Okay, to be fair, my site is the first one that pops up when you search for

chopped garlic gerund

but . . . why would you do so?

And, in looking for this fine picture, I noticed that Richard Armitage had done the audiobook reading of Bernard Cornwell’s Lords of the North, Cornwell’s Saxon Chronicles, which I haven’t read. I swear, my breathing hitched, just like a heroine’s. Armitage? Reading one of my favorite authors?

And you can’t get it over here?!?

Okay. Deep breaths, Megan, deep breaths.

Yesterday I went grocery shopping and replaced a thousand year-old jar of coriander, which The Spouse had said probably had the efficacy of, well, a thousand year-old spice. Roundly mocked, I went and bought that, as well as Nigerian cayenne (to my credit, the coriander originally cost .99 cents, and I am cheap. So I bought a huge jar of it, not thinking that it would take an Indian province to go through that much. Live and learn).

As I was making my turkey chili–which asked for chili powder, coriander, cumin, cayenne and oregano–I saw that each jar had a plastic covering with holes on top. Why? Would anyone ever shake cumin powder on anything? No, you’d measure it. Is it to keep the spices fresher? I don’t think so, there’s a lid that’s right on top. So why is it there? And, more importantly, WHY DO I REMOVE IT TO MEASURE MY TABLESPOON OR WHATEVER AND THEN REPLACE IT?

I am a spice automaton.

Okay, so no way am I the Picky Vegetarian, but there are a few culinary things I just don’t get. Like this: I went shopping at the massive grocery store at the far end of Brooklyn today, and thank goodness, they have a place to buy coffee. So I was putting milk and sugar in (the Spouse calls it ruining it, but feh on him), and I glanced over at the little salad bar they have set up.

And saw shredded red cabbage.

Now I have no issue with red cabbage–I actually had some in my cart for an Asian Salad I am planning to make, but I just can’t imagine anyone would want to put red cabbage on your a la carte salad. Why have it there? Who’s gonna pony up $5.99 a pound, or whatever it is, for a salad with red cabbage? Mesclun, sure, artichoke hearts, hell yeah, but red cabbage?

Baffling.

Okay, perhaps it’s wrong, but– (more…)

Okay, so Angela fed my ego, and asked for a recipe using rice noodles. I cook with them a lot since the Eats My Leftovers Every Day For Lunch Spouse complained about how much rice I sent him in with (he did point out rice noodles are made with rice, but at least it’s not grains of rice every single day. And he doesn’t like sandwiches, the picky bastard).

This is a recipe I make about once every two weeks (it’s from Ken Hom’s Quick & Easy Chinese Cooking, and the title is accurate). It’s fast, it’s tasty, and it’s so easy (you do need the chili bean paste, which also goes under the name Guilin Chili Sauce. A specialty Asian grocer will have it, the rest of the stuff a regular store should have):

Fast Spicy Meat Sauce For Noodles.
1 1/2 T. peanut oil
2 T. coarsely chopped garlic
3 T. coarsely chopped scallions
2 T. coarsely chopped fresh peeled ginger (and why wouldn’t you peel the ginger anyway?)
1 pound ground pork or ground turkey
1 T. chili bean paste
1 I. dark soy sauce
2 T. rice wine or dry sherry
2 T. hoisin sauce
1 t. salt
2 t. sugar

Heat a wok, add the oil. Add the garlic, scallions, ginger and stir-fry for one minute. Add the meat and cook until it’s almost done. Then add the remaining ingredients and cook for five more minutes. Serve on top of noodles.

The sauce freezes well, too.

I’ve made Vietnamese Chicken Salad using rice noodles, too, they were good, but not as rock-solid as this recipe. My pad thai didn’t turn out as well as I’d hoped–I think I screwed something up, ’cause Mark Bittman is seldom wrong. Unless you have plenty of liquid to coat them, rice noodles can clump together way more than regular-type noodles, so toss them with a little sesame oil to keep them unstuck if you are early with your noodles.

Okay, is anyone awake?

I finished up my editing today, on the first almost-half of the book at least. Next week’s task is to plot out the rest of the book so it doesn’t meander. Easier said than done, my plotting skills really DO stink.

Megan

Someone had two naps today.

And then someone bought a brand-new can opener, the kind that doesn’t leave any jagged edges and has a lifetime guarantee!!

And then? Then I went to Pearl River Mart because I was in dire need of hoisin sauce and light soy sauce (I have plenty of dark, thanks). That store is the coolest. I couldn’t resist stocking up on rice noodles, either (I cook a lot of Chinese food, this is my second bottle of hoisin sauce this year).

But the coup de grace was heading to Daffy’s, where I bought a mooseload of much-needed socks.

Bliss is small errands done well.

And tonight, some editing and a lot of tea.

Megan