Nina’s chicken noodle bowl dish is a food series inspired for the Cranberry Moon Empire Novel App.
Nina is a character from the current novel I am writing. Ever since Nina has learned how to make pasta, she can’t stop cooking it. She graduated from the humble spaghetti and is now heating a pot of rotini. Lately, she has been craving noodle bowls. She is always trying new foods.
At this time, she is leaving a client meeting now and is on her way home. She asks Siri to list her evening events.
Marcy
“You are scheduled to meet Marcy.”
She quickly glances at her calendar, almost forgetting that she was supposed to meet her friend, Marcy, at the Tapas restaurant in two hours.
Now Nina just got home, she is wondering if she wants to fight the 6 o’clock traffic to meet her at the Tapas restaurant. She could take the Portland public transportation, but she is in the mood for a quieter ambiance.
Backyard Garden Party
Frankly, she is in the mood for noodles, especially that cute spirally kind. After she walks in her home, she stands by her kitchen window looking out her patio. Nina hasn’t used her patio as much as she likes this year. It is a bit balmy outside, the evening birds are chirping, and she loves hanging out in her garden area on evenings like this.
Nina texts Marcy to tell her, “Marcy, there might be a slight change of plans; that is if you agree.”
“What? Are you canceling?” Marcy texts.
Nina picks up her phone and calls Marcy.
“I was thinking. Well, what do you think of a backyard garden party?” she asks Marcy.
Nina is known for her garden parties, she throws the ultimate garden parties in the summer and autumn.
Marcy, though she travels a lot, she prefers to be a homebody on many, many days.
“Nothing like a backyard garden party, especially the kind you have,” says Marcy.
“Then girlfriend, meet me at my house. I am making Nina’s chicken noodle bowl tonight.”
Desserts
“ Would you like me to pick up something?” asks Marcy.
“If you want dessert, fruits, or lemon bars, you may have to pick up that from the store…”
She knows her friend well enough to what she fancies and gives her a few stores that carry what she likes.
Nina and Marcy see each other about a dozen times a year. They used to vacation together, but last August Marcy got a new job. Marcy travels a lot for her new job, and now they see each other a
Nina walks to her
Making Nina’s chicken noodle bowl
Ingredients
1/4th of onion, more if you like onion
1 clove of garlic, more if you love aromatics
1 or 2 fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup of frozen peas, boiled and drained
2 cups boiled noodles and drained
1.5 cups of cooked chicken
Nina’s steps
She boils her pasta and drains it.
She sautés her onion on medium heat with oil for about five to seven minutes. Nina knows her friend isn’t crazy about onions, although Marcy doesn’t mind a smidgen here and there. So, she uses a 1/4th of the onion, otherwise, she would have used half of the onion.
Once the onion is almost done, she adds garlic and stirs it.
Season the aromatics with salt and pepper.
She then adds her cooked chicken. Mix it all up, so the heat gets on every piece of it.
Add noodles, peas.
Stir, and mix all of your ingredients thoroughly.
Nina, she lets her noodles rest in her skillet for a couple more minutes, but she got distracted and didn’t stir. Hence, she found hot burn marks on her noodles. Nina makes a note to herself: If you like half-burnt noodles, don’t stir, but if you don’t, you must stir.
She recovers, but… She stirs it thoroughly and then adds 1 cup of spinach.
Just when she was making her green, creamy lemon yogurt sauce, her friend texts, “ I am here.”
To a delcious evening
She rushes to the door and opens it. In Marcy’s had is a tub of ice cream and a pint of blueberries. They hug and chit chat for a few seconds.
“Fantastic. I never had lemon ice cream,” Nina says reading the ice cream label.
“Well, you are in for a splendid surprise,” says Marcy.
In no time, Nina grabs two bowls. She takes a serving spoon and scoops a generous amount of dinner in each dish. She pours the creamy green sauce on hers.
Marcy skips it.
“To delicious chicken noodle bowl,” they both say, toasting their glasses of strawberry lemonade in her garden.
