cheesy kimchi noodles {october 15, 2022}

A little while ago the NYT published a recipe for Cheesy Kimchi Noodles. I like kimchi a lot. Many, many years ago when I was in junior high/high school a Korean foreign exchange student lived with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. He was in the States to study violin performance and he ended up living with my aunt and uncle's family for quite a few years. While he was with them, my aunt, who was a wonderful cook, studied Korean cooking to help him feel at home and to expand her cooking repertoire. One day after a long distance call to Korea (no Google back in that day), she had a recipe for kimchi. My first whiff of the stuff brought on a gag, gag, cough, cough reaction. My cousin chimed in and said she really liked kimchi and then Aunt Pat said, "You like pickles. This is kind of like spicy pickles." She gave me a taste and I liked it...sort of. By the end of my weeklong visit to Illinois, I liked kimchi.

After reading this recipe a couple times, I knew it would be something fun and different. It's comfort food. Ramen, melted cheddar cheese paired with the funky, fermented kimchi, a sauce with soy, sesame, and Sriracha, and then a fried egg with a runny yolk to mellow the spice and add a little richness. Lots of flavor with minimal effort. Yum.

Cheesy Kimchi Noodles

INGREDIENTS

Yield: 2 servings

For the Noodles:

6 ounces Ramen noodles
1½ T. canola oil
2 eggs
5 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
½ packed cup kimchi
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 T. black or white sesame seeds
½ c. grated cheddar

For the Sauce:

2 T. Sriracha
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. sesame oil
1 T.Shaoxong wine (I used Aji Mirin Sweet Cooking Rice Seasoning)

PREPARATION

Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil over high. Add the noodles and cook according to the package instructions until tender but still springy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a colander and rinse in cold water until cool, then toss with a splash of canola oil to prevent the noodles from sticking together. Set cooked noodles aside.

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce: In a small bowl, whisk the Sriracha, soy sauce, sesame oil and Shaoxing wine; set aside.

Set a medium nonstick skillet over high heat. Add ½ tablespoon canola oil and, once shimmering, crack in the eggs. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the whites are done and the edges are browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

In the same skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon canola oil over medium-high. Add the scallions, kimchi, garlic and sesame seeds, and cook for 1 minute until just softened, stirring frequently. Add the noodles and sauce, and toss to combine for 1 minute. Stir in the grated cheese until it melts. Turn off the heat.

Transfer the noodles to serving plates, top with the fried eggs and garnish with extra sesame seeds and scallions. Serve immediately.

fall walk {october 14, 2022}

“Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn.” Elizabeth Lawrence

“A fallen leaf is nothing more than a summer’s wave goodbye.” ~ Unknown

"Autumn leaves are falling, filling up the streets; golden colors on the lawn, nature's trick or treat!” ~ Rusty Fischer

"How beautiful the leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days.” ~ John Burroughs

"The tints of autumn...a mighty flower garden blossoming under the spell of the enchanter, frost.” ~ John Greenleaf Whittier

 

shrinkflation {october 13, 2022}

Shrinkflation happens when consumer products get smaller in weight, size or quantity while their prices stay the same or even increase. Smaller products, bigger prices. It's the inflation we're not supposed to see.

Two recent examples:

Kielbasa used to be 16 ounces; now it's 14.

Note at the size difference between the rolls of Charmin.

wordy wednesdsay...yeet {october 12, 2022}

The NYT Mini has been a source of new vocabulary for me. The most recent enlightenment is "Yeet." Never heard the word.

Yeet is a slang word that functions broadly with the meaning "to throw," but is especially used to emphasize forcefulness and a lack of concern for the thing being thrown. You don't yeet something if you're worried it might break. Yeet is also used as an interjection, most often to express excitement or enthusiasm. (Yes, I got an A on my math test. Yeet!)

First known use of yeet: As an interjection, 2007, and as a verb 2017. 

(according to merriam-webster.com)

In 2018 Yeet, defined as an "indication of surprise or excitement, was voted the American Dialect Society’s 2018 Slang/Informal Word of the Year.

So this new word got the gears going. I know I have never used yeet as an interjection but have I ever yeeted anything? Yes, I have.

My mom's last few years of her life involved a journey with Alzheimer's. She stayed in her home probably longer than she should have and finally my siblings and I made the difficult decision to move her to a care facility. Mom was so upset and mad that she was no longer in the home that she loved, with all her familiar surroundings, and was sure that her children were plotting to take all of her precious things and her money. I got the brunt of her anger and accusations. I understood where her frustrations came from and usually could let her words go in one ear and out the other but after one visit, I just couldn't let go. She was brutal. All the way home, I blasted the radio, singing at the top of my lungs with the window down, got back to my house, and Rush's "The Spirit of Radio" came on the radio and I just started dancing in my garage. After the song was over, I looked at a pile of mom's stuff and there it was, a teapot sitting on a box. I walked over to that teapot, picked it up by its handle, and yeeted that sucker right onto the garage floor. It felt good. And the next day's visit started with a clean slate. 

 

 

full hunter's moon {october 11, 2022}

My friend sent this photo of her backyard view along with this message: "The moon greeted the sun this morning for a fanfare to a most spectacular day!"

It is believed that the October full moon came to be called the Hunter’s Moon because it signaled the time to go hunting in preparation for the cold winter ahead. Animals are beginning to fatten up ahead of winter, and since the farmers had recently cleaned out their fields under the Harvest Moon, hunters could easily see the deer and other animals that had come out to root through the remaining scraps (as well as the foxes and wolves that had come out to prey on them).

The earliest use of the term “Hunter’s Moon,”  is from 1710, cited in the Oxford English Dictionary. 

Alternative October Moon Names

The names of the Moon are most often related to natural signs of the season or to activities that were done at this time of year. 

• Falling Leaves Moon highlights the transition between summer and fall. 
• Freezing Moon and Ice Moon refer to the increasingly cold temperatures of this period. 
• Migrating Moon refers to the time when birds begin to fly south to warmer climates. 
• Sanguine or Blood Moon, either associated with the blood from hunting or the color of the changing autumn leaves.

🌕 🌕 🌕 🌕 🌕 🌕 🌕 🌕 🌕 🌕 🌕 🌕

"With freedom, books, flowers, and the moon who could not be happy?"  

~ Oscar Wilde

siri humor {october 10, 2022}

I was sending a text via Siri and cancelled the message. And Siri said,

Cracked me up!

 

sunday smiles {october 9, 2022}

T, my boys, and my daughter-in-law went to the Browns football game.

I got to spend the day with my little grandson.

The gang came home very frustrated with the play and outcome of the game.

Little guy and I had lots of smiles all day long.