Oodles

Hey.

How are you all doing?

JEREMY BEARIMY, my friends.
Jeremy Bearimy.

But this is most definitely not The Good Place.

Turns out, when we were all sick in late February/early March, it was Covid-19

So.  Yeah.  That's a thing.

Let me say, from experience, you Do Not Want.

Keep washing your hands.  Stay home. Get your groceries delivered. And if you can't? PROTECT YOURSELF.  If your employer isn't providing the proper materials, raise hell. We'll back you.

Anyway.

We had the tail end of a carton of eggs, and Matt liked the idea of fresh Chinese egg noodles. Sure, why not?

Pretty easy: flour, salt, eggs, water.  Mixed by hand, a bit of a chill in the fridge, then a few passes through the sheeter before switching to the cutting roller.

Really nice, tender noodles.  Alex used some to make himself peanut noodles (he even found a recipe on his own!). 

The rest were bagged and tucked into the (overflowing) freezer. 

Just wanted to remind you that Blog Party is tonight!  In these strange times, I'll take entries up to six PM (EST), in case you were still thinking about joining.

We're using up those the half-bags, hidden-away cans, and deep-freeze treasures and creating bites and sips to share - from the safety of our digital devices! - with friends old and new.

I do hope you'll attend.  See you later tonight!

Worth the $5.75

Summer vacation starts early here, and Alex was getting bored.

This meant it was time for a trip to the big used book store.

So, he and Matt stopped in one day, coming home with a huge stack of thick books (Arabian Nights, Richard Burton translation, among them).

They also grabbed a copy of Asian Wraps: Deliciously Easy Hand-Held Bundles to Stuff, Wrap and Relish by Nina Simonds for me.

We're all fans of Asian flavors here, so it wasn't an entirely altruistic gesture on Matt's part.

The book saw its debut tonight, with the Vietnamese Chicken Salad.

Thin rice noodles are topped with shredded chicken (for Matt, we used some of the hickory- & pecan-smoked chicken we'd made last night, while Alex and I used the soy delight nuggets from Earth Fare, pan-fried in a splash of olive oil), grated carrot, peanuts, mint and (replacing the we-think-it-tastes-like-dish-soap cilantro) basil. That then gets a Vietnamese Sweet and Sour Dipping Sauce poured over (lime juice, crushed red pepper flakes sugar, minced garlic, nam pla soy sauce and grated carrot.

Easily eaten in Boston lettuce leaves or from a bowl (we did both), it's a good combo of bright, fresh flavors and crunch. The dressing really ties it all together. Both guys are taking leftovers for lunch and we're already looking forward to trying more recipes. You've gotta love those used book stores.