Because my daughter said I should try this.

So I've had a couple of folks ask me to do stir fry and Holly said I should try PAD THAI.  This is a Thai version of stir fry.  A bit more work than what one cooked referred to as a Chinese version.  I've done normal stir fry, pretty easy, but this just sounded good so Margene and I went to the Asian market and got all the special items we needed.  Yummy things like fish sauce, Tamarind paste, bean sprouts, tofu and rice noodles.  Now the biggest milestone for me was I allowed tofu in my house and in my kitchen. After marinating it, it wasn't half bad.

So other than preparing the sauce everything was pretty easy.  Just make sure you do a full prep of all ingredients.  That pretty much is the rule of thumb for stir fry. What I learned was get the bigger noodles and make sure there is plenty of sauce.  My first try seemed just a tad on the dry side.

There were a couple of ingredients that are not on the top of my list of things I like and some I almost never use.  Don't let this stop you because once they were all combined it was pretty darn good. namley, Fish Sauce... It's marinated anchovy juice......

Oh I almost forgot, I made Key Lime Cup cakes for desert.  Wow!!  Who needs pie when you have these little beauties.... Check out the recipe.....

Pad Thai

1-ounc e tamarind paste ¾ cup boiling water 2 tablespoons fish sauce 2 tablespoons palm sugar 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar 4 ounces rice stick noodles 6 ounces Marinated Tofu, recipe follows 1 to 2 tablespoons peanut oil 1 cup chopped scallions, divided 2 teaspoons minced garlic 2 whole eggs, beaten 2 teaspoons salted cabbage 1 tablespoon dried shrimp 3 ounces bean sprouts, divided ½ cup roasted salted peanuts, chopped, divided Freshly ground dried red chile peppers, to taste 1 lime, cut into wedges

Place the tamarind paste in the boiling water and set aside while preparing the other ingredients. Combine the fish sauce, palm sugar, and rice wine vinegar in a small bowl and set aside. Place the rice stick noodles in a mixing bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside while you prepare the remaining ingredients. Once the other ingredients are measured out into separate bowls, drain the water from the noodles and set them aside. Cut the tofu into 1/2-inch wide strips, similar to French fries. Press the tamarind paste through a fine mesh strainer and add to the sauce. Stir to combine. Place a wok over high heat. Once hot, add 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil. Heat until it shimmers, then add the tofu. Cook the tofu until golden brown, moving constantly, for no longer than 1 minute. Remove the tofu from the pan to a small bowl and set aside. If necessary, add some more peanut oil to the pan and heat until shimmering. Add 2/3 of the scallions and then the garlic, cook for 10 to 15 seconds. Add the eggs to the pan; once the eggs begin to set up, about 15 to 20 seconds, stir to scramble. Add the remaining ingredients in the following order and toss after each addition: noodles, sauce, cabbage, shrimp, and 2/3 of the bean sprouts and peanuts. Toss everything until heated through, but no longer than 1 to 2 minutes total. Transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with the remaining scallions, bean sprouts, and peanuts. Serve immediately with the ground chile peppers and lime wedges. Marinated Tofu: 6 ounces extra-firm tofu, not silken 1 1/2 cups soy sauce 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder Wrap the tofu firmly in a tea towel. Place the wrapped tofu into an 8-inch cake pan. Top with another cake pan and weigh down with a 5-pound weight. (Bags of dried beans or grains work well.) Place in refrigerator and press for 12 to 15 hours. Place pressed tofu in a 2-cup container. Combine soy sauce and five-spice powder and pour over tofu. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes, turning once. Remove the tofu from the marinade and use immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 2 to 3 days. Yield: 6 ounces tofu Source: Good Eats

Key Lime Pie Cupcake

BATTER ½ cup butter (room temperature) 1 cup sugar 3 eggs 1 cup milk 1 cup flour 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs (I used my homemade graham crackers.) 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder ⅛ teaspoon salt 5 egg yolks 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk ½ cup lime or key lime juice FROSTING 1 8oz package of cream cheese (room temperature) ¼ cup butter (room temperature) 4 cups powdered sugar (I recommend that you sift it.) 1 teaspoon lime extract (I couldn't fine lime extract at Whole Foods so I bought it here.)

Beat the butter for about 30 seconds until creamed. Add the sugar and mix for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, being sure to beat for 30 seconds for each egg. Use food processor or a potato masher or whatever you have on hand to grind the graham crackers into tiny crumbs and powder. Sift the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking soda and powder, and salt. (I didn't actually sift the graham cracker crumbs. While mine were small, I don't think they would have fit through the sifter.) Add about 1/4 of the mixture to the butter mixture. Add some of the milk. Continue to add the ingredients in a dry - wet - dry method, ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. In a separate bowl, mix the egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, and lime juice. (FYI - If you want to make an amazing key lime pie, just mix the ingredients in this step, dump it into a pie shell and bake at 375 for 15 minutes. It's the easiest recipe ever! The pie won't be green and it shouldn't be. Lime juice isn't green.) Dump the key lime mixture into the graham batter and lightly stir. Do NOT fully integrate the key lime and graham batter. You should have clumps of batter in a key lime soup. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full. Make sure each liner has a nice distribution of key lime liquid and graham clumps. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until top bounces back when touched. FROSTING Mix the cream cheese and butter. Add the powdered sugar and lime extract. Source: -- | (Servings: 24)