Survival Sunday - Chamomile Comparison

In Which I Am Trying New(ish) Things!

If you've ever met me in real life, you'll know that I have long disdained the "dirty leaf water" that so many use as a way of avoiding the black, bitter goodness of coffee or the sweet, sultry invitation of cocoa. That has been changing recently. My love of what my partner lovingly calls my "Morning Gruel" - my two-to-three parts cocoa to one part instant coffee - has not been kind to my waistline, and with COVID still in full swing and opportunities to move around outside dwindling due to a concern for lung health and the slow creep of chill into the air, occasional 70℉ (21.1℃) day notwithstanding, I haven't had anywhere near enough exercise to offset my caloric intake.

In short, I'm getting fatter, and I need to not, and my favorite comfort beverage is partly to blame.

So I have begun forcing myself to imbibe tea instead of mocha.

Except that I really, really didn't like the Red Rose my grandmother favors, so I've been starting small with herbal teas. The only herbal tea we have that isn't also a spice/dessert tea is... Chamomile. Specifically we have four varieties, but one is also slightly medicinal, so I'm leaving that for nights when my sinuses are inflamed (and those nights are coming soon, I'm sure).

So here I am, forcing myself to sip hot flower-water, and something remarkable starts to happen.

I start to lose my disgust.

The first cup of tea gave me a legitimate "bleh" reaction. I grimaced, furrowed my brows, and forced myself to power through - my heated hydration breaks count on this experiment, after all! And after a couple of cups of Sleepytime, I went from "bleh" to simply... "meh". I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. A neutral reaction. Progress!

And then it happened. I ran out of Stash and was beginning to run out of Sleepytime, so I hunted for anything else we had and came across some ancient Bigelow "Cozy Chamomile", the only ingredient of which was the flower itself. I brewed it up and....

Huh.

I liked it.

I tried the other teas (found a Stash chamomile in the back of the cupboard!) and... same reaction. I finally broke my tastebuds and bent them to my will! I enjoyed tea!!!

I should mention, though, that all of these teas were brewed in a cup without squeezing the teabag, so your mileage may vary on your flavor detection!

So without further ado, here are my subjective reviews of the three chamomile teas we currently have in our cupboard!

Celestial Seasonings "Sleepytime Herbal Tea"

This herbal tea has Chamomile as its main ingredient, but it also contains "Chamomile, spearmint, lemongrass, tilia flowers, blackberry leaves, orange blossoms, hawthorn and rosebuds." And I have to say... I didn't really taste any of it. Even at a full 5 minute steep, it mostly just kinda tastes like faintly minty grass, and that was exactly what I needed when I couldn't sleep a wink. It's probably my least favorite of the three, but I almost certainly won't turn down a cup if offered.

Stash "Chamomile Nights" Tea

This tea contains Chamomile with spearmint and natural lotus flavor, and yeah, I can absolutely taste the lotus and feel the minty coolness after the fact. The lotus gives an odd but not unpleasant sweetness and definitely "greener" (it's the only description I can give) flavor. It's not quite as soothing as the Sleepytime, but it's a decent late afternoon tea, and I'm pretty bummed we're out. If you've got it and you hand it to me, I'll smile and sip it for an hour.

Bigelow "Cozy Chamomile" tea

This is a single-ingredient tea. You like chamomile? This is for you. That's literally all it is. No mint, no fillers or additives... but apparently if you leave it in a mason jar for years and forget about it until you have a dietary freak out, it takes on... a unique scent.

It straight-up smells like honey. It's not stored next to our honey - it's not even on the same shelf! And they're individually wrapped and stowed in a glass jar! But they smell like honey and grass, and it's a smell that really stimulates my tastebuds, so here we are, with me gulping down mugs and mugs of chamomile tea and enjoying it more and more with every cup.

Now, if you are looking for a tannin-free tea, this is not that tea. While chamomile contains far fewer tannins than your average tea-leaf tea, it still contains some, so don't drink too much of this if you're anemic. Ask a doctor if that's something you should be careful of, since tannins can mess with iron absorption.

In conclusion, I really like the Cozy Chamomile I've been drinking, and all of the other chamomile teas I've tried, and I'm going to start branching out to other teas soon! I'll prepare them all straight like the chamomiles (because again, I'm trying to lower my sugar and dairy intakes,) and try them in a pre-warmed mug at their longest steep time (so they are at peak strength). If you are a regular tea drinker, please do tell me whether or not I should be squeezing the tea bag - I've heard that makes the tea bitter, but I'm not a tea aficionado yet, so I need guidance!

Also, if you have suggestions on what kinds of tea to try next, please do tell me!

And uh... if you wanna send me some tea, hit me up ;)

(You do not have to send me tea!)

I think that'll do it for me, folks :)

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Survival Sunday 314: Dalgona Dreams

In Which I Try That Viral Coffee Everyone Raved About

If you know me, you know I like deep bitter and sweet flavors. I'm all about that bright, citrus sweetness, don't get me wrong - orange juice is still the bizzomb for breakfast out - but when I'm home, I wake up with a 2:1 ratio of hot cocoa to coffee. My partner calls it my morning gruel. I've brainwashed them into liking it. Apologies.

Regardless, this means I've got the ingredients on-hand for a viral drink sensation that's sweeping the internet.

Dalgona Coffee, or whipped coffee, is everywhere on the internet right now. I cannot escape it. It has completely saturated YouTube and Twitter, and I cannot blink without seeing a caramel-colored whip in a cup somewhere. It drove me completely to the brink, and I eventually just said...

Alright, where is my tiny whisk and some sugar?!

Because despite its complicated appearance, it's actually the easiest thing in the world to make, gives you a fantastic caffeine and sugar high, and gives you a workout. Also, there's milk involved.

You need four things:

• 2 Tablespoons instant coffee powder (I use Nescafé Taster's Choice House Blend, but pick your poison preference)
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 2 Tablespoons hot water
• A glass of milk

I have no idea if sugar substitutes would work for this. I'm gonna guess honey wouldn't work. Regardless, you'll also need a bowl, a whisk, and something to get the Dalgona out of the bowl with.

That tiny whisk in the above pic? Too small. Get you something bigger than that.

What you want to do is pour the dry ingredients into a bowl - not too big or it won't whip well, but not so small that it just goes flying when you start to whisk. That's a large cereal bowl.

Once your sugar and coffee are together, dump in your two Tablespoons of hot water and immediately start whisking. Just... beat the tar out of this mixture. Obviously, you can use whatever mechanical means you usually use for whipping cream for this, but I only had my biceps and a whisk. My poor, poor biceps.

Because this whip job is a long one. It's gonna look like coffee soup and smell like someone tipped over a Tim Hortons, but keep going. Whip it like it's the 1600s and it took an apple from your yard. Whip it like it's your hair at a metal concert. Whip it like you want it to call you daddy... uh... that got weird.

Eventually, it will start to look whippy. This is good.

The coffee mixture, which, by the way, does not yet have any milk in it or near it, will start to lighten in color as it thickens in texture. Whip it til either your arms are screaming louder than the Devo song you now have stuck in your head or until it's at a consistency you find appealing - somewhere between foamy batter and whipped cream. I got mine to a loose whipped cream texture.

At this point, you get out your glass of milk and start carefully dolloping (or if you're smarter than me, piping with a pastry/icing bag!) your Dalgona into the cup.

I used half of this mixture in each of two cups and it was supremely overwhelming for my mother. It's sweet from all that sugar, but it's also mondo bitter - pure coffee goodness. If I'd had the presence of mind I'd have made chocolate milk to put this in, because it's insanely addictive and I think it would make a stupid-tasty mocha drink. It thickens the milk as you stir it in, and it's just... it's really good.

10/10, would whip the crap out of ingredients until my arms hurt again.

So in conclusion: This is one viral food trend that I not only understand now, but am actually a convert/advocate for it. If you have instant coffee and sugar and a kettle with water and some milk (or a milk substitute, I'm not cutting vegans or the dairy-challenged/allergic out of this fun), you should make some Dalgona.

It's probably going into the rotation for summer drinks, tbh.

Stay tuned for next week when I make 2/3 of a meal and then forget to take photos at the end (or they don't come out)!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Survival Sunday 313: A Simple Recipe

In Which I Give You A Simple Recipe To Enjoy

Salad Melt

Hear me out guys, I'm not trolling you and this is not lettuce in a toaster oven. I promise.

Ingredients:

• Canned meat (chicken, tuna, ham, etc)
• Relish
• Mayonnaise
• Miracle Whip
• Mustard (any kind)
• Sriracha
• Ketchup
• Cracked pepper
• Sliced or Shredded Cheese
• 2 slices Bread

Instructions:

1. Take your canned meat or meat substitute (you can absolutely use tofu here, I just chose meat because it's easier to get in my area right now) and drain it. Put your protein in a bowl.
2. Add any/all of the condiments listed above into the same bowl as your protein.
3. Mix well, using a masher if you need to (I find cubing and then mashing SPAM yields good results, so if your protein is not shredded, this is a good option). You can start adding anything else that sounds good, here, like onion or garlic powder, minced veggies or herbs, etc.
4. Spread your mixture on one slice of bread
5. Place your cheese on the other slice of bread
6. Place these in a toaster oven on the Toast Setting of your choice. Let it cook until cheese is melted and bread slightly crispy.
7. If you're adding fresh veggies to this (lettuce, for example) now is the time, while it's open-faced.
8. Close your sandwich and cut (if that's your thing).

My personal favorite combos are:

• Tuna, mayo, miracle whip, sweet pickle relish, black pepper, and pepperjack on potato bread
• Ham salad with sriracha or sweet chili sauce with either Swiss or cheddar on white or oatmeal bread
• Corned Beef hash with a very light amount of bbq and some spicy brown mustard, as well as some Havarti on Rye.
• Chicken salad with a hint of peanut sauce and a dash of curry powder, some sort of mild cheese or cheese substitute (like Daiya) with maybe a rice bread or a white bread.

These are a great way to spread out your ingredients, have a variety of lunches, and keep your toaster oven in use. These sandwiches can also help you keep some veggies in your diet (especially if you add the relish and/or extra pickles).

I DO NOT SUGGEST DOING THIS IN A REGULAR TOASTER. YOU WILL START A FIRE.

You may, however, be able to do this in the broiler of your oven, or you can toast it on your stovetop in a frying pan. Butter (or whatever substitute you use) the sides of the bread that make contact with the pan.

I hope you guys are staying fed out there. There's a million recipes on the internet you can use to help your food stretch, too, and I strongly recommend looking up Emmymadeinjapan's HARD TIMES playlist if you're struggling.

We've made it this far. We'll make it to tomorrow and beyond.

Stay Home and Enjoy Something!

FC

Survival Sunday 312: Saint Paddy's Day

In Which We Discuss Holiday Dining

If you live in Boston and/or you have Celtic heritage, you know it's almost St Patrick's Day. The actual holiday is the 17th, but my family tends to celebrate on Sundays because that's when everyone's around. Today's menu is:

• pot roast
• potatoes, turnip, etc (root veggies)
• biscuits served made and with Kerrygold butter
• a delicious lemon cake with lemon curd between the layers and frosted with cream cheese frosting

But what if you have a bit of Irish in you, but you're not exactly rolling in the green? How do you celebrate St Paddy's when you can't afford fancy foods? What is a boiled dinner? What if you're like me and you don't like the whole "whiskey and Guinness" thing that this holiday seems to inevitably devolve into?

The thing is, even if you're not Irish, this holiday has come to consume your culture group, too, I'll bet, with much drinking and carousal. Which is odd, considering that it's a religious holiday for the Catholic Church, commemorating the death of the eponymous Saint Patrick, who supposedly drove the snakes from Ireland - a country with no fossil record of serpents. That's a heck of a deep clean, Pat.

St Paddy's has become a holiday to celebrate Irish heritage, hence the tidal wave of green and gold and beer and whiskey that we've all come to expect. Most people don't observe the Saint Day so much as the celebration for celebration's sake, so we'll progress from that standpoint.

So if you're on a tight budget, or if you can't get out much due to health issues or the current coronavirus concerns, then here are some ideas for you!

1. St Paddy's for Breakfast

If you're on a budget, on a timer, and/or you just aren't one for big heavy meals late in the day, then this is a good option for you. Instead of going out and spending over $20 on a corned beef roast or $50 on a brisket or something mad like that, spend under $4 for a can of corned beef hash! You take that, dump it in a nonstick skillet and fry it up until browned and/or crispy in places, serve it with eggs, hash browns, and toast with some coffee (maybe make it Irish with some Bailey's if you booze and the Bailey's flavored creamer if you don't, or skip it altogether if that sounds bleh). If you're a tea person, Irish Breakfast tea isn't too expensive, thankfully.

Bonus points if you use rye, Irish soda bread, or potato bread for your toast, and if you've got the money to splurge, then spring for some Kerrygold butter - it's worth the premium.

2. St. Paddy's for Lunch

Well, if you didn't have your beef and taters for breakfast, there's always a corned beef sandwich on some potato bread with some sliced Kerrygold cheese. Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Also yes.

If you don't have access to the good cheese, or if you're lacking corned beef, don't fret. You can just have a beef and cheddar melt of some kind and call it close enough. If you're extra creative, you can cut the sandwich to look like a shamrock or something.

3. St. Paddy's Snax

Ah lovely snacks! What do you guys think are acceptable snacks for an Irish holiday?

Cheese.

Potatoes.

Pub Snacks.

My personal suggestions? Grab some Kerrygold Dubliner cheese, some potato stix, and a tube of Utz Pub Mix and go to town while guzzling coffee or tea.

4. The Dinner

Here's where people get hung up. Everyone's all obsessed with the idea of the perfect boiled dinner, and frankly, it's not always worth it.

There are three parts to a "traditional" boiled dinner, if my mother's offerings over the last 30 years are any indication. Meat, Potato, Veggies, Bread.

Traditionally, the meat is a Corned Beef roast, which you can either roast or boil with the potato and or veg. My mother has switched to brisket in recent years, but since that was $50 minimum and enough to feed an army this year, she decided to use a more sensible pot roast. These are easy to find cooking recipes for, and if you want to go full Irish with a pot roast, then you'll want some whiskey or something. For me, I prefer things a little simpler and don't like to add alcohol to most dishes. Sorry.

As for the corned beef, if you do plan on getting one, look for a "gray cured" one, since that red color on most corned beef roasts is naught but dye and weirdness, and it's not all that good for you. My family avoids most red foods, to be honest, because they seem to cause gastric distress (ie heartburn and gas).

For your potatoes, it's up to you how you eat them. You can boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew... or you can chop them into chunks and roast or boil them with the rest of the veggies.

The rest of the veggies usually include cabbage (get a fan going), onion, carrot, turnip, etc. This being a March holiday, most of what people would have had available would have been root veggies. If you want to bring in the beets, then do it! If you want radish, go for it! Whatever you think would taste good with your beef, chuck it in the pot or pan and cook away.

Bread can be complicated if you let it be. If you want to go for a full-on Irish experience, then a soda bread can't be beat. If you want to make a joke, it's potato bread for you. If you're just into bread and don't particularly mind how you get it, then go for white or rye bread! But if you have a crowd and you don't want to be using a knife at the table to get the bread apart, then I suggest making your own biscuits. Rolled biscuits are easier to pull apart and butter, whereas drop biscuits are faster to make and heartier. You can serve them with butter, and if you want to make them into desert, you can add berries with whipped cream, or you can just do what my mother does and load them with butter and molasses.

If you're looking for some other desserts, then you can really go HAM here. Whatever your greedy guts desire, you can make. So long as you have the ingredients, utensils, and the time. My mom, as I've mentioned, made a lemon cake with homemade lemon curd and cream cheese frosting. It's incredible. She's also made pudding in the past, as well as custard, cookies, and a bunch of other amazing things. You really can't go wrong with dessert for St Paddy's, and that's the joy of the holiday.

It's pretty versitile.

Much like the Irish.

Anywho, that'll do it for me today!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Survival Sunday 310: Dollar Dinner

In Which I Try Cheap Food For You

My family was out of town the other day and the oven was broken, so I had to fend for myself. I did so with the toaster oven and microwave and with about 8 bucks (I bought some snacks). The food I bought for dinner, however, only cost a dollar per serving!

We have a Family Dollar close to my house, which I can't necessarily recommend as a place to buy groceries in good conscience, but the second closest grocery store was a mile away and I was very tired and very hungry and I walk everywhere, so I chose the closer (cheaper) place.

And what a haul I got! A tall can of Coke, a Mountain Dew, and some hot cocoa mix made up my non-dollar purchases, but for a buck each, I picked up a bag of Bugles and two dinner items:

First up we have a Red Baron Deep Dish Pepperoni Pizza

I've heard horror stories about these pizzas, guys. Some people have said they're the worst, and you know what? I believe them. If I'd microwaved this puck of pizza, it would have been viciously bad.

But I used the toaster oven instead because it said I could, so it was actually... pretty okay!

I mean, it's never going to taste like a homemade pizza...

It kind of reminded me of how bagel pizzas tasted as a kid. The sauce was a little overabundant and made the crust soggy under the cheese, but the overall eating experience was pretty decent. I'd absolutely eat that a second time. I will never, ever, ever microwave a dollar pizza again now that I have tasted how much better it is in the toaster oven.

Next Up we have a faintly terrifying meat patty in bread

Guys, I love bbq. Ask anyone who knows me and they'll be well-aware of my preference for bbq-flavored anything (except Frito twists for some reason...) This $1 Fast Bites rib sandwich was not something I'd held out a lot of hope for, though. I've had some meh sandwiches from Fast Bites, so I was anticipating a soggy, gristly mess between two slabs of bleh, gooey bread. I was... pleasantly surprised.

This sandwich only has microwave instructions, so I bucked up and did as I was told, nuking the sandwich in its wrapper (opened) for the required time. When it came out I was happy to find that the top bun was actually quite nice and springy and not wet and gross like I'd feared. The bottom bun got soggy, but that happens with the little White Castle sliders you can get from the freezer section, too, so I wasn't overly surprised.

Then I bit into the sandwich and was pleasantly surprised yet again! It had a good, but not overwhelming, bbq flavor, the meat was obviously pressed and formed but it didn't have any inedible bits in it and tasted like smoky pork instead of depression, and the bun actually tasted pretty decent. For a dollar, that almost tasted like a cheap fast food option rather than a horrifyingly cheap freezer option!

All in all, I'm pleased to see that dollar foods aren't the hellscape they were when I was in college. I'd love to know what changed, but I also don't actually want to know how they're made because I'd probably have more nightmares with that knowledge...

Actually, that's the last thing I wanted to talk about.

Whether it was the pizza or the sandwich, the only downside to this junkstravaganza was that when I finally did sleep that night, I was awakened by a night terror that featured a monstrosity somewhere between the alien threat from XTRO and a locust or grasshopper crawling up the far wall of my room, across the ceiling, and perching itself face to face with me while I was paralyzed. It just... breathed on me until I got annoyed and fell back asleep.

My brain is weird.

So yeah, despite the night terror (which could have actually been caused by having a tall Coke, a blue Mountain Dew, and three cups of coffee, let's be fair) I'd actually recommend these foods to anyone who is on a budget or needs a quick bite to eat. Just... use the toaster oven or a conventional oven for the pizza if you can.

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Survival Sunday 309: Breakfast Time Again!

In Which I Make A Breakfast

I'm not really a breakfast person 99% of the time. I like breakfast foods - pancakes, waffles, French toast, quiche, toast, eggs, bacon, oatmeal, etc - but when I've just woken up, cooking is the last thing on my mind.

And then this morning, I had a craving for Cream of Wheat. Which I never usually want, but hey, who am I do deny my stomach?

So I set about making Cream of Wheat for breakfast.

Your first step is always to gather your ingredients and measure things

So for one serving of Cream of Wheat, you want 3 Tbsp (three tablespoons) of the cereal and 3/4 cup of either water with a pinch of salt or just straight-up milk. I chose milk, today, since I wanted to maximize the filling-potential. Then I readied my morning cup of coffee and set the kettle on to boil, but that was just for the coffee lol.

Also, the tongs are on the counter because I had to dig for my tiny whisk and the measuring spoons.

Next, you heat the milk!

I set up the milk on medium-low, stirring constantly until it came to a light boil. I didn't want to scorch the milk or burn it onto the pan (which is a pain to clean up), so I watched it like a hawk. Now is about where I'm going to admit that my initial plan was to just... nuke it in the microwave instead of making it on the stovetop. Then I thought for a second and reconsidered. It's a good thing I used the milk, too, since it's gonna go by soon...

Once the milk or water boil, slowly add the cereal mix and start stirring like mad

I've made Cream of Wheat using a spoon before. Don't do that. Find or buy a small whisk - this one came with a hot chocolate gift set a few years ago - and use that instead. You want to go until the mix is gloopy and makes slightly obscene bubbling sounds as you stir.

And then dump it in a bowl with some cream, cinnamon and sugar, and some brown sugar!

At this point, it was a bit pasty, and even after mixing in the cream, it was a little too thick, so it was a good thing I'd just heated the water for my coffee!

This is before I added water and mixed it together.

As for the texture, well... I remember Cream of Wheat being much soupier as a child, but between me whisking rapidly the whole cooking time, using milk instead of water, and continuing to stir like mad once it was in the bowl, the end result was like eating a soft, faintly sweet bowl of clouds.

I'm a convert.

This was so much better than most of the oatmeal I've made...

I think I'm officially old. That's cool :)

So what about you guys? Do you have any breakfast foods you used to dislike that you're now really cool with? What are your favorite hot cereal toppings?

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Survival Sunday 306: Spinach For The Unwell

In Which I Made Simple Food For Sick People

At some point in everyone's life, they get sick. Sometimes, you're not the only one who gets sick, too, so that makes feeding yourself and others pretty dang hard. That's what happened to me a twice in the last two months. First, someone I care about was sick, then I had my migraine episode last week. Today, I'll tell you how I handled both kinds of illness with food.

The first illness was marked by severe headache, fever, nausea, and a general malaise. One day of misery, then gone. The intention was to make something filling but not too potent so that the ill party wasn't going to barf.

We chose some spinach soba from our Umai Crate along with a soup base that seemed like it would be hearty enough to be worthwhile but not so strong as to upset anyone's stomach.

The broth is on the left, and yes, it's kumamoto soba

As you can see, the somen is meant to support some veggies and spice, but we couldn't do spicy that day.

It didn't have much of a green color to start with, to be honest

I prepped the noodles by measuring out the appropriate amount of water and boiling it. I should have rinsed the noodles, but we were getting pressed for time, and I just wanted to get lunch over with. If I ever got these noodles again, I'd rinse them, but they weren't too salty in the broth despite the lack of washing.

And they were a bit more green when they were done cooking, too!

Overall, the spinach soba were very much appreciated. They were filling, and the soup base was rich enough to be flavorful without being so rich as to overwhelm. The next day, we were able to appreciate the noodles more, since we weren't sick anymore, but in the moment, we were just happy to eat.

As for the migraine?

The problem with my migraine experience is this: all of my senses become extremely over...sensitive? Is there a better way to say that? Regardless, light is brighter, dark is more absolute, colors are more vivid, sounds are clearer and more robust, touch sensation is vastly increased, taste is more extreme, and scent...

Scent is horrifically powerful.

I usually love the smell of a good chicken sandwich, but one whiff of my mother's lunch sent me charging into the bathroom to abandon the three sips of coffee and two ibuprofen I'd taken earlier. But I'm not one to let a little headache and nausea get me down (it felt like my skull was imploding on top of the nausea), so I got myself situated and headed out. After gingerly nibbling some water crackers and taking more ibuprofen, I was able to take a nap and sleep the worst of the migraine and enjoy the rest of my day, but for me, migraine food is: a little caffeine, bland white foods (especially crackers), water, maybe a plain bagel with cream cheese.

The cream cheese was a stretch - it's usually a significant trigger for me - but by the time I busted in on the bagel, I was well on my way to being better.

So that was my culinary adventure recently. Some noodles, and trying not to overdo it on a migraine day. The winter is always the hardest for me, health-wise. I don't get the proper vitamins and minerals from my diet, going outside is a crapshoot for whether or not I'll be getting dampened by the clouds, and I'm always, always stressed about the state of our streets and sidewalks. This is a terrible combination.

But what about you guys? What are your go-to sick day foods?

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Survival Sunday 304: Kimchi Stirfry

In Which I Eat The Leaf

We received a lovely Kimchi Stir Fry kit in one of our recent Umai Crates, and since both of us really, really like kimchi, it seemed like we should get on that.

But we didn't.

For weeks.

Because 1) I'm lazy and 2) we kept forgetting to pick up kimchi.

But then we got the kimchi, some bacon, and some scallions, so I set to work preparing our stirfry!

The stirfry in question.

The prepackaged items included some delicate vermicelli noodles and a small packet of what we were informed was some kind of gochujang sauce. Easy enough, right? It's all the same spices as you'd get in kimchi, mixed with noodles.

But we wanted more than clear noodles in a rich red sauce (though that sounded delicious).

It also came with "instructions"...

The directions in the actual booklet were confusing and almost no help at all. See, we had been under the impression that the bag contained some kind of kimchi, but there wasn't any. It doesn't even suggest kimchi under the "try it with" section. Not very promising. Also - the instructions call for sesame oil (not included or suggested) and heating everything over medium which... uh... that doesn't always work.

So instead, I sliced up some bacon into about one inch chunks, my awesome partner chopped up some green onions and ran out to grab some kimchi (really, really good kimchi) and we decided to wing it.

Choppy choppy

A locally made kimchi, no less!

So I followed the instructions and grabbed our sesame oil... it's spicy so I usually proceed with caution.

It's really good, though...

 I dumped a small amount in a frying pan and got ready to make up the rest of the food.

Spicy sesame oil always looks vaguely horrifying in a clean frying pan...

Once we got the stovetop up to temp, we chucked in the kimchi, green onion/scallion, and bacon to fry together. Here's where you may be guessing my first problems arose:

I'm a big weenie and I'm scared of grease burns.

To be clear, I still cooked with it (though I had to hand it off in the end for the final few minutes because it was spattering me and I was trying not to freak out) and it was delicious. If you don't like cooking bacon, though, stick with the pre-cooked stuff. It's still delicious (it's bacon, after all) and it's still pretty dang awesome. I haven't cooked turkey bacon before, so I don't know if it has a similar issue with spattering.

Experiments for other times lol.

While the bacon was rendering and the oil was coating everything and the liquid was cooking out of the kimchi, we added both the sauce and the noodles. We didn't presoak the vermicelli - we just let it soak up the in-pan goodness. We didn't even have to add water!

Maybe if we got it again, I would add a little water, though, to help deglaze the bottom of the pan. Still, it came up well after a brief soak, so don't be too concerned over your pan's well-being.

Eventually, the noodles were soft, the bacon was cooked, and the kitchen smelled like gochujang and happiness, so we dumped it all in a bowl and took it back to the table. No chopsticks here - we were going for the four-pronged food shovel one might call a fork. Why? Because we were hungry and didn't want to spend forty minutes clumsily trying to wield chopsticks.

No matter how many times I use them, I still struggle for the first five minutes as my Irish-American fingers confusedly stumble around.

And who wouldn't want to just shovel this into their face?

If I were to try this again, from the comfort of my own home, this is what I'd do:

INGREDIENTS:

• Kimchi
• Either vermicelli or wide rice noodles (like for pad thai)
• Bacon (precooked or non-pork)
• Green onion/Scallion
• An Egg
• Sesame oil (plain)
• Gochujang and/or sriracha sauce (probably both)
• Fish sauce
• Soy sauce
• Peanuts and/or sesame seeds
• Possibly peanut butter?

TO MAKE:

1. Chop up any big ingredients (bacon, scallion). If using pad thai noodles, soak them in hot water until soft.
2. Dribble a bunch of sesame oil in the bottom of a fairly good-sized pan, turn heat to medium or medium-high
3. Start cooking the kimchi, protein, and green onion/scallion together in the oil
4. As the pan-fried foods start to look cooked, add your egg. You can either scramble it ahead of time or just let the scrambling happen as you move things around in the pan.
5. Start adding sauces, buttercup. Let your heart be your guide. Do you like fishier flavors? More fish sauce. Don't like fishy flavors? Less fish sauce. Want to have your sinuses pressure washed? Add more gochujang and/or sriracha. Add soy sauce if you think there's not enough lubrication. Add peanut butter at this stage if you want a  more pad thai-like experience.
6. Add them noodles and stir everything together until either a) you can't stand to look at it anymore and just have to eat it or b) things are starting to look 100% done and you want to eat it.
7. Plate that goodness and sprinkle on some crushed peanuts or some sesame seeds for garnish. Maybe a few fresh scallions or whatever if you're feeling extra fancy/are serving this on a date.
8. That pan's probably pretty crusty right now. Go soak it while you eat. Future dishwasher you will thank hungry-but-sensible you. I promise.

So that's my idea for next time I'm craving a kimchi stirfry!

How about you guys? Have you ever bought a convenience food and realized you could make it yourself? Do you have any suggestions for future recipes? Let me know!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Survival Sunday 302: Kumamoto Spicy Ramen

New Year, New... Noodz?

It's time for me to tell you about some tasty ramen from Umai Crate!

That's right, the first thing I've made up for the blog this year isn't some sort of scratch-made treat or easy access meal, it's another random pack of noodles shipped from Japan. If you're studying abroad, live in Japan, or have access to a proper Asian market here in the US, however, you may be able to find this Kumamoto Spicy Ramen, which, spoilers, is delicious.

Here's the handsome package!

Ideally, you'd have some fried meat, some veggies, and an onsen egg to go with this delicious, thick-brothed ramen, but I was feeling lazy and hungry and just wanted to stuff my face with delicious noodles and spicy flavor!

A slightly blurry picture of what was in the package

In this sleeve of noodles, you get a robust handful of noodles (which are slightly salty when dry and are addictive to snack on while you wait for the water to boil), a powder flavor packet (the red one), and a packet of hot oil - probably hot sesame oil, if I had to guess.

The instructions from Umai Crate!

I looked up the conversion for 500ml because I didn't know if I'd have access to a measuring cup with ml instead of "cups" (thanks US Imperial system...), and it turns out that 500ml is about 2 cups (2.11 to be more accurate...).

Lucky me, the kitchen I was using had a multi-measure cup that I used to pour about 450ml of water into the pan, since my partner's not really a broth person and I was in the mood for some extra-thick soup. You can, of course, cook your noodles how you like.

I let the water boil on the stovetop in a fairly small pot (I figured that since it was a simple packet of noodles I wouldn't need much of a pot, and I was right). Once the water was bubbling around, I put the noodles in.

I don't break my noodles when I put them in the pot. I know some people do that as a space-and-time-saving method (shorter noodles cook faster, I guess?), but I'm more of a naturalist and allow the noodles to slowly wilt into the pot like a grumpy toddler slipping into dreamland.

Except I don't want to eat a toddler, and I really, really wanted to eat these noodles.

And once the noodles had been in their spa for a couple of minutes, I grabbed the red packet.

Opening the soup base on one of these Umai Crate packs is always exciting. It's basically a party every time, and you never know what you're going to smell, really. This time, the rich umami flavor came across in the scent of soy sauce and some meaty undertones. It smelled salty and savory and delightful, and I made sure to sample some of the powder that was left behind on the packet when I dumped it in the noodles. It was absolute heaven.

Salty, faintly sweet from the small amount of sugar in the soy sauce, meaty, soy sauce-y... perfection.

I turned off the heat and stirred in the flavors.

The water was almost completely opaque once I added the broth packet.

By now, the kitchen was filled with the wonderful smells of cooked noodles and rich broth, so I dumped the whole thing in a large bowl.

Look at that glossy, oily sheen!
Gorgeous!

Of course, there was one more step to add to this wonderful ramen - the spicy oil!

I tore open the sachet of oil very carefully, because that stuff is no joke to get in your eye, man. I promise, chili oil is a nightmare that you'll never forget when it's in your eyes.

Thankfully, though, it cooperated perfectly and drizzled into the bowl without fighting me at all.

Beautiful.

The oil itself has a very neutral flavor, since it only exists to lend spice, but once it combined with the actual noodles and broth? Call Guy Fieri, because that's a one-way-trip to Flavortown.

Oh god. Why did I write that...

But seriously, that's some addictively spicy, perfectly rounded deliciousness right there. If I could, I'd eat that once a week. It's the flavor equivalent of a sweater that, yeah, can sometimes be a little too warm, but it's so comforting to wear that you can't stop putting it on, even though it's mid-April and you might get heat stroke!

Mind, this isn't crazy hot. It's spicy, don't get me wrong, and if you get it down the wrong pipe, you're going to feel it for a while, but this isn't Shin Cup spicy in any way. It's not even as spicy as a Tijuana Mama sausage. It's just... comfortably spicy. It's the kind of spicy you keep going back for.

If you do live somewhere that carries this Kumamoto Spicy Ramen, then please do pick it up. Even if it's just to shoot a pack my way...

mmm....

noodles...

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Survival Sunday 301: New Year New Food

In Which I discuss the coming year

With a new year of the blog upon us, it's time to hammer down some of the things I'd like to make! I have some ideas, but mostly, I would like to be able to actually show you guys how to make a whole meal from appetizers to deserts. I'd do it in one week segments so that you can practice instead of trying to make everything at once :)

Here's a list of things I'd like to try making this year (in addition to a full spread):

• Sorbet in the freezer
• some kind of frosted and decorated cake
• pie
• baked pasta of some kind
• Sourdough bread
• an Asian Pickle (or maybe even kimchi!)
• homemade ramen from scratch (complete with onsen eggs and chasiu)
• Mexican food
• Something from that Cooking Tree channel on YouTube
• Something that looks gross from my 1980s cookbook.

So what do you guys think? What else should I try this year? Do you have any cooking goals?

I'd love to hear from you.

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Survival Sunday 252: Parmesan Spaghetti Ramen

In Which This Is My Last Noodle of 2019!

Well, here we are, two days out from the end of the decade. It's been a wild year, guys!

I figured we'd round out the year with the last of our East-Meets-West noodles - a spicy Parmesan pasta! This came from another one of our Umai Crates, and we had very high hopes for it, since the last few Italian-inspired bowls had been so freakin good. This was a pretty standard setup, too, which was good, because I was already tired from putting together Christmas gifts and we made this a couple of weeks ago!

As you can see, it warns you that it's spicy, but it's also welcoming and cute.
Very Japanese.

It's a 3-minute bowl, so I pulled out the packets and poured in the hot water and let it sit for the full three minutes.

Which was just enough. If you like your pasta very soft, go for 3:30.

Since we're al dente people, it was time to drain the pasta and add the flavor packets! I was at a loss at first as to what the green packet could have been, but that's because I don't read instructions very well, lol.

On the left is the tasty spicy tomato sauce in the red packet.
The green packet on the right was the Parmesan cheese!

A word from the wise: Don't fiddle with your lid too much before you drain the water, because it will detach too much, and then you'll be constantly fighting to keep the noodles in your bowl without scalding your fingers.

Overall, I'd say it was worth it, though!

Almost finished! Look how quickly that cheese started melting into the noodles!
Seriously, there was about 50% more of that before I picked up the camera!

A closeup so you can see just how good this looked...
Or you would see that if the color balance wasn't bad on my phone...

I should probably mention that we had this with some leftovers from a really great Christmas party we'd gone too earlier that week (the day before, in fact!)

Since there was a fair amount of food in the leftovers box, we picked out some of the choicest sausages and added those to our spicy Spaghetti Ramen experience!

10/10 do recommend!

In the end, the sauce was just tomato-y enough to get the tomato-ness of it, but not so much so that it overpowered the meat, noodles, and spiciness! Actually, I was unimpressed with the spice-factor at first, but it was a sneaky spice that crept up on you the more you ate it. I really like this bowl, and I thought that, while there could always have been more cheese, what we got was really nice and went well with everything.

Overall, I'd have to say that this particular fusion was not only successful, but it's something I'd buy regularly if it was available locally! Really nice.

That'll about do it for me, today, guys.
Go Enjoy Something!

FC