The PERFECT Bowl

Hubby is gonna be so happy tonight. So, I literally JUST joined Pinterest and I know it's taken me forever but I was honestly scared that I'd get addicted to it and now I really know why! So when I saw this recipe for Laksa (using only 5 ingredients), I thought it'd make the perfect lunch.

So, I made it as described but when I tasted it, I thought it was really missing a few things. So this is my Thai Coconut-Malaysian Laksa Noodle Bowl!



Here's how I made it and what you should use:

3/4lb (350g) noodles (rice, spaghetti, whatever!)
1-2 Tbsp Thai green curry paste
1 large can (1 1/2 cups) coconut milk
2 cups of boiling water (chicken, vegetable, or beef broth could be substituted)
2 cups mixed chopped vegetables (I used red and green pepper and zucchini)
1 clove of garlic
1 Tbsp freshly grated ginger
handful fresh basil leaves
handful of chopped scallions
Juice of 1 Lime
Soy Sauce (to taste)

This is a super quick meal to make too! Boil your pasta or noodles or whatever you're using. Then heat up a little bit of vegetable oil on high heat in a saucepan. Add the Thai curry paste to it and stir fry for about a minute. Then add the coconut milk and boiling water. At this point, I put in my ginger and garlic to flavor up the broth. Once it starts boiling, toss in your veggies and leave them for about 2 minutes. Your noodles should be done by now so put them in a bowl and pour your broth and veggies over the top. Tear up some basil leaves and place them on top of your noodle bowl along with the chopped scallions. I squeezed the lime juice right over my dish at the last second.

It is literally perfection in a bowl! I like to eat mine with about half the broth sort of ratio to the noodles but you can eat it straight soupy. It's so fresh and delicious and it's one of those foods that just make you feel so happy! Happy food makes for a happy wifey :)

P.S. This is the best hangover cure ever!

Saturday Day Trip...to Austria!

Tomislav and I have been planning a trip to Ikea for the past couple of months. However, the closest Ikea to us is in Graz, Austria so we had to really plan the trip out in advance! The 2 hour drive was so worth it for us and I'm so happy we finally got to go, and it was even nicer because my future in-laws went with us. It was a great day we got to spend together. 

Our apartment that we rent came fully furnished, including all of the plates and cups and pots and pans and what not, however, I've been missing a few things big time and they are just so expensive here in Croatia! Some may think I am getting TOO excited over it, but I'm so thrilled for our new kitchen things that we bought because they make my life a little easier. Things like: roasting pans, a grater, and a large cutting board. Yay! Also, our place feels much more like a home now that we have new bedding complete with a new blanket and pillows. It's so great to have a down comforter, just like I have at home in the States. I love it!

 Adorable stuffed animals in the kids section of Ikea :)

 Tomislav always laugh when I tell him that someday when we have children, I, of course, will only feed them healthy foods...so much so that they will think of broccoli as dessert! In this case, the broccoli would be their cutie stuffed animal friend ;)

Since we were in Austria, there was no chance I was gonna miss eating some delicious Leberkäse! Mmmm, back during my exchange year in Bavaria, I used to eat Leberkäs Semmi's during Pause's (break/recess) at school, at home, and at my favorite restaurant in Viechtach, Iglhaut!

 T-Slav loves it too! The last time we were in Graz, he requested it for basically every meal.

 Not my most flattering photo, but it's just that good!

The other wonderful thing about our trip was doing some food shopping. We had to be quick because in Austria, all of the stores close by 6PM on Saturdays (and are closed all together on Sundays!). Now, I will admit that I'm a frugal kind of girl. I like to save money and not waste it on silly things. I'm not one for unncessary shopping trips, especially when it comes to clothes or things like that. But food, yes food, I will splurge on.

This past week, I really wanted to make Thai food since I brought Thai green curry paste back from the States to Croatia. I had almost everything I needed to make a delicious Thai (inspired) meal...besides the coconut milk. We had only bought it one time before and actually Tomislav had got in Slovenia after a business trip. Imagine my shock and surprise when I get to the grocery store and see that a can of coconut milk is 38 Kunas! That is $7! For one can! Ridiculous!!! I wasn't going to buy it because we're trying to save money and that is just ridiculous. But I knew how much better the meal would taste if we had the coconut milk so I thought, what the heck, this time I'll splurge. (It came out delicious, by the way)

My coworkers told me in Austria I could find coconut milk for around $2 so I knew I wanted to stock up.

I had such luck because the entire Asian foods section was on sale at the grocery store that day and the same coconut milk I had bought in Croatia, was on sale for 1 Euro!

We had a great time and I can't wait to visit Austria again. The country is beautiful, the people are so friendly, and I love hearing Austrians speaking German. It reminds me of Bavarian dialect and we all know, I love Bayern :) Next time we go to Austria, we have to get some Currywurst from one of the delicious street vendors (like in Graz!) Basically, sausage with a curry spiced ketchupy sauce. Yum!

I'll Be Home for Christmas!

T-Slav and I are coming home for the holidays on Saturday (albeit on different flights, nažalost). I cannot wait to see my sister and brother-in-law, my parents, and all of our family friends! I'm super excited to see all of my friends in Philly and anyone and everyone else we get to meet up with. My Mom asked what we wanted to eat when we got home so of course, I requested her amazing pierogi. I'm dreaming about them already.

You can see the pierogi on the left. Ooh and while we're at it, I'll add barscz to the list of things I'm drooling..I mean, dreaming about already. Also known as borscht, it's that amazing beet soup that you can see in the white cups.

Here are some other things I'm really looking forward to while I'm home:
-Sushi! from that place in Old City we went to for Peter and Staci's pre-Costa Rica going away dinner. AMAZING!

 

-Thai food! Obsessed with take-out from Tamarind on 2nd and South in Philly (like this Panang Curry!)

-Pho..cannot wait for T to try this one. He's gonna love it!
-Having the ability to buy hummus at the store
-My own bed, so comfortable!
-Diversity, and the normalcy of it.
-Seeing what our Save the Dates look like in real life
-Bloody Mary's!
-Sitting by the fireplace
-Going skiing with my family

-Going to our Church
-Wearing the best sweatpants in the world. I wonder if the original owner of the sweatpants knows that they're everyone in our family's favs. That might be weird.
-My family's Polish Christmas Traditions (including watching Home Alone on Christmas Eve) and this incredible meal:

The other special thing about Saturday? 

Exactly one year ago, Tomislav popped the question!