Sunday Social

Oh man... I haven't posted in a week! My baaaad. I also don't have any posts scheduled either *cries* I have been having lady issues and haven't cooked anything new this week. On top of that, Saturday afternoon, I woke up fine, but then my eyes felt weird, I had a massive headache so I took a nap. Got Starbucks and everything went downhill from there. I totally ralphed everywhereeee. I mean, through the nose and everything. You know, we haven't had kids yet, but I honestly can't imagine women who go through morning sickness all the time. I ralphed once and that took a huge toll on me and I went and laid down for a nap. *applaud* to you ladies!

I haven't participated in a Sunday Social since the end of last year, but I'm back today :) If you want to participate, follow Neely and Ashley.

1. What is your favorite kind of surprise? I haven't really been surprised that much in my lifetime. I'm actually a really good guesser... Both times my husband proposed, I already guessed it. Wait, I do have a story. My husband came home in February for R&R and because it was our 9th year wedding anniversary. Usually I pester him about getting me flowers and stuff. So, I remember going to Costco and I bought myself flowers because if he didn't, I'll just fake it like he did haha But, I came home from Costco and he rushed inside the garage and surprised me with 2 bouquets of flowers! Which totally caught me off guard. Oh waiiit.. the question my favorite kind of surprise. My answer is, if you CAN surprise me :)


image from No Knows Weddings

2. Flowers or Chocolate? I like chocolate, but I can only consume so much especially when I'm a diabetic, but I am a huge sucker for flowers. Especially peonies and my new found love for ranunculus.

3. What is your favorite summertime activity? Air Conditioner blasted and snuggling up in the blanket. I don't like summer. I don't like the heat. I don't like being in the sun a lot. I hate sweating. Wow, I got some serious issues haha I think my favorite summer activity, is just hanging out with dogs and husband... which is pretty much all year round anyways.


image from Red Bubble

4. Do you have any vacations planned this Summer? Well, considering my husband will still be deployed (we're almooooost there) this summer, so nope. But, I am actually heading back to Cali next month for my best friend's wedding. When the hubby gets back, we do plan to take a mini vacation which I am so excited about!

5. Favorite Summer Holiday? How many summer holidays are there?! I only know 4th of July. Aside from that, I would say our birthdays. His falls in late July and mine is early September.

6. Dream Vacation? I've always said Paris, but I don't know if they hubby is the Paris type of guy. After reading Michelle's blog, I really want to go back to Asia with the hubby. Hell, just going some where in the US is okay with me.

We Remember

I never post on weekends anymore, but this is just different.

A year ago on this day, hubby and I were in the Del Taco drive thru picking up some dinner. It was around 5pm. My phone rang... my sister from another mister Ro was calling. I was going to let her get to voicemail, but hubby encouraged me to pick up. Sometimes when Ro and I chat... we can chat foreverrrr.

Once I said hello in my man voice, I knew something was wrong. I figured maybe they got into a fight or an argument.

That awkward silent pause before she told me "Oh Yeni, Iz is gone." In that time, my mind blanked and I asked her what did she mean.. She said "Yeni, Iz died." I think I might of laughed or thought it was a joke... Horrible joke really. I felt completely numb. My hands were shaking and I had to hand the phone to hubby. We got our food and the drive home felt incredibly long. We didn't speak about it. We just ate our fries and thought to ourselves.



Iz, Ro and us. We're close. Hubby met Iz at EOD school. Ro and I? We just clicked. We're the Nuanedkins! And we'll always be.

It has been an incredibly long and hard year. For all of us. I posted about Iz here last year. A couple weekends ago, they held the yearly EOD memorial/ball. It is one of the biggest EOD events. Tickets sell out like a Justin Beiber concert! We are not able to attend this year... for obvious reasons. One day though. One day we hope to head out to New Mexico to see you Iz. Maybe this fall.

We love you Iz and we miss you deeply.

To all our fallen EOD techs who made the ultimate sacrifice, We Remember.

Japchae

One of my favorite Korean dishes aside from Korean BBQ and Bibimbap, Japchae is pretty up there. The first time I ever had Japchae was when we were stationed at Ft Drum, NY. If you're stationed up there, it's called Koreana. I miss that place!

Ever since I got back into Kpop (waaaay before Psy and Gangnam Style took over the world) and watching shows, I have been eating and cooking more Korean dishes. There's a tiny K-Town out here down S Tacoma Way and I'm lucky there's a couple Korean markets near by. They also recently opened up a H-Mart closer to my house *woot*



I posted chicken stir-fry with japchae sauce awhile ago and it's pretty much the same thing except this time, I used the right noodles and what a huge difference! I also doubled the sauce and mine turned out a little sweeter then the first time I made it. I wish there was a kick to it though... next time, I would add a little spice to it. You can also add beef like the original recipe, but I omitted that.



Japchae
recipe from Korean Bapsang

6 ounces Korean potato starch noodles (dangmyeon)
4 - 5 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked until plump
6 ounces fresh spinach
1 small carrot
1 small sweet onion
2 scallions

vegetable oil for stir frying
salt and pepper

Sauce:

3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons roasted sesame seeds

Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix well until the sugar is dissolved.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, and cook the noodles according to the package directions (5-6 minutes). Rinse in cold water and drain. Cut the noodles with kitchen shears or a knife into 6 -7 inch lengths. Mix in 2 tablespoons of the prepared sauce in a large bowl.

Cut stems off the mushrooms and slice into 1/4-inch thin strips. Season with 1 tablespoon of the sauce.

Blanch the spinach in boiling water only until wilted. Drain quickly and shock in cold water. Squeeze out excess water, cut into about 2-inch lengths, and lightly season with salt and pepper.

Cut the carrot into match sticks. Thinly slice the onion. Cut the scallions into similar lengths.

In a large non-stick skillet, stir fry the noodles over medium heat, stirring frequently, until translucent and a bit sticky (about 3 - 4 minutes). Transfer back to the large bowl.

Stir fry each vegetable (except the spinach) separately with 1 teaspoon of oil over medium high heat, lightly sprinkling with salt and pepper, about 1 - 2 minutes. (Do not overcook. The vegetables should be crisp.)

Transfer the vegetables to the large bowl with the noodles as each is cooked.

Combine all the ingredients and the remaining sauce. Toss well by hand. Adjust the seasoning to taste by adding a little more soy sauce and/or sugar.

Toffee Cakey Brownie with Marshmallow

I have been thinking about cake for the past week. No joke. It was seriously troubling, but instead I ended up making these brownies. Another lazy day in the kitchen, so I used boxed mix. I added in some leftover toffee bits as well as sprinkling some on top the last 5 minutes. Topped off with some marshmallow that needed to be used up as well. Result? Absolutely deliciouuuus! I think next time, I would bake it just a little longer to toast up the marshmallows more.

No recipe included, but it's just a boxed brownie mix. Follow the package instructions, mix in some toffee bits. At the last 5-10 minutes, sprinkle more toffee bits and marshmallows.

Lazy Fried Rice in the Crock Pot

The time has come where I used a crock pot to make fried rice... of all things. I think I was desperate and hungry and well, truthfully, I really needed to do the dishes. Fried rice in a crock pot? Sure, why not. It's not the most exciting recipe to share, but for those who are always on the go, this is a great way to get dinner on the table without the wait. On the plus side, it's a great way to use up leftover chicken or bits and pieces of vegetables you have.

Lazy Fried Rice in the Crock Pot
recipe from crockpot 365

2-3 cups leftover rice
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 diced yellow onion
1 cup of fresh or frozen vegetable (i used a mix of carrot, green beans, corn and peas)
leftover meat (I had leftover rotisserie chicken)

Mix everything in the crock pot. Cook on high for 2-3 hours, or on low for 3-4.