CHOO-CHEE!

"Choo-Chee" kinda reminds me of a sound trains make, but it is actually a very delicious Thai dish we sometimes cook up :)  You can use most any kind of fish, though we usually use tilapia or salmon since they are easy to find.  Both are delicious.  I think shrimp would work really well too.  The recipe comes from my favorite round-eyed Asian cook, Nancie McDermott.  Enjoy!

Snapper in Choo-Chee Curry Sauce (Choo-Chee Plah Ga-Pong)
by Nancie McDermott

1 1/4 pounds firm fish fillets, such as snapper, grouper, catfish, tilapia, mackerel, or salmon; or shrimp, peeled and deveined
About 1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
2 tablespoons red curry paste, such as gaeng kua, choo-chee, panaeng, or gaeng peht
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon palm sugar (you can use regular brown sugar)
4 wild lime leaves, cut crosswise into very fine threads or torn into quarters, or 2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions (I use both)
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

Cut the fish fillets crosswise into 2-inch pieces, and pour the flour into a deep plate.  Dip each piece of fish in the flour and shake off the excess. 
Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until a pinch of flour sizzles at once. Gently add fish fillets and cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until nicely browned and crisp.  (They need not be completely cooked, as they will simmer in the sauce before serving.)  Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.  Pour off remaining oil.
Warm ½ cup of the coconut milk in the skillet over medium heat until fragrant and creamy, about 3 minutes.  Add the curry paste and cook, stirring to dissolve it, 3 to 4 minutes.  Stir in the remaining ½ cup coconut milk, water, fish sauce, palm sugar, and half the lime leaves, and bring to a gentle boil.  Add the fish and simmer 2 to 3 minutes more, spooning the curry over the fish as it cooks.  Place fillets on a deep serving platter, cover with curry sauce, sprinkle with remaining lime leaves and the cilantro, and serve hot or warm.

STRIPEY BABY BLANKET

I wanted to make a special baby blanket for our boy, because everyone should grow up having a special blanket.  When I was a baby, my Grandma Zollinger gave me a handmade baby quilt that I still have today.  I grew up taking it everywhere and loved it to death, and now it reminds me of home and childhood and happiness; it is really a magical little piece of fabric.  Hopefully our boy will have a similar attachment to this quilt his mamma made him.  It was a really simple project; I used the basic instructions of the lap duvet at the purl bee.  For the front of the quilt I splurged on some of the insanely beautiful Nani Iro Kokka fabric from Japan, and for the back I used a simple white flannel.  The blanket has a bit of a story.  I actually "ruined" my insanely beautiful Japanese fabric by being an idiot and washing it with some other brand new, VERY blue, fabric.  The result was a splotchily dyed fabric and lots of my tears.  After some reassurance from husband that it "actually looked more interesting and special" (didn't quite believe THAT at the moment), I pressed forward and made the quilt.  And, as it turns out, I DO think it is more interesting and special with the blue dye.  As my husband says, "things always work out."  Maybe seeing this little quilt will help me remember this often needed piece of advice.

TAHOE

A few weeks ago we were able to take one last little trip, a "babymoon" if you will, before we have our boy and are never alone again :)  It was really a fun time.  We drove though several rainstorms on the way up, which was a real treat for this weather-loving gal, then enjoyed a couple days of relaxing and driving around the beautiful lake.  A highlight was visiting the Tallac Historic Site.  The area was once a summer retreat for wealthy San Franciscans and was often called the "Grandest Resort in the World."  It was really very interesting and all of the historic buildings had period rooms you could look into.  I saw some amazing textiles!  An additional highlight of going here was seeing a cinnamon-colored bear, just walking around, very oblivious to all of the people snapping pics.  So fun!  I don't think I have ever seen a bear in the wild, so I was pretty excited.  The trip was a great time; the only low-point was making the mistake of eating at IHOP.  Ugg.  Nothing has ever made me want breakfast at Rudy's or La Note more!

BANANA CREAM PIE

Pies are probably my favorite things to bake.  I love the seemingly endless variety, the American-ness, the whole process of it all; making the dough, rolling it out, arranging the filling, smelling the creation bake up.  It is just the best!  I have made this banana cream pie for awhile; it is a little more time consuming than some pies, but well worth the effort, especially on a warm day (it is soo refreshing!)  One key to this recipe is the special crust.  It is a traditional pie crust with crushed graham crackers added into it.  This helps the crust hold up against the filling and maintain it's perfect light and crisp texture.  Enjoy the recipe!

Banana Cream Pie (via Cook's Illustrated)

       Graham Cracker Coated Pie Shell

• 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter , chilled, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 4 tablespoons vegetable shortening , chilled
• 3–4 tablespoons ice water
• 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

       Banana Cream Filling

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar , plus 2 tablespoons
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon table salt
• 5 large egg yolks , lightly beaten
• 2 cups milk, whole or 2 percent
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 1/2 vanilla bean , about 3-inches long, split lengthwise
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon brandy or more to taste
• 2 medium bananas  

       Whipped Cream Topping

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. For the Crust: Mix flour, salt, and sugar in food processor fitted with the steel blade. Scatter butter pieces over mixture, tossing to coat butter with a little of the flour. Cut butter into flour with five one-second pulses. Add shortening; continue cutting in until flour is pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal, with butter bits no larger than a small pea, about four more one-second pulses. Turn mixture into medium bowl.
2. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of the water over mixture. Using rubber spatula, fold water into flour mixture, then repeatedly press down on dough mixture with broad side of spatula until dough sticks together, adding up to 1 tablespoon more water if dough will not come together. Shape dough into ball with hands, then flatten into 4-inch wide disk. Dust lightly with flour, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate 30 minutes before rolling.
3. Generously sprinkle 18-inch work area with 2 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs. Remove dough from wrapping and place in center of work area. Scatter a few more crumbs over disk top. Roll dough from center to edges to make 9-inch disk, rotating a quarter turn after each stroke and sprinkling additional crumbs underneath and on top, as necessary, to heavily coat dough. Flip dough and continue to roll, without rotating, into 13-inch disk just under 1/8-inch thick.
4. Fold dough in quarters, then place dough point in center of 9-inch Pyrex pie pan. Unfold dough to cover pan completely, with excess dough draped over pan lip. Trim and flute crust, (see illustrations 1-4 below).
5. Refrigerate dough until firm, about 30 minutes. Prick shell at 1/2-inch intervals to keep dough from ballooning during baking, (illustration 5). Press a doubled 12-inch square of aluminum foil inside pie shell. Prick foil to prevent further ballooning. Refrigerate to let dough relax, at least 30 minutes longer.
6. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake, checking occasionally for ballooning, until crust is firmly set, about 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees, remove foil, and continue to bake until crust is crisp and golden brown in color, about 10 to 15 minutes longer. Transfer to wire rack and cool completely.
7. For the Filling: Whisk sugar, cornstarch, and salt in medium saucepan. Add yolks, then immediately but gradually whisk in milk and evaporated milk. Drop in vanilla bean. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently at first, then constantly as mixture starts to thicken and begins to simmer, 8 to 10 minutes. Once mixture simmers, continue to cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute longer. Remove pan from heat; whisk in butter and brandy. Remove vanilla bean, scrape out seeds, and whisk them back into filling.
8. Pour filling into shallow pan (another pie pan works well). Put plastic wrap directly over filling surface to prevent skin from forming; cool until warm, about 30 minutes. Pour half the warm filling into pie shell. Peel and slice the bananas on top of half the filling and top with remaining filling. Once again, place sheet of plastic wrap directly over filling surface. Refrigerate pie until completely chilled, at least 3 hours.
9. Whip cream to soft peaks. Add confectioner's sugar and vanilla; continue to whip to barely stiff peaks. Spread over filling and refrigerate until ready to serve.

BUNNIES FOR BABY

I haven't posted anything in a very long time....I guess I have been a little bit distracted, growing a BABY!  Still, I have been busily making some things for the little one's arrival, including this adorable bunny mobile to hang over the crib.  The pattern came from one of my favorite knitting books ever, Vintage Knits for Modern Babies (you can find the pattern online here).  It was a fun project, and the bunnies were especially enjoyable to knit.  Assembling the actual mobile was kind of difficult, but I figured it out and am so happy with the results.  I just hope he likes it :)

FIDDLEHEAD PULLOVER

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We are so blessed to be expecting a baby boy in October!  I wanted to make him an "heirloom" type sweater that could be passed down to future siblings, and after looking around for awhile, I found this adorable Fiddlehead Pullover, which can be found here on the purl bee.  I fell in love with the pattern because it was unique but classic, and could be used on a boy or girl.  I knitted it using Fibre Company canopy worsted weight yarn in wild ginger.  The pattern actually called for the fingering-weight, but when I got mailed the wrong yarn I decided to adjust the pattern to accommodate the thicker yarn.  It was good experience to practice making changes to a pattern, and I am pleased with the result.  It produced a thicker, more substantial garment that is still delicate and baby-like.

I have basically been done with this sweater for over a month, but I was stuck on figuring out how to crochet the edging and the buttonhole loops along the neckline (knitting is so much easier than crocheting!)  I finally tackled it using this tutorial, and it turned out pretty good.  I'm very happy with this sweater and learned a lot making it.  I can't WAIT for our little guy to get to wear it.
 

STEEP RAVINE

A few weeks ago we went camping in the most beautiful place we have EVER camped.  It is a site called Steep Ravine that is located in Mount Tamalpais State Park right on the Marin County coastline.  There are about 7 tents sites that you can reserve (we had the "Pelican" site), along with a few rustic cabins that can be rented.  The sites are so isolated that you feel like you are completely alone.  The coastline is right there you are completely surrounded by flowers, trees, and hills.  It is heavenly.  We had a great evening.  Erik grilled steaks and corn on the cob and potatoes and we roasted marshmallows for dessert, debuting our new rolla roasters (they were awesome...)  The weather was nice all evening and through the night, but we woke up to heavy rain that soon made its way into the tent.  We ended up breaking camp early and heading home.  I was so sad we had to leave early, but the trip was definitely still worth it.  The rest of the day was great too.  We holed up in our cozy house while the random June rain fell all day. It was the nicest day we have had together in awhile :)