Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, I had to write this post ahead of time because I am, in fact, stuffing my face with my family. But in the off chance that someone who is NOT busy eating reads this blog, I've got something to ask.

What is something UNEXPECTED this year for which you are thankful?

Usually, I'm thankful that SOMEONE ELSE is making the food that is so fabulously arrayed before me. Usually, I'm thankful for my family and friends, my recent contracts, my generally wonderful life. Yadda yadda. Okay, so I'm blessed. But this year, something incredibly weird happened.

I'm thankful that I AM able to try and cook something this year. Yes, for my vegetarian daughter I'm going to try and cook a vegetable pot pie. The recipe was in Vegetarian Times to which we subscribe. But...you see, I don't cook. Well, maybe microwave popcorn, but that's the extent of it. In fact, I'm becoming something of a raw-ist not because of principle or anything like that. But because I'm too lazy to do more than pull spinach leaves out of a bag. Add some pre-shredded cheese and I've got dinner.

So the fact that I'm motivated to try to cook something as elaborate as pot pie...well, that is a shocker indeed. And kudos to whatever urge struck me hard enough to get off my duff and try. So THANK YOU to the mysterious urge. I'll let you know later if the experiment causes other people to thank me for NOT doing this again next year.

UPDATE: Vegetarian Pot Pie was edible. Barely. Was welcomed to make it again for next year, so long as I'm not hurt when no one eats it. But I tried, so I feel like it was win!

Recipe from China Moon! Hot and spicy noodles!

China Moon's Dragon Noodles

1/4 cup sesame oil

1 tablespoon Chinese chili sauce

2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons juice from pickled ginger

1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 1/2 tablespoons Japanese rice vinegar

2 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 pound very thin fresh Chinese egg noodles

Grated rind of l lemon

2 tablespoons black sesame seeds, toasted in a dry, heavy skillet until fragrant

3/4 cup thinly sliced scallions

For the garnish:

Grated red radish

Julienne of scallions (both green and white)

Toasted black sesame seeds

In a bowl combine the oil, chili sauce, soy sauce, pickled ginger juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, sugar and salt. Whisk to blend and set the bowl aside.

In a colander fluff the noodles to separate and untangle the strands. Bring a large saucepan of water to a rolling boil. Add the noodles and swish them gently with chopsticks. Let them cook for 2 minutes or until the noodles are tender but still have some bite. Drain them, plunge them briefly into ice water, then drain again. Shake the colander to remove excess moisture and transfer the noodles to a bowl.

Whisk the dressing again to combine it. Toss the noodles with just enough of the dressing to moisten them well, using your fingers to coat and separate the strands. Let the noodles sit for 10 minutes.

Taste the noodles. If they seem dry, add a bit more dressing and toss again. Add the lemon rind, black sesame seeds and scallion rings and toss well.

Taste the noodles again. They should be bright and sparkly. Cover them tightly and refrigerate up to one day.

To serve: Bring the noodles to room temperature. Mound the noodles in a bowl or twirl them in individual bowls. Garnish each dish with grated red radish, scallion and black sesame seeds.

Serves 2 or 3 as a main course; 4 to 6 as part of a multicourse meal.



From: http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/chinese-recipes/dragon-noodles.htm