Happy Saturday! Hope you’re enjoying the weekend so far. I still wasn’t feeling too hot when I woke up this morning but I had to drive Jason to a training session at school so I figured I would make the most out of the day at go to the farmer’s market after I dropped him off.

They only have the market on Saturday mornings, so it’s really special when it does happen. I haven’t been to very many summer markets here (duh, I’ve been in Atlanta all summer) and I can’t get over how much beautiful produce there was!

And OH the beautiful flowers.

I walked away with some lovely basil, zucchini, and peaches that will surely be making appearances in recipes this week.

After I picked the husband up, I got to work on a special dinner.

I LOVE Thai food. And when I say that, I mean I love Pad Thai. I’ve been out for Thai dozens of times and I don’t think I ever once ordered anything but Pad Thai as my main dish. The stuff is just too good. And you can make a pretty darn good version at home with ingredients you can get in your grocery store! I found the special noodles down the international isle of my grocery store and I bet yours has them, too. They actually don’t require any boiling–how cool is that?

Pad Thai Noodles

• 1 14 oz. package Thai rice noodles
• 1/4 c. vegetable oil
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/4 c. brown sugar (not packed)
• 1 c. drained extra firm tofu, cut into strips
• 1 lb. raw, peeled shrimp
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 c. Thai fish sauce
• 1 c. fresh bean sprouts
• 1/2 c. fresh cilantro
• chopped peanuts (optional)
• lime (optional)

-Soak the rice noodles in a bowl of cold water for 30 minutes. After they’re finished soaking, drain the liquid and set the noodles aside

-In a wide saucepan or deep skillet, heat half of the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and shallot and cook until the garlic just starts to brown. Add the brown sugar and stir well to incorporate. Let cook, while stirring, for a couple minutes.

-Add the tofu and shrimp and cook, stirring frequently, until the shrimp is pink on both sides and the tofu starts to brown a little.

-Add the onions to the pan and stir to combine. Add the eggs and stir for another minute. Lastly, add the pre-soaked noodles along with the rest of the oil and the fish sauce.

-Cook the pad thai in the pot for another 10 minutes on medium-low heat, tossing frequently with tongs or a mixing spoon until the noodles are soft and start to brown lightly.

-Top with fresh cilantro, and chopped peanuts and lime wedges if desired. Enjoy! Makes 4 servings.

Authentic Pad Thai contains tamarind, which gives the dish a kind of irreplaceable flavor. But if you’re like me and live in an area that’s a little short on international markets (meaning, there are none), you probably won’t be able to find tamarind. But this recipe makes a delicious noodle dish nonetheless and sure fixed our craving for Thai with a much lower price tag.

So good. Try it, I think you’ll be surprised!

Thanks for reading!

-Lauren