March 4, 2021 – Downtown Buda redux — March 5, 2021 – Nipped in the bud
My Wednesday trip to downtown Buda left one to-do box unchecked: I had planned to go to the “mall” …
only to discover it was closed Mondays through Wednesdays. So I took Don with me on Thursday and we had a fairly solitary wander around, during which we found a fun silver ring for Lo’s birthday …
with a bit of carnelian that (almost) matches the color of my moonstone ring. Check.
On my Friday walk in the neighborhood I decided to take a look at a bush that was just coming into bloom the week before the Texas ice storm …
Sadly, it did not make it (although some life might still be stirring deep in its roots). I could tell from a block away that it was totally brown, and by the time I got close it fairly reeked from decomposition. But the camera “saw” some beautiful colors that my eyes missed …
and I was thrilled to find the perfect bit of loveliness to remember it by …
Some patches of cloth speak volumes, with no need of embellishment.
We went exploring our new home town one year ago this weekend … a very long year ago.
Nothing did we know of the coming quarantine. Instead, we walked freely along Main Street, enjoying its smalltown quirkiness …
This week I’ve started getting back into the world. Masked, socially distanced, and vaccinated. And the few folks I encountered at a six foot remove were likewise masked.
I’m happy to say, in spite of our notorious governor’s reckless Texas Independence Day announcement, that our local city will continue to require masks in all government offices. And I trust that most of our neighbors will continue to honor the CDC’s recommendations while out and about .
So there’s hope, thanks to the accelerated vaccine rollout by the Biden administration, that we may yet squeak through. Fingers crossed.
March 1, 2021 – Nigori sake — March 2, 2021 – Scissor Day
Fleetwood Mac got into my head today …
as I finished adding the February patches to January’s…
and then I began on the March patches.
First, an homage to my new favorite white wine, which is amazingly good with Tex Mex …
Yes, sake! But not just any sake, Nigori sake, which is unfiltered and creamy. I reproduced the Japanese character for sake as best I could, then found a bit of cloudy Deb Lacativa cloth. Stitched with some of her variegated silk/cotton floss, it felt just right …
I just hope I did the character justice.
Since my needle was loaded with silvery thread, I decided to commemorate my first haircut since March 2020 by doodling a single line into a pair of scissors …
And just for the record, March came in like a lamb and our electric bill for February was $50 … which makes sense considering we didn’t get to use much electricity during the weeklong freeze. Thank goodness spring is on the way.
Addendum:
Dinner was amazing. After a number of trials, today hit the mark, so I want to record it for future reference.
Moo Shu-ishNoodles for two
Noodle dough (this is one of the rare instances where measurement really matters … I always weigh ingredients for pasta)
Combine 1 egg white and water to total 45 grams in a food processor bowl (I have a small food processor)
Zero out the scale and add a spoonful of gluten plus 00 flour to equal 80 grams total
Zhuzh until it all comes together in a ball, which should be sticky. Dust with 00 flour and rest in plastic wrap for 1/2 to 1 hour
Mise en place:
8 oz grated cabbage (I cheat and use coleslaw mix)
1 small carrot grated
3 large or 6 small crimini mushrooms grated (or other varieties to taste)
Leftover pork or chicken sliced thin
Assemble minced garlic, minced ginger, hoisin sauce, tamari, chili sauce, sesame oil, and mirin. Optional: chives or scallions.
Start a pot of salted water on high heat. Put noodle dough through a pasta roller, dusting with 00 flour until very thin (#7). Leave in long sheets. The noodle dough will cook in 1 minute, then get rough cut in a bowl.
Stir fry:
Slosh some peanut oil in a hot pan. Add cabbage, carrot, mushroom and meat. Quickly add minced garlic, minced ginger, hoisin sauce, tamari, chili sauce, sesame oil, and mirin. Give it all a stir.
Put noodles in boiling water and set timer for one minute. Stir meat/veg over high heat. Drain noodles, place in bowl and rough cut. Top with meat/veg and optional shallots/chives.
And yes … total elapsed cooking time is about two minutes!
Serve with additional hoisin (extra credit if you remember to mix it with some plum jam while prepping ingredients)
I'm Going to Texas (version 2.0) 