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blessings

Love Thursday: Missing days


Love Thursday, 2/22
Originally uploaded by nichole_e.

I neglected my list-making this week. I skipped several days. So it’s a sadly short little list for today. We went to DC in the “missing days,” and we did have a lovely time.

February 15

  • The cheese-chasing segment on “Sesame Street.”
  • Napping with Poppy.
  • Buying two books.
  • The bat on “The Office.”
  • Michael going to Pam’s art show on “The Office.”
  • Mongolian tofu … 3 Points!
  • Poppy singing along to “Jelly Man Kelly.”
  • Poppy giggling in the car.
  • The thought of Rockford having to crawl out the passenger-side door when the driver’s-side door was stuck.
  • Taking pictures of my Valentine’s Day tulips.

February 20

  • Going to the park.
  • Having a nice lunch with Stephanie.
  • Poppy playing with her noodles at lunch.

Eating

You had me at "10 packs for a dollar"

I grew up on a steady diet of ramen noodles. After I moved out on my own, I turned on those cheap little noodles. Lately, though, they’ve been working to lure me back in. Back in October they were in cahoots with Rachael Ray. Her Thai Shrimp Noodle Pouches were quite tasty, but not delicious enough to renew my love for the ramen.

But as of tonight, the ramen noodles have me. From here on out, I will actively seek ramen-based meals. And of all the crazy things, it’s because of a recipe from a Weight Watchers cookbook.

Easy Asian Beef and Noodles
1 (8-ounce) rib-eye steak
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil, divided
1 cup (1-inch) sliced green onions
2 cups packaged cabbage-and-carrot coleslaw
2 (2.8-ounce) packages beef-flavored ramen noodles
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon low-salt soy sauce

Trim fat from steak; cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slices. Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add steak and green onions; stir-fry 1 minute. Remove steak mixture from skillet; keep warm. Heat remaining 1/2 teaspoon oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add slaw; stir-fry 30 seconds. Remove slaw from skillet; keep warm.

Remove noodles from packages; reserve one seasoning packet for another use. Add water and remaining seasoning packet to skillet; bring to a boil. Break noodles in half; add noodles to water mixture. Cook noodles until most of the liquid is absorbed, stirring frequently. Stir in steak mixture, slaw and soy sauce; cook until thoroughly heated.

Serves two.

10 Points

I would recommend that you do not add the entire bag of coleslaw, because that might mean that you would have to scoop out 5 cups of overslaw. This is a shockingly easy and delicious dish. We’re going to try it again soon with either chicken or shrimp, substituting the appropriate flavor of ramen, of course.

. . . . . the end . . . . .

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Reading

From the ‘07 reading journal

Very Good, Jeeves! by P.G. Wodehouse
Too much fantastic goofiness to jot it all down. Here’s a small sampling:

… “She is so far above me.”
“Tall girl?” …

… There is a ghastly moment in the year, generally about the beginning of August, when Jeeves insists on taking a holiday, the slacker, and legs it off to some seaside resort for a couple of weeks, leaving me stranded. …

… “Ah, Mr. Wooster,” it said. “Ha, Ha!”
“Ho, ho!” I replied, not to be outdone in the courtesies. …

… It was one of those big days for beamers. …

The Children of Men by P.D. James
I didn’t think this was a great book, but the premise is very interesting. It’s a take on “The End” that I haven’t heard suggested before (although I don’t really read/watch a whole lot on that topic, so it may have been done before). James expressed the slow, depressed decline very poignantly. There were several scenes (all spoilerish, so I won’t go into detail) that are burned into my mind. The book’s denouement wasn’t as moving as I’d expected it to be. When I read the book, I wrote that I wanted to see the movie and that I hoped the movie would be better than the book. I’ve seen the movie now, and I’m not sure how much comparison I can do in fairness. The book and the movie are so completely different. They’ve changed the characters, the action and the plot. That being said, I found the movie more moving than the book.

Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
Nemirovsky’s own story is more heartbreaking than anything in her book. The “Dolce” section is better crafted than the “Storm” section, but I’d imagine that the completed book would’ve been much more polished had the author lived. As it is, “Storm” lacks cohesion.

A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon
I read this on my way to Columbia, and I loved it. I don’t normally enjoy “everything falls apart” novels, but “A Spot of Bother” is so well-written and funny and sweet. I should’ve written down some of the bits that I particularly liked, but I was on planes and in airports, and I just didn’t do it.

At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks
Amy gave this to me to read on my way home from Columbia. I know a lot of people think Sparks is the bee’s knees. I am not one of those people.

The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos
This was on a few “best of 2006” lists. I wasn’t crazy about it. The convergence of plots was especially disappointing.

Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl
I have no idea what to make of this book. I thought I was going to abandon it after the first chapter, but then I got sucked into the story and couldn’t stop reading. The end, though … It threw me for a loop. Blue’s father’s behavior doesn’t seem true to character unless her theory is right, and that’s just nutty. I know that doesn’t make sense if you haven’t read the book. So go read the book, then come back and tell me what you think.

The Dead Beat by Marilyn Johnson
It made me want to read more obits.