Because life is mostly the little things...

Big things happen once in a while, but the little things happen every day. Simply said: life is made up of a bunch of little things.

I love the little things in life. One thing Alex and I have come to love is Thai food. Hard to believe if you know us well. For those who don't know us that well, we are p-i-c-k-y, picky, picky. Onions, bell peppers, cucumbers among many other foods are not welcome in our house. Generally unique food is out, also...so it is rather surprising that we love Thai food.

Have you ever tried Thai food? Don't knock it till you try it! We fell in love with a little place in Colorado Springs called Tao's Oriental Cuisine (for you readers in the Springs, it is up north on Gleneagle...you gotta try it!). We became regulars in there and the waiter knew us every time we came in! We miss it, and will definitely eat there every time we're back in the Springs. We learned the definition of "Thai hot" and they knew that we liked our food at 10 peppers on a spicy scale of 1-3 peppers. Nothing like a good kick in the mouth...or as Alex calls it, a "tail pipe fire." Nice.

Unfortunately, the south doesn't appreciate Thai food the way we do. We have to drive an hour to Tuscaloosa, AL to find a decent place. (There's a pretty good place in Huntsville, AL but it's 3 hours away). And the past two times we've been there and ordered it "Thai hot" they laughed at us and the food was not even at 3 peppers.

Alas, we gave up on our hunt for a Thai place and became Thai chefs ourselves. Ok, maybe a bit of a white lie, but we're learning! One recipe at a time...and we're still working on figuring out the key to "Thai hot" though chili paste has potential.

Not sure if you have a taste for Thai? Try this at home first! I love this recipe!!



Pork With Vegetables

• 2 Tbsp vegetable or peanut oil
• 4 oz rice vermicelli noodles (found in the asian food section)
• 4 belly pork strips, sliced thickly (I think I just used a thinly sliced pork steak...but beef or chicken would be good)
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1-inch piece fresh ginger, sliced thinly
• 1 large fresh red chili, seeded and chopped
• 4 oz baby corn, halved lengthwise
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
• 6 oz broccoli, cut into florets
• 5-1/2 oz jar black bean sauce (I had to make my own...the recipe I used is below this one)
• 4 oz cup bean sprouts (you can buy these canned in the asian food section or fresh by the salad lettuce and carrots section)
• chili paste for spiciness to taste (found in the asian food section)

Cook the rice noodles as directed for stir-fry on the box. Heat the oil in a wok or a large frying pan and stir-fry the pork, onion, garlic, ginger, and chili for 4-5 minutes, or until the meat has browned.

Add the corn, red bell pepper, and broccoli and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes, until the vegetables are just tender. Stir in the black bean sauce, noodles and bean sprouts, then cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Serve immediately.


Asian Black Bean Sauce

• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 Tbsp black beans, rinsed and drained (I used canned and rinsed them)
• 2 tsp fresh ginger root, grated
• 2 tsp fresh garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp rice wine (liquor store should have this...it's nasty by itself but it's at least really cheap)
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp chili paste, optional (makes it spicy!!!!!!!)
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 cup chicken stock

In a small bowl, mash black beans, ginger, garlic and sugar together to form a smooth paste. Using a large skillet, add oil. Fry the black bean mixture on medium high heat until fragrant (about 30 seconds).

Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl and stir until cornstarch is dissolved. Add to black bean mixture and bring to a full boil stirring constantly until thickened.

This recipe makes 8 oz, and the recipe above calls for 5-1/2 oz. I used all 8 oz and it worked fine.

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Oh, one more little thing I love: day trips. Take one. And take the scenic route. And if you see something cool along the road, stop there. You might meet someone new, or see something amazing.



We took a day trip to Huntsville, AL last week to the US Space and Rocket Center (did you forget we're nerds?). Here are some pictures from the trip.











...I bet you're singing now, aren't you?





The big rocket is the Saturn V and has 7.5 million pounds of thrust. It's massive and really cool. I won't go into the details, but Google it if you have a chance. The Star Wars exhibit was there that day, and the crew was walking around the museum so you could take your picture with them. I've never seen a Star Wars movie, but I knew that my nephews would get a kick out of it. So I took a picture of them.



I'm also afraid of mascots, clowns and anything else in a costume...so shaking and palms sweating, this was the best I could do. Everyone has their phobias...this is mine.

There's the update on life as we know it.
Have a great day and y'all come back now!