Oh how I wish I had a third hand to take some photos of my drive home today. It was GORGEOUS! This fall is so beautiful. I think the late summer weather mixed the perfect cocktail of rain and sun to make the trees an idealistic blend of red, orange and yellow.
Like this!
On my ride home I listened to not one, not two, but THREE Joy The Baker podcasts via Homefries.com. I felt like I was chatting with my BFFs in the car. I also loved that I could download them in minutes right onto my Android phone – no iTunes required. Thanks, Joy and Tracy, it was a hilarious ride!
I arrived home just after dark to find Matt at work in the kitchen on a lovely sea-inspired meal for the family! His dad and wife are visiting!
His dish was a sautéed mixture of shrimp, bok choy, julienned carrot and red pepper, shitake mushrooms over Udon noodles. As a garnish, he soaked and then sautéed a bag of shredded arame, a sea weed vegetable.
I LOVED the arame!! It did have a slightly seaweed taste, but it was delicious in Matt’s sauce and an AMAZING texture!! Kinda chewy like al dente spaghetti!
Looks kinda like spiders are crawling around in there!
For the dish, he marinated the shrimp in the following: Tamari, apple cider vinegar, garlic, honey and Worcestershire – about a tbsp or so of each. And then seared ‘em up in a pan!
The rest of the veggies went in next until they were tender and then he removed them and reduced the sauce on medium high heat until it was thick and poured it over everything – including the noodles.
After dinner we opened some chocolates I brought home from my trip and dug into the Triple Ginger Cookies – so good.
Now we’re sipping hot tea and watching Randall’s You Tube videos. Hilarious!
SO GLAD TO BE HOME! I love our house. Home Neat Home post #2 coming this week!!
bobbi says
Glad you made it home safely girl!
KathEats says
Good to see you this weekend!!
[email protected] Kel Show says
Honey badge don’t give a &^%$!
My chihuahua is part honey badger, or at least I think he is after watching Randall.
Glad you are home safe and sound!
Kristabel says
Hahaha My husband was a honey badger for Halloween.
Savannah @ Sweet and Savvy says
Gorgeous picture! And that dinner looks so good! Never thought I’d be saying that about seaweed..
kathleen @ the daily crumb says
never knew joy the baker had podcasts… she’s one of my faves! i’m pretty sure i mention this every time matt cooks dinner, but you are so lucky to have a chef of a husband. what i would give to come home to a warm meal 🙂 my matt knows grilled cheese and pb + j. and even those are challenging.
KathEats says
: )
Katie @ Peace Love and Oats says
That dinner looks delicious, and very creative! Good job to matt!
Maria says
Wow!!! Those fall colors are amazing!! The trees are completely bare in Chicago. Dinner looks great as well! Gotta love a guy who knows his way around the kitchen.
Ashley @ My Food 'N' Fitness Diaries says
Dinner looks delicious and unique too – love it. Glad you’re home, I’m sure it feels great!
Lauren @ Lawfully Wedded Wife says
Oh MAN that first picture really makes me wish I was on your end of the state! Nothing beats those views!!! A scenic drive might be in order soon. 🙂
jojo says
When I first saw the photo, I thought it was “Hijiki”. I thought, “cool!! Kats eating japanese hijiki now! I love hijiki, it’s very nutritious too, I looked the difference between hijiki and arame, and I guess it’s very similar, Arame grows deeper in the sea 🙂
Anyway, thought I’d share my passion of Hijiki, haha.
Looks great, I’m going to buy Arame next time I’m at the Japanese market!!
lynn @ the actor's diet says
i love joy and tracy’s podcast – it’s one of my faves! i listen to them when i don’t feel like walking to motivate me to get outa the house.
Cat @Breakfast to Bed says
so tell me, what’s it like to have a husband that doesn’t set the kitchen on fire while making eggs? I assume it’s really neat.
KathEats says
Indeed, I am so thankful 🙂
Olena (The Fit Gourmet) says
My grandma has always said that a man doesn’t have to *do* everything himself, he just needs to “arrange” it. My bf’s cooking is below par but, boy, is he handy with his credit card when he takes me out! LOL 🙂
Kaila @healthyhelperblog! says
That dinner sounds amazing! Love all the different tastes and textures~
Karina says
Beautiful pictures and super yum looking dinner!
Sana says
Matt rules for cooking an amazing dinner 🙂
Alexa @ SimpleEats says
This dish looks awesome, I’m iffy about seaweed, but I love seaweed salad. Shrimp goes SO well with all of those flavors!
Jen says
Please send Matt my way – with food! 🙂 Is the seaweed like fake “noodles”? Are they difficult to chew or substantial enough to replace pasta? Interesting – spider images aside! Ick.
Podcasts? What does she talk about? Food?
Kristin @ eat healthy. be happy. live well. says
I’m definitely going to check out those podcasts! They would definitely make my hour-long commute go by much quicker 🙂
Samantha says
Does Matt eat onions while you are away 😉 ?
KathEats says
No, he doesn’t like onions either.
Lauren @ What Lauren Likes says
Glad your home! Dinner looks amazing 🙂
Molly @ RDexposed says
Don’t you love having a guy that has great beer taste and cooks great? I came home to Indian-ish dinner tonight after a late night of work-so amazing!
Averie @ Love Veggies and Yoga says
Those chocolates steal the show for me. Not much of a seaweed fan b/c I can never get past the salty taste. I am a sweet tooth rather than a salt tooth person 🙂
Joy is awesome. Love her. And what she and Tracy have done with Homefries!
Katie @BestHealthFoodsList says
Looks fabulous and healthy! nice photos!
Lindsay says
Oh those pictures are GORGEOUS! I adore fall, I mean…seriously, my favorite time of year! And YAY for seaweed! We eat it everyday here in Korea, they even make this little rectangle chip-shaped bites of it (the sell something like it in the States at Trader Joes) and they are a perfect salty snack:)
Dave says
Holy buckets that first picture was stunning!
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says
I’ve loved HomeFries podcast and have been listening to Joy and Tracy for quite some time now. They make an awesome duo!
Wow, Matt is a culinary chef! Nice dinner 🙂
Jill says
I listend to that podcast today too! GMTA!
Christine @ Oatmeal in my Bowl says
Matt bakes and cooks? Wow, double kapow! Pretty ambidextrous! So to speak. LOL.
Dinner looks very tasty and I love the sound of the shrimp marinade.
Meagan says
What was his reasoning behind prepping the arame like that? I’ve never heard of that method before!
KathEats says
You mean the soaking first? That’s what the package said to do. And then he sauteed for flavor.
Lena @Fit on the Rocks says
That meal looks amazing. I’m a huge fan of seaweed/sea plants, but I grew up eating it, so it’s no big deal for me. Glad you enjoyed it!
Katie @ Talk Less, Say More says
Fall is one of my favorite seasons and I miss the lack of tree-changing in LA. That photo is so GORGEOUS it just makes me smile. 🙂
Lisa (bakebikeblog) says
what an interesting dinner!
Health Bee says
Glad that you got home safely. The dinner looks delicious!
Khushboo says
A baker and a chef…Matt is defo a keeper :)!
Mimi (Gingersnaps) says
Arame, nori, and dulse are my favorite seaweeds! Arame wins for texture though.
It was lovely to bump into you at FoodBuzz! Or rather, outside the Cocoa cafe. Thankfully for Eli and me, the bellhop’s Whistle of Gondor totally worked and we got a cab!
KathEats says
Nice to meet you too Mimi!
Clare @ sweetnsimple says
oh wow those pictures look SO good ! I looove seaweed.. and anything Japanese 🙂
Hannah @ Sparrow + Spark! says
That looks really good. I bet you’re so glad to be home!
Carrie @ greenamily says
Shrimp – Oh they look so good!
Lauren says
Glad you made it home safely! So excited to make it down there in a few days. 🙂
[email protected] Flying ONION says
Mmm…what a fabulous meal to walk into upon arriving home!
And it’s so funny that you posted about seaweed today, because I have been so intrigued by it lately. It’s chock full of good stuff. And one of my favorite things to order at a sushi place is seaweed salad (so delicious.) I’ll have to just get brave and buy a bag of seaweed already. 😀
Kinley @ Better Off Barefoot says
Wow, that is a pretty neat welcome home meal! And beautiful drive!!!
Katherina says
Matt should have a food blog 🙂
Kayla says
I agree!! hahaha
Susan H. @ the food allergy chronicles says
Your fall photo is breathtaking!!! Coming home to a delicious home cooked meal after a long journey is so comfortiing…good job Matt! I know…I am fortunate to enjoy the same comforts!
Hilliary @ Happily Ever Healthy says
The fall colors in the picture are amazing! And dinner looks absolutly delicious!
megan says
I LOVE Joy and Tracy’s podcasts. I look forward to a new episode each Thursday and listen to each one multiple times.
Hope @ With A Side Of Hope says
How nice to come home to a home cooked meal! 🙂 Looks delicious! Oh, and the first pictures of the scenery are beautiful! I cannot wait for your Home Sweet Home post this week!
Amanda says
I love that first photo with the winding road peeking out through the trees. Amazingly beautiful.
That dinner sounds fantastic! I’m not sure I’ve tried arame before, but I love seaweed salads. Going to seek it out the next time I’m at Whole Foods!
Emily says
The leaves look beautiful. I know this is naive, but I didn’t realize that the colors got like that in places OTHER than the midwest. Because even here in Southern Ohio, its not as beautiful as Southern Michigan. We get yellows, they get beautiful reds…
Chelsea @ One Healthy Munchkin says
What a creative dinner! I love using seaweed in my meals. My favourite is deconstructed sushi bowls with nori. I’ve never tried arame though – it looks like it has a really neat texture!
[email protected] Broken Cookies Don't Count says
I’ve notice that the trees are incredibly beautiful this year. I’ve been boring everyone with Fall photos! It always feels good to come home after a long trip doesn’t it?
Angel7 says
The leaves have been “absolutely beautiful” this fall! The colors have been so vibrant!!! You are right… I believe the vibrant colors of the leaves have a lot to do with the perfect cocktail combo of sun and rain.
http://faithfulsolutions.blogspot.com/
[email protected] Grains of Paradise says
Beautiful picture of the fall trees…I have never lived in a place that did that and I’ve always been a bit envious 🙁
Julia H. @ The Petite Spiel says
Whoah, neat! I’ve never heard of arame, but I’d be willing to try it. It reminded me of black pasta I had in San Francisco this past summer. The pasta is black from squid ink…and was tasty! Ever tried it?
KathEats says
Yeah I love that stuff!
Erin says
You should come to Japan. They have squid ink on tons of stuff over here!
~Christy @ wonderofallthings says
So fun to have a creative chef to come home to! Looks like a fun food adventure 🙂 Gorgeous pics of your drive home. I LOVE FALL!!!
james hansen says
The food really looks delicious. Wish i could taste it someday.