Asian Style Ribs

Dinner is served! Proud of myself - I can't lie. These ribs are tender and pack a little heat, but not too much. Delish!

Ingredients
2 pounds baby-back pork ribs, cut into individual ribs
4 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp scallions, thinly sliced
3 tsp Sriracha
3 tablespoons dry mustard
2 teaspoons honey
2 cap fulls of Liquid Smoke
3 tbsp Ponzu sauce
1 tsp Kosher salt
Fresh cracked pepper 

6 cilantro sprigs for garnish
1 small orange, sliced thinly for garnish

Directions

1. Heat oven to 300° F. Place the ribs in a large roasting pan and season with 1 teaspoon pepper.
2. In a small bowl, combine all remaining ingredients; spoon the glaze over the ribs. Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake until the ribs are tender, about two hours.
3. Heat the broiler. Remove foil and brush drippings on top of ribs. Broil until just beginning to char, 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle with the scallions and garnish with cilantro and oranges.

Cucumber Salad

It's starting to feel like summer! Especially with this delicious crisp and refreshing salad. Serve it with something yummy - like ribs! ;)

Ingredients

• 1 English cucumbers
• 1/2 small red onion
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 and a half tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons fresh parsley, finely chopped (or you could go traditional and use dill)

Directions

Slice the cucumber lengthwise, remove the seeds, and slice thinly. Thinly slice the onion.

In a colander, toss the cucumber and onion with the salt and let it sit and drain for 20 minutes. Press the liquid out of the vegetables and rinse well with cold water. In a medium bowl combine the vinegar and sugar and stir well. Add the cucumber mixture and toss to coat. Stir in the parsley.

Perfect Soft Boiled Eggs

Growing up, my dad used to eat soft boiled eggs. I used to think they were disgusting and then one day I tried them and now I love them! Making them can be tough, but lucky for you I researched this and I have the fail proof method!
Step 1: Get a pot of salted water to a boil. Make sure you have enough room in the pot so the eggs don't bang around and hit each other. Also, make sure you have enough water in the pot so that your eggs are completely submerged under water.

Step 2: Take a pin and puncture the wider part of the egg. I used a regular safety pin and placed it on the egg and gently tapped on it with the bottom of a spoon. Worked perfectly.

Step 3: Once the water is at a gentle boil, run eggs under hot water for 1 minute then add to pot. This ensures that the cold eggs don't crack when they meet boiling water.

Step 4: Using a spoon, lower eggs into pot one at a time. For extra large eggs set timer for 5 minutes exactly. Yolk will be nice and runny. For large eggs subtract a minute. Medium eggs subtract 2 minutes. Never cook less than 3 minutes.
Step 5: Remove eggs and rinse under cold water. Let them cool for 1 minute so you don't burn your hands.

Step 6: If you have an eggcup, use it. If not just use a bowl (like my dad would do). Crack the side of the egg (near the top) and remove the top of the egg. You can dip and scoop while the egg stays in its shell. Serve with buttered bread and a little salt and pepper on the side of the plate.

S'mac

I had some friends over the other night for a "Crafts and Cocktails" evening of fun. We drank margaritas, we made mobiles (which were more complicated than they seemed) and we ate Sarita's Mac and Cheese. We order the 4 cheese: Cheddar, Muenster, Gruyere and a touch of Pecorino and then we added slab bacon. MAN! Is it good. We ordered the Mongo size. That thing is as big as a pizza and could feed an army!

Shrimp Miso Soup

This is a very light and very yummy soup. You could make it a starter to a great meal or eat it with a bowl of rice for dinner. I had it for lunch on a rainy day and it was very satisfying.

You need:
1/2 pound shrimp, tails removed
1 zucchini
4 tbsp dashi miso paste
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp scallions, chopped
Pepper

Do it:
Get 4 cups of water in a pot and add the miso paste. Once dissolved, add the mirin and soy sauce. Stir. Add shrimp. Cook for about 3 minutes. Using a mandolin or a peeler, slice the zucchini into ribbons then add it to the pot. You can serve topped with scallions and a dash of pepper.

Pasta Soul

A coworker of mine created a pasta dish once called, "Pasta Soul". It was basically wheat pasta with healthy additions. So, I liked the name so much I decided to make my own.

What you need:
1/2 box whole wheat penne
6 oz chicken breast, chopped into bite sized pieces
1 small zucchini, sliced
1 cup of spinach
1 tbsp pine nuts
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 small shallot
1/4 c EVOO
1/4 cup fresh parsley
6 basil leaves
salt and pepper

What you do:
Get a pot of salted water up to a boil and add your pasta. Cook 7-10 minutes until tender. Separately, add 1 tsp of olive oil to a big frying pan. Add garlic and pine nuts and cook for about 1 minute then add the chicken. While chicken is cooking, put the shallot, basil, parsley and about 5 teaspoons of oil in a blender. Blend it. When pasta is done cooking drain (do not rinse pasta - EVER!) and add it to the chicken. Add zucchini and remaining EVOO, cook for 1 minute. Add your shallot mixture and mix well. Add spinach last and stir until wilted. Serve!

Tortilla Frittata

This Sunday brunch is no April Fool's joke. It's yummy in your tummy and will be devoured in minutes. (At least ours was...)

Ingredients:

Stone-ground tortilla chips (lighter than usual tortilla chips) - enough for one layer in an ovenproof pan

2-3 oz shredded white cheddar

1 tbsp scallions, sliced

4 large eggs

1/4 c sour cream (or you can use Greek Yogurt)

1 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

4 strips turkey bacon

Hot Chipotle Sauce 

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Lightly oil an oven proof pan. Layer the chips into the bottom of the prepared pan. Top the chips with half the cheese.

Whisk the eggs with the sour cream and chopped herbs till fluffy and pour the mixture all over the chips. Season with sea salt and fresh pepper. Top with remaining cheese.

Bake in a hot oven for about 20 to 25 minutes or until the eggs are set and the frittata is golden. While the frittata is cooking, fry up your turkey bacon. Crumble one piece of bacon on top of each serving. Sprinkle the hot sauce around on the plate for dipping. 

Note: You could also serve with a tablespoon of store-bought salsa or your own salsa.