Good eating

Today was a good eating day!

I got some lovely green curry from one of my favorite local Thai restaurants, Ruen Pair - tangy, fragrant green curry in coconut milk with perfectly tender-crisp green beans and whole basil leaves. Served over some nice sticky rice, it made me one very happy girl. Ruen Pair has many fantastic dishes, such as the seafood salad, bursting with lime & chili, dressed just lightly enough so that you can still enjoy the distinct flavors of perfectly tender calamari, prawns and mussels. And their pad thai is also perfectly balanced, with just enough sweetness and plenty of tanginess.

Then this evening, I had the unexpected pleasure to share dinner w/ Emily, Berge and Heidi at Dona Tomas, and what a treat it was. Instead of serving their house made tortilla chips with traditional salsa, they serve it with this amazing puree of mostly roasted peppers & tomatoes. It's very mole-like, so of course I was intrigued! Their chile relleno is nothing short of exquisite - the chile is roasted so perfectly tender, it nearly melts in your mouth. Our fine waitress pointed out that the chile relleno recipe is available in the Dona Tomas cookbook. I guess I know what cookbook I'm buying next... and then, look out cause I'm sure my chile relleno obsession is not too far off!

And speaking of cookbooks, my evening was topped off by the wonderful gift that Heidi gave me - Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen. Heavenly! I can't wait to dive into recipes like Guajillo Sauced Shrimp with Quick Fried Cactus! You can take the girl out of the desert, but you cannot take the desert out of the girl. My heart is in the Bay area, but I think my soul is in the desert.

Yeah, it was a good food day!