Bulgogi Sandwich

CST testing might not be fun for students but it's even worse for teachers who can't do anything else besides walk around and monitor the students.  As I was proctoring for the science portion of the CST this morning my mind began to wander and I started thinking about making this bulgogi sandwich.  Well I'm glad I did because it was pretty tasty.  Yohan came over after work with the groceries and here's how it went down...  

First, we made a marinade for the bulgogi.  Some soy sauce, sesame seed oil, brown sugar, garlic, and pepper went into a bowl.

Yohan bought about a pound of this thinly sliced chuck from the Korean butcher.

Finally, a recipe that is true to the name of my blog!

We let the marinade and the meat get acquainted for about ten minutes...

then cooked it over medium heat on a pan.  Like the action shot I got of Yohan's chopstick skills?

While Yohan was busy with the bulgogi I sliced a tomato...

and half of an avocado.

We made a gochujang (Korean chili paste) mayo spread for a little kick...

and fried up a couple of eggs.  I cook mine over low heat with a lid on top to help them cook evenly.

Slices of medium cheddar was toasted onto Kaiser rolls...

then we spread the gochujang mayo and put it all together.

First the lettuce(blurry picture),

the bulgogi,

crispy thick cut bacon (ohhh yeah),

slices of creamy avocado,

tomato,

the fried egg (although I should have left the yolk runny),

and voila!

Makes 2 sandwiches

bulgogi
about 1 pound of thin sliced beef like chuck or rib eye
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
*using 1 tablespoon of brown sugar didn't make the meat as sweet as it usually is so if you like bulgogi on the sweeter side, add a bit more 
pepper


1.  Mix all ingredients except meat in a bowl.
2.  Add in the beef and let sit for 10-15 minutes.  The meat is so thin that it doesn't need to sit for too long.
3.  Cook over medium-high heat in a pan.  
4.  Remove the beef and discard juices in the pan.


the sandwich
bulgogi
2 slices of crispy bacon
kaiser rolls
2 slices of cheddar
2 eggs
tomato slices
1/2 avocado, sliced
lettuce
gochujang mayo (mixing just a tiny bit of gochujang with mayo is plenty unless you can handle a lot of heat)


 1. Toast the bread with cheese. 
2. Spread the mayo on one slice of bread.
3. Fry up the eggs.
4. Assemble the rest of the ingredients and eat!

Photo: Mushroom Cream Fettuccine with Baby Scallops

I don't remember exactly how I made this pasta dish but I do remember the mushroomy creamy goodness I tasted in my mouth.  I reconstituted dried mushrooms from Trader Joe's and mixed the mushroom broth in about half cup of heavy cream.  While it was simmering I boiled a half pound of fettuccine and pan fried the baby scallops.  Then I tossed everything together, seasoned it, and that was it! I hope I'm not missing something but you can't blame me if you try to make it and it goes wrong since this isn't a "real" recipe :)       

It's the Simple Things: Greek Inspired Udon Noodle Salad

This was a light lunch I threw together using left over ingredients from my fridge.  Sometimes I like putting together meals that I don't have to go out and shop ingredients for and to my surprise, they don't turn out half bad.  Most of the carbs from this meal are hidden under the veggies in the udon noodles, not the couscous.  I could have done without the couscous but oh well.  At least it makes the picture prettier and, I saved it from being tossed out in the trash with the other unwanted food scraps that were saved for some reason.  Anyways, tossing the noodles with the vinaigrette or dressing prior to topping the other ingredients is probably a good idea.  I poured my dressing over the top of everything already assembled and I remember thinking the noodles were a little dry while I was eating.  Don't make the same mistake I made!      

lettuce

mint leaves
tomato wedges
cucumber
crumbled feta
Israeli couscous
udon noodles
a light vinaigrette/dressing of your choice (I used a Romano Basil dressing from a bottle)
fresh cracked pepper, of course


1.  Assemble, and eat, eat, eat!

It's the Simple Things: Banana Split Sundae

One afternoon Wuz and I were bored, so what did we decide to do? Buy ingredients for sundaes! The homemade whipped cream really puts it over the edge and I know this because we sat in silence for approximately three minutes, practically inhaling our creations.  Here's a recipe for whipped cream which can be cut in half.  


By the way, from now on "It's the Simple Things" will be posts for recipes that aren't really recipes.  Meaning, they're more like easy and simple directions for assembling different food items together that I can't justify calling "recipes".  So here's the first one out of hopefully more to come.  Enjoy!  


1 banana, cut length wise
a handful of blackberries
1 or 2 scoops of cookies and cream ice cream
a dollop of freshly made whipped cream
a sprinkling of crunchy granola


1.  Assemble and devour!

Icy Cantaloupe "Smoothie"

This is my favorite way to eat cantaloupe.  I call it a smoothie but technically smoothies have dairy as an ingredient so this is more like a blended fruit drink.  It's really simple to make and is very refreshing on a summer day.  

I started with a small cantaloupe and cut the top and bottom to create a flat surface.  This way the cantaloupe doesn't roll around and makes cutting easier.

Then I cut the cantaloupe in half.

Using a spoon I scooped out the insides.

Then I cut the halves into quarters...

and then into eighths.

To cut off the rind I started on one end and cut about halfway.

Then I stood it up and finished cutting it off.  This is where trimming the top and bottom of the cantaloupe(the very first picture) comes in handy for stability.

Then I cut the eighth pieces into small bite size pieces.  They should look like little trapezoids.  

Now here's the easy part. I took a cup of ice and a cup and a half of cantaloupe pieces...

put them in a blender along with a little water and honey...

and voila! If you let it sit you'll see it starts to separate but nothing a little stirring can't fix!

 

This recipe can easily be doubled.  If you don't have honey you could add some sugar instead or, if you're trying to cut back on your sugar intake use stevia.

Adapted from All Recipes

Serves 1

1 cup ice

1 ½ cups cantaloupe, cubed/cut into pieces

¼ cup water

honey 

Place first three ingredients in a blender and blend.  Add desired amount of honey to taste.  Blend again and serve.

Vegan Thumbprint Cookies

 

I've made thumbprint cookies before but these are quite different.  The ones I made for Christmas had tons of butter and were very yummy but you probably shouldn't eat them too often (unless you want clogged arteries).  So when I found a recipe for a vegan version on The Kitchn I was curious to see how the two would compare.  After baking them and taste testing,  I would say that this vegan cookie is more like a granola bar type of snack rather than a dessert.  Although I probably wouldn't crave these cookies when I have a sweet tooth coming on, I would definitely not mind having a couple instead of a granola bar.  I hope you don't let the word "vegan" in the name turn you off from trying them! 

Note: The recipe is almost identical to the one on The Kitchn, but cut in half.

1 cup whole almonds

2 cups quick-cooking oats

1/8 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup maple syrup

strawberry jelly

Preheat oven to 350° F.  Have a baking sheet ready.  

In a food processor or blender pulse the almonds into almond meal.  If you want more texture don't pulse the almonds as much. Put the almond meal in a large bowl.

Mix in the oats, salt, and flour.  Pour in the oil first, and then maple syrup.  Use a wooden spoon to mix ingredients together.  Then use your hands to finish combining all ingredients.  Roll the dough into balls the size of whole walnuts and place on baking sheet.  The cookies don't expand much so they can be close together on the baking sheet.

Use the back of a teaspoon to make indentations in the middle of each dough ball.  Then scoop about a teaspoon of jelly on each cookie.

Bake for 15 minutes.  Let cookies cool on the sheet for 15 minutes before removing because they don't hold up too well when warm.

Throwdown: hot dogs

Last night Yohan and I faced off in a hot dog throwdown challenge! We both used the same franks and buns, but decided on different toppings.  We asked my little sister Wuz to be the judge in a blind taste test so while we were in the kitchen she was exiled into the living room to watch her anime shows (sorry, Wuz!).

The Wuz

After spending some time thinking about what to put on our wienies this is what Yohan and I each came up with.  Yohan made a Mexican inspired hot dog with homemade guac, diced tomatoes, sour cream, and crisp shredded lettuce.  To make it even better he stuffed cheese in the middle of his dogs before grilling.  So creative, I know!

My hot dog had an Italian flair to it with fresh mozzarella, caramelized onions, mini heirloom tomatoes, and a balsamic reduction. 

So after we were all done and ready to be judged by the Wuz I blind folded her and brought her over from the living room to the dining table.  I probably should have blind folded her after she was sitting at the table but it was kind of fun watching her trying to navigate to her seat (with my help, of course).  

She started with Yohan's hot dog and then took a bite of mine, kind of switching back and forth between the two.  After two hot dogs later she said that she liked both but admitted that one was a little better to her liking than the other.  And the one that she liked more was....Yohan's! She preferred the guac and fresh veggies on Yohan's more than the caramelized onions on mine.  I guess I should have known my own sister better but oh well.  Congrats to Yohan! He really did a good job and I'd gobble up another one of his creations in a heartbeat.