FIT TO BE THAI'ED

The last few days have been hectic. Tuesday, the majority of the day was spent at the funeral home. Ugh, the funeral home. The stuffy smell, the wallpaper, the horrible background music--what's not to love? It is the only time I have seen this many of my family members since my wedding. It's a shame the only time we get together is to mourn or celebrate.

I will probably go straight to hell for saying this, but I couldn't get wait to get out of there. No disrespect to my aunt, but the preacher just kept going on and on and on. I think he read a verse from every chapter of the bible. After every AMEN, I said thank you jesus! But it was just a cruel trick and he started praying all over again. As the poor lady in front of me nodded off, I wondered why we were here. Was it to celebrate my aunt's life or to listen to Reverend Windbag give his Sunday sermon? Ah, organized religion. Now I remember why I haven't been to church in forever.

Okay, now that I have my one way ticket, I can proceed to describe my culinary adventures this week. Okay, not much to describe--they have been lacking. I did make the above dish Wednesday evening for my dinner. I watched a late next episode of Good Eats which featured Pad Thai the day before and it got me a hankering for that combination of salty, sweet, sour, spicy, and savory. Thai food is supposed to awake all of those senses in one meal. His recipe involved an intense list from an Asian grocery. I barely have time to cook, let alone track down exotic items on the Southside of Columbus.

So, I ended up choosing this recipe from Cooking Light only because I had hamburger meat on hand. I made it exactly as instructed. Next time though I will only put in 1/2 Tablespoon of fish sauce (note to all: DO NOT DIRECTLY INHALE THE FISH SAUCE!). It will make you nauseous and that smell stays inside your nostrils for a LLLOOONNNGG period of time. It would be a rather cruel trick to play on a loved one, by telling them it is just like soy sauce...........

Anyhoo--This is some good stuff. I made mine with some terriyaki noodles and used iceburg lettuce to make wraps. I slathered lime juice all over them they gooooodddd. Eric ate the leftovers in tortillas. Definitely a repeater.

Thai-Style Ground Beef

1 cup leeks

1 teaspoon garlic

1 pound ground sirloin

1 teaspoon red curry paste (Thai Kitchen brand at Krogers)

1 cup tomato sauce

1/2 cup light coconut milk

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon grated lime juice

1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice

1/2 tablespoon fish sauce (found at Krogers)

3 cups cooked rice or noodles

lettuce wedges

Chopped cilantro and green onions

Heat a skillet over medium high heat. When hot one tablespoon oil. Add leeks and saute five minutes. Add garlic, saute one minute. Add beef, cook seven minutes. Stir in curry and tomato sauce. Cook until half the liquid evaporates (about two minutes). Add milk and next four ingredients, cook two minutes until thickened. Sprinkle with cilantro, green onions and a lime wedge. Serve with lettuce wraps and noodles.