Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi

I consider myself a pretty big foodie and  I love trying new foods!
I am pretty picky so I don't always love everything that I try,
but when one of my best friend introduced me to Bahn Mi sandwiches,
I immediately knew I wanted to recreated it in my own kitchen!

I did what I do quite often and turned to Google in search of a recipe.
I found quite a few ideas, but decided to use this one,
and modify it slightly to make the sandwiches to my liking.
Keep reading to see how I made them!

The Goods:

Serrano Chilis

Jalapenos

Fresh Lemongrass

Green Onions

Coconut Sugar

Tamari

Rice Vinegar

Carrots

English Cucumber

Radishes

Tomatoes*

Spinach*

Limes

Fresh Ginger

Garlic

Chicken Thighs

French Rolls

*Include in your shopping list if wanting to make salad instead of sandwichs

In a blender, add the following:

2 Serrano chilies - thinly sliced

1 lemongrass stalk -smashed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2 green onions - thinly sliced

1 teaspoon coconut sugar

6 tablespoons tamari

1 lime - zested

10 inch piece of ginger - peeled and chopped

2 garlic cloves - peeled and smashed

Puree for about a minute until paste like consistency.

Pour half of the mixture into a large lidded container.

Add your chicken thighs...

And cover with the remaining half of the mixture.

Cover and let marinade for at least 30 minutes,

but can be marinaded for up to 24 hours!

While meat is marinating, make your quick pickled vegetables.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the following:

2 Teaspoons Coconut Sugar, juice from one lime and 3 Teaspoons Rice Vinegar.

Add 2 grated carrots, 1 thinly sliced Serrano chili and 1/3 of an English cucumber.

Mix well and let sit at least 10 minutes, or refrigerate overnight. 

Heat your grill to medium high, wipe off excess marinade and place chicken on hot grill.

Grill each side about 5 to 7 minutes.

Let grilled chicken rest a few minutes...

And then chop it all up into bite sized pieces!

Make sure to grill your french rolls so they're nice and toasty,

and then assemble the sandwich to your liking.

Mmm mmm mmmm!

Looking at this picture, I can just taste the deliciousness of the sandwich!

Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi Sandwich

Adapted from Goop

3 Serrano Chilis

1 Jalapenos**

1 Stalk Fresh Lemongrass

2 Green Onions

2 Teaspoons Coconut Sugar

6 Tablespoons Tamari

3 Teaspoons Rice Vinegar

2 Carrots Carrots

1/3 English Cucumber

2 Radishes**

3 Limes

10 inch Piece Fresh Ginger

2 Cloves Garlic

1 1/2 Pounds Chicken Thighs

French Rolls

**Used for Sandwich Garnish

1. In a blender, add 2 Serrano chilies - thinly sliced, 1 lemongrass stalk -smashed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces, 2 green onions - thinly sliced, 1 teaspoon coconut sugar, 6 tablespoons tamari, 1 lime - zested, 10 inch piece of ginger - peeled and chopped and 2 garlic cloves - peeled and smashed. Puree for about a minute until paste like consistency.
2. Pour half of the mixture into a large lidded container, add the chicken thigh and cover with the remaining half of the mixture. Cover and let marinade for at least 30 minutes, but can be marinaded for up to 24 hours.
3. While meat is marinating, make your quick pickled vegetables. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the following: 2 Teaspoons Coconut Sugar, juice from one lime and 3 Teaspoons Rice Vinegar. Add 2 grated carrots, 1 thinly sliced Serrano chili and 1/3 of an English cucumber. Mix well and let sit at least 10 minutes, or refrigerate overnight. 
4. Heat your grill to medium high, wipe off excess marinade and place chicken on hot grill. Grill each side about 5 to 7 minutes.
5. Let grilled chicken rest a few minutes,then chop it all up into bite sized pieces.
6. Grill the French rolls so they're nice and toasty,and then assemble the sandwich to your liking.

Watermelon Juice

Now that it's officially Fall (woohoo!!), I'm finally getting around to posting about one of my favorite little treats that I discovered this summer - Watermelon Juice!

I've always loved watermelon, so it's no wonder I love the juice just at much! I had just never really thought about making watermelon into a juice. One of my amazing co-workers is the one that gave me the idea! Now that I've done it, I'm sad that I hadn't discovered the refreshing amazingness of it sooner! 

It's great alone - best if chilled, but also makes a great compliment to champaign!

After making this juice quite a few times, I noticed a different co-worker drinking a SPICY watermelon pressed juice from one of the local juice bars. I was a little hesitant, but tried it and absolutely love it as well! 

I don't have a juicer, but I simply cut up seedless watermelon into cubes, blend and then run through a fine mesh strainer. It's so easy and delicious. Give it a try if you can still find watermelon this year!

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde

I recently ran across a recipe for a Salsa Verde that sounded amazing and looked super easy to make! I saved the recipe and said to myself I'd make it soon. 

Less than a month later, I was roasting tomatillos, jalapenos and garlic to make this delicious salsa!  As I suspected, it WAS super easy to make and required very little effort! 

Take a look below and give it a try yourself! I don't think you'll be disappointed.

The Goods:

Tomatillos

Jalapenos

Garlic

Lime Juice

Salt

Apple Cider Vinegar

And not pictured...

Cilantro!

(OOPS!)

Before, After,

And all ready for Blending!

All done!

Now time to dig in!

Go make it yourself.

Seriously!!!

Homemade Green Juice

I recently started making my own Green Juices at home. After a few tries, I think I finally have a good mixture and couldn't wait to share on my blog! I don't have a juicer, but use my awesome blender and then strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer. It takes a little longer, but it's totally worth it because the end result is just so tasty! 

Without saying more, here's a quick look at the juice making process:

The Goods:

2 Handfulls Kale

1 Granny Smith Apple

1 Anjou Pear

2 Kiwi

1 Cutie Tangerine

Juice from 1 Orange

Juice from 1 Lemon

Tiny bit of water and/or ice

Cut up the pear.

Cut up the apple too.

And don't forget the kiwi!

Peel and separate the cutie.

Now add the kale on top of all the fruit.

Squeeze the orange and lemon.

And add a lil bit of water.

Start the blender and watch it go!

Until it looks something like this!

YUM!

You could drink it from this stage, but it's thicker and more smoothie like.

So I strain it through a fine mesh strainer.

Doing it a little at a time.

Pressing down to make sure I collect all the yummy green juices! 

Scrape the pulp out.

This is how much pulp I usually have at the end. 

And THIS is the yummy juice!

All ready to be devoured!

Man...now that I'm done writing this post, I could totally go for a green juice but am feeling too lazy to go make one now. It's easy, but expect to spend about 15 minutes cutting, blending and straining.