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
Wow!! Congratulations on all fronts, and sending you best wishes for a wonderful birth. You won't have much time for blogging when your baby comes, but I hope you'll let your readers know how it all goes... And what you're eating, of course!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Emma!! Yeah, I have no huge aspirations for a bold resurgence into blogging, but I hope to update here and there. My focus lately has really shifted to what I call "stupid simple" meals, as my new job has been a lot more taxing on me overall. Some of my other busy mom/mom-to-be friends seem interested in this kind of thing, so I'm hoping I can use this forum to write down the "recipes" (I use this term loosely, as it's really more of an "assembly") for them to try.
DeleteThanks again for the well wishes!!