Kimchi & Apples
The FASTEST take out style noodle for dinner plus what to do with all the apples you might have
Our household is experiencing an extreme case of allergies right now. I’ll spare you the details. But I’ve been cooking extra spicy to help clear everyone out. Even Dean, who oddly loves spicy food, is getting the treatment. My favorite kind of spice is chili oil, chili crisp, chili sauce, really any of the Asian forms of spicy. And noodles or rice bowls are the best vehicle for this. When we lived in Brooklyn I loved ordering Kimchi Udon from a local take out place. If you haven't ever had that, it’s a beautiful marriage between funky, umami kimchi and udon noodles which have the best texture ever. But maybe you’ve noticed that when you order delivery all the sudden it turns into a $25 bowl of noodles. How does that happen? And then you’re bringing more plastic packing into your house. So I keep the ingredients to make this delicious dish in my fridge/pantry/freezer for whenever the craving hits. Top it with a fried egg, and all the spicy chili oil for medicinal purposes and that’s dinner!
Kimchi Udon
Subscribers will receive this recipe later today. One step closer to your new favorite dinner when you only have 10 minutes. I mean it, 10 MINUTES! 15 if you're slow. But you may ask, “Where do I buy these ingredients?”. Well, these days Whole Foods and Trader Joes carry Kimchi. Udon is best bought frozen. It comes in packs of 6 or 8 and it’s wonderfully portioned out for you in convenient frozen blocks that take 2 minutes (some 1 minute) to boil. I buy these at my local Asian grocery store. You have one near you, I promise. Google it. If the store leans more Chinese, Japanese or Korean they’ll all likely have a wide selection of frozen udon noodles. And you’ll thank me. There are wonderful things there that you can’t buy at your normal grocer. And they have a wide array of chili oils and chili crisps to clear your sinuses with.
Chai Spiced Applesauce
So did you go apple picking yet? Did you have to buy a giant bag of apples just to take that photo of your child in an apple orchard for instagram? You definitely could make pie. But here’s an easy & healthy recipe to help plow through those. This is the 2nd subscriber only recipe. Think applesauce is boring and just for kids and people who had dental work? Think again! I love the stuff and so does my boy. This one is spiced with all the good flavors you find in chai tea. Here are some ways you might not have thought to eat applesauce:
On top of yogurt with chopped nuts (hazelnuts!)
Swirled into oatmeal
Layered in a glass: graham cracker crumbs mixed with melted butter on the bottom, apple sauce in the middle, whipped cream flavored with maple syrup on top. YUM - easy dessert. (I had this last night)
On pancakes with a dollop of creme fraiche or sour cream!
MiniMouths:
My new thing to feed Dean is omelettes. (blurry photo but his dinner time is kind of a blur most nights) Specifically as a vehicle for leftover foods. A little bit of leftover Kimchi Udon? Chop it up and stick it inside of an omelette. Leftover steamed veggies? In an omelette. It’s easy, fast, and most importantly it chops into big pieces that he can pick up with his hands. I guess I’m going to teach him how to use a fork properly eventually but this week is not the week.
What I’m Loving This Week:
Tylenol & Heat Patches: HAHA but really I’m hitting that phase in pregnancy where everything hurts, and bad. It’s happening so early this second time around and it’s a bummer. So Tylenol and stick on heat packs are my jam. HAs anyone been to and had success with a pre-natal chiropractor?
Trader Joe’s Furikake: For those not super familiar, furikake is a Japanese … condiment? Spice? Sprinkle? Seasoning! That's the word! It’s a jar of shredded up seaweed, sesame seeds and a little sugar. There’s all different kinds. Some have bonito flakes in them, some matcha, etc. But the one at TJ’s is pretty simple, yet effective. It’s so yummy sprinkled on rice. I have been sprinkling it on my scrambled or 6 minutes eggs that I love eating over rice. Right into an omelette. Dress up a sweet potato with butter. It adds this very satisfying umami to anything it touches.
Eyebrow tinting!: A little off the beaten path for the newsletter, but I recently tinted my eyebrows for the first time. And it is AWESOME! I felt like with this pregnancy (or maybe general stress) my eyebrow hairs seem thinner? Falling out? My eyebrows were not looking as full and I don’t generally wear a lot of makeup, so penciling them everyday isn't realistic for me. The dye tints all the hairs, even the baby hairs in there, and then the lady waxed them into a beautiful shape. And let me tell you, I now have full beautifully shaped eyebrows. I highly recommend this.
Is there anything you’d like to hear about or learn to make next week? As of right now I don’t have any inspo. So please leave comments if you’ve got some ideas! Enjoy the weekend… and seek out the Asian grocery store near you XO Liv
I'd love to hear about what you do with leftovers after a big recipe (like chili, stew, etc.). I get so tired of eating the same thing for dinner night after night, but with a 16 month-old, cooking every night isn't a real possibility either. The omelet idea is great! One question I usually have is: what do I do with all this rice?