Quick and Delicious Pad Thai

If you're like me you need some fast go to dinner ideas that are also tasty and relatively healthy!  I've mastered this Pad Thai that you can get as a kit in the local super market.  The key, though, to making it your own is to add the ingredients that you and your family like.

You'll need:

Pad Thai Kit
Tofu or chicken
veggies - including onions, carrots, broccoli etc
cashews or peanuts
fresh herbs
lime or lemon juice

Preparation:

Cook the noodles according to directions and then rinse with cold water.  Then they're ready to go when you are

Sautee onions and carrots until translucent and add in broccoli and additional veggies.  Add a dash of soy sauce and some lemon juice to aid in the cooking.

Add in noodles, sauce, fresh herbs and allow to heat up.  Then garnish with crushed nuts and serve!

Voila.  Fast and delicious in under a half hour!

To horse or not to horse

Being a Mom is not an easy job.  You want to do the best thing for your children while also worrying about their safety and their ultimate happiness.  Living in a place like Silicon Valley can be very demanding in many ways and has a very fast pace.  Children, early on, are pushed into many activities and camps and schools because it's a very competitive environment.  

One of my main goals and challenges is to raise a grounded and well rounded little person and hopefully spare her from some of the pitfalls that I went through as a shy but attractive blonde...like she appears to be also.

So one day she decided she wanted to do horse riding and I got a big pit in in my stomach.  But I conceded and found a wonderful barn for her to ride and...as luck has it she loves it.  Not only does she love it but her self confidence has grown with leaps and bounds and she can't wait every week to ride.  So my trepidation luckily turned into joy seeing a little person bond with this huge animal and come out happier and wiser for it.

Jumping...?  Maybe not.  But learning to take care of an animal and communicate with it is a precious gift and talent.

Redesigning and Redecorating

We moved into a new house last summer.  It's a great house.  We got really lucky when purchasing it and it required almost no changes.  What a huge relief after living in a house that was built in 1929!

But...theres a lot to be said about making a house your own.  In this case there was something off that brought my mood down but I couldn't put my finger on it.  After months of toiling over this I realized it was the silver sage color of paint in the living room.  So off to Benjamin Moore I went and I picked out an off white shade that had pink undertones.  I've read that pink creates a warmer feel to a room.  And...Voila!  My amazing painter had it done in one day and the room has a brighter, warmer and lighter feel to it that lifts moods and makes people feel more cheerful.

It's amazing the difference that just changing one shade of paint color in a house can make.  And it compliments the restoration hardware sofas and media console that I just purchased.

The New Pebble Beach

I grew up going to Pebble Beach for all of our family holidays.  It's been a year since I've been there (we're lucky enough to live relatively close).  When going back this time the lodge was 100 percent full and booming with business!  And they opened a delicious new restaurant where Club XIX used to be.  They changed the space into the antithesis of club XIX-  its a bright and airy new restaurant with a full open patio area, brick oven and pizzas and huge bar inside to satiate all the thirsty tourists.  Now you can sit out and have a casual mean while being right on the 18th green area at Pebble.

Alternatively if you're not up for dining at the lodge- drive up the road towards Carmel Highlands and stop here at the Point Lobos to do a breathtaking two hour hike.  Then head to Highlands Inn and the California Market Cafe for their fresh fish tacos while sitting outside on the cliff admiring the fog burning off and the views to Big sur where Anne Hathaway and Nathalie Portman were recently married.  What a fabulous weekend!

Fall Beauty at Filoli

Not only is food divinely delicious but so are our children and our surroundings.  And just the little things in life that make us stop and appreciate every moment of joy that is brought into our lives.

This week we took a trip to Filoli Gardens near Woodside to view the fall gardens.  The colors were alive and bursting with vibrant oranges, lavendars, burnt yellows and the firery backdrops of the hills behind the gardens.  

Not only do the gardens have acres upon acres of flowers and hedging to explore, but there is also an amazing labyrinth of fruit trees- pear, apple, orange and lemon.  Children love walking through the magical orchards and secret doorways that they have there.  And the cafe has special lunch treats for the whole family.

Sensational Summer Salad

It's amazing how delicious and crisp food can taste when it is freshly picked and grown with love.  Even the simplest salad can pop in your mouth with the flavors of summer

Summertime Rack of Lamb

This very easy rack of lamb is a hit every time I make it for our family or friends.  And it is so easy!  This time I roasted potatoes with it and served it with a summertime succotash of sweet corn, carrots, onions and haricot verts from the Palo Alto farmers market.  The whole dinner can be prepared in 45min-1 hour total and the flavors melt in your mouth.

I actually bought the lamb at costco and was amazed at the freshness and quality of the meat.  I would highly recommend the meats there if you choose carefully for freshness first.  Serve with a nice glass of cabernet or bordeaux and enjoy!

Recipe:
1 rack of lamb (8 chops in this instance)
Dijon or whole grain mustard
sea salt and pepper
fresh herbs such as thyme or rosemary
bread crumbs optional (Omit for gluten free)

Preheat the oven to convection bake or roast 400F.

Brown the lamb in a pan on the stove on the top and bottom using butter or olive oil on medium high heat.

Transfer the lamb to a baking sheet.  Spread a layer of mustard on the top of the lamb to coat.  Top with fresh herbs a thin layer or bread crumbs.

Place lamb into oven and roast for approximately 20-25 min for medium rare.  Take of of the over.  You want the lamb to feel springy to the touch when pushing down on it.  If it's not springy leave it in a bit longer.  Tent the meat and let rest for 10min.  Once this is done slice the rib chops into desired serving sizes and voila!