Time for Thai!

The one thing we are not short on here in Kona is Thai food restaurants. They remind me of taquerias back in California... They're everywhere. For me though Thai food was always the last choice when it came to eating out. In the past 7 years while living here I think I've only eaten it once. However, Thai food is one of my husband's favorites, and over the past year of being married to him it has slowly become a favorite of mine too.

I have fallen in love with the spicy, peanuty, coconuty flavors of their curries. And my husband loves pad thai! So, we decided to see if we could make it ourselves! For this we turned to Pinterest (of course). Our criteria was EASY. Neither one of us like to hassle with tons of ingredients. The recipe we used can be found here: Quick and Easy Vegan Pad Thai

The noodles for pad thai are the best! We just soaked them in hot, boiling water for about 15 minutes. 

Then we sautéed up some garlic and tofu. My husband likes his tofu in tiny bite size pieces, so chopping that up was his job. 

He also helped squeeze the limes for the sauce. Add in some peanut butter, soy sauce and sriracha and you've got a mighty fine pad thai sauce!

Mix it all together in a skillet and you've get some quick and easy pad thai! I garnished mine with a little green onion, cilantro, and chopped peanuts. 

This recipe made so much that we have plenty for dinner tomorrow too! Homemade thai leftovers, mmm mmm! This recipe was so easy and so quick we will definitely be making it again soon. Next on the list... Panang Curry!!!!

Classroom "Essentials"

Usually at the end of summer, about a week before I have to return back to work, I begin to have dreams about school: setting up the classroom, first day of school, etc. I've always believed it is my subconscious's way of preparing me for the reality of work and to soften the blow of summer break coming to a halt.

However, this year I have been having school related dreams during the first week of summer vacation. What is up with that! Maybe it's the anticipation of moving to a new grade level as well as a new classroom next year, I don't know. So, after awaking this morning from a dream about desk arrangements, I decided to put this school focused brain activity to work...

This year I learned about an amazing site called PledgeCents. If you are a teacher you have probably heard of the grant writing site called DonorsChoose. PledgeCents is just like that... but even better! Unlike DonorsChoose you are not restricted to fundraising for items from a limited number of companies. They also don't tack on extra fees of shipping, handling, and donations to their site. With PledgeCents you get the money sent you to use as you need - potentially putting that money in to your local economy. This morning I created a cause on PledgeCents in the hopes of raising funds to purchase a diffuser and essential oils in my classroom. Essential oils can boost energy in the afternoon, help awaken in the morning, and even help foster social interactions amongst students. 

If you are interested in essential oils in the classroom or PledgeCents, be sure to check out the video and link below!

 

PledgeCents - Classroom "Essentials"

And maybe now I have gotten this idea out of my head and in to action I can start to enjoy summer with some school-free sleep!

Molten Chocolate Lava Cake

I learned how to make the most AMAZING dessert this weekend! Molten Chocolate Lava Cake. Yummy!

First you need a bunch of chocolate and a TON of butter. The store was out of Bakers bittersweet chocolate, so I got Ghiradelli bittersweet chocolate chips. I used about a 1 1/4 cup of the chips, 2 oz of semi-sweet chocolate and 1 1/2 cup of butter. So much butter!

Then I microwaved it for 90 seconds (30 seconds first followed by 60 more seconds). Stirred it all together and made the most decadent liquid substance ever!

Then I added my dry ingredients and a bunch of eggs. The recipe calls for  3 eggs AND 3 eggs yolks. Usually, when a recipe calls for egg whites or egg yolks I give it a pass... too much work! But for this, it seemed worth it! Finally, I placed the mix in 8 ramekins. 

I then placed them in the fridge to save or later... You have to eat them right out of the oven!

When it came time to eat them I placed them in the oven for 12 short minutes. I then had delicious, gooey, yummy lava cakes! 

We ate them right away, and I wasn't able to get a picture. This was one of the left overs so it is a little deflated. 

But top it off with some ice cream and no one will ever know!

Below is the link to the recipe that I used. It is so simple and so easy and SO delicious! It is a real crowd pleaser!

http://www.glorioustreats.com/2013/02/chocolate-molten-lava-cakes.html