Peanut and Chipmunk Adventures in Vegas

A Las Vegas native recently told me that Vegas summers are like others' winters...those 3-4 months when you just don't go outside much.  I was much more prepared to think the summers are brutal here, but the funny thing is, Vegas knows it's hot in the summer. When a city knows it's hot, they plan for it.  I walk from my air conditioned apartment out to my covered parking, drive to work and park in a covered garage.   And truthfully, when my midwestern friends are saying that hell called wants their weather back, I think we might be a bit lucky here in with this dry heat. Humidity is indeed pure evil in my eyes. 

That being said, there wasn't a chance we were going to plan an outdoor activity while Peanut was visiting.  Hey, Peanut is visiting from Colorado...now how did I not lead with that? And with a whole day with Peanut and Chipmunk, that was a whole lot of indoor activities to find for them. Since sister is both the Vegas and the children's activity expert, she did all of the planning.

M&M world--quite possibly the most expensive tourist trap ever. Alas, Peanut was a fan of the green M&M, because who isn't awesome in some white kicky go-go boots?

Circus Circus, though far from new and hip, is a great all day place for kiddos.  For $10 Peanut was able to ride unlimited rides and see some 4D movies.  We are definitely a roller coaster and fast upside down ride kind of family.  Peanut got the coaster genes--she was absolutely fearless and even asked if her sweet little 38 inch Peanut self could go on the upside-down roller coaster.  Bless her heart. (Dear Mom, no need to call me when you read this.  She didn't go on the upside-down roller coaster.  xoxo, Mary)

The motion of your pod spinning in all directions while the base propels you up and round and round and you head towards the ground face first, is actually way more relaxing than it appears.  It's like a therapeutic calming massage for the brain.

Frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity is always a delightful summer treat.

A little outdoor time  is bearable once the sun begins to set.

Exhaustion and dreams of frozen hot chocolate.

Chicken Satay and Sticky Rice

I think I once mentioned that my mom very often made two meals for dinner as we were growing up.  I imagine that's not so unusual when you take one meat and potatoes midwestern father and one Thai mother.  We always thought it was pretty cool to have dinner choices. One meal that the entire family always agreed upon though was chicken satay...we all loved chicken satay fresh off the grill and served with sticky rice. We call it sweet rice, but people usually think I'm referring to the mango and coconut rice dessert when I call it that, so it just causes less confusion to call it sticky rice.

It can sometimes be difficult to figure out which rice is sticky rice when shopping for it in the asian market.  It's not always well marked, is labeled in foreign text or it's often labeled "sweet rice."  Some wise food labeler realized that peeps who don't read asian languages have been shopping for sticky rice and made it a bit easier.  Glutinous rice = sweet rice = sticky rice.  It's all the same.

Like "regular" rice, sticky rice comes in  both long grain and short grain.  Both are cooked the same and taste the same---it's a preference thing.   

A thai style sticky rice steamer is pretty easy to find in an asian market.  It consists of a bamboo cone steaming basket and large, steaming pan--you can throw any lid on top.  I'm not going to lie to you here...this pot is a storage nightmare and really is a one-use wonder.  I eat enough sticky rice that  the convience makes it worth owning one.  If you only eat sticky rice on occasion though, I've seen some pretty creative ways to cook it including bamboo dim sum steamer, cheesecloth and even a splatter guard over large pan of water with stainless steel bowl turned over  the rice.  Pretty clever.

Freezing the chicken breasts for 30-45 minutes prior to slicing the chicken makes it a bit easier to get those even thin slices.  Most of the time and effort is in the prep.  Once these are ready to cook, they cook up in almost no time.  

Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Marinade ingredients:
½ cup coconut milk
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon palm sugar (or brown sugar)
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1 tsp red curry paste (optional)
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into long, thin strips (about 1 inch wide)
Bamboo skewers

Peanut Sauce Ingredients

½ cup coconut milk

1/3 cup natural chunky peanut butter

1 tablespoon red curry paste

3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2  tablespoons palm sugar (or brown sugar)
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon finely diced peanuts

Directions:

1. Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mix well.  
2. Add the chicken breast strips and stir thoroughly to cover in marinade. Refrigerate for 4-6 hours or overnight.
3. Soak the bamboo skewers in water for an hour (to prevent them from burning on the grill)
4. Prepare the peanut sauce by placing all of the ingredients except peanuts in a blender and blending until smooth. Stir in chopped peanuts. The sauce can be made up to a day ahead of time and refrigerated.
5. Preheat the grill
6. Remove the chicken from the marinade and thread onto the bamboo skewers. Cook on the grill or under the broiler for about 3-4 minutes per side, or until cooked through.
7. Serve on the skewers with the spicy peanut sauce for dipping.

Cooking Sticky Rice:

1. Rinse the stickys rice several times
2. Soak the rice in warm water for at least 4 hours or overnight.
3. Pour soaked rice into a bamboo steaming basket and rinse again
4. Add a couple of inches of water into the steaming pot. Place bamboo basket on top and cover the rice with a lid.
5. Once the water boils, cook rice for 20 minutes.
6. Carefully remove the steaming basket from the pot and flip rice into serving bowl.
7. Mix the rice thoroughly and serve warm
8. Cooked rice will harden after completely cooling or storing overnight. To reheat cover with damp paper towel, place in microwave and microwave in 10-15 second intervals until warmed and softened. 

California

I always thought I wasn't the California type.  Somewhere along the line, I'd somehow decided you were either an east coast type or a west coast type.  I've been to LA a couple of times and didn't immediately fall in love.  Seattle's pretty phenomenal, but everyone tells me I'd tire of the rain in no time, though I doubt it.  The east coast however...L..O..V...E.  Sometimes I miss living in NY.  If it really is an either/or decision, I'd already staked my line in the sand. And while the beaches on the east coast aren't like those sandy white beaches of California, I'd take the sand dunes of Cape Cod or the rocky beaches of Maine any day. 

When California is only a short drive away, you have to go right? That 2-3 hour proximity to other cities is one of the things I miss most about NY. 

You'd think that taking a dog somewhere would be easy.  It probably is for those people who understand that dogs are just dogs.  In this house, the dog's bag size and weight exceeded the human's bag weight and size.  Even I know there is something wrong with that.

Reason number one for going to CA....

If you are thinking I'm kidding, you'd be wrong.  I just moved to a town that doesn't have a Crate & Barrel and it was a little rough at first.  I thought my sister was joking when I asked her where the closest Crate & Barrel was and she said "California"--my narrow little mind really thought no town could survive without this completely "essential" store.  (You can btw, you just have to be resourceful and use UPS....)

As it turns out, I think I kind of am a California type of person.  You can like both coasts right?  It could be that living in the desert has pushed my sanity at times so I truly appreciate the green lushness that was CA.  I know I am so blessed with the career opportunity that I have and I am so thankful.  The real estate market here is out of control spectacular if you are a buyer.  I also know that Vegas has outstanding access to entertainment and phenomenal restaurants--much better than Denver. I know how awesome that is.  I really do and I appreciate it.   But sometimes when I'm driving home, or shopping homes and neighborhoods, I'm looking at these desert landscapes wondering if a person can actually die from tree and grass withdrawal. 

California on the other hand...it was like magic just being there and we were nowhere near the beach.  Just one night in California and I was outside every moment I could be.  Walks in the rain, walks under tree lined sidewalks and paths and sitting in the grass, just because it was there...yes, I could definitely love California.  Our hotel even felt California with it's Jamba Juice smelling lobby and music going even at 5:30  in the morning. 

Brooklyn wasn't complaining.  It took her all of 2 minutes to decide she loved it.

And of course, waxing nostalgic for grass, greenery and scenery is really just a way to hide the less nature-inspired reason we needed to go to California (aside from C&B)..

Teaching Chipmunk the importance of french fries in a well balanced diet.  Turns out it's in her blood and she already had it down like a pro.  Crate and Barrel + Ikea + California = perfect weekend indeed.  Increased Chipmunk photo opportunities during road trip is the icing on the cake. 

Red and Aqua

You know how color combinations have a spike in popularity before fading?  Remember peach and green?  Peach and grey?  Burgandy and hunter green?  Brown and pink?  Orange and Blue?  Okay, maybe only the Denver fans love that combo but I say it's one of the best out there.  That is a forever kind of color combo love though.  My favorite color combo of the moment is aqua and red.  A little trendy, a little chic and a little Dr. Seuss all rolled into one.  It's probably the type of color combo you tire of quickly, but I have to say,  I'm a little obsessed right now. 

Instead of a long verbose post, I leave a little color inspiration that has been accumulating in my Picasa folders for quite awhile now.  I'm still procrastinating on reading the 7D book now you see.

I had red yarn.  I had this almost aqua yarn.  Last year I wouldn't have dreamed of combining them. Now I can't think of separating them.

I tried a wispy flower pattern.  I tried a ripple pattern, and in the end, I settled on the african flower pattern.

Will I really finish it?  Yep, right after my quilt I'm sure....sometime around 2021.  Maybe a pillow would be more reasonable.

One of my favorite Tanya Whelan fabrics.  I love it with the gingham. I do believe everything goes perfectly with gingham though.

When I don't know what to sew but I want a finished product in an hour, I sew an apron.  It's perfectly reasonable to have 9 aprons hanging in your kitchen.  I'm sure.

Ladybug Cake Pops

One little Peanut I know turned 4 this week. Four. For real and she asked for a ladybug birthday cake. This auntie was so sad to be celebrating it from so far away and not making her cake this year. But my sweet little Peanut is heading this way in a couple of weeks and so sister came over for a cake pop fest and I practiced my ladybugs.

Sister made these ultra cute watermelon pops.

I've found that my favorite cake pops to make are the molded ones.  They make take a little longer if you have a limited number of molds, but they require less precision, and looks so smooth and glassy when you all is finished. 

Take these little cupcakes.  You just use the little candy cup molds they sell at Hobby Lobby or Michaels, paint the candy melts into the mold, let harden in the fridge for about five minutes, and then press some cake pop mix into it. You round up the tops and then just dip the entire top half in another color candy melt.  There's no shaping and little room for error.  I like when something has minimal room for error.

And turns out lady bugs are just as easy.  I used a round mold, and ended up with an entire ladybug family because of the different sizes.