Veggie-Packed Ramen Stirfry, Kid-Friendly!

I love when my children teach me things. As they (and I) grow older, I rely on them more and more to be my experts in technology, song lyrics, dance moves, and things people said several days ago. I am particularly grateful when they have ideas about food. This past week our middle-schooler came up with not one, not two, but THREE dinner ideas (chicken Alfredo pasta bake, cottage pie, salmon patties with rice), and I gratefully added them all to the weekly menu.

Recently she also taught us a recipe that she learned at an after-school program, and it has become a staple in our household. This ramen stirfy is simple and delicious as only rich, salty noodles can be, and it's packed with fresh crunchy veg. It's also easy to make (get children to help!), taking just a little longer than it takes to boil water. Make it vegetarian or vegan if you want. Check this out and maybe give it a try!

Stirfry ready!

Ingredients:

Peanut or canola oil
1 t pureed ginger (buy a tube or grate your own)
Packs of ramen (any kind with flavor packets)--1 per person
1 cup (or more) broccoli and/or cauliflower florets
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup water
2 T soy sauce
1 T toasted sesame oil
1 t bouillon base (chicken or vegetable)

Note: This is one of those "meanwhile" recipes where you have to do two things at once—boil ramen and work the stirfry.


First, put on a large pot of water to boil. When it comes to a boil, add the noodles from your ramen packets (keep all of the flavor packets).



Follow the instructions for how long to boil the noodles (probably around 4 minutes).




Then drain and set aside—it's OK to rinse in cold water. You may also want to oil the noodles a little so they don't start to stick together while they wait.


MEANWHILE, start the stirfry. Heat a glug of peanut or canola oil in a large flat pan (or a wok if you have one). Add the ginger and stir.

Next, add carrots (feel free to add oil as needed), and stir for a few minutes.

Add the broccoli & cauliflower (if using). Stirfry for another few minutes until the broccoli is turning brighter green.

As the vegetables cook, prepare the secret elixir that will tie the whole dish together.

Combine 1/2 cup water, 2 T soy sauce, 1 T sesame oil, 1 t bouillon base, and all of the ramen flavor packets. Stir together well.

This batch had both broccoli and cauliflower. 

Finally, add the cooked noodles to the sauteed vegetables, and pour the sauce over all. Gently stir and fold to combine. I like to use tongs for this to avoid mushing the noodles.

Our family pretty much inhales this dinner and it's gone in about 2 minutes. I think it's proof that ramen flavoring makes everything taste amazing. Why is that?

NYC weekend: April 2019

Oh hey! We got through the winter!

I want to share some shots of my trip to New York City earlier this month. The day before I left it snowed in Vermont, so the signs of spring in Manhattan were so refreshing.

It was Tartan Day so we saw a parade of Scottish people from around the world going up 6th Avenue. There were different clans and societies, bagpipe bands, and Westies wearing kilts.

We stayed at the Warwick hotel, which was longtime home of Marion Davies (that's her on the right) and also Cary Grant.

When recalling the trip, most of what we did was EAT. On the first night we found Guantanamera, an awesome Cuban restaurant on 8th avenue. It was perfect--crammed with tables, mic set up for music later, low lights, tons of food. We ate a lot of ceviche and empanadas, and split a crispy juicy order of the house chicken. There were delicious tostones (fried plantain). Photo above is of a guy rolling cigars in the front window.

We meandered up to Lincoln Center after dinner to look at the fountain and the buildings.

The next day we found dim sum near our hotel and went there for brunch (after a run around Central Park, where trees and daffodils were in flower).

We also went to GLOSSIER. So fun! It's a makeup store in Soho and you have to wait outside, then they let you enter in small groups and you go up a set of dark pink stairs. I swear the air smells slightly of roses.

There are only testers on display, no merchandise to gather up and purchase. Once you know what you want to buy you find a lady in a pink jumpsuit and she'll take your order (and credit card info) on an ipad.

The orders are packed out of sight on an upper floor and they come down from the ceiling in a plastic bag with your name on it. The ladies at this counter grab the bag and call your name, and then you pick it up. It was the coolest thing.

We did other shopping around Soho, including the Vans store, and at Top Shop I bought an insane pair of gold snake-head earrings, just cuz.

Spring at NYU!

On our last evening we went back up to Lincoln Center and had dinner at Bar Boulud. It was a great spot, intimate and not too expensive. Here is our charcuterie plate.

The bar goes the length of the room on one side, with booths on the other side (we were in a booth).

Many of us got the Frenchie burger, which is an angus burger with tomato compote, raclette cheese, and pork belly on top. Thin-thin fries on the side.

Last morning was another visit to Pain Quotidienne. While I love the earthy organic vibe at this chain (this was the second one we visited in two days), the service was wicked slow, it was hard to get the server to come back after dropping off our orders, and one time my coffee wasn't particularly hot. BUT they have a lot of organic stuff, so... that's good?

Things not pictured: Mark Manders "Tilted Head" public art installation at the entrance to Central Park, Chinatown (I almost bought a durian but didn't want to carry it), an unusual-seeming number of French bulldogs, Eataly (we had panini for lunch on Day 1), and the corner store near our hotel that had at least 5 different drinks coolers with waters, iced coffees, kombuchas, iced teas, Turmeric lattes, matcha drinks, mushroom elixirs, juices, fizzy things, not to mention a ton of alcohol that I wasn't paying attention to. ALL THE THINGS.

I got to New York by driving to New Haven, CT, then taking the commuter rail to Grand Central Station. It's about a 5 hour trip door to door, which isn't bad at all! While there we walked all around town and took the subway a few times. No taxis, no ubers. Things still on my list are the High Line, any kind of art museum, maybe check out the Film Forum, and find more more more good restaurants.

Happy Spring!

2018: The Prof. Kitty Index

Happy New Year! How was your 2018? Here are some numbers from my year.

800+: running miles logged

86,000+: running elevation logged (in feet)

2: times the family went bowling together

3: days spent with hundreds of women I've never met before at Big Birdcamp (weekend gathering hosted by women's running brand Oiselle)

365: days I didn't drink alcohol

30: books I read this year written by women

0: books I read this year written by men

17: times I "climbed the Rattlesnake" (ran up the local mountain)

4: number of years as of 2018 that I've co-directed the annual Turkey Trot race

1: place in work pie contest earned by my Classic Banoffee Pie

1: place in Guilford Fair Produce category earned by my 3 garden zucchini 

3: number of times I volunteered at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center

50: number of kilometres I ran in April in my first official race at this distance

7+: number of hours the 50k took

600+: miles I drove with my mother & daughter on a round-trip to my hometown for a party

853: dollars earned by my son selling popcorn as Cub Scout fundraiser

850: number of popcorn fundraiser dollars required to earn the "Escape Room Game" prize

The 30th book I read this year, finished today on New Year's Eve, was Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkeban, written by JK Rowling and illustrated by Jim Kay

My (homemade) punch-card for climbs up Mt. Wantastiquet, with 17 punches

Detail of piece from the "Don't Call Me Princess" show by Orly Corgan that I volunteered at in October. Check out Anita Hill testifying in the lower right-corner, and a little bit of Christine Blasey Ford in the lower left corner.

Prize winning squash!

Prize winning pie!

Climbing course at Big Birdcamp—I climbed both the structure on the left and the pole thing on the right.

Lauren Fleshman, one of my personal heroes, singing about smashing the patriarchy and a few other things, also at Big Birdcamp.

At Birdcamp we each wrote a word about what we were hoping to get from the experience and taped it to the wall. I went and read them later and so many of them said: Connection. Is it coincidence that "Connect" was my chosen Inspiration Word for 2018?

So those are some things that happened in 2018. But rather than taking credit for them, I prefer to think that I'm here to appreciate them. Do you know that Frog & Toad story called "The Garden"? Frog gives Toad some seeds to grow, and Toad plants them. But when he checks back, they haven't grown. Each day he tries something to help them grow. He yells at them. He sits with them all night by candlelight. He plays them music. He sings. He reads them poetry. Finally, the seeds sprout. And Toad is worn out with all the work he had to do to get them to grow. I feel this way about life: how much success is related to our efforts, and how much is due to just... being planted?

I also had some seeds that did not grow this year.

I never updated my résumé. 

I didn't pay down my credit cards as much as I wanted.

I failed to get the local running club together to talk about finances, though I've laid the groundwork to do that in 2019.

Despite vaguely earnest (or earnestly vague) intentions otherwise, I attended only ONE yoga class, and it was 364 days ago, on January 1, 2018. 

I did not start publishing a series of "5-sentence stories" on my blog (here!)

How about you? What are you favorite numbers from 2018? Did your garden take a lot of effort? Did you plant seeds that didn't grow?

Rad DIY Black Leather Earrings

Oh my goodness, it's December again! Lately my crafting bug has been coming back, and I made these rockin' black leather earrings as a recent do-it-yourself project. I felt they were missing from my life. Sometimes I'd get dressed and look at myself in the mirror and CRAVE long, dangly, aggressive earrings to complete my look. 

I put these together with components from Brattleboro's fantastic local bead & jewelry store, Beadniks. You can make them too—for yourself or maybe as a DIY gift for someone special.

Here's what you need:

2 silver kidney wire pierced earring findings

1 yard of 5mm wide black leather 

2 large silver ball-chain sections

2 silver headpins, about 3 cm long

pliers & safety pin

First, cut the leather into 4 strips of 2 lengths. I made 2 strips about 17 cm each, and 2 about 14 cm each. Cut the ends at an angle. Then fold the strips in half and press between your fingers to lightly crease—see photo below.

Next, where you've folded each strip in half, make a hole right through the strip using the safety pin. (The safety pin is wider and stronger than the head pin.) You can even wiggle the pin around to make an even wider hole. I stuck the pin through from the smooth side of the leather to the rough, so I could make sure the hole was going right into the center of the strip. Do this with all 4 pieces of leather.

Next, stick a head pin from the rough side (inside) of a short strip through to the other side. You're starting to build the earring.

Now stack a longer strip on top of the short one from the same direction (poking the headpin through from the rough underside). You should have both strips stacked on the headpin like this:

Next, put one of the large ball-chain sections over the headpin like you're stringing a bead.

Finally, use the pliers to create a loop at the end of the head-pin wire, and add the kidney wire earring finding. With the pliers, twist the extra wire around the next of the loop. I had a bit more wire sticking out, so I pushed it down into the ball-chain. The image below is a little out of focus, but trying to show how I made the loop and twisted finish that attaches everything to the kidney wire.

Now repeat the procedure with the rest of the materials to make your second earring. All done!

Do you have handcrafted or DIY plans for holiday gifts? For yourself? Please tell in the comments below!

Morrocan-style Potato and Carrot Tagine

Do you like Moroccan food? I was fortunate to grow up in a family that did, and we even visited Morocco in 1980 when I was 8 years old. The two things I remember about the country are the donkeys and the mint. We were given bunches of mint to inhale while visiting the odoriferous dye vats. And when visiting carpet dealers (which seemed to be constantly, but may have been only once), they served hot mint tea by pouring it from the pot in one long, lifting arc so that it cooled as it fell into the glass.

I also have great memories of Moroccan restaurants in North America, including the Sultan's Tent in Toronto (which has now moved downtown) and the Casablanca in Harvard Square (now closed). 

But guess what? There is no Moroccan restaurant in Brattleboro, Vermont. So sometimes I make my own Moroccan food. This particular dish is adapted from several Internet recipes. The addition of green olives and preserved lemon gives it amazing flavor angles you wouldn't get from an ordinary veggie stew. 

The Brattleboro Food Coop sells preserved lemons in
jars of two. They are salty and meltingly soft.

I'm calling it "tagine," although I don't have the proper clay pot or much knowledge of actual Moroccan cooking apart from watching youtube videos. So that's also why this is "Moroccan-style" (or Moroccan-ish): because it is a loooooong way from authentic.

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil

1 onion, chopped (or try grating for more sweetness)

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or pressed

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh ginger, chopped or grated

1 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 large carrots, peeled and cut into sticks

1 cup water (more if needed)

4 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges

1 can chickpeas/garbanzos

1/2 cup pitted green olives (pit them with a knife if needed)

1 preserved lemon, quartered with seeds scraped out

parsley or cilantro for garnish

1. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven and saute onion for 2-3 minutes, then garlic and ginger for 2-3 more minutes, then turmeric, pepper, and cinnamon for another few minutes.

2. Add the carrots and stir around to cover with the spice mixture, then pour in 1 cup water (or more to cover, if needed). Bring carrots to a gentle boil.

3. Add the potatoes, chickpeas, olives, and preserved lemon quarters (I tuck the quarters around the edges). Add more water to cover if needed. Cover with lid and simmer for about 20 minutes.

3. After 20 minutes, check the liquid. If there's a lot left, uncover and let the liquid reduce to make a light sauce for the veggies. Once the potatoes are soft and starting to fall apart, you can serve!

I served the veggies topped with cilantro and chopped chiles from the preserved lemon jar. We had couscous and naan on the side. I buttered the naan, but otherwise everything is vegan. (I used naan because it was the best flatbread I could find.)

I am obsessed with preserved lemons now.

So back to my first question--comment below if you like Moroccan food! What's your favorite dish or restaurant? Have you ever been to a restaurant with a belly dancer?