Bowling, Ninja Snowman, February Blogfests,

I was delighted to have no hip pain when we went bowling on Monday and although I started out

slowly, my second game was super and I was feeling so happy, no pain and a good score during a league game. The, halfway through the third game my hip decided to hurt again. In fact when I stepped on my left leg to throw the ball it was bl**dy agony. In the end I had to get the other woman team member to bowl my last 3 frames. I was so disappointed. I had been feeling so good. OK, tomorrow I am seeing the doctor for my regular diabetes check up and I will discuss my hip with her. I really don't want to have another replacement, but.... Because of my good second game, my average went up slightly, but I was in such good form, I would have gone up more probably. Oh well.

I keep meaning to mention that there is a snowman on our way to the store with a ninja mask. I keep forgetting it and not taking a pic. I must try and do so, I think of Alex J. Cavenaugh every time I see it. Mind you the snow is beginning to disappear again despite the -14°C temperature today. No snow forecast any time soon either.

I see there are a couple of romantic blogfests in the works for February. Check out people like Denise Covey or Alex J. Cavenaugh who have the details of these blogfests. I  pleaded not being a story writer as a reason for not entering but was told I could always supply Valentine recipes. I will have to get my thinking cap on.

I love noodle dishes and couldn't resist this recipe for Homemade Ramen Noodles. This dish came from A Beautiful Mess. A new blog to me.

Quick and Easy Homemade Ramen

serves two.

1 tablespoon sesame oil
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
2-3 teaspoons peeled, chopped ginger  
1/2 oz dried mushrooms (I really like porcini but shiitake are great too)
4 cups vegetable or fish stock (low sodium is preferred here)
1/2 to 1 cup water
1-2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon miso paste
4 oz Chinese noodles (usually sold in 8 oz packages, so you get two meals out of it)
1 cup packed spinach
1-2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional, but do it)

First sauté the garlic and ginger in the sesame oil in a large pot over medium/high heat for 3-4 minutes until very fragrant. Add the stock, water and mushrooms. Reduce the heat to low/medium. Stir in the miso paste and soy sauce. I usually start with 1 tablespoon soy sauce here and I'll taste toward the end and add more if I think it needs it. Cover and let that cook for 4-5 minutes. This will soften the mushrooms a great deal. 

Uncover, turn up the heat and add in the noodles. These will cook pretty quickly, usually in 4-5 minutes. Towards the end of this cook time, toss in the spinach and green onions. You can totally change out the spinach here for chopped kale or bok choy. You could also choose to add more veggies like matchstick carrots, bean sprouts or corn (among other things). Taste and add more soy sauce or the red pepper flakes if you want to add some heat. 

Have a great day