Ramen: Not just for Poor College Students

I believe most everyone who endures the 'poor college student' years has eaten their fair share of ramen noodles. Those incredibly inexpensive meals in a pouch, that have sustained many a student through the day, so that there was enough beer money for the weekends. Yes, those sodium laden nuggets of sustenance are definitely one of the staples in a dorm room pantry. I'd never expected much from ramen from a culinary viewpoint.

And so, when I was in Japan for work, I had a bit of wake up call, so to speak. I was working in a small town about a half hour train ride from downtown Kobe, with a supplier in one of their labs. During the week we'd been eating lunch in their cafeteria, which was always very good in my opinion. A lot better than the breakfast buffet at the hotel I was staying at! Anyway, one of the managers working with us says, "Today you are in for a treat. The cafeteria is serving ramen." Well, I just about split a gut laughing. Okay, to be fair, I think I only let out a snort, and contained most of my amusement. However, I did let out enough that they asked what was up. I explained the whole ramen and poor college student connection, and how most Americans would not ramen to be much of a treat. We all had a good laugh, went up to lunch and ate our delicious ramen noodle soup, and went on with our day.

Fast forward to this weekend. We decided to try to make our own ramen soup, with great aspirations of making the noodles from scratch, as well as the soup stock. While this is definitely doable, we scaled back to purchasing pre-made ramen noodles using canned chicken stock. We went with a chicken ramen instead of pork, and it turned out to be a very delicious meal.

Here is what we did. First we baked several chicken thighs, seasoned with salt, pepper, and soy sauce. When the chicken was cooked, we tore off the meat and roughly chopped it. For the soup stock, I heated up the base chicken broth, and added a fair amount of peeled ginger root. I let that steep for about an hour, then removed the ginger. After that, I added a few tablespoons of soy sauce, and some salt. I also cut up some green onions, and some nori sheets (dried seaweed) to use with the chicken as toppings for the soup.

The ramen noodles got a four minute soak in boiling water, and then were distributed to all the bowls. The chicken, onions, and nori were laid on top of the noodles, and then a few ladles of stock were poured over the top. What you see in the picture was the result.

The results were fantastic! And every single one of the kids enjoyed it (to varying degrees). I guess I had the "umami" going on!

Wolf Weather

Last night we had a pretty good storm roll through Iowa and the surrounding region. The sirens were blaring in town. The weather alerts on the phone were wailing. And we dutifully grabbed our sleeping children and hauled them down to the basement. With six kids, it took a couple trips!

I noticed that a few of my friends here were posting on Facebook about having to be in the basement instead of sleeping, or having to spend some quality time in their 'safe place'. I joined in the fun, and posted that we were also in our basement, with six sleeping children, and was glad the internet was still up so I could watch the progress of the storm (or rather the 'impending doom').

When starting to write that post, I was in a very sarcastic mood. The storm hadn't hit us yet. There were multiple siren alerts, and a multitude of weather watches and warnings in effect. It reminded me this morning of the boy who cried wolf. Seems like there are so many times when the news stations cry "Wolf!" if there is a cloud in the sky, a few snowflakes, or a few drops of rain.

When I was about finished with my post, I paused, and added that everyone should keep safe. While yes, this seemed like another round of "Wolf Weather" to me, I have to remember that these storms really can be dangerous. And the thought struck me that I shouldn't take the alerts so lightly. The meteorologists are only doing what they can with the tools currently available. I might argue that they are required to sensationalize a bit for TV, but I do believe they are honestly trying to protect the public at large.

And here is where I take a left turn in what I'm discussing. The thought occurred to me that this is a lesson to learn and apply to life. That we shouldn't take the alerts we perceive lightly. What am I talking about? Well, from a Catholic vernacular, I'm referring to "avoiding the near occasions of sin" and the like. When our internal sirens go off, listen to them. When we pick up on negative vibes in a situation we find ourselves in, get your guard up. Every time. No exceptions.

Just as with the weather, we can get complacent in our lives, and not be on our guard when alerts are 'issued'. And just like the weather, a situation can engulf us into misery without warning. Like a wolf biding his time.

Thankfully for us, the storm rolled over last night without much fanfare. A good lighting show, a heavy downpour, and not much wind. But areas around us were impacted with heavy winds and possible tornadoes. Looks like we have another round of storms rolling in tonight. I best be on my guard, because I do not know if the "Wolf Weather" will strike closer to home or not.