Make-shift Asian

My supply of rice noodles is rapidly depleting. This evening, I made faux-pad thai. I probably should be ashamed of using peanut butter and soy sauce as my main flavors, but college is college and this is the Midwest. I glanced at a couple recipes for pad thai before attempting to concoct my own dish. I didn't have even most of the ingredients for any of the recipes, but it turned out alright.

I am wincing as I write this:
I brown some ground beef with pepper flakes and garlic powder while I cook the noodles. When the noodles are just right but not overdone, I put them in the pan with the beef. [Note to self: add more oil next time -- I had a few too many noodles turn into insta-crust]
Here goes the peanut butter! [Only half a teaspoon or so, so it doesn't taste like a peanut butter sandwich gone awry.]
I add an egg and stir gently.
A couple dashes of soy sauce and a bit of white vinegar finish my main dish.
I top with bean sprouts, chopped peanuts, basil, and green onions. I would not attempt this without the green onions.

I long for fresh vegetables at school. The vegetable of the year last year was kale, cheap and green at $0.79 a bunch. It was perfect. Since I have a kitchen available this year, I intend to do more cooking. This means I will need to have more fresh ingredients on hand, so I search out the longest lasting, most versatile, and cheapest vegetables. I splurged with my purchase of bean sprouts: expensive, very short life, and best in Asian food. A bottle of lime juice would probably serve me well. Green onions, onions, carrots, and whatever kind of greens were on sale made the cut.

My Thai inspired dinner was a reminder to me of why I love my favorite Thai Restaurant so much.

No Imagination

The Midwest has no ethnic food. I am convinced. Fortunately, my mother is an excellent woman and mailed me delicious sweet chili sauce. [This delightful sauce has, in the past, made claims to be ideal with "chicken, pork, shirmp," etc. Shirmp? Shirmp. For the record, and aside from the sketchy label, this stuff has no preservatives and is delicious.] On my trip out here, I packed rice noodles instead of another pair of shoes. I can't get a ride to the store for fresh tomatoes, mint, cucumber, lime or lettuce, but my friend is willing to sacrifice a basil plant for our dinner.

Digging through the communal spice cupboard, I season the chicken with salt, pepper, lemon peel, and accidentally too much garlic powder. A few hours prior, I sliced some onion to create a fresh pickle - sugar dissolved in hot water, white vinegar, salt + whatever vegetables look tasty [only a lone onion is available in my case].

Noodles, sweet chili sauce, chicken, topped with fresh basil and my lightly pickled onions. 100% better than Saga.

Something Green

Today, we missed the farmers market. Again. I've had enough college food for a while and am ready to eat something intensely green.

Currently, I live in a crumbling Michigan town. Yesterday, I decided to walk downtown and gather flowers from empty lots and sidewalk cracks. Peering through the windows of abandoned retail and restaurant spaces, I feel sad. The architecture is beautiful, the brick intereriors and exposed beams are exquisite, but there is no one to turn these places into businesses for more than about two seconds. And there is no one to dine.

Still, it is good to dream. So I dream.