup of snow peas and red bell pepper, sliced
1 Tbsp fish sauce

1. Heat coconut milk in skillet, just until simmering and stir in curry paste and sugar, sturring until disolved. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.
2. Add shrimp and veggies to coconut curry mix. Cook until shrimp just turns pink.
3. Stir in fish sauce and remove from heat.