Use Your Noodle, My Friends

Taking a break from my usual blogging purpose & propose you ponder this:

No one claims that a packet of ramen noodles is the best for you. MSG, lots of other seasonings I can't begin to pronounce, and super yummy fatty noodles do not a health food make.

However, at $0.10 a packet your wallet (and your belly) always feel happy when it's for dinner (I believe MSG's affect on your brain may have something to do with that).

But. If you're one to avoid and/or scoff at the idea of a $0.10 meal, in all its MSG-laden goodness, there is now somewhere to turn for relief.

Enter Japanese chef Schiochi Fujimaki. He'll whip you up a bowl (well, it takes three days) of some fabulous noodle soup and he'll only charge you $110.00 for the experience.

Is that a 3,000% difference in price? For a bowl of noodles? (I'm not good at math!)

Yet in his defense: this dish is "25 years of [his cooking] experience distilled into one bowl." If I'd spent 25 years learning how to perfect something, even noodles, I suppose I too would want at least $100 a pop for its creation.

Best news: you soon won't even have to go to Japan to order some. Fujimaki is planning on opening a restaurant in LA.

Perfect. See ya there!

Care for Curried Carrots?

As mentioned in my last post, I have 5 lbs of carrots to cook. Thank you Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero for this tasty, zippy recipe I found in my copy of Veganomicon.

Curried Carrot Dip

• 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 1/4 cup roasted sunflower seeds (salted are okay, just add less salt)
• 2 teaspoons grapeseed or other vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon minced raw garlic
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Boil the carrots for 7 to 10 minutes, until soft. Drain and let cool just until they are no longer steaming.

Place the sunflower seeds in a blender or food processor and process into crumbs. Add all remaining ingredients and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides of the processor as you go. 

Taste for salt and adjust the spices and lemon. Transfer to a covered container and refridgerate until ready to use (at least 30 minutes).

It's an attractive dip (I actually took pictures! I just need to load them onto my computer... I'll get to it this weekend)--orange, with a texture similar to hummus. And far more pleasing to look at than those sad, pale ranch or dill dips that everyone usually brings to potlucks.

Thinking about serving this dip with carrot sticks gives me an icky cannibalistic vibe; thankfully it pairs well with crackers, bagel chips and cucumber sticks or rounds. It would also be great tucked into a pita with some lettuce and maybe some raisins.

Mama and Baby Girl give this recipe a thumbs up. Daddy hasn't tried it yet (but I suspect he'll like it).