Anyone with more than one child knows that what you do for one kid you must in some way do for the other.
We had another cause for celebration in our house so I didn’t have to stretch to keep our child-honoring in balance. Last month we gave a nod to the boy for reading at a level way beyond his parents’. Then, we wanted a special moment for our daughter to commemorate her earning a National Gold Key Award for her photography from Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.
It’s an exclusive honor that she rather underplayed which meant her mom had to overplay and of course tie it to food rather than give her the preferred shopping spree. She also earned awards and publication of two photos that she captured on our African vacation.
These are amazing story-telling images from the African wildlife and will find prominence in our home.
But, the winning image at Scholastic, where winners will be honored at a Carnegie Hall ceremony, is a black & white photograph of our son pointing a laser gun at the camera. Ah kids.The art community at Scholastic loves visually arresting and we love her audacity to push discussion through imagery. But enough heady talk, let’s get to the real profound matter like how to make pad Thai healthier than the 1200 calorie version at CPK (apparently no longer on their menu), which is Kendall’s favorite ‘fast-ish food.’ Also, on tap, sunomono another K vegetable of choice.
Beyond the food, we plastered the wall with different sized prints of her award winning work and then used mini prints to curate tea cakes that our friend Emma brought over from a local bakery.
This pad Thai recipe which is essentially noodles, shrimp, vegetables, asian seasonings and peanuts, is big flavor that’s ridiculously easy to make and comes together in five easy minutes. I recommend, however, that you have all of your ingredients prepped (including cooking the noodles) and table set with drinks before you start the cooking.
a healthier side of pad, cause for celebration
preptime: 20 minutes 4 servings
cooktime: 5 minuutes
8 oz box of flat rice noodles, cooked and drained
2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
2 Tbsp soy sauce
4 tsp fish sauce* (Asian section at grocery store)
2 tsp chili sauce (Sriracha is my favorite)
5 tsp fresh lime juice
3 Tbsp canola oil (peanut or grapeseed oils also will work with the high heat – do not use olive oil or vegetable oil or they will smoke)
1 c green onion pieces
10-16 oz raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 c peapods, cleaned, strings removed, and dried
5 garlic cloves minced
1 c bean sprouts
1/2 dry peanuts, chopped
1/4 c cilantro leaves
- Combine brown sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce, and chili sauce in a small bowl.
- Heat a large skillet or wok over med-high heat. Add canola oil.
- Add onion and shrimp and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add garlic and peapods and cook for another minute.
- Add noodles and toss with other ingredients in the pan.
- Add the sauce and cook for 1 minute.
- For individual servings: Add one cup of noodle mixture with vegetables and shrimp to each plate. Top with 1/4 of the bean sprouts, chopped nuts and cilantro.
recipe brought to you by your friends at crunchtimefood.com
1 Comment
OMG that is sooo awesome that Kendall won such a prestigious award and soooo ironic that it was of her brother with a gun. As a mom of boys, I’ve learned you can’t win-just laugh!
Leave a Reply