Spring Break 2016 Feast with special thanks to our chef!

Yesterday Five planned, shopped for, prepared and presented a lovely meal.

I wasn't a cook at her age.  I can't say I ever really even thought about food - much less had any desire to spend time putting meals together.  Momma cooked.  Daddy cooked.  My brothers and I took turns cleaning the kitchen.

I did learn how to do a few very simple, couldn't call them meals, let's go with dishes, during my college years.  My boyfriend, from Boston, really like bacon gravy on toast.  A staple of the South, it should have been served on biscuits which I had no idea how to make then and still don't.  Flour tortillas I can make from scratch.  I still steer clear of my mother's specialties (like biscuits).  When I cooked in college it was that gravy or scrambled eggs.

I began to learn how to cook after my first child was born.  I didn't really enjoy cooking (or really anything a traditional house wife might do.  I did enjoy being a mother.)  It was probably  during my 40's that I really began to enjoy cooking.  I love to cook now.  Two of our kids really love to cook, another loves to bake.

At dinner One said he see's beautiful delicious meals as both an art form and as a means of expressing "providing for" loved ones.  His appreciation of interesting special meals spurred my desire to cook well.  His littlest sister has the same hobby - scouring cookbooks for interesting menus.  She seems t be  specializing in seafood, atleast for now.

I really had doubts about the Thai Green Papaya Salad with Shrimp (because I don't enjoy papaya - it smells like vomit to me - that bad), but it was scrumptious.  If we could have it again today I'd be thrilled.

2.5 pounds green papaya (skin julienned on the mandolin)
1 pound cooked shrimp
.5 cups roasted peanuts chopped
6 scallions, green bits shredded
cherry tomatoes, quartered
handful of freshThai basil leaves (which we omitted)

dressed with:
2 red Thai chilies seeds and all
2 large cloves garlic finely grated
1.5 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
4 tablespoons fish sauce
1.5 tablespoons toasted sesame oil (I heated in a skillet till it smelled great)
3 teaspoons (but I think I used tablespoons - oops) rice wine vinegar

V had me do that while she saw to the Halibut, Sambal and iced Chai tea.

The fish was marinaded in:

.33 cups Red Curry paste
.33 cups coconut cream
lime zest
.5 teaspoon salt

for two hours

The Sambal:

cubed fresh (one) pineapple
large (peeled and seeded) cucumber
2 red chilies finely diced
2 small shallots finely sliced
3 TBSP lime juice
1.5 TBSP fish sauce
.75 superfine sugar
.5 ounce chopped cilantro
1 tsp poppy seeds

baked in banana leaves until done (I saw her check it with a meat thermometer but don't know the temp).  Amazingly delicious.

I juiced 16 limes for this meal (sous chef ... ) and was put in charge of a fresh lime sorbet.  Unfortunately I forgot to freeze the ice cream mixing bowl and the dessert didn't set (it's ready now though!)  The good news is that she had a delicious iced Chai tea planned and it passed as a dessert.

Bravo V - thanks for a memorable Spring Break 2016 dining experience ... lotsa fun by candlelight on the deck!

Deep Eddy Peach infused Vodka on the rocks is the bomb.  The wine was too fizzy for me but I think the guys enjoyed it.

outside Central Market

(where she loves to shop)

I love this - looking forward to landscaping a home over here!

My Debbie texted in while I was driving - 

V handled the phone work for me -

Bluebonnets blooming!

ramp to 35N

Big open sky with lotsa green and blue

traffic bad because of SXSW event