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Thai pork peanut curry…

I was thinking last week that for someone who has a cooking and living blog, I haven’t written about food for a few weeks.

For three weeks or so, our business, The Vermont Spätzle Company, was rocking. We had spätzle orders from our wholesale accounts out the ass. We worked hard, pulling double production days to fill all of those orders.

It was almost like the universe dumped all the orders on us at once in that short time period because right after we were done, we got covid. The universe has a funny way of doing those types of things. I always acknowledge those situations and am grateful.

Did we eat while we were busy with production? Of course, we ate but nothing to write home about. A few years ago, a friend of mine asked me on Facebook if we “ever ate the same shit like everyone else?” I am not sure if my friend Randy or his twin brother Ray asked, but it still makes me giggle when I think about it.

Tonight I went with Thai cuisine. I love Thai food and how flavorful everything is. When I say flavorful, I don’t mean spicy; that’s what my timid eating cooking students thought. They learned when you are making any cuisine; you have control over the amount of spice you put into a dish. Just because a recipe calls for a certain amount, you can add a little at a time or none at all.

I used a popular recipe on the internet, one that a million food bloggers call their own when they are copying and pasting. Come on, people, this is your business for Christs’ sake; at least change things up to make it look like your own. They all even use the same photo! 🤦🏻‍♀️

I’ve learned a trick or two when preparing Thai cuisine that makes such a difference. Things once again they don’t tell you in recipes. For instance, whenever I make a Thai curry dish, I slowly poach whatever protein in the curry sauce. This gentle cooking method doesn’t dry the protein out like if you stir fry it first as the recipes instruct doing.

I have most of the curry dishes down when it comes to Thai cooking, but I still haven’t made a Pad Thai dish I am happy with. It’s a work in progress that is taking years. I order it sometimes when I go out to remind my palate what I am shooting for.

The recipe I made tonight is easy, even if you’ve never made Thai food before. Here is the link to the recipe I used. If you don’t like spicy food, start with a tablespoon of curry paste instead of the 4 Tbsp the recipe calls for.

Speaking of curry paste, where can you find it? Thai curry pastes are available in the ethnic section of most supermarkets; you don’t have to make a special trip to an Asian market to find some. If I can find curry paste up here in Vermont, you can find it anywhere.

I served my pork peanut curry with jasmine rice which I always use a rice cooker for. This small appliance is invaluable to me because I hate babysitting rice while it’s cooking. It’s tough to make a perfect pot of rice, believe it or not. All Asian people own a rice cooker and use it every day.

I also roasted some brussel sprouts and tossed them last minute with a bit of Thai sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, and sesame oil and threw them back into the oven for a few minutes. They became caramelized and tasty.

Today we picked up a brisket that we found on sale when we went grocery shopping. The cupboards were pretty bare after being in isolation for ten days. We needed to do a big shop even though Sam picked up a few important essentials like milk and chocolate pudding cups for me. 😜

Since we will still be home from our farmers market tomorrow, we will fire up the smoker and make our first brisket of the year. We learned a lot about what not to do last year, so hopefully, it will turn out smokey, juicy, and delicious. I’ll report back. Smoking meats is no easy task, even though they make it look easy on tv.

Happy Friday! Enjoy your weekend, everyone. I will be doing some outdoor projects taking advantage of the nicer weather with sunshine in the forecast! 😎

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Checking in…

Today is day nine since my covid symptoms started. Everyone has their own thoughts and ideas about covid, isolation, and re-entering the world.

That being said, I wanted to look at the latest CDC recommendations and guidelines regarding isolation and returning to the world. It states:

If you had COVID-19 and had symptoms, isolate for at least 5 days. To calculate your 5-day isolation period, day 0 is your first day of symptoms. Day 1 is the first full day after your symptoms developed. You can leave isolation after 5 full days.

  • You can end isolation after 5 full days if you are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and your other symptoms have improved (Loss of taste and smell may persist for weeks or months after recovery and need not delay the end of isolation ).
  • You should continue to wear a well-fitting mask around others at home and in public for 5 additional days (day 6 through day 10) after the end of your 5-day isolation period. If you are unable to wear a mask when around others, you should continue to isolate for a full 10 days. Avoid people who have weakened immune systems or are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19, and nursing homes and other high-risk settings, until after at least 10 days.
  • If you continue to have fever or your other symptoms have not improved after 5 days of isolation, you should wait to end your isolation until you are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and your other symptoms have improved. Continue to wear a well-fitting mask through day 10. Contact your healthcare provider if you have questions.
  • See additional information about travel.
  • Do not go to places where you are unable to wear a mask, such as restaurants and some gyms, and avoid eating around others at home and at work until a full 10 days after your first day of symptoms.

If an individual has access to a test and wants to test, the best approach is to use an antigen test1 towards the end of the 5-day isolation period. Collect the test sample only if you are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and your other symptoms have improved (loss of taste and smell may persist for weeks or months after recovery and need not delay the end of isolation). If your test result is positive, you should continue to isolate until day 10. If your test result is negative, you can end isolation, but continue to wear a well-fitting mask around others at home and in public until day 10. Follow additional recommendations for masking and avoiding travel as described above.

Whew! Okay, by going by these latest recommendations, I could have gone out with a well-fitting mask four days ago after tomorrow, which, according to the guidelines, I could go out without a mask.

After re-reading these guidelines for days, I decided that’s it. Enough. I have felt better for four days and five without a fever. Today was the first day I went out to the bank drive-through and to buy trash bags. I hate that I felt guilty about going out.

It goes back to everyone having different thoughts and opinions, expressing them, sometimes shaming people for their own views.

According to the CDC, I had no reason to feel guilty but did because I let others’ opinions get into my head.

We all have to trust each other and have faith people are doing what’s right. We’ve decided to postpone production until next week, so our customers feel safe. I am staying home from dance class tonight for the same reason, even though I could have taught only with a mask.

When you feel sick, it’s easy to stay home, but being isolated when you feel healthy and full of energy is maddening. It’s like watching your life go by while you stand there watching it drift away.

This morning we both hit a wall. We had to get up, get dressed, and start doing projects around the house again. Marty is working on the outdoor electricity for the pool while I am cleaning closets.

I haven’t written for the past couple of days since I haven’t had a damn thing to write about. No one wants to read when someone is bored or having a pity party for themselves. I’m right about this, aren’t I?

I am about to close the chapter on my covid sickness and move forward to live my life unapologetically to the fullest. 🙂 Thanks for your support, care, and kind words during my illness; I appreciated it.

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Say it isn’t so…

I am feeling much better and so is Marty; he’s a day or so behind me. I feel almost completely back to normal just a little tired.

I am climbing the walls bored to death now that I am feeling better. We are still holding off on production for a couple more days, but today I worked on the chalkboards for the outdoor farmers market. I have filing that needs to be done too.

We are starting to need some basic supplies and while I am well enough to go get them, I feel like I need to isolate for a little while longer. When I finally do go out I’ll be masked up for another week.

Right now, I am sitting on our back deck getting some fresh air. The temperature is a seasonably warm 63-degrees. The deck boards are warm on my bare feet. It is a nice spring day and hard to believe we are under a winter storm watch for tonight.

Yesterday, it snowed on Easter Sunday, not only here in Vermont, but in parts of Pennsylvania as well. The little bit of snow that stuck to the ground has melted. This kind of weather is completely normal for our area.

Tonight however, we are forecasted to get up to six inches of heavy, wet snow. Ugh! Talk about rubbing salt in my wounds of already being stuck at home, but stuck inside too? This totally blows.

I don’t know how much more television I can possibly watch. Yesterday, Marty and I watched a documentary about a young guy living alone for two years in the woods while building a log cabin by hand; complete with a secret hidden underground food pantry.

The documentary only had sounds but no talking. His dog only barked once. We actually paused the show when we needed to get a drink or go to the bathroom.

Why should you care about this? You shouldn’t, but it’s a description of how pathetic things are for me right now. Lol!

Have a great night guys. I’ll be keeping my fingers and toes crossed the weather forecast is wrong and we don’t clobbered with a lot of snow. 🤞🏼

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New flavorful fare…

Shakshuka photo credit Jen A

I am a cook. I love cooking, and even more, I love to cook for people. It gives me so much joy when I make something delicious and watch people enjoy it. 

Whenever my sister Jen comes to VT, I have the menu and the shopping done. I don’t mise en place or prep anything because we like to cook together. 

When I stayed at her house last week, she had the menu and the shopping done and didn’t prep anything either.

Her children were away with her ex, so she had an opportunity to make anything I told her, except fishy-fish, lol. She wanted me to try some flavors and dishes she loves.

It’s fun watching her prep and cook. Jen is a pediatric dentist which is evident in how she cooks and bakes. Everything is done precisely and methodically.

I love that she tastes her food along the way and adjusts the seasoning. She is reading the book Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, which was a culinary game-changer for me. You can also watch the four-part series on Netflix. 

Shakshuka

We had Shakshuka on Saturday night with roasted potatoes. I wrote about shakshuka in an Eggs in Purgatory blog post a few months ago, but this was my first time having it. 

It was delicious and comforting. The eggs which were cooked in the flavorful tomato sauce were done perfectly. The dish was delicious, something I would make for brunch. 

Lebanese omelet

Monday, she made a Lebanese omelet, another thing I had never had before. The omelet was full of veggies, parsley, and mint. The mint was the ingredient that made it different from other omelets; I was surprised I liked the mint so much. It was light and full of flavor. 

Monday night, we had my favorite dish, a roasted beet salad. The beets were piled on a pool of an herb and olive oil vinaigrette topped with avocado and dill. 

Roasted beet salad

The flavors all worked together, with the sweet roasted beets being the star of the show. I will be making this one when beets are in season at the farmers market. 

She also made a Middle Eastern lentil soup with the beet salad. I was expecting a thick and dark soup and what we had was the complete opposite.

The lentil soup had rice in it and was topped with caramelized onions. The soup was brothy and light. The caramelized onions were the hero of this dish. The soup has so much more flavor than it looked. It was yummy.

I was the sous chef, chopping onions, garlic, and herbs. I cleaned up as she cooked. It was nice to take a backseat and let someone else cook for me. 

I had no urge to take over like I usually would in the kitchen because I wasn’t familiar with any of the dishes. 

I am so glad Jen shared these dishes and flavors with me; each was a pleasant surprise for my taste buds, plus the time we spent in the kitchen was priceless. 🙂

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Cravings…


I am on day six of having covid and I am still sick. Nothing serious, just sick. I thought I was feeling better yesterday then I started to get congested before bed.

Misery loves company so Marty joined me in the covid department yesterday. He pretty much feels like I do. We both have such major fatigue it’s easy to rest all of the time.

The weird thing with having covid is I am craving foods like crazy. Normally, when I have a craving I make whatever it is. I have been craving roasted chicken since Wednesday. Luckily for me it cooks itself and I had one in the freezer. 

We didn’t loose our taste or smell but mine is dampened a bit because of my stuffy nose however the smell of the chicken roasting is heavenly and is making my stomach growl.

Through this entire sickness I have been starving. I mean STARVING! The bad part is I don’t have the energy or want to cook. We’ve been living on simple things that don’t require much or any cooking.

The other thing I am craving are sweet things, something I hardly ever crave. I want ice cream and those little chocolate pudding cups with whipped cream sprayed from a can. Funny right? Of all the things to crave. Lol.

I just threw some rice, chicken broth and some seasonings into the rice cooker; another dish that cooks by itself to go with the chicken later. The best part is there will be hardly any dishes to wash.

I was thinking yesterday that this is the first Easter I am not making a big dinner. It will be as simple as it gets. It will also just be the two of us having dinner.

We did pick up a tiny ham before we came down with covid so I will bake that. I also have some asparagus on hand and will make some easy kind of potatoes.

No deviled eggs or pizzagaina like I always make. No brunch quiche, Easter desserts or little dinner rolls for leftover ham sliders. 

You know what? It’s ok. I am actually too tired to care and here’s the thing, I don’t have to make those things only on Easter Day. I can make them anytime. 

I wish you all a very Happy Easter, Passover or Sunday, which ever you celebrate. 🙂

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Covid finally hits…

Otto taking care of me.

Fuck! It was only a matter time. What I thought were allergy attacks in NJ turned into a fever, coughing, fatigue and a heavy chest.

I woke up this morning feeling worse than yesterday and took my temperature which was 100.1. Then, I got out one of those free covid tests and surer than shit, it was positive. I kind of expected it.

This was the moment I’ve been fearing since the beginning. Maybe now the Psoriasis that reared its ugly head in April 2020 will finally go away along with the anxiety attacks.

They said from the very beginning everyone is going to get it, from the looks of it they were right with these two new variants.

Thankfully, I’ve had colds much worse than this. I am drinking plenty of fluids, staying in our bedroom resting, willing myself to get well, and to test negative quickly since the business is on hold at the moment.

It doesn’t matter who, what or where I got it, I have it and am dealing with it. C’est la vie.

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Walking food tour…

Our view from the bench we sat on in front of Murray’s Cheese Shop.

Last Sunday, my sister Jen and me went on a 3-hour food and history walking tour of Greenwich Village, NY. It started as a sunny spring day in NYC, then the weather rapidly changed. After the second stop on the tour, it felt like the beginning of March.

I learned so much about the Village that I divided the food and history into two parts. The food tour that we took has been in business for 21 years. They took my gluten-free business very seriously; so did the restaurants. 

Our guide’s name was Bert and he had a fantastic personality. He is an actor, comedian, improviser, and tour guide for 18 years. He knows his shit. Our group had 14 of us; luckily, everyone was fun and easygoing.

We met at the famous Murray’s Cheese. Wow, was all I could say. It is a beautiful store and a cheese lover’s dream. It is not overpriced if you can believe that one. Many cheese stores here in VT are much more expensive.

The first tasting spot was Joe’s Pizza. This stop I knew would be the roughest one for me. If I had to choose a last meal, NYC pizza would be on the menu.

Before Bert went inside to get the group’s pizza, he gave us the history. Joe’s has been in business for over 100 years and is famous. Everyone who’s anyone has eaten there.

Bert also explained how NYC water really does matter when making pizza and bagels. Pizza and bagel makers from other parts of the country have been trying to change the scientific components of their water. For instance, raising or lowering the ph, phosphorus, magnesium, etc. It’s serious business.

That is the size of a regular cheese pizza!

Bert also discussed the sauce was San Marazano tomatoes with nothing added. No garlic, salt, or pepper. They used a high-quality cheese that didn’t contain oil resulting in a slice of pizza that didn’t leave a greasy puddle behind. 

Do pizzerias use cheese that contains vegetable oil? Yup! “Pizzeria” inexpensive cheese contains oil for better melting ability. That is what they use in places that serve $1 slice pies, not at good places like Joe’s. You get what you pay for.

Bert came out with a gigantic 14-cut pizza and those cheap white paper plates; pizza is always on. Before the tour, he handed me a beautiful antipasto salad; while delicious didn’t help me salivate for that pizza. 

The apple and cherry blossom trees were in full bloom and were so beautiful lining the streets of the village.

Next on the tour was a sit-down stop at a taqueria named Tacombi. They are known for their authentic fish tacos, like the ones found on the beaches of Mexico, not anywhere in the US.

The weather turned nasty right after I took this photo.

The owner started selling tacos out of a VW Kombi camper in NYC and called the place Tacombi joining the two inspirations. It is a very hip and cool spot in the west village with delicious tacos.

Photo credit Tocombi.

I couldn’t have a fish taco since it’s battered and fried, but I did have one spread with flavored sweet potato and blacks beans. It was delicious, and I didn’t feel left out here.

Watermelon juice is the signature drink at Tacombi which is real watermelon juice and so good.
Bert made the tour so fun and exciting because his enthusiasm was contagious.
Ever wonder what’s down those stairs to the basements of NYC? Bathrooms like this one. It was clean though I will give them that.

The next stop was a standing outside stop, Faccios Italian Specialties. The group was given an arancini or rice ball and a slice of thinly sliced soppressata. I was giving a marinated freshly pulled mozzarella knots. I make arancini, so I was fine with the cheese. The soppressata was delicious and one of the meats they specialize in.

Next, we had a sit-down stop at Pesce Trattoria, which is in another ancient building with a gorgeous, original tin ceiling. Bert told us restaurants were required back in the day to have tin ceilings in case a fire broke out in the kitchen.

The meatballs were identical!
Photo credit of restaurant from Pesce Trattoria.

This is where I was almost leary to eat my gluten-free meatball. It looked exactly like everyone else’s. The inside of the meatball looked like everyone else’s. I trusted them and tasted a soft and delicious meatball in a simple sauce. They sprinkled on a blend of romano and pecorino cheeses. 

At every “sitting stop,” Jen and I used their bathrooms since bathrooms are hard to come by in NYC if you don’t know. It was cold and super windy so sitting in a warm restaurant felt wonderful.

We walked to our next standing stop called The Donut Project, a woman-owned business with all women employees. Being gluten-free, real donuts are hard to come by; I’m this case, my gluten-free donut trumped the real thing!

Look at the depth of those donuts! I forgot to take a side view of my donut I was so excited to eat it!

The donuts at The Donut Project come in very different flavors and toppings. My donut was huge and delicious. It was fried like a donut should be, not baked in a donut pan some places try to pull off. This was the best thing on the whole tour for me.

Jen said the donuts the group got were delicious covered in a lemon glaze, but my donut was better. How do you like those apples??

We walked to our next stop, and it didn’t seem like it could get colder or windier. We were frozen to the bone. Our sit-down stop was a Rafele. Rafele opened in 2012 when the chef from Naples even had his own pizza oven sent over.

As soon as we walked into the restaurant, I was smart and got a seat at the bar near the pizza oven to warm up. The place was very nice and the kitchen was small like most restaurant kitchens. 

My eggplant parmesan was another one of those dishes I couldn’t believe was gluten-free. The chef presses the eggplant for 24 hours to get out all the water, then dips it in egg and sautés it. I am not sure if the tour’s eggplant was breaded, which it didn’t need. 

Simplicity in its finest form describes the food at Rafele.

We stayed here the longest before our last standing stop at Rocco’s bakery, another west village institution. The group had mini cannolis while I was given a cup of cannoli filling and a pignoli nut cookie. 

I didn’t miss the real cannoli in the least; my cup of the filling was huge. I was happy with this substitution.

After the tour was over, Jen and I got a table in Rocco’s, and each had a cappuccino. Originally, we were going to hang around for two more hours and have dinner in the village, but since we were not hungry and were freezing, we planned to head back to Jersey. 

We had dinner later that night at an Indian restaurant called Nirvana. It was close to where she lived, and the food was warm and comforting after such a cold day. 

The experience exceeded my expectations. The Original Food Tour Company, the tour company we used, has many other food tours in the city. I can’t wait to go on more!

I hope you got an idea of what the tour was really like. I would highly recommend taking the 3-hour tour one-day yourselves. It’s a great way to experience the history behind the real deal places and not taken to tourist traps.

When I wrote “a 3-hour tour” I automatically thought of Gilligan’s Island. LOL! 😂

Look for part two of the food and history walking tour very soon!

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I’m back in VT…

This is the building where the outdoor shots of the popular TV show Friends were taken. Everything else was filmed in Los Angeles, California.

This morning I got up early at Jen’s house and was on the road at 6:05 am. I pulled into our driveway at 8:55 am. The ride went quick!

I planned all along to get out of Jersey before rush hour traffic which is one of the reasons we left NJ in the first place.

Before a trip, I am always anxious, I haven’t driven down to New Jersey in a few years. Marty usually does the driving.

I left on Saturday from The Troy Farmers Market and was at Jen’s house in one hour and 45 minutes. The ride was smooth and there was hardly any traffic. Same thing this morning. Thank goodness!

Skye, my little Ford Maverick handled great. I felt safe and confident. I was able to speed up quickly if I needed to pass someone and get back over into the right lane. This was my first long drive with her and it was really awesome.

I have tons of things to write about the trip, I am trying to organize my thoughts and photos for a couple blog posts.

We had a great time together and got to do everything we wanted to including going into Greenwich Village for a walking tour, cooking together, going out to eat, drinking wine and watching Netflix.

Today, I am getting getting ready for the busy work week. Yes, I may have taken a nap too. 😉

Enjoy the rest of your day, the sun came out and it turned out to be a decent day. Yay!

***There may be some errors in this post which I apologize for, I did it on my phone and not the laptop.

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Doot-da-doo…

Today while Marty and I were working in the production kitchen he snuck up on me and did a loud “doot-da-do ” in my ear. I was so focused on cleaning the big tilting kettle we used to cook the spätzle in to see what he was up to. I screamed, “Marty, you’re an asshole!”

Standing there behind me, he held an empty paper towel roll with a huge grin on his face. “Boy, you really jumped,” he said. “Yes, I am working, which you should be doing too.” Then, we both cracked up laughing.

If you don’t know what a doot-da-doo is, I was surprised to find the word in Urban Dictionary.

Doot-da-doo: The cardboard roll in the center of toilet paper, paper towels, wrapping paper etc.

Husband- “Don’t throw away the doot-da-doo“! 
Wife- “What’s a doot-da-doo”? 
Husband- (places paper towel roll to lips) “DOOT-DA-DOO“!!! (Smiles)

Marty and I have been together since 1985 and have a lot of fun together. If either one of us finds a doot-da, do we either do what he did this morning or clunk each other over the head with it.

Klausie-boy knows exactly what a doot-da-doo is. If he sees someone with one in their hand, he will try to tackle the person. Otto knows what one is also, except he likes to dig them out of the bathroom trash cans and eat them.

Noah and Sam know all too well about doot-da-doos. Marty is a jokester and is very funny. After being with him for so long, I know when he is full of it. I tell people not to believe a word he says.

Marty likes to prank people on the phone. He used to prank his co-worker, and she was only 20 feet from him. He always used a different accent and a ridiculous story. She never knew it was him until he started laughing. Luckily for the world, it’s harder to prank people now with caller ID.

One day, he pranked our friend Martin pretending to be someone from Home Depot. Martin was waiting for carpet installers to show up to carpet his three flights of stairs and another room. Marty made up some bullshit story about why they couldn’t come and couldn’t reschedule for months. Martin started freaking out until I couldn’t stand it anymore and yelled, “Martin, it’s Marty.”

Martin thought he was the King of Pranksters until he met his match. Now the two of them try to get each other all the time. Marty’s “holy day” is April Foods Day. He’s gotten a lot of people over the years, all in good fun.

After I cleaned the kettle, I ran out of paper towels on another roll in the production side of the kitchen. I decided one doot-da-doo was enough for one day. 😉

Right after I hit publish on this post I have to pack for my sisters’ trip and get everything ready for the farmers market tomorrow morning. Martin saved the day by inviting us over for a roasted chicken dinner tonight, now I don’t have to cook and can get stuff done.

Happy Friday! I’ll catch up with you when I get back from Jersey. I will be taking lots of photos of our food and history tour of Greenwich Village and other sites in the city.

Have a great weekend! ❤️