A Delicious and Easy Meal :: Udon Noodle Soup

I made a new Portland discovery on my ride home after attending the Brunch on the Bridge. I passed by an Asian market named Anzen Hiroshi’s. I was very excited—the only known (to me) close-in Asian market. The market was full of fresh sushi quality fish and an assortment of other Asian food items. (I highly recommend it to other Portlanders.) Knowing I had a garden full of bok choy, I decided to purchase some items to make udon noodle soup. At home, I had an assortment of other Asian spices. I invited my friend Becca over and suddenly it was a mini Asian dinner party, complete with Sake.

The soup was completely experimental, but it turned out pretty well. Since then, Becca has been hounding me to post the recipe. I finally decided to sit down and write it up to the best of my memory. So, here it goes. 

Ingredients (makes two large bowls):

·         3 cups of vegetable broth (or broth of choice, including beef, chicken or mushroom)

·         1.25 cups of water

·         2.5 tablespoons of soy sauce

·         ½ teaspoon of fish sauce

·         2 teaspoons of rice vinegar

·         1 teaspoon of sesame oil

·         1 head of bok choy

·         1 large clove of garlic (crushed)

·         1 half of a small onion

·         1 cup or more of shitake and oyster mushrooms

·         1 quarter pound of meat of choice (chicken, shrimp, beef) or tofu

·         1 egg

·         Udon noodles prepared for two according to package instructions

·         Red pepper flakes as desired for heat

Prepare the udon noodles (follow instructions on the package), drain and add noodles (equally) to two bowls.

Saute the garlic and onion in the sesame oil until the onion is translucent and soft. Add the meat (if you have thinly sliced Asian meat or tofu, this can be added at the end to the boiling water). Clean and chop the bok choy in medium pieces. Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop them into the medium-sized pieces. Add the bok choy and mushrooms and cook for a few minutes until soft. Mix together the broth, water, soy sauce, fish sauce, and vinegar. Add the broth mixture to the pot and bring it to a boil. Add the egg, allowing it to cook for a few seconds. Then, stir in the egg. The egg will thicken the broth.

Add the soup to the bowls on top of the noodles and serve with a glass of sake and a side of edamame. Enjoy!

Bridges, Biking and Bowling Balls, Oh My! :: An Afternoon in Portland

Yesterday was the Brunch on the Bridge event in Portland where the center lanes of the Hawthorne Bridge became public green space for four hours. The event was part of the PDX Bridge Festival to celebrate bridges in Portland. And, while the intent of the brunch was to raise awareness about hunger, the $25 entry fee for adults didn’t include any food. It was simply a place to picnic.

It seemed like a very Portland thing to do—take over a bridge and turn it into a green space. So, I rode my bike to the bridge to check it out. I did not go into the event since the outer lanes of the bridge were open to the public for biking or walking. The experience was nearly the same except I had metal grate beneath my feet, and those inside enjoyed 28,000 square feet of plush grass (locally grown grass of course).

The crowd was a mixed bag and traffic was steady. There were several small groups and families enjoying picnic lunches and music. And of course there was the occasional flower doing yoga next to PDX's version of Alice in Wonderland characters playing croquet. (I think this would actually make a great theme for a backyard BBQ. Maybe these photos will inspire your next gathering.)

Voodoo Doughnut also unveiled “The World’s Largest Box of Doughnuts”— a larger version of their pink box. I later learned they were trying to break the Guinness World Record, but I had failed to take a photo. (I also don't know if they broke the record.)

I spent about an hour at the brunch before I rode off to enjoy the rest of my afternoon.

I took the bike path home through Sullivan's Gulch. Mid way I stumbled upon a very interesting lawn ornament: a bowling ball with a mannequin head attached to it playing a saxophone. It was affixed atop a fence post in a yard. Each post along the fence had a bowling ball atop; the corner ball was an exceptional piece of artwork. (If you click the photo to enlarge it, you can see her name is Miss Kim, which is a brand of cosmetology dolls.)

I stopped to snap a picture and sighed, “Oh Portlandia!” Then jumped on my bike and rode the rest of the way home.

Bloody Mary's Friend :: The Pickled Green Bean

I love Bloody Marys. In Portland, a good Bloody Mary comes with loads of homemade tasty garnish. So, when the garden produced an overabundance of green beans this week, I decided to try my hand at pickling them. I found a couple of recipes on the Internet and created my own concoction using herbs from the garden and other spices. They turned out to be pretty delicious so I thought I’d share. The base recipe is here.

Ingredients and Supplies

·         1.5 lbs. of fresh green beans
(The amount of beans may vary depending on the size of your beans.)

·         1 cup of white vinegar

·         1 cup of water

·         1 and 1/3 tablespoons of salt

·         2 tsp of red pepper flakes

·         2 tsp of mustard seed

·         4 bay leaves

·         1 tsp of thyme

·         2 tsp of peppercorns

·         One small sweet pepper or three baby ones (orange, red or yellow)

·         Two large cloves of garlic minced (you can add more if you like)

·         Two pint jars or one quart jar (wide mouth work best)

Start by sterilizing your jar(s). Cut and clean the green beans. I used pint-sized jars and had to cut some of the beans to fit. Cut, clean and slice the pepper (I only used half, but you may want more). Blanch the beans and pepper for 2-3 minutes in boiling water. Quickly strain and cool the beans and peppers by running them under cool water.

Boil the vinegar, salt and water together. Insert all of the other ingredients (bay leaves, mustard seed, pepper flakes, peppercorns, thyme, and garlic) into the jar(s). If you are using two pint jars, split the ingredients equally between the two jars. Insert the beans and peppers vertically in the jars. I bundled the beans and peppers first and then inserted them.

Pour the vinegar, salt and water mixture over the beans and peppers. (You may not need all of the mixture.) Tighten the lid to the jar(s) and wait for them to cool. Then, place the jar(s) in the refrigerator for 2-3 days before eating, giving the beans enough time to pickle. You can taste them after day 1. If the vinegar seems strong, add a little water.

This is the finished product. (The picture is a little blurry due to condensation.) Tangy and crunchy–perfect for a Bloody Mary. Enjoy!

Note: This recipe is for refrigerator pickles. If you plan to can pickled green beans (in a hot bath) you should use a tested canning recipe.