"Oh, Mama...you are a saint! hahahahahaha...I blame that spreadsheet...they're like boys...and they are just bad influences...nothing is ever your fault! hahahahahaha"
I paid a hefty price for that statement from E.V...and it was worth every penny...fiction is way better than truth, no???....winkety-wink...I'm kidding...Don't listen to a word I say...most of the time..Regardless, last night we had cereal...Cap'n Crunch...I've really been into that and it remains a mystery as to why..but it is delicious and there's something about sweetened corn and oats...it has absolutely nothing to do with the cartoon mascot...Horatio Magellan Crunch....he's actually sorta, kinda, maybe one of the worst mascots of all times...IMHO, of course..Oh, as you can see...my focusing has yet to improve...so we shall move along..dinner...I believe that was on my agenda, and even written in my hoot-owl notebook, and I used my new gigantic pen! Please just take me back to summer paradise...hahahaha..So, Chinese Pork Rib Soup...and I discovered something awesome today..and, no, before you even ask, it has nothing to do with my chair-dancing or bootie shaking abilities...or spreadsheets...or Billie Joe...or Pierre...or boots or knee socks....it's actually cooking related...well, food related, actually...go figure!
My Discovery.....Star Anise!
Isn't it just absolutely gorgeous???? I had never cooked with it before, and trust me, am I sorry...It is completely and entirely delicious..the flavor, the aroma..I could go on all evening, however I will spare you the pain...but it looks so pretty....I felt as though I needed to make some sort of collage with it...then I reminded myself that I wasn't in the second grade...and collages made of food products probably weren't the best of ideas...besides, I am relatively certain my mother wouldn't hang it on her fridge...maybe when I'm in that nursing home they'll let me make one!!! It's only a few years away...hahahahaha...
Dinner Components #1: Olive Oil, Rice Vinegar, Beef Broth, Sugar, Soy Sauce, Ginger, Star Anise, Green Onions and Ginger....oh, and throw in a Pez...Animal...the muppet...isn't he a hoot????? Although we lacked the time for the official Headwaters Apartment Tour...perhaps this weekend...he could enjoy some coffee and such...maybe The Wall...we'll see..I may be meeting that spreadsheet behind the gym after algebra class...I do have a proclivity for risky behavior involving spreadsheets....hahahahaha....
Dinner Components #2: Our dear friend...Spinach!!! And soba noodles. I really wanted udon noodles..but I couldn't find them..c'est la vie...throw in a little Animal as well....it doesn't hurt...and it's a tad on the fun side...
Dinner Component #3: Pork Ribs
Brown your pepper encrusted pork ribs in none other....I shall refrain..it is getting late..and at least the precious Le Creuset was able to make an appearance...
Browned Pork Ribs...
"Well, Mama...I've got a good rib joke....Adam was sitting alone in the Garden of Eden, bored and lonely...God noticed and...alright..alright..alright...I'll stop....It IS getting late...hahahahahahahahaha"
After you have browned and removed the ribs...add some sliced ginger...a tablespoon or two..
Proceed to add five or six green onions sliced into pieces...
Add the browned ribs and 1/2 cup of soy sauce (that photo was horrible...stupid ghetto cam), then add a tablespoon or two of rice vinegar...
Proceed to add enough stock to cover everything...this was maybe two or three cups, I believe....you can even use H20 if you choose...totes your call....
Sprinkle with a tablespoon of sugar and mix it all up....Proceed to add 2 whole star anise (that photo was crappy as well...again, bad night for ghetto cam...well, and for me, too!!!!)
"Hahahahahahaha....Mixed up...sounds kinda like you, Mama...a state of confusion; bewildered or muddled...but that also was an awesome album back in 1990...thank you, The Cure!!!"
Place everything in a 350 degree oven and roast for an hour or two..it allows the flavors to intensify..meld, in fact...and it smells heavenly...I should have a photo...I do not...my bad...oops...
Once it has roasted, remove the pork and strain your broth....proceed to shred the pork and cook your noodles in the broth...then remove those...I did lots of removal this evening...I was all about the degree of remoteness...the taking away...the separation of food from the position in which it occupies...again, it's probably because I don't get out too much...well that or the bad influence of those spreadsheets...they cause brain tumors...just ask Amy!!!!
Place shredded pork, cooked soba noodles and raw spinach into a bowl...
Chinese Pork Rib Soup with Spinach
Pour your boiling broth over top...It should be at a rolling boil...that way it reheats your pork and wilts the spinach....and it is your lucky night because you get to use chopsticks..although, a spork would be best....but I haven't been to KFC in ages...I had zero sporks..we should take a moment to recognize the beauty of portmanteau, as well...and have a spoon handy..the broth was scrumptious...again..that star anise...it is aunequivocally and unquestionably amazing....
A true star was born this evening...of the anise variety...who would have ever guessed all that and then some could happen on a Thursday night..(now about the tall, dark and handsome individual..hahahahaha...love Tribe Called Quest, BTW)...especially on the west side of town...But, I am cooler than I've ever been...hahahahaha..nah...I totally made that up...mostly because I could...We are diligently working on our 'Operation East Coast' trip...We shall persevere...although the effort may be painstaking...but our new/revised plan is to be out of here way earlier...July, perhaps...it all depends..we have much to coordinate...and I lack the coordinating/coordination gene...darn those stinking molecular units of heredity....although we should give a little finger clap for polypeptides..even RNA??? hahahahaha...I am kidding...Have a wonderful evening, everyone...we plan on returning tomorrow...it will be a Friday night...again, the social calendar...envision tumbleweeds on the open prairie...a light, rolling mass in the wind..empty, one might say....Go make some soup...and use some star anise..zero regrets...now those spreadsheets on the other hand, well...don't get me started...TTYT!!!
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