success with thai & the perfect dog park

I made Phad Thai yesterday and I didn't even need to use ketchup. In the past, it usually didnt come out that good and then I would just add some ketchup to make it edible. I figured it had vinegar, sugar and tomato paste anyway, so why not?
Well I decided to find a new recipe that doesnt have tomatoes in any form and I used fish sauce for the first time. I adapted this recipe from one I found on foodnetwork.com

Ingredients

8 oz flat rice noodles
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/4 cup peanut oil
1 or 2 large eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt
12 ounces peeled and deveined shrimp or pieces of chicken or cubed tofu
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 shallots, thinly sliced
3 scallions cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 chopped1 1/4 cups mung bean sprouts
1/3 cup salted roasted peanuts, chopped, plus additional for garnish
For serving: Lime wedges, Sri Racha sauce (Thai hot chili sauce)

Directions

Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside. Whisk the sugar with the fish sauce and vinegar in a small bowl.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat until hot and add 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil. Pour in the eggs. Cook until just set, about 45 seconds. Cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Set aside.

Add another 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil to the same skillet and heat over high heat. Add the shrimp, 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper flakes, and salt, to taste. Stir-fry until the shrimp are pink and just cooked through, about 1 1/2 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons peanut oil over high heat. Add the garlic, shallots, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes and stir-fry until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Add the noodles and cook, tossing, until lightly coated with the garlic mixture, about 1 minute. Add the fish sauce mixture and large scallion pieces and heat through. Stir in the cooked egg and shrimp, 1 cup of the sprouts, and the 1/3 cup peanuts and toss until hot. Divide the Phad Thai among plates and top with the remaining sprouts and additional peanuts. Serve immediately with the lime wedges and Sri Racha.

I was too lazy to take photos of the finished product, but this is pretty much what it looked like.

http://praveenc.wordpress.com

I know I mentioned the dog park in Northampton before, but that was before I knew how perfect it really is. It is miles of hiking trails, grassy fields, and river for romping. There is a loop that I have done a few times that is 2 miles. Its great for me to get exercise and enjoy being outside AND Indy gets to meets lots of new canine buddies. We are going to start trying to go everyday....soon it will be all ice and snow. Ahhh!

Since we found out that the people that were going to take Indy to Montreal for a Thanksgiving tournament backed out; I had to find a place for her to go when I go to Seattle. I found a place called Bed and Bowl that is soooo cool. They pick the dogs up in Northampton for day care and bring them home in the evening for no extra charge. The facility is someones house that is also set up to accomodate many dogs. For boarding, it is considered a dog "bed and breakfast". The dogs lounge around all day in the yard or in the house (or in Indys case act like a crazy border collie) and then they sleep anywhere they want at night - on a dog bed, on the king size bed for dogs, or with the people that run the place!

I am so excited to have a place to leave her when I go to visit Ben, so I won't have to ask my parents all the time

Bedandbowl.com - Cageless Dog Boarding. Yeah!