Survival Sunday 22

Well... I was planning on making Anadama bread today, but that cannot happen because I broke the cardinal rule of meal-planning.

Actually plan your meals ahead of time.

Unfortunately for me, I forgot to look at the recipe and make sure I have all the ingredients. I don't have instant yeast or dry milk, so I won't be making that particular version. I also don't have 3.5 hours to make bread anymore (I could bake it, but I couldn't try any because it would have no time to cool before I head out).

So I looked up a recipe on YouTube via the wonderful EmmyMadeInJapan.

I can't justify using 3 sticks of butter when I don't know if I can even make the pie in question.

Which means that I don't have anything prepared for this week's Survival Sunday.

I do have some pictures of instant ramen and an instant rice ball that I got through Umai Crate, however!

The noodles were pretty basic, though they did have a lovely flavor. Actually, the whole point of the noodle packet was that it was a base on which to build a great lunch!

It was really, really good!

Now, the noodles came with both a flavor pack and a small packet of dried shrimp & mushrooms, but I'm not really good with shrimp (I always feel a bit weird after I eat something very shrimpy - shrimp paste, though, doesn't do me any harm. Weird.) so we left that out.

Instead, we added a bunch of extra ingredients:

The white blobby bits are some egg that I scrambled and poured over the noodles!

Furikake is a mix of seaweeds and sesame seeds that goes great on rice.
Salty, sweet, and with that slight funky taste that seaweed always has, it's a great addition!

This lemony pepper adds great bite to any ramen you add it to!
Our vial of Hachi pepper was in an Umai Crate, but you can buy it online.

I always let Z handle the scallions we add, and they always turn out great!

And even though we already had sesame seeds in the Furikake, extra sesame never hurts :)

But before I even started the ramen (which was delicious), I had something new to try out!!!

Instant. Rice. Balls.

If, like me, you don't live near an Asian Market, you've probably never really had the opportunity to make or eat rice balls. Umai Crate was cool enough to send one of these instant rice balls in our last crate, and we jumped at the opportunity to try it!

Ours was the pink one on the left, which was salmon flavored. That gave me pause, because neither Z nor I are huge salmon people. We just don't really love most seafood, which is bizarre for two people who were born and raised near the ocean and who also love Asian foods...

So how do you make an instant rice ball?

First, you rip off the white sticker on the front (the one with the QR code) - this allows the rice ball to vent. Then you tear off the top of the package and open it up. You dump in boiling water to a fill line and close up the top, shaking the bag a bit to get the rice nice and coated. Then you leave it alone for a while.

At this point, I started the ramen and we finished making that just as it was time to shape our rice ball.

On the back of the package, you find a few numbered lines. These lines get snipped a bit so you can shape the rice ball in the package. When it seems to be holding its shape nicely, you plop it out onto a plate.

I ended up having to cut the whole package apart because I was terrified of destroying my cute little onigiri!

And it was cute.

Remember how I said neither Z nor I particularly care for salmon? It didn't matter. The rice ball was delicious and we demolished it in seconds after sitting down with it.

Seriously, I barely had time to snap a picture of it!

The salmon was a bit dry (big surprise - salmon that's been freeze-dried stays a little dry), but the rice was sticky and salty-sweet - just the way you'd want it!

Combined with the ramen, it was a very, very successful lunch.

I suppose, however, that it's now time for the Spice of the Week!

The humble Rosemary

Rosemary is a powerful herb, but also a comforting one. It kind of smells like a cross between basil and a Christmas tree and has a strong, almost piney flavor. It's great in stuffings, but my favorite use is when you chuck it into a good focaccia bread. Dang, I should have included focaccia in my list of breads I want to make! I should...

Yeah, wow... that's a pretty simple bread recipe... I should do it when I buy my yeast...

Anyway - Rosemary is one of those herbs that's super easy to grow and maintain, and it's got the added benefit of smelling great. Whether you get it with flat or curly leaves, hard or soft needles, or just a random kind, it's going to be tasty and fragrant.


That's going to be all from me today!

Go Enjoy Something!!!
FC