Old Shirts

As of late I have been listening to the White Album. First record. This was my favorite album in 3rd grade (don't ask me about record two...after years of listening to record one in college I was shocked, SHOCKED, to find out that "Revolution" was on the White Album. I thought everything that mattered ended at "Julia" anyhow...) and it is massively soothing to me like slipping into an old shirt.

In the kitchen, there are two things that serve the same role in my life. Spaghetti Carbonara and Oatmeal. They work a certain way. They are a part of my fabric. I never order them in resaurants because, frankly, they never do it right. It will always disappoint me. I don't care about record two or variations.

To make oatmeal:

Put on the side one, record one of the White Album.

Per serving...
Throw in a pan:
Half cup oats
Half cup MILK
Half cup water
Raisins (can throw in other types of other dry fruit if one feels upitty)

Cook until it looks right. Turn of the heat. Let sit. Top with brown sugar. Be morally superior to the world.

Spaghetti Carbonara
Put on Dylan, Nashville Skyline

Per serving:
One room temp egg
Two strips bacon
Onion
Parmesan
Parsley
White Wine
Noodles

Boil some water. Cook the bacon 'til the fat renders, put the noodles in the water and the onion in the bacon pan. Pour a glass of wine. Stir the onions now and then. Warm a bowl with hot water. Break the egg(s) in it. Break it with a fork and mix in the parm, parsley and fresh pepper and a pinch of salt. As the onions get golden pour in the rest of your wine and pour yourself a fresh glass. Let the wine clean out the brown bits in the onion pan, take off the heat and stir into the egg(s). Drain your pasta and stir into the eggy, bacon goodness.

Dig in, and be SO SO happy you never followed your college friends into veganism and that you aren't kosher .

Cold Air and Hot Noodles

Today is one of those shocking Midwestern winter days that living here requires forgetting about during the interveneing seasons: blindingly bright sun, cloudless deep blue sky...and minus 25 Faherenheit windchill. So it's an indoorsy sort of day. I flirted with the notion of putting down my earflaps and going to the hardware store and getting the supplies to paint my kitchen a Morroccan blue to set off my foxy new red enameled grill pan...but resisted.

I supposed I could do something fruitful like tackle the horrific tangle that is the front closet. Instead I put on the new Beth Orton album have been tinkering in the kitchen. From digging around in the cupboard and the veggie bin I wound up with a massively satisfying bowl of soba noodles in hot broth with a little daikon, mushroom and spinach. Seasoned with a sprinkle of chili and a drizzle of dark seasame oil.

Lately, I've been a bit obessive about the notion of always having dashi in the fridge. Maybe it finally dawned on me that it's about as hard to make as a cup of tea. Maybe it's the fact that last week I figured out to make proper goma at home...


Alas, I am afraid my recent Japanesey kick isn't doing much in fulfilling my New Year's resolution to sort out how Indian food works...but so be it. Oh, and you know that business about brewing green tea with lower temp. water than regular black tea? I had always dismissed this information as terribly obsessive and had sort of let it slide but know what, it's totally true. Gets rid of the bitterness and hay-bail lick quality of green tea. I brewed a pot yesterday afternoon with lower heat water and the variety that had been sitting in the cupboard that I'd rejected as too strong and bitter was perfect, same trick different green tea type this afternoon was just right with the brothy noodles. Huh.