It’s time for some spring cleaning in the pantry.  Let’s clean out our kitchens, shall we?

And while we’re at it, let’s toss everything fresh in the fridge and some of our pantry staples into a fun pad thai dish.

A healthy pad thai dish, that is.

Full of fiber and lots of fresh flavor from orange peel to lime juice.

I even tossed in a bit of fresh basil.

It’s my spring pantry pad thai recipe.

Kinda like those kitchen sink cookies but minus the whole flour, sugar and chocolate chip thing.

You catch my drift.

This dish is simply what you make when you’ve gotta whole fridge chock full of random ingredients and a nice tub of nut butter in your pantry.

Plus, it’s what you make when you’re in a time crunch, wanna nice hearty meal and need to get some grub on the table, stat.

In my special spring pantry pad thai, I used a bundle of scallions and some sweet white onion to create a nice sweet flavor. You can go wrong with a vidallia onion. They’re just too good. I’ve found myself just eating sauteed sweet onions alone- but let’s not go there right now.

We’ve gotta spring dish to tackle.

and let me tell you, it’s a winner.  Not only did I find a use for all the fun little fresh items in my fridge, but I created a meal that lasted for a few days and even tasted delish atop a bed of fresh spinach for lunch the next day.

I even added it to a bit of Greek yogurt and created a bit of a koogle dish- just how my grandma made it.  Boy do I miss those days.

I just love it when new recipes like this work out – all in a days fun in the kitchen.

Just a little imagination and a lotta fresh ingredients.

You simply just can’t go wrong with this pad…

It’s a fine, fine thai, my dear!

Pistachio Orange Pad Thai

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free and Vegetarian

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 Tbsp. organic peanut butter
• 1 tsp. honey
• 1/3 cup San J gluten free soy sauce
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 small sweet onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 2 cups bean sprouts
• 8 oz.  rice noodles
• 1 small bunch scallions, chopped
• 1 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
• 2 Tbsp. ground flax seeds
• 1 Tbsp. pistachios, crushed
• 1/6 tsp. orange zest
• 1 Tbsp. fresh basil, finely chopped
• Lime wedges, for serving

Directions:

• Prepare rice noodles, drain and set aside.
• In a medium sized mixing bowl combine peanut butter, honey, gluten free soy sauce, lime juice, orange juice, and red pepper flakes. Set aside.
• In wok, stir fry garlic in 1 Tbsp. oil for 1 minute or until lightly browned.  Add remaining oil and onions; cook for another 2 minutes.
• Add peanut butter mixture, chili powder, bean sprouts, and noodles.  Continue to mix until sauce thickens.
• Transfer to serving dishes.
• Serve warm with a sprinkle of fresh ginger, scallions, ground flax seeds, pistachios, orange zest and fresh basil.  Garnish with lime wedges.
• Enjoy.

I am thrilled to announce a special event with a dear friend of mine, Tess whom I met last year at BlogHer and again at IFBC.  I’m going to be seeing her again next week in Chicago at the Gluten-Free Expo and I am delighted to see her!  Tess writes the delicious blog, The Blender Girl and this month she is hosting a fabulous  Kitchen Aid Mixer Giveaway!

She’s giving away a 7-qt bowl-lift stand mixer valued at $549 and she is teaming up with 32 delicious gluten- free bloggers and featuring a gluten free recipe every day in the month of April.  The best part is that all 32 recipes use the Kitchen Aid Mixer so you can get some fun ideas and inspiration from the gluten-free community!