tinykitchenbigbites

Author: Danielle Ruiz

  • Looking Back

    7 years. It’s hard to believe that’s how long it’s been since Randy and I got married. Our anniversary was on the 9th, and it seems like it was just yesterday, but a lifetime ago at the same time. We’ve both grown and changed so much. Our LIVES have changed so much over the years. We’ve gone on so many adventures, and we don’t plan on stopping any time soon. No matter what life holds for us.

    We got married on a cruise ship! Royal Caribbean. It was an amazing time and thankfully most of our family got to go with us. It was simple, beautiful, and not stressful to plan! Really, you give them some preferences, and the cruise wedding planner pretty much does everything for you! Gosh I’m ready for another cruise now that I’m thinking about it.

    And speaking of anniversary happenings….

    Randy got me a new notebook to put my favorite recipes in, AND a copycat restaurant recipes cookbook! I’m so excited!

    I also got to go with him on his local truck route the other day and we stopped by this little, I guess you’d call it a road-side grocery store and fish market? Eagle Island Fruit and Seafood. They had fresh produce, seafood and a little bit of everything else in there.

    I got this “Mango Joe Tea”, and I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting much. I was worried that it would taste like they put lemon in their sweet tea (yuck). But I was pleasantly surprised! They have a lot of different flavors. If you’ve ever tried it, let me know your favorite.

    We also decided that we were both going to pick something we really wanted to cook/eat and make it this weekend.

    Randy used to like the jalapeno double cheeseburger from McDonalds. So, we made our own! Cut a beef patty in half to make 2 patties, put green onion cheese (from the Eagle Island store) in between them, added pickled and crispy jalapenos and mayo! As you can see, I got into mine before I remembered to snap a picture.

    Now my pick was a little more complicated. I wanted to make something like a hotpot, but with a thicker sauce instead of a broth, some summer rolls with peanut sauce, miso soup, and garlic fried chicken with spicy mayo. Come on this culinary journey real quick with me…

    First I made this sauce for the “hotpot”. It’s milk, cream, garlic, mozzarella, parmesan, tomato paste, gochujang (a Korean chili paste) and some Complete Seasoning. I didn’t use measurements really, I kind of just eyeballed everything and tasted as I went. It turned out really good!

    On to the “hotpot” ingredients!

    I used these bean curd sheets (kind of like tofu skins) that you have to soak in cold water for 1-2 hours before putting in the broth/sauce. I just really like their texture. And they soak up the sauce really well.

    I stir-fried some baby bok choy as well for some veggies and crunch.

    I added these imitation lobster balls
    Which I boiled to make sure they were cooked through
    We also tried this brand of sausage we got from Lidl
    Cooked them in the air fryer
    These vermicelli went in both the “hotpot” and the summer rolls
    I just followed the instructions on the back of the package
    And I also added some mushrooms

    I’ll show you the finished product at the end.

    I made the summer rolls with the vermicelli shown above, shrimp, Thai basil, scallion and wrapped it all up in rice paper. I meant to add lettuce, but I forgot.

    I made a spicy mayo sauce for the chicken with mayo, gochujang, and chili oil crunch
    Marinated the chicken in soy sauce, milk, egg and spices
    Coated it in flour and cornstarch and fried it up!
    After frying, I coated it in garlic powder and pepper
    Close up of deliciousness!

    Oh, yes, and I made Miso soup as well!

    And here’s the finished plate!

    I made a valiant effort to finish all this, by the way. But alas, it was not to be. Leftovers are a beautiful thing.

    Of course, throughout the week we did eat other, healthier things. For the most part.

    Sunday breakfast was a bacon egg and cheese croissant (really filling so I only ate 1/2 of mine). We had 4th of July dinner with my parents, Randy made marinated baked chicken, I made BBQ meatballs and mom made mac salad, baked beans and corn on the cob. It was sooo good! And finally, this last one has become somewhat of a staple meal for us during the week. Lettuce wraps with avocado, egg and sardines with whatever sauce we want to put on it. It’s actually really good and satisfying.

    Ok guys….it is time! Do you have your snacks and frosty beverage? It’s time for the popcorn couch! (I might change the name to include the book review we’re doing sometimes, but I’m not sure yet. Any suggestions let me know.)

    I loved the main character’s voice. But she talked to her sick husband like he was a child. Ew. I didn’t find it scary or creepy at all, really. The house was gorgeous. I actually kind of liked Mags. Gave me a “The Picture of Dorian Gray” type vibe. Especially at the end. Not a scary movie, but interesting.

    This was a mix between “Saw” and one of those escape room games/movies. If those movies were about dating. It was entertaining. The kills weren’t anything special, more the things they had to do to get to the next room were interesting. I did like the ending. Half expected it but also half expected it to go another way. This was fun!

    And finally,

    Now I grew up (and still am) Catholic. Went to Catholic school and all that. But I realized how surprisingly easy it can be to lose sight of the basics as you get caught up in life. To put it simply, this book reminded me of what I believe and also answered some questions I forgot I had. I LOVED the writing style, and he made everything clear and logical. I almost feel like, even if you weren’t Christian, this book would have you questioning things.

    Okey dokey people. I think that’s all I’ve got for this week. Until next time! Love ya!

  • Back in Action!

    Written by

    Danielle Ruiz

    What is up everyone?! Long time no see! A lot of you probably didn’t even realize the previous blog existed, but that’s ok. Welcome. Here’s a picture of a stud muffin to make your day brighter…..

    There you go. Feeling better?

    Anyway, let’s move on, shall we?

    So, I have a lot to talk about today. It’s been an interesting month. June, that is. This post will probably come out around July 1st. But anyway, Randy, (the stud muffin in the picture above), his 40th birthday was in June. Anyone else a Gemini out there? So guess where I took him?

    “Wreck It Rage Room”! We had such a good time! It’s a 30-minute session and they give you a box of plates, windowpanes, a windshield, some home appliances and a dummy bust to smack around with the variety of tools they give you (bats, crowbars, sledgehammers, etc.). It was very satisfying, I must say.

    We celebrated his Birthday dinner with my family. Mom made a BEAUTIFUL Greek salad. I also made him a Chicken Cesar Pizza with a crust made of ground chicken (his request). It turned out so freaking good, guys, you have to try it! Especially if you’re trying to do low carb. Look up

    And then…..VACATION TIME!!!!

    My cousin has a beach house in Santa Rosa Beach that we use for a family reunion every year or so for a week. We got to go out on his boat twice while we were there and visited Shell Island! You can dock the boat pretty much right up to the shallow water where when you get out, you’re standing. The water was so warm and nice. Very relaxing, and we had an amazing time.

    And our adventures weren’t just on the boat….

    Still studious while on vacay
    Mexican Street Corn Salad I made for our Mexican themed dinner
    Pirate themed dinner and show
    Beach ready Randy
    Can you feel the peace and calm?
    Nothing better than sitting with a coffee and some new books

    In other words, we had a fabulous time.

    On our way back home we stopped in Savannah, GA. We found this cute place around the corner from the hotel and I got to fulfill my craving for fettuccini alfredo.

    And when we got back, we made some homemade hibachi that turned out great.

    And you can’t have hibachi without yum yum sauce.

    And now I’d like to share a recipe I made from Martha Stewart….Asparagus Timbale.

    This was my setup before I started actually cooking. My baking pan lined with a kitchen towel, my brioche mold lined with plastic wrap, a bowl of ice water, prepped veggies (spinach, onion, garlic, and asparagus), seasonings, cream, and eggs.

    First blanche your asparagus in boiling water and then dunk it in the ice bath.

    Then do the same with the spinach.

    Set aside your asparagus heads and chop up the stalks finely.

    Saute your onion and garlic in butter.

    Blend, blend, blend. I’m not gonna lie, I struggled with this part because I didn’t have a nice big blender, but I made it work.

    Add your eggs and seasonings and whisk it up.

    Heat up the cream and add that too, as well as the chopped asparagus stalks.

    This’ll be your set up when you’re ready to put it in the oven.

    When it’s done, this is the texture you want!

    And the final result!

    And here’s our final thoughts….A SUCCESS!! It turned out quite tasty! I would make this again for sure. It may be a little complicated, but not too bad. I’d say it was worth it.

    I’m going to try and do more of these kinds of posts, recipes and stuff (maybe a little more polished, but hey, gotta start somewhere).

    And now, drumroll please…..if you read my last blog you cozied up on the popcorn couch with me for our movie reviews. Those are continued now.

    So butter and salt your popcorn, grab a soda and watch with me.

    Disappearing bodies? Check. Creepy guy who lives at the hotel with a tragic past? Check. Detectives being told not to meddle? Check. Random supernatural entity that, for some reason, didn’t feel quite in place with the rest of the movie? Yup, it had that too.

    First of all, I LOVE the house they live in. I have to say though, I figured the movie out from the first. But I still liked it. Darcy was a very likable character. Why do people always tell the other when they’re going to leave an abusive realtionship or ruin someone’s reputation, etc? Do you think they’re just going to let you? Sigh. Anyway, kind of a satisfying ending.

    And occasionally we will be adding book reviews to this section.

    I ended up enjoying this book. The characters grew on me for sure. Enough for me to get a tad bit ferclempt at a specific part which shall not be spoiled for you (you MIGHT read this, you never know). It took me a while to get used to the characters speaking in “Shakespear” quite a bit, but it did end up adding to the story in a good way. Anyway, I do recommend this.

    Alrighty readers. It’s been fun. I’m glad to be back writing this blog. Hopefully you have fun reading it. Let me know if you’ve been any of the places I mention or try any of the recipes I post! I’d love to hear from you!

    Until next time! Love ya!