Love me some Thai food!

So you all know how much I love food from my motherland. So with some free time on my hand, I decided to try out some fun recipes I found. One actually turned out successful so far. Try it out with this recipe I found on Epicurean.com. Yum!

Ingredients:
500g lean beef strips 1 tbsp thai red curry
paste 1 tbsp fish sauce 300ml canned coconut milk 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1 tbsp Brown sugar 1 tsp crushed garlic 1/2 red capsicum (large mild pepper) 80g button mushrooms 80g spinach 4 tbsp chopped basil
Directions:
Mix the beef strips with oil and garlic. Heat wok on high. Stir-fry the beef strips in batches 1 minute, removing each batch when cooked.Before returning beef strips to wok, add capsicum (sliced) and sliced mushrooms with a sprinkling of water. Stir for 2 minutes. Return beef strips. Add curry paste, fish sauce, coconut milk, brown sugar, chopped spinach and chopped basil. Toss to heat through. Then serve with boiled rice and fresh basil leaves.
Serves 4.

The Twilight Phenomenon

Yes, I got into Twilight...thanks to the encouragement of my good friend Carli aka Sparky. I am now in the middle of the third book "Eclipse" and I'm slowly losing interest! I don't really care much anymore if Bella chooses Edward or Jacob :) But I will stick it out and read until the end, maybe my opinions will change by then.

I do miss reading on a regular basis and my goal this year is to read more. I really want to pick up "The Time Traveler's Wife" before the movie comes out...I heard it's super sad.

So yes, if anyone has recommendations for good books please send them my way.

Happy reading!

A New Take On Me

Hi Everyone! This blog is a place for me to reflect on what's happening in my life and also give my friends and family a glimpse of my latest adventures.

As I write my first post, Lee and I are wrapping up our second month in our new home in Arlington, Virginia. The picture is a view from the window of our apartment building. Our neighborhood is wonderful, lots of shops, restaurants, and a stone throw away from the nicest mall in the DC area! ( My dear friends know I love this!) We are also steps away from the metro station which makes getting places super easy.

Lee is enjoying his job at the Coast Guard where for the first time in a long time he's actually staying on land and not at sea. His main responsibility right now is to advise young coast guard members on their career tracks. As for me, I'm taking the summer off and enjoying sleeping in for the first time in many years! This could all change any day though so I am not taking this time for granted.

As for our summer travel plans, we will be heading to Philadelphia the first weekend of August. I have never been there but ironically 3 buddies I've met on the west coast now all live there and I can't wait to catch up with them! We will also be heading to Atlantic City for a fun night on the town...also another first for me :)

That's it for now....follow me on "Take on Patranya" and let's celebrate love and life together for years to come!