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Quick Eats

Instant noodles, and some random stuff from the freezer

Oct 21st, 2009
by dave.
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Noodle Soup

Even though I try to make it a point to try new recipes and new techniques, there’s nights where I just want to get something on the stove quickly so that I can take care of other errands. And in the past, I usually would just eat takeout (Rod Dee among my favorites), definitely not healthy by any means.

One thing I’ve been trying to be good about lately is keeping enough food in the fridge/freezer that if I don’t have anything specifically in mind to cook one night, I can quickly whip something together like some frozen veggies, chicken, and rice. Lately, I’ve been putting together noodle soups out of the various things I had lying around.

To be honest, I had my share of instant noodles back in college and have been abhorrent to the stuff since. But lately, I’ve been finding a good use for the noodles at least (and discarding the sauce packets!). I’ll open a can of broth, mix some spices in, add in whatever I have in the freezer, boil some bok choy, and there you go, my version of instant noodle soup!

I’ve tried a bunch of different ingredients that worked out pretty well : Roast pork (char siu), Cha lua, fish/pork/beef balls, fish cakes, and wontons. Something that also adds a little flavor is a sunny-side-up egg.

An easy way to cook fish

Mar 4th, 2009
by dave.
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Arctic Char

So I’ve been on this “quick and easy” cooking spree as of late. By easy I mean dishes that don’t require a ton of prep and probably have less than 10 total ingredients. And by quick…well, I’ll let you guess :)

Part of the reason has been that I’m tired of eating at 9pm and the other part is my own laziness. But mainly, an hour or more of prep and cooking was getting a little tiresome and I needed a little bit of a change. I used to get home, cook, eat, and by the time I was finished (cleaning included), I was ready for bed!

So last week I picked up some Arctic Char from Whole Foods partially because it fits the “quick and easy” bill as well as being pretty healthy (I’ve been trying to eat fish/seafood at least once a week). Fish also has a very tasty flavor all by itself and doesn’t necessarily require too much additional sauce or seasoning. I sprinkled a little bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper on the fish and cooked it in a skillet for about 4-5 minutes on each side. It ended up still being pink on the inside (medium-rare), which was fine with me, I actually enjoy fish better that’s slightly undercooked as opposed to the other way around (In fact, I dread overcooking fish). Throw that together with some pita and metch from Russo’s, and I had a meal in under 15 minutes.

Sirloin Steak

Feb 25th, 2009
by dave.
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Sirloin Steak

Keeping the theme with things I don’t cook very often, I made a steak the other night.  I’m not sure why I don’t make steak more often (other than the health implications of a pound of beef a night) since it’s so easy to do!  And definitely great for the lazy people, myself included.

All I did was to rub a little bit of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper on either side then threw it into a grill pan to sear for a few minutes on each side.  I like my steak on the rare side so I didn’t end up cooking it for more than about 10 minutes total!  It came out nice, tender, and juicy, but the 3/4 pound steak left me a little bit of a mess for the rest of the night.  Combine that with the noodle salad and greens from Lambert’s and I was ready for bed not 5 minutes after finishing (that’s not a good thing by the way :P )

Misono Wok (Super 88) – Allston

Nov 12th, 2008
by dave.
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If you went to college in the Boston area (or if you live nearby), you’ve probably heard about the Super 88 supermarket and food court. The first time I ate there was in 2002 at a Ramen stand that, unfortunately, no longer exists. Before then, I always thought ramen was something you make in 30 seconds and comes in individually sized bags. Needless to say, it was an eye-opening experience.

That Japanese ramen isn’t around anymore, but its replacement, Misono Wok, is a more than ample replacement. They serve home-style Korean food, which isn’t exactly easy to find in the city. But to be honest, until I got to Boston, I never really had a lot of Korean food, maybe because Korean food is even rarer in New Jersey!

But anyway, back to the food. When I think Korean food, the first thing that comes to mind is Korean BBQ (bulgogi, kalbi, etc), kimchi, and bibimbap. While Misono Wok does have some of these dishes available, my favorite dishes are their noodle dishes, especially the Tukboki (rice cake noodles), or Japche (glass thread noodles). I’ve also been a huge fan of the pork kimchi lately, and even tried making it myself (I’ll save that for another day).

Clear Flour Bread – Allston MA

Jul 9th, 2008
by dave.
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One thing I haven’t had much of in the past couple years was fresh bread from a local bakery. But lately, I’ve wandered to a couple different bakeries in the Allston/Brighton/Brookline area, When Pig’s Fly Bakery, and Clear Flour Bread. Both places are wonderful and bake some awesome bread but today I only have pictures from the latter…I have to admit that I ate the bread from When Pigs Fly before I remembered to take pictures.

Anyway, Clear Flour has all kinds of daily specials in addition to a large assortment of staple breads including one of my favorites, an onion foccacia! They also bake many different pastries and sometimes have creative versions of a bread that are amazing! They had a loaf of Challah bread shaped like a turtle the last time I visited and I’ve seen bread baked in the shapes of flowers as well!

Here are the pictures! See for yourself :)


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