Carbfull Comforts 2009

Instead of a X’mas Wishlist, I have a list of my favorite comfort food finds and creations.

In spirit of the holiday and my going home in…7 days (!!!!) here are some (mostly) edible things that are comforting. Speaking of which…is it “bad” to turn to food for comfort?

1. Improvisational Fried Rice

Why it’s comforting? Tastes like home! You can’t have real Chinese fried rice without a few things though… they include eggs, peas, and white rice! These were our additional add-ins to spice things up a little:

Imitation Crab Meat

Scallions

Onions

Maple-glazed ham chunks

Sesame oil

Dark soy sauce (Did you know that “light soy sauce” is more concentrated and actually MORE salty than dark soy sauce? )

Nick makes a mean fried rice, but not with brown rice, that’s for sure. With white rice, you’re able to achieve a rice “cracker” like texture when the rice granules char slightly on the heated wok. If you order this at a restaurant, your chef will most likely use leftover rice from the night before because it’ll hold up better to the stir-fry process and not get soggy.

2. Elegant Ramekins

HELP! I have an obsession with cute and pretty bowls/ramekins! I bought a set of 3 at Marshall’s for $3.99. Good deal huh?

Almond Apple Pie Spiced Steel Cut Oats

Use this as a base and top it with lots of yummy things!

Simply throw everything into a slow cooker, stirring occasionally until oats are thickened and have absorbed most/all of the liquid.

*MySpiceSage sells seasonings and spices in BULK! The price will often come out cheaper than if you bought it from your local grocery store. They also have an insane collection of spices!

3. Cereal + Banana + Peanut Butter Dribbles

Kid food for grown-ups!

Multi-Grain puffins are my newest cereal find. Too bad TJ’s doesn’t have it. I had to pick it up from (the always over-priced) Whole Foods. Yummiest served with super ripe bananas and some Krema peanut butter. (Does the bowl look familiar?)

Tastiness: 8.5/10. They are in between the size of a regular puffin and the peanut butter puffin, so it’s pretty much a smaller PB puffin without the PB flavor. Get this cereal and drizzle it with REAL peanut butter – it’ll knock your socks off. The multi-grain puffins are excellent at soaking in a little bit of its surrounding milk, yet still retains is crunchy flaky texture. Delicious!! Beware of addiction.

4. My $10 Gingerbread House!

To be fair, Nick bought the kit for us when I got sick over the weekend for our entertainment. We spent 3 hours assembling the house and decorating it. I will never underestimate cake decorators and their frosting abilities!

*warning* Store bought ginger bread kit houses are NOT meant to be eaten. Blechh…

Now it’s just going to sit on the counter until creepy crawlies start move in.

Hmmm I wonder where the gingerbread boy’s foot went? Nom nom…He looks like a ghost doesn’t he?

5. Spicy Noodles (spoken like a true Asian yes?)

Though I wouldn’t consider instant noodles a “health food” per se, the Annie Chun instant noodles have no chemicals and no MSG at all. After a tough day at work, it’s nice to have a piping hot bowl of fresh chewy noodles to eat for dinner.

The product: Gochujang is a popular Korean red chili paste that is the main component of the sauce. Annie Chun’s combined fresh-cooked (Chinese) hokkien noodles with the sweet and spicy Gochujang to create a bowl of broth-less “tossed” noodles ready to be consumed in literally 2 minutes.

Tastiness: 8/10. The sauce itself is a wonderful well-balanced blend of sweet, savory, and a tad of spiciness thanks to the gochujang. You smell the aromatic sesame oil from the moment you open the package and just makes the sauce sing. The noodles themselves are incredibly chewy and fresh-tasting, but like all instant noodles, the vegetable toppings are pretty much tiny and non-existent.

NOTE! The bowl packs an astounding amount of sodium (1660mg per bowl) and contains 1 major food group: carbs.

Served with Chinese braised eggs and furikake *drool*

My Recommendation: Split the noodles into 2 servings and top each with a hefty plate of veggies and protein to round out the meal. Flavor-wise, this is excellent, but nutritionally, it’s not exactly awesome.

6. Getting inspired by food blogs!

I suppose it’s not a coincidence that pretty much everything is in the form of carbs huh? What Comforts You??