Savoring the Savory: Thai rice noodles with cilantro-ginger sauce

If I mapped my life in flavors, I think I would name as “savory” all of those activities that we do because they are good for us, only to find that they are among the most pleasurable activities in life. Activities like yoga, or running, or making headway on a to-do list, or reading a book for school… maybe even “work” itself. I almost never want to go for a run, or do yoga, but when I do, I always feel happier for the going. Now, it might be a bit of an exaggeration to say that is exactly the way I feel about eating or cooking savory foods… but, I do have quite a sweet tooth, and I am far more likely to get excited about dessert than I am about dinner, and I do always feel better when I eat something healthy for dinner instead of diving into the brownies and ice cream. So here I am today, to pass along to you a winning savory dish. These noodles are flavorful and different, sort of a play on the classic pad thai, but infused with fresh flavors. Just like pad thai, they would be great with a wide variety of proteins (chicken, shrimp, tofu, egg). I replaced some of the cilantro with Thai basil, because they have similar flavors, except Thai basil has what I can only describe as licorice undertones. It is very flavorful, so if you do go with the Thai basil, you might want to cut back a little on quantities.

 

Curry Heaven

Today I just couldn’t seem to get moving. My allergies were killing me, even though the pollen count was its lowest in days. I think at this point the problem is the accumulated effect of two weeks of staggering amounts of pollen, two weeks might I add, in which I decided it would be a good idea to start running again. Well, my sinuses are paying me back for my foolishness. But, as I was lying on my couch watching a movie after a long day on campus, and daydreaming about dinner, this curry came to mind. It is one of the few dishes that I repeat on a fairly regular basis (you know, every couple of months or so), so that pretty much guarantees that it will be good. Some day I will have to play around with simplifying the steps, I’m sure more things could be added to the pot all at once, I’m just not sure how that would go… Oh, and if you are nervous about being able to tell when the chicken is done, just leave it simmer a little longer or cook it separately.