Love is in the details.

Nothing makes me happier than to prepare an incredible meal for someone I love. There's just something about what food can do to a person. The look of surprise on their face when the glorious meal is set down in front of them. The range of facial expressions as they taste the food and their taste buds try to decipher it all, starting with wonder and eventually ending with contentment. Food is one of the few things that we can derive so much pleasure from, yet at the same time is a complete necessity. There is no greater joy than fulfilling that need but yet, providing pleasure from that need. It's easy to slop down some food on a plate and call it dinner, but when you add in some love and some care (and the right amount of seasoning!), then it becomes not just dinner, but an overall experience. In every dish I make, I bring a lot of love to it, and my love is in the details.

For Valentine's Day, I wanted to do something a little different. We had had the traditional steak dinner a couple of nights before, had a barbeque the day prior, so when the actual V-day came around, my husband requested something a little on the "lighter" side. I have numerous cookbooks, several of which are healthy/light/low-fat books. But for some reason, on this day, my Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favoritesbook caught my eye. I have only made a few recipes from this book, but my husband found them a bit too "vegetarian" for his liking! Even still, I thought it was time to give it another shot.

I immediately flipped to the "Fish" section (seafood being his all-time favorite), and found, what they call "Thai Seafood Yum." Thai is another one of our favorites, so this was a no-brainer. From there, the sides came easy... broiled eggplant and curried noodles.



Crisp, fresh greens, tomatoes, and onions combined with the tangy sourness of the shrimp and scallops coated in lime juice and cilantro.

Crunchy peppers and carrots, soft noodles, and the bold flavors of curry powder, cumin, garlic, and ginger. I find this dish visually appealing with the yellow, red, and orange colors, combined with the green of the bok choy. Simple to prepare, and would make a great dish to have on hand for lunch.

The finished meal. Wonderfully easy to make, and only about 400 calories for the entire plate, to boot.


For printable versions of the recipes, click the following links:
Thai Style Broiled Eggplant
Curried Rice Noodles
Thai Seafood Salad