Naruto + Ramen = Sa La Thai Restaurant

         After watching an episode of Naruto. I realized that I have never been to a ramen shop. Naruto is always raving about Ichiraku's Ramen Shop. Yes, I realize it is only a cartoon but they make the food look so mouth watering.
       I rememebered passing by a place in Downtown Lancaster that was a Thai noodle shop. My fiancee and myself decided to go have lunch there. After getting lost for about 2 minutes due to the construction we found ourselves standing at the doorway to Sa La Thai

They had a menu in there window which was convenient. They also had a specials board at the doorway. This is what really caught my eye. It was a three course meal starting at $8.95. This is what I called a deal.

      We walked into Sa La Thai and realized we were the first ones there. I am usually hesitant being the only one in a restauraunt. This usually means the food is not up to par. We decided to take the chance anyways. After being seated the waitress explained to us about there two menu's. One was a'la carte and the other was there 3 course meal menu. After taking about 10 minutes we finally decided on our courses. We made sure we choose different items so we could taste more of the menu. As we sat and waited for our food the restaurant started to fill up slowly. It was lunch time and the people were ready to eat.
     Our Soups both came out. I ordered a Lemon Grass Soup and my fiance ordered Coconut soup. My soup was very light and flavorful. The broth was full of citrus scent and spicy. They added fresh vegetables to add a crunch. The coconut soup was great also. It was creamy but not overly thick. This soup was great as my fiance is a coconut lover.

       Soon after our delious soups are appetizer had arrived. I ordered a Spring Roll w/ Sweet & Sour sauce. My fiance ordered Chicken Dumplings w/ Garlic Soy Sauce. They were a nice bite size portion. Just enough to get some new flavors added to your palette. The sauce accented each appetizer in its own way. Just within these two course we have became fans of this restaurant. The room started to fill up and you would hear the Ooowwwss and Aaaasss when the food would arrive to each table.

      We then recieved our entrees which were Drunken Noodle and Pad Won Sen. The DrunkenNoodle was a spicy dish which I love. My fiance was hesitant to get anything spicy, because most things are to hot for her. I let her get a bite of my dish and she loved it. The heat of the dish was enough to add flavor but not to overwealm our palette.The Pad Woon Sen was suprisingly sweet, not candy sweet but a natural sweet. The vegetables were nice, crunchy and colorful. The noodles were nice and light. We don't have a picture of this because they looked so delicous that we forgot to snap one.
    Overall Sa La Thai was great .

• Service 5/5 -Our server was very respectful and attentative to our needs.
• Food 4/5- I am a fan of Thai food and this was great Thai food. Only thing was that it seemed that all the chicken was steamed seprate without seasoning.
• Ambiance 4/5- Music was comforting, but something was missing.

I give Sa La Thai 9/10. It is great to have a restaurant like this in your backyard. This is one of those hidden treasures in Lancaster City. I will be going there again. I hope everyone gives this a try.
http://www.salathailancaster.com/

Tostadas ......Reminds me of Abuela

Everytime I see or hear about Tostadas it reminds me of my abuelita. No matter how I try I will never makes one good as hers. One reason is because her tortillas were always fresh never bought.

You look at the picture above and ask. What is that? I tell you that it is a Tostada. Which is a fried corn tortilla . These were actually the Mexican Doritos before they became mass produced. I Prefer my Doritos with hot sauce tossed in a bag and then put in a bowl.

           Traditionally in Mexican cuisine Tostadas are topped with sour cream, cabbage, frijoles (refried beans), shredded beef or shredded chicken, cheese, and tomato. Think of the fried tortilla as a blank canvas. You can top it off with what ever your appetite calls for. I usually stick with the traditional way. Good thing is that it is inexpensive, also ended up feeding a family of 3 with one serving left over for only 15 dollars. We also used chicken instead of beef which makes a big difference with price.

This is what my Tostadas look like how do yours look like ????

Chicken Mozzarella Tossed in a Scampi Sauce

      After a long day of gardening and rainy weather I decided that I wanted to eat something light. I hit up the local supermarket and grabbed some spinach, red peppers, and angel hair pasta. I had all the other igredients at home. I oiled a pan and started to pan sear my seasoned chicken breat till perfectly carmalized. I then added in chopped garlic and deglazed it with white wine. I usually only use cooking wine because i rather drink the good stuff. Then tossed in a stick of butter and added a little chicken stock. Once it started to simmer I added in my angel hair pasta. Towards the end I added my spinach and peppers. The chicken breast were topped off with mozzarella cheese and tossed in the oven.

    This meal is a nice light meal. I sauteed some asparagus on the side just because, I enjoy asparagus. It was a great meal and i wasn't stuffed.

Herbs and Gardening

      Freshly grown vegetable and herbs are the best thing. Especially with a rough economy. Good thing is you don't need much space. I have been doing this for about a year now. I usually stick with the small items such as tomatoes, peppers, oregano, cilantro, parsley and basil. Fresh herbs can spruce up any dish by ten fold.

  Three things to consider before starting your garden. Is how much space do I have.What seasons do the vegetables I like grow in and what do I actually eat? If you have plenty of space go crazy and start planting what you like. Your first time you will usually make a few amatuer mistakes.(Ex. No proper spacing, planting the wrong plants beside each other) Gardening is like a puzzle. You should plant specific plants beside other plants. Here is a website that give you a rough idea on what each plant likes to be beside. http://www.danthegardener.co.uk/plant-friendships.htm Make sure to look up information for the seasons that the vegetables you enjoy. Lettuces grow in the cooler weather. Same thing for Broccoli, and Spinach.
    There are also other plants that help keep away pests. Marigolds are a known plant to help keep the critters away.Last but not least, Plant everything that you enjoy to eat. Don't plant eggplant if you don't like eggplant.

    Last year I decided to take a challenge and plant a pineapple plant. As most people know pineapples don't grow in Pennsylvania. It took me 3 tries to get it to root. Most people don't know that if you peel most of the flesh from the pineapple leaves. That it will reveal roots. If you set them in water and refresh the water everyday. The roots will begin to sprout and grow. It takes about 3 weeks. Make sure to have it in the sunshine to help promote growth.

Creamy Pesto Gnocchi

I was not sure what to whip up for dinner tonight. I grabbed my son and walked around the local market until i got some sort of inspiration. As you will find out later this is how i usually get my ideas for my menus. First thing I see when I walk in is fresh basil. Pesto is the first thing that pops up into my head. I know my fiancee loves Gnocchi so I decided to make Creamy Pesto Gnocchi.
      This is pretty easy all you will need to make this is.

1. Heavy Cream or Half and Half
2. Fresh Peeled Garlic
3. Pesto Sauce
4. Chicken or Vegetable Stock
5. Grated Parmesean Cheese
6. S&P ( Salt and Pepper)
7. French Baguette
8. Block of Parmesean
9. Tomato (Diced)
10. Fresh Basil
11. Gnocchi

         This is a real basic recipe. Saute your chopped garlic in some olive oil. Once they start to sweat go ahead and add you cream. In another pot have some water boiling for your Gnocchi. They go ahead and add a little Stock to your sauce. Usually you just have to add in a quarter of the amount compared to your alfredo sauce. Then add your pesto sauce. Let it simmer for a little while then add your grated parmesean cheese. Make sure to add slowly or your sauce will be very gritty. Add your Gnocchi into the water just for about 5 minutes. Strain it and add to your sauce. Just remember that the starch from your Gnocchi will thicken up your sauce also.

      For the French Baguette I cut that into slices and covered the in olive oil Shaved Paremesean and Parsley. Toasted them in the oven for about 8 minutes and they were done. This meal overall is fairly easy. If you want exact measurements just message me and i can tell you or you can just wing it. It is easy and you should be able to knock this out fairly easy.