Udon Noodle Soup

It's been ridiculously hot out, so why am I making soup? Because I needed it. For days, I was aching for some Udon soup and no place nearby is kind enough to make some that isn't terrible. The obvious solution was to make it myself. Never having done so, however, it was a bit of a challenge.

If you don't make Japanese or Chinese food often, you'll probably have to pick up a few more ingredients than I did. You can find dashi in the ethic section of your grocery store or an Asian market. If you can't find any easily, you can use a seafood soup base with similar results.

Udon Noodle Soup
Adapted from Bon Appetit
makes 2 servings

What You'll Need:
1 Tbs dashi (powdered soup base)
1 Tbs reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp lime juice
2 tsp rice wine
2 tsp sesame oil
1 shiitake mushroom, sliced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2 cups spinach, cut up
2 carrots, sliced
8 ounces udon noodles, fresh if available (I could only find dried)

The Process:
Boil the noodles according to the directions on the package. If you have dry noodles, the instructions are in Japanese, and you can't read Japanese (which is what happened to me), then boil 4 cups of water and cook the noodles for 12-13 minutes, until the center is tender.
While the noodles cook, put 3 cups of water into a pot and heat to a boil, adding the dashi, soy sauce, lime juice, rice wine, sesame oil, carrots, green onions, and mushrooms. Turn heat down to medium and simmer until the noodles finish cooking. Divide your chopped spinach between the two bowls. Once the noodles are done, using tongs, divide them in half and put into serving bowls. Ladle the soup over top and serve immediately.

I used spinach and carrots as my vegetables but you could swap them out for any number of things: snow peas, green beans, asparagus, mini corn, etc. Unless you don't like mushrooms you should keep them in because they add a nice depth to the flavor. The texture of mushrooms skeeves me out, so my solution is to make it with the mushrooms and then put all of them into Hubby's bowl.

It can get a little spendy on the dashi, sesame oil, and rice wine if you don't have them already, but they keep for a while and they're also used in tons of different Asian recipes, so you can get a lot of mileage out of them. Or, if you're not as adventurous, you could just make this recipe over and over.

Brining and Roasting A Cornish Game Hen

I did a fun/crazy thing this year and volunteered to host Thanksgiving for my parents. Now you're probably thinking, "well, so what? It's August". The thing is- I have this just one teeny, tiny detail: I've never cooked a turkey before. I should have thought of that perhaps before offering, but here we are.

So, in the hopes that I won't ruin Thanksgiving, I've decided to start learning how to cook a whole bird that doesn't turn out dry and leathery. The overwhelming consensus is that to achieve such perfection, I should brine the bird. I decided to start small, and opted to begin with a whole Cornish Game Hen rather than going straight to the turkey. My mom used to make fantastic hens when I was growing up, and they're cheaper so if I screwed up too badly, it would be alright.

There are a couple things you should know before diving into brines. The first is make sure you get an all natural bird, one that hasn't already been prepared with sodium. You'd get salt overload if you brined one of them. Secondly, and this is more a matter of preference, don't use iodized salt (like table salt). Apparently, in such high quantities, it gives a slightly metallic taste to the meat. I used kosher salt.

Rosemary and Sage Cornish Game Hens
makes 2 whole hens, 4 servings

What You'll Need:
2 Cornish Game Hens, thawed
1 gallon water
3/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup white wine, I used a Chardonnay
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 Tbs cracked pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup rosemary
15-20 sage leaves
3 green onions, diced

I Shall Mince Garlic No More

Mincing garlic has always been a hassle to me. I don't like doing it and the garlic always comes out uneven no matter how careful I am. My dog probably has better knife skills than I do, despite her lack of thumbs, so I'm a little out of my element trying to mince it anyway.

I decided it was time to move on from cutting it by hand and upgrade to a garlic press. Well, that didn't work out so hot. I spent $18 on a press (from a reputable kitchen accessories company) and the thing broke on my second use. It was also wasteful and a pain to get clean. I search around the web for some other options, and eventually found The Garlic Twist, 3rd gen.

This little device is ridiculously easy to use. You peel the cloves, put a one or two in the bottom half, place the top half on over top (aligning the teeth) and twist a few times. Bam, done. You can also twist it in such a way that the garlic will collect in a triangle on each side of the teeth for easier removal, like this:

I use a novelty mini-spatula to scrape the garlic out and into the pan-pot-bowl-whatever I'm using it in. You could also use a small spoon. It does waste a little garlic that gets stuck in the teeth, but not nearly as much as the garlic press wastes. As soon as I'm finished with it, I rinse it out with a little soap and warm water, and it's clean.

It takes less than two minutes to peel the clove, mince it, and rinse it. Their advertisement mentions that back of one half is a nice smashing tool to use to loosen the garlic, and it actually is rather handy for that purpose. It works better than the side of a knife (my old method).

The twist cost me about $18 (after shipping) which is the same amount I spent on the press that broke. Overall, I am incredibly happy with it and I use it several times a week. I definitely recommend you get one if you use garlic often, nothing beats fresh garlic!


*Note: I have not been compensated for this product review. I am not endorsed or affiliated in any way with the makers of the Garlic Twist. I simply liked the product and wanted to share my experiences with it.

Sweet Potato Pudding

Against my better judgment, I used the oven tonight and, as expected, it heated up the whole apartment. But, I have to say it was entirely worth it for this lovely little dessert. Last trip I made to the store, I picked up some sweet potatoes and was surprised to find three distinct varieties in addition to a pile of "yams". 

These "yams" looked like the sweet potatoes I always ate as a kid, so I picked them up and they were exactly what I wanted. It got me to thinking, what exactly is a yam? Is it a sweet potato? Or perhaps the other way around? Turns out, that no, yams and sweet potatoes are not the same. Who knew?

They're not in the same family, and there isn't even a species of yam native to the US. Most grocery stores sell "yams" that are really sweet potatoes, real yams are generally only found in international markets. In the US, the term "yam" came into use for sweet potatoes from slaves, because it was similar to the actual yam they knew in Africa. Vernacular can be a trickster like that.

Forgive my linguistic indulgence, I find that sort of thing fascinating- but now back to the pudding. While doing my sweet potato vs. yam research, I came across a fabulous sounding recipe on this site that discusses the differences and includes a few recipes.

Sweet Potato Pudding
Adapted from Tennessee Old Maid’s Sweet Potato Pudding from Classic Home Desserts

What You'll Need:
1/2 stick butter, room temp
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground clove
2 1/2 cups grated raw peeled sweet potato (about two medium potatoes)
1 1/2 cup milk

Quilting is Back On!

I finally found and received the darning foot I needed for my machine. Woo! I also bought a pack of 20 bobbins. You can never have too many bobbins, and since these are "exclusive" to my machine, I figured I'd better stock up. I love my L-500 to pieces, but the fact that it's no longer sold and supported means I will have a very hard time getting replacement components in the future. Very disappointing, especially considering the cost of the machine.

Isn't it lovely?

 Now I'm back in the saddle and ready to finish some project have have been hanging over my head for quite some time. The first up is the Halloween quilt! I know it's "Christmas in July" time, but Halloween is coming up sooner, so I decided to finish this one up first. It feels good to be back at the workstation.

 
Another eight hours or so of quilting and then it'll be ready for the binding. I'm very excited to finish up the quilted webs. They're not terribly complicated, but do involve a lot of maneuvering. Ages ago, I cut and pressed the binding, so once the quilting is finished, I can wrap it up in a breeze. I have a tight painting schedule to keep to for my Warhammer army, but hopefully I can sneak in some time this week to work on the quilt.

Mending An Old Bra

I'm going to get a little personal with you and talk about my bra troubles. I have a few every-day bras and they no longer fit. As you wear a bra, the band stretches out a bit as the elasticity breaks down. That combined with the fact that I've lost 20lbs recently means I have some really ill-fitting bras on my hands.

They don't look quite as nice as they did when I bought them three (yes, three) years ago, but they still get the job done. I am on the bustier side, so I need quality bras. Despite the fact that I like to think of myself as a thrifty nickle, I buy mine from Victoria's Secret. They make some very excellent and well constructed bras and they last. In fact, there's nothing wrong with the ones I have other than the fit

I have absolutely no desire to throw out perfectly good but too-big bras and shell out $60 or more on a couple new ones. So, instead, I devised a plan to make the old bras fit again. Queue the seam ripper.

The first step is determining where you bra doesn't fit anymore. For me, it was riding up in the back, which is a sign that the band size is too large. If you've recently lost some weight like me, this is likely your problem. For other issues, check out this excellent bra trouble-shooting resource. As the page suggests, you should clasp the bra tighter but even with my bra clipped at its tightest, it's still too big. The not-so-secret solution I decided on was to make the band a little smaller.

Grab your bra, and look at the closure. Most likely, it uses a hook and eye closure, like this:

It's much easier to remove the eye tape section, so take your seam ripper and carefully undo the stitching that holds it in place. You may have to rip some stitches across the top and bottom, as well.

Slow Cooker Three Bean Taco Salad

There's been some really crazy weather around here lately. If you live anywhere in the Mideast, you probably also experienced the totally nuts derecho (the technical term for the giant windstorm of doom) that blew by on Friday/Saturday. Between the power outages that's caused and the record heat, it has not been a great time to try and cook.

I hate turning on the oven or cooking on the stove when it's nasty out. It makes the apartment so hot and I try not to work the A/C harder than it has to. That means crock pot season is in full swing. Even though it's running all day, it creates so much less heat and doesn't warm up my kitchen and living room at all.

This week, I adapted my Three Bean Tacos for a taco salad. I simplified it after a little experimentation, so this recipe doesn't require the beans to be pre-soaked. You just throw them into the pot and go.

Three Bean Taco Salad
makes 8 servings

What You'll Need:
1 cup dried black beans
1 cup dried kidney beans
1 cup dried pinto beans
2 cups frozen corn kernels
6 cups water
1 small can tomato paste
5 Tbs taco seasoning

For serving:
shredded cheese
lettuce
sour cream
lime tortilla chips

The Process:
   Put all beans, corn, and seasoning into the slow cooker. Spoon in tomato paste and pour the water over it. Mix to incorporate the tomato paste. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours until the beans are tender.

Plate beans and add your favorite toppings. Serve with lime tortilla chips. I definitely encourage you to use the lime chips because it really adds a nice flavor to each bite.

LTL is 1 year old!

Little Thunder Lizard turned one year old May 30th, and like a bad parent, I missed it because I was too busy fussing over my infant child, Chickhammer. Shame on me.

Keeping up with two blogs at once has been a bit of a challenge, but I think I've started to get the hang of things. It helps that they're on totally unrelated subjects. However, there hasn't been much crafting going on in this place for a while now. I aim to change that, but right now I have a little dilemma- it appears that Singer has discontinued my sewing machine, the L-500.

This seems to explain why the foot I wanted was out of stock. But, there are several accessories (including the exclusive-to-my-machine bobbins) that I need. I can't quilt without that darning foot, and I have two tops that need quilting! I've had bad luck buying feet in the past from non-manufacturers, but compounding the problem is that these accessories seem hard to find now. Hopefully I can come up with the right feet soon!

Balsamic Worcestershire Beef Marinade

This is a quick marinade that you can use on steaks or roasts, or if you're feeling adventurous, you can mix it into ground beef for a meatloaf or hamburgers. Don't let its simpleness fool you, it packs a good punch of flavor.

Balsamic Worcestershire Beef Marinade
makes enough marinade for 2 lbs of meat

What You'll Need:
     1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
     1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
     2 Tbs soy sauce
     1 tsp dry mustard (or 2 tsp wet mustard)
     2 cloves garlic, minced
     1 shallot, minced
     2 tsp pepper

The Process:
     Mix all ingredients together. Pour over meat. Let marinate, refrigerated, for at least two hours. Turn occasionally to ensure even coating. Cook meat as desired.

Because of the soy sauce, I don't add any extra salt, but add a little salt if you feel inclined. Next time I make hamburgers, I am definitely going to use this marinade in it instead of my usual spice combination.

Recipe for those side dish potatoes is coming soon!

Great-Grandmom's Georgia Cornbread

My grandmother grew up in Georgia, as did much of her family before her. When I was growing up, she lived in NJ near us, but her mother still lived in the same house my grandmother grew up in. On the occasions we were able to visit, my great-grandmother would make cornbread for us. Before or since, I have never tasted better.

Unfortunately, she passed away a few years ago and her cornbread recipe went with her. My grandmother attests that she made it from memory without too much measuring and a lot of just knowing what's "right." After consulting my mother and grandmother, I think I was able to piece together a recipe very similar to hers.

They agreed on most points- that she used yellow cornmeal, regular flour, and, most importantly, bacon grease. That last part I couldn't forget, she had a vat of it in the kitchen- ready for anything. They, however, disagreed as to her use of buttermilk. After having tried it both with and without, I concluded that buttermilk is definitely the way to go.

Great-Grandmom's Georgia Cornbread
makes 8 generous slices

What You'll Need:
    1 cup yellow cornmeal
    1 cup all-purpose flour
    1/2 cup sugar
    1 cup buttermilk
    1/2 cup bacon grease (or melted butter, if you prefer)
    2 eggs
    3/4 teaspoon baking soda
    1 teaspoon salt