Spicy Thai Peanut Noodles | Recipe

(Disclaimer: all photos taken on my iPhone, sorry about the quality)

As a college student, I never really get the chance to eat a real meal so when I have the time, I try to make something really delicious, cheap and easy. Today I had some free time and was craving something spicy but wasn't quite sure what to make. I kind of made this recipe up on the spot, and it surprisingly ended up DELICIOUS. 

This meal is cheap, quick, and easy; If you like spice, you'll love this!

Ingredients:

• Thai rice noodles (or any kind of noodles you have on hand)
• Veggies (I used frozen; carrots, broccoli, water chestnuts, sugar-snap peas, celery, red peppers)
• Garlic cloves
• Onion
• Soy sauce
• Coconut oil
• Crushed red pepper
• Sriracha
• Salt
• Ground black pepper
• Ginger
• Brown sugar

First, I diced up about 1/2 cup of onion and 4 large cloves of garlic.

At the same time, I set up a pot of water on the stove to boil (for the noodles).

Then, in a large skillet or wok (whichever you prefer), melt 1 tablespoon of coconut oil.

Add in the onion and garlic and stir occasionally until onions become translucent.

Grate in about 1 thumb of ginger root.

Add in the semi-thawed vegetables. 

I like to keep them slightly frozen so that it adds some water to the pan.

Season with a pinch of salt and a pinch of black pepper.

Add a large handful of rice noodles to the boiling water at this point; they'll be done around the same time the sauce is finished.

When the vegetables begin to cook down, add in about 1 1/2 T of soy sauce and stir.

Add in about 1 T of peanut butter and about 1/4 cup of water and let the sauce thicken. 

(Around this time, I like to add in about 1 tsp of brown sugar, and a little more peanut butter if I feel like the sauce isn't thick enough)

Next, drizzle Sriracha over the vegetables. 

Add about 1 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes.

(I like mine very spicy, so feel free to use less)

The rice noodles should be done at this point, so pull them straight from the boiling water and into the sauce.

(I've found that by not straining the noodles, they won't become gummy or sticky!)

Toss the noodles around in the sauce, and add a garnish if you'd like (I add a few basil leaves), 

and you're done!

If you choose to make this, or make it your own, let me know in the comments!

Enjoy!

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The Boathouse | Dining

If it's outdoors, it's for me. That's basically my mantra.

If I ever get the option of eating a meal outside, I'll take it. 

Today is my Vavó (grandmother, in Portuguese)'s birthday, and also, my half birthday! We decided to celebrate along with my mother and my great aunt with an amazing lunch at one of my favorite waterfront dining establishments, The Boathouse.

Located in the small town of Tiverton, RI, The Boathouse is home to some of the freshest local seafood in the area.

For starters, we decided on the Lobster Fritters; think a southwestern chipotle style clam-cake. As always, they were incredibly delicious. They were so delicious, in fact, nobody could wait for me to take a picture before delving in (sorry!)

As for our main courses, we all decided on the fish tacos; can you tell we're related?! They were amazing, to say the least. The fish was a light corn-battered cod, so flaky and perfectly cooked. The cod sat atop a mango salsa packed with fresh cilantro and crumbled queso fresco. They were wrapped in tiny flour tortillas and drizzled with fresh avocado. I'm not usually one for side dishes, but the saffron rice customary to the dish was so delicious I couldn't help myself!

And for the most important part of the meal, the dessert, we decided on a grasshopper pie. A fudgy browny topped with a delicate peppermint chip gelato and served with a peppermint creme on the side; needless to say this was the perfect ending to a perfect lunch.

If my photos look less-than-perfect, it could be due to the fact that I broke my Canon point-and-shoot yesterday and all of these photos were taken on my iPhone 5. Mehhhhhhh.

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