how to throw an easy (and cheap!) shabu shabu party at home

I love me some shabu shabu. 

There's something so therapeutic and delicious about dipping your own meats and vegetables into a hot broth and cooking it yourself. It's amazing! I love going to shabu shabu and hot pot restaurants but it's not Eugene's fave. He always say's its too over-priced and not worth the money. In a lot of ways, I agree! Most shabu shabu places are pretty pricey and you only get a handful of vegetables and a not-so-impressive portion of meat. But my love for shabu shabu can not be tamed so I had to find a way to make it for cheap at home. The broth is simple and not super flavorful - but the different variety of veggies, meats and sauces make it a tasty meal. 

I included a rough estimate of the prices for the veggies, meats and sauce to estimate the overall price for the meal. I tried to divide the price by the percentage of ingredients I used. (i.e. Using 1/4 a pack of baby bok choy that was $4 = $1) 

Here's what we did for our simple shabu-shabu party:

For the broth - I boiled a pot full of water with a handful of anchovies in a mesh infuser ball, a whole onion, handful of garlic and 2 pieces of dried kelp. 

Then - on to the good stuff...

meat // pork slices ($4.99) thin-sliced rib eye ($6)

seafood // shrimp ($0.89) crab meat ($0.80)

veggies // spinach (1 bunch - $0.69) baby bok choy ($1) broccolini ($1.02) squash ($0.42)

sides // udon noodle (1 pack - $0.79)

seafood // mussles ($1) 

veggies // cabbage ($0.80) oyster mushrooms ($1.49) napa cabbage ($0.30) enoki mush ($0.99)

extras // green onions ($0.50) perilla leaves ($0.15)

sauce // ponzu ($2) sesame sauce ($1) chili ($1) 

The grand total was $25.83. This would comfortably feed 4 people ($6.46/person)

The best part is always putting the udon noodles in last. Sadly we were too full to finish this part. 

my happy + excited husband. :)

Eugene and I ate this for dinner today as a "test run" so that we could see how much food we would need to prepare to actually host a dinner. This meal is easy to prep, simple + healthy, and fun to share with others. It's way cheaper than going out to get shabu shabu at a restaurant - though, it does take some work to do it at home. I'd say it's worth it.

We're definitely hosting a shabu shabu party in the near future. Come join us! :) 

Hello p3! (+ a survival guide)

Eugene started his first week of "p3" this week. 

"p3" aka his 3rd year of pharmacy school is known to be extremely gruesome.  He spends the majority of his day at school in class, has work at night a few days a week and the classes are known to be extremely fast-paced and overwhelming. He already has his first midterm next week. Yipes!  We've been preparing for this year all summer. Knowing how extremely challenging it was going to be - we spent extra time resting up, praying for strength and grace to get through it victoriously and I have been stocking up ideas on how to keep Eugene happy/motivated/pumped during his 3rd year. 

As Eugene's wife - God has been teaching me the way to my husband's heart. Even though we've almost been married for 3 years now - I'm constantly learning new things about my husband and getting more and more ideas on how to keep his spirits up. I know Eugene won't be a student forever- but I'm sure this process is going to be ongoing and I'll be learning and growing in this aspect for the rest of my life. As wives, we're called to be our husbands' helpers, supporters and greatest encouragers. My role as Eugene's wife in his season as a student is pretty different than what I envisioned my life as a wife would be - but I'm learning to give thanks for it and to embrace it and have fun with it while I can! 

I decided to make a "p3 survival guide" for Eugene's 3rd year. This is obviously a work in progress, as it's only been a few days - but I'm hoping that this will help jumpstart a year of finding creative, fun, unique ways to keep my husband happy and motivated during the most challenging  year of his grad-school career.  : ) So here it is: 

1. Multi-color pens that I get from the hospital so that he can color-coordinate his notes! (It's always a bonus if it has a green pen included since that's his favorite color!) 

This may mean that I have to use boring black pens at work instead, but it's worth it!

2. A new bottle of vitamins (per His request)

Getting sick during this year is not acceptable when the demand for your energy, focus and attention are in line - so staying stocked up on multivitamins is a must. Also, Eugene is in a nutrition class this semester so he specifically requested that I buy him a new bottle. : ) 

3. A brand new pack of notebooks (+ attached folders)

There's nothing like fresh, new school supplies to make you excited about the new school year. Thank goodness for Costco and their amazing deals on their high-quality items! Eugene actually liked these so much that he requested me to buy a second pack for him. Of course I had to say "yes!" : )

4. Fun little DIY meal request forms

I'm trying to create an inventory of these little worksheets to surprise Eugene with in the morning so that he has a fun, personalized meal to look forward to when he comes home after a long day. Eugene's love language is definitely good food - so these will definitely come in handy. I'm hoping to make at least 10 more to keep it fun and fresh! 

5. Surprise milk tea drop-off's

Eugene loves late night surprises - especially if I'm coming home late from something. He usually loves a large, iced diet coke from McDonalds ($1!!) or milk tea - especially if he's planning on staying up late. (This one was courtesy of my dear friend, Erin! Thanks Erin - he was so happy!!)  

6. Healthy meals to take on-the-go!

I am a total stress eater and I usually crave bad, carb-filled foods when I feel overwhelmed.. but thankfully Eugene is not like me. He actually really appreciates healthy, whole meals when he's busy and stressed. I've stocked up a lot of healthy lunch ideas in my head and will hopefully be able to meal plan well and have these lunches handy every day. 

7. Snacks for late night cravings

Last year - I found that Eugene always requested for small late night snacks while he was studying. It gave him the extra push to study into the wee hours of the night, even if he was feeling sleepy. I'm trying to plan meals that can easily be changed to little midnight snacks. Thankfully, Eugene never minds eating the same things twice. (He even requests to eat a particular thing two times in a row!) That's God's grace to me...whew  :) 

No matter how challenging this year seems - I know that it is God's grace that carried us through these last few years and I know that it is that same grace that is helping us today.  I'm looking forward to the many lessons that we'll learn and praying that God increase our faith, trust and dependence on Him as we victoriously sail through this year. We're ready. Let's do this!!!

P3 aint got nothin' on us!

: ) 

dear day shift nurse...

This is a letter I've been mentally writing for the last few years. Almost 2 years ago, I transitioned from a night shift nurse to a day shift nurse and it has been a huge blessing! I'm so thankful for my normal sleep schedule, not having to spend my days off catching up on sleep and feeling like I'm on autopilot all the time. I also love that I can interact with patients' families and the different disciplines who are present during the day time who are never really seen at night (i.e. PT, OT, ST, Case Managers, doctors, etc). However, there are a few things about being a night shift nurse that I always wanted to remember and that I wanted to constantly remind my day shift self of. I've been trying to find the right time to write this post to myself (and on behalf of my fellow night shift nurse colleagues) and I feel like now is a good time. I have enough experience as both a night shift (1.5 years) and day shift (almost 2 years) nurse so hopefully I can continue to remind myself of these mental notes I took for myself and learn to be a better day shift nurse for the sake of my night shifters. :) 

{As a disclaimer - this is not directed to any of my day shift crew, whom I love and who have grown to become my closest friends. These are just things I wanted to tell myself as a day shift nurse from the things I learned/experienced}

Dear "day-shift Sharon", 

Congrats on getting your day shift position, finally! I know you've waited a long time for it. I know that the pace of day shift is different and the culture/people of day shift will be much different than night - but here are a few things I never want you to forget about being a night shift nurse:

1. We night shifters are generally pretty tired people. We don't get as much sleep during the day - you know, our bodies weren't meant to be kept up against our circadian rhythm and life is not accommodating to us night shift folk. Some days, I barely get more than an hour of sleep because there is gardening happening outside, or there is a scheduled fire alarm at 2pm or there might be a bomb squad clearing out your apartment complex - making you wait 4 hours in your car before being able to get to bed in between night shifts (true story, this happened to me!) Also, the sleep quality during the day is super hit or miss. Sometimes you wake up feeling fantastic. Other times you feel like you've been hit by a bus. So, be nice! 

2. Give me a break if I wasn't able to give your 6 AM Synthroid or do your pre-breakfast accucheck. Sometimes it just gets super busy and you have to prioritize other things during that hour (i.e. doing an emergent I/O cath for someone you found out at 6:20 am that they were retaining 2-liters of urine in their bladder - true story). Sometimes, I just forget because the night was crazy and I had other stuff on my mind. Please don't act like the world will end because they missed their Synthroid. I promise the patient will be okay. 

3. Don't roll your eyes at me when I say I had a busy night. I know that day shift people think that night shift nurses just take short naps and paint their nails and drink coffee and gossip at the nurses station. This is so not true. Patients (especially neuro patients with a history of dementia, Alzheimers, sun-downers) do not sleep at night. Most of the time, we are chasing them down, trying to keep them in bed, re-inserting the 10th IV they put out and having to call surgeons in the middle of the night because they pulled their drains.  It's busy at night, too!

4. For pete's sake, please get your foley and restraint orders renewed. This is 100% harder to do during the night because the on-call hospitalists usually have a very limited idea about why your patient is here and what the scenario was regarding their foley or restraint. Have they been trying to bladder train to remove the foley because its the 20th day its been in? Are they trying to limit the use of restraints to help patients get into certain nursing facilities? If you get super busy and forget, I totally understand.. but please try if you can!

5. On that note, please don't be upset or disappointed at me because I didn't get an order for the patient to go off monitor for their morning CT/MRI. It only takes 2 seconds to call the patient's own attending and getting the clearance instead of spending 10 minutes explaining to the on-call hospitalist about the patient's cardiac history and telemetry status for the last 12 hours. If the patient has been sinus without any ectopy and it's an easy call, I'll do it! but please don't be disappointed if I choose to let you do it.

6. Teach me what you learn throughout the day. There are so many more resources during the day shift and you are going to be able to learn so much about everything! When the doctors tell you about the patient's plan of care, or why they choose certain medications/procedures over others - please tell me too! When the case managers explain things about acute-to-acute transfers or what qualifies someone to get into an acute rehab facility - teach me, too! Don't leave me out!

7. If there are any changes that happen throughout the day- please let me know! For example - if the patient was cleared by physical therapy to ambulate to the bathroom - please change the order so it reflects that or at least let me know! Don't make me be the bad nurse who keeps the patient in bed and makes them use a bedpan because she didn't know! 

8. We're often under-appreciated. You guys get the cool pens from the ambulance companies, fresh fruit trays/edible arrangements, pizza, cakes, cookies, etc. They even cater lunch for you guys sometimes for medication inservices (what?!) Also, people tend to remember the staff who worked with them while they were awake rather than the ones who took care of them while they were sleeping, or half-asleep. They also don't really love our little visits to their room when we have to do q4hr neuro checks at 4 AM. Regardless, we work hard and we love our patients the same. Appreciate us, too!

9. I eat a lot of ice chips and drink a lot of coffee - even on the days that are busy. I'm just so sleepy sometimes! So, if I'm not able to read through all the h&p documents, progress notes, surgical notes etc and don't really know every single thing about the patient - be understanding. Sometimes reading those documents while being super sleepy is like trying to write Chinese with your eyes. with glue painted in between my eyelids. It's no easy feat, trust me.

10. Remember that we're a team and that it's a 24 hour job. I know there are some days that I'm unable to do a lot of things during my shift and it messes up your routine and makes for a busy start. Please forgive! I promise I tried my best. If I'm unable to finish the surgical check list, or give a few meds, or sign a few consents, or insert a new IV in lieu of an expiring one - please be gracious to me. There will be shifts where I'll have to do the same for you...and that's okay. We're all on the same team and ultimately our goal is to provide the best care for our patients. So let's work together and help each other out. Let's not make mountains out of molehills. It's a 24 hour job. Chillax. I promise I'll return the favor some day.

Sincerely yours,

Night shift Sharon.

our wonderful (but short) summer break

Eugene went back to school today and our sweet, sweet summer has come to an end.

It has been a wonderful summer break.

Eugene was super busy working full time hours and i've been tied up trying to balance two jobs but we were able to squeeze in a lot of good times and good food and much-needed rest. God is good and life is pretty beautiful. Though starting school again is bittersweet - we're excited for Eugene to start his THIRD (and hardest!!) year of pharmacy school and we're praying earnestly and feeling quite dependent on God's grace to get through it together. 

Our summer was a great time for us to "catch up" and to really spend quality time together. As many of you know - Eugene and I really don't see each other all that much while he's in school. Due to both our commutes (his to LA and mine to OC) and our opposite schedules - there were weeks and months in the last few years where we would only really see each other awake for a few hours a week. As you can imagine - this can definitely create a platform for a lot of miscommunication and/or lack of communication. We really have to fight every day and every week to find creative ways to spend time together and to express our love for one another. (Is this getting too gushy? too bad!) The summer was a perfect time for us to look back and see how good and faithful God has been to us in our marriage. Despite the many hard days - we could honestly say that God really strengthened our marriage and deepened our love for one another. We were able to really bask in the fruit of that nurtured, matured and tested love during this summer and simply enjoy each other during this short, but sweet time off.

Needless to say - a lot of good eats were involved. 

We also went on a lot of spontaneous dates and had a lot of dessert. and boba. and ice cream. 

We even got to sneak away on a short cruise trip together. We literally ate and slept the entire trip. We docked on Catalina the first day and got ice cream. That's about the most exciting thing we did the entire trip. 

Despite the crazy kiddie dance parties (which I participated in) and the massive number of people on board - we enjoyed free room service, unlimited pizza and ordering 2-3 appetizers and 2-3 entrees for every dinner. It was amazing. More than anything I was so grateful to have spent free, phone-less (we had no reception!) time with my husband. 

Other highlights of summer: 

• Meeting up during lunch breaks at random places (Rubios, Marketplace Grill) and almost getting indigestion because we had to eat so fast.
• I AM GROOT!!! (I love that we watched this twice because I slept through the entire movie the first time.)
• Going to porto's for breakfast and coffee any free morning we had
• Sleeping in! (What a blessing that I will never, ever, ever take for granted!)
• Going to the gym and then going to Starbucks to read together. Trenta Green Tea, unsweetened + a free refill, please :) 
• Going to Vegas for 1 night to eat at Bacchanal Buffet (yes, we literally only went for this reason!) and how our room got double booked and we walked into our room and there were people inside (yipes!) so we told the conceirge and they gave us a free room upgrade + $50 food credit so we used it on the buffet...woot woot!
• Camping with friends - and riding on a boat and feeling super important. (Never forget Mel Wong's legit girl scout skillz.)
• The day we ordered so much sushi and the guy who worked their doubted just how much sushi you could eat - and we got all puffed up with pride and we got super OWNED. and vowed to never eat AYCE sushi for date nights ever again. God really humbled us that day : ( 
• Stand-up paddle boarding, game night and yummy taco dinner with the Oquindo's
• Parks and Rec. and my favorite RON SWANSON! (ps. Can I buy this mask?)

• Driving to church together, finally! (We usually drive seperately because I have a lot of meetings at church and Eugene likes to go home early to study.) This was a huge blessing!
• Going to Pho 2000 after a hard day of work (for me) almost every week because it was my major comfort food. 
• Our nightly family worship - reading through the gospel of John and praying together (praying we can keep this up during the school year!) 
• Family hang outs with both of our families - and eating AYCE and totally overwhelming the staff with our orders. 
• Dancing to our newly choreographed "Awesome MIX vol. 1" from GoG. Eugene is seriously the cutest dancer - I'm so lucky that I'm the only one allowed to see him dance! He goes all out, guys! You would never believe it.

It was a great summer. p3 aint got nothin' on us!
It's gonna be an amazing year....you'll see! : ) 

xoxo

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{recipe} white chicken enchiladas with salsa verde

YOU GUYS.

I have been dreaming about these enchiladas for a long time now. 

I've never been a huge fan of the standard enchilada sauce. You know, that red, tomato-based one? I don't know. It just never sat well with me. However, things doused in sauce have a special place in my heart. Loaded hot dogs, chili cheese fries, wet burritos - you name it. So of course I had to seek out a good enchilada recipe. Thank God for Pioneer Woman and Guy + Rachel Ray's video. I got the inspiration I needed to whip up a pretty amazing chicken enchilada recipe. It has a white creamy sauce for base and it's layered with some salsa verde for some extra pop! 

You start with some chicken. I love/prefer dark meat any day. Thighs are my fave. 

Brown with some EVOO, s+p. You don't have to cook it all the way. Actually - I'd say, don't cook it all the way! You'll be heating it up so let it stay a little pink to prevent from overcooking/drying the chicken meat. 

These babies are the key to this recipe. Green chilis. I prefer canned. I also prefer fire-roasted. But that's just my humble opinion. : ) 

In the same pan, saute some onions in the remaining chicken juice. Add the green chili. Add the chicken. Sprinkle on some paprika. Watch the magic happen all by itself. It's a beautiful thing. Add a little bit of chicken broth to moisten up the mix.

Now - make your sauce. In a seperate pan, melt some butter. Sprinkle flour. Whisk it together to make your roux (does that make me sound fancy? I looked it up on wiki. hehe). Roux will basically act as your thickening agent.  Add your broth. Add some more chilis (I told you...key ingredient!) then add your sour cream. I know that looks like a lot - but it was only 1 cup! 

I found a recipe to make healthy "sour cream" substitute for next time : )

cottage cheese + lemon juice - genius!

After some heatin' and mixin' - it becomes this beautiful, creamy, rich sauce. Then you add some cheese to buff it up and make it even more magical. 

I had to rush around this time, so no pictures... but, basically you just heat up some tortillas (I used flour), roll your chicken mix and cheese into each tortilla. Lay em down on a bed of salsa verde. Pour the sauce on top. Sprinkle some cheese. Bake for 30 minutes. 

Top with tomatoes, cilantro and olives (I forgot mine!) You can even add some lime juice. Or throw in some chopped green onions. Go crazy. Be free! 

And most importantly - serve with some hot sauce. I served mine with a simple corn salsa and made a second batch for good measure.  We have leftovers and we're really happy about it. 

Can't wait to make these again. 

Have a good weekend, sweet friends!

xoxo

White Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

Recipe Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Serves 4

for the filling 

• 6 bone-less chicken thighs 
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 3 tbsp EVOO
• 10 flour tortillas (I used large)
• 1 whole large onion, diced
• 3- 4oz cans green chili peppers (I used fire-roasted)
• 1/2 tsp paprika 

sauce

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 cup sour cream (or use the healthy "sour cream" substitute)
• 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
• 2 Monterey Jack Cheese, Grated
•  Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 1/2 tsp paprika 
• salt and pepper to taste

for the topping and base

• 1 tomato, diced 
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
• any hot sauce (i.e. tapatio)
• 2 cups salsa verde 

Heat 2 tablespoons EVOO in a skillet over medium-high heat. Brown chicken on pan - add salt and generous portion of freshly grated black pepper. Remove chicken from pan and cut into bite-sized pieces. Add onions and saute into the same pan for 1 minute. Add green chilies, green chili and 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Stir together. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and stir. Heat over med-high and allow mixture to bubble and get hot. Turn off heat and set aside.

In a separate large skillet, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together and cook over medium heat for one minute. Pour in 1 1/2 cups chicken broth. Whisk together and cook for another minute or two until mixture begins to thicken. Stir in green chilies. Reduce heat, then stir in sour cream. Add 1 1/2 cups grated cheese and stir to melt. Add 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.

To assemble, spoon chicken mixture on top of tortillas, one by one. Top with plenty of cheese and roll up. Lay a layer of salsa verde on casserole dish. Place seam side down in a casserole dish, side by side. 

Pour creamy cheese sauce mixture all over the top of the tortillas. Add a little bit of salsa verde on top if you'd like! Top with extra shredded cheese, then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Sprinkle generously with chopped cilantro and tomatoes.

Serve with hot sauce, if desired.

{Recipe} Miso Ramen with Chashu Pork

One of Eugene's favorite foods ever is RAMEN. Japanese ramen to be specific. 

That's one of his biggest comfort foods.

We eat it most frequently when he's busy with school or right before his exams. We ate a lot of ramen during his first year of pharmacy school when he was adjusting to busy grad school life.

Being the wife of an avid ramen lover, I had to at the very least attempt to make ramen at home. For the past week or so, I've read a bunch of articles and watched lots of youtube videos to try to prepare for this day. I love making our favorite dishes at home because you can personalize it to your liking and have fun/be creative with it. Eugene actually requested that I make tonkotsu ramen  but when I found out that it actually takes 2-3 days to make (because of the grueling broth-making process), I asked Eugene if I try a more simple recipe first. Obviously he gave me the green light, and today I attempted to make my first home-made ramen.

I chose Miso Ramen because it's known to be one of the more simple recipes. The broth doesn't take as long, and I had a tub of un-used miso in my fridge. 

The hardest part was preparing the chashu. I wanted to try to be super fancy and make it "restaurant style" and I learned that the way to do this is to roll the pork and tie it with butchers twine. This shape, opposed to merely cooking it flat, is known to help trap moisture and flavor. It also makes it look super fancy. 

I didn't have twine so I used a roll of 100% cotton sewing thread that I had - which the websites say is a decent substitute. The downside was that it didn't hold as well as twine probably would - so next time, I'm definitely getting my twine!

They say to leave the skin on. And marinade it in this delicious little pot of goodies. Mine had soy sauce, mirin, white wine (in place of sake), sugar, ginger, green onions and lots of garlic. Most recipes will call for you to throw this in the oven for 3-4 hours after it comes to a boil. I initially did that - and then 2 hours later got impatient. Also, my small little apartment got SO STINKIN' HOT from the oven being on, so of course I had to transfer it to my handy dandy dutch oven. 

Within 30 minutes, this happened. 

The key to making soft, tender and juicy chashu is to cook it for a long time in low(er) heat. Cooking it on too high of a heat will cause the pork to dry. Unfortunately, this was the mistake that I made but I definitely know for next time. I cooked it in my dutch oven for another hour under low heat, with the lid ajar to prevent it from steaming. 

I flipped the meat every 15-20 minutes so that it would brown evenly. Near the end, when most of the marinade begins to reduce - you have to watch closely to prevent burning! It happens FAST. (Look at all those yummy garlic and ginger pieces!)

Preparing the egg was also pretty challenging. 

You boil first, then let it marinade in the same concoction you used for the chashu. First, poke a hole with a tack on the fat end of an unboiled egg. Throw it in boiling water for six minutes only. (I was so afraid of over-cooking the eggs, I might have taken them out too soon!)

After you boiled your eggs for 6 minutes, they should be "soft boiled". Wash them in cold water and peel off their shells. Marinade with some of the chashu marinade. 

Once the pork is cooked through - put the pork in an airtight container and cool it down in the fridge.) It will be easier to cut once they've cooled. 

Make your broth. I used 1:1 chicken broth and water. I added some dashi and lots of minced garlic and ginger. I let it boil like crazy. 

I strained the small garlic + ginger bits out. You could leave em in. No one will get mad at ya! If I had an immersion blender, I'd probably blend all these little goodies into the broth. One day... : ) 

Add some soy sauce! 

Then finally, your miso! 

Mash it in over a strainer to prevent the large chunks for getting lost in the mix, 

Arrange your toppings. I love filling mine with veggies. Eugene requested extra chashu in his. We both got what we wanted and we were both happy people. : )

We added a little bit of hot sauce and ate it with some cali rolls. It was perfect!

Hopefully I'll perfect the chashu and eggs next time!

Tonkotsu is next. : )

xoxo

Miso Ramen with Chashu Pork

Recipe Adapted from The Steamy Kitchen  & Serious Eats 
Feeds 3-4

Ingredients

4 eggs for the Ajitsuke Tamago
2 lb pork belly for Chashu Pork

marinade
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 cup mirin
1 cup sake (I used white wine)
1/2 cup sugar
6 stalks of green onion
2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
6-8 cloves of garlic 

10 oz (285 g) dried ramen noodles

for topping
1/2 cup (200 g) fresh or canned bamboo shoots, sliced1/2 cup (170 g) fresh or canned corn kernels, drained1 cup (80 g) defrosted frozen or fresh spinach
1/2 small cabbage, chopped
2 cup bean sprouts

broth
6 cups broth (preferably vegetable or pork, I used chicken)
1-inch ginger, peeled and minced
5 cloves garlic.2 teaspoons instant dashi granules1 tablespoon soy sauce, or to taste4 tablespoons fresh miso paste
for the finishing touch
1 stalk green onion (scallions), finely chopped4 teaspoons chili oil (optional)

Instructions

1. Prepare eggs (using this recipe for Ajitsuke Tamago) and pork belly (using recipe for  Chashu Pork).

2. Prepare broth by bringing it to a boil. (I used 1:1 of chicken broth + water because that's all I had. I used water because chicken broth is usually on the heavier side.) Add minced garlic and ginger until it comes to a boil. Add dashi. Remove excess garlic and ginger bits, or use immersion blender and blend into broth. Add soysauce. Begin mixing miso paste into broth over a fine mesh strainer to prevent large chunks from getting into the broth. Bring to boil for another 10-15 minutes. Add more miso paste to taste.

3. Place noodles in boiling water until al dente. Set aside in separate bowls for serving. 

4. Arrange toppings per each person's preference. Pour broth over noodles and toppings. Top with fresh chopped green onions and chili oil/paste (optional). Serve immediately.

{Recipe} Santa Fe Zucchini Boats

It's almost been three months since my last recipe post! It's time to get back on it. :) 

I love "Santa Fe" styled things. 

To be honest, I don't really know what makes something Santa Fe. All I know is that this beautiful combination of "Santa Fe" things include corn, beans, tomatoes, cheese and tortilla chips. (of course, it immediately becomes 100x better when avocado is thrown into the mix.)  Eugene and I came back from a cruise last week - and if you've ever been on a cruise, you know that there is a disgusting yet amazing amount of food. We ate so well and came back round and brown. Since then, we've been trying to "detox" and eat healthier. I've been looking for a lot of new healthy recipes to include into our recipe archive and I saw a good amount of zucchini boats. We're planning to do a carb-less meal a day and this makes for an amazing distraction from my usual craving for white rice, noodles and potatoes! 

This recipe is so quick and easy - I kind of want to make it every day! 

It's also great as a leftover and I'm sure it wouldn't be a bad idea to freeze a few of these babies for a rainy day. :) So let's get started!

Start with the basics. I would start with the garlic and onions first and allow some time for it to sauté. Then season your meat and brown it until your kitchen is filled with amazing smells.

Cut your zucchini and cut out the flesh. Does that sound violent? (I hate the word "flesh")

Chop up the zucchini flesh (eek!) into bite sized pieces and toss it in the pan. It's a good filler - healthy and juicy, too! 

Get ready to santa-fe your life with these essentials.

Toss em all together and add some cumin. This brings in an amazing chili flavor to your filling. Just a little goes a long way!

After your all done cooking, add in some freshly chopped cilantro. I usually wait to do this til the end since I'm not a huge fan of browned/cooked cilantro. 

Coat your zucchini with a fair amount of EVOO or coconut oil. Lay them down on a well-greased pan.

Add the fillers. Top with cheese. TOO EASY.

Your filling will make a good amount of juice. DON'T GO CRAZY - but feel free let some juice in the mix as this will help steam/cook your zucchini while baking. 

Throw it into the oven at 400 F for 20-30 minutes until the zucchini is fork tender. 

You can bake it on a baking pan with a foil cover if you'd like, but doing it on a cookie sheet + uncovered will allow the top to char a bit and give you that beautiful golden brown cheese crust. 

Some recipes will also instruct you to place the zucchini in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes prior to cutting the zucchini and removing the flesh. I've found that this step isn't really necessary so that cut some of the prep time. 

Eugene loved it and asked me to make it again soon!
We're gonna be having spring rolls and some cabbage wraps for dinner this week. Stay tuned. :)



Turkey Santa Fe Zucchini Boats
Recipe slightly adapted from SkinnyTaste
Serve 2-3


Ingredients

For the filling:

• 3/4 cup of lean ground turkey
• 1/2 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 can of corn, rinsed and drained. 
• 1/2 green pepper, chopped (I used 1/2 can of fire-roasted green chili peppers from TJ)
• 1 large diced tomato (I used 2/3 can of diced tomatoes)
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 chopped onion
• 3 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp cumin
•  kosher salt to taste

For the zucchini:

• 2 medium zucchini, cut in half lengthwise
• 15 tbsp shredded reduced-fat Mexican blend cheese

Halve your zucchini. Using a small spoon or melon baller, hollow out the center of the zucchini halves, leaving 1/4-inch thick shell on each half. Chop the scooped out flesh of the zucchini in small pieces and and set aside.
In a large skillet brown, saute garlic and onions in EVOO or CO. The turkey and season with salt. When the turkey is browned, add black beans, corn, peppers, diced tomatoes, reserved zucchini. Add cumin. Mix well and simmer on low, covered for 20 minutes. Remove lid and simmer an additional 5 minutes or until all the liquid reduces. Add cilantro and mix well. 

Place the hollowed out zucchini cut side up in a well-greased baking sheet or pan. Using a spoon, fill the hollowed zucchini boats dividing the filling equally, about 1/3 cup in each, pressing firmly. Top each with shredded cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes until cheese is melted and zucchini is cooked through.