Mushroom Miso Ramen (Vegetarian)

February 17, 2015February 17, 2015 birdibitesDashi, Dinner, Homemade, Lunch, Miso, Mushroom, Ramen, VegetarianLeave a comment

My rainy day craving is always Ramen. I have been dying to create a vegetarian version at home, and I finally had the chance to give it a shot. I am so glad I made a huge pot because this Ramen was my favorite leftovers. Like ever.

I started off by making the dashi, then I prepped and stir-fried the veggies, and lastly, I cooked the ramen. Combine it all in a bowl with a squirt of sriracha and you have a rainy day treat!

Let’s Get Cooking!

Dashi Ingredients

Dried Mushrooms, soaked in 2 cups of boiling hot water for 25 minutes
1 piece of Konbu
Ginger, sliced into a couple of chunks
A few cups of Water
Soy Sauce
Sake
Mirin

Ramen Ingredients

Sesame Oil
Fresh mushrooms: Crimini, Portobello, Shiitake, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
Garlic, minced
Ginger, minced
Yellow Miso mixed with a couple tablespoons of Sake and a healthy pinch of Sugar
Green Onions, chopped
Chilies or Jalapeños
Tofu, diced
A small handful of Cilantro
Sake
Soy Sauce
Red Wine Vinegar
Soft-Boiled Egg
Ramen Noodles
Sriracha, for extra oomph

**Feel free to add any veggies you prefer: bok choy, broccoli, corn, peas, bamboo shoots – the options are endless!

Make the Dashi

Soak the dried mushrooms in about 2 cups of boiling hot water for about 25 minutes. Strain the mushrooms and reserve the liquid. The liquid will be used for the dashi.
Add a few cups of water to the mushroom liquid. Add the ginger and kombu.
Bring to a strong simmer. Cook for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, remove the ginger and kombu.
Add a couple tablespoons of soy sauce, mirin, and sake, and turn the heat to low.

Cook the Veggies

Heat pan to medium heat, then add sesame oil.
Add the fresh mushrooms and let them brown deeply. Don’t stir them for a few minutes – be patient because you want them to have a rich, dark brown color.
Add the soaked mushrooms, garlic and ginger.
Add the miso/sake/sugar mixture.
Add the remaining veggies and Tofu.
Add a little soy sauce, sake, and red wine vinegar for taste.
Saute for a minutes, and then turn off the heat.

Eggs and Ramen

Boil the eggs for about 7 minutes. Run under cold water, peel and cut in half.
Boil the ramen noodles according to package instructions (you can use the same water you used for boiling the egg).

Assemble Ramen Bowls

Add in ramen noodles and veggies to bowl.
Add in the broth.
Top with the soft-boiled egg.
Serve immediately.

Easy Weeknight Dinner – Shrimp Wraps

August 18, 2014 birdibitesAvocado Crema, Cucumber Salsa, Healthy Eating, lime juice, red pepper, Salsa, Shrimp, Shrimp Wrap, Weeknight Dinner, WrapLeave a comment

I’m all about this fitness hype right now (we will see how long it lasts) and I have been hit with the hard reality that pizza and super burritos do not pair well with morning runs. Additionally, I am so not in love with the idea of having salad for dinner every evening. So I got creative, and I would like to introduce you to the Shrimp Wrap.

This was such a fast and easy meal to prepare! I cooked the shrimp in a skillet with some lime juice, cumin, cayenne, and pepper.

I heated up a can of low sodium black beans and added some spices – red pepper, cumin, and paprika.

Also, I whipped up a little avocado crema and cucumber salsa! For the cucumber salsa, I just chopped a couple of persian cucumbers, red onion, parsley, and cherry tomatoes with a little squeeze of lime, salt, and pepper in the food processor.

I got a little more creative with the avocado crema. I roasted the avocado, garlic and jalapenos with some lime juice and a hint of olive oil so things wouldn’t stick to the skillet. Then I pureed everything in the food processor with some cilantro, lime, salt, pepper, red pepper, and low fat Greek yogurt (instead of crema or sour cream). It was so light and refreshing!

Guacamole – A Fiesta for Your Tastebuds!

August 4, 2014 birdibitesAvocado, Cilantro, Guacmole, Jalapeno, Mexican, TomatoLeave a comment

Everyone has their own version of Guacamole. I realized that my version was absolutely mind-blowing at a potluck a few years ago. One of the guys literally licked the bowl clean. And he was sober. Enough said.

I prefer chunkier guacamole – the kind you can scoop onto anything and everything. The kind where you can see the avocado and you won’t feel like you got cheated out of getting a decent amount. The kind that has some serious heat and you know it’s summer and a paloma is the perfect cocktail. That is what it’s like to have BirdiBites Guacamole.

Let Me Upgrade You.

Ingredients:
– Red Onion, diced
– Ripe tomato, diced
– Super Ripe Avocados – room temp (this is key!), medium – small diced
– A couple Garlic Cloves, diced
– Jalapeno (as many as you want for spice), diced
– Juice from 3 to 5 limes – squeeze to your heart’s desire (I usually go with about 3 limes)
– Juice from about 1/2 to 1 lemon
– Salt
– Black Pepper
– Red Pepper for extra spice, if needed
– Fresh Cilantro, chopped up (add as much as you like!)

Steps:
– In a large bowl, combine everything.
– Season to taste, definitely squeeze in more lime than lemon.
– Taste often.
– Once you like the flavor, enjoy with everything.

Easy Weeknight Dinner – Gluten-Free Spaghetti and Veggie Meatballs

July 30, 2014July 30, 2014 birdibitesEasy Dinners, Meatballs, Pasta, Spaghetti, Veggie Meatballs, Weeknight DinnerLeave a comment

I am all for easy weeknight dinners. There are always those weeknights where I work late and I tend to feel very guilty for ordering in when I have a fridge full of groceries, which is why I have a repertoire of easy breezy dinner options. One of these tasty options happens to be Gluten-Free Spaghetti and Veggie Meatballs! Yummy!

Just for funzies, we have been experimenting with different pastas lately, and quinoa pasta is now my favorite alternative to wheat pasta (which I still love and will probably eat forever). Feel free to use any pasta you like. Also, I make a no-hassle tomato sauce. All I do is saute a little garlic, add a can or two of tomato sauce, and season with salt, pepper, cayenne and of course add a handful of oregano and basil. Beats anything you can get out of a jar. You can actually stop here and enjoy a 15 minute dinner. If you want to be a diva about it, then continue onto the meatballs.

The veggie meatballs are not as complicated as they sound. I promise.

While the pasta is doing its thing, I saute some onion, garlic, mushrooms, carrots, and celery. You can use as many or as few veggies as you want. There is a lot of personalization with veggie meatballs. Once the veggies have softened a bit, go ahead and toss those goodies into a food processor with some breadcrumbs, walnuts (or any nuts, totes optional) with any spices and herbs you prefer – I typically go with red pepper, salt, pepper, thyme, oregano and basil, and a little tomato paste, Parmesan cheese and egg to bind it all up. Once its all combined put it into a big bowl. At this point, I like to add lentils and Trader Joe’s carries pre-cooked ones which are huge time saver. If you aren’t big on lentils, then don’t bother adding them. Also, it’s kinda recommended to put the bowl into the fridge to let it firm up before baking and I found that if you don’t have time to wait for this step, it’s no biggie. Just form little golf ball-sized balls and roast them on a lightly greased (with olive oil) baking sheet in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20-30 minutes. That’s all there is to it!

Bite-Sized Treat of the Day: Churros

July 22, 2014July 22, 2014 birdibitesChurros, Dessert, TreatsLeave a comment

What better way to celebrate summer than with Churros?!

Finished Churros

They are a surprisingly quick and easy treat to make and of course, I make mine bite-sized. YUM!

All you need is flour, sugar, cinnamon, water, and a pinch of salt. You can bake them if you want to go the healthy route, but I just fried ’em – totally kept it authentic.

Churro Dough Fried Up Churros

Also a couple of tips:

1) Use a cloth pastry bag because Churro dough is very thick and a plastic pastry bag will probably rip apart. (Side note: your arms will feel noodle-y if you try to make about 40 Churros at once. It’s a lot of work to squeeze dough out of a pastry bag!)

2) If you want to go all out and get the textured lines then you can use a large star pastry tip.

Cheesy Mac-and-Cheese

July 21, 2014July 22, 2014 birdibitesDinner, Mac and Cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano, Skillet Mac and Cheese1 Comment

July is a big Birthday month around here and the Boyfriend requested homemade Mac-and-Cheese for his Birthday meal.

Being that it was a celebration, we decided to leave our cheesy carby guilt at home and off we went to the priciest grocery store to find all the overpriced cheese we could lay our hands on! We came home with Gouda, Parmigiano Reggiano, some sort of fancy name-less spicy pepper cheese, and (of course) Cheddar.

Cheese

We also picked up some broccoli, shallots and crimini mushrooms, found the cutest little elbow macaroni, and grabbed a loaf of rosemary lemon bread since I wanted to make a crispy breadcrumb crust on the mac-and-cheese.

I cooked it all in a skillet.

It was the cheesiest, fanciest rustic weeknight birthday dinner ever.

Holiday Tradition Pie

April 3, 2014 birdibitesDessert, Holiday, pecan pie, Pecans, Pie, Sweet Potato, Sweet Potato Pie, sweet potatoes, ThanksgivingLeave a comment

If I had a Most Requested List for the treats I cook, this pie would take the cake. It is requested so often that I now ONLY make it during the holidays. No exceptions. Also, if you think that this bad boy is your basic pecan pie then you are in for a surprise! This, my friends, is a Sweet Potato Pie topped with Glazed Pecans. It is the most perfect combination of sweet, savory and nutty.

I have been making this dessert for a long time. When I first started baking this pie, I didn’t own a large food processor, so the holidays would consist of waking up at 5-6 am (holiday baking starts early) and going to my mom’s house to puree 4 pounds of boiled and peeled sweet potatoes. Now I have my own food processor and life is peachy!

I prefer to make my own pie crusts but you can definitely use store bought crust if you are pressed for time. You need sweet potatoes, eggs, brown sugar, maple syrup, bourbon (technically optional but why would you do that?), maple syrup, nutmeg, salt, cinnamon, a little almond extract and vanilla extract if you feel adventurous, heavy cream, butter and pecans. Mix everything up, pour it into your pie crust, and bake for 45-55 minutes. Make sure your pie has cooled completely before you add the pecans! To make the pecan topping, toss the pecans with a little butter, brown sugar, and heavy cream in a small saucepan. It will cook quickly. Spread them on top of the pie with a spatula. Refrigerate the pie for a bit to set the topping. And then enjoy!

Once Upon a Time I Made Biscuits…

April 2, 2014July 21, 2014 birdibitesbiscuit recipe, biscuits and gravy, cheddar biscuitsLeave a comment

and they were buttery and divine and everyone ate happily ever after! True story.

I effing love to make biscuits and then eat them all day long. Breakfast biscuits, dinner biscuits, Thanksgiving cream cheese and chive biscuits, biscuits with fig jam, sriracha biscuits, biscuits and gravy, egg biscuit sandwiches, jalapeno and cheddar biscuits – the options are endless!

The first biscuit recipe I sorta kinda followed was written on the Land O Lakes Butter package. I know, it doesn’t get any classier than that. I very quickly realized how much butter someone actually needs in order to make biscuits. You literally pour melted butter onto the biscuits before popping them in the oven.

Buttery Goodness

It’s worth the shock. Ten or so minutes later, you have this heavenly golden goodness. (Please forgive the insanely burnt cookie sheets!)

Fresh Out The Oven

Since my Land O Lakes recipe days, I have experimented a lot with ingredients (like beer!) and tried different ratios, and the biscuits have always come out tasty. A few things that remain constant throughout my experiments: I always use buttermilk. I don’t knead biscuit dough – I just smoosh it out. I also don’t own a biscuit cutter, I use an upside down wine glass to cut my biscuits.

Buttermilk Biscuits are delicious!

photo(2)

Bell Pepper Boats Stuffed with Yummy Goodness

April 1, 2014April 2, 2014 birdibitesStuffed Bell PeppersLeave a comment

Bell Peppers

My go to yummy hearty dinner recipe is Stuffed Bell Peppers. I used to make them with ground turkey, but then I started dating an adorable vegetarian so we had to make a minor adjustment to the ingredients, but the flavor and taste and the way the kitchen smelled while they baked…absolutely mouth-watering. I also used to make Stuffed Bell Peppers the traditional way, you know, chop off the little hats and stuff them standing upright and then put the little hats back on and ta-da. Well, when they taste as good as I make them, you want to get the yummy goodness ASAP. Hence, chop those bad boys in half and you have cute little boats. Makes perfect sense.

Creme Brulee? YES, PLEASE!

April 1, 2014July 22, 2014 birdibitesCreme Brulee, Dessert, ramekins, vanilla beanLeave a comment

Torch Torch

My absolute favorite dessert of all time is Creme Brulee. It’s classic and creamy and has that sugar crunch, and the best part of all is getting to play with fire. Because who wouldn’t want to use a torch every now and then?

I finally got around to making it for the first time ever. I am not the type to follow a recipe and I’ve never cared much for precise measuring, so I was super nervous! It turned out amazing though. Like, really amazing. I made it in the cutest little white ramekins and we had a little Torch Your Own Creme Brulee Party. So cute and crazy fun!

Also, the best tip I received was to dust a thin layer of sugar on top before torching. Definitely essential for getting an even crisp layer on top.

Lastly, I learned that I really need to start working out because my arms were so tired from holding the saucepan up as I poured the vanilla flavored cream into the mixing bowl to make the custard. I was literally dying during that process. The Creme Brulee was so worth it though. Next cooking experiment will be a Bourbon flavored Creme Brulee!

How I Made Creme Brulee:

My recipe was based off of Alton Brown’s. It only takes a few ingredients: heavy cream, a vanilla bean, egg yolks and sugar. I placed the cream and vanilla bean into a saucepan set over medium/high heat and brought it to a boil. Then I removed the saucepan from the heat, slapped a lid on that puppy and let it sit for 15 minutes. I saved the vanilla bean. Next, I whisked 1/2 cup sugar and six egg yolks until it looked like this:

I slowly added cream to the egg/sugar mixture, little by little, stirring continually. Once that was incorporated, I poured the mixture into the ramekins.

Then I placed my cute little ramekins in a pretty red roasting pan and I poured hot water into the pan (the water came halfway up the sides of the ramekins). Everything went right into the oven to bake at 325 degrees just until the creme brulee set, but was still trembling in the center – about 45 minutes. At that point, I stuck them in the refrigerator overnight. The next evening, we had friends over and we got to melt yummy raw sugar on top with the torch!!

birdibites

Take a Bite.

Author: birdibites