I hope you all had a great holiday season! Ours was filled with love, family, laughter, and lots of food and wine! As we are trying to reset after the holidays, we are back to paying attention to what we eat and how we nourish our bodies. Both my husband and I are active, with him rock climbing, and myself doing aerial dance and keeping up with our little one at home.
So what have we been enjoying lately? Check below to find out 🙂
Galbi (Korean Short Rib) – Maangchi – this stuff is SO good. It’s a sweeter marinade with ribs that are cut laterally. It cooks quick, and we normally stop by our local Korean market and pick up some of their side dishes when we’re feeling something simple.
Cracker Barrel Hash Brown Casserole – Spend With Pennies – my sister-in-law made this for brunch and oh my goodness gracious. This was ridiculously good. Creamy and gooey and so ridiculously comforting in the morning. This is high in calories, so I cut it with corned beef hash that was heavy on the corned beef and had a smaller portion so I could still enjoy but not overindulge.
Mofongo is a fried green plantain fritter, typically topped with a rich savoury sauce. I like to make it with a garlicky white wine tomato and shrimp sauce. I don’t have a mortar and pestle, so I finely smash and mince the garlic, and I flatten the plantains with a cast iron pan after their first fry, or I put them in a separate bowl and crush them with my hands once they are warm and no longer too hot to the touch.
Bibimbap – This is Korean rice with loads of toppings! We did enoki mushrooms, sauteed button mushrooms, fernbrake, kale, carrots, bean sprouts, and fried egg with Korean red pepper paste (gochujang). You can do quite a few different toppings or mix and match.
Pan Fried Chimichangas — By pan frying instead of deep frying the chimichangas, you save a lot of calories. Serving a fresh cotija cheese on the side with a little bit of yogurt or sour cream and pico de gallo gives you plenty of flavour and tang without the heaviness of a cheese sauce. I braised some sirloin tip with red wine, lime, honey, chipotle, onions and garlic for a couple of hours and shredded it. Combined with black beans and cilantro and you have a wonderful filling. To make a vegetarian version, I would combine jackfruit and portabellas! This recipe will be tweaked a bit and posted at a later time.
Quinoa Salad – Warm, fresh, and comforting. I’ll be posting a couple simple combinations, but some of my favourites are sauteed greens, onions, garlic, and fresh tomatoes and then tossed in either lemon juice or marinara. Sprinkle some feta on top and yum!
Laughter and Cooking 