Simply Asian

Simply delicious.

 Kai-lan with Shiitakes and Tofu

1 bunch kai-lan, sliced into 1-inch pieces

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 c oyster sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp mirin

1 tsp chili garlic paste

1 tsp soy sauce

1/4 tsp sugar

3 tbsp water

1 c shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 c firm tofu, diced

Heat oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Combine oyster sauce, sesame oil, mirin, chili garlic paste, soy sauce, sugar and water in a bowl; set aside. Saute garlic until fragrant, then add kai lan. Saute for 3 minutes, then add mushrooms and about 8 tablespoons of the sauce mixture. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add tofu and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Taste and add more sauce if necessary. Serve immediately over rice.

March ingredients used: garlic, asian greens

This dish makes me happy. Partly because it's comforting and the flavors remind me of some dishes my mom used to make and partly because I love the variety of textures in one bowl. I ate mine over some brown rice so I had the crunch of the kai lan, the softness of the tofu, the squishiness of the mushrooms and a slight bite from the rice. Mmmm...delish.

The accidental vegetarian meets race week...

And it should be an interesting party.

I'll get into the whole 'accidental vegetarian' bit later on. Let's start with the fun stuff, shall we?? RACE SWAG!

So this Sunday I'll be running my first race in my new city...

No, I didn't sneak one by you guys. I'm just running the half. The second half to be exact. Yep, you get to choose which half you want to run! How fun is that?? Apparently the first half sells out pretty quickly since it takes you over the Golden Gate Bridge, but I'm more than ok with passing on that.

The second half marathon starts in Golden Gate Park and winds through Haight-Ashbury, the Mission, Mission Bay, past AT&T Park and finishes at the Ferry Building. Conveniently, all the neighborhoods I haven't yet explored. Very excited!!

I scooted out of the office around 2 to pick up my bib and check out the expo goods. If I wasn't so flustered, I would have busted out the camera to take a picture of the crowd. INSANE. SO thankful for half day Fridays.

I grabbed my bag, bib and shirt (as shown in the pic above) and flew past the official race merchandise (my new thing is I will only allow myself to by 'official' merchandise if I'm doing the full) and into the expo area. O my...holy overload. I'm happy to report that I only bought a few things:

Pace tattoo (I only bought it b/c I couldn't find the free ones). Yeah, that says 2:02. I know I said I was going to take it easy on this one, but I mean if I happen to cruise in at 2:02, I won't complain ;) I also vow not to be miserable if I don't finish in 2:02.

Nuun and portable Nuun (yeah, that's an individually packaged Nuun tablet. I'm a sucker.) to replenish my stash.

Double Espresso Clif Shot Gels! Do you know how long I've been looking for these?? I forget the first time I had one of these, but I thought they were awesome. Unfortunately most stores don't stock them...maybe it's the 100 mg of caffeine! haha. I picked up 2 just in case I ever have a tough time waking up pre-Saturday run ;)

Check out some of the expo/bag surprise highlights:

Joint Juice (plus some powdered packets) - I keep seeing ads for this stuff. Will definitely report back after I try it.

Itty bitty Larabars - how cute are they? Finally snagged a PB&J one...can't wait to try it!

Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil? I found these at the very bottom of my bag. Kinda random, yeah? Maybe not so random? They did have a pho table set up at the expo. WTF??

So today was also supposed to be couch delivery day, but that didn't happen. I'll spare you the story. All that matters is I'm getting free delivery on Monday now. Score.

Since I didn't have to wait for the delivery folks, I got to work on dinner - Broccoli Rabe with Tofu. I know...you can barely contain your excitement. I was psyched to see broccoli rabe at the farmers market on Sunday, but I didn't have a chance to use it until today.

Broccoli Rabe with Tofu

1/2 bunch broccoli rabe, cut into 1.5 inch pieces

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/2 block high protein tofu, cubed

1 tbsp mirin

1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp chili garlic sauce

1 tsp unagi sauce

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a pan. Brown tofu over medium heat and set aside. In same pan, heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium high heat, saute garlic for 30 seconds, add mirin and broccoli rabe. Saute for 1-2 minutes or until broccoli rabe begins to wilt. Add oyster sauce, chili garlic sauce and unagi sauce. Cook for 2 minutes before stirring in tofu. Cook for another minute and serve over rice.

I ate this over some brown rice (totally rocking the brown carbs tonight, white carbs tomorrow in the form of sushi rice!) and thought it was pretty good for being so simple. I've made this dish, in some form or another, many times before but this was one of the better versions!

Just a couple observations:

1. These were super leafy. Usually when I get broccoli rabe in the store, the leaves aren't that big and there are a few little florets poking through. Not the case here.
2. The stems were pretty thin. I've usually gotten ones with thick stems. These were closer to watercress thickness.
3. There was more crunch going on. Less of a broccoli stem crunch, more of a watercress stem crunch. Yes, I listen to how my food crunches in my mouth. I know, I'm very strange.

Ok, so onto the accidental vegetarianism. There's no denying my love of meat. I could probably give up chicken in a heartbeat, but red meat could never leave my life. I've never had random chicken cravings, but you bet I crave juicy steaks and burgers. Lamb shank? Hell freaking yes.

Unfortunately, good quality meat isn't exactly cheap and apparently chicken isn't cheap these days either? Meh. Damn good thing I appreciate soy and soy products.

Have I noticed anything different? Why yes, yes I have:

1. When I do get around to eating meat (usually when I'm out), I end up eating less of it. Not because I don't like it, but because my stomach starts to feel weird.
2. I tend to feel bloated more often (I've even tried to not eat dairy with lots of soy or ruffage, but that doesn't seem to help)
3. General weirdness when it comes to digestion. I will refrain from sharing TMI.
4. I still crave meat, I wish my wallet did too.

So I guess I've become a quasi-vegetarian (an at home vegetarian??) for financial reasons. Anyone else find themselves in the same situation? Is there a secret butcher somewhere that had good, reasonably priced meat? A secret Safeway?? :(

So much to say!

But I'm going to try to keep it brief...not promising anything ;p

I had a post, actually a couple, drafted up this weekend but I got distracted and never got around to posting. Ah well. I made a last minute trip to New Jersey for Easter and so I could squeeze in some time with the nephews since I probably won't get to see them as much now that I'll be a West Coaster. Yep, in case you missed the not so subtle hint, I'm moving to San Francisco at the end of the month! Woo! There's so much to do before I leave!!

I'm really excited about this huge change, but I'm also (obviously) sad and nervous about it all. I've spent the past 10 years in DC - CRAZY! Yeeh. Ok, now what have I been up to...

After the day of eating, sunning and drinking at Crissy Field, I definitely needed a large bowl of veggies to close out my trip. Monday dinner was at Grove Cafe in the Marina. It was nice and cozy and we were able to get a massive bowl of greens each. I went with the Yucatan Chicken (achiote chicken, marinated onions, tortilla chips, sliced avocado and a habanero vinaigrette)

I'm so glad I got the dressing on the side...that was some spiiiiicy stuff! Loved it though...spicy, tangy, a little sweet - all my faves. The bread was great too - a little buttery and pressed. YUM! Excellent way to close things out :)

Things got even better when I found out I got the job shortly after getting home on Tuesday :) I broke the news to everyone and began the planning process. Who knew so much would go into moving across the country??

I had work at the store on Friday and randomly met up with a few friends from college for dinner at Sabores in Cleveland Park. I've eaten at Sabores a few times before and have had pretty decent (albeit slightly pricey) experiences. Six of us sat down pretty hungry and were ready to order. I'm assuming the kitchen wasn't ready for us because it took almost an HOUR for our food to arrive. Mind you, Sabores serves tapas. UH. WTF?

Our food eventually came out and it was mediocre. I got the Brazilian Chop-Chop Salad (hearts of palm, baby beets, celery, radishes, carrots, jicama and water cress dressing)

and the Brazilian Chicken Turnovers (fried pastry filled with chicken, cheeses, red peppers, parsley and tomatoes)

I've had both of these before and really liked them...which is why I ordered them again. This time around, the turnovers were lacking in flavor and I don't remember them looking so fried wonton-y. Same goes for the salad. I remember there being a lot more chunky veggies and more flavor. Ech.

Aside from the service and food, it was a fun night. I was glad to catch up with friends and I also got a little sad that stuff like that probably won't happen so often once I move :( It started to hit me that I'm leaving everything that's familiar behind.

So Saturday I took a quick train trip up north and about halfway there I realized I packed everything for a Sunday morning run except for a shirt. D'oh! Luckily my sister had to make a quick run to Walgreens for some last minute Easter goodies and what do you know...they have t-shirts! FOR $2.50! hahaha. Yes, I totally bought a $2.50 Hanes t-shirt. Amazing.

I helped fill some eggs up with fun treats and I got an Easter box of goodies too! They showed up later on in the week at the office...

My gummy bunny farm went well with this Spongebob Crabby Patty

For real?!

I slept in on Sunday and played Easter bunny before setting out on a 40 minute run/walk in the old 'hood. I remembered why I used to hate running. The neighborhood I grew up in isn't exactly runner friendly. I dodged a lot of stray bushes/branches and tried not to fall on broken pavement. Oh, and most of the roads don't have sidewalks...

I also paid a visit to my elementary school that seems to have gotten bigger

and my middle school that didn't properly fall into a walk segment so it didn't get photographed. Gorgeous day for a memory filled run :) When I got back, I got bamboozled into cooking Easter dinner...but not before some biking with the tots!

When I got back to the house, it was time to get cooking! My mom had a pork tenderloin and lamb chops and I decided to go with a larger scale version of the Tropical Stuffed Pork Tenderloin I made awhile ago.

Unfortunately the store didn't have the couscous I wanted so I got frisky with a box of A Taste of Thai Coconut Ginger Rice and Mango. I basically tossed in some mango chunks while the rice cooked...very nice together! I also made use of the extra juices/sauce in the baking pan by adding some flour and reducing the liquid. No waste!

For some ruffage, I blanched some snap peas, sliced some red peppers and chopped some red onions for a Soy-Ginger Snap Pea Salad

Soy-Ginger Snap Pea Salad

1/4 c soy-ginger sauce (see below)

3 c snap peas, blanched and cooled

2 red peppers, thinly sliced

1/4 red onion, minced

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and let marinate for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Soy-Ginger Sauce

3 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp oyster sauce

1/4 tsp fish sauce

1/2 tsp maple syrup

1 tsp freshly grated ginger

salt

pepper

Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl.

That was the tropical end of the table. I went basic when it came to the lamb chops. Let it be known I've never cooked a lamb chop in my entire life. In hindsight, I'd probably french the chops, but who am I kidding, I don't have the skills for that...yet.

I took a chance and tossed a bunch of flavors together and pan seared the chops (I had no patience to deal with the oven/broiler). I served them with some bitter greens to round the meal out.

Rosemary Lemon Lamb Chops

8-10 lamb chops

1 1/2 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp kosher salt

1 tbsp freshly ground pepper

zest of one lemon

olive oil

Combine rosemary, salt, garlic, salt, pepper and zest in a bowl. Drizzle olive oil on lamb chops and liberally sprinkle rosemary mixture on each side. Heat a pan over medium high heat and cook chops for 3-4 minutes on each side.

Arugula Salad with Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette

3 c baby arugula salad

1/4 c red onion, thinly sliced

1 tomato, quartered and cut in half

1 tbsp dijon mustard

salt

pepper

splash rice wine vinegar

splash maple syrup

juice of half a lemon

2-3 tbsp olive oil

Whisk mustard, salt, pepper, vinegar, syrup, lemon juice and olive oil in a bowl, set aside. Combine arugula, onion and tomato in a large bowl. Mix in dressing (you won't need all of it) to lightly coat greens.

After dinner, we quickly packed up since my parents and I had a long drive to DC. See, I may have coerced them into driving down with me to help pack. What? I'm all by my lonesome! hehe. No joke, my parents got SO much done on Monday while I was at work. I came home and bookshelves were taken down, furniture taken apart. SUCH a relief! They walked down to the store and we decided to grab dinner at...wait for it...Paragon Thai! Surprise!

We split three dishes family style (duh) and had a bunch leftover. I told my mom about the Tofu Pad Thai (slightly spicy) that I like

And my dad eyed the Spicy Tofu with Crispy Thai Basil special (and of course I forgot the actual name since it's been a few days). It was no joke spicy...and slightly sweet. Sort of like a really spicy General Tso.

Also on the table was the Angel Eggplant special (eggplant, minced chicken, tofu in a light brown sauce?). This was probably my favorite dish of the night. What can I say, I love eggplant! The flavor reminded me a little of Chicken Ka Pow, which I love. Two thumbs up!

AGH! So much food! It doesn't end there! My mom took charge of the kitchen on Tuesday and whipped up a Broccoli Rabe, Shrimp and Corn concoction.

I have no idea what went into this flavor-wise...except I did see some garlic...and she asked for some teriyaki sauce, which I didn't have.

WOOH! *BIG deep breath* Sorry for the length...I had a TON of photos I needed to dump in here. I think I've got all the weekend goodies covered :) I'll see if I can get that last recipe from the momma.

Off to crash...looking at all these piles of things to be packed/sold/tossed is making me tired!

Dinner in 20?

No problemo!

I had some broccoli rabe that needed some cooking ASAP, so I whipped up a quickie stir fry that was nutritious and delicious!

Spicy Broccoli Rabe with Tofu and Mushrooms

1/2 bunch broccoli rabe, cut into 1" pieces

1 package firm tofu, cubed

5 shiitake mushrooms, sliced

1/4 c soy sauce

1 tbsp sherry

1/2 tsp brown sugar

juice of one clementine

1 tbsp sesame oil

1/2 - 1 tsp chili garlic paste

Combine soy sauce, sherry, sugar, juice, oil and chili garlic paste in a bowl. Heat a pan over medium high heat. Cook broccoli rabe until it starts to turn bright green. Pour in half the soy sauce mixture and stir in mushrooms. Cook for another 3 minutes before adding the tofu and remaining sauce. Cook for another 3-5 minutes and serve.

Do you like how I snuck that clementine in there? I don't know how, but I still have TWO clementines left. GAAAHHH! The only thing I'd change about this is the type of tofu I used. This is one of the few times I would actually prefer silken tofu to firm.

That's my super quickie post for today. Lots of stuff to get done and I'm aiming for an early bedtime. Hope everyone is finally digging out of the snow! Happy almost Friday :)

Claypot Experiment Numero Dos

Hey all, hope you're having a fantastic Sunday! I've had quite the productive Sunday evening full of cooking, cleaning and budgeting. Yay, me :)

I had this craving for a gingery, scalliony simmered tofu dish so I grabbed a few groceries for the week and settled on busting out the claypot. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with this dish, but I had a general idea for the flavor.

Mushrooms seemed like a good idea, especially when I stumbled on this package at Yes! Organic Market:

Apparently maitake mushrooms are medicinal mushrooms? I was just drawn to the fun packaging ;p

Claypot Ginger Soy Tofu

1 lb ground chicken

1 tbsp sesame oil

1/4 c soy sauce

2 tbsp oyster sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tbsp ginger, minced

1/3 - 1/2 c maitake mushrooms

2 scallions, chopped

1/4 c bamboo shoots, sliced

1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbsp water

1/4 tsp sriracha sauce

Heat claypot in 400 degree oven for 10 minutes while preparing chicken.

Heat sesame oil in pan over medium heat and brown chicken. Add garlic, oyster sauce and soy sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add mushrooms, ginger and bamboo shoots and cook for 3 minutes.

Remove claypot from oven and pour chicken mixture into the pot. Stir in scallions, cornstarch mixture and sriracha, cover and bake for 15-20 minutes. Serve over rice or a green vegetable like baby bok choy.

Ok, so not exactly what I had envisioned. I was hoping for something a little soupier and whiter and honestly, reminiscent of this gingery, brothy rice dish I've had before (it may have been congee or it may have been a Filipino version of it). It was still yummy, but just different than I expected. Ah well, so goes another kitchen experiment!

I'm off to finish up some stuff before bed...gotta get up early to start my last week of Kelly's Elliptical Challenge and then jury duty (meh.). Nitey!

My O MY!

Hey all, for a second there I almost forgot about blogging. Yikes! Thanks for the comments the other day...I think I definitely needed a break to pull things together a bit. I've got things under control for now and this random and AMAZING weather, plus temporary big windows at work are doing wonders for me. Back to regularly scheduled blogging!

Hm, where did I leave off last...Whole Foods adventure on Sunday? I paid another visit to Whole Foods since I needed to grab another pound of that Chicken Andouille sausage I love so much for this weekend's Post Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Dinner (more on that in a bit) and I figured, eh, While I'm here I might as well find some fun new things to test out!

I grabbed a bottle of this fun dressing
to go with this massive container of baby romaine
Note: I got this big tub for a few reasons 1) I was curious about baby romaine and it was the only size they had it in 2) I go through the smaller containers like water 3) it's f-ing salad greens. I love them. 4) I needed ruffage post-Thanksgiving and pre-PTT Dinner and 5) it seemed like a good idea at the time.

I also grabbed some fruit and other goodies I might not be able to find at my Giant...o god, I think I'm reverting to my 'I visit 2 grocery stores a week' phase. Not good!!

While perusing the refrigerated section, I stumbled upon a package of smoked tofu.
It looked harmless and potentially tasty so in the basket it went...along with a package of baked Teriyaki tofu. I figured these could either be salad toppings or a fun add in for stir fry (because I have no patience to wait for stuff to defrost/I always forget to take it out of the freezer before work). Not bad...I think I might pick up another package of this!

Big day for me in terms of experimenting :)

I picked up cheaper/generic items at the Gigante like some artichoke hearts, avocado, hearts of palm, corn, and pickled beets - my preferred salad toppings. Dinner post-shopping adventure was a LARGE salad with some leftover mini crabcakes, roasted chickpeas and random asparagus spears.
Not too shabby for a last minute pull together. Exactly what my belly ordered after the Thanksgiving festivities!

There were a lot of salads this week so I won't bore you with the details. I did allow myself one eat out lunch on Friday only because it was a pretty stressful week AND because I went out drinking with some old coworkers Thursday night...there was no way I was going to pass up the opportunity for sushi after all that.
That's right...sushi post-drinking...LOVE IT. ;p I met up with everyone at our standby sushi lunch spot, Kaz Sushi Bistro and went with a DC Roll (eel, avocado, egg, cucumber), salmon avocado roll and spicy scallop roll. Happiest belly EVER. :)

After lunch, I put in a few hours of work at both jobs, finished up Post Thanksgiving Thanksgiving (PTT) dinner shopping and got to work on cleaning the apartment (sans Red Bull this time haha). What is this Post Thanksgiving Thanksgiving dinner I keep mentioning? Well, it started 3 years ago when Jamie and I had some friends over for a belated Thanksgiving feast. Since then, the list of attendees has grown significantly and so has the menu. We usually get together on a Saturday in December for good food, good wine and good company. I look forward to it every year since I get to cook a ton for friends and it's also a great chance to catch up with friends I may not get to see all the time :)

This was my first year attacking dinner on my own so I asked some people to bring some side dishes. On my to do list: turkey, vegetarian stuffing, bread stuffing, and appetizers galore. Stay tuned for the full report!

Food Recap!

With all the MCM stuff going on, I've neglected all the fun food! Here's a quick recap of the weekend/week's eats:

Pre-race meal was sushi at Murasaki in Tenleytown. Jamie and I have been here a couple of times and Murasaki hasn't disappointed us yet! The menu is a little overwhelming with all the pages and photos, but it's so yummy! We started with an order of Jumbo Shumai and Tsukune (chicken meatballs with teriyaki sauce) for the table.
For the main event - assorted sushi (I actually forgot what I ordered, but I know I got a few nigiri and 4 or so rolls) and Chicken Yakisoba. It was just the right amount of food for the five of us! I know it's a little weird, but I do love sushi pre-long run...it has salt, lean protein, carbs, fat, and it never makes me feel gross full! Two thumbs up in my book!

Post-race was sort of an act of desperation. While V headed to Clarendon for food w/her fam, we decided to skip the overcrowded metro (I've never seen so many people spilling out of the metro entrance before!) and head back into the District. Everyone was tired from walking, so we parked ourselves near the Key Bridge to hail cabs to the closest restaurant with beer-a-plenty - Cap City.
It's not my favorite, but it does have a wide variety of food and beer...plus, it takes large parties and was close to where we parked.

First up, BEER. Delicious beer. I wasn't thrilled at the idea of it at mile 22, but I sure wanted it after the race was over! I went with the Pale Rider Ale as I browsed the menu for food.
I wanted EVERYTHING on the menu...well, at least the entire appetizer section ;) I was too lazy to dig around Jamie's backpack for my camera so no pictures. We got an order of Black & Tan Onion Rings and Jalapeno Cheese Dip for the table. The onion rings were ok, but the cheese dip definitely hit the spot! For my first meal of the day, I went with the Grilled Chicken Wrap (fresh salad mix tossed with chicken, roasted corn, tomatoes, cucumber, black beans, cheddar and chipotle ranch dressing wrapped in a tomato basil tortilla) with Sweet Potato Fries.

I have no idea what the deal was with my stomach...I ate half my wrap and all my fries and was done. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy! Don't worry, the food didn't go to waste, I ate it almost immediately after we got back to the apartment. I also cracked open my celebratory bottle of wine:
I picked this up on Friday at the new wine store near job #2. They offer free tastings daily and this was the first one I sampled. It was a little out of my typical wine price range and I decided it would be my gift to myself ;) It's deliciously crisp and light!

Jamie, Sparky, my folks and I vegged out to a Cake Boss marathon before I declared it was time for dinner. My declaration was met with somewhat crazy looks, but eventually we got two pizzas delivered from Angelico - the Angelico Special (tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, Italian sausage, ham, caramelized onions and roasted red peppers) and the Vegetariano (tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, mushrooms, green peppers, red onions and black olives).
If I could, I'd dump more veggies on the Vegetariano. Do you think more veggies makes for a delicious pizza?? I do ;)

Monday Monday eats. Susan stopped by the store to get fitted for proper running shoes and I invited her over to join Jamie and I for dinner. My mom brought a vat of Chicken and Pork Adobo down with her so we heated it up for dinner.
Served with it was a cucumber salad/pickly thing my mom makes
And some Lumpiang Prito (?) a family friend made from scratch - I totally googled because I only know Lumpia Shanghai :/
Usually I'll serve lumpia shanghai with a sweet chili sauce or Mang Tomas All Purpose Sauce. With this other kind of lumpia, I put out bowls of those sauces plus a bowl of garlic and cider vinegar.Susan made some small salads for us and dinner was served!
YUUUM and it was like a home cooked meal, but not.

Tuesday was Tofu Tuesday! I started catching up on blogs and saw that Paige over at Running Around Normal could use some fun tofu recipes. While I was at the Giant, I grabbed an eggplant and a container of extra firm tofu and brainstormed....

Hot 'n Peanutty Eggplant and Tofu
1 block extra firm tofu, cubed
1 baby eggplant, cubed
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp creamy peanut butter
1 tbsp szechuan sauce
2 tbsp black bean sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp chili oil
2 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp water or broth
squirt sriracha sauce

Whisk last nine ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside. Heat vegetable oil in a skillet and saute eggplant until soft. Add tofu and cook for 3 minutes before adding sauce. Stir sauce in and cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Serve immediately over rice.
For an out of nowhere experiment, I thought this was pretty good! It reminded me a little of something else I made with eggplant, but better. I'd add some thinly sliced onion next time or another vegetable...just to add a contrasting texture.

What's dinner without dessert? I was feeling nice so I allowed some frozen treats into our shopping basket this time:
This is one of my favorite Ben & Jerry's flavors, next to Cherry Garcia. I think I have a soft spot for fudge chunks.

Tonight was a lonely dinner since Jamie's off at a happy hour with old coworkers out in Reston. I've been craving some of this ever since I threw it into our grocery cart!
I can't eat JUST shells n cheese and hot sauce...c'mon, gotta have a veg of some sort in there! Hm, what to add? Peas!
And some Trader Joe's Corn and Chile Salsa just for fun (um, this stuff is like crack to me but I don't think it was a good idea on the mac).
I like to line the bottom of my bowl with some greens (spinach, arugula, you name it) before putting something warm in it so they wilt a little.
The party in a bowl with a generous dousing of Texas Pete
How do you like to mac??