Survival Sunday 247: More Noodz

In Which I Try More Umai Crate Noodles

So, you know how adding stuff to noodles usually means good things? Uh.... unfortunately that didn't work out very well this time :(

Left to right: Healthy ramen, Tanuki Soba, and Canadian Bacon

We've never had too much luck with the health food ramen with the guy on the package - it's usually pretty bland. Tanuki soba, on the other hand, is usually really good! I mean, it's soba, so what's not to love?

And this kind had both crunchy puffs and fried seaweed! Score!

It was easy enough to prepare the soba, since that's just an "add hot water and let sit" kind of cup. I was a little annoyed that you can't see the fill line on this one, so I probably added a tiny bit too much water. Also this is maybe the second or third time we've received this kind of Tanuki Soba alone, so... not the most adventurous of Umai adventures...

I set about 2.5 cups of water to boil in a pan on the stove, ladling out enough to cook the Tanuki once it was hot enough. Then I set to work with prepping the healthy ramen so that it absolutely wasn't. My partner tore up the Canadian bacon and set it marinating in spicy sesame oil and the last of our soy sauce.

A simple marinade but one that smelled incredible!

Then I cracked some eggs into the water with the noodles and let those cook before dumping in the Canadian bacon. I should've added in the marinade, but hindsight is 2020...

The noodles cooked up fine, and I added in the flavor packet, but... it didn't really smell like much of anything.

This should have alerted me to the coming meal.

The flavor packet in any ramen should smell like something, but this one was just... vaguely sweet/salty smelling. It should have been strong enough to smell without stuffing my nose into the foil packet.

Sadly, even spicy curry, ramen pepper, and garlic powder could not save this ramen :(

The healthy ramen was, without a doubt, the most disappointing ramen I've had that didn't come from Wal-Mart.

It had absolutely no flavor, the noodles were limp (despite cooking for less time then they should have!), and the broth was basically taupe-colored water. We had to add salt.

At least the eggs were fantastic, though! Possibly the best eggs I've ever scrambled into ramen!

As for the Tanuki Soba? It was fine.

The Tanuki soba still had that nice buckwheat flavor with a dashi that, while not the strongest, was still flavorful and pretty decent. And the veggies were really pleasant, too!

So basically that was a bit of a flop of a meal :( That's too bad, since I was looking forward to the flavors.

As a consolation for the middling-to-disappointing fare from this blog, here's a picture of my cat in full snuggle-drunk blep mode:

yeaaaaaaaah, them's good tummy rubs....

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Thursday Art Walk 246: Sketching Along

In Which I Done Did Drawings

It's snowing.

It's 33℉ (~0.5℃), so cloudy it's nearly too dark to see, and it's spitting snow.

I am not ready for winter. My fluffy Star Wars jim jams are on. My soft sweatshirt is on. My slipper socks are on. My blanket fort and my blanket nest are well-stocked with fluffy coverings and I have my shawl wrapped around Dedbert to keep him warm (Dedbert is my cute green owl son). Yet still, I am unprepared.

My cat refuses all attempts at cuddling, as that would mean leaving one of the many blanket nests we've set up for her in the living room, which she refuses to entertain if food is not involved.

What I'm saying is that it's the perfect day to stay inside if you can, curl up with cocoa, and sketch random stuff you see.

"Coffee, Cardinal, and Cat"; pencil and ink study on legal size printer paper; 2019

I'll be doing more art as the day progresses, but that's what I've taken a picture of so far, so there you go!

Also, the wrinkles are because my cat decided that the papers were the right place to stand while waiting for me to arrange her new blanket tent. Which she proceeded to fall asleep on top of. :| Cats.

Such a sleepy baby she didn't even notice the flash...

I have many things to do, and a limited window in which to do them, so that's all from me :)

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Fiber Monday 243: Possibly the Penultimate Week of Pumpkins!

In Which I Crochet A Lot, But It Doesn't Look Like Much

Today was a productive one for the ol' yarnslinging :)

I got up early enough that I got a lot of work done before anyone got back home, and I even had a visitor!

Yes, my cat decided my lap was the optimal place to rest after getting up from an enviable blanket nest for a stretch. It was really cute to have her perched there while I worked... at least until she started bathing herself. She basically just... soaked my thigh in spit, then hopped off of my lap and wandered back into her blanket nest. Not the delightful plush bed made for smurgling and comfort. The seat of a recliner with a blanket in it.

Cats are weird, yo.

But how much did I do today?

I finished the body of the scarf!!!

So with that, all of the orange parts of this set are completely finished!!! Now I just need to make leaves, add some tan as a stem on the end of this delightful expanse of pumpkin-y goodness! I'm super excited.

As you can see, I've also been making leaves!

I've been tirelessly seeking patterns of various leaves that look either pumpkin-like or fall like. I've discovered that things that look more like maple leaves work better for me :)

I'll probably also add a few corkscrew "vines" to our pumpkin set too!

So that's how things have been today!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday 229

My cat is in her tent again, spread out and snoozing. She looks precious. She played this morning, chasing her feather mouse and her dangly chicken toy, and she's been really sweet. Just looking at her makes me smile, sometimes :)

Slightly out-of-focus, but still sweet!

But you know what today is... it's the day where I just blather on about stuff no one cares about :P

• Tomorrow I'll be talking about the AEW PPV Fight for the Fallen
• Thursday I'll be making art!
• Friday will either be about The Last Black Man in San Francisco or the incredibly silly movie we watched last night with Roddy Piper in it...
• Saturday will involve some sort of video game...
• Sunday will involve delicious food!
• Next Monday I hope to have more skulls
• Next Tuesday, we'll talk some more about nothing and hang out :)

Today, it's all mostly sunny and hazy skies - I can't tell if it's clouds or poor air quality. It's 80℉ (~27℃) with 49% humidity, there's a stiff breeze, and it smells like a skunk outside. Whether or not that's my neighbor treating her neck pain with... herbal supplements is a matter for someone who isn't completely inept at telling the difference.

I've been thinking a lot about the Nero Wolfe series of books. Not sure why, but it does pop up in my head every now and then. Usually, I'm really okay with that, but right now, that's a little annoying, since I'm trying to focus on The Gimmicksmith right now, and instead, my brain is starting to wander into Hewitt and Dex territory. Now, don't get me wrong, I love writing about gay detectives in 1940s-1950s Hollywood, but I'm trying to actually finish writing a book this year, and I can't do that if I'm constantly being distracted by new ideas for old characters!

All ranting aside, however, I really hope that some day A&E will get off of their butts and release a good version of their Nero Wolfe series. I'm a big fan.

I should probably head off of the internet, since I'm planning to bake, today, and if I don't get it in the oven before my mom gets home, she'll probably be... less than thrilled that I'm making a pound cake. The recipe is from Domino Sugar, and I'm using their lemon variant. Lacking lemons, I'm going to just make the cake using orange juice. That should translate, right? If not... yikes.

I'll let you fine folks

Go Enjoy Something!

FC