What do building a website and cooking Pad Thai have in common?

Absolutely nothing- as far as I can tell. However, they are two of the new skills I learned in the past month on my journey to learn 50 new skills before I turn 50. (See what I did there?!?)

If you are reading this, you have successfully made it to the website. (Thank you, Captain Obvious...). While building a website circa 2023 is much simpler than it was 15 years ago, it still required patience and creativity. And money! I had to license the URL (50before50.net) and find/ pay a suitable provider where I could design and host the site through the end of this little social experiment. In case you were wondering, the big deadline to accomplish the 50 Before 50 is April 21, 2025. OK- enough on Skill #2. I think you will find Skill #3 much more entertaining.

I love Pad Thai. Really, I do. However, I've found that is is easy to mess it up. Both in restaurants and at home. I have tried several times over the years to create that magical balance of noodles, egg, veggies, ginger, garlic, peanuts, lime and sauce (that yummy sauce...) and they have all fallen flat.

On Sunday, October 1 I took a Thai cooking class at Sur La Table in Glendale, WI with friends Annie Bolger and Jess McGurn. First of all- we had a blast! It was so fun to take the class together, and Chef Pam was a great teacher. I learned that having the right tools for the job are more important than having the right specialty ingredients. For example- having a wok for cooking Pad Thai is critical. This was the first thing I was doing wrong in those failed attempts- I didn't have a wok. Also, substituting brown sugar for an elusive Asian sweetener only available on Amazon for $30 is totally OK as well- phew! The second mistake I was making was to use bottled sauce instead of making my own from scratch. The sauce we made from scratch in the class was lick-the-plate delicious. The third mistake of Pad Thai past- I used chicken or shrimp instead of tofu. The tofu soaked up the flavor of the sauce and turned them into little flavor bombs! The texture of the tofu was also a nice change from the chicken and shrimp I eat so regularly, I can't wait to make this at home- tofu and all! Please don't tell Joey and Alex- no way they will knowingly eat the tofu......!