AUGUST 2018; Whats for dinner?

Recently I purchased several different types of Asian noodles because we love noodles and also love how Asians use them in both hot and cold dishes. Here's a simple recipe for a soba noodle salad and I even have all the ingredients, too!

Soba Noodle Salad
Serves 4. Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook.
For pictures & more details with this recipe, see www.justonecookbook.com/soba-salad .
There’s also a video with the online recipe showing Namiko making this.

7 oz. soba (buckwheat) noodles (7 oz. = 200 g = 2-3 bundles)
2 green onions/scallions
1 bunch cilantro (.7 oz. = 20 g)
1 Tablespoon white sesame seeds (roasted/toasted)
Dressing:
1 Tablespoon neutral flavor oil (vegetable, canola, etc.)
3 Tablespoons sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red peppers (red pepper flakes)
3 Tablespoons honey
3 Tablespoons soy sauce

Gather all the ingredients.
To make the dressing:
1. Combine 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil, 3 Tablespoons sesame oil, and 1/2 teaspoon crushed red peppers in a small saucepan. Whisk all together and infuse the oil over medium heat for 3 minutes. Alternatively, you can put these ingredients in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 3 minutes. Set aside to let it cool a bit; be careful while handling as it'll get very hot.
2. Add 3 Tablespoons honey and 3 Tablespoons soy sauce to the oil mixture.
Whisk all together until honey is completely dissolved.
Making the salad:
1. Bring water to a boil (You do not need to salt the water for cooking soba.). Cook the soba noodles according to the package instructions, but make sure they are al dente. Drain into a colander and rinse the soba noodles under cold running water. This step is important to remove the starch from the soba noodles. Drain well and transfer to a large bowl.
2. Thinly slice the green onions and chop cilantro into small pieces.
3. Combine the soba noodles, dressing, green onion, cilantro, and sesame seeds in the bowl. Toss everything together. Transfer to a serving bowl or plate. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

I didn't plan to do much cooking, if any today but ended up doing some anyway. I got some kielbasa and slaw in a package for dinner tonight. I cooked the cabbage with some bacon and onions then added the sausage and covered until done. The extra work came in when Charlie said he'd like buttered egg noodles too. I didn't have any and didn't want to go back to the store so I made some. We also had some mango and watermelon for dessert.

Great job on the entire meal, Norm! Thanks for showing that it's not difficult to make noodles just before a meal.....Love the idea of slaw mix cooked w/sausage ~ gonna steal that one for sure!

I have a low threshold for frustration and tonight proved it. I am really losing it. I was making turkey Reubens and had this small half sandwich on the griddle. I was trying to flip it and it kept falling apart and would not stay together. I finally threw the mess against the back tile. Joe cleaned it up for me. Too much worry on my mind and the littlest thing sets me off. I have got to pull it together.

Bugster2 wrote:I have a low threshold for frustration and tonight proved it. I am really losing it. I was making turkey Reubens and had this small half sandwich on the griddle. I was trying to flip it and it kept falling apart and would not stay together. I finally threw the mess against the back tile. Joe cleaned it up for me. Too much worry on my mind and the littlest thing sets me off. I have got to pull it together.

Debbie,
You came a long way, and it wasn't easy I'm sure. Just think of what was worse, and I'm sure you will think of and find something that was more frustrating, and what just happened, just wasn't worth getting frustrated over.
It happens with me sometimes. I used to be a thrower. hahahaha...and then I realized, I was the picker upper after the fact.
So, think about it, and take a deep breath.
Write down your frustrations. Read what you wrote, then tear it up; saying to yourself,"Why should I worry about it?"....and flip it in the garbage can.

NormM wrote:

Norm, those homemade noodles you made sure look straight and even -- you did a bang up job. Very professional looking!

Tonight I had hoped to grill some hot dogs on the grill ~ but, alas, our daily rain storm happened right on time (time to light the grill). I didn't know I was hungry for hot dogs until I went to the store for something else and saw Nathan's Natural Casing hot dogs on sale. I've only seen them in one store and have never before seen them on sale so I thought it was 'fate' that I would spy them today!

A simple can of Bush's Baked Beans, doctored up with a rendered slice of bacon and some chopped onion was all I needed on the side.

No cooking tonight. I'm driving Lyn to Orlando for some doctor appointments and then we'll stay through the evening.

Crybaby wrote:

NormM wrote:

Norm, those homemade noodles you made sure look straight and even -- you did a bang up job. Very professional looking!

I used my pasta attachment for the Kitchenaid. It comes with a cutter but when they swell up in the water, they even out more.

We don't like dry pastrami either Jimmy. We need our dose of vitamin G.

Good pastrami is made with brisket which is fattier than round which what the delis around here use. Round is very lean and does not make very good pastrami or corned beef so I don't know why they use it unless it's because it is a cheaper cut.

NormM wrote:Good pastrami is made with brisket which is fattier than round which what the delis around here use. Round is very lean and does not make very good pastrami or corned beef so I don't know why they use it unless it's because it is a cheaper cut.

Tina got it from an area that the town is Predominantly Jewish.

I googled the pastrami cuts, and the original Jewish Americans, created the meat in NYC. They use the Kosher cut of the cow ( Navel Cut ) the upper sections allowed for them to eat. There is the First Cut. which is 98% fat free cut and lean but dry. This is a lower cholesterol healthier cut.
The best, is the Brisket .... Smoked and cured. Just as you said Norm.

I will report on the pastrami sandwich after adding the bacon grease.

NormM wrote:

Crybaby wrote:

NormM wrote:

Norm, those homemade noodles you made sure look straight and even -- you did a bang up job. Very professional looking!

I used my pasta attachment for the Kitchenaid. It comes with a cutter but when they swell up in the water, they even out more.

You're a good advertisment for that attachment, for sure!

bethk wrote:No cooking tonight.  I'm driving Lyn to Orlando for some doctor appointments and then we'll stay through the evening.

I hope you give your normal report afterwards about where you ate on your excursion, Beth -- with pictures, too! Will never forget the Oriental Grocery!

Crybaby wrote:

I hope you give your normal report afterwards about where you ate on your excursion, Beth -- with pictures, too!  Will never forget the Oriental Grocery!

Not much to report. Friend Barb went with us. Our last stop of the day was at Trader Joe's ~ always a fun place to snoop around! I ended up bringing home a jar of the Organic Marinara Sauce and two tubs of cookies ~ the little chocolate chip ones and some chocolate dipped 'dunkers'. I break down to smaller containers and stash 'em in the freezer for 'treats'. I especially love the little chocolate chip ones, with just a hint of coconut, when they're frozen. Just a few is enough to satisfy my sweet tooth.

We wanted to go to Lyn's & my favorite restaurant, Slate, which is next door to the Trader Joe's Grocery, but, alas, we hit between their lunch service and dinner and the door was locked. So, we decided to go to a gastropub on International Drive that we enjoyed another time. As we were driving there we saw Joe's Crab Shack, a chain that specializes in seafood and Barb's favorite. This time it was the LAST time I'll go in the place. Too sad they cannot cook seafood properly when that's about all they offer.

Lyn got a 'shrimp done 3 way' dish that was just OK. Barb and I both ordered a two-tail lobster dinner, said to be two lobster tails, split & broiled, rice and veg. I'm assuming since the lobster tails were small, that's why we each got 6 halved tails on our plates.....but two of mine were not cooked through! How can you screw up heating seafood to being opaque all the way through???? The rice was just a spoonful of plain white rice and the veg, green beans, were cooked so some were very soft and some were practically raw. It wasn't worth throwing a fit over (the meal was priced at around $20) and all I wanted to do was get out. But NEVER MORE.

I heard about how long the lines were at Joe's Crab Shack here in Kansas City before I moved here and when we got here, I found it was close-by but the lines were not long. The second time there was no waiting to get in. That time I was not impressed with the food and shortly after that they closed.

Same here re Joe's Crab Shack. Many, many decades ago, I went to one that opened on the lakefront in N.O. It definitely had a "hanging fern bar" kind of feel but back then, we didn't have too many places like that. Plus not many chains were here either. But I liked it because they had stone crab, which I'd never had but really enjoyed.

When Brian and I had to leave N.O. after Katrina -- we stayed home during the storm but the people still broadcasting on radio were saying it might be as long as six months until power was returned -- we ended up in Houston, where his home office was, for 7 weeks, the longest 7 weeks of our lives! At any rate, though we're very grateful to the city of Houston for coming to the aid of New Orleans LONG BEFORE the federal government stepped in, we were in one of those long-term hotels in an all-concrete area close to the Interstate. We could walk to two places, one on the same "slab" as the hotel -- a Friday's -- and across the side street, Joe's Crab Shack. We went there for dinner one night when my mom was still with us, as we could push her wheelchair right over there.

I was looking forward to it, assuming I'd get to have stone crab again, but I didn't realize they're seasonal from October to May so they weren't available. But the place just screamed "chain," especially when the waiters/waitresses paused occasionally to sing and dance and put on some type of "yeah, aren't we all thrilled to be here" show for a minute or two, and then would go back to serving. That kind of place doesn't appeal to us, and even my mom wasn't crazy about the atmosphere. You rarely see the type of crab they sell in N.O., as we're used to the same type of blue crabs Maryland used to be known for (Maryland gets most of their crabs from this area now I've read, due to pollution and overfishing). But I ordered one of the three crab types they offered that night, Dungeness. I think my mom ordered King Crab and Brian probably got a hamburger. Not only was our crab really dry and kind of tasteless but we found the place not only annoying but rather expensive for the quality of the food served. Needless to say, we never went back during our 7 weeks in Houston. The one in N.O. I went to closed years ago and a quick Google search didn't indicate there's another one in this area. Chains selling frozen pre-portioned seafood have a hard time competing with local places selling fresh seafood.

I saw this in a photo today in an advertisement for Domino's light brown sugar and it looked so good that I figured I'd go online and get the recipe. Here's a picture of it, too, so you can see how good it looks. I think these would be good at breakfast in addition to dessert.




Brown Sugar Brandied Caramel Apple Tart
Makes 9 tarts. Recipe from DominoSugar.com

Tart:
1 sheet puff pastry
6 to 7 apples, cored and sliced 1/4-inch thick
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1-1/2 Tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup light brown sugar
Brandied Caramel Sauce:
3 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup milk
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1-1/2 Tablespoons brandy
3 Tablespoons demerara cane sugar, for sprinkling

Tart:
1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
2. Set out pastry to sit out for 5 minutes at room temperature, or until it can be unfolded without breaking. Place on top of a piece of parchment paper.
3. Cut 9 (3.5 x 3.5 inch) squares. Roll out each square into a 4.5 x 3.5-inch rectangle using a rolling pin.
4. Place the pastry 1-1/2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet. Chill in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
5. In a large bowl, toss the apples with granulated sugar and lemon juice. Let mixture rest 10 minutes, tossing every few minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 375°F. Remove baking sheet with dough from refrigerator. Brush each pastry with melted butter. Sprinkle each pastry with 1/2 Tablespoon brown sugar. Arrange the apple slices in rows of 6 slices for each piece of pastry dough. Repeat until all of the pastry is covered with apple slices.
7. Bake 30 to 35 minutes until edges are golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool 2 to 3 minutes before brushing on brandied caramel sauce. The tarts should be warm, not hot.

Brandied Caramel Sauce:
1. Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat.
2. Add milk and combine. Whisk in brown sugar. 3. Heat mixture for 2 to 3 minutes, continuously stirring. Add salt and brandy, then heat an additional 3 to 4 minutes until the mixture thickens slightly. Remove pan from heat and let sit 1 to 2 minutes before proceeding.
3. Brush sauce on the edge of each cooked pastry and drizzle over apple slices.
Sprinkle each of the pastry edges with 1 teaspoon of the demerara sugar.
Serve warm.

That apple tart looks like the ones Ina makes....easy and impressive. I don't think she does the sauce ~ which sounds like a "spoon-it-into-my-mouth" type of sauce.....

Still trying to make 'soft' meals (and pretty darn sick of it, I might add.....).

Scalloped potatoes with ham (someone bought 1% milk to have on hand when I was in Ohio instead of the whole milk I usually have for cooking) ~ the sauce broke and looked terrible, although we ate it anyway. Blanched sugar snap peas and then reheated in some bacon fat & sprinkled on the rendered bacon. 'Someone' (*he shall remain nameless tonight) said there were too many 'strings' ~ I had removed both the top & bottom 'string' prior to blanching ~ so he didn't eat any peas. I had no problem whatsoever.....

I had some major dental surgery that lasted about 3 years. I had to be on soft foods too. What I did was to put everything (steaks, hot dogs. chicken, vegetables, bread) you name it into my Cuisinart mini processor. I didn't puree it but ground the food up to a mini mince so I could gum it down. Still had the same taste as the original but I didn't have to chew it. I sort of moved it around my mouth and swallowed. It worked for me. I threw in hot dogs complete with the buns, mustard, pickle relish. It was great.

bethk wrote:That apple tart looks like the ones Ina makes....easy and impressive.  I don't think she does the sauce ~ which sounds like a "spoon-it-into-my-mouth" type of sauce.....

Know just what you mean, Beth. When you see how much sauce it makes and then how little you use on the tarts, I think they allowed for such spooning into the mouth!