Ribs with Coleslaw and Buttermilk Biscuit

While my dad offered to buy me some Panda Express for lunch, I opted out knowing that I had food at home to cook. I am staying at my grandparent’s house in Thousand Oaks, California right now. It’s very different than Santa Cruz, filled with chain restaurants and fast food. There are not as many options for fresh produce as there is up there. I did walk to Whole Foods this morning in the rain to buy some food for the rest of the week. Today I heated up some leftover pork ribs and ate them with a buttermilk biscuit (the kind from the can, I know, gross) and some homemade coleslaw and avocado. My other grandmother made the coleslaw. She makes it with shredded Napa cabbage, peanuts, salt, pepper, oil, vinegar, and green onions. I added half of an avocado and some yogurt honey mustard dressing I bought from Whole Foods. It turned out to be a very tasty quick lunch.

Chicken Stir-Fry with Soba Noodles

Andrew and I made chicken stir-fry for dinner yesterday. We bought one pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts from Whole Foods. I sliced these into about one-half inch thick pieces and trimmed the fat. I made a sauce with “cock sauce” (its an Asian red pepper sauce), salt, pepper, rice wine vinegar, teriyaki, minced garlic, brown sugar, and soy sauce. I put the chicken in the sauce. Then I put water onto boil for the soba noodles. I added oil to a non-stick skillet and poured the chicken with sauce into that pan on about medium-low heat. In another pan, I added minced garlic, one small head of savoy cabbage (sliced into small pieces), brocolli, carrots, and pineapple. I added water, salt, and pepper to the vegetables. Once the water was boiling, I added the soba noodles. It took about fifteen minutes for the chicken to poach in the sauce. The noodles are very quick cooking and make sure not to overcook them since they will go gummy if you let them cook too long. If you’re not familiar with soba, they are a Japanese buckwheat noodle that are a little thicker than angel hair, but not as thick as spaghetti.

I mixed all three components together. It turned out nice, if a little saucy. I added a lot more “cock sauce” to mine. It made for yummy leftovers today.

Corned Beef Sausage

My boyfriend I came across this at Whole Foods Market in Santa Cruz yesterday and just had to try it. It is a corned beef sausage made with Whole Foods’ own recipe for corned beef, cabbage, carrots, and potatoes and made into a sausage. I have to say I much prefer these elements all seperate and thought the sausage a little lacking in flavor. The corned beef from Whole Foods however is absolutely delicious and tender. We had some on Friday night with our friends Shauna and Marcus who made it with fish chowder, soda bread, and P’s and C’s. Yum!