Showing posts with label dinner. Show all posts

The Pursuit of Happiness : 2.204

Today is cereal day! But I ate the rest of my cereal yesterday, and I had a hankering for ramen today. So, I made this amazing ramen noodle bowl, inspired by Baker By Nature's 20-minute Sriracha Ramen Soup and customized to my pantry and tastes. I had my doubts, but omg, it was amazing. I will probably be eating this for the rest of the week. It is definitely my new go to when the craving strikes. There was the perfect amount of spice mixed with sweetness, and nuttiness with creaminess. Heaven in a bowl. Look below for my adaptation.



SPICY RAMEN NOODLE BOWL
recipe adapted from bakerbynature.com, 20 Minute Spicy Sriracha Ramen Noodle Soup

INGREDIENTS
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 1.5 Tbsp sriracha hot sauce
  • .5 Tbsp chipotle Tabasco sauce
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 3 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tsp dried ginger
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups vegetable broth, divided
  • 3 cups beef broth, divided
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp rice vinegar
  • 1 cup kale
  • As much as desired: Your favorite noodles (I used one package of ramen noodles [throwing away the seasoning a packet] and one package of udon noodles [throwing away the seasoning a packet] and a handful of edamame pasta)
As desired for topping: soft boiled eggs, avocado, sesame seasoned (or plain) nori, creamed or regular corn

DIRECTIONS
  1. Add the sesame oil, sriracha, and tabasco sauce to a large stockpot and bring to a simmer over medium-heat.
  2. Add the onion and tomato paste and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Add the ginger, garlic, garlic powder and salt; cook for 2 minutes or until fragrant.
  4. Add half of the broth. Using an immersion blender (or transferring to a stand blender) blend until the broth is almost smooth with only a few onion dices left, or to desired constancy until smooth.
  5. Return mixture to the pot and add the remaining broth. Bring the broth to a simmer; add soy sauce and vinegar, and simmer for 8-10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
  6. Add the kale and ramen noodles to the broth and simmer for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until the noodles have softened.
  7. Once the noodles are cooked, remove pan from heat, and serve, topped with eggs, avocado, creamed corn, and nori. 
  8. Enjoy amazingness in a bowl.
Note: If storing the soup for any length, separate the noodles from the broth after cooking, so that the noodles don't soak up all of the broth.

The Pursuit Of Happiness: 2.193

I went on a 5k run during lunch. In the mega winds. My mind was half telling me go and half no, no. But I did it. And I'm so proud of myself for pushing myself out. And then I got to enjoy Annapolis restaurant week at Tsunami with Jeff V. and his friend -- sushi and salmon and shrimp "tacos" and ice cream. Everything was quite tasty. I'm glad I was able to experience it.


The Pursuit Of Happiness: 2.192

A little early, but since Brenden is working at night tomorrow, we decided to celebrate chili day today! We made a lentil chili and it was oh so good, and pretty easy, which makes it even better. We sautéed onion and red pepper, then added garlic and chili powder. After that we cooked together lentils, tomatoes, broth and a bay leaf. After the lentils were soft we removed the bay leaf, pureed some of the chili and added salt, pepper, chipotle chile powder, and red pepper flakes until al the tastes were perfectly balanced. I garnished mine with avocado and cheese and Brenden with sour cream. Yummy in our tummy.



Also, my cousin Jared sent me a picture of there new restaurant signs -- my logo light up and shinning bright on H Street in DC, It looks amazing and a feel so good about it.


The Pursuit Of Happiness: 2.191

Cooking like a pro with Brenden. We were both excited for this tasty egg dish we tried tonight. Inspired by a mixture of recipes but created by my imagination. It involved swiss char, onions and roasted red peppers, falafel and over easy eggs and seasoned with my new favorite seasoning, za'atar. So pretty and so tasty.


The Pursuit Of Happiness: 2.177

I'm excited that I am excited to start celebrating my birthday! And, I am super happy that Brenden was totally down to going to The Melting Pot to kick off the celebrating, for an early birthday dinner (less then 12 hours until I'm 27, crazy)! The food was all so delicious, as usual, and we gobbled it all down. I was super pumped to try new things this year (yes, we pretty much only go once a year, twice tops). We got a french onion cheese fondue which was oh so tasty and scrumptious, followed by our entree which we chose a miso broth cooking style for. Omg, fabulous; it was just the right amount of everything, flavor and spice that complimented but didn't overpower the meat and veggies. And, we finished the night off with the flaming turtle chocolate. My stomach is so full, but my taste buds are screaming more, more; it was that good. We finished the night off watching a new episode of one of our favorite shows, The 100, as I continued the countdown to midnight. But really until I wake up at five in the morning because I have an early bedtime and definitely don't stay up until midnight anymore (unless it's NYE...maybe).




The Pursuit Of Happiness: 2.173

New LED lightbulbs and a lot of sushi. What a simply wonderful evening. It's funny how anything, even something surprising, can brighten your day (pun maybe intended).


The Pursuit Of Happiness: 2.169

Breakfast for dinner! A creation straight from my imagination, and it turned out fabulously.


The Pursuit Of Happiness: 2.166

A gorgeous evening sky view on my ride home from work, and a restaurant week win at Victoria's Gastro Pub with my mom.

The Pursuit Of Happiness: 2.154

Tried a new pizza place with Brenden and my mom. Everything we tried was so delicious and I am absolutely obsessed.


The Pursuit Of Happiness: 2.133

Happy 26th on the 26th Lauren. I got to help Lauren celebrate her birthday today, and she chose a fun way to do it. First we went to Sky Zone Trampoline Park and jumped for an hour - free jump, foam pit, and basketball (where I made all three of my baskets, including a successful backwards attempt; you would think I was good at ball sports and have hand-eye coordination, ha). Later, to make up for the  calories we lost bouncing up a sweat, we went to dinner at Stone's Cove Kitbar. It's a neat restaurant, where you sit around the "kitchen" and get to watch the food get put together. It was like eating in Hell's Kitchen in real life, except no screaming and hardly any profanity. It was fun to watch and so, so tasty. Hope you had a fantastically fun day, Lauren; I know I definitely enjoyed myself.

The Pursuit Of Happiness: 2.109

I always forget how much I enjoy cooking with my love -- especially when the dish turns out for the best. On the menu tonight was homemade butternut squash soup with smoky gruyere and roasted chickpeas (adapted from howsweeteats.com). Our bowls were bursting with flavor, the chickpeas gave it the perfect amount of crunch, and the smoky cheese added extra depth to the flavor profile. We knew this soup was a keeper after the first slurp.


The Pursuit Of Happiness: 2.107

Super excited for my 2016 day-by-day calendar. It's all about happiness. And it was delivered today.

Also, I filled my craving for a Wegmans subs. Tuna on everything bread. Nom. Nom. Nom.