Thai Cashew Snack

I have been to pretty much every Thai restaurant in the Twin Cities area.  I have also been to many Thai restaurants around the country.  My favorite Thai restaurant is Supatra's on Seventh Street in St. Paul, Minnesota.  The restaurant is light and clean.  The staff is friendly and fun.  The food is fresh, spicy, and delicious.  I cannot impress upon you enough that if you are in St. Paul and craving Thai food, go to Supatra's!

When I go out for Thai food, I always have to get an appetizer.  Supatra's has great appetizers.  Some of the best are the Spring Rolls or the Stuffed Chicken Wings.  On their appetizer menu is one very simple dish that is perfect if you want an appetizer that is not going to fill you up too much.  I am referring to their Thai Cashew Snack.

After having this dish a few times, Mike and I decided to try it at home.  The recipe is simple (although not as good as Supatra's).  All you need are a handful or two of cashews, some fresh basil, cooking oil, and sea salt.  Here's what you do:

1. Get a frying pan nice and hot on the stove.  Then pour some (about a tablespoon) cooking oil into the pan.  Don't use Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  I recently took a cooking class and learned that you should not cook with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  I know that everyone cooks with it, but when you heat Extra Virgin Olive Oil you cook out all of the good nutrients and actually make it worse for you than vegetable oil or canola oil.  Here's a rule of thumb, the more expensive the oil the less heat you put on it.  Rant over.

2.  Once the oil is heated, throw in your desired amount of unsalted cashews.  Normally I use a couple of handfuls for a tablespoon of oil.  Actually I use three handfuls for 1 tablespoon, but I have tiny, clown like hands.  So for regular hands it's probably 2 handfuls.

3.  After the cashews are getting nice and brown and covered in oil, sprinkle in some sea salt.  If you are using salted cashews then you can skip this step.  Do not over salt your nuts.  Normally I use about 1/2 teaspoon and then taste to see if I want to add more.  Remember you can always add, but never subtract.

4.  At the very end, take a few handfuls of fresh basil leaves and tear them into small pieces.  Throw them into the hot pan with the cashews.  Toss them around and get them coated in some of the excess oils.  You don't want to overcook the basil, but you want it to fry up a little bit.

5.  Once the basil is starting to fry, but not turning black.  Take the nuts off of the heat and serve them warm and toasty.  *If you are my husband this is where you pour cayenne pepper all over everything.  But I'd skip that step unless you need your food spicy.

This is such a simple snack to make for yourself at home.  I've tried making the nuts ahead of time and then keeping them in the refrigerator, but they don't turn out as well.  This dish is best prepared fresh and served hot.

If you want the real thing, head over to Supatra's!    

Babies Like Cheap Things

Brigid loves looking at and playing in the water.  She squeals with delight when you pour water over her hand.  I noticed awhile back that her daycare had this water-filled lily pad.  The kids always seemed drawn towards it, and I wondered if I could make something similar at home.

I found an idea for water sensory bottles and decided to try it out.  All I needed was an empty plastic bottle ($1.25), water (free), and something to stick into the water.  I had these crafting pom pom balls and thought they would be perfect.  I think I got the pom poms for under $2 at the craft store.

I cleaned out the bottle thoroughly since I knew the baby would be putting it in her mouth a lot.  Then I filled it up 3/4 of the way with water.  Don't fill it all the way, otherwise you won't get that sloshing effect that babies love to watch.  You could also put some food coloring in the water to give it a different color.

After filling it with water, I took a few handfuls of the pom poms and stuffed them into the top.  To my surprise, the pom poms actually float in the water as if they are suspended.  I would highly recommend using the pom poms as I'm not sure you would get the same effect with sequins or something like that.

To cap it off (PUNNY!) I put some hot glue on the cap so that it wouldn't come off the bottle.

Brigid absolutely loves this toy.  In fact, she prefers it to other toys.  She loves watching the pom poms float in the water and also loves when you shake the bottle so it all looks like it is caught in a windstorm.  The entire craft cost me under $3, but it's given Brigid hours of enjoyment.

I also love these bottles because they remind me of the popular 1990's drink, Orbitz.  Did anyone else get Orbitz.  I bought three bottles because I thought they looked so cool.  Then I tasted one.  It was nasty.  I almost puked.  The other two bottles remained on my bookcase looking cool for about 10 years.  Teenagers are so weird.

What Does the Pump Say?

Before having a baby, I knew one thing for certain.  I was not going to breastfeed.  Save me your speeches on why breast is best.  I don't care.  While I wasn't going to breastfeed, I was all for pumping.  Once I was pregnant, my decision was set.  I would pump out gallons of milk and my child would be fed breast milk until she was six months.  Life had other plans for me.

First, right after I had my baby I was told to try breastfeeding.  I was too tired to argue and had a sudden change of heart.  Why not just try it?  Try it I did...and failed.  I ended up having a c-section and no matter what anyone tells you there is absolutely no comfortable breastfeeding position after a c-section.  They all cause pain and discomfort.  But every few hours I would try and wind up crying and frustrated.  Multiple times I asked for a lactation nurse to come in and help.  She never came.  Then I started asking to pump.  This request was quickly granted. 

This was how I became a pumper.  Although this post isn't actually about breastfeeding or pumping.  It's about how getting very little sleep does strange things to your mind.

When we left the hospital, pump in hand, I had no idea how weird the act of pumping was.  But it's really weird.  If I was lucky and no one but my husband was in our house, I could pump in front of the TV and watch Southern Charm.  That was my favorite.  If I was unlucky, I'd have to sit alone in a darkened room bawling out my post-pardum tears while my child cried in another room.  It's as awful as it sounds.

When I first tried pumping, I couldn't help but marvel at the odd sounds the machine made.  It was loud and rhythmic.  It almost had a certain melody to it.  I quickly noticed there were two distinct noises.  There was an initial noise that was made up of longer, drawn out notes, followed by a second noise that was short and staccato.  These noises haunted me because I felt like they were saying something. 

Then one day in a sleepy stupor, I heard the pump speaking to me.  At first it was saying "Grab hold! Grab hold! Grab hold! Grab hold!"  Then after the letdown it appeared to say "Pump! Pump! Pump! Pump!"  I thought I was going nuts.  I asked my husband if I was losing my mind, or if he could hear the words as well.  The concerned look on his face let me know he thought I was crazy but was too sweet to say it to my face.  I love that guy.

For days I would sit with my pump hearing these words: Grab hold! Pump!  Then some days I would hear different words.  One pumping session I disturbingly heard the words Grandpa! and Mom!  I googled it multiple times to see if other women heard these words being spewed from their breast pumps, but to no avail.  I was the only nut who swore her breast pump spoke. 

Once I started sleeping a little more, the words went away.  I realized that the noises were just the mechanical iterations of air being sucked through a tube.  It made pumping that much more lonely. 

Those first few weeks of sleepless days and nights with a newborn are no joke.

An Aside: Alternative title post: "This is What it Sounds Like When Pumps Cry"

Frugality

I am not a cheap person.  I like to indulge, oh boy, can I indulge.  My love for indulging has forced me to realize that if I want to indulge, I have to be frugal.  One of the top lessons I have learned as an adult is that I have to prioritize my expenses.  Would I rather have a new Louis Vuitton purse or go on a second vacation in a year?  Would I rather have a new fence installed in my backyard or go out to a grand dinner at a new hotspot?  You know you are an old person when your answer is: Fence!!  I want the fence!

Here are some of my favorite lessons on how to be frugal without being a cheap ass:

1.  Energy Saving = Money Saving.  Duh, right.  I remember when I was in elementary school they did this whole "energy awareness" thing where they  handed out books about a girl whose parents got mad at her because she always left lights on and left the water running when she was brushing her teeth.  What a bitch!  Now that I pay my own energy bills, I have converted all of my lights to CFL bulbs and try to keep lights off as much as possible.  Candlelight is so much more soothing.  I also turn the heat and air conditioning temps down (or up) at night and during the day while we are gone.  Right now, our heat goes down to 62 degrees at night and during the day and up to 68 degrees when we are at home in the evening and on weekends.  During the winter, this saves us about $50 per month.  Another thing that I try to do is unplug appliances when not in use.  This is one of those things that I often forget about, but apparently it can make a difference in your energy bill.  I've never noticed a huge difference when I've done this, though.

2. Desk lunch.  Bringing a lunch to work can be a real drag.  Sometimes I just don't feel like packing anything up and other days I just don't want to eat anything that we have in the house.  When I started wedding planning, I knew that I had to save money somehow and I resolved to only go out for lunch once a week.  I've stuck to this for at least a year and have to say that I can see the difference in my savings account.  It's still a struggle some days.  Eating at your desk can be lonely.  I live for that one day when I get to go to a restaurant and socialize.

3. Credit Card Rewards.  There are lots of credit card rewards programs that offer shoppers little incentives.  My credit card allows you to earn points towards travel vouchers or restaurant/clothing store/gas station gift certificates.  There are the famous airline credit cards for frequent fliers.  My husband's credit card has an amazing reward that for every $2500 you spend and pay off you get a $25 gift card.  We usually use these gift cards on our grocery bills and the combination of those gift cards and our wedding gift cards, we have paid maybe $20/week for groceries for the past three months.  It's definitely worth investigating all of the different reward programs to see if one will work for you.

4.  Pre-gift buying.  I start thinking about gift-giving way in advance of the celebration day.  For Christmas, I keep a list of people I need to buy for and ideas.  I usually start looking at this list in September and try to have ideas for everyone by October 1.  That way I can try to find the items on sale or take advantage of coupons.  I usually can get really great gifts on a limited budget.  I also utilize websites such as Rue La La and Groupon to stock up on gifts for birthdays or other occasions.  Having a stockpile of fun gifts for people makes my life a lot easier.

5.  Ebates.  If you don't use ebates, you are selling yourself short.  Har har.  Seriously, though, ebates is amazing.  Go to ebates.com and sign up if you don't have an account with them.  There are hundreds of retail websites that use ebates and they each have a different percentage off.  So, if I want to buy something at JCrew, I got to ebates first, search for JCrew and go to the JCrew website through the ebates site.  Currently the JCrew website gets 3.0% cash back.  After you make your purchase, your ebates account is credited.  Every four months, a check is sent to your home with the total of your cash back.  After Christmas this year, I received $85 cash back because I did all of my shopping online.  It really pays off, as long as you don't forget to go to the ebates website first before you start your online shopping.  I have forgotten this dozens of times!

6.  Track your spending.  I don't really budget, but I have a set dollar amount that I want to save each month.  I then track every penny spent on a spreadsheet so that I can make sure I can save my goal.  For me, this makes me think about each purchase that I make.  Before I splurge on something, or even before I buy a $10 frame at Target, I have to stop and think about whether I really want it or whether I'd rather see an extra $10 saved that month. 

7.  Big box stores.  When Mike and I moved in together, we talked about getting a Sam's Club membership.  One of the big arguments against it was that why do two people need to buy things in bulk?  Eventually we got a membership and it has saved us a lot of money.  We buy all of our cleaning supplies, household necessities and more packaged foods (like oatmeal, granola bars, nuts, spices) at Sam's.  They are ridiculously cheaper than at other stores.  Plus, it saves me from a lot of extra trips to Target.  I used to have to go to Target at least once a week for some household item, now I go to Sam's maybe once a month. 

8.  Spare change.  Mike and I have a central spot where we dump our spare change.  It's a big tupperware bowl in our spare bedroom.  Once that sucker gets full we take it to the bank and cash it in.  Usually it's about $70+ and we maybe take it to the bank twice a year.  What we've done in the past is take it in right before we go on a vacation and use it as spending money. 

Those are my (not so) original ways that I save my pennies.  The only thing I love more than watching my bank account grow is a chocolate frosted donut.

To Market, To Market

One of the things that I tend to take for granted about working in downtown St. Paul is the farmer's market.  St. Paul has a large farmer's market open on the weekends, but during the summer they have a small market open Tuesday and Thursdays during the lunch hour.  It's my absolute favorite.  They line Seventh Place with vendors selling anything from raspberries to sweet corn to onions and flowers.  I love watching the evolution of the growing season.  In the spring you can get some snap peas, raspberries and radishes.  Then you start seeing rhubarb and herbs and a few green onions and leeks.  The height of the season you get a huge variety of vegetables and then it winds down with apples and squash and pumpkins. 

While the market is currently in the wind down phase, I was still able to get some goods yesterday.  Tons of small red onions, roma tomatoes, green beans and yukon gold potatoes all for $9.  The onions will last us at least a week (Mike loves his onions), the tomatoes will be good for 3 batches of salsa, the green beans will make for 2 dinners and the potatoes should be available for at least 4 dinners.  I know it's dorky, but I love being able to support local farmers, I love eating vegetables that are straight from the ground and I love the fact that it's so much cheaper than in the grocery store. 

In Minnesota, it's tough to be able to eat healthy fruits and vegetables all year round.  Not much grows here in February, so everything you can get is shipped in and probably sprayed with a billion chemicals.  Plus, I get so sick of the winter fruits.  There's only so many oranges and grapefruits and pears that I can eat before I get bitter.  I can feel winter coming in the air and the farmer's market is one of those things that I will really miss when the snow starts flying.  For now, I'm going to relish in my vegetables and think of spring.