Step 2: Get offered a job in pediatric genetics.
Step 3: Buy a house in Windsor for the first time over the course of five days.
Step 4: Get a great big convoy and move HOME.
Step 5: Make a baby (oven timer's almost up on this one; should be done cooking in 25 days!)
Step 6: Remember that, once upon a time, I had a food blog...
Lots of changes! Including a new-to-me but rather dated kitchen that makes for lackluster food pics. Ah well. Let's just pick right back up!!
I had a long day of gathering up the last few things that my & Hub's little "Dude" is going to need. Along the way, I was hit with a craving for Vietnamese noodle bowls (probably because my last stop, the grocery store, is next to a place called Pho Mango...)
My cousin introduced me to this deliciousness during a trip to visit him many years ago in Austin, TX. I've craved them ever since. Finally I worked up the gumption to make them myself. How hard could it be, really?? It's not much more than rice noodles, julienne veggies, a tart, salty sauce and some protein. I could do that!
I used this Allrecipes site for the basics, but got a little fancy tonight. FreshCo had four little rock lobster tails on for $10, so I thought I'd treat my crustacean-loving Hubs to something special (he's been such a champ through the hot mess that is me + pregnancy!)
The package suggested a lemon butter recipe, but I improvised a bit given the flavors in your typical noodle bowl. I melted 1/4 cup of butter with a healthy dollop of sriracha, the juice of 1/4 lime, lime zest, and grated fresh ginger (maybe a 1/4 tsp each; I didn't measure). That got brushed on the tails before being broiled in the oven for about 10 minutes (until the tail meat was flaky and opaque).
I got together my other ingredients (I like using baby spinach instead of lettuce, and left out the mint and daikon). The end result (along with some store-bought spring rolls) looked pretty delish, if I do say so myself:
Hubs was rather thrilled with the whole thing, and it was honestly so easy to throw together (even after a long day on my elephant-swollen feet). Ease of preparation is most definitely something I need to keep in mind in days ahead! It's led me to a whole new world of freezer +/- crockpot cooking... But more on that another time.
Thoroughly enjoying life with a full belly,
-Honeybee
