How to Cook: Ramen

When it comes to Ramen people think there is two kinds; The cook Ramen Shop kind, and the gross (in comparison) one you make as home in the microwave when there is nothing else to eat.

But, I say that there is a third! It is the in-between Ramen. You make it at home in a short amount of time, and it tastes very good as well. I have pretty much always been a particular eater when it comes to ramen. I like it to be flavorful, the noodles to not be mushy, and the broth to not taste...starchy. So I came up with a method to make tasty, quick ramen for all of my MSG cravings!



You will need:

- A Pot with a Lid
- A Frying Pan
- A Fork and Chopsticks
- A Bowl for your Ramen


Ingredients:

- Ramen packs (depending on amount of people)
- Olive Oil
- 1 Egg (per person)
- Vegetable of Choice (Squash, Pumpkin, Soy Beans, Greens, mixed veggies, etc. Whatever you like best and have available. )
- Soy Sauce, Meme Sauce (optional), Seasoned Salt (or salt and pepper)
- Meat of choice - Shrimp, beef, chicken, etc. (optional)
- Kimchi or Hot Sauce (optional, for wimps)
- Seasoned Nori Strips (optional)

When it comes to cooking your ramen "fillings" there are many options. I like to have squash, soy beans, or some frozen mixed vegetables in mine. I will use left over meat bits, or thaw some shrimp at times as well. I always try to have egg with it, and I love to put Kimchi and the spicy liquid from Kimchi in mine.


First, fill the pot with water, about an inch from the top, cover it and place on a burner on Med-High.

The way that you make this quickly is that while the water is boiling you cook everything else needed, this also helps for people who have patience issues, when it comes to food, and stare at the pan the whole time (like myself). 

Get out the ramen packs you want to make and take out the solid squares and the packets, leaving the little scrap noodles in the wrappers. Then, set the noodles on top of the package, to keep it clean.

Like so.


(I am cooking for 3 people, with all these fillings you only really need one pack per person.)













Next, take the vegetables you want to put in the ramen and get them chopped or thawed. Take your frying pan and add about a Tablespoon each of Oil, Soy Sauce, and Meme (if you have it), and add about 1/2 Teaspoon Season Salt (or salt and pepper), and if applicable other seasonings you like.

 These are my favorite flavorings, they go well with the ramen so that the taste will "blend" when they are added together. 

(Yin-Yang?)

Coat the vegetables evenly with the liquid and cook them until tender. (I was making ramen for 3, once again, so there is a lot in my pan.)


Once the vegetables are finished, add the meat to the pan (add more of the sauce mixture if needed) and cook until hot, for leftovers, or...cooked, for raw.

Meanwhile, be keeping an eye on the water. Once it is at a rolling, rapid boil, add the noodles and be stirring apart with a fork (or chopsticks).


Keep the lid off, you are about to use it.












Stir them apart and keep the water on high, the water can stir them itself sometimes if the boil is right.

Add oil to the frying pan and crack your egg(or eggs) into it. Take the lid and "dome" the egg, this cooks it faster and gives an almost poached taste to the top of the fried egg (I called it "Froa-ched").

Once it has cooked a bit add some salt and Soy Sauce to the top, and cover again. Once it is cooked how you like it your noodles should be done!!

As for the noodles, they should be slightly undercooked. You want some chew to them still. Once they are a slight translucent color dump the water, and leave a little so they do not stick.










Now to construct the ramen!

Take out the amount of bowls as needed and empty one sauce packet into each. Add a sprinkle of Soy and Salt to each.

 (If you do not like the sauce packets, use 1/2 Teaspoon Bouillon instead.)

Add desired amount of Hot Water to the bowl. You can microwave it or heat it with a kettle, but I just go for the hottest degree of tap water (it's clean, I live in Colorado). The noodles will also heat the soup.

Stir it up!






Take the Nori, cut it into thin strips, and mix in the soup.

Take your Kinchi (or desired spicy sauce), for those of us who can handle the heat! Add that to the soup.


Do not add it if you are a wimp, and will breath fire like bowser if you add spice to it!

Add the Vegetables and stir.

Add the noodles and flip it all together. If you would like to add anything else, do that now.

Last, and certainly not least, add the egg to the top of the ramen, like a tasty crown!

And, Presto! Delicious ramen! 

Now, sit back, and enjoy your ramen! It is so much fun to tell people you are "just making ramen", and then put this in front of them! You will look pretty fancy! 

Enjoying the Noms of their labor, 

-C.A.M.

Navi Truffles

When thinking of fun recipes to make for party snacks I figured out that making truffle shaped like Fairies would be fun. Making them "Navi" would be even more fun, because what is more satisfying than finally being able to just eat (and hence destroy) the annoying fairy from Ocarina of Time! I am sorry to the "Navi Fan Club" out there, but she is annoying and the only part about OoT I dislike would have to be her incessant nagging... But, making her in food form was enjoyable, so let's get to it!

You will need:

- 1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk (14 Ounce)

- 2 Cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

- 11/2 Cups White Chocolate Chips

- 1 Tablespoon Shortening

- 24 or more Pretzels, regular shape, depending on how many you wish to make

- Blue or Green Sparkle Sprinkles

- Toothpicks (Optional)

For Cookware

- Wax or Parchment paper

- Spoons for mixing

- 2 Microwavable bowls, Small and Medium

- Bowl or plate for sprinkles

- Plastic or Cling Wrap

- Melon-baller, Tablespoon, or small metal spoon

As well as patience.

First, combine the Semi-Sweet Chocolate and the Sweetened Condensed Milk in the Medium bowl.  Microwave the mixture until the chocolate is melted.

The rules for melting chocolate in the microwave are!

Either use the "Melt Chocolate" setting, or set it to low heat.

Use short 1 minute heating and stir after each time.

Not doing this can scorch the chocolate so you must be careful!

Once it is melted and combined, cover in cling wrap and set in the fridge until it is solid. This can take from 1-4 hours, depending on how strong the fridge is.

Next, melt the white chocolate with the shortening in the small bowl.

Then, get out the desired amount of pretzels.

Dip the pretzels on both sides and lay on wax paper to cool. 

You can leave them whole, or carefully cut the bottom rim off to give them a more "Wingy" look.

This does not show them on wax paper, but I assure you that you need to use it. 

I did them both ways to show you.

Next, spread out your sprinkles and have them ready, you can lay them on a plate, in a bowl, whatever you would like.

Once the chocolate in the fridge has hardened enough, take it out and begin making round truffles with a melon-baller or a spoon. You want about a tablespoon for each one.

Once they are all formed, remelt the remaining white chocolate, if necessary, and lay out more wax paper.

Add a thin layer of white chocolate to each one, then roll them in the sprinkles and place on the wax paper to dry. Once you have formed the amount you would like, dab chocolate to the backs of the "Wings" and stick them to the "Body".

Repeat until you have made as many as you want and let them all sit on a counter or in the fridge. Once they are firm you may add toothpicks to the base, if you so desire.

These are very tasty as well as kawaii~!

Yes, the pretzels were not covered enough, I'm aware of this.

Additional Ideas!

You can also roll these in cocoa powder or powdered sugar for "regular" truffles.

You can also add clear sprinkles to the pretzels to make the whole thing sparkle!

Or, you could even melt a little chocolate, place in a ziplock bag, cut the tip, and make faces on them!

Also, you can try all kinds of plating like sticking in foam with toothpicks or any other creative way you would like!

I hope you will enjoy nomming, and hence silencing, Navi as much as I did! Who knew she was so tasty?

Enjoying the noms of their labor,

-C.A.M.

How to Cook: French Toast

French toast, which never really was French, is one of the simplest Breakfast meals to make. Because it is simple ingredients, it is pretty easy to mess it up.

So today we will be going over the basics for this, like beginner mode on a game, so that people who are new to cooking can be able to make it.

Rule number 1!

When cooking eggs use WATER and not MILK!

When you cook eggs with milk then they have a tendency to burn, you only want to use milk in the eggs for certain recipes, like custards.

This may be French Toast, but the main ingredients are eggs and bread, so you need the eggs to be right.

This Recipe is for 4 slices of French Toast.

You will need:

The Bath

- Medium bowl

- Whisk or fork

- Tupperware or large bowl to soak bread in

- 4 Eggs

- 4 Slices of bread

- 1/2 Cup Water

- 1 Teaspoon Nutmeg

- 1/2 Tablespoon Cinnamon

- 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar

- 1 Tablespoon White Sugar

For Cooking

- Frying Pan

- Butter to coat it

- Cinnamon sugar (optional, but recommended)

The Extras

- 1 Banana (optional)

- Cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar, and syrup to taste.

Rule number 2!

When you are using the bread you will either need stale bread or toasted bread!

One of the main reasons people make French Toast when having company over is because the best bread is the stale, old, bread you buy from the store which is usually on sale.

If you cannot buy that type of bread you will need to toast it. If you do not the bread will be mushy and fall apart and be nasty! Having your breakfast resemble the Phlegmoids from the old Chex Mix game is never appealing...

So get it nice and brown and crunchy before dipping.

Next you need to heat up a pan with butter in it and put that on Medium-High.

Now you will be getting your egg bath ready for the crunchy bread.

Crack the eggs into the bowl and mix them. The best way is to poke the yolks and then stir vigorously, like a Wii game, until they are fluffy. Next, add the cold water (about 2 Tablespoons per. egg, also it's 1 egg per slice).

Mix that in well and add the sugars and spices.

Soak the bread in the bath for 1-2 minutes.

Once the bread is filled with the liquid drop the slices into the pan.

Cook for about one minute and flip.

Add Cinnamon Sugar to the side and, after a minute, flip again. Continue this process until the egg looks completely cooked (About 3-4 times).

If you do not know what "Cinnamon Sugar" is, it is pretty self explanatory and obvious really... They sell this pre-made, but I have it made at home and put in a shaker.

(1 part cinnamon and 2 parts white sugar and mix.)

Remove from the pan and serve however you would like!

I like a bit of powdered sugar, sliced banana, and syrup on mine!

With that you should be able to enjoy a nice, fast, and enjoyable breakfast! It has eggs, fruit, and bread, what more do you need?

You have now passed beginner mode, aka "I am only interested in the story and not the challenge and bonus ending" mode. Master that, and more fun things are possible!

Enjoying the noms of their labor,

-C.A.M.