Indianapolis

The city of states

Howdy y'all!  How have you been?  I've been great, thanks.  Fortunately, I have pictures from Indianapolis, as promised.  Unfortunately, you're not going to get much more than pictures.  I have an exam tomorrow.. and I've been napping all day.  Oops.  But you're not here to read, right?  Well, actually you're here for recipes, but do you think you can settle with some pictures of food for now?  

Let's begin our mini journey through Indianapolis - so keep your hands and arms inside the carpet, we're outta here! (Get the Aladdin reference?)

Friday night, we went to a pizza joint called Bazbeaux.  Interesting name, interesting pizza (our pizza had dollops of ricotta cheese). We had garlic-cheese bread and 4 cheese-bacon-mushroom pizza.  You can't get any better than bacon and cheese. And that is all I have to say about that.

beer number one.

waiting patiently for dinner. i was really, really hungry.

cheese bread. it was bomb.

pizza. 

crispy bacon and gooey cheese.
are you salivating?
because i am.

mikey.

the view from outside the restaurant. that little lady on the corner dances.
her name is veronica.

 The next morning, we had brunch at Hoaglin To Go & Marketplace.  While their daily grind is fine catering, they make a mean brunch.  I had the best omelette ever.  Seriously, I died a little when I bit into it. It was fluffy and filled with applewood smoked bacon, sauteed red onions, sun-dried tomato pesto torte.  I'm not even sure what a sun-dried tomato pesto torte is, but I can tell you that it is good.


Mikey had a stack of red velvet pancakes. Dessert for breakfast?  Don't mind if I do.

best. omelette. ever. 

the magical filling.

red velvet pancakes.

Then we went to Starbucks, 'cause brunch made us sleepy.  Why the heck is Starbucks so expensive?!  I spent $5 on a tall skinny caramel macchiato with soymilk.  Secondly, why the heck are the names so long?

almost broke the bank on these babies. 

 Then, the Indiana State fair!  It was a glutton's dream.  There were so many places to get food that we almost got overwhelmed.  But no worries, we put our fat hats on and braved the crowds.  Despite the abundance of food, we didn't end up eating very much.  It was just nice walking around with Mikey. But I did give in and try a deep fried Snickers bar with him.  He really liked it.  I, on the other hand, thought that I could have gotten the same effect by popping a Snickers in the microwave for 30 seconds. I mean it was good, but not $4 good.

$15 and 7 darts later, mikey won a prize for me!
 i shall call him squishy, and he shall be mine, and he shall be my squishy.

i found a wand.
and.... 

magic! i've always wanted a unicorn.

yes. that is indeed a burger between two doughnuts.
(we didn't try this one)

deep fried butter? deep fried kool-aid?
only in the midwest, my friends

and here it is. deep fried snickers.

The last day that I was there, we went to a cute neighborhood called Broad Ripple. There was a strip of pubs, and we ended up choosing Broad Ripple Brewpub because there was a stout there that Mike liked.  I had the fish and chips.  Silly me thinking that fish would be lighter.  I ate about a third of it and promptly became sleepy afterwards.  

fish 'n chips

And that was my weekend.  It was like you were there, right?  


Now that I have mesmerized you with these pictures, I gotta break some bad news.  I'm taking a short break from blogging.  I am moving soon, and I have to eat the random food that is left in my pantry.  And I don't think that you want to hear about canned soup, tortilla chips, and Chef Boyardee.  I'll be back full force in September.  Promise.

we're funny.

xoxo <3
Nhu-Y

Ghetto lo mein

If ramen is wrong, then I don't want to be right

I know what you're thinking - "Ghetto lo mein?  What the H does that mean?  Is it from the hood?  Is Nhu-Y from the hood?"


Well let me answer those questions for you, my friends.  Ghetto lo mein is a concoction dreamt up by my kitchen-illiterate cuz.  I love her dearly, but she's no Julia Child.  So it is not from the hood, it's from a little asian girl from the 'burbs.  And no, I'm not from the hood either, but I lived pretty close to some not-so-reputable places when I was a kid (one time, I even wore my hair in cornrows - and that's hood).

Let me preface this recipe by saying that it is not lo mein. It's just what my cousin calls this dish.  In no way does this resemble lo mein, with the exception that it is composed of noodles and grease.  So if you are looking for something that you can get from your favorite Chinese restaurant, check back later.  But if you are looking for cheap eats, read on.  


Now, don't judge.  I know ramen is the fare of a college freshman.  But hey, I am a medical student in lotsa debt.  I can't always afford to eat foie gras, truffles and gold.  Besides, I haven't cooked in about a week, and I feel guilty not posting something that I didn't cook.  That's how much I like you guys - I feel guilty when I eat things like burgers, ice cream, and deep fried Snickers bars that I can't share with you :)

When my cousin makes this dish, it consists only of ground beef, ramen noodles, and ramen seasoning.  Yes, only 3 ingredients. Really, only 2 ingredients because the noodles and the seasoning come together. But surprisingly, it tastes good.  Maybe it's the pound of grease they pack into each tiny bag of ramen noodles.  Or maybe I can taste the memories from my good ol' college days, I'm not sure.  I did decide that this recipe was a little too ghetto for me, so I added some greenage in the form of scallions and broccoli. 


Try it, you'll like it.  And if you don't, you've spent a dollar - you probably have more money lost in your couch. 


Ghetto Lo Mein
Serves 4
Print this recipe


Ingredients
4 packages of beef flavored ramen noodles
1 pound of ground beef
1 tablespoon oil (optional)
If you want it fancy, add:
2 scallions, cut on the bias
1 large head of broccoli, cut into florets


Directions
1. Boil 2-3 quarts of water.
2. While waiting for the water to boil, brown the beef in the oil on medium-high heat (if you use a nonstick pan, some nonstick spray should do).  Break the beef up as well as you can. Drain the beef once it is cooked through.
3. Stir one package of the ramen seasoning into the beef and add the whites of the scallions.  Cook for an additional minute or two. Reduce heat to medium-low.
4. Once water boils, cook the broccoli for 3-5 minutes, depending on how crisp you like your broccoli.  Remove the broccoli from the water with tongs or a slotted spoon and add to the meat (leave water in the pot for the noodles).
5. Bring the water back up to a boil and cook noodles for 4 minutes (or 1 minute less than the directions on the package).  When noodles are cooked, drain and add to the beef and broccoli mixture.  Turn heat back up to medium-high and stir in 1.5 - 2 packages of ramen seasoning to taste.
6. Top with the greens of the scallions. 
7. Eat with a your hat cocked to the side, an oversize white tee, and some gold teeth.  


I promise a sophisticated recipe next time. Until then -- 


Peace out homies. 


xoxo <3
Nhu-Y

Me and my lovely cousin

Hiatus

Louers


I apologize for not posting in so long!  I spent the weekend in Indianapolis with Mikey, and I ate like a queen.  A hillbilly queen.  We went to the Indiana state fair and we had a corn dog, beef tips, and a fried Snickers bar.  Pictures to come.


I have a paper to write and it's due tomorrow, so I will have to post on my trip another time.  I was supposed to work on this paper at Mikey's, but the food was not conducive to studying.  What do you do after you eat a corn dog, beef tips, and fried Snickers?  Sleep.  And that's what we did.


So in lieu of a food post, I will post a picture of my pup, Louie.

Doesn't he look comfortable? He is napping next to me, and he is in doggy dream world.  He's squeaking/barking and making raspberry noises (you know, when you purse your lips and force air out).  I wonder what he's dreaming about.  Eating I bet.  My dog loves to eat, and I bet he gets it from his mama (me, not his biological mama).  Here's another two pictures for your to illustrate how much he loves to eat.

Standing up and trying very hard to balance himself with his knubby legs
 (imagine him flapping his little legs as he attempts to balance)

Finally balanced, and with his very best "look at how cute I am" face on

Louie is pretty smart and he does a lot of tricks, but his favorite thing to do is stand up.  He'll stand up for anything: if he wants to eat, if he wants to be pet, if he wants to hop on the couch, if he is jealous of another pet and wants attention - he's a needy dog.  And he does it because he knows that we looove it.  It's just so cute to see a dog with such short legs stand up.  It's a gravity defying stunt, I tell ya.  So of course, since he is defying gravity, we can't resist it and give him whatever he wants.  I'm a bad mama.  In this case, he wanted the (super cute) hot dog treat that I got for him from a cute shop on Mass Ave.  A hot dog eating a hot dog.  Wait, is that morbid?  Cannibalistic?  Oh well, it's too cute not to post. 

Ok loves, gotta go work on my paper.  Wish me luck.

xoxo <3

Nhu-Y

P.S. If you're wondering if Louie usually sleeps with a pillow and a blanket, the answer is yes and no.  He does love to prop his head on a pillow (I let him sleep with me every night and I think he thinks he's human sometimes), but I put the blanket on him.  His underside is fur-less, so his private puppy goods were showing.  It was a leeettle indecent, and I didn't want to flash my pup's goods to y'all.  That would make me a really bad mama.

P.P.S.  Louers is obviously Louie's nickname.  I add "ers" to many names to create nicknames - Mikers, puppers (another Louie nickname). My name rhymes with Louie, so sometimes Mikey calls me Nhuers.  Random, I know, but now you know how to pronounce my name and you are one step ahead of 99% of this world.

Northstar Cafe

Nostalgia

Source: mywedding.com.
Do not be alarmed, this burger is supposed to be pink (it's the beets).

Hello friends!  As promised, a post!  But I didn't promise to write an awesome post :) (hey, it's hard to write award-winning material at this hour). 


Now you may be wondering why I titled this post "nostalgia".  Well, here's why - number one: today I went thrifting and sifted though tons of clothes from the 90s, shoulder pads and all. And since I am a product of the 80s, I remember the 90s (does that make any sense? I don't really remember the first five years of my life). Number two: On my way home, I heard a No Doubt song on the radio, and No Doubt makes me think of middle school days in typing class (where we'd listen to music and NOT type). And number three: I had a date with my long-lost cousin today!  


My sweet cousin just turned 18, graduated high school, and in a month she's leaving for college. Sad face. I'm so glad I had a chance to see her and catch up with her before she leaves.  It's been several years since we have seen each other (due to some parental issues), but I was delighted to see what a beautiful young woman she's grown into!  And the fact that she wants to be a doctor is pretty great too :)

Turkey Sandwich. Source: yelp.com. It was HUGE

We went to Northstar Cafe for dinner, and Jeni's for dessert but..... I forgot my camera!  So I am borrowing some images (and crediting the sources, of course).  I had the freakin' delicious Northstar burger, and my cuz had a Turkey sandwich with a wild rice salad.  

Source: fitsugar.com. I like mine sans the ketchup.

At this point, I would talk about the food, but it's quite late. All I'll tell you now is that the Northstar burger is not the kind of burger you think it is.  Mikey ordered it a while ago, expecting a nice juicy beef burger, and he was quite upset when he took a bite and didn't get beefy goodness (he obviously did not read the menu, typical man thing to do).  The Northstar burger is a veggie burger.. but it's not the kind of veggie burger you're used to either!  It's made of rice and beats, and maybe some sort of legume.  I'm not sure.  I think it has some sort of mystical ingredient mixed in, 'cause it is damn good. I ate it so fast that I hardly had time to analyze the flavors, so excuse me for this hasty "review".  Sorry..  But at least you know it tastes good!  And is good for you too.  And besides, I think that the Northstar Burger is something that you just have to experience. 


Here are some (borrowed) pictures from Jeni's.  Interesting fact: my cousin's friend works for Jeni's kitchen, and she labels the containers by hand.  And when they misspell something, the pint is deemed a reject and the employees are free to do with them as they please.  I'm sure glad I don't work at Jeni's, because I would be rather fluffy (read: fat).

Source (for both images): dishtip.com

Eeek, it's late!  I need to get up in 4 hours, so I will say goodnight for now. 


Goodnight.


xoxo<3
Nhu-Y

Sitting, waiting, wishing (and wondering)

My second post of the day. Sort of sad, but I skipped out on my rotation today and spent the entire day perusing the internet I had a lot of time to think.  Here goes..


Med school has been a time machine, of sorts.  Some people even joke that it's like being in high school again because we spend all of our time with the same 200 people for two years straight and it can get a bit clique-y.  I have definitely grown and matured in my 20+ years of school, but I still feel like I am far behind my friends.  Every time I get on Facebook, someone else is getting married, or having a baby, or doing something big in their life. While I am still in school. (but hopefully something big will happen to me in 5 months - namely, matching in ophthalmology!) 


I've been reading a lot of blogs lately, and there is one that I particularly love.  I love her style and her quirky posts, but I think I sorta love her life too.  At times I find myself a little... jealous.  She's 28 (a mere 2 years older than myself) and she has a husband and three beautiful children.  And here I am, not packing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for my (hypothetical) kids, but packing them for myself. At least I'm not packing a juice box too.  Really, I'm not sad, but I just wonder what my life would be like if I followed the same path as my friends - or my mom (when she was 26, she had me!)  But, I have no regrets.  My dream has always been to become a physician, and I am well on that path.  And even though I long for children, I know that waiting will ensure them a better life than I lived when I was a kid.  


Mikey's dad has a simple saying - "delayed gratification". I just have to remind myself every so often.  


But I digress.. this is a food blog after all! I don't have a recipe for today since I ate salmon leftovers (which was DIVINE), but I promise to have a post tomorrow.  I am having dinner at Northstar Cafe with my long-lost cousin.  Ok, she's not long-lost, we've actually been in the same city for 3 years, but I haven't seen her since she was a kiddie.  And in less than a month, she's leaving for college. College!  I'm getting old, I tell ya. 


Ok, enough for now.  Goodnight!


xoxo<3
Nhu-Y

Fettuccine Alfredo

Let's spice it up!!!

Good morning! I have the morning off so I decided to get a quick post in :)  I spoke to a friend from college a few days ago, who has a great food blog of her own.  She has tons of great recipes and I asked her where she finds the time to cook so often.  And what she said -- when cooking is a hobby you enjoy, it's not work -- really made me think about this blog.  I don't want it to turn into work. I love cooking so much and I want you all to know how much I love it!  I delayed the start of this blog because I was so busy with school. But medical school is not an excuse anymore!  I'm telling you now - I will make the time to cook most of the week, and I will try a new recipe at least twice a week.  Accountability!  And I'll cook even more when Mikey gets back in town, because it's way better to cook for two :)


I've also been thinking about ways to spice up this blog.  Here are some ideas: Posting weekly menus (planning makes cooking so much easier!), weekly themes, and some sort of challenge.  I read a lot of fashion blogs and I often read about "remix challenges", "color challenges", and even "no-repeat challenges".  I think that I can translate those challenges to food.. eek, I'm so excited now!  More details to come.. 


Ok, here's a quickie recipe for you all.  Fettuccine alfredo.  It's not the typical Americanized fettuccine that you have in the restaurant with thick and goopy (is that a word?) sauce.  Folks, this is the real deal. It's how fettuccine alfredo started in Italy.  That's right, Italy, not America. Here's a really interesting post on the original fettuccine alfredo. The ingredients are simple: pasta, butter, cheese.  What could be bad about pasta, butter and cheese?  Oh right, the fact that it's pasta, butter, and cheese :) But who cares?  We all need to indulge every so often. This isn't as heavy as restaurant fettuccine, but it is definitely rich - and absolutely delicious. 


I've said this before, and I will say it again because it is of utmost importance - since this recipe is so simple, it is important to use quality ingredients.  Parmigiano Reggiano, real butter, freshly ground black pepper.  You can use fresh or dry pasta, but I think that fresh pasta holds on to the sauce better. This recipe does have an option to add cream - for those of you who can't quite say goodbye to cream :). Bon appetit!

Fettuccine Alfredo (adapted from Simply Recipes)

Serves 4
Print this recipe

Ingredients

1/2 pound fettuccine noodles

3-4 Tbsp unsalted butter

2/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

Black pepper

Additional, for creamy version:

1/2 cup cream

Nutmeg

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salty water to a boil and drop in your fettuccine.

2a. Plain version Melt the butter in a large sauté pan set over low heat. Once the butter has melted, turn the heat off.

2b. Creamy version Melt the butter in a large sauté pan set over low heat. Add the cream to the butter as it melts. Stir often to combine the two, do not turn off the heat, but keep the heat at its lowest setting while the pasta cooks.

3. When the fettuccine is al dente (cooked, but still a little firm) lift it out of the pot with tongs and move the pasta to the sauté pan. Do not drain the pasta. You want it dripping wet with the cooking water. Turn on the heat under the sauté pan to medium and swirl the pasta and butter together to combine. Add half the cheese, then swirl and toss the pasta until it has incorporated into the sauce. If needed, add a few spoonfuls more of the pasta cooking water. Add the rest of the cheese and repeat.

4. Serve at once with either a little black pepper (for classic version) or nutmeg (for creamy version) ground over the pasta.

I ate this as a side dish, but if you add some meat and veggies, it would be a (very filling) entree. 

That is all.

xoxo <3

Nhu-Y

Ginger-Soy Salmon

Atlantic goodness

Hello everyone!  Hope that you had a wonderful weekend.  Last night my roommate and I went out to eat for her last night in Ohio (she flew to Florida for a week this morning) and we had chicken wings, pizza, and french fries.  And I didn't regret it one bit.  It feels nice to pig out every so often :)  But since I ate out yesterday, I decided that I HAD to cook tonight.  I only cooked one of the three recipes that I proposed last week, so I will be cooking the rest them this week.


I started with the salmon recipe because I have been craving it all week.  I try to eat fish once a week but I had so much lasagna from last week, I didn't eat much else.  This recipe is a conglomeration of at least 3 recipes - Mike's dad makes a great salmon with soy sauce, olive oil, and scallions; my parents make a marinade with soy sauce, limes, and sugar; and I've had dishes that combine soy and ginger at many restaurants. 

I loooove this recipe.  I think that it tastes complex enough to come from a restaurant, but it is still very comforting.  It's not heavy, and if paired with brown rice and a veggie, it's a very balanced meal. It's a home run.

Even though there are a lot of ingredients, it only takes a few minutes to throw the marinade together, and 5 minutes or so to crisp the skin.  The rest of the time is spent on letting the fish marinate and on baking the fish.  I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.. I had a hard time keeping myself from eating two servings (I promise, I saved some for tomorrow).


P.S. You can skip crisping the skin in the frying pan, but I recommend that you try it at least once.  It is well worth the extra 5 minutes.  You'll thank me once you try it.  Promise.


Ginger-Soy Salmon
Serves 4
Print this recipe


Ingredients
4 6-oz pieces of skin-on salmon
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons water 
6 cloves of garlic
1-inch section ginger
Juice of 1 lime
2 scallions
finely ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
a few drops of dark sesame oil
cilantro, to garnish
toasted black and white sesame seeds, to garnish


Directions
1. To make the marinade: In a dish large enough to place the salmon in a single layer, combine soy sauce, sugar, olive oil, lime juice, water, and black pepper. Grate in garlic and ginger. Finely slice the scallions and add the whites to the marinade (reserve the greens to garnish). At this point, taste the marinade and adjust seasonings.  Set aside 1/3 cup of marinade for later. 
2. Place salmon into marinade and turn to coat both sides. Marinate for at least 1 hour, flesh side down. 
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  While the oven is preheating, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on high heat in a stainless steel frying pan.  
4. Remove fish from marinade and dry the skin with a paper towel.  When the oil is hot, place the salmon skin side down into the pan.  Press the fish down with a spatula to ensure that the skin has good contact with the pan.  Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the skin becomes crispy.  You'll know when it is ready when the fish easily releases from the pan.  Don't try to pry it off!*
5. Transfer the salmon to a sheet pan with a cooling rack (to elevate the fish and keep the skin crispy).  Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the thickest portion of the salmon begins to firm up.  Be very careful not to overcook!!
6. While the fish is cooking, discard the oil from the frying pan, and heat the marinade that was set aside earlier.  Simmer until it reduces by a third to a half.  Take it off the heat and add a few drops of sesame oil, if desired.  
7. Top the fish with a small amount of the reduced marinade and garnish with sesame seeds, cilantro, and scallions. Serve with rice. 


*If you do not care for crispy skin, you can just bake for 20-25 minutes. I would still bake it on the cooling rack, just so the skin doesn't get soggy. 


That's all folks. Night!


xoxo <3
Nhu-Y

Yellow squash lasagna

A healthy twist

Hello friends!  Hope you've been doing well.  The weather is beautiful here in Ohio!  It was in the 50s this morning when I woke up and will be in the 70s today.  It's a dream.  I love the summer (I am Vietnamese after all) but this heat and humidity is really getting to be too much.  I can't walk from my car to the hospital without breaking a sweat.  I can't wait until autumn is here.  I have lots of fun scarves and boots that I have just been aching to break out!


Now I know that in my last post, I promised that I would cook more, but I haven't gotten to all of the recipes yet :/ But it's not because I've been eating junk, it's because I grossly underestimated how much lasagna my recipe would make!  I have a huge 9x13 pan which isn't even half gone.  I may freeze the rest of it so I can start eating something else :)


I came up with this recipe because I love pasta.. a little too much.  I grew up eating rice with every meal (yes, even with breakfast sometimes) so naturally I love carbohydrates.  Bread, pasta, rice - I'll even eat it plain and be happy.  However, now that I'm getting older I don't think that my body appreciates all that starch.  I even get sleepy after I eat a bowl of pasta nowadays!  I didn't completely eliminate the lasagna noodles because it would be too sad to make lasagna without any pasta (could it still be called lasagna?) so I just substituted half of the noodles with thin slices of quick roasted yellow squash.  I just used my mandoline to cut 1/4"-1/8" slices, but you can easily use a sharp knife as well.

I especially like this recipe because it tastes like a traditional lasagna, even though it is a healthier version.  I use reduced fat cheeses, ground turkey, and the squash in both the sauce and as a substitute for noodles, but it's still mighty good.  I think I've seen healthy lasagna recipes with eggplant "noodles" instead of yellow squash, but I think that the eggplant gets kind of mushy.  The squash maintains its texture and has a very mild flavor - a great substitute for an al dente lasagna noodle.  If you can't find yellow squash, you can use zucchini instead - or if you don't want to be healthy, just use all noodles, full-fat cheese, and beef and have a regular lasagna (I'm not judging)


The recipe takes a little bit of time to make, but you can do some of the steps simultaneously.  Also, the time spent cooking is worth it because you'll be eating for days!  I recommend you halve or even quarter the recipe if you are cooking for just one or two people. Alright, enjoy!


Yellow Squash Lasagna
Serves 8
Print this recipe


Ingredients
6 lasagna noodles
3 medium yellow squash
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cups reduced fat shredded mozzarella cheese 
15 ounces of low-fat ricotta cheese (one standard container)
1 egg
1/8 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
double recipe of meat sauce


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and boil a large pot of water.
2. Peel the squash.  Small dice one of them, and thinly slice the other two on the long axis (to make long slices, not discs).  Make the slices a little thicker than a lasagna noodle.
3. Take the slices of squash and drizzle them with olive oil.  Roast in oven for approximately 5 minutes.  Don't let the squash cook for too long, or they will become mushy.
4. While waiting for the water to boil, begin making the meat sauce, sautéing the diced squash with the garlic and onions.
5. By this point, the water should be boiling - cook the lasagna noodles according to the directions.
6. While the noodles are cooking, combine the ricotta, parmesan, 1/4 cup mozzarella, egg, parsley, salt, and pepper.  Set aside. 
7.  When the squash, lasagna noodles, and meat sauce are done, build the lasagna.  Start by ladling a small amount of sauce on the bottom of a 9"x13"baking dish so the noodles do not stick.  Lay 3 lasagna noodles on top of the sauce.  Now take a quarter of the ricotta mixture and spread it on top of the noodles.  Ladle a layer of sauce on top of the ricotta layer.  Take a quarter of the remaining shredded mozzarella and sprinkle on the sauce layer.  Place one thin layer of sliced squash on the cheese. Then ricotta, sauce, mozzarella again.  Now repeat these two layers again so you have 4 layers total. End with shredded mozzarella.  You should be left with about half of the meat sauce.
8. Bake for 30 minutes, or until cheese is hot and bubbly.  Slice and top with the remaining sauce.


I hope that these instructions made some sense.  I tried to write it so you can be efficient and do some steps simultaneously. I have realized how difficult it is to write recipes!  I really like to cook my own recipes, but I normally just throw things together and taste as I go.  Cooking is so much more difficult when you have to keep track of quantities!  


Again, somehow this post became super long, so I will let you go for now.  Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!  


xoxo <3
Nhu-Y

Roasted Broccoli & Garlic Green Beans

Eat your veggies!

'Ello mates! (I've been watching a TV show with a hot Australian guy).  So sorry I have been a bad blogger lately.  Still feeling a little down in the dumps.. had to take the day off yesterday.  I'm feeling much better today though! 


So...... I didn't really cook at all last week :/  Monday and Tuesday I ate with friends, Wednesday I skipped dinner, Thursday I made some egg fried rice with some old rice, and Friday I skipped dinner again.  Well, really I didn't skip dinner on Wednesday and Friday.  I just ate chips, hummus, and fruit when I came home from work and didn't eat for the rest of the night.  Then Saturday I ordered a pizza and ate it for lunch and dinner on Saturday and Sunday.  Disgusting. I'm pretty sure that the way I'm eating is contributing to how I feel.  


Anyways, I am going to plan my meals this week so I have some balanced meals.  I wouldn't normally plan on my blog, but I will this week so I am accountable!  Ok, here goes:


Tuesday - Zucchini lasagna
Thursday - Fish tacos
Saturday - Ginger-soy salmon


Hmm, that wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.  


Ok, now on to the recipes!  Since I haven't posted for a week, I'll do 2 recipes today.  Both veggies.  I'm sort of a dunce when it comes to cooking vegetables.  I usually just steam them with salt and pepper, or roast them with salt and pepper. It's really boring, but I enjoy the taste of vegetables so I don't add a lot of other flavors.  

First, let's talk about roasted broccoli.  It may sound boring, but it is definitely worth trying.  Roasting sort of concentrates the broccoli flavor (or maybe steaming diffuses the flavor, I'm not sure) and brings a nutty component .  And, it's just as easy as steaming!  Next, garlic green beans.  Actually not much to say about them.  Not very complicated but makes the green beans much better than salt and pepper.  Ok, I think I'm running out of things to say, so here are the recipes!


Roasted broccoli
Serves 4
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Ingredients
4 heads of broccoli
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Cut broccoli into florets, discarding (or saving) the stalks.
3. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
4. Place on a baking sheet and roast for approximately 20 minutes, or until the edges of the florets just turn brown.
5. Serve immediately.




Garlic green beans
Serves 4
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Ingredients
1 pound of green beans, ends trimmed
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper


Directions
1. Boil a large pot of water.  Add the beans and blanch for about 5 minutes. 
2. Transfer the beans to an ice bath and drain.*
3. While the beans are blanching, begin cooking the garlic in the olive oil on medium heat.  Start the garlic in a cold pan to bring out the flavor of the garlic and to prevent burning of the garlic. Cook for approximately 5 minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant but not brown.
4. Add the green beans to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and cook for an additional 5 minutes. 


*You don't necessarily have to do the ice bath, but it keeps the beans nice and green.  Just reduce the cooking time by a few minutes so you don't overcook them.


Ok, that's it for now, I need to get back to studying :)  As per usual, this post ended up much longer than I anticipated it to be. I promise, I'll be back this week with some better recipes!


xoxo <3
Nhu-Y