My first fully taught yoga class ever. This was savasana, but I was so excited! lol
I was lucky enough to travel to the coast of Thailand, to the island of Koh Samui to learn about yoga with the talented and loving duo Dave and Stacy Dockins founders of the Yoga Project, and to begin my journey as a yoga teacher.
Authentic Thai Foods
I stayed at the eco-boutique Samahita Resort, where local chefs prepared fresh, from scratch, authentic Thai foods, home-cooked daily and sourced locally. By the way, an eco-boutique hotel in Thailand means that most everything is outside, so think open sea air eating, yoga, and water view beauty every day, rain or shine! aaaaah….
So Fresh, and So Simple
The Samahita Pad Thai was soooo good, so fresh, and so simple, and I’m always curious about recipes, so I asked the chef how she made her authentic Pad Thai. This recipe is inspired by her, but, it is also inspired by my local Community Sourced Agriculture harvest from Little Roots Ranch farm.
Really, what I’d like for you to see is, you can add whatever veggies you’d like, or what you have on hand to the Pad Thai recipe and ALL of them will work.
You can see why Koh Samui is so magical. Now imagine eating every meal freshly cooked in this beauty! Complete rejuvenation.
This weeks CSA included a braising mix (spicy mustard greens, baby collard greens, baby swiss kale), green onions, carrots, broccoli rabe, and garlic scapes, so this is what I added to my Pad Thai (along with some left over bok choy) and it was delish!
Ready for the Pacific Northwest Inspired Pad Thai recipe? You can scroll all the way to the end to print it, or check out some tips below…
Click to print some other easy and fresh recipes, like my,
Easy Roasted Veggie Soup, or Awesome, Easy Rhubarb Salad
YUM! Fresh veggies. Locally sourced carrots, green onions, garlic scapes, bok choy, broccoli rabe and braising mix.
Sous Chef Moozie loves veggies. I know, weird for a cat! lol
Chopped veggies. I tried to slice the greens long and thin to match up with the noodles. I learned that trick from my Bologna cooking teacher Carmelita Caruana from Cook Italy- if you’re in Bologna, look her up!
2 tbsp white vinegar, 3 tbsp tamari (or soy sauce), 3 tbsp veggie broth (or water) and 1 tbsp brown sugar (optional).
See below for words about tamari vs. soy sauce.
Cook thicker or tougher veggies longer. In hindsight, I would leave broccoli rabe in longer to soften more.
Cook all veggies until they are soft, the greens will cook down real small.
Then add noodles, nuts and the Pad Thai ‘juice’, mix and heat all together.
Plate it up, add green onions or chives.
Serve (ad eat) while smiling.
A blurry shot, because I was eating it so fast! LOL!
Things I learned…
I always learn a few things as I prepare meals. Here’s a list of stuff I learned.
Buy ginger in bulk, peel it and chop it all up at once, store in snack bags, freeze and pull from freezer when you need it
Broccoli rabe still tastes like broccoli, and it needs to be cooked longer to soften
Pad Thai sauce still tastes good with water instead of veggie broth
I love cashews
Moozie likes broccoli rabe
Tamari and soy sauce are both made from fermented soy beans. Tamari is less salty and thicker than soy sauce. Both have a high sodium content, so don’t fool yourself if you are watching sodium.
Soy includes wheat, tamari doesn’t.
When you make this let me know how it went, in a comment below.
YOU ARE LOVED, NICOLE XO
Here’s a quick video with the last few steps up close and personal!
Nicole Vienneau MSN, RN, NC-BC
ACTIVE AGING SPECIALIST & HEAD MOTIVATOR!
After two decades as an Intensive Care Nurse caring for the sickest of patients, Nicole left the one-size fits all healthcare industry, and created Blue Monarch Health, where she is; Active Aging Specialist, Health Protection Expert and Head Motivator! Instead of waiting for you to get sick, she meets you where you live, work and play, to enhance your health and vitality.
Nicole Vienneau achieved a Master’s in Nursing Science from the University of Arizona, a board certification in Integrative Nurse Coaching from the American Holistic Nurses Credentialing Corporation, and is Senior Faculty with the Integrative Nurse Coach Academy. She is a Functional Aging Specialist, personal trainer, yoga teacher, and group fitness instructor and a retired Reebok-sponsored Fitness Athlete. When she’s not coaching clients or writing blogs, or hosting the Integrative Nurse Coaches in ACTION! Podcast, you can find her teaching active older adult fitness classes, volunteering with the Alzheimer’s Association, lounging in the sun with her cat babies, or on a hike with her awesome husband.
Email Nicole