Honeymoon in Phuket, Thailand Pt 1

As I mentioned, Sam and I recently got married…and then we went on the best honeymoon ever!

Having traveled extensively for work, I had a gazillion miles on my United account, which led to us purchasing tickets to Phuket, Thailand– paradise!

Since this is a food blog, I’ll start with the food aspect of the trip, I hope you all enjoy! (and get a chance to visit one day)

Our first layover (I know, sounds crazy!) was in Narita Airport in Japan- since it was a bit of a wait, we opted for a mid-night snack of some veggie sushi.

Our second layover was in Bangkok, Thailand.  We landed at 11:30pm there, and it was a 12 hour difference from DC.  So this delicious Spicy Beef Noodle Soup was either an early lunch, or an amazing midnight snack!  After that we got to spend a fun 4 hours on very hard benches- the joys of international travel?

Part of our flight itinerary was on Thai Airways– which we loved!  This was breakfast- small and delicious (food even on a 1 hour flight- crazy!).  On the return flights we got to experience lunch and dinner, and we were given real silverware, so I guess not all airlines use plastic!

Of course the first night we got to our hotel, I had to have Thai Curry.  It is my absolute favorite dish in any Thai restaurant- so I had to have the authentic version.  It was delicious!  The dish was light, but had all the flavors of curry, coconut and seared vegetables.

One day we visited the city of Phuket, and wanted some lunch- we found this diner, and loved the food!  I ordered some curry tofu, fried spinach, rice and a fried egg.  It was simple, but light and tasty.

Sam ordered Beef and Lettuce.  We thought it’d be more like lettuce wraps, but it was chopped lettuce, cabbage and carrots- with the beef on top.  Cilantro garnished this dish.

This was actually the appetizer, but it got there at the end- veggie spring rolls!

As we meandered the streets of Phuket, we came across a bar (this is a story in itself), and also tried a new beer which we had never seen sold in the US.  Thai beers are typically lagers- the oldest and most known is Singha, and recently Chang has become more well known.  A local beer was Phuket– it had a slight sweet honey flavor.

There was a breakfast buffet in our hotel which we indulged in every morning.  One of our favorite ways to finish breakfast was with passion fruit.  We had first tried it on a trip to Dominican Republic about 2 years ago- there it was tart, the Thai version was slightly sweet.

Walking distance from our hotel, there were some smaller huts which sold food.  Towards the end of our trip we wanted to remember the real Thai cooking: Spicy Vegetable and Shrimp (red Thai peppers, onion, green onions, shrimp, bok choy).

I had to have one last curry dish (they were so great!).  This was a Yellow Curry with onions, green peppers and basil.

    We spent one day biking in the villages of Thailand, but when we stopped for lunch we had this amazing Shrimp Laksa.  Our bike tour guide told us how this is definitely a favorite with the locals, especially when it’s extra spicy!

And this is us- happy married, flying back to the U.S. via Bangkok.  Although at this point we only made it 6 out of the 24 hours of travel time, we had an amazing stay in Phuket!

I’d love to tell you all more about our trip, what would you like to hear?  I will have a post about the Thai Market we visited, and our scuba diving adventures!  Anything else?

August Review

How time flies when you’re having fun!  I’m really enjoying doing these monthly reviews, it’s a fun way to look back on what we did throughout the month!  Check out the last 3 months: May, June, and July!

Sam and I completed our Open Water Scuba Diving Certificates in Virginia Beach!  Our first dive was at the Chesapeake Light Tower (locally known as The Tower), about 13 miles east of the Rundee Inlet.  We took our trip with the Lynnhaven Dive Center– what a great adventure!

Our family had a beach house rented for the week, so we did have some time to relax at the beach!  We got a tan, read some books, and even saw this cute little sand crab.  Having lived in Virginia Beach before, I feel like Sandbridge is one of the best beaches in the area!

As always, we did visit the Penn Quarter Farmers Market!  This particular week we got: milk, cherry tomatoes, eggs, habañeros, tomatoes, peaches, cucumbers, and green beans.  What can you make with these ingredients?  Check out these recipes: Buckwheat Crêpes with Corn Salsa, Summer Squash & Ricotta Tart, Greek Panzanella, and Asian Veggie Rolls.

One night we made this delicious pizza!  Loved the fried egg on top- so yummy!  Try some of our pizzas: Apple & Smoked Cheese Whole Wheat Pizza or the Mushroom & Broccoli Pizza!

My friend Beth and I went to visit our friend Becky in Boston!  Sam and I visited Boston in April and loved the city and the Sam Adams Brewery!  This time it was a girls weekend- we ate cannoli’s at Mike’s Pastry, brunch at The Flour Bakery, some running, and enjoying Harvard Square.  Check out my post on The Flour Bakery!

Another stop at the Penn Quarter Farmer’s Market!  This weeks goodies were: corn, peppers, eggs, bacon, tomatoes, peaches, zucchini and summer squash.  Check out this month’s recipes, such as: Brazilian Fish & Shrimp Stew, Summer Squash & Ricotta Tart, or the Buckwheat Crêpes with Corn Salsa.

With a new blogger friend, Sylvie from Thrifty DC Cook, I volunteered at one of the homeless shelters in DC.  We had a fun time cooking of a delicious lunch- and I made some cookies for dessert!

I went to a book reading at Politics and Prose, a local DC bookstore.  Jennifer Close, author of Girls in White Dresses, and Rebecca Harrington, author of Penelope, read a section of each of their books, talked about the process of writing, and how they got new ideas.  This was the first time I went into P&P, but can’t wait to check out some more events they have to offer!

After the third visit of the month to the Penn Quarter Farmers Market we got a chance to try some eggs, crab dip, summer squash, tomatoes, peaches, cherry tomatoes, green beans and peppers!  Check out the Buckwheat Crêpes with Corn Salsa recipe to make with those cherry tomatoes!

A bachelorette weekend in St. Michael’s, MD included some fun shopping.  In one of the stores we found these great napkins.  Thank you to: Jess, Steph, Carolyn, Cassie, Katie, Josie and Krista for a wonderful weekend!!!

In the last week of August at the Penn Quarters Market we got: bacon, brat patty meat, cucumbers, summer squash, apples, cider, tomatoes, eggs, various peppers, cherry tomatoes and arugula.  Try making Buckwheat Crêpes with Corn Salsa, Greek Panzanella, Summer Squash & Ricotta Tart, Asian Veggie Rolls or the Brazilian Fish and Shrimp Stew.

Green Veggie Rice with Fried Egg

As I’ve mentioned previously, I try to use up all of our produce- rather than throwing it all out!  Sometimes I might not get to a recipe I wanted to try, or I get a little crazy at the Penn Quarter Farmers Market and buy too many greens.  Or as I browse through other blogs, magazines or cookbooks I get inspirations about trying new things.  Where do you get your cooking inspiration or recipe ideas?

How did this recipe make itself?
1) I was walking through Whole Foods, and I came across Lundberg Black Japonica rice.  It’s a whole-grain blend of short-grain black rice and medium-grain mahogany rice which originates from Japanese seeds.  It looked so pretty, I just had to buy it!

2) I’m not the hugest fan of kale, until I tried this recipe.  Although I’ve added it to many dishes (kale lasagna, kale white bean & potato soup, pomegranate and kale orzo salad), I haven’t been sold on it.  Until I saw baby kale in the grocery store, and I decided to give it another chance.  Although I didn’t have a recipe for it, I wanted to incorporate kale into something.

3) Fried eggs make everything better.  Trust me!  (burgers, pizza, BLTs, asparagus, soups, noodles, salads- have I sold you yet?)

4) I wanted to clean out our fridge, and I hate taking everything out and putting it back in.  I prefer if the fridge is very very empty- makes the chore so much easier!

As a side note: This weekend I’ll be attending my first food blogger conference- Eat, Write Retreat 2012.  I’m very excited to meet other fellow food bloggers and learn some new things!  And I can’t wait to check out what’s in my swag bag!

Green Veggie Rice with Fried Egg
Fifth Floor Kitchen original

If you don’t have this specific rice, you can substitute with brown or wild rice- both will taste equally delicious.  As noted above, feel free to experiment with other greens if you don’t have kale or swiss chard on hand (ex: spinach, arugula, beet greens, mustard greens, bok choy, etc).

1 cup Lundberg Black Japonica Rice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch of swiss chard, roughly chopped
1 bunch of baby kale, roughly chopped
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
juice of 1 lemon

In a medium saucepan, cook rice in water per package instructions.  Drain and keep covered.

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil.  Add the onion and cook until translucent.  Then add the garlic, cook for another 3 minutes.  Next add the swiss chard and baby kale.  Cover and cook, stir a few times, until the veggies are tender.  Add the rice into the saucepan, mix all of the ingredients together.  Season with soy sauce, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, and lemon juice.  Allow to simmer while you fry the egg.

In a small pan, fry an egg per each serving.  We prefer runny eggs, but fry it to your preference.

Plate the rice and veggie mixture, top with a fried egg.