Special Treat: Thai Tuesday!

So savory and delicious!

Black sesame seeds and limes make brown rice extra special

I love cooking for Meal Group. Past the usual practicalities - that it saves money and time, it is also a great opportunity to stretch your culinary wings.  My husband isn't terribly adventurous when it comes to food, but every now and again, a girl likes to try something different.  Especially if the girl is South Asian, and big fan of sugar and spice (the "all things nice" is debatable).

I went to an Asian market and got creative, because I know my lovely foodie friends always appreciate my efforts, and aren't afraid to try some of the more exotic offerings.  So I grabbed oyster mushrooms, Thai basil, tofu, limes and baby bok choy and went to town. The dish is very fragrant, and I was able to make it pretty close to the way our local Thai place does, just with a lot less oil.  The key was having the wonderful Thai basil and although I didn't remember to get kaffir lime leaves, substituting a little lime zest did the trick nicely.  I fried the tofu separately in soy sauce, garlic, and a little brown sugar until it was nice and brown and then added it to the oyster mushrooms, red pepper, scallions, ginger, and baby bok choy.  Once they cooked down a little, I added the Thai basil et voila!

I made plain brown basmati, and added some sesame seed oil, lime juice and black sesame seeds (from our trip to Corrado's) to jazz it up a bit.  I had so much fun making this and was really excited to share it with the Meal Group!