uh-huh.
it's so much harder to get excited about supper when it's dark outside in the early afternoon.
that's no joke.
but,
when it's almost the merry merry month of may,
and the evenings are remaining bright and retaining warmth until well after dinner,
and that golden goodness is streaming in while the stove has steaming panfuls
of powerfully spiced sexxxiness sizzling atop those burly burners?
well,
that's when dinnertime is exactly the right time and place to be at.
i'm serious.
good light makes great meals.
i know, you don't eat the light; and we don't ever eat light portions either-
it's just that when it looks good, it tastes better.
that's real.
last night, after a super-bummer day of doo-doo butter, i caught the glow, yo.
yup,
the streaming beams of honey-hued hottness,
as the sun started to set, slowly,
beyond the mountains that embrace the woodsly goodness,
were flooding the Folk Life & Liberty Fortress with warmth and well-being.
if you can't cook better in those circumstances, you may as well just order take-away, man.
real talk.
conditions for creativity were at a high point, and i pointed myself directly at the stovetop.
mmmmm.
dudes- noods- check it:
NOODS!
F* yeah!
this dish is a multi-parter in one spot.
a big bowl of festival-style tiers of taste, texture, color, and consistency.
it's got:
rice noodles.
stir-fried mixed veggies.
crunchy raw veggies.
sesame-seared sweet potato.
spicy. smoky, sweet cilantro-garlic chickpeas.
AVO-F*ING-CADO.
and a whole sh!tload of sprankles.
word up.
i was psyched, and i'm gonna tell you all about it-
so,
it started with the potatoes.
yup.
-
*
SWEETIE PO'PO'S!
-
sesame oil, heated in a hot pan, and eight spears of skin-on sweet potato
(cut from 1/2 a potato, quartered, then halved);
sizzled until brown on side one, then flipped, and sizzled away another 'nother few minutes,
before adding 1 sliced carrot to the side of the pan,
and 1/4 cup red cabbage ribbons to the other side of the pan-
that's three sections in one pan, with three vegetables sauteeing.
smart usage of space? i think so.
add 2 T water and let it steam the potatoes, before adding in the ingredients for the stir-fry.
what?
yeah, man, we're one-panning this lil baby bihhhhhh.
-
*
STIRFRIES!
-
one smaller crown of chopped broccoli;
half a small cauliflower;
3 sweet mini bell peppers, halved;
2 huge handfuls baby kale;
half a sweet onion roughly chopped;
one bunch of scallion bottoms;
all of that, covered with a lid, for a few minutes just to ge it wet and hot,
before blasting it with some expert ho'sauce activation.
yuuuuuuuuuup.
NObody wants unspicy noods, dudes.
c'mon.
don't be dumb.
-
*
SRIRACHA-GARLIC-GINGER-LIME SAUCE!!
-
that's 2 T rice vinegar;
1/2 tsp ea GPOP;
1 T tamari;
2 T sriracha;
1 T green dragon sriracha-ish cilantro ho'sauce;
1 pinky-tip-sized skin-on organic ginger nib, minced;
2 big cloves of garlic, sliced;
1 T agave;
1/2 tsp ground mustard seed;
1/4 tsp cayenne;
2 T lime juice;
1/2 lime zest;
black pepper;
1/4 tsp dried ginger;
^^^^^THAT'S THE TRUTH, BRO!^^^
really.
that on those veggies, with the potatoes still getting fried underneath,
covered and steamed for >5 minutes??
suddenly, you're expert af, and TILTY like a sauce wizard, too.
-
the sweets are saucy, but sesame-seared, and soft.
that shredded cabbage is rich and righteous.
the carrots are melty in your mouth, but firm as heck to the touch.
and the veg is al dente, but still saturated in perfection.
...and don't you even dare front on how the kale wilts jusssst right.
damn. i done did it, dooo-dudes.
-
served over those thin rice noodles?
dope.
and garnished with cucumber, and purple cabbage ribbons,
aand purple carrot wedges, aaand pea shoots?
YUP.
that'd be a level-eleven victory anywhere, right?
but,
we didn't stop anywhere near there....we kept going and going.
(i say we, i mean me, but it's the same idea, dear.)
AVO-F*ING-CADO?!
yesssssssssss.
that's how you get a party started, kids.
and those chickpeas?!?!
yo, on the ones-
i did something exxxtra tight with those.
-
*
SPICY CHICKS PEE!
-
1/2 can, drained rinsed chickpeas,
pan-fried in 2 tsp coconut oil;
with:
2 cloves of crushed garlic;
1 tsp smoked paprika;
1 tsp hot paprika;
1/2 tsp ea. GPOP;
black pepper;
2 tsp nootch;
4 tsp mae ploy sweet chili sauce;
let that thicken up for a minute or two,
turn off the heat, and add:
1 T minced cilantro;
2 tsp minced scallion greens.
kaBOOOOOOOOM!
-
simple? sorta.
delicious? definitely.
the flavor was off the hinges, holmes.
that's for sure.
who'd have guessed that all these things would all go together like voltron,
the constructicons, or the megazord?
right?
right!
i should've known, huh?
too much is the right amount.
OBviously.
so, what else?
sprankles, y'goof!
rules is rules.
...we got scallion, we got cilantro, we even got jalapeno rings,
and over all of that, we got that good-good-
two-tone toasted sesame sossamons, man.
everything you need to be a F*ing food sorcerer, all in one spot.
two pans, one pot, one bowl, two chopsticks.
champion-style fatness, plus perfect lighting.
that's a saturday night WIN.
***********
it's a full moon, you goons.
i've got tension tingling across my skin.
i've got follicles standing on end.
you'd almost think i was electrified, the way the supercharged lunar spotlight
is heightening my howling hard styles.
what?
oh.
science says full moons ain't no thang.
and in this instance, science can eat a weird butt.
i can feel it.
pulsing and coursing, like blood.
the bass-boosted rhythmic drumbeat of a fully-stoked hot fire blast furnace,
smelting and forging some sort of ironclad wolfman from the inside outwards.
...yikes.
the skies are hidden under a heavy grey blanket right now.
the light is veiled. the grey is everywhere. the night is over, for now.
but, up above us?
that berserker barbarian battle-beastly beaming blue ball of light is still shining.
reflecting, rather, and refracting,
and ricocheting those silver bullets of moon magic right down onto us.
it's all really happening.
a real bloody sunday;
never quiet, never soft.....
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