Chinese Egg Drop Soup

This week I was craving soup. I’m always craving soup though. But I didn’t want to make anything complicated. Perfect solution: Chinese Egg Drop Soup. Requires very few ingredients—chicken broth, eggs, scallions, and ginger, and a few seasonings. If you have homemade chicken broth even better. I chose to add a few shiitake mushrooms and corn because I like a little variety in my soup, but it’s not necessary. This soup is all about the eggs anyways. It’s clear and soothing. It’s supposed to be a very quick soup to make, but I tend to cook it longer than most recipes because I prefer a stronger ginger flavor. However, 45 minutes for soup is still fairly quick. Even though I freeze almost everything, I wouldn’t recommend freezing this soup only because cooked egg doesn’t freeze that well. If you want though, you can freeze the cooked broth without the egg and add the egg when you’re ready to eat it. Hope you like the soup! Let me know what you think!

EGG DROP SOUP (makes about 6 small bowls)

Ingredients:

• 4 Cups of chicken broth

• 2 cups of water (1 hot, mixed with cornstarch)

• 1 tbsp cornstarch or flour

• 1 chunk of ginger, peeled

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

• 1 tsp sesame oil

• 4 eggs

• 1 cup of canned kernal corn (optional)

• 4 fresh shiitake mushrooms, destemmed and thinly sliced (optional) 

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp black pepper

• 1/2 cup of chopped scallions

• optional toppings: fresh ground black pepper, chili oil, or fried garlic

Directions:

Bring chicken stock with 1 cup of water to a simmer with ginger. Add soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and pepper.  Cook for 30 minutes. Stir in 1 cup of hot water mixed with cornstarch or flour. Add mushrooms and corn. Cook for another 15 min. Pour in beaten eggs and slowly stir in one direction using a fork or chopstick. Allow eggs to cook for a minute or two. Add scallions and serve. You can also top your bowl of soup with fresh ground black pepper, chili oil, or fried garlic.

Spicy Arrabbiata Sauce

When it comes to pasta, I love tomato sauce and l love my pasta smothered in it. I often make bolognese but it’s definitely very time consuming and can take up to 3 hours to make including prep time. I also like to make a shrimp or clam tomato sauce with my pasta because it’s lighter and doesn’t take as long to cook. But sometimes I don’t have seafood readily available on hand. A great option for a simple pasta sauce is arrabbiata sauce, which is basically a spicy marinara. It’s perfect for those nights when you don’t have a lot of time because it doesn’t require many ingredients. You probably already have everything you need in your pantry. It’s easy to make and so delicious! And you can freeze your leftovers!

Pasta with Spicy Arrabbiata Sauce (Serves 5-6)

Ingredients:

• Linguine-fini or any pasta of your choice

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 sweet yellow onion, diced

• 6 cloves garlic, 4 diced and 2 smashed

• 2 (28 oz) cans of whole tomatoes

• 16 basil leaves, torn

• 1 tsp oregano

• ½ - 1½ tsp red chili pepper flakes, more or less, depending on your spice level (½ tsp=a little spicy, 1 tsp=spicy, 1.5 tsp=very spicy)

• 5 sprigs of thyme

• 2-2½ tsp salt

• ¼ tsp sugar

• 1 tsp black pepper

• 1 cup of water

• burrata or parmesan cheese upon serving (optional)

Directions:

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a 3 quart pot over medium heat. Brown onions. Throw in the garlic and lightly toast.  Pour in canned tomatoes. Add salt, pepper, sugar, red chili pepper flakes, oregano, thyme, and fresh basil. If your tomatoes are whole, you can break it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks.

Simmer for 30 minutes on medium-low. Sauce will thicken and stick to the bottom of the pot. Stir sporadically breaking up the tomatoes and scraping the bottom.

Add 1 cup of water and stir thoroughly. Cook for another 30 minutes-1 hour on medium-low heat. Continue to stir sauce and break up the tomatoes with your wooden spoon.

Lastly, drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil over your finished sauce and stir.

Toss your pasta in the sauce. Serve with fresh basil and a scoop of burrata cheese or grated parmesan. Sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper. I prefer burrata because it helps calm down the spice. Its soft, rich and cool texture is also a nice contrast to the hot and spicy dish. If you choose burrata, drizzle a little bit of EVOO on top. Skip the cheese all together and make this dish vegan. Substitute pasta for zucchini noodles (or use gluten-free pasta) and make this dish gluten free. Or do both, and make this dish vegan AND gluten-free!

When I cook for just me, I like to toss an individual portion of linguine-fini in an individual portion of the sauce in a separate pan, over the stove top. I also prefer my pasta al dente so I undercook my pasta slightly knowing that it will cook a little bit more when I mix it in with the sauce in the pan. Then I freeze the rest of the sauce in small portions to have later, either with pasta or to make shakshouka with for breakfast. But if you are planning on making this dish for a few guests, you can transfer all of your pasta directly into the pot of sauce and toss all together to eat immediately. Another option is to use some of the arrabbiata sauce as the base of another sauce. Just recently, I took out a small portion of the sauce from the freezer and cooked it with wine and butter and added pasta and it was delicious!

Life Right Now

The last couple of weeks have been very emotional for me, as I’m sure it has been for everyone. I’m angry, upset, and sad that we live in a world that is filled with so much racism, violence, and hate. News and social media are flooded with updates on more violence and police brutality. I can’t help but read up on everything—every death, every act of violence reported, every story, and people’s opinions of events, and then getting emotional and angry. I think we all have a lot of learning and unlearning to do. I want to help in any way that I can by sharing the news, signing petitions, donating to the Black Lives Matter movement, and also protesting (this was my first time). Change is needed and these protests have already made a difference over the last 3 weeks. Amongst all this chaos, it’s beautiful to see people come together to fight for change.

However, a part of me also feels helpless. The first weekend of the protests were a little scary because I live in the middle of where a lot of the violence and looting erupted. This caused curfews to be placed on the city for 5 days, storefronts on every street to be boarded up, and the National Guard to be called in. With a global pandemic, civil unrest (rightfully so), and 3 months of lockdown, my anxiety was soaring. It was hard to focus on work yet work was busier than ever. I wished there was more conversation at the digital “office”. A part of me was addicted to keeping up with all the news updates, but at the expense of my own mental health. I thought it was my duty to keep up with everything and share it on my social media channels even though it made me feel enraged and emotional all the time. I thought that if I didn’t do those things, if I didn’t immerse myself in all of the negative things happening in the world, then it would mean that I didn’t care. So I was not allowing myself a “break” from the news. I was not allowing myself to feel any type of joy. But what good was that doing to anyone, including myself? Can I still learn, listen, and share without drowning in all of the negative news?

I had my 2nd anxiety attack last week (my first one was at the start of the lockdown). With the world around me feeling like it’s falling apart and living mostly in self-isolation for months, I have felt really alone and sometimes, scared in my own apartment. I’ve been very emotional in the last 2 weeks and I’ve cried a lot. Like the rest of the world, I’m probably just feeling more vulnerable and sensitive to everything because I’m worn down by all of the problems we are facing right now—the pandemic, the lockdown, social distancing, the downfall of our economy, and also the recent protests that have shed more light on the injustice and racism that still exists in the U.S. today. I’m worried about my future. I’m worried about the world. I feel disconnected from people. Everyone is struggling mentally right now and dealing with their own problems so it’s hard to seek consolation from anyone.

Recently, a particular childhood memory had been reoccurring in my thoughts and making me feel very emotional. I was maybe about 5 years old, living in Stockton, CA as a child. My older sister was in school. My younger sister was next door, at the neighbor’s. My father was around, even though he was usually absent during my childhood. My mother urged me to go to my neighbor’s with my younger sister. But I didn’t want to. At 5 years old, I felt too proud to go to my neighbor’s. I didn’t want to feel like a burden. I didn’t want them to think I needed them. I felt embarrassed and maybe even ashamed. My parents needed to leave. I think they were going to work. They got into the car and backed out from the parking lot of the apartment complex. I cried. I cried while running after their car, yelling out for them and begging them not to leave me. And then, they were gone. I ran back into the apartment, sat on the couch with tears streaming down my face. Then I saw a rat run across the living room and I screamed and cried even harder. I don’t remember what happened after that. Maybe I watched cartoons and eventually stopped crying and fell asleep. I don’t know. I was always a scared child. I’m a scared adult too, actually. I’ve always remembered this moment from my childhood but for some reason, it had been replaying in my head a lot during the first week of the protests in LA.

Then I realized the parallel. I live in an apartment by myself. I’ve felt very alone and scared here during the pandemic and the initial violent protests. There is an annoying squirrel that I’m scared of also that runs back and forth across my balcony rail, and sometimes he even comes up to my balcony door. I’ve had this squirrel problem for some time but I have never been home as much as I have been now due to the pandemic. I’ve named him Stuart. Sometimes Stuart crawls up my screen door, sprawled out like spiderman. One time, he climbed up my balcony chair, stared at me, and then jumped towards me but hit the window and fell back. I don’t like Stuart. He’s aggressive. He startles me sometimes when I’m out there and I run back into my apartment. I just realized that the squirrel is symbolic of the rat from my childhood memory!

Also, I had spoken to my ex-boyfriend the weekend of the first violent protests in my neighborhood, and I broke down and cried to him. I broke down a lot that first week. I was so upset and scared. He offered to come over to be with me, and he even said I could stay at his place if I was too scared at my apartment by myself. It was a nice gesture but I said no, even though it would have been nice to not be alone and to be comforted by someone who I knew cared about me. Instead, I cried all week on my own. Then I realized HE was playing the role of my neighbor from my childhood memory! Granted, there are other complications with seeing an ex-boyfriend, but I was also too proud. I didn’t want to appear needy and weak, and maybe I was even a little embarrassed that I was falling apart emotionally.

The current circumstances of the world seem to have brought me back to how I felt when I was 5 years old—abandoned, neglected, isolated, scared, and alone. I don’t blame my mother. She survived a genocide in Cambodia and an abusive marriage with my father. She was learning a new language, adapting to living in a new country as an immigrant and refugee, going to community college, and working 3 different jobs to support us. She had very little resources then and we were poor. But I was a little girl, scared at home and scared of the world and scared of my father.

It was very powerful for me to realize all of these parallels. I don’t have to relive my past though. I can change my present. I can change the trajectory of my future. I don’t have to be completely alone and isolated all the time. Even though it is challenging to connect with people right now during a time of social distancing, I can still make more of an effort. It might take a little work to find the right people to connect with, since everyone is going through their own issues right now and may not have the capacity to be as supportive as I might need.

But it’s not impossible, I hope. I had this problem a few weeks ago and sought out the company of a couple of friends (honoring social distancing guidelines), thinking it would make me feel better to see people, but then I actually felt worse after seeing them. I didn’t feel like I could share with them all of my feelings. I felt judged. I didn’t feel understood. It didn’t seem like they wanted to engage in the type of conversation that I was craving with another human being. Seeing them just reinforced my feeling of being alone and made me feel even more depressed. However, I can’t let that one attempt, and a couple others, deter me. I just have to keep trying (and brush off the disappointment and maybe even rejection) and be open to reaching out more, asking for help, and accepting help. I am so grateful that I have my Zoom appointments with my therapist every other week.

Even though some stores, restaurants, and businesses have started to reopen and more people are out, the pandemic still exists. Masks are required to be worn everywhere. It’s such a strange time we live in. A part of me is confused as to how to proceed with my life. I feel anxious about the transition back to some sort of normalcy. Maybe what I’m feeling is social anxiety because I’ve gotten so accustomed to quarantining. I’ve seen people gathering together in groups and expanding their social loop. And this makes me feel like I should be doing the same versus continuing to practice social distancing and being alone. I think a part of me is envious because I don’t know if I’m ready to start socializing again or even where to begin.

I’ve lost touch with people during the lockdown. Or maybe I was never really in touch with them in the first place? I just don’t feel like many people are available to me anymore for a few different reasons. Everyone has different comfort levels with seeing people during the pandemic. A lot of people my age have partners and families and don’t really feel a need to expand their loop beyond that or they are just dealing with their own challenges at the moment. In the past, my outlets for socializing, when my partnered friends weren’t available, would be to join activity groups or attend different networking events. Right now, it’s not really an option though because of the pandemic. I guess my fear is that if I try to find my way back to “normal,” I will realize that the pandemic wasn’t the reason I was alone. I may have been alone even before. I think I’ve felt alone for most of my life. And I need to change that. I don’t have to live my life like that little 5 year old girl, crying on the couch by herself.

At the beginning of the pandemic, I found different ways of entertaining myself—practicing ukelele, taking long walks, trying lots of new recipes, organizing, yoga. Over time though, I have felt less and less motivated to do any of those things. But I think, along with making more of an effort to reach out and connect with people, I also need to get creative again and explore newer ways of sparking joy for myself. It’s okay to seek joy. It’s okay to take breaks from the news and social media. It doesn’t mean that I don’t care about the injustice that is happening around the world.

I made doctor appointments this week now that offices are accepting patients again. I have an annual physical scheduled, a physical therapy session, and an upcoming appointment with an Ear, Nose, Throat specialist that I had been putting off for over a year. I also have a massage scheduled for this Friday. My body has been so tense and tight, and a massage will definitely help with all of the stress that I’ve been feeling and holding onto.

I’m healing old broken wounds. I’m falling apart so that I can put myself back together. I’m learning how to take care of me. And that is a journey in itself.

Yogurt-Marinated Chicken with Tzatziki

You know how I came up with the name Love in My Belly for my blog and Instagram handle? It came to me 8 years ago when I lived in Hong Kong and I was homesick and craving a homemade meal. Most people ate out almost everyday. It’s part of the culture. Plus, kitchens in the average Hong Kong apartments are really small. Street food was not only delicious but was also fairly inexpensive. I had one friend there who loved to cook and often invited me over for dinner. Whenever she did, it made me so happy. I would respond to her Blackberry messages (back when Blackberries were a thing) with a heart emoji followed by “in my belly.” And the phrase Love in My Belly stuck with me ever since.

One of the meals she first made me was yogurt-marinated chicken. She never gave me the exact recipe (because she never measured anything) but she did give me a general idea of the ingredients. I made it a couple times in Hong Kong but haven’t made it since. It has been 8 years and suddenly I felt the urge to make it again. I altered the recipe a little bit and this time, I wrote everything down so that I could share it with all of you! I’m not really sure how to categorize it. This yogurt-marinated chicken recipe has Moroccan and Middle Eastern influences. But my friend originally made this dish with garam masala, a blend of Indian spices. I chose to omit garam masala from the recipe simply because I did not have the spices, but I did keep the ginger paste and the chili from her version and also added lemon and paprika. The recipe is not perfect yet but I thought it was pretty good! The spices are so fragrant and the chicken is so moist and tender.

Yogurt-Marinated Chicken (serves about 2-3)

Ingredients:

• 1¼-1½ lb boneless skinless chicken thighs (you can use chicken breast but I prefer dark meat)

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt

• ½ cup cilantro, chopped (and more for garnish)

• 6 small pearl tomatoes, cut into chunks (optional)

• 3 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 3 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 tbsp grated ginger or ginger paste

• 2 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp paprika

• 1 tsp chili powder (½ tsp = mild, 1 tsp = a little spicy. I prefer 1 tsp)

• ½ tsp ground cinnamon

• 1½ tsp salt

• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Tzatziki (optional)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup or small package of full fat Greek Yogurt

• ½ cup cucumber, minced (squeeze all the water out before mixing with the yogurt)

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• ½ tsp extra virgin olive oil

• ½-¾ tsp salt

• 1 garlic, minced

• 2 tbsp chopped dill

Directions:

Mix all of the ingredients (except for the tomatoes) in a bowl. Score the meat and then smother it with the marinade. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let meat marinate in the fridge for several hours or overnight. I marinated mine for 6 hours.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bake chicken for about 30-35 minutes or so. Half way through, add the chopped tomatoes. For the last 5 minutes, broil the chicken. Serve with rice and garnish with fresh cilantro. I served my chicken with garlic onion rice and a side of Tzatziki.

The Tzatziki is not necessary but it is definitely a nice addition if you end up finding the chicken to be a little too spicy for you. The yogurt in the Tzatziki helps tame down the spice. Plus, Tzatziki is a very refreshing and delicious side/sauce. If you choose to serve with Tzatziki, mix all the ingredients above and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. When serving, drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil on top and some freshly chopped dill.

Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup

I love tortilla soup. Even though I always look for it in the ready-made food section of the grocery store, I’ve never tried making it myself. One of the reasons I have never tried making it before is that I didn’t know how much of it I would actually eat and I only know how to cook for 6-8 people, never for one. I wasn’t sure it was the type of soup that I could eat lots of and freeze for later. As it turns out, I can eat a whole pot of it on my own without any leftovers to freeze!

With a lot more time on my hands during this pandemic, I have been challenging myself with new recipes and finally attempted to make tortilla soup. It’s sooooo delicious and hearty! And it’s so easy to make! I used store-bought chicken broth, store-bought rotisserie chicken, and store-bought tortilla strips. A lot of recipes have you make your own chicken and tortilla strips, and sometimes even your own broth (which I normally prefer), but buying all of these ingredients is so much easier! A whole rotisserie chicken is pretty cheap and you will still have a lot leftover to use for other meals. I don’t like beans and never have so I chose to omit them from the receipe but you can include them if you’d like. The toppings are my favorite part—the melted cheese, the crunchy tortilla strips, and the creamy avocado. Yum, yum, yum… I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

EASY CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP (serves about 5-6)

Ingredients:

• 1½ - 2 cups of shredded roasted chicken breast (depends how much you like meat!)

• 1 sweet yellow onion, diced

• 4 cloves of garlic, diced

• 1 jalapeno, deseeded and sliced

• 1 can of corn (or about 1.5 cups of frozen fire roasted corn or 1-2 cobs of corn shaved)

• 1 can of unsalted diced tomatoes

• 32 oz of chicken broth (low-sodium)

• 2 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp paprika

• 2 tsp oregano

• ½ - 1 tsp chili powder

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 lime, juiced

• 2 - 2¼ tsp salt

• 2 tsp ground black pepper

• 4 cups of water

• 1 tbsp olive oil

Toppings:

• 2 small avocados, cubed

• ½ cup of cilantro, finely chopped

• thinly shredded Monterrey Jack & Cheddar cheese mix

• tortilla strips (in the grocery store salad section by the croutons)

• 1 lime, cut into wedges

Directions:

In a 3 quart pot, heat olive oil on medium-high heat. Sauté onions until golden brown. Throw in garlic and jalapeno and lightly toast.  If your pan gets a little too hot and dry, lower heat a bit and add maybe ½ cup of water.

Add shredded chicken and 1 cup of the chicken broth. Season with salt, pepper, chili, cumin, oregano, and paprika. Toss in the bay leaf. Pour in another 1 cup of the chicken broth and stir. Cook for a couple minutes. Add canned tomatoes and mix. Pour in the rest of the chicken broth. Turn heat down to medium and cook for about 30 minutes. You may need to lower the heat to medium low if it starts bubbling too much.

Add 4 cups of water, corn, and lime juice. Stir and then cook for another 15 minutes. Then taste the broth and make adjustments as needed with salt, pepper, chili, or water and cook for another 15 minutes. I prefer my soup a little brothy because of the additional toppings that you add into your bowl after. You may need to adjust based on your preference and also whether you decide to add more chicken and/or beans.

In each serving bowl, top with cubes of avocado, shredded cheese, tortilla strips, cilantro, and a wedge of lime.

Hi.

It is now month 3 of quarantine and social distancing. I cannot even believe it. When the lockdown first started, they said it was only going to be 2 weeks of quarantine. Even then, I thought, 2 weeks?! I can’t do 2 weeks! And now we are in month 3! It’s almost June already! This is all so crazy. They have opened up hiking trails, beaches, and parks finally, which makes things a little bit better I guess. But still, now what?

During this whole process, I’ve had a lot of ups and downs… mostly downs. It started out rough, then I adjusted to (or got used to) this new life and felt better. But then after the lockdown end-date kept getting pushed back, I fell back into a slump. On the first official day of lockdown, I had my first anxiety attacked. About a week ago after 2 months of lockdown, I had a breakdown that lasted for about a week. I couldn’t stop crying. Everything set me off. It was hard to pull myself out of it. And it wasn’t like I wasn’t trying. I definitely put an effort into trying to change my mindset. I resorted to my usual comforts—taking walks, cooking, baking, working, listening to spiritual podcasts, hiking, talking to people, drinking, meditating—but nothing made me feel better. Plus, everyone is struggling right now and preoccupied with their own challenges, so I didn’t really feel like talking to anyone helped.

When I feel this way, I get annoyed with people’s attempts to be uplifting with their excessive positivity and gratitude messages. Like you can’t just get rid of depression by thinking positively. I practice positivity and gratitude when I can, and I do appreciate positive, grateful, and kind people, but I also think it’s important to acknowledge the shit that sometimes happens in life. It’s okay to have a shit day or a shit week. Let me have that moment versus burying it. Let me explore what’s triggering those feelings and where those feelings are coming from. I’m not encouraging negativity or marinating in your unhappy thoughts. I just don’t think that because you practice positivity and gratitude, your problems are going to magically go away. It’s okay to not feel okay all the time, as long as you at least try to practice positive habits. Hopefully, things will get better with time. And if not, thank goodness for Zoom calls with therapists!

Fortunately for me, the fog lifted and I’m feeling much better this week. I can’t tell you exactly what was bothering me so much last week that changed this week. Nothing changed and I didn’t do anything differently. I continued practicing my positive habits everyday knowing that it wasn’t going to disappear overnight. Eventually those negative feelings didn’t feel so sharp anymore, even though they still linger. I am grateful that this time, the clouds didn’t hover for as long as it has in the past for me.

HOW ARE YOU ALL FEELING? Would love to hear your thoughts!

Asparagus & Mushroom Stir-fry

Stir-fry is a great way to use leftover vegetables. You can throw in whatever protein or veggies you have in your fridge and then there ya go—instant meal. I don’t make stir-fry very often because I feel like I can never get the flavor just right. But this time, I really liked it! There’s a lot of flexibility w stir-fry recipes, but here is what I did below:

ASPARAGUS & MUSHROOM STIR-FRY (serves about 2-3 w rice)

Ingredients:

• a bundle of asparagus, trimmed and cut into diagonal 2 inch segments 

• 10 oz mushrooms, sliced

• 1 can of sliced bamboo

• 3-4 cloves of garlic, diced

• EVOO

• 1 tbsp vinegar

• 1 tbsp oyster sauce 

• 1-2 tbsp water

• 1 tsp sugar

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 tsp soy sauce

• 1/2 tsp black pepper

• 1/3 cup of scallions, chopped

Directions:

Heat a frying pan with olive oil. Sauté garlic until it is lightly toasted. Add asparagus and let It cook for a couple minutes. Add 1 tbsp water. Toss in mushrooms and bamboo shoots. Stir thoroughly. Sprinkle w salt and pepper. Sauté for a couple minutes. Pour in vinegar, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sugar. Continue to cook. Add 1 tbsp water and mix. Sprinkle w chopped scallions and cook for one last minute. Serve w rice. 

Spicy Shrimp Linguine-Fini

One of my favorite pasta dishes to make is Shrimp Linguine in a light tomato sauce made w frozen @traderjoes shrimp. It’s so simple to make and only requires a few ingredients. This has been a popular dish on my Love in My Belly Instagram but I hadn’t thought to post it on the blog until now after I had gotten multiple requests for the recipe. So here it is below. Happy Eating!

SHRIMP LINGUINI (serves about 3 depending on how saucy you like your pasta)

Ingredients:

• EVOO

• 1 sweet yellow onion, diced

• 5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

• 1 tbsp butter

• lemon juice from 1/2-1 lemon

• 1/2 cup of white wine

• 1 can of diced tomatoes

• 1-1.5 tsp salt

• 1 tsp ground black pepper

• 2 tsp red chili flakes

• 5-6 sprigs of fresh thyme

• linguine fini (or regular linguine or spaghetti is fine too)

• parsley, chopped

• 12-15 raw, deveined, w tail on shrimp (I always have @traderjoes shrimp in my freezer. Make a shallow cut along the back so that it butterlies beautifully when cooked)

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and slightly undercook the linguine and set aside. Add EVOO to a large, deep pan. Sauté onions till brown. Throw in garlic and lightly toast. Mix in butter and cook for a minute. Pour in wine. Let it reduce for a couple minutes. Add canned tomatoes. Sprinkle w salt + pepper + red chili flakes. Throw in fresh sprigs of thyme. Let the sauce simmer for a couple minutes. Lower heat. Add shrimp and squeeze in half of the lemon juice, tossing and turning the shrimp in the sauce until it’s cooked which doesn’t take long. Toss in the linguini and cook briefly. You can also remove shrimp and add back in after you toss the linguine so that you don’t overcook the shrimp. Squeeze in the rest of the lemon juice if you like. Drizzle some more EVOO. Toss again. Sprinkle w chopped parsley & enjoy!