Today is Sunday.

Today is Sunday. I know this because Shawn has to work tomorrow, and I have no gym classes today. So today MUST be Sunday. I'm pretty sure. My {inferior} Moleskin 2009 Daily Planner should be arriving within the week, and until then I will just have to guess as to which day of the week it is (I won't even try for the date...).


Friday evening I had a lovely dinner party! It was a beautiful beautiful SPRING day, spent outside with jeans and a tshirt on, bare feet, throwing the ball for the dogs. Jeff Pace came over in the afternoon and drank some beers and we talked about surfing. Surprise surprise. Later, Catching-up with old friends was long overdue, so Emily Rosenberg & Alex, Jeff & Sharon, Dawn, Paul, Jill, Rochelle, Shawn and I hung out at my parents house (I was house sitting) and drank, ate, laughed, and told {some inappropriate} stories. It was a great time, my only regret was that we all got too drunk, too full and too sleepy...and the night had to end.

Saturday was a lounge-filled day. Shawn and I watched movies, laid on the couch, and ate chili...perfect for the crappy-ass , rainy, cold day. Turns out that Friday was NOT the coming of Spring, it was just some kind of sick joke that Mother Nature played on me. I lay bundled up all day until Shawn and I ventured out to make an appearance at my friend Maryanne's Birthday Bowling Party. Maryanne is hysterical. Truly an oddball, off in almost every sort of way, but the most fantastic, fascinating person you'll meet...especially around these parts. So it was not surprising that when we got to Mar's birthday, we were greet with "Gift Bags" (ya know, the kind that you get at birthday parties in 1st and 2nd grade).
Shawn's bag had: wooden cooking spoon, 2PAC Joint Roller, 2 bags of oatmeal, a party hat with 3 goldfish (the crackers) inside, Fantastic 4 sticker pack, among other things.
My bag had: ovulation testing kit, a miniature pecan pie, little debbie oatmeal cream pie, a party hat with 3 goldfish inside, Fantastic 4 sticker pack, decorative candy cane christmas ornament, glow-in-the-dark earrings and hair pins (perfect for the black-light-bowling-alley), and a few other odds and ends.
Shawn and I didn't bowl...I was feeling under the weather, but we enjoyed our goodies and had a few laughs. It was great to see some friendly faces that I've missed during my winter away.

Maryanne and I, Christmas 2008 Party @ Surfer Supplies, OCNJ

Today is Sunday. Yes, Sunday. I'm 100% sure now because I checked on my 'computer calendar'. Shawn and I are sitting next to eachother on our respective laptops, Shawn looking for apartments...me blogging away. We are sipping local AVALON COFFEE 'Sumataran Blend' (our latest addiction!!) and preparing for a day in PHILADELPHIA. We are going to eat some VIETNAMESE FOOOOOD (woohoo for 'Valentinos', Green Papaya Salad, and Vermacelli). Also going to stop at DiBruno's for some gourmet cheese and olives and bread...maybe some good salt, and then the fabulous spice shop two doors down for some essentials. MmMmM. Gotta love it.

Coming up, on FRIDAY APRIL 3rd, I have a show at COFFEE COMEDY in Sea Isle City. The show starts at 730pm, music starts at exactly 8pm. If everyone gets there a half hour early we can chat it up, catch up, and drink some cocktails. It's $5 at the door, and it's BYOB. Woohooo for that!! Coffee Comedy also serves up some kickass caffeinated beveragios and sweet sweets. I'm (supposed to be) playing this show with my right hand man, Christian Mahr. He has yet to return any of my 50 phone calls, or 25 texts, but that's usually the way it goes. I'm pretty confident that he will show up the night of the show. I hope. Cross my fingers.

Christian and I, December 2008, Trinity Pub, Atlantic City

Crazy for GREEN Papaya Salad

Papaya's - hate 'em. My friend Andy and I named them "Poo-Paya's" in Costa Rica last year because we agreed that they taste like a mix of swiss cheese, poo, and fruit. Yuck. I'm a rather adventurous eater, and I enjoy mostly everything that hits my lips, but I just can't get down with the poopaya's. Shawn (my man) and I love to eat Vietnamese food, and whenever we go out he always orders the Green Papaya Salad (Gỏi). I was skeptical at first, given my distaste towards poopaya, but I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious this green papaya was! It has a similar texture to apples, carrots, or pears, that have been julienned. I was convinced that there was NO way that my beloved Green Papaya was any way related to it's poo cousin. So today, I did some research. Well I didn't have to look far to discover that the poo and the delicious green pa are one in the same -- only the green used for the salad is simply unripe.

This is an unripe {green} papaya:

This is a ripe poopaya:

There are two variations of Gỏi: the Vietnamese version and the Thai version. I much prefer the Vietnamese way. Both are somewhat similar, but vary in two or three key ingredients. My favorite is the Vietnamese Green Papaya Salad with Beef Jerky. It may sound odd, but it is a delectable meeting of ingredients. The papaya is julienned, and combined with bits of shredded beef jerky -- SO good. I scoured the world wide web for a recipe that seemed perfect, and I finally found a good one. The recipe comes from Andrea Nguyen, author of "Into the Vietnamese Kitchen".

3 tbsp. fish sauce 2 tbsp. sugar 2 tbsp. fresh lime juice 2 Thai chiles, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 1 green papaya 1 1/2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. sugar 1 1/2 cups loosely packed, roughly torn Thai basil 4 oz. Asian-style hot fruit beef jerky (preferably Hsin Tung Yangbrand), shredded by hand 1. Whisk together fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, chiles, and garlic in a small bowl until sugar dissolves. Set dressing aside. 2. Peel papaya and trim ends. Halve papaya lengthwise and, using a spoon, scoop out the seeds and the thin white layer lining the cavity. Using a Japanese mandoline fitted with the julienne blade, cut the papaya into 1/8" thick strips. Transfer papaya to a colander and sprinkle with the salt and sugar; toss to combine. Let sit until juicy and pliant, 30–45 minutes. 3. Rinse papaya under cold water and drain. Working in batches, transfer papaya to a tea towel and wring out excess moisture. Place papaya in a large bowl and toss to separate the strips. Add reserved dressing along with the basil and toss to combine. Serve topped with the shredded beef jerky. ***To SIMPLIFY this Recipe: just prepare the papaya as it says, top with a handful of thai basil leaves, some beef jerky, and then a (premade) chili-soy sauce dressing that can be found at any asian supermarket. Here's a bit of info about the famous GREEN PAPAYA. When picking one up at the (Asian) Supermarket you want to pick out the most firm fruit available. Mushy or soft in any way is no good. Your best bet on finding unripe papaya's would be in the summer, when they are in season. You want the skin to be green, and the flesh to be very pale green to white in color. The flavor of the unripe papaya is pretty bland, which is why it makes for such a great Vietnamese salad -- it has a great texture, and it absorbs every bit of sweet, spicy, hot, sour, salty spices that are used. The Vietnamese Green Papaya Salad is packed with amazing flavors, and (thankfully) very low in fat and calories and high in fiber. Throw some crushed cashews or peanuts on top for some added flavor. You don't have to use beef jerky either, you could top with shredded pork, or with shrimp -- or with nothing at all. And don't go using "Wild Bill's Beef Jerky", pick up some Vietnamese spicy beef jerky, called Khô Bò. No matter how you eat it, whatever toppings you select, I KNOW that you will love this dish!!! Hooray for GREEN PAPAYA!

"There is no sincerer love than the love of food" - George Bernard Shaw