Hitting the Road

The reason (or excuse) that I've been MIA the past month is because I started traveling for work again.  Some of you may know of my pains from traveling in the past - but I know that God's timing for everything is perfect.  So, I'm rolling up my sleeves and am putting my hope in God once again - trusting Him that nothing we do in this world is for nothing when it's ultimately in worship for my King!  Please pray for me that I can stay positive and keep my eyes on the prize that I know God has in store for me!

With that said, life on the road means that my weekday life must be packed into a suitcase.  Unfortunately, it's difficult to pack a kitchen stove so my dinners recently have been served in plastic boxes and styrofoam plates.  That said, I do try to stay healthy best I can and stay away from Chinese takeout or the major chains you find in abundance out in the American 'burbs.  Lucky for me - there is a Wegman's on the way to the hotel from my client site!! 

For many years, I heard about the wonders of Wegmans.  I finally experienced the beauty of Wegmans first-hand and I must say, that place is wonderful.  It is wonderfully clean, wonderfully stocked, wonderfully staffed, and wonderfully delicious!  It was described to me as: Trader Joe's meets Whole Foods meets Jubilee - and I concur.  It's by far the best grocery store available for suburbanites.  Though my purchases have been mostly from the expansive beer and prepared foods section - this week I discovered a bulk loose leaf tea section.  Beautiful.

Anyway, I still try to find time to cook on the weekends to wind down.  Cooking is very therapeutic for me.  Some say the complete opposite - but I hope you too can find solace in cooking one day!  The 2 things I miss the most when I travel is fried egg (this is surprisingly difficult to find on the road) and just simple brothy noodle soups.  Here's one of my favorite Korean noodle soups: Mak Gooksoo ("Whatever Noodles" - Haha!).  It's healthy and has a clean taste - enjoy!

Cook-to-Eat-to-Be-Happy Time: 20 minutes (or less!)
Difficulty: 1 2 3 4

Ingredients

  

• 1 squash
• 2 large / 3 small carrots
• 1 medium onion
• Dried anchovies (maybe like 10 fish)
• Dashima (dried kelp)
• Kimchi

 

• Dried Mak Gooksoo ("Whatever Noodles") 

Alright, let's get cookin...

1. Throw some anchovies (~10), dried kelp ( ~5 pieces) and (I had some leftover onion) into a pot of water and bring to boil.  Salt to taste.  This is the soup base.

1a. Boil another pot of water for your noodles.

2. While soup base boils, chop up and slice (using mandolin) squash, carrots, and onions.

3. Scoop out the anchovies and kelp.

4. Throw in your veggies and simmer (don't over cook or you will eat mush).

 5, Cook your noodles & drain.

5. Make your magic kimchi mix:

• Chopped kimchi - 1 cup
• Sesame oil - 1 tablespoon
• Sugar - 1 teaspoon
• Sesame seeds - 2 teaspoons

6.  Ladle soup over noodles and top generously with your magic kimchi mix (I was not generous here for the sake of making the picture pretty haha).

7. Eat & Be happy!

Super Dinner Rolls

Sorry I've been away for so long - but I'm back!  I just looked at the clock and realized it was daylight savings today!  Spring Forward!  Growing up, my dad was the keeper of the clocks in our house.  But now that I'm out, if it wasn't for wireless devices that update automatically, I don't know if I would ever know about daylight savings.  Thanks iPhone!

It's 9:30, but it feels like 8:30, so I'm just gonna cut to the chase... My colleague described this recipe to me and I made it to my liking and I liked it A LOT.  It's super easy and quick!  It's a bit too simple for dinner or lunch, but it would be great for breakfast or an after-school snack!

Cook-to-Eat-to-Be-Happy Time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: 1 2 3 4

NOTE: Feel free to try your own combo of ingredients.  Spinach, ham, broccoli... all sound yummy!  Think Hot Pockets... whatever you've seen in a Hot Pocket would taste great in these!

1. While your oven is preheating to 350 degrees, fry your ingredients to make the "stuffing"

2. Lightly flour your surface

3. Roll out your dough; gently push any perferations in the dough together to form one large sheet of dough

4. Distribute the stuffing evenly

(4b.) I forgot to sprinkle the cheese here haha - but you should do that.  I forgot, so I sprinkled it on top, which was ok-ay, but I think it would taste better sprinkled inside for the best cheesy effect!

5. Roll it up

6. Cut it up

7. Place onto lightly greased baking sheet

 

8. Pop them in the oven for 10 minutes (or until slightly brown around the edges) and wallah!  (I had to top mine with cheese, so you can't see the delicious bacon pieces - but trust me - these were YUMMY)

9. Eat & Be Happy!