Rainy sunday.

Stayed up waaaay late last night playing Vampire at Robust’s place. Went to bed sometime just before dawn. Got up around noon and spent the day alternately working, knitting, and putzing around the house, which seems to be my of-late M.O. Towards the end of the afternoon, we got a series of strong storms that passed though, and one of them brought a fierce rain of hail. It lasted for almost a half-hour, and by the time it was over, the front yard was one big lake bordered by piles of ice pellets, and our side yard looked like it should be winter.
I took a few pictures, as you can see, but didn’t stay out long as the hail was big enough to hurt. The photos are kind of foggy because it was, well, kind of foggy out. The warm afternoon plus the cold icy precipitation made everything foggy and white. It was very odd. The cat was freaked out by the weird weather–she paced back and forth between the kitchen and the living room. The frozen pellets dinging off the range hood vent and the chimney made a new and different noise that seemed to concern her greatly.
I started a knitted baby item for a coworker and watched the weather on TV while I waited out the storm. After it was over, I made some quick dinner and got back to work. Dinner is listed below, since recently I seem to feel the need to share my culinary experiments with the world. Be forewarned, this one’s pretty low-rent.
Ramen stir-fry
ramen noodles
chopped onion
peanut oil, 2 t
toasted sesame oil, 1/2 t (~7-10 drops or so)
minced garlic, 1/2 t
honey, to taste
soy sauce, 1 T
water, 2 c + 2 T
cayenne or red pepper flakes
Boil 2 c water, add ramen and cook for 3 min., drain and set aside
Heat peanut oil in a frying pan or wok. Add onion and sautee until tender. Add garlic and continue to cook until brown around the edges.
Add the soy, 2 T water, and honey. (’To taste’ for me was about 2 t. Some like sweeter, some don’t like sweet. YMMV.) Let it boil and bubble until reduced. Add a bit of the flavoring packet that came with the ramen if you wish, and any additional spices like ginger or five spice powder, pepper or salt. (if you use the flavoring packet, certainly you can omit the salt.)
Once the sauce has reduced, toss the ramen back in and cook until liquid is gone and pasta has crisped in spots.
This would be much improved by the addition of some bok choy, mushrooms, chicken or tofu, and probably some scrambled egg. But I was lazy.