Our recent “Cook-Up” club had the theme of “food memories.” I have so many memories around food, mostly heavy, comforting holiday foods. But we were in the middle of a heat wave and I didn’t want to go near any of those. My mind kept wandering back to the heat of Summer in Japan when I ate cold noodles for the first time.

In my memory was a small shop in the mountains where there was a cold running stream that would carry the noodles to us. We would catch the noodles with our chopsticks and put them in the chilled dipping sauce.

When I told Mario about it, he expressed his doubts. So I started to think a little harder. He mentioned that it would be really difficult to catch slippery traveling noodles with chopsticks. And I agreed my memory must have been wrong. We must have used a scooping basket of some sort to grab the noodles. It was almost 30 years ago and I have been mis-remembering things lately. And he wasn’t questioning the noodle catching, just the “with our chopsticks” part.

The memory was so vivid: coming in out of the pressing heat and humidity to a cool cave-like restaurant and the sound of a running stream. And then to find the stream carried the noodles. I wanted to relive that delightful experience, so I searched around.

It turns out “nagashi somen” is somewhat of a “tradition” not just a restaurant gimick. And I found video! (I love the internet)

Take a look:

nagashi somen from kitsune-kun on Vimeo.

And they do use chopsticks! Makes me miss Japan.

Here’s the recipe (bamboo river is optional)

Chilled Somen: Light, flavorful and perfect for a warm day.

5 bundles of dried somen noodles (about 1 per person)

Sauce/Dressing
2 cloves garlic crushed
2 teaspoons grated ginger
1/2 cup Japanese soy sauce
1/2 cup mirin
1 tablespoon sesame oil

Mix all dressing ingredients together and chill. Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add somen noodles and stir. Bring the water back to a rapid boil and decrease heat. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Drain somen and rinse under cold water.

You can add the dressing or serve it along side a bowl of noodles as a dipping sauce. Serve it over ice to keep it cold and refreshing.

I don’t always make a sketch, but this time I had an idea while I was watching tv so I grabbed one of the many notebooks I have.

When I had time to make the card, I grabbed some papers I thought would be a fun color palette for a 2-year-old. Plus, I knew we were going to “Jumpin Up” for the party: a bright primary colored place with lots of jumpy structures.

I played with the colors a little. I originally thought I’d use the light blue circle on the right side. But when I tried the green, it really made the yellow stand out.

The silver is washi tape from S.E.I. and the papers are from a pad I’ve had for ages. I traced the number from a chipboard number I got with a set from JoAnne’s long ago.

Here’s the final product. And a blurry picture of the birthday boy at play

He’s 2. I shouldn’t expect him to be able to stand still on his birthday, should I?

Nearby in Castroville, early signs suggest better-than-average artichoke crops. Castroville artichokes peak in April and May. Baby sizes start hitting their stride by late April… full story.

About three weeks until cherry season in California and a big crop is predicted this year… full story.

Looking a little further out, the pistachio crop is also looking good for a harvest beginning September… full story

And for dessert:

Cocoa Power! Even more reason to love chocolate; it helps prevent neurodegenerative diseases… full story.

Headed to England? The Chocolate Boutique Hotel has a chocolate fountain in every room and a chocolate themed cocktail bar… full story

Now I’m hungry…

This is going to be a “Honey Cowl” and I’m knitting along with my “Stitch and Bitch” group. It is so fun to see how all of us knitting together can come up with a uniquely crafted items. I must remember to take pictures of the items in progress next week.

For Amanda’s birthday I wanted to make a card that reflected her fun spirit. She’s not much of a pink girly type. Her favorite Disney character is Tigger and I thought of him when I saw the orange flowers.

I also remembered how much she loved a trip to Hawaii she took after she graduated high school so I wanted a slightly tropical feel.

I traced the letters on the envelope and filled them in with tombow pens.

Happy Happy Birthday to Amanda! We’re so proud of her!

Life Itself by Roger Ebert

A lover of words, not just movies, Roger Ebert wrote so eloquently on just about everything. My favorite quote is on writing:

I take dictation from that place within my mind that knows what to say. I think most good writers do. There is no such thing as waiting for inspiration. The idea of “diagramming” an essay in advance, as we are taught in school, may be useful to students but is foolishness for any practicing writer. The Muse visits during the process of creation, not before.

From his “I think I’m musing my mind”  blog post in 2008.

I made this little chick for my niece when she was less than a year old. She’s 5 now and still plays with it! The pattern is from “Just Crafty Enough” Kat and is free for you to make: Free Pattern: Easter Peeps.

Find More Easter Crafts and activity ideas on my Pinterest Board.

You might also like to look at the non-candy items I picked out for Easter Baskets over on Skinny Scoop.

Orly from Yumivore.com had the brilliant idea of a cooking group and she just happens to be in my area – Lucky me! She hosts the monthly “cook-up” and announces the theme. This time it was “Boozy March: Cooking with alcohol.” We signed up ahead of time for a dish or course so there wouldn’t be too many of one thing. I volunteered to make a salad and originally thought I’d dress it with a champagne vinaigrette. But I soon realized that usually that is made with champagne vinegar rather than champagne itself. doh!

My farm box and neighborhood has been overflowing with Meyer lemons, so I decided to use the dressing recipe from White on Rice Couple but omitted the mayo. I also got a fennel bulb in my CSA box and planned to add that to the spring mix of greens. When I found the recipe for the Bourbon Maple Toasted Pistachios, I knew it would be a perfect idea to mix these Mediterranean flavors.

I altered the recipe just a little. Here’s how I did it:

Ingredients:
1 8-ounce bag shelled pistachios (Trader Joe’s carries them roasted but unsalted)
1.5 Tablespoons bourbon
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
.5 teaspoon packed light brown sugar
.5 teaspoon turbinado sugar
.25 teaspoon salt
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 250°F and line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper or use a silpat mat.
In a medium bowl, combine bourbon, maple syrup and brown sugar together and toss well.

Arrange the pistachios in a single layer on the parchment-lined jelly roll pan and toast the nuts for about 15 minutes. I gave them a quick stir about half way through.

Remove them from the oven and turn off the heat. Allow the nuts to cool slightly then toss them in a dry bowl with the salt and turbinado sugar. This breaks up the sticky maple syrup. Lay them out on the pan again and put them back in the oven to cool down with the oven.

Try not to eat them all before you sprinkle them on a salad.

I used a mandoline to shave a small fennel bulb into a mix of greens. As I mentioned above, I tossed the greens with the dressing recipe from White on Rice Couple(omitting the mayo). Lastly, I sprinkled the nuts on top.

note: I think the nuts could have been a little crunchier. Next time I might try to find raw pistachio meats instead of the already roasted ones.

Here was the menu from the whole evening:
Beer bread
Drunken pasta
Sake steamed clams – by Beth from OMG Yummy : who has found the key to tasty clams.
Stuffed mushrooms soaked in wine – by Orly from Yumivore
Drunk cupcakes

This was the second Cook-up group meeting. I couldn’t make the first one with the olive oil theme but all the recipes are in a recap on yumivore.

Enjoy!

Many of the cards I see on the net are lovely, but a little frilly for our brood. So this is my take on a Werner Design card.

I had all the items on hand, including the Japanese tape (Daiso) and Compass (A Stamp in the Hand).
Below is the “How To” video from Werner Designs. I love that stamping thingy she has – makes it super easy to position the stamps. It’s on my wish list now.

And I can’t wait!!
Will release in a limited run on June 7 and more widely June 21.

You have plenty of time to brush up on the story and it’s available for FREE. ManyBooks.net is my go to source since it offers a variety of download formats. Get Much Ado About Nothing Here: http://bit.ly/12PAOk5