tabs

 photo home1_zps4d192f6a.jpg  photo recipes1_zps4c065c0e.jpg  photo about1_zps9481e111.jpg  photo contact1_zps647fd1f8.jpg

10.30.2012

Clean up in aisle 7.

The first time I needed to buy green onions for a recipe last year, I couldn't find them.  Anywhere.  I found green peppers, red onions, white onions, even yellow onions...but not green onions.  Did I have any idea what I was looking for? No.
When I moved here last year after our wedding, I was a housewife mess.  I dreaded going to the grocery store and facing the insecurities that place can bring out, but somehow found myself there as many as 4 times a day.  I would try to own those grocery aisles, confidently striding down them like I was on a runway (my real life friends have seen me do this on multiple occasions), pretending that I knew where everything was, but almost always had to put my pride aside and ask where the &^%% beef bullion was. I swear the store clerk has a magic wand and can make things appear exactly where I had just looked.  The cashier quickly learned my name and would always look at me with those 'aren't you just sad' eyes when I would check out with 1 item, for the 4th time that day.  The butcher even called me out once!! He said, "Now honey, I know you ain't from the south if you don't know what a ham hock is, so are you sure you really want to try and make these collard greens??"  He then gave me step-by-step instructions and I furiously copied down every word.
Did I give up? No.  Sure, there may have been more than a few times when Ben cautiously had to ask whether or not we were having dinner, and sometimes the answer included a meltdown (me first, then Ben) with him running out the door to get take-out.  I vividly remember having this conversation:
Me: I don't know if we can ever have kids.
Ben: Why?
Me: Because I can barely handle taking care of you and the house and the cooking...and I don't even have a job! How will I ever be able to do all of those things plus care for another human being?!
Ben: You'll be fine.
Me: NO I WON'T. 
I think Ben then realized the emotional state that I was in and took me seriously.
But if you are in that 'new housewife' stage and you have no idea what you are doing, let me reassure you, it gets better!  You'll have those grocery store aisles mastered in no time!  And then you can laugh at help the other newbies who frantically go down the same aisle 6 times with nothing in their cart.  You'll figure out how amazing it is to plan your meals and buy your groceries in one day instead of panicking every day about what to make.  But then your true colors will find a way to shine through and you'll ruin the canister of your food processor (thankfully the mini one) when you try to turn whole cloves into ground cloves.  Darn. Just bought that thing, too.  Husband says we can't replace it just because it's cloudy and etched and will never look the same.

Back to the green onions.  So who knew there was another name for scallions? I sure didn't! And who knew that you are supposed to use as much of the white part as possible and not throw that part away (thanks Rebekah!)?!  Duh! 

Anyways, this soup is delicious.  I would add cilantro to it if I would have thought of it in advance. 

Rice Noodle Ginger Soup

Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoons grapeseed oil/extra virgin olive oil
  • 8 ounces shitake mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 cup edamame beans
  • 4 green onions, thinly sliced
  • 2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 6 cups vegetable broth
  • 7 ounces rice noodles
Cooking Directions
  1. Heat a large soup pot over medium heat. Once hot, add oil, mushrooms, edamame beans, carrots, onion, ginger, and garlic. Saute for 7-10 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften.
  2. Pour in broth, bring to a simmer, and add in rice noodles. Gently simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the noodles have softened.





7 comments:

  1. Can you just get a new canister?!?! I thought the whole thing was fried!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trying to find a replacement canister online...for now everything we chop will just smell like cloves.

      Delete
  2. hehe, this post was too cute! :) p.s. love the food pictures too, girl!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! Really want to go lens shopping...the holidays are coming up. Yay :)

      Delete
  3. Did you know if you put the white part in a glass with water and set it in a sunny window, you will always have green onions when you need them?? That looks yummy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow--did not know that! Will definitely try it. Just the white part?

      Delete