if only...

If only winter were really over! But no, it's still January. It's our winter farm share that is over. I picked up our last share yesterday. Nothing more until June!

The pickup included: spinach, mixed baby greens, kale, mixed braising greens, leeks, onions, garlic, shallots, beets, potatoes, celeriac, purple-topped turnips, carrots, parsnips, parsley root, and lots of popping corn!

I have a few leftovers from last month that needed using up...1 more head of cabbage, and some salad turnips. And I was in the mood for ramen noodles. Time to combine them all...

Cabbage Ramen

1 package ramen noodles
1/2 cup chopped green
cabbage
1 white turnip, sliced
1/2 tsp. grated ginger
1 tsp. white miso
2 T. soy sauce
pinch of cayenne pepper

Chinese food sometimes utilizes water chestnuts, but Japanese cuisine often includes the smaller radish-like white turnips. I'm actually not fond of raw radishes or turnips. But cooked or salted or pickled...yum! In case you can't find any salad turnips, you can just leave them out.

Begin by heating water
in a small pot.
Cut off 2-3 big slices of
cabbage, then cut it up
roughly.
Thinly slice the salad
turnip.
In a tiny bowl, mix the
grated ginger, miso, soy
sauce & cayenne pepper.
When water comes to a boil, add the cabbage, turnip & ramen. Cook for 3-4 minutes. When noodles begin to soften, stir.
Drain most of the cooking liquid and toss with the sauce.

Ramen Pride

Happy New Year!

Maia survived her
brothers' wrath on
their presents Xmas
morning.



And I loved finally
giving her this holiday
Hello Kitty blanket I'd
been saving and saving
for her. So cute. She
also got a Hello Kitty
toothbrush...for her
two teeth.

The boys are on holiday break this week, so no lunches to pack and share!

So why is it you never see professional chefs using ramen noodles, aside from Robert Irvine's Dinner: Impossible mission at a comedy improv club? They're available at every corner grocer, cheaper than cheap, and eaten constantly it seems in Japan. Yet in the U.S they're viewed as poor man's college dorm food (sure, we all ate too many of them then). I wonder how many chefs who admit going home exhausted and making a PBJ sandwich sometimes have a pot noodle?

I admit it, I like ramen. But let's face it, they're junk. But junk with potential!! Throw away the non-veg seasoning packet, rinse the excess oil off the noodles after cooking, add some frozen veggies, and voila! A half-decent meal in minutes!
Miso Ramen

1 packet ramen noodles
1 handful baby greens (ie. tat soi, arugula, dandelion, kale, frisee) or sliced bok choy
1/2-1 radish, thinly sliced
1 green onion (scallion), chopped
2 tsp. miso + 2 T. hot cooking water
1 tsp. soy sauce

Boil a small pot of water. Add ramen noodles.
Cook 3 minutes, adding a handful of baby greens & the sliced radish during the last minute.
Remove 2 tablespoons of hot water and mix with the miso.
Drain noodles (I give them a brief rinse too).
Top noodles with green onion, pour on miso and soy sauce.

One of my favourite hot breakfasts!

But here is my New Year's
Day breakfast: just
simple fruit...strawberries,
banana, clementine.





Add here is one of my
new favourite products...
vegan soy-free gluten-free
rice cheese slices! This
is the pepper jack flavour
and in my opinion it's
really yummy!