Macadamia Nuts + Spicy Ramen

Rating: 8.5/10

Salted macadamia nuts eaten with spicy soup ramen. Ever since I bought a bag of this my favorite nut yesterday I've been trying to work it into everything I eat (Nutella, chop salad, danish, etc.). Macadamia truly makes everything better. So while I was eating some ramen this morning/noon, I thought why not, no reason this won't work. Yep haven't disproved my theory that there's nothing edible macadamias don't go with yet. The salty, soft and crunchy nuts only added to and enhanced the otherwise bland experience of instant ramen despite its savory, spicy, soupy, chewy palatability. Me likey.

Nutrition:

• Savanna Orchards Gourmet Dry Roasted Macadamias (1/2 cup) = 420 Calories, 4g fiber, 230mg Sodium, 8% of daily Iron
• Nissin Demae Satay Flavor Ramen Noodle = 480 Calories, 1380mg Sodium, 3g fiber

Total Calories = 900
Damn that's a lot of Sodium and Calories to start the day. Tasty though. And got in a decent amount of fiber.

Fried Egg + Super Chop Salad

Rating: 10/10

Fried egg dripping in yolk tossed over a salad of baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, avocado, basil, mozzarella, garlic croutons, dried cranberries, almonds, pistachios, sunflower seeds, sautéed tofu, and thousand island dressing. Been totally obsessed with salad creations lately. Funny I've never been much into salads until I realized I can add anything I want into it and still call it a salad as long as it has some basic raw vegetables in the mix. So began my awesome salad journeys. First up, topping a super-salad with a crispy, yolky sunny-side up egg. So much taste and chew in this masterpiece. The key to deliciousness is really to chop it all up with a giant knife while in a giant bowl to get all the flavors mixing before tossing it with the dressing. Can't wait to try more new salad combos!


Nutrition:

• 2 cups of Earthbound Farm Organic Baby Spinach = 14 Calories, 2g fiber, 112% of daily Vitamin A, 28% of daily Vitamin C, 10% of daily Iron
• cup of Nature Sweet Cherry Tomatoes = 27 Calories, 2g fiber, 25% of daily Vitamin A, 32% of daily Vitamin C
• 1/2 Calavo Avocado =  140 Calories, 5g fiber, 15% of daily Folate, 13% of daily Vitamin C, 10% of daily Vitamin B6, 10% of daily Riboflavin
• sprig of Lucinda's Specialty Produce Basil = 1 Calorie
• thick slice of Formaggio Fresh Mozzarella = 160 Calories, 300mg Sodium, 30% of daily Calcium
• cup of Fresh Gourmet Seasoned Organic Croutons = 280 Calories, 560mg Sodium, 16% of daily Iron
• 3 spoonfuls of Kirkland Signature Fruit & Nuts = 150 Calories, 2g fiber, 11g sugar
• 2 spoonfuls of America's Choice Roasted Salted Sunflower Seeds = 170 Calories, 115mg Sodium, 3g fiber
• 1/2 block of Soonyeowon Soft Tofu sautéed = 270 Calories, 2g fiber, 32% of daily Iron, 20% of daily Calcium
• 6 spoonfuls of Walden Farms Thousand Island Dressing = 0 Calories, 870mg Sodium, 30% of daily Vitamin B12, 30% of daily Vitamin E
• fried egg = 95 Calories, 15% of daily Iron

Total Calories = 1,307
Not skimping on the Calories here. But totally worth it. Super nutritious and kept me full for half the day. A lot of Sodium though, no wonder I was so thirsty afterwards.

Oreo Gelato + Deep Fried Wonton

Rating: 7/10

If I can't get fried ice cream I'll settle for fried stuff dipped in ice cream. Hence the deep fried wonton with Oreo gelato. Okay combination. Neither did much for the other, but both still delicious. The gelato with its sweet, chewy, chunky creaminess. And the wonton with its crispy shell and salty, sour cream cheese filling. Really can't go wrong taste-wise with deep fried stuff and ice cream. Dependably good every time.

Tiramisu + Kimchi Fried Rice

Rating: 8/10

Tiramisu eaten with kimchi fried rice. Such an abundance of distinct flavors here. The salty, savory, sour, mildly spicy, chewy rice. The sweet, coffee, creamy, moist, cakey, cool tiramisu. So much going, mouth thoroughly stimulated. I'm not much a coffee or kimchi fan (one's too bitter and the other too sour for my taste), but in these particular incarnations and eaten together I could happily overindulge.

Leek Boxes + Ranch Dressing

Rating: 9.5/10

Hot off the stove leek boxes dipped in ranch dressing. Love leek boxes, sans shrimp flakes of course. Just the name is adorable. I've heard they're like a Shanghai specialty or something; only in China would food be called boxes. I can still remember the first time I tasted one. I was 19 and hanging out in the basement of some guy's house where slasher films, ping-pong, and DDR were taking place. Then there they were on the kitchen counter, best midnight snack surprise. So began a life-long craving. Anyway, the hot, crispy, chewy, juicy, salty savory, leek boxes rock so hard with the creamy, sour, salty ranch dressing I could kill.

Mint Chocolate + Spicy Crab Risotto

Rating: 9/10

Dark chocolate mint pieces eaten with some spicy crab risotto. This turned out unexpectedly good. And I don't even like mint. Just thought what the heck it was in front of me so I might as well combine it with other foods. Such a pleasant surprise that the sweet, chocolatey mint chunks actually worked with the salty, spicy, soft rice dish. In a way, the spicy and minty sort of canceled each other out yet still leaving some semblance of the two characteristics in my mouth. It was a bit surreal and kind of awesome. Yay another one of those happy accidents in life. More please! And the chocolates are shaped like little Santas, which adds to the creepy-cool factor depending on which end of the spectrum you fall.

Fried Dumplings + Babaganush

Rating: 5/10

Had some stale pork fried dumplings lying around. Thought I'd try to dress it up a bit with babaganush. This turned out surprisingly bland. It wasn't terrible but certainly not worth repeating. The light savory of the dumplings and the savory, garlicky babaganush sort of cancelled each other out. The creamy vs. crispy-chewy difference between the two doesn't even register. Blah.

Rotisserie Chicken + Babaganush + Naan Bread

Rating: 10/10

Creamy, garlicy eggplant babaganush and savory seasoned rotisserie chicken wrapped in hot-off-the-toaster-oven fluffy, chewy naan bread. It's basically the lazy man's chicken gyro. The babaganush is the glue that holds it all together and ramps up the flavor. This is like my favorite meal concoction right now and the last two meals I've had. Add in some fennel and/or arugula, this may be unstoppable.

Nutrition:

• 1/6 Kirkland Signature Seasoned Rotisserie Chicken = 140 Calories, 460mg Sodium
• 2 large scoops of Golden Taste Eggplant Babaganush Dip = 160 Calories, 280mg Sodium, 2g fiber
• Reya Tandoor Baked Naan = 280 Calories, 740mg Sodium, 2g fiber, 16'% of daily Iron

Total Calories = 580
Wow that's a lot of Sodium. No wonder I drank like 3 bottles of water afterwards.

Cream Puffs + Paella

Rating: 7.5/10

Mini cream puffs eaten with meat & veggie paella. Dessert with entree is the way to go. You got your sweet, creamy, and chewy from cream puff. Plus your salty, savory, spicy and also chewy from the paella. One gentle and light, the other a jolt of flavor. If only the cream puffs were custard-filled I would be in my happy food place. Eh, minor flaw. Still good. Day fully started.

Oranges + Candied Pecans

Rating: 7/10

Whole oranges eaten with candied pecans. The coming together of the sweet, slightly sour, and juicy from the orange plus the salty, sweet, and crunchy from the pecan. Hitting most of the taste buds, with sweetness dominating. Definitely warrants a redo. 

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies + Cherry Yogurt

Rating: 7/10

Oatmeal raisin cookies dipped in cherry yogurt. Not a terribly inspired combination this morning/noon, but I was feeling lazy on my day off and that's all I could find in the kitchen that was ready to eat without preparation. So here you have sweet, savory, and chewy from the cookies together with sweet, sour, and creamy from the yogurt. With a shot of cherry. Yum.