Forgive the late summary of DNI. Yesterday proved to be
quite eventful, including two cheats on my GF diet—more on all that soon.
We had the best day as a family on Tuesday! As working
musicians if we’re going to get a Sabbath it’s going to be on a weekday. And as
long as the kids aren’t in school that’s not an all-bad thing. Places aren’t as
crowded, traffic is low, and we can more naturally focus on “us.”
So we went running and hiking and visited the library.
Library visits with both parents mean we can tag-team and we both had the
chance to peruse the adult sections at leisure. This was a beautiful way to
rejuvenate our introverted spirits while simultaneously whittling away the hours
until bedtime. :) :) :)
The boys went to bed easily after such a physically
stimulating day and we descended to the kitchen. I was so excited for DNI. I’ve
learned to look forward to these nights more than just about anything. They’ve
proven to be the perfect blend of expected (at home, drink, dinner, dessert,
one-on-one time) with the new (flavors, dishes, cultures, cooking techniques).
Is it July yet?
Menu:
- Fresh Spring Rolls with Ginger and Sesame
- Spring Vegetable Green Curry
- Thai Iced Coffee Affogato with Spiced Coconut Ice Cream
Final preparations included the spring rolls and actual
curry dish. I simmered jasmine rice and slowly added veggies in proper crisping
order into our Wok while Roy julienned veggies and read up on rice-wrappers. In
about 40 minutes we sat down to feast.
The rolls took a little practice. The rice wrappers were
delicate and the temptation to over-fill was huge, especially so late in the evening.
We were hungry! Roy snapped a picture of our three best. I love the
translucency of the wrapper so you can see the pops of veggies shining through.
Dipped in a rice vinegar-based sauce, these were so delicious!
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| These were fun to assemble at the table together. |
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| Pretty and bright. |
The curry wasn’t nearly as spicy as I feared. The actual
paste was complex, but HOT. We tempered it in coconut milk and spring veggies
and herbs. It was wonderfully rich and filling. FILLING is a big word to this
girl who isn’t eating bread right now. It felt so good to both be and FEEL
full. The paste was a lot of work, but the recipe makes a good bit extra, so we
could get 2-4 more meals out of it if used in the near future. (Makes mental
note to buy more coconut milk.)
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| Peppers, peas, zucchini asparagus, corn, carrots. And those were just the veggies! |
We ate mostly in silence, perhaps too quickly,
anticipating homemade ice cream and strong coffee. Starbucks, if you’re
listening, you need to create a spiced coconut latte. I will help you, because
that’s what this dessert tasted like, and it was amazing. I didn’t LOVE the ice
cream on its own, although it was very, very good, but the coffee poured over
made the perfect combination. Note on the ice cream recipe: Ashley says to
strain it just before pouring into the ice cream maker. The chilled custard was
far too thick for that. Strain before chilling in the iced-bowl and/or
refrigerator. We had a few crunchy cardamom seeds scattered throughout. Not
awful, but not recommended. The texture would be smoother with a proper strain.
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| Mmmmm. |
I loved this DNI. I love Thai food anyway, so it would
have been a bummer not to hit this one out of the park. If you’re going to have
the Thai coffee though…be forewarned, you’ll be WIRED all night. (Which ended
up being a good and necessary thing…to be continued.)
I hadn’t realized
it before that moment: these date nights at home not only benefit us as a
couple but also are a tangible image for our kids to see that our relationship
takes work. So often I feel bad that we rush the kids off to bed early with a
dinner far simpler than the one we are about to enjoy…I realized that they
needed to see this. As important as our daily family dinners are, they needed
to see Gabe and me making time for each other and not just for them. –Ashley
Rodriguez, DNI, p. 47
Today’s 1%: Making chocolate ice cream for the James
Bear, who was on top behavior yesterday despite out-of-the-norm circumstances.
He is such a wise little man already and I love to watch him explore and grow.
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