Yesterday's lunch - crazy leftover ingredient combination:)

I work big long days on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I have to pack my breakfast, lunch and dinner, which means a lot of food! In preparing my lunch on Monday I was searching through my fridge to figure out what I could come up with, and I was pretty pleased when I opened my lunch bag yesterday!

Coconut Papaya Quinoa Salad

First off, I gotta work on my photos to make my food look more appealing!!!! And it's all picnic style because I'm eating on the paper plates from school....excuses excuses:) However, it was yummy! I made up some quinoa and mixed it with some of the leftover coconut milk I had from when I made Burmese Curry, and mixed in chunks of papaya that were leftover from the papaya I got for rainbow salad, and then I shredded some basil to add a fresh, herbaceous quality. Turned out pretty good! I think I could probably add something else to it...maybe something with a little acidy to balance it a bit? But overall, yummy!

Grilled Fig Salad

Again, not the most appealing picture, but it was yummy, I promise! I had some figs still hanging around, so I used a Whole Foods recipe for grilled fig salad (by the way, their iPhone app is amazing!!!!).  I marinated the figs in some balsamic, brown sugar and cinnamon, and then I cooked them on my little stovetop cast iron skillet, but they would probably be even better cooked on an outdoor grill as part of a barbeque. I then took the marinade and added olive oil, dijon mustard, lemon juice (from a lemon from the tree in my backyard), salt and pepper. I brought the butter lettuce to work separate, the figs in one little jar, and the dressing in another, and assembled in the little work kitchen. Next time, I think I'll use arugula for the greens, and toss in some toasted pine nuts....droooooool.........


All in all a delicious lunch....but it didn't fill me up long enough and I ruined my simple, clean eating for the day by having chex mix that afternoon!!! ARgh!!!

Burmese Feast

A couple years ago a guy at my church recommended that I try his favorite restaurant when I visited San Francisco - Burma Superstar.  Besides having the coolest name ever, this restaurant boasts some of the finest food I have ever had in my entire life.  If you are ever in SF, you gotta check it out!!!!

There's usually a line because it's SOOOOOO GOOOOOD!!!

The food is a sort of fusion of Asian flavors - Thai, Chinese, Indian - to create somewhat familiar yet striking flavor combinations unique to Burma.  I've enjoyed some of their curry and noodle dishes as well as their salads, so I attempted their Rainbow Salad (although, I  made mine veggie - no shrimp...they look like bugs, and no fish sauce  - I used half and half soy sauce and worcestire...which technically has fish in it though, so I should have just got the fish sauce!!!)

Burmese Rainbow Salad inspired by Burma Superstar

The Rainbow Salad packed a lot of flavor...a bit too much onion actually - I'll adjust that amount next time. I had never bought a papaya before and I got one that was a bit too ripe - be sure to use firm green papayas if you can find them! This recipe gave me the opportunity to try out a Julienne Peeler, which I had never used before.

Set of peelers available from Williams Sonoma for about $15

I also altered a Burmese Chicken Curry recipe to create this creamy and delicious dish:

It looks a bit funky here, partially because it's in a bowl that has a kitty design, and also because I put it together a bit sloppily (I'll invest in some white dishes and work on my presentation in the future!) but it was a really savory mix of coconut milk, tumeric, ginger, paprika, soy sauce, tofu, lots of onions, cilantro, and I added some mushrooms - however I think they overpowered the delicate nature of some of the flavors and I think I'll use carrots instead next time to add some additional sweetness.  I tore the tofu (that's why it kind of looks like scrambled eggs in the picture) which allowed it to soak up more of the sauce...worked well! Overall, quite delicious! I'm looking forward to the leftovers!