Rainy day eat ins
Since before my Midnight Cookie post, it's been gray and rainy all week: Dark mornings of coffee, digestive tea, and working from home. I'm used to it and nest accordingly, doing things here and there, finishing home improvement projects in between assignments.
Not counting bowls of cereal, leftovers, and takeout salad (Yes, takeout salad! Pagliacci Pizza has an excellent Pagliaccio salad), highlights of eating in have been my Shin Ramyun Black bowl—the doctored version—and tonight's special, baked seasoned chicken and fried basmati rice.
For the Shin Ramyun Black, doctored version, I boiled some water. As soon as it started boiling, I threw in half a package of frozen seafood mix from Safeway that has clams, mussels, scallops, octopus, and squid. I also see that I have some leftover chipped ham my dear neighbor Katie gave me. I slice up some of that and throw it in the pot. After lowering the heat and letting that stew for a bit, I empty out the three seasoning packets, some green onions, and finally, the noodles. I discover a hardboiled egg in the refrigerator, crack and peel it, then put the slices into the bowl. The result is a tasty, hearty meal.
If you don't know what Shin Ramyun is, it's this spicy Korean ramen that they carry at most Asian grocery stores here; major grocery stores will usually have them in their ethnic foods section. While Shin Ramyun is good, Shin Ramyun Black is better! According to the marketing, NongShim has included dried beef bone broth, and the soup itself is not as spicy and is more flavorful than its predecessor. This soup is perfect for rainy winter days in the Pacific Northwest. That was on Monday.
Fast forward to Thursday. I complete a freezer inspection and see a lone package of chicken thighs in the far-right corner. Thoughts of "Yay, chicken!" and "Must go grocery shopping soon" fill my mind. I set the thighs out to thaw in the sink for a few hours until they're ready to season with lemon powder, Himalayan salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Dry rubs are my specialty. It's fun to come up with seasonings that will go well together, sprinkling the ingredients and finding out what happens. I'm wary of sauces because of the added sugar and I never seem to use them all up; plus, I like baking things for the crisp skin factor. :D
The thighs bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Once they're done and have cooled down, I then use the same skillet I baked the thighs in to make my fried basmati rice. (I love that skillet. It's a Calphalon gifted to me by a former colleague when she was downsizing and decluttering, and it's the only Calphalon piece I own. And I use it all the time.)
It's basmati because there's a container of it in the fridge that needs to be eaten before it goes bad. So I use the fat drippings from the chicken as my oil base and turn up the heat. Then I throw in some mashed and sliced garlic, scallions, and finally the rice. After breaking up the dry bits with my spatula, I distribute them across the heat further until they reach saturation. Shortly after, I crack open an egg, cooking that in with the rice. Lastly, I take out a stalk of green onions and slice them over the skillet with my kitchen scissors, stirring them all together.
Rice and chicken. I need a vegetable. I go with a serving of white kimchee, which is like regular kimchee but not spicy and still fermented. I'm really trying to incorporate more fermented foods into my diet for improving gut health and digestion. :) (I also don't have any more vegetables in stock and definitely do need to visit the grocery store...aiming for tomorrow.)
Ta fañocho!
Not counting bowls of cereal, leftovers, and takeout salad (Yes, takeout salad! Pagliacci Pizza has an excellent Pagliaccio salad), highlights of eating in have been my Shin Ramyun Black bowl—the doctored version—and tonight's special, baked seasoned chicken and fried basmati rice.
For the Shin Ramyun Black, doctored version, I boiled some water. As soon as it started boiling, I threw in half a package of frozen seafood mix from Safeway that has clams, mussels, scallops, octopus, and squid. I also see that I have some leftover chipped ham my dear neighbor Katie gave me. I slice up some of that and throw it in the pot. After lowering the heat and letting that stew for a bit, I empty out the three seasoning packets, some green onions, and finally, the noodles. I discover a hardboiled egg in the refrigerator, crack and peel it, then put the slices into the bowl. The result is a tasty, hearty meal.
If you don't know what Shin Ramyun is, it's this spicy Korean ramen that they carry at most Asian grocery stores here; major grocery stores will usually have them in their ethnic foods section. While Shin Ramyun is good, Shin Ramyun Black is better! According to the marketing, NongShim has included dried beef bone broth, and the soup itself is not as spicy and is more flavorful than its predecessor. This soup is perfect for rainy winter days in the Pacific Northwest. That was on Monday.
Fast forward to Thursday. I complete a freezer inspection and see a lone package of chicken thighs in the far-right corner. Thoughts of "Yay, chicken!" and "Must go grocery shopping soon" fill my mind. I set the thighs out to thaw in the sink for a few hours until they're ready to season with lemon powder, Himalayan salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Dry rubs are my specialty. It's fun to come up with seasonings that will go well together, sprinkling the ingredients and finding out what happens. I'm wary of sauces because of the added sugar and I never seem to use them all up; plus, I like baking things for the crisp skin factor. :D
The thighs bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Once they're done and have cooled down, I then use the same skillet I baked the thighs in to make my fried basmati rice. (I love that skillet. It's a Calphalon gifted to me by a former colleague when she was downsizing and decluttering, and it's the only Calphalon piece I own. And I use it all the time.)
It's basmati because there's a container of it in the fridge that needs to be eaten before it goes bad. So I use the fat drippings from the chicken as my oil base and turn up the heat. Then I throw in some mashed and sliced garlic, scallions, and finally the rice. After breaking up the dry bits with my spatula, I distribute them across the heat further until they reach saturation. Shortly after, I crack open an egg, cooking that in with the rice. Lastly, I take out a stalk of green onions and slice them over the skillet with my kitchen scissors, stirring them all together.
Rice and chicken. I need a vegetable. I go with a serving of white kimchee, which is like regular kimchee but not spicy and still fermented. I'm really trying to incorporate more fermented foods into my diet for improving gut health and digestion. :) (I also don't have any more vegetables in stock and definitely do need to visit the grocery store...aiming for tomorrow.)
Ta fañocho!
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