Back from Vacay

Every time I go on vacation, I discover a new favorite place in the Philippines. Sabang Beach, Palawan was absolutely stunning. Sometimes the view literally took my breath away. Getting away from stinky, overcast, smoggy Manila is always rejuvenating. I was so looking forward to two weeks in Hawaii back in uniform to add to that feeling, but it's looking more and more like that's going to be delayed til who knows when. No orders yet, and I can't get plane tickets or hotel reservations until I have orders, so the likelihood of leaving on Saturday is pretty slim at this point. *sigh* Well, at least I have Donsol and its whale sharks to look forward to in Feb, and then we're headed to Vietnam with my little sis at the end of March (still debating Hanoi vs. Ho Chi Minh,* any opinions?). So things are looking up. Oh, and New England lost, which was awesome, hahahahhahaha! I'm pulling for crazy ass killah Ray Lewis to finally win a Super Bowl in his last game evah. What can I say, I've got a soft spot for hardened criminals. Double oh, and freaking hockey's back!! Watching the Sabres/Flyers game right now on NHL Game Center. Thank god for technology. What did people do before the internet?? I was alive long before the internet, and I can't even remember!

So much else to blog about, I really need to get that Dragon whatever software that translates talk to text. But, I hear the Mac version sucks ass, so I've held off because it's kind of expensive and I am kind of cheap. I realized when looking back to see what I had actually blogged about in the last month (sorry for the slim pickins, ya'll) that I haven't posted a recipe in freaking ages. So here's what I made for dinner tonight both because it is super fast and delicious and because I am feeling guilty for imbibing an average of 4 banana daiquiris per day for the last 4 days.**

Turkey Lettuce Wraps

1lb ground turkey
Romaine lettuce leaves
1 red pepper, cut into thin strips
3 shallots, minced (or 1/2 onion if you happen to live somewhere where it's not easy to get shallots!)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp mirin
1 tsp sambal oelek
1 tbsp lime juice
black pepper
salt to taste

Use a little oil of choice (I used coconut oil) to fry up the onion over med-high heat for about 2-3 min - just until it turns translucent. Add in the pepper strips and garlic and continue to stir fry for about 1-2 more min (don't burn the garlic!). Remove the veggie mixture and add just a touch more oil to the pan to fry the ground turkey. Cook the turkey for about 5 min or until browned then add the veggie mixture back to the pan. Add in the fish sauce and the rest of the ingredients and cook until mixed through. Then simply put some turkey mixture into a lettuce leaf and voila: Turkey Lettuce Wrap!

Okay, and here's some Sabang pics, too:

Got to add a comment to this one. This is what's known as a woodworm. It's actually a mollusk not a worm, and C ate one. Raw. This one, actually. With vinegar on a plate when we got from our Mangrove tour. Someone book this kid on Fear Factor, stat!

*Hanoi sounds more interesting, but Ho Chi Minh is cheaper to fly into.
**We stayed at the Daluyan Resort where the food was horrendous, but the banana daiquiris were the fucking bomb...except for when they ran out of fucking bananas, not once but twice...in the Philippines.