March Recap

Good afternoon, readers! I know I've been neglecting my duties of keeping you abreast to my daily activity and cooking ventures and for that I'm sorry. It was definitely not for lack of want, but rather lack of available time and available brain cells not being devoted to other activities (i.e. long work hours and being dead-tired 24/7). So to make up for my behavior I'm going to give you a March Recap! I'm going to hit you with several recipes, 2 restaurant reviews and as always, funny anecdotes. So let's dive in!


First I'm going to kick this off with a recipe I made on March 7, 2018 - Pasta Rosa.


Pasta Rosa

Because every pasta deserves to be paired with a good glass of vino

1 Tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 Pinch crushed red pepper flake
Salt and pepper, to taste
8 oz button mushrooms, sliced
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 zucchini, diced
4 C fresh spinach
1/2 C marinara sauce (I used tomato-basil flavored)
1/3 C plain Greek yogurt
1/4 C grated parmesan cheese
12 oz pasta, cooked according to box instruction


In a deep skillet, cook garlic and red pepper flake in oil until garlic is fragrant.


Add in the mushrooms, tomatoes and zucchini. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté for 5-8 minutes or until everything begins to brown.


Add in the spinach and allow to wilt for 2 minutes.


Stir in the pasta sauce, yogurt, parmesan cheese and pasta.


This pasta was creamy, cheesy and stuffed full of veggies! It was great! It was like the best pasta primavera and best alfredo sauce had a baby and this was it!


The recipe yielded about 6 cups' worth and was great for  leftover dinner!


Next onto the first restaurant review!


Tonbo Ramen

The magnificent Mazemen Bowl from Tonbo Ramen in Raleigh

This restaurant (located at 211 S. Wilmington St, Raleigh, NC 27601) opened up a few weeks ago in Raleigh and I've been interested in trying it ever since. Nate and I used to frequent O Ramen in Albuquerque and since our move there's been a void in my life - a void of tasty noodles and broth-slurping.


It was a Friday afternoon (March 9th to be exact), at the end of a particularly trying work week. I generally love my job. I meet interesting people, I get to work with food, I get to dress fancy and have a title, but boy do some weeks wear me out! That was one of those weeks.


My wonderful boss decided my small team needed a pick-me-up (plus she felt guilty about missing our birthdays) so she asked us to lunch and told me to pick the place. Let me start out by saying I don't do well with too many options. I'm like a kid in a candy store, except I won't ever make a decision. Do you have any idea how many fantastic restaurants are located in downtown Raleigh?! Let me tell you, at least a few dozen! That's a lot of options!


I hunkered down and remembered the that Tonbo Ramen was not only new, but also a place I wanted to visit! It was a done deal.


Décor: Unbeknownst to myself and my fellow diners, there are two restaurants located within the same building. The downstairs (Ramen Bar) exclusively serves ramen bowls and the top floor serves ramen bowls and a limited selection of small plates. We didn't spend a whole lot of time in the downstairs location but enough to be confused by 2 sets of doors - one leading to a staircase and one leading to the hostess stand of the Ramen Bar. We chose the door that opened to the staircase and were immediately thrown off - thankfully there was an open doorway connecting the two foyers and we were able to see and be seen by the hostess.


We chose to sit upstairs. The upstairs room is narrow with a reasonably sized L-Shaped bar occupying the main wall, a series of small 2-person tables and a large 6-person "family style" table in the center of the room. We sat at the family style table. The table was bar-height and made of a dark colored wood with 6 metal barstools surrounding. The space itself is kind of dark with dark woods, dark colored walls and low lighting. But this is offset by a wall of windows facing the opposite side of Wilmington Street and the beautiful historic buildings housing boutiques and bars. Each table was set with a carafe of chili oil and some kind of magical spice blend (Tajin maybe?) and durable wooden chop sticks.


Food appearance: everything on each table looked and smelled divine. We all decided to order ramen and each bowl arrived full of vibrant color and stuffed with delicious goodies.


Food taste: After much debate, I ordered the Mazemen (unfortunately the online menu doesn't provide a description) but it was a broth-less bowl with noodles tossed in chili oil, crispy fried shallot, steamed veggies, magic, wizardry, and a beautifully poached egg. It was delicious! The veggies were still crisp,  the noodles were cooked well and I couldn't help but to eat the entire giant bowl.  My bosses both ordered the Vegetarian Ramen. They said it was delicious.


Service: our server was a little inattentive but she was friendly enough.


Cleanliness: the restaurant was clean and everything was shiny and brand new. Despite the fact that it was a busy lunch hour, tables were turned over quickly and guests were out and on their way efficiently.


I'd definitely take another trip to Tonbo Ramen in the (hopefully) very near future.


Second restaurant review!


Raleigh Raw Juice Bar & Café

The Hustle Poke Bowl with Spicy Blue Crab and a Matcha Lemonade from Raleigh Raw

Nate and I have been to Raleigh Raw one other time and found the poke bowls, sushi and smoothies to be divine so I was beyond excited to take one of my work friends there for lunch this past Friday afternoon!


Raleigh Raw is a VERY small café and juice bar located at 7 W. Hargett St, Raleigh, NC 27601.


Décor: there are a few tables squished along the wall of this very narrow establishment with a few barstools available at the counter as well. Local art adorns the walls and the servers are tattooed and bohemian. The space itself feel more like a gallery than a restaurant or a juice bar.


Food appearance: this place is all about being fresh! Fresh fish, fresh veggies and fresh drinks. Everything is vibrantly colored and obviously that means it's good for you (that's how that works, right?)


Food taste: I ordered "The Hustle" poke bowl which brings me to an important point about dining here - there's a process. First you pick your set-up, of which there are 3 options. The Hustle, my personal favorite, comes with chive, dragonfruit, jalapeno, pistachio dust, sesame asparagus, seaweed salad, shallot and mixed microgreens.


Step 2: pick your base, again there are 3 options - sticky rice, greens or a mix of both. If you're a vegan or not a sushi person, feel free to stop at step 2, however if you're feeling fisky, move on to pick your protein!


Step 3: Tuna (suggested pairing for The Hustle), salmon, yellowtail and spicy blue crab (I was feeling rebellious and went for crab). There is also sweet potato for non-fish eaters.


Each bowl is served with dairy-free spicy mayo, GF tamari sauce and fresh sliced avocado. To say these poke bowls will leave you satisfied is an understatement. My bowl was beautifully colored and extremely filling.


I ordered one of their expertly made Matcha Lemonades - not too sweet and gave a great kick of caffeine.


Service: the counter people weren't exceptionally friendly and forgot my lemonade, which I was a tad annoyed by. However all sins were forgiven when I ventured outside in the beautiful sunshine and devoured (literally) my bowl.


Cleanliness: everything was clean despite the chaos that was occurring in the main room.


I would recommend the food at Raleigh Raw to anyone and everyone who enjoys sushi at a reasonable price - a Poke Bowl with Protein will set you back about $14 but I'd also recommend maybe getting your order to go and enjoy at one of the many available outside tables around downtown Raleigh.


Finally, my last recipe for this post! As you're most likely aware, last Saturday was St. Patrick's Day! So per usual, I made my world famous (ok, maybe not "world" but definitely within my social circle) Irish Soda Bread, drank plenty of Guinness beer and made some Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie!

Look at the cross-section in that Soda Bread!

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's Pie (betcha didn't know it's vegetarian!)

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 lb meatless grounds (or ground beef or lamb if you're not a vegetarian)
2 Tbsp flour
1 C vegetable stock
1 C crushed tomatoes
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 bay leaves
Pinch nutmeg
2 C frozen peas
1 Serving Mashed Potatoes (best part about these is you can just munch on whatever doesn't fit in your casserole dish)
2 C shredded white cheddar cheese


In a deep skillet over medium heat, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until tender and fragrant. Add in carrots and cook for 3 minutes or until softened.


Add in your meatless grounds and cook until headed through. Once heated, stir in flour to coat, pour in tomatoes and veggie stock, seasoning and peas. Allow the sauce to thicken and everything to cook through.


Preheat oven to 350.


Arrange your filling in a single layer and smooth over the top leaving about a 2-inch gap for mashed potatoes/cheese. I was able to fit this whole recipe in a 9X9 casserole dish! Top your meat(less) filling with as many mashed potatoes as will fit and sprinkle on some delicious cheese.


Bake your casserole for 15 minutes uncovered and then under a "low" broiler for 5 minutes to get a delicious cheese crust.


The flavors of this Shepherd's Pie were (if I can toot my own horn) fantastic! Hearty, delicious, and I bet that if I had fed it to someone who didn't know it was vegetarian wouldn't ever guess! Yeah, how many times can you say that about meatless cooking?


I hope you enjoyed my recap of March and stay tuned for some more great recipes coming your way!